AUGUST 2022
Rock And Blues International Peter Hook
Peter Hook & The Light’s ‘Joy Division Start U.S. Tour
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Bob Margolin & Bob Corritore Blancos Night Crickets Duran Duran John Legend Megadeth and more!
Rock And Blues International August 2022 Hello Rock And Blues International readers. I hope everybody had a great July. First off, I’d like to let everybody know that with this issue we kick off our third year of business. I’d like to thank all the publicists and readers that have supported us for the last two years. Thank you very much! I’ve got to tell you that I’ve been having a great time getting going back to the concerts again. It reminded me just why I love this business. Just a few of the acts that I’ve seen lately include Rod Stewart, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Kid Rock, The Eagles, and The Who. It’s been fantastic getting back to my old normal self. I hope all of you are doing the same Also, be sure to check out all the tour announcements and ads in this issue. If you’re a publicist and your act doesn’t have a tour announcement in here, then you’re client is really missing out. Don’t leave them by the wayside. And now on to the August issue of Rock And Blues International. In this issue you can read stories about Peter Hook and The Light. They’re back on tour in North America this month. We’ve got a great story by Edoardo Fassio about the Italian Blues band Blancos. There are stories on the the Blues band GA-20, Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore. Bob M. and Bob C. have got a new acoustic duo album out now. Also in this issue you can read stories about Al Basile Jon Geiger, Los Rivera Destino, Dylan, Cigarbox Man, Michele Morrone, Chad Ross, Duran Duran, John Legend, Dawes and Bahamas, MuMu, Karl Sanders, Megadeth, and more! As you can see, there are a lot of varied genres of music here for you to check out, or as we like to say, there’s a little of something for everyone here. We have even included the current installment of the novella, “The Biker”. Read it and than email us back with your thoughts on this. Should we continue it or should we scrap it? I sincerely hope that everybody reading this publication finds something here that they like and I would like to encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about us. Just look for us every month at http://www.rockandbluesinternational.com. I would also like to encourage you to email us for a free subscription to Rock And Blues International as well. Just email us at rockandbluesinternational@gmail.com and in the subject line simply put “Sign Me Up” and we’ll email you a link to the magazine each month when it is published.
Kevin Wildman Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher
Rock And Blues International Kevin Wildman Editor and Publisher
Web Address Http://www.rockandbluesinternational.com Mailing Address Box 1162, League City, TX 77573 Phone 281-650-1953
For Advertising email us at rockandbluesinternational@gmail.com or call 281-650-1953 For A Free Subscription email us at rockandblues international@gmail.com and in the subject line put “Sign Me Up Now” August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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Contents
VOL. 3 NO .1
AUGUST 2022
ISSUE NO. 25
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Page 6 PETER HOOK and THE LIGHT Peter Hook & The Light’s Joy Division: A Celebration’ North American Tour
Page 10 BOB MARGOLIN and BOB CORRITORE Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore Release Acoustic Duo Album “So Far”
Page 32 NIGHT CRICKETS
Page 8 GA-20 Blues Trio GA-20 Announces New Album “Crackdown” 4
Rock and Blues International • August 2022
Night Crickets, David J (Bauhaus), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes), and Darwin Meiners share new video for “The Unreliable Narrator”, Debut album LP just released
Contents
VOL. 3 NO. 1
AUGUST 2022
ISSUE NO. 25
Page 82 - THE BIKER In This Issue: Page 44 DURAN DURAN Duran Duran Announce Limited 12” Vinyl Release of “All Of You” (Erol Alkan Extended Rework) Out October 14
Page 52 JOHN LEGEND John Legend Shares The Video For His New Single “Honey”, Featuring Muni Long From His Forthcoming Album
6 8 10 14 16 18 20 21 24 26 27 28 30 32 34 35 36 40 44 46 48 50 51 52 54 56 62 64 66 68 72 74 78 80 82
Peter Hook & The Light GA-20 Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore Al Basile Jon Geiger Karen Lawrence Blancos - (English) Blancos - (Italian) Vola Los Rivera Destino - (English) Los Rivera Destino - (Spanish Shad “TAO” Dylan Night Crickets Cigarbox Man - (English) Cigarbox Man - (Spanish) Michele Morrone Chad Ross Duran Duran God Alone Macklemore Love Star (English) Love Star (Spanish) John Legend Dawes and Bahamas MuMu FCG Heem Karl Sanders Megadeth The Schizophonics Conan Powerwolf Roxy Music Blondie The Biker August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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Music News From The U.K.
Cr: Neil Chapman / Unholy Racket
Peter Hook & The Light’s ‘Joy Division: A Celebration’ North American Tour Launching August 11 in Toronto 26 Dates See The Light Tour Both Joy Division LPs “Unknown Pleasures” & “Closer” In Full With Opening Set Of New Order Material For The First Time In The United States & Canada NEW “CEREMONY” LIVE VIDEO RELEASED AT YOUTUBE HERE bit.ly/TheLightCeremonyMacclesfieldYouTube For details and ticket links go to www.peterhookandthelight.live Follow Peter Hook & The Light: Web @ http://www.peterhookandthelight.live Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/peterhook_thelight%20/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/peterhook Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/peterhookandthelight “So yeah, from that point of view, it’s actually nice to bring the two albums together [live]: you can see the contrast quite vividly when we play them. I do get some very almost teary moments. It has been quite interesting because Closer really does have a big effect on people, from an emotional point of view. Unknown Pleasures is very aggressive, it’s very punky, so live, it really rocks. Whereas Closer is almost the exact opposite: it’s very melancholic. It draws you in, and I must admit not only does it get a very emotional response from us while playing it, but you get an emotional response from the audience.” - Peter Hook, in an interview with Big Takeover A massive cross cross-continental journey, taking them across the United States and Canada in August and September 2022 for their biggest and most extensive trek to date, Peter Hook & The Light’s “Joy Division: A Celebration” North American tour launches August
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11 in Toronto. Since announcing the tour last summer both Chicago shows at Metro are sold-out and joining as special guests will be El Ten Eleven in Chicago (both shows), Boston, Silver Springs, MD, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. At some twenty-six dates overall, the tour takes place across five weeks as the band return to some venues and debut at others to perform Joy Division’s seminal two albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer in full with additional Joy Division rarities and an opening set of New Order material. The tour follows the debut UK dates for “Joy Division: A Celebration” which commemorate the 40th anniversary of Joy Division and Ian Curtis’ continuing influence. Returning for his ninth tour of the States with Peter Hook & The Light, Hooky comments: “Definitely one of the highlights/ continued on next page
(continued from previous page) lowlights of my profession is the travelling. It was amazing what a blessing it was not to have to do it over lockdown but amazing again how soon you missed seeing all these wonderful places the world has to offer. You lot in America are so lucky to have such a varied and wonderful country. I can’t wait to get back there, and my mouth is watering at the thought of going to my first ‘Coffee Shop’ breakfast. I am easily pleased. “We have always been lucky to have been appreciated as much as we have in the States, ever since our first tour in September 1980. I am hoping for much the same this time. There is definitely a great appreciation for both Joy Division’s & New Order’s music.”
Cr: Richard Gray popular culture, holding a sincere reverence. The albums are played sequentially in track order, respecting the inspiration and impact of the stunning debut album Unknown Pleasures and the immaculately produced second Closer. In addition to the albums, the concerts span the entirety of Joy Division’s rich but short career including early Warsaw material, tracks from the compilation LP Still to the final songs “Ceremony” and “In a Lonely Place” written by Joy Division which were to form New Order’s first single. On Peter Hook And The Light Live
These first dates were originally scheduled for May 2020, but due to the pandemic have only just taken place in the UK and across France to great reviews and reactions from fans and critics alike to The Light’s dedication to and passion for the catalogue across what is a near three-hour show. About the reaction on returning to live concerts, Hooky added; “The gigs so far have all been wonderful and the fans and the band have been wonderful too! It does nothing for my imposter syndrome;( “ “I am very grateful that we have all risen back to this after what we have been through these past few years. Thank you all. We have a lot to be thankful for. Ian Curtis R.I.P.” Aside from some one-off incidental dates such as The Roxy in Los Angeles, the “Joy Division: A Celebration” run of dates is the first time the band have toured both iconic albums in the same show in North America and the concerts are bound to be hugely special for the many devoted fans of the band. With double concerts at the same venue announced for the opening nights in Toronto and then in Chicago, Austin, and Los Angeles the tour also takes in Montreal, Royal Oak, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Boston, Silver Spring, Philadelphia, New York, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. These Joy Division album shows have become much less common for The Light as they moved through their progression of touring the New Order albums in succession in the twelve years since Hooky began his odyssey through both his bands’ back catalogues. That journey has seen them now perform his bands’ albums all round the world including numerous tours of North and South America, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and Asia. The influence of Joy Division and their music remains strong in
“I urge you to try and catch this Peter Hook & The Light tour as it goes around the UK, USA, Australia & New Zealand and you will see just how important Joy Division are…” - Total Rock “‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is a masterpiece that has stood the test of decades, and is the perfect ending to a superb event…” Yorkshire Post ‘A masterclass in euphoria and heartache in equal measure.... The chronology of the set played perfectly as high spirits continued to grow right up until the end of the show.” - Gigwise “A 29 song setlist is an impressive undertaking and it was incredible to see one of the great guitarists of the last 50 years. Hooky is certainly doing a fantastic job of continuing Ian Curtis’ legacy and keeping Joy Division’s music relevant to the modern day.” - The Mic Magazine “Peter Hook and The Light never disappoint; you can see they’re giving it their all and enjoying it at the same time. Just a brilliant live band.” - Music Fiends “A real treat.” - LA Record “It was certainly one of those special shows were the venue, artist, and fans all clicked perfectly to make for a very memorable experience and a blazing hot and awesome show by a legendary artist and performer, who in my opinion is the heart and soul of New Order keeping the most authentic live performance of their music alive for old and new fans.” - Rock Subculture “By focusing solely on the music and allowing the songs inherent structure to do the heavy lifting instead of blowing them up into pseudo-stadium cuts, their inherent virtues were that much more apparent. Frankly, these songs rock......This is Peter Hook and his band taking a chance, dusting off wrongly ignored tunes, and kicking ass.” - Punk News August 2022 • Rock and Blues International 7
Blues Trio GA-20 Announces New Album “Crackdown” ALBUM DROPS SEPTEMBER 9th! New Single “Easy On The Eyes” Available Now Via Colemine / Karma Chief Records 8
Rock and Blues International • August 2022
GA-20 clearly is on to something big. It’s a movement, a new traditional blues revival. The dynamic, throwback blues trio are disciples of the place where traditional blues, country and rock ‘n’ roll intersect. “We make records that we would want to listen to,” says guitarist Matt Stubbs. “It’s our take on the song-based traditional electric blues we love.” Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman have been at the forefront of this traditional blues revival since they first formed in 2018. It’s no wonder they skyrocketed to the top of the Billboard Blues Chart. According to Stubbs, “Since we started the band we’ve focused on the story, the melody, and on creating a mood. Playing live as much as we do, we’re finding more and more that people are discovering how cool it all is. Traditional country, soul and funk music have all had these massive recent revivals, but traditional blues so far has not.” With their new Colemine album, Crackdown, and an intensive tour schedule, that’s all about to change. On Crackdown, GA-20’s third full-length release, the band creates an unvarnished, ramshackle blues that is at once traditional and refreshingly modern. Expanding on their previous releases (2019’s Lonely Soul and 2021’s Try It…You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor) GA-20 finds inspiration on the edges of the genre, where early electric blues first converged with country and rock ‘n’ roll. The album’s nine original songs include the loping, Louisiana-flavored “Dry Run,” the dirty, and bare-bones “Easy On The Eyes” and the melodic, garage-tinged “Fairweather Friend.” With tight, propulsive performances and a brevity and punk energy reminiscent of The Ramones, Crackdown is rowdy and fun, filled with instantly memorable and well-crafted songs. GA-20’s new studio album Crackdown will be available on vinyl, CD and digital/streaming platforms September 9th via Colemine Records / Karma Chief Records. Pre-save / Preorder: https://ffm.to/kcr12007 Crackdown Tracklist: 1. Fairweather Friend 2. Dry Run 3. Easy On The Eyes 4. Crackdown 5. Just Because 6. By My Lonesome 7. I Let Someone In 8. Double Gettin’ 9. Gone For Good 10. Fairweather Friend (Final Goodbye)
