Aria News
The Finger Lakes Metal Fest is coming!
On May 21st, the 2011 Finger Lakes Metal Fest will kick off its annual celebration of hard rock and metal bands at Donselaar's in Clyde, NY. There will be 20 bands on two stages, tearing it up all day long and well intot he night. Best of all, the founder of the Finger Lakes metal Fest, David Henninger, has made it possible to rafle off an Aria Mac 25 electric guitar and an Aria IGB 35/5 electric bass. Raffle tickets cost only $5, so be sure to buy yours today!
If you want to see these instruments for yourself, stop by Rossi Music at 2798 County Road 10 in Canandaigua, New York. Owner Daryl Rossi has the giveaway instruments on display (see picture) for you to try out and drool over.
Rossi Music is one of the coolest music stores on the planet and a great place to hang out, buy killer gear and get awesome service and support. You can call them at (585) 394- 1191.
If you want more info about the Finger Lakes Metal Fest please visit www.spaterrock.com/flmetalfest.html.
Spater Rocks with ZZs!
SPATER just celebrated 19-year anniversary as a hard-edged, take-no-prisoners metal band!
After spending a long New York winter writing and recording, their new album is completely recorded, and they are currently doing the final mixes on the last couple songs before mastering. "We’re pretty happy with how its coming along. The album is tentatively named “Desolate Endeavor” and will be a good mix of punk and metal with plenty of thrash elements," says SPATER's singer/guitarist Dave Henninger.
SPATER are now gearing up for the warmer months and will be booking gigs all over the region. They are confirmed for the KITE FEST 2011 in Marbletown, NY on June 19 and they’re headlining the DRAG’N BASH SUMMER FEST on August 20 in Lyons, NY.
You can listen to a couple of their new tracks on the SPATER myspace and facebook pages - www.myspace.com/spaterband and www.facebook.com/pages/SPATER/8022882459. The new tracks available for download on these sites are “MUD & NAILS, RAT SALAD and AGONY. Mud & Nails and Agony are currently getting a lot of radio play locally on the second longest metal radio show in the world “The Metallic Onslaught“ WEOS 89.7, (www.metalliconslaught.thelastexit.org) where Dave Henninger will be a guest every Friday night leading up to Finger Lakes Metal Fest!
Best of all, SPATER is playing Aria ZZ guitars and basses! Thanks guys!
Aria Dealer Spotlight: Audio Images
Northern California's Aria Fanatics need to pack a lunch, gas up the family truckster, and plan a trip to Audio Images, a fantastic music store located in San Francisco, California. Jim Chen, the owner of Audio Images, prides himself in providing a massive selection of musical gear, all housed in a musician-friendly environment. Here is Audio Images' contact information:
Audio Images Co.
735 Bryant St
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: 415-957-9131
Website: www.audioimages.com
The Soulshake Express releases new music video
Swedish rock band The Soulshake Express are getting critical acclaim for their new CD "Join the Carnival". This quartet is absolutely drenched in Classic Rock Mojo. When they set out to shoot a music video for their first single "Fired Up", guitarist and lead singer David Eriksson chose his favorite vintage guitar - an Aria!
Here is what the world press has been saying about The Soulshake Express:
"The Soulshake Express make all the right noises, as if they were born and raised under the floorboards at Detroits Grande Ballroom."
- Rolling Stone Magazine
“The Soulshake Express have ignited the crotches of countless Europeans with their relentless flaired-jeans groove.”
- Classic Rock Magazine
“Their debut album “Heavy Music” is one of the most mature, intense and groundbreaking albums released this year.”
- Lumino Magazine, Chicago
Watch the video for "Fired Up" to feel the shake for yourself!
AriaUSA relaunches their forums
For the past year the forums that we added to this website have been under attack by spammers. Our servers have been clogged by over 30,000 user accounts that we have been able to identify as spammers. Luckily, we have initiated some new security measures and anti-spam protocols that, so far, have severely reduced the spam traffic. If you are already a member of the Aria forums and cannot logon now, please create a new account (you should be able to use your old user name). To make sure that you are quickly accepted as a registered user, be sure to send an email to forums@danabgoods.com and let us know your user name.
