Gibson/Baldwin
Moves and Grooves

Live to Ride, Ride to Live! Gibson going to Bike Week in Daytona Beach

The Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division has joined forces with three of the most influential motorcycle designers to create a unique trio of guitars. Arlen Ness, Dave Perewitz and Donnie Smith will bring the excitement and creative flair of their famous motorcycle designs to a series of limited edition Gibson Custom guitars, to be unveiled at Bike Week in Daytona Beach on Friday, March 5 at a special press event. All three cycle designers have been featured on numerous television shows and in the pages of national magazines and have become infamous in the world of custom cycle building. Accompanying the guitars will be a one-of-a-kind custom motorcycle with details to match the guitars. Each guitar design will be produced exclusively by Gibson Custom and will be available to the consumer in May 2004.

Keri Noble plays Baldwin for debut album

Singer/songwriter Keri Noble releases her debut album March 9, Fearless, on the Manhattan/EMI label. Arif Mardin, who produced both of Norah Jones' albums, executive produced the project. The album is produced by Minneapolis artist Jeff Arundel and was recorded with a Baldwin SD10 Grand piano. Noble grew up in Michigan and played the Detroit coffee house circuit before relocating to Minneapolis to embark on her recording career. She will showcase songs from the album in New York, Los Angeles and major cities throughout early 2004, and this month she opens for Cyndi Lauper on select tour dates. The Gibson/Baldwin Player will have a full feature on Noble in the March issue.

Gibson Foundation supports GuitarTown project in Nashville

GuitarTown, a public arts project featuring fifty 10-foot tall fiberglass Gibson Les Paul or Chet Atkins model guitars, is set to launch in Nashville in April. All oversize guitar sculptures will be created by local and nationally-acclaimed visual artists and placed in front of the city's landmarks and businesses for a year. Legendary guitar players and songwriters Steve Cropper and Lee Roy Parnell are serving as the musician liaisons, reaching out to Nashville's entertainment community. Each guitar sculpture will be partnered with a celebrity and will be backed by a corporate sponsor. The project unites the Nashville art, music and business communities to raise money for numerous charitable organizations. The first completed Les Paul will be unveiled at a special event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in April. The guitars will complete a "tour" of Nashville and then be sold at a Gala Auction, with all proceeds benefiting more than 10 non-profit organizations and charities, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Downtown District, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and several others to be announced throughout the year. A similar project in Cleveland raised over $1 million. The GuitarTown project will be administered through the Gibson Foundation, a division of the Gibson Guitar Corp., which is dedicated to improving the quality of life through its support of the arts, education, health & welfare and environmental causes. The deadline for applications is March 8 - for more information or an application, go to www.nashvilleguitartown.com

Win a Les Paul Supreme #1 through Music 123

Gibson USA and Music 123 have teamed up to offer the first Les Paul Supreme in Alpine White to come off the production line. Hand numbered with a #1 this one-of-a-kind guitar comes with a certificate of authenticity that verifies it is the first one off the line! No purchase is necessary - to enter, go here.


Go here for other chances to win Gibson and Epiphone gear!

Gibson sponsors dealer music clinics in March with artist Chuck Yamek

Gibson Guitar will sponsor three guitar clinics at dealer locations in Iowa during March. Hosted by artist and former Los Angeles session player Chuck Yamek, the free clinics offer consumers information and tips on improving their technique. In addition, participants will enjoy detailed explanations of the features and benefits of owning a Gibson guitar. Yamek recently celebrated two #1 hits on England's jazz charts and a #1 hit on the Music Choice Smooth Jazz Channel with his Feels So Right CD. The clinic schedule is as follows:

Lidgett Music, 150 W. Broadway Street, Council Bluffs, Iowa on March 9. Call 1-712-322-0200 for reservations;

Creative Entertainment, 1229 4th Street, Sioux City, Iowa on March 10. Call 1-712-255-9757 for reservations;

Last Chance Guitars, 1821 22nd Street, West Des Moines, Iowa on March 11. Call 1-515-440-1820 for reservations.

Check here for a clinic near you.

Grammy winner Jimmy Gonzalez presents special guitar to "Despierta America"

A Les Paul Studio with the "Despierta America" logo was presented by hot Latin artist Jimmy Gonzalez to Fernando Arau, who cohosts Univision's "Despierta America," the Spanish equivalent of the "Today Show." The cool axe, created by Gibson USA, will serve as the house guitar for musical guests appearing the daytime morning show, which has an audience of 50 million viewers. Gonzalez and his band El Grupo Mazz took home the Grammy for Best Tejano Album for Si Me Faltas Tu (If I Don't Have You) on February 8. He is the past recipient of three Latin Grammy awards.

