The following "media update" has been posted at guitarist MARTY FRIEDMAN's website:

"Marty is the cover story on Japan's upcoming Player Magazine (on newsstands August 2nd). Along with STEVE VAI, the two of them talk about their new live albums and much more.

The cover shot features Marty and his new Ibanez Marty Friedman model. This revolutionary guitar is like his previous axe except for one thing- it has no volume knob, only an on/off switch! Marty played this guitar on his recent European tour and it can be heard on Exhibit A - Live In Europe (available August 22nd on Avex in Japan, stay tuned for rest of world info). The guitar will also be on sale to the public in a limited edition by this fall. Check with your Ibanez dealer for details.

In other media news, Marty had recently had a large feature in the Nikkei Shimbun (Japan's equivalent to The Wall Street Journal). The story ran in Japanese and we have been told that the story will also appear in the newspaper's English edition. We will upload the English version of the feature to this site when it comes out. Marty will also be featured in The Japan Times which is Japan's number one English newspaper.

As Marty's monthly feature in Nikkei Entertainment Magazine continues into it's tenth month, you can now also view a bonus extended version online at http://ent.nikkeibp.co.jp/ent/ (in Japanese)

Interested in Japanese sayings? Check here to hear them from Marty himself - http://hmc.nifty.com/vinvin/kotowaza/

Also in Japanese, but a good online talk and photo session with Marty is here - http://www.ocn.ne.jp/game/og/08-gogaku/hello.html .

As always, along with Nikkei Entertainment, Marty's features continue to be highlights in Saizo, Shosetsu Subaru and ASCII, and can be seen every day on any newsstand in Japan.

In TV news, Marty will appear on Best Hit USA on TV Asahi on Friday July 13th at midnight."