Away Team

Acclaimed guitarist Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X), has announced the first annual Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape, set for July 9-13 at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY. Guitar players of all ages, levels and styles are invited to join Paul Gilbert and other expert musicians for this 5 day experience focused on the techniques, styles, and life of the modern working musician.

“The concentrated guitar-power that I have assembled for The Great Guitar Escape could light a city the size of San Antonio for the next 1000 years,” says Paul Gilbert. “But more importantly, the workshops, nightly concert jams, and interaction with the pro musicians and fellow music lovers will give you inspiration and memories to last a lifetime. If you are a guitarist, bassist, drummer, or thinking about becoming one, don’t miss this amazing camp!”

Although the focus of the camp is the guitar, there will also be workshops from world-class pros on drums, bass guitar, sound engineering, and guitar tech skills. Every evening will culminate with intimate, once-in-a-lifetime jam sessions.

Featured instructors at Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape include: guitar virtuosos Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats, Dizzee Rascal, Asia, The Fellowship, The Young Punx), Tony MacAlpine (CAB, Planet X), Chris “Kid” Andersen (Rick Estrin and The Nightcats, The Terry Hanck Band, Charlie Musselwhite, Elvin Bishop), Scotty Johnson (Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Paul Gilbert, Robben Ford’s Fords and Friends, The Ford Blues Band, The Blindside Blues Band) and Sam Coulson. Other distinguished guest musicians include bassist Kelly Lemieux (Goldfinger, Electric Love Hogs, 22 Jacks, MD.45, King of Clubs, Fear), and drummer Rodney Holmes (Rodney Holmes’ Lithium Tree, Santana, Steve Lukather, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Rob Thomas), as well as Sound Engineer/Producer Tom Size (Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith, David Lee Roth, Huey Lewis, Eddie Money, Mr. Big, Y&T, Europe, Steve Miller Band, Joe Satriani, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass).

“I am extremely proud of the musicians who will be teaching at The Great Guitar Escape,” Gilbert notes. “I looked for people with not just stunning musicianship, but also the ability to communicate musical and technical ideas in a clear and interesting way. When I’m not teaching, I’m going to sneak into the back of the classes and learn some licks from the other teachers!”

“Every successful musician has certain defining moments in their musical lives — a concert, a meeting with a musical hero, some words from a great teacher at the right moment. The Great Guitar Escape is built to maximize these moments.”

From platinum album sales and #1 chart success as a founding member of Mr. Big, to frightening the guitar community with new levels of ferocious picking technique with shred-pioneers Racer X, to exploring punk, pop, classical, blues, jazz, and progressive instrumental styles in his solo career, Paul Gilbert has recorded a massive amount of stunning guitar music, all while circling the globe playing sold-out arenas from Japan to Jakarta. Paul’s guitar style stands out for its rare combination of accuracy, creativity, and power–all which are balanced with Paul’s sense of humor and pure love of music.

In addition to his daily Rock Master Classes at the Great Guitar Escape, Paul has set aside additional classes specifically to help beginning guitarists get on the right track for technique and practicing. These classes (personally taught by Paul) will focus on helping guitarists become comfortable with making music in minutes.

Paul remembers, “I took my first guitar lessons when I was six years old. My teacher taught me ‘by the book’ and I ended up quitting from boredom and frustration. It was years before I finally started again. I wish I could go back in time and teach myself the basics of how to play the guitar. It would have put me years ahead at such an important time of my life. If guitar is taught the right way, it can be surprisingly easy. No boring exercises. Just music! I’m excited to give you the start that I wish I’d been given.”

Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape packages start at just $999, including lodging, access to all workshops, seminars, gourmet meals, performances, and camp activities. Full Moon Resort features an eclectic array of comfortable, rustic country-inn accommodations as well as luxury and primitive camping. The grounds offer one hundred acres of meadows, forests and streams providing a natural backdrop for an unforgettable, enriching experience. Guests can enjoy the spring-fed swimming pool, on-site access to the Esopus Creek, and explore the splendors of the Catskills on the nearby network of hiking trails. For those who prefer in-room wi-fi, air conditioning, television, and daily housekeeping service, Slide Mountain Forest House and The Alpine Inn–located approximately a mile and a half from Full Moon Resort–are available as an all-inclusive camp package.

For full details about Paul Gilbert’s Great Guitar Escape, visit: www.greatguitarescape.com.

For more PAUL GILBERT click here.

The music and legacy of ZZ TOP - “That Little ol’ Band from Texas,” that has been part of the world’s musical landscape for over 40 years – will be celebrated with the October 11th release of A TRIBUTE FROM FRIENDS.

The album, to be released by Show Dog-Universal Music, features 11 classic ZZ Top songs interpreted by top-flight artists working in a broad range of musical genres. All of the album’s tracks have been newly recorded, specifically for the project. These include Filter’s performance of “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” Grace Potter & The Nocturnals’ take on “Tush,” as well as Wyclef Jean’s “Rough Boy,” “Legs” from Nickelback and Wolfmother’s interpretation of “Cheap Sunglasses.”

The album kicks off with “Sharp Dressed Man,” from The M.O.B., Mick Fleetwood’s ad hoc group that includes fellow Fleetwood Mac founder John McVie as well as Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and guitar great Jonny Lang. Fleetwood commented, “We’re delighted to honor ZZ Top this way. Their legacy, like that of the original Fleetwood Mac, is steeped in the blues we all love so much. I know that Steven and Jonny feel as strongly about their legacy as John and I do.”

After Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard, the original–and continuing– members of ZZ Top were informed that A Tribute From Friends was in the offing, they issued the following statement:

“When we were told there was going to be a ZZ Top tribute album a while ago and logically asked, ‘Who are we paying tribute to?’ Then we found out that a bunch of great artists were paying tribute to us and we were in disbelief. For the past forty or so years, all we’ve done is get out there and crank it and try to have a good time while doing so. To a great extent, we’ve succeeded since we’re still having a good time so that would be reward enough for ‘the same three guys playing the same three chords.’ Now comes A Tribute From Friends and we’re so delighted that our music resonates with these great musicians whom we so admire.”

A Tribute From Friends also includes “Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago” by Daughtry, “Got Me Under Pressure” from Duff McKagan’s LOADED and Mastodon’s version of “Just Got Paid.” Coheed & Cambria contributed the anthemic “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” while country superstar Jamey Johnson’s track is the seminal “La Grange.” Of their invitation to be a part of the album, lead singer Chris Daughtry said, “We were completely honored! A classic great band with amazing songs? We’re in!” And of ZZ Top’s music, “It’s classic! Simple chord progressions, great riffs with hooky choruses…very inspiring to a band like us.”
The co-executive producer of A Tribute From Friends is Carl Stubner, ZZ Top’s manager, who noted, “A Tribute From Friends underscores the legacy of ZZ Top in the most musical way possible and illustrates just how important Billy, Dusty and Frank have been to successive generations. It was a privilege to work with the pantheon of brilliant artists who contributed their efforts and so much love to this project.”

Since Billy, Dusty and Frank founded ZZ TOP on the last day of 1969, the band has been responsible for the worldwide sale of over 50 million records highlighted by many of the very same songs heard on A Tribute From Friends as well many others including “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Pearl Necklace,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Tube Snake Boogie” and a score of smash hit albums that include the RIAA Diamond Award winning (10 million sold) Eliminator as well as gold and platinum winners Afterburner, Fandango!, Deguello, Recycler, Antenna, El Loco, Tejas, Tres Hombres plus compilation sets. Their hit repertoire, iconic and award-winning videos and massive touring schedule has made them a favorite with audiences throughout the world and beyond – they previewed a track from their forthcoming album aboard the Soyuz space vehicle. They are recipients of the Texas Cultural Trust’s 2011 Texas Medal of the Art and had previously been named “Official Texas Heroes” by the state’s House of Representatives. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones in 2004 who cited the band’s remarkable consistency and longevity and, first and foremost, the fact that ZZ Top is “steeped in the blues,” calling them “the heartbeat of the whole country and the heartbeat of rock ‘n’ roll.”

