Hi all,
Sorry no update yesterday, the day just flew by and didn't get a chance to do anything here.
Anyway, here you go, here's the latest!
Cheers, Al
RIP Dr Jim Marshall OBE
July 29, 1923 - April 5, 2012
Mr Marshall Amps!
The man behind the biggest rock concerts for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall OBE, has passed away today, aged 88 years.
The founder of Marshall Amplification, the company that started in London in 1962 - A good year to me ... - had been given the appropriate nickname, the 'Father of Loud.'
In the rock spoof rockumentary 'Spinal Tap' the players in the band boasted that their Marshall stacks were the ultimate, as the dials went up to the number eleven ...!
Most amps show up to number ten.
A classic funny and loved line, that most rock musicians are familiar with, whether they are drummers, singers, keyboard players or guitarists.
It would so often, from the 70's through to present day, be a familiar sight behind many a rock band to have this massive wall of Marshall amplification behind rock and heavy metal bands on stage.
The one thing that many people may not know and that I learned back in 1983 when helping unload Thin Lizzy's gear, during their farewell tour when they stopped off at Portsmouth Guildhall, is that most of those Marshall cabinets are for show and are empty, with typically just one head in use - Look for the orange / red light lit up on the amp head! - and yes folks, this killed a long held 'wow' impression of mine that I had been so impressed with for the previous five years to that!
A familiar sight at many a rock concert ... Marshall stacks, wall of sound!
Such was the impact / impression on rock musicians and fans alike, in the reputation of the 'Marshall stack' behind most hard rock guitarist, that the legend had to be taken to the next level, for show!
Marshall amps and Gibson Les Paul guitars in my opinion - And I know many others. - epitomises the rock image and sound in most fans eyes and ears.
The Marshall website posted this tribute to the man today:
‘It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.
‘Jim’s ascent into the history books as ‘the Father of Loud’ and the man responsible for ‘the Sound of Rock’ is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The ground breaking quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover – together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.
‘In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.
‘While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!
‘Rest in Peace and thank you Jim.
‘Your memory; the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades; and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.’
Official site:
Editors note - Good luck trying to get the page to load today! So many rockers no doubt trying to see what else is there in tribute to the legend.
Remembering Cozy Powell
Also, today remembering my old hero, Cozy Powell who was killed in a car crash this day back in 1998.
Your memory still lives on and rocks us today my old friend.
Cozy worked with the very best, from his days with the Jeff Beck Group, alongside Rod Stewart, through Rainbow, M.S.G., Whitesnake, Emerson, Lake and Powell, Black Sabbath, Brian May and Peter Green's Splinter Group and so many more.
Cozy Powell - Rock drumming legend
29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998
Joe Bonamassa releases new album "Driving Towards The Daylight"
Internationally renowned guitarist Joe Bonamassa is pleased to announce that his lucky 13th studio album “Driving Towards The Daylight” will be released in the UK on Monday 21st May by Provogue Records.
Produced by Kevin Shirley, “Driving Towards The Daylight” highlights Bonamassa’s signature style of blues, roots, and rock & roll. The album features a unique group of musicians, including Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford (guitar), Blondie Chaplin (guitar), Anton Fig (drums and percussion), Arlan Schierbaum (keyboard), Michael Rhodes (bass), Carmine Rojas (bass), Jeff Bova and The Bovaland Brass, Pat Thrall (guitar), and Whitford’s son Harrison Whitford (guitar).
Joe Bonamassa photo by Arnie Goodman
“Driving Towards The Daylight” includes five Bonamassa-penned originals, including bruising opener Dislocated Boy, the title track Driving Towards The Daylight, I Got All You Need, Heavenly Soul, and Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go. Other tracks include Joe’s versions of Tom Waits’ New Coat Of Paint, Bill Withers’ Lonely Town Lonely Street, and Bernie Marsden’s A Place In My Heart. On the album closer, Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes sings lead vocals on his 1987 hit Too Much Ain't Enough Love.
Premiering today, and continuing each week for ten episodes is Countdown To Daylight, the new reality series of 3-4 minute webisodes, featuring interviews with Joe and his band as well as behind-the-scenes footage of the band recording Driving Towards The Daylight in the studio. Tune in every Friday for a new episode on Joe’s official YouTube channel here:
Read the official album press release here:
Joe Bonamassa – Official Website
MEAT LOAF ANNOUNCES ‘MAD, MAD WORLD’ TOURKICKING OFF JUNE 22 IN AUSTIN, TX
IN CONNECTION WITH HIS NEWLY RELEASED ALBUM ‘HELL IN A HANDBASKET’
“…a blistering screed about the state of the world and a call to arms to fix it.” – ESQUIRE.COM (3/8/12)
“…you can’t deny the power of Meat Loaf’s voice or his rightful place as King of the Anthems…Vocally and interpretively, Meat Loaf is still on top of his game. You really can’t find another performer who is as natural a talent and puts as much emotion into his performance as him.” – CONSEQUENCEOFSOUND.NET (3/16/12)
Iconic singer MEAT LOAF has announced the first round of dates for his upcoming “MAD, MAD, WORLD” TOUR in connection with his newly released album HELL IN A HANDBASKET (Sony/Legacy). The trek kicks off in the city of Austin, TX June 22 and runs through August 2, including stops in Los Angeles, Boston and Atlantic City, with more dates expected to be announced.
For the HELL IN A HANDBASKET tour, MEAT LOAF says, “People who come to Meat Loaf shows know what to expect. They know they’re going to get full-on energy with the best rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. That’s not an opinion. That’s the truth.” Asked specifically what makes for a good show, he says, “Well, a great play can be done with a table, a light, and four chairs. Great shows are about people. You don’t want to put up a wall with laser lights, production, and dancers. It’s really about going out there and putting on the show of these people’s lives without all of the bells and whistles.”