Please join the Aria Forum community and tell us your stories!
Aria Welcomes Guitarist Jane Miller to the family
We are so very excited to welcome Jane Miller to the family of Aria players! To call Jane a guitarist is an incredible understatement. Jane Miller is an Associate Professor in the Guitar Department at Berklee College of Music. With roots in both Jazz and Acoustic Guitar, she performs solo guitar shows, plays with her jazz group, and freelances with a variety of players in the New England Area. She is a composer and arranger, and has contributed many solo guitar arrangements to the Berklee Guitar Department library.
She is a contributing writer for Premier Guitar Magazine and Acoustic Guitar Magazine. Her group has recorded three CDs, available on her web site, janemillergroup.com. She also has a jazz guitar lesson series on jamplay.com. Jane lives in Central Massachusetts.
Jane is playing an AP-STD II. Here is what she has to say about her new guitar, "I am really enjoying playing my Aria AP-STD II. It is a beautiful guitar, it feels good in my hands, and it sounds remarkable for a guitar of its size and price range. Bravo and thank you, Aria! "
Thank YOU, Jane!
Take advantage of CRAZY deals this Holdiay Season!
Dana B. Goods, the exclusive USA distributor for all Aria products, is offering to all authorized American Aria dealers INCREDIBLE deals on the models shown in the photo below. The pricing is only good until the end of the year, so be sure to contact your favorite Aria dealer and take advantage of these huge savings!
Ludlow Guitars displays their Diamonds with pride:
Ludlow Guitars recently received an impressive collection of new DM-380 guitars...and in no time at all they put together a window display showing them off! We are very thankful to Ludlow Guitars for supporting Aria!
To check out these incredible guitars, be sure to visit Ludlow Guitars at:
164 Ludlow Street
NYC, NY 10002
You can also call them at (212) 353 1775 or visit their website at www.ludlowguitars.com
Gary Shea still rocks his Aria:
If you read through bassist Gary Shea's resume it will surely blow you away. He has played with such legendary musicians as Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Vinnie Vincent and Graham Bonnet. As a founding member of both Alcatrazz and New England, Gary helped to define the role of a rock and metal bassist, combining melodic phrases with pulse-pounding rhythms.
Gary has been an Aria player for decades, and he is still jamming on his iconic white SB-1000 bass. "I have a trio at the moment playing blues around town. New England gets together now and again. We have some new material but it`s unfinished at the moment. I've done some R&D for Korg doing presets for the Pandora 3 and 4 and the AX3000B."
To learn more about Gary you can follow these links:
www.myspace.com/secondhandsmokebluesband
ariabasses.blogspot.com/2010/09/gary-shea-of-new-england-alcatrazz.html
We thank Gary for staying true to his Aria roots all of these years and making such great music!
David Henninger rocks his new Aria:
Spater's guitarist David Henninger recently bought a new Aria AD-50 dreadnaught acoustic for some upcoming projects. After getting the guitar he sent us this email:
"This guitar is incredibly sweet! The sound is outstanding! I love it! So far, everyone who has checked it out has been quite impressed. It will be perfect for a side project that I am embarking on that will be a considerably more progressive form of rock than anything I have worked on in quite some time."
Right now Spater is taking some time to write more songs, and will be back to recording in the coming months. As October approaches Dave is getting ready to start taking band submissions for next year’s Finger Lakes Metal Fest, an annual event that David created and organizes. Expect an official announcement on that, in mid-October.
Rumor has it that David is also in talks regarding putting together a mid-winter metal show. We will kep you updated on that!
Enjoy the AD-50, David!!!!
Great collection of Aria Bass video performances:
We are very pleased to share with you a cool link that an Aria fan recently emailed to us! It features a collection of videos showing famous bassists jamming on their Aria basses! By clicking this link you will be directed to this awesome site.
After spending the better part of the day watching these videos it got us thinking - we should be featuring all Aria bass players on this site! If you have a video of you playing your Aria bass (or guitar for that matter!) email it to DaleT@danabgoods.com and we will post it on this site and on our FaceBook and MySpace pages!
