Website re-launch!

My website had gotten a full make-over! I hope you'll take a few minutes to click on www.benshermanguitar.com, jump into my musical world and see what's going on.

November 2011 Newsletter-Schedule

October was an intense month! I played three classical guitar wedding gigs,Technicolor Motor Home at the 8x10, another reunion gig with my old band Spectrum, a benefit show with  Dave DeMarco at Surf City, on top of the regular acoustic gigs, my monthly duo with Brian Comotto at the Still, and teaching a few guitar students at Coffey Music...well, more like 45 students. Crystal and I even squeezed in a romantic stay-over at the  Gramercy Mansion. I finished the month with a solo gig at a house party in Columbia, during a snowstorm...in October.

Put Down The Ducky

Just put it down.



Of course I'm talking about guitar, not saxophone. And of course I'm not talking about a ducky. I'm talking about your i-Phone, i-Pod, i-Pad, your X-Box, your TV, your Facebook, your Wii, your Guitar Hero, etc. There is nothing wrong with having a little diversion in your life. But if you say you want to play music, yet you spend your free time playing games, playing with your phone, texting, hanging out on social networks, watching TV, surfing the internet, or all of the above, you need to re-think your priorities.

It's not about you

There's this:



and then there's this:



You know what I'm saying.

-------------------------------------------------------------

October Gig Newsletter

I've got a really excellent line-up of shows in October, playing solo and with some really great musicians...wait, that doesn't begin to do it justice. I am not exaggerating at all when I talk about how amazing the musicians are in this area.  I know, because I am lucky enough to find myself part of a large community of players and singers who are all extremely talented, professional and just good people. It was brought home to me very powerfully a few weeks ago. 

Guthrie Govan

One day after seeing Frank Vignola (see my previous blog post), I had my head further blown off by see Guthrie Govan in concert with his new band, the Aristocrats. I first heard of him a few years ago at the NAMM show in Anaheim CA; Guthrie was there as an endorser of Cornford amplifiers and Suhr guitars. He did a full concert one night at a nearby venue, and left all who attended with jaws hanging down to the floor. He and his group played a set of instrumental rock that could only be called astonishing. Yes, it was loud, it was high energy, and yes, it was shredding...But it was evident to all that Guthrie is so much more than just another shred-meister.

Frank Vignola

I was lucky enough to see the great Frank Vignola in concert recently. Frank is a genuine virtuoso - one has to be, to hang with monsters like Andreas Oberg and Tommy Emmanuel, and oh yeah, Les Paul. Frank can play blazing jazz solos but also has a huge chord vocabulary and is very expressive and melodic. This goes hand in hand with his obvious appreciation of many styles of music, as evidenced by his setlist at the show. There was some traditional jazz standards ("How High The Moon"); bebop ("Oleo"); tributes to jazz legend Django Reinhardt ("Nuages", "Swing 42"); jazzy versions of pop classics like "Killing Me Softly"; and even some classic rock with "Walking on the Moon" by the Police.