Home page changes

You may have noticed the home page of HC just got a lot shorter (man that sucker was long). What we did is move the "New @" and "Most Popular" product links from various retailers to their own page, which can be found at www.harmony-central.com/shopping. This new page will have some aesthetic changes made to it in the near future, plus we also plan to add content from the retailers--such as their product reviews, etc.--to this area. When your G.A.S. is becoming uncontrollable, this is the place to go!

Guitar Hero 2006 Wrap-Up

Wow, what a weekend! First of all, congratulations to all the finalists, and to Trey Alexander, Guitar Player's Guitar Hero for 2006! Trey's performance was phenomenal, and he is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth guys I've had the pleasure of meeting.

I didn't envy the judges at all, because all of the performances were stellar in their own right. First runner-up went to Patrick Woods, the only contestant to play on an acoustic. And I have to say, I've never seen anyone play an acoustic guitar the way he did--it was certainly a sight to see. Third place went to "Superman" David Powers (you'll get it when you see the videos;), who grabbed the crowd from the moment he stepped onstage until the final notes of his song rang out. Again though, all 10 of these guys were simply amazing, and I don't know how the judges were able to make their choices.

I'd like to say thanks to everyone at Guitar Player for being such gracious hosts, as well as the guys from Hughes & Kettner and everyone else I met over the weekend. I can't wait to get some videos up for the HC community so you can catch a glimpse of this great event! The house band alone was worth the drive, and combined with hearing 10 of the world's finest players do their thing, it's a night I'll never forget.

I highly suggest you check out the music of each of these guys:
Trey Alexander
Patrick Woods
David Powers
Ron LoCurto
Joe Cefalu
Ed Degenaro
Joshua Karickhoff
Nathan Hahn
Sergei Roudzinski
Anton Tsygankov

Guitar Hero 2006

Just checkin' in from San Fran! Got to spend some time this evening with some folks from Guitar Player, Hughes & Kettner, as well as the 10 Guitar Hero finalists. Truly a great group of guys--all getting along great without an ego in sight. I wish them all the best of luck tomorrow, and hope we can get some great footage and interviews from the event!

Upcoming Event/Trade Show Coverage

I'm excited to be heading down to San Francisco this weekend to cover Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Hero finals! The plan is to get some quick interviews with the contestants and judges, and a whole lot of performance footage from the ten finalists. I'll post here when stuff starts to get posted.

Craig Anderton will be heading down to San Francisco as well in a couple of weeks for the 121st AES Convention. I'll be here manning the news desk, posting press releases like mad I'm sure:) Craig will be capturing the hottest stuff at the show on video too so you can have as close to a hands-on experience as you can have without actually being there!

Podcast Directory

Back to the grind this morning after a nice long weekend. Hope you all had a safe and enjoyable Labor Day holiday!

I see press releases from time to time announcing a new podcast, or a new episode of a podcast, and I thought it would be a good idea to create a "Podcast Directory" page on HC. I have a few links so far from previous press releases, but to really get this page happening I'd like to have a lot more. So, if you've got a podcast that you think would be relevant, go ahead and submit it to news@harmony-central.com. Please include a short blurb that lets me know what subjects your podcast covers, how often it's updated, and anything else you think is relevant. I'd like to keep these in the realm of gear/recording as much as possible. I look forward to getting this up and running, so spread the word!