Bassist Kevin McCormick on tour with his AC-75CB/4:
Bassist Kevin McCormick loves his nylon string AC-75CB/4 and is currently taking it on the road with Jackson Browne. (Kevin is pictured here playing his AC-75CB/4 at Red Rocks in Colorado.)
You can see Kevin and Jackson Browne on their current tour with David Lindley! Check out the following show dates to see if they are coming to a venue near you!
September 1:
Toyota Pavilion
Scranton, PA
September 2:
MAC Center
Monmouth University
September 4:
Borgata Spa & Resort - Event Center
Atlantic City, NJ
September 5:
Borgata Spa & Resort - Event Center
Atlantic City, NJ
Septemebr 7:
Palace Theatre
Albany, NY
September 9:
Hershey Theatre
Hershey, PA
September 11:
Tower Theatre
Upper Darby, PA
Joe Dalton rocks the Summer NAMM Show!:
Joe Dalton is one of the most in-demand session guitarists and music educators in the country today. During this year's Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, TN, Joe performed at Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night. "I played the tribute medley as James Burton came up to get the Legend's Award from Guitar Player Magazine. I also played two other numbers later in the show all using the Aria 615. I also use a PE-midi, an electric/acoustic Sandpiper, an Aria mandolin, a classical electric elecord C-40, and a very old RS Series (Strat-type) set up as a baritone guitar, and an Avante Series bass. There is a second 615 that I use mainly for photo shoots."
Be sure to catch some of Joe's online lessons at www.Truefire.com!
Back from the dead! Dave Roe's bass is back, baby!:
Dana B. Goods' Head Tech, Barney Tower, worked long and hard to bring Dave Roe's SB-1000 bass back from the dead after it was damaged in this years Nashville floods. The bass (being held in the picture by DBG's Marc Boomer) is now on its way back to Dave Roe so he can get back to laying down some sick grooves with this killer bass!
Black Cat Music loves the new PE-Royale:
Adam Kary from Black Cat Music just sent us this email:
"Got the PE-Royale today.. what a rockin guitar! It screams. And it feels really well balanced, like a PRS guitar. Thanks for the opportunity to give it a shot. I know we'll have good luck with it. I'm also in love with the FA-80! This week is BlackCat's 1 year anniversary, and we're doing better than ever. You and Aria have been a huge part of our success."
If you are in West Virginia and want to play the PE-Royale for yourself, be sure to head over to Black Cat Music and ask Adam to hook you up!
BlackCat Music Shop, LLC
91 N Washington St
Berkeley Springs, WV 25411
304.258.4440
www.blackcatmusicshop.com
Aria helps bass legend Dave Roe after Nashville flood:
Legendary bassist David Roe was yet another musician that lost music gear in the recent flood that hit Nashville. Among the many basses that were damaged (12 electrics and 2 uprights) was David's Aria SB-1000 - a bass that he truly loved. Aria and Dana B. Goods, (the US distributor for all Aria products) are working together to restore Dave's SB-1000 to its original condition.
Dave (pictured left with Aria's Toshi Matsumura) has an amazingly optimistic attitude regarding the damage that the flood caused to his beloved town of Nashville. If you are ever in Nashville, head on down to Robert's club and check out David, who has a standing house gig there every week. You will be glad you did!
Finger Lakes Metal Fest is a Winning Event:
On May 29th and 30th Clyde, NY was shook by the Finger Lakes Metal Fest, a thunderous 2-day metal concert featuring some of the area's top metal bands. During the weekend two Aria guitars were raffled off to the throng.
Darren Greening, age 17 of Varrick, New York, won a PE-STUDIO. He couldn’t have been happier, he spent the remainder of the day holding it, tuning it and playing with it.
Chuck Knarr, age 50, won the XX-2. "He took off pretty quick after winning it, so I wasn’t able to get much information from him. Only that he is a drummer that will now be taking guitar lessons." says event founder David Henninger.
Congrats guys and welcome to the Aria family!
The new D'Aquisto website is live:
James D'Aquisto is widely regarded as one of the top arch top luthiers of all time and Aria is making sure to keep his legacy alive. To that end, they have launched a new D'Aquisto website. On this site you will find detailed information on all of the current D'Aquisto guitars, but you will also be able to read a brief biography about the man himself, James D'Aquisto!
