Tag Archives: jimi hendrix

SOUR NOTES

$18 million in counterfeit Gibson Guitars seized at L.A. Port.

Good news, L.A. rockers: If you’re hoping to find a Gibson under the tree this year, there’s a better chance it’ll be the real deal. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just intercepted more than 3,000 fake Gibson guitars at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport, stopping a wave of counterfeit Les Pauls, SGs, and Flying Vs from shredding their way into the market.

Had these knockoffs been legit, they’d have been worth a jaw-dropping $18 million—enough to make even the most diehard gearheads choke on their coffee. Instead, they’re about as real as Milli Vanilli’s vocals. Gibson, the Nashville-based guitar titan, confirmed the instruments were frauds, and CBP wasn’t about to let them slip through their hands.

GUITAR HERO: Slash crafted classics like “Welcome to the Jungle” on his Gibson guitar.

For over a century, Gibson guitars have been the six-string Excalibur for rock legends. Think Jimmy Page conjuring the “Stairway to Heaven” solo, Angus Young duck-walking his way through “Back in Black,” and B.B. King sweet-talking “Lucille” into blues immortality. These aren’t just instruments—they’re sacred relics of rock’s pantheon. So, yeah, seeing a fake Gibson is like finding out that your cherished first-pressing of Appetite for Destruction that you bought on eBay is really just a laser-printed knock-off.

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SOUND EDUCATION

For Those About to Rook book

Rockin’ new book For Those About to Rock teaches kids music history with some edgy fun.

If you respect and appreciate good music and great artists, then you may be feeling a bit indifferent about the trending videos on YouTube that feature millennials and Gen Zers sharing their reaction to first hearing classic songs by legendary artists like the Bee Gees and Motley Crue. Now, watching strangers react to music sounds about as interesting as playing Zeppelin records backwards hoping to hear Satan. However, the most surreal part of the whole “reaction video” trend is that some young people simply aren’t ashamed of their lack of basic music history.

Granted, being able to name the four original members of KISS without needing to check Wikipedia won’t land you a professorship at the local university. But by the time anyone reaches their teen years, you’d hope they’d have some semblance of how and why Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles are just as important to American and world history as George Washington and Albert Einstein.

For Those About to Rook book

Considering how difficult it is just to get a basic quality education nowadays, we’re not holding our breath. Fortunately, a rockin’ new book has found a great solution. Author/rocker Kate Seldman‘s For Those About to Rock: A Kid’s Guide to 50 Legendary Musical Acts is a long overdue, gorgeously illustrated “textbook” that highlights a rich musical education delivered in a fun and engaging presentation that would appeal to any young mind that loves learning.

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Guitar Heroes

ROCK AND ROLL OVER

In August 2010, Gibson Guitars launched “GuitarTown,” a public arts project spread throughout 1.6 miles of the Sunset Strip and celebrating iconic bands and musicians, while highlighting the Strip’s significance to rock and roll history. Included among the over two dozen custom designed 10 foot tall fiberglass Les Paul guitars are tributes to Jimi Hendrix and KISS, whose colorful tribute is located near West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont.