Featured Artist: Steve Carter
Artist Site: http://www.stopthetruck.com/carter.html
Band Site: http://www.stopthetruck.com
Associated Acts: Stop The Truck, Mau Mau Chaplains
Notable/Latest Release: Legacy
ZT Products: Lunchbox, Lunchbox Cab
Steve Carter is a songwriter, producer, guitarist/bassist, & vocalist. He has been an Austin, TX musician since the late '70's and has played with the MAU MAU CHAPLAINS, America's Reggae Band, for 34 years. MMC also have an alter ego country band, STOP THE TRUCK, active for the past 25 years. For the past 10 years Steve has headed STT as Freddy Powers' bandleader. Freddy wrote 39 Merle Haggard songs, as well as hits for Willie Nelson and George Jones. Steve has been lucky enough play with Merle Haggard, J. J. Cale, Willie Nelson, Cyril Neville, Asleep At The Wheel, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mel Tillis and Rick Derringer, among others. He has toured Europe 16 times and counting. This summer STT will take their friend Sonny Throckmorton (18 #1 Country Hits) to Equiblues Rodeo in St-Agreve, France for their 4th appearance there.
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Takafumi Matsubara
Matsubara is one of ZT's earliest Artists, and the first to use the ZT Lunchbox for grindcore/death metal. He has used both a Lunchbox and Lunchbox Acoustic together on stage for performances. Matsubara lives in Japan, but his band Gridlink is based in the U.S.
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Ben Bridwell
Ben leads Band Of Horses, a top draw at Coachella and other alt-music festivals. Many at ZT were already fans of this band even before Ben proved himself to be a great guy by taking the time to do a photo shoot with his Lunchbox and Les Paul Custom in the spacious back yard of his South Carolina home.
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Joe Giglio
Joe is a NYC-based jazz guitarist/vocalist. He is a regular contributor of writing and compositions for Just Jazz Guitar magazine. Joe performs and records his own music regularly and has shared stages with countless top-tier jazz musicians. His main amp is a ZT Lunchbox. In his words, "Lunchbox amps produce an awesomely great sound and volume, in an extremely small & lightweight package. FINALLY-Thank You ZT!"
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Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)
Not much still needs to be said... Sonic Youth's innovation, craftsmanship, and impact cannot be measured. And, together with SY's Thurston Moore, the two comprise SPIN Magazine's #1 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Lee used a Lunchbox in the recording of his solo album (Nels Cline also used a Club on that album). He's also recently toured with a Club amp.
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Nels Cline (Wilco)
Wilco's Jeff Tweedy gave Nels a Lunchbox amp in 2009, and Nels quickly became a good friend of ZT. We're lucky, because he's one of the most highly regarded, innovative guitarists of our time. Plus, he's a super nice guy. He hauled his '59 Jazzmaster to our place one day for a great photo shoot, and we gave him a sandwich. Nels is tops in spreading the good ZT word to his friends.
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Sonic Boom (Spectrum)
Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember uses his ZT to help make some of the most out-there sounds you'll ever hear. From the iconic drug rock pioneers Spacemen 3 to today's Spectrum, Sonic's bands are an experience, both sound and vision. Catch a show if you can. He doesn't stop there, as he's co-produced MGMT's Congratulations album and has worked with the likes of Dean Wareham and Panda Bear.
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Geza X
Producer of many late ‘70s/early ‘80s Los Angeles punk bands such as Dead Kennedys, The Germs, and Black Flag. Owned Satellite Park Recording, where he worked with Elliot Smith. Most recently, organized The Vortex, a Los Angeles community center dedicated to furthering artistic, social & political activism.
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Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
ZZ Top was the first big act to hit the road with the ZT Lunchbox. 16 of them, in fact. Fortunately, they paid retail. We could never have afforded to hire them.
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Will Sergeant
Will Sergeant from Echo & The Bunnymen was another early supporter, as can be seen in the great live footage from 2009’s SXSW. We all love this band going back to their very first singles. They’ll have two, please.
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Thaddeus Hogarth
Thaddeus is one of ZT's first Artists, one whose opinion we knew we could trust to let us know we were on the right track. He's an associate professor of guitar at Boston's Berklee College of Music. He is written about with reverence and has shared the stage with the likes of Tower of Power and Johnny Winter. Thaddeus made one of the first Lunchbox demos on youtube (thank you!) which now has over 40,000 views.
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Larry Mitchell
Larry is a Grammy Award-winning producer, engineer and guitarist. We saw him at NAMM 2012. He wears a cowboy hat well and he knows way more than the six guitar chords we had previously been aware of.
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Christelle Berthon
Hailing from France, Christelle is the number one harmonica player on YouTube, with over 7 million views. From the start, Christelle was successful in covering a broad range of genres, including Blues, Celtic and Jazz. She mastered the new technique called overbending which allows one to play chromatically like a saxophone on a diatonic harmonica. Amongst the very talented musicians Christelle has played with are Jason Ricci, Charlie Musselwhite Melody Gardot, and Kenny Neal. Christelle uses a ZT Lunchbox Acoustic amp for her performances. As she wrote to ZT, “I think your products are just PERFECT for harp players…Small instrument, and small amplifier - the combination is extremely seductive.”
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Bill Pettaway
During his storied career, Bill Pettaway has become one of the most knowledgeable, hardworking, and dedicated executives in the music & entertainment industry. Some of the dozens of successful recording artists that Pettaway has worked with include: Timbaland; Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, L.L. Cool J, Ginuwine, Missy Misdemeanor Elliott, Bubba Sparxxx, Sisqo, Aaliyah, Destinys Child, and Busta Rhymes.
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Jason Newsted
When you think of loud, Metallica often comes to mind. Any of Jason's other projects could as well (Voivod, anyone?). The guy knows loud. Jason bought a whole bunch of Lunchbox amps in ZT's early days, and then found the Club to shake the walls.
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MGMT
Who is MGMT? They are young, bold, experimental, melodic, out there, in here, and they have well over 3 million followers on facebook. They use their Lunchbox amps in varied times & places. We saw one on stage when they played the Jimmy Fallon show, and they've found a place in the homes & studios of the guys.
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Amanda Monaco
Amanda is another in a growing list of Berklee College Of Music faculty who contacted us about an endorsement. We consider this a great honor and a high compliment. She gets plenty of compliments herself by the press for her compositions as well as her incredible skills as an improvisational player. She wrote to us of her ZT, "This adorable little powerhouse has been on me for gigs ranging from nightclubs to churches, and it never disappoints!"
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Andy Summers (The Police)
Andy was given a ZT Lunchbox to use at a gig in Brazil with bossa nova legend Roberto Menescal. At first, like many do, he laughed. After hearing it, as many do, he loved it. He called his guitar tech in the U.S. immediately and asked him to track down this ZT brand he had never heard of. Soon, he was using a Club on a new recording project. Oh, and he plays with some band called The Police.
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Lee Glynn (Sound Of Guns)
Liverpool's Sound Of Guns makes wicked high energy rock, tours constantly, plays the festivals, and has a load of fun doing it. They were turned on to ZT Lunchbox amps by Rob Marshall of UK's Exit Calm, who came upon Will Sergeant's Lunchbox when his band played with Echo & The Bunnymen. That's how it works!
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Nathan Crowley (Sound Of Guns)
Liverpool's Sound Of Guns makes wicked high energy rock, tours constantly, plays the festivals, and has a load of fun doing it. They were turned on to ZT Lunchbox amps by Rob Marshall of UK's Exit Calm, who came upon Will Sergeant's Lunchbox when his band played with Echo & The Bunnymen. That's how it works!
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Steve Hooker
UK Punk/Rockabilly legend Steve Hooker tours relentlessly around the world, and is happy to have such a travel-friendly amp as his ZT Lunchbox/Cab mini-stack in his suitcase.
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Scott Joss (Merle Haggard)
Scott first tried a ZT Club during soundcheck in Bakersfield before a Merle Haggard show. He used it that night with a big smile. He keeps three on hand - one for fiddle, one for mandolin, and one for good luck. Scott spent years playing in Dwight Yoakim's band in between his years with The Strangers, and has released three solo albums to critical acclaim.
