Michael Angelo Batio

Michael Angelo Batio (pronounced /'be?ti.o?/, also known as Mike Batio or MAB (born February 23rd, 1956) is a Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal guitarist and columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Batio was voted the "No. 1 Shredder of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine in 2003. He was also listed as one of the "Top 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" by Guitar World Magazine, for which he wrote the column Time to Burn, and one of the "20 Greatest Shredders of All Time" by Total Guitar Magazine, both in April 2008. Batio also won the 2009 Guitar World Magazine Readers Choice award in the "Best Shredder" category.

Biography

Early life and career
MAB started playing the piano and composing music at the age of five, and first played guitar at the age of ten, reportedly playing faster than his teacher within two years. At the age of fourteen he started playing jazz guitar, and within two years he had won the Chicago-based "All-State Jazz Solo Award". He attended Northeastern Illinois University and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition. After he had graduated, Batio looked to become a session guitarist in his hometown. When he asked for a job at a nearby studio, he was given a piece of music and simply asked to play it. Naturally, he managed to play it and added in some of his own improvisations and fills, making him the studio's primary call-out guitarist. As a session player, Batio recorded music for such companies as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, United Airlines, United Way, McDonalds, Beatrice Corp. and the Chicago Wolves hockey team.

Holland, the Michael Angelo Band and Nitro (1984–1993)

Batio began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new Chicago-based heavy metal band Holland, an eponymous project set up by ex-Steppenwolf singer Tommy Holland. With major label Atlantic Records, the band released their debut studio album in 1985 entitled Little Monsters, which saw moderate success in the United States. The band split up soon after, and a compilation of material from the Little Monsters sessions, Wake Up the Neighbourhood, was released in 1999 through Batio's label M.A.C.E. Music.

After the breakup of Holland, Batio started his own eponymous band with singer Michael Cordet, bassist Allen Hearn and drummer Paul Cammarata. The Band did not release any albums, though three of their songs appeared on the 1998 Nitro compilation Gunnin' for Glory.

In 1987 Batio joined glam metal artist Jim Gillette on his solo album Proud to Be Loud, before founding the band Nitro with bassist T.J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock. In 1989 Nitro released their first studio album, O.F.R., from which they released two singles, "Freight Train" and "Long Way From Home". The music video for "Freight Train", which received much airplay on MTV, was notable for featuring Batio playing his now famous 'Quad Guitar', a notion which FHM Magazine voted one of the "50 most outrageous moments in rock history".

1987 was also the year Batio released his first instructional video with "Star Licks" as part of the "Masters Series" and was one of the first recognized rock guitarists to make the jump into video instructional material. This video was the very first "shred" instructional program showing many modern guitar concepts for the first time.

By 1992, Comet and Racer had been replaced by Johnny Thunder and Ralph Carter respectively, and it was in this year that they released their second studio album entitled Nitro II: H.W.D.W.S.. Included on the album was a cover of Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever", which the band also recorded a music video for. Nitro disbanded shortly afterwards.

Solo career (1993–present)

In April 1993, Batio founded his own record label, M.A.C.E. Music, which became one of the first labels online in 1996. He used this label when he began recording his first album, No Boundaries, which he released in 1995. Batio's second studio release was Planet Gemini in 1997, which showed a very progressive, experimental side to his playing. In 1999, Batio released his second instructional video, Jam With Angelo, which came with his third studio album as a companion CD: Tradition. This was quickly followed by a fourth full-length album in 2000, Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity, which was credited to "Mike Batio and Rob Ross", the latter being the drummer.

In 2001, Batio released a CD with his band "C4," covering songs from his Holland years and including the original "Call to Arms." It was his 1st all vocal CD since recording with Nitro.

In 2003, Batio released his first DVD, the title release in his Speed Kills series, followed by the second, Speed Lives, in 2004. It was also in this year that Batio released a compilation album, Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity Part 2, which featured songs from Tradition and Lucid Intervals.

In 2005, Michael released his highly anticipated cover/tribute/studio album, Hands Without Shadows, which featured guest appearances from such musicians as Mark Tremonti (of Alter Bridge fame), Rudy Sarzo (of Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Dio fame) and virtuoso newcomer Bill Peck. In 2006, DVD Speed Kills 2 was released, in addition to the first in the new Hands Without Shadows series, Performance. Batio's latest release came in 2007, when his first two albums - No Boundaries and Planet Gemini - were remixed and remastered with additional drums, for an album entitled 2 X Again; the title of a song from the first album. Angelo also released three DVDs in 2007: Speed Kills 3, 25 Jazz Progressions and MAB Jam Session.

Film Appearance

In 1991, Batio's guitar work appeared in the low budget horror film Shock 'Em Dead, recording tracks for the soundtrack as well as playing the guitar parts of the demonically possessed main character Angel Martin in close ups.

Style

Batio is (self-taught) ambidextrous, able to play two guitars at the same time either in synchronization or using separate harmonies or even playing completely different parts at once, as shown when he plays his famous Double-Guitar. Though naturally left-handed, he plays as right-handed when playing one guitar. Batio invented the "Over-Under" technique, which involves flipping his fretting hand over and under the neck rapidly, playing the guitar both regularly and like a piano.

Batio gave lessons to guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame) while at college. Morello has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine in 2005. Michael also gave lessons to guitarist Mark Tremonti after Creed broke up and Tremonti wanted to learn more techniques. Batio is also widely known for his extremely fast and well articulated alternate picking, which he credits to his use of anchoring, or planting the fingers he does not use while picking on the body of the guitar to restrict motion.

Batio has an advanced knowledge of music theory, having a deep understanding of complex scale combinations and time signatures which assist him in his compositions. Batio has cited F-sharp minor and F-sharp phrygian dominant as one of his favorite keys. He has described F sharp minor as a "demonic" key, giving a dark, evil sound.

Equipment

Guitars

Batio has an extensive collection of guitars, which he has collected since the 1980s including a Dave Bunker "Touch guitar" (double neck with both bass and guitar, similar to the Chapman Stick), a mint condition 1968 Fender Mustang, a 1986 Fender Stratocaster 1962 re-issue and several other vintage and custombuilt guitars. Among his custom made guitars is a 29 fret guitar made of military grade Aluminium, which makes the guitar very light. He stated in a Guitar World Magazine video interview (featuring his recording studio in 2008) that he has "around 67 guitars" and he humorously added that he would like 67 more. Batio currently has over 100 guitars in his collection. For live performances Batio is an exclusive user of Dean Guitars, both electric and acoustic. In 2007 he designed and developed a signature guitar with Dean, known as the MAB1 Armorflame. Another signature piece of equipment Batio developed is the "MAB Hands Without Shadows" pickup, which he uses in his Double Guitar when touring. The pickup is specially designed for shred guitar, and provides the clean tone Batio is accustomed to. The Armorflame, Batio's signature guitar, uses EMG 81, 85 and SA pickups, as his signature Dimarzio pickups were still being developed at that time.

Earlier on in his career when he was first endorsed by Dean guitars he also embraced Dean's tradition of popularising Dimarzio pickups and had used Dimarzios in his guitars. These include the Dimarzio PAF, Super Distortion (sometimes using the Super Distortion both in the neck and bridge position, as he did in his Gibson Charvel Circuit Board double guitar. This was the main setup during the recording of No Boundaries). Batio has also used pickups of other brands including Seymour Duncan, namely the Pearly Gates and JB models and also Bill Lawrence pickups. Currently other than using EMGs in his signature guitar he also has a collection of the other brand pickups in his Dean limited edition collectors' models, such as Dimarzio Custom Super Distortions (based on the Super 2 and Super Distortion) in his USA Dean Time capsule Blue Burst ML and the Seymour Duncan pair he used (refer to above) in his USA Dean Collectors edition Hardtail.

The Double-Guitar
Batio was the inventor of the Double-Guitar, a V-shaped, twin-neck guitar which can be played both right- and left-handed. The first version of this instrument was actually two separate guitars simply played together, as opposed to being one entity. A Flying V was fastened to a snare drum in a left-handed position, while another one was strapped around his shoulder. The next version of the guitar, as designed by Batio and guitar technician Kenny Breit, featured a flight case latch attached to the back of each guitar, which could reportedly be assembled in five seconds. In October 2003, Dean designed and built the "Mach 7 Jet", and on March 6, 2007, the newest version was delivered to Batio. The original Double went on display at the Chicago Hard Rock Cafe 'wall of fame' before it was relocated to a HRC in Egypt. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.

When the Double-Guitar was first used in concert, Batio noticed that the guitars created a lot of feedback when played together. He decided that he needed to invent a way to 'dampen' the strings when both guitars were played at the same time, hence the invention of the "MAB String Dampener", which is now available to buy from M.A.C.E. Music.

The Double-Guitar was recently named as the 8th "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.

The Quad Guitar

As well as the Double Guitar, Michael Angelo also invented and designed the Quad Guitar. The guitar was originally built in conjunction with Gibson, and built by Wayne Charvel in California. The top two guitars have seven strings, while the bottom two have the regular six. The first Quad, as used in the video for Nitro's "Freight Train", was stolen in El Paso, Texas after the second show of Nitro's O.F.R. tour. When Batio was performing in November 2004, a young fan named Simon Jones and his father turned up with a guitar case which held inside the two top guitars of the Quad, as found by Mick Seymour. Dean designed and built a new Quad Guitar in 2007.

The Quad Guitar was recently named as the 2nd "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.

Effects
Batio's effects pedals are exclusively made by T-Rex, with whom he has also developed a signature model, the "MAB Overdrive". In his years with Nitro, Batio used Boss overdrive (DS-1, SD-1) pedals.

In the studio, Michael also uses the following effects pedals:

•    Vintage Digitech Whammy
•    Dunlop Cry Baby
•    Vintage Digitech 256 multifx
•    Eventide Eclipse   
•    Rocktron Chameleon Pre amp
•    Rocktron Voodoo Valve Pre amp
•    Rocktron Intellifex
•    Rocktron Replifex

Amplification

Batio typically uses Marshall JCM 2000 amps on tour and for newer studio records. In the studio, he also uses the Marshall JMP-1 preamp and Rocktron Chameleon and Voodoo Valve preamps. During his years with Nitro, Batio used Randall amplifiers. He has been an avid Marshall amp user throughout his career and has used the JCM 800 (mostly Jose Arrendondo modified circuitry, very early in his career) and JCM 900 (especially when recording No Boundaries). Batio's cabinet setup consists of 4x12 Marshall cabinets loaded with Celeston vintage 30s and Greenbacks in mono and stereo.

