For Immediate Release

Hercules Castro of Colorado Springs Named a Finalist in International Guitar Competition Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition Centerpiece of Guitar Player Live! Weekend Celebration September 11-13

• Brendon Small to Host Competition; Judges Include Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson’s guitarist), Elliot Easton, Greg Hampton, and Steve Lukather
• San Bruno, CA (August 11, 2009) — Now in its fifth year, Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar competition will be the centerpiece of Guitar Player LIVE!, a 3-day celebration of guitars, music, and gear presented by the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center in Livermore, California, east of San Francisco, on Saturday, September 12, 2009.
• Ten finalists have been selected from among hundreds of entries to battle for the international title of “Guitar Superstar.” Across the globe, hundreds of “unknown” guitarists of all ages and styles answered the call to post their best performances at sonicbids.com. Ten finalists were chosen to perform onstage in front of a live audience and a panel of world-famous guitar stars that includes Elliot Easton (The Cars), Jennifer Batten (guitarist for Michael Jackson, Jeff Beck), Steve Lukather (Toto), and Greg Hampton, (producer of Alice Cooper, Ronnie Wood, Lita Ford). Host of this year’s big event is Brendon Small, (co-creator of Adult’s Swim’s Metalocalypse animated series).
• The celebrity judges will evaluate each original performance, and rate each contestant on technique, creativity, charisma, and overall vibe, and, at the end of the night, the 2009 Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar will be crowned, along with two runner-ups.

• Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition 2009

• Jim Fuselli, rock critic of the Wall Street Journal wrote about last year’s competition: “…I admired the contestants. With their reputations on the line in front of Mr. Satriani, Mr. Vai and the other judges, they performed with conviction.”,
• Vicki Genfan, the reigning Guitar Superstar, will perform at the competition before handing over her crown, and will also play on Sunday, September 13 at 3 pm along with Laurence Juber and Jennifer Batten.
• “It’s a dream to launch a weekend-long celebration of guitar with Guitar Player LIVE! and our fifth Guitar Superstar event,” says Guitar Player Editor in Chief Michael Molenda. “If you’re a guitar zealot, it’s like some 6-string Woodstock—total badass madness, from Friday night’s opening Shrapnel Records concern starring Richie Kotzen, Michael Lee Firkins, and Chris Duarte, to bands rockin’ hard all along the Livermore plaza, to Guitar Superstar on Saturday, to Sunday’s Triple Threat Guitar show with GPGS 08 champ Vicki Genfan, Jennifer Batten, and Laurence Juber.”
• The ten finalists, representing a wide range of guitar styles ranging from rock to country are: Dave Benzinger, Brodie Cumming , Brian Davidson, Hercules Castro, Danny Jones, Steve Langemo, Steve Senes, Krisz Simonfalvi, Doug Towle, and Jeff Zampillo. The contestants will perform with the GPGS house band Thud Factor, music directed by Bass Player Editor Jonathan Herrera.
• All ten contestants receive an all-expenses paid trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. The winner, First Runner-Up and Second Runner-Up of the event will receive custom trophies and complete gear packages. The champion will receive a feature article in Guitar Player magazine and prizes from event sponsors—including Harman International–Digitech, Mesa Boogie, Taylor Guitars, D’Addario, Planet Waves, GBase, Line 6, Sennheiser, Washburn, Randall and Gallien Kruger.
• The competition takes place Saturday, September 12, 2009, 8:00 p.m. at the Bankhead Theater, Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, 2400 First Street, Livermore, California. Admission $23.00. Tickets can be ordered online at www.bankheadtheater.org or call 925-373-6800.

• Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition 2009

  About the 3-day Festival:

• Guitar Player LIVE! includes concerts at the Bankhead Theater and free performances by well-known regional bands and exhibitor endorsees on four outdoor stages. Another highlight will be an exhibition of Bill Owens’ photographs commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Altamont Raceway Free Concert. To cap off the festival evenings, several local taverns and restaurants will also host local band performances, and the Vine Cinema will feature a special run of classic and cult guitar films.
• • Shrapnel Records Guitar Night Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m.
  • Guitar Player’s Guitar Superstar Competition Finals Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m.
  • Triple Threat Guitar – Featuring Laurence Juber, Jennifer Batten, Vicki Genfan Sunday, September 13 at 3 p.m.

  For packages, call the box office at 925-373-6800.

  About Guitar Player magazine:

• The Music Player Network of publications for musicians performing and producing music includes Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, and EQ magazines and related websites, TV, enews and events. For more information please visit www.musicplayer.com. Music Player Network is a division of NewBay Media, LLC.

A couple of days back; I attended a service celebrating the life of a friends son. I never met this person, yet I felt a connection and found myself getting emotional from time to time.   Throughout the service I heard how much he loved the guitar and music and was surprised by how we enjoyed the similar musicians and songs.  One song that particularly grabbed me was Joe Satriani’s “Always with you, Always With Me” that the played early on. This is my absolutely favorite Satch song and whenever hear it, I will now think of Jeff; a fellow guitarist.

