Aria News
Back from the dead! Dave Roe's bass is back, baby!:
Dana B. Goods' Head Tech, Barney Tower, worked long and hard to bring Dave Roe's SB-1000 bass back from the dead after it was damaged in this years Nashville floods. The bass (being held in the picture by DBG's Marc Boomer) is now on its way back to Dave Roe so he can get back to laying down some sick grooves with this killer bass!
Black Cat Music loves the new PE-Royale:
Adam Kary from Black Cat Music just sent us this email:
"Got the PE-Royale today.. what a rockin guitar! It screams. And it feels really well balanced, like a PRS guitar. Thanks for the opportunity to give it a shot. I know we'll have good luck with it. I'm also in love with the FA-80! This week is BlackCat's 1 year anniversary, and we're doing better than ever. You and Aria have been a huge part of our success."
If you are in West Virginia and want to play the PE-Royale for yourself, be sure to head over to Black Cat Music and ask Adam to hook you up!
BlackCat Music Shop, LLC
91 N Washington St
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
304.258.4440
www.blackcatmusicshop.com
Aria helps bass legend Dave Roe after Nashville flood:
Legendary bassist David Roe was yet another musician that lost music gear in the recent flood that hit Nashville. Among the many basses that were damaged (12 electrics and 2 uprights) was David's Aria SB-1000 - a bass that he truly loved. Aria and Dana B. Goods, (the US distributor for all Aria products) are working together to restore Dave's SB-1000 to its original condition.
Dave (pictured left with Aria's Toshi Matsumura) has an amazingly optimistic attitude regarding the damage that the flood caused to his beloved town of Nashville. If you are ever in Nashville, head on down to Robert's club and check out David, who has a standing house gig there every week. You will be glad you did!
Finger Lakes Metal Fest is a Winning Event:
On May 29th and 30th Clyde, NY was shook by the Finger Lakes Metal Fest, a thunderous 2-day metal concert featuring some of the area's top metal bands. During the weekend two Aria guitars were raffled off to the throng.
Darren Greening, age 17 of Varrick, New York, won a PE-STUDIO. He couldn’t have been happier, he spent the remainder of the day holding it, tuning it and playing with it.
Chuck Knarr, age 50, won the XX-2. "He took off pretty quick after winning it, so I wasn’t able to get much information from him. Only that he is a drummer that will now be taking guitar lessons." says event founder David Henninger.
Congrats guys and welcome to the Aria family!
The new D'Aquisto website is live:
James D'Aquisto is widely regarded as one of the top arch top luthiers of all time and Aria is making sure to keep his legacy alive. To that end, they have launched a new D'Aquisto website. On this site you will find detailed information on all of the current D'Aquisto guitars, but you will also be able to read a brief biography about the man himself, James D'Aquisto!
Check it out by following this link!
Rossi Music helps promote the Finger Lakes Metal Fest:
With the Finger Lakes Metal Fest just around the corner, event founder David Henninger is turning up the marketing heat. To help fund this free weekend of metal music, David is raffling off two Aria guitars. To get the word out he hooked up with Daryl Rossi from Rossi Music (see in the photo with the Aria display) and they set up a raffle display in Daryl's music store in Canandaigua, New York.
Rossi Music is hands-down one of the coolest music stores in the country! Daryl spent several years remodeling his store to make it not only a great music store, but also a killer place to hang out in.
You can learn more about Rossi Music by going to www.rossimusic.com. Better yet, plan a road trip and go see Daryl in person! You will love it!
Reminder: The Finger Lakes Metal Fest is coming up this May 29th and 30th. The event is free to attend, so be sure to go and have a weekend of brutal music and metal memories!
Updates on bassist Greg Hanna:
Aria endorsing bassist Greg Hanna is a busy man these days. Greg is the bassist for punk icons The Dickies, and their song, "Banana Splits", is in the current movie Kick-Ass! It is featured loud and proud in a prominent scene. Additionally, "Banana Splits" will also be in the Kick Ass video game.
Greg and The Dickies will be playing selected dates on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour and are expecting to release a new full length CD this Summer.
Greg also plays on the new John 5 solo CD, The Art of Mailce, which is set to be released on May 11th. Greg plays on two wicked country tracks!
Aria is so happy that Greg chooses to play Aria basses!
The Finger Lakes Metal Fest is coming:
The 5th annual Finger Lakes Metal Fest 2010 has announced this year’s band line-up for the free, all ages, two-day music event featuring all types of heavy metal bands from around the Finger Lakes region of New York. This year there will be two ARIA guitar raffles!
Location: DONSELAAR’S, 10257 Rt. 31, Clyde, New York 14433. Just outside of town.
