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JOE BONAMASSAAs Joe Bonamassa grows his reputation as one of the world’s greatest guitar players, he is also evolving into acharismatic blues-rock star and singer-songwriter of stylistic depth and emotional resonance. His ability toconnect with live concert audiences is transformational, and his new album, Black Rock, brings that energy tohis recorded music more powerfully than ever before. The tenth solo album and eighth studio release of hiscareer – as well as his fifth consecutive with producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, etc.) – thedisc adds an enlivening dose of ‘world’ vibes to Bonamassa’s virtuoso mix of ‘60s-era British blues-rock (à laBeck and Clapton) and roots-influenced Delta sounds.The album was recorded at Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece. “With this album, we wanted to explore a‘world’ feeling, and this was the inspiration behind going to record in Greece and using some of the best Greekmusicians to add a little flavor to a couple of the tracks. But it’s by no means a ‘world’ album. We wanted Joe’susual youthful and energetic tones to play alongside the worldly vibes of the Greek bouzouki and clarino,” saidShirley. Bonamassa adds, “It was the kind of record Kevin and I wanted to make. We needed to rock again a bitlike on my first album. It’s youthful, like going back to your childhood.” Throughout, Bonamassa is again backedby the stellar players Carmine Rojas (bass), Anton Fig, Bogie Bowles (both on drums) and Rick Melick(keyboards).2009 was a big year for Bonamassa. He was awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’sprestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards and Classic Rock magazine has said, “They’re calling him thefuture of blues, but they’re wrong – Joe Bonamassa is the present; so fresh and of his time that he almostdefines it.” He was also named Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awardsfor the third consecutive year. Guitar Player writer Matt Blackett has said, “He’s an old soul, and that comesthrough in his bends, vibrato, singing voice, and note choices, which – which each passing year – get morerestrained and refined.”In May ’09, he played to a sold out crowd at London’s Royal Albert Hall, arguably the most prestigious concertvenue in the world. During the show, Bonamassa’s hero, Eric Clapton, joined him on stage for a jointperformanceof Clapton’s hit “Further On Up The Road.” London’s The Independent said about the show, “Theman has arrived, and there’s no turning back.” Shortly after, Bonamassa released a 2-DVD live set – JoeBonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall – which captures the night in full. Guitar Edge gave it five starsand also said, “It is the wallop of his emotional expression, fueled by the rocking energy he derives from thattrans-Atlantic connection and driven by his devastating technical ability, that elevates him about his peers andmakes him a certifiable blues guitar hero and the face of his blues generation.”Last year also coincided with Bonamassa’s twentieth year as a professional musician, an extraordinary timelinefor a young artist just into his ’30s. A child prodigy, Bonamassa was finessing Stevie Ray Vaughan licks whenhe was seven and by the time he was ten, had caught B.B. King’s ear. After first hearing him play, King said,“This kid's potential is unbelievable. He hasn't even begun to scratch the surface. He's one of a kind.” By age12, Bonamassa was opening shows for the blues icon and went on to tour with venerable acts including BuddyGuy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman.Bonamassa reunites with King for a duet on Black Rock. The song they perform together is a rendition of theWillie Nelson-penned song, “Night Life,” which appeared on King’s 1967 album Blues Is King. Shirley saysabout the experience, “This is a rollicking Stonesy-vibe version of the Willie Nelson song on which B.B. duetswith Joe, both vocally and on his famous Lucille guitar. What a joy and an honor to work with the legend who ispossibly the pivot point and unifying musician between blues and rock.”Other tracks appearing on Black Rock include Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots,” a lively version of Leonard Cohen’spoetic “Bird On A Wire,” Otis Rush’s “Three Times A Fool,” as well as Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away,”a song recommended by Robert Plant, who said Led Zeppelin rehearsed it in their earliest days. Also, Blind BoyFuller’s “Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind,” John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place,” and James Clark’s “Look OverYonder’s Wall,” as well as the Bonamassa-penned originals “When The Fire Hits The Sea,” “Wandering Earth,”

“Athens To Athens,” and “Blue and Evil.”Bonamassa’s recording career began in the early ’90s with Bloodline, a hard-charging rock-blues group alsofeaturing Robby Krieger’s son Waylon and Miles Davis’ son Erin. His 2000 solo debut, A New Day Yesterday,was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd; Bonamassa’s rendering of the title track, originally a Jethro Tull hit,was called, “a jaw-dropping performance” by allmusic.com.His last studio album, The Ballad Of John Henry – with no shortage of its own jaw-dropping moments – debutedat #1 on the Billboard blues chart and stayed there for six months. The album marks a more confessionalapproach to songcraft than he’s previously employed. “Making the first half of the album,” Bonamassa says, “Iwas in the happiest place I’d ever been in my life. The second half found me in completely the opposite state.I’ve come to the conclusion that experience makes for better art. I had more to say, and it’s the first time I’vepersonally opened up the book on my life.”Previous studio sets include 2007’s Sloe Gin, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s blues chart and received a2008 nod for Album Of The Year from the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour Awards. Sloe Gin careens betweenheavy electric blues-rockers and acoustic, folk-etched cuts in a flow that Bonamassa says was partly inspired byRod Stewart’s classic 1969 solo debut LP. Modern Guitars Magazine wrote, “If calling Sloe Gin a Bonamassasampler isn’t graphic enough, think of the album as a musical buffet in which unrelated entrees share a singletrait: they taste good.” The Boston Phoenix called it, “an elegant and brawny guitar-hero album.”In 2008, he released the 2-CD set Live From Nowhere In Particular, which Guitar Player said, “finds Joe playingwith soul, intensity and savage tones.” It features 13 songs recorded live in concert on the artist’s 2007 NorthAmerican tour – at shows like the one at New York’s Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center reviewed forwww.hamptons.com by Lon S. Cohen: “In a thousand years, when archeologists dig out Joe Bonamassa'sguitar from the strata of the earth, it will still be smoking…He holds the guitar like a shotgun but what comes outof it is poetry, color, and a story is told in notes.” A review of a show at Alexandria, VA’s Birchmere drew similarsentiments from writer Paul Roy on blogcritics.org: “I have flirted with the opinion that Bonamassa may be theoverall best guitarist on the planet these days, and after seeing him perform live again…I am now totallycomfortable with that opinion. He is simply mesmerizing to watch.”Bonamassa circles the globe playing an average of 200 shows a year, and his mind-blowing guitar wizardry andelectrifying stage presence are selling out progressively larger venues all the time. The OC Register’s RobertKinsler has written, “Whether in a club or outdoors at a festival, something magnetic happens when Bonamassasteps to the front of the stage, leans his head back and simply lets loose.”Ongoing journeyman touring is a given, and looking beyond Black Rock, Bonamassa will continue his recordingcollaboration with producer Kevin Shirley, who says, “It’s great working with Joe and seeing him enjoy thediscovery of all these places he can go. He’s an artist who can play anything, there are so many facets to him.”Bonamassa adds, “Kevin comes up with fantastic ideas outside the box. He appreciates the blues, but pushesme, the only person besides Tom Dowd who’s done that.”On top of touring, recording and overseeing the independent label J&R Adventures with his entrepreneurialpartner and manager Roy Weisman, Bonamassa is a spokesperson for the Blues Foundation’s respected BluesIn The Schools program, volunteering his time during tours to speak with groups of high school students aboutthe heritage of blues music – the first pure American music form. Recently, he was chosen by Channel One, thelargest in-school news network, to host an ongoing segment called “Know Your Roots with Joe Bonamassa” inwhich he traces the musical roots of Channel One’s weekly “Hear It Now” featured artist.And, 2010 has already started with a bang – Guitar World dubbed Bonamassa “The Blues Rock Titan” and hissong, “Lonesome Road Blues,” is a part of Guitar Hero V’s New Blues Masters Track Pack. Keeping with hisblues roots but fluently moving between rock n’ roll and international sounds, 2010 is not only a new decade buta new era for Bonamassa.For more information, log on to: www.jbonamassa.com

For Immediate Release:Contact: Erin Podbereski, Jensen Communications, 626-585-9575 or erin@jensencom.comBlues-Rock Star Joe Bonamassa’s New Album Black Rock Debuts At #1 On Billboard’sBlues Chart And #38 On Billboard’s Top 200 ChartLos Angeles, CA, March 31, 2010: Released March 23, Black Rock, the new album from blues-rock guitar heroJoe Bonamassa, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums Chart and #38 on Billboard’s Top 200 Chart, a hugeleap from 2009’s The Ballad of John Henry which debuted at #136 on the Top 200. Other Black Rock chartsuccess includes the #3 spot on the Independent Chart, #4 on the Internet Chart and #7 on the Rock Chart. Alsobouncing back into the Blues Chart is Ballad at #2 and 2009’s Joe Bonamassa: Live From Royal Albert Hall at#10.Black Rock is Bonamassa’s tenth full-length solo studio album. Recorded at Black Rock Studios in Santorini,Greece and released on his own independent label, J&R Adventures, the album features thirteen tracks splitbetween Bonamassa originals and selections by songwriters including Bobby Parker, John Hiatt, Leonard Cohen,Jeff Beck, Otis Rush, Willie Nelson, James Clark and Blind Boy Fuller. It also includes a duet with B.B. King. Thisdisc continues Bonamassa’s collaboration with producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Black Crowes).Already getting rave reviews, USA Today gave Black Rock 3.5 stars (out of 4) and called it “rock-solid blues,” TheVirginia-Pilot called it “amazing,” and Tower Records’ PULSE Magazine has named Bonamassa the “Next BigThing.”2009 and 2010 highlights include: The Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’s prestigious ClassicRock Roll of Honour Awards; a duet with Eric Clapton at Bonamassa’s sold-out Royal Albert Hall show; the title of“The Blues Rock Titan from Guitar World,” and a song on Guitar Hero V’s New Blues Masters Track Pack. Laterthis year, Bonamassa will play Clapton’s Crossroads Festival.Bonamassa has also formed a new all-star band with Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) on drums, DerekSherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper) on keyboards, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze) on bassand vocals. Bonamassa will be on guitar and vocals. The band is currently in the studio cutting tracks for anupcoming album to be released in late 2010 or early 2011.Bonamassa recently embarked on the first leg of his 2010 Tour which takes him to the U.S., U.K., Europe,Australia, Japan and Russia.For more information and latest tour itinerary, visit www.jbonamassa.com###

For Immediate Release:Contact: Erin Podbereski, Jensen Communications, 626-585-9575 or erin@jensencom.comBlues-Rock Star Joe Bonamassa’s New Solo Album Black Rock Is Set For Release On March 23,2010 On The Artist’s Own J&R Adventures LabelBonamassa Will Be On The Road In The U.S., U.K., Europe, Russia, Japan and Australia Throughout 2010Los Angeles, CA, January XX, 2010: Just awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’sprestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards, blues-rock guitar hero and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa isset to release his tenth full-length solo album, Black Rock, on March 23, 2010. Bonamassa’s sixth release on hisown J&R Adventures imprint, the disc re-teams him with producer Kevin Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith, LedZeppelin), who most recently produced 2009’s The Ballad of John Henry, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’sBlues Chart in February of last year. The album release will be followed by a multi-country tour taking Bonamassato the U.S., U.K., Europe, Russia, Japan and Australia.The album was recorded at, and named for, Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece. “With this album, wewanted to explore a ‘world’ feeling, and this was the inspiration behind going to record in Greece and using someof the best Greek musicians to add a little flavor to a couple of the tracks. But it’s by no means a ‘world’ album.We wanted Joe’s usual youthful and energetic tones to play alongside the worldly vibes of the Greek bouzoukiand clarino,” said Shirley. Bonamassa adds, “It was the kind of record Kevin and I wanted to make. We needed torock again a bit like on my first album. It’s youthful, like going back to your childhood.”Joe Bonamassa has signed up blues legend B.B. King for a duet on his new album. The song they will performtogether is a rendition of the Willie Nelson-penned song, “Night Life,” which appeared on King’s 1967 album BluesIs King. Shirley says about the experience, “This is a rollicking Stonesy-vibe version of the Willie Nelson song onwhich B.B. King duets with Joe, both vocally and on his famous Lucille guitar. What a joy and an honor to workwith the legend who is possibly the pivot point and unifying musician between blues and rock.”Other tracks appearing on Black Rock include Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots,” Leonard Cohen’s poetic “Bird On AWire,” Otis Rush’s “Three Times A Fool,” Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away,” Blind Boy Fuller’s “Baby, YouGotta Change Your Mind,” John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place,” and James Clark’s “Look Over Yonder’s Wall,” as wellas the originals “When The Fire Hits The Sea,” “Wandering Earth,” “Athens To Athens,” and “Blue and Evil.”2009 was a big year for Bonamassa which saw him play to a sold out crowd at London’s Royal Albert Hall,arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. Adding to the excitement, Eric Clapton joined him onstage for a joint-performance of Clapton’s hit “Further On Up The Road.” Shortly after, Bonamassa released a 2-DVD live set – Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall – which captures the night in full for posterity,and for all the fans that couldn’t be among the roughly 5,000 concertgoers filling the seats.Last year also marked Bonamassa’s twentieth year as a professional musician, a huge achievement for aperformer just into his 30s. Recently, he was named Best Blues Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine’s 2009Readers’ Choice Awards for the third consecutive year. He is a spokesperson for the Blues Foundation’srespected Blues In The Schools program, volunteering his time during tours to speak with groups of high schoolstudents about the first pure American music form. Recently, he was chosen by Channel One, the largest inschoolnews network, to host an ongoing segment called “Know Your Roots with Joe Bonamassa” in which hetraces the musical roots of Channel One’s weekly “Hear It Now” featured artist.And, 2010 has already started with a bang – Guitar World dubbed Bonamassa “The Blues Rock Titan” and hissong, “Lonesome Road Blues,” is a part of Guitar Hero V’s New Blues Masters Track Pack. Keeping with hisblues roots but fluently moving between rock n’ roll and international sounds, 2010 is not only a new decade but anew era for Bonamassa.For more information and updated tour schedule, visit www.jbonamassa.com###

In Stores 3/23/10Orders due by 2/26/10jbonamassa.comJust awarded the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at the U.K.’s prestigious Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards, blues-rock guitar hero and singer-songwriterJoe Bonamassa is set to release his tenth full-length solo album, BLACK ROCK, on March 23, 2010.This album was recorded at, and named for, Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece. “With this album, we wanted to explore a ‘world’ feeling, and this was the inspirationbehind going to record in Greece and using some of the best Greek musicians to add a little flavor to a couple of the tracks. But it’s by no means a ‘world’ album.We wanted Joe’s usual youthful and energetic tones to play alongside the worldly vibes of the Greek bouzouki and clarino,” said producer Kevin Shirley. Bonamassa says,“It was the kind of record Kevin and I wanted to make. We needed to rock again a bit like on my first album. I wrote the whole thing there.”Also Joe signed up Blues legend B.B. King for a duet on his new album. The song they perform together is a rendition of the Willie Nelson-penned song, “Night Life,”which appeared on King’s 1967 album BLUES IS KING. Shirley says about the experience, “This is a rollicking Stonesy-vibe version of the Willie Nelson song on whichB.B. King duets with Joe, both vocally and on his famous Lucille guitar. What a joy and an honor to work with the legend who is possibly the pivot point and unifyingmusician between Blues and Rock.”Other tracks appearing on BLACK ROCK include Jeff Beck’s “Spanish Boots,” Leonard Cohen’s poetic “Bird On A Wire,” Otis Rush’s “Three Times A Fool,” Bobby Parker’s“Steal Your Heart Away,” Blind Boy Fuller’s “Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind,” John Hiatt’s “I Know A Place,” and James Clark’s “Look Over Yonders Wall,”as well as the originals “When The Fire Hits The Sea,” “Quarryman's Lament,” “Wandering Earth,” “Athens To Athens,” and “Blue and Evil.”TRACKLISTING:01. Steal Your Heart Away (Bobby Parker)02. I Know A Place (John Hiatt)03. When The Fire Hits The Sea (Joe Bonamassa)04. Quarryman's Lament (Joe Bonamassa)05. Spanish Boots (Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood)06. Bird On A Wire (Leonard Cohen)07. Three Times A Fool (Otis Rush)08. Night Life (Willie Nelson, Walter Breeland, and Paul Buskirk)***WITH SPECIAL GUEST BB KING***09. Wandering Earth (Joe Bonamassa)10. Look Over Yonders Wall (James Clark)11. Athens To Athens (Joe Bonamassa)12. Blue And Evil (Joe Bonamassa)13. Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind (Blind Boy Fuller)MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS:• A Joe Bonamassa special feature is in the 2010 February issue of Guitar World as well as beingfeatured in every National Guitar Magazine including Guitar Player, Guitar Edge, Premier Guitar,Classic Rock Magazine, Guitarist, Vintage Guitar, Blues Matter, and Blues Revue.• National Radio Station "Planet Rock" broadcast in the UK has given Joe his own weekly Radio Show- An hour where Joe plays his favorite Rock and Blues Records.• Represented by the William Morris Agency, performing over 150 shows a year,world wide including Japan, Australia, Russia, etc.• Channel One, The largest in-school TV News Network, has chosen Joe to be their Music NewsCorrespondent, informing over 6 million U.S. High School students about the roots and history ofpopular music today.• Bonamassa donates his time regularly as the foremost Spokesperson of the "Blues in the Schools" programto educate the next generation of music lovers on the heritage of blues music and roots of popular music today.• Official Board Member of the Guitar Center Music Foundation, a non-profit organization that is committed toputting instruments back into schools.• Airplay on AAA radio stations and Specialty Blues Radio shows.• Funds available for Co-op advertising at retail.ARTIST: Joe Bonamassa • TITLE: Black Rock • SELECTION #: PRAR92023UPC: 804879202325 • PRICE CODE: C17 • BOX LOT: 30 • FORMAT: Compact DiscPACKAGE: CD Jewel Box • FILE UNDER: JOE BONAMASSA • GENRE: Rock

Printhttp://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Print/?PrintAliasPath=/en-us/Lifestyle/...1 of 3 4/14/2010 3:40 PMAidin Vaziri | 03.22.2010Joe Bonamassa has already established himself as a national treasure on the American blues-rock scene. Withhis latest album, Black Rock, the one-time prodigy is going global. Recorded in Greece, Bonamassa’s tenthstudio release brings a Mediterranean flavor to his intricate compositions as well as distinctive covers of JeffBeck’s “Spanish Boots,” Leonard Cohen’s “Bird On A Wire” and Bobby Parker’s “Steal Your Heart Away.”Even though he’s only 32, this year Bonamassa is celebrating two decades as a working musician (one of hisvery first gigs as a young guitar prodigy was opening for BB King). Last year the readers of Guitar Playermagazine named him Best Blues Guitarist for the third time running. He played to a capacity crowd atLondon’s Royal Albert Hall, where Eric Clapton joined him onstage for a performance of “Further On UpThe Road.” His last album, The Ballad of Joe Henry, debuted in the No. 1 position on Billboard’s BluesChart.Meanwhile, retailers around the country quickly sold out of all copies of the Gibson Custom Shop Inspired ByJoe Bonamassa Les Paul Gold Tops.Bonamassa is looking at another eventful year with the arrival of Black Rock. He’s already in the middle of aworld tour and anticipating the first album by his yet-to-be-named supergroup with bassist Glenn Hughes(Deep Purple, Black Sabbath), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) and keyboardist Derek

Printhttp://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Print/?PrintAliasPath=/en-us/Lifestyle/...2 of 3 4/14/2010 3:40 PMSherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol).We somehow managed to steal away a few minutes with the fast-talking guitarist to get up to speed on hishectic schedule, cover choices and his multitasking abilities.I’m glad you said your name when we were introduced because sometimes I have real trouble with it.So do I.I’m sure you’ve confused a couple of the guys responsible for putting the letters up outside rock clubmarquees.You’re assuming we play rock clubs. We play theaters and performing arts centers so the spelling is usuallypretty good.You’re pretty much touring for the rest of the year. Don’t you get exhausted just looking at youritinerary?I tour constantly. We never really stop. If I didn't enjoy this I wouldn't do it. For me, we don't need a record togo tour. We just tour. I'm excited. We've had a good run of shows. We're playing sold out shows. Theaudiences are great. What’s there to complain about?It’s pretty impressive that you’ve built this up over 20 years without having to sell out.It's a means to an end. The fact that you don't compromise what you do actually brings you fans. We have areputation of making albums that mean something to people. That really helps us. We don't care about singles.We don't care about the traditional ways of doing things. My manager and I have figured out a way to surviveand now we've come out the other side.Having done this for so long, do you ever feel jaded?I learn something new every day. If I can do that then I'm happy. I try to stay humble. Every day is a learningexperience out here. There's no absolutions. One day is one set of parameters, the next day is different. If youthink short term then you're never going to survive.So how did you pick the cover songs for Black Rock?Robert Plant suggested ‘Steal Your Heart Away.’ ‘Bird On A Wire’ was my producer Kevin Shirley's idea. Iwanted to have my Freddie King moment. So the covers ideas came from all kinds of different places.I’m curious how Robert Plant sold you on that song.He didn't have to sell me on anything. It was just a great idea.Did you feel like you were taking a risk by giving ‘Bird On A Wire’ a Mediterranean arrangement?I can't sound like Leonard Cohen. I can't play that version. I'm not any of those guys. I'm not out there tryingto slug it out with them. I just do the version I like. I play the music I like and I do it for the right reason.What about the Jeff Beck track – was it intimidating taking on ‘Spanish Boots’?No, because it's a different version. I look at it as interpreting. It's a different version. We extended the jam atthe end. To me, it's entirely different.

