03/12/10

August 20, 2009

GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE!

It's safe to say that I am completely STUNNED and HONORED that I have been chosen by the staff of Guitar Player Magazine to be in the Top 10 of their "Guitar Superstar Competition" 2009!!

They are flying me out to San Francisco Friday, September 11th, for the concert/competition on Saturday the 12th, then flying me home on the 13th. Yes, I've already checked out the competition and I mean every word of this: these guys are GREAT FRICKIN' PLAYERS and I really and truly feel lucky to be added to this group.

I don't foresee myself winning, but that's totally cool with me. I've really already won. I know that sounds REALLY corny, but I mean it. I'm gonna be able to use this honor of being a part of this as a HUGE catalyst in getting myself out to L.A. Plus, each of the players gets some awesome parting gifts (gear) to take home. PLUS, a paid trip out to San Francisco?!?

To all those reading this and who are interested in how I do: I promise to keep the three of you posted on all that happens.

Stay tuned!.....

By the way - I'd really like to take a moment and thank Marjie from ETS International Travel Services for all the extra work in not only taking care of my arrangements for the competition (provided by Guitar Player Magazine), but for also the great, extra help in arranging my stop-over in LA the week after the competition. Her patience, help, and expertise is greatly appreciated and if you're looking for any travel help, I highly recommend you contact ETS!! 

www.etsintl.com

July 3, 2009

I've added a lot of new pics (and some DRUMS) to the "FOR SALE" page!

Also, a lot of people have been wondering what I'm doing during my days when I tell them that I'm sorting thru, organizing, and packing all of my things in preparation for an eventual move out to L.A. Well, I took a few moments for folks to see just what I'm talking about. Here are some pics of the "organized mess".   :)

First up are the before & after photos of the drum room.

Now here are some pics of the studio in it's current state:

With this last pic, you can play "Where's John Houseman?".   :)

May 12, 2009

This clip was recently posted on YouTube. I really want to share it with not only guitar players, but people who love music. It's a clip of guitar hero (and friend) Carl Verheyen playing a solo guitar version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing". To the guitar players out there, if you want to be the kind of player who wants to be able to play a song for people (but also show some technique), THIS is the perfect example of what you should be shooting for.  Enjoy!

Carl Verheyen performing "Little Wing"

May 12, 2009

New "FOR SALE" page is up!!

     I've got a new FOR SALE page up on the site here. Just a bunch of stuff that I just don't use anymore and would be better suited for someone else to enjoy and for me to put the funds from the sales of these things into the bank for help in getting out to L.A.

Click here: FOR SALE

April something, 2009

NEW (old) MUSIC NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!!

     My 2004 CD, "Swingline Stapler" is now available at CDBaby.com ( http://cdbaby.com/cd/davebenziger3 ). This one's back to a mix of pop, rock, ballad, and now even some country-rock. You can check out samples of all the songs and (hopefully) buy a copy or download a few songs. Over the next few weeks, the songs will also be available on other sites like I-Tunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc - if you prefer, on this page (and my "Music" page) I'll be updating which sites have the music as they become available. Thanks so much for your continued support!

NEW (old) MUSIC NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!!

     My 2002-ish CD, "Somewhere Near Flagstaff" is now available at CDBaby.com ( http://cdbaby.com/cd/davebenziger2 ). It my pop/rock/Steely-Dan-ish/smooth-jazzy/thing. You can check out samples of all the songs and (hopefully) buy a copy or download a few songs. Over the next few weeks, the songs will also be available on other sites like I-Tunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc - if you prefer, on this page (and my "Music" page) I'll be updating which sites have the music as they become available. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons!!

     I was REALLY fortunate this month to get to go see the man, the legend, Frankie Valli. He and the Four Seasons performed at the Chicago Theater and (I'm not exaggerating one tiny bit when I say...) that band is possibly the tightest, fullest-sounding, most pitch-perfect, killer bands you will EVER see! Their vocals (including Frankie's) live were 100-times better than just about any artist's studio performances! Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a night of phenomenal music and musicianship - go see Frankie Valli live!!

     After the show, I was also fortunate and (of course) honored to meet both Frankie, and his killer keyboardist and music director, Robby Robinson. Both guys couldn't have been nicer and it was the icing on the cake to a truly amazing day of music for me.

Frankie Valli & Dummy

Robby Robinson & Dummy

March 28th, 2009

L.A.? SingWithTheBand?...

     I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the friends I have been fortunate enough make over these years via SingWithTheBand. Those of you who came up to wish me well at the last few gigs, thank you so much for those wishes, your friendship, and support. Although, I'm sure you'd like some clarification regarding things...

     Am I moving to LA now? No. Am I still in SingWithTheBand? No. Those of you who were told that I was no longer in the band because I'm moving to LA may want to ask the people who told you why that is, since I'm clearly still here. Am I still planning on moving to LA? Yes, but as just about everyone has known since last year, I'm waiting until all my 'ducks' are in a row; either I find a job in LA before I move out there, or I have enough cash in the bank to provide me the opportunity to move west and live there on those funds for a few months while I search 'in-town' for a job.

     I wish SingWithTheBand all the success I was happy to do my part for working so hard for over the past two years - Finding, checking, correcting, organizing, and printing out the lyrics to over 500 songs and writing out the music charts for a majority of those songs was a lot of work. But it's work that I will always be proud of - it afforded us the opportunity to make SingWithTheBand the biggest and most-successful band any one of us has been in. Three to four gigs a week, every week, for months? I know musicians who would kill for that. Besides the financial success, being able to make friends with all of you and have you join us week after week has been the icing on the cake.

     Please continue to come out and support SingWithTheBand! Scott Azarello is the new guitar player and he's awesome! He's an extremely talented musician (besides guitar, he do drum and bass too!) and a great guy personally. Very funny, very tall.

     Also, please stay in touch! I'll update here as much as possible, but because it's easier, I'll be updating my MySpace and Facebook pages more regularly. Wish me luck - those of you who know about not having a job know how much I'll need that luck!

Thanks so much again,

Dave    :)