New York, NY (Top40 Charts) On Thursday, March 23, 2017, an intimate audience of 200 at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, plus a global audience via Facebook Live, were treated to a special up-close-and-personal evening featuring Andy Summers, multi-GRAMMY Award-winner and legendary guitarist from The Police.
The sold-out event was sponsored by Roland and BOSS, who recently presented Summers with their Lifetime Achievement Awards. Roland Corporation U.S. VP of Marketing Chris Halon welcomed the audience, saying, "We're so happy to support Andy Summers in celebration of his new solo album and are honored to be celebrating the 40th anniversary of BOSS compact pedals this year with him. Andy, the BOSS family is grateful to you for entrusting our musical instruments to create such an extensive catalog of amazing music." Halon then introduced the evening's host, GRAMMY Foundation Vice President Scott Goldman, who remarked, "[Summers] redefined the role of a guitarist in a power trio. His textural approach to the instrument opened ears and made huge impact on guitarists across the musical spectrum."
Goldman led a lively conversation with Summers about his illustrious career, his approach to songwriting, photography, and his new album Triboluminescence, which was launched on Flickering Shadow Productions on March 24. During the conversation, Summers noted his interest in technology and how it helped define his sound. He reminisced about his early years, noting, "If we go back in time to the very early days of the Police, I was genuinely interested in seeing how I could color the sound of the guitar, and make it really interesting for an hour and half that we were on stage. That whole period was filled with color, not just barre chords and heavy fuzz. Roland were very good to me in those days, and I was using the Space Echos and their pedals, and all the guitar stuff they made. So things like 'Walking on the Moon,' that's all BOSS pedal stuff."
Summers, who is also an award-winning songwriter, composer, and noted photographer, then shared a multimedia presentation consisting of a slide show of his original photography while he performed solo selections from his new album, including "Triboluminescence" and "Adinkra." After the performance, Summers graciously greeted his fans and signed CDs in the GRAMMY Museum store.
Fans around the world can still view the evening's festivities by tuning in to the Roland/BOSS Facebook Live stream.
