NASHVILLE, TN (April 12, 2005) — For a band named for the Stone Age, guitarist,
Troy Van Leeuwen and the other members of Queens of the Stone Age are doing remarkably well in the new millennium.
Queens of the Stone Age recently released their new album, "Lullabies to Paralyze." The album hit the billboard charts at #5 and sales show no signs of stopping anytime soon. In fact "Lullabies" has already sold over 97,000 copies in the first week. However, one member of QOTSA has even more to celebrate than just the success of the new album.
Van Leeuwen is also a successful Yamaha guitarist. He unveiled the new Yamaha signature model
SA503TVL, which he performs on while on tour and recording. The guitar was developed at the USA Custom Guitar Shop of Yamaha. It is a semi-acoustic, double-cutaway electric named especially for Van Leeuwen. The SA503TVL is comprised of multi-ply bound Maple with a 24 ¾" scale set in Maple neck and bound Rosewood fingerboard. It has three soap bar single coil pickups and a custom "all access" multi-function switching system with dual 3-way selectors and a chrome pedestal bridge with a Bigsby tremolo. The guitar is also available in two colors, Blood Translucent Red or Black.
"Troy has been affiliated with Yamaha for some time now, and it's fitting to release this signature model. The SA503TVL has the look and sound that will appeal to both the 'retro' and 'alt' crowds-vintage and sophisticated, but still appropriate for today's music," said Ken Dapron, Director of Yamaha Guitar Development.
Aside from performing with QOTSA on their new album, Van Leeuwen has appeared with his SA503TVL alongside his band mates on several televised performances including David Letterman, Conan O' Brien and Fuse Music Channel. He has previously played with A Perfect Circle and Failure. Currently, Van Leeuwen is promoting "Lullabies," but his is also involved in lots of session/recording work with Korn, Limp Bizkit and Depeche Mode.
For more information on Yamaha Corporation of America's Artist Affairs division, please contact Tiffany Napper at
tnapper@yamaha.com or 615-599-0800. Yamaha's ever-growing list of artists can be viewed by going to
www.yamahaartists.com.
