Virgil Guitars Create The Most Elaborate Custom Guitars Ever Built

An artist and guitarist since the 1970's, Virgil Mandanici set out to make guitars that would be exceptional in tone and playability first. After 35 years of playing guitar, he decided it was time to create guitars that would feel, play and look better than anything anyone has ever played before – thus Virgil Guitars was born! As a master craftsman, Virgil has drawn his building career from several luthiers over the past couple years to make these incredible guitars. The inlay and appointments on his guitars are simply a testament to his attention to detail.

Says Virgil, “After playing guitar for over 35 years, I knew what I was looking for in tone and how a neck should feel and had been willing to go to any length to achieve the 'perfect' guitar fit for myself, and ironically, other players. On my Signature & Artisan Series guitars, they come with a DVD that shows the birth of my guitars starting out with a chunk of wood all the way to a music video – I do every step of this process by myself, in-house. I am not aware of any other builder in the world that is doing this... Yet, I am also planning on making ALL unique guitars – there will NEVER be two guitars alike, so all owners of a Virgil Guitar will have their own unique tone and feel. I am also working on making guitars to fit different budgets.”

Virgil Guitars makes custom, one-of-a-kind boutique guitars in Tampa, Florida. Each guitar has its own story, a one-of-a-kind inlay and certain models even come with a DVD of the build. Virgil carefully documents each build with amazing photography and videography assuring the buyer the guitar's tone/sound before purchase. Says Virgil, “The inspiration for all designs comes naturally since I have been a guitarist and artist since the '70s. Watching the masters like Larry Robinson and Grit Laskin helped quite a bit as well – I was amazed at the detail. I love the fact that I can also 'paint' my designs with no paint... I use various shells, stone, prehistoric shark teeth, precious metals and natural wood for all the colors I would ever need.”

“As a player, the most important thing for me in a guitar is playability and sound. Virgil Guitars are the best playing and sounding electric guitars I have ever played. Honest. Then when you add the amazing beauty of the inlay and woodworking, you really have something special.” - Guitarist Todd Grubbs

Bottom line, why would someone want to purchase a custom crafted guitar from Virgil Guitars? Virgil explains, “They should buy them for their playability – don't let the fancy schmantzy inlay and detailing fool you – everyone who has played my guitars does the same thing; they first give some 'ooohs' and 'ahhhs' with the inlay or detailing and even some of them have said, 'Well, I'm not really into a lot of inlay...' However, as soon as they put it in their laps, it's the exact same thing we all do as guitarists; we feel the balance of it in the lap, we feel the neck, how open chords and then barre chords feel, then we feel the action of the strings, then the accessibility to the higher frets. The next critique is focused on the tone. I am the same person who pays attention to the details on the inlays as much as every other aspect of my guitars. It would make no sense to spend all the time on the inlay and just blow off the IMPORTANT aspects of a guitar. I make all of my guitars as if it was my last guitar I was to build and have as a guitar!”

For more information, visit the official Virgil Guitars website: http://www.virgilguitar.com/

Full Sail Announces 2012 Hall of Fame Induction Class

Full Sail University is proud to announce the 2012 Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductees comprised of six graduates recognized for their outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts. A week long series of events including an induction ceremony to celebrate and acknowledge these latest additions to the hall is scheduled to take place in early 2013.
The 2012 Full Sail University Hall of Fame inductees are:

Marcella “Ms. Lago” Araica

Current Title: Recording & Mix Engineer
Industry Credits Include: Sound Engineer on projects for such artists as: Missy Elliot, Madonna, Snoop Dogg, Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Timbaland, Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean, Usher, Jennifer Lopez and many more.
Received numerous accolades for her craftsmanship and has been honored with two prestigious ASCAP awards for her work and chart topping hits with Pop vocalists Pink and Keri Hilson.
2002 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Dylan “3-D” Dresdow

Current Title: Mix Engineer
Industry Credits Include: Multi platinum Mix Engineer who has mixed songs for artists including: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Usher, and will.i.am.
His work on the Black Eyed Peas' The E.N.D. earned him a GRAMMY award in 2010 for Best Pop Vocal Album, as well as nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Best Dance Recording. He has also been nominated for multiple GRAMMY awards with the group in 2004 on their Elephunk album.
In August 2012, he engineered will.i.am’s previously unreleased track Reach for the Stars, which was broadcast to Earth from Mars via the Curiosity rover.
1997 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Chance Glasco

