First up, in category 6 (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance), Adam Lambert got the nomination for his song "Whataya Want From Me", off his album For Your Entertainment (RCA Records / 19 Recordings LLC). You may not be aware that Adam's bassist, Tommy Ratliff, has been part of the ESP family for a couple of years, and has been taking his ESP Phoenix-II bass out on tours with Adam. Congrats to the whole band!
In category 17 (Best Hard Rock Performance), you'll find a couple of well-known ESP players. First, the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, has been nominated for the track "Let Me Hear You Scream" from the album Scream (Epic). Unless you've been stranded on a moon of Jupiter for the last couple of years, you already know that long-time ESP player Gus G. is Ozzy's guitarist, and did both the recording of Scream as well as played with Ozzy at the recent OzzFest tour and continues touring with Ozzy even now. Additionally, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Adam Wakeman is another part of the Ozzy team who's part of the ESP family. Hats off to Gus, Adam, and of course the Godfather of Metal himself.
In the same category, 2010 saw a big (and welcome) return for Alice in Chains. Their song "A Looking In View" off the album Black Gives Way to Blue (Virgin Records) was also nominated. Singer and guitarist William DuVall is an ESP player, and has been seen with his Phoenix-II guitar on tour this year.
Category 18 (Best Metal Performance) is usually a hotspot for ESP players, and this year is no exception. ESP signature artist and Lamb of God member Willie Adler rocked the hell out of their latest album, Wrath (Epic), and the GRAMMY people gave them the nod for the song "In Your Words". Congrats to Willie and the rest of LoG.
Last but never least, it seems the folks who run the GRAMMIES have recognized the immense influence of Slayer for the past few years... they've received a good number of nominations and victories lately. This year, the title track from World Painted Blood (Columbia Records/American Records) got the nomination. ESP players Jeff Hanneman and Tom Araya have been part of Slayer since the beginning. Congrats, guys! Here's hoping Slayer makes it big someday.
We'll all have to wait until the GRAMMY Awards are held on February 13, 2011, to see who the victors are. But just getting a nomination is a huge honor, and we're proud to be associated with these great artists, regardless of who takes home the gold!