Printhttp://www.gibson.com/en%2Dus/Print/?PrintAliasPath=/en-us/Lifestyle/...3 of 3 4/14/2010 3:40 PMWhat’s going on with your supergroup with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian? Doyou have a name yet?Can't talk about the name because it just gets you into trouble, as we found out. We finished the album. It justneeds to be mixed and put together. It's a massive rock record. We all get to play our rock bits. It’s good fun.And it's a good gang of characters.Do you always have so many things going on? I mean, you have this solo record to promote. Why takeon another project?I haven't been in a band in almost 20 years. I just did that because it would be fun to do and the opportunityto do that doesn't come up every day. I have a pretty good day job so this is just like playing with your friendsfor fun.What guitars are you on the road with right now?I'm basically using my Les Paul, a 1973 Gibson 355, Firebird, Flying V and old Les Paul Custom I found inmy storage.That’s quite a haul.It's part of the spectacle to go through eight or nine guitars. People like to see that and I like to give the peoplewhat they want.

JOE BONAMASSABlack RockProvogue PRD7300 2Ten albums into his career, Joe Bonamassawas recently given the Breakthrough ArtistOf The Year Award at Classic Rock mag'sannual awards bash so, clearly, pluggingaway for years can sometimes payoff.Joe can now fill the Royal Albert Hall, sohe's doing OK in a market which is, let'sface it, an increasingly minority taste. BlackRock expands his horizons by delving intoworld music. with his middle-eastern takeon Lenny Cohen's 'Bird On A Wire' workingparticularly well, and the choice of BB Kingas a duet partner on Willie Nelson's 'NightLife' is inspired. Hell, just ten albums moreand this chappie could be almost half asfamous as The Rolling Stones. 1BkSound Quality: 89%Hi Fi MewS78 I www.hifinews.co.uk I MAY 2010- 100

::musicBonamassa’s ‘Black Rock’By Barbara SchultzJoe Bonamassa has built his career on the foundationlaid by white blues/rock guitar legendslike Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. He fellin love with this music very early in life—grabbedhis first guitar at age 4, and was landing gigs nearhis home in upstate New York by age 12. Oftenassociated with other guitar prodigies such asJohnny Lang and Eric Johnson, Bonamassa hasdeveloped a style that incorporates numerousblues idioms—a bit of Elmore James, a touch ofB.B. King, etc.—but owes more to rock interpreterslike Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.So Bonamassa is very well matched withhis longtime engineer/producer Kevin Shirley,who has wrangled seminal performancesfrom guitar bands like Aerosmith, BlackCrowes, Silverchair, Iron Maiden and Journey.Shirley, who says his clients have affectionatelydescribed him as “a nice guy, butone of the most bull-headed producers youcould hope to meet,” knows how to capturewild guitars; he also knows he’ll get morecompelling performances from artists if hekeeps stirring things up.“This is our sixth project together,” Shirleysays. “When we started recording together wayback when, one of the tenets of our working relationshipwas that we were going to push theboundaries. I recognize where Joe’s roots are,but we were going to take the blues to differentplaces. So over the years, we’ve gone swampy,we’ve gone eclectic; in our conversations, we’verecognized that there are different blues genres:Memphis versus Chicago, Delta blues, Appalachianmusic, New Orleans, and it’s all related—even back to Celtic music. We’ve always wantedto explore blues around the world and see howall that fitted in.”So Shirley saw a great opportunity when afriend, studio owner/engineer Kostas Kalimer-is, mentioned that he was building Black Rock,a brand-new studio/villa in spectacular Santorini,Greece. Crystal-blue sea, historic architecture,a wealth of cultural/musical possibilitiesand a brand-new SSL 9080 J–based studio designedby Roger D’Arcy of Recording Architecture.It probably wasn’t too tough for Shirleyto convince Bonamassa to bring his band toGreece to record a new album.One of Shirley’s trademarks is that he insistson a lot of pre-production so that in-studioperformances can happen quickly and be capturedin the moment. Shirley helped preparefor Bonamassa’s sessions at Black Rock by auditioningYouTube videos that Kalimeris sent;he was able to choose a handful of Greek musiciansand line them up before bringing Bonamassaand his bandmembers to Santorini.Arriving while Kalimeris and his staff werestill putting the finishing touches on the studio,Shirley and the bandmembers enjoyed theresidential facility’s hospitality and daily dips inthe Aegean Sea, while Bonamassa sequesteredhimself to write new material. Then Shirley ar-ranged some front-porch-style sessions withjust Bonamassa and the Greek musicians he’dselected.“The first thing we did was have a sessionwith these two Greek guys, Thanasis Vasilopouloson clarino and Manolis Karadinis on bouzouki,”Shirley says. “Neither of them spokeEnglish, and it was an interesting way of gettingthe music going. We actually recorded one tracksitting outside on the patio outside the studio.At night it’s so quiet there, the recording wasbeautiful. These were different elements thatwe introduced into Joe’s sound.”Kalimeris, the studio owner, also foundthose sessions particularly memorable: “Thatnight was so peaceful, it made the recording reallyunique,” he recalls. “The vibe from everybodywas fun and experimental.”The introduction of folk instruments is especiallyeffective in Bonamassa’s cover of LeonardCohen’s inspiring “Bird on a Wire”—a songthat’s been recorded by singular artists such asJohnny Cash and Joe Cocker, but Bonamassamakes it his own.Shirley, who records all of his projects live,also took Bonamassa out of his guitar comfort42 MIX JANUARY 2010 I WWW.MIXONLINE.COM

::musicjoe bonamassazone on this album: “Normally, Joe plays a LesPaul guitar, but on this album I wanted to try tochallenge him, so I asked him to put away hisbeloved Les Paul and we recorded with him playinga Telecaster and an amplifier and nothingbetween them. Then I just I dangled a [ShureSM] 57 over the speaker, just trying to get an edgierlive feeling. After five or six days of that, wewent back to Joe’s comfort zone; we put up thehuge stacks and miked them up properly withRehearsing outside at Black Rock, L-R: Joe Bonamassa (guitar),Manolis Karadinis (bouzouki), Rick Melick (keyboards),Thanasis Vasilopoulos (clarino)a 57 and the Beyer 201 and a Royer R121 and aNeumann 67 back into the room to give it a littlebit of ambience.”Shirley’s mixing process, done this timeon the SSL console and listening through KRKVXT6s, also seems to be part and parcel of recordinglive: “We don’t mix separately,” he says. “I alwaysmix as I go, and my rough mixes are whatmake the album. I feel that when it’s coming offthe console, you’re right there, into the music,and you’re aware of the minutiaewhen you’re that close to it. Whenyou wait until four weeks later, it’s,‘Why did we put that guitar part inagain? I know I had a good ideaat the time.’ The rough mixes reallycapture the way we heard thesong.”Bonamassa and friends wereso happy with what they heard atBlack Rock that they named theiralbum after the studio. Black Rock,the album, comes out March 9,2010, on Bonamassa’s own J&RAdventures label, and he andShirley plan to return to Greece torecord a follow-up next year.Bonamassa playing a Resonator Dulcimer“I love the studio; it’s absolutely the mostcreative studio I’ve ever been in,” Shirley says.“There’s all this traditional Greek architecturewith concrete, concave ceilings. Once you’re insidethese things, you get this amazing resonanceand explosion of sound, which is a little uncontrollable,but it’s fantastic. And staying in theplace and being able to go in at 7 a.m. or comingback after dinner and cutting a track at 11 or 12 atnight—it’s a wonderful environment to be ableto do that.” 44 MIX JANUARY 2010 I WWW.MIXONLINE.COM

JOE BONAMASSALIVE FROM THEROYAL ALBERT HALLWhen Joe Bonamassa took the stage at Royal Albert Hall in May 2009, he fulfilled a dreamhe’d held since first picking up a guitar as a kid in upstate New York. The sold-out concert —fresh off the release of his #1 album THE BALLAD OF JOHN HENRY — marked Bonamassa’sheadlining debut at arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. “May 4, 2009was a day 20 years in the making,” says Bonamassa. “I have never been so honored in mylife. It was truly larger than the sum of its parts.”The two decades he’s referring to began when — at age 12 — he first opened for blues iconB.B. King, who said, “this kid’s potential is unbelievable.” King’s words are as fitting todayas they were then. Bonamassa averages 200 shows every year, and with each gig, he comesmore into his own as a virtuoso and a vocalist. At the Hall, Bonamassa had the added honorof being joined onstage by the legendary Eric Clapton. The Times of London cited Joe’s “searingexcellence and showmanship,” and Planet Rock said, “The sight of two of the world’s bestguitarists trading solos was more than a little thrilling.”DVD 11. Django2. The Ballad Of John Henry3. So It's Like That4. Last Kiss5. So Many Roads6. Stop!7. Further On Up The Road8. High Water Everywhere9. Sloe GinDVD 21. Lonesome Road Blues2. Happier Times3. Your Funeral My Trial4. Blues Deluxe5. Story Of A Quarryman6. The Great Flood7. Just Got Paid8. Mountain Time9. Asking Around For YouDVD Extras1. Woke Up Dreaming 2. Joe Bonamassa InterviewArtist: Joe BonamassaTitle: Live From The Royal Albert HallSelection #: PRAR91440UPC: 804879144090Price Code: D24Box Lot: 30Format: DVD + Bonus DVDPackage: DVD DigipakFile Under: JOE BONAMASSAGenre: Rock2 DISCDVD DIGIPAKFEATURING A SPECIALGUEST APPEARANCE BYERIC CLAPTON!In Stores 9/29/09Orders due by 9/4/09jbonamassa.comThis Double DVD set, which also features an exclusive interview and behind-the-scenesfootage with Bonamassa, presents that magical night in full — for posterity, and for all thefans that couldn’t be among the roughly 5,000 concertgoers filling the seats. The twelvecamerahigh definition, surround sound shoot was produced by Bonamassa’s longtimecollaborator Kevin Shirley.“Joe Bonamassa is a big star amongst his peers,” says Shirley, “garnering awards andmagazine covers all around the globe. While he has a devoted audience that’s growingworldwide, his rejection of major label deals in favor of paving his own musical path has leftthe mainstream somewhat unfamiliar with his extensive repertoire and skill. However, thisincredible performance — featuring Joe accompanied by an incredible band in addition toguest appearances by Eric Clapton and Paul Jones — will put an end to that. Directed bygroundbreaking filmmakers Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen, this concert experience willbecome the benchmark for the genre. But pigeonhole Bonamassa at your peril—sure, theblues is the anchor, but this virtuoso refuses to play inside the box. Any box. Enjoy!"MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS Numerous recent Guitar Magazine Cover stories including Guitar Player MagazineApril 2009, Guitarist February 2009 and upcoming Cover feature in Guitar EdgeMagazine confirmed for November 2009. Joe has also been featured in Guitar World,Vintage Guitar, Blues Matters, Blues Revue and Elmore Magazine. National Promotional Relationship with Guitar Center in their Nationwide guitarcontest "KING OF THE BLUES". Joe will conclude the grand finale with a full show inLos Angeles for Guitar Center in November. More information at:www.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues In Support for the DVD Release, Joe's US Tour runs October 15th - November 12thacross the country. Represented by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Joeperforms over 150 shows a year, worldwide. Foremost Spokesperson of the "Blues in the Schools" program educating andentertaining the next generation of Music lovers across the country. Current Radio Promotion on AAA, ROCK, and Specialty Blues Formats Funds available for Co-op Advertising at retail.

For Immediate Release:Contact: Erin Podbereski, Jensen Communications, 626-585-9575 or erin@jensencom.comBlues Rock Star Joe Bonamassa’s Live Concert DVD, Joe Bonamassa – Live From The RoyalAlbert Hall, Debuts at #6 on Billboard’s Top Music DVD Chart and #10 on Billboard’s BluesAlbum ChartThe Ballad of John Henry, released in February 2009, jumps back into the Billboard Blues Album Chart at #12Los Angeles, CA, October 14, 2009: Award-winning blues rock star, guitar hero and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa’snew release, Joe Bonamassa – Live From The Royal Albert Hall, a 2-DVD live set, just made a #6 debut on BillboardMagazine’s Top Music DVD Chart. The film, released on October 6 by Bonamassa’s record company J&R Adventures,captures the intensity and excitement of the May 2009 show that marked Bonamassa’s headlining debut at arguably themost prestigious concert venue in the world. “May 4, 2009 was a day 20 years in the making,” says Bonamassa. “I havenever been so honored in my life. It was truly larger than the sum of its parts.”Bonamassa averages 200 shows every year, and with each gig, he comes more into his own as a virtuoso and a vocalist.At the Hall, Bonamassa had the added honor of being joined onstage by the legendary Eric Clapton. The Guitar Buzzcalls it, “A must-have DVD for any Joe Bonamassa fan and frankly, any person who plays the guitar and appreciatesinstrumental mastery at work. Joe Bonamassa is to the guitar what Liberace was to the piano. He’s a 6-string maestro.”And Brian D. Holland writes in Guitar International, “It’s not only a momentous occasion for Joe Bonamassa, it’s one forbluesrock in general.”This double DVD set, which also features an exclusive interview and behind-the-scenes footage with Bonamassa,presents that magical night in full—for posterity, and for all the fans that couldn’t be among the roughly 5,000concertgoers filling the seats. The twelve-camera high definition, surround sound shoot was produced by Kevin Shirley(Led Zeppelin, Black Crowes, Aerosmith).The one-night-only show was in support of his #1 Billboard album, The Ballad Of John Henry, released on Bonamassa’sJ&R Adventures label earlier this year. On the tails of the DVD release, the album jumped back into the Billboard BluesAlbum Chart at #12. The ninth full-length solo release and seventh studio album of his career marked Bonamassa’s thirdcollaboration with Shirley as producer.Almost always playing to sold-out and ever-larger houses, Bonamassa regularly draws accolades for his livemusicianship. The Washington Post’s Mike Joyce cites his, “Wicked guitar thrills” and British journalist Pete Feenstrawrote of a BBC Live performance, that, “he is both as eloquent and learned about the music he plays as he is technicallybrilliant.” Guitar icon Ted Nugent has said, “This kid deserves to be in the same class with Stevie Ray F*&cking Vaughanand Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.” British Beatles promoter Sam Leach compared the first time he saw him to his initialglimpse of the Fab Four– “I got that same feeling of excitement…Joe is the premiere Blues/Rock artist on the planet.”As he heads back to the road, Bonamassa remains infinitely passionate about playing live and connecting with hisaudiences, something evident in comments like Paul Roy’s for the recurring Blues Bash feature on Blogcritics.org: “Joe isnot only one of the world's best guitar players, but he is also one of the most charismatic and down to earth performers inthe business…I would get out and see this guy the first chance you get.”For more information and updated tour schedule, visit www.jbonamassa.com###

BLOG CRITICS - Paul Roy - Oct 25, 2009Joe Bonamassa began his professional career twenty years ago, on November 11th, 1989, whenhe played his first gig at The Metro club, in Utica, New York. He humorously describes thatnight in the liner notes of the DVD booklet: "After the show I was not able to bask in the glory ofa job well done, nor was I able to chat it up with the ladies that night. I was rushed out of thebuilding Elvis-style into a running powder-blue metallic 1988 Pontiac Bonneville by my motherbecause bed time was 9:30 PM on a school night."Did I mention he was twelve years old at the time?Playing the Royal Albert Hall fulfilled a lifelong dream for Joe Bonamassa. His career path wassettled the day his dad played him Cream's Farewell Concert video (also recorded at the AlbertHall), and the young five-year-old was mesmerized by what Eric Clapton was doing on theguitar. On May 4th, 2009 at this same storied music hall, the circle would be completed whenClapton passed the torch to the new blues-rock guitar "god" of the world - one Mr. JoeBonamassa.Bonamassa is one of those musicians that I will go to see play every time he comes to my area.Two or three times in the same year? No problem. I'll work the overtime. At the ripe old age of32, Joe has already produced a wealth of great albums to rock out to in the comfort of your ownLazy Boy recliner, but seeing him play live can be simply transcending. Bonamassa is muchmore than just a phenomenal guitarist too, he is also a great singer, songwriter, and showman, asyou can lay witness to on the best concert DVD of the year, Joe Bonamassa - Live From TheRoyal Albert Hall.The DVD begins with some behind-the-scenes footage and Joe giving a brief overview of hiscareer. You then get to follow him as he walks from his dressing room to the stage, about to playthe most important show of his life. He is dressed in a crisp white shirt and cool black suite thatdrapes his recently slimmed down body. His hair is now shorter and neatly slicked back, and hisdark sunglasses can barely hide his nervousness this night.He takes the stage already playing the majestic string bends of "Django," as the keyboardistaccompanies him with a haunting melody in the background. The Royal Albert crowd greets himwith a standing ovation.The title track to Bonamassa's latest #1 blues album, The Ballad Of John Henry, is offered upnext, and this monstrously drop-tuned guitar anthem changes the mood dramatically. The song isone of his heaviest, and he hammers it home playing his new Joe Bonamassa signature modelLes Paul. He even breaks out a Theremin unit on this one, which had me harking back to JimmyPage's past glory days at the Hall.The 19-song setlist focuses on The Ballad Of John Henry, arguably his best album to date, andseven of its twelve songs performed. For this special occasion, Bonamassa's normal touring band

is augmented by a second drummer and a three member horn section, and the results areamazing."So It's Like That," from the 2002 album of the same name, has a more swinging, bluesy feel toit with horns and Hammond organ prominently added to the live mix. 2003's excellent You & Mealbum is also featured prominently here with five songs, and the first one up, "So Many Roads,"is a real showstopper. Joe's solo on this one is just Sick, with a capital S.The highlight of the show, of course, was when Eric Clapton joined Joe onstage for a rousingperformance of "Further On Up The Road." Joe and Eric trade off on lead vocals and guitarsolos, making this one of the best performances of this old classic that I have ever seen. I havenever seen a bigger grin on old Slowhand's face than when he was trading licks back and forthwith Joe during a spontaneous call-and-response section near the end of the song. He must havebeen thinking, "who is this fucking guy?!"It's pointless to go into more individual highlights because the entire show is one long highlightreel, but if you only have time for two more numbers before your football games begins, thenfast forward to "Blues Deluxe" and "Mountain Time" - two more of my favorites. Just don't besurprised when you miss the first half of your game, when you find yourself transfixed watchingthe rest this DVD.It's been a while since I've felt justified in giving a concert DVD a perfect rating in bothperformance and production, but Joe Bonamassa - Live From The Royal Albert Hall made thisone pretty easy for me. You could not have asked for a better production than what you get hereThe high-definition, widescreen picture looks stunning, and the camera work ranks up there withthe best I have ever seen. The director really knows the music, as each key guitar riff, drum fill,and horn blast is capture with a timely close-up, and is all mixed perfectly with sweeping shotsof stage and hall to give you a real sense of being there.Some of the most amazing camera shots were from the side of the drum kits as Bogie and Antonplay the same incredible drum fills in perfect unison, or the wide-angle shot from behind thedrum kits, with the entire hall in view, as Joe leans way back towards his guitar amp trying toelicit a little bit of feedback for the epic note he has been holding.DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and Dolby Stereo tracks are all expertly mixed by KevinShirley, the same guy who produced The Ballad Of John Henry, and the results are amazing.This does not sound like some sterile mix that is taken directly from the soundboard, but you getthe full ambience of the large hall as well. Every instrument is crystal clear and perfectlybalanced.Bonus features include a 23-minute interview with Joe shot from the back of his tour bus, as hewarms up on his signature guitar through a Marshall Class 5 combo amp. Joe talks about each ofthe songs performed on the DVD and even plays bits and pieces from many of them. Very cool.