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Norm Hamlet (Merle Haggard)
Norm has been with Merle Haggard & The Strangers since 1967. A member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, he uses a ZT Club amp for his dobro.
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Barney McAll (Sia)
Barney is a highly accomplished jazz pianist and composer. He is also musical director for the extremely popular Australian vocalist Sia Furler. He contacted ZT interested in using a Lunchbox Acoustic amp as an on-stage monitor, and later developed a liking for the Club as well. ZT met up with him after Sia's performance at San Francisco's Outside Lands festival and found him to be a very pleasant fellow. Oh, and they put on a fantastic show! He has recently released his seventh solo album, Graft.
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Beau Charron (Leon Russell)
Beau has been using a ZT Lunchbox amp in his live rig since 2010 as part of the legendary Leon Russell Band.
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Jeff Foskett (Brian Wilson)
Jeff Foskett has been a crucial part of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson's touring band for decades. He handles many of the old Brian high harmony vocal parts as well as, of course, guitar. Jeff wrote us about his Club amp, "I love it. Compact and Loaded with SOUND! I don't know how you guys did this. I'm really impressed." ZT amps sounding good enough to please not only Jeff but one Brian Wilson is about as high a compliment as we could hope for.
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Jeff Tweedy (Wilco)
Jeff put alt-country rock music on the map with Uncle Tupelo in the 1990s, but really hit with Grammy-award winning band Wilco. The band has accumulated a whole bunch of ZT Lunchbox amps and have used them everywhere from in-studio radio/web performances (five used at a time!) to their own rehearsal loft to the Solid Sound art & music festival they host every year at MASS MoCA.
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John Oates (Hall & Oates)
You know you love Hall & Oates. We all do. But John does more than that - his solo album Mississippi Mile will show you a whole other side of this talented guy. John's been using both ZT Club & Lunchbox Acoustic amps since summer of 2011. He invited us to the Hall & Oates concert at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA and was a truly gracious host. Then the band played "She's Gone" and we all just about fell over. It was that good. In his words, "The ZT series is one of the coolest, most portable, high quality modern amps I've ever used... I love the fact that I can tote it with my guitar and set up and play in minutes."
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Phoenix Benjamin
Phoenix is one of the hardest working artists we know. Busy as crazy. He toured alongside Motley Crue's Vince Neil last year to benefit the Make A Wish foundation. He's an Associate Producer, Co-Creator and Judge of the WAR of ROCK TV Show produced by Mark Slaughter, Greg Ingram, Tom Stokes. Always recording & touring, always spreading the good word of ZT (he's responsible for ZT's original connection with Noel Haggard, Merle's son, and consequently, Merle's band The Strangers). Much thanks deserved!
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Eric Clemenzi
Eric is a Berklee School of Music grad and took second place in the 2010 Guitar Player Superstar competition, for which he won a ZT Lunchbox amp. He became a big fan and has since been a great friend to ZT, including making promotional videos for us. In addition to his own solo playing that is geared toward metal & prog rock, he plays in an acoustic duo called Kangaralien.
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Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto)
Yuka was sent her first Lunchbox by then friend, and now husband, Nels Cline. She was thrilled with the fact that she could gig around NYC (frequently with Sean Lennon) with such a tiny, light amp. She wrote us to say, "I'm literally pretty small and I could never carry my amps by myself but those days are behind me now and I'm SO HAPPY to have this independence. It sounds awesome too." Besides being known as half of the successful duo Cibo Matto, Yuka has played with Sean Lennon, and has been a member of the Plastic Ono Band. She's played with too many notable artists to continue to name them here...
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Sheryl Bailey
“I love your Lunchbox amp - just the perfect thing for a New Yorker!” Thanks, Sheryl. In addition to gigging in her hometown NYC, Sheryl is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music (one of our many Artists to hold such an esteemed title). She is lauded as one of the top jazz artists in the country and is also published in both her own books and contributions to others on the topic of jazz guitar theory.