Website @ www.ga20band.com Facebook @ www.facebook.com/GA20blues Instagram @ www.instagram.com/ga20band YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCU6asn78UCHxIIoCtAkz55A/ featured
GA-20 TOUR DATES ^^ CO BILL w/ TYLER BRYANT & THE SHAKEDOWN ## SAGE MOTEL TOUR w/ MONOPHONICS & KENDRA MORRIS 07/08 LEVITATE MUSIC FESTIVAL - MARSHFIELD MA 07/09 JOHNNIE JOHNSON FESTIVAL - FAIRMONT WV 07/15 WINTRHOP R&B FESTIVAL - WINTHROP WA 08/10 BEACHLAND BALLROOM & TAVERN CLEVELAND OH 08/11 RIVERSEDGE - HAMILTON OH ^^ 08/12 ILLINOIS STATE FAIR - SPRINGFIELD IL ^^ 08/13 HI-FI - INDIANAPOLIS IN ^^ 08/19 WHITE MOUNTAIN BOOGIE & BLUES FEST TraingggggTHORNTON NH 08/20 STARLITE - SOUTHBRIDGE MA 08/26 BIG BLUES BENDER - LAS VEGAS NV 08/27 BIG BLUES BENDER - LAS VEGAS NV 09/13 CLUB CONGRESS - TUCSON AZ 09/14 RHYTHM ROOM - PHOENIX AZ 09/15 MUSIC BOX - SAN DIEGO CA ## 09/16 THE FONDA THEATRE - LOS ANGELES CA ## 09/17 THE INDEPENDENT - SAN FRANCISCO CA ## 09/18 THE CATALYST - SANTA CRUZ CA ## 09/21 IMPERIAL THEATER - VANCOUVER BC ## 09/22 THE CROCODILE - SEATTLE WA ## 09/23 WONDER BALLROOM - PORTLAND OR ## 09/24 TBA - BOISE ID ## 09/25 BING CROSBY THEATER - SPOKANE WA ## 09/28 SOUNDWELL - SALT LAKE CITY UT ## 09/29 FOX THEATRE - BOULDER CO ## 09/30 CERVANTES BALLROOM - DENVER CO ## 10/01 WAVE - WICHITA KS ## 10/03 FINE LINE - MINNEAPOLIS MN ## 10/04 BUR OAK - MADISON WI 10/05 SHANK HALL - MILWAUKEE WI ## 10/06 CHOP SHOP - CHICAGO IL ## 10/07 MADISON THEATER - CINCINNATI OH ## 10/08 BUCKHEAD THEATRE - ATLANTA GA ## 10/09 MUSIC FARM - CHARLESTON SC ## 10/12 SALVAGE STATION - ASHEVILLE NC ## 10/13 THE UNDERGROUND - CHARLOTTE NC ## 10/14 9:30 CLUB - WASHINGTON DC ## 10/15 MUSIC HALL OF WILLAMSBURG – BROOKLYN NY ## 10/16 THE MIDDLE EAST - BOSTON MA ## 10/28 THE NARROWS - FALL RIVER MA August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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Bob Margolin
Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore Release Acoustic Duo Album “So Far” with special guest Jimmy Vivino On Vizztone Records Longtime friends and heroes in the Blues World, Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore collaborate as an acoustic duo album for the first time on the new album, “So Far”. With no ryhthm section or electric instruments, it’s pure acoustic “Bobs”, plus special guest guitarist-vocalist Jimmy Vivino on two songs. Bob M wrote seven new songs and Bob C marches an original instrumental. They also cover some of their favorite songs. Bob M’s 1935 acoustic guitar and Bob C’s un-amped harp reveal personal, intimate performances informed by decades of friendship and gigs together. It all started when Bob Corritore saw Bob Margolin playing in Muddy Waters’ band at his high school in 1974. They have both pursued such an intensely directed path in the Blues, it seems like this meeting was inevitable. Now here they are, So Far… BOB MAGOLIN was born in Boston in 1949, played in local Rock and Blues bands until he was hired by Muddy Waters in 1973. He spent seven years at Muddy’s right side, playing on Grammy-winning albums and 10
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star-studded shows including Martin Scorcese’s classic film of The Band’s farewell concert experience, “The Last Waltz.” In 1980 Bob started touring with his own band and doing special shows and guest appearances with many wellknown artists from the Rock and Blues Worlds. Bob released his own albums on Powerhouse Records, Alligator, Blind Pig, and Steady Rollin’/VizzTone, (of which he is a founding partner). He produced and performed on albums for countless Blues artists and produced and consulted on Muddy Waters reissues or the Blue Sky label (Sony/Legacy). Bob appeared at a Kennedy Center tribute, scripted and appeared in instructional videos for Hal Leonard Publishing, and wrote and released the e-Book, “Steady Rollin’”. Bob has played on several Grammy-winning recordings, won numerous W.C. Handy/Blues Music Awards for his playing and producing, and is a Keeping The Blues Alive Award recipient for Journalism. Bob appeared in and toured with the star-studded “Last Waltz Tour” productions led by Warren Haynes in 2017 and and 2019, which currently gearing up for 2022. Bob tours constantly, all over the world, wherever his road takes him. BOB CORRITORE was born in Chicago in 1956, and heard Muddy Waters on the radio at age 12, an event which changed his life forever. Within a year he was playing harmonica and collecting blues albums. He saw blues shows in his early teens, and cut his teeth sitting in on Maxwell Street until he was old enough to get in the clubs. He hung around great harp players such as Big Walter Horton, Little Mack Simmons, continued on next page
Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore (continued from previous page) Louis Myers and Junior Wells, and received harmonica tips and encouragement from many of them. Bob became friends with many blues veterans, working with many of them in the late 70s and 80s, and going into the studio to produce some classic albums. In 1981 Bob ventured southwest to live in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was soon joined by Chicagoland friend Louisiana Red. Bob started his still-running Blues radio show in 1984, and in 1991 opened the now famous Blues and Roots Concert club, The Rhythm Room. In 1999 Bob released his first CD as a national recording artist. His many albums have now been released on Hightone, Blue Witch, and Delta Groove, and digging into his vast vault of recordings, Bob has released 10 albums since 2018 through his own Southwest Musical Arts Foundation in affiliation with VizzTone. Bob’s work has garnered a Keeping The Blues Alive Award, Blues Music Award, Living Blues Award, and Blues 411 Jimi Award. Bob remains very active with his own releases as well as numerous guest appearances on others’ albums. He
Bob Corritore performs regularly across the country and around the world with numerous projects. Bob has also become well known for organizing multi-artist showcase sets and events featuring traditional blues artists. JIMMY VIVINO (aka Jimmy V) has always considered himself “A blues
man with a job”. Although best known for serving 26 years as Conan O’Brien’s musical director, guitarist and bandleader, his experience in the music business predates that by 20 plus years. Jimmy V has produced, led bands and recorded with a countless number of rock and roll and blues artists for five decades, including the likes of Hubert Sumlin, Warren Haynes, Bob Weir, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Johnnie Johnson, Son Seals, Shemekia Copeland, Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Dion, Laura Nyro, Bob Margolin, Lowell Fulson, John Sebastian, Joe Louis Walker and All Kooper, to name a few. When not producing, recording or touring with other artists, Jimmy still tours the country and the world with his own band and is due to release a new blues album later on this year (2022). Both Bob Margolin and Bob Corritore have a busy performance calendar, but they’re planning to carve out some time to celebrate the new album together – so look for some acoustic duo gigs coming soon! May 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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Eight-Time Blues Music Award Nominee Al Basile Is Through with Cool on His New Blues/Roots CD Due August 19 from Sweetspot Records 14
Rock and Blues International • August 2022
Al Basile Eight-time Blues Music Awardnominated singer/songwriter/cornetist Al Basile announces an August 19 release date for his latest CD, Through with Cool, on Sweetspot Records, distributed by City Hall Records. Through with Cool benefits from Al Basile’s quickly- growing skills as his own producer, refining the sound of his last two production efforts Last Hand and B’s Testimony, as Basile directed all the aspects of the new project, recorded by Jack Gauthier at Lakewest Studios in West Greenwich, Rhode Island. Basile (vocals and cornet) is joined on the new disc by his veteran crew of New England music all-stars: Bruce Bears on keyboards, Brad Hallen on bass, Mark Teixeira on drums, Doug James on tenor sax and Jeff “Doc” Chanonhouse on trumpet, plus the guitar wizardry of multi-Blues Music Award nominee Kid Andersen. And fans of Basile’s signature cornet work will be pleased to know that his horn playing has reached another level on the new disc. “Through with Cool is the most completely realized of my 19 albums – the closest to what I heard on my head when I first conceived of the songs,” Basile says. “I’ve worked with Mark, Bruce, and Brad on ten CDs, and they know my music inside and out. The horns have been together on my projects multiple times. And Kid Andersen has outdone himself on his second time out, coming up with great rhythm parts and a rainbow of different guitar colors, each an enhancement to the songs. His versatility and taste show his nomination as best guitarist at this year’s BMAs was apt, and I turned him loose on a few extra-long solos that are spectacular. We’ve also stepped up our production game, with seamless teamwork between Jack Gauthier in the studio and Glenn Halverson in mastering on this, their second project together. It’s my best sounding record.” Other changes make this an improved Al Basile effort. “After a couple of years of vocal difficulties, which were finally diagnosed and healed, I’m singing with more ease and control on this one,” he reveals. “My voice is more responsive, and my phrasing has gained a smoothness that lets me do more with the words. And I spent many more hours practicing my horn during COVID, which has resulted in more control over my cornet sound and lots of fresh ideas. It’s great to be improving at these things I love to do as I
enter my mid-seventies. Of course, in the end it’s really all about the songs – that’s why I make records. I express myself by writing poems, plays, and songs – in the poems I’m on my own, but with plays and songs I need help to realize the vision. I’m blessed to have great collaborators who bring out the life in my writing and back me up like champs. We’re all proud of Through with Cool. It’s the product of many lifetimes spent by the guys and me, learning and refining the skills you hear on it.” Al Basile’s previous album releases have consistently made the top 20 on the Living Blues charts. He’s been nominated eight times for a BMA as Best Horn Player, and his 2016 release, Mid-Century Modern, was nominated as Best Contemporary Blues Album. He’s written hundreds of songs, some of which have been covered by Ruth Brown, Johnny Rawls, and the Knickerbocker All Stars. Guests on his own releases have included the Blind Boys of Alabama, Sista Monica Parker, Sugar Ray Norcia, Jerry Portnoy, and jazz great Scott Hamilton. Celebrated for his mastery of lyric writing as well as music, Al’s skill with words extends to his other career as a poet: he is published regularly in leading journals, has won prizes, and has three books in print collecting his work from the Seventies until the present day. For the last four years he has
taught lyric writing, led panels, and performed at poetry conferences. Born in Haverhill, Mass., on the north shore of Boston, Al was the first to receive a Master’s degree from Brown University’s writing program. He was the first trumpet player for Roomful of Blues in the midSeventies, and he’s enjoyed a long relationship as a co-writer and sideman during Robillard’s solo career since the Eighties, garnering credits as songwriter and trumpet player on a dozen of Duke’s CDs and DVDs. In 1998, he released his first solo CD on his own Sweetspot label. He also taught English, music, and physics in a private Rhode Island high school for 25 years before devoting himself to music and poetry full time in 2005. Through with Cool Track Listing 1. Keep on Living 2. My Hero 3. I’m Waiting 4. Say My Name 5. Two Legged Mule 6. Take your Time 7. Couldn’t Live With It 8. Not Anyplace at All 9. We Belong Together 10. Uh Huh 11. Turnabout is Fair Play 12. You Better Change Your Tune 13. We Lie on Your Grave 14. Through with Cool
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(both whom played with Miles Davis) were both as big a part of my path as Emily and Hiram. They would hand me off in some cases from one to the other when they toured,” recalls Geiger. “I studied at their knee in their homes and no one cheered louder when I got my scholarships,” Geiger says. After completing his studies in Boston, Jon promptly moved to Austin and began working alongside Austin’s numerous great musicians while playing Antone’s and the Texas’ numerous blues haunts. Presently, Jon and band continue their ascent on the Los Angeles music scene, with his unique blend of captivating guitar work, soaring vocals and artful songwriting. Geiger has opened for Robben Ford, John Mayall, Charlie Sexton, Doyle Bramhall, and Joe Ely among other greats.