Joining MEAT LOAF onstage will be his longtime band THE NEVERLAND EXPRESS: guitarist Paul Crook (who also produced the HELL IN A HANDBASKET album), John Miceli (drums, percussion), Patti Russo (lead and backing vocals), Randy Flowers (guitars, vocals), David Luther (saxophone, vocals) Justin Avery (piano, organ, keyboard, vocals), Danny Miranda (electric and upright bass) and Ginny Luke (violin, vocals).
Joining MEAT LOAF onstage will be his longtime band THE NEVERLAND EXPRESS: guitarist Paul Crook (who also produced the HELL IN A HANDBASKET album), John Miceli (drums, percussion), Patti Russo (lead and backing vocals), Randy Flowers (guitars, vocals), David Luther (saxophone, vocals) Justin Avery (piano, organ, keyboard, vocals), Danny Miranda (electric and upright bass) and Ginny Luke (violin, vocals).
MEAT LOAF recently performed on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” where he sang “The Giving Tree” from HELL IN A HANDBASKET. “It’s is the most personal record I’ve ever made,” said MEAT LOAF. "It’s really the first record I’ve ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what’s going on at the moment.” The album, produced by Paul Crook, is an expression of life’s metaphors, driven by excellent musicianship, and of course, the passionate vocals of MEAT LOAF. “Making this album was a great experience,” said MEAT LOAF, “and I hope my fans enjoy hearing it as much as I did making it.”
MEAT LOAF – whose 1977 breakout album Bat Out Of Hell defined the arena rock genre and remains as one of the world’s five top-selling albums of all-time, with more than 43 million copies sold to date–is excited about HELL IN A HANDBASKET. It’s a thematic record that easily crosses any number of genres, featuring such unlikely contributors as rappers Chuck D and Lil Jon, country star Trace Adkins, and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath.
DAY - CITY - VENUE
MEAT LOAF – whose 1977 breakout album Bat Out Of Hell defined the arena rock genre and remains as one of the world’s five top-selling albums of all-time, with more than 43 million copies sold to date–is excited about HELL IN A HANDBASKET. It’s a thematic record that easily crosses any number of genres, featuring such unlikely contributors as rappers Chuck D and Lil Jon, country star Trace Adkins, and Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath.
DAY - CITY - VENUE
Fri
6/22
Austin, TX
ACL Live at the Moody Theater
6/22
Austin, TX
ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Sun
6/24
Del. Benito Juarez, Mexico
Pepsi Center
Wed
6/27
Los Angeles, CA
The Wiltern
Sat
6/30
Snoqualmie, WA
Snoqualmie Casino (Mountain View Plaza)
Mon
7/2
Eagle, ID
Eagle River Pavilion
Sat
7/7
Valley Center, CA
Harrah’s Rincon – Open Sky
Tue
7/17
Montclair, NJ
Wellmont Theatre
Thu
7/19
New Brunswick, NJ
State Theatre
Sat
7/21
Canandaigua, NY
Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Perf. Arts Ctr.
Mon
7/23
Englewood, NJ
Bergen Performing Arts Center
Wed
7/25
Bethlehem, PA
Sands Bethlehem Event Center
Fri
7/27
Atlantic City, NJ
Showboat Atlantic City – House of Blues
Sun
7/29
Salamanca, NY
Seneca Allegany Casino Events Center
Tue
7/31
Boston, MA
Bank of America Pavilion
Thu
8/2
Upper Darby, PA
Tower Theatre
Sat
8/4
North Bay, ON Canada
North Bay Summer in the Park Festival – Waterfront Park
Website: www.meatloaf.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/meatloaf
Twitter: www.twitter.com/realmeatloaf
Sonisphere Festival 2012 at Knebworth cancelled
Sad news for rock fans in the UK, where Kiss were scheduled to headline one night and Queen featuring Adam Lambert to headline another, with Faith No More due to be topping the planned opening night and organisors have declared the whole event is cancelled!
Here's the statement from the organisors:
It is with very heavy hearts and much regret that we announce the cancellation of Sonisphere Knebworth 2012.
Putting the festival together in what is proving to be a very challenging year was more difficult than we anticipated and we have spent the last few months fighting hard to keep Sonisphere in the calendar. Unfortunately circumstances have dictated that we would be unable to run the festival to a standard that both the artists and that Sonisphere’s audience would rightly expect.
We want to express our deepest regrets to the artists and to thank all the staff, suppliers and contractors who worked so hard with us to try and pull off what has proven to be an impossible task and we know how much they share in our disappointment. We also want to send a huge thanks to the Sonisphere fans who stuck by us and we are so sorry that we can’t fulfil what we set out to do.
Ticket holders will automatically receive a full refund direct from their ticket agents.
Team Sonisphere.
Putting the festival together in what is proving to be a very challenging year was more difficult than we anticipated and we have spent the last few months fighting hard to keep Sonisphere in the calendar. Unfortunately circumstances have dictated that we would be unable to run the festival to a standard that both the artists and that Sonisphere’s audience would rightly expect.
We want to express our deepest regrets to the artists and to thank all the staff, suppliers and contractors who worked so hard with us to try and pull off what has proven to be an impossible task and we know how much they share in our disappointment. We also want to send a huge thanks to the Sonisphere fans who stuck by us and we are so sorry that we can’t fulfil what we set out to do.
Ticket holders will automatically receive a full refund direct from their ticket agents.
Team Sonisphere.
For full details, go here:
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