When: May 29th and 30th (Memorial Day weekend)
Cost: FREE
Doors open at 2pm Saturday and resumes 12pm Sunday
There will be two ARIA guitar raffles! One is sponsored by FINGER LAKES METAL FEST and is an ARIA PE-STUDIO. The other is sponsored by ARIA GUITARS USA and is an ARIA ZZ-2. Drawing for both guitars will be Sunday afternoon, winners must be present. (raffle tickets will be $5 at the door, fund to help keep this event free)
Camping is available on-site for $25 per tent, good for two nights (Saturday and Sunday).
To reserve a tent site, call Donselaar’s at (315) 923-9801
Bowling and video games will also be available at Scotty Mo’s in the same building.
Bands featured at this year’s event will be:
1. A THOUSAND SHADES OF COLD, Rochester, NY
2. HORSEFACE, Rushville, NY
3. SPATER, Waterloo, NY
4. BREAK THE SILENCE, Newark, NY
5. TONIGHT WE FEED, Newark, NY
6. MERCIA, Phelps, NY
7. FLOOR OF EYES, Oswego, NY
8. HEROD, Buffalo, NY
9. MALFORMED, East Rochester, NY
10. LOWKEY, Newark, NY
11. NORTHWIND, Rochester, NY
12. CURSED FROM BIRTH, Syracuse/Rochester, NY
13. DESCENDING ANGEL, N. Syracuse, NY
14. LAZARUS, Upstate New York
15. GOD SIZE HATE, Rochester, NY
16. CAGED, Syracuse, NY
17. AUDIOBURN, Niagara Falls, NY
18. WARBLADE, Rochester, NY
This event is designed to promote the local and regional heavy metal music scene and support the music arts.
SPONSORS for FLMF 2010 are;
ARIA GUITARS
PRITCHARD AMPS
HOUSE OF GUITARS Rochester
AREA RECORDS & MUSIC Geneva
COMPUTIQUE COMPUTER SALES AND SERVICE Waterloo
SPENO MUSIC INC, Auburn
DAVE PIRRO FORD, Skaneateles
THE LIVING COLLECTION, Romulus
ROSSI MUSIC, Canandaigua
DRAG’N DEN Marion
For more details visit www.spaterrock.com/flmetalfest and www.myspace.com/fingerlakesmetalfest
Erik Della Penna plays for Leno next week:
Natalie Merchant's guitarist, Erik Della Penna, will be playing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno next week on Wednesday, April 21st.
Erik has been touring the world in support of Natalie with his Aria A19C-200S. Here is his tour schedule for the next few months:
4/20/2010
Los Angeles, CA
Harold Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center
4/22/2010
Los Angeles, CA
LA Public Library at the Aratani Theatre
4/24/2010
Chicago, IL
Rubloff Auditorium at the Art Institute of Chicago
4/25/2010
Boulder, CO
E-Town at the Boulder Theater
4/28/2010
Cambridge, MA
Harvard Book Store at the Brattle Theatre
4/30/2010
Washington, DC
Folger Shakespeare Library
5/01/2010
New York, NY
PEN World Voices Festival
5/10/2010
Brussels, Belgium
AB
5/11/2010
Amsterdam, Holland
Paradiso
5/12/2010
Cologne, Germany
Kulturekirche
Check out one of these shows to see a great player playing a great parlor guitar! You can also watch this video to see Erik and Natalie in action: www.ted.com/talks/natalie_merchant_sings_old_poems_to_life.html
Aria hangs with Jackson Browne in Japan:
Kevin McCormick (see the news story below) was recently in Japan touring with Jackson Browne and he was able to get several Aria employees backstage to meet the legendary singer/songwriter. Not only did they get to hang out backstage, but they were able to watch the concert that night!
An awesome night of music with some of the best musicians in the world!
Kevin McCormick and his new Aria:
Kevin McCormick, the bassist for such legendary musicians as Jackson Browne and Crosby, Stills and Nash, recently visited Dana B. Goods to pick up his new Aria AC-75CB/4. This special instrument is a 4-string contrabass guitar that Aria first announced to the public at this year's Winter NAMM Show. Kevin was drawn to this instrument's deep tone and amazing resonance.
Dealer Profile - Willits Musician Supply:
We are very proud to introduce you to Willits Musician Supply! Located in beautiful Willits, California, WMS is owned and operated by Heather and Kevin Moynahan. Heather and Kevin have a great inventory of instruments and also offer lessons and repairs.
Willits Musician Supply are strong supporters of Aria and keep a great number of Aria guitars and basses on the wall at all time. Just check out their website to see how much they love Aria: www.willitsmusic.com/
You can also check out this article to learn more about this great store!
Be sure to stop by Willits Musicians Supply and say "hi" to Heather and Kevin the next time you are in the area!