Photo by Krystal Kozak
‘Hardest-Working BluesMan’ Guitarist Jon Geiger; SoCal Summer Tour ‘Hardest-Working Blues-Man’ Southern Californiabased blues-rock guitarist-vocalist Jon Geiger is doing his best to bring you the Blues (wherever you may be), with upcoming dates including A debut performance at THE New Blues Festival IX in Long Beach (September 3) and HIS return to popular longtime South Bay live music venue, The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach, on July 25 and September 25, where his band is also beginning a new Monthly Residency (full itinerary below). In the words of Music Connection Magazine, Jon Geiger cuts a vein for his audience. A veteran of the Austin music scene, Geiger grew up in New York and became a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu just to make it home from school safely on the tough streets of Harlem. The deep soul of BB King’s “Live at the Regal” and the ferocious intensity of Eric Clapton’s guitar work were life-changing for Jon. Playing guitar became Jon’s reason for living. The talent and passion of teenaged Jon were quickly recognized by jazz greats such as Emily Remler and Hiram Bullock, both whom took him on as a student. Remler even referred to Jon as her ‘protégé.’ His talent and hard work paid off with a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music. “John Scofield and Mike Stern 16 Rock and Blues International • August 2022 Photo By Krystal Kozak
Aug 21 (Sun) - Long Beach, CA @ Shenanigans Sept 3 (Sat) - Long Beach, CA @ New Blues Festival IX Sept 4 (Sun) - Huntington Beach, CA @ Mothers Tavern Sept 18 (Sun) - Highland, CA @Yaamava Resort & Casino Sept 25 (Sun) - Hermosa Beach, CA @Lighthouse Café www.jongeiger.com facebook.com/JonGeigerBand instagram.com/geigerissimo/
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Karen Lawrence Releases Her New Single “Somewhere In Paradise” ‘Somewhere in Paradise’ is a legacy single pulled from the late 80’s vault of unreleased tracks recorded by Lawrence and Hostetler. After being left off Lawrence’s ‘Rip and Tear’ album for Revolver Records in the UK, fans* who had heard half the track in the low budget film ‘Soultaker’, began to request the release of the full song. Lawrence and Hostetler have done the needful. The song was inspired by a tragic loss early in her music career and as such is dear to her heart. Karen has honest-to-goodness industry credentials as the co-writer of the song ‘Prisoner’, theme song for the movie ‘The Eyes of Laura Mars’ per- formed by Barbara Streisand (4x Platinum) and also covered by blues great Joe Bonamassa. She sang on
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Aerosmith’s ‘Get It Up’ and sang and cowrote on Jeff Beck’s Beckology as well. List of credits The new release from Blue By Nature founders and co-writers Lawrence and Hostetler is a follow up to her previous single ‘Bad Spell’, a 2021 re- lease, and the 2019 single, ‘I Couldn’t Help But Love You’. Ms. Lawrence is known for her rich song writing skills and powerful vocals which were instrumental in securing for “Blue By Nature’s guitar-based blues sound a solid core of faithful followers across the USA throughout the 1990’s, and has continued to appeal to blues lovers through perpetual internet expo- sure, including interviews, performances, and airplay.”(Steve Gabe,
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Blues Blast Magazine 2021). Lawrence is in the process of completing a future re- lease and steps out occasionally in south Texas to play live. After returning from 17 years in India, Hostetler has established his own solo career. His latest release ‘Wall of Dreams’ (2022) follows the 2021 ‘Fortuna Redux’ album, a followup to his “acoustic blues triumph...Blue Chair Blues.” Available for streaming and downloading at Amazon, Apple Mu- sic, YouTube, Spotify, and nearly everywhere August 5, 2022. Available for download from artist’s website: fredsheartradio.com
Blancos: Blues beyond divisions By Edoardo Fassio They are not Real Madrid fans (“los Blancos” soccer players par excellence) nor a multiplication of the singer Blanco, winner of the latest Sanremo Festival. Blancos are a trio from Turin - they would rather say “a free association of musical minds” - with a penchant for contemporary folk and generous servings of blues, gospel and globalized current affairs. Gianfranco Nasso plays the double bass; award-winning percussionist Alan Brunetta has reconsidered his drum kit by adding trash cans and coffee tins, and uses brushes built from a broom’s sorghum. Brunetta, who also deals with a Farfisa keyboard and other sundries, is the owner of the location where the recordings took place and the founder of Bonzo Recording, a home-made record company if ever there was one. And then there is the frontman Dave Moretti, who a decade ago was among the most prominent young bluesmen in Europe. Singer, songwriter, harmonica player, expert and passionate leader, he performed alongside Luther Dickinson, Sonny Rhodes or Kenny Neal and in 2015 he represented Italy in Brussels for the final of the European Blues Challenge. For his new adventure, Moretti mostly devotes himself to acoustic guitars. And singing, of course. His quiet and steady voice, which has become hoarser with age, is even more involved in the lyrics he intones. For the album Short Songs, To Be Strong, the ten songs that were chosen among the material composed by Dave over the years and never used, urgently address the topics of modernity, its beauty and its contradictions. The trio’s basic acoustic sound is complemented by Italy’s top musicians, including Francesco Piu, on the dobro in “Heart + Sand”, and Alberto Gurrisi on the Hammond organ. The release of the album was preceded by the single “Jacky” and the effective video directed by Riccardo Grando, which deals with the theme of migrants fleeing wars, poverty and climate change. Although in a freer and more personalized context, the blues is always there, with its bias to metaphors captured from everyday life that has always earned respect and credibility to the genre. “Blancos rethink blues in a definitely modern way”, Moretti says, hinting to the tracks where the style’s influence is obvious, such as “Butterflies” or the obsessive “Like A Fish”, that features Lino Muoio on mandolin. And he also explains, with a smile, how the name of the band was born: “We wanted to play on a kind of racism-on-reverse, using a derogatory term with which the Hispanics call the Yankees. We have all been out on the sea, with nowhere to land”, he concludes, clarifying that it is time to acknowledge that the divisions of human race are historically overcome. 20
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Blancos: un blues oltre le divisioni By Edoardo Fassio Non sono tifosi del Real Madrid (“los Blancos” per antonomasia calcistica) né una moltiplicazione del cantante Blanco, vincitore del Festival di Sanremo. I Blancos sono un trio torinese - loro direbbero meglio “una libera associazione di menti musicali” - dalla vocazione folk contemporanea, con generose aperture su blues, gospel e attualità globalizzata. Gianfranco Nasso suona il contrabbasso; il premiato percussionista Alan Brunetta ha ripensato la struttura della batteria, aggiungendo bidoni della spazzatura e recipienti del caffè, e adopera spazzole costruite con la saggina delle scope. Brunetta, che si occupa anche di tastiera Farfisa e di altri strumenti occasionali, è titolare della sede dove si sono svolte le registrazioni e della Bonzo Recording, etichetta discografica casalinga. E poi c’è il frontman Dave Moretti, che un decennio fa era tra i giovani bluesmen più in vista d’Europa. Cantante, autore, armonicista, leader esperto e appassionato, frequentava i palchi a fianco di Luther Dickinson, Sonny Rhodes o Kenny Neal e nel 2015 rappresentò l’Italia a Bruxelles per la finale dell’European Blues Challenge. Per la sua nuova avventura, Moretti si dedica soprattutto alle chitarre acustiche. E al canto, naturalmente. La sua voce quieta e assertiva, fattasi più rauca con l’età, è ancora più convinta delle parole che intona. Ricercando tra il materiale scritto da Dave nel corso degli anni e mai utilizzato, per il disco Short Songs, To Be Strong sono stati condivisi dieci brani che affrontano con urgenza i temi della modernità, la sua bellezza e le sue contraddizioni. Al suono acustico, essenziale del trio aggiungono il loro contributo musicisti di punta della scena nazionale, tra cui Francesco Piu, al dobro in “Heart+Sand”, e Alberto Gurrisi all’organo Hammond. L’uscita dell’album è stata preceduta dal singolo “Jacky” e dall’efficace video diretto da Riccardo Grando, che affronta il tema delle migrazioni in fuga da guerre, povertà e cambiamenti climatici. Seppur reso più libero e personalizzato, il blues è sempre presente, con quella attenzione alle metafore colte dalla vita quotidiana che da sempre ha garantito al genere rispetto e credibilità. “Con i Blancos proponiamo un blues in chiave attuale”, racconta Moretti, pensando a pezzi in cui lo stile si impone in forma più marcata, come in “Butterflies” o nell’incalzante “Like A Fish”, con Lino Muoio al mandolino. E spiega pure, con un sorriso, come nasce il nome della band: “Abbiamo voluto giocare su una specie di razzismo alla rovescia, utilizzando un termine spregiativo con cui gli ispanici chiamano gli yankees. Siamo stati tutti naviganti, senza terra dove andare”, conclude, chiarendo che è tempo di ritenere storicamente superate le divisioni del genere umano. August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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When it was released, the album ‘Witness’ was a critical smash, surpassing an incredible 14m streams already, it picked up international acclaim from Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, Distorted Sound and Kerrang Radio & TV in the UK, reaching #7 in the Rock & Metal Album Charts. They were picked up by SiriusXM for multiple tracks and Metal Radio in the US which saw the album reach the Top 20 in the Billboard Current Hard Rock Charts and Top 25 in the Billboard New Artist/Heatseekers Album Chart. Tracks from the album were also added to numerous prominent playlists across Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music.
