If you didn’t know, September is Hunger Action Month. SEGAS along with Valvetrain Amplifiers, Lakota Leathers and Will Kelly are helping out by donating some gear to The Foodbank of Central and Eastern NC to help raise money for those who are less fortunate. Donations are not required to enter for a chance to win some free gear, please make a contribution if you can. Register today!
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Check them out – http://grangeramp.com/
SEGAS: Did it ever occur to you to NOT play guitar because of your disability?
HILAND: No, guitar is just something I couldn’t live without… when I was two or three years old, I was always the little kid dancing around with a toy guitar.
SEGAS: What was it about guitars that drew you to them at such an early age?
HILAND: As a young boy, I was given my Granddad’s ’39 J-45 and I was instantly hooked… I pretty much used that guitar like Linus used his blanket … it was instantly obvious to my parents and my siblings that guitar was going to be a big part of my life. It all started from there.
SEGAS: How were you able to listen and be exposed to all different types of music growing up in Maine?
HILAND: My parents had an old 8 track tape player, us kids would dance around to the music.My Mom had some Bee Gees tapes, while my Dad had Skynrd, Blackfoot and the Outlaws. Then my Grandfather gave me an old bag full of country music 8 track tapes … I became a huge Don Williams and Merle Haggard fan at four years old! I first got on TV when I was seven, playing country music!
SEGAS: So, how did you end up in Nashville? Did you have a plan for how you were going to make a name for yourself?
HILAND: I had no plan … I was attending the University of Southern Maine, just to please my parents, honestly… But, what I was actually doing with the money that my parents were sending me for food and stuff, was buying gear like crazy. I was focused on my playing and thinking I would be a studio guitarist, since I felt that being legally blind would be a big hinderance on the road. So, when I turned 21, I said this was what I really wanted to do, and I quit school. My parents were really mad about that. So, a good friend of mine in my band at the time drove with me down to Nashville, and we just started hitting all the live music clubs on Broadway and stuff started happening for me pretty fast after that.
SEGAS: Currently, what’s your favorite guitar that you own?
HILAND: I have an Ice tea ‘burst Ernie Ball Silhouette with a birdseye maple neck that they actually enlarged the dots on the neck, so I can see them better. It’s really my favorite guitar now, I just can’t put it down …
SEGAS: Do you collect?
HILAND: I’d like to think I do … I currently own around 30 guitars. I have a few old acoustics that I just love. I know, people think “Johnny Hiland” and assume I’m an electric player. I have a ’39 Gibson J-45 that my GrandDad owned which is really cool. He used to play it on the radio back in the ’30′s, he went by the name Hike Hiland. I was partially named after him, but in High School everybody used to call me Eddy Van Hiland…
SEGAS: What qualities are most important to you in a guitar amplifier?
HILAND: I’m currently playing some old Music Man amps from the ’70′s.I really love the tone of those. The solid state preamp allows the amp to remain clean, which is what I’m going for. I have a pretty large pedal board, and it’s full. There’s alot of stuff on there that I use, so the amp has to be able to accept pedals well. Most people these days are doing the ‘Boutique Amp’ thing with 18 watts or less, but I’m the exact opposite… I’m looking for 100 to 150 watt amps! I don’t push them hard, so they stay cool and clean, even over a four hour gig which is pretty common in Nashville. Tube amps change their tone as they heat up, and can really change over a long gig.
SEGAS: So, what’s on the horizon for Johnny Hiland?
HILAND: I’m actually heading back to Ireland after my appearances at the Guitar Show at the end of September. I’ve really begun to experience the Irish love of Country Music and chicken pickin’. I did my first show there this past June, and I just absolutely love it over there. I’m going back to my country roots, and also working on a new album, called “Running and Gunning” that’s just bone country with more vocal tunes and some serious guitar on it!
segas-press-release-09-13-2010
Burgaw, NC, September 13, 2010 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Southeastern Guitar & Amp Show Brings Vendors, Musicians and Fans to Raleigh, North Carolina September 25 & 26, 2010
Only two weeks remaining until the Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show in Raleigh, North Carolina for vendors, manufacturers, musicians and guitar and amp enthusiasts. The Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show will be held Saturday, September 25 from 10AM to 6PM and Sunday, September 26 from 10AM to 4PM at the Raleigh Convention Center (500 South Salisbury Street) in beautiful downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
Over seventy guitar and amplifier vendors and manufacturers will offer their wares for sell and/or trade. Enthusiasts are welcome to bring their gear for potential purchase by these vendors. Many guitar and amp clinics, amplifier/guitar demonstration rooms and nightly entertainment at The Lincoln Theatre are also part of this unbelievable event!
Thirty minute instructional clinics are scheduled throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday and will be held by renowned artists such as Johnny Hiland (Chicken Pickin’,) Lee Dickson (30 Years as Eric Clapton’s Guitar Tech,) Renè Martinez (Guitar Tech for Stevie Ray Vaughan, Santana and John Mayer) and more.
Get ready to be thoroughly entertained on Friday night, September 24th, at The Lincoln Theatre by the King of Country Western Troubadours, Unknown Hinson (sponsored by Reverend Guitars,) and Nashville guitar great, Johnny Hiland. The guitar-fest continues on Saturday night, September 25th at The Lincoln Theatre with guitar virtuosos Andy Wood, Johnny Hiland and Michael Landau.
Both the Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show and nightly entertainment at The Lincoln Theatre are open to the general public.
