08/02

Hello, and welcome to the latest update from your friends at J. D'Addario & Company. Inside this month’s newsletter read about the latest from our endorsees including Brad Delson, Alan Jackson, Camille Gainer, Radim Zenkl, John Dolmayan and many more. Please read on!

To submit artist news, please e-mail John Ferrante at
john.ferrante@daddario.com

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D'Addario News:

Artist Quote of the Month

"Evans makes the best product in the market for feel, bounce, and durability – period." – John Dolmayan (drummer for multi-platinum rock act System of a Down)

Santana performs during the 2002 ESPY Awards, which honor outstanding sports achievements. The 10th annual event will be hosted by actor Samuel L. Jackson and televised live July 10 from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET.

John Scofield and Charlie Hunter top the list of acts set for the third annual Walther's Grassroots Music & Arts Festival, to be held Aug. 10 in Cockeysville, MD.

Lo-Ball is currently on the Warped tour.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest Warner Bros. album, By the Way, is due in stores July 9.

On July 22, Halford will be hosting the entire 90 min broadcast of Rockline. The band will be performing tracks off their new release Crucible, live in Rockline's California studios. Halford will also be performing a classic Judas Priest song or two while fielding phone calls from listeners taking in the satellite broadcast on more than 100 stations.

Jeff Pevar is on tour with Jazz Is Dead (playing mandolin, bass, lap steel and guitar).

After a two-year hiatus from recording, country star Vince Gill plans to release a new MCA Nashville album later this year.

Sparta opens on Weezer’s summer Enlightenment tour.

The Robert Cray Band's No One Special video, produced and directed by Susan Turner Cray, is the winner of two prestigious awards. The video was a winner at the Houston International Film Festival which featured more than 3,900 entries from 34 countries. The video also won a Spirit of Moondance award at The Moondance film festival. Watch No One Special at RobertCray.com.

Guitarist Pat Kelley has launched a new label called Artsong Music which has released it's first two CDs, 3 Guitars Live at the Jazz Bakery and The Road Home, a re-release of Pat's highly acclaimed CD from 1994. A mid summer release is scheduled for Pat's newest recording In the Moment which also features drummer John Ferraro (Evans endorsee) and saxophonist Andy Suzuki (Vandoren endorsee). For more information go to www.patkelley.com.

The Kings of Metal, Halford, featuring D’Addario endorsees Metal Mike and Pat Lachman and Evans endrosee Bobby Jarzombeck, play European and Scandinavian Festivals this month including the Sweden Rock Festival and the Gods Of Metal fest in Italy, (Halford co-headlining with fellow D’Addario endorsees Slayer).

Linkin Park, featuring D’Addario endorsee Brad Delson on guitar, and Warner Bros. have set a July 31 release date for Reanimation, a remix album the group sees as a "revisiting" of its multi-platinum debut, "Hybrid Theory." According to posts on the group's official web site, the disc will include contributions from the likes of Korn's Jonathan Davis, Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, rapper Pharoahe Monch, Jurassic 5's Chali 2na, Deftones' Stephen Carpenter, and DJ Z-Trip.

Contemporary country mainstays Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson each walked away from the recent 37th annual Academy of Country Music Awards with three statuettes.

Rock 'n' roll troubadour Frank Black has reteamed with former label spinART and is planning a release for two new albums. Black Letter Day and Devil's Workshop, the follow-ups to his 2001 set Dog in the Sand (What Are Records?), were recorded live to two-track with Black's band the Catholics.

Bassist Mark Egan performs this month in NYC at the Blue Note with a special trio that includes guitarist Larry Coryell and Drummer Paul Wertico (formerly of the Pat Metheny Group) http://www.markegan.com.

Singer songwriter/guitarist Anne McCue has just completed a tour as Special Guest to Lucinda Williams. Lucinda saw Anne perform in a small club in Nashville last fall and immediately invited her to open the tour. Anne uses EXP17s.

Guitarist Vinny Valentino plays at the World Port Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, NE with his trio, On 3, this month. Vinny is also hosting a master class at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music.

