A while back info about the Fender Jazzmaster 50th Anniversary Concert in NYC was posted here, well the event took place and Pitchforkmedia.com managed to get some good photos up on their site.

It seems like somewhat of a big event to have for a Fender guitar but it’s an important one. The Fender Jazzmaster and Jaguar proved to be incredibly influential during the formative years of alternative rock. Bands like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine and countless others would go on to re-popularize the Jazzmaster and Jaguar.

During the early 90’s Jazzmasters and Jaguars were largely regarded as surf-music guitars by most players. As a result you could buy high-quality vintage versions of these guitars for around $200 or $300. As a result of their popularity vintage models now routinely sell for thousands of dollars. I’m pretty sure they’ll do a similar event for the 50th anniversary of the Fender Jaguar as well.

Dischord Records founder and Fugazi frontman Ian MacKaye participated in a debate/discussion with Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore at the Brooklyn Book Fair, yesterday. According to Billboard.com MacKaye and Moore discussed issues ranging from advertising and record sales to a packed audience. An excerpt from Billboard’s piece on the discussion…

“In response to the moderator’s use of the word “Google” as a verb, MacKaye began the panel with a rant about the danger of language being a branded commodity. He then discussed his band’s now-legendary $5 cover policy, saying that there are always ways for the music industry to be more efficient. At the same time, he encouraged the audience to support artists by buying their music and seeing their shows.”

“Finally, the pair addressed the hot-button issue of indie bands associating with brands. MacKaye claimed the notion that working with brands was the only way to expose music is a conceit created by advertisers, and that all bands have a choice as to whether or not to sell their songs.”

This event seems like it would’ve been really cool to attend, it doesn’t say whether or not the audience got a Q&A type setup with MacKaye or Moore but one would expect something like that to occur. It would be great to see a video or hear audio of the event, if I find out its been posted somewhere I will definitely re-post that here.

The release of Metallica’s new album, Death Magnetic, is not the only newsworthy event this week. It was announced today that Sonic Youth has signed with Matador Records to release their 16th studio album, reportedly entitled The Eternal. Matador part-owner, Gerard Cosloy, wrote:

“For Matador, the opportunity to work in partnership with a group who’ve made such an profound impact on our roster/hometown/collective consciousness was one to jump at. Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley will commence recording the new Sonic Youth LP/CD this autumn and we look forward to sharing further details in the very near future.”

Seems like Thurston is staying as busy as ever, still running his own label, Ecstatic Peace!, and doing shows aside from Sonic Youth including The 50th Anniversary Fender Jazzmaster Concert this Friday. The show will also feature artists such as Tom Verlaine, Nels Cline, Lee Ranaldo & J Mascis. The event, which takes place at the Knitting Factory in New York, will not only be an opportunity for musicians to honor their favorite guitar, but a great chance for music fans to catch their favorite indie-rockers all in one place. (I wonder if Mascis will be playing his signature Jazzmaster).

More info on the show and each artist performing here.

More upcoming shows of interest:

Sonic Youth:
10-09 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
10-10 Bolzano, Italy - Museion
10-11 Bolzano, Italy - Stahlbau Pichler

Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo:
09-12 New York, NY - Knitting Factory *
* with Nels Cline, Tom Verlaine, J Mascis

Thurston Moore:
09-17 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street #
09-19 Monticello, NY - Kutshers Country Club (ATP New York) #
09-27 New York, NY - Stone (as Northampton Wools)
# performing Psychic Hearts

Kim Gordon:
09-26 Saratoga, CA - Montalvo Arts Center (Kim Gordon Meets Phantom Orchard)

Lee Ranaldo:
09-28 Urbana, IL - Krannert Center for the Performing Arts *
* with Bang on a Can All-Stars, Glenn Kotche