Category : LATEST NEWS

ATTENTION BASS PLAYERS: TECH 21 UNVEILS THE STEVE HARRIS SH1 SIGNATURE SANSAMP

 A true hands-on professional, Steve Harris not only formed Iron Maiden (in 1975), he writes the bulk of their songs, plays multiple instruments, mixes recordings, directs and edits both live and production videos, and sings. As if that wasn’t enough, Steve somehow finds time for British Lion, which he describes as a side project that’s more mainstream rock than metal.

When it comes to Steve’s rig, surprisingly it has barely changed in almost 40 years. What has never changed is his handmade custom pre-amp, the Alectron, as well as his prized custom vintage Marshall cabs loaded with EV speakers. While this collaboration began as a solution for touring with British Lion, as it wasn’t practical to travel with his full rig for smaller venues, the SH1 has earned a place as a component of his live sound on Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast 2019 tour.

When Tech 21 sent the original prototype of the pedal to Steve while in rehearsal with British Lion, he had this to say, “The tour is going fantastic. And the reason it’s going fantastic is this little thing here. It’s unbelievable. [Andrew Barta] is a real boffin [translation: technical expert]. Because he’s managed to simulate my EV speaker sounds, which I love so much. And it’s in this little box. Whatever he’s done, he’s made this thing sound like my sound. So, well done, mate.”

Known for his galloping fleet-fingered bass lines, Steve’s distinctive style and tone have, and continue to be, required reading –whether you’re into metal or not. Like Tech 21’s other signature gear, the SH1 is not just for one single tone or genre. The controls are designed to provide an expansive range of adjustability so you can dial in a wide spectrum of bass tones as well.

The Steve Harris SH1 features all-analog SansAmp technology, two channel modes with individual Gain and Level controls, Blend, 4-band active EQ, and a Bite switch to activate a “Steve” boost for extra clank and clarity. Other features include chromatic tuner and an XLR Output to go direct to the PA desk or studio board. Rugged all-metal housing measures 7.75”l x 2.5”w x 1.25”h and weighs just 12 oz.

The Steve Harris SH1 is priced at $299. For more information, please visit Tech 21.

additional source: premierguitar.com

AIRBOURNE STREAM SECOND NEW SONG, “BACKSEAT BOOGIE,” NEW ALBUM BONESHAKER DUE OCTOBER 25TH

Airbourne have released Backseat Boogie, the second single from their forthcoming studio album, Boneshaker.

Frontman Joel O’Keeffe states about Backseat Boogie, “The riff, this is one of those ones where Cobb walked out and said, ‘What are you playing there?’ and I was, ‘Ah, I’m just playing this riff. It’s this riff I had in Australia. It’s got a bit of a vibe. I’m not sure.’ He goes, ‘Aw, man, we gotta do that one,’ and he got behind the drums and picked up Ryan’s drumsticks and said, ‘Oh, man. How does he play with these things? These things are baseball bats,’ and it was just really funny. And Ryan jumped on the kit, and we tracked it right then and there.”

Ryan O’Keeffe adds, “It all happened really fast. The band’s lucky to have had a lot of time rehearsing together and playing together, but we tracked songs before we even thought we tracked them. He’d say, ‘Give it another go if you want, but the one you just did, and here’s the first one you did, and that’s the vibe.”

Listen to Airbourne’s title track, here.

Boneshaker tack listing:

1. Boneshaker
2. Burnout The Nitro
3. This Is Our City
4. Sex to Go
5. Backseat Boogie
6. Blood In The Water
7. She Gives Me Hell
8. Switchblade Angel
9. Weapon of War
10. Rock ‘N’ Roll For Life

METALLICA TO HEADLINE ALL FIVE DANNY WIMMER PRESENTS HARD ROCK FESTIVALS IN 2020 WITH TWO PERFORMANCES & TWO DIFFERENT SET LISTS AT EACH EVENT

Danny Wimmer Presents is proud to announce that rock icons Metallica will exclusively headline all five of the premier independent producer’s hard rock festivals in 2020 in a unique collaboration unprecedented for any American festival promoter or band. Recently named the world’s biggest all-time touring act by Pollstar, Metallica will—for the first time ever—perform two separate headlining sets at all of the following events in 2020:

*Epicenter (May 1st-3rd) at its new location at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC
*Welcome To Rockville (May 8th-10th) at its new location at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL
*Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival (May 15th-17th) at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH
*Louder Than Life (September 18th-20th) at Highland Festival Grounds at KY Expo Center in Louisville, KY
*Aftershock (October 9th-11th) at Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA

These events will be the only chance to see Metallica at a U.S. festival in 2020. In addition to two appearances at each festival, Metallica will also deliver a unique set list for each performance, resulting in 10 different shows over the course of the year. 

“Metallica isn’t just another headliner. When Metallica takes the stage, it’s an event. It’s an experience. That’s the same standard we’ve set for every DWP festival – from the first band to the last band, and everything that happens in between. I can’t wait to bring the biggest band in the world to the biggest rock festivals in America,” says Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents, the largest independent festival producer in the U.S. “Metallica paved this road that we travel. How many artists on the bill at these five festivals first picked up an instrument, or first started a band, because of Metallica?”

Tickets for all events go on sale today (October 10th) begins Monday, October 14th at 9:00 AM PT / Noon ET. Find more info and buy tickets at: www.MetallicaXX.com or the Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival, Louder Than Life and Aftershock websites.

Watch the official DWP2020 festival announcement trailer, below:

For each ticket sold through November 19th, Danny Wimmer Presents will donate 25 cents to Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation. AWMH is a non-profit, philanthropic organization created by the members and management of Metallica, dedicated to creating sustainable communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services. 100% of donations go directly to local organizations that the Foundation supports. Please visit www.AllWithinMyHands.org for more information.