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Sean Radford
Sean Radford is a session guitarist and performer based in South Florida. When he's not playing with country artist Amber Leigh, he stays busy as a clinician and music educator. The ZT Club amp has become a fixture of his stage rig. Another Country artist using the Club, maybe there's something to that...
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Joey Love
Texas blues guitarist Joey Love plays a ZT Club during his busy gigging schedule. The guy is always gigging. He's also a member of the Wanda King (daughter of Freddie King) Blues Band.
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Marlo Henderson
One of the biggest thrills we've gotten was getting a call from Marlo asking about our Lunchbox amp. During the conversation, we learned we were talking with a legendary session guitarist. This man has recorded and/or played live with some people you may have hear of: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Pointer Sisters, Dusty Springfield, Minnie Riperton, Smokey Robinson, Earth, Wind & Fire, Buddy Miles, Gil Scott-Heron, Billy Preston, Patti LaBelle, and Quincy Jones to name a few. Oh, and one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, if you're lucky enough.
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Phil Lee
Phil Lee likes to say that “at a hundred, my age, weight and IQ have all averaged out.” Knowing Phil we know that only two of those three things will be true. He's smart enough to use a ZT Lunchbox Acoustic, which puts his IQ well over 100. Catch a show when he tours if you can, he's as charming as they come.
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Dale Herr
Dale is a session player and composer with countless television & film contributions to his credit that currently include The Mentalist, Blue Bloods and Desperate Housewives. He's done everything from write & play for The Simpsons TV show, the Nashville Network, all the way through playing in the orchestra pit for Broadway shows in Nashville. In the pit he uses a number of ZT amps. When legendary R&B band Little Anthony And The Imperials tour, they always bring Dale along to anchor the band.
Charlie Apicella
New York City based jazz guitarist Charlie Apicella is the founder of IRON CITY and is in demand with big bands for his strong Freddie Green-style rhythm playing. He is an Eastman Guitars Featured Artist, and now a ZT Artist. As Charlie says, "We travel constantly and play rooms of every size. I have tried other compact amps and no amp is as portable and powerful as the Lunchbox. It can drive a big band and beautifully delivers the tone and depth of my archtop guitar."
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Luis Galang
Luis began drawing a lot of attention (for good reasons) in 2010 at the age of ten, when his renditions of compositions by heavy-hitters like Steve Vai and Eric Johnson posted on youtube started getting big thumbs-ups. Steve Vai gave him a thrill when even he "Like"d one of Luis' video performances of a Vai tune. Living in the Philippines, he's started to perform at the larger festivals. And he's been using a ZT Lunchbox since 2010, both for large venue gigs and also his video demos. Keep an eye on this young man.
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Mem Shannon
We're proud to have the ZT Club being played by New Orleans' Mem Shannon. Mem is a former Bourbon Street cab driver who emerged onto the scene in 1996 with his first release, "A Cab Driver's Blues" on Hannibal/Rykodisc. The breakthrough buzz album led to national media coverage from folks like ABC World News, CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, E! Entertainment Television, The New York Times, NPR. Mem has released 6 albums worldwide (2 on Rykodisc, 2 on Shanachie,2 on Northern Blues). Mem has won or been nominated for a ton of "Best Of" awards for Louisiana music and national blues - including several Blues Music Association(formerly W.C. Handy Award) nominations. Mem Shannon & The Membership are from New Orleans and while their music is rooted in the blues, it's soaked through with that Big Easy syncopated sound, oozing with funk. Mem has been a regular on the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival for over fifteen years.
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Leni Stern
Leni Stern is a singer, guitarist, label owner, author, composer, orchestrator, social advocate, martial artist, cancer survivor, and proud NYC resident. Her 2012 album, Sabani, draws heavily upon the musical traditions of West Africa. In 1983, after her time studying film score at Berklee College of Music, she formed a trio with Paul Motion on drums and Bill Frisell on guitar. Leni also received five consecutive wins as Gibson’s Female Jazz Guitarist of the Year. We're happy she's chosen ZT amps - another artist who clearly knows what she's doing, and she knows she likes ZT.