Music News From Denmark/Sweden
VOLA Announce Debut North American Headline Tour - Run Begins on November 12 in Boston, MA and Wraps at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus on November 22 Danish-Swedish powerhouse VOLA continue to break the rules with their effervescent blend of electronic and progressive pop-tinged metal. Having stormed the charts with their 2021 album ‘Witness’ that was mixed & mastered by Jacob Hansen, VOLA continues to take their equal parts melancholic and uplifting live performance to the stage selling out shows across Europe on the way. Now it’s time for VOLA to expand their horizons and enter the North American market for the first time. “We have had many fan requests from across the pond, and now it’s finally happening. We couldn’t be more excited to finally be meeting the fans who over the years have been so supportive to us”, the band says about the forthcoming venture.
VOLA makes their debut in the fall with their first ever trip to North America and Canada. The band are eager for the opportunity to showcase their charttopping songs live in this market, something the pandemic could not afford them. VOLA will perform nine shows over the course of a couple of weeks, dipping their toes into unexplored territory. “In Denmark, the US is still somewhat the promised land. There’s a special aura of adventure in going there and playing shows. There is that idea that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. One of our main aims is to expand our fanbase in this market. With this tour we are just scratching the surface, so we are excited to see where this will lead. We hope that this short tour is just the beginning of a bigger journey.”
With recent performances support‘Witness’ is out now and explores ing Devin Townsend including at the unsettled relationships on both an prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London, individual and societal scale, and opening for Evanescence at Skansen in continues to open the minds and hearts Stockholm, and with imminent festival of VOLA fans all around the world. appearances across Europe this summer, 24 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
Confirmed appearances are: 11/12 Boston, MA Middle East 11/13 Montreal, QC Petit Campus 11/14 Toronto, ON Hard Luck 11/15 Detroit, MI The Sanctuary 11/17 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups 11/18 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen 11/19 Cleveland, OH The Foundry 11/20 Baltimore, MD Metro Gallery 11/22 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus VOLA is Asger Mygind (vocals/ guitar), Martin Werner (keys), Nicolai Mogensen (bass) and Adam Janzi (drums). www.mascotlabelgroup.com http://volaband.com/shop http://facebook.com/volaband http://instagram.com/volaband https://volaband.com/discord https://www.patreon.com/volaband http://twitter.com/volaband https://www.youtube.com/c/volaband “Addictive from the first hit. Sleep no more on Vola” - Loudwire “Widescreen heavy stadium Prog” - Prog Magazine “A winning balance between pop djent and prog” - Metal Hammer “Crushingly heavy to delightfully sublime” -Powerplay “Massive instantaneous riffs” - Metal Hammer on VOLA supporting Devin Townsend
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LOS RIVERA DESTINO Reflect on Life and Death in New Music Video “Wichi” Listen full album “Besitos y Besitas” Here @ https://sml.lnk.to/BesitosYBesitas Follow LOS RIVERA DESTINO @ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/LosRiveraDestino Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/losriveradestino/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/LosRiveraD YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/c/LosRiveraDestino/featured Just a few weeks after releasing the comical yet tragic music video for their song “Traje de Baño,” Puerto Rican band Los Rivera Destino return today with their latest visual work “Wichi,” a cut from their acclaimed debut album “Besitos y Besitas.” Although the melodies and rhythms that shape “Wichi” are vibrant and playful, the lyrics offer a stark juxtaposition, telling the heartbreaking story of a young man who shares his name with the song’s title and who meets an untimely end. Exploring the deeply profound subjects of life and death, the track provokes a poignant discussion about the existentialism between these two concepts, which as humans we often find ourselves grappling with, whether 26
we are contemplating our own mortality or facing the recent passing of a loved one. The emotional collision of life and death is depicted in the music video in the form of a heart-wrenching funeral held for Wichi, where fans will watch as his friends and family, surrounded by religious imagery, sob and mourn this devastating loss. Through a series of flashbacks, viewers will also learn about the events that led up to Wichi’s demise, reinforcing an idea that we all know to be true but sometimes forget, which is that life is fleeting and that we can be here on Earth one day and gone the next. Whether it’s for the better or for the worse, as is the case with the video’s protagonist, our lives can change in an
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instant, and Los Rivera Destino’s latest project serves as a powerful testament to the importance of making the most of the time we have left. Since arriving on the scene in 2018, when they commanded global attention with their viral bolero interpretation of “Te Boté,” Los Rivera Destino have won acclaim from both listeners and press around the world. In 2019, they followed the success of “Te Boté” with “Flor,” their popular collaboration with Bad Bunny, and ever since then, the group has continued to captivate listeners with their innovative sound, leaving an unforgettable mark on Latin music within the span of a few years.
LOS RIVERA DESTINO Reflexionan Sobre La Vida y la Muerte En Su Nuevo Video Musical “Wichi” Escucha el álbum “Besitos y Besitas” AQUÍ @ https://sml.lnk.to/BesitosYBesitas Apenas unas semanas después de lanzar el cómico y a la vez trágico vídeo musical de su canción “Traje de Baño”, la banda puertorriqueña Los Rivera Destino regresa hoy con su último trabajo visual “Wichi”, un corte de su aclamado álbum de debut “Besitos y Besitas”. Aunque las melodías y los ritmos que dan forma a “Wichi” son vibrantes y juguetones, la letra ofrece una cruda yuxtaposición, contando la desgarradora historia de un joven que comparte nombre con el título de la canción y que encuentra un final prematuro. Explorando los profundos temas de la vida y la muerte, la canción provoca un conmovedor debate sobre el existencialismo entre estos dos conceptos, que como humanos nos encontramos a menudo luchando, ya sea
contemplando nuestra propia mortalidad o enfrentándonos al reciente fallecimiento de un ser querido. La colisión emocional entre la vida y la muerte se representa en el vídeo musical en forma de un desgarrador funeral celebrado por Wichi, en el que los fans verán cómo sus amigos y familiares, rodeados de imágenes religiosas, sollozan y lloran esta devastadora pérdida. A través de una serie de escenas retrospectivas, los espectadores también conocerán los acontecimientos que condujeron a la muerte de Wichi, reforzando una idea que todos sabemos que es cierta pero que a veces olvidamos, y es que la vida es efímera y que podemos estar aquí en la Tierra un día y desaparecer al siguiente. Ya sea para bien o para mal, como es el caso del protagonista del vídeo, nuestras
vidas pueden cambiar en un instante, y el último proyecto de Los Rivera Destino sirve como un poderoso testimonio de la importancia de aprovechar el tiempo que nos queda. Desde que llegaron a la escena en 2018, cuando comandaron la atención mundial con su viral interpretación bolera de “Te Boté”, Los Rivera Destino se han ganado la aclamación tanto de los oyentes como de la prensa de todo el mundo. En 2019, siguieron el éxito de “Te Boté” con “Flor”, su popular colaboración con Bad Bunny, y desde entonces, el grupo ha seguido cautivando a los oyentes con su sonido innovador, dejando una marca inolvidable en la música latina en el lapso de unos pocos años.
Sigue a LOS RIVERA DESTINO @ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/LosRiveraDestino Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/losriveradestino/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/LosRiveraD YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/c/LosRiveraDestino/featured August 2022
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Music News From Canada
Shad “TAO” Makes The Short List Of The Prestigious 2022 Polaris Music Prize
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Rock and Blues International • August 2022
© Justin Broadbent
Last fall, Toronto rapper Shad, released his critically acclaimed album TAO, which received a positive response from both media and fans alike. The record has made its way onto the short list of the prestigious Polaris Music Prize this year, making Shad the sole artist to have been shortlisted 5 times throughout the course of his career. It was announced that Shad is one of ten finalists nominated for the prize, which is set to be awarded on September 19 at the Polaris Gala in Toronto. Shad has already kicked off CBC Music’s THE TEN - a series of radio specials showcasing one nominee per week, that started July 17th. Over the course of seven records to date, the JUNO Award-winning rapper has used an array of old-school tools to tackle modern problems, addressing the indignities and absurdities of our world through a shapeshifting mélange of boom-bap breaks, dusty soul samples, jazzy improvisation, and 10-dollar words rolled into thousand-dollar rhymes. But after weaving his myriad musical and philosophical interests into a socio-political song cycle on 2018’s Polaris shortlisted A Short Story About A War, Shad began building his sixth record, TAO, from a much simpler concept: an image of a circle. Though, in true Shad fashion, he saw something much more profound within its basic round boundaries. TAO is about deep connection, wholeness, and the various threats to it. TAO refers to the Chinese philosophy of naturalism and is an acronym drawn from CS Lewis’ highly prescient 1943 book, The Abolition Of Man, which discusses The Tao. The TAO acronym is also found in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff, another very influential book for Shad during his writing process. “The books were written something like 70 years apart but totally connect on the topic of preserving our humanness against certain threatening ideologies and technologies,” he explains. “Each song on the album focuses on a different part (or parts) of our humanity that we’ve been losing touch with.” “Shad’s alternative hip-hop is infused with soul, jazz, scratching, trap, punk, and noise, all driven by a heartfelt, dynamic flow and inspiring leitmotifs.” – La Presse “Work” is just the next statement in Shad’s legacy as one of Canada’s most revered musical pioneers.” – The Line of Best Fit “A heavy-hitting song” [Work] - COMPLEX “As always, Shad’s breathless flow holds the whole thing together.” [Out of Touch] – Flood Magazine “A powerful single” [Storm] – KEXP, Song of the Day “The rap artist Shadrach Kabango is an elite, thoughtful rhymer with colourful musical ideas” – Globe and Mail
© Justin Broadbent
Shad “TAO” Makes The Short List Of The Prestigious 2022 Polaris Music Prize Listen to TAO here @ https://found.ee/Shad-TAO Watch the “Black Averageness” video here @ https://youtu.be/SQ9JpUzda0c Watch the “Body (No Reason) video here https://youtu.be/jcgymsC6XMQ Watch the “Storm” video here @ https://youtu.be/bE7F8O_9BMw Watch the “Work” video here @ https://youtu.be/0y_sVmhY7oY Watch the “Out of Touch”video here @ https://youtu.be/PwgB6vOOW4M Shad Online Website @ https://www.shadk.com/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/shadk/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/shadkmusic/ Twitter @ https://twitter.com/shadkmusic August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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New Music From The U.K.
