Music: Rock & Metal Profs

THE ROCK & METAL PROFS

WITH MATT ALSCHBACH & DR. COURT LEWIS

Associate professors at Owensboro Community College and Pellissippi State Community College, respectively, Alschbach and Lewis host the popular podcast The Rock & Metal Profs: The History & Philosophy of Rock & Metal. Now they're bringing their keen insights to the pages of News 4U with a monthly deep dive into some of the best bands of the rock/metal genre and thoughts on music in general.

TAKE OFF THE BLINDERS

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of interviewing Tony Martin, the second longest tenured singer of Black Sabbath. You might not have heard of Tony Martin or any of his work with Sabbath, but he helped see the band through the late 80s and mid 90s, while producing some of their best music. During our recent Black Sabbath podcast on the Martin era, we asked ourselves: why did we have blinders on during this fabulous time of Sabbath’s history? Let’s face it, whether politics, music, or TV we all wear blinders from time to time, and so, miss many extraordinary moments and memories because we refuse to see what is directly in front of us. Sometimes, however, we are lucky enough to see beyond our blinders and enjoy things before they are lost to us forever.

In the early 1980s, Matt won an album produced by London-based rockers UFO. At the time, he didn’t think much of the record, and largely disregarded their impressive catalog. It was only in his forties that he rediscovered UFO largely because so many other great rock bands cited them as an influence. He’s since come to view that band as one of the greatest in history, with a catalog spanning 50 years and a legacy too monumental to recount here. Matt now owns every UFO album and in multiple formats, as well as a number of rarities. We got a chance to see UFO perform live twice, and for Matt it was a religious experience. Even though their classic 70s guitarist Michael Schenker is no longer in the band, it didn’t matter. The songs are timeless, and the gents in UFO proved that age doesn’t always mean a diminishing of skills. They were masterful in concert. Matt even got to meet the band during their U.S. farewell tour in 2019 - photos, autographs, and a chance to tell the guys in UFO how much the band and their music meant to him. It was special.

Now is the time to get out there and rediscover what you once purposely or inadvertently overlooked. Life is too short to ignore great music! If you ignored a band like Sabbath because they changed their singer, then just pretend it’s a different band - we promise neither Ozzy nor Dio (or Ray Gillen) will be upset with you. Don’t let blinders cause regret and rob you of the enjoyment of good rock and metal.

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: MATT ALSCHBACH

AND DR. COURT LEWIS The Rock & Metal Profs podcast is available on iTunes, Google and Spotify.