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Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
Thurston got his hands on a ZT Lunchbox very early in ZT's history. We're pretty sure it's held together with duct tape by now. We hear he let SY drummer Steve Shelley experiment with it on some drum-triggered electronic sounds as well. Anything we can do to help.
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Scott Amendola
Yes, Scott is a drummer. An incredible drummer. Why does he need little guitar amps? Well, he uses two ZT Lunchbox amps (one on either side) with his drum kit for triggers that make some crazy electronic sounds. We support this. Scott plays drums with The Nels Cline Singers, with ZT Artist Nels Cline, of course, and for his own bands and as a supporting musician for others, he surrounds himself with nothing but top-tier players.
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Dean Wareham (Luna)
Dean's friend and fellow ZT Artist Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember turned him on to the Lunchbox amp, which Dean uses in the studio and for traveling. After paving roads with Galaxie 500 and expanding into Luna, Dean and his wife Britta founded, well, Dean & Britta. Real nice easy lounge-y rock with duets that remind one of the Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra (or Lee/Ann-Margaret) duets, but with...more...now. There should be a category for this, but what do we call it?
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John Platania (Van Morrison)
John has played with a lot of high level artists (anyone heard of Bonnie Raitt? Randy Newman? Natalie Merchant?), but is known mostly for being part of Van Morrison's band beginning with Moondance. He picked up a ZT Lunchbox, which he loved, and later a Lunchbox Acoustic. The ZT Acoustic earned high praise from John for its tone. We were happy to hear that.
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Mike Perlowin
Pedal steel guitarist and Laurel Records recording artist Mike Perlowin is slowly acquiring an international reputation for his pioneering work transcribing and recording classical music on what is thought to be a country and western instrument. His self described mission is "to show the world what a beautiful and expressive instrument this is." Says Perlowin, "My two ZT Club amps, with a POD for some stereo chorusing, give me a wonderful signature sound that's absolutely perfect for what I'm trying to do. And I love the small size and light weight. My back thanks me every time I carry them around." Mike has been an enthusiastic ZT supporter and spreads the word at steel guitar events all across the U.S.
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Dan Wilson
Dan is a Grammy-winning songwriter (Dixie Chicks, Adele) and producer whose talents spread far and wide and collaborations are a who's who. He was frontman for Semisonic (with the hit "Closing Time") and before that a part of Minneapolis based psychedelic rock band Trip Shakespeare with his brother Matt (and John Muson, also of Semisonic). One ZT staffer had played a show with Semisonic in '95 and met the very nice Mr. Wilson, so when this staffer had a new exciting amp he contacted Dan to see if he'd try it out. At first Dan scratched his head over the Lunchbox. Then he wrote, "Oh, I get it now!"
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Robert Poss (Band Of Susans)
Robert was a trailblazer in NYC with Band Of Susans' three-guitar assault. Tape Op magazine dubbed him "the master of treated and manipulated guitars." We strongly agree. Robert uses two Lunchbox/Cab mini-stacks in his rig (with some very cool guitars!).
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Oliver Leiber
Oliver is a top tier songwriter and producer (Paula Abdul's debut album "Forever Your Girl" is a fine example of both) who uses a ZT Lunchbox amp. He told us of a particular performance in which he was instructed to plug into the (famous brand) half-stack on the stage. Instead, he hid his Lunchbox behind them amp and plugged it into the 4x12 cabinet. The soundman said he'd never heard the amp sound so good. Oliver continues to write and produce for many performers you have heard often on the radio.
Joe Walla
Joe appeared in ZT's booth at NAMM in 2009 and drew a crowd with his impressive playing, and equally impressive pants. This guy plays good old American Rock 'n' Roll with two ZT Club amps and tours the western U.S. with attitude. You might find him at your favorite biker rally.
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Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi)
Hugh has played bass for Bon Jovi since 1994, but also played on their first album that featured the hit "Runaway". He's also done studio work with Willie Nelson, David Bromberg, Ringo Starr, Rory Block, Cher & Alice Cooper, to name just a few. Hugh got a Lunchbox when they first came out and immediately bought one for Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for a birthday gift (Richie loved it).
