Guitar

When Phil Alvin takes the stage for a New Year's Eve solo set at Joe's Great American Bar & Grill in Burbank, he won't just be welcoming in 2013. He'll be closing the book on a year he'd rather forget. “Starting in November 2011, 2012 has been the strangest year of my life, by far,” says the Blasters' frontman. “I will be happy - along with the Mayans - to say goodbye to 2012.” On the positive front, Alvin and the Blasters released “Fun on Saturday Night” in July, their first album in four years on what he calls the “small but fair” indie label Rip City Records.

Alison Sudol finds comfort in the woods. The singer-songwriter and leader of the band A Fine Frenzy grew up mostly in Los Angeles and Burbank, and even there she's often found herself gravitating toward a convenient corner of nature. On a recent afternoon, it was a picnic table along the pathways of Griffith Park, where she noticed something moving under a tree. “What is that? Is that a squirrel?” Sudol, 27, said affectionately, peering into the shadows. “That is the biggest squirrel tail I have ever seen.” Nature and nurturing is a recurrent theme in her music, going back to her 2007 debut, “One Cell in the Sea,” which mixed stories of romantic disappointment with wildlife as a metaphor.

Karen S. Kim NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- It was May 25, 1957, when the Everly Brothers, just 18 and 20, first began carving a name for themselves by breaking into the top music charts with the hit "Bye Bye Love." But now Phil Everly, 63, is making a different kind of name for himself through his Burbank-based business, Everly Music Co. The company -- which manufactures and distributes guitar accessories, including picks, strings and cables -- started out of the Everly home about seven years ago. Since then, the business has grown and now ships to retailers all over the world, Everly said.

Mid-20th century Los Angeles country music performers were such a wildly colorful community that they made their competitors in Nashville seem more like undertakers than entertainers. One of the most dazzling acts were the Collins Kids, who will make their first Los Angeles-area appearance in 19 years on Dec. 3 at Joe's Great American Bar & Grill in Burbank. The duo, consisting of siblings Larry and Lorrie Collins, broke into local prominence on the popular KTTV television show “Town Hall Party” at ages 10 and 12, respectively, trading in some of the hottest, flat-out explosive rockabilly and boogie of the era. Within a few short years, they were a nationally known force, traveling to New York for guest shots on NBC's “The Steve Allen Show” and playing at Madison Square Garden.

Tim Willert From a young age, Randy Rhoads knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. By the time he entered John Muir Middle School, Rhoads and his electric guitar were joined at the hip. "He wouldn't go anyplace without that guitar," recalled his mother, Dolores. "If we went on a vacation, we certainly went with the guitar." Rhoads would grow into a reluctant rock star, one who didn't exactly fit the heavy metal mold of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Mike Wise never knew he had musical talent until he bought his first guitar at the age of 19. Wise, 27, was an athlete before he started singing and writing his own music. "In high school, I played baseball at Burbank High," said Wise, a former Burbank resident. "I had not done anything musical my entire life." After a few guitar lessons, Wise, now a Glendale resident, learned to write music and started playing with his friend and Burbank resident, James Graham, a drummer.

The following items were taken from Burbank Police Department reports : 1300 block of North Glenoaks Boulevard: A 20-year-old Burbank man was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. 1500 block of Oak Street: A vehicle burglary was reported on Sunday. 1100 block of North Orchard Drive: A 21-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence. 300 block of East Tujunga Avenue: A vehicle burglary was reported on Saturday in which a guitar and guitar case, valued at $8,000, were reported stolen.

A limited edition wine will be released Sunday in honor of Burbank native Randy Rhoads, who was the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot before he was killed in a plane crash while on tour with Osbourne in 1982. The Rhoads special edition 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon will be unveiled during a tasting party from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the D'Argenzio Winery in Burbank, home to the Rhoads and D'Argenzio families. The special edition wine is a way to honor her brother's legacy, music and life, said Kathryn Rhoads D'Argenzio.

Sinhue ?Sin? Quirin will sit among the brightest stars of the music world Sunday night, as the Ministry guitarist awaits the tearing of the Grammy envelope at the Staples Center. It?s a pinnacle that many musicians dream of and very few achieve. But to the classmates who knew Quirin in Burbank in the 1980s, it didn?t come as a big surprise. ?He had a passion for guitar that impressed everybody we knew,? said Milton Brenes, who played in the band with Quirin at John Muir Middle School and Burbank High School.