Al Perkins’ new band Big Dog 3‘s debut album drops this coming Tuesday, August 18.

You can sample tracks and purchase it online at Smart Choice Music’s U.K. store or at CD Baby.

Today’s birthday band: Bernie Leadon and Brian May. Both stringbenders were born on the same exact date.

Happy birthday, guys!

Expect a new album this summer from country-rock “pioneer” Al Perkins’ brand-spanking new band Big Dog 3. Al, who in the past has crossed guitars with rock, country and bluegrass combo groundbreakers Flying Burritos, Gram Parsons, Stephen Stills & Manassas and Emmylou Harris, baptized the trio earlier this year.

Al and fellow bandmates Brady Blade and Chris Donohue hit the pavement running in Europe beginning July 2nd for shows in the UK and the Netherlands. Check their current schedule at the new Big Dog 3 website.

Find that obscure band that blew you away at the college mixer. Or browse among classic artists including the Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon and Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians. Sample today’s mainstreamers John Mayer or Jason Mraz before you shell out for concert tix. For free.

Impossible? Nah. Just head over to the Live Music Internet Archive. There you’ll find thousands of concert performances taped on site and granted by the performers to the LMIA for streaming in hi-fi VBR MPU quality or downloading in “21st century bootleg” formats Flac, Ogg-Vorbis und VBR MP3. As much as you want, whenever you want.

Check out our recent picks: The Derek Trucks Band – Mountain Jam V, Hunter NY – 5/31/2009 and New Riders of the Purple Sage – Strange Creek Campout, Greenfield MA – 5/22/2009

Give yourself time to comb through the database. You’re gonna need it.

Real Life Guitar Heroes Congregating at the Musikmesse from April 1-4

The International Music Trade Fair in Frankfurt, the world’s leading convention for music instruments and live music, is offering an incredible schedule in 2009: live concerts, demos, workshops and discussion forums for producers, retailers, artists, publishers, engineers, technicians, educators, business professionals and just plain folks like us.

The Frankurt fair has been the biggest event of its kind in the music industry for over 25 years. Last year saw close to 1700 exhibitors from some 47 countries on the grounds and this year we’re happy to report that the guitar honchos will definitely not be wimping out and are pulling out all the stops when it comes to shaking the big-leaguers out of their sleeves. So many guitarists – so little time! Here’s what we’re pencilling in: