5 Musicians Who Are Fun To Follow On Twitter

Twitter!

Twitter took the entertainment world by storm when it came on-line in March 2006. While Facebook was the place to find your old high school friends and lost loves, Twitter quickly became the mouthpiece of everybody from President Clinton to Lebron James.  However, there are are some amazing musicians spreading the word on Twitter. In this list we are going to give you our 5 favorites! (In no particular order)

1. Amanda Palmer @amandapalmer

Ms. Palmer was the first person to raise a million dollars on Kickstarter. She definitely understands the power of social networking! She is a lot of fun to follow on Twitter because she cannot help but be honest.

2. ?uestlove @questlove

We spend each evening with this prolific drummer as the Max Weinberg of the Jimmy Fallon show. For that reason it is only fitting that we get his Tweets throughout the day. He has amassed a huge following by tweeting about everything from music to what they are going to play on the show at night.

3. Billy Corgan @Billy

Billy Corgan has been tweeting so long that he was able to get the username @Billy. Pretty cool huh? In addition to his duties as an alt-rock god Billy also tweets frequently about his love of professional wrestling.

4. Janelle Monáe @JanelleMonae

We had the distinct privilege to get to see Janelle Monae open for Prince at the LA Forum several years ago. She was incredible! Janelle has a great relationship with her fans and retweets them quite a bit.

5. Erykah Badu @fatbellybella

Erykah Badu has one of the most amazing voices of this generation. She is also an incredible lyricist. It is a lot of fun to get in this diva’s head with all her great tweets. It does not surprise us she has close to a million followers!

Those are our suggestions for some fun Twitter followers. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!

-LAMA Staff

These 5 Guitars Are Not The Usual Suspects

You walk into Guitar Center. It is a mix of loud noodling, musicians of all skills and ages, and the unmistakable smell of gear and instruments.  If you are guitar player you look over at the wall of guitars and will likely see Gibsons, Fenders and the like. But what about trying out a different guitar? In this this article we point out 5 of our favorites that are a bit under the radar.

1.  Parker Guitars

Parker Guitars!

Parker Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses, started by luthier Ken Parker in the early 90s. Parker is most famous for making the Parker Fly. Parker guitars are characterized by being thin and lightweight guitars; they are generally made from lighter woods like poplar, Basswood, and spruce, although there is a mahogany Fly. They have composite materials (resin and carbon glass skin), to reinforce a thin carved body and neck. Fingerboards are composite, and use stainless steel frets. Electronics include the integrated use of coil split humbuckers and piezo pickups with active circuitry.

2.Reverend Guitars

Reverend Guitars!

Reverend has grown from auspicious beginnings to become one of the fastest growing, and most respected US guitar companies today. Based in the greater Detroit area, Reverend enjoys worldwide acclaim, having established an extensive US and international dealer network, an enviable artist roster, and numerous industry awards.

 3.Radix Guitars

Radix Guitars!

Radix Guitars Indonesia founded on a solid ground of long experience in design and production of the best Indonesian guitars. Endless spirit to produce better quality guitars every moment is always at the hear of every Radix team.

4. Becker Guitars

Becker Guitars

Becker Guitars began in 1995 as a repair shop in the basement of founder Dan Becker. Becker Guitars is a boutique guitar manufacturer located in Attleboro, Massachusetts. They specialize in producing hand made custom electric guitars and basses. In addition to building guitars, Becker Guitars operates a guitar repair and restoration shop. Famous artists include The Disco Biscuits.

5. Lanquedoc Guitars

Lanquedoc!

Lanquedoc Guitars  is common name for fans of the band Phish. As the bands original soundman Mr. Lanquedoc branched off on his own and created Lanquedoc Guitars.  The guitars featurs carved bookmatched top and back plates, parallel braced top, bent rim sides, kerfed linings, full binding all around, bound traditional f-holes, and a curly maple neck with an integrated re-enforcement/dual acting truss rod system of my own design. The sound chamber is carefully sized to react with an amplifier so that desirable harmonics are emphasized, and the standard electronics provide the most useful tonal variations in an easy layout.

These are just a few of our favorite obscure guitar companies. Now with the internet the world is truly flat and you can have access to all these great companies. If you want to try them out in person we suggest that you visit a locally owned music shop in your town. Which ones did we miss?

-LAMA Staff

LAMA Instructor Spotlight: Jamie Rosenn

Jamie Rosenn!

Here at LAMA it is important to us that both student and teacher are connected on the musical journey, and that the faculty play a supporting role to the student. That’s why we like to spotlight some of the instructors you may see while at LAMA. Today let’s meet Jamie Rosenn. From Jamie’s official website:

Jamie Rosenn is a guitar player committed to forging a personal sound that acknowledges the past but also points to the future. Trained at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he received a Bachelors Degree in Music, Rosenn studied with jazz luminaries Jimmy Giuffre, Ran Blake, Mick Goodrick, George Russell and Bob Moses. After completing his studies in Boston, Jamie moved to California where he attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia. At CalArts Jamie studied with Charlie Haden, Leo Smith and Joe LaBarbera and was a featured performer and composer on the ’94 and ’95 CalArts Jazz CDs. Since receiving his Master Degree from CalArts Jamie has been an active member of the Los Angeles jazz scene. In 1996 Jamie was chosen by the United States Information Agency to be an artistic ambassador and perform in a duo that took part in a seven week tour of the Middle East and South Asia. In addition to performing, Jamie currently teaches at the Musician’s Institute, Saddleback College, the Los Angeles Music Academy, and CalState Northridge and has taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, and CalArts and Cypress College. Jamie performs as a member of the trio JoE-LeSs shOe with Jason Harnell and Matt Otto who released their self titled CD in 2007 as well as “Outsole” in 2010. Jamie also co-leads the organ trio Option 3, with Joe Bagg and Mark Ferber that released their debut CD “Points Subtracted” in early 2008.

For more info on Jamie make sure to give a visit to his website here.

-LAMA Staff

New LAMA Online Course: Advanced Chord Systems

It is time for another installment of #LAMATube ! This time featuring the great LAMA instructor Jody Fisher.

For guitar students who already possess a knowledge of basic diatonic harmony, and have a good vocabulary of extended chords, this class is the next step. The course dives into the theory and usage of altered dominant chords right from the beginning. Check out the video below:

-LAMA Staff

LAMA Open House October 12

We’d like to invite you to LAMA’s next open house, taking place October 12, 2013.

Here’s a breakdown of a typical agenda:

1:30 – 2:00 Registration
2:00 – 2:50 Performance Hall Group Orientation/ Live Performance(s)
2:55 – 3:00 Guided tour by our staff
3:00 – 3:30 Department Orientation
3:30 – 4:30 Auditions** (Excluding Music Producers)

Many of our guests love the opportunity to audition — those slots must be booked prior to the event and duration may vary by department. We will also cover admissions and financial aid counseling. You can also do an online digital audition. Visit www.lama.edu for more information, or RSVP by phone: (626) 568-8850. You can also e-mail admissions.

Not sure if you want to attend? Read our post, “10 Reasons You Should Attend Music College Open Houses.”

-LAMA Staff

Introducing LAMA Online

Enrollment is now open for LAMA Online, a new online music school for people who want to study with the best but can’t physically be wherever their instructor is located. Six online guitar courses featuring Guitar Department Chair Jody Fisher and Dave Martone are now available, and courses in drums, bass, music business, songwriting, and music theory will be added throughout 2014! Enroll today here: http://www.lama.edu/lama-online.

Watch the video below to learn more:

-LAMA Staff