The connection is that six string wonder that can frustrate the hell out of you and comfort you in times of trouble.

Highlights:

• Cliffs of Dover:  The best song on the CD and probably the most recognizable.  Fast runs, great phrasing and that incredible violin like tone sets the stage for a terrific listening experience.  When I was in High School, I learned how to play the into to this and it wasn’t too bad.  If you asked me to play it now, I am afraid how much damage I would do to myself and to your ears.
• High Landrons:  A great guitar song where Eric throws lick after lick and there never seems to be a place to rest until the end.
• Trademark:  A smooth, easy listening song where Eric doesn’t show too much flash but the phrasing and tone is incredible.  The song features great bass lines provided by Kyle Brock and I find myself listening to him instead of EJ.
• Song For George:  His only acoustic song and once again, not too flashy but great phrasing and use of the occasional harmonics.  I have a bit of a soft spot for this song because it was the song that I played on my first solo performance in a High School talent show.

About 18 years ago, my brother handed me a tape of “Ah Via Musicom” and he told me that I had to listen to it, a must listen.  Now I’m doing the same to you.  If you play guitar or a fan of great guitar, get it!

Haven’t had much time to play this past week because I decided to paint the room I practice in.  I needed change.  The nice thing about tooling around the house is that I turn on the iPod and jam on some tunes.  I’ve had Colin Hay’s “Man at Work” CD on my mind a lot lately, so it’s my next in my “what’s in my CD collection” recommendation list.

If you are a fan of the 80’s, you are probably familiar with Colin Hay and his  band Men at Work.  With songs like “Overkill,”  “Down Under” and “Who Could it be Now,”  I remember watching them on MTV back in the day when MTV actually played music videos.   The 80’s were over and Colin Hay seemed to have disappeared.

Maybe Not…

A couple of years ago, I was watching an episode of Scrubs and Hay played an acoustic version of “Overkill” and it was amazing and much better than the 80’s version.  Which leads to the  “Man at Work” release which such acoustic versions of some of the 80’s Men at Work classics like “Overkill” (my favorite) and “Down Under”.  He also has some new stuff that is reflective and thought provoking like e “Waiting for My Real Life to Begin” and “Beautiful World.”  If you don’t have this, you won’t be sorry if you get it.  These are also great to learn to play and sing along.  I’m working on “Overkill” and “Waiting for My Real Life to Begin” myself.

9.13.08:  For those of you that are trying to figure out “Waiting for My Real Life to Begin,”  the song is in standard tuning, played in G with the capo at the 4th fret.  Most of the song is C-Maj – D-Maj to G-Maj.

To my dismay, Dave Carter left this world six years ago today and only months after I was lucky enough to discover this treasure. I was disappointed and saddened that I would never see him live or hear any new music. Thankfully, Tracy and a strong community of Dave Carter fans have faithfully kept his music alive for all to hear. So today, like many Dave Carter fans, it is with a heavy heart that I will listen to all my Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer CD’s and celebrate the life of a true American treasure.

Dave Carter
August 13, 1952 – July 19, 2002

Learn More About The Music of Dave Carter:

http://www.daveandtracy.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Carter

http://www.tracygrammer.com/

http://members.aol.com/rongrittz/daveandtracy.htm

My first selection is Bruce Cockburn’s “Speechless.”  I chose Bruce because it was his playing that inspired me to study fingerstyle guitar  with his signature alternating bass lines with that unwavering thumb and his melodies continue to make my draw drop.  Speechless came out in 2005 and is a collection of his instrumentals throughout his almost 40 year career.  I think every song on this release is wonderful but here are some of my favorites.

• Rouler Sa Bosse: He has been performing this live quite a bit now.  Took me over a year to get that sucker down.
• Sunrise on the Mississippi: Great blues tune. A great example of how his thumb is independent from his entire body. Make you feel like you’re on the front porch down south  with some of the old greats.
• Deep Lake: Slow meditative song that reminds me of a trip I took to the English River in Canada.
• Water Into Wine and Sunwheel Dance: Both of these songs are perfect examples of his mastery of fingerstyle guitar. There is so much happening in these songs, you sometimes wonder if there is someone playing with him.
• Mistress of Storms: Another “thumb” song but he adds vibes to this for a more jazzy feel.  If you can get a hold of him doing this live, get it!  His improv is incredible.

Links of Interest:

Cockburn Project

Rounder Records

So after watching him going throught the creation process, it really inspired me to work harder at my playing and just being creative (hence this blog).  I also did the photography and artwork for the CD which helped spark my passion for creation.  It is also a great example of what independent musicians are accomplishing by themselves.   So if you like progressive rock, blues, electronica, etc… I would recommend giving “Singularity” a listen.  I know you won’t be disapointed.  

http://www.herculescastro.com   (Links to CDbaby, digstation and itunes available there)