Dr. Phil recommends Gibson for those awkward adolescent years

Kiki Freebery, 11, was thrilled to receive a Gibson Les Paul Melody Maker on the "Dr. Phil" show after Dr. Phil convinced her parents that music would be a positive influence in her life. Kiki's parents feared that if they got her an electric guitar for Christmas, she might turn into a goth rocker. The show aired Friday Dec 19, 2003. Here's a portion of the transcript:

  Dr. Phil: Are you really thinking your princess in pink is going to turn into a goth freak?

  Jodi: Probably not. But I think it could be the end of the innocence. She has visions of joining a rock band. She's been talking about having the girls from her all-girl school come into our garage and start playing.

  Dr. Phil: And the problem with that is?

  Jodi: When you consider the girls at the school play the trombone and the tuba?

  Dr. Phil: I didn't say it would be good music!

Session ace Brent Mason stops by Valley Arts

First-call session guitarist Brent Mason signed several of his signature guitars at the Valley Arts store in Nashville. The Brent Mason Signature guitar is Valley Arts' best-selling model in production. He's pictured with the Valley Arts repair and production team. As a professional guitarist, Mason has demonstrated his virtuosity on sessions with an A-list of country and pop stars including Alabama, George Strait, Willie Nelson, Shania Twain, Aaron Neville, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis and Neil Diamond. He is a multiple winner of both the Country Music Association's Musician of the Year and the Academy of Country Music's Guitarist of the Year awards. His full range of talents came shining through with his debut album in 1997, Hot Wired, and he has revealed some of the secrets of his trade in his popular instructional video, "Brent Mason's Nashville Chops & Western Swing Guitar."

Major guitar exhibition opens in Mannheim, Germany with Gibson Guitar

"Stromgitarren," an exhibition of electric guitars, opened at the Landesmuseum in Mannheim, Germany this month. Gibson Europe is sponsoring the event with 140 guitars on display including a 1952 Les Paul Goldtop, Peter Frampton's Les Paul Custom, and Paul McCartney's Hofner bass. The exhibition has a visual component and a player's station as well, and several guest artists will attend including Frampton (end of February), guitarist Mick Taylor (March 17) and Rolling Stones' bassist Bill Wyman (June 2). The exhibit will be open until June 6, and then moves to Berlin from July through October. For more information, go to: www.stromgitarren.de.

Gibson part of London's "School of Rock" premiere with Jack Black

Funnyman Jack Black made a special appearance for the London premiere of the Paramount Pictures film "School of Rock" on January 14. The event took place at the Empire Theater in Leicester Square, with an aftershow party at Victoria House in Bloomsbury. Cast members Joey Gaydoas, 12, (guitarist "Zack") and Kevin Clark, 14, (drummer "Freddy") were onhand to showcase their chops on Gibson instruments. In the movie, Black stars as guitarist Dewey Finn, who impersonates a substitute teacher and turns a fifth grade class into high-voltage rock and rollers. He plays a Gibson SG Standard in the film, while members of his high school class are seen with a white Flying V and a Les Paul Standard in Heritage Cherry Sunburst.

Tenacious D hangs at Gibson/Baldwin Beverly Hills showroom

In related news, Jack Black and Kyle Glass of Tenacious D stopped by the Gibson Showroom in Beverly Hills in early January to strum a few guitars and check out the Liberace Piano. The Showroom serves as a prime location for music and television interviews and events.

I'll have a Les Paul Standard with my French bread, s'il vous plait

Harry's bread company in France is doing a national ad campaign featuring a chocolate cake roll on a Les Paul Standard. The ads are displayed on underground subway walls and billboards in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. There will also be sales promotions in French supermarkets as part of the campaign.

Gibson chandelier lights up Hard Rock Phoenix

A chandelier crafted entirely of Gibson guitars hangs in the Hard Rock Caf in Phoenix, and the designer, Je-Jen Chiu, is working on a similar design that will be installed in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino retail store in Hollywood, FL. The Phoenix chandelier has a sky mural reminiscent of an Arizona sunset incorporated into the design.

Bowie band members Earl Slick and Gerry Leonard jump off the bus

Guitarist Earl Slick and musical director Gerry Leonard with the David Bowie band stopped by the Gibson/Baldwin Beverly Hills showroom to check out a few guitars between the San Jose and Los Angeles stops of "A Reality Tour." Slick strums a J-200 and Leonard checks out an SG Special.

Latin artist A.B. Quintanilla plays Gibson on "Show de Cristina"

Recording artist/producer/composer A.B. Quintanilla and his band Kumbia Kings rocked the house on Cristina Saralegui's daytime variety show in December. The Kings' music is a mix of Cumbia, pop, rap and R&B. Quintantilla is the brother of late Tejano superstar Selena and produced her albums before her untimely death. Chris Perez, Selena's widower, is also a member of Kumbia Kings. Pictured are (l. to r.) Marcos Avila, Cristina's husband and former producer with Miami Sound Machine; Quintanilla and Cristina.

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