Credit: Lillie Eiger
UK Rising Star Dylan Shares Her New Single And Video For The Song “Girl Of Your Dreams” Fresh Off UK Stadium Tour With Ed Sheeran, Dylan Set To Visit U.S. With Upcoming Shows In New York, Los Angeles, and Lollapalooza Watch And Listen To “Girl Of Your Dreams” Here @ https://dylan.lnk.to/GOYD One of the UK’s most promising ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’ is a new acts DYLAN shares her anticipated headrush of spiky energy that sits new single ‘Girl Of Your Dreams’, her somewhere between pop perfection and a first release for Island Records UK/ classic stadium rocker. The track is Republic Records. As premiered on Jack defined by a reckless sense of momenSaunders’ BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Artists’ tum, seamlessly merging alt-rock and show in the Power Play slot, the track pop sensibilities to create a sound that is arrives alongside a new video, counmistakably Dylan. Honed into its directed by Dylan and Carla Dauden. current form by months on the road, it is 30 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
the product of a popstar who truly understands the power of live performance. “Girl of Your Dreams is very simple and straight to the point.” notes Dylan. “The day I wrote it, I was feeling continued on next page
a lot of frustration towards someone who sadly had absolutely no interest in me. Ultimately, they hadn’t done anything wrong, so instead of writing a “screw you” song, I wrote a “want me!” song. The 22-year-old – whose real name is Tash Woods – might be destined for pop glory, but the influence of more alternative sounds colors her tongue-in-cheek characterization of herself as “a wannabe rock star in a pop star’s body”. Since 2019, she’s been on a journey to find her own voice, moving through more electronic-focused, synth-pop songs (‘Good Enough’) and mournful piano ballads (‘IKWYDLN’). “I want to be respected as a songwriter,” she says, “for me it really is just about the music.” 2021 was a great year for Londonbased, Suffolk-born singer-songwriter who won over an army of supporters through the release of her singles ‘Nineteen’, ‘You’re Not Harry Styles’ and ‘No Romeo’ which started to cement her sound – big pop hooks driven by crunchy guitars, candid dissections of her life and loves into incisive, memorable lyrics. Her ability to pen a top song earned early praise and support from the likes of Notion, MTV, Vogue Italia, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash Magazine and BBC Introducing. Most notably, she just wrapped a UK stadium tour in support of Ed Sheeran, which included five sold out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, and has also toured with Yungblud, Bastille and Tate McRae; inspiring an incredibly loyal and passionate fanbase to form around her.
Connect with DYLAN: Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/iamdylanofficial Twitter @ https://twitter.com/dyl_an Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/dyl.an/ TikTok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@dyl.an YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRyQXpe4X0RTYezfr8yvSQ Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/artist/ 4LOM7NzyrZvlGSYPFDsnTk August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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New Music From The U.K.
Night Crickets, the new band formed by David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners, have released a new music video for “The Unreliable Narrator,” a track off their debut album A Free Society, released earlier this year via Omnivore Recordings. They have also released their new album on vinyl. Backseat Mafia featured the music video saying, “Mixing up the eastern with psychedelic and goth elements, ‘The Unreliable Narrator’ has this slightly anxious feel, as these piano figures and repeated basslines draw you in before, throwing you gently off kilter by running away from the beats. It’s dark and motorik and, maybe surprisingly, beautiful.” Iconic and foundational bands in the history of alternative music certainly include Bauhaus, Love And Rockets, and Violent Femmes. San Francisco born artist Darwin Meiners was a fan of all three. A chance meeting 13 years ago with David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets) grew into a friendship, and Darwin not only became a bandmate, but David J’s manager. After reaching out to Victor DeLorenzo through e-mail, Darwin met the Violent Femmes drummer after the Femmes’ Coachella set in 2013. Soon after the three collaborated on Darwin’s 2014 release Souvenir. As the pandemic took hold, Darwin was looking for a new project to occupy the lock-down time and approached Victor, who was keen to proceed and suggested that
Credit: Nina Rocio
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Night Crickets, David J (Bauhaus), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes), and Darwin Meiners share new video for “The Unreliable Narrator”, Debut album LP just released on 7/29 32
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Night Crickets (continued from previous page)
A Free Society tracklist: 1. Black Leather On The Inside 2. Candlestick Park 3. Amanda’s Mantra 4. A Free Society 5. Roman À Clef 6. Soul Wave 7. Little Did I 8. Sloe Song 9. The Unreliable Narrator 10. Down Below 11. Return To The Garden Of Allah 12. Sacred Monster 13. I Want My Night Crickets!
David join as well. The musical trust established between these three was immediate and Night Crickets were born. Within weeks a global process was initiated between them, the recordings eventually forming the album, A Free Society. To say this is something of a dream come true for music fans would be entirely accurate. The band’s name came from one of many Zoom meetings between the three members. After addressing various pressing musical issues the conversation rambled somewhat and turned to the subject of David Lynch, with David J telling an anecdote which was told to him by Lynch’s sound designer, John Neff. Lynch had asked Neff to obtain a field recording of crickets chirping at night for inclusion in Mulholland Drive. When Neff played him the tape, the director immediately recognized the sound that the insects make when it is light which is apparently a little different to their nocturnal chirp. “No! No! No! These are day crickets, John! I want my
Watch “The Unreliable Narrator” music video here at https://youtu.be/LghLUQ389mU Watch the trailer here at https://youtu.be/v3QpedgrM34 Purchase A Free Society on CD/Digital, and pre-order LP Here at https://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/a-free-society/ night crickets!” Victor, Darwin, and David then shared a look of mutual realization and instantly agreed that the project now had a name! In Night Crickets’ own words: Night Crickets, a long distance groove affair conducted during the drawn out days of lockdown and beyond. Audio files shared from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, from London to the San Francisco Bay, and the ghosts of Candlestick Park shimmer through the fog, the Devil comes aknocking on Peter Laughner’s door and Amanda Gorman conjures forth words of inspiration for the dawn of the new millennium.
David J, Victor DeLorenzo, and Darwin spearhead a loose collective of like-minded creative souls left stranded in their respective locales due to the great pandemic, yet through sheer tenacity and a burning desire to collaborate and create they transcend the restrictions of the times and pull together a glorious ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ that draws from the past, the present and the imagined future. Hark! Night Crickets are chirping as the world is set on fire and the sun is going down.
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New Music From Chile
Chilean Artist CIGARBOX MAN Announces New Single MÍRAME Listen To MÍrame Here @ https://onerpm.link/mirame Follow Cigarbox Man – Sustainable Rock @ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/cigarbox.man/ YouTube ?@ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxVC6Un3FSSzJcbw7ZUY8zw Chilean artist Cigarbox Man Nahuel Bronzini, and it was around the world. From that point announces the release of Mírame, mixed by legendary engineer forward, he dedicated his music his first release since before the Anibal Kerpel. In alignment with and his life to transforming the pandemic, and since moving to his focus on the environment and music industry — and the world the United States two months ago. sustainability, the track is a carbon — with a message of neutral single. sustainability and finding value in “Mírame describes the the things society often discards. sensation of two people meeting Cigarbox Man calls his style each other for the first time, and of music “Sustainable Rock.” He After a rapid rise in Santiago, feeling like they had known each is known for his signature guitar, which saw Cigarbox Man win a other forever,” said Cigarbox made with his bare hands using busking competition and eventuMan. “It was inspired by the first recycled materials, and for a ally perform on some of the time I met my wife. We both had musical fusion that brings tocountry’s top stages — the feeling that somehow, we had gether rock, electronica, delta Lollapalooza, Fender Day and known each other in a past life.” blues and psychedelia. The Cosquin Rock — Cigarbox Man project was born during travels to has brought his family and his Mírame was assembled by a New Zealand, Australia, and dream to the Bay Area. Mírame world class team, including two Papua New Guinea, where marks the beginning of that key people in the GrammyCigarbox Man witnessed firstjourney. winning team of Fantastic hand the impacts of climate Negrito, Tomas Salcedo and change on poor communities 34
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New Music From Chile
Artista Chileno CIGARBOX MAN Anuncia Nuevo Sencillo MÍrame Escucha el nuevo sencillo AQUÍ @ https://onerpm.link/mirame Sigue Cigarbox Man – Sustainable Rock @ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/cigarbox.man/ YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxVC6Un3FSSzJcbw7ZUY8zw El artista chileno Cigarbox Man anuncia el lanzamiento de Mírame, su primer lanzamiento desde antes de la pandemia, y desde que se mudó a los Estados Unidos hace dos meses. “Mírame describe la sensación de dos personas que se encuentran por primera vez y que sienten que se conocen desde siempre”, menciona Cigarbox Man. “Se inspiró en la primera vez que conocí a mi mujer. Ambos tuvimos la sensación de que, de alguna manera, nos habíamos conocido en una vida pasada”. Mírame fue ensamblado por un equipo de primera clasel, incluyendo a dos personas clave en el equipo ganador del Grammy de Fantastic Negrito, Tomás Salcedo y Nahuel
Bronzini, y fue mezclado por el legendario y multipremiado ingeniero Aníbal Kerpel. En consonancia con su interés por el medio ambiente y la sostenibilidad, el tema es un single neutro en carbono.
de todo el mundo. A partir de ese momento, dedicó su música y su vida a transformar la industria musical -y el mundo- con un mensaje de sostenibilidad y de encontrar valor en las cosas que la sociedad suele desechar.
Cigarbox Man llama a su estilo de música “Rock Sostenible”. Es conocido por su emblemática guitarra, hecha con sus propias manos con materiales reciclados, y por una fusión musical que aúna rock, electrónica, blues delta y psicodelia. El proyecto nació durante sus viajes a Nueva Zelanda, Australia y Papúa Nueva Guinea, donde Cigarbox Man fue testigo de primera mano de los impactos del cambio climático en las comunidades pobres
Después de un rápido ascenso en Santiago, en el que Cigarbox Man ganó un concurso de músicos callejeros y llegó a actuar en algunos de los principales escenarios del país -Lollapalooza, Fender Day y Cosquín Rock-, Cigarbox Man ha traído a su familia y su sueño a la zona de la bahía en San Francisco, California. Mírame marca el comienzo de ese viaje.
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New Music From Italy
ITALIAN ACTOR & MUSICIAN MICHELE MORRONE RELEASES NEW SINGLE “PLAYER” Listen to “Player” Here at https://michelemorrone.lnk.to/Player Turning heads around the globe in 2022, Italian actor, model, singer, entrepreneur, and star of the blockbuster NETFLIX franchise 365 Days Michele Morrone reveals a new single entitled “Player”. Once again, the track showcases his skyscraping and soaring vocal fireworks over organic production. He reflects on the search for true love with another emotionally charged and engaging performance. It speaks to his uncanny ability to inhabit a song and bring it to life in vivid and vibrant color. Stay tuned for the premiere of a slick, sexy, and sharp music video to accompany “Player” soon. Michele recently made headlines with his return to the world of NETFLIX’s 365 Days in the mega-
popular 365 Days: This Day. In tandem, he unveiled his last single “Another Day.” Thus far, it has gathered over 5 million Spotify streams and counting as well as 8.3 million YouTube views on the music video, which sees him back on screen with his 365 Days: This Day costar Anna-Maria Sieklucka.
songs cumulatively tallied north of 500 million streams with the music video for “Hard For Me” amassing over 52 million views and counting. Last year, he followed up with the release of “Beautiful,” which generated 5.2 million Spotify streams and over 10 million-plus views on the music video.
