Tag Archives: Jimi Hendrix

Bruno Mars Teams Up with Fender to Release His First-Ever Signature Guitar

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Bruno Mars is striking a new chord…

The 38-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning superstar has partnered with Fender to release his first-ever signature guitar.

Bruno Mars

Launched this week, the Limited Edition Bruno Mars Stratocaster pays homage to Mars’ electrifying career with subtle design notes blending vintage and modern.

“I don’t think of myself as a guitar player. I’m more of a frustrated songwriter. Every song is like a puzzle you have to solve, and a good guitar can bring something out of you that can help take you to the finish line. That’s what I wanted from this guitar,” Mars said in a statement of designing the Fender guitar. “It was also important to have a workhorse that I could depend on for performing live and writing in the studio, whether it be rhythm or lead.”

Offered in a brand-new caramel colorway, the limited-edition guitar retails for $2,999.99.

It features a sleek, Mars Mocha Heirloom Nitrocellulose lacquer finish, Heirloom Aged Gold Hardware, a 9.5-12-inch compound-radius maple fingerboard with stainless-steel frets, custom-voice pickups, 2-Point Synchronized Tremolo and Deluxe Locking Tuners for “enhanced tuning stability.”

The guitar’s leopard print strap is a nod to Jimi Hendrix and Prince, two of Mars’ guitar heroes.

“We wanted to fashion a guitar that shows Fender’s respect for the artists marking today’s musical hall of fame, as well as displays Bruno Mars’s supernova qualities,” said Justin Norvell, EVP of Product at FMIC. “Bruno has been a tried and true Fender player since the early days of his career and we’re thrilled to include his signature among our roster. Between the all-new finish to the custom-voiced pickups, we’re confident this will be one of our largest signature launches to date.”

With his own Fender guitar, Mars joins fellow recording artists who have been honored with signature guitars including Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Juanes, H.E.R. and Steve Lacy.

The Limited Edition Bruno Mars Fender Stratocaster is available at Fender.com.

Santana to Pen His Memoir

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He ranks as one of the greatest guitarists of all time… And Santana could soon find his name on the New York Times bestseller list.

The 65-year-old Mexican-born rock guitarist has signed an agreement with Little, Brown and Co. to write a tell-all memoir, according to The Associated Press.

Santana

Santana, who has won 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, learned to play the violin at age five and the guitar at age eight while living Mexico. Following his family’s move to San Francisco, he was also introduced to a variety of new musical influences, including jazz and folk music, and he witnessed the growing hippie movement centered in San Francisco in the 1960s.

“The ’60s were a leap in human consciousness. Mahatma Gandhi, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Che Guevara, Mother Teresa, they led a revolution of conscience,” once said Santana. “The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix created revolution and evolution themes. The music was like Dalí, with many colors and revolutionary ways. The youth of today must go there to find themselves.”

Santana, currently locked into a two-year headlining gig at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, is expected to dish on the likes of Eric Clapton and Herbie Hancock as he recounts his mammoth career.

Santana’s book is expected to be released in 2014.

Mars Becomes the Tenth Man to Grace Playboy’s Cover

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Bruno Mars is livin’ it up at the ten spot; and he’s got plenty of reason to celebrate…

The 26-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer/songwriter joins an elite group of men as only the tenth male to grace the cover of Playboy.

Bruno Mars Playboy Cover

Mars is featured in the men’s magazine’s April Sex and Music issue, out March 16. He appears on the cover alongside Raquel Pomplun, as well as in a fashion pictorial and interview inside. In his feature, Mars models spring designs by Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and more.

“Growing up in the showbiz world, I looked up to those guys: Frank Sinatra and of course Elvis Presley,” the Grammy-winning singer told Playboy of his idols. “My dad was into the 1950s doo-wop era. If you look at those groups, or at James Brown, Jackie Wilson and the Temptations in the 1960s, you’ll see you had to be sharp onstage.”

Bruno_Mars_Playboy

Mars displays his signature style and dresses sharply for his photo spread while donning his own personal Armani suit on the cover.

Surprisingly, the “Grenade” singer chose Jimi Hendrix, not Sinatra or Presley, as the musician he would most like to work with if given the opportunity.

“I think he’s the greatest guitar player in the world, and I would want to see him do his thing in person,” Mars said. “He’s the reason I picked up a guitar in the first place.”

As a Playboy cover star, Mars follows in the footsteps of several Hollywood icons. Peter Sellers was the first Y-chromosome to appear on the cover back in April 1967, followed by Burt Reynolds (October 1979), Steve Martin (January 1980), Donald Trump (March 1990), Dan Aykroyd (August 1993), Jerry Seinfeld (October 1993), Leslie Nielson (February 1996), Gene Simmons (March 1999) and Seth Rogen (April 2009).