Gibson Robot Guitar Scores "Best of Show" at CES Cherry Picks 2008

The Gibson Robot Guitar received "Best of Show" honors on Sunday, January 6 at the annual NEWSTIPS Cherry Picks event at CES. The Cherry Picks award has become known for targeting trend-setting technology and recognizing the most exciting and promising products each year. The Gibson Robot Guitar was presented in front of worldwide media at the annual Cherry Picks event held in Las Vegas and competed against products from a hybrid vehicle to the latest in technology's best home and business products. The Gibson Robot Guitar received an overwhelming vote for "Best of Show" and was recognized in a special award presentation.

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Backstage with Chris Daughtry

In a small room backstage at Nashville, Tennessee's historic Ryman Auditorium, Chris Daughtry sits quietly, dashing off his Christmas cards. It's five days before the holiday, and a couple hours before he'll bound onto the Ryman's venerated stage, one which he imagines is still baptized by "Johnny Cash's spit." Daughtry sets aside the pile of Christmas cards, and rolls up the sleeve of his T-shirt to admire a fresh, tender-looking tattoo on his right bicep.

"My wife's so good that I actually had her tattooed on me yesterday," Daughtry says, showing off a buxom blonde pinup girl with a pair of angel wings. "Those are actually her wings, if you tickle her just right."

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Lessons from John Paul Jones: What the Zeppelin Alumnus Taught Bluegrass Supergroup Uncle Earl

Months before Alison Krauss was holding court with Robert Plant in sessions that would yield Raising Sand, all-girl supergroup Uncle Earl were holed up with John Paul Jones in a Tennessee studio, recording their sophomore album, Waterloo, Tennessee, under his watchful eye.

Released on Rounder Records this past March, Waterloo contemplates loss, longing, and isolation with guest stars like Gillian Welch (on drums!), Tara Nevins, and Jones himself. Steeped in centuries of musical lore, the album employs shape-note singing, songs from the 1800s about Napoleon Bonaparte's fall and exile, and reworkings of classics by Olla Belle Reed, A.P. Carter, and Bob Dylan. These songs fit comfortably with originals contributed by each Uncle Earl member, and the result is an album that seamlessly straddles old and new, expanding on the boundaries of the old-time genre in a compelling, contemporary way.

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Nab This Week's Free MP3 Downloads: Tommy Guerrero, the Gallows, Nada Surf, and LCD Soundsystem

Each and every week Gibson's serving up a healthy platter of free MP3 downloads from some of the best bands around. Included in this week's installment are two downloads from Tommy Guerrero's latest, Return of the Bastard. Also, score the single "Orchestra of Wolves," the title track from the Gallows' most recent metal release, and "See These Bones" from Brooklyn indie-pop band Nada Surf. And don't forget to check out "All My Friends," an LCD Soundsystem track that's reason enough to throw a dance party. Check back every week for more great Gibson.com downloads.

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Recording Guitars: Miking Amps, Part 2

If you want to get professional sounds from home-studio recordings, you need to learn some basics of recording technique. However advanced your digital recording system might be, the results will never sound like studio-quality recordings if you don't get quality sounds into the system in the first place. As far as capturing great electric guitar tones, a large part of your studio technique will revolve around microphone placement. Part 1 of this new series from Gibson looked at positioning single mics on guitar amps; this installment will examine some multi-mic placements, and a few little tricks to help make them work for you.


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Guitar Heroes Bill Gates and Slash Jam at CES

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates presented a lighthearted 12th and final keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas on Sunday. After speculating on the future of technology—Gates predicted that high-definition screens on everything from televisions to cell phones will be all the rage, as will "natural user interfaces" like touch screens and voice-recognition software—Gates screened a mockumentary about what his last day might be like when he retires from Microsoft this summer.

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Punk Rock Turns 30: Time to Move Out and Get a Job?

Punk rock turned a ripe old 30 in 2007. But if there was no birthday party, Rolling Stone Special Edition—or moment of silence at the ballpark—to mark the occasion, the impact of the musical revolution punk wrought in the '70s and '80s lives on. But ask that 15-year-old at the mall in the Misfits T-shirt and mohawk what it all means and you'll as likely get a shrug as a surly look for an answer. Which begs a few questions: What do the trappings of the punk movement really mean to a teenager born more than a decade after the musical rebellion they signified? More importantly, what did all the sound and fury ultimately accomplish?


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The One Man Band That Has The Whole World Dancing: LCD Soundsystem (Free MP3!)

WHO? LCD Soundsystem is the studio project of James Murphy, a Brooklyn producer responsible for introducing indie rockers to cowbells, tightly wound dance grooves, and ear-piercing yelps.

PLAYERS: James Murphy

WHAT TO BUY: The band's second full-length release, Sound of Silver, appeared on approximately 98 percent of critics' year-end lists. Why?

The disc revealed that Murphy is more than just a dude with expensive computers and an ultra-hip record collection. Despite the cynical tone of songs like "Losing My Edge" and "Get Innocuous" he actually has an incredible knack for writing great pop tunes that plunge deep emotional depths. Check out "Someone Great" and "New York I Love You."



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