Area concerts bring Jeff Peterson, Geoff Tate and Deana Carter to So Cal this weekend

Just because NAMM has ended doesn't mean there are no special concerts being staged in the Orange County area here in Southern California. In fact a wide-range of artists will be bringing their music to the region this weekend.

Lord of the Strings concerts bringing the sounds of Hawaii to the OC this weekend


Jeff Peterson is coming in from Hawaii for two Lord of the Strings concerts in South Orange County. If you have seen the highly popular Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe Award winning movie The Descendants starring George Clooney you no doubt noticed the fantastic slack key guitar music throughout the film. Peterson recorded five songs that are featured in the movie.

In related news (guitar player take note!), LOTSC only have 3 openings left (of seven total) for the guitar workshop with Jeff Peterson this Saturday (Jan. 28) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in San Juan Capistrano. All levels welcome! The cost is $75 and will include lunch. Call Tim at (949) 842-2227 to make your reservation.

Tickets for Peterson's Friday evening show in Dana Point or his Saturday night performance in Mission Viejo can be purchased online at www.LordOfTheStringsConcerts.com. For further information please call 949 842-2227 or visit the LOTSC site.




QUEENSRYCHE'S GEOFF TATE "AND FRIENDS" TO PERFORM AT THE COACH HOUSE ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 29

After touring extensively in 2011 with his band, Queensryche, Geoff recently announced that he will be doing a handful of acoustic solo dates billed as "Geoff Tate and Friends" beginning on Thursday, January 26 at Anthology in San Diego, California.

What can fans expect on the brief run of dates?

According to Tate, he'll be "playing acoustic versions of all my favorite Queensryche songs as well as some songs from my solo album." And that certainly gives him a lot to choose from...

Not one to remain idle, Tate is anxious to hit the road again next year despite an incredibly busy 2011 that found the band performing over 75 dates along their 30th Anniversary tour primarily in support of their 12th studio album, Dedicated to Chaos (Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud), that was released in the summer.

Towards the end of the tour, Geoff and the band pulled out "all the stops" by performing Rage for Order in its entirety for the first time ever (New York City on Halloween) and Operation: Mindcrime from beginning to end on this year's ShipRocked Cruise (with In This Moment's Maria Brink handling vocal chores as "Sister Mary") for the first time in three years. Both shows were a pure treat for fans!

"Mindcrime" (1988) is universally respected as a classic concept release about rock, revenge and redemption and, ultimately, regarded as one of the most important and essential hard rock records in the genre's expansive canon. 1990's follow-up, Empire, yielded a number one single, the Grammy-nominated ballad "Silent Lucidity," which Queensryche performed at the 1992 Grammy Awards accompanied by a supporting orchestra.

In 2006, the band released Operation: Mindcrime II, a scorching sequel to their original. The band then hit the road performing both albums Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II back-to-back in their entirety in an incredible theatrical presentation throughout the year. The final performance was recorded at The Moore Theatre in Seattle that October and the Mindcrime at the Moore double CD/DVD release debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Music DVD Chart and eventually reached gold status.
For more information, please view the official Queensryche website at www.queensryche.com.



GEOFF TATE TOUR DATES
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26 - ANTHOLOGY IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27 - THE CANYON CLUB IN AGOURA HILLS, CALIFORNIA

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28 - SLO BREW IN SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29 - THE COACH HOUSE IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31 - CENTER FOR THE ARTS IN GRASS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 - EL REY IN CHICO, CALIFORNIA

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 - UPTOWN IN NAPA, CALIFORNIA

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4 - FINAGHTY'S IN SNOQUALMIE, WASHINGTON



Deana Carter & band to perform at the Fender Museum on Saturday


I ran into singer-songwriter-guitarist Shawn Jones at NAMM last weekend and he noted that he will be playing lead guitar for Deana Carter when she performs in the Rhythm Lounge at The Fender Museum at 8 p.m. on Saturday night (Jan. 28).

The Fender Museum is located at 365 N. Main Street, Corona Ca 92880. The direct number to call is 951-735-2440.

This is a benefit concert, with proceeds going to benefit the Kids Rock Free Music Education Program.

For more details, check out Shawn Jones' Web site or the Fender Museum site.