Get your very own Hitmaker! (Hits not included)
...AND OTHER NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
FENDER RECENTLY HONORED funk guitar legend Nile Rodgers with a new signature guitar, the Hitmaker Stratocaster. Rodgers’ ultrabright, clean and propulsive guitar work — a great deal of it played on a white Strat with the neck of a 1959 model and the body of a ’60 — has powered innumerable hits, from Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” three decades later (and let’s not forget Family Style by Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan).
The new Hitmaker Strat is a faithful recreation of that beloved anchor of Rodgers’ arsenal, and it’s the first production-line Rodgers signature Strat (an ultra-limited edition Custom Shop recreation of the Hitmaker was introduced in 2014). Finished in Olympic White, the Hitmaker Strat is built with a slimmed-down, more aggressively contoured 1960 Strat alder body and a ’59 Strat-profile, one-piece maple neck with a 9.5-inch radius fingerboard sporting 21 medium jumbo frets. Its trio of custom single coils are voiced specifically to replicate the quack and bell-like chime of Rodgers’ original guitar.
“I’ve heard people say the Hitmaker is a $2 billion guitar,” Rodgers said in a statement. “When playing it, I’ve been a part of making some of the biggest-selling records of all time: David Bowie, Chic, Diana Ross, Daft Punk, Madonna and so many others. All I know is that it’s been my constant companion for almost 50 years. I can’t stop myself from playing it for hours each and every day.”
The guitar sells for $2,599, a deal that includes a custom vintage-style case that sports a “Hitmaker”-embroidered interior, plus there’s a certificate of authenticity. — Jackson Maxwell
THE SECRET IS OUT
KIM THAYIL, HIS Soundgarden bandmate and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic have formed a new supergroup, 3rd Secret. The band also features Bubba Dupree, guitarist for D.C. hardcore vets Void and Cameron side-project Hater, plus vocalists Jennifer Johnson and Jillian Raye, who also feature in Novoselic’s Giants in the Trees.
3rd Secret announced the band and surprise-released their self-titled debut album simultaneously in April. It was recorded and mixed by legendary grunge producer Jack Endino, and it’s available to hear on streaming services now. The record certainly delivers on the promise of its lineup, with sinewy, off-kilter riffs and the odd frenzied solo from Thayil. But there’s an altogether folkier acoustic thread running through the album, too, which nods to landmark grunge recordings such as Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies and Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged.
The new supergroup have launched a charmingly oldschool website, 3rdsecret.com, where you can keep up to date with their future activities. — Michael Astley-Brown
OZZY TEAMS WITH IOMMI, E.C. & BECK
GET READY FOR a new studio album from the John Mayall of metal, Ozzy Osbourne. The Prince of Darkness broke the news on Instagram in early April, saying, “I’m so happy to let everyone know that I finished my new album this week and delivered it to my label, Epic Records.” Best of all, the album, Osbourne’s first since the Andrew Watt-produced Ordinary Man in 2020, will feature who’s who of six-string legends, including Ozzy’s former Black Sabbath bandmate, Tony Iommi, who wrote a track for the album. Other big names include Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and, of course, Zakk Wylde.
“[The album] definitely sounds slamming,” Wylde told MusicRadar last October. “The same goes for all the guys — what Tony Iommi played, and then Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. It’s all killer for sure. On those tracks, I’m playing rhythm guitar for my heroes… It’s crazy! It sounds awesome and I’m beyond honored to be doing it.” Watch this space for more information.
— Damian Fanelli
BLUES HITS THE ROAD
KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD has announced the Backroads Blues Festival, a “traditional touring blues festival” for which he’s recruited fellow blues guitar titans Buddy Guy and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. The six-date tour — which has been envisaged as an annual event — will see the trio visit Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia in August.
Of the event, Shepherd said, “These days, nobody mounts a traditional touring blues festival. I conceptualized one that will give people a chance to see the best of the best all in one place. We are extremely excited that Buddy Guy will be with us for each show. He is, after all, the living king of the blues. Also worthy of great respect is Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, who is revitalizing the blues in a potent and powerful way. We’re featuring three successive generations of blues artists, underscoring the resonance of the genre.” — Matt Owen