Check it out by following this link!
Rossi Music helps promote the Finger Lakes Metal Fest:
With the Finger Lakes Metal Fest just around the corner, event founder David Henninger is turning up the marketing heat. To help fund this free weekend of metal music, David is raffling off two Aria guitars. To get the word out he hooked up with Daryl Rossi from Rossi Music (see in the photo with the Aria display) and they set up a raffle display in Daryl's music store in Canandaigua, New York.
Rossi Music is hands-down one of the coolest music stores in the country! Daryl spent several years remodeling his store to make it not only a great music store, but also a killer place to hang out in.
You can learn more about Rossi Music by going to www.rossimusic.com. Better yet, plan a road trip and go see Daryl in person! You will love it!
Reminder: The Finger Lakes Metal Fest is coming up this May 29th and 30th. The event is free to attend, so be sure to go and have a weekend of brutal music and metal memories!
Updates on bassist Greg Hanna:
Aria endorsing bassist Greg Hanna is a busy man these days. Greg is the bassist for punk icons The Dickies, and their song, "Banana Splits", is in the current movie Kick-Ass! It is featured loud and proud in a prominent scene. Additionally, "Banana Splits" will also be in the Kick Ass video game.
Greg and The Dickies will be playing selected dates on the 2010 Vans Warped Tour and are expecting to release a new full length CD this Summer.
Greg also plays on the new John 5 solo CD, The Art of Mailce, which is set to be released on May 11th. Greg plays on two wicked country tracks!
Aria is so happy that Greg chooses to play Aria basses!
The Finger Lakes Metal Fest is coming:
The 5th annual Finger Lakes Metal Fest 2010 has announced this year’s band line-up for the free, all ages, two-day music event featuring all types of heavy metal bands from around the Finger Lakes region of New York. This year there will be two ARIA guitar raffles!
Location: DONSELAAR’S, 10257 Rt. 31, Clyde, New York 14433. Just outside of town.
When: May 29th and 30th (Memorial Day weekend)
Cost: FREE
Doors open at 2pm Saturday and resumes 12pm Sunday
There will be two ARIA guitar raffles! One is sponsored by FINGER LAKES METAL FEST and is an ARIA PE-STUDIO. The other is sponsored by ARIA GUITARS USA and is an ARIA ZZ-2. Drawing for both guitars will be Sunday afternoon, winners must be present. (raffle tickets will be $5 at the door, fund to help keep this event free)
Camping is available on-site for $25 per tent, good for two nights (Saturday and Sunday).
To reserve a tent site, call Donselaar’s at (315) 923-9801
Bowling and video games will also be available at Scotty Mo’s in the same building.
Bands featured at this year’s event will be:
1. A THOUSAND SHADES OF COLD, Rochester, NY
2. HORSEFACE, Rushville, NY
3. SPATER, Waterloo, NY
4. BREAK THE SILENCE, Newark, NY
5. TONIGHT WE FEED, Newark, NY
6. MERCIA, Phelps, NY
7. FLOOR OF EYES, Oswego, NY
8. HEROD, Buffalo, NY
9. MALFORMED, East Rochester, NY
10. LOWKEY, Newark, NY
11. NORTHWIND, Rochester, NY
12. CURSED FROM BIRTH, Syracuse/Rochester, NY
13. DESCENDING ANGEL, N. Syracuse, NY
14. LAZARUS, Upstate New York
15. GOD SIZE HATE, Rochester, NY
16. CAGED, Syracuse, NY
17. AUDIOBURN, Niagara Falls, NY
18. WARBLADE, Rochester, NY
This event is designed to promote the local and regional heavy metal music scene and support the music arts.
SPONSORS for FLMF 2010 are;
ARIA GUITARS
PRITCHARD AMPS
HOUSE OF GUITARS Rochester
AREA RECORDS & MUSIC Geneva
COMPUTIQUE COMPUTER SALES AND SERVICE Waterloo
SPENO MUSIC INC, Auburn
DAVE PIRRO FORD, Skaneateles
THE LIVING COLLECTION, Romulus
ROSSI MUSIC, Canandaigua
DRAG’N DEN Marion
For more details visit www.spaterrock.com/flmetalfest and www.myspace.com/fingerlakesmetalfest
Erik Della Penna plays for Leno next week:
Natalie Merchant's guitarist, Erik Della Penna, will be playing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno next week on Wednesday, April 21st.
Erik has been touring the world in support of Natalie with his Aria A19C-200S. Here is his tour schedule for the next few months:
4/20/2010
Los Angeles, CA
Harold Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center
4/22/2010
Los Angeles, CA
LA Public Library at the Aratani Theatre
4/24/2010
Chicago, IL
Rubloff Auditorium at the Art Institute of Chicago
4/25/2010
Boulder, CO
E-Town at the Boulder Theater
4/28/2010
Cambridge, MA
Harvard Book Store at the Brattle Theatre
4/30/2010
Washington, DC
Folger Shakespeare Library
5/01/2010
New York, NY
PEN World Voices Festival
5/10/2010
Brussels, Belgium
AB
5/11/2010
Amsterdam, Holland
Paradiso
5/12/2010
Cologne, Germany
Kulturekirche
Check out one of these shows to see a great player playing a great parlor guitar! You can also watch this video to see Erik and Natalie in action: www.ted.com/talks/natalie_merchant_sings_old_poems_to_life.html
Aria hangs with Jackson Browne in Japan:
Kevin McCormick (see the news story below) was recently in Japan touring with Jackson Browne and he was able to get several Aria employees backstage to meet the legendary singer/songwriter. Not only did they get to hang out backstage, but they were able to watch the concert that night!
An awesome night of music with some of the best musicians in the world!
Kevin McCormick and his new Aria:
Kevin McCormick, the bassist for such legendary musicians as Jackson Browne and Crosby, Stills and Nash, recently visited Dana B. Goods to pick up his new Aria AC-75CB/4. This special instrument is a 4-string contrabass guitar that Aria first announced to the public at this year's Winter NAMM Show. Kevin was drawn to this instrument's deep tone and amazing resonance.
Dealer Profile - Willits Musician Supply:
We are very proud to introduce you to Willits Musician Supply! Located in beautiful Willits, California, WMS is owned and operated by Heather and Kevin Moynahan. Heather and Kevin have a great inventory of instruments and also offer lessons and repairs.
Willits Musician Supply are strong supporters of Aria and keep a great number of Aria guitars and basses on the wall at all time. Just check out their website to see how much they love Aria: www.willitsmusic.com/
You can also check out this article to learn more about this great store!
Be sure to stop by Willits Musicians Supply and say "hi" to Heather and Kevin the next time you are in the area!
Guitar World spotlights the DM-380:
Guitar World magazine recently shot a video spotlight of the DM-380 guitar in the new sea foam green finish. You can watch the video by going to www.guitarworld.com/article/gear_spotlight_aria_dm380 . All of the guitar playing you hear in the background of the video is Paul Riario jamming on the DM-380. Great playing, Paul!
Guitar World will be arranging a giveaway of that very guitar so be sure to visit www.guitarworld.com to learn all of the details.
The Lurvey Sisters play Aria:
Eliza and Raya Lurvey, daughters of Mark Lurvey (the guitarist for Jamie Lee Thurston) are an incredible duo. Following in the sizeable footsteps of their father, they write their own songs and have vocal harmonies that are the envy of the industry. Recently they held an impromptu jam at a vacation house with their family and friends.
Their guitars of choice? Aria of course!
Chuck Rainey plays the SWB-04:
The titles "Living Legend" and "Musical Genius" get thrown around pretty easily these days, but Chuck Rainey has earned both monikers many times over. His resume reads like a Who's Who of music icons and his grooves are the Holy Grail for every bassist who wants to create timeless basslines.
Recently, Chuck Rainey met with Aria's Toshi Matsumura to talk about one of his favorite basses, the Aria SWB-04! The two gentlemen talked at length about the SWB-04's tone and playability.
