ESP EXCLUSIVE: Behind the scenes with Gus G. and Ozzy

Last night, we got an invite to go hang out at a rehearsal for an upcoming tour. No big deal, right? We see bands rehearsing and playing all the time... it's good to be us. But this particular rehearsal was for the newest incarnation of Ozzy Osbourne's band, in a secret location somewhere in the LA area, with their getting ready for the upcoming Ozzfest tour. It was great to hang out with the band, which includes bassist Rob "Blasko" Nicholson, keyboardist Adam Wakeman, and brand new members Tommy Clufetos (drums) and Ozzy's new guitar god, ESP endorsee Gus G.

As you can see in the photo above, Gus is really settling into his role as Ozzy's guitarist, and was definitely causing some jaws to drop with his fluid, speedy playing at the rehearsal. Gus was alternating between several guitars, including his ESP Gus G. NT, his ESP Eclipse models, and more. The vibe there was casual, but you could tell that all of these guys are very serious about putting on the best possible show for you at Ozzfest this summer. The entire band sounds amazing live, both on classic Ozzy songs and the new material they've recently recorded. Per the current schedule, the tour will be starting on August 14 in Devore, CA at the San Manuel Amphitheater (you can order your tickets right now at ozzfest.com), and it might be one of the most exciting Ozzy performances you'll ever see. Even if you can't get to the show, keep in mind that the new Ozzy album Scream, which features this great new band lineup, comes out June 22.

We weren't the only friends of Ozzy invited to check out this rehearsal, by the way. Below is a photo of ESP's Allen Steelgrave (right) next to mixed martial arts champion Josh Barnett. We figure Allen could last three, possibly four seconds against Josh if a brawl had broken out. Okay, maybe two seconds. We don't want to give Allen too much credit here.



We're going to be doing more exclusive stuff with Gus G. and Ozzy's band as they get ready to hit the road, so keep your eyes peeled for some exciting coverage as we move closer to the dates of the tour!

Follow-up: Atreyu at Tilly's (May 15, 2010)

The weekend before last, we decided to pitch in for an in-store appearance with our pals in Atreyu. As you undoubtedly know, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel are both members of the ESP family, and both guys have their own LTD Signature Series model guitars.

Apparently the event, held at a Tilly's store in Riverside, CA on May 15 and sponsored by ESP and Anarchy Sunglasses, went really well. And of course, the two people who took home the guitars (signed by the whole band) weren't complaining either.

The LTD DJ-600V and LTD TM-600 await their new owners.

How stoked would you be to take home the DJ-600V?

Is the girl more cute than the guitar? Discuss.

Here's a video of the event.








As always, more info on ESP and LTD guitars and basses at espguitars.com!

Winds of Plague tonight

What are you up to tonight? How about seeing a secret show by ESP band Winds of Plague?

As part of the Weekend of Horrors event at the Marriott (near the LA Airport at 5855 West Century Blvd.), Winds of Plague will be rocking the main room at about 10PM. The convention seems killer too: horror movie stars like the original Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), Dario Argento and many others will be there, as well as a Coffin Case Girl fashion show before the band comes on!

Winds of Plague includes ESP endorsees guitarist Nick Piunno and bassist Andrew Glover. Nick has been seen rocking the LTD Deluxe H-1000, while Andrew pounds his ESP Vintage-4.

Hey LA: Win a guitar signed by Slayer members TONIGHT!

As you probably know, tonight (Thursday May 20, 2010), Slayer will be performing on the Jimmy Kimmel show. But it can be a REALLY special night for one lucky winner in Los Angeles.

ESP is going to give away a Jeff Hanneman Signature Series LTD JH-200 guitar tonight, signed by members of Slayer! Here's how you can win...

1. Be at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood tonight (5/20/10) between 5:30 and 6:00PM. That's where the Kimmel show is filmed.

2. Find ESP's Mario. Good luck with that.

3. Mario will ask you the following question: "What year was Slayer formed?"

4. You will respond "1981".

THAT'S IT. The ESP LTD JH-200 will be yours, if you find Mario first.

Best of luck and good hunting... from ESP!

Another ESP winner: Rob Owens

This is the funniest contest-winning story we've heard in a long time.

As you probably heard, we've recently teamed up with Volcom to give away some guitars during the Volcom Tour. Mark from Volcom has been giving away the guitars by hiding somewhere near the tour venues, and offering clues via Twitter and Facebook.

Well, at the Omaha, NE tour stop, Rob Owens was the guy who figured out the clues. Problem? At that moment, he was at a wedding. No one would leave a wedding just to win a guitar, right? WRONG! Rob, looking decidedly un-metal in his button-down shirt and tie he'd worn to the wedding, found Mark from Volcom hiding behind a local laundry.

Rob runs away from a wedding to claim his LTD V-200.

We're not quite sure what happened after that, but we don't think Rob made it back to see the end of the wedding. Changing clothes into something more appropriate, Rob got to see the Volcom tour that evening, and had his new LTD V-200 signed by the members of Mastodon!

Whoooooo!!!!

Congratulations to Rob, and thanks for the awesome story. Hopefully the wedding participants will understand your fast departure when they see the killer guitar you ended up with. By the way, if you want to be sure you don't miss out on future ESP contest, make sure to follow us on Twitter.

Omaha, NE: Win a guitar tomorrow (5/15)!

Heads up, Omaha! Volcom is continuing their Volcom Tour, and on Saturday May 15, some lucky person is going to win an ESP LTD V-200. All you have to do is find Mark from Volcom, who will be waiting in a secret spot near the venue with the guitar on the day of show.