Other equipment

Strings

Batio uses Ernie Ball guitar strings, favouring the .009 to .042 models for soloing and most rhythm guitar parts while thicker gauge strings are used for detuned guitars. The acoustic gauge is normally .010 to .046 or .011 to .052.

Picks

Michael uses black Dunlop Jazz IIIs as his guitar pick of choice, and has used the 'teardrop' shape of pick since he first started playing. Different picks are sometimes used for acoustic work.

Solo discography

•    No Boundaries (1995)
•    Planet Gemini (1997)
•    Tradition (1999)
•    Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity (2000)
•    Hands Without Shadows (2005)
•    Hands Without Shadows 2: Voices (2009)
•    Backing Tracks (2010)

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Posted in: Guitarists

Marty Friedman

Marty Friedman (born Martin Adam Friedman, December 8, 1962) is an American guitarist, most widely recognized and best known for his tenure as lead/rhythm guitarist for thrash metal band Megadeth, which lasted close to ten years. He has resided in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan since 2003, and has hosted his own television programs, Rock Fujiyama and Jukebox English on Japanese television.

Early career (1982–1989)

Friedman is a largely self-taught guitarist known for his improvisation and for fusing an Eastern musical feel with Western musical styles, such as neo-classical, thrash metal and later into progressive rock. When playing, Friedman often uses arpeggiated chords and various customized scales. He also occasionally uses sweep picking.

He has a very unorthodox right hand picking technique, namely the angle in which his hand is clenched goes against the conventional palm mute. He also frequently uses the upstroke as opposed to the downstroke, especially on the high strings (strings B and E). These qualities make Friedman's solos unique and hard to duplicate using an alternate picking approach.

Prior to joining Megadeth, he formed and played lead guitar in several other bands, including Deuce, Hawaii, Vixen (not the all-female band of the same name), and notably Cacophony. Cacophony featured neoclassical metal elements and synchronized twin guitar harmonies and counterpoints shared with guitarist Jason Becker. In 1988, he recorded demos for Jet Red that eventually were released as bonus tracks on the 2009 Jet Red release "Flight Plan".

Megadeth (1990–2000)
When Cacophony broke up in 1989, Friedman auditioned for the thrash metal band Megadeth after a tip from fellow guitarist Jeff Loomis. Friedman was initially rejected by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine for having multicolored hair. However, after undergoing what Mustaine called "Rock School 101", Friedman officially joined Megadeth in February 1990. Friedman's audition can be seen as an Easter egg on the Megadeth DVD Arsenal of Megadeth. The first album he recorded with them was Rust in Peace, now considered a classic thrash metal album, and sold platinum in the US. He further developed his style of playing exotic scale solos from the Cacophony era, and integrated it into the music of Megadeth. In July 1992, Megadeth released Countdown to Extinction, which was a more commercial album, aimed at a wider audience, and sold double platinum. Friedman played on Megadeth's further releases Youthanasia (1994), Cryptic Writings (1997), Risk (1999). After a total of five studio albums with Megadeth, in December 1999 Fr
iedman announced his departure from Megadeth. His last show with them was on January 14, 2000. Later, he stated that he got tired of playing metal music and felt that he couldn't develop as a musician. In an interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com in March 2007, he claimed that Megadeth was not aggressive enough. During Friedman's time in the band, they sold over ten million albums worldwide.

Japanese life
Friedman currently lives in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. He also appears on Japanese television and as a columnist for a major Japanese music magazine and a national daily newspaper.

Friedman speaks Japanese fluently. He became a regular member of the cast of TXN's musical TV program hebimeta-san (??????) (anglicized as "Mr. Heavy-Metal") with Japanese idol Yoko Kumada before the show came to an end in 2005. He had his own heavy metal TV program called Rock Fujiyama alongside Shelly, Ken Ayugai (Kenny Guy), Yorimasa Hisatake (Rock Ninja Yorimasa) and ex-Scanch member, Rolly Teranishi from April 2006 until March 2007. In November~December 2005 he toured with Japanese singer Ami Suzuki in her "Suzuki Ami Around the World" Live House Tour, which took place in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

He was featured in Jukebox, a television program in which Marty and two Japanese people translate the lyrics of various English songs into understandable Japanese. He has made guest appearances on the Japanese television programmes Eigo de Shabera Night and Tamori Club.

In February 2010, he made a guest appearance on guitar for the Ramones' song California Sun when CJ Ramone toured Japan.

He also launched a record label under Avex Group, Gokukara Records.

2001–present

Friedman appeared on the track "Born of Anger" on the album All That Remains by Fozzy. Friedman is a big fan of The Ramones (to whom he briefly paid tribute in the Arizona based cover band Rocket to Russia) , Black Sabbath, Kiss and Queen (during their early years). He also included the track 'Peace' from the fifth Weezer studio album Make Believe on a list of his 'most listened to' songs on his official website. He has also appeared on Where Moth and Rust Destroy, the latest album of the Christian thrash metal band Tourniquet where he performed all guitar solos except two (which were performed by Bruce Franklin). He has also appeared as a guest on the Firewind album Forged by Fire.

In 2004 Friedman joined psychedelic trance musician Takeomi Matsuura (known by the alias Zeta) as a guitarist. Their full-length debut album was released January 4, 2007, also titled Zeta, and included remixes by psychedelic trance musicians such as Astrix.

In 2005, Friedman appeared on the soundtrack of the video game Heavy Metal Thunder adapted from the hebimeta-san TV show.

Friedman's album, Loudspeaker, was released in Japan on June 26, 2006. It entered the Japanese national chart at #33. This marks the first Top 40 chart position for any of his solo albums.

Friedman's "Exhibit A-Live in Europe" CD and "Exhibit B-Live" in Tokyo DVD were released simultaneously in Japan on 8/22 by Avex. The CD and DVD feature different setlists, but with the same band members, Jeremy Colson (Steve Vai, ex-Dali's Dilemma), Ron Jarzombek (Blotted Science, Watchtower, Spastic Ink) and Chris Catero (Razer, ex-Wardog). The artwork was designed by legendary graphic artist Noritaka Sakai, who is responsible for Queen's most successful Japanese editions.

Friedman was interview in the 2008 documentary film Global Metal, in which he showed his perspectives on heavy metal in Japan..

Friedman has collaborated with Mutsuhiko Izumi, a video game composer known for his contributions to Konami's Guitar Freaks & DrumMania series to produce "Model DD8", and "Liverty", two songs featured on Izumi's album "Heaven Inside." A shorter version of "Model DD8" has appeared as the Premium Encore stage of the latest installment of the Guitar Freaks & DrumMania series, "Guitar Freaks V4 & DrumMania V4 Rock×Rock" as of October 28, 2007 in the e-Amusement network.

Friedman also has contributed his voice to a character on the Cartoon Network Adult Swim show Metalocalypse.
Friedman contributed to Luna Sea's Memorial Album with the song "Shine".

Friedman has composed a song Kirei na Senritsu for the anime Maria-sama ga Miteru which was sung by Kotoko in 2007.

Also in 2007, Friedman appeared on the title track of "Living A Sick Dream", the debut album from Scottsdale, Arizona's Age Of Evil.

On March 12, 2008, his eighth solo album, "Future Addict", was released in Japan. The album features reworked, reconstructed, and remade versions of some of Friedman's past songs from his career, as well as three new songs.

Friedman has launched a new J-rock band entitled Lovefixer, with Shinichiro Suzuki on vocals. Lovefixer's first music video is for their song ????(Luminous).

Friedman has worked with Nana Kitade on some of her recent releases. Nana Kitade is a Japanese pop-punk-"Gothic Lolita" artist, and he has worked with her on a cover of Daisy Chainsaw's "Love Your Money", and he has reworked two of her songs with a heavier sound: "Alice: ???Berry Ver." ("Alice: Smashed Berry Ver.") and "?????: ??????????Ver." ("Indelible Sin: I Scream Tenpura Ver.") all of which come from her "Berry Berry Singles" release in November 2007. He has also worked on a Nana Kitade side project in April 2008: Ruby Gloom, and the first single's two tracks: "Siren" and "My Treasure."

Friedman has worked with Nami Tamaki, a Japanese technopop singer/dancer. He worked on track #5 "HitchHiker" from her most recent album "Don't Stay," released in April 2008.

Friedman collaborated with Nanase Aikawa to perform as part of Crimson-FANG for the Kamen Rider Kiva: King of the Castle in the Demon World theme song "Circle of Life".

Friedman contributed to the 2009 video game Sonic and the Black Knight, playing lead guitar on the final boss theme, "With Me".

In 2008 Friedman played the role of Paul Weinberg, an English language teacher, in Isshin Inudou's 'Gou-Gou datte neko de aru'.

Friedman joined the band Sound Horizon for their new single "Ido e Itaru Mori e Itaru Ido (???????????)" released on June 16, 2010.

Friedman released his brand new solo album "Bad D.N.A." in Japan on August 25, 2010

Equipment

Friedman has played a variety of guitars throughout his career. In his days with Cacophony, Friedman played Hurricane guitars, then Carvin guitars, primarily a V220M model. He also used Hurricane and Carvin on his first solo recording, Dragon's Kiss.

When Marty joined Megadeth in 1989, he switched over from Carvin to Jackson Guitars. Primarily, he was responsible for popularizing the now highly acclaimed Jackson Kelly guitar, a sleeker and faster version of the Gibson Explorer Z style shape. The first line of KE1s, which were his signature models, had poplar bodies with maple neck through construction and a single Seymour Duncan JB pickup as well as a Kahler Fine-tuning fixed bridge. Later versions of the KE1 would have a Floyd Rose double locking tremolo in place of the Kahler. He also used other Jacksons, such as the Rhoads and the Roswell Rhoads.

Marty used Gibson and Fender guitars on the Risk tours as well. He used Jackson guitars up until 2000, when he started endorsing Ibanez guitars. He has produced a signature model with Ibanez (based on the Ibanez SZ line of guitars), but this model is as of now only available in Japan and not in the US. In 2009 his contract with Ibanez guitars expired and he is currently an endorser of PRS Guitars.

