BLACK EYED PEAS' PAJON PLAYING YAMAHA

BUENA PARK, CA (November 21, 2003)—Guitarist, songwriter and producer George Pajon Jr. has been recognized as a cross-genre virtuoso and a driving force in bringing quality musicianship and an original sound to urban music. As a studio and touring musician, he has produced such artists as Terry Dexter and Mos Def, and has written, played, recorded, and shared the road with Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, No Doubt, Wyclef Jean and Coldplay.

Pajon's best-known affiliation is as the guitarist for Black Eyed Peas, with whom he co-penned and performed the current album Elephunk (A&M), including the single "Where is the Love" featuring Justin Timberlake. The track was a Billboard Top 40 number one hit, and reached number one across the globe.

A Yamaha guitar artist since 1999, Pajon says the relationship gives him the freedom to be creative through his instruments as well as his music. "It's a great situation," he says. "I really love the fact that they allow me to have direct input on designs. As for guitars, I'm using two AES620 electrics onstage. One of them is a custom unit with the symbol of the song on it—the question mark—for 'Where is the Love?' I also have a stock PAC1511MS Pacifica Mike Stern signature model and AEX1500. Most of my stuff is pretty custom. For instance, 95 percent of the necks don't have any finish, except for the AEX1500. Also, the necks are rounded off a little bit differently for me. The pickups are the ones that I like, so they're all the same for all my guitars. They've got a JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck."

The Los Angeles-based Black Eyed Peas emerged in the late 1990's with a multi-cultural vibe that merged hip-hop with various musical genres, and paired MCs rhyming with a live band instead of relying on scratching and samples. This organic, up-tempo groove style became the trademark sound for a group of artists that included The Roots, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. The Peas' 1998 Interscope debut, Behind The Front, was followed by Bridging The Gap and 2003's Elephunk. Group members include MCs Will i. Am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and the newest member, vocalist Fergie, backed by Pajon, Tim Izo, Printz Board and Keith Harris. In addition to the Peas, Pajon has a current solo project, Fried Plantains (KUFALA), which fuses the worlds of jazz, hip-hop, blues, and rock with his guitar skills.

"Playing with the Peas requires a lot of different sound scenarios," he explains. "It's live and often very improvisational. You're not just replaying back a bunch of sampled parts. If Will (i. Am) wants something to sound like it's being played on a certain guitar, I can't simply emulate the sound of that instrument; it has to be the real flavor. Yamaha allows me to do that kind of stuff, so that's why I have different guitars for different sounds."

The Peas spent the better part of 2003 touring in support of superstars Justin Timberlake, and Christina Aguilera in the U.S. and Europe, and recently performed their own headline shows in the U.S.

"It seems like we haven't stopped hitting the road," Pajon says. "We started in May, and don't finish until August of next year. After the Justified tour, we did our own tour in support of the current album, which is doing very well. We went back out again for three weeks with Christina [Aguilera], and are currently back out in Europe with Justin. What's great, though, is that for an hour, we get to play in front of 15,000 people, and they know the songs, and that's really a blessing.

"In the middle of all of this," he adds, "I've got two artists that I'm producing, and am supporting my solo record. Plus, Will and I are remixing tracks for other people all the time while we're on the road. It's insane!

"On the road or in the studio," he continues, "Yamaha has always gone out of their way to help me. Just recently, I was on my way to New York City for the GQ awards. On my connecting flight, I found out that there was a photo shoot with GuitarONE magazine scheduled for two o'clock the day I was to arrive in New York, but all our equipment was on a plane heading to Europe for the Christina tour, so I had no gear. Yamaha provided guitars for the photo shoot and the GQ rehearsals. They've always come through, and I love the relationship."

For more information on Yamaha guitars, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Guitar Products, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com.