Joe's tour-de-force acoustic number, "Woke Up Dreaming," is included as a bonus featureinstead of in the main feature, for whatever reason, but I am just grateful to have it. Joe refers tothis glorious ten-minute version as the "psycho, ADD, on Red Bull edition", and it is a real mindbender.Most guitarists would have to sit down and concentrate, Al Di Meola-style, to play thisbaby, but Joe casually strolls around the stage having fun with it, as if he could do it in his sleep.Looks like I probably won't be seeing Joe play those intimate Washington-area clubs like BluesAlley and The Birchmere any more, but if anyone deserves to play bigger venues like the RoyalAlbert Hall, it is certainly Joe Bonamassa.Track ListDisc One:01. The Road To The Royal Albert Hall *02. Django03. The Ballad Of John Henry04. So, It’s Like That05. Last Kiss06. So Many Roads07. Stop!08. Further On Up The Road (with Eric Clapton)09. High Water Everywhere10. Sloe GinDisc Two:01. I First Met B.B. King... *02. Lonesome Road Blues03. Happier Times04. Your Funeral My Trial (with Paul Jones)05. Blues Deluxe06. Story Of A Quarryman07. The Great Flood08. Just Got Paid09. Mountain Time10. Asking Around For YouBonus Track:01. Woke Up Dreaming* short documentaryRatings:Performance - 10/10Production - 10/10

Monday, November 30, 2009Guitarist Joe Bonamassa Delivers A Performance Fit For A Blues King On 'LiveFrom The Royal Albert Hall'Joe BonamassaLive From The Royal Albert Hall (DVD)J&R AdventuresReview by NightwatcherOnce upon a time there was a four year old boy. And that boy had a dream. It was a dream unlikemost boys have at that age, for this was not a dream of growing up to be a fireman, policeofficer, or any other dream typical of such a young child. This child's unique dream, inspired byseeing video of the farewell concert of Cream, was to be a guitarist - and to play London'sprestigious Royal Albert Hall.On May 4th of this year, that dream was finally realized as blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa -after 20 years of playing professionally since the age of 12, working his way up from playingsleazy dives and tiny blues clubs in the middle of nowhere in particular, relentlessly touringthroughout the United States, Canada and Europe - stepped on the stage triumphantly in front ofa sold out crowd at the historic venue,It's this triumphant concert which is chronicled on the DVD 'Live From The Royal Albert Hall'.Commencing with shots of a slightly nervous Bonamassa warming up before hitting the stage,interspersed with interviews with family members who had naturally crossed over the big pondto witness a day self described as being "truly larger than the sum of its parts" and "the best dayof his life" by the Utica, New York born musician, the set begins with a stirring version of theinstrumental "Django" and never looks back.Featuring a set list understandably heavy with material from his newest studio album 'The BalladOf John Henry, there's still quite enough from his back catalog to serve as a great introduction topast work. Along the way we have the "Kashmir" meets the delta blues of "The Ballad Of JohnHenry", the blues shuffle "So, It's Like That" (replete with a horn section for the first time in alive situation), a minor blues via a stunning version of Otis Rush's classic "So Many Roads", the

swampy "High Water Everywhere"(Quite effective with its utilization of two drummers for theoccasion, the second being Anton Fig of "David Letterman" fame), and rounding out the firstdisc is a smoldering rendition of "Sloe Gin", the title track from Bonamassa's 2007 studio releasewhich brings the proceedings to the intermission on yet another high note. If this were only asingle disc, already it would be a success. But wait! There's more!After beginning the second disc with a reminiscence of how he met King Of The Blues B.B.King at the age of 12, Bonamassa launches into a song that he wrote when he was 18,"Lonesome Road Blues". Although he only recently rediscovered the track via an old DAT, thesong works in its modern incarnation perfectly alongside compositions of more recent vintage."Happier Times" a song born from one of the worst periods in his life following a breakup, stunswith its honesty. Laying his soul out in the open in the lyrics, this is the most personal of perhapsall the songs he has written, and ranks certainly among his very best.After another guest spot by former Manfred Mann vocalist Paul Jones, one of the guitarist's mostardent U. K. supporters, lending blues harp to Sonny Boy Williamson's "Your Funeral, My Trial"and a grinding take on the Jeff Beck Group classic "Blues Deluxe", the assembled multitude aretreated to yet another pair of original offerings "Story Of A Quarryman" and the "The GreatFlood", all leading up to the trifecta knock down punch of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid"(featuring theexcerpt from Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused, complete with Theramin), the epic"Mountain Time" and ensuring a splendid time is guaranteed for all, the soulful, Ray Charlesinfluenced "Asking Around For You".Such are the strength of the original compositions that even without a special guest appearanceby Eric Clapton, who trades licks with Bonamassa on the Bobby "Blue" Bland classic "FurtherOn Up The Road" this would be a fantastic performance. However with Eric coming onboard, itdoes signify a passing of the blues rock torch symbolically. For just as the pioneering Britishguitar legend took the blues in uncharted directions in the 60's, Joe has the talent to do so in thenext decade.Only 32, with a willingness to experiment and deviate from what's considered sacred in the bluescanon, and a desire not to repeat himself, it would seem that artistically it's still an open book forhim, and it will be intriguing to see where he goes in the next decade. In an interesting side note,the next time the song was played by Bonamassa and band with a guest performer it was at theMile High Blues Festival in Denver, with young up and coming guitarist Ryan McGarvey. Oneof the leading proponents of young players who are now being influenced by the musician, hisendorsement and patronage of fledgling guitar stars is continuing the blues lineage even furtheron up the road, if you will.As fantastic as Bonamassa's guitar work and vocals are, it would be extremely remiss to not givenotice to the other members of the band. For without bassist Carmine Rojas and drummer BogieBowles this would be a one man band first of all. Secondly, over the past several years of almostnon stop touring, these two have meshed into one of the finest rhythm sections in all of rock orblues, interlocking and forming a rock solid foundation over which the guitarist can shine. Addin keyboardist Rick Melick and you have an extremely potent combo indeed. The addition ofMelick it has allowed him to breathe a bit, musically speaking. No longer does he have to fill all

the space with his playing, resulting in when he does launch into a solo it's more focused andtherefore even more effective.Beautifully filmed by Scott McFadyen and Sam Dunn, who are also responsible for the recentlyreleased critically acclaimed 'Iron Maiden: Flight 666' documentary and 2005's 'Metal: AHeadbanger's Journey'. this isn't your usual blues presentation, and is all the better for it. Used tothe high energy world of metal, the pair have succeeded in capturing Bonamassa's incendiaryperformance perfectly, infusing it with vitality on par with the execution of musicianship. Assuch blues purists will probably hate this, but it's a situation he's had to deal with from the verystart, and won't come as a surprise this time around as well.Audio -wise, this absolutely shines. Recorded and mixed by über producer Kevin Shirley, whoseguiding hand has been an integral part of getting Bonamassa to the level he is at today during thepast half decade, he has accurately captured the true essence of this live performance. Drawingon his expertise throughout the years working with Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden andcountless others, the mix conveys the excitement of what it's like to see the guitarist live.In terms of of bonus features, what you get here is an extended interview with Bonamassa, wherehe goes into details regarding why and how the songs were chosen, and also what they mean tohim. In lieu of a full commentary track, this works quite well. In all actuality, not many wouldlisten to a commentary more than once anyway (if that in many cases), so to have something ofthis nature in interview form outside of the main program is a wise choice.Also included is a bonus performance of the acoustic guitar extravaganza "Woke Up Dreaming",during which the guitarist demonstrates once again his prodigious talents aren't only contained inthe blues rock genre, but extend to any genre. Having seen him play anything from heavy rock,jazz to fleet fingered workouts such as this on many occasions, it's quite clear that not only is heone of the top blues guitarists ever, but one must rank him amongst the finest ever to pick up theinstrument. The fact that he brings such technique to the blues, in lesser hands, could be adisaster. But Bonamassa has tempered his fretwork to a degree where he never overplays. Whilenot as wild as his earlier live offerings in terms of notes played, there's still more than enoughblues guitar pyrotechnics lighting up the stage, soaring as high as fireworks on the 4th of July(Or Guy Fawkes Day, if you reside in the U.K.).The two discs of this DVD are a stunning encapsulation of all of the elements which havecombined musically to bring Bonamassa to this point in his career. Hands down the mostexciting performer to come along in the blues field in decades, the guitarist stands head andshoulders above his contemporaries. First rate all the way - unquestionably the guitar DVD of theyear, once again he's raising the bar for how the blues can be presented.With the holidays upon us, if you're looking for an excellent gift for that someone who lovesblues, rock or exceptional guitar playing, if you haven't already, grab this one as you can't gowrong. To purchase go to this location.

The blues' newest star on 'B'B 'King, getting covers ideasfrom Plant, and a new project with Glenn '1fughes.Words: Malcolm DomePortrait: Jesse Wildor someone still in his early 30s, Joe Bonamassa hasachieved a remarkable amount. At the age of 12 the guitarvirtuoso opened a show for legendary blues star BB King.He released his first album when barely 17, a self-titledrecord with the short-lived Bloodline, a band that alsoincluded the sons ofjazz great Miles Davis and Doorsguitarist Robby Krieger.Since then Bonamassa has carved out his own niche as a soloperformer, putting out a string ofsolo albums which have earnedhim the acclaim of an expanding army offans and also the respectof his peers mentors. Now he's preparing for what is likely to be thebiggest year ofhis career. Not only is Black Rock the ninth studioalbum in little over a decade, but he's also involved with newsupergroup Black Country, alongSide bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes,keyboard player Derek Sherinian and drummer Jason Bonham. Youhave to wonder where he finds the time to do any of those necessarydaily f'unctions like sleep or eat. But, as he explains, for him there'sjust no substitute to playing music.You have a new album, Black Rock, coming out towards theend ofMarch. How do you keep the edge when youseem tobe constantly on the album-tour-album treadmill?Well, Jhad to get into the mind-set of being 18 years old again.After everything we did with the last album [2009's The Ballad OfJohn Henry], culminating in getting the chance to headline the RoyalAlbert Hall in London last year, Itook a step back. And Isaid tomyself: 'Okay, suppose I'd never made a record. How would Iapproach this?' I wanted to prove Istill had the hunger and desire.How do you know when you've actually done a good record?Is the reaction from fans a good indicator?Partly, ofcourse. Then there's also the fact that [producer] KevinShirley and Ican look each other in the eye and say, with totalhonestly: "We've nailed this one l " But the most important person ismy dad. He's my biggest fan and also harshest critic. If he can listento it and likes what he hears... man, Iknow I'm on the right road.You've got the legendary BB King guesting on the new album.How did that come about?I've been fortunate enough to know Mr King for so long, but wouldnever dare ask him to appear on one of my albums - this is a an all­time great! But then Igot to play on stage with Steve Winwood at afestival. We did [Traffic's] The Low Spark OfHigh Heeled Boys. That wassuch a thrill. Afterwards Ifelt confident enough to get up the courageand phone the man's manager. Iwas so stoked when he agreed.Unfortunately, when Mr King did his bits for the song, Night Life,f was on tour. So he went into a studio in Las Vegas, while Iwas inLuxembourg. But he did sign the lyric sheet and wrote me a letter.I've got them both framed.You've got some interesting covers on the record, includingBobby Parker's Steal Your Heart Away, which Led Zeppelinnearly covered for an album.And it was Robert Plant who suggested it to me. ApparentlyZeppelin worked it up for their first album but never actuallyrecorded it. But when someone like Robert makes arecommendation, you listen. So Iwent for the early Jimmy Pagevibe on guitar; Idug out the Telecaster.The Black Country project - how did that happen?Glenn Hughes and I have known each other for about two years.We've always talked about doing something together. But Ireally feltif it happened then this should be special, not just BonaHughes.What cemented it was when Glenn came on stage with me at theHouse Of Blues in Los Angeles. We did Medusa [by Hughes's oldband Trapeze] and Mistreated [Deep Purple]. That was such a thrill.Kevin Shirley was in the audience and he thought it wasincredible. He suggested Jason and Derek for the band, and beforewe knew it the four of us were in the studio working on five tracks.Jason rather let the cat out ofthe bag bygivingaway all thedetails in an interview. Did that annoy the rest ofthe band?Not at all. We just thought, right, let's get the album done now. Tobe honest, this has been so much fun, No pressure, just four guysenjoying themselves and working offeach other. To me this soundslike a big rock record. It's not just an amalgamation ofwhat we've allbeen know for in the past, but something different.Do you get to sing at all?Very little. Why would I, with Glenn there? It's like working withGordon Ramsay and making your own salad. What is the point? l'I\tell you what we have done - a version ofMedusa. And Igot to play[late Trapeze member] Mel Galley's guitar. That was incredible. ButIdon't know whether it will make the album. It depends howeverything comes out.Will Black Country tour at all?It's down to how our individual schedules work out. But first let's getthe album done and released. We'll take it from there.Do you ever have the fear that you'll wake up one day and itllall have been a dream?Oh, sure. Sometimes I find it hard to believe everything that hashappened to me, all the great people I have been privileged towork with. Ijust feel so lucky. There are so many better guitariststhan me, and that's not false modesty. I've had a lot of help alongthe way, because there are those who, for whatever reason,actually feel I have a talent worth nurturing. J like to think Ihaven'tlet them down.lfit all went wrong tomorrow, then I'd look back and feel gratefulto have had the opportunity to do so much. That's why I'mdetermined to enjoy everything Ido. It's not about money or fame, it'sabout haVing the best time you can possibly have, all of the time. 0'Black 1(ock is released on cMarch 22 on 'Provogtte 1(ecords.Joe 'Bonamassa plays the J{igh 7.Joltage festival, July 24/25.34 ClASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COM

"IT'S NOT ABOUT MONEYOR FAME, IT'S ABOUTHAVING THE BEST TIMEYOU CAN POSSmLY HAVE

Joe Bonamassa ReaderQ&A•You came, you saw, you asked questions... With his new album Black Rockout now, Joe Bonan1assa hosts a Q&A session exclusively for GuitaristWords Mick TaylorPortraits Amanda ThomasMeetyourinterviewersoe Bonamassa is a modern bluesrockphenomenon. Two decades oftireless hard work have alreadysecured him a place in the sixstringhall offame, while hiscontinuing dedication as atorchbearer for the blues haslit a new-generation fire under theguitar hero mantle.During a recent visit to the UK, Joemade time for a lucky bunch ofGuitaristreaders who came armed with questionsabout gear, technique, influences andmuch more. Arrivingwith nothing morethan a gigbag and a Les Paul, our heroplugged into a standard Fender Hot RodDeVille and proceeded to drop jaws one byone as he illustrated answers with hisinimitable skill, style and tone. So withoutfurther ado...John Wines: What's your view on all thededicated guitar schools - do you thinkit's a good thing that people go to schoolto learn guitar, or do students all come outthe same?"I think that any time you call1earn asmuch as you possibly can about your craftand your trade, it's fantastic. It's what youdo with the training- ifyou let thetraining run your playing, orthe trainingrun your life, then yeah, you'll sound likea book guitarist. But ifyou learn from thatand just play what you feel; there's adifference in playing from your head andplaying from your heart. Ifyou play fromyour heart then that will trump all, and noschool can teach you how to play withfeeling. BB [King] didn't need a school toteach him that, that comes from his soul."Any time people can learn from schoolsis absolutely great - I encourage it,especially ifyou can read music. I can'tread music - put a score in front ofme andI don't know what the hell that is. It's aquestion ofhow your music connects withpeople. You can connect with a millionnotes, or you can connect with one."Owen Bailey: Which elements of your stylehave you found hardest to perfect?"The hardest stuff! do on a daily basis iscontrolling the space between the phrases.Sometimes I feel like I have undiagnosedADD, and sometimes itshows in myplaying. I used to literally not take a breath- maybe I could win an underwaterbreath-holding contest! Now I purposelytry to put in a breather. I've dissected whatI play and I've really become better atfinishing phrases. So when I listen to mymore recent stuff, well, it's thumbshalfway up. Not fully up, but it's that far."John Priest: What advice would you give toyoung guitarists who get criticised forwanting to emulate the sound and theplaying of theirguitar heroes - there wasthat stage when everyone was copyingSRV, for example..."It's everybody - it's Clapton, it'severybody. Us guitar players by nature areverycompetitive. We reserve the right...I reserve the right thatifanyone in thisroom plays something cool, chances areI'm going to steal it from you! I'mjustgoing to put that out there now. We couldsign a waiver or we could have ahandshake or I could just buy you a pint...ifyou're old enough!"The thing that you don't want to havehappen is that you're overwhelmed byyour influences. When that day comes andyou're like, Man I can play that Crossroadssolo note-for-note: killer! Alright, nowwhat do I do with it - start a tribute band?"Everybodygets criticised; i{ meall ifyougo on YouTube, people say, He sounds likeEric Johnson. No duh! He sounds likeClapton. No duh! I try to listen to as manydifferent guitar players as possible. Youcan't help but be influenced by them - BBKing to Clapton, Hendrix to Paul KossoffCheck out this month's Guitarist CD forexcerpts of this exclusive Q&A session.See Joe play. explain his tone and set-up.and talk about his influences - with morevideo to follow next issue.>May 2010 Guitarist 53

