Lukas Previn – Thursday

Lukas Previn is one hard working musician. As the touring bassist for Thursday to touring and recording with The United Nations and Acid Tiger, and soon embarking on La Dispute’s October/November tour, Lukas needs versatility in his tone and chooses the Seymour Duncan SH-4 in his Les Paul Custom guitar.

“I put the JB Model™ SH-4 in my guitar and it turned it from a mouse to a lion that barks poisonous snakes. The tone is so versatile, I can push it to be as brutal as I need or let it whisper the softest buttercream tones. I could not be happier,” boasts Lukas.
You can check out both United Nations and Acid Tiger’s new albums out on Deathwish records or see him on tour in the next coming months. Want to keep up with Lukas? Follow him on Twitter, click here.

Silverstein

Neil Boshart of Silverstein knows that great electric guitar tone starts with the pickups. Of course he went straight to Seymour Duncan for his pickups. “My guitars would never sound as good without my Duncans,” exclaims Neil. “If my guitars were living beings, my Duncans would be the heart, pumping great tone and sustain through its veins. It is a vital organ.”

Neil uses the Jazz Model™ SH-2 in the neck position and the Duncan Distortion™ SH-6 in the bridge position of his awesome B.C. Rich Custom Shop Mockingbird guitars.
If you missed Silverstein on the Scream It Like You Mean It Tour, you can still check out the band’s live show in their new CD/DVD Decade: Live At The El Macambo. It includes 22 tracks/ 80 minutes of heart pumping music. Be sure to pick up your copy. And remember that good tone starts with Seymour Duncan pickups.

Tracklist:

 
01. Smashed Into Pieces
02. Red Light Pledge
03. The Weak And The Wounded
04. When Broken Is Easily Fixed
05. Your Sword Vs My Dagger
06. Fist Wrapped In Blood
07. Discovering The Waterfront
08. Defend You
09. Call It Karma
10. Bleeds No More
11. Sound Of The Sun
12. If You Could See Into My Soul
13. My Disaster
14. Still Dreaming
15. Here Today Gone Tomorrow
16. Already Dead
17. Smile In Your Sleep
18. Vices
19. American Dream
20. Born Dead
21. I Am The Arsonist
22. My Heroine (Acoustic)

Slash Returns to America

After months of playing nightly sold out gigs all over Asia and Australia, on a cool night in late-August 2010, Slash & Company brought their hard hitting guitar show back to American terra firma and the historic Warfield Theater. Evan Skopp, our Head of Artist Relations, was backstage with Slash and the band before the show. He was also part of the packed San Francisco audience that heard the band blaze through a powerful set that included familiar Guns ‘n Roses and Velvet Revolver tunes; a couple of covers, including Led Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown” and the “Theme to the Godfather”; along with tracks off the recently released and self-titled solo album. Slash features a variety of singers, including Ozzy Osbourne, Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, Fergie, and Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge. The Warfield show showcased Myles and his amazing voice up front and center; but make no mistake, this is Slash’s band and he’s the one folks came to see.

Over the course of the night, Slash played on a bevy of rightous Les Paul® guitars, including his new Appetite signature model. Each of the instruments was armed with the new Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Slash pickups. These pickups allow the dozens of Slash’s live guitars to sound just like the infamous instrument that he purchased in 1986 to record Appetitie for Destruction and just about everything since. Slash’s playing was muscular and controlled and the 45 year-old showed no signs of slowing down during the two-hour set as he pranced and spun and bounced across the stage.
Slash wasn’t alone in the guitar department. Like in GNR and Velvet Revolver, Slash had a rock solid rhythm guitarist to his right, keeping everything in the pocket and working a subtle interplay between the two guitars. That guitarist was Bobby Schneck, formerly of Slash’s Snakepit. Bobby’s axe arsenal is fully-Seymourized. He plays Tele® guitars that use a Little ’59 in the bridge position. And his B.C. Rich® Mockingbirds have a Duncan Distortion in the bridge and a Jazz Model in the neck. According to Bobby, “Seymour Duncan has always been my first choice for pickups. All of my Mockingbirds and Teles on the Slash Tour are fully-loaded with Seymours. Killer tone every show.”
What’s next for Team Slash? They’ll be touring solidly throughout the USA over the next month and then they’ll take a little time off. But you can expect more shows in the Fall. Check here for the latest tour dates.

