ANNIHILATOR guitarist Jeff Waters has announced his Frankfurt Musikmesse schedule. He will be demonstrating his new signature Epiphone Annihilation-V guitar (instrument details here). Waters will be at the Gibson/Epiphone booth at the following times:

March

25 - 1:30pm, 4:30pm
26 - 1:30pm, 4:30pm
27 - 3:30pm

For Frankfurt Musikmesse information visit this location.

As previously reported, Epiphone are heading up a giveaway contest (see below) recently spoke with the Waters about his career and the new guitar. An excerpt from the interview is available below.

EPI: Tell us about your early days. When and how did you start playing guitar?

Jeff: "I started playing guitar when I was around 7 years old. I’ll send you a picture of a certificate from my first year on guitar. (Laughs) My mother was always noticing that I would stop everything and freeze, every time I saw a guitar on TV or in a shopping mall or at church. She knew that she had to put me in guitar lessons, as I was a very hyper-active child and she knew that if she found something I would stop and pay attention to, she better encourage it!"

EPI: What was your path?

Jeff: "After I turned around 12 years old, I started to get pretty good so my Mom put me in classical guitar lessons… and this was a great thing for me. The main thing is that it taught me classical hand positioning which would end up being very crucial to playing fast and clearly when I got into metal music."

EPI: That must have also taught you a lot of theory.

Jeff: "I did learn the basic theory of music… notes, scales, etc… but I was not really interested in that. I was more interested and drawn to the 'feel' part of the music… which really made my classical guitar teacher angry! He would yell at me a lot and I also remember him smoking cigarettes the whole time I took lessons. All I wanted to do was jam but he wanted technical perfection."

EPI: How long did you stick it out?

Jeff: "After three years, my mother suggested Jazz lessons. I was willing to do this because I wanted to get away from my classical guitar teacher! (Laughs) But that classical teacher was the one who taught me the most, out of the music teachers I had! Jazz was really confusing to me. I did not 'get it.' So by the time I was 15 years old, I was done with lessons. The next teachers I had were named Van Halen, Young, Young, Stanley, Frehley, Tipton, Downing, Murray, Smith, Kudlow, Holt, Carlos, Hanneman, Hetfield, Hammett, King, Jabs, Rhoads, etc. THAT was the real schooling!"

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Annihilator's webmaster has issued the following update:

The band's webmaster has now issued the following announcement:

"Annihilator fans, we’ve got a surprise for you. Ever wanted an amazing guitar? Well here’s your chance to get one, easy and free, while helping the Annihilator community grow.

The contest is quite simple. When someone new registers to the forum, there is an option to put the User Name of a referrer (under 'Additional Information' - see diagram at bottom of this page). You only have to tell people to put your User Name into this box, when they register for the first time! See bottom of this page for (fake referrals will not count. The goal of the contest is very simple: be in the top 20 referrers and be included in the draw. The goal of this contest is to introduce a wide variety of new fans to our community and get tons of activity.

You can refer anyway you want, send out emails, advertise on your MSN, post on music forums, etc… any way you can think of, do it.

What you can win: Jeff’s own personal prototype Epiphone Signature Series Flying V guitar. This is not the final version of his Signature V but is the first prototype that Epiphone manufactured for him. This guitar has some differences in the final version (ex: Dirty Finger pickups, different tuners, etc…) but is a collector’s item, as there was only one made. Jeff can sign it personally to you, if you wish and will throw in some custom guitar picks. As well, Jeff would love to give you a phone call or a Windows Live Messenger video call (your choice!).

Jeff will personally draw (at random) one of the top-20 referrers on May 11, 2010. Winner will be contacted by private message on the annihilatormetal.com site. Winner will be responsible for his or her own customs/duties/taxes that may be applied.

Have fun, spread the METAL word and have fun!!"

Annihilator is set to release ten new tracks of heads-down, no-frills metal, and is sure to be a highlight in the band's already-impressive catalogue. The official track listing is as follows:

'The Trend'

'Coward'

'Ambush'

'Betrayed'

'25 Seconds'

'Nowhere To Go'

'The Other Side'

'Death In Your Eyes'

'Payback'

'Romeo Delight'

For more news and info: annihilatormetal.com, myspace.com/annihilatorofficial.