Reader Q&A Joe BonamassaJoe'sPubUc-------In attendance today...Name: John WinesAge: 46Years playing: 27Current main guitar:PRS Custom 22 ArtistBest part of the session: Seeing thatJoe's rise to the top of the guitar scenehadn't changed him. I met him years agowhen he was playing 300-seater venues.What I learned today: You should alwaysplay with your feel head on rather thanyour theory head.Name: Soren SarstrupAge: 37Years playing: 23.\ Current main guitar:Fender StratocasterBest part of the session: Joe noodlingaway on the guitar was very inspirationalto listen to. His talent and chops wereclear, even at low volume ona run·of-themillFender amp.What I learned today: Always working onforging your own style is essential. andpersistence paysoff lName: Jack O'DeaAge: 16Years playing: 8Current main guitar:Fender USA Standard StratocasterBest part of the session: Learning abouthis currentgear set·up and preferences,and why he made the switch from Strats toLesPauls.What I learned today: That it's possibleto include multiple ideas, includingclassical and Eastern styles, into a bluesframework. Also how completeindividualism isn't always paramolllltstealingideas and transforming them intoyour own style is the key.and whoever. And you just try to make thisgiant soup, so you're not just playing to thisone style. What you do want to do is playwith the most conviction you possibly can,and ifyou catch yourselfgetting in thatmode - and I do that all the time, thatmorphing-into-somebody-else modethenyou really have to make yourselfbreak out ofit. Try usinga differenttone;or use a different guitar."Soren Sarstrup: I've seen you in lots ofclips playinga Stratocaster. Isthatwhyyou 'Put that away - to avoid the inevitableSRV comparisons?"Itboiled down to a gig in Alabama andthis dude. I used to do th,is violin thing;this volume control bit. Y'know, I was 25and I'd do anythingto get noticed, so Iwould do this volume-swell thing, and Iwent back to my classical lessons and I gotout this little melody. The piece was acombination ofBach and a little bit ofPaganini [Bachanini? - Tap Ed] that I'dlearned when I was kid."With a little bit ofdelay and a little bit ofroom, a few flashing lights, people wouldgo, Ooohh, ahhhh, [claps] - a cheapapplause moment. Itwas a bit hard to dothat on a Les Paul, so I used to do it on aStrat. So this dude goes, Hey, I like theshow, Joe. He says, Y'know that thing youdo that's like a violin? I say, Yeah, yeah...thinking that he'd figured out where itcame from. He goes, When you broke intothat, man, that sounded so much likeStevie Ray Vaughan [adopts look oftotalbewilderment]' Um, thanks..."I started thinking, I don't care what Ido with this Stratocaster. I can dance theTarantella, I can play straight-up classicalmusic - I don't care what I do, it will becompared to Stev,ie Ray Vaughan andHendrix. Even if! broke into RoryGallagher they still thought that I soundedlike Stevie Ray Vaughan!"So I said to myself, Self, you and the LesPaul been gettin' along real well lately. I'djust saved up all my shekels and ate peanutbutter and jelly for five months and boughtthis wildly tiger striped '59 Reissue - thatnow has a Bigsby on it. I said, Y'knowwhat, I'm gonna playa Les Paul now.These Stratguys can have this - I'm gonnado something different."Jack O'Dea: Do you still go about mixingyour classical influences withyourstraight-up blues playing?"Oh absolutely. People ask me, Joe, how doyou become a better blues player? And Isay, Listen to music that's not blues!Chances are you'll find so many coolthings in it - in other forms ofmusic, otherscales and stufflike that - that work wellfor the blues."A lot ofthat comes from when I used tobash away on an old classical guitar. Andagain it's just little fun stuffyou can put in- I have two hours to fill every night andI've got to keep people interested in whatwe're doing. Plus, ifyou're playing in ajamand all ofa sudden somebody pullssomething out that's a little out ofthenorm - I call it the I Wish I Thought OfThat riff- then people will respond to it.It's certainly usable in the kind of music Iplay, and I would say it's probably the samefor anybody."Mick Taylor. Mostofus in this room will besurprised to be hearingthe toneyou'vegotcomingoutofa Les Paul and a FenderHot Rod DeVille - could you explain howyou set up that sound?"This guitar here is a custom-painted JoeBonamassa un-aged model. I got it aroundChristmas time and I've been playing it awhile. It's been my main guitar for the lastmonth-and-a-half."This is a standard-issue John Henry'sfromupstairs, thank you, John! - FenderDeVille. I could have turned it around andaimed it so the grille is facing your way,then I would have been responsible forhurting people's ears. I think these comboamps sound better from the back becauseit's a little warmer."So what you do is you set your gain andvolume... [Joe has the controls set: volume7, drive 7, trehle 5, bass 6, middle 6.5,master 3.5, reverb 3, presence 5, bright off,more drive off, channel two] and mytheory has always been that there's a bigtone variation you can getjustfrom thesefour knobs [on the guitar]. Generally whatI do, and what I've been doing today, issoloingaround six, and putting the tonearound six. Itgives you enough gain,enough articulation and you just use [theguitar's volume control] as your overdrivepedal instead ofstompingon a box. It's justmanifesting the tone out ofthe guitar, theamp and the cable - and that's it."Soren Sarstrup: And doyou do that withyour live rig as well?"Yeah, most ofthe time. When I show upfor ajam, I use a Tube Screamer and a >54 Guitarist May 2010

Reader Q&A Joe BonamassaMarshall Bluesbreaker combo and that'sit. And you usually get guys going [looksconfused], Where's all the...?"Live [wit.h the fu 11 rig], I constantly usedifferent sources ofhow to get the sound.Sometimes we use the mics andsometimes we don't use the mics at alI-I use Palmer speaker l11ulators. I use thatthrough the monitor and sometimes weuse that through the front of house.Sometimes it actually sounds better thanthe microphones and we blend a litt'le bit ofthe two."Ifwe get a tough room that's reallybright and loud, I'll sit there for maybe 45minutes to an hour just tweaking theamps, and the baffle [Joe uses perspexscreens in front ofhis amps to deflectsound] and the Palmer until it sounds likethe way it's supposed to sound in my head.Because when you go for these high notes,you don't want to tear people's faces off.It's really critical- ifyou're in the frontrow ofone of my gigs, you'll see this go onall night: volume, tone, volume, tone, sing.Delay on, off."I get criticised for my live rig 'cos theygo, Jeez, well they all sound kinda thesame. Well, you'd be right. The twoMarshalls sound the way they sound[Marshall Silver Jubilee lOO-watt andCategory 5 JB Custom '68] and the VanWeelden amps sound they way they sound.None ofit is radically different, but what itis, is feel; it's how the guitar reacts.Sometimes you want a softer reaction,where the compression is a little bitsquishy. And sometimes you want it reallyimmediate... and all points in between."The more articulate stuffgets, the morethe mistakes come out and framethemselves in these beautiful moments:here's a mistake, here's another mistake.But if you learn to play with thoseparameters, you're better off. And ifyoulearn to play cleaner you're better off."John Priest: How did that guitar endup blue, Joe?"These [Joe Bonamassa signature LesPauls] are like my children. [Gibson] call1edme up and said, There's this dealer inWashington who wants four in candyapple blue as a custom run. I'm like, Sure.sell 'em! I didn't think anythingofit. Threemonths went by, four... I see them come out- cool! I gotta get me one ofthese. So I ringthem up, Hey, would you build me one ofthese blue ones? So they did it and this isthe fifth one ofthe run. The others arc inthe line ofserial numbers, but this one'sthe odd man out."John Priest; Do you have to do a lot oftweaking when you get them?"I take it out ofthe box, raise the action towhere I want it, tune up. and that's pretty"My theory has always been that there's a big tonevariation you can get just from these four knobs [onthe guitarr Joe BonamassaJoe's PublicIn attendance today..----Name: Rus ScagellAge: 16Years playing: 5Current main guitar:PRS SE CustomBest part of the session: Playing Joe'sguitar, and of course meeting him.What I learned today: To never rely oncertain equipment and to always keepyourself open to new things.Name: Owen Bailey (deputyeditor. Guitarist)Age: 37Years playing: 22Current main guitar: Fender Custom '62Reissue Telecasterwi BigsbyBest part of the session: To appreciatehis control of the guitar up close. and towitness first-hand how he created whatwas an unbelievable sound out of astraightforward set-up, was very inspiring.What Ilearned today: That you alwaysneed to work hard to keep on refining thesubtledetails of your playing.Name: John Priest (PeachGuitars, Braintree)Age: 27Years playing: 14Current main guitar: Suhr Classic AntiqueBest part of the session: It's good to hearJoe's influences present in his playing, butthe coolest thing is that he's startingtosound more like himself all the time.What Ilearned today: That the strings onmy Les Paul aren't heavy enough!>

Reader Q&A Joe Bonamassamuch how I want the guitar to play. That'snot the definition for most people abouthow they want it to play. It plays a bit hard,but I like 'em."Owen Bailey; You mention your controls.but you play with pick and fingers - howmuch does that have a bearing on tone?"Well, a lot ofit does. And how hard youhit it. Itjust depends how you want thenotes to stick out and how you want theguitar to sound - it's a lot ofselftweakingas you go along. A lot ofguys think it'sgoingto come from a pedal, like there'sgoingto be asudden magic, but much ofit,the hard work is in the technique."Soren Sarstrup; I've read in Guitarist thatyou take a keen interest in the businessside of things. Do you have a business planand how do you combine the business withthe artist?"Well you have to plan things out. Let's sayI owned a pizza parlour or a shawarmastand or a guitar shop - my dad used toown a guitar shop. There's no differencebetween what I do on the business sidethan owningTescos, or Marks &Spencer,or a gas station. At the end ofthe day it'ssimply cash in versus cash out. You wouldlike, in theory, to spend less than youmake. Hence 1can afford to clothe myselfand feed myselfand put a roofover myhead. That's the bottom line. There area lot ofpitfalls in the music business andthere are no guarantees, but the oneguarantee thatwe decided on about 10years ago, Roy [Weisman, Joe's manager]and I, was that nobody's goingto controlBlackRockRock in... Greece?Joe Bonamassa's latest release, BlackRock. is a hard rocking blues album onwhich Joe was able to cut loose... all the wayto the Greece as it turns out."We went to Greece to record the newalbum," he explains. "We'd recorded the lastthree albums in California right by myhouse. My storage locker's right there. Like,let's bring 175 guitars for this session - itwas just stupid! It was getting a bit cosy andKevin [Shirley - producer] said we needed achange: we needed to up stakes."We got an e-mail from a guy namedCostas in Greece: Santorini to be exact. Hesays, I'm building a studio - would you beinterested in recording here next year?Sure! So we show up in Santorini and westarted recording, and it was just this reallywonderfully inspirational place. It was thisreally intense, heavy rock/blues thing thatwent on there. Plus there were someelements where some Greek musicianswould show up and playa bouzouki. clarinetand flute and stuff like that."A lot of guys think it's going to come fron1 a pedaLlike there's going to be a sudden magic, but much ofit, the hard work is in the technique"Joe Bonamassaour destiny: there's no one thing that willmake us or break us."It used to be that when I was signed tomajor labels, ifthe A&R guy gets fired,well you're in a bad way. Or ifyour agentgets fired - all these X-factors comingintoplay. And slowly but surely with Roy'sexpertise and a little bit ofblind beliefinyourself, we've put together a sort ofdo-ityourselfmodel.Nobodywants to promoteus in Omaha? Well, we'll promote our ownshows. Ifnobody wants to get involved inthe publishingside, we'll publish andrelease our own records. And all ofasudden, 10 years down the line... We neversat there drinking over-priced scotch in amembers-only club, smoking Cubancigars, fine 'hats with a monocle, saying,We have this evil plan to take over themusic business! We just did it by necessitybecause we wanted to keep touring andmakingrecords."Yeah,1 am very involved in the businessside, 1think it's important for artists toknow their business, because the worstthing you can say is, Oh, I'mjust a guitarplayer - 1dunno, somebody e'lse sorts outthe money. Well the chances are you'regoing to end up without a chair when themusic stops. And the music will stoppretty qu ickly - I'll tell you that. Ifyoudon't know where the money is going; if"We had five weeks there. We weresupposed to get six tracks done in fiveweeks, written and recorded, and we endedup getting the whole thing done."After The Ballad Of John Henry and theAlbert Hall (October 2009), it was gettinga bit stuffed shirt and opera house for mytaste, so Isaid, We're justgonna rock again.Iplayed on that record like Iwas 18 - didn·tcare how many notes Iplayed! Iwas justgonna go blazing and see what happens."you don't know why you made X amountofmoney per gig, or why you didn't makeX amou nt ofmoney per gig, then that's areal problem,"Jack O'Dea: You occasionally use a JohnPetrucci Music Man - why is that, is he aninfluence for you?"1 do. 1know John, and it's a baritone thatI use and 1tune it to C. 1like the guitarbecause it's got an acoustic pickup on it,and 1like the guitar because it makes thisreal thud. John's a really great player, 1love the Dream Theater stuff. When 1started using the Ernie Ball strings I toldthem 1was in need ofa baritone and theysent one over. 1love it - it's a cool guitar."Owen Bailey: We rarely see you playaGibson 335 or semi-hollow guitar thesedays, Joe, why not?"1 used to. One ofthe favourite guitars1own is a '62 ES-33S, block marker, red ­just like Clapton played. But with the rig,they feed back. 1just got a Freddie King355 which is really cool, a '73 with G,ibsonon the front ofthe humbuckers; just likeFreddie King played, because Freddie ismy hero,"Rus Scagal: Have there been any changesto your live set-up, adding or tak,jng away,that make you play differently?"This year we're goingwith the same liveset-up; a few changes, a few tweaks, a fewless pedals - there's no chorus box anymore, there's a little less reverb boxes. Theproblem is 1have a lot ofrecords to get toin a live show, A lot oftimes we.'ll do thesefly-in shows where we'll just fly toMoscow or wherever and for that I'll justget two Marshall DSL 2000s, TubeScreamer, one delay and I'll be like, I'mhappier with this than I am with themassive rig... But it's also about reliability.The EV12Ls [speakers that Joe uses] - youcan't kill 'em. And those heads that PeterVan Weelden builds are fantastic,"We'll see tonight rguess. We've beenrehearsing, it's been good. My band guysare rejuvenated. It was a big year foreverybody - I mean we went to partsunknown and we came back. Andeverybody was sick and tired ofoneanother, but then six weeks, andeverybody's happy to see each other andhavingdinner... So, anybody want to playthis guitar?" [IIGuitarist would like to thank John Henryand the staff at John Henry's Studios inLondon for their kind help with organisingthis session.58 Guitarist May 2010

RocKQUWITHJOE BONAMASSAJoe BonamassaBlack Rock ProvogueOn an album heavy with covers, the neweststar on the blues block is in inspired form.F to Greece to work with localor the recording ofBlack Rock,guitarist Joe Bonamassa travelledmusicians and make a blues album thatwould, as he himselfsaid, rock like hisfirst solo record, A New Day Yesterday.And on that score it's missionaccomplished right from the album'sopener, a cover of Bobby Pa rker's StealYour Heart Away, with Bonamassa layinginto the song like a man possessed; ofcourse, it's more than likely that he's justhaving a damn good time. That fevercarries over into other rocking bluestracks like the storming take on JeffBeck's Spanish Boots and the heavy-duty,self-penned Wandering Earth. Black Rock isloaded with covers (John Hiatt's I KnowA Place is another standout), but it's theoriginal songs that make up many ofthe best moments on the album.The collaboration with local Greekmusicians pays offbeautifully on AthensTo Athens, a Delta-style blues completewith bouzouki (a traditional Greek,mandolin-like instrument) and anexotic sounding wind instrument. Thebouzouki puts in another appearanceon the haunting blues balladQuarryman's Lament, and again the clashof cultures is stunning. The same is trueofBonamassa's gorgeous version ofLeonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire.86 ClASSICROCKMAGAZINE.COMElsewhere, blistering covers of OtisRush's Three Times A Fool, Blind BoyFuller's Baby You Gatta Change Your Mindand the James Clark classic Look OverYonder's Wall (also famously covered bythe Paul Butterfield Blues Band)collectively add a thrilling, old-schoolvibe to Black Rock. That infectious vibeis no more evident than on the killerNight Life with vocals and guitarcourtesy ofa special guest appearancefrom blues legend BB King. Here bothguitarists are on top form, with Kinggenuinely sounding like he's having thetime of his life on this uptown, horndrivenblues; you even hear himchuckling at the end ofthe track.B/ack Rock is undeniably a greatmodern blues album. That said, it's adynamically rich and diverse recordthat, in the wrong hands, could havecome across as a confused jumble ofstyles and ideas, especially given thoseethnic Greek touches. It's to thecombined credit ofJoe and his producer,Kevin Shirley, that this collection ofsongs hangs together so well as analbum. It's wonderful stuff. We don'tknow what Joe found in Greece thatinspired him, but a return visit in thenear future wouldn't be a bad idea.••••••••Ed MitchellThe obvious question is, apartfrom the great weather and food,what made you decide on Greeceas the location for the recordingof Blaelr Roclt?Kostas Kalimeris emailed my producerKevin Shirley about his new studio,Black Rock, on the small Greek islandof Santorini. Kevin and I had talkedabout achange of location forrecording, so this seemed perfect.And it was, honestly. Best recordingexperience of my life.What made the recording processso enjoyable?Its always great recording with Kevin.We have this great rap in the studio.He's my best bud. Plus the band iswicked. Sometimes we have toomuch fun. I think you can hear thaton Baby You Gotta Change Your Mindon the album.How long did It take to recordthe album?About five weeks from start to finish.What was It like working with theGreek musicians In the studio?They were awesome. We told them toplay from their hearts and just 'feel'.Working with them was ahumblingexperience.Did you leam anything Inparticular from the localmusicians?I learned that [jazz guitarist] AI DiMeola ripped alot of Friday Night InSan Francisco from the Greek bouzoukiplayers. I was like, hey, I've heard thatbefore! But I'm not about to throwstones when Ilive in aglass houseI bought from Eric Clapton.Athens To Athens is abeautifulsong 011 the album. What was theInspiration for It?It's abit of amash-up between RyCooder's Cherry Ball Blues and alyricI had.BB King perfonns wonderfullyon NIgIrt LIfe.I am eternally grateful and humbled hedid it. He honestly works more than Ido, but he had aspare day last year.We recorded our bits separately. I wasin Luxembourg playing ashow whenhe recorded his tracks. Iwas so proudand I cried when Kevin texted me andsaid the track was done. Imean, howcool is it to have 'The King' on yourrecord? Its the honour of alifetime.I framed the lyric sheet he signed forme. Awesome, really.Do you have any personalfavourite trades on the record?I like Wandering Earth and ThreeTimes aFool. That's the kinda bluesI like to play.

