Adam Jones: It's complex because I'm very picky about what I use. I use multiple amps. I have a couple of different guitars that have different tones. I definitely have my pedals that I use. I guess my guitar is especially a piece of me. I have a '79 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst.

The tone it has throughanalog equipment is incredible. I think fast and easy and convenient is kind of the way everyone goes and I do it myself. I'm a victim of it. But there's so much digital equipment out there and people just plug in any guitar and then, 'Oh, well, you can make it sound good. You don't need to be fussy about other stuff.'

But to me, that doesn't sound good. It's the same sound. It just sounds weak and farty. I could go off about equipment for hours. But yeah, my guitar. I mean, I could pick up any guitar and jam with people. But, you know, when I actually play our Tool songs, I just I love my weighted guitars.

Tool performs on Wednesday, February 14 and Thursday, February 15 at the Crypto.com Arena.

(Photo by Travis Shinn)

ANDERTONS TV: Lee and Pete get excited about the MOD Pedals:

PREMIER GUITAR: The MOD Series design philosophy explained! 

REVERB: An in-depth exploration of the MOD Series functions! 

The MOD Pedals are AVAILABLE NOW for Pre-Order - act now to get in on the first production run!  

You can now order individual MOD Pedals for 299$ each or all three MOD Pedals in a special bundle!

GO TO SHOP

Dai Burger: The connection between a headphone set and an artist is a union that can’t be ignored! It’s how we hear and catch the beat, it’s how we correspond with the engineer, it’s the vessel that leads the music to the mind and soul… 

I take my set of Audio-Technica ATH studio headphones with me to all sessions, so I’m comfy and ready to go!

Dai Burger "Masterpiece" is out now.

Producer: Brian Tarquin 

Sometimes the cause is more important than the art, and this album benefits the veterans charity Hope For The Warriors, “who provide medical care, mental health counseling, professional training and education, physical conditioning and transition services for wounded, ill, and injured Marines and Navy members.” Tarquin has assembled some top-notch talent for this jazz-rock odyssey, including Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Steve Morse and more.

The 2024 Wasserman Music x Howard University Music Business Insights Program, created to provide guidance, support, and inspiration to students seeking careers in all corners of the music industry, will encompass class takeovers and curriculum contributions for 30-60 participating students who will engage directly with leaders from across the entertainment business. This year's speakers include top execs from Wasserman Music, Live Nation, Atlantic Records, and Roc Nation and award-winning singer/songwriter/producer Cautious Clay.

"We are thrilled to return to Howard University with an incredible new slate of speakers and leaders from across the entertainment industry and the opportunity to empower another group of outstanding students who have the potential to help shape the future of the music business," said Denise Melanson, Senior Director of Social Impact for Wasserman.

This year's program will cover subjects across the full spectrum of the music business, including artist management, tour booking and promotion, music publishing, live event management, marketing, and more, with guest lectures from influential entertainment executives, lively in-class panels with top music business professionals, potential internship placement opportunities at Wasserman, and a "Warner Days Takeover" on-campus event during Howard's annual celebration that spans the breadth of Wasserman's businesses, including sports, music, entertainment, and culture.

This year's roster of guest lecturers and panelists includes:

• Sam Alpert - SVP/Marketing, Wasserman Music
• Jacqueline Alston - Chief of Staff, Broccoli City
• Lee Anderson - EVP & Managing Executive, Wasserman Music
• Callender - Vice President, Wasserman Music
• Cautious Clay - singer/songwriter/producer
• Anthony Cotton - Production Manager, Wasted Potential
• Doug Foley - Account Manager, Artist Services, Seated
• Gavin Ryan - Senior Director, Marketing, Big Beat & Atlantic Records
• Hammond Seay - Wasserman Music
• Jenifer Smith - Head of Urban Tour Marketing, US Concerts, Live Nation
• Lorena Garcia Waheibi - Associate Director of Digital Marketing & Strategy, Roc Nation

"Our experience with Wasserman Music last year was unparalleled -- from the brilliance and creativity of the agents, executives, artists, producers, and agency partners who came to participate each week to the multi-city summer internship that several of our students got to experience at Wasserman," said Prof. Pat Parks, Assistant Professor and Area Coordinator of the Theatre Arts Administration Program at the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.