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Bluegrass News:

The David Grisman Quintet, acoustic music’s leading ensemble, will release Dawgnation, their first new recording in seven years on Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage's appear on ABC TV's "Peter Jennings 4th of July Celebration".

Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent, Railroad Earth, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Lucinda Williams, Leftover Salmon, Mike Marshall and Bryon Sutton recently performed at the D’Addario sponsored Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

Mandolinist Radim Zenkl just finished a two month US tour playing solo concerts and teaching mandolin & guitar clinics. He is currently on a European tour, playing festivals in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, and Finland. He uses the EXP mandolin strings. For more information please see: http://www.zenkl.com.

Gary Brewer and the Kentucky Ramblers' new song, written by Tom T. and Dixie Hall, continues to climb the charts as it moved from position 30 to position 24 in the Bluegrass Unlimited publication.

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D'Addario Bowed News:

Mark O’Connor received an honorary doctorate degree from Sage College in Troy. O'Connor was selected to speak because he illustrated this year's commencement theme, the arts. After which he was presented with an honorary doctorate degree. Mark’s musical style incorporates folk, jazz, classical and bluegrass. His personal artistic journey has proven that he chose his own path. He uses his musical instruments as his tool to communicate his talents to help build relationships between ideas, people and cultures.

Julie Lyonn Liebermann will be coming out with her sixth book, The Creative Band and Orchestra, with a foreward by Justin DiCioccio by the end of the summer. She will be presenting several masterclasses throughout the summer beginning on Monday, July 1st. For more information on the masterclasses please visit her website at www.stringscentral.com

Missy Raines is the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Bass Player of the Year for 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. She is the first woman ever to receive this prestigious award. She was named the 1999 Bass Fiddle Player of the Year for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America. Missy was also voted Fan’s Choice Bass Player of the Year 1999 by the readers of Bluegrass Now magazine. What Missy had to say about D'Addario: "D'Addario bass strings are very responsive and easy to play. They have a clear and warm sound.”

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Evans News:

Camille Gainer will perform at the Al Ginter Drum Event in Luxembourg.

Tool, featuring Danny Carey, has begun lining up a summer U.S. tour to follow European headlining dates and a stint with the first Ozzfest tour of that region.

Evans is proud to welcome Will Hunt to our family of Performing Artists. Will started playing at age five. His band Skrape (RCA) toured on The Extreme Steel Tour w/ Pantera & Slayer last summer. Will is currently hitting the skins as a member of the The Tommy Lee Band.

Look for Claudia Rossi and her band Lo-Ball on the Warped Tour.

Evans Artist Michael Spiro presented a 3-day workshop at the University of Kentucky hosted by Professor and Evans Artist, James Campbell. Spiro concentrated on techniques of Cuban drumming and Brazilian percussion in his residency, which was attended by percussion students, teachers, and enthusiasts from the central Kentucky region.

Doug Yowell will soon begin a second European tour with Suzzane Vega in support of the new album Songs of Red and Grey. Doug has also completed recording on the new Duncan Sheik record at Capital Studios in California.

Van Romaine is currently on tour with Enrique Iglesias. Van just launched his new website, http://www.vanromaine.com.

Jason Singleton of Trust Company is currently on the Vans Warped Tour. Following Warped, the band will open for Korn in Europe and the US.

Antonio Sanchez is featured in the August issue of Modern Drummer.

Terry Silverlight is on tour with the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra.

Maxx Zinno of the band Pulse Ultra can be seen and heard on this summer’s Ozzfest... as well as being on all of the System Of A Down off-dates. Their album titled "Headspace" is due out in stores July 16th. www.pulseultra.com

Rocky Bryant is on tour with Peter Frampton.

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Evans Marching and Concert News:

Bands of America "World Percussion Symposium" now offers a course designed by percussion teaching professionals for professional called the Drum Instructor Academy. Headed by Evans artist James Campbell, the curriculum offers everything from private arranging/show design lessons to what’s "hot" on the market. The Symposium features four tracks: Marching, Concert, Drumset and Drum Instructor Academy. Involved in one or more tracks are artists, Jim Campbell, Julie Davila, Lalo Davila, Thom Hannum, Brian Mason, John Pollard, and Zoro.