Pedals
•    Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra
•    Boss GS-10
•    Boss GT-6
•    Boss GT-8
•    MAXON Auto Filter
•    Tech 21 SansAmp GT-2
•    Boss MT-2 Metal Zone
•    Boss AC-2 Acoustic Simulator
•    Boss DD-5 Digital Delay

Discography

Megadeth

Date of Release    Title    Label
September 24, 1990    Rust in Peace "Capitol Records"
July 14, 1992    Countdown to Extinction "Capitol Records"
October 31, 1994    Youthanasia "Capitol Records"
June 17, 1997    Cryptic Writings "Capitol Records"
August 31, 1999    Risk "Capitol Records"
 

Solo
 

1988    Dragon's Kiss "Shrapnel Records"

1992    Scenes "Shrapnel Records"
 

1994    Introduction "Shrapnel Records"
 

1996    True Obsessions "Shrapnel Records"
 

2002    Music For Speeding "MF Music"

2006    Loudspeaker "Avex Trax"

2008    Future Addict "Avex Trax"

2009    Tokyo Jukebox "Avex Trax"

2010    Bad D.N.A. "Avex Trax"

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Posted in: Guitarists

Martin Barre

Martin Lancelot Barre (born 17 November 1946, Kings Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands, England) is an English rock musician.

Barre has been the guitarist for rock band Jethro Tull since 1969. He has appeared on every Jethro Tull album except This Was. His sound has been marked by a blend of Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton style blues with the baroque complexities of early 1970s progressive rock and traditional European folk music sounds. He has also acted as a flautist both on-stage for Tull, and in his solo work.

Early career

Barre began his career playing saxophone with the Birmingham band, The Moonrakers, in the early 1960s. During July 1966, he joined Beau Brummell's former backing band, The Noblemen, with fellow ex-Moonraker, Chris Rodger, and the group subsequently changed their name to The Motivation. The band also comprised singer Jimmy Marsh, bassist Bryan Stevens, keyboardist Mike Ketley and drummer Malcolm Tomlinson. The group appeared at London's legendary Marquee Club on two occasions and also supported Cream at the Upper Cut in the Forest Gate district of London. They also performed at the Piper Club in Rome for six weeks in mid-1967.

In the summer of 1967, Marsh and Rodger left and the others brought in former Clayton Squares singer Denny Alexander and became The Penny Peeps. Signed to Liberty Records, the band released two singles in 1968 — "Little Man With A Stick" backed by "Model Village" and "I See The Morning" backed with "Curly, Knight of The Road". By this point, Barre had switched to lead guitar and his impressive solo on "Model Village" has made the track a popular collectors' item.

Alexander left the band in mid-1968 and the group became a blues outfit under a new moniker — Gethsemane. The new band recorded further material which was never released, and broke up in mid December 1968, when after a brief career in Fat Matress with Noel Redding of Jimi Hendrix fame, Barre joined Jethro Tull.

With Jethro Tull

Barre performing with Jethro Tull in Genoa,14 February 2010 Photo: Pino D'Amico
Around 1969, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson was going through conflicts with his then blues guitarist Mick Abrahams. After having a brief stint with Earth (and future Black Sabbath) guitarist Tony Iommi and David O'List of The Nice, Anderson looked for a replacement. Barre came to audition for Anderson, but was so nervous that he barely played. For his second audition, Martin Barre didn't bring an amplifier or a guitar cord. Even so, Ian Anderson still approved Barre as Abrahams' permanent replacement. Today, Barre is the next longest-standing member in Jethro Tull next to Ian Anderson. For four decades, Barre's career focused on Jethro Tull. His best-known guitar work includes "Aqualung", "Cross-Eyed Mary", and "Locomotive Breath".
Recent work

Barre performing at the Cropredy Festival, Oxfordshire 13 August 2004
In the 1990s Barre began to perform as a solo artist, and has recorded four albums: A Summer Band, A Trick of Memory, The Meeting and Stage Left. On these recordings, Barre combined rock and guitar oriented fusion in his sound.

On one track of 1994's A Trick of Memory, Barre plays a guitar given to him by friend Mark Mancina. The Meeting (1996) features the bassist Jonathan Noyce, who was then introduced to Tull vocalist and flute player, Ian Anderson by Barre and played with Jethro Tull in 1996-2007.

His most recent solo effort, 2003's Stage Left, saw Barre essay a number of blues, acoustic folk and even ambient electronic styles. In 2004 in support of Stage Left, he played a number of solo dates and played at all of the Tull gigs in 2005. According to his official website, he has also recorded work on the recent album by veteran British folk music outfit, Pentangle.

According to a diary entry on his website dated December 2006, Barre says he "has started work on an acoustic project" with Dan Crisp, a singer and guitarist and Alan Bray, a bassist. Barre states he will be playing a number of acoustic instruments with the group, including bouzouki and mandolin. The group has already played three shows and they will continue to collaborate in 2007. No mention is made of the group recording an album.

Recognition
Barre's signature solo on the 1971 Jethro Tull standard "Aqualung" was voted by the readers of Guitar Player magazine as one of the top rock guitar solos of all time. Also, in 2007, this solo was rated one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos by Guitar World magazine. Dire Straits' leader Mark Knopfler, in a 2005 interview, called Barre's work with Ian Anderson "magical".

Discography (solo)

•    A Summer Band (1992)
•    A Trick of Memory (1994)
•    The Meeting (1996)
•    Stage Left (2003)

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Posted in: Guitarists

Mark Knopfler

Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born 12 August 1949) is a Scottish guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer.

Mark Knopfler is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977 with his brother David. After Dire Straits disbanded in 1995, Knopfler continued to record and produce albums as a solo artist under his own name. Knopfler has played in other groups occasionally, such as The Notting Hillbillies, and has guested on works by other artists, including Joan Armatrading, Chet Atkins, the Chieftains, Eric Clapton, The Dandy Warhols, Bob Dylan, Bryan Ferry, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Jeff Healey, Jools Holland, Sonny Landreth, Phil Lynott, Van Morrison, Gerry Rafferty and Steely Dan. He has also produced albums for such artists as Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Willy DeVille, Randy Newman and even "Weird Al" Yankovic.

His musical scores include Metroland, Local Hero, Cal, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Wag the Dog, and Rob Reiner's classic, The Princess Bride.

He is one of the most respected fingerstyle guitarists of the modern rock era and was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits have sold in excess of 120 million albums to date.

He holds three honorary Doctorates in music, in the U.K.

Life and career

1949–1976: Childhood and early life

Knopfler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother and a Hungarian Jewish father, an architect whose anti-fascist sympathies forced him to flee the regime of his native Hungary. The family first moved to Scotland, but then settled in Knopfler's mother's home town of Blyth, in the north-east of England, when he was around 7 years old. There, he and his younger brother David attended Gosforth Grammar School, where he was inspired by his uncle Kingsley's harmonica and boogie-woogie piano playing. Later, in his teens, he wanted to buy an expensive Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster just like Hank Marvin's, but had to settle for a £50 twin-pick-up Höfner Super Solid. During the 1960s he formed and joined anonymous schoolboy bands, and listened to singers such as Elvis Presley and guitarists Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, B.B King, Django Reinhardt, Hank Marvin and James Burton. At age 16, he made a local TV appearance as half of a harmony duo, along with a friend from school named Sue Hercombe.

In 1967, having displayed a flair for English, Knopfler studied journalism for a year at Harlow Technical College. At the end of the course he secured a job in Leeds as a junior reporter on the Yorkshire Evening Post. Two years later, he decided to further his studies and eventually went on to graduate with a degree in English at the University of Leeds. He left his job as a reporter, and, hoping to pursue a career in music, performed with pub bands around town. He worked as a part-time lecturer at Loughton College and played with mates in a band called the Café Racers, during this period. He also played in a few bands such as Silver Heels and a duo with long-time associate UK bluesman Steve Phillips, who was later to be a member of The Notting Hillbillies. It was also in Harding's studio Bramley, Leeds, that in April 1970 Knopfler recorded a "demo" disk of an original (but unreleased) song: "Summer's Coming My Way".The song was written by Knopfler himself. Personnel on the recording were Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), Steve Phillips (second guitar), Dave Johnson (bass) and Paul Granger (percussion). Johnson and Granger were members of Knopfler's Silverheels group, which also included Mick Dewhirst on vocals.

Knopfler later moved to London and joined a High Wycombe-based band called Brewers Droop, appearing on the album The Booze Brothers. One night while spending some time with friends, the only guitar available was an old acoustic with a badly warped neck that had been strung with extra-light strings to make it playable. Even so, he found it impossible to play unless he finger-picked it. He said in a later interview, "That was where I found my 'voice' on guitar." Mark joined brother David in a band under the name Café Racers but also found himself another musical partner in David's flatmate, John Illsley, initially a guitarist who changed over to bass guitar and became the only other member of Dire Straits to figure throughout the band's career.

1977–1995: Dire Straits and The Notting Hillbillies

Dire Straits' first demos were done in three sessions during 1977, with Pick Withers as drummer, David Knopfler as rhythm guitarist and John Illsley on bass guitar. On 27 July 1977 they recorded the now famous demo tapes of five songs: "Wild West End", "Sultans of Swing", "Down To The Waterline", "Sacred Loving" (a David Knopfler song) and "Water of Love". In what was probably October they recorded "Southbound Again", "In The Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London and, finally, on the 9th of November demo tapes were made of "Setting Me Up", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". Many of these songs reflected Mark's experiences in Newcastle, Leeds and London, and were to be featured on their first album, the self-titled Dire Straits which was released in the following year: "Down To The Waterline" recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In The Gallery" is a tribute to a Leeds sculptor/artist named Harry Phillips, (father of Steve Phillips); and "Lions", "Wild West End" and "Eastbound Train" were all dr
awn from Mark's early days in the capital.

Initially on its release, Dire Straits received little fanfare in the UK, but when "Sultans of Swing" was released as a single it became a chart hit in The Netherlands and album sales took off across Europe and then in the United States and Canada, and finally the UK. The group's second album, Communiqué, produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett, followed in 1979, reaching number one in France while the first album was still at number three.

There were frequent personnel changes within Dire Straits after the release of their third album Making Movies, with Mark Knopfler increasingly the driving force behind the group. Released in 1980, Making Movies marked a move towards more complex arrangements and production which continued for the remainder of the group's career. The album included many of Mark Knopfler's most personal compositions, most notably "Romeo and Juliet" and "Tunnel of Love". Love over Gold followed in 1982 and included the UK #2 hit "Private Investigations", "Telegraph Road", "Industrial Disease" and "It Never Rains" as well as the title track to that album.

With Love Over Gold still in the albums charts, the band released a four-song EP titled ExtendedancEPlay in early 1983. Featuring the hit single "Twisting By the Pool", this was the first output by the band that featured new drummer Terry Williams, (formerly of Rockpile), who had replaced Pick Withers in November 1982. A world tour called followed later in 1983, and in March 1984 the double album Alchemy Live was released. Alchemy Live documented the recordings of two live shows in Hammersmith Odeon in London in July 1983, and reached number three in the UK Albums Chart.

During 1983 and 1984 Knopfler was involved with other projects as well, including writing and producing the music score to the film Local Hero which was a large success, and it was followed in 1984 by his scores for the films Cal and Comfort and Joy. Also during this time Knopfler produced Bob Dylan's Infidels album, as well as Aztec Camera and Willy DeVille; he also wrote Private Dancer for Tina Turner's comeback album of the same name.

Dire Straits' biggest studio album by far was their fifth, Brothers in Arms, recorded at Air Studios Montserrat and released in May 1985. It became an international blockbuster which has now sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and is the fourth best selling album in UK chart history. Brothers In Arms spawned several chart singles including the US # 1 hit "Money for Nothing", which was the first video ever to be played on MTV in Britain. It was also the first compact disc to sell a million copies and is largely credited for launching the CD format as it was also one of the first DDD CDs ever released. Other successful singles were "So Far Away", "Walk of Life", and the album's title track. The band's 1985–86 world tour of over 230 shows was immensely successful.

After the Brothers in Arms tour Dire Straits went on a lengthy hiatus, with Knopfler concentrating mainly on film soundtracks. Knopfler joined the charity ensemble Ferry Aid on "Let It Be" in the wake of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster. The song reached #1 on the UK singles chart in March 1987. Knopfler wrote the music score for the film The Princess Bride which was released at the end of 1987.

Mark Knopfler also took part in a comedy skit titled "The Easy Guitar Book Sketch" with comedian Rowland Rivron and fellow British musicians David Gilmour, Lemmy from Motorhead, Mark King from Level 42, and Gary Moore. Guitar tech Phil Taylor explained in an interview that Knopfler used Gilmour's guitar rig and managed to sound like himself when performing in the skit.

Dire Straits regrouped for the 11 June 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium, in which they were the headline act, and were accompanied by Elton John and Eric Clapton, who by this time had developed a strong friendship with Knopfler. Shortly after this, drummer Terry Williams left the band. In September 1988 Mark Knopfler announced the official dissolution of Dire Straits, saying that he "needed a rest", and in October 1988, a "best of" album, Money for Nothing, was released in October 1988 and reached number one in the United Kingdom.

In 1989 Knopfler formed The Notting Hillbillies, a band at the other end of the commercial spectrum. It leaned heavily towards American roots music - folk, blues and country music. The band members included keyboardist Guy Fletcher, with Brendan Croker and Steve Phillips. For both the album and the tour Paul Franklin was added to the line-up on pedal steel . The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time was released in 1990, and Knopfler then toured with the Notting Hillbillies for the remainder of that year. He further emphasised his country music influences with his 1990s collaboration with Chet Atkins, Neck and Neck. The Hillbillies toured the UK in early 1990 with a limited number of shows, it was strictly low key, packing out smaller venues, such as Newcastle University.

In 1990 Knopfler, John Illsley, and Alan Clark performed as Dire Straits at the Knebworth gig, joined by Eric Clapton, Ray Cooper, and guitarist Phil Palmer (who was at that time part of Eric Clapton's touring band), and in January the following year, Knopfler, John Illsley and manager Ed Bicknell decided to reform Dire Straits. Knopfler, Illsley, Alan Clark, and Guy Fletcher set about recording what turned out to be their final studio album accompanied by several part-time sidesmen, including Phil Palmer, Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings, and Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro.

The follow-up to Brothers In Arms was finally released in September 1991. On Every Street was nowhere near as popular as its predecessor, and met with a mixed critical reaction, with some reviewers regarding the album as an underwhelming comeback after a six year break. Nonetheless, the album sold well and reached #1 in the UK. A gruelling world tour to accompany the album followed, which lasted until the end of 1992. This was to be Dire Straits' final world tour; it was not as well received as the previous Brothers In Arms tour, and by this time Mark Knopfler had had enough of such massive operations. This drove the band into the ground, and ultimately led to the group's final dissolution in 1995.

Following the tour, Knopfler took some time off from the music business. In 1993, he received an honorary music doctorate from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Two more Dire Straits albums were released, both live albums. On the Night, released in May 1993, documented Dire Straits' final world tour. In 1995, following the release of Live at the BBC, Mark Knopfler quietly dissolved Dire Straits and launched his career as a solo artist.

Since the break-up of Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler has shown no interest in reforming the group. However, keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost every piece of Knopfler's solo material to date, while Danny Cummings has also frequently contributed, including on Knopfler's last three solo album releases All the Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris), Kill to Get Crimson and Get Lucky. In October 2008 Knopfler declined a suggestion by John Illsley that they should reform. Illsley said that a reunion would be "entirely up to Mark", however he also suggested that Knopfler is enjoying his continued success as a solo artist, saying that "He's doing incredibly well as a solo artist, so hats off to him. He's having a perfectly good time doing what he's doing". Knopfler meanwhile is quoted as saying "Oh, I don't know whether to start getting all that stuff back together again", and that the global fame that came his way in the 1980s "just got too big".

1996–present: Solo career

Mark Knopfler's first solo album, Golden Heart, featuring the UK single "Darling Pretty", was released in March 1996. During the recording sessions for the album the main line-up of Knopfler's backing band, also known as "The 96ers," was formed, featuring Knopfler's old bandmate Guy Fletcher on keyboards, and has lasted much longer than any Dire Straits line-up.

Also in 1996, Mark Knopfler recorded guitar for Ted Christopher's Dunblane massacre tribute cover of Knocking on Heaven's Door

In 1997 Knopfler recorded the soundtrack for the movie Wag the Dog. During that same year Rolling Stone magazine listed "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", which included "Sultans of Swing", Dire Straits' first hit. 2000 saw the release of Knopfler's next solo album, Sailing to Philadelphia. This has been his most successful to date, possibly helped by the number of collaborators to the album like Van Morrison.

In 2002 Mark Knopfler gave four charity concerts with former Dire Straits members John Illsley, Chris White, Danny Cummings and Guy Fletcher, playing old material from the Dire Straits years. The concerts also featured The Notting Hillbillies with Brendan Croker and Steve Phillips. At these four concerts (three of the four were at the Shepherd's Bush, the fourth at Beaulieu on the south coast) they were joined by Jimmy Nail, who provided backing vocals for Knopfler's 2002 composition "Why Aye Man".

Also in 2002 Knopfler released his third solo album, The Ragpicker's Dream. However, in March 2003 he was involved in a motorbike crash in Grosvenor Road, Belgravia and suffered a broken collarbone, broken shoulder blade and seven broken ribs. The planned Ragpicker's Dream tour was subsequently cancelled, but Knopfler recovered and was able to return to the stage in 2004 for his fourth album, Shangri-La.

Shangri-La was recorded at the Shangri-La Studio in Malibu, California in 2004, where The Band made recordings years before for their documentary/movie, The Last Waltz. In the promo for "Shangri-La" on his official website he said that his current line-up of Glenn Worf (bass), Guy Fletcher (keyboards), Chad Cromwell (drums), Richard Bennett (guitar) and Matt Rollings (piano) "play Dire Straits songs better than Dire Straits did." The "Shangri-La" tour took Mark to countries like India and the United Arab Emirates for the first time. In India, his concerts at Mumbai and Bangalore were very well received, with over 20,000 fans gathering at each concert to listen to a legend many thought would never visit their country.

In November 2005 a compilation, The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations was released, consisting of material from most of Dire Straits' studio albums and Mark Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material. The album was made available in two editions: a single CD (with a grey cover) and also as double CD (with the cover in blue), and was well-received. The only previously unreleased track on the album is "All the Roadrunning", a duet with country music singer Emmylou Harris, which was followed in 2006 by an album of duets of the same name.

Released in April 2006, All the Roadrunning reached #1 in Denmark and Switzerland, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #3 in Germany, Holland and Italy, #8 in Austria and UK, #9 in Spain, #17 in the United States (Billboard Top 200 Chart), #25 in Ireland and #41 in Australia. All the Roadrunning was nominated for "Best Folk Rock/Americana Album" at the 49th Grammy Awards (11 February 2007) but lost out to Bob Dylan's nomination for Modern Times.

Joined by Emmylou Harris, Knopfler supported All the Roadrunning with a limited – 15 gigs in Europe, 1 in Canada and 8 in the USA – but highly successful tour of Europe and N America. Selections from the duo's 28 June performance at the Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, California, were released as a DVD entitled Real Live Roadrunning on 14 November 2006. In addition to several of the compositions that Harris and Knopfler recorded together in the studio, Real Live Roadrunning features solo hits from both members of the duo, as well as three tracks from Knopfler's days with Dire Straits.

A charity event in 2007 went wrong. A Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Knopfler, Clapton, Brian May, and Jimmy Page was to be auctioned for £20,000 (or $40,000) to raise the money for a children's hospice, was lost when being shipped. It "vanished after being posted from London to Leicestershire, England." Parcelforce, the company responsible, has agreed to pay $30,000 for its loss.

Knopfler released his fifth solo studio-album Kill to Get Crimson on 14 September 2007 in Germany, 17 September in the UK and 18 September in the United States. During the autumn of 2007 he played a series of intimate 'showcases' in various European cities to promote the album. A tour of Europe and North America followed in 2008. Many older songs from the early solo days, such as Cannibals (from Golden Heart), were brought back to life. Cannibals opened up shows throughout Europe. Cannibals was received extremely well particularly in Ireland as it was released by an Irish Country Artist David Maguire in 2007. The new version of Cannibals that David Maguire and his Band released was the 7th most requested song on Irish radio that year.

Continuing a pattern of high productivity through his solo career, Knopfler began work on his next studio album, entitled Get Lucky, in September 2008 with long-time band mate Guy Fletcher, who again compiled a pictorial diary of the making of the album on his website. The album was released on September 14 the following year and Knopfler is currently on an extensive tour across Europe and America. The album met with moderate success on the charts (much of it in Europe) reaching #1 only in Norway but peaking in the Top 5 in most major European countries (Germany, Italy, Holland). The album peaked at #2 on the Billboard European Album chart and at #5 on the Billboard Rock Album chart.

Knopfler is a member of the Garrick Club in London and played an intimate solo gig there in February 2009.

In 2010, Knopfler appeared on the newest Thomas Dolby release, the EP "Amerikana". Knopfler performed on the track "17 Hills."

Country music

In addition to his work in Dire Straits and solo, Mark Knopfler has made several contributions to country music. In 1988 he formed country-focused band The Notting Hillbillies, with Guy Fletcher, Brendan Croker and Steve Phillips. The Notting Hillbillies sole studio album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time was released in 1990 and featured the minor hit single "Your Own Sweet Way". Knopfler further emphasised his country music influences with his collaboration with Chet Atkins, Neck and Neck, which was also released in 1990. "Poor Boy Blues", taken from that collaboration, peaked at #92.

Knopfler's other contributions include writing and playing guitar on John Anderson's 1992 single "When It Comes to You" (from his album Seminole Wind). In 1993 Mary Chapin Carpenter also released a cover of the Dire Straits song "The Bug". Randy Travis released another of Knopfler's songs, "Are We In Trouble Now", in 1996. In that same year, Knopfler's solo single "Darling Pretty" reached a peak of #87.

Knopfler is featured on Kris Kristofferson's album "The Austin Sessions", (on the track "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends") released in 1999 by Atlantic Records.

In 2006 Knopfler and Emmylou Harris made a country album together titled All the Roadrunning. Knopfler also charted two singles on the Canadian country music singles chart.

Personal life

Mark Knopfler has been married three times.

While he was living in Leeds he married Kathy White, his long-time girlfriend from school days. They separated before Knopfler moved to London to join Brewers Droop.

Knopfler married for the second time in November 1983, to Lourdes Salomone, and became a father to twin sons, Benji and Joseph in 1987, both of whom he has said are talented musically, and aspiring musicians. Knopfler's marriage to Salomone ended in 1993.

Knopfler's third marriage is to actress Kitty Aldridge, and has given him two daughters Isabella (born 1998) and Katya Ruby Rose (born 2003). The family currently lives in Chelsea.

Musical style and equipment

Mark Knopfler is left-handed, but plays right-handed, and fingerpicks (using a personal variant of the clawhammer style) instead of using a plectrum (i.e., "pick"). Fingerpicking is usually associated with the acoustic guitar, but Knopfler usually (though not always) plays an electric guitar. Knopfler revealed during a French interview that he uses a pick for his rhythm work during recording sessions. Knopfler surprised the interviewer by pulling a pick out of his pocket and saying that he usually carries one. Knopfler has long favoured Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster style guitars. Fender carries a Mark Knopfler Artist Series Stratocaster. During the 1980s Knopfler came to appreciate the tone of the Gibson Les Paul and his original 1958 has been used regularly in the studio and on stage.

Guitars

Knopfler has approximated that he now owns "around 70 guitars". They include:

•    Pensa Custom MKII A custom Pensa Guitar given to Knopfler by his friend, Rudy Pensa, in 2005.
•    Pensa custom-built solid body guitars, the model MK-1 MK-2 & MK-80, are named in honour of Knopfler.
•    Red-painted (Stratocaster style) Melancon Pro Artist.
•    Hofner V-2 (Mark's first guitar)
•    Fender Stratocasters including a Fiesta Red '62 and a 1954 sunburst (one of the first ever produced) which he has named "Jurassic Strat"
•    Gibson Les Paul Special (used in the 1970s)
•    National Tricone, from 1928
•    National Style O Resonator guitar, from 1937 as used on "Romeo and Juliet". A replica of which is now available from National Resophonic Guitars.
•    Fender 1952 Telecaster.
•    Burns Baldwin, 12-strings (Angel of Mercy, later used on the Get Lucky album)
•    Ovation Acoustic
•    Schecter Telecaster and Stratocaster models. (Used 1980-)
•    Rickenbacker 425 (Used on Portobello Belle, later on The Ragpicker's Dream session)
•    Fernandes Stratocaster
•    Ovation Adams (Love Over Gold-session, later used on the Brothers in Arms-tour)
•    Gibson Chet Atkins (Love Over Gold album)
•    Erlewine Automatic (Industrial Disease)
•    C. F. Martin & Company Martin Acoustics, Model HD-40MK and 000-40S Mark Knopfler, he also used a Martin 00028 on "Brothers in Arms".
•    Gibson SG (Two Young Lovers, Alchemy tour)
•    Gibson Les Pauls 3 models: 1984, 1958, 1959
•    Pensa-Suhr R Custom, Knopfler's first Pensa. Used on the Brothers in Arms album (Ride Across the River and So far Away)
•    Gretsch (2 or 3 models): Super Chet and 6120 (Bought during 80's, used on Knopfler's solo album)
•    Steinberger GL2 (Brothers in Arms tour)
•    Beltona Electro Resonator
•    Flamed Pensa: 3 models, used the first in late 80's
•    Gibson J45 (On Every Street album)
•    Gibson Super 400 (Used on the On Every Street session and tour)
•    Godin L.R. Baggs (Used by Phil Palmer and Mark Knpofler on the last DS tour)
•    Red Pensa (On Every Street tour)
•    Ramirez Spanish Guitar, used during and after the last DS-tour
•    Black Pensa-Suhr (Golden Heart session and tour)
•    Acoustic 12-string guitar (?) (Sailing to Philadelphia session)
•    Gibson ES-335
•    National Triplate, from 1930 (Shangri-La session-)
•    Danelectro Silvertone
•    Gibson Southerner
•    Fender Jazzmaster
•    Eko 700
•    Teisco Spectrum, 2 models
•    Danelectro 59 DC
•    Fender Duo Sonic 11 (Kill to Get Crimson Session)
•    Gibson Advanced Jumbo
•    Gibson ES-330
•    NS 14, Steve Phillips (Get Lucky session)
•    Monteleone Isabella
•    Don Grosh Electrajet
•    Gibson Dove

Effects

Throughout his career Knopfler has used a wide selection of effect pedals in the studio and during live performances. Here is a list of some of his effects:

•    Alesis Quadraverb
•    BOSS BF-2 Flanger
•    BOSS CE-2 Chorus
•    BOSS CE-300 Chorus
•    BOSS CS-2 Compressor
•    BOSS DM-2 Delay
•    MXR Micro Amp
•    BOSS OC-2 Octaver
•    BOSS PH-2 Phaser
•    DeltaLab Digital Delay
•    Ibanez UE 303 Multi Effect
•    Lexicon 300 Reverb
•    Mantec Preamp
•    Master Room Reverb
•    Morley Volume Pedal
•    Mic-Mix Dyna-Flanger
•    MXR Analog Delay
•    Roland Graphic Equalizer
•    Roland SRE 555 Chorus/Echo
•    Yamaha REV 5
•    Zoom Multieffect 9010


Amplifiers

Knopfler has often used many different combinations of amplifiers and cabinets to create his desired sounds.

•    Crate VC5212 amplifier
•    Crate 2x12 cabinet
•    Fender Concert
•    Fender Vibrolux
•    Fender Twin Reverb
•    Gallien & Krueger amplifier
•    Jim Kelley combo
•    Jim Kelley heads
•    Komet amplifiers
•    Marshall JTM heads
•    Marshall 4x12 cabinet    •    Mesa Boogie heads
•    Music Man HD 130
•    Soldano SLO 100
•    Roland Jazz Chorus
•    Vox AC30


On the "Get Lucky" tour in 2010, Knopfler is using a pair of custom built Reinhardt guitar amp heads with matching cabinets, and a Tone King combo in between that is used on some songs.

Live performance

•    Knopfler has been known to sip tea on stage during live performances. Richard Bennett who has been playing with him on tour since 1996, has also joined in drinking tea with him on stage. photo On 31 July 2005, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, BC, the tea was replaced with whiskey as a "last show of tour" sort of joke.

Awards and acclaim

•    The Edison Award was awarded to Mark Knopfler for Outstanding Achievements in the Music Industry, the highest award for musicians in the Netherlands.
•    Grammy Awards 1986 – Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for Cosmic Square Dance)
•    Grammy Awards 1991 – Best Country Vocal Collaboration with Chet Atkins (for Poor Boy Blues')
•    Grammy Awards 1991 – Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for So Soft, Your Goodbye)
•    In 1993, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Newcastle University.
•    In 1999, Knopfler was made an OBE.
•    In Summer 1995, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Leeds.
•    In 2001, the Masiakasaurus knopfleri (a species of dinosaur) was named after him by scientists who had listened to his music while digging the fossils.
•    On 11 July 2007, Knopfler was made an honorary Doctor of Music at Sunderland University.
•    Knopfler along with his band Dire Straits won the 1986 Grammy award for "Best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal" for their song "Money for Nothing."
•    In February 2009, Knopfler's British Grove Studios was the winner of the Music Producers Guild Award for 'Best Studio'.
•    Steiger Award, 12 March 2011.

Nominations

•    Grammy Awards 1986 – Song of the Year (songwriter) (for 'Money for Nothing')
•    Grammy Awards 1992 – Best Country Instrumental Performance with Chet Atkins (for 'Neck and Neck')
•    Grammy Awards 2007 – Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album with Emmylou Harris (for 'All the Roadrunning')

Knopfler's influence

•    Played together with Dire Straits' drummer Pick Withers on Bob Dylan's studio album Slow Train Coming, which was recorded in May 1979 and released 20 August; providing Dylan with what Dylan considered his best guitar backing since the days of Mike Bloomfield and Robbie Robertson. Knopfler also played in and co-produced Dylan's 1983 album Infidels.
•    British author and humorist Douglas Adams said about Knopfler, in his book So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish: "Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Schecter Custom Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff drink."
•    The dinosaur species Masiakasaurus knopfleri was named after Knopfler. The palaeontologists were listening to Dire Straits recordings when they discovered the species.
•    On "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Money for Nothing", "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", which merges the instrumentals of "Money For Nothing" with the lyrics to the theme song for the American television series The Beverly Hillbillies ("The Ballad of Jed Clampett"), Knopfler played guitar in the song, recreating the memorable guitar riff from the original song. He would only allow Yankovic to parody the song if he was allowed to play on the recording.
•    Knopfler's song "Going Home" from the soundtrack to Local Hero is played before kick-off at Newcastle United's home matches at St James' Park.[52]
•    "Going Home" is also the theme music for John Stanley on Sydney radio station 2UE.
•    According to director Rob Reiner, Knopfler agreed to write the music for Reiner's The Princess Bride on one condition: Reiner had to put the hat that he wore in This Is Spinal Tap in Princess Bride, "somewhere in evidence", as homage to the rock mockumentary. The hat makes its appearance in Princess Bride in the Grandson's (Fred Savage) bedroom.
•    Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar is a fan of Mark Knopfler. They once had a joint interview on cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle's show Harsha Online.
•    The 2008 stage production Celtic Thunder has covers of multiple Mark Knopfler songs. "Brothers in Arms", written by Mark Knopfler and performed originally by Dire Straits, is performed by Ryan Kelly. As well, the song "Irish Boy" (from Cal) and "Going Home" (from Local Hero) are performed together as an instrumental, entitled "Cal/Local Hero".

Discography

With Dire Straits

Solo albums

Golden Heart
•    Released: 26 March 1996
•    Format: CD
•    Label: Vertigo Records, Warner Bros. Records (USA)
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay
•    Singles: "Darling Pretty", "Cannibals", "Rüdiger", "Golden Heart" (promo), "Imelda" (promo), "Don't You Get It" (promo)

Sailing to Philadelphia

•    Released: 26 September 2000
•    Format: CD
•    Label: Mercury, Vertigo, Warner Bros.
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay
•    Singles: "What It Is", "Sailing to Philadelphia", "Silvertown Blues"

The Ragpicker's Dream

•    Released: 30 September 2002
•    Format: CD & LP
•    Label: Mercury
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay
•    Singles: "Why Aye Man", "Quality Shoe" (promo), "Devil Baby" (promo), "Hill Farmer Blues" (promo), "You Don't Know You're Born" (promo)

Shangri-La

•    Released: 28 September 2004
•    Format: CD & LP
•    Label: Mercury
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay
•    Singles: "Boom, Like That", "The Trawlerman's Song"

One Take Radio Sessions

•    Released: 21 June 2005
•    Format: CD
•    Label: Warner Bros. Records
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler, Chuck Ainlay

The Trawlerman's Song EP

•    Released: 2005
•    Format: CD
•    Label: Mercury
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler
•    Tracks: "The Trawlerman's Song", "Back to Tupelo", "Song for Sonny Liston", "Boom, Like That", "Donegan's Gone", "Stand Up Guy"

The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations
•    Released: 2005
•    Format: CD & LP
•    Label: Mercury
•    Singles: "All The Roadrunning" (promo), "This Is Us" (promo), "Beachcombing" (promo)

Kill to Get Crimson

•    Released: 17 September 2007
•    Format: CD & LP
•    Label: Mercury
•    Singles: "True Love Will Never Fade", "Punish The Monkey"

Get Lucky

•    Released: 14 September 2009
•    Format: CD & LP
•    Label: Mercury
•    Singles: "Border Reiver", "Remembrance Day"

Soundtrack albums

Local Hero

•    Released: March, 1983
•    Label: Warner Bros. Records
•    Producer: Mark Knopfler
 

Music from 'Cal'
•    Released: 1984

Comfort and Joy

•    Released: 1984

The Color of Money

•    Released: 1986
•    Label: MCA Records (MK's only song is "Two Brothers And A Stranger")

The Princess Bride

•    Released: 1987

Last Exit to Brooklyn

•    Released: 1989

Screenplaying

•    Released: 1993
•    Label: Phonogram

Wag the Dog
•    Released: 1998

Metroland

•    Released: 1999

A Shot at Glory

•    Released: 2001

Other albums

•    Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time (The Notting Hillbillies) (1990)
•    Neck and Neck (with Chet Atkins) (1990)
•    The Booze Brothers (with Brewers Droop) (1973/1989/1990)
•    All the Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris, April 2006)
•    Real Live Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris, November 2006)

Producer

•    Infidels (1983) by Bob Dylan. Although Mark disowned the reworked version of the album as released, his production is still noticeable. Left off the album, but later released on The Bootleg Series, is the critically acclaimed "Blind Willie McTell", featuring only Dylan, singing and playing piano, accompanied by Mark Knopfler on acoustic guitar.
•    Knife (1984) by Aztec Camera, a Scottish indie/new wave band, which was mostly a vehicle for the work of Roddy Frame, much as Dire Straits only ever recorded Mark Knopfler compositions.
•    Miracle (1987) by Willy DeVille, was dedicated to Mark and his wife 'for their support which was nothing short of a Miracle in a time of Dire Straits.' The album ends with the ballad "Storybook Love", the theme from The Princess Bride movie.
•    Land of Dreams (1988) by Randy Newman, includes the single "It's Money that Matters" which unabashedly revisits the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing".
•    Mark has just started his first album as a producer for another artist since the mid 80's, he is producing and playing on the as yet untitled new album by Bap Kennedy.

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Mark Kendall

Mark Kendall (born April 29, 1957) is a lead guitarist born in Loma Linda, California. He is best known for being a founding member and lead guitar player of the blues-based hard rock band Great White.

Biography

Mark Kendall grew up in Huntington Beach, California. He came from a musically talented family, with his mother belting out smoky tunes as a jazz singer, his father playing jazz trumpet, and his grandfather, a classically trained pianist from the age of thirteen. As such, Mark developed a good ear for melody early on, and has never lost sight of where his ability came from and the musical gifts he netted through his DNA.

He received his first guitar at the age of nine after watching a local band rehearse in a neighbor's garage. His father gave him a Kay acoustic for his birthday and he began to develop a talent to learn songs by ear. The following Christmas his father bought him an electric guitar and amplifier. In addition, his dad also bought him three albums: The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Are You Experienced, Cream’s Disraeli Gears, and The Doors’ Strange Days. These records would prove to be highly influential on his musical life.

In the 4th grade he had already performed at the school talent show with a friend, showcasing four songs: "Wipe Out", "Pipeline", "Gloria" and "Secret Agent Man". Since then, he never put his guitar down even into his teenage years. From the age of eight to eighteen, he played baseball as a strong pitcher who was set to become a professional player. By the time he was eighteen, his arm started hurting after three innings every time he pitched a game and ended up deciding that making music would be his life and priority.

While performing at The Whiskey in Hollywood one night in 1982, a record executive was in the audience and came backstage to give the band his card. The following day Mark accompanied his singer Jack Russell and the two of them went to the label and met with the A&R representative Alan Niven. Before they knew it they were recording their first EP. Since then Great White has been recording and touring for the last 30 years and have sold over 12 million records. The band is still touring and making music.

Mark has been quoted by saying, “Music is a pure blessing and I wouldn't change anything about my life”. He said, “Even with all the mistakes I have made, they are nothing more than learning experiences and just part of life”. He is happily married to his beautiful wife Bridget Kendall and has four wonderful children Jonathan (27), Ashley (20), Taylor (19) and Shane (16). In his free time he is a producer, a very talented pool player, an avid poker player and enthusiast and a huge film buff.

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Lita Ford

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Lita Ford (born 19 September 1958) is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.

Early life

Lita Ford was born to a British father and an Italian mother in London, England. She moved with her family to the United States at the age of 4 and began playing the guitar at the age of 11. Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano.

In 1975 at the age of 16 she joined the all-female rock band The Runaways, for whom she played lead guitar. They would score a record deal and have their first album released in 1976.

The Runaways

It was not long before the all-girl formation caught the eye of the media. Lita Ford's guitar skills made her a driving force in the band and a permanent member from her arrival to the band's eventual break-up.

In 1979, disagreements were erupting within the band, who had since parted ways with both producer Kim Fowley and lead singer Cherie Currie. Rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and bassist Vicki Blue wanted the band to shift more towards Ramones-influenced punk music while Ford and drummer Sandy West wanted to continue playing hard rock-oriented songs. With neither side being able to compromise, the band finally broke up that year.

Solo career

After the group split in 1979, Ford began a solo career. Her first album Out for Blood as well as the title single were released in 1983 and failed on the charts. The next effort, 1984's Dancin' on the Edge achieved moderate success. It included the single "Fire In My Heart" which reached the Top 10 in several countries but not the US. The next single "Gotta Let Go" was one of Ford's biggest hits. It reached Number One on the Mainstream Rock charts.

Ford toured extensively and made several guest appearances on TV shows for the next four years, but had no releases; a follow-up to Dancin' On The Edge, titled The Bride Wore Black, was abandoned and never released because Ford did not like the production of the album and this upset the head of her record label, leading to Ford switching from Mercury Records to RCA Records. The artist has described the album as being in "Label hell! Who knows what shelf that is sitting on!"

By the time Ford returned again, the lighter pop-metal she had long favoured had broken through to mainstream audiences, which set the stage for her most commercially successful album, 1988's Lita. With Sharon Osbourne as her manager, and again produced by herself, the album featured four commercial hits, including "Kiss Me Deadly", "Back To The Cave", "Close My Eyes Forever", and "Falling In And Out Of Love" (co-written with Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe). The ballad "Close My Eyes Forever", a duet with Sharon's husband Ozzy Osbourne, was her only Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching #8.

Her next release was called Stiletto. It featured the singles "Hungry" and "Lisa" (the second was dedicated to her mother). However this album was not as successful as Dancin' On The Edge and Lita.

Ford's next release was Dangerous Curves, which featured her last charting single "Shot Of Poison". Ford's last release would be with ZYX Records and would be titled Black. It failed to repeat the success of 1991's Dangerous Curves.

During her solo years, she was an endorser of B.C. Rich guitars and used Warlock, Eagle, Mockingbird and Bich single and double-neck models.

Ford appears in the 1992 film Highway to Hell as 'The Hitchhiker'. Ford was also asked by VH-1 to be in the cast of The Surreal Life for its 7th season, in 2007. She declined.

Return to stage, new album and tour 2008-2009

In June 2008, Ford and her new solo band played several warm-up gigs prior to Rocklahoma under the name Kiss Me Deadly in the New York City area.

In June 2009, Lita began touring the US and Europe, with a new line-up consisting of Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal (Guns N' Roses guitarist, 2006–present) on guitar, Dennis Leeflang (Bumblefoot drummer) and PJ Farley on bass (Trixter, Ra) and Michael T. Ross (Angel/XYZ).

Ford released a new album Wicked Wonderland on 6 October 2009 via JLRG Entertainment. Lita will tour the US in the Autumn and Winter of 2009, including dates on Queensryche's American Soldier Tour.

In an interview with ExclusiveMagazine.com, talking about her new album Wicked Wonderland, Lita revealed the reason why its sound is heavier than the 80s music she once used to put out - "I just wanted to kick ass! I don’t know what’s popular, or the flavour of the day. I just wanted the music to ROCK! The lyrics are very personal and that’s it. I wasn’t going to come out in sandals with hairy armpits!".

