The Year In Review: 10 Artists Who Rocked Eastwood & Airline Guitars in 2017
A quick look at top artists who took their Eastwood & Airline guitars to the world's stages in 2017. Did you catch any of them?
It's very hard to pick favourites amongst so many talented names, but here's a selection of really great live acts who took our guitars to stages worldwide. If you haven't seem them live yet, don't miss the chance to, next time they play near you! And please post your comments to let us know which live acts you enjoyed in 2017, and which ones you would like to see in the New Year.
1) Gorillaz
Damon Albarn's side project surpassed Britpop legends Blur in popularity worldwide, and became a bona fide "real band" in 2017, on the tour to support new hit album 'Humanz'(#2 on Billboard's Hot 200). Besides having some very famous guests such as Noel Gallagher on some dates, it was the strength of the band that made them such a great live act.
Both guitarist Jeff Wootton and bassist Seye Adelekan got new Airline guitars to use on the tour, which took them everywhere from Los Angeles to Dubai.
Jeff used a white Airline 59 3p DLX, the Airline 59 3P DLX G. Love Signature, and an Airline Town & Country DLX, while Seye used an Airline MAP bass.
To cap it all, Jeff Wootton was kind enough to sign an Eastwood Sidejack DLX on behalf of Gorillaz. We donated this guitar to a charity auction in benefit of the Alzheimer's Society UK:
You can expect to see more of Gorillaz and Jeff's & Seye's Airlines: the band already have several live dates booked for 2018.
Follow @jeffwootton and @seyemusic on Instagram for Gorillaz tour updates.
2) The Moonlandingz
The Moonlandingz also started as a "fictional" band who became an actual live band and they finally released an album in 2017, 'Interplanetary Class Classics'. For the tour, guitarist Maired O'Connor started with an Airline Bighorn, and now plays a TDR-Series Spectrum 5 Pro (besides a Fire Bird in the studio).
At the last date of their tour, bassist Lee Mann also joined the Eastwood family and debuted his new Classic 4 bass - making The Moonlandingz yet another band who choose to have an "Eastwood lineup" at the front!
Follow @the_moonlandingz on Instagram
3) Warren Ellis (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
In 2017, Warren Ellis rocked his signature Eastwood Tenor not just on stage with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, but also as a cartoon on a graphic novel! Warren also kept busy, as usual, writing film soundtracks with or without Nick Cave (check 'Wind River' and 'Gauguin').
The Nick Cave dates were some of the most amazing gigs of 2017.
4) Moon Duo
Ripley Johnson (who also plays with Wooden Shjips) has been playing Airline guitars for a while now, and of course he used his signature Airline 59 3p Ripley Custom on Moon Duo's tour to support their new album(s).
More dates coming up in 2018, so make sure to check them out.
5) Wire
Few veteran bands manage to sound as fresh as Wire, who in 2017 released a great new album ('Silver/Lead') and headlined their own festival (called DRILL) in different venues around the world. As singer/guitarist Colin Newman explained on our interview earlier last year, Wire remain forward thinking as ever. Both Colin and bassist Graham Lewis play our guitars - the Airline MAP STD and Eastwood EEB-1 bass, respectively.
In 2017 we also released the Colin Newman Signature Airline MAP, featuring a piezo pickup just like his own customised MAP.
6) The Horrors
London's The Horrors released another great album and went on a massive world tour in 2017. Guitarist Josh Hayward got a new Airline H74 DLX which he uses on a few songs of their live set, such as one of their highlights, "Still Life":
7) Bill Nelson
Guitar legends don't come as unique as Bill Nelson - a true hero that manages to bypass the usual traps of the music industry (read interview here)and has released several new works in 2017 alone.
He rarely play live, so his album launch in York was quite a special event for the fans - and for us, a true honour: it was almost like a showcase for our models! Eastwood models Bill played included the Fire Bird, Morris The Cosey, Airline MAP DLX and his new signature model - the Astroluxe Cadet.
8) Algiers
Few bands were as political and passionate as Algiers in 2017, who toured worldwide supporting their latest album, 'The Underside of Power', released last year.
For their US dates, guitarist Lee Tasche gave his old Mosrite a rest and used his new Eastwood Sidejack HB DLX. If you haven't heard of them yet, you can be sure you will!
9) The Parrots
The Parrots are a hot new band from Madrid, Spain, and make a great rock'n'roll racket. We interviewed them ahead of SXSW 2017, and saw them live in Liverpool later in the year.
They are one of those bands who show that you don't need to re-invent the wheel to keep rock'n'roll alive and well... and it's always good to know that the Airline 59 2P is one of their essential ingredients! They've put a great new album in 2017 and are definitely a band to catch live, if you can.
10) The Orielles
Here's another new British band who've been making a great racket and had an amazing 2017. The Orielles are as indie as it gets, making perfect pop songs which sound even better with some dirty guitar - guitarist Henry's favourite one is his Airline Bighorn.
They've only released a couple of singles in 2017, but their live sets have been full of energy, as captured by photographer Neelan Khan Vela, who we interviewed last year. Check them out - they could become you new favourite band!
Bands to watch in 2018:
OK. Those were some of the highlights from 2017. But what about 2018? What can we expect to see?
British Indie rockers The Vaccines are making a comeback with new album 'Combat Sports' and will be touring to support it. Singer/guitarist Justin Young now plays a Spectrum 5 PRO and it's sounding awesome in his band.
Some very new but very promising English bands who also play our guitars include Paves (who we interviewed a few months ago and use an Airline MAP bass) and Mint, who have been playing some great gigs and who also has a lineup full of our guitars - including the Airline 59 3P DLX:
You can also expect to spot some of our guitars on the forthcoming Gomez comeback tour.
On the other side of the Atlantic, our range of Rivolta Guitars is getting increasingly popular, and top players now using it include Nick Valensi from The Strokes. Will Julian Casablancas & co finally make a comeback in 2018? We don't know, but the sight of Valensi playing a Rivolta Combinata might surprise a few fans...
Surf Rockers Guantanamo Baywatch will inevitably be playing lots more gigs in 2018 and they're always - always! - awesome, so make sure to catch them. Guitarist Jason uses a Hi-Flyer and a limited-edition Ichiban.
We expect good things from The Velveteers, a very new band who's already toured in the UK with Deap Vally and whose singer/guitarist Demi plays a Sidejack Baritone DLX.
New York's The Vacant Lots (interviewed by us a few months ago - read it here) are releasing a new EP this year, produced by Anton Newcombe, and they will certainly be playing more dates. Whoever saw their gigs supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club last year will know they're great live. Guitarist Jared plays an Airline Twin Tone.
Talking about Anton Newcombe - the psych legend has bought a Classic 4 bass from us and will be using it in his Berlin studio. Expect hear it on the new Brian Jonestown Massacre albums (Newcombe promises 2 for 2018) and maybe even see it at new BJM tour dates!
Tell us who you hope to see live in 2018, whether they play our guitars or not - perhaps we should even nudge a few more players... after all, the "Eastwood family" is always growing!