Waitin’ For the Bus/Jesus Left Chicago-Daughtry by RCA Music Group

A TRIBUTE FROM FRIENDS – TRACK LISTING
1. “Sharp Dressed Man” – The M.O.B. (Mick Fleetwood, Steven Tyler, Jonny Lang & John McVie)
2. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” – Filter
3. “Tush” – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
4. “Legs” – Nickelback
5. “Cheap Sunglasses” – Wolfmother
6. “Got Me Under Pressure” – Duff McKagan’s LOADED
7. “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers” – Coheed & Cambria
8. “Just Got Paid” – Mastodon
9. “Rough Boy” – Wyclef Jean
10. “Waitin’ for the Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago” – Daughtry
11. “La Grange” – Jamey Johnson

For more ZZ TOP click here.

HOLLYWOOD, CA (February 23, 2011) MR. BIG is back with their highly anticipated new studio album entitled ” What If… ” out now on Frontiers Records.

“What If… ” is MR. BIG’s first all original album since the reunion of the four original members,  Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan and Pat Torpey back in early 2009. Sixteen years after the release of ” Hey Man ”, the new recording is set to bring back MR. BIG on the height of the current Hard Rock scene.

 Guitarist Paul Gilbert said: “This is the first MR. BIG album I have been a part of, since fourteen years and it was done in a snap. It was fun and we had really a  good time in making this one”. Continues Billy Sheehan “It’s so great to be back with Paul, Eric and Pat too. We wrote this record like we did in the old days for the first 2 records. Jamming together in the same room to write songs”. Pat Torpey adds ““Some of the recording process is different now from what we were used to in the old times. But I think this record really managed to capture the performances of the band, not of the individual musicians”.

 Eric Martin concludes: “I like to compare this to the first album, when we just got to know each other in a reharsal studio and cut it in 8 or 9 days. This is like chapter 2. We had so many years, so many records and so many things behind us. Now this feels like a beautiful brand new chapter starting for all of us”.

 ”What If… ” was produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Rush, Iron Maiden)  and the release will be followed by a World Tour which will kick off in South America in March and will hit Europe in early summer.

 Formed in 1988, Mr. Big forged its place in hard rock history by combining trademark “shredding” musicianship with awesome vocal harmonies. The original line-up – vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Pat Torpey. Mr. Big produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres – be it ballads, heavy metal, or blues rock.

 Their hits included “To Be With You” (Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 15 countries for weeks, in 1991, propelling the band the band to huge international success and record sales in the multi-millions), “Wild World”, “Green-Tinted sixties Mind”, “Just Take My Heart”, and a host of heavy metal songs that were played mostly during their live performances: “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy”, “Addicted to that Rush”, “Colorado Bulldog”, and “Take Cover”.

 “What If…” will be released in a special edition CD + DVD in digipak, regular CD, vinyl and digital download and in a limited edition luxury box including the CD, DVD, LP and exclusive memorabilia.

 “What If…” tracklisting includes: Undertow; American Beauty; Stranger In My Life; Nobody Takes the Blame; Still Ain’t Enough for Me; Once Upon a Time; As Far As I Can See; All The Way Up; I Won’t Get In My Way; Around The World; I Get The Feeling; Unforgiven (exclusive bonus track for Europe / North America – not on vinyl edition).

 The DVD will include the videoclips of “Undertow” and “All the Way Up” plus a documentary “Making of” the album including interviews and exclusive behind the scenes features of the four members.

 For more information go to www.mrbigsite.com

MR. BIG is back to announce their highly anticipated new studio album entitled What If… on February 8, 2011 on Frontiers Records.

What If… is MR. BIG’s first all original album since the reunion of the four original members, Eric Martin, Paul Gilbert, Billy Sheehan and Pat Torpey back in early 2009. Sixteen years after the release of Hey Man, the new recording is set to bring back MR. BIG on the height of the current Hard Rock scene.

Guitarist Paul Gilbert said: “This is the first MR. BIG album I have been a part of, since fourteen years and it was done in a snap. It was fun and we had really a good time in making this one”. Continues Billy Sheehan “It’s so great to be back with Paul, Eric and Pat too. We wrote this record like we did in the old days for the first 2 records. Jamming together in the same room to write songs”. Pat Torpey adds ““Some of the recording process is different now from what we were used to in the old times. But I think this record really managed to capture the performances of the band, not of the individual musicians”.

Eric Martin concludes: “I like to compare this to the first album, when we just got to know each other in a reharsal studio and cut it in 8 or 9 days. This is like chapter 2. We had so many years, so many records and so many things behind us. Now this feels like a beautiful brand new chapter starting for all of us”.

What If… was produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Rush, Iron Maiden) and the release will be followed by a World Tour which will kick off in South America in March and will hit Europe in early summer.

Formed in 1988, Mr. Big forged its place in hard rock history by combining trademark “shredding” musicianship with awesome vocal harmonies. The original line-up – vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Pat Torpey. Mr. Big produced numerous hit songs that ranged across a wide array of rock genres – be it ballads, heavy metal, or blues rock.

Their hits included “To Be With You” (Billboard Hot 100 number one single in 15 countries for weeks, in 1991, propelling the band the band to huge international success and record sales in the multi-millions), “Wild World“, “Green-Tinted sixties Mind“, “Just Take My Heart“, and a host of heavy metal songs that were played mostly during their live performances: “Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy“, “Addicted to that Rush“, “Colorado Bulldog“, and “Take Cover“.

“What If…” will be released in a special edition CD + DVD in digipak, regular CD, vinyl and digital download and in a limited edition luxury box including the CD, DVD, LP and exclusive memorabilia.

The DVD will include the videoclips of “Undertow” and “All the Way Up” plus a documentary “Making of” the album including interviews and exclusive behind the scenes features of the four members.









For more Mr. Big click here.

Rock producer and historian Denny Somach today announced the establishment of the Classic Rock Society of America. The organization will be devoted to the preservation, promotion and celebration of classic rock music by the artists, musicians, producers and fans of the most popular musical category of the past fifty years.

Somach is a recognized expert on Classic Rock and considered one of the architect’s of the Classic Rock radio format, which has become dominant in broadcasting and attracts millions of listeners. He has produced over 7500 hours of classic rock programming and maintains one of the largest archives of audio, video and data related to the topic. Somach has also authored numerous articles and books on the subject and appeared as an authority on shows including Today, Larry King , CBS Early Show, Dateline NBC, CNN, CNBC, MTV and others.

“The appeal of classic rock artists like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Doors, Moody Blues, Yes, Grateful Dead, Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, Styx, Deep Purple, Queen, the Allman Brothers and many, many others has never been more popular,” said Somach. “Classic rock has become cross-generational and is the most popular rock music format not just in the US and Canada, but around the world.”

The Classic Rock Society of America (CRSA) is an organization where people from all over the world can experience and commemorate their favorite music. Many colleges and universities have classes about this music and it is being taught everywhere. The CRSA will act as a resource center for students and teachers, enabling them to further enhance their study of classic rock.

CRSA was inspired by the UK’s Classic Rock Society, with a membership of thousands, and Classic Rock magazine, a publisher, recording label and music promoter. Both organizations are dedicated to the growth of all classic rock music. The UK’s Classic Rock Magazine presents a number of live shows, including the recent High Voltage Festival, which featured ZZ Top, Foreigner, Asia, Bachman-Turner, Uriah Heep, Argent and a reformed Emerson, Lake and Palmer to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

Rick Wakeman is the honorary Chairman of the U.K. Classic Rock Society. “When I contacted him about the Classic Rock Society of America we were launching, he immediately lent his support and thought it was about time something like this was established in America.” Subsequently the other founding board members including John Wetton of Asia and Dave Cousins of the Strawbs have publically announced their support.
“I have also spoken to over fifty musicians, producers and managers who are more than happy to not only lend their name but become actively involved in the Classic Rock Society of America,” stated Somach.

