Monday, February 7, 2011

Rock News Update for Monday 7th January, 2011

Gary Moore tributes continue to pour in.

If for some reason yesterday, you missed the sad news about the passing of Ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist and solo artist Gary Moore, here's more on the tributes to the great guitarist.

His passing:

Apparently the press has it that he passed away in his sleep, aged just 58.
www.hotpress.com/Gary%20Moore/news/Gary-Moore-1952--2011-dies-in-Spain/7492280.html

The Irish Times said this:
The musician was found dead in his room at the luxury Kempinski Resort Hotel in Estepona in the early hours of this morning. A postmortem is due to carried out later today in the nearby city of Malaga.

Moore (58) from Belfast is understood to have been on holiday at the time of his death.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said: “We are aware of the death of a British national in Estepona. We stand ready to offer consular assistance.”

www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0206/breaking25.html


Tributes:

Original and first guitarist in Thin Lizzy, Eric Bell told the BBC on Sunday he was still "in shock" at Moore's death while on holiday in the Costa del Sol.


"I still can't believe it," he said.
"He was so robust, he wasn't a rock casualty, he was a healthy guy.
He was a superb player and a dedicated musician."


Brian Downey: "I am in total shock. I have known Gary since 1967 when he was in Platform Three and he's been an amazing friend ever since. It was a pleasure to play with Gary again in 2006 after his days with Lizzy. He will always be in my thoughts and prayers and I just can't believe he is gone."
Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy said it been a pleasure to share a stage with Moore.
"Playing with Gary during the Black Rose era was a great experience, he was a great player and a great guy," he said.
"I will miss him."



Indeed, many of us will Scott.

Just tonight I pulled out the excellent One Night In Dublin - Gary Moore and friends Tribute to Phillip Lynott.
What a great talent he was, I'll be listening to a lot of the old albums over this next week for sure.
What a seriously huge loss, I'm truly devastated by this, stunned.

Here's a classic clip of Gary Moore on the Old Grey Whistle Test back in 1979 and a number of familiar friends, including two other sadly deceased legends in both Phillip Lynott and Cozy Powell, playing the excellent 'Back on the Streets':



As I've mentioned in the past, since Blogspot isn't too good at handling You Tube video's, you might just want to go over to You Tube itself, via the following link, to see the screen better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2nVyHmHaSQ&feature=player_embedded

Gary Moore RIP
April 1952 - February 2011


In other news .....


Grammy Award Winners Yes Announce:
The Rite of Spring Tour to kick off early March


YES – The band that has defined many a generation will embark on a mini-tour of very special intimate performances, encompassing their extraordinary musical catalog. This string of dates will kick-off early March for a select number of shows. These special intimate performances will give the YES fan the ultimate experience of an up-close, in-your-face and personal view of the Maestros at work live!

"We're tremendously excited to be working with Yes on this incredible tour through so many of our House of Blues and other theaters,” states Michael Yerke (House of Blues Talent). “House of Blues is all about bringing music, artists and fans together in great venues. These concerts will be memorable and absolutely deliver on that promise.”

Being one of history’s greatest, legendary, progressive rock bands, YES will feature a lineup of guitarist Steve Howe, bassist Chris Squire, and drummer Alan White, as well as Oliver Wakeman (son of Rick Wakeman) on keyboards and lead singer Benoit David. Songs that have left a deep-rooted mark on rock ‘n’ roll history and a concert spectacular that has become synonymous with YES, make this tour one that should not be missed.

YES’s performance will include the hugely successful and indelible catalogue of music from hit albums such as Drama, Fragile, Close to the Edge and 90125. Classics such as “Roundabout,” a seminal hit which consistently appears on “the best songs of all-time” lists, and the group’s #1 hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart” are sure to be featured for an evening of music not to be missed.

YES’s remarkable career has served to re-define the boundaries of rock for more than four decades, YES has played the role as a dominant driving music force selling over 30 million albums, reaching platinum status multiple times worldwide. Their symphonic use of sound and innovative musical styles has made each of the group’s player’s a virtuoso in his own right. For additional ticket information please visit http://www.yesworld.com/

YES TOUR DATES (MORE TO BE ADDED):

MARCH 2011
Sunday, March 6 House of Blues Houston, TX
Monday, March 7 House of Blues Dallas, TX
Wednesday, March 9 House of Blues New Orleans, LA
Friday, March 11 Jannus Live Tampa, FL
Saturday, March 12 WMMO Downtown Concert Series Orlando, FL
Monday, March 14 Florida Theater Jacksonville, FL
Tuesday, March 15 Sunrise Theatre Ft. Pierce, FL
Friday, March 18 House of Blues Chicago, IL
Saturday, March 19 House of Blues Chicago, IL
Sunday, March 20 Orbit Room Grand Rapids, MI
Tuesday, March 22 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
Friday, March 25 The Fillmore Charlotte, NC
Saturday, March 26 Palace Theatre Louisville, KY
Wednesday, March 30 Penn’s Peak Jim Thorpe, PA

