Latest news with #guitar
CTV News
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Winnipeg musician partners with Fender for Signature guitar
A Winnipeg musician now has a custom Fender guitar that he can truly call his own. Ariel Posen, who has performed with the Bros. Landreth and as a solo artist, recently partnered with Fender to launch a Custom Shop Limited Edition Stratocaster. 'It's the greatest thing; it's the full circle,' Posen told CTV News during a recent interview. 'It's like the culmination of it all, like you're designing something first and foremost. At least 98 per cent of the reason why I would do something like this is to have an instrument that I can fully depend on and identify as my own thing. And when you finally get it, when you finally have it finished, and you're playing it, if you're not happy with it, then you probably didn't do it right.' Ariel Posen Singer-songwriter Ariel Posen is seen playing his Signature Limited Edition Fender Stratocaster in a photo posted on July 15, 2025. (Facebook: Ariel Posen) (Ryan Piorkowski) Posen has had a relationship with Fender for multiple years, but the process to designing his own guitar started two-and-a-half years ago. 'I had been experimenting with a couple things; I'm always just having ideas and trying stuff out,' he said. 'And I just happened to discuss the idea for something that I was just wanting to put together on my own, and they just suggested, 'Why don't we do a Signature guitar?'' From there, Posen started collaborating with Fender, workshopping ideas for the guitar on how it should look and sound and trying it out until they were fully satisfied. 'The process was very organic. It was basically, 'How do we build you something that's truly and authentically you?'' he said. 'And I based it off of a couple models that I have and a couple things that I'm used to using and having that I feel genuinely identify as me.' Ariel Posen Singer-songwriter Ariel Posen plays on the Fender Factory Floor in an image posted on July 16, 2025. (Facebook: Ariel Posen) The guitar includes a pair of AP-90 pickups, which are among Posen's favourite elements. 'Those pickups don't exist in any other guitars,' he said. 'Their voiced to how I sound, and how I like guitars to sound.' Returning to Winnipeg in December Posen will be getting lots of practice with his new guitar this fall and winter. He will embark on the Future Present Tense tour throughout North America starting in October. The tour will end with a show in his hometown on Dec. 12 at The Park Theatre. 'Winnipeg is always home, and whether or not it's filled with familiar faces or even people, there's this energy of being at home,' Posen said. 'There's something special about this place. I'm just grateful to get to do this in general, but to get to do it at home, being a guy that grew up cutting his teeth often times playing gigs to nobody at Dylan O'Connor's on Portage or somewhere when I was like 18 or 19, it doesn't grow old to come back once a year or once every two years to do a real show.' Tickets for the Winnipeg show go on sale Friday.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Legendary Guitar God Had This Response to Being Slammed by Keith Richards
Legendary Guitar God Had This Response to Being Slammed by Keith Richards originally appeared on Parade. As one of the most iconic guitar players in rock and roll history, Keith Richards has never been one to shy away from criticizing other popular bands, from Metallica to Black Sabbath to The Who. But if there's one person who didn't seem to be particularly bothered by what Richards had to say about his group, it would have to be equally legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. While promoting the release of his solo album Crosseyed Heart in 2015, Richards slammed Led Zeppelin as "hollow" in an interview with Rolling Stone — though he placed the blame mostly on late drummer John Bonham, and was quick to praise Page. 'I love Jimmy Page, but as a band, no, with John Bonham thundering down the highway in an uncontrolled 18-wheeler," he said, adding, "He had cornered the market. Jimmy is a brilliant player but I always felt there was something a little hollow about it.' In another video shared on Richards' website somewhere around 2004, he expressed a similar sentiment, calling Page "one of the best guitar players ever known" and Bonham "heavy-handed." Following the remarks Richards made in 2015, Page gave an impressively diplomatic response in an interview with Classic Rock magazine. "Keith can say what he wants. He's Keith Richards," Page said, adding, "I think he's done some amazing work. I respect his playing. And he has a solo album out. But if I was promoting a new album, would I be more caustic? The answer is… no." 'I'm not sure what he means by calling Led Zeppelin hollow," Page continued. "I think he's got his tongue in his cheek. What we did was really cool.' Clearly, millions of fans agree with Page. (And as Richards' bandmate Mick Jagger sang, "it's only rock and roll.")Legendary Guitar God Had This Response to Being Slammed by Keith Richards first appeared on Parade on Jul 21, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blair happy to keep guitar from Bono – but not one from Mexico's president