The Classic Rock Society of America will debut as an interactive web site and its own radio channel. It will also include marketing and promotion entities. The virtual society will eventually have a physical location where musicians and fans can visit and enjoy the many facets of the musical genre. Somach said, “We have already been contacted by a couple of municipal development organizations about locating a facility in their communities.”

For more CLASSIC ROCK SOCIETY OF AMERICA click here.

From USA TODAY:
The concert business will end 2010 on a sour note, Live Nation Executive Chairman Irving Azoff told analysts today.

“We’re still not seeing a consumer recovery” in ticket sales, after a summer when revenues declined, Azoff said at a meeting organized by Liberty Media. Liberty owns 14% of Live Nation, the No. 1 owner of concert halls and, with Ticketmaster, an e-commerce powerhouse.

Next year may improve, he said, as hitmakers who sat on the sidelines in 2010 plan major tours. He’s especially optimistic that the cast of the TV show Glee, Van Halen, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, and Fleetwood Mac will fill arenas and ampitheaters.

Read the whole article here.

***EDITOR’S NOTE: Sure Glee and Van Halen MAY pack arenas in 2011. But Christina Aguilera already cancelled her tour this year because of poor ticket sales. Fleetwood Mac has always been steady ticket sellers but they’ve gone the way of the Eagles (who cancelled shows this year also) and the Rolling Stones as far as insanely escalating ticket prices. Is the general public going to shell out up to $200 each to see the Mac do a greatest hits package yet again? Sure they forked it over for Lady Gaga this summer, but she is the anomaly not the norm this concert year.

You want to pack arenas again? You want to sell tickets again? It’s a simple fix that everyone in the industry except Live Nation seem to understand. Lower the ticket price.

Do you know where your ticket price comes from? first and foremost it is the band’s guarantee. So if the smoking gun is to be believed, Aerosmith received $1,000,000 per gig for their last 18 show run. The production costs of the show equal the second part of the ticket price. Everything from the local crew (people that set up and tear down the show) to dressing room demands, to feeding up to 100 people backstage two or three meals per show (say $25,000 per show).

If your local venue holds 15,000 people then for the last Aerosmith tour $66.66 went to the artist Guarantee and $2 went to production cots. That’s $68.00 per 15,000 people, assuming the show sells out. Most promoters don’t bet on a sell out. They take HALF the house as a figure to base the ‘break even’ point for each show. Here the math gets fuzzy and harder to figure out. Now the promoters have come up with a sliding scale for tickets. You want to get sweat on by a band? Then they figure you’ll pay up to $200 or more for that privilege. You want to smoke a joint in the nosebleed sections then you are only paying $60 or so.

It all boils down to the promoters paying too much money for the rights to the artists’ tour. Most of the major promoters have seen this and are attempting to get the bands to lower their guarantees. Allowing them to lower their ticket price, thus getting more people through the door to sell merchandise and beer to. Live Nation wants to be the biggest, and the baddest, so they keep over bidding for artists and over paying them to ensure that LN has more tours, more shows, and more artists than anyone else.

This results in you the music fan having to decide if you want to shell out your hard earned money in this cash strapped economy to see your favorite band or to sit at home and pay a bill, or get your car repaired. When concert tickets are as much as new car payments, your decision is pretty simple.

Based on the spring and summer concert ticket sales for 2010 it seems you the music fan and concert goer have spoken out by simply NOT buying high dollar tickets. Most promoters AND artists have heard you. And they are working to reduce ticket costs while still making money themselves (after all music IS a business… sadly).

Live Nation, based on many industry reports and articles I have read, haven’t figured that out yet. They want to be top dog. And they seem to be saying they’ll get there regardless of you, the fan, (read you the bottom line… you pay their bills, not the artists, not their employees, you the one buying the tickets) and how these ridiculously high ticket prices negatively impact you.

Two time Grammy Nominees Shadows Fall has been shredding the Massachusetts’ metal and hardcore scene for the last 15 years. In 2005 they joined the Ozzfest tour and began their much deserved rise from kings of the underground to a house hold name around the world as the leader’s of the new Thrash Metal movement. Their style has been discussed and dissected ad nauseam. Are they metal? Hardcore? Post core? Metal core? Reggae metal? Hippy metal? Who cares… They rock; they’ll kick your ass given the chance. They’re touring the world in support of their latest CD Retribution, which they released on their own label Everblack Industries.
Shadows Fall is currently on the road with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and I had the chance to sit down with their singer Brian Fair and talk about his views of the current condition of the music ‘industry‘, what the pros and cons are in having your own label inprint, the dangers of slamming a vert ramp with your skateboard after a few bowls of your favorite herb, and how it feels to be metal’s dirty hippie.

AWAY-TEAM: This is Slim Jim with Away-team.com talking with Brian Fair from Shadows Fall. So let’s see, first off you guys just kicked off the first show of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. How did that….

BRIAN FAIR: Yes indeed man. San Bernardino yesterday man, it was killer man, it was a great first show where there was none of the normal equipment break downs or things – just there were regular speed bumps. It went pretty smooth. Everything really worked out well. The show was killer, the crowd was killer! But I’m a little afraid today because since nothing went wrong yesterday we’re assuming it all happens today you know !(laughs)

AWAY-TEAM: Right yeah absolutely. So where are you today?

BRIAN FAIR: You gotta run into the gremlin somewhere. Shoreline which is a little south of San Francisco in Mountain View, California.

AWAY-TEAM: Mountain View, California I’m very familiar with it, I’m from the Bay Area originally myself.

BRIAN FAIR: Oh nice nice. I love Shoreline. It’s one of my favorite venues there is. We’ve done an Ozzfest here before so it’s good to be back. Yeah and bein’ a hippie Deadhead myself I just feel that holy ground you know.

AWAY-TEAM: So how does a hippie Deadhead become the voice of the new generation of thrash?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah you know honestly I went to as many hardcore and metal shows growing up as I did to Dead shows and Reggae shows and stuff. So I think just kinda keeping that open mind is what’s really allowed us to really kinda push things in directions that other metal bands may not kind of approach. Or just not have the subconscious for the influences that would be there. I’m definitely the dirty metal hippie so it’s… I’m a Gemini, so I gotta have the twin side anyway you know.

AWAY-TEAM: There you go, the ‘dirty metal hippie‘ I like that! (laughs)

BRIAN FAIR: Yup! (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM: So for most people your band Shadows Fall kinda got name recognition within say the last five years. Probably Ozzfest 2005 it is kinda what opened a lot of doors for you, and you became if not a household name, the people outside of the underground really found out about you. But the reality is you guys have been around for 15 years. Your first album came out in 1997. So what do you think took so long…

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah it’s crazy!

AWAY-TEAM: You even have two Grammy nominations in the last three years!

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah it’s pretty crazy cuz you know, we started as like a small little Massachusetts metal band kinda just doin’ our own thing in a very small scene. But it really started to just kinda get back on the radar and blow up. When it seemed like a lot of bands kinda came up at the same time, us, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, and it just kinda put the U.S. metal kinda back on the map. Metal never goes away. It just may go a little bit underground, but it’s always pretty much full on happening in the scene. So it’s kinda cool that the industry started paying a little attention. I think just even towards like Ozzfest being so successful kinda just put metal in general back on the radar and then us getting in front of those audiences definitely helped.

AWAY-TEAM: So what is it about the Massachusetts area… like you said it’s you, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, etc, what is it about that area that’s breeding that metal hardcore theme?

BRIAN FAIR: Well you know it was just a really kind of close knit scene back in the day. Where there was a lot of small hardcore shows and the bands all knew each other and all kind of grew up playing in bands together before that. It was a very open minded scene that was the other thing. People weren’t like limiting themselves to ‘oh we only play traditional hardcore’ ‘we only play straight up death metal’, people were really experimenting melodically and I think that led to bands kind of branching out in different directions and really kinda catching a lot of people’s attention. But it is really funny cuz I mean when we all started, we, the bands, played to each other! There was no crowd you know it was just us. You’d have 10 bands on the bill and that would be 10 bands in the audience. So it’s funny now that it’s kinda like a worldwide thing where we tour Australia and Japan with Killswitch Engage or something like that. It’s just crazy to think about. So….

AWAY-TEAM: You’ve actually got a former member that’s in Killswitch and one that it’s in All That Remains and you guys did a tour together where the three bands were on the same bill or on the same tour together. How does that work backstage? Is there any kinda animosity or does the fact that you guys…

BRIAN FAIR: Aw no! Everyone’s still friends. It’s all good. Like everyone’s just friends. As all the bands were starting…that members were just kinda plucked…When your high school band would break up, you’d meet up with the other two guys. And when their band broke up; then start a new band. So we all we all toured together and played shows and everyone still hangs out. Everyone still lives in the same area pretty much where they grew up so everyone still kicks it.

AWAY-TEAM: So having that close knit familiarity when you guys do tour together, do you guys get real competitive? Does it make you turn it up a notch onstage? Not necessarily to outdo them but to you know…

BRIAN FAIR: I think in general whenever we play with good bands it just motivates you. It’s not necessarily a competition thing, but you just realize, ‘We gotta go out and crush it!‘ But metal lines in general you can’t really half step anyway. They’re gonna let you know. You gotta come out and just kill it anyway. Especially on a tour like this one with so many great bands, you gotta just do something to kinda stand out. Especially in the festival scenario where people are getting little 20 minute shots of you. You gotta make the most of your time and then leave ‘em remembering who you were. So it’s kinda like that when we go out with those bands. It’s the same way you see them go out and crush and you’re like, ‘alright, now we gotta at least hit ‘em just as hard if not harder.’

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely! You’ve done a lot of label switching over the years. You started out with Century Media, went up to Atlantic, and your last album which was released last year, Retribution, you’ve released on your own label. Is this because there’s more freedom for you to do it how you want it, more creative control, and more monetary control? Or what are the advantages of a do-it-yourself label?

BRIAN FAIR: You know honestly it’s not necessarily the artistic control because Atlantic and Century Media… we would make the records and then play it for them when they were done. So they didn’t really have a whole lot of input that way. But what is great is by doing both the indie label thing for years and then being with Atlantic for a little while, we’ve learned a lot about what works for us as a band and the best way to promote ourselves. And took lessons from both of those experiences to kinda be able to renegotiate our Atlantic deal into a distribution deal with their parent company Warner Music. Where we took the monetary control is the biggest thing too, like budget wise, we were able to spend money in the right places and make those decisions ourselves as opposed to some major labels just want to throw a bunch of money into a video or radio. And hope it hits. With us that’s just not really the way it works. So there’d be a lot of not necessarily wasted money, but money that could’ve been directed in a better direction. So that’s what’s great now, and also there’s no more excuses. Like, ‘oh I didn’t know we were doing this, I didn’t know we were doing that.’ Everyone’s involved so you can all be on the same page and really just try and make the best decisions. But also with the music industry struggling so much, record sales dropping so drastically, it was time to make a new business model anyway instead of getting 10% royalty rate on records. On declining record sales now we at least get an 80%. So we are at least working to put money in your own pocket as opposed to the bottom you know for someone’s car payment on their Porsche.

AWAY-TEAM: Exactly and that that was basically my next question, do you think having the control of your own label will help secure you in, by most people’s estimates, 3 years the major labels will all collapse if they don’t immediately change their business model?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah that’s the thing you know. It was all about being proactive instead of waiting to see where the chips fell as is the fallout from the downloading mess of the internet… We didn’t want to wait and see what… Cuz you could tell labels were in panic mode. We were lucky when we signed with Atlantic because things were a little more stable. And we were able to get a really good advance and sign a great deal. But those days are gone. Now it’s all 360 deals or they’re trying to take a percentage of your merch, your publishing, your touring, everything! So instead of waiting around to see what was the last of the industry, we figured we’d start our own little business model. I have a feeling that even the CD itself might be gone soon, just the way cassettes and vinyl were before. It’s better to learn as much about the business side and handle as much personally, band for band, as you can. When it gets down to that your gonna have to… if you don’t know what to do then… you know you’re just gonna be sitting there just kinda stuck in limbo so we figured we’d get ahead of the game.

AWAY-TEAM: What I think a lot of people don’t realize is… you mentioned the 360 deals. Most people think that bands make a ton of money off album sales. And in the 80s and 90s there was good money to be made there. But today, and the last 10 years if not a little more than that, your artists and your bands make their money on the road. Selling the t-shirts, selling the tickets, selling all kinds of merch. That’s where you make the most amount of your money. So now labels are doing what they’re calling the 360 deals and they’re taking a little bit of your merch, they’re taking some of your guarantees at the door and your ticket sales just so they can try to survive themselves, and like you said make their Porsche payments.

BRIAN FAIR: Yup and it’s unfortunate for a lot of younger bands. Those are the only options they are being presented with. In a young band and you’re a teenage kid and you just want to get out of the practice space and get on the road. And you think that’s your only option and it may be ok when you’re on a small level. But if you start blowing up all of a sudden you realize you’re like, ‘we’re giving these people money for nothing you know? They’re not even here selling our t-shirts yet they’re getting 10% of every one we just sold!’ It’s really an unfortunate thing; cuz like you said that really is where you make your money. You know touring, merchandising, as well as publishing! Getting yourself onto video games or movies or just random soundtracks and things like that. And as soon as you let the label start dipping into that you’re gonna really be left with nothing else. So it’s really about trying to protect your assets if you can. It’s unfortunate; I remember when we just wanted to rock, now we gotta study tax laws and stuff. It’s terrible but if you want to do it full time, it’s something you gotta really take seriously.

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely, musicians have never as a rule been great businessmen. That’s what they have the managers for. And now unfortunately you’ve gotta be your own businessman, your own lawyer, your own manager, you’ve gotta take care of yourself because everyone’s getting a piece, or trying to.

BRIAN FAIR: Exactly that’s the other…we’ve seen enough of those Behind the Music’s to know all the things that could go wrong. So now you can’t pretend ignorance anymore. We’ve all watched what happened to Grand Funk Railroad, and all those bands on all those great VH1 Behind the Music’s so (laughs) no excuses anymore.

AWAY-TEAM: So on your label are you going to be signing other bands or is this strictly just to push Shadows Fall?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah, right now it is just to push Shadows Fall. We wanted really to just see how things worked out. We’ve suggested to other bands to kinda look into a similar deal with the parent company and you know or the independent label group. But in the future if we thought we could help a band in a way without becoming the evil label side of it then that would be awesome. And if they could use our imprint just to help them get like a leg up that would be great. But we would want them to really be running it. It would be more, ‘here’s a platform, here’s a distribution center, now you guys gotta go out and you know run with the ball.’ Otherwise we would just be becoming a regular record label and that business model just doesn’t work. At that point you’re just a loan shark you know?

AWAY-TEAM: So to the bands that are still in the garage or the practice space … What kind of advice can you give to the garage band, they’re trying to make it, how to set themselves apart and get noticed today?

BRIAN FAIR: I would tell them to study hard and get a degree that will get ‘em a real job! (laughs) Honestly I would tell you to really, just get to the point where you just are so comfortable with your sound before you’re just throwing it out there. Really use advantage of all the free networking that’s available, whether it’s putting up songs on MySpace or just staying in touch with bands through Twitter, use all those as much – all the free outlets – as much as possible. Whether it’s YouTube or anything you know, those things weren’t available to us as a young band. We had to just go out on the road and just hand out demos physically as opposed to now, you can just give someone a little flier with all your info and they can hear your music as soon as they get home. It’s such a difference. Shit, they can probably hear it on their phone you know? Like really take advantage of all that and learn as much as you can about how the business side works. Because you’re gonna end up running it yourself at some point if it gets successful. So really, just absorb as much as you can. And also just really get out there and play as much as you can. Cuz the live show is the one thing that can never be downloaded or taken away from the band. The live performance is such a unique experience it really just where it’s all about focused energy, on going out there and kicking ass onstage!