Lita Ford contributed her likeness and voice to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game, Brütal Legend. Lita appears as the character Rima, alongside Jack Black, Tim Curry, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, and Lemmy Kilmister. Lita's song "Betrayal" is also one of the 100+ songs that appear in the game.

In 2010, Ford was portrayed by actress Scout Taylor-Compton in the movie The Runaways.

Personal Life

Ford married former Nitro singer Jim Gillette in 1994 after knowing each other for two weeks. They have two sons, James and Rocco Gillette. The family moved to Turks and Caicos, where Gillette has a successful building and real estate developing business.

In a February 2011 radio interview Lita Ford acknowledged that she and Gillette were divorcing. The family was in negotiations for a reality TV show tentatively titled "The Gillettes: An Extreme American Family" on TLC but they ended due to the impending divorce. In a March 2011 interview on the Classic Rock Revisited website Ford claimed that she had taken a business trip to Los Angeles to discuss the reality show with TLC executives and returned home to find her husband and sons not speaking to her. She also claimed that her sons physically attacked her, egged on by Gillette, which was when she decided to divorce Gillette and cancel the reality series.

Tributes

An achievement in the Xbox 360 version of the video game Guitar Hero II, is titled the "Joan & Lita Award" in tribute to Lita and Joan Jett. It is awarded to two players who can get a 100 note streak in cooperative mode.

Ford lent her appearance and likeness to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 videogame Brütal Legend as Rima, Queen of the Zaulia beast-riders. In addition, the character Lita Halford was named after both Ford and Rob Halford, who also provides a voice in the game.

Her song, "Close My Eyes Forever", was included in Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore.

The song "Kiss Me Deadly" was covered in a compilation album called Viva La Internet/Blank CD by Reel Big Fish.

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Link Wray

Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer.

Wray was noted for pioneering a new sound for electric guitars, as exemplified in his hit 1958 instrumental "Rumble", by Link Wray and his Ray Men, which pioneered an overdriven, distorted electric guitar sound, and also for having "invented the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarist," "and in doing so fathering," or making possible, "punk and heavy rock". Rolling Stone included Link at number 67 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Early life

Wray was born in Dunn, North Carolina to Lillian M. Coats and Fred Lincoln Wray. It was there that Link first heard slide guitar at age eight from a traveling carnival worker nicknamed "Hambone." Link and his family later moved to Norfolk, Virginia, as his father got work in the Navy shipyards. In 1956, his family moved to Washington, D.C., and from there, they moved to a farm in Accokeek, Maryland. Link relocated to Arizona with his brother Vernon in the very early 1970s, and later moved to San Francisco in the mid 1970s.

Wray served a hitch in the US Army and was a veteran of the Korean War, where he contracted tuberculosis that ultimately cost him a lung. His doctors told him that he would never sing again, so Link concentrated on his heavy guitar work. Despite this, on his rare vocal numbers he displays a strong voice and a range equivalent to that of Clarence "Frogman" Henry's.

Native American ancestry
Part Shawnee Indian, Wray frequently spoke of his ancestry in performances and interviews. Three of the songs he performed bear the names of American Indian tribes: "Shawnee", "Apache", and "Comanche." "Apache" was an instrumental composed by Jerry Lordan, which became a hit in the UK for The Shadows in 1960. Wray recorded one of the better covers of the song 30 years later, somehow finding new life in this mythic, minor-key, guitar/drum dialogue which by then was also associated with everyone from The Ventures to the Incredible Bongo Band.

Career

After discharge from the Army, Wray and his brothers Doug and Vernon Wray, with friends Shorty Horton and Dixie Neal, formed Lucky Wray and the Lazy Pine Wranglers, later known as Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands. They had been playing country music and Western swing for several years when they took a gig as the house band on the daily live TV show Milt Grant's House Party, a Washington, D.C. version of American Bandstand. The band made their first recordings in 1956 as Lucky Wray and the Palomino Ranch Hands for Starday Records.

"Rumble"

For the TV show, they also backed many performers, from Fats Domino to Ricky Nelson. In 1958, at a live gig of the D.C.-based Milt Grant's House Party, attempting—at the urging of the local crowd—to work up a cover sound-alike for The Diamonds' hit, "The Stroll", they came up with an eleven and one half bar blues titled "Rumble" which they first called "Oddball". The song was an instant hit with the live audience, which demanded four repeats that night. Eventually the song came to the attention of record producer Archie Bleyer of Cadence Records, who hated it, particularly after Wray poked holes in his amplifier's speakers to make the recording sound more like the live version (see "Rocket 88" for Ike Turner's similar story). Searching for a title that would hit home with radio listeners, Bleyer sought the advice of Phil Everly, who listened and suggested that it be called "Rumble", as it had a rough attitude that reminded him of a street gang. (Rumble: slang for "gang fight".)

The stalking, menacing sound of "Rumble" (and its title) led to a ban on several radio stations, a rare feat for a song with no lyrics, on the grounds that it glorified juvenile delinquency. Nevertheless it became a huge hit, not only in the United States, but also Great Britain, where it has been cited as an influence on The Kinks, The Who, and Jimmy Page among others. Jimmy Page cites the song in the Davis Guggenheim documentary It Might Get Loud and proceeds to play air guitar to the song in the movie. Pete Townshend stated in unpublished liner notes for the 1970 comeback album, "He is the king; if it hadn't been for Link Wray and 'Rumble,' I would have never picked up a guitar." In other liner notes in 1974, Townshend said, of "Rumble": "I remember being made very uneasy the first time I heard it, and yet excited by the savage guitar sounds."

Jeff Beck, Duff McKagan, Jack Rose, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan, Neil Young and Bob Dylan have all cited Wray as an influence. Billy Childish has covered several Link Wray tracks, including "Rumble", "Jack the Ripper" and "Comanche", which he still performs in his set. The 1980 Adam and the Ants song "Killer in the Home" (from their Kings of the Wild Frontier album) is based on the same ominous, descending three-chord glissando riff that is featured in "Rumble" (Ants' guitarist Marco Pirroni, an avid Wray fan, has described the song as "Link Wray meets Col. Kurtz" — the latter being a reference to Apocalypse Now). Mark E. Smith of The Fall sang the line "I used to have this thing about Link Wray, I used to play him every Saturday, God bless Saturday" in the song "Neighbourhood of Infinity" on the album Perverted by Language. "Rumble" has also been used as an intro theme to TV shows, particularly the original incarnation of Svengoolie.

In 2003, Link Wray was ranked at number sixty-seven in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the Hundred Greatest Guitarists of all time, but has yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is, however, a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Later career

The band had several more hard-rocking instrumental hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Rawhide", "Ace of Spades", and "Jack the Ripper", the latter named after a "dirty boogie" dance popular in Baltimore at the time. The dirty boogie dance was among the several dance crazes featured in the 1988 film Hairspray.

After his initial hits, Wray's career had periods of retirement followed by renewed popularity, particularly in Europe. He toured and recorded two albums with retro-rockabilly artist Robert Gordon in the late 1970s. The 1980s to the present day saw a large number of reissues as well as new material. One member of his band in the 1980s, drummer Anton Fig, later became drummer in the CBS Orchestra on the David Letterman show. Inspired by the use of his songs in various feature films, the 1997 Shadowman album is generally regarded as the Rumble Man's return to his raw rock 'n' roll roots. Backed by a Dutch band consisting of Eric Geevers on bass and Rob Louwers on drums, Wray toured Europe and Australia as well, documented on a live album and DVD. Link's last new recording was 2000's Barbed Wire, again recorded with his Dutch rhythm section. He was generally accompanied on tour by his wife Olive Julie, and since the late nineties his "colorful" Irish born road manager John Tynan. His regular backing band in the USA from 1998 until 2003 were bassist Atom Ellis and drummers Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle, Dieselhed) and Dustin Donaldson (I Am Spoonbender, various). He continued to tour up until four months before he died.

His music has been featured in numerous films, including Pulp Fiction, Desperado, Independence Day, Twelve Monkeys, The Warriors, This Boy's Life, Blow, Johnny Suede, The Shadow, Breathless, Roadracers, and Pink Flamingos. His instrumental "Rumble" is featured in It Might Get Loud (2008).

Link Wray is among the many Wray/Rays mentioned in the 1998 Top 40 hit "Are You Jimmy Ray?" by singer Jimmy Ray (along with Johnnie Ray and Fay Wray).

Later life

Wray moved to Denmark in the 1980s after meeting and marrying Olive, a Danish student who had been studying Native American culture. He lived his last years with Olive on a Danish island, touring frequently until he died of heart failure at 76 on November 5, 2005 at his home in Copenhagen. On November 18 he was buried in the crypt of the Christian's Church, located in the eastern Copenhagen suburb of Christianshavn.

According to a note added by Deborah Wray on his Rockabilly Hall of Fame page, Link Wray was married four times and is survived by nine children: Fred Lincoln Wray III, Link Elvis Wray, Shayne Wray, Elizabeth (Beth) Wray Webb, Mona Kay Wray Tidwell, Bellinda Wray Muth, Rhonda Wray Sayen, and Charlotte Wray Glass. Print and online obituaries have only mentioned the wife and son he was living with at the time of his death, Olive and Oliver Christian Wray.

Wray was backed by members of the Seattle band Jet City Fix for the duration of his penultimate tour. His final tour was booked and managed by Marc Mencher of Action Packed Events. Link's drummer on that tour was Gary Weiss of the rockabilly band Vibro Champs and he was backed on bass by Kris Day. The Vibro Champs website also features photos and video of Link's last touring band.

Posthumous recognition

Robert Ehrlich, the governor of Maryland, declared January 15 to be Link Wray Day.

On March 25, 2006 Link was honored by "The First Americans in the Arts" with the Life Time Achievement Award.

On June 8, 2006, Link was inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame.

In June 2009, the Library of Congress added "Rumble" to the National Recording Registry.

On July 2, 2010, the Smithsonian Institute Museum of the Native American opened the exhibit "Up Where We Belong - Native Musicians in Popular Culture", in which Wray is one of 12 artists presented. The exhibit features Link's Danelectro guitar along with a rare video featuring the original Raymen - Link, brothers Doug and Vernon, and Shorty Horton - performing "Rawhide". This film has not been shown publicly for over half a century. The exhibit closes January 2, 2011 and may be scheduled to continue for a six month run in New York.

Film and books about Link

A documentary film on Link's life and career titled 'Be Wild Not Evil: The Link Wray Story' is currently in production.