However, everything just paves the way for more music to come from Michele very soon. He has officially brought love back to global pop.
Following the success of his debut album, Morrone became the worldwide face of Guess Men’s Fall/Winter 2020 collection.
“Another Day” arrived on the heels of Michele’s 2020 debut album Dark Room- the unofficial soundtrack to the NETFLIX smash 365 Days, which first launched him into global stardom. The record notably spawned a string of fan favorites, including “Hard For Me,” “Feel It,” “Watch Me Burn,” and “Dark Room.” Co-written by Morrone, the
Originally from the Italian town of Melegnano, near Milan, Morrone grew up in Apulia, a southern Italian region, and currently resides in Rome. Prior to landing the lead role in 365 Days, Morrone had all but given up on acting, and was working as a gardener. In addition to music and acting, Morrone is also a painter and sculptor.
SOCIAL INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/iammichelemorroneofficial/ TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/MorroneBrasil FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/michelemorroneofficial YOUTUBE @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH6pkawiiPNv6_muxpfMq_g 36
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New Music From Toronto
Photo Credit: Nikolaj Georgiew
Toronto Music Scene Stalwart Chad Ross (Quest for Fire / Comet Control) Releases Psych-Folk Solo Album as C.ROSS C.ROSS Debut Album (ft. members of The Black Crowes, Earthless, Destroyer, Black Mountain) Stream Skull Creator on all Streaming Services https://orcd.co/skullcreator 40 40
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Watch the Video Wrong Side of the Sky https://youtu.be/uQXUONB75FQ Order New Vinyl LP “Skull Creator” https://echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/roycrossmusic Bandcamp: https://nxnx.bandcamp.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CROSS-108600211859381 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cxrossx Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NSh2rOc62ImboBTgowQMg “Skull Creator” is the new solo record by Canadian singer/guitarist C.Ross, better known as Chad Ross, who currently fronts Toronto psych rockers Comet Control (Teepee Records). The new record features eight genre-stradling songs of americana tinged folk-rock, while hinting at Ross’s fuzzy psych-rock past. Recorded, produced and mixed by Joshua Wells (Lightning Dust, Destroyer, Black Mountain) at the Balloon Factory in Vancouver, British Columbia (the home studio of Dan Bejar of Destroyer), the new album “Skull Creator” was written at first as a solo acoustic project. When Destroyer’s Joshua Wells joined in on both drums and keys and Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Golden Void, the Black Crowes) on guitar, with Aaron Goldstein on pedal steel, the project morphed into a sweet psych-folk adventure. Speaking of the hauntingly powerful album, Ross states: “I had it in
my head that I was gonna make an acoustic record, with the sole purpose of making fun of myself, reflecting on a few of my past wasted lives and just generally taking the singer/songwriter thing out with the trash. The lyrics all made me laugh at one point, but when Josh and Isaiah got involved, things got elevated…. as they tend to do with musicians like that.” “Wrong Side of the Sky” is the first single and video off of the new album. It is a sunny psych folk jam that will start your summer off with haunting, mellow vibes that transport the listener back in time to the gentle late ‘60s. The video was created by Waterloo, Ontario artist/musician Olde Nightrifter. She has created lush and beautifully psychedelic videos for the likes of Shabazz Palaces, Knife Knights, Comet Control and Icky Reels. The video takes you on a visual
journey through light and dark spaces, with morphing objects that intertwine and complement the lyrical and compositional feel of the song. Ross has spent years navigating the Canadian music scene as the singer/ guitarist for heavy psych rockers Quest for Fire (Teepee), solo acoustic as Nordic Nomadic (Blue Fog, Teepee), a member of legendary garage rock band The Deadly Snakes (In the Red) and a touring member of Vancouver’s Pink Mountaintops. Get your hands on his newest project which branches off from these influences and shows his maturing songcraft into psych-folk territory. “Skull Creator” is available July 13, 2022 as an LP co-release on Atlanta’s Echodelick Records, Canada’s Noise Agony Mayhem and Australia’s Ramble Records. Available digitally on Party Product Records.
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New Music From U.K.
Duran Duran Announce Limited 12” Vinyl Release of “All Of You” (Erol Alkan Extended Rework) Out October 14 Pre-Order At https://lnk.to/DuranDuranPH120 [Phantasy Sound]
FIFTEENTH STUDIO ALBUM, FUTURE PAST IS OUT NOW AT https://duranduran.lnk.to/FuturePastPR NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINE TOUR STARTS AUGUST 19 with NILE RODGERS & CHIC CONFIRMED AS SPECIAL GUESTS ON SELECT DATES ANNOUNCED AS THIS YEARS’ ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES; CEREMONY TO TAKE PLACE NOVEMBER 5 IN LOS ANGELES OFFICIAL WEBSITE @ https://duranduran.warnereprise.com/ INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/duranduran/ TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/duranduran FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/duranduran YOUTUBE @ https://www.youtube.com/duranduran 44
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Duran Duran (continued from previous page) With their highly anticipated North American tour starting next month, Duran Duran have today announced the limited 12” vinyl release of ‘ALL OF YOU’ (EROL ALKAN EXTENDED REWORK), out October 14th and available to pre-order HERE at https://lnk.to/ DuranDuranPH120via Phantasy Sound. Having co-produced Duran Duran’s acclaimed fifteenth studio album, ‘FUTURE PAST’, Erol Alkan returns to deliver a very special Extended Rework. Paying tribute to the band’s pioneering ‘Night Version’ remixes that tipped their earliest material towards the dance floor, this grandiose reimagining equally recalls Alkan’s beloved reworks from over the years. Recorded with founding members Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor, ‘ALL OF YOU’ also features lead guitar from Graham Coxon and backing vocals by Barli. Blessed with the raw material, Alkan distills each element into a glorious disco odyssey totaling nearly ten minutes, an epic but sensual dance floor trip that already ranks amongst his finest work. Phantasy is proud to release ‘ALL OF YOU’ (EROL ALKAN EXTENDED REWORK)’ (backed with an instrumental version) on a limited run of 12” vinyl, with an exclusive red vinyl edition of only 300, available only at Rough Trade stores. Originally debuted by Erol Alkan in Ibiza at the band’s three night ‘Duran Duran: Touch The Sunrise’ immersive weekend experience that lifted the curtain on the island’s summer season, the extended rework is a hypnotic, expansive ode to the FUTURE PAST album highlight. Duran Duran’s instantly recognizable sound is complemented with new accents and flourishes - John Taylor’s headnodding bass line entwines with Graham Coxon’s guitar lead, both shot through with instant hooks and punctuated by Nick Rhodes’ cinematic keys. The extended rework arrives as Duran Duran look ahead to their long-awaited North American headlining tour this summer, celebrating the band’s spectacular four-decade career and in continued support of their critically acclaimed 15th studio album, FUTURE PAST. Starting August 19, the 14-date tour will see the multi-platinum, award-winning legends play iconic venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, the Wynn Las Vegas, and The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, amongst others. Tickets for the band’s North American tour are on sale now. Please visit http://duranduran.com/tour/ Joining as special guests for all shows except Las Vegas (which is billed as ‘an evening with’) and Los Angeles will be Nile Rodgers & CHIC. In other exciting news, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame announced that Duran Duran will be inducted this fall, joining a long list of ground-breaking global icons before them. The 37th Annual Ceremony is set to take place November 5th at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California. With a career that has seen more than 100 million record sales worldwide, 21 UK Top 20 tunes and 18 American hit singles, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction truly cements the multiGRAMMY, BRIT Award and Ivor Novello winners as one of the most successful and influential bands of all time. Duran Duran’s current album, ‘FUTURE PAST’ is available digitally as well as in a variety of physical formats: standard CD, cassette, a limited edition deluxe hardback book CD featuring three
additional tracks, and colored vinyl here. It is also available in immersive Sony 360 Reality Audio on Amazon Music HD, TIDAL HiFi, and Deezer HiFi. Enlisting the help of some of the most exciting names of the last 50 years, with ‘FUTURE PAST,’ Duran Duranhave delivered another incredible genre-spanning piece of work that once again sets them apart from the pack. Working alongside DJ / producer Erol Alkan and pioneering Italian composer / producer Giorgio Moroder, who added his magic to create two instant future classics (‘BEAUTIFUL LIES,’ ‘TONIGHT UNITED’), as well as some of the most unexpected and inspiring names in pop – including Swedish hitmaker, Tove Lo on ‘GIVE IT ALL UP,’ ‘Queen of Drill’ Ivorian Doll on ‘HAMMERHEAD’ and Japan’s CHAI on ‘MORE JOY!’. In addition, Blur’s Graham Coxon co-wrote and lends his guitar to several tracks on the record and David Bowie’s former pianist Mike Garson adds an exquisite sonic layer to album closer ‘FALLING’. The record, which was recorded across studios in London and LA over lockdown, also features long-time collaborator Mark Ronson who co-wrote and played on ‘WING,’ and was mixed by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent. LISTEN TO ‘ALL OF YOU’ (EROL ALKAN EXTENDED REWORK) HERE AT https://duranduran.lnk.to/AllOfYouRework. FUTURE PAST’ (DELUXE) IS AVAILABLE HERE. AT https://duranduran.lnk.to/FuturePastDeluxePR ‘FUTURE PAST’ (DELUXE) TRACKLIST INVISIBLE ALL OF YOU GIVE IT ALL UP (Feat. Tove Lo) ANNIVERSARY FUTURE PAST VELVET NEWTON* BEAUTIFUL LIES TONIGHT UNITED WING NOTHING LESS LAUGHING BOY* HAMMERHEAD (Feat. Ivorian Doll) INVOCATION* MORE JOY! (Feat. CHAI) FALLING (Feat. Mike Garson) *Bonus Tracks August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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their craft; ETC - their second full length album - was recorded at MTU Cork School of Music which they all attend. ETC was produced by the band and Christopher Hockey, and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Witch Fever, GGGOLDDD, Ghost). The origins of the band lie in a heavier, post-metal sound, but the intervening years and an influx of new and stimulating influences has seen them broaden their palette, expand their horizons and hone a distinctive sound.