AWAY-TEAM: Ok, enough of the business side, let’s get back to the music. Most of your albums have a cover or two on them from Pink Floyd to Dangerous Toys and even Leeway, how do you guys go about picking a cover? Are these nods to your influences or just songs you want to play putting…

BRIAN FAIR: They’re definitely always an influence you know but there’s two kinda schools we choose from there’s the bands like Leeway and the Cro-Mags that are for us kind of paying tribute to a band that helped kinda shape our sound, but they may not be known by a lot of our either younger fans, or more like not as the underground kids. So that’s where we choose to do a Leeway song or something like that. The other ones like Dangerous Toys and Bark at the Moon, those are just fun. That’s for us to enjoy the studio time and be able to just record a kick ass tune, and for me to be able to sing about werewolves or Teasin’ and Pleasin’. Like I’m never gonna say, ‘I think I got the wrong house’ you know? Like that will never fit into a Shadows Fall song. So for me it’s just a fun experience to just have a little party anthem.

AWAY-TEAM: What were your influences when you started? What made you want to sing to begin with?

BRIAN FAIR: You know I really got into early rock like KISS and Aerosmith and Black Sabbath at a pretty young age. I had a cool older brother and a cool neighbor who turned me onto a lot of good music. But then I got really into punk rock through skateboarding when I was probably like 12, 13. I was listening to Black Flag and the Sex Pistols and stuff, and that led me to going to local Boston hardcore shows and stuff. But the entire time I was going to hardcore shows I was also listening to a ton of thrash metal you know the Bay Area bands – Testament, Death Angel, Metallica as well some of the early death metal so I think that’s really where the kind of combination of sounds of just death metal and old school hardcore and the classic metal kinda all came into Shadows Fall. I think all 5 of us at least shared those kind of common backgrounds even though I was listening to a lot of reggae and jazz, whereas some of the other guys listened to a lot of glam metal and we all had our different stuff. But the common ground we shared the old school metal as well as that kinda early crossover metal hardcore stuff.

AWAY-TEAM: I’ve seen this asked of you before, and reading reviews of various CDs of yours, and when people ask me how to define your sound it’s really impossible to do. I guess it’s because of the various influences but how would you describe the Shadows Fall sound?

BRIAN FAIR: You know just call us a metal band! Because we really do take things from the entire sort of metal history, because we just grew up as fans of all types of heavy music. And you can hyphenate it a million times you can call it like neo-thrash-melodic-death-blah blah blah, and then add metal at the end, but to me it’s just its just metal.

AWAY-TEAM: Ok, fair enough. Retribution sees you guys delving into a bit heavier more aggressive tighter sound than previous efforts. Like almost more focused on a set sound for the feel of the entire album. Was this a natural progression or was it thought out and planned?

BRIAN FAIR: You know it wasn’t really planned but we knew with Threads of Life, the previous album, we definitely pushed the kind of melodic arena rock side of our sound probably as far as it could go so with this record. It was probably subconscious but we definitely started right out the gates writing really aggressive songs. Public Execution was one of the first tunes we were working on, as well as My Demise and War came about pretty early on. And that sort of set the tone where we’re like alright this is going to be a heavy fast record. And there’s still melodic moments like Picture Perfect is a very melodic song with acoustic moments and then a big chorus but overall I’d say it’s definitely probably maybe besides Of One Blood it’s probably the most aggressive record we’ve done from beginning to end.

AWAY-TEAM: I’d described it as tighter, more cohesive, more defined, and straightforward.. just balls out album.

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah there’s definitely a lot of that. We really wanted to balance all of the influences and make them cohesive. As opposed to some bands these days want to fit so much in that they’ll almost cut and paste, ‘alright here’s the death metal part, here’s the breakdown, here’s the big melodic chorus’ and they almost feel sorta just stuck together and forced. We wanted it to be if it was going to be a thrash song and fast it was going to be that way from beginning to end. There wasn’t going to be some weird left turn you know? If it was going to be a melodic hard rock song it was going to stay that way from beginning to end. And I think that’s just us getting more comfortable as song writers. I think song writing is the most difficult thing to progress and learn over time. Everyone gets better as a musician but that still doesn’t mean you can write a song.

AWAY-TEAM: So does the title Retribution reflect the music on the disc or does its meaning lie elsewhere?

BRIAN FAIR: Well you know we wanted a one word title for the first time. Something that just had an aggressive vibe to it, but also we’d kinda been off the radar for about two years between records and we kinda wanted to just stake our claim again. Let people know we were back. There’s just so much metal these days, and there’s so many bands, and it’s so easy to put a record out that we just were like…this was our sort of our coming back atcha thing. Going for the throat sort of record and we just felt like Retribution kind of fit that.

AWAY-TEAM: So how do you as a band go about writing a record? Is it collaborative musically? Do you all sit around and hammer out a song or do you take the riff tapes and piece a song together?

BRIAN FAIR: Our guitar players usually bring a very rough outline of the song or even just a few riffs, and we would just jam on them in the practice space full volume together. And I think that also led to it being an aggressive record, cuz we were actually playing a lot of it live right out of the gates. So it really led to that energy and we were thinking about how they would be onstage as opposed to just thinking of them as just studio pieces. So there and a lot of weird transitions that never would have happened if we would have just emailed back and forth MP3s. Some crazy little wacky idea would come out of nowhere while we were jamming, so I think that really helped make it a cohesive and also just a little more aggressive record. Just crankin’ it and going for it.

AWAY-TEAM: So does the music affect or influence the lyrics or does the writing of the lyrics influence the way the music is written?

BRIAN FAIR: For me, I usually wait til not necessarily the finished instrumental version, but pretty well defined. And I get a vibe from it that will affect the lyrics. If it’s a head crushing heavy song the lyrics have to reflect that. If it’s a long epic kinda song I may get more into a grand storytelling vibe. I definitely usually wait to get that from the music itself.

AWAY-TEAM: As we said before, you’re currently out on the road with some great bands on the Mayhem Festival, what would be your ultimate bill for a show?

BRIAN FAIR: You know we’ve played a festival with them before but we would love to tour with Metallica cuz that’s the one band that I grew up worshipping that we’ve never gotten to do extended time on the road with. And there’s only one Metallica man! They’re the kingpins, so that would be pretty amazing.

AWAY-TEAM: So are you guys sitting around waiting to do the opening for the Big Four then? Is that what you’re asking? To throw in your hat….

BRIAN FAIR: Oh that would be as cool as it gets! But honestly that would be a tough opening spot even to begin with. People would be like ‘yeah great we don’t care, get to the Big Four’!

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely I can definitely see that. Which hearkens back to the old Bay Area days when if you weren’t Exodus or Metallica onstage everyone would stand with their backs to you and just wait for the band they came to see get onstage…

BRIAN FAIR: Totally it’s just like the opening band getting “Slayer” chanted at them for the entire set. It is definitely some tough spots…Those are the shows that when you do come out and win a crowd over like that, those are some of your best successes. We must have kicked ass tonight because these dudes don’t give a cr-… they don’t care about anybody!

AWAY-TEAM: So I see you guys are performing some off dates while you’re on this festival getting back into the clubs up close and personal with the audience. Everybody wants to be a rockstar, everybody wants to play in front of 60,000 people every night, but which is the better show for you? In the club in front of 300 people nose to nose and fist to fist or something like Mayhem playing for 10 20 30,000 people a night?

BRIAN FAIR: You know for me it really goes both ways. But I definitely grew up playing small, small shows and going to a lot of small, small shows. So to me that’s really probably my comfort zone. The people are there to see you and are right up there supporting and in your face. But there’s something about like… we played a festival in Columbia last week where there was 150,000 people. And just seeing that, there’s really nothing cooler you know? There’s just so much energy and it’s so overwhelming you can barely even focus on one point out in the crowd. Its just so huge and it really can go both ways, but we played a packed club show in Brazil the day before and it was insane! There was so much energy, so much sweat, kids up on the stage and that vibe it brought me back to why I started doing this to begin with. So they both really have a place in my heart but I’d probably always feel more comfortable in a club.

