The 29th Annual
Dallas International Guitar Festival has concluded for another year. The brainchild of local guitar shop owner Charley Wirz, it started as a modest get together for guitar dealers and collectors. Today, the show draws tens of thousands of fans from all over the world.
Charley's Guitar Shop has been a local institution in Dallas since 1976...their booth at this year's show had some cool custom paint jobs on these acoustics, dubbed the Cowboy II and the Hawaiian.
The Gibson Custom Shop traveling exhibit was there.
Check out the wall of custom painted Flying V's.
Jon Kammerer Guitars had some interesting designs....this flag guitar of custom woods is one of my favorites from their collection.
EnRoute Music introduced the unique PorchBoard Floor Bass, which is perfect for solo or acoustic players to accompany themselves. The device is an amplified, analog low-end rhythm instrument that uses the natural technique of foot tapping to produce a player controlled bass beat with any style of music.
Drum World was disappointing in it's size and scope, but I made some new friends.
At the
Roland Booth, I got to play their latest
Vdrum kit, featuring six drumpads, hi-hat with pedal trigger, kick pedal trigger, three cymbals and sound module.
Roland also has a new
electronic practice pad with built in metronome and input for audio source, like a CD. The deluxe model has over 100 midi sounds that you can jam along with.
Wow, I wish I had one of these as a kid practicing in my room!
I met John Aldridge, editor of
Not So Modern Drummer magazine and owner of
vintagedrumshop.com. John is currently working with the
Ludwig Drum Company, adding his unique touch as the exclusive engraver of their newest Black Beauty Limited Edition snare drum. He also had a display of vintage kick pedals, dating back to the turn of the century.
Mike at
Larry Morgan Music demonstrated the full-bodied sound of a Aquarian drum head on his snare. If you're not happy with the sound of your drums, check out these new heads, which approximate the old school deep-down-in-your-gut sound of calfskins.
The Lone Star Percussion booth had friendly and helpful staff that answered all my questions. Now in their 25th year, they have a large online store that stocks just about anything to do with percussion. You can beat their drums, but you can't beat their service!
Texas Music Cafe was out and about filming for PBS.
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Vdrum kit,
John Aldridge,
Not So Modern Drummer,
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Larry Morgan Music,
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Columbia Records has just released We Shall Overcome The Seeger Sessions by Bruce Springsteen. The CD is a compilation of 13 traditional songs that are all related to the great Pete Seeger. If you listen to the previous 20 albums by Springsteen it is apparent that he has a deep interest and love for traditional folk music.
Elektra's label founder, 
Ringo is getting ready for another summer tour with the All Starr Band. Looks like an interesting lineup. The last edition of the band was in 2003 and included 
Now, the tracks that really got me going.