Guitar World spotlights the DM-380:
Guitar World magazine recently shot a video spotlight of the DM-380 guitar in the new sea foam green finish. You can watch the video by going to www.guitarworld.com/article/gear_spotlight_aria_dm380 . All of the guitar playing you hear in the background of the video is Paul Riario jamming on the DM-380. Great playing, Paul!
Guitar World will be arranging a giveaway of that very guitar so be sure to visit www.guitarworld.com to learn all of the details.
The Lurvey Sisters play Aria:
Eliza and Raya Lurvey, daughters of Mark Lurvey (the guitarist for Jamie Lee Thurston) are an incredible duo. Following in the sizeable footsteps of their father, they write their own songs and have vocal harmonies that are the envy of the industry. Recently they held an impromptu jam at a vacation house with their family and friends.
Their guitars of choice? Aria of course!
Chuck Rainey plays the SWB-04:
The titles "Living Legend" and "Musical Genius" get thrown around pretty easily these days, but Chuck Rainey has earned both monikers many times over. His resume reads like a Who's Who of music icons and his grooves are the Holy Grail for every bassist who wants to create timeless basslines.
Recently, Chuck Rainey met with Aria's Toshi Matsumura to talk about one of his favorite basses, the Aria SWB-04! The two gentlemen talked at length about the SWB-04's tone and playability.
Mr. Rainey was in Japan, performing shows with Marlena Shaw and Harvey Mason. Be sure to check out Chuck when he plays near you!
Aria rocks the Summer NAMM Show:
This year's Summer NAMM show in Nashville, TN was a huge success for Aria! Even though the tough economic times might have reduced the overall attendance for the show, you would have never guessed by the traffic in the Aria and D'Aquisto booth that U.S. distributor Dana B. Goods hosted. For a major portion of all three days countless players and music store employees stopped by to play the guitars and basses and to share their favorite Aria memories.
One of the displays that received the most attention featured the Diamond Series instruments. The DM-380 and DMB-380 are some of this year's top-selling Aria axes, and Dana B. Goods introduced three new finishes, the white with black pickguard, black with white pickguard and stunning sea foam green finish. Player after player comment how great the Diamond Series sound and play, impressed by the modern take on a vintage instrument.
It was also great to have so many famous players visit the booth! Classic rock icon Nokie Edwards (pictured at left with Aria's Toshi Matsumura) stopped by and spent time with everyone in the booth, telling great stories and proving once again that he is one of the nicest guys in the industry. Rick Derringer also stopped by and checked out some of the D'Aquisto guitars. What a great player!
Bassist David Roe (Johnny Cash, Nashville session giant) was able to take time from his busy schedule to hang out at the booth. He was very excited to see the SB-1000RI! As it turns out, he used to play one in the 70's. He told us that he thinks the SB-1000RI is "the best funk bass ever made!" After checking out the new version of this classic bass David asked if he could try it on a gig, which we quickly agreed to. That night David played the SB-1000RI with the Don Kelley
Band at "Robert's", the legendary Nashville bar. (Pictured on the left)
All in all, we had a great time in Nashville and sincerely thank everyone who visited us!
Guitarist wins a PE-Exo:
We recently sent a PE-Exo to Guitar World so they could review it and shoot a video of it. (You can see the video by going to the Aria MySpace site) After Guitar World finished review this killer axe we asked them to give it away to one of their readers. The drawing was held and the winner is Joshua Zirkle! Joshua recently sent us this great email:
"I am the humbled owner of the Aria PE-Exo that I won from Guitar World. To put how I feel into words is hard.....but here goes: I have seen and heard of Aria over my 20+ years of guitar playing adventure. I havent had the honor and never took the time to try them out.....until now. Upon winning this model I have a new appreciation and love of Aria and its equipment. I am a Gibson owner and they are not even in the same league! Considering you would pay three times as much for a guitar that plays this well with not even close to these features and tone is unreal. This thing easily proves how domestic guitars builders are no longer in charge of the market. I am proud to be an owner of this beautiful masterpiece. Oh, yes, everyone that sees it "ohhhhs" and "ahhhhs" over it and when I start playing jaws hit the floor! It's killer! Thanks and keep up the good work!"
Enjoy the new PE-Exo, Joshua!
Aria shines at the Musikmesse:
Last month Aria exhibited at the MusikMesse, which is annual musical instrument showcase that is held in Frankfurt, Germany, and the response from the attendees was phenomenal! With a great deal of planning and a ton of hard work, Aria was able to display their entire line
of instruments and accessories, including the new PE-RX80, SB-RI, and SWB-03SHX."Thank you all for coming to Aria party on the second night." comments Terry Kurimoto, Aria's Director of International Sales. "It is such pleasure to see all the Aria supporters from all over the world. We strive to make it better every year!"