AWAY-TEAM: So how does that change your approach to the show? I mean if you look out from the stage and you see 150,000 people out there how do you connect with that 150,000th person?

BRIAN FAIR: You do have to change the way you do it cuz in the club show you can be standing on the barricade and getting the crowd physically involved in the show so there’s not as much of just a focal point on you. At the big festival there’s a giant security barriers so the focus is just on you, every gesture is a little bigger and you do have to remind yourself to keep connecting with the crowd cuz it is so big. You try to involve them as much as possible, cuz it is really it is a completely different animal. The crowd isn’t part of the show at those big festivals until you make them part of it. Whereas in the club there’s no escape, they’re shoved right up in your face.

AWAY-TEAM: You recently completed your first headlining tour of Canada. Where haven’t you played yet that you really want to?

BRIAN FAIR: You know after doing South America, that was a big checkmark! We went down just recently and did Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. That was amazing! I can’t believe it took us almost 15 years to get down there. For now we have an offer for a festival in China that we hopefully can work out cuz that to me, the fact that we’ve already gone to the Philippines, Korea and all these places I never thought metal would take me, if we can get to China I’m like, ‘Alright now we’re just really we’re runnin’ out of places we’re going to have to play for the penguins down in Antarctica next’.

AWAY-TEAM: That would be really cool, a festival in China wow!

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah that would be amazing!

AWAY-TEAM: So how do you personally get through the monotony of a day on the road without a show?

BRIAN FAIR: That’s why we sold so many off dates. I hate downtime on the road! You usually end up at a Wal-Mart wasting money on DVDs or looking for a movie theater.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s the one thing you can’t live without on the road?

BRIAN FAIR: Let’s see, I’d probably say my pipe but I’d also include my skateboard in that too so…

AWAY-TEAM: And not necessarily in that order right?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah yeah yeah! And I usually try to keep them separate too!

AWAY-TEAM: That’s probably smartest.

BRIAN FAIR: Choppin’ it on a vert ramp all day can be end up really ending tragically. Although it does still happen from time to time.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s your favorite song to perform live and why?

BRIAN FAIR: You know right now it’s actually been the song War which is sorta, I can’t call it a Bob Marley cover, I adapted some of the lyrics from his version of the Haile Selassie speech that he used in his song, War, but it’s just balls out like definitely the fastest Marley cover ever. And for me the crowd is just like a nonstop circle pit. So it’s a great one to just throw out there and it’s also one of those 3 minute just punch in the throat and then you’re out.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s the one song you didn’t write that you wish you did?

BRIAN FAIR: Pretty much anything on Master of Puppets!

AWAY-TEAM: And my last question for you, what’s the worst name of a band you’ve ever been in?

BRIAN FAIR: Worst name of a band I’ve ever been in? Social Violation. It was a punk rock band when I was literally like probably 12 years old. At one point my whole thing was hitting the guitar with all the distortion up with drumsticks, thinking it was some art scene noise thing. It’s like no, you just don’t know how to hold it!

AWAY-TEAM: Well Brian I appreciate it man good luck out on the road with the Mayhem Festival. You’ve got a DVD coming out ‘Madness in Manila’ next month on the 24th of August good luck with that!

BRIAN FAIR: It’s actually getting pushed back, it’s actually getting pushed back a little bit. We just found a bunch more footage that we had to include so we’re going to actually push the date back a little bit to the fall but ‘Madness in Manila’ is coming.

AWAY-TEAM: I look forward to it! I’ve seen you guys 2 or 3 times, I’ve produced a couple of shows with you and Lacuna Coil in the North Carolina area and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys August 3rd in Raleigh , NC.

BRIAN FAIR: Indeed man it’s going to be a good time! I remember those shows those were good shows! Man, that’s killer!

AWAY-TEAM: Good luck, be safe, and we’ll see you soon.

BRIAN FAIR: Indeed man thanks for spreading the word, we appreciate it!

My thanks to Natalie at Adrenaline PR for the hook up, my transcriptionist extraordinaire melissa for the 15 pages, and Brian Fair for taking the time out of a busy schedule to throw down a great interview.

For more on Shadows Fall click here.

For Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival dates click here.

Dark Star Records

Rating: 3 out of 10

You know the old saying  “Never judge a book by it’s cover”? Well, when it comes to Herman Ze German‘s latest offering “Take It As It Comes”, you can throw that philosophy right out the window.  I have to admit, I was anticipating something good from the former Scorpions stickman…I mean why wouldn’t I?  Herman Rarebell helped write such classics as “Another Piece of Meat”, “Blackout”, and “Rock You Like a Hurricane” (A song that this album makes you want to forget).

That anticipation went away the moment I received this disc.  Upon seeing the cheesy vampire themed cover art, I thought to myself “This can’t be good.”, but remember “Never judge a book by it’s cover”…right???  Wrong.  The nightmare begins with the title track, in which Herman begs us to “Take It As It Comes”.  I was about ready to do just that before…was that a saxophone I just heard?  Are you kidding me?  I had to stop the CD and eject it, just to make sure nobody was playing a cruel joke on me and inserted the soundtrack to “St. Elmo’s Fire”.   

The “brass section” doesn’t let up, however…we hear it on the next two tracks “Don’t Lose Your Trust” and “Rough Job”, which reek of mediocre garage band rock.   But wait, there’s more to this story, the sax is being played by none other than Claudia Raab, Rarebell‘s girlfriend.  Now it makes sense, a broken down, pussy-whipped rock star puts out a shitty album for “love”. 

We move on to Track 5, “Your Love Is Hurting”, which is a song I really want to like.  Musically, it is a cross between Ozzy’s “Road To Nowhere” and Aerosmith’s “Amazing”, but lyrically it sounds like something I heard on a recent episode of Spongebob Squarepants. (If you have young kids, you know exactly which episode I’m referring to).

After shining a dim light on things, we are hit with “Freak Show”, a catchy, albeit cheesy track that keeps the light shining before casting us into the darkness that is to come.  After two more cuts of the status-quo, we get to perhaps my most anticipated song of the album, “Rock You Like a Hurricane”.  That’s right, a remake of the 1984 Scorpions classic, done by one of the men who originally penned it, so it must be good.  Wrong again.  The intro sounds like a slightly industrialized version of the original, and then…Herman sings.  What a fucking disgrace.  He tries to do the whole spoken word thing, and ends up sounding like a Transylvanian Micro-Machines man.  He goes and fucks it up even further by letting his girlfriend play that damn sax again.  Even more comical is Rarebell’s strong German accent…“Cat is puwwing, skwatches my skin”…I keep thinking the next track is gonna be “The Monster Mash”.

I was wrong, but close…a remake of the Surfari’s classic “Wipe Out”.  Once again…are you fucking kidding me?  Really?  A trenchcoated aging German rocker playing surfer rock?  If it weren’t for the lack of saxophone, I’d say this was brought on by a sexual withholding as well.

After a display like this, perhaps Herman Ze German’s next album should be called “I Take It Back”.  This was the biggest letdown of the year for me.  I came in excited to hear something new from Herman Rarebell, and I was left jabbing sharp objects into my ears, wishing I was listening to Herman Munster.  Definitely one of the worst albums of 2010.

For more info on Herman Ze German, and to buy this album as a gag gift for one of your buddies, visit http://www.hermanrarebell.com/ and http://www.darkstarrecords.com/onlinestore2.htm

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION — the Anglo/American rock supergroup featuring vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, TRAPEZE), drummer Jason Bonham (LED ZEPPELIN), Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) and blues rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa — will release its debut album, “Black Country“, in Europe on Monday, September 20 via Mascot Records and North America on Tuesday, September 21 through J&R Adventures. The CD was produced and mixed by Kevin Shirley (BLACK CROWES, AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN), and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig. It was recorded at Shangri-La Studios in early 2010.

All songs are sung by Glenn Hughes, with the exception of “Song Of Yesterday” and “The Revolution In Me“, which are both sung by Joe Bonamassa. Hughes and Bonamassa share lead vocals on “Sista Jane” and “Too Late For The Sun“. Also included is a new version of “Medusa“, the rock classic Hughes originally recorded with his first band TRAPEZE.