APRIL 2011
Friday, April 1 Hampton Beach Casino Hampton Beach, NH
Saturday, April 2 Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City, NJ
Monday, April 4 Warner Theatre Washington, DC



Stephen Pearcy new album on the way and tour dates already added
 
Yes, Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy, who has recently been touted as saying there's trouble with the reformed line up, has been busy in the studio on his next solo release and has been lining up tour dates in support of this.
I must say, it's sad to hear that there is unrest in the Ratt camp, as I thought 2010's 'Infestation' was a great return for the 80's hard rockers.
My review of that is here:  
Meantime, this piece of news from the man's website:
 
STEPHEN PEARCY IN THE STUDIO FOR A NEW SOLO RELEASE AND TOUR 2011

STEPHEN PEARCY IN THE STUDIO PREPAIRING TO RECORD HIS 4TH SOLO RECORD FOR SUMMER RELEASE 2011.

PEARCY HAS BEEN IN PRE PRODUCTION THE LAST FEW MONTHS TRACKING SONGS FOR THE NEW RECORD IN VARIES SETTINGS.

MUSICIANS FOR THE NEW RECORD AND TOUR TBA. LEAD GUITARIST ERIK FERENTINOS, (A MEMBER OF STEPHEN'S SOLO BAND FOR YEARS) WILL CONTINUE HIS ROLE IN THE BAND AND CO WRITTER ON A FEW SONGS. THERE IS NO WORKING TITLE AS OF YET.

DATES ARE BEING POSTED NOW, WITH A SUMMER TOUR IN THE WORKS. MORE NEWZ AS WE GET IT......

Current dates:
February 2011
Ramona Mainstage, Ramona, San Diego, CA (2/12/11)
Token Loudge, Westland, MI (2/17/11)
Planet Live Music Factory, Battle Creek, MI (2/18/11)
Pontiac Crystal Palace, Pontiac, IL (2/19/11)

March 2011
Diamond Jo Casino, Dubuque, IA (3/5/11)

April 2011
GlamFest, ITALY (4/3/11)

June 2011
Bike N Roll Festival, Lake Odessa, MI (6/10/11)
Bike N' Roll, Madison, MI (6/17/11)

Official website for Stephen Pearcy: www.stephen-pearcy.com/


Alice Cooper says rumours of movie and final tour are false

Over at http://www.alicecooper.com/ Alice Cooper has posted a statement, countering a number of rumours that have recently been doing the rounds, that he plans to wrap things up on the touring front with his forthcoming world tour and that there is any movie coming out about the man's sometime turbulant life and career.
Here's the statement from his website:

False "News" of Alice Cooper Movie & Last Tour
'To all you Sick Things out there,

There was a completely false "news" report in Veronica Radio's online magazine in Holland today (Friday, 28th January 2011), claiming that there is a forthcoming movie on Alice's life that will commence filming in February and also that this year's tour will be his last. Both of these "news" reports are completely false! Please do not believe these rumors.'



Jason Becker - Not Dead Yet Festival announced with some great names!


Joe Satriani headlines a guitar-heavy bill on March 26th at Slim's in San Fransisco, that also includes Richie Kotzen, Steve Lukather, the Kehoe Nation, Flametal and many more, reminding the world that Jason Becker's Not Dead Yet!

Proceeds from the evening go towards medical supplies for Jason as well as a trust fund to provide for his future security.

Jason Becker, a onetime guitar prodigy first known as part of the metal duo Cacophony, was diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease) at age 20, shortly after joining David Lee Roth's band. Although the disease robbed him of his ability to play guitar - and eventually left him both paralyzed and unable to speak - Becker continues to compose music with the help of computers, collaborators, and a system of communication using eye movements that was devised by his father Gary Becker.
Tickets for this event can be purchased here:

Sad stuff indeed, for such a talent. Jason's site is here:


Queensryche new album, recording finished!

New Year, New Record, New Photos!

Yes, over at the Queensryche site, the news is all pretty clear that they've finished recording their next album and it's now in the mixing stage! 
And so it begins! We can’t reveal too much just yet, so we’ll just have to let these photos speak for themselves. All we can say is that the band has just about completed the recording of the new record. It’ll be off to the mixers and engineers next.
More updates to come, so stay tuned ...








Source:




No comments:

Post a Comment