New Music From Ireland
credit: Shane Horan
God Alone sign to Prosthetic Records; Announce new album, ETC and share lead single “TskTskTsk” WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR TSKTSKTSK VIA YOUTUBE AT https://youtu.be/mDlvbwmshvU Pre-order ETC here at https://lnk.to/GodAlone Stream TskTskTsk via Apple Music @ https://music.apple.com/gb/album/etc/1622684430 TIDAL @ https://tidal.com/browse/album/227709581 Deezer @ https://www.deezer.com/en/album/316347077 Bandcamp @ https://godalone.bandcamp.com/album/etc Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/album/5CeZYbz7uRF0httC1Oef8P FOLLOW GOD ALONE ONLINE: Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork Twitter @ https://twitter.com/GodAloneCork Speaking on the signing the band comments: “We couldn’t be happier to sign to such a fantastic label and are looking forward to being on the same roster as so many unreal bands.” Of TskTskTsk and album announcement, the band add: “This is exactly the 46
album we have always wanted to make. We chose TskTskTsk as the first single as we thinks it’s most representative of the direction we want to pursue. It’s the most contrasting to our prior releases and we think it’s very banging.” The five musicians behind GOD ALONE are quite literally students of
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Whilst embracing all that the Irish music scene has to offer, GOD ALONE are constantly pushing to make their way out of Ireland and further afield. Cutting their teeth in an eclectic and enthusiastic local scene helped them to refine their live chops, giving their performance increased weight and attention as they progressed. Now when they write, the live iteration of their music is always at the forefront of their minds. GOD ALONE’s approach traverses through mathrock, dance, avant-garde, post-punk and more on its way to its final destination. Citing the Talking Heads as a big influence, GOD ALONE embrace absurdism at every turn - in particular the absurdity of nothingness; the art of existing without meaning or context. Abstract lyrics are influenced by French dadaist poets as they seek to make heavy ideas into fun, danceable vignettes. Minimalist album art courtesy of Ian McInerney highlights the repetition of things that have no clear beginning or end - the endless loop of everything and nothing all at once. GOD ALONE is: Jake O’Driscoll: Guitar & Vocals Cian Mullane: Bass & Vocals Jack O’Hanlon: Drums Dylan Kelly: Synthesizer Seán Thompson: Guitar ETC tracklist: 1. Tinfoil in the Walls 2. Kung Fu Treachery 3. ETC 4. TskTskTsk 5. 15BM1989 6. Peony
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MACKLEMORE RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE ‘CHANT’ FEATURING TONES AND I WATCH @ https://youtu.be/MLuDL-TlJgg LISTEN @ https://macklemore.lnk.to/CHANT PERFORMED LIVE ON ABC’S GMA SUMMER CONCERT SERIES AT https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/video/macklemore-performs-newest-single-chant-featuring-tones-central-87235636 48
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GRAMMY® award-winning, multi-platinum-selling artist, Macklemore returns with a triumphant anthem for the ages, titled‘CHANT,’ featuring Australian break-out artist and producer Tones And I. The song begins a story of hopeful re-emergence that we’ve all been waiting for; delivering a motivating emotion synonymous with Macklemore’s most beloved records and setting the runway for more exciting news to come. ‘CHANT’ comes with a visceral black and white music video, co-directed by Macklemore and Jake Magraw. ‘CHANT’ made its morning television debut recently as part of Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series in Central Park. The Seattle born-and-based artist performed to hundreds of screaming fans and teased a larger body of work and new musical era is on the horizon. ‘CHANT’ comes ahead of Macklemore’s North American live run, joining Imagine Dragons for their stadium and arena tour. The 19date tour starts in Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on August 5 and wraps in Los Angeles at the Banc of California Stadium on September 15. For more information and tickets, go to: www.macklemore.com 2022 marks the 10-year anniversary since the release of his multiple GRAMMY® Award winning, chart topping, critically acclaimed album ‘The Heist,’ which spawned two #1 singles; the Diamond-certified “Thrift Shop” and multi-platinum “Can’t Hold Us.” Multi-platinum and GRAMMY® award winning artist Macklemore has made history with a combination of commercial success, critical acclaim and international appeal, with a total of 12.8 BILLION COMBINED STREAMS to date, Macklemore is one of the most successful independent artists of the 21st century. ‘GEMINI’, Macklemore’s first solo effort in 12 years, was released in 2017 and debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and #1 on the charts for Rap, R&B/Hip-Hop, and Independent Albums, featuring Platinumcertified singles, “Glorious” (featuring Skylar Grey), “Good Old Days” (featuring Kesha), and “Marmalade” (featuring Lil Yachty). ‘GEMINI’ followed two releases with producer Ryan Lewis: the multiple-GRAMMY award winning and multi-platinum album, ‘The Heist’ (which spawned two #1 singles, the Diamond-certified “Thrift Shop” and multi-platinum “Can’t Hold Us”) and 2016 release “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made”, which featured the Platinum-certified single “Downtown”. Collectively Macklemore’s music videos have been viewed over 3 BILLION times and he is one of only two rappers to have a Diamond-certified single (“Thrift Shop”). A lifelong Seattle resident, Macklemore has always believed in using his platform, resources and creative pursuits to have an impact on racial and social justice issues. Macklemore is a co-founder of The Residency, a hip hop and youth development program that has become one of the preeminent opportunities for young aspiring artists in the region. Drawing on his personal battles with drugs and alcohol, Macklemore has consistently used his art and platform to raise awareness around issues of addiction and recovery. In 2016 he was featured in an MTV special with President Obama about the opioid epidemic in America and was the first non-administration official ever to participate in the Presidential Weekly Address. In 2021, Macklemore launched Bogey Boys, a golf and lifestyle clothing brand that has gained quick momentum and made waves in the golf and fashion worlds. In September 2021, Macklemorelaunched the Bogey Boys Flagship along with Goose Magees Vintage Mall on Capitol Hill in Seattle. He is a co-owner of the Seattle Sounders, of Major League Soccer and Seattle Kraken, of National Hockey League. He currently serves on the board of directors for MusiCares, The Residency and The Underground Museum in LA.
NORTH AMERICAN STADIUM AND ARENA TOUR WITH IMAGINE DRAGONS STARTS AUGUST 5 08/05 - Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT* 08/07 - Isleta Amphitheater, Albuquerque, NM* 08/09 - T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO* 08/12 - Hershey Park Stadium, Hershey, PA* 08/14 - Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA* 08/16 - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, Camden, NJ* 08/18 - PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ* 08/20 - Fenway Park, Boston, MA* 08/22 - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada* 08/24 - Pine Knob Music Theatre, Clarkston, MI* 08/26 - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL* 08/28 - Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH* 08/30 - Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta, GA* 09/01 - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, TX* 09/05 - Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO* 08/08 - Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA* 08/10 - Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV* 08/13 - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, CA* 08/15 - Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles, CA* * w/ Imagine Dragons
OFFICIAL WEBSITE @ https://macklemore.com/ FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/Macklemore TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/macklemore?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/macklemore/?hl=en TIKTOK @ https://www.tiktok.com/@macklemore August 2022
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Since the beginning of the year, Los Angeles-based electro-pop duo Love Star has made a resounding splash with shimmering new material and a renewed sense of optimism toward their evergrowing career, which has already impressively spanned more than a decade. After releasing their glistening single “Fue Amor” in April, the group returns to take over the summer with their powerful new single “My God is Trying to Kill Me.” With an edgy electro-driven rhythm and a symphonic melody, “My God is Trying to Kill Me” speaks to those times when we feel at our lowest, when it seems like life is throwing us one nasty curveball after another and when any challenge, we encounter is insurmountable. During these moments, it’s easy to feel defeated, to lose ourselves in pain and heartache, and to feel discouraged from moving forward, but Love Star, always connected to the thread that makes us human, validates that, while these emotions may be overwhelming, they are very real, and they let their fans know that they’re not alone in what they’re experiencing. Whether going through a devastating breakup, grieving a tragic loss, or facing any other staggering challenge, listeners will find solace in Love Star’s latest release, which will resonate with anyone who feels trapped in the darkness but yearns to come into the light once again.
LOVE STAR Speaks to the Tough Moments in Life with New Single “My God is Trying to Kill Me” LISTEN HERE @ http://lovestar.ctcin.bio/ Follow LOVE STAR @ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lovestarband Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/lovestarband/
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“My God is Trying to Kill Me” is the first English-language single that the group has released from their upcoming album “Kissing the Chaos” and follows the success of previous singles “Recordarte” and “Fue Amor” as the third cut from the project, which is due out in the coming months. The album was born from demos recorded at London’s iconic Abbey Road Studios in 2017 and boasts the production of 16-time GRAMMY-winning producer Thom Russo. “Kissing the Chaos” will feature a primarily English-language tracklist, marking a shift from Love Star’s previous albums, which were recorded primarily in Spanish, while ushering the duo into a new musical era that will see them continue to build upon the incredible career that they have already created.
Desde principios de año, el dueto angelino, Love Star, ha causado un rotundo revuelo con un reluciente álbum nuevo y un renovado sentido de optimismo hacia su carrera en constante crecimiento, que ya abarca más de una década. Después de lanzar su brillante sencillo “Fue Amor” en abril, el grupo regresa para hacerse cargo del verano con su nuevo y poderoso sencillo “My God is Trying To Kill Me”. Con un ritmo vanguardista impulsado por lo electro y una melodía sinfónica, “My God is Trying to Kill Me” habla de esos momentos en los que nos sentimos en nuestro punto más bajo, cuando parece que la vida nos está lanzando un pelotazo inesperado tras otro y cuando cualquier desafío con el que nos encontramos es insuperable. Durante estos momentos es fácil sentirse derrotado, perderse en el dolor la angustia, y sentirse desanimado de seguir adelante, pero Love Star, siempre conectado con el hilo que nos hace humanos, valida que, si bien estas emociones pueden ser abrumadoras, son muy reales, y les hacen saber a sus fanáticos que no están solos en lo que están experimentando. Ya sea que esté pasando por una ruptura devastadora, o afligido por una pérdida o enfrentando cualquier otro desafío asombroso, los oyentes encontrarán consuelo en el último lanzamiento de Love Star que resonará con cualquiera que se sienta atrapado en la oscuridad pero que anhele salir a la luz una vez más. “My God is Trying to Kill Me” es el primer sencillo en inglés que el grupo lanza de su próximo álbum “Kissing the Chaos”, seguido del éxito de sus dos sencillos anteriores “Recordarte” y “Fue Amor” este es el tercer corte del proyecto que saldrá dentro de los próximos meses. El álbum nació de demos grabados en los icónicos estudios Abbey Road de Londres en 2017 y cuenta con la producción del productor Thom Russo, ganador de 16 premios GRAMMY. “Kissing the Chaos” contará con una listade canciones principalmente en inglés, lo que marca un cambio con respecto a los álbumes anteriores de Love Star, que se grabaron principalmente en español, mientras conduce al dúo a una nueva era musical que los verá seguir desarrollando la increíble carrera que ya han creado.
