Away Team

JOHN 5 is pleased to announce the new release date for his impressive upcoming full-length solo CD/DVD, God Told Me To. The CD/DVD will be released through Rocket Science Ventures and Sony/RED on May 8th, 2012—just days before he heads out to perform with Rob Zombie on their upcoming co-headliner with Megadeth. God Told Me To was recorded and produced by JOHN 5, Chris Baseford (Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee) and Bob Marlette (Sebastian Bach, Black Sabbath) in 2011. The cover art for the album is illustrated by none other than Rob Zombie, who is also tapping JOHN 5 to score the entirety of his upcoming film, ‘The Lords of Salem’.

JOHN 5 doesn’t just play the guitar. His guitar is an extension of his soul and through it his music has become the Frankenstein birth penetrating the ear drums of fans and admirers worldwide. For JOHN 5, the music is not just about playing, but living, breathing, feeling and passion. His impressive resume has seen him work with some of the most renowned musicians in the industry (Rob Halford, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie to name a few), and has cemented his name into the annals of rock history.

The CD portion of the release features ten painstakingly handcrafted pieces transcending multiple styles—an equal combination of acoustic and electronically influenced tracks—each designed to gradually reveal JOHN 5’s innovative interpretation of his instrument. The orchestration of God Told Me To showcases JOHN 5’s ability to master the subtlety of dynamics, thus emphasizing the overall production value of this body of work. God Told Me To stands tall as a stunning, audible cultural experience.

The DVD portion of the release is hosted by retro-style horror-host Mike Odd and takes a look inside the world of JOHN 5 during his terrifying trip into the realm of God Told Me To. The DVD features footage of JOHN 5 in the studio while working on the new album, exclusive videos taken on tour, a peek inside the photo shoot for his 2011 remix album Remixploitation, and more.

“I’m so proud of this record, I’ve put more time into this release than any other! It’s half acoustic and the other half electric with a tribute to Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen with ‘Beat It’,” states JOHN 5. “The DVD shows me actually recording the songs as well as behind the scenes of a “day in the life” of JOHN 5! This album will take you on a musical journey designed to show more diversity in my playing than in the past. Enjoy!”

JOHN 5 continues to branch out, coupling his solo career with his work in Rob Zombie. His five previous solo albums, up to his 2010 release, Art of Malice, continue to break new molds in solo instrumentalist work. JOHN 5 also continues to work in 2012 with other artists including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rod Stewart, and is currently working on new music for Rob Zombie’s upcoming album.

JOHN 5 Performing with ROB ZOMBIE on Co-Headliner with MEGADETH:
5/11 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
5/12 Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
5/16 Pittsburgh, PA@ Stage AE
5/18 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Deltaplex
5/20 Columbus, OH @ Columbus Crew Stadium (Rock On The Range)
5/22 La Crosse, WI @ La Crosse Center
5/24 Sioux City, IA @ Tyson Center
5/25 Wichita, KS @ Hartman Arena
5/26 Pryor, OK @ Fever Music Festival Grounds (Rocklahoma)









For more JOHN 5 click here.

BEE GEES
In Our Own Time
Eagle Rock Entertainment
8 out of 10

So why are we reviewing a BEE GEES DVD on a hard rock/metal music website? Because I grew up in the 70s. And there was no bigger band in the late 70s than the BEE GEES. Saturday Night Fever came out in 1977 about the Disco scene in New York. If the Producer of the film didn’t fight for them, they’d have never been on the soundtrack, and that may have meant that you may have never heard of the BEE GEES. That soundtrack is the second best selling soundtrack ever. No children, Titanic did not outsell Saturday Night Fever. That’s how huge the soundtrack is.

So while I expected the DVD to be more of a concert what I got was the extensive history of the band. Most people only know of the ‘disco era’ BEE GEES, but they started out on TV in 1960, 17 years prior to Saturday Night Fever! Brian Epstein the manager of the Beatles was sent a demo of them and after watching a sound check had them come to his office and sign a contract that afternoon.

Their sound began in the true early 60’s rock genre. Think Beatles and early Rolling Stones. Through the 60s and into the 70s their sound matured as they did. They had several hits long before their disco sound; New York Mining Disaster 1941 was their second single and first top 20 radio hit in 1967. To Love Somebody was their second big hit that has since been covered by Gram Parsons, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin, The Animals, Nina Simone, Otis Redding, and more.

Almost by accident in the early 70s Barry Gibb in the studio found out he had a falsetto voice as well as his regular singing voice. And that is when the BEE GEES sound solidified, and they took the world over, if only for a short period of time.

They had more top ten songs that they wrote for other people in country, rock, pop, and soul, than they had as recording artists themselves. Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, & Celine Dion are just a few of the artists to top the charts with BEE GEES penned songs.

The DVD also covers the deaths of Andy and Maurice, the trials of the road, the studio, brothers in family and in a band, and shouldering the stigma of ‘the band that killed disco’.

Would you call them an influential band? I don’t think so (Faith No More did cover their I Started A Joke for what it’s worth), but if you are a child of the 70s and you still own your original vinyl copy of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, and still play it, Tragedy, and other BEE GEES classic tunes on your iPod like I do, then this DVD is just for you. As told by the BEE GEES themselves.

The only thing missing on the DVD is a concert (which is why I gave it an 8 out of 10). It would have been a great way to finish off the story that is the BEE GEES. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick up BEE GEES In Our Own Time. It just means that after you watch and learn how proliferant that the BEE GEES are, you should go pick up BEE GEES One Night Only as a great companion piece.

To purchase BEE GEES In Our Own Time click here.
To purchase BEE GEES One Night Only click here.
For more BEE GEES click here.

From Pollstar.com:

BBC consumer affairs programme “Watchdog” claims tickets sold by Ticketmaster are immediately being resold on its secondary site at vastly inflated prices.
Researchers for the programme say they spent an hour trying to buy James Blunt tickets on the morning they went on sale, while the Ticketmaster site claimed none was available.
However, within 30 minutes tickets for the show were being advertised on Getmein.com, the company’s resale site, for five times their face value.
The programme also spoke to a Rod Stewart fan who tried to buy a ticket for Stewart’s London O2 show as soon as it went on sale. She found that tickets sold out in minutes. After 20 minutes, she began checking Getmein and other secondary sites and found tickets priced at three and four times face value.
Ticketmaster told “Watchdog” that Getmein is a marketplace where fans can buy tickets at a fair price without the hassle of dealing with touts, although the programme suggested the company isn’t doing enough to stop its tickets being bought with the sole purpose of being immediately resold for a huge profit.

Read the rest of the article here.

Ticketmaster was recently hit with a class action lawsuit, you can read more about the suit and how to join it here.