The LTD V-Series guitars are pure rock machines. Plus, they're available in any color you want, as long as it's black. :)

To find Mark and claim the guitar, you'll need to pay attention to clues posted tomorrow on Volcom's Twitter page or their Facebook page. They're also giving away a bunch of tour goodies, so good luck to you and happy hunting... from ESP and Volcom!

Lizzy Borden on Tour!

If you've never seen a Lizzy Borden show, you've missed out. You've also missed seeing bass player Marten Andersson, who's been a long-time member of the ESP family. Marten is well known for slinging his custom 8-string ESP bass as shown above, but has also been known to rock an ESP Vintage 4 and LTD B-Series basses as well.

While Lizzy Borden's tour currently has them on the East Coast of the USA, they'll be hitting Europe and Japan later this year. According to the band, "The shows in Japan and Europe will be a best of, incorporating songs from the entire Lizzy Borden catalog including the latest CD Appointment with Death. We will be performing all of the classic songs like "Me Against the World", "American Metal", "Master of Disguise" as well as the new singles "Tomorrow Never Comes" and "Under Your Skin".

The tour schedule is shaping up as follows... check lizzyborden.com for the most updated news:

May:
May 20 - Berlin, NH - The White Mountain Chalet
May 21 - Clifton, NJ - Dingbatz
May 22 - Baltimore, MD - Quarter @ Bourbon Street Ballroom
May 28 - Pittsburgh, PA - Hard Rock Cafe
May 29 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance
May 30 - Providence, RI - Club Hell

June:
June 1 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House
June 3 - Wantagh, NY - Mulchay’s
June 4 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx
June 5 - Reading, PA - The Silo Night Club
June 6 - Newport News, VA - Budda’s Place (New venue)

August:
August 6 - Wacken, Germany - Wacken Open Air
August 7 - Brielpoort/Deinze, Belgium - Alcatraz Metal Festival
August 13 - San Javier, Spain - Leyendas del Rock festival
August 14 - Pontevedra, Spain - Vigo @ Sala Mondo
August 15 - A Coruña, Spain - Discoteca Ola Green
August 19 - Uster, Switzerland - Rock City
August 20 - Viareggio, Italy - Paranoid
August 21 - Trieste, Italy
August 26 - Uster, Switzerland - Rock City
August 28 - Rijssen, Holland - Elsrock Festival

September:
September 24 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya Cyclone
September 25 - Tokyo, Japan - Shibuya Cyclone

As always, get more info on ESP guitars, basses, and our family of artists at http://www.espguitars.com!

Sat 5/15: Meet Atreyu and enter to win a guitar!

This coming Saturday (May 15, 2010) at 2:00PM, Atreyu and ESP fans will have a dream come true! At the Galleria at Tyler (Riverside, CA), Atreyu will be at the Tilly's store to meet fans and sign autographs. But that's not all! Attendees can enter for a chance to win a Dan Jacobs Signature Series LTD DJ-600V!



This guitar sounds and feels every bit as bad-ass as it looks. It has set-thru construction, a mahogany body, maple neck w/rosewood fingerboard and 22 XJ frets, black nickel hardware, Grover tuners, a Floyd Rose 1000 Series bridge, EMG 81 (bridge) / 85 (neck) active pickups w/EMG Afterburner, and a killer dripping blood graphic finish. More info on Dan Jacobs' signature model available here! See you Saturday at Tilly's, along with Atreyu!

Congrats to Padge and Bullet For My Valentine!

As we mentioned last week, Fever, the new album by ESP endorsee Michael Paget's band Bullet For My Valentine, was recently released. However, no one could have anticipated that it would do as well as it has. The album grabbed the top spot on Billboard's Hard Rock Albums chart, selling 71,000 copies in its first week. That pushed the album to #3 on the Billboard Top 200!

Those of you who are interested in getting Padge's sound should immediately check out ESP's Michael Paget Signature Series, including the ESP Michael Paget and the LTD MP-600.

Again, huge props to Padge and BFMV on their success!

Win a Will Adler Sig Model from Coffin Case & ESP!

That's right... we're giving away yet another guitar. No, make that two!

ESP has teamed up with Coffin Case, Affliction Clothing, and Lamb of God to bring you a sweepstakes of epic proportions. Two lucky entries will be the winners of a Will Adler signature guitar from ESP and a Coffin Case. That's right... TWO LTD WA-600s are up for grabs. More info on ESP's Will Adler Signature Series models here.

To enter for a chance to win, all you have to do is send your name, address, date of birth, and phone number to giveaways@coffincase.com. All entries must be received by May 31, 2010. One entry per household. No purchase necessary. See the Coffin Case site for full rules and regulations. Good luck!

And the EX-260 winner is... Lauren Vieira!

Now that's a happy looking person. Why? She heard about the Volcom/ESP contest we held yesterday, where people at the Volcom Tour in Albuquerque, NM had to find Mark from Volcom in a hidden location at a certain time. She ended up with an ESP LTD EX-260. You'd be happy too! Congratulations, Lauren!

We're going to continue holding these special contests quite often, and the best way to make sure you hear about them is by following @espguitarsusa on Twitter.

A Chance to Win an LTD EX-260 TODAY

We just got a mysterious email from the folks at Volcom. Check it out...

===================
ATTN: Albuquerque, NM!
Find me today at 5:30PM & you will win a super sick guitar thanks to our friends at ESP!!

THE CLUE:

The Volcom Tour is at Sunshine Theater tonight, and right across the street from the venue there is a huge parking lot with big murals on the walls. You can find me & the guitar at 5:30PM underneath the airplane!!
Good Luck!
-MarkG
===================

Well, if you're in Albuquerque, we suggest you keep your eyes open for Mark at 5:30 tonight!