NEWS - EVENTS - CONTESTS - CYBER NOTES - NEW RELEASES - MEET A.G.

NEWS

Gibson Strings and Accessories has introduced a set of Gibson guitar trading cards, to be sold in music stores that carry Gibson products. The cards will be packaged in random sets of eight or in a complete set of 50. Each card has a full-color, glossy-finish photograph of the instrument on the front and product history and specs on the back.

The International Bluegrass Music Association Awards were held in Louisville, Kentucky, October 22. Winners included Kenny Smith for Guitar Player of the Year, the Del McCoury Band for Entertainer of the Year, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder for Album of the Year (Bluegrass Rules!) and Instrumental Group of the Year, and Rob Ickes for Dobro Player of the Year.

The American School of Lutherie, featuring seminars and intensive workshops led by world-renowned luthiers, will reopen its doors in Healdsburg, California, in February. For information and a class schedule, call (800) 477-4437 or email lmi@lmii.com.

EVENTS

The inaugural New Jersey Guitar Trade Show and Festival will be held in McAfee, New Jersey, May 22-23. For information, contact Shelly Productions, (201) 796-9582.

Dr. Banjo (Pete Wernick of Hot Rize) unveils his new Bluegrass Jam Camp at MerleFest, April 26-29. The camp is open to all instrumentalists and singers who just "gotta jam." For information, call (303) 444-4537 or email Pwernick@aol.com.

Jazz guitarists Ron Escheté, Frank Vignola, and Jimmy Bruno will perform at a Benedetto players' concert (scheduled to coincide with the L.A. NAMM show) at Papashon's Restaurant in Encino, California, January 27. For reservations, call (818) 783-6664.

CONTESTS

Submissions to the Crossroads Music Awards (open to any artist who released an acous-tic, folk, roots, or world music CD during 1998) must be re-ceived on or before January 30. Mail CDs to Crossroads Music Awards, PO Box 41491, Tucson, AZ 85717. For more information, phone (520) 881-5277 or visit www.xrm.com.

CYBER NOTES

ChannelSEEK (www.ChannelSEEK.com) is a program guide for streaming media events on the Web, including concerts, music, radio shows, videos, news, and movies.

Step right up and see the world's smallest guitar at www.news.cornell.edu/science/July97/guitar.ltb.html. The guitar (made from crystalline silicon) is ten micrometers long (about the size of a human blood cell) with six strings, each about 50 nanometers, or 100 atoms, wide.

The Gibson Auction, an online resource for buying and selling used instruments of any make, can be found at auction.gibson.com/index.html.

NEW RELEASES

Guitar Solo Publications has reissued Uruguayan classical guitarist Isaias Savio's technical exercises in one volume, Guitar Technique and Velocity Exercises. For information, call Guitar Solo at (415) 896-1122 or visit www.gsp-guitar.com.

Smithsonian Folkways has re-leased The Mississippi: River of Song, a companion to the PBS and Public Radio International series hosted by Ani DiFranco. The two-CD set chronicles the wide variety of music, from punk to polka, found along the mighty river.

The first release in Acoustic Music Records' new video series features performances by John Renbourn, Peter Finger, and Isato Nakagawa at last year's Open Strings festival. For information, contact Acoustic Music Resource at (800) 649-4745.

Omnibus Press has published The Beatles: A Diary, by Barry Miles. The book contains previously unpublished photographs and is a complete chronology of the Liverpool lads' career. To order, call Music Sales at (800) 431-7187.

So you've got your own Web site and want to put your latest audio masterpiece up for the world to hear. Audio on the Web (Peachpit Press, [800] 283-9444), by Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) pioneers Jeff Patterson and Ryan Melcher, will show you how.

MEET A.G. 

Join Acoustic Guitar at the Folk Alliance 11th Anniversary Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 25-28. This meeting of the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance is a key event for folk musicians and music industry professionals, as well as arts administrators and educators. For further information, visit www.folk.org, phone (202) 835-3655, or email fa@folk.org.

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