The Players
News and happenings from the world of your favourite guitarists
Pete Townshend has paid tribute to his guitar tech of over 40 years, Alan Rogan, whose passing, following a battle with cancer, was announced on 4 July by The Who. “My guitar tech, friend, saviour and good buddy Alan Rogan,” Townshend posted on Instagram with a picture of the two.“RIP. He has so many friends who will miss him and his lovely family have been wonderful.” Alan also worked with legends including George Harrison, Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Joe Walsh, Tom Petty, Graham Nash, Angus Young and Eric Clapton. Fender CEO Andy Mooney added his own tribute to him: “Anyone who knew Alan, knew him as someone who’d brighten every room and make every conversation fun, but Alan was also the consummate, professional guitar technician. Alan was gracious enough to take me backstage when he toured with The Who and AC/DC. He was proud of his work and no detail was too small. On behalf of the countless people Alan worked with at Fender over many years, we all would like to express our thanks to Alan for having known him, our sadness at his passing, our condolences to Alan’s daughter, Kerri, and all Alan’s many friends who all will surely miss him.”
Guitarist was also saddened to hear of the passing of New Orleans icon Malcolm ‘Mac’ John Rebennack Jr, better known by his stage name Dr John. He was 77. The R&B singer/keyboardist/ guitarist had a prolific career that began as a session musician in the late 50s. He switched from guitar as his main instrument around 1960 following an injury on his fretting hand from a gunshot. He collaborated with a huge amount of artists over the years including guitar legends Mike Bloomfield, Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter and Keith Richards.
Gibson Guitars is reportedly suing the parent company of Dean and Luna Guitars in a multimillion dollar lawsuit. Gibson alleges trademark infringement, trademark counterfeiting and unfair competition against Armadillo Distribution Enterprises. The guitar giant has singled out seven of its trademarks, including the Flying V, Explorer, ES and SG body shapes, the ‘Dove Wing’ headstock design, ‘Hummingbird’ name and ‘Moderne’ trademark.
Muse’s Matt Bellamy has revealed his plans for Mansons Guitar Works now he’s been announced as a majority owner in the Devon company that’s made his guitars for nearly 20 years. “We have plans in the coming months and years to launch a lower-cost M-series guitar based on some of my favourite instruments,” says Matt, “[and to] investigate new product in the heavier music genre, including seven-string versions. As we will shortly be celebrating my 20-year relationship with Mansons, we are in discussions about some high-end limited-edition guitars that accurately detail my stage instruments. The future? We’ll be exploring enhanced electronic features to further evolve the guitar into the modern era.”