Wailin' Toshi plays the Nagoya Dome:
On March 14th of this year Aria's own Toshi Matsumura, the Manager of International Sales, was proud to perform at the "Flower Dome Festival" at the legendary Nagoya Dome in Japan.
Toshi (known as Wailin' Toshi to his friends!) played his Aria TA-70 to support Japan's premier Taisho-Goto group "Shikinokai". Taisho-Goto is a traditional string instrument from Taisho-Era and all six members are established instructors with many students.
The group has played at the Tokyo Dome, Carnegie Hall, and other big cultural events around the country.Wailin' Toshi was very pleased with his rather unusual debut at the Dragons' home stadium!
Dealer Profile - BRG Music of Perry:
In Perry, Iowa there is an amazing music store that is stacked to the rafters with killer guitars, basses and other such temptations for us weak musicians to drool over. The store is called BRG Music of Perry and they are an authorized Aria dealer. More than that, owner Steve Parnell (pictured with a PE-1000 RI) and his sales staff are all huge Aria fans and supporters.
"As a dealer, I really like the Aria line, and am very pleased that we can get the best selling models thru Dana B. Goods!" says Steve. "Classic body shapes with modern refinements at great price points … guitars I can be proud to put in my customers’ hands. As a player I like Aria guitars because every one I’ve picked up feels solid, sounds great, and is just fun to play!"
Thanks, Steve! If you want to check out BRG Music you can go to www.brgmusic.net/, or better yet, give them a call at 877-465-7710. You will find that Steve and his crew are friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Aria instruments!
The A-Team is Shaping Up:
One of the primary goals that we sought to achieve with the AriaUSA website was to create an online club for all Aria fanatics to gather in. Dubbed the "A-Team", this club has been designed to be OF the Aria people, FOR the Aria people and BY the Aria people.
Although the A-Team pages are not fully realized, you can go there now and find an in-depth review of the Aria PE-Exo guitar and an interview with David Henninger, the guitarist/vocalist for NY metal band Spater, and the founder of the Finger Lakes Metal Fest.
Still to come will be an A-Team Member Gallery, where Aria players can share their Aria stories and pics with other A-Team members. If you have an Aria guitar or bass and you would like to share your story and pics with us, simply email them to DaleT@danabgoods.com.
Also, plans are in the works for an Aria forum where all A-Team members can contribute their thoughts and ask their questions!
You can check out the A-Team by clicking this link.
Winter NAMM Report:
This was a very special Winter NAMM Show for Aria! Not only was it the public announcement of Aria's relationship with Dana B. Goods, their new exclusive US distributor, but it was a grand reintroduction of Aria's products to American music stores.
Aria had over seventy guitars and basses on display, an impressive array of everything from their historic line of electric guitars to their legendary classical instruments. The throngs of NAMM show attendees enjoyed beaing able to play such a wide variety of instruments all in one booth.
"We could not be happier with how the Show is going," comments Dale Titus, Dana B. Goods' Marketing Communications Manager. "I cannot tell you how many times I have watched someone walking by our booth, only to stop and say 'I used to have an Aria!'. People really seem to be excited about Aria!"
Having such an impressive display at the Winter NAMM Show was the perfect way to kick of 2009. This will be a landmark year in the history of Aria!
Calling All Aria Players:
Aria has been building guitars and basses for over 50 years, so it is not surprising that so many musicians have played or are still playing Aria. It is for that reason that we want to hear from you! Do you have a picture, either old or new, of you with your Aria instrument? We want to see it? Do you have a great story about you and your Aria guitar or bass? Road story? Studio victory? We want to read it!
Very soon there will be a section of this website dedicated to Aria players and fanatics. We call it the A-Team. The A-Team will be a meeting place for players to share stories, share photos and share there music. Aria collectors can showcase their instruments for all other players to drool over. If you used an Aria instrument on a new recording you can promote it to all of the other A-Team members.
While the creation of the actual page is still in development, we still need your help. Please send your pics and stories to Dale Titus at DaleT@danabgoods.com. He will make sure they get included at the launch of the A-Team page. Thanks!
Dana B. Goods is new US Aria Distributor:
Aria is very proud to announce that Dana B. Goods has been chosen as the exclusive US Distributor for all Aria products. Based in beautiful Ventura, California, Dana B. Goods is an industry-leading distributor of fine musical products, with an great reputation for excellent customer service.
Dana B. Goods operates out of a facility that is just over 20,000 square feet in size, with 1,600 of that being office space. Housed within that building is an excellent service department, an impressive warehouse, and an office complex that utilizes leading-edge technologies. The Dana B. Goods staff is made up entirely of musicians, giving them a unique perspective and appreciation for the work they do. That is why the music stores of America enjoy doing business with Dana B. Goods.
Please join us in welcoming Dana B. Goods into the Aria family!
