Thankful, even in 2020
EVEN THOUGH THIS YEAR HAS PUT MUSIC ON HOLD (ALONG WITH SO MANY OTHER THINGS), WE STILL HAVE PLENTY TO BE THANKFUL FOR!
A new logo, a new site, and tons of new merch!
2020, specifically July 7th, brought with it the launch of a brand-new logo, a new website, and a new line of merch.
Bringing "The Sound & The Story" to the digital [streaming] world!
My, how the times change! DVD videos were once the only way to house this much guitar content in one small space, but 2020’s new site brought with it the ability for guests to house all their guitar content inside their online account and stream our documentaries anywhere!
Meeting and connecting with new artists, in new ways, all around the world this year
We found artists who were channeling the inconvenience and anxiety of a global pandemic into artistic inspiration – driving them to create art in new ways.
If you’re into painting - especially watercolor - make sure to check out our piece on Oliver Macdonald who documents musicians jamming/rehearsing/writing and more - all from inside “quarantine.”
And if some awesome up-and-coming music is more your cup of tea, make sure to scope out Wyatt Grant who pairs his love of songwriting and guitar with his love of design and visual arts!
The 35th Anniversary of PRS!
We've been a proud dealer of these gorgeous artisan instruments for 8 years now, and you can look forward to many more of these fine instruments invading our store in the coming months! Make sure to visit the FRET12 Guitar Supply regularly to be the first to see the new gear - or sign up for our mailing list!
If you love PRS as much as we do, why not check out our latest custom-painted Core Tremonti model - it's a one-off finish called Evergreen Wrap Burst.
Our roster of featured artists from our “The Sound & The Story” documentaries were still hard at work in 2020 releasing new materials to their legions of fans around the world.
Congratulations to all of our FRET12 Artists!
💥 Clint Lowery and John Connolly of Sevendust released the band’s 13th (!) studio album entitled Blood & Stone on October 23.
💥 Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher of Mastodon released a new song titled "Fallen Torches" along with Medium Rarities, a compilation album with rare tracks.
💥 Jim Root of Slipknot continued work on the heels of 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind. Jim will also be working on upcoming songs for a future release that places emphasis on musical experimentation and a more melodic rock sound.
💥 Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy released “Walk the Sky 2.0” - a seven-track EP that consists of a brand-new song, "Last Rites," plus six live favorites from Walk the Sky.
💥 Jacky Vincent has spent his 2020 outside of his old bands teaching and creating endless online guitar-god content on his Instagram and YouTube channels!
Reconnecting with old friends via social media and email
Whether you’ve hung out with us at VIP events, seen us at shows, listened to “The ShredCast,” talked with FRET12 on social, called or emailed us to talk gear, or been a part of our many fan-focused events; we're always thankful for our legions of old friends who have been with us since day one. It always brings a smile to our face to see the names and faces of those FRET12’ers who have been with us since the beginning!
New blog from String Thing, called String Things!
As you may have surmised from above, we have a new blog called “String Things,” and it’s got all sorts of awesome guitar content inside. If you’re into music, you’ll have no trouble finding awesome content from around the web that you may have missed in your journeys. In addition to sharing the fascinating morsels of web phenomena, we also share plenty of riffs every week, both from our own Artist Roster, as well as from across the web of artists you just have to hear!
String Thing approves, we hope you will too!
Continued support of fans through the pandemic
As always, FRET12 wouldn’t be what it is, without YOU. We want to say a huge “thank you” to our growing FRET12 family, who have been with us since the very first “The Sound & The Story” with Mark Tremonti!
Watching artists innovate and adapt to finding new ways to perform this year
As we learned from our interview with Oliver Macdonald, there is something magical about how musicians have adapted to being unable to perform live music to crowds. While audiences and musicians alike are stuck at home and venues keep their doors closed, artists still find ways via the technology of the modern age to stay in touch with their fans, share new art, and most importantly keep connected in a time when everyone feels so isolated.
Seeing how much of an impact the inimitable Eddie Van Halen had on us all
While we all are still feeling the huge void left by a true 20th century musical icon/guitar god, the tragic loss of Eddie Van Halen helped the world see his impact on music, relaunch his band’s catalog back to the tops of the charts, and of course inspire countless musicians around the world.
FRET12 Records! And even more awesome new merch!
While we go back several years as a record label, we took time in 2020 to reminisce about the albums we’ve made, the tours we’ve played, and the friends we’ve made along the way. Our 2020 FRET12 Records merch line that we recently released celebrates our label’s roots, where we’re headed, and how we have always strived to be the “anti-label".
Most of all, we're most thankful for what's coming next in 2021! We'll see you out there soon!
We have a LOT planned for 2021, and we’re so glad you’ve been a part of things so far. If you’ve enjoyed what we’ve done this year, then you’re really going to love where we go next year. But we promise we won't keep you all "in the dark" for too long! \m/
