Kissimmee guitarist makes final list in nationwide battle

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Kissimmee guitarist makes final list in nationwide battle

Around Osceola

Wednesday, 28 July 2010 00:00

Kissimmee’s own Roosevelt Collier has advanced beyond thousands of other guitarists and been named one of five finalists in the fourth annual King of the Blues (www.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues), the nationwide search for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player.
Collier and the other finalists will gather Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. at the House of Blues in Los Angeles to perform in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges, and share the stage with world-renowned guitarist Derek Trucks, leader of the Grammy Award-winning Derek Trucks Band and member of Allman Brothers Band, as well as Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David “Honeyboy” Edwards. Tickets to the event can be purchased by visiting http://www.livenation.com/event.
If Collier is crowned Guitar Center’s King of the Blues, he will receive:
• $25,000
• Endorsement deals from Gibson, Ernie Ball, Boss and Egnater
• A feature in Guitar World Magazine
• Gibson 1960 50th Anniversary ES-335
• Epiphone 1965 Elitist Casino
• Egnater Renegade full-stack amplifier
• Boss GT-10 guitar multi-effects processor and effects pedals
Collier is the pedal steel guitarist in The Lee Boys, a six-man sacred steel ensemble made up of his uncles and cousins. The band is rooted in the House of God Church sacred steel tradition, where pedal steel guitar is used during sermons. The family grew up playing music together as youngsters in their native Miami.
“I was born into it,” he said in a March News-Gazette article. “From the elders to the babies, everyone either sings or plays.”
By the age of 12, Collier was already sitting behind the pedal steel guitar, an electric guitar that uses a metal slide — called a steel — to stop or shorten the length of the strings on a guitar’s neck, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. The neck sits on a table-like stand equipped with foot pedals and knee levers used to change pitches.
Local King of the Blues competitions were held at guitar center locations nationwide, beginning May 13. Each contestant was required to give a live guitar solo, performed over one of 30 original backing tracks, developed by Grammy Award-winning producer/guitarist, Pete Anderson. One winner from each store was chosen to move up to district competitions (25 locations), and one winner was chosen from each district competition to compete in the regionally hosted semi-finals (five locations). The success of last year’s reigning champion, Kirby Kelley was recently selected to play at the Eric Clapton-curated Crossroads Guitar Festival on June 26 at Toyota Park in Chicago, opening for a long list of legendary artists, including ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, BB King, Jeff Beck, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, John Mayer and Clapton himself.
King of the Blues is one of many Guitar Center initiatives created to foster growth and success within the music community, including its annual Your Next Record, Guitar Center Sessions, King of the Blues, On-Stage and Drum-Off competitions.
More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the company’s website at www.guitarcenter.com.