Lalo Davila will begin a week long clinic and residency at the American Band College in Oregon for 200 band directors the week of July 1st-5th. The A.B.C. program is designed to aid band directors in the completion their Masters deree requirements. In addition to clinic responsibilities, Lalo will perform in concert during the A.B.C. 4th of July celebration.

Dan Delong just completed a clinic presentation at the University of North Texas Marching Percussion Camp on June 25-26th. Clinic coordinator, Mark Ford, said the camp attracted over 200 high school students as well as 50 area educators.

The collaborative team of Brian Mason and Zoro are bring marching percussion into the mainstream with a small tour of performances, culminating at Bands of America World Percussion Symposium. The performance features drumset artist Zoro and the Phantom Regiment drumline and small horn ensemble playing James Brown style funk charts. The Mason/Zoro project is also slated for a PASIC 2002 showcase performance.

Neal Flum, Assistant Director of the U of Alabama "Million Dollar Band", is holding a percussion camp at U. of Alabama on July 12-14th. Next, Neal is off to assist Thom Hannum with his summer camp on July 19th –23rd.

Ralph Hardimon recently returned from Japan where he is consultant to many bands as well as Drum Corps Japan. Ralph will be attending the upcoming Texas Bandmasters Assn. trade show in San Antonio, TX on July 29th-31st where he will personally autographing his Evans "Hot Combination" poster for give-a-way.

Evans artists Bluecoats, Cadets, Crossmen, and Phantom Regiment can be seen in cities throughout the US this summer as part of the Drum Corps International Summer Music Games. For more information on their schedules, click on http://www.dci.org

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Vandoren News:

Jonathan Cohler was live on WGBH 98.7 FM in Boston June 14 at noon. He played the Berstein Sonata (1941-42) and the Debussy Première Rapsodie (1909-1910) with pianist Shizue Sano. Also, featured on the program will be saxophonist Kenneth Radnofsky and pianist/composer John McDonald. Jonathan was promoting the ISCS 2002 which he created a few years ago and is taking place the week of June 17 – 22, 2002 at New England Conservatory. Check out their website at www.icandsc.com.

Vandoren artist, Paquito D’Rivera performed at the ICSC 2002 Monday, June 17, at New England Conservatory in Boston.

Vandoren Performing Artist Mitchell Estrin recently performed on the NBC 75th Anniversary Special. The live, three-hour television event took place in NBC's famed Studio 8H in New York City, the home of Saturday Night Live. Mr. Estrin was principal clarinetist of the 52 piece orchestra that performed a retrospective of NBC television themes and a wide variety of other music, including an homage to Maestro Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony.

Mel Martin will be on the staff of the Sedona Jazz On The Rocks Summer Jazz Workshop (sponsored by Vandoren Reeds) in Sedona, AZ. Information can be found at http://www.sedonajazz.com/summer_teach.html. He will then do a series of performances in the Los Angeles and SF Bay Areas with the Jon Mayer Trio.

Hayes Greenfield conducted his award-winning clinc called Jazzamataz at the Berks County Jazz Festival and the Rochester International Jazz Festival. He will be touring Germany this fall.

Warren Hill is touring the country all summer on the "Guitars and Saxes" Tour. Warren's new CD will be released this fall.

Greg Osby's new release On Blue Note records Inner Circle is due in the stores on July 30

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Planet Waves News

What the Pros are saying about Planet Waves

"Brilliant lows and crystal-clear highs. A necessity for my bass rig." - Billy Mohler (bassist for The Calling)

Hear Planet Waves cables on tour with Lenny Kravitz, Rob Zombie, Simple Plan, Wilco, Lowen & Navarro, Coal Chamber, Lucinda Williams, Unloco, Halford, The Calling, Anne McCue, Frank Black, and many more.

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Get the latest D'Addario, Evans, Planet Waves, and Vandoren news at http://www.daddario.com