Ticket prices for The Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show are $10 for a Daily Pass or $15 for a 2-Day Pass and can be purchased in advance at www.guitarandampshow.com or www.mojotone.com or at the door on the day of the show.
Tickets for Friday night’s show at The Lincoln Theatre are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. Tickets for the Saturday night show at The Lincoln Theatre are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Tickets for both nights at The Lincoln Theatre are also available for only $32. All tickets are available online at www.lincolntheatre.com.
Vendors interested in available space can find online registration at www.guitarandampshow.com or call Mojo Musical Supply at 800-927-6656. There are only a few booths remaining, so register now to reserve your space.
Mojo Musical Supply has been in business for over 18 years as an amplifier cabinet manufacturer and parts supplier. Mojo was the first to recognize a need for vintage replacement parts and our focus on the cosmetic side of those parts was and still is unsurpassed. Over the years, the Mojo line has grown to accommodate all parts of the vintage, boutique and current production tube amp market. In recent years Mojo has built its business to include guitar parts.
Currently, Mojo Musical Supply builds between 800 – 1,000 amplifier cabinets per month for over 85 amp manufacturers and OEMs. Their quality is unsurpassed and their experience in guitar amplification and technical design is outstanding.
CONTACT:
Andrew Simmons
Mojo Musical Supply
toll free 800-927-6656 ext. 2063
fax 910-259-7292
andrew@mojotone.com
www.guitarandampshow.com
www.mojomusicalsupply.com
Check out Raleigh’s own Schrum Brothers Vintage guitars in booth # 704 at this years Southeastern Guitar and Amp Show!
We are pleased to announce guitar-cable.com will join us at this years event! Guitar-Cable.com has also signed on as an official 2010 Sponsor! Be sure to check them out at the show and visit their website when you get a chance!
Be sure to check out some of the coolest vintage gear at this years SEGAS in booth # 510
SEGAS: What lessons learned have stuck with you, as a result of entering in to the music business at such an early age?
Landau: I was fortunate enough to always play with musicians that were older than me starting when I was 13 through High School. Steve Porcaro was one grade ahead of me, he had a cover band called “Still Life”. Steve Lukather and I would play at proms and school shows with this band, we rehearsed at his house in the studio garage, Jeff and Mike Porcaro would always come by rehearsals and play, but I think the biggest lesson I learned back then was to really listen to the people your playing with, add to the music by complementing what other people are playing.
SEGAS: What’s your secret to being able to perform and record with such a diverse roster of talented artists, as you’ve done over the years?
Landau: I’ve always had a broad taste in music, I was into Jazz and Electric Jazz in my teens as wellas the usual Beatles, Hendrix, Cream type Rock ‘n’ Roll. These artists naturally had a lot of Bluesinfluence in them, so I learned a lot from that. I like it all when its real.
SEGAS: Got a favorite Pink Floyd/David Gilmour story for our readers?
Landau: I played just a couple of parts on a song called “One Slip”. I was in and out of there pretty quick,David did show me his rig he had set up for overdubs, I believe it was 2 Marshall Stacks and a few pedals, I remember it wasen’t over the top loud, just a nice full fat tone, he was very kind, I could tell he really loved playing the guitar…
SEGAS: Were you a James Taylor fan growing up in L.A. and if so, what’s it like to play with him now?
Landau: I was definitely a fan from all the exposure to him from pop radio back then in the ’70s, its hard not to like James Taylor, he’s the real deal and I love playing with him. He’s humble and funny, two of my favorite things in people.
SEGAS: What do you think Burning Water’s musical legacy will be?
Landau: I’m not sure, not much I guess if we continue the human path that seems bent on destroying the world! I have very fond memories of Burning Water, they were fun times. I think we struck a good nerve with a few people, thats enough for me.
SEGAS: How does your choice of gear reflect your musical diversity?
Landau: Thats a hard one, I’ve always experimented with a lot of different setup’s and gear, I still do, its part of being a guitar player, we’re all a bit psycho aren’t we? Its fun though – all part of the journey… I’m definitely into the “less is more” with equipment these days, it let’s your voice come through loud and clear.
SEGAS: How do you and Robben (Ford) carve out your own musical spaces within the “Renegade Creation” project?
Landau: Thankfully It comes naturally, we are different enough style wise to naturally go for different parts and sounds. I’m always very inspired to play with him.
SEGAS: What is it about a guitar that still inspires you to this very day?
Landau: The feel of a great guitar setup just right through a good amp and a few pedals
is an addiction for me, I love it more than ever…
SEGAS: What’s next for Michael Landau?
Landau: I’m almost done with a new disc of my own, its going to be an all instrumental studio record. I’m still also planning a live DVD, hopefully soon, and more touring with Renegade Creation and my group…
Sound Pure is a place to demo and purchase the finest Professional Recording Equipment available, a place to purchase the Finest Hand-Built Guitars and Amps currently being built, and a serious, top-notch Recording Studio. Sound Pure provides the best advice and service for your individual equipment needs, and provides assistance improving the performance of the gear that you already own.
For more info – check them out at http://www.soundpure.com/
Come meet them at the 2010 SEGAS!
The Mylespaul site is dedicated to Les Paul guitars, whether it’s Gibson or Epiphone, they provide related information and articles. They also have a forum and gallery set up so you can participate in Les Paul discussions, and post pictures of your guitar. Feel free to browse around and hope you enjoy your stay!
Come out to meet them at this years SEGAS!!!
© Southeastern Guitar & Amp Show. Presented by Mojo Musical Supply.
Contact us or call 800-927-6656 for more information.