Current Title: Senior Animator at Infinity Ward
Industry Credits Include: His first project out of school was Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for 2015, Inc. Shortly thereafter he joined, as an original founding member, the video game development studio Infinity Ward, and the critically acclaimed Call of Duty franchise, with credits, including: Call of Duty® (2003), Call of Duty® 2 (2005), Call of Duty® 4: Modern Warfare® (2007), Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 (2009), and Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 (2011).
His specialty and area of expertise is in weapons and first person animations.
Upon its release last November, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 set a new entertainment launch record surpassing $775 million worldwide in its first five days.
2001 Graduate (Computer Animation)

Joey Morelli

Current Title: Senior Video Editor & Compositor at Electronic Arts Tiburon (EA SPORTS)
Industry Projects Include: Worked on game titles Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (Lead Franchise Video Editor / Compositor), Madden NFL, MMA, NCAA Football and NASCAR Kart Racing.
Over the span of his 14-year career, he has earned 13 TELLY awards, 10 ADDY awards, and 1 PROMAX award for his work as a Compositor / Motion Designer / Visual Effects Artist and Editor.
Clients throughout his career include: EA SPORTS Marketing and Game Teams, the Golf Channel, the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, Nissan, AutoNation and many more.
1998 Graduate (Digital Media)

Susan Rose

Current Title: Lighting Designer, Director and Programmer
Industry Credits Include: Lighting Designer, Director and Programmer for 23 years working around the globe on tour with major artists including: Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Louise Mandrell, Hank Williams Jr., John Berry and many more.
Worked on numerous televised specials including the Stellar Awards, the Dove Awards, the Trumpet Awards, and the Freddy Awards; as well as special events for the Walt Disney Company, Dollywood, SeaWorld, and Nickelodeon.
1989 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Jeremy Vickery

Current Title: Lighting Technical Director
Industry Credits Include: Began in animation as a 3D Modeler / Texture Artist at Big Idea Productions working on the popular animated show Veggie Tales. Expanding his career, he shifted into the role of CG Generalist and then later the Lighting Director at Fathom Studios for the animated feature film Delgo.
In 2003, he joined Pixar Animation Studios as a Lighting Technical Director where he worked on the popular films The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille and WALL•E.
In 2007, he worked as a freelance artist for such clients as LEGO, Disney, Sony, and Ubisoft.
In 2011, he returned to Pixar where he recently completed work on the film Brave and is currently working on an upcoming project.
1997 Graduate (Digital Media)

In 2009, the university began the now time-honored tradition that is the Full Sail University Hall of Fame. Its purpose is to recognize those graduates who have made outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts. This honor serves as a tribute to the creative inspiration, technical brilliance, and determination of each inductee, their unyielding dedication to more than a decade of excellence in their professional career, and their heartfelt commitment to the students, faculty, staff, and graduates of Full Sail University.
“On behalf of the faculty, students, staff and alumni of Full Sail University, it is our great honor to announce the 2012 Hall of Fame induction class,” said Garry Jones, President of Full Sail University. “With each passing year, we are humbled by the talent, humility, and dedication demonstrated by our graduates. Once again, we look forward to hosting this celebration on campus as a source of inspiration for our students and the community at large.”
Additional information including special guests, live performances and a complete schedule for the Hall of Fame celebration week will be announced at a later date.
About Full Sail University:
Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in the entertainment and media industry. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has been recognized as one of the Top Five Game Degree Programs by Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the Best Music Programs by Rolling Stone Magazine, and one of the Best Film Programs by UNleashed Magazine. In 2011, Full Sail received the “21st Century Best Practices in Distance Learning Award” from the United States Distance Learning Association, was named the “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Post secondary Schools and Colleges, and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Social Media Colleges by Studentadvisor.com.
Full Sail offers Master, Bachelor, and Associate campus and online degree programs in areas related to animation, art, business, education, graphic design, film, marketing, web development, music, recording arts, sports, and video games. Full Sail graduate credits include work on OSCAR®, Emmy®, GRAMMY®, ADDY®, MTV Video Music Award, and Spike Video Game Award nominated and winning projects.

Florida Music Feature: sixluVu

As the first single from the sixluVv debut EP "Caymanas Drive"

"Turn Off the Lights (PUM PUM MEGAMASH REMIX)"

is a MegaMash of the #1 song in the US: "Future - Turn Off the Lights" &

Jamaica's #1 Dancehall song:"Baby Cham - Pum Pum Tun Up" 

Based out of Tampa, Florida ‘sixluVv’ is a Dancehall SoundSystem made up of ElektroAkoustic Music Producer RiecesPiec.es & Dj Mellohype of Snypaworks HD.