GW47Joe Bonamassa is fresh off a hitalbum, a live DVD and a badly brokenheart. With his career on the hottrack and a new CD on the way, theblues guitarist reflects on his gainsand losses, and what is yet to come.By Alan PaulPhotographs byross halfin

oe Bonamassa is sitting in his regularperch in the front of his tour bus as it rollsthrough the Illinois countryside. It’s 2:30 in themorning, and we are driving to Chicago fromPeoria, where he just performed before a CivicCenter crowd of 1,000. In 12 hours he will walkinto the grand old Vic Theatre to soundcheckfor a sold-out show. The rest of his 10-memberband and crew have slipped into their bunksfor some quiet time or sleep, but Bonamassa issipping red wine and reflecting on his career.Though he’s just 32, Bonamassa hasbeen on the road for almost 20 years.A prodigal talent who could shredthe blues with remarkable fluidityas a kid, he seems to be hitting hisstride now with a series of successfulCDs and DVDs that have raised hisprofile, elevating him from clubs totheaters and putting him on the cusp ofsomething grander.It’s been a long and difficult journey. Over the years he has gone from overseeingthe entire operation himself (including driving the band around in avan) to having a veteran professional tour manager that supervises a smallroad crew. And he has done it all by taking control of his career in partnershipwith Roy Weisman, his manager of 18 years. They now handle everything inBonamassa’s career, from releasing his music to booking his shows, and seemto have found a stable path through the treacherous, ever-shifting landscape ofthe contemporary music business.Bonamassa has a lot to be glad for. His last CD, The Ballad of John Henry,stood atop the Billboard Blues Albumschart for six months after its debut. Thispast September, he released the DVDLive at the Royal Albert Hall, whichfeatures his band blazing through aset at the sold-out London landmark,complete with an appearance by hishero Eric Clapton. His next CD, BlackRock, is already in the can.This would seem to be the moment atwhich he could pat himself on the backand reflect on how far he’s come. But ashis tour bus rolls through the darkness,Bonamassa is considering what he’ssacrificed: a chance to build a stablehome life around a lasting relationship.“Living this life, even if you findthe true love of your life, chances areyou’re gonna burn them out beinggone,” he says. “What good is it to bein a relationship when you’re gone formonths on end or they come out withyou and sit on the bus with nothing todo? I’ve had two long-term relationshipsin 10 years, and it burns them out.“Last year I thought I found the one,so I still think it’s possible. I was oncloud nine. You could not have given methe blues if you tried. Six months later,after this huge movement of houses,people, everything—I moved from L.A.to Athens, Georgia—it fell apart, and Iwas at the lowest point of my life.”In the tried-and-true tradition of theblues, Bonamassa turned to his music forhealing. He poured the emotions of thisspectacular disaster of a relationship—the ups and the downs—into the songsof the album he was in the midst ofrecording. The Ballad of John Henry wasrecorded in two sessions, four monthsapart—a third of a year during whichBonamassa’s moods spanned the gamutof human emotions.“I was as happy as I’ve ever been when we didthe first sessions for the album and as down asI’ve ever been when we did the second,” he says.“I could not have been in a worse place.”Bonamassa’s struggles and this dark periodproduced some of his deepest, most personalsongwriting, notably “Last Kiss” and “HappierTimes.” “I think these are the most heartfeltsongs, with the best lyrics, that I’ve ever written,”he says.Producer Kevin Shirley helped make sure thatBonamassa’s emotions informed the music asmuch as they did the lyrics and vocals. “He wasso obviously distraught when we cut ‘HappierTimes,’ ” Shirley recalls. “We tracked it, and thenI took him aside and said, ‘Play everything youare feeling on that guitar.’ I left him alone andjust let him play and play with the guys, playingthe changes over and over, and later I edited thatdown into the solo. It was pretty intense. I canstill feel that emotion when I listen to the song.And amazingly, he says that he doesn’t have amemory of playing it at all. He just poured everythinginto the solo.”Bonamassa’s successful integration of his paininto the music also represented a maturation ofhis approach to music. He has had terrific chopsand an almost freakish ability to play hot-roddedblues rock almost since the day he played hisLiving this life, evenif you find the truelove of your life,chances are you’regonna burn them outbeing gone.”first gig, at age 11, after sitting in withguitar greats like Albert Collins andDanny Gatton in his hometown of Utica,New York. A year later, B.B. King tookhim under his wing, and he made hismajor-label debut, as a member of theband Bloodline, when he was still a teen.Bonamassa has evolved into a deeper,more well-rounded musician. His licksare no less impressive, but now theyare in the service of something greater,working in a context that appeals to thoseoutside the guitar community.This transition began in earnest in2006 when he first entered a studio withShirley, who had produced the BlackCrowes and Aerosmith and is probablybest known for having mixed Led Zeppelin’sHow the West Was Won and thegroup’s eponymous DVD, both releasedin 2003. Shirley took a much more expansiveview of Bonamassa’s music andpotential than anyone had previously.“From the first time we spoke, Kevindidn’t care what I could do well,” Bonamassasays. “He cared about what Ineeded to work on, and he wanted tochallenge me. He suggested a lot of songsguitar world 49

We havebudgets betterthan a lot of big labels willgive you now.People in this collapsingmusic industry arenow referring to this as the‘Bonamassamodel.’ ”—Kevin Shirleyand situations I never thought wouldwork, and we tried them, and it tookus to a whole new place and a wholenew level.”Shirley recalls going to see Bonamassafor the first time, in a smallclub outside Chicago. He was impressed,but not exactly wowed. “Itwas clear to me right away that Joewas a great guitar player, but I wasn’tsure where he was taking it,” he says.“I went on the bus, and he askedwhat I thought, and I was just totallyhonest. I said, ‘I think that you’revery good, but you’re on a bit of anowhere journey. If you ever wantto think outside the box, then let’s dosomething, but it’s going to take youplaces you might not be comfortablewith, and you’ll have to trust me.’“He was a little taken aback—hehad just played a gig and had 50adoring fans around him—but hecalled me about a week later and said,‘Okay, I’m ready. What do you wantto do?’ ”Shirley’s first thought was thatBonamassa should expand beyond thepower-trio lineup he had been playingwith for years. He wanted to bring insome new and different musicians,starting with drummer Jason Bonhamand bassist Carmine Rojas, a veteransession and road musician who hadperformed with David Bowie, RodStewart and countless others. Shirleysays, “These guys are great musicians,but more importantly they had theexperience and musical respect to letJoe be the star.”Bonamassa says, “The thing thatwas so great about working withKevin is he opened things up withouttrying to steer me away from bluesand the music I loved and wanted toperform. He saw more possibilitiesfor what I was doing, but he wasn’ttrying to change me or make me intosomething I wasn’t, and it was allgood from the start. The first thinghe did was call Jason Bonham, andworking with him was great. I amjust not the kind of guy who woulddo that myself.”That recording became You andMe, Bonamassa’s third album to bereleased on his own J&R Adventureslabel and his first to debut atopthe Billboard Blues Albums chart.Bonamassa has never been a bluespurist—the title track of A NewDay Yesterday, his debut CD, is aJethro Tull song—but on You andMe he expanded his usual mix oforiginal and cover tunes further.In one instance, he took on LedZeppelin’s “Tea for One,” inspired byBonham’s drumming. It was evidentthen that he had taken a subtle butdefinitive turn, one he furthered byadding Rojas and keyboardist RickMelick to his touring band, alongwith drummer Bogie Bowles (whohad previously worked with KennyWayne Shepherd). The result is amore professional band and a fullersound that puts a stronger focus onBonamassa and the songs.“I did not and still don’t fear thinkingoutside the box and changingwhat we’re doing,” Bonamassa says.“I had created my own little house,and it was really comfortable. WhenKevin first came to see me, it was ina sold-out blues club—300 people—and we thought that was pretty great.Four years later, we’re at the RoyalAlbert Hall with 5,000 people thereand Eric Clapton coming out to play.The impact of these records withKevin on my career is incalculable.”Bonamassa has always had a knackfor finding great material, and hehas continued to do so even as hissongwriting has grown stronger. Hisnext CD, Black Rock, which will beguitar world 51

eleased in March, was recorded inGreece and features local musiciansenlivening Leonard Cohen’s “Birdon a Wire” as well as a romp through“Steal Your Heart Away,” an old tuneoriginally done by bluesman BobbyParker. The song was recommendedto Shirley by Robert Plant, who saidLed Zeppelin rehearsed it in theirearliest days and that he regretted notrecording it.But the guitarist has also becomeextremely prolific. In four years,he has released four studio albums(including Black Rock), a live albumand the Albert Hall DVD. If he werestill on a major label, as he was forhis 2000 debut, he likely would haveput out one or two of those projects.“Taking control and putting outour own product has given me a lotof freedom to keep trying differentthings and recording when we’reready or just want to try something,rather than waiting for someone elseto tell me it’s time,” he says.Shirley has grown increasinglyimpressed with Bonamassa andWeisman’s business acumen andwillingness to follow their instinctsand try new things. “Musically, Joewill listen to ideas and let somethingplay out to see if the vision developsand pay off,” Shirley says. “And he’llknow when to pull the plug and whento keep riding something. He and Royhave approached the business in asimilar way. They’ve been mercurialenough to move with the demandsof a fast-changing industry. They seeevery aspect of every cog in the wheelas leading up to something else. Theypay for everything out of their pocket,and we have budgets better than alot of big labels will give you now.And it’s all worked. People in thiscollapsing music industry are nowreferring to this as the ‘Bonamassamodel’ and calling me to discuss it.”This acquired business savvy is notin any way antithetical to great musicianship.Bonamassa says that B.B.King’s big advice to him was to knowhow to do everyone’s job and alwaystake care of the money yourself. Still,running a tight ship would be meaninglesswithout great music, and Bonamassahas continued to grow. Rojassays, “The thing about Joe is he’s sotalented and so ready to explore. Itmakes it really fun and constantlychallenging to play with him. If youcrack open the door even just a littlebit for him, you know he’s going toopen it up and see what’s there.”Following his Chicago performanceat the Vic, Bonamassa was ready todo a little more exploring. He andWeisman hopped into a van anddrove a couple of miles north to theRiviera Theatre, where Gov’t Mulewere performing. An onstage jambetween these two old friends hadbeen orchestrated, and to facilitate it,a quick rehearsal had been held earlierin the day during Mule’s soundcheck.One of Joe’s beloved Les Paulshad been placed alongside WarrenHaynes’ arsenal, ready for action.Bonamassa arrived for the last twosongs of Mule’s first set, thunderingperformances from their new CD, Bya Thread, that whipped the crowdinto a frenzy. Haynes and the bandtook their break and headed down totheir dressing room, Bonamassa stoodhesitantly in the background for amoment before following them, actingmore like a polite interloper thana guest star.In the dressing room, Haynes andBonamassa greeted each other likelong-lost friends. They first met morethan 15 years ago when they co-wrotea couple of songs for Bloodline’s 1994debut, on which Haynes also played.After that band fell apart, Bonamassarecorded Haynes’ “If HeartachesWere Nickels” on his solo debut, andthe song remains a staple of his liveshows. Yet despite the connectionsand a strong mutual respect, thetwo had done precious little publicjamming, and both were excited.Two songs into Gov’t Mule’s secondset, Haynes called for Bonamassa, whostrode onstage to the cheers of thepacked house. Mule fans always knowto expect the unexpected—no oneenjoys bringing special surprise guestsonstage more than Haynes—and theywere in for a special treat.Over the course of two songs—“Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’sHome,” a soul song popularized byblues guitar titan Albert King, and theoriginal instrumental “Sco Mule”—Haynes and Bonamassa engaged in aplayful, virtuoso blues guitar dialoguethat played out like an ecstatic ad forGibson guitars. Throwing sparks atone another and taking flight on onelong complementary journey, the twoguitarists made their Les Pauls sing ineloquent, tube-drenched harmony.Afterward, Bonamassa and Weismanpiled into the van and headedback to the Vic. The bus was waiting,gassed up and ready to push off for St.Louis, where the endless tour wouldcontinue 600 miles later. Rojas andMelick were waiting on the sidewalk,eating French fries and talkingto some lingering fans. Bonamassagreeted them all, then everyone saidgoodbye and piled onto the bus. Thedoor pulled shut, and the vehiclepulled away from the curb.They had six or seven hours todrive, and most of the guys were nodoubt tucked away in their bunksbefore long. Bonamassa was probablyin his seat upfront, sipping wine andlooking out the window again, thinkingabout the miles behind him andthe distance yet to cover.guitar world 53

ROLL OF HONOUR 2009BREAKTHROUGHJOEBONAMASSABottle: This manplayed solo guitar infront of Page, Beck,Wood, Slash, May,Townshend & more.Being a hot new artist is one thing - getting out of the'promising' category and into the big league is something else.The Breakthrough award is a brand new award recognisingyounger musicians who've taken critical acclaim and years ofsupport slots and turned them into mainstream success. Withhis acclaimed album The Ballad Of John Henry, and a sell-outshow at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year, Joe Bonamassawas this year's deserving Breakthrough award winner.PROUDLY SPONSORED BYrockrad1o. co. ukYou've attended the Roll Of Honour before, but it must feelso much better to actually walk away with an award?[Laughing] Honestly, just to have been nominated alongsidesome of the artists I was up against was an incredible thrill. Andfor Classic Rock to think of me as the first recipient of thiS awardcategory is a tremendous honour. Without the magazine, just likea lot of people, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you now.You also played at the Awards.That was another first in the five years of these awards. If it hadn'tgone weill might have been the first and last [In fact, Mot6rheada/so performed an acoustic spot at the end of the inaugural ClassicRock Roll Of Honour in 2005 - Ed]It took guts to play in front of all those guitarists...I was trying not to think of who was watching.What's in store for you in 2010?A new record, called Blackrock, that comes out in March, plus gigsin a lot of new territories for me"Without thismagazineI probablywouldn'tbehere.

THE BEATLES & THE ROCK BAND GENERATION! 12 SONGSJoe BonamassaPLUS!21st Century Blues Hero!MaTT SCHofield:Blues Guitar’sNext Big Thing!The Beatles“Back in the U.S.S.R.”The Beatles“I Feel Fine”Joe Bonamassa“You Upset Me Baby”Shadows Fall“Still I Rise”Alice in Chains“Them Bones”Motion City Soundtrack“Fell in Love Without You”Five Finger Death Punch“Hard to See”Opeth“Windowpane”ZZ Top“Just Got Paid”Yes“Owner of a Lonely Heart”+2 Bonus Songs!Les Paul“Stardust”Les Paul“How High the Moon”THECOOLESTGEAR!Marshall Hazeand MG Series CombosSchecter Solo-6T-Rex DGTMNovember 20095 Rotary PedalsSide-By-Side!guitaredge.com

photo: Ashley Maile22 NOVEMBER 2009www.guitaredge.com

COVER STORYJoe BonamassaTrans-Atlantic Blues Power{How a young kid from Utica, New York, with a love for Britishblues became the face of his generation of the blues}interview by Dave Rubinwww.guitaredge.comNOVEMBER 2009 23

When Stevie Ray Vaughan roared onto thescene in the early Eighties, the guitaristwith Texas-sized tone and chops to matchnot only single-handedly rescued the bluesbut also inspired would-be guitarists youngand old across the globe to take up musicalarms. Indeed, Vaughan’s influence hadunprecedented reach, as kids as young asfour years old began trading swim lessonsfor Strats, and Legos for Les Pauls. One ofthose youngsters—and arguably the bestof them—was a kid from Utica, New York,named Joe Bonamassa.In 1984, when he was just seven years old,Bonamassa was already copping SRV licks.But it was his father’s record collection featuringBritish blues titans Eric Clapton, JeffBeck, and Peter Green along with their Irishcounterparts Rory Gallagher and Gary Moorethat really fired his imagination and desire. Atage 11, Bonamassa found a mentor in noneother than Danny Gatton, and a year laterwas opening shows for B.B. King. The followingyear he met Berry Oakley, Jr., son of theAllman Brothers Band bassist, and formedBloodline, along with Erin Davis (son of Miles),and Waylon Krieger (son of Robby), resultingin a critically acclaimed self-titled album. ButBonamassa was eager to go his own way andin 2000 finally released his solo debut, A NewDay Yesterday. Ten more acclaimed studio andlive discs have followed, including the latest,The Ballad of John Henry (J&R Adventures),which cracked the Billboard 200 and was a # 1blues album in 2009.One key to his successful journey down theblues highway is the praise he has earnedfrom everyone from B.B. King to Ted Nugent.But in the end, it is the wallop of his emotionalexpression, fueled by the rocking energy hederives from that trans-Atlantic blues connectionand driven by his devastating technicalability, that elevates him above his peers andmakes him a certifiable blues guitar hero andthe face of this blues generation.How have you remained true to yourkind of blues?For a long time I felt alone and that everyoneelse was going in the opposite direction fromme, to the Chicago sound, or certainly to theTexas sound. I would show up and have theonly Marshall amp and Les Paul guitar. But,honestly, I couldn’t sell anything else. I probablycould play Texas blues, but I think the fanswould see through it.photo: Ashley MaileThe blues has to be played from the heart.Yes, and the fact that I had good success inEngland meant a lot to me, because it waslike selling it back to them. I figured everybodyand their second cousin would have aMarshall Bluesbreakers combo, a Les Paul, andsound like Peter Green, but I was extremely24 NOVEMBER 2009 www.guitaredge.com

photo: Christie Goodwinmistaken. Again, it was more the Texas thing,and I thought, “Hmm, maybe if I really workthis enough, I could be the only one!”Did you ever study and learn theory?I learned some classical guitar when I was akid, but I don’t know the names of the modesand the numbers of the notes and chords. Ido clinics at G.I.T., and ultimately some kidwho is trying to impress his girlfriend willask, “When you add the major 5th to theminor 6th, what is your thought process?”And I say, “They add up to 11, and I havenot the slightest idea what you just said.” Ilearned by ear from records and would pickstuff out, like the way Eric Clapton wouldweave in and out of the minor and majorpentatonic scales. But I always wanted toknow why a riff was used and why it soundedso good at the “payoff” moment.In 2007 you released Sloe Gin, which featuredyour acoustic playing. How wouldyou describe the difference between electricand acoustic guitar?With electric, sometimes the guitar and ampwill take you for a ride, in the sense that ifyou get enough volume and sustain, sometimesthe guitar will dictate and take you toplaces you are not intending to go. With theacoustic, everything comes out as intended—andit’s brutally honest. I think I soundmore original on the acoustic because I havefewer influences. I use .011–.052 strings onall my guitars. I want the acoustic to fight me,but I don’t want it to win.How would you like to see yourplaying improve?It has always been and always will bephrasing for me. I can hand you my guitarand say, “Play an E note,” and you’ll play ita certain way, and I’ll play an E a certainway. Then we could hand the guitar toEric Clapton, and he’ll play an E a certainway. You could record us and blindfoldsomeone, and with just that single E note,they would be able to tell the differencebetween us. It’s phrasing that denotes astyle. Learning lots of scales and techniquelike string skipping is great if you are playingin a band like Dragonforce—of course,there’s always room for the shred. But mykind of music is a little bit different. It’smore emotive and based on simplicitywww.guitaredge.com NOVEMBER 2009 25

photo: Ashley Maileand a more soulful approach. PaulKossoff, from Free, is a greatexample. He was the definition of“tactile and simple.” He could play aLes Paul straight into any amp, whethera Marshall or an Orange, and you couldalways tell it was him. His phrasing andtone, always warm and not too bright, ason “Mr. Big,” just got to me. And, he playedwith bad intentions, like he was trying tocut your head off.Who were your main influencesto play the Les Paul?Clapton and Green, but also Jeff Beck.Hearing him on Truth, it was like, how doeshe get that tone on “Let Me Love You, Baby”?Then I met Ken Scott, who engineered thealbum, and I asked him about the intro. Hesaid the studio was so small, they put theMarshall inside a closet, turned it up andmiked it from the outside. It created that big,thick Les Paul sound that I always liked, thehuman voice quality of it. I tried an ES-335 foryears, and it was pretty good, but the soundhad less weight. The transition between thewound strings and the G string is a littlebrighter, while with the Les Paul, if you couldfind a good one, the sound is thick all acrossthe neck like Paul Kossoff, or that outrageoustone Peter Green had on “So Many Roads.”Didn’t Peter Green reverse the direction ofthe neck pickup on his LP to get a funky,midrange, out-of-phase sound?I read that he turned the pickup aroundbecause he was trying to get the properin-phase sound with both pickups selected.I think his guitar had been wired wrong.I turned the pickup around on my guitarand it did nothing. Upon further inspection,I realized you had to also reverse thewiring on the coils. Recently my tech putone together for me with a Burstbucker.It’s usable for some things, but it’s so PeterGreen that it’s almost too much. You know,that sound is his thing.Clapton used an effect on the “Beano” albumcombined with the ’Burst and the Marshall.26 NOVEMBER 2009 www.guitaredge.com

photo: Christie Goodwinphoto: Ashley MaileI heard that he used a Dallas Rangemastertreble booster, which is really more of abass cut than a treble boost and that alsocuts the input a little bit. Brian May makesa similar one now, and I tried a couple ofthem and they do a certain thing withthe mids that’s actually pretty decent,but I would love to find one of theoriginal ones. I recently played througha Bluesbreakers combo without a treblebooster, but I used a Tube Screamer tokind of emulate the sound by taking alittle off the bass and adding some to thetop on the amp. Bring up the tone andturn the drive down almost to minimumon the Tube Screamer, turn your guitarup a little bit more, and it does its thing.What is the rest of yourbasic gear setup?My main guitar is theJoe Bonamassa signatureLes Paul goldtop,which I love. I run that through my oldMarshall Silver Jubilee, plus Category 5 JB100, Van Weelden Twinkleland, and CarolAnn JB 100 amps. For effects I use a reissueIbanez TS-808, Fulltone tremolo, WayHuge WHE 201 Pork Poin Soft Clip InjectionOverdrive, a custom Fuzz Face and customCrybaby wah, Boss DD-3 delay, and either aLayla or Palmer amp switch.Speaking of Clapton, you recently got toplay with him. What was that like?I invited him to play with us at the RoyalAlbert Hall in London, in May, telling himwhat a special event it was for me becauseof the legacy and history he created. Heaccepted, and I was able to realize two ofmy lifelong goals. We chatted some aboutguitars and he told me he preferred theskinnier necks and the sound of the 1960Les Paul, which I believe is what he playedon the Bluesbreakers album. I recently gotto A/B a 1959 and 1960 sunburst, and the1960 model had a little more top end on thefront pickup and the back pickup had a littleless bass, which is what you hear on thealbum. We jammed on “Further on up theRoad,” which was also special to me becausehis version from Just One Night was the firstelectric blues song I heard. I tried not to domy best Eric Clapton impersonation whilehe was up there with me, and it was themost thrilled and scared I’ve ever been. Itold him I owe you a royalty check for everythingI stole from you, and he laughed andsaid, “Don’t worry about it.”28 NOVEMBER 2009www.guitaredge.com