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Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
No need to tell you who Mr. Sambora is. He received a Lunchbox as a birthday gift from Bon Jovi bassist Hugh McDonald way back in 2009, when they first hit the streets. He liked it quite a bit, and this made us feel good.
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Ronny North
Ronny plays rock guitar everywhere, all the time. Big shows, in-store clinics, you name it. He's all over it!
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Randy Jackson (Zebra)
Randy bought his Lunchbox at a store in Manhattan. We found out about it somehow. One certain ZT staffer is a big fan of Randy's band Zebra (which rocks) and got ahold of Randy. Randy, being a super nice guy, agreed to be an official ZT Artist. That made ZT happy. He even sent us this nice picture from his living room!
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Lisa Masia (Lilies On Mars)
Lisa plays guitar for UK band Lilies On Mars. They are quite good. She made a great video for us that's on YouTube wherein she plays a Danelectro through some delay and it sounds cool. She also sent us some pictures proving she could ride a bike while holding the Lunchbox in one hand. Talent!
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Timothy Bracken
Alt-country songwriter/musician Timothy Bracken's own self-penned biography goes like this: "timothy bracken isn't the best, but he's good. songs about things. over 10 years of obscurity!" Go to his bandcamp site and get his latest for "name your price". How can you go wrong? He also sometimes plays drums for Peter Case (Plimsouls), who is responsible for showing Timothy his own ZT amp.
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Jimmy Jackson
A Lunchbox user, Jimmy’s diverse musical skills have allowed him to play and record with Lindsey Buckingham, Steve Marriott, Jo-El Sonnier, Lacy J. Dalton and Michael Nesmith. Jimmy’s current band “Spirits Travel In The Rain” is with hit UK producer Ruth Copland.
Steve Line
Steve is an original - early ZT adopter and Staten Island rock/blues/jazz player who's teamed up with jazz guitarist Victor Magnani to entertain, educate and help.
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Fred Armisen
Fred Armisen is a long-standing cast member of Saturday Night Live. Not only that, he's also an actual musician! He was the drummer for Chicago punk band Trenchmouth, and has even played background drums for Blue Man Group in Chicago. He's opened shows for Wilco. He plays Fano guitars and a ZT Lunchbox amp.
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Mark Mosley
Mark’s father steeped him in the Blues tradition of BB King and Albert Collins, and the spirit of Jazz entered his life as a teenager… however, after graduating military college Mark served as an Army Paratrooper prior to becoming a professional musician. Over the years Baltimore’s Mosley has developed his own unique styling of playing. TLC is his second release and features some exemplary musicians: Stanley Banks, Gary Grainger, Onaje Allan Gumbs and Buddy Willliams. Mark plays a ZT Club amp and says, "The Club amp is amazing and quite capable of projecting tonally and volume wise over my Jazz /Funk/Blues Quartet without a PA." Mark is also endorsed by Eastman guitars and GHS strings.
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Ben Haggard (Merle Haggard)
The young and talented son of country music legend Merle Haggard, Ben plays lead guitar for his dad's band The Strangers. When most of the other band members started using ZT Club amps, Ben got his own and it entered a revolving lineup of top notch amps in his stage setup. The Club matches his silver sparkle Tele just fine.
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Randy Vincent
Randy is a San Francisco Bay area jazz guitarist and the first professional musician ever to use a ZT amplifier in public. He is a veteran of countless jazz festivals and has taught jazz guitar at Sonoma State University. Randy uses a Lunchbox for his big box guitars.
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Paul Meyers
Paul Meyers has gained a reputation for being one of the top jazz guitarists of our time. With an original technique on the classical guitar he has combined a deep understanding of the jazz tradition with strong influences of Brazilian, Latin and classical music to create a truly unique sound and concept. Paul has performed and recorded with an ever growing list af jazz greats - Geri Allen, Karrin Allyson, Kenny Barron, Bruce Barth, Ron Carter, Eliane Elias, Eddie Gomez, Bob Magnusson, Jovino Santos Neto and Annie Ross to name a few. He's also toured for years with two of the greatest jazz singers ever - Jon Hendricks (to England France, Germany, Switzerland, Italyand the Netherlands) since 1993, and Andy Bey (to Brazil, Canada, England, Spain, Portugal, Macedonia and Greece) from 1997 to 2008. He also performed in Argentina while touring with the great vibraphonist Gary Burton, who recorded Paul's tune Panama on his "Reunion" CD with Pat Metheny.