The name ‘sixluVv’ comes from the classic Jamaican hailing ‘One Love’ & the phrase used in the game of Domino phrase that describes winning 6 games in a row–the ultimate win. Where we used to hail one another with ‘One Love’, we now say “sixluVv” to wish success, health & a positive vibes.

click the link below to listen:

Turn Off the Lights (Pum Pum Megamash Remix)

UPCOMING SHOW SCHEDULE

Sat Oct 20th: Day Break: The Ultimate Day Party @ Mangroves SoHo 

208 S Howard Ave.  Tampa, FL  from 2pm to 7pm

Sat Oct 20th: Swagnificent Saturday @ Cloud 9 

1910 S Pine Ave Ocala FL 

Sat Oct 27th: Reggae on the Rooftop @ Prana Skybar 

1619 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL 

Wed Oct 31st: Riddims Wednesdays HALLOWEEN BASHMENT @ FUBAR  

225 W University Ave Gainsville FL

Sat Nov 3rd: Reggae on the Rooftop @ Prana Skybar 

1619 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL 

Sat Nov 10th : Reggae on the Rooftop @ Prana Skybar 

1619 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL 

Sat Nov 17th : BABY CHAM LIVE @ Club Stereo

238 W University Ave Gainsville FL 

Sat Nov 24th: Prana Skybar 

1619 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL 

Sat Dec 1st: Reggae on the Rooftop

1619 E 7th Ave Ybor City, FL

A sound system is a group of sound engineers, DJs and performers/MCs who work together to put on a live show. Sound systems are most closely associated with dancehall music, and within that context, DJs are often called "selectors" and MCs are often called "DJs." Sound systems have a particular brand and identity usually, not unlike a band or other group of musicians. In dancehall music, sound systems often have "sound clashes" or competitions with each other.

Although modern sound systems are associated with dancehall music, sound systems date back to 1950s Jamaica. Sound systems have often played a central role in Jamaican politics.

Florida Music Feature: ELEKTROAKOUSTIC

Click link below to listen:

ELEKTROAKOUSTIC EP

"ELEKTROAKOUSTIC" begins with the screaming leads of 'ScrapeStep' anthem 'holLiwUd.' "Im up in Hollywood, se-se-se-selling my soul" is the catchy hook sung by vocalist blinn over an airy evolving analog electrobeat that morphs into a climax of sound. On "Dont Fall for Me", Cityy Towers is brutally honest when he referring to past relationship: "Oh you was f**kin him, no wonder you didnt pick up, I hope he keep his **** up...stupid as ever the words I used to get cha, you hold em close to your heart, I just threw them together."

Despite its dark tone, the album features lighter records such as the playful acoustic guitar driven pop ballad "U" & a sugar pop dance remix of Little Boot's "Earthquake" which is heavy influences from the island drums of Major Lazer as well as La Roux & Ellie Goulding inspired synths.

Meet the Producer

My name is Rieces Pieces & I am a Jamaican Music Producer now living in Clearwater, Florida. About 2 years, I produced a remix for Interscope Artist MIA’s ///Y/ The Remixes Album which featured Jay Z. The next 6 months were a whirlwind as I had the opportunity to work with a lot of great songwriters and submit what I considered to be unique tracks to a lot of commercial albums including Cee Lo’s ‘The Lady Killer’, Kimberly Caldwell’s ‘Without Regret’, VV Brown & others. I spent the months that followed in the studio working on copycat style songs that sounded like the top 40 records of that year and It grew old, fast.

At the end of 2011, I packed up & moved from LA to Clearwater, FL to record this EP with the intentions of producing a cohesive project as eclectic as my personal musical taste. In the 8 months I spent working on this EP, I produced in total 30 songs & remixes. I worked with independent artists from Europe & as well as the US who were artists I considered to be hidden gems of their genre.

Next, I spent a month listening to all of the songs & trimming the track-list down to the best 8 most unique songs and another 2 weeks on the order of the songs. Finally, I picked the title of “ELEKTROAKOUSTIC”, which was an ode to my biggest musical influences, Pierre Schaffer, John Cage & other forefathers of early recorded Electronic Music. It is my intentions to blend both worlds by using influences from the esoteric in a commercial way. StandOut tracks include: ‘blinn – holliwud’, ‘Prophit – Falls (Spoken Word by Motown Pride)’ & ‘Cityy Towers – Dont Fall for Me’

ElektroAkoustic starts off with an EDM subgenre Scrapestep song then an Indie Rock remix of Metric’s Artificial Nocture then a chilled out flip of James Blake’s The Wilhelm Scream that forays into a dancey almost island sounding 3/4 time remix of Little Boots and eventually ends with a Sample of Regina Spektors Hero Spoken Word monologue.

ELEKTROAKOUSTIC is intended to understated, unique & unexpected.