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WORKING CLASSHEROJoe Bonamassa Tells How LoudAmps, Heavy Strings, and HardWork Created His Best Record EverAT A GUITAR MAGAZINE, YOU GET A LOT OF PARENTS PUSHINGa lot of would-be guitar star kids in your face—children noteven in their teens who can play a Satriani tune or a Stevie RayVaughan solo “note-for-note” (they always say that). Despitethe fact that some of these kids actually can play, it’s very rarefor any of them to rise above the level of a trained monkey. Theyknow the notes, but they get very little of what’s behind thenotes: the sound, the personality, the soul. And most of themnever do, because if they did, we would know about them.One promising young kid who somehowmanaged to run the gauntlet of the music bizwhile getting his chops, tone, and tunes togetheris on our cover this month. Joe Bonamassa wasone of those youngsters who could blazethrough an SRV tune when he was 11. He possessedtechnique and knowledge that so beliedhis youth that it was only natural that if peopledidn’t curse him with the dreaded label of“The Next Stevie Ray,” they would at leastburden him with the “child prodigy” tag thatdragged down so many of his contemporaries.When the discussion turns to the idea thathe was some sort of wünderkind, BonamassaBY MATT BLACKETTJKJKgets thoughtful. “As far as me being a prodigy,”he says, “I listen back now to myself when Iwas a kid, and I think I was on the line betweenbeing a prodigy and just being good for my age.There were times when I was really good andI excelled and there were times when I waspretty bad.”If he was ever pretty bad, B.B. King didn’tsee it. King talked about Bonamassa being thekind of one-in-a-million talent that would be“legendary before he’s 25.” Another guy whomanaged to catch some of Bonamassa’s gooddays was Danny Gatton, who saw such a uniqueartist that he took a 12-year old kid under hisPHOTOGRAPH BY RICK GOULDGUITAR PLAYER APRIL 2009 81

COVER STORYJoe Bonamassawing and out on the road, providing lessonsand advice. The guidance Bonamassa gotfrom these two kingpins, along with jamsessions with a who’s-who of blues gods,spurred him on to practice his ass off, studyhis music history, get his sound together,and make a go of it.Bonamassa is more right than he knowswhen he says he’s good for his age. That wastrue when he was 11 and it’s even truer now.Even though he’s just in his 30s, he’s beengigging for 20 years and he has the depthand power in his playing of someone with alot more miles on him. He’s an old soul, andthat comes through in his bends, vibrato,singing voice, and note choices, which—witheach passing year—get more restrained andrefined.Bonamassa is also good for his age in thesense that he’s good for his era. He embodiesa refreshing work ethic and outlook onlife that says no matter how fortunate you are,how many breaks you’re given, or how muchgod-given talent you possess, it doesn’t meanyou don’t have to work at it. He knows thereis no free lunch (despite the fact that B.B.King once gave him half of his sandwich).He’s a dude who is willing to work for a living.He’s not chasing fame or glitz or glam.He wants to get a good sound, take a goodsolo, and hopefully make people happy alongthe way.His formula is paying off. He has workedwith celebrated producers Tom Dowd(Coltrane, Cream, Clapton, Allmans, etc)and Kevin Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith,Led Zeppelin). His last two albums havedebuted at number one on the Billboard blueschart. He has won GP’s Readers’ Poll awardfor Best Blues Guitarist two years running,famously tying none other than Buddy Guyone of those years. His tours have gottenstronger every year, although he still prefersthe B.B. King-approved theater circuit tostadiums. It makes perfect sense that Bonamassa’snew record would be called The Balladof John Henry [J&R Adventures], because Bonamassais a modern-day working-class hero.Conducting this interview from the verybedroom in upstate New York where helearned how to play guitar at the age of four,Bonamassa obviously has not forgottenwhere he came from. He’s good for his age.He’s good for this age.Lots of guys can play good blues in a bar, but veryfew can make a studio blues record that has 1/10thof that energy or vibe. How do you pull it off?It is very difficult to capture that energyin a studio. The studio tends to be a verysterile environment by design. Every trackis separated. You get perfect separation ofthe toms, the kick and the snare, perfect separationbetween the guitar and the bass, andobviously the vocal. And that’s not reallywhat blues music sounds like. There are peopleout there who believe that what I play isnot blues, but think about blues-based music,like Jeff Beck’s Truth, Tons of Sobs by Free, LedZeppelin I, The Hard Road by John Mayall’sBluesbreakers with Peter Green, the “Beano”album. These are my favorite albums of alltime in the blues-rock genre and they allhave this one common trait: Everything meltstogether. The drums melt into the bass, thebass and drums melt into the guitar, the vocalis panned to one side with the reverb returnon the other. To Kevin Shirley’s credit, heallows for all that. Kevin deserves most ofthe credit on these albums. He’s the guy whospearheads the vision, takes me out of mycomfort zone, and forces me to play differentstuff. He also engineers the whole thingso that it has the sound of a live band in aroom, but is separated enough that it doesn’tsound lo-fi. So, that’s my secret: I hire a guynamed Kevin Shirley.1958 GibsonES-140T1950 Gibson ES-5 1961 Guild X-375 Early-’60s Airline 1953 HoyerRegent82 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYERPHOTOS:RICK GOULD

COVER STORYJoe BonamassaJKBONAMASSA’S LIVE RIGAX Gibson Inspired by Joe BonamassaLes Paul.RACK (top to bottom) MonsterPower conditioner, Solid StateLogic XLogic Alpha Channel (foracoustic), Peterson VS-R StroboRack tuner, Electro-Voice wirelessunit, drawer with Keeley-moddedBoss DD-3 delay, Boss RV-5reverb, T.C. Electronic chorus, DiazVibramaster.AMPS (left side) Van WeeldenTwinkle Land, Carol Ann JB-100,(right side) Category 5 JB Custom,Marshall Silver Jubilee. Cabs—Mojo Musical Supply 4x12sperched atop AuralexGreat Grammas.PEDALBOARD (top row, left toright)—Voodoo Lab Pedal Power(2), Whirlwind Selector, Fulltonetremolo; (bottom row, left to right)Boss DD-3 delay, Ibanez TS808Tube Screamer, Gaspedals Carb,Custom Dunlop Fuzz Face (originallymade for Eric Johnson), Lehle1@3 A/B/C box, Vox wah.Moog Thereminwith Boss delayand Ernie Ballvolume pedal.84 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYER PHOTO: RICK GOULD

Joe BonamassaCOVER STORYThe Ballad of John Henry has a real depth toit, not just in the playing but in the singing too.What do you attribute that to?I went through some personal problemsthis year at home, and this record is moreautobiographical than my past work, whichI think is a good thing. I’ve always been shyabout exposing too much of my own life onalbums. This time, I just threw that out thewindow and wrote about true events. I usedto get really indignant as a kid when peoplewould say that I was too young to play theblues. I’d say, “No I’m not! My heart’s beenbroken too!” But now, at 31, after havinggone through some more years of living, Iknow that there’s a sound that comes fromexperience, from being in the world a littlebit. Hopefully I’ll sound even deeper whenI’m 51. We’ll see.How did you create the tone that opens therecord on the title track?That was my live rig: a Marshall SilverJubilee, a Category 5 Super Lead-type of amp,a Two-Rock, and a Carol Ann JB-100, whichis basically a big clean amp. We set up a coupleof room mics, four mics on the amps, andI just hit a big dropped-DDchord with a wahpedal and a Fulltone tremolo. The mainrhythm tone is an Ernie Ball John Petruccibaritone. It’s a strange choice for my style ofplaying, but these are fantastic guitars. I thinkpeople tune them down to B with lighterstrings, but we tune them to C and put heavystrings on them and they sound fantastic. It’salmost like a Danelectro tone.When the Dobro comes in at 0:45, there’s aspooky little part that sounds like harmonics.That’s rhythm guitar underneath theDobro. Kevin grabs bits and pieces from differenttakes and he does a lot of this stuffwithout telling me. He puts these little texturesin the songs. He might take somethingfrom the end of the song and put it in theverse. It’s not necessarily something I playedright in that spot. We talk about this a lot.We make records for people who buy songsoff of iTunes, but we also make records forthe audiophiles, who buy them on vinyl andspin them on really expensive systems with$2,000 headphones. We make sure we putin these little interesting things underneathwhat you’ll hear on computer speakers.Your slide solo in “The Ballad of John Henry”takes the song to an all-new place. How did thatcome together? Are you in standard tuning?It’s standard, but down two full-steps toC. Tom Dowd used to tell me that I wouldcheat because I play slide in open tunings.Over the years I’ve forced myself to play morein standard. When we cut that lead, I wasjust going to play a regular solo, but then Ihappened to see a slide sitting on a musicstand. I grabbed it and went for it, and I thinkit has a cooler texture than if I had just donemy normal blazing over the top of it. That’sthe cool thing about how we record. We domost of it live, and you’re reacting the wayyou would in a gig situation. It feels morelike you’re playing in a venue than a studio,which is good.Your lead tone on “Jockey Full of Bourbon”sounds like it has a lot of room on it. Is that thesame rig?No. I had a bunch of my old amps in myfolks’ basement—probably 15 or so: myblond Bassman, a blond Tremolux, oldVibroluxes, etc. We shipped them out to Californiaand I started setting them up. TheSince 1972THEWORLD’SMOSTTRUSTEDSOURCE ...for the finest inVINTAGE, USED, and NEWguitars, basses, banjos,mandolins, ukuleles, andmore. We always buy, sell,trade, or consign.1100 N. WashingtonLansing, MI 48906Toll-Free (in the USA)888-473-5810or 517-372-7890elderly.comThousands of fretted instruments – available in-store and ONLINE!We also offer one of the world’s largest selections of MUSICAL ACCESSORIES,COMPACT DISCS, BOOKS AND DVDS, and a whole lot more. Visit us today at elderly.comGUITAR PLAYER APRIL 2009 85

COVER STORYJoe Bonamassa86 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYER PHOTO: MARTY MOFFATT

only two that still functioned after 15 yearsin the basement were the Bassman and theTremolux. I hooked them up and theysounded great with a Les Paul. I turned theamps up to 9 and miked them with Sennheiser421 room mics and a couple of Shure SM57sand Beyer condensers on the cabs. All of asudden this massive tone came out of the controlroom monitors. I ran those with a tubeEchoplex and an Arion chorus pedal.The tone doesn’t sound very chorused.This company called Xotic Effects sent methis thing called an X-Blender, which is aneffects loop for amps that don’t have loops.It’s got controls for bass, mid, treble, and overallvolume. So I ran the tube Echoplex andthe chorus through this external loop andblended them in subtly. You don’t really hearthe chorus, but it added this low end becauseyou can EQ the loop, which EQs the overallsound. So the bottom end, delay, andchorus were kind of melting into theoverall sound, giving it this bigness anddimension without an over-chorused sound.How did you get the boxier tone that’s on “Storyof a Quarryman”?That’s the same rig. Once we got the twoFender amps working, I used them exclusivelyfor the rest of the sessions, whichincluded the songs “Story of a Quarryman,”“Jockey Full of Bourbon,” “Happier Times,”and “Last Kiss.” Getting those amps working,though, wasn’t easy. There were timeswhere you would have to walk into the amproom, hit them on the top to get them tostop crackling, and then cut the track. I hadto leave them on standby overnight, to justrun some current through them. Basically,the first half of the record was cut with mylive rig. Then we discovered this great tonewith the Fenders and the room mics and weused it for the second half.Was that a Les Paul?It was. I have a couple hundred guitars,but I’m so proud of these Gibson Inspiredby Joe Bonamassa Les Pauls that I primarilyused them on the whole record. I don’t planon breeding, and these goldtops are like mychildren. I played some other guitars. I usedan ES-335, I played an ES-175 on a coupleof things, to double certain parts for a differenttexture so it’s not just the midrange-y,wall of Les Paul sound. I also played a GibsonLucille, but no Strats or Teles on thisrecord. They were there, but they just satthere. There was no reason other than thefact that the goldtop sounded so good, andthe sound we were going for on the recordwas somewhat bigger than what the Fenderswere willing to give. I was in a Les Paulframe of mind. I’ve really gotten to where Ican finesse the Les Paul. If I want a nice cleansound, I can get that by working the volumeand tone controls. Then, if I need a solo tone,I can turn up and it’s there.How do you set the controls on your Les Pauls?The switch is in the middle and it’s 75percent lead pickup and 25 percent rhythmpickup. It doesn’t do that two-pickup thing,the Steve Cropper sound. This gives youmore lead pickup, but it mellows out thesound just a bit so it has a different tone.If I didn’t know better, I’d say the harmonicsin “Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” were a nodto Mr. Edward Van Halen.That was a nod to Van Halen. I alwaysliked his playing, but I was more into theEnglish guys. It took me until later to reallyappreciate how good he was. As I got moreinto rock, I listened to him some more andsaw that he always came back to the bluesin a weird way. His voicing was very bluesy.That song was also a nod to Jeff Beck. Ihooked up what I call my Jeff Beck rig—notthat he owned it—but this is Jeff Beck circa1972. A 50-watt Marshall head, which wasactually a Park 75, and an old basket-weavecabinet. I plugged into a Colorsound Tonebender(which I bought in a shop in ManchesterEngland), a wah pedal, and a Les Paul. It’smore like his Rough and Ready-era rig.Do you have a favorite tone on your new record?The solo tone on “Happier Times.” It’sthe most expressive and the warmest, andit’s the closest to the sound that I alwaysenvision in my head. Everybody has a soundin their head. Achieving it is always a workin progress, at least for me. When I hear thatsong, it has the right kind of complex midsthat I like, but it’s bright—not too dark likea jazz tone. It also has a big bottom end. Thattone makes the solo very expressive andheartfelt. I think some of that is in the hands,and some is in the way I approached the solo.It’s also the way the amps happened to beon that particular day. That was my live rig.Has your live rig changed since you made therecord?It has changed subtly. I’m using one MarshallSilver Jubilee. There’s also a Category5 Joe Bonamassa model. Those guys downin Texas at Category 5 wanted to build mean amp, and so I said, “Okay—build me a1968 Marshall Super Lead with a Dumblemid boost.” About six months later this ampshows up and it’s exactly what I envisioned.It’s got that Billy Gibbons Super Lead tone,but with a mid boost to bring it forward. ItGUITAR PLAYER APRIL 2009 87

COVER STORYJoe BonamassaFender blender—Inaddition to his live rig(at left), Bonamassaused a passel of vintageFender amps inthe studio.sounds fantastic. I have a Carol Ann JB-100.It has four 6L6s, it’s a 100-watt amp, and Iuse it for a lead tone. It’s a really nicemidrange amp. There’s not a lot of top or alot of bottom, but it’s really complex in themids and blends well with the Silver Jubilee.I sometimes switch the Carol Ann out witha Two-Rock Custom Signature Reverb. Finally,I just got my second Van Weelden TwinkleLand. I use that for my semi-distorted cleanthing, blending it with the Marshall.And there are two amps on at once?There are two heads on at any one time,and the Silver Jubilee is always on. The CarolAnn and the Marshall is one tone. The Marshalland the Category 5 is another tone, etc.The oversized 4x12 cabs I use are split verticallyso it’s two 12s for each head. Eachpair of 12s is baffled and sealed separately.It’s like having 4 2x12 cabs without havingto lug all those 2x12s.Do you set the controls the same way every night?I set them the exact same way every nightand there are two reasons. I use these thingscalled Auralex Great Grammas, which are studio-designedfoam pads that the amps sit on.You put your 4x12s on them to decouple themfrom the stage. You don’t get the rumblefrom the stage, which is sometimes hollow,sometimes not. It varies every day. The GreatGrammas make it much more consistent bytaking the stage out of the equation. I alsouse these shields in front of my cabs—angledPlexiglas baffles that are shaped like an “M.”The Plexiglas has to have angles in it. If youjust use straight Plexiglas across the front,it’s going to sound very harsh and it’s notgoing to do much good at all. So I set myamps the same every night because they’realways in their own little environment. Thetone and the volume don’t vary from roomto room.Are certain amp combinations louder thanothers?The volume differences are not that great.There are perceived volume differencesbecause some amps have more midrangethan others. Some amps have more gain thanothers, and some have more or less top end.The more midrange-y amps come out forwardmore. Here’s the deal: The Van Weeldenand the Carol Ann are 6L6, Fender-basedcircuits. The Marshall and the Category 5are Marshall-based circuits. The Marshalltypes will break up sooner than the Fendertypes. I like the tone you get by combiningthem, because you get all the articulationfrom the Fender type and then you get allthe saturation you need for solos from theMarshall. You get the best of both worlds.What are some examples of a good multi-amprig, and what mistakes do players commonly make?Eric Johnson is certainly an example of aguy who got it right. He had three separaterigs: He had a clean rig, he had a semi-distortedrig where he used the Dumble SteelString Singer, and he had his Marshall rig,and he would switch between the three. Thepeople who get it wrong are the ones whothink that because they have an A/B box theyhave a multi-amp rig. It’s not that simple.You’ve gotta get your phasing correct. Youhave to make sure the ground is proper. Ifyou plugged in my four heads with normalthree-pronged cable, it would buzz like crazy.You have to go through the rig with groundlifters and painstakingly figure out what tolift and what not to lift to get it as quiet aspossible. Speaker choice is also critical,because the key is to use the amps for differentfrequencies. I use EV EVM-12Ls because88 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYER PHOTO: RICK GOULD

Joe BonamassaCOVER STORYthey’re true—no extra coloration, no extraoverdrive. Whatever the amp gives you, theEV spits out. If I’m running a lot of mids onthe amp, the EV is going to give me thosemids. The other pitfall is people just use twoof the same amp in stereo, and that to me isnot a multi-amp setup. That’s just twice thepower. Another problem is a lack of power.People are constantly showing up with ampsthat are 18 watts, 20 watts, maybe 50 watts,and they say, “My 50 watts will beat thatJubilee’s 100 watts.” Well, I’ll take that Pepsichallenge any day. Maybe you’re going to getclose in perceived volume, but in clean headroom—noway. You have no clean headroom.The amp’s collapsing before you even begin.It takes a lot of power to drive the mids theway they need to be driven. Keeping the lowend tight takes a lot of power. That’s why Iuse 100-watt amps, and that’s why I use ampswith different frequency bands.Do you ever like playing through just one amp?I’m not a firm believer in one amp beingable to do it all. Every manufacturer has whatthey think is the ultimate amp—I think Isaw that they’re up to six channels now.Who needs six channels and 50 knobs? Iwalk up to an amp like that and think, “Idon’t even know how to turn this thingon, let alone set it so it will work.” Thereare some exceptions. You plug into an oldMarshall Super Lead, put a reverb on it, andit’s just magic.Go back to your first album. What do you hearin your playing and what do you hear in your tonewhen you spin that record now?I know people really dig that album. It’sone of my biggest thrills in life and one ofmy biggest regrets at the same time. Thebiggest thrill was that I got to work with TomDowd, who was like a father to me and reallyset the tone for the rest of my career. Mybiggest regret was that I didn’t have the skillsat the time that were worthy of working witha guy like him. When I listen to it, I can tellthat I didn’t have my rig together. I hear akid who was still trying to find himself andhis sound, just plugging anything into anythingwith no idea of how it worked. I wasusing two Marshalls and it was more volumeand less sound. You can put amps in a roomand get really loud and you think it soundsbig, but when you mic it up, it sounds reallysmall. I never got that concept back then. Ididn’t get it until I started really listening towhat each amp was doing. I’ve learned a lotsince that album, and that’s what I hear whenI listen to it. I cringe a little bit with the vocals,too. I wasn’t that great of a singer. I wish Icould make that album now. I think I coulddo a lot better and I could achieve more ofthe stuff I would want to hear.For your fans, that record is a crucial documentof where you were as a musician, warts and all.I used to wonder why people might likeit over some things that I think are better,but I’ve learned that there’s a certain charmin the struggle. When I hear my early work,I hear the struggle to get the notes out, tosing the parts, and the struggle of writing thetunes. I think that’s why some people aredrawn to it: It’s real. I’ve always toyed withredoing the vocals on that whole album, butI haven’t because people do like it. I read aninterview with Clapton where he said hehates the way he sounded with John Mayall.I think, “How can you hate that? You wereon fire!” But that wasn’t what he envisionedJJ Cale Roll OnIncludes the single “Roll On” featuring Eric ClaptonAVAILABLE AT:Amazon, Amazon.com and the Amazon.com logo areregistered trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.www.rounder.comwww.jjcale.comGUITAR PLAYER APRIL 2009 89