Mr. Rainey was in Japan, performing shows with Marlena Shaw and Harvey Mason. Be sure to check out Chuck when he plays near you!
Aria rocks the Summer NAMM Show:
This year's Summer NAMM show in Nashville, TN was a huge success for Aria! Even though the tough economic times might have reduced the overall attendance for the show, you would have never guessed by the traffic in the Aria and D'Aquisto booth that U.S. distributor Dana B. Goods hosted. For a major portion of all three days countless players and music store employees stopped by to play the guitars and basses and to share their favorite Aria memories.
One of the displays that received the most attention featured the Diamond Series instruments. The DM-380 and DMB-380 are some of this year's top-selling Aria axes, and Dana B. Goods introduced three new finishes, the white with black pickguard, black with white pickguard and stunning sea foam green finish. Player after player comment how great the Diamond Series sound and play, impressed by the modern take on a vintage instrument.
It was also great to have so many famous players visit the booth! Classic rock icon Nokie Edwards (pictured at left with Aria's Toshi Matsumura) stopped by and spent time with everyone in the booth, telling great stories and proving once again that he is one of the nicest guys in the industry. Rick Derringer also stopped by and checked out some of the D'Aquisto guitars. What a great player!
Bassist David Roe (Johnny Cash, Nashville session giant) was able to take time from his busy schedule to hang out at the booth. He was very excited to see the SB-1000RI! As it turns out, he used to play one in the 70's. He told us that he thinks the SB-1000RI is "the best funk bass ever made!" After checking out the new version of this classic bass David asked if he could try it on a gig, which we quickly agreed to. That night David played the SB-1000RI with the Don Kelley
Band at "Robert's", the legendary Nashville bar. (Pictured on the left)
All in all, we had a great time in Nashville and sincerely thank everyone who visited us!
Guitarist wins a PE-Exo:
We recently sent a PE-Exo to Guitar World so they could review it and shoot a video of it. (You can see the video by going to the Aria MySpace site) After Guitar World finished review this killer axe we asked them to give it away to one of their readers. The drawing was held and the winner is Joshua Zirkle! Joshua recently sent us this great email:
"I am the humbled owner of the Aria PE-Exo that I won from Guitar World. To put how I feel into words is hard.....but here goes: I have seen and heard of Aria over my 20+ years of guitar playing adventure. I havent had the honor and never took the time to try them out.....until now. Upon winning this model I have a new appreciation and love of Aria and its equipment. I am a Gibson owner and they are not even in the same league! Considering you would pay three times as much for a guitar that plays this well with not even close to these features and tone is unreal. This thing easily proves how domestic guitars builders are no longer in charge of the market. I am proud to be an owner of this beautiful masterpiece. Oh, yes, everyone that sees it "ohhhhs" and "ahhhhs" over it and when I start playing jaws hit the floor! It's killer! Thanks and keep up the good work!"
Enjoy the new PE-Exo, Joshua!
Aria shines at the Musikmesse:
Last month Aria exhibited at the MusikMesse, which is annual musical instrument showcase that is held in Frankfurt, Germany, and the response from the attendees was phenomenal! With a great deal of planning and a ton of hard work, Aria was able to display their entire line
of instruments and accessories, including the new PE-RX80, SB-RI, and SWB-03SHX."Thank you all for coming to Aria party on the second night." comments Terry Kurimoto, Aria's Director of International Sales. "It is such pleasure to see all the Aria supporters from all over the world. We strive to make it better every year!"
Wailin' Toshi plays the Nagoya Dome:
On March 14th of this year Aria's own Toshi Matsumura, the Manager of International Sales, was proud to perform at the "Flower Dome Festival" at the legendary Nagoya Dome in Japan.
Toshi (known as Wailin' Toshi to his friends!) played his Aria TA-70 to support Japan's premier Taisho-Goto group "Shikinokai". Taisho-Goto is a traditional string instrument from Taisho-Era and all six members are established instructors with many students.
The group has played at the Tokyo Dome, Carnegie Hall, and other big cultural events around the country.Wailin' Toshi was very pleased with his rather unusual debut at the Dragons' home stadium!