Prime minister Tony Blair was delighted to keep a guitar presented to him by the rock star Bono – but when it came to a similar gift from the president of Mexico, not so much. Official files released to the National Archives show Mr Blair was keen to take advantage of rules on ministerial gifts to buy the instrument given to him by the U2 singer and Live Aid campaigner once he left office. He did, however, question whether he would have to pay 'the full purchase price'. No 10 officials suggested the prime minister, who fronted a rock band called Ugly Rumours in his student days, might want to take the same approach when it came to a white Fender Stratocaster, valued at £2,500, from the Canadian singer Bryan Adams. However, Mr Blair was much less enthusiastic about an acoustic Vargas guitar presented to him by President Vicente Fox during an official visit to Mexico in 2001, noting: 'I don't actually use it.' The files also show that Mr Blair rejected advice that he should not keep a Pro Braided tennis racket given to him by the manufacturer, Slazenger. Officials feared that it was part of a 'marketing ploy' by the company and suggested it should be donated to a children's charity as 'you cannot be seen to endorse any product'. Mr Blair, however, instructed them just to thank the company, adding: 'It is very churlish to refuse to use it.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Tony Blair was happy to keep guitar from Bono but not one from Mexico's president
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair was delighted to keep a guitar presented to him by the rock star Bono . However, when it came to a similar gift from the president of Mexico , he was less enthused. Official files released to the UK National Archives show Mr Blair was keen to take advantage of rules on ministerial gifts to buy the instrument given to him by the U2 singer once he left office. He did, however, question whether he would have to pay 'the full purchase price'. Officials at 10 Downing Street suggested the prime minister – who fronted a rock band called Ugly Rumours in his student days – might want to take the same approach when it came to a white Fender Stratocaster, valued at £2,500, from the Canadian singer Bryan Adams . However, Mr Blair was much less enthusiastic about an acoustic Vargas guitar presented to him by president Vicente Fox during an official visit to Mexico in 2001, noting: 'I don't actually use it.' The files also show that Mr Blair rejected advice that he should not keep a Pro Braided tennis racket given to him by the manufacturer, Slazenger. Officials feared that it was part of a 'marketing ploy' by the company and suggested it should be donated to a children's charity as 'you cannot be seen to endorse any product'. Mr Blair, however, instructed them just to thank the company, adding: 'It is very churlish to refuse to use it.' - PA
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Why Tony Blair was unhappy with guitar gifted by Mexico's president
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair was reportedly keen to hold onto a guitar gifted by U2 frontman Bono, newly released official files reveal. The documents, from the National Archives in Kew, west London, show Mr Blair was eager to use the rules on ministerial gifts to acquire the instrument from the Live Aid campaigner once he left office. He did, however, question whether he would have to pay "the full purchase price". Under the rules, Mr Blair, who was prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was allowed to accept gifts worth over £140, but had to pay for them himself, less the £140 difference. No 10 officials suggested that the prime minister might want to take the same approach when it came to a white Fender Stratocaster, worth £2,500, from the Canadian singer Bryan Adams. But while delighted with those offerings, Mr Blair's enthusiasm waned for a similar gift from the president of Mexico. Of the acoustic Vargas guitar, which was presented to him by President Vicente Fox during an official visit to Mexico in 2001, he said: 'I don't actually use it.' Mr Blair is a noted music fan and played guitar and sang in a rock band called Ugly Rumours while a student at the University of Oxford. In 2000, rock legends Pete Townshend, David Bowie and Mick Jagger bought a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, once owned by Eric Clapton, in a charity auction and gave it to Mr Blair. However, the prime minister gave the guitar back so it could be auctioned again to raise more money for flood and drought victims in Africa. Appearing on the BBC's Desert Island Discs on 1996, Mr Blair chose a guitar for his luxury item. The files also show that the prime minister rejected advice that he should not keep a Pro Braided tennis racket given to him by the manufacturer, Slazenger. Officials feared that it was part of a 'marketing ploy' by the company and suggested it should be donated to a children's charity as 'you cannot be seen to endorse any product'. Mr Blair, however, instructed them to simply thank the company, adding: 'It is very churlish to refuse to use it.'
