Reference

Through the eyes and ears of top music writers, Playing from the Heart brings you closer to 43 of the best players in popular music. Drawn from the rich archives of Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard and Drums & Drumming, these classic interviews and photos reveal the skill, artistry and personality of world-class musicians in rock, blues, jazz and other styles. Provocative, often controversial, and always insightful, these interviews get to the heart of each player's creative process: their musical ideas and innovations, playing styles and techniques, equipment, influences and more. Plus you'll learn the backstory of each interview, direct from the writers and editors. Artist covered include: Chuck Berry, The Edge, Bonnie Raitt, Bootsy Collins, Billy Joel, Ginger Baker, Lars Ulrich and many others.

The PRS Guitar Book details every facet of the wonderful electric guitars made by PRS, the Maryland-based company founded in 1985 by musician and guitar builder Paul Reed Smith. The paperback edition is updated to include all the latest information on the acclaimed Singlecut models, as well as the intriguing story of the Santana SE - the company's first venture into overseas manufacture. An inviting narrative describes the evolution of this internationally renowned guitar maker, while dynamic color photography spotlights outstanding PRS guitars such as the Signature, signed by Smith; the Dragon, sporting opulent shell inlays; the Swamp Ash Special and Rosewood Limited, using non-standard materials; and ultra-rare models from limited and custom runs. Other featured guitars include the latest acoustic-electrics, and the Santana models that celebrate the partnership between PRS guitars and their best-known player, Carlos Santana. A special section highlights the company's famed use of highly patterned maple woods, displaying the most stunning flame-top and quilt-top examples. This definitive book also provides an absorbing photo-essay on the making of a PRS guitar, plus specifications for identifying and dating PRS instruments. The PRS Guitar Book is a must-have for any collector, PRS owner, or anyone who appreciates PRS guitars. -Guitar Digest Masterful ... tons of gorgeous, full-color photos. -Guitar Player This hefty volume of brilliantly colorful guitars made by Paul Reed Smith exemplifies the best and the brightest... -Dirty Linen A fitting tribute to a company which has, in a short time, come to symbolize a quality alternative to the 'big two' American electric guitar manufacturers. -Vintage Guitar

Punk Diary is a comprehensive chronicle of the punk rock era, combining for the first time in one volume the previously published Punk Diary and Post Punk Diary - expanded with new material never before published. Experience this volatile period in popular music and culture first-hand, as author George Gimarc uses original archival material and in-depth interviews to present a day-by-day accounting of over 1000 bands and 4000 recordings, including record releases, live gigs, bands getting together or breaking apart, riots, arrests, and revealing quotes from the personalities of the day.

Bono called Jeff Buckley a pure drop in an ocean of noise. In this startling new biography, Buckley's friends, peers, enemies, collaborators, lovers, and others speak of the Jeff they knew - or, in some cases, thought they knew. His struggles with writer's block are explored, as are his battles with the concept of stardom, his desire for escape, and his attempts to deal with the unavoidable legacy of his equally gifted father, Tim Buckley.

Guitarists and bassists are forever striving to capture their instrument's sound on recordings. This hands-on guide describes the techniques that accomplish this best. The book provides practical advice for creating a home studio space, choosing and using amps and microphones, processing and enhancing sound with effects, and special approaches for recording acoustic and electric bass and guitar, as well as double bass. It also includes interviews with top technicians, producers and musicians in which they teach their tricks of the trade. A 63-track companion CD demonstrates every important technique and sound, including: variation created by different amplifiers, microphones, positioning within the studio, EQ applications, and more. Features a full glossary that explains all the tech terms you'll need to know.

Now in softcover! This heartfelt biography celebrates the life and music of unsung hero Grant Green, the late jazz guitar genius who played on nearly 100 albums from the early '60s to the late '70s, but narrowly missed celebrity. Today his music has inspired numerous acid-jazz and hip-hop recordings and his legend continues to grow. A straight-ahead jazzman turned funk wizard, Grant is best known for his rhythmic and driving tone as a session leader and sideman for Blue Note Records. The book paints a personal portrait of Grant's internal struggles through the eyes of his family, friends, and fellow musicians.

More than a listener's guide, this book reveals the rich historical development of a regional music that is now embraced worldwide. Packed with incisive essays, ratings and reviews of 2,700 recordings, plus fantastic photos and engaging biographies, this guide captures the allure of reggae, calypso, dancehall, rock steady, soca and other evocative styles of the entire English-speaking Caribbean region past and present. Featured artists include: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Lord Kitchener, Arrow, Lee Scratch Perry, Buju Banton, Brother Resistance, Prince Buster, David Rudder, Wailing Souls and many others.

R.E.M. has produced some of the most consistently fascinating, successful and honest music of the past 20+ years, combining lyrical and musical experimentation in ways that nonetheless are accessible to the mainstream rock audience. Drawing upon first-hand interviews with band members and insiders, Reveal is a biographical exploration of the work and life of this seminal band. With a focus on the music and how it evolves from the personalities within the group, this book provides new insights into R.E.M.'s creative process. 7-1/4 x 9-1/4, 272 pages

Weaving firsthand interviews with personal insights, plus notes on recommended recordings, this book salutes the musical anarchists who have ignited generations of players and fans. Whether it's Ike Turner, who cut the first rock & roll record, or Talking Heads, who were first to fuse new wave with a global groove, Rip It Up! gets to the heart and soul of rock & roll attitude. Artist covered include: Camper Van Beethoven Teenage Fanclub Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Julie and Buddy Miller The Louvin Brothers Shonen Knife The Kinks Sparks Peter Case Elvis Costello Julian Cope Tom Verlaine Ann Magnuson and many others.

Texas is the honorary home of roadhouse music, and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan its uncrowned king. More than just a biography and musical exploration of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Roadhouse Blues tells the stories of the great Texan musicians that came before him and influenced him so deeply. It puts in context Stevie Ray's rise to fame - including the part played by his family, his friends, his heroes (like Jimi Hendrix), and his addiction to drink and drugs - as well as the lasting impact that his brief but turbulent life and work had on his contemporaries, and on later generations of blues fans and guitar players.