Dealer Profile - BRG Music of Perry:
In Perry, Iowa there is an amazing music store that is stacked to the rafters with killer guitars, basses and other such temptations for us weak musicians to drool over. The store is called BRG Music of Perry and they are an authorized Aria dealer. More than that, owner Steve Parnell (pictured with a PE-1000 RI) and his sales staff are all huge Aria fans and supporters.
"As a dealer, I really like the Aria line, and am very pleased that we can get the best selling models thru Dana B. Goods!" says Steve. "Classic body shapes with modern refinements at great price points … guitars I can be proud to put in my customers’ hands. As a player I like Aria guitars because every one I’ve picked up feels solid, sounds great, and is just fun to play!"
Thanks, Steve! If you want to check out BRG Music you can go to www.brgmusic.net/, or better yet, give them a call at 877-465-7710. You will find that Steve and his crew are friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about Aria instruments!
The A-Team is Shaping Up:
One of the primary goals that we sought to achieve with the AriaUSA website was to create an online club for all Aria fanatics to gather in. Dubbed the "A-Team", this club has been designed to be OF the Aria people, FOR the Aria people and BY the Aria people.
Although the A-Team pages are not fully realized, you can go there now and find an in-depth review of the Aria PE-Exo guitar and an interview with David Henninger, the guitarist/vocalist for NY metal band Spater, and the founder of the Finger Lakes Metal Fest.
Still to come will be an A-Team Member Gallery, where Aria players can share their Aria stories and pics with other A-Team members. If you have an Aria guitar or bass and you would like to share your story and pics with us, simply email them to DaleT@danabgoods.com.
Also, plans are in the works for an Aria forum where all A-Team members can contribute their thoughts and ask their questions!
You can check out the A-Team by clicking this link.
Winter NAMM Report:
This was a very special Winter NAMM Show for Aria! Not only was it the public announcement of Aria's relationship with Dana B. Goods, their new exclusive US distributor, but it was a grand reintroduction of Aria's products to American music stores.
Aria had over seventy guitars and basses on display, an impressive array of everything from their historic line of electric guitars to their legendary classical instruments. The throngs of NAMM show attendees enjoyed beaing able to play such a wide variety of instruments all in one booth.
"We could not be happier with how the Show is going," comments Dale Titus, Dana B. Goods' Marketing Communications Manager. "I cannot tell you how many times I have watched someone walking by our booth, only to stop and say 'I used to have an Aria!'. People really seem to be excited about Aria!"
Having such an impressive display at the Winter NAMM Show was the perfect way to kick of 2009. This will be a landmark year in the history of Aria!
Calling All Aria Players:
Aria has been building guitars and basses for over 50 years, so it is not surprising that so many musicians have played or are still playing Aria. It is for that reason that we want to hear from you! Do you have a picture, either old or new, of you with your Aria instrument? We want to see it? Do you have a great story about you and your Aria guitar or bass? Road story? Studio victory? We want to read it!
Very soon there will be a section of this website dedicated to Aria players and fanatics. We call it the A-Team. The A-Team will be a meeting place for players to share stories, share photos and share there music. Aria collectors can showcase their instruments for all other players to drool over. If you used an Aria instrument on a new recording you can promote it to all of the other A-Team members.
While the creation of the actual page is still in development, we still need your help. Please send your pics and stories to Dale Titus at DaleT@danabgoods.com. He will make sure they get included at the launch of the A-Team page. Thanks!
Dana B. Goods is new US Aria Distributor:
Aria is very proud to announce that Dana B. Goods has been chosen as the exclusive US Distributor for all Aria products. Based in beautiful Ventura, California, Dana B. Goods is an industry-leading distributor of fine musical products, with an great reputation for excellent customer service.
Dana B. Goods operates out of a facility that is just over 20,000 square feet in size, with 1,600 of that being office space. Housed within that building is an excellent service department, an impressive warehouse, and an office complex that utilizes leading-edge technologies. The Dana B. Goods staff is made up entirely of musicians, giving them a unique perspective and appreciation for the work they do. That is why the music stores of America enjoy doing business with Dana B. Goods.
Please join us in welcoming Dana B. Goods into the Aria family!