COVER STORYJoe Bonamassafor himself. That’s just where he was in 1966.The grass is always greener for all guitarists.When the great players no longer have to struggle,it’s usually bad for their music.It really is an interesting concept. For anartist, there’s the struggle to make it, andthere’s a fire and a hunger that fuels that.Then, if you make it, the challenge is to keepthe fire and the hunger that in reality don’texist anymore. The whole reason those playersdid make it is because of that fire. It’s avery strange phenomenon. If things get tooeasy, it definitely translates into recordingsand live shows.Speaking of struggling, do you still string yourelectrics with .011s?I do. My electrics and acoustics have thesame gauges: Ernie Balls, .011-.052.How does using heavier strings on yourelectrics affect your tone and your technique?From a tonal standpoint, you get this verynice connection between the wound stringsand the unwound strings. The transitionbetween the wound and plain strings cansometimes get a little strange because you’regoing from this nice warm and inviting tonewith low end to having no low end and avery bright, fretty kind of sound. The .011sgive me a smooth transition between thewound strings and the plain strings, so itdoesn’t sound like you’re playing a differentguitar. It’s very even. I also think that whenyou’re bending the high strings, it gives youa creamier sound that’s not as strident. Ithink the added mass drives the input of theamp a little more and you get a little moreoverdrive. That matters more when you’regoing for natural power amp gain. If you pluginto a Boogie Dual Rectifier, there’s plentyof gain for everyone and you can use whateverstrings you want.On a technical level, I look at it like this:I’m not a shredder guy. I’m not fast enoughto be a shredder guy, but I have shredder tendenciesthat I think get in my way. I have atendency to put in a million notes and showoff to the world, and that’s not usually mybest solo. So, the .011s keep me from goingthere all the time. I can ramp up to it butI’m not living there, overplaying all the time.Tell the story of when you were at a gig as a90 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYER PHOTO: RICK GOULD

Joe BonamassaFEATURESkid and some band’s guitarist didn’t show up.It was a blues festival in upstate New Yorkthat got rained out and moved indoors. Oneof the bands’ guitarists didn’t show, so theydid this open call on the mic, the classic, “Doesanybody play guitar?” My dad asked me if Iwanted to go have some fun. I was an adventurous11-year old, so I went up there andplayed. The crowd liked it, partly because itwas a little kid playing, but I did pretty good.The promoter of the show came up and introducedme to James Cotton. I sat in with JamesCotton that day and things started to snowballfrom there. That year I got to sit in withDuke Robillard, Albert Collins, Clarence“Gatemouth” Brown. A year later, I’m on stagewith B.B. King and Buddy Guy and John LeeHooker. What a year! I had pretty much runthe gamut of blues heavyweights, sharingstages with them. I was completely blownaway. And that rained-out blues festival wassort of the beginning of it all.All that led to you meeting Danny Gatton.What’s a good story about him?He ultimately became my quasi-mentorand guitar teacher for the last four years ofhis life. For a while there I was like the Mini-Me version of Danny. I had a Tele, I was pudgy,I slicked back my hair. The coolest story isthis: I’m sitting in his Winnebago, which isparked outside the Cat Club in New YorkCity. He said, “C’mon kid. I’m gonna giveyou a guitar lesson.” I loved his butterscotch’53 Telecaster. It was perfectly worn and justa perfect guitar. I always wanted to play that,but this time he said, “I’m not going to letyou play the Tele. I have another guitar youcan play.” He goes into the back and bringsout Scotty Moore’s ES-295—the guitar Scottyrecorded “Heartbreak Hotel” and all that stuffon. He said, “Today we play jazz. You’re notallowed to play blues.” I was nervous becauseI didn’t know anything about jazz. So he startsteaching me these chords and how to walka bass line, etc. He looked at me and said,“You know kid, you don’t know anythingabout jazz. You don’t know anything aboutrockabilly, you don’t know anything aboutreal rock and roll like Buddy Holly, Gene Vincentand the Blue Caps, and Chuck Berry.”So here I am, a 13-year old kid sitting inDanny Gatton’s Winnebago and suddenlymy life went from mono to stereo. A weeklater, he called and said, “Write these recordsdown.” I wrote them down and bought them.It was stuff that influenced me for the restof my life: Charlie Christian, a guy namedHoward Reed who played with Gene Vincent,Merle Travis, James Burton, Doc Watson,and all of a sudden I’m playing jazz,country, and bluegrass. It’s hard to quantifyDanny’s influence on my playing.Lots of promising guitarists who came uparound the same time as you have seen higherhighs and lower lows. What’s your take on that?I have this theory called the Sir EdmundHillary Effect. I would rather be three quartersof the way up the mountain and staythere for 35 years than shoot for the top ofthe mountain and fail. A lot of people in thisgenre who make that last leap to see themountaintop of pop stardom—where theyno longer want to play 2000 seaters andwant to sell out arenas and get radio—ultimately end up back at base camp. I’veseen it with friends back in the ’90s. Theywere in these cult hippie bands and theyhad a couple of big hits and now they’replaying smaller venues than I am. How didthat happen? They sold millions of albums.But once you get into the hit business, theywant another hit. It’s a cruel, fickle business.I’m not in the hit business or even theblues business. I’m in the entertainmentbusiness. I’ve gotten a reputation for puttingon a good show, so people don’t cometo hear one particular song. That freedomis awesome. I’m happy to be at three quarters.I want to do this for the rest of my life.I want to keep making quality records. Inever had a radio hit and I probably neverwill and I’m fine with that. If radio wantsto play one of my songs, fine, but there willbe no pretense about it.Have you heard any youngsters that youwanted to take under your wing, to pay it forwardfor what Danny Gatton and B.B. King did for you?I’ve done that with a couple of people.There’s a kid in England named ScottMcKean. He’s really good. He plays a Stratocasterbut I don’t hold that against him[laughs]. He plays it in a way that’s sort of across between Doyle Bramhall and Rory Gallagher.Really cool. I like his style, so I lethim open a couple of shows. There’s a Germanguy named Hendrik Fleischleiter andhe’s also really good. My favorite, though,isn’t a guitar player at all. He’s a harmonicaplayer named L.D. Miller from Indiana. L.D.will be 15 this year, and I feel I can say thiswith certainty: He’s one of the top two orthree harmonica players in the world at anyage. He plays like John Popper, Little Walter,and James Cotton all in one. He’s gotthe fire and the soul. He’s a true prodigy.I’ve kind of helped him, like Danny helpedGUITAR PLAYER APRIL 2009 91

COVER STORYJoe BonamassaAmerica’s Premier Guitar & Bass Parts SupplierBonamassa tears it up at theAustin City Limits MusicFestival in 2002.Headstock Trademark Licensed to ALLPARTS MUSIC CORPORATION by FenderSend $4 U.S. for COLOR CATALOG 13027 Brittmoore Park Drive Houston, Texas 77041me. When we go on tour and pick the openingacts, I try to get young kids. I think that’sthe greatest thing because if there’s not anew generation of kids playing this music,there won’t be a new generation of fans. Andthat will ultimately hurt guitar music androots music in general.Of all the gigs you’ve played, is there a momentyou can point to where you thought, “That mightbe the best solo I’ve ever played”?A lot of times, when I’m up there thinkingthat this is the coolest feeling in theworld, I listen back to the tapes and it’s notas good as I remembered. But there was atime on this last tour. It was in ManchesterEngland, a sold-out show at the AcademyOne. We were doing “The Great Flood” offthe new album. I remember hitting thesolo—my band came up with this greatarrangement under the solo—and I’m outthere on this big stage with perfect lightsand everything. We ended the song and theaudience just kind of gasped, and then therewas this eruption of applause and I got chills.I really felt like everyone in the audiencewas feeling the emotion that I was feeling,and vice versa. It was the most perfectmoment on a concert stage I’ve ever had.We have a tape of it, and I won’t watch itbecause I think it’s going to look differentand not be as cool as I remember it. I reallyonly care if the fans think I played well,though. It’s nice to satisfy yourself, butmoney’s tight for people and they’re payinggood money for tickets. If they thinkthey got their money’s worth, I’ve done myjob and we can move on to the next one.When it happens to coincide with when Ithink I played well, then it’s perfect—winwin. There are probably four or five gigs outof ten where that happens, and that’s not abad batting average. g92 APRIL 2009 GUITAR PLAYER PHOTO: SCOTT NEWTON/WIREIMAGE.COM

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Joe Bonamassa Concert Review - Phoenix | The GuitarBUZZ...OK, I admit it. I am certified Bona-holic.Consider this my public admission that I have no control over my Bona-diction. That’s step one in the twelve-stepprogram and I feel so much better now that the truth is out.I have said it before and I will say it again: Joe Bonamassa is the King of modern day blues.Nobody can touch this guy live. Don’t misunderstand me – there are dozens of quality players in the “top 5 percentof modern day blues guitarists,” but Joe is in 1st position and he is starting to pull away.Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths over the best of the rest. I believe we are witnessing the sametype of excellence…and separation.Joe Bonamassa in Phoenix, 3-19-10, Photo by GuitarDaddyI had the pleasure of being invited to meet Joe in person last Friday night before the show.There were 6 of us in the private audience (just a few less than the 1,250 who attended the concert later that evening)including 3 guests of mine (2 who were seeing Joe live for the first time).The meeting was arranged in the lobby of the Orpheum Theater. We spoke about the “BUZZ”, my review of BlackRock, how the Royal Albert Hall show came to be and how Joe pulled off the score-of-a-lifetime by having EricClapton join him on stage that night in London.Our talk continued as Joe shared that $250,000 was on the line that night (to make the DVD) and the pressure he felt tonot miss a note, his view on amps, watts and how he produces the ultimate tone. He surprised us by leaking some newsabout another new signature guitar that is coming very soon… (I will let Joe make that announcement himself). Wecovered a lot of ground in 25 minutes.All in all, he was gracious and relaxed. I was in awe and humbled to have a private audience with the 2010 Blues God.I thanked Joe for taking time to meet and talk with us and for letting us get a little closer to the man with the goldenGoldTop.The concert started at EXACTLY 8:00pm as Joe walked out with the double neck strapped over his tailored suit (andsneakers). I took the picture you see from my front row seat in the Orpheum where the sound was dialed in at a perfect10.

I was mesmerized for the entire 135 minute performance that included 9 guitar changes and enough electric guitarmastery to fill my hungry soul and yet still leave me craving for more — all because the taste was so good.Joe mixed up the set by playing many of his classic staples like “If Heartaches Were Nickles,” “Blues Deluxe” and“Slow Gin” while also introducing the audience to a taste of the new Black Rock CD with “Blue and Evil” and “Birdon a Wire.” The guy sitting next to me screamed “Mountain Time!” after every song until Joe finally looked at himand said, “Be patient!” Those close enough to catch it had a good laugh. Mountain Time came along 30 minutes later.Joe’s band was spot-on the entire night. Bogie Bowles is one of the most under-rated drummers on tour. Heunderstands the dynamics of every song and ripped it all night long. Carmine Rojas sported an eye-patch from hisrecent eye-surgery and played his amazing bass staying seated in front of Bogie. Great to see the recovery is goingwell and he has not had to miss the tour. Rick Melick adds the keyboard flair that fills, rounds and compliments eachtrack. While the rumors are all true about Joe and the “new band,” I certainly hope he does not abandon these guys.They are a tight group and as a quad, they are capable of creating consistent blues magic.The lone acoustic song of the evening, “Woke up Dreaming,” gave the band members a rest while Joe showed that hisskills go far beyond playing electric riffs. Playing completely alone, Joe showcased his ability to combine a myriad ofcomplicated scale patterns and arpeggios at warp speed all while simulating the percussive beat on the bass strings. Itis something every guitar player needs to see — even if only once. I have seen it a dozen times and am still blown awaythat the human fingers can move that fast.When the “Flying V” came out I knew I was in for a full dose of Bona-Rock as Joe blasted out his rendition of thesolo from Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed & Confused,” perfectly integrated into his own wicked version of “Just Got Paid”.He raised the “V” high in the air at the end – reminiscent of the conclusion at Royal Albert Hall.While I realized that the night was over, I knew the memories would be eternal.If Joe Bonamassa is within 3-States of where you live, DON’T MISS THE SHOW.Check out his tour schedule by CLICKING HERE.Joe Bonamassa With Some Of His GuitarsIf You Enjoyed This Post - Share It!

MAVERICKJoeBonamassaBLACK ROCKProvogue Records­PRD73002*****Hard rackingblues with a hinta/GreeceThis is Joe Bonamassa's tenthsolo album and once again it teamshim with top producer Kevin Shirley,who has done a fantastic job. Thealbum title BLACK ROCK is namedafter the studios of the same namein Santorini, Greece where it wasrecorded. For this new album Joeand Kevin wanted to 'explore a worldfeeling' which led them to record itin Greece, as well as using some ofthe finest Greek musicians to helpadd a different sound to a couple ofthe tracks by using instruments suchas the bouzouki and clarino. Joe alsowanted to venture back to his earlyalbums where he rocked with a realfreedom. This can certainly be heardfrom the very first track, the powerfulblues rocker Steal Your Heart Awayfrom the pen of Bobby Parker.Joe also does some other superbcovers such as a pulsating version ofthe John Hiatt tune, I Know A Place.The wonderfully fun and slightlycrazy jazz-blues styled Baby You GotlDChange Your Mind (Blind Boy Fuller)as well as a great duet with his heroB.B. King on Willie Nelson's NIghtLife.Of Joe's own songs, When the Fire Hitsthe Sea is a blistering blues rockerand Wandering Earth is just mega!Although not sold on the additionof the Greek instruments and the'world' feeling, this is still a massiveblues album that Joe's fans will love.Another work of art from this mastercraftsman. DKwww.jbonamassa.com56 maverick Joe Bonamassa - a UK success story

GIN came out, that was a big thing-allof a sudden we were playing to 1,000people. BALLAD OF JOHN HENRY cameout we just did four shows ... 9,600tickets for four shows in the Fall, all soldout-2500 to 3000 seat rooms. Then wesell out the Albert Hall in May (2009),and I am like: 'How!' All of a suddenwe got this thing going on over here.On the strength of that has pushed thelive draw in Europe up 1,000, and thelive draw in the States up 500 ... it wasjust mental! It was the success in theUK that was really responsible for theworld-wide kinda thing that has beenhappening:you done latelyrThat is why Eric Ciapton is animportant role model for Joe. "I usehis career as a model for mine, thisguy is great. I mean B.B. King's careeris a model also, because here is a guynot predicated on any hit, but yougo and see him in concert and it willbe great. You will never walk awaydisappointed-that is the beauty of B.B.King-he doesn't need a hit as his showis that good. He can sing Night Life or hecan sing whatever, he is just the kingof the blues. I love him you know, andit's like I really model my career afterhis-slow and steady. Plant yourself in"It was just mental! It was the success in the UK thatwas really responsible for the world-wide kinda thingthat has been happening."Of course the big one night only gigat the Royal Albert Hall has helped Joeboth here and in America and he talkedabout whose idea it was. "Purely myidea, it was something that I wanted todo since I was a kid. I said that I wantedto play the Albert Hall with Eric Ciapton.I don't care if the two are synonymousor linked. So the way the whole thingwent down, I wrote Eric Ciapton aletter: 'I happen to know that you arein Town (thank-you internet) and youare playing the Albert Hall the weekafter we are playing (thank God)' and Isaid: 'I would be honoured if you couldcome and sit in, if you could, being thatyou are an extraordinarily bUSy personbut would you like to come down: Andhe wrote me back three weeks later.I remember it was in this Blackberry(looking at his mobile phone) on email,and I was like: '1 know who this is: Iam like sitting there screaming on aSunday: 'I know who this is, I know whothis is: So he said along the lines youknow as long as the song was not theMahavishnu Orchestra's Birds Of Fire,you know keep it simple and fun, andwe played Further On Up The Road-andit was the best six minutes of my life:So whose choice was the song? "Isuggested it, I suggested a couple.I truthfUlly wanted to do Further OnUp The Road. The first electric bluessong I ever learned was Eric Ciapton'sFurther On Up The Road, that was myintroduction to electric blues and I waslike: 'wow this is like full circle: It's anamazing feeling to sit here now a yearlater thinking: 'I cannot believe I pulledthat off!' But it also lets you know thatit is time to go to work again, you knowthat you cannot just rest on your laurelsas people will start thinking What havethese theatres, try to get there, it is areally good accomplishment to get that,but once you get there you must staythere. Don't go for the Arena glory,pop success, as you will disappointyourself and your fans and end up backat base camp. Stay three quarters andyou will be happy you have a career.People hundreds of years from nowwill be talking about B.B. King. Theywill be talking about somebody withsuch originality and power in his voiceand his persona that it is unrivalledby anybody. Freddie King was a bigpersonality, Bobby Bland is a bigpersonality, MUddy Waters was a bigpersonality, but King is the king and it islike nobody beats him ... in my humbleopinion:Each album so far has been differentso Joe explained how BLACK ROCKcame about. "We did the Albert Halland BALLAD OF JOHN HENRY which wasa big record, so the concept now wasto pretend we had never made a soloalbum before and we were going toplay heavy and fast and throw cautionto the wind and that is it. We weregoing to go back to when we did ANEW DAY YESTERDAY and we didn'tcare about hits-we were just goingto play music, that is the new record.Everything really got a bit majestic fora While, big majestic songs and venues,my starchy collars and suits, You wantto get grounded a little bit and youwant to have a sense of where youcome from and you want to challengenot only yourself but also the listener.I had a couple of opportunities I couldhave made BLUES DELUXE volume twoor SLOE GIN volume two. Just take thesame blueprint but I don·t believe inthat. I am not going to be like thetypical artist who is always: 'this is thebest record I have ever done: No this isa different record that I have done. Tome. it is like an album will not make orbreak your career, bad shows will makeor break your career:"It will always be a stop,the challenge is moreknowing when not to workand when to work. Wehave offers that we couldplay thirty shows in thirtydays in the UK-it is toomuch! It is a big marketbut area wise there areonly so many gigs you cando. Each one has to bean event, has to be doneright..."The good thing is that JoeBonamassa's albums are allmasterpieces plus he regularly toursthe UK which should hopefUlly be apermanent feature. "It will always bea stop, the challenge is more knowingwhen not to work and when to work.We have offers that we could playthirty shows in thirty days in the UK-itis too much! It is a big market but areaWise there are only so many gigs youcan do. Each one has to be an event,has to be done right. The four gigs weare doing in May are between fourand six thousand seats. That is likedaunting even for me. So I am happywith it, happy where we are here. Butwe haven't played Omaha in Nebraskain two years, so I have got to playOmaha-Wisconsin, Milwaukee, there'sa lot of places I need to visit. So youstop off here for four or five datesthen gotta go to Germany, Holland,Scandinavia, Italy and then you have togo to Eastern Europe and then to Russiaand then there is Spain. We could workeveryday if we wanted to, but you don't,because you want it to be an event:"You also want people to be excitedabout the shows. For example last yearit was the theatre and suits show, thisyear it's rock venues standing 6,000.We have got screens coming, lights,everything but explosions and dancinggirls (laughs). We started off in a littlevan with a small little trailer, this tourwe will have three trucks and threebuses ... mental! So I remember thosedays. We have a good fan base here,but again we cannot rest on our laurels.We have to say: 'Ok now what's next?'"David KnowlesJoe Bonamassa - a UK success story maverick 57

Review: Bonamassa makes guitar singMusician plays rock-blues-jazz infusion with intensity andmastery at Civic Center showBy GARY PANETTA (gpanetta@pjstar.com)Journal StarPosted Oct 24, 2009 @ 12:20 AMLast update Oct 24, 2009 @ 08:51 PMPEORIA —Few rock-blues guitarists can match Joe Bonamassa, who performed Friday night at the CivicCenter Theater.His fluidity and technique on the guitar is supplemented by a capacious knowledge of theinstrument and its manifold traditions. Not only British-style rock and blues in the tradition ofEric Clapton but also Mississippi delta blues and B.B. King; not only Buddy Holly, Merle Travisand Doc Watson but also a healthy helping of jazz.A lesser guitarist riffs like crazy. Bonamassa riffs with imagination. Guitar runs swerve and loop,double back and then turn, leap and shoot off into uncharted territory. Notes dance and sing andmoan and cry.Who is this guy? Just some kid from Utica, N.Y., who started to play guitar at 4 and neverstopped. He grew impressive enough by the age of 12 to startle King into proclaimingBonamassa the next big thing.Now at 32, Bonamassa really is the next big thing - a dedicated craftsman and consummate artistwho knows how to negotiate his way around the fret board, up and down and sideways; to bend anote to soul-wrenching effect; to make the instrument sing with vibrato; and to wring color aftercolor from the strings of an electric guitar.Bonamassa has a huge following in Great Britain. Earlier this year, he played at Royal AlbertHall in London, where he jammed briefly alongside his idol, Clapton. Bonamassa also is gaininga steady following in the United States, where he is now touring; he attracted 1,000 to the 2,200-seat theater Friday (many local guitar fans really missed something).