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Mike Bono
Mike is now finishing up his performance degree at the esteemed Berklee College of Music, at which he studies on a Presidential Scholarship. Since being at Berklee he has had the opportunity to study with faculty such as Hal Crook, Mick Goodrick, Terry Lyne Carrington, and Ralph Peterson Jr, to name a few. He leads his own group, The Mike Bono Group, which has performed several times in Europe, Boston, New York, Vermont, and New Jersey. The group will be releasing their debut album in summer of 2013 which features several incredible Berklee students all, of which are Mike's best friends. Also appearing on the album as a special guest is one of Mike's dear friends and musical heroes, Julian Lage.
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Ken Billeci
Ken has been gigging around Northern California as a guitarist in numerous projects in various genres for the past 25 years. Ken loves getting involved in diverse projects and has been busy with the gypsy jazz group Jazz Gitan which played at the renowned Djangofest in Mill Vally in 2011. There, he had the chance to share the bill with the great European group "Les Doigts de l'Homme".
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Alan Gant
Alan Gant is the founding member of DC based rock/punk group "Burn the Ballroom" and the retro/pop act "Like A Real Boy". He's been featured on Warped tour with both projects and various MTV shows. Both projects are now touring with new albums and have new music coming out regularly online.
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Harvey Valdes
Harvey's eclectic musical journey spans the East and West, the electric and the acoustic, the ensemble and the power of the solo voice. Traversing expansive stylistic ground from jazz, world, to funk, punk and avant-garde, Harvey plays six and seven-string guitar, the oud and Turkish cumbus. As a composer, his work "Listen" was recently chosen as Editor's Pick by Guitar Player Magazine.
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Greg Ruggiero
Jazz guitarist, Greg Ruggiero has resided in Brooklyn, New York since 2004. Greg has recorded two albums as a leader for the jazz record label Fresh Sound New Talent. As a side man, Greg has recorded over 20 albums and has preformed with Frank Morgan, Steve Little (Duke Ellington), Mark Turner, Nasheet Waits and many others.
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Nate Lopez
Nate Lopez plays a custom electric 8-string hybrid bass/guitar and an acoustic 7-string guitar weekly at San Francisco Bay Area festivals, restaurants, and wineries. Nate has been playing all over California for over a decade at many venues including recently Earthfest L.A., Winter NAMM, The Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz, Laguna Beach Jazz and Art Festival, Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, Reno Jazz festival, and countless Wineries. He has also been a featured artist on radio stations KRSH, KBBF, KVYN and KGGV. Nate studied Jazz and Classical music at Solano College, then went on to study North Indian Classical Music at the Ali Akbar College of music. Over the years, Nate has acquired a broad array of musical interests and skills, and is always exploring different sounds and experiences.
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Steve Carter
Steve Carter is a songwriter, producer, guitarist/bassist, & vocalist. He has been an Austin, TX musician since the late '70's and has played with the MAU MAU CHAPLAINS, America's Reggae Band, for 34 years. MMC also have an alter ego country band, STOP THE TRUCK, active for the past 25 years. For the past 10 years Steve has headed STT as Freddy Powers' bandleader. Freddy wrote 39 Merle Haggard songs, as well as hits for Willie Nelson and George Jones. Steve has been lucky enough play with Merle Haggard, J. J. Cale, Willie Nelson, Cyril Neville, Asleep At The Wheel, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mel Tillis and Rick Derringer, among others. He has toured Europe 16 times and counting. This summer STT will take their friend Sonny Throckmorton (18 #1 Country Hits) to Equiblues Rodeo in St-Agreve, France for their 4th appearance there.









































































