One of my exams was failed, oh god.
I have to study hardly.
well, I want to see the movie first.

Andy Timmons

In the US, studio guitarist Andy Timmons almost became a household name in the late eighties as the guitar player for New York’s gold-record selling rock band Danger Danger. The band had a string of hits and popular videos for singles including “Bang Bang” and “Naughty Naughty,” incorporating a sound that would be best described as a hard rock version of Journey. Unfortunately, their record label derailed their efforts by refusing to release their third CD and, of course, they prevented the band from acquiring rights to it for several years. Andy returned to his home in the lone-star state to further his session career and to develop music with his own group, the Andy Timmons Band.

Over the last decade, Andy has been very busy both in the studio and on stage. He’s recorded or played with artists as diverse as Pink, Paula Abdul, LeAnn Rimes, and Kip Winger. He’s played alongside your G3 heros including Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, and Joe Satriani, and he’s been Olivia Newton-John’s musical director on numerous US tours.

Sadly, those of us here in the US haven’t had the chance to get to know Andy’s instrumental work. Despite multiple CDs released abroad, none received distribution in the US until recently. Now signed to Steve Vai’s Favored Nations label, May 2 saw the release of Resolution from the Andy Timmons Band. Fans of driving, grooving, rocking, sometimes Texas-blues-infused, instrumental rock will want to race out and pick up a copy of Resolution right away.

We spent a couple of hours talking with Andy about the new CD, some of his previous adventures and misadventures in the world of rock and roll and, of course, his outstanding tone!

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StringWorks
Official Website

General Listening Quizzes

1. Dinner Time
Pumpkin doesn't go on pizza.
You're missing a page.

2. First Date
That guy has a moustache.

3. Traffic Ticket
May I see your driver's license please?
Are you trying to influence an officer?

Robin Finck

Robin Finck (born November 7, 1971) is the current lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He was also previously the lead guitarist for the American industrial hard rock band Nine Inch Nails. He also is one of the few artists who has played in two different bands who made VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". Nine Inch Nails ranked (#43) and Guns N' Roses (#9).

Finck grew up in Marietta, Georgia and played with several unsigned bands in the Atlanta area during and after attending high school. He joined Nine Inch Nails as part of their touring band in 1994-95. Once the tour was completed, he took a job playing for the circus troupe Cirque du Soleil in the original tour of Quidam. In 1997, he was recruited by Guns N' Roses to replace Slash, who had quit the band in 1996, and work on their still yet to be released new album, signing a two-year contract. When the two years were up, the album was still far from completion, and Finck rejoined Nine Inch Nails as the band went on tour again. Shortly after the tour ended in late 2000, he returned to Guns N' Roses and toured with them in Brazil, Asia, Europe and North America during 2001-2002. Today, known for his stage presence and soulful guitarwork, Finck remains a solid member of the current Guns N' Roses line-up handling lead guitar duties along with virtuoso fusion guitarist Bumblefoot.

In the summer of 2006, Finck and Guns N' Roses toured Europe playing in front of an estimated 750,000 people. They are now touring North America for the remainder of the year. Their new album, Chinese Democracy, is set for a late 2006 release, with Robin Finck featured on lead guitar.

Robin has been married to acrobat Bianca Sapetto since 2001. They met while working in Cirque du Soliel and currently have no children.

Axl Roses

Some say Axl Rose is the best entertainer on the planet. Ax Rose certainly had the world at his feet back in 1992-1993. Back in 1991, when the whole world was awaiting (the first) return of Guns n' Roses, one could real in Rock music magazines : "What the world needs is Axl Rose".

Axl Rose was a choirboy, gospel singer, pianist, and even taught Sunday school in his childhood. His extremely strict upbringing led him to rebel by the age of sixteen. Getting into trouble left and right with over 20 terms (he only admits to guilt on about 5 occasions).

Axl Rose was once known by the name of Bill Bailey. Bailey being his stepfathers name. He took the name of Rose when he found out when he found out it was his real father's name.

Rose felt that leaving Indiana was his only option so he took off in search of his friend Jeff (Izzy) Isbell, who had already left to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood. In 1986, William legally changed his name to Axl. Axl Rose is the singer of Guns N' Roses since June 6th 1985 (date the band lineup was finalized). Axl Rose is multi-talented with an extreme and powerful vocal range, piano skills, and has even recently taken up the guitar to add to his abilities. Axl Rose is currently the only original member still part of Guns n' Roses. Axl Rose has also bought the name "Guns n' Roses" and is the sole owner of the name.


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