He and his band - Rick Melick (keyboard), Bogie Bowles (drums) and Carmine Rojas (bass)- didabout a two-hour set of tunes that included "The Ballad of John Henry," "Lonesome RoadBlues," "Sloe Gin," "The Great Flood" and "Woke Up Dreaming."Yet Bonamassa doesn't so much do sets as walk the plank and leave himself exposed andvulnerable. At one point, for instance, he traded an electric guitar for an acoustic and started toconjure sound without the help of keyboard, bass or drums. A percussive palm and pluckingthumb generated an insistent rhythm; fast-moving fingers made the instrument roil and boil withnotes."Go, Joe, go!" someone shouted as Bonamassa increased the intensity with unexpected staccatoslams on the strings and then alternated the mood with fluttering, ethereal jazzy passages. Thisone-man-band affair finally concluded, a little flamboyantly, with a rich, bluesy chordprogression.Bonamassa's blues singing doesn't match his blues playing (the former is an art on its own), buthe does a creditable job with vocals. He extended and slid vowels, bent back his head and criedout in love, anguish or ecstasy as the song demanded.At such moments - when he would toy with feedback, strike a pose in his sunglasses or hopabout frantically on stage as if unable to contain the energy surging through him - you couldglimpse the kid he used to be. The kid who wouldn't leave the guitar alone, who obsessivelysearched for an ever-new pathway down the fretboard, who wanted to be just like Eric Claptonand finally succeeded at becoming something different and just as wonderful: Joe Bonamassa.Gary Panetta can be reached at 686-3132 or gpanetta@pjstar.com.

Joe Bonamassa: 24 October 2009 - Chicago < Reviews | PopMattershttp://www.popmatters.com/pm/tools/print/1161871 of 2 11/19/2009 10:25 AMJoe Bonamassa: 24 October 2009 - Chicago[16 November 2009]By Lisa ToremIf you want your son to become a nuclear physicist don’t play him concert videos of Eric Clapton and for Heaven’s sake don’t succumb to that gleamin his eye when he spots the shimmering Les Paul in your local music store. By all means, shove the mitt and t-ball gear in his backpack on the wayto kindergarten or you may end up parenting the likes of an obsessive musical prodigy like blues-rock vocalist, guitarist and songwriter JoeBonamassa.Bonamassa has not only garnered the acclaim of those twenty and thirty something fans that fuel the economy’s date-night influenza, he’s evenseduced their parents. Here is what one dedicated fan had to say about this top-notch performer. “This was my third time seeing Joe since beingintroduced to his music by my twenty-three year old son. Each show has been better that the last and the Vic show was beyond awesome.”Joe has really developed into a terrific showman along with his enormous talent. Sitting in the front row with my family, getting the set-list from theband and shaking Joe’s hand after the encore was just icing on the cake. “Delicious”, said Scott Wendell of the Chicago area. Wendell also said thathe’s never paid to see an artist three times in over thirty-seven years of concerts. After tonight’s performance, I get it.Bonamassa has lost weight and trimmed his hippie hair since his Chicago hiatus. After thick applause, he launched into the tune “The Ballad of JohnHenry – Spike Driver Blues” from the ’09 album of the same name and immediately drove the crowd into an enthusiastic frenzy. This song wasinspired by the performer’s growing awareness of America’s increasingly mute response to its working class. He uses the legendary John Henry as ametaphor for hard-work.Bonamassa holds the stage well. Sometimes he stands absolutely still for a moment holding up his Les Paul like the Statue of Liberty gripping herilluminated torch. Lights swirl around him and boxy patterns intermittently appear on the stage floor. This is my first time seeing him live and I’mexpecting some shuffles, virtuosity and, well, anything more is simply Delta gravy. This 32 year old immediately demonstrates high-energy. But,who is he really? I’m waiting to see if he sneers like Jagger, bends like Clapton or shreds like Vaughan.He poses randomly after the more riveting songs and smirks at the crowd. He’s a little pale for an “Angelino”, but his skin is luminous set against hisclose-cropped dirty-blonde hair and over-sized shades. Maybe the smirk signifies that fragile little boy coming out for our approval or maybe it’s thesatisfaction of knowing that the crowd is at his bluesiest beck and call. In any event, it’s unarguably a well-deserved smirk.His touring band consists of the dynamic Carmine Rojas (bass), Rick Melick (keys) and Bogie Bowles (drums). Rojas, who has been Rod Stewart’sbass player, is a big fan of Motown, Salsa and British Rock and he maintains an easy-going likeable persona throughout the never-ending stream ofchord and tempo changes that the performance mandated.Melick was careful not to compete with Bonamassa’s sonar moments. Instead, the melodic keyboard lines successfully drifted from dreamy to roughand back again. Bowles performed like a demon; laying back then cracking the whip on numbers such as “Lonesome Road Blues” and “Just GotPaid”.Bonamassa opened for B.B. King at age eleven. He poured his childhood passions into the recordings of John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagherand Cream. He seems a little like a stunned, overjoyed kid at times judging by some gushing smiles and a voice that cracks with spontaneousemotion. Tonight, there’s undeniable warmth in the room. Wendell is not the only fan who has eagerly anticipated tonight’s show. Bonamassa sayson his new DVD release, Live from Royal Albert Hall, “I don’t want a real job. I want to play guitar.”The repertoire is diverse this evening. As he wails commentary about “sinners and saints” and utters a bewildered line about how “She left mestanding here” in a scratchy, gripping vocal, set against a throbbingly emotive bassline and scorching keyboards, he and his guitar warp-speedthrough a soul-crushing solo. There are many nods to heartache tonight and when he plays “If Heartaches were Nickels” and milks the grit from thecoveted line “If heartaches were nickels I might be the richest fool alive”. no one can stand to hear his philosophies end.The dreamy and ethereal “Sloe Gin” where Bonamassa’s beautiful but hypnotic guitar work pedal- point punctuates the raw horrors of lonelinessand creates stillness in the packed room. The twelve- bar- blues shuffle “Your Funeral and My Trial” provides a sharp contrast to “Happier Times”which is tinged with a bittersweet bite and fluidly harbors a folk sensibility. Bonamassa puts as much feeling into covers like Blind Faith’s “Had ToCry Today” and ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid” as he does into his original material.The heartache continues when he rises above “The Great Flood”, bending notes fluidly and majestically in this immensely evocative anthem. Again,the message is simple: “It’s been too long since I said I love you” but the delivery is torrid and rips through our gut like a Thanksgiving meal. Is itdeliberate when he looks up at the heavens between passages? Bonamassa plays his rock-blues aorta out and you could swear the Almighty islistening intently and when he moans, “I’ve been suffering all my life” you wish Moses would part the seas and just let the man walk on wateralready.The faces in this balcony express awe and I hear fans whisper to each other and point out moments not to be missed. Though no one dares to singalong, you can see fans mouth much-loved lyrics. “Mountain Time” features a quasi-raga patter and spellbindingly hushed vocal tones. Bonamassaproves he can touch and move us even outside of the pigeon-holed Rubik’s cube that rock-blues artists often find themselves boxed into.In “Ball Peen Hammer”, an acoustic ballad, he plays dynamically varied melodic figures, his fingers trickle over the fret board with a “come-hither”charm. Repeating the self-defeating phrase “I can’t stand it”, his anguish pours through the silent room.The stand-out of the evening was the mid-set “Woke Up Dreaming” with Bonamassa alone on stage with his acoustic. The line, “I woke up dreamingI was gonna die” is woven meticulously like houndstooth on a Scottish kilt as Bonamassa played phenomenal lightening quick hammer on afterhammer on while singing in a rasp, and several cadence points are sprinkled with staccato jazz chords.Like those around me I’m pinned to my chair. It’s just Joe and an acoustic and I’m astonished. In fact, I’ve never heard anything like it. Blues?Natch. Rock? Uh-huh. But this…Whazzup? The whir of styles, the constant cajole of tempo, the merciless trail of blues notes that meld into barrechords than bleed into breathtaking harmonics and those jostling jazz chords that show up like sacred painted cows at a crowded New Delhithoroughfare are powerful and unexpected, but at the same time delightful and appreciated.Excitement mounts as he segues into a gorgeous semi-classical section that hints at Segovia-inflected ‘Malagueña’. My imagination wanders back toa club I frequented in my youth which was built into a Madrid cave where dancers pounded the tables with harshly, clicking heals. But, I’m jolted

Joe Bonamassa: 24 October 2009 - Chicago < Reviews | PopMattershttp://www.popmatters.com/pm/tools/print/1161872 of 2 11/19/2009 10:25 AMback to the Vic as Bonamassa soars and swelters into raunchy rockabilly and then abruptly, but luxuriously, embraces a lush twelve-bar blues.Between each section he smirks again and teases us. Now the ball’s in our court. We can’t stand it because no one wants this song to end. No onewants this night to end.Instead, we want to stay here and text our husbands and wives and sleeping children. “Throw the mitt in the recycling bin.” “Who cares about littleleague?”“Why the heck can’t my kid play like that?”Published at: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/116187-joe-bonamassa-24-october-2009-chicago-il/advertising | about | contributors | submissions© 1999-2009 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.PopMatters.com and PopMatters are trademarks of PopMatters Media, Inc.

Review from MODERNGUITARS.COMCD Review: The Ballad of John Henry by Joe Bonamassa (February 4, 2009)by Brian D. Holland.The latest studio CD from Joe Bonamassa, The Ballad of John Henry, will be released onFebruary 24, 2009. The included twelve tracks, seven of which are Bonamassa originals,come together to make the seventh compelling studio project from the New York basedblues-rock guitarist. He embraces this diverse collection of contemporary andconventional songs, calling it his strongest work to date.Listeners will soon discover that the intensity of the music matches the lyrical contentthroughout, as the album's dual lyrical theme is split between songs of the working-classhero and of the more personal nature, Joe's relationship issues of recent.The title track, "The Ballad of John Henry," also known to some as "Spike Driver Blues,"opens the CD with a wallop, as he wastes no time in getting the raw power and flagrantpassion out there. The catchy lead guitar riffs and hooks that drive it along, as well as itsdownright bluesy and subdued intervals, put it right into the diverse Bonamassa arena. Heonce again demonstrates that even though a song is contemporary and powerful, its linkto tradition is only a measure away. John Henry, the folk legend and working class hero,is depicted brilliantly. Effective moans of anguish from Joe's slide guitar amid rhythmicrailroad hammering leave little to the imagination in the lyrical story of the ailing humanspirit. Take notice of this one, as it's certainly a Bonamassa original for the records."Stop!" is a killer slow blues that's everything Bonamassa in passion and performance.Although he beckons a cry of ailing love with soaring guitar notes of fury and passion,his voice flourishes alongside the six-string flair. In fact, throughout the whole CD, itdoesn't appear to be a talent he's taking lightly, as the fervor and control he exerts in hissongs through voice is outstanding. In other words, the ability doesn't take a backseat tohis superb musicianship by any means.More energetic blues-rock and searing guitar dexterity emerges in the funky "Last Kiss."The down-on-his-luck swagger of Tom Waits' "Jockey Full of Bourbon" is really quiteinteresting, a bold transformation as well. With its acoustic and traditional approach,along with a Vaudeville piano additive, the song's atmosphere doesn't prevent Joe fromplugging in a loud and distorted guitar to beef up the mix."Story of A Quarryman" is abundant in guitar flair. Its numerous rhythm and lead dubstake it through a multitude of melodic changes and diversions. The dual lead guitar

segments are harmoniously brilliant. "Happier Times," a song of love lost, is a moodyand atmospheric excursion, complete with soaring notes and brilliant tone.Originally covered by the likes of Nina Simone and Sammy Davis Jr., the AnthonyNewly and Leslie Bricusse penned "Feelin' Good" is given the full electric, acoustic, andslide guitar treatment. Joe belts out the vocal passionately. He keeps the Nina Simonecovers going with the Aillene Bullock penned "Funkier than a Mosquito's Tweeter."More in the vein of Ike and Tine Turner or James Brown here, this danceable and funtune is funked up to the max."The Great Flood," another Bonamassa original, is a slow blues tour-de-force, heavilyladen with sizzling notes of passion and emotion. The short and acoustically atmospheric"From the Valley" segues nicely into the CD's closer, "As the Crow Flies." Once againgiving life to songs of the past, Joe takes this Tony Joe White composition andpersonifies it respectfully and admirably, adding his own vocal and guitar accents to it.It's easy to discern that Joe Bonamassa is a performer who puts a lot of thought andenergy into his releases. That extra effort exhibits itself in the end product. The Ballad ofJohn Henry is an album of new horizons for Joe, with personal and meaningful lyricalcontent that matches the passion of the music. The CD is a display of his guitar playingprowess, a talent that not only gets better as he ages, but is easily one of the best on themusic scene today, in both style and tone. Each song is comprehensive and complete inits own right, with brilliant instrumental arrangements and sonic adventurism throughout.It's the perfect follow-up to his 2008 release, Live From Nowhere In Particular.Every now and then, a brilliant player possessing solid roots comes along and causes aresurgence to occur, one that stirs notice and reverence upon the deserved music thatstarted it all. Joe Bonamassa is one of those particular musicians whose style sheds lighton the blues. That said, he appears to be doing it for rock and roll as well. He easily flowsbetween both genres with competence and flair, melding everything into a style that's allhis.The Ballad of John Henry Track Listing1. The Ballad of John Henry2. Stop!3. Last Kiss4. Jockey Full of Bourbon5. Story of A Quarryman6. Lonesome Road Blues7. Happier Times8. Feelin' Good9. Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter10. The Great Flood11. From the Valley12. As the Crow FliesLabel: J&R Adventures

"I have been taught something that cannot be measured by grades; I have been taught to listen tomusic. The magic I've found is that through the musician singing about the trials of his life, itmanages to brighten up mine. The first time I felt that, I began to understand why the blues cameabout." - A high school student after attending a Blues In the Schools EventBlues in the Schools (BITS)Joe Bonamassa is becoming a torchbearer for the next generation of Blues fans. As a child prodigy,Joe has been recognized as a blues guitar phenomenon since the age of 8 and had the honor ofperforming with B.B. King at the age of 12, and John Lee Hooker when he was 14! Joe enjoysworking with youth, as he knows the importance of introducing them to Blues music at a young age.WHAT IS BLUES IN THE SCHOOLS?“Blues In The Schools” is a program developed by the Blues Foundation in Memphis ten years agoas part of their effort to promote and preserve the heritage of Blues music. In most cases, a musicianor a group conducts a workshop for students to learn more about Blues music (as well as music ingeneral). These appearances include; live performances, recorded music, slide presentations andinformative narratives. Joe’s hour-long BITS presentation is structured for middle school, highschool and college students as he takes them on a musical journey tracking the evolution of Bluesmusic from the Deep South in the late 1800’s up through today’s different Blues styles.WHY BLUES IN THE SCHOOLS?Music reflects the feelings of the times. By exposing students to Blues music, it can lead them tonew found interests that will help them to develop and grow with increased self-esteem andconfidence in themselves.With the exception of Native American music, Blues is the first pure American music form to haveits origins in the United States. Coming from the oral traditions of folk music, the Blues serves asthe foundation for all other popular music forms today. To fully appreciate all music, it is importantto understand the evolution of the musical structure of the Blues. Moreover, much can be gleanedby understanding the ways blues music expresses individual emotions.There are many things that we can learn about our nation’s evolving culture through Blues music.Students can be shown the essential part these rural lyrics played in the African-American oraltraditions. Lacking an educational system, these early country blues men and women createdbeautiful poetry that reflected, and responded to, the conditions of their world. Sometimes the lyricsexpressed the anger they could not speak. Other times, they painted a vivid picture of African-American life in the fields. At the same time, the music incorporated danceable rhythms and socalled "blue notes" that helps people forget their stress and enjoy being alive.

(\JOTIl NG,- H-A II -Pusj N::J v 2-7 2..00­Keeping genre aliveJoe' red ale •Due indangeigJoe BonamassaHe opened for blues legend B.B. King at the age of 12, hasplayed alongside Stephen Stills, Foreigner, Eric Clapton andJoe Cocker, and sold out the Royal Albert Hall. STEVE HAINESmeets Joe Bonamassa.DESPITE his early exposure to thegreats of American blues, many ofJoe Bonamassa's intluences areBritish. "I always liked the dangerof the British blues," says the. 32-year-old, acknowledging his debtto the likes of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and GaryMoore."The American blues always seemed sedate tome as a kid, but the English blues with Marshallamps always felt like it had a rock edge. And as akid, you're always attracted to danger."So what is the difference between blues androck?"For me, it's all about a feeling. With blues,you're trying to channel your feelings directly tothe audience, while rock tends to be more of aspectacle. 1only ever play stuff that 1like and 1think it's that conviction that is infectious, andthat enjoyment spreads to the audience."Having spent two decades as a blues guitarist,Bonamassa has seen his own style develop."It's matured as I've gotten older. There'sperhaps less fire and spark. You don't have thesame blind belief in yourself at 32 as you do at 22.It becomes more calculated and you have a betterGig . ­IWho Joe BonamassaWhere Royal Concert HallWhen Monday, 7.30pmTickets £22 (returns only), 0115 989 5555idea how things will sound to an audience sothere's less reckless abandon."For me, maturity in music is about a certaintone with the right note at the right time, andalso being able to engage an audience throughthe music and keep them on the edge of theirseats. The high watermark is B.B. King who canplay one note and make you cry."Bonamassa's Nottingham visits have becomeincreasingly popular. After the Running Horsefour years ago, he's stepped through the RescueRooms and Rock City to the 2,600 capacity RoyalConcert Hall, where he appears on Monday.where we ran the programme a few years ago.But he fears for the future of the blues. SoBut there's room for more. The more the merriermuch so that he dedicates a lot of time to thein fact.Blues in Schools programme."The more kids getting into it and playing it''I've been doing this for several years and it'smeans the message is getting through."both a labour of love and of self~preservation.Blues messenger Joe BonamassaAs part of the programme, Bonamassa will beWith blues music, MTV and popular radiorunning a free hour-long session for 14 todoesn't give the exposure, so we bring the kids to "I really do think blues music is at risk. We 22-year-olds at the venue on Monday from 3pm.us as a field trip and show them how it's done need a new generation of kids coming through or He'll explain what blues music is all about andand how all the stuff they listen to, from Led else we're in real trouble.provide a showcase of styles in the hope thatZeppelin to Leona Lewis, can be traced back to "But the feedback has been great and we now Nottingham's youngsters may be inspired tothe blues.have kids opening up for us in towns and cities follow in his footsteps...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................