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Lindsey Buckingham

Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released five solo albums and a live album. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

Early years

Born in Palo Alto, California, Buckingham was the third and youngest child of Rutheda (née Elliott) and Morris Bialecke. He had two older brothers, Jeff and Greg. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area community of Atherton, Buckingham and his brothers were encouraged to swim competitively. Though Buckingham dropped out of athletics to pursue music, his brother Greg went on to win a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Buckingham's first forays into guitar playing took place on a toy Mickey Mouse guitar, playing along to his brother Jeff's extensive collection of 45s. Noticing his talent, Buckingham's parents bought their son a $35 Harmony guitar.

Buckingham never took guitar lessons and does not read music. By age 13, he became interested in folk music and, influenced by banjo methods, practiced the fingerpicking styles of The Kingston Trio. At 15 he joined a small folk group, Fritz, providing vocals and guitar work.

Buckingham Nicks

Buckingham and his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks recorded seven demos in 1972 on an analog 4-track machine, and drove to Los Angeles to pursue a record deal. In 1973, Polydor Records signed the pair. Their album, Buckingham Nicks, was released in September 1973; soon after its release, however, Polydor dropped the duo due to poor sales.

Despite Polydor's measure, though, Buckingham Nicks has been championed by rock critics since its release. It features fine two-part harmonies backed by notable LA session musicians, including superstar drummer Jim Keltner. According to the album notes, other session musicians include: Ron Tutt (Elvis Presley TCB Band), drums; Peggy Sandvig, keyboards; Waddy Wachtel, guitar; Jorge Calderon, percussion; Jerry Scheff (Elvis Presley TCB Band), bass; Monty Stark, synthesizer; Gary Hodges, drums; and Mark Tulin, bass.

Although money was tight, the hardworking duo caught the attention of many budding musicians, including Warren Zevon, who is rumored to have been a roommate of Nicks and Buckingham in a Fairfax district apartment.

A short tour promoting the Buckingham Nicks album commenced shortly after the joining of Buckingham and Nicks with Fleetwood Mac. Bootlegs of two concerts in Mobile and Tuscaloosa exist and are widely distributed on peer-to-peer networks and fansites. The touring band included drummers Bob Aguirre (from Fritz) and Gary Hodges playing simultaneously and bassist Tom Moncrieff, who later played bass on Stevie Nicks' 1981 album Bella Donna.

To help make ends meet, Buckingham toured with Don Everly's back-up band, singing Phil Everly's parts. Buckingham and Nicks were eventually forced to move in with record producer Keith Olsen, who helped the pair work on several demos for the next Buckingham Nicks album, including "I'm So Afraid", "Monday Morning" and "Rhiannon".

Buckingham Nicks has never been released on CD (a bootleg version does exist), although both Buckingham and Nicks have hinted at a possible remix and re-release on CD in the near future. Buckingham has also suggested a tour in support of the collection could be something the two may be interested in. Moncrieff and Hodges from the original Buckingham Nicks touring band have also expressed interest.

Fleetwood Mac

While checking out the Sound City recording studio in California, Mick Fleetwood heard the song "Frozen Love" from the Buckingham Nicks album. He asked who the guitarist was, and immediately stated that he wanted him to fill a recent vacancy. Buckingham insisted to Fleetwood that he and Nicks were a package deal—if Fleetwood didn't want Nicks, he wouldn't get Buckingham. The duo was quickly asked to join Fleetwood Mac on New Year's Eve, 1974.

Fleetwood Mac released their eponymously titled album in 1975, which became a hit. However it was the second album of this new line-up, Rumours, that propelled the band to superstar status when it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. Buckingham's "Go Your Own Way" was the lead-off single, soaring into the US Top Ten. After the resounding commercial success of Rumours (during the making of which Buckingham and Nicks famously split), Buckingham was determined to avoid falling into repeating the same musical pattern. The result was Tusk (1979), a double album that Buckingham primarily directed. Once again, Buckingham wrote the lead-off single, the title track that would peak at #8 on Billboard's Hot 100. It was during this time that Buckingham moved in with record company secretary and aspiring model, Carol Ann Harris, with whom he lived until 1984. Though by most standards a hit, Tusk failed to come close to Rumours record sales, and the album would ultimately precede a hiatus in the band's studio
recording efforts.

After a large world tour that ended in 1980, Fleetwood Mac took a year-long break before reconvening to record their next album Mirage, a more pop-friendly work that returned the band to the top of the US album chart. However, by this time various members of the band were enjoying success as solo artists (particularly Nicks) and it would be five years before the release of the next Fleetwood Mac album. By the time Tango in the Night was released in 1987, Buckingham had already released two solo albums and had given up much of the material for what would have been his third solo album for the project, including "Big Love", "Tango in the Night", "Family Man", "You and I" and "Caroline". On several of these tracks Buckingham played every instrument. "Big Love", released as the first single from the album, became a top ten hit in the US and the UK.

Propelled by a string of hit singles, Tango in the Night became the band's biggest album since Rumours a decade earlier. However, following its release, Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac largely due to his desire not to tour and the strain he was feeling within the band. Fleetwood Mac continued without him, and Buckingham was replaced by guitarists Rick Vito and Billy Burnette.

Solo projects
During the time he worked on Tusk, Buckingham also produced albums for Walter Egan and John Stewart in the late 1970s as well as beginning work on his own solo album.

In 1981, Buckingham released his first solo album Law and Order, playing nearly every instrument and featuring guest appearances by bandmates Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie. The album pursued the quirky, eclectic, often lo-fi and new-wave-influences of Tusk, and spawned the hit single Trouble which reached #9 on the US Charts and #1 in Australia (for three weeks). Two years later, he wrote and performed the songs "Holiday Road" and "Dancin' Across the U.S.A." for the film National Lampoon's Vacation. "Holiday Road" was released as a single, and reached #82 on the Billboard's Hot 100. He did other soundtrack work, including the song "Time Bomb Town" from Back to the Future (1985).

In 1984, after ending his 7-year relationship with Carol Ann Harris, he released his second solo album, Go Insane. The title track was a modest hit, reaching #23 on the Hot 100. The last track of the album, D.W. Suite, was a tribute to the late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. The next year, Buckingham performed on USA for Africa's fundraising single, "We Are the World".

Following his split with Fleetwood Mac in 1987, Buckingham spent much of the next five years in the studio, working on his third solo album, Out of the Cradle, which was released in 1992. Many of the songs seem to deal with the death of his father and the sudden death of his brother Greg in 1990. "Wrong" was a gentle rebuke of former bandmate Mick Fleetwood's tell-all biography. Out of the Cradle received some favorable reviews but did not achieve the sales levels associated with Fleetwood Mac. However, Buckingham toured throughout 1992–93 for the first time as a solo artist; his band included an army of seven other guitarists (Buckingham himself calls them "the crazy band" on his Soundstage DVD), each of whom he individually taught the entire two-and-a-half hours of music from the concert (Lindsey Buckingham: Behind the Music documentary for VH-1, 2001).

A subsequent solo album, entitled Gift of Screws, was recorded between 1995–2001 and presented to Warner Bros./Reprise for release. Executives at the label managed to persuade Buckingham to hold the album back and instead take several tracks from Gift of Screws and re-record them with Fleetwood Mac. Thus, seven songs from Gift of Screws appear on the Fleetwood Mac album Say You Will, in substantially the same form as Buckingham had recorded them for his solo release. Excellent bootleg copies of Gift of Screws—taken from an original CD-R presented to Warner Bros/Reprise—are known to exist, and have been widely distributed among fans through the use of torrent sites and other peer-to-peer networks.

On his 57th birthday, (October 3, 2006) Buckingham's fourth solo album, an acoustic album entitled Under the Skin was released. Under The Skin features Buckingham on almost all instruments, with the exception of two tracks that feature Fleetwood Mac rhythm section John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. The album includes a cover of The Rolling Stones classic "I Am Waiting". Three days after the album's release, Buckingham embarked on a tour in support the album that lasted until the end of June 2007. A live album, Live at the Bass Performance Hall, was released documenting a show from this tour.

In 2008, the Gift of Screws album was finally released, containing three tracks from the originally planned album, as well as seven new recordings. Buckingham then commenced a short tour to promote Gift of Screws in September and October, opening in Saratoga, California and closing in New York, New York.

On November 3, 2010 it was announced on Buckingham's website that he is currently working on an untitled album for release in early 2011.

Rejoining Fleetwood Mac
In 1992, newly-elected president Bill Clinton asked Fleetwood Mac to come together to perform the song he had chosen for his campaign, "Don't Stop", at his inaugural ceremony. Buckingham agreed to be part of the performance, but the experience was something of a one-off for the band, who were still very much at odds with one another and had no plans to reunite officially.

While assembling material for a planned fourth solo album in the mid 1990s, Buckingham contacted Mick Fleetwood for assistance on a song. Their collaboration lasted much longer than anticipated, and the two eventually decided to call upon Stevie Nicks, John and Christine McVie. The band's old chemistry was clearly still there, and plans for a reunion tour were soon in the works. In 1997, Buckingham and all four of his bandmates from the original Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac went on the road for the first time together since 1982 in a reunion tour titled The Dance. The tour was hugely successful and did much to heal the damage that had been done between Buckingham and his bandmates. However, Christine McVie had opted to leave the band in 1998, essentially now making the band a foursome. In 2003, the reformed band released the first studio album involving Buckingham and Nicks in 15 years, Say You Will. Buckingham's song "Peacekeeper" was the first single from the album, and the band went on a world concert tour that would last almost a year and a half.

The band toured in 2009, rehearsals began in January 2009, with the first date of the "UNLEASHED" Tour as March 1, 2009, in Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh). Christine McVie was not involved with this project.

Musical style
Unlike most rock guitarists, Buckingham does not play with a pick; instead, he picks the strings with his fingers and fingernails. Initially after joining Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham used a Gibson Les Paul. Before the band, a Fender Telecaster was his main guitar, and was used on his first Fleetwood Mac album. In 1979, he worked with Rick Turner, owner of Renaissance Guitars to create the Model One. He has used it extensively since, both with Fleetwood Mac and for his solo efforts. He uses a Taylor Guitar 814ce for most of his acoustic performances and has also used an Ovation Celebrity in the past.

His influences include The Beach Boys and The Kingston Trio.

Family

On July 8, 1998, Buckingham's girlfriend, Kristen Messner, gave birth to their son, William Gregory Buckingham. Buckingham and Messner subsequently married in 2000, and she gave birth to a daughter, Leelee, the same year. Their third child, Stella, was born on April 20, 2004. The lyrics in "It Was You" from his Under the Skin album pays homage to all three children by using all their names.

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