“Black Country” track listing:
01. Black Country
02. One Last Soul
03. The Great Divide
04. Down Again
05. Beggarman
06. Song Of Yesterday
07. No Time
08. Medusa
09. The Revolution In Me
10. Stand (At The Burning Tree)
11. Sista Jane
12. Too Late For The Sun

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION initially came to fruition when Shirley saw Hughes and Bonamassa join forces on stage in Los Angeles in November 2009 for an explosive performance at Guitar Center‘s King of the Blues event. Shirley then recruited Bonham and Sherinian for the project, which is named after the industrial area in the British Midlands where both Hughes and Bonham were born and raised.

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION is planning a tour in 2011.

For more information on BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION visit their website here.

An as of yet untitled project featuring Matt Bachand and Jon Donais on guitars (Shadows Fall), Derek Kerswill on drums (Unearth/Seemless), and Jeff Fultz on bass (Seemless), has begun to take shape. The band has recorded a five song demo thus far, and are actively seeking a vocalist.

“We are looking for one crazy bastard with the energy, the drive, and the determination to take this thing to the next level,” says Matt Bachand. Jon Donais adds, “The vocalist we seek should be influenced by a variety of melodically based bands anywhere from Alice In Chains, Shinedown, and Aerosmith, to Skid Row and Pantera.” You must be serious about the position, and must be able to tour extensively. Demo submissions are currently being accepted. Submissions should include a bio and list of past experience, photo, audio and/or video performance, and any other information you would like the band to know.

Interested singers should send demo submissions and contact info to iamdrunk666@gmail.com.

BUSH fans and die-hard loyalists across North America and around the world are rejoicing over the news, as announced by Gavin Rossdale during Stryker‘s show on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, that BUSH is returning to the front line in 2010.

BUSH will perform is first live show in eight years as part of the Epicenter weekend in Fontana, September 25-26, joining EMINEM and KISS at the Golden State’s inland empire venue. Also in the fall, the first new studio album in nine years from BUSH will be released on Interscope, titled “Everything Always Now“. The CD was produced by Bob Rock, who also helmed Gavin‘s 2008 solo debut, “Wanderlust“, which spawned the crossover hit single “Love Remains the Same” (and whose credits include seminal work with METALLICA, MÖTLEY CRÜE, BON JOVI, AEROSMITH, and more).

It all came full circle for BUSH when Gavin previewed “Afterlife“, the first single pick from “Everything Always Now“, during the KROQ interview.

KROQ launched BUSH‘s career on the rock charts in late 1994, with the band’s debut hit single, “Everything Zen“, from BUSH‘s six-times-platinum-certified debut album “Sixteen Stone“. It was the maiden voyage of the British band that emerged two years earlier from Shepherd’s Bush and went on to sell more than 16 million albums in the U.S. and Canada alone: “Razorblade Suitcase” (1996), “Deconstructed” (1997), “The Science of Things” (1999), and “Golden State” (2001). Over the same period, BUSH compiled an amazing string of 14 consecutive Top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, including ten that hit the Top 5. Four of these became #1 hits that forever define the decade of the ’90s: “Comedown” (1995), “Glycerine” (1995), “Swallowed” (1996) and “The Chemicals Between Us” (1999).

 

The first time I witnessed the phenomona that is Jonny Lang was 13 years ago at an outdoor amphitheatre in Hartford, CT.  Jonny was a mere 16 years old, and already on his way to becoming the world’s next great guitar virtuoso.  The year was 1997… now 5 albums, several tours, and a Grammy later, Jonny helps fill in the blanks of his life since then.  Kid Jonny and I spoke about the Grammy’s, God, and a certain Idol he also worships.

AWAY-TEAM:  First of all, congratulations on your new album ”Live at the Ryman” which came out on April 20th.  Great album, I’ve  been listening to it quite a bit.

JONNY LANG:  Aw man, thank you.

AWAY-TEAM:  I really enjoy it.  I’ve been a fan of yours for a while.  But, I know you’ve been wanting to do a live album for a good while…why the Ryman Auditorium?  What made you choose that as the venue for your first ever live album?

JONNY LANG:  Well there’s a few reasons. Probably the main one just being, we had a good show that night, um.  And we had been recording most of our shows leading up to that, and that happened to be the one that, ya know turned out to be the best out of the ones that we had recorded, so.  But also just the fact that it’s the Ryman, it’s a historic venue, and it was such a great place to play, ya know, so I’m glad it turned out to be that particular show just because of that, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM:  So uh, one of the things people really enjoy about your work, aside from your voice, is watching you play guitar, and just kinda watching a craftsman at work.  Is there any chance we may get an accompanying DVD of this performance sometime down the road?

JONNY LANG:  You know, there was no video shot at that show, but we are looking to do a live DVD thing in the near future here so…  I’m not sure exactly when that would come out, but yeah that’s in the works.

AWAY-TEAM:  Cool. I’ll keep my eye out for that… Your current tour, it’s called “Live By Request”, has somewhat of a unique format.  Tell me about that.

JONNY LANG:  Well basically it’s just a um, we kinda had this idea that people could write in to the website, tell us which show they’re going to, and then request the songs they would like to hear for the night.  Then we tally up the number of votes for whatever songs were requested and pick the top three or four or whatever, and then do those.  Sometimes it ends up being some of the same songs we’ve been playing over the past few years, but sometimes people pick older songs, earlier back in the catalog and we’ll throw those in the set.  So it’s just kind of a fun thing to switch it up a little, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM:  Right.  So you said that you kinda tally up the votes on that, so do you get to see all of the songs?  Have you seen any really cool songs that anyone’s requested that may not particularly be your song, but you said “Wow, I’ve never really played that live before, it’d be pretty cool.”?

JONNY LANG:  Yeah, I think people are just trying to be a little funny (laughs).  They’ll put in a Lynyrd Skynyrd song like “Free Bird”…

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)

JONNY LANG:  But uh, you know nothing really that out of the ordinary or strange.  No Steely Dan requests or anything like that, so.  (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  How about, I know you used to play a little Jimi Hendrix when you first started out.  Any of that coming back at all?

JONNY LANG:  Ya know, not really.  Um, yeah we used to do “Spanish Castle Magic”.  No, we haven’t done that in a while, but that’s a good idea, we might do that one.

AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah, I actually remember you playing that.  The first time I ever saw you play, was back in 1997, it was at what was then the Meadows Music Theatre in Hartford, CT.  You were about 16 at the time, and opening up for Aerosmith, and I remember saying to myself “Man, this kid’s only 16, and not only is he opening up for one of the greatest rock bands in the world, he’s actually giving ‘em a run for their money”.  I was just blown away by your performance.  What was it like back then, when you found out your first big tour was gonna be with those guys?  Were you intimidated? Excited?

JONNY LANG:  Man, just excited. And ya know they didn’t really give us a reason to be intimidated, they were all just so nice to us.  Yeah, they were just really great guys, and it was just fun.  It was a blast.

AWAY-TEAM:  Speaking of young talent, your younger sister Jessica (Jesse Langseth) was actually a semi-finalist on Season 8 of American Idol.  Has she been coming to you for advice or help? Or is she more of a “If I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do it on my own” type of person?

JONNY LANG:  You know, she’s really smart. And uh, she’s very street smart too, and socially very capable.  So…she doesn’t need much help from big brother, but yeah we talk about stuff like that.  But yeah she’s got her head screwed on pretty good, so.

AWAY-TEAM:  Any chance we might see you working together in the future?

JONNY LANG:  Oh yeah.  There’s always a chance of that. Ya know, she’s um, she’s kinda I think taking a little bit of a break from the music thing at the moment.  But, it’s her passion.  It’s what she loves to do, so I’m sure she’ll be doing it for the rest of her life, on and off at least.

AWAY-TEAM:  Hey, that’s great.  She’s got the drive…..Now, back to tour mates, and collaborations.  You’ve toured and collaborated with people from all genres of music.  Ya know, from The Rolling Stones, to Buddy Guy, BB King, Sting, you’ve even played Crossroads with Eric Clapton.  And actually most recently, you played on Cyndi Lauper’s new album.  Is that correct?

