news Bits
CHARiTY
Les Paul Estate
Auction Raises
nearly $5 Million
Beverly Hills, CA — The auction
of property in Les Paul’s estate,
including his collection of guitars
along with recording equipment
and other personal property, concluded on the day that would’ve
been Paul’s 97th birthday.
Guitar highlights of the auction included a 1927 Gibson
L5 sunburst guitar which sold
for $87,500; Les Paul’s touring
rig, which sold for $81,250; a
1982 Gibson Les Paul prototype recording model, which
sold for $180,000; a 1950s
white Gibson Les Paul flattop
with extensive technical notations which sold for $75,000; a
1940s Epiphone Zephyr known
as “Klunker #3” which sold for
$144,000; and a 1951 Fender
No-Caster which sold for
$216,000.
The auction benefitted the
Les Paul Foundation—the
charitable organization founded
by Paul before his death—which
is dedicated to music education,
engineering, innovation, and
medical research.
lespaulfoundation.org
OBiTuARY
doc Watson,
1923 – 2012
Winston-Salem, NC — Arthel Lane “Doc”
Watson died on Tuesday, May 29 at Wake
Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was 89.
Born in 1923, Watson brought the
guitar into the modern age of folk and mountain music with
his incredible facility and ability to switch between fingerstyle
and flatpick-style with ease. He came to prominence during
the folk revival in the ’60s and toured throughout the United
States as a solo performer. In the early ’70s, Watson formed a
duo with his son Merle—namesake of the annual MerleFest
that Watson hosted—until Merle’s untimely death in 1985.
Photo by Peter Figen
By combining traditional bluegrass with elements of gospel,
blues and folk music Watson influenced countless guitarists of all
genres and recorded more than 50 albums. Although not known
as a prolific songwriter, a few of Watson’s songs have been recorded by other artists. Alison Krauss and Robert Plant recorded “Your
Long Journey,” which was co-written by Watson’s wife, Rosa Lee,
and included on their Grammy-winning album, Raising Sand.
During the last few decades Watson’s recording output
slowed down but he continued to play gigs until the end of
his life. Recently, he has been inducted into the International
Bluegrass Hall of Fame, received a National Medal of Arts
from President Bill Clinton, and an honorary doctor of music
degree from the Berklee School of Music. —Jason Shadrick
TRAGEDY
Stage Collapse kills
Radiohead drum Tech
Toronto, ON — A stage collapse killed drum tech Scott
Johnson and injured three other
crew members on June 16,
2012. The collapse occurred an
hour before gates were scheduled to open, and weather was
not believed to be a factor.
Radiohead released a state-
ment via their website: “We have
all been shattered by the loss of
Scott Johnson, our friend and
colleague. He was a lovely man,
always positive, supportive, and
funny; a highly skilled and valued
member of our great road crew.
We will miss him very much. Our
thoughts and love are with Scott’s
family and all those close to him.”
An investigation is underway
to determine the cause of the col-
lapse. One week earlier, ZZ Top
cancelled an outdoor gig with 3
Doors Down due to concerns
with safety issues with the stage.
OBiTuARY
Pete Cosey,
1943 – 2012
Chicago, IL — Influential soul-blues and jazz-fusion guitarist
Pete Cosey died on May 30
at age 68. Cosey recorded and
toured with soul acts like Etta
Pete Cosey onstage with Miles Davis
circa 1973. Photo courtesy of Urve
Kuusik/Sony Music Entertainment.
James and Aretha Franklin,
but made a name for himself
as a session guitarist for Chess
Records in the ’60s. Cosey’s
effects-laden Gretsch work can
be heard on Muddy Waters’
1968 classic Electric Mud and
its follow up, After the Rain, as
well as on Howlin’ Wolf’s The
Howlin’ Wolf Album.
Cosey switched gears in
the ’70s and went on the road
with Miles Davis, contributing
searing leads to Davis’ mid-
’70s work. After Davis retired,
Cosey worked on and off,
recording with Herbie Hancock
in the early ’80s, replacing Bill
Frisell in the hard-funk, fusion
trio Power Tools in the late-
’80s, and working on his own
projects in the past decade.
—Reporting by Bill Murphy
COnTEST
Boss Loop Station
World Championship
3 Announced
Los Angeles, CA — Loop
masters can submit a 5-minute
or shorter video performance
with any Boss RC-series looping product between June 1
and August 31, 2012. Boss will
choose the top six entries based
on creativity, musicianship, stage
presence, and technical skill for
the U.S. finals in Hollywood,
California, on October 20,
2012. The winner of the U.S.
Finals will represent the United
States in the Boss International
Loop Station Championship at
Winter NAMM in Anaheim,
California. Prizes include up to
$3,000 in Boss gear.
bossus.com
KiCKSTARTER
devi Ever Funds
Cartridge-Based
Console FX Unit
Minneapolis, MN — Pedal
maker Devi Ever has funded
a new cartridge-based, open-source, multi-effects unit dubbed
the Console via Kickstarter. As
of press time, the $20,000 goal
had been met by 122 backers.
The Console platform will be
available as one-, two-, and
three-cartridge units. Effects will
be loaded onto video game-style
cartridges that can be swapped
in and out. At launch, cartridges
will be available for 28 different
Devi Ever effects. Devi Ever will
provide design specs for people
interested in creating their own
cartridges, and plans to work
with other effects manufacturers
after launch.
deviever.com
