Some great news came my way the other day.  Peter Hodgson, the hip guitarist who writes the I Heart Guitar blog, is being featured on DiMarzio Inc., maker of some of the best guitar pickups in the world. They're using clips of his guitar playing on their website to showcase their John Petrucci (Dream Theater) signature pickups, the Crunch Lab 7 and LiquFire 7.

He used an Ibanez RG620 7-string guitar for the clips! That sounds like it's definitely worth a mention on the ol' Jemsite blog, no? 

Besides Petrucci's work on the new Dream Theater album, Peter is the first to use these pickups on a publicly available recording.

You can hear his clips by heading to the DiMarzio Inc. site and going to the 7 String section, then clicking on the link for the sounds on each pickup's page. 

DiMarzio asked Peter to provide samples after he reviewed the new pickups for his website.  You can find the review here.

Pretty cool, huh?

Here's a little something that will make your ears ring! 

Jack White of The White Stripes is a killer guitar player--but he wouldn't be able to tell if the guitar killed him.

I'll explain.  The rocker and Rancoteurs star is used to playing the guitar at such a deafening volume that the people around him have shown cause for concern.  

Jack himself doesn't even know how loud he can get--he only realizes it when sound engineers show him decibel readings. 

This taken from Rolling Stone magazine, where he was recently quoted as saying, ""I need to feel it (volume). I've gone through things where I go onstage and the sound guy at soundcheck comes over and he'll hold the decibel meter and show it to me while we're playing - and it's 127 decibels. That’s not good. And I can't even tell. If it's not right there, it feels wimpy, it feels uninspiring."

Jack, take it down a notch!

Source: Contactmusic.com

Matt Warnock, a recent Jemsite Guitar Hero, recently interviewed a hero of his own for Modern Guitar Magazine.

He calls Jazz Guitarist and Teacher Sid Jacobs, "one of the most well respected and revered guitarists and educators on the modern music scene." And rightfully so!

Continuing the compliments, Matt explains, "During this time, Sid has nurtured and mentored some of the finest up and coming jazz guitarists in the country. His devotion to teaching has not only allowed him to teach at these prestigious institutions, but has made him a highly sought after private teacher and clinician as well."

I wish I had known about Angus Clark.  If I had, I would have made him a Guitar Hero! He has all the characteristics of the typical Guitar Hero, as JemSite has been broadcasting in past posts.  

The Guitar Hero series on Jemsite features interviews with guitarists and musicians who may not have star status YET, but their current situations have shaped them to be who they are--determined, fond of their craft, and heroes in their own right.

Angus Clark is the man!  

Zack from Guitar Vibe got to him first, but I'm glad, because he put together a wonderful interview with the super shredder.  

Angus Clark may not be as well known as some of the super shredders out there, but he's built a career with his powerful and expressive style of rock guitar.  From his early days playing in local bands to breaking out with Kitaro and his eight year holiday tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Clark has always had lot going on.  He's got a new instrumental album "Your Last Battlefield" available on iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon and will be teaching a workshop at the National Guitar Workshop (NGW) June 27 in McLean, Virginia.

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Coldplay just won a Grammy for their song "Viva La Vida" a few months back.  Now, they may be getting another gift!

Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily reports Coldplay "pal" (I use the term loosely as in NOT AT ALL) Yusuf (formely Cat Stevens) has suddenly also noticed a similiarity between Coldplay's popular "Viva La Vida" and his 1973 song "Foreigner Suite." As if the stakes weren't already high enough, Coldplay is already getting sued by Joe Satriani because he says their "Vida" sounds too much like his hit, "If I Could Fly."

Well, actually, it wasn't ol' Yusuf who noticed the similarity, but his son, who brought it up to Pops.  Yusuf hasn't filed any legal papers, but hasn't ruled out the possiblity of a future lawsuit.  "It depends on how well Satriani does," he admits.  

Yusuf is accusing Coldplay in the same wayhe is releasing his new album, Roadsinger.  Coincidence? We think not!

For more on Al's self-proclaimed obsession with ukuleles, check out his uke-devoted site Ukulele Hunt. 

It's Like A Fun-Sized Guitar

The ukulele is smart and cute and travel-sized which makes them perfect for keeping your fingers busy in guitar-unfriendly situations like taking a bath, on top of Mount Fuji or while you're driving. The ukulele is tuned like the top four strings of a guitar capoed at the fifth fret. So if you're a guitar player, you'll have no problem picking up ukulele chords.