The Players
News and happenings from the world of your favourite guitarists
Joe Bonamassa has announced a surprise new instrumental album with his new project, The Sleep Eazys. As well as paying tribute to friend and mentor Danny Gatton, he’s tackling Sinatra, King, Curtis, a Bond theme and even Motörhead’s Ace Of Spades. “To be honest, I have always wanted to do a record like this,” says Bonamassa. “But, to be even more honest, I’m not sure I was ready both professionally and musically, until now.”
KK Downing has formed KK’s Priest with two other former members of Judas Priest. Vocalist Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens and drummer Les Binks will play festivals with the guitarist this year, as well working on new material. Bassist Tony Newton and guitarist AJ Mills will also join the line-up.
Professional musician, producer and long-term tinnitus sufferer Rupert Brown (Roy Ayers, Nigel Kennedy, Cher, The Lighthouse Family) has launched a free app to help the one-in-eight UK adults who suffer from tinnitus. Alongside Rupert, the T-Minus app has been developed by a team of hearing therapists, audiologists and ENT consultants. It’s the first app designed to help alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus. Brown has spent his life collating a music library of what he calls ‘Mind Environments’ to help sufferers. As well as access to the T-Minus sound-therapy library, which users can tailor to their needs, you can also gain access to a community of professionals and daily news. For more information visit www.t-minus.info
The Cure’s Robert Smith has confirmed the band are currently working on “two new albums and an hour of noise”. In a chat with NME, he confirmed that the first of these new albums in 11 years had the working title Live From The Moon and had been shaped by his “experience of life’s darker side”. The release date for the recordings are still TBC.
The Blues Podcast is a new interview series hosted by musician Big Boy Bloater and will feature a different guest for each episode. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Beth Hart and Kris Barras have already featured. The Blues Podcast is available on various platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast/iTunes, Google Podcast, YouTube and PodBean.
Genesis trio Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks are reuniting for a tour after 13 years. The trio will play arena dates in November and December with Collins’ son Nic on drums.
The 1975 Greil Marcus book, Mystery Train: Images Of American In Rock ’N’ Roll Music, which found fans including David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave and Elvis Costello, is getting a special collector’s edition release from the Folio Society. It’s been newly updated by the author and is the first English language edition to include illustrations. For more information visit www.foliosociety.com