Drowning Pool has been an Ozzfest mainstay over the last decade. And Seymour Duncan pickups have been a mainstay in guitarist and backing vocalist C.J. Pierce’s B.C. Rich guitars for years. C.J. rocks with a Custom Custom in the bridge position and a ’59 Model in the neck. Here C.J. is showing off his custom Classic Deluxe Eagle to SD’s Head of Artist Relations Evan Skopp after just finishing a blazing set on Ozzfest’s Monster Energy Stage. Drowning Pool is touring in support of their self-titled album, released earlier this year.
About his Duncans, C.J. told Evan, “Having Seymour Duncan pickups in my guitars, it’s been awesome walking out on stage at Ozzfest knowing I have the exact guitar tone I’ve been looking for. The search for that timeless rock guitar sound is over!”

Check out C.J. and his Duncan-loaded B.C. Rich as they tour throughout the fall. Click here for their schedule.

Metal Mike Chlasciak of HALFORD

Head of Artist Relations, Evan Skopp, spends some time with Metal Mike backstage at Ozzfest 2010.

How’s Ozzfest been going so far? Any stories?

MM: Ozzfest is incredible! I mean there is so much talent all in one day. You get Zakk’s BLS, The Metal God, Motley Crue and Ozzy. It’s a headbanger’s paradise to be very honest. As far as stories, man… we are working on some for sure. As far as the Halford band, we are not very good sleepers. We stay out pretty late.
In what ways have your playing style and musical interests evolved over the years?
MM: I really took care to clean up my mind and focus on being in control of my guitar playing. I always had a lot of raw energy that was exciting and I thought of how I can take that all in and funnel it into something more controllable. I still wanted to retain the excitement, the element of not being to expect what I was going to play next. I think I’m getting better at it. Some of the control comes from pretty much touring the world a few times over in the last 10 years; but also some from, you know, just staying healthy and focusing on what you want to accomplish.
My musical interests are pretty much the same as they were few years ago. I really long for quality and for something new and exciting. I have little patience for copycat artists. I like singers, Tina Turner or Mariah Carey; but obviously my heart belongs to Heavy Metal.
Describe your introduction to Seymour Duncan pickups and stompboxes.

MM: I have followed my ears to be honest. I heard some guitars that had Seymour Duncans in them and really liked the way they sounded. I think a perfect pickup should amplify the sound that is in your hands foremost and also of the guitar. It should not sound like a distortion box and should not hide the subtle little things. Seymour Duncans delivers all these qualities and to top it off, the pickups are really well made. I’ve spilled beer and sweated buckets on my guitars and here they are: still going. I have not tried any Duncan stompboxes, but hey-there’s always the new beginning, right?

Are all of your Jacksons set up the same or are some set up for a certain feel or tone?
MM: They are all very similar. All my guitars play very very similar. Tones come out of the guitars themselves, not necessarily as far as I set them up. I do spend a few good minutes upon getting a new guitar on moving the pickups up and down by their screws. This gives me right amount of sustain-to-tone that is needed based on my playing and the rest of the gear that I am using. This varies for each guitar. But, this is what I love about my Jacksons – they are a perfect match to Duncans. They work together very nicely. I am a big fan of the SH4 JB model in the bridge.
What are your favorite songs to perform live?
MM: “Golgotha” and “Locked & Loaded” from Halford. I like the heavy, fast stuff. I have been working on my solo record called The Metalworker and the album will have some absolute rippers to play live. I have a good feeling about the tracks on that. Some titles are “Don’t Shoot The Crown,” “Hell No,” and “On Leather Wings.” I like to feel the adrenaline. I need to hear the double bass kick drum and my guitars with a good crunchy tone that sounds like 10 dogs barking right in your face… To me, it’s Metal nirvana.
What new projects do you have in the works?
MM: Well, in October we will be releasing a new studio album from HALFORD called Made of Metal which will be followed by an arena tour with another well known act. Then right at the beginning on next year, I’ll be releasing my solo record The Metalworker which I’ll promote as much as I can through live shows and guitar clinic tours. Stay in touch www.MetalMike.net
Make sure to catch OZZY OSBOURNE – MOTLEY CRUE – HALFORD & more at Ozzfest!
8.14.2010 – San Manuel Amphitheater, Devore, CA
8.17.2010 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheater, Tinley Park, IL
8.19.2010 – First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA
8.21.2010 – Comcast Theater, Hartford, CT
8.22.2010 – Susquehanna Bank Center, Camnden, NJ
8.24.2010 – Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA

Ryan Wombacher, bassist for Bleeding Through, on Basslines

Ryan Wombacher, bassist for Bleeding Through, talks about using the Basslines SJB-5s in all of his custom basses. “I am using the SJB-5 passive single coil pickups for a 5 string jazz bass,” says Ryan. “They are a great thick sounding tone with solid bottom end. Being passive, it gives me a ton of room to get that heavy dirty overdrive sound I need without getting them too hot and feeding back. They are an all around solid pickup. I use them in all of my customs.”

The Anti-Hero Tour with Bleeding Through, After the Burial and more starts on September 3.

Tour dates:
Sep 3 2010    7:00P    The Key Club   West Hollywood, CA
Sep 4 2010    7:00P    The Vibe Riverside, CA
Sep 6 2010    6:30P    Cactus Courtyard Lubbock, TX
Sep 7 2010    6:30P    Emo’s Austin, TX
Sep 8 2010    6:30P    The High Ground Metairie, LA
Sep 9 2010    6:00P    Zydeco Birmingham, AL
Sep 10 2010  6:00P    Sector 7G Augusta, GA
Sep 11 2010  8:00P    The State Theatre St. Petersburg, FL
Sep 12 2010  8:00P    Culture Room Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Sep 13 2010  6:30P    Plush Jacksonville, FL
Sep 14 2010  6:30P    The 7 Venue Douglasville, GA
Sep 15 2010  5:30P    Jaxx West Springfield, VA
Sep 16 2010  6:30P    Gramercy Theater New York, NY
Sep 17 2010  7:00P    The Chance Poughkeepsie, NY
Sep 18 2010  6:30P    Nara Park Amphitheater Acton, MA
Sep 19 2010  7:00P    Chameleon Club Lancaster, PA
Sep 20 2010  7:00P    Northern Lights Clifton Park, NY
Sep 21 2010  6:30P    Diesel Nightclub Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 22 2010  5:00P    Xtreme Wheels Buffalo, NY
Sep 24 2010  7:30P    Headliner’s Music Hall Louisville, KY
Sep 25 2010  6:30P    The Madhatter Covington, KY
Sep 26 2010  6:30P    Rocketown Nashville, TN
Sep 28 2010  6:30P    Clearwater Theater West Dundee, IL
Sep 29 2010  6:00P    Blue Moose Iowa City, IA
Oct 1 2010     4:30P    Diamond Ballroom Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 2 2010     5:30P    The Hangar Wichita Falls, TX
Oct 3 2010     7:00P    Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Co

Big Head Todd and the Monsters

This Colorado-based band has been around for over 24 years playing their blues-based rock to legions of loyal audiences. According to singer-songwriter-guitarist Todd Park Mohr, “I still use the Twin Tube Blue as the only overdrive in my very simple board: Twin Tube Blue, wah and delay. And I couldn’t be happier.” Check out Todd’s pedal board below.

The band just release Rocksteady, their eighth studio album. Rocksteady draws on influences as diverse as Caribbean and even punk. The record’s first single, “Beautiful,” is already charting nationally including having debuted on iTunes in the Top 20s.
Get the latest information and tour dates on Big Head Todd’s official website http://www.bigheadtodd.com.

Clif Norrell – Producer, Engineer & Mixer (Sting, Weezer, Rush, Miley Cyrus)

“I mix a lot of live recordings where the only acoustic guitar track provided to me is a horrible sounding DI, and the Mama Bear is the only way I can get a result I am happy with. I’ve been searching for decades trying find a solution to lousy DI’d acoustic guitar sounds, and I have never been even close to satisfied until I found the Mama Bear. I had tried everything available to fix the thin and brittle sound of a DI’d acoustic, from plug-ins to amps to pedals to outboard gear, and the Mama Bear is an absolute life saver! I have finally found what I am looking for in the Mama Bear. Thanks, DTAR for answering my prayers and saving my mix!”