Said De'Anya Bell, Senior Theatre Administration Minor and Media, Journalism, and Film Major at Howard University, after learning that she was selected for one of this year's Wasserman Music internships, "This internship will provide me with a wide-ranging introduction to the inner workings of a music agency. From understanding the agent's role in the music industry ecosystem to all the components of booking a tour or live performance, this experience will provide an opportunity to learn from Wasserman Music's talented and hardworking team. I am so thankful for this opportunity!"

The Music Business Insights Program is an outgrowth of Wasserman Music's partnership with prominent social justice organization Color of Change and its #ChangeMusic Roadmap. The program now returns for its second year at Howard University, proudly partnering with the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts and the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business.

"We are excited to partner with Wasserman Music and The Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts to showcase Howard's ongoing united efforts to serve our students and community by providing world-class elite programming," said Jasmine Young, MBA (Howard 1994) Director of the Warner Music/Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University.

Said Prof. Parks, "After such a successful inaugural run and even broader support from across the campus this year, we are looking to make our efforts even bigger and bolder going into year two of this collaboration and beyond!"

Learn more about the HU Theatre Arts Administration-Wasserman Summer Internship experience here.

See the Wasserman x Howard University 2023 Experience Recap video here.

ABOUT WASSERMAN MUSIC:

Wasserman Music is a leading global agency representing a wide range of prominent artists across all genres for live performance, touring, brand partnerships, and beyond. We are long-term career development strategists who work with artists to expand their reach and deepen their impact with audiences around the world. Wasserman Music is a division of Wasserman.

Wasserman powers the business of sports, music, entertainment, and culture. Founded in 2002, Wasserman represents many of the world's most iconic sports and entertainment figures, music artists, brands, and properties, empowering them to shape culture and captivate audiences worldwide.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Wasserman operates globally across 27 countries and more than 62 cities, including New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City, Toronto, Paris, and Sydney. For more information, please visit, 

www.teamwass.com.

“My parents are actors and I was so inspired and enthralled by the idea of performing for an audience and making them feel things,” she says. “I started my first band when I was 15 to escape from the horrible time I was having at school. It gave me a chance to escape my reality, meet new people, and think about the future. I had started going to gigs that year and the idea of writing my own songs and performing was so exciting. Writing songs came naturally to me because I loved writing fiction and short stories and poetry already, so I started singing those stories instead.” 

Girli now describes her sound as, “left-field, quirky alt-pop that’s vulnerable but also bold as fuck.” Her latest release is the Matriarchy album, which she recorded over eight months from the end of 2022, in London, Stockholm and L.A. 

“The songs are about how I was experiencing my queerness at that time, how heartbreak was tearing me apart but also rebuilding me better, about experiencing healthy love for the first time, my struggles with my mental health, learning self-love and healing from everything," Girli says. "It’s a rollercoaster of an album.” 

For Girli, “DIY” means having complete creative control over her art. 

“Making all the major decisions about my project and being in full control of my touring, merch, and with an independent music distributor,” she says. 

Girli spent the last part of 2023 in internet hibernation, prior to her plans for a big 2024. 

“I always take like three weeks off social media over the holidays, it’s important to me to reset and manifest for the next year,” she says. “ 

For more information, visit girlimusic.com. 

Kelly Gonsalves: Choosing one piece of gear is tough! We’re going to go with our Fender Mustangs.

Both Adam and I play identical Mustangs with P90s in them. We don’t know how it happened, but at some point over the last few years we ended up playing the same guitar and stuck with it. They feel great to play and have nice tonal range.

We’ve also developed quite the pedal collection, which seems to suit these guitars.

And when Ryann chooses to play her Mustang Bass we’re all matching at shows. It’s a thing!

Torrey's self-titled album is out now.

(Photo by Katie Lovecraft)

Visit Fairchild at NAMM 2024 Booth #14104

Toni Fishman, founder and CEO of microphone designer/manufacturer TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik, in 2023 launched the new company, Fairchild Recording Equipment LLC. After five years of extensive R&D and precision testing, the authentic recreation of the legendary Fairchild 670 vacuum tube compressor is now available in very limited numbers.

After evaluation of the new unit in side-by-side testing with his vintage 670, Blackbird founder John McBride purchased it and remarked, "This new 670 is the most accurate re-creation of the original that I've come across, and it's significant that this milestone re-creation also provides modern bulletproof reliability."

