Vote for my video!

I have recently entered a contest to win a Nexus One smartphone by creating a video stating why I wanted to win. I decided to make a little music video cover of The Black Crowe's "Hard to Handle" (with altered lyrics).

My video made it into the finals! Now it's up to YOU to vote for my video to win!

To see all 15 finalists and vote for your favorite (me!) visit this page:

http://www.androidcentral.com/time-vote-nexus-one-contest-finalists

Watch my video (labeled "Ed"...it's the one with the guitar), select "Ed" from the choices and click the "Vote" button. I appreciate it! Thanks! Oh and PLEASE send this to any friends who may enjoy it :-)

Tattoo Session #3 Complete

My third tattoo session is complete, and here are the results! This picture shows my PRS tattoo after each session. Amazing progress...but it's still not finished. I still need at least one more session to finish up the details of the guitar, including the chrome, whammy bar, and highlights.

My tattoo artist, Jesse Deering, is doing an amazing job! Check out this blog post on how he became a Zazzle and Artsprojekt artist after working on my tattoo, then check out his online store and buy something...support your local tattoo artist! :-)

Chickenfoot - Tastes Good!

Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith have formed a new rock band named Chickenfoot...and it's pretty rockin'! Check out the video of their song "Oh Yeah", then head on over to their site to hear more!


visit chickenfoot.us for more info

For all you guitar heroes out there!

Get this t-shirt on Zazzle. You can choose from hundreds of styles and colors with this design on it, customize this shirt with more images or text, or create your own t-shirts from scratch!

I Rock!
by
ecaggiani
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

Major League Jamming

Major League Jamming
by
ecaggiani
Get this custom shirt
 at Zazzle

Axe pics...

Finally got around to taking some pictures of my new guitar. Check them out below! Click on them to see them full size.

Guitar Hero II - It goes to eleven

How much fun can you have playing a video game without killing anything? Amazingly, quite a lot.

Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 is the latest installment of the popular Guitar Hero franchise. For around $90 you get the game and a plastic Gibson Explorer guitar. Start the game and start jamming! GH2 is a rythym/timing game where notes fly at you and when they cross a certain point, you play them on the guitar. Miss enough notes and you fail the song.

The magic of GH2 is in the music and presentation. The HD video is great, and the music is even better. You get to play such classics as "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath, "Carry on Wayward Son" by Kansas, and "YYZ" by Rush. Freakin' sweet!

In easy mode, you only use 3 of the 5 fret buttons on the guitar, and few, if any, chords (holding down 2 or more buttons at once). In medium mode, you use 4 buttons, and more chords. I haven't gotten past medium mode, so I'm not sure how hard or expert mode fares, but I'm sure it's not simple!

Since I play real guitar, I wondered if this game would feel, well, cheesy. To my pleasant surprise, I actually felt like I was jamming with a band on stage. It's that cool. The whammy bar on the guitar also helps up the coolness factor.

Well, enough of my yappin'. Time to jam.

Paul Reed Smith Sound on a Squier Budget

This beautiful piece of musical art is a Paul Reed Smith SE Custom guitar. It is the first line of PRS guitars which are manufactured (not hand made). PRS is known for it's amazing quality hand made guitars, with beautiful tone, great sustain, amazing looks, and one of a kind fat sound. How does the manufactured SE line stack up?

Well, I'll know soon, since I just ordered this baby. I've played one at Guitar Center, and I must say the sound and feel of this instrument is great. Especially when you look at the price tag. A traditional PRS can run in the thousands of dollars...a bit too rich for my wallet. The SE Custom line goes for around $550. I happened to find a good deal online for $499 shipped. Can't beat that!

I've been reading many reviews on this guitar, and the general consensus is that you are getting a better-than Les Paul guitar for quite a lot less. Ok, yeah, it's not a traditional PRS...but this is as close as you can come without taking out a loan.

So what's the difference besides price? Well, PRS's can usually split their humbucker pickups into separate single coils...the SE cannot...at least without some modifications :-) Also, as I've mentioned before, the SE is manufactured on an assembly line, and therefore isn't quite as unique sounding (or looking) as a traditional PRS. But from what I've read, PRS personally inspects each and every SE that comes out of the factory to make sure it stands up to the quality PRS is known for.

I'll report more when I get a chance to play this puppy!

My guitar on a tie :-)

Check out the tie I designed on Zazzle. It's a picture of my guitar :-)

Guitars
by
ecaggiani

Get this custom at Zazzle