To further celebrate this historic collaboration, Danny Wimmer Presents invites fans to enter the Golden Ticket contest. One lucky person will win an all-expenses paid trip to any DWP festival of their choice to see Metallica play 2 different nights and 2 different sets over 1 incredible weekend. The prize package includes rock star accommodations, exclusive festival access, opportunities to watch the show from the legendary Metallica Snake Pit, meet and greets, amazing memorabilia and more.

Fans are automatically entered to win by purchasing a Weekend GA or Weekend VIP pass to any of the five Danny Wimmer Presents U.S. 2020 rock festivals featuring Metallica, by signing up for the Fifth Member Fan Club or by subscribing to any of the five Danny Wimmer Presents U.S. 2020 rock festival newsletters. Offer only valid on purchases or signups between October 10th, 2019 and November 19th, 2019. Winner must be at least 18 years old by May 1, 2020. For more information visit www.MetallicaXX.com.  

For more information on each festival, please visit: 

www.EpicenterFestival.com
www.WelcomeToRockvilleFestival.com
www.SonicTempleFestival.com
www.LouderThanLifeFestival.com
www.AftershockFestival.com

OZZY OSBOURNE, ONCE AGAIN, POSTPONES EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

Ozzy Osbourne has posted a video on his official website explaining that his European tour dates, have once again been postponed.

He states, “I’m here to give you an update on my condition. As you probably know, or you may not know, at the beginning of this year, I had a bad fall. I screwed all the vertebrae in my neck and had to have surgery. I’ve got a lot more nuts and bolts in my neck now than in my car.”

He continued, “I’m not dying, I am recovering — it’s just taking a little bit longer than everyone thought it would. I’m bored stiff of being stuck on a f–king bed all day. I can’t wait to get off my ass and get going again, but you’re just gonna have to be a little bit more patient. I’m postponing the European tour because I’m not ready.”

He added, “I’m not retiring — I’ve still got gigs to do — but when I do come back on an American tour, I wanna be one hundred percent ready to come out and knock your fucking socks off. And also, there’s a new album on the way.”

Osbourne thanked his band, crew, promoters Live Nation and Judas Priest who have been on to support the Prince of Darkness in Europe when he’s ready. He added in true Ozzy fashion, “I just wanna say one thing to the fans: I sincerely thank you for your patience and your loyalty. I love you. Now, will you f–k off and let me get better.”

VINNIE VINCENT ANNOUNCES “MERRY METAL CHRISTMAS,” TO TAKE PLACE ON DECEMBER 14TH- 15TH IN NASHVILLE, TN

Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent will host Vinnie Vincent’s Merry Metal Christmas on December 14th and 15th at S.I.R. Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Vincent will be performing, food will be served, there will be a Q&A, photo ops, more memorabilia on display, [and] signings. Unreleased and master tracks of Vincent’s classic songs will also be previewed and much, much more.” Tickets for Vinnie Vincent’s Merry Metal Christmas are priced at $500.00 per ticket and can be purchased here. See a promo, for this event, below.

Vincent’s last event took place on  August 10th, when he celebrated his birthday at S.I.R. Studios.

[Dana’s note: While the promo video only lists the event for 15th, Vincent’s official site lists it as taking place on both the 14th & 15th]

GUITARIST GEORGE LYNCH SAYS THAT A DOKKEN AND LYNCH MOB TOUR IS BEING DISCUSSED

Guitarist George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob, KXM) recently spoke with Derek “Mr. Shred” Thomas of “Talking Shred,” excerpts follow (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net).

Speaking about canceingl his appearance with Dokken at this year’s M3 Rock Festival after contracting pneumonia:

Lynch: “We’re going to make up for it big time. I’m not supposed to say anything, but next year, we’re going to do something — but not what you think… We’re going to do something, but it’s going to be Dokken and Lynch Mob together going out, and then at the end of the night, me and Don [Dokken] are going to go out and do a few Dokken songs together.”

On whether he’s considered making an instrumental “shred” album:

Lynch: “Absolutely. I have some trepidation about it because of the glut of insane players who are making it hard for old guys like me to keep up. I look at all those Instagram guys, and my mind is just blown every day. It’s so beautiful, because a lot of it is, they’re not doing what they did in the late ’80s/early ’90s and just going hyperspeed shred. They do that too, but they’re going back to bebop and jazz and Wes Montgomery stuff, Joe Pass stuff — just really heavy, playing over changes and doing really beautiful even traditional music. On top of that, the Tosin Abasi, multi-string, multi-tapping, two-handed, all that stuff too, and putting it all together and coming up with hybrid new stuff, which is fascinating… I’ve been trying to do the finger[picking] thing. I can’t really do it. I do a fake finger thing, and that’s just me trying to be Jeff Beck, because I think we all just want to be Jeff Beck.”

Discussing his memories of playing on the Hear ‘N Aid charity single, Stars:

Lynch: There was a line outside in the outdoor patio area going into the room, and it was almost like waiting at the DMV, except that every f–kin’ guitar [player]… If you wanted to get rid of all your guitar competition, you just plant a bomb there. You would have been the only guy left, and would have won by default. Everybody was scared of Yngwie [Malmsteen], and rightly so. He was just emerging at the time, and that, I think, performance really cemented him into the history books. His place in the hierarchy was established after that pretty concretely. I noticed that when everybody went in, everybody was chasing Yngwie, so everybody was playing faster than they normally do, but uncomfortably so — kind of frenetic and nervously. I was doing it too, but it was hard to be yourself because this guy cast such a large shadow. It was a problem listening to the record for me and trying to differentiate the different players. It seemed like they all just kind of ran together, except for Yngwie.”

Watch Lynch’s full interview, below.