Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Pedal to the Metal," a new song and music video by guitarist Raul Midón. The track is from Midón's new album, Bad Ass and Blind, which will be released this Friday, March 24, via Artistry Music.
Blind since birth, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Midón has been shattering boundaries in the jazz and pop worlds for the past decade-plus.
Midón, whose career began as a background singer for Shakira, Julio Iglesias and Jose Feliciano before his unorthodox guitar skills became known, has since collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves and Bill Withers.
"Midón first picked up a guitar at age 6 and grew up in a household where modern 'classical' music was heard just as often as flamenco and Argentine folk," Turner writes. "One key ingredient in Midón’s percussive guitar style points directly to these roots, a palm slap approach derived from flamenco techniques and Argentinian rhythms, where the open hand is used to rhythmically 'pat' the strings over the sound hole."
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