Unlike other attempted Fairchild 670 re-creations, Fishman's new 670 utilizes the same tubes, custom-wound transformers and is built to the original specs. The architecture, point-to-point soldering and turret-style construction make this the only authentic recreation of the original 670 designed and built by Rein Narma at the request of recording innovator Les Paul in 1959.

The original Fairchild 670 has a reputation as the best sounding and most versatile compressor ever made. Used on countless hit recordings over the years, its unique combination of tube driven amplification and gain reduction gives the 670 a wide range of compression effects, from subtle and transparent to heavy and pumping. 

Fishman's new vacuum tube Fairchild 670 compressor is faithfully recreated to provide modern producers and audio engineers with the classic sound of the first intelligent automatic volume control limiter. With its dual-channel design and unique compression characteristics, the Fairchild 670 is capable of adding warmth, depth, and character to virtually any audio signal. The vacuum tube technology used in the 670 adds a natural, organic quality to the compressed signal, providing that distinctive classic analog sound to both digital and analog productions.

Key Features: Dual mono operation, six selectable time constants, threshold, compression, makeup gain controls, VU metering, hand-wired point-to-point construction, custom-designed transformers, tube-driven amplification.

Applications: vocals, drums, bass, guitars, strings, piano, brass, orchestral instruments, mix buss/mastering.

Sweetwater Sound, Inc. and Vintage King Audio have been named initial domestic dealers. European dealers include Klemm in Austria, Germany and Switzerland; Funky Junk in France, Italy and Spain; Cyber Farm in Denmark and Sweden; SX Pro in the UK. Asian dealers include MID in Japan; Gearlounge in South Korea, and Budee in China.

Throughout 2024 we’ll be celebrating the 85^th Anniversary of Blue Note Records including an extensive tour by The Blue Note Quintet featuring the label’s young stars, The Francis Wolff Collection presenting fine art photography collector’s items and exhibitions, the return of the Blue Note Review vinyl boxset subscription series, our acclaimed Tone Poet Vinyl and Classic Vinyl reissue series, and exciting new releases from Charles Lloyd, Joel Ross, Melissa Aldana, Ethan Iverson, Julian Lage, Bill Frisell, Nduduzo Makhathini, Immanuel Wilkins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Norah Jones, and more.

* * *

It took the joining of many natural forces to create and define one of the greatest Jazz labels there has ever been: Jazz-loving German immigrants on the run from Nazism (Alfred Lion & Francis Wolff), a New Jersey optometrist moonlighting as a recording engineer (Rudy Van Gelder), a classical music-loving commercial designer (Reid Miles), and the most incredible musicians that have ever walked the earth. The elements that each brought to the table—boundless passion and impeccable A&R instincts, elegant and insightful photography, sterling sound quality, strikingly original cover artwork, and consistently transcendent music—were all essential to the label's early success. Together they created a vivid Blue Note aesthetic. The whole could not have existed without each of the parts.

Blue Note’s legendary catalog spans the entire history of the music from Hot Jazz, Boogie Woogie, and Swing, through Bebop, Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and Fusion, and into the diverse and vibrant sounds of today. The artists Blue Note recorded represent the pillars of Jazz history: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Dexter Gordon, Grant Green, Lou Donaldson, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Andrew Hill, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, and many more.

After a brief dormancy from 1981-1984 during which producer/historian Michael Cuscuna kept the label’s legacy alive with a series of reissues, Blue Note returned reinvigorated by the leadership of Bruce Lundvall and has since established itself as the most-respected and longest-running Jazz label in the world, remaining home to some of the most prominent stars and cutting-edge innovators in Jazz. During Lundvall’s 30-year tenure, Blue Note remained a haven for the most creative voices in Jazz, and also had its share of commercial successes from Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Us3, Norah Jones, Medeski Martin & Wood, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis.

The consummate music man Don Was joined Blue Note in 2011 as Chief Creative Officer and became President of the label in 2012. With Was at the helm, Blue Note has renewed its dedication to Lion’s original vision that “any particular style of playing which represents an authentic way of musical feeling is genuine expression.” Lion’s words still ring true and provide a blueprint that includes eclectic singers from Norah Jones to Meshell Ndegeocello to Gregory Porter and the full spectrum of instrumental Jazz artists from legends like Charles Lloyd, Ronnie Foster, Bill Frisell, and Joshua Redman to young innovators including Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Melissa Aldana, Julian Lage, and DOMi & JD BECK. Blue Note Records is one of the flagship labels of the Capitol Music Group and Universal Music Group.

Apply at Geebo.