JONNY LANG:  Yeah.  Yeah man, she made an incredible album.  I haven’t heard the final, I guess, version of it, but. Yeah she recorded it in Memphis, and it’s basically, ya know older soul and blues tunes, and she recorded it old school, one take-no overdubs kind of thing.  Man, she understands that music incredibly well, and is singing amazingly on it.  So I’m really excited for that record.  We’re actually doing some upcoming television shows for that record. (June 22nd and 24th, on The Howard Stern Show, and Regis and Kelly, respectively)

 AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah, I thought it was a really cool little twist for her music.  That was pretty cool.

JONNY LANG:  Yeah dude, she’s a deep, she’s a real deep person.  A true artist, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well if you could choose one person, from any genre, that you haven’t worked with, to do a collaboration with, who would it be?

JONNY LANG:  Man… It’s a tie between James Taylor and Stevie Wonder I’d say.  Those two, that would be just a dream come true.

AWAY-TEAM:  Wow, that would make for a great project.

JONNY LANG:  Yeah, they’re my favorites.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now back in 2000, you tragically lost your bassist Doug Nelson, right around that same time you kinda found your faith.  You were drinking heavily, and doing a little bit of drugs, and then thankfully found God.  Was Doug’s death ultimately what set you on that path?  Or when did you sort of hit “rock bottom” and decide it was time to turn things around?

JONNY LANG:  Man, I really didn’t have a like “rock bottom” experience per se, I was loving the partying and stuff like that.  So it was more that God just kinda stopped me in my tracks so to speak.  But, yeah you know what, Doug’s death happened a while after I kinda, I guess started my relationship with God.  It definitely affected my life, ya know he was a close friend, and a great guy, and when you lose somebody close to you it gives you a good healthy check on how important life is, and ya know, makes you realize what things are important, and what things you’re kinda just wasting your time with.  But yeah, he was a great friend, and just a great guy.

AWAY-TEAM:  The album “Turn Around”, which came out in 2006, earned you a Grammy for Best Gospel Album.  That was actually your last studio album, so when can we expect some new JONNY LANG?

JONNY LANG:  I’ve kinda started working on the next studio record, and it’s still in the trying to figure out where it’s going stage, I guess.  Stylistically, I’m trying to figure it out.  I’ve never written so many songs before, so there’s tons of songs to pick from, and uh.  It’s weird, every album cycle is different, it’s a different experience, and this one is just kinda moving slow for some reason.  Sometimes it happens right away, and sometimes it doesn’t, ya know.  I guess the main goal is to come up with something that is, you don’t wanna compromise the quality of it just to get it out there, so I try to make a good record no matter how long it takes. (laughs)

 AWAY-TEAM:  That’s important.  Now, you said that you were searching stylistically for what this new album’s gonna be like.  Should we be looking for something closer to the Gospel on “Turn Around” or closer to your roots on “Lie to Me”?

JONNY LANG:  Um, man, I really don’t know, actually.  I think it’s gonna end up being more of a fusion of like soul music and um, I guess just it’ll be more about the songwriting.  Ya know it might be more about the songs on this one, than the last one…if that makes sense.

AWAY-TEAM:  So more stress on the lyrics, as opposed to the actual musical composition?

JONNY LANG:  I think both.  But I think, it may be a little bit more intricate, as far as the musical arrangement and the lyrics go, ya know.  A little bit more of a crafted album, if that makes sense.  So, at least for me, (laughs) take a little bit more time with it.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well I’m certainly looking forward to it.  I know you’ve done a little bit of acting in the past, as well.  You were in “Blues Brothers 2000″, and an episode of “The Drew Carey Show”, that was all back in 1998.  Can we expect to see…

JONNY LANG:  (laughs)  I don’t know if it was acting.  It was more like just standing there trying to not look like an idiot. (laughing) But, yeah man. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughing)  So you might’ve just answered my question.  So, no more acting in your future?  Is that right?

JONNY LANG:  Probably not. Man it terrifies the life out of me.  I am not a natural born actor, for sure.  It scares me.  (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  I mean you play in front of 20-30,000, and it’s like second nature, but I guess acting is just a whole different realm, huh?

JONNY LANG:  I guess so man.  I guess when you’re on a stage and you’re kinda far away from people, you feel like you’re kinda isolated in a weird way.  It’s not as nerve-wracking for some reason in my mind.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well, one more question…you now live in California, and your manager Greg Classen, like myself, is from Massachusetts.  Who’s gonna win Game 7 tonight Celtics or Lakers?

JONNY LANG:  (laughing) Oh boy…well, being a guy who’s from Minnesota, as far as sports go anyway, I don’t really have a team, although I do live in L.A.  Ya know, I don’t know man, it’s such a good series, I would love to see Boston win.  Just because, that particular L.A. team has had such a good record, so it’d be nice to see Boston win for a change.

AWAY-TEAM:  I knew I liked you for a reason. (laughs)

JONNY LANG:  (laughs)  Yeah dude, I think I really like Boston a bit, because they’re more of like “street ballers”.  They’re like more rough, ya know, rough around the edges. So I kinda like that, I like their style.  But who knows man, it’s gonna be a good one.  (Sadly, I was hoping for Jonny to get his wish.  And we all know what happened.  Dammit.)

AWAY-TEAM:  Well, hey man, thank you so much for your time.  It’s been a great honor to speak with you…

JONNY LANG:  Aw, thanks man.

AWAY-TEAM:  Unfortunately, this last time you came around, just recently you were here in Ft. Lauderdale, and I was unable to make it out to the show.  but I’ll certainly be there next time you pass through Florida.

JONNY LANG:  Yeah dude, if you come out man, come back and say hey.

AWAY-TEAM:  I sure will…

JONNY LANG:  Call Greg, or the label, or something, and come back  and get hooked up man.

AWAY-TEAM:  Hey, if you wanna beat up on someone on the links (Jonny had just finished up on the golf course when we spoke) too ya know I’m free there.

JONNY LANG:  Oh dude, let’s do it.  I need a golf partner man, nobody here plays golf, so I usually end up playing by myself.  So that’d be cool man.

AWAY-TEAM:  I don’t know if what I do is called golf, but I’ll sure try. (laughs)

JONNY LANG:  (laughs)  Cool man, that sounds good.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well, hey man, thanks again, and like I said, next time you’re around I’ll definitely make it a point to get together with you.  Hopefully we’ll be talking about another Grammy here.

JONNY LANG:  (laughs)  I hope so man.  (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  Alright brother, well good luck tonight with the show, and with the rest of your tour, and hopefully we’ll be talking soon.

JONNY LANG:  Thank you man.  Thank you.  Take care.

AWAY-TEAM:  Take it easy.

JONNY LANG:  Bye.

For more information on Jonny Lang, such as tour dates, to request a song for one of those dates,  as well as to pick up his latest album visit http://www.jonnylang.com/

Special thanks go to Jonny Lang for so graciously giving me his time, Jonny’s manager Greg Classen for helping to coordinate things, and to Amanda Cagan at ABC PR for making this all possible.

Photos courtesy of Wayne Crans at Dead Bird Photography.

AEROSMITH have announced the following North American tour dates:

Jul. 23 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
Jul. 26 – Paso Robles, CA @ California Mid-State Fair
Jul. 29 – Irvine, CA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Jul. 31 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Garden Arena
Aug. 03 – Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Amphitheatre
Aug. 05 – Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 07 – Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
Aug. 09 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ BankAtlantic Center
Aug. 12 – Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 14 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park
Aug. 17 – Toronto, ONT @ Air Canada Centre
Aug. 19 – Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
Aug. 22 – Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheater
Aug. 24 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNJ Bank Arts Center
Aug. 26 – Syracuse, NY @ New York State Fair
Aug. 28 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Boardwalk Hall
Aug. 31 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace at Auburn Hills
Sep. 02 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Sep. 04 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena

For more information check out their website here.