LOVE STAR Habla de los Duros Momentos en la Vida en su Nuevo Sencillo “My God is Trying to Kill Me” Escucha el nuevo sencillo AQUÍ @ http:// lovestar.ctcin.bio/ Sigue LOVE STAR @ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lovestarband Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/lovestarband/
Twitter @ https://twitter.com/lovestarband YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/user/LoveStarTV August 2022
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Multi-platinum, 12-time GRAMMY Award-winner John Legend recently debuted the video for “Honey” featuring Muni Long, the second single from his forthcoming album. The Christian Breslauer-directed visual is set in the aftermath of the retro house party featured in the video for “Dope” (the lead single from the upcoming LP) (https://youtu.be/y4Z9jRp1iXA). We find Legend passed out on the living room floor dreaming about the dance party that took place the night before. After a (CGI) bee sting wakes him up, honeycomb walls lure him to a secret room where he finds Muni in a vintage bathtub full of sweet glittery golden honey. The warm morning backlight glows off her skin as she uses her beauty to pull him closer. Watch the steamy scene unfold in the official video here at https://youtu.be/PM4qQUS1wmk. Listen to the song here at https:// johnlegend.lnk.to/honey. Photo credit: Eric Williams
John Legend Shares The Video For His New Single “Honey”, Featuring Muni Long From His Forthcoming Album Watch The video here at https://youtu.be/PM4qQUS1wmk Listen to the song here at https://johnlegend.lnk.to/honey Connect with John Legend: Website @ https://www.johnlegend.com/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/johnlegend/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/johnlegend Twitter @ https://twitter.com/johnlegend TikTok @ https://www.tiktok.com/@johnlegendofficial YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/user/johnlegend Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/artist/5y2Xq6xcjJb2jVM54GHK3t Apple Music @ https://music.apple.com/us/artist/john-legend/16586443 52 Rock Rockand andBlues BluesInternational International ••• August November April 2022 2020 52 2022
Upon the song’s release, Billboard said, “John Legend and Muni Long officially have a contender for song of the summer,” while Rolling Stone called the track “seductive” and “sultry.” “Honey” was produced by Ryan Tedder, Steven Franks, Lindgren and Tommy Brown, with Legend and Long serving as co-writers along with Melanie Joy Fontana, HARV, Gregory Heinn, Lindgren, Franks, Tedder and Brown. While Long and Legend previously worked together as songwriters, “Honey” is their first collaboration as recording artists. This month, Legend returns to Las Vegas for the second leg of his critically acclaimed residency, “Love in Las Vegas.” With shows running from August 5th through 20th and October 14th through 29th, tickets are available here at https://www.ticketmaster.com/ john-legend-tickets/artist/936461.
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Dawes And Bahamas Unite For Very Special Co-Headline Tour Live Run To Feature Two Unique Sets, With Dawes Backing Bahamas And Bahamas Joining Dawes For Collaborative Performances “An Evening With Dawes And Bahamas” Gets Underway September 7 In Knoxville, TN Dawes’ Eagerly Awaited New Album, Misadventures Of Doomscroller, Arrives Via Rounder Records 54 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
Dawes And Bahamas (continued from previous page) Acclaimed Los Angeles-based rockers Dawes and GRAMMY® Award-nominated Canadian artist Bahamas have announced plans for a very special co-headline tour. “An Evening with Dawes and Bahamas” will see them performing together for two unique live sets, with Dawes backing Bahamas and Bahamas joining Dawes for a collaborative performance. The tour begins September 7 at Knoxville, TN’s Bijou Theatre and then travels the US through the month. “An Evening with Dawes and Bahamas” marks a pinnacle of Dawes’ busy international live schedule, including headline shows, festival performances, and a summer tour supporting The Head and The Heart. Additional highlights include a very special Independence Day event with Phil Lesh & Friends, set for Monday, July 4 at Asbury Park, NJ’s Stone Pony Summer Stage. For complete details and ticket availability, please visit dawestheband.com/tour. The non-stop tour schedule celebrates the arrival of Dawes’ upcoming eighth studio album, MISADVENTURES OF DOOMSCROLLER, due everywhere via Rounder Records on Friday, July 22. Pre-orders are available now. A number of exclusive bundles – including Limited Edition Preferred Pink Vinyl w/Optional Exclusive 11x11 Signed Band Photo, Turntable Slipmat, Black Hoodie, White Pocket T, and Socks – are available now at the official Dawes webstore HERE AT https://dawestheband.com/. Produced by longtime collaborator Jonathan Wilson (Billy Strings, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen), MISADVENTURES OF DOOMSCROLLER represents an adventurous new turn for Dawes, evincing a more ambitious, exploratory approach towards recording than ever before. The album includes such recently released singles as “It Comes In Waves” and the epic opening track, “Someone Else’s Café / Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” both available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Official performance videos – directed by Caitlin Gerard at Hollywood, CA’s historic EastWest Studios – are streaming now via YouTube. LISTEN TO “IT COMES IN WAVES” @ https://found.ee/dawes_comesinwaves_ WATCH OFFICIAL PERFORMANCE VIDEO @ https://youtu.be/UuRewg1OO5M LISTEN TO “SOMEONE ELSE’S CAFÉ / DOOMSCROLLER TRIES TO RELAX” @ https://found.ee/Dawes_someoneelsescafe WATCH OFFICIAL PERFORMANCE VIDEO @ https://youtu.be/WmImVp-PNww PRE-ORDER MISADVENTURES OF DOOMSCROLLER @ https://found.ee/Dawes_Misadventures MISADVENTURES OF DOOMSCROLLER marks Dawes’ first new LP following 2020’s Rounder Records debut, GOOD LUCK WITH WHATEVER. Produced by 7x GRAMMY® Award-winner Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit) at Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A, the album earned critical applause around the world, with Esquire declaring it “their liveliest, most visceral set yet.” Dawes celebrated with a range of high profile TV appearances, including ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert #playathome series as well as CBS This Morning: Saturday Sessions. Dawes is: T.Z. Goldsmith (guitar, primary vocal), W.Q. Gelber (handmade bass), G.W. Goldsmith (drums, percussion, background vocals), and L.M. Pardini (piano, organ, synthesizers, clavinet, Wurlitzer, guitar, background vocals). ABOUT BAHAMAS: Hailed for his undaunted self-awareness, wry wit, and unabashed heart, Bahamas’ most recent release, 2021’s LIVE TO TAPE, sees the award-winning singer-songwriter otherwise known as Afie Jurvanen performing in studio from Halifax, Nova Scotia with an array of acclaimed artists performing remotely from Nashville, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Perth, Toronto, and other locations. Among those collaborating with Bahamas are members of Dawes, The 400 Unit,
The Secret Sisters, Lucius, Greensky Bluegrass, and such revered session musicians as Nathan East (Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder), Steve Ferrone (Average White Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers), Gus Seyffert (Beck, Adele), Joey Waronker (REM, Atoms for Peace), Bob Glaub (Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan), Russ Kunkel (Joni Mitchell, John Lennon), and more. Created during the height of the pandemic, LIVE TO TAPE followed Bahamas’ fifth studio album, SAD HUNK, which received 2021’s Juno Award for “Adult Alternative Album of the Year” along with wide-ranging critical plaudits around the world. “An Evening with Dawes and Bahamas” continues Bahamas’ own full North American tour schedule, featuring sold out headline shows, festival performances, and dates alongside Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. For complete details, please visit bahamasmusic.net. CONNECT WITH DAWES: WEBSITE @ https://dawestheband.com/ FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/Dawestheband TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/Dawestheband YOUTUBE @
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7eHJIOAAgIUxlE8iODk7w CONNECT WITH BAHAMAS: WEBSITE @ https://bahamasmusic.net/ FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/bahamasmusic TWITTER @ https://twitter.com/bahamasmusic YOUTUBE @
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC46wWcXgitbnRG73SDGkw3w DAWES TOUR 2022 AUGUST 1 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater ^ 2 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater ^ (SOLD OUT) 4 – Houston, TX – Lawn at White Oak ^ 5 – Dallas, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory ^ 6 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion ^ 7 – Arvada, CO – Arvada Center for the Arts 8 – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden Amphitheatre ^ 9 – Boise, ID – Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden ^ 11 – Missoula, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater ^ 12 – Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park ^ (SOLD OUT) 13 – Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park ^ 16 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater ^ 18 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl ^ 19 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre ^ 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre ^ 22 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts By The Bay ^ (SOLD OUT) 23 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts By The Bay ^ 27 – Tisbury, MA – Beach Road Weekend * 28 – Bridgeview, IL – Sacred Rose * SEPTEMBER 3-4 – Indianapolis, IN – All In Music & Arts Festival * 7 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre # 8 – Richmond, VA – Brown’s Island # 9 – Winston-Salem, NC – Gears and Guitars # 10 – Charleston, SC – The Windjammer # 11 – Wilmington, NC – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater # 13 – Baltimore, MD – Soundstage # 14 – Patchogue, NY – Patchogue Theatre # 16 – Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre 17 – Hammondsport, NY – Point of the Bluff Vineyards # 18 – Columbus, OH – Athenaeum Theatre # 19 – Iowa City, IA – Englert Theatre # 21 – Bloomington, IL – Castle Theatre # 22 – Lexington, KY – The Burl Outdoors # 23 – Memphis, TN – Levitt Shell # 24 – Franklin, TN – Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival * 25- Baton Rouge, LA – Manship Theatre * Festival Performance † w/Phil Lesh & Friends ^ Supporting The Head and The Heart # “An Evening with Dawes and Bahamas”
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With the recent, abhorrent overturning of Roe v. Wade at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, NYC singer-songwriter MuMu felt a responsibility to share her single, “Wrapped Up,” a song that retells real stories of three women who faced the challenges of unplanned pregnancy. It expresses the vitality of one’s right to choose, and the detrimental effects of those rights being taken away. Today, MuMu shares an emotive live performance of the track. She additionally wrote the following essay, breaking down the song’s deeper meaning and the deeply moving, and relevant message it relays: When I was a little girl, I didn’t fully understand the term “pro-choice.” I thought that meant I would be ok with having an abortion if the time came. One of my older sisters delicately explained to me that pro-choice isn’t about personal choice, it’s about acknowledging that everyone has the right to choose for themselves. A simple shift in perspective made all the difference. As I got older, I realized that not everyone has a wise family member or friend to help them gain perspective. It’s difficult to determine what’s fair or just when we’re inundated with misinformation and skewed personal agendas. But it’s not my place to tell you that you’re wrong. I just tell stories - real stories about living, breathing women who have been overlooked and under-heard.
Photo by Ramon Frias
MuMu Shares Pro-Choice Anthem “Wrapped Up” Live Session + Essay at https://youtu.be/wfWsZZJr9To The Fight Isn’t Over, USE YOUR VOICE More New Music Coming Soon via InKind Music/The Orchard 50 Rock Rockand andBlues BluesInternational International •• August October2022 2021 56
Verse 1 is about a small girl in a little town. She’s being raised by a neglectful mother who has had a string of abusive relationships. This little girl finds solace in a boy who tells her everything she wants to hear, for selfish reasons. She ends up needing an abortion and when she gets to the clinic, protestors scream and throw rocks at her. “They wanted a child to have a child of her own.” Verse 2 is about a college student who’s worked hard in school and has big dreams for her future. She is drugged and raped at a party. Her mother blames her and pressures her to carry the baby to term. Everything she’s been working towards has been taken away by the decisions of others. Verse 3 is about a single mother of six. She does not receive child support and works around the clock to support her continued on next page
children. When her ex stops by one night, she ends up pregnant again. She lives in a state without access to abortion care and she doesn’t have the funds or the time to travel somewhere that does. In a desperate moment, she tries to miscarriage at home. It goes terribly wrong. Abortions have always existed and always will. They are part of our human herstory. There is written documentation of different abortion methods used all over the world. Archeologists have discovered instruments used to perform abortions that date back hundreds of years. Limiting abortion access does not prevent abortions from happening, it prevents them from being safe. An abortion is not an easy choice to make, but it’s an impossible choice to make for a stranger. And if we take away the right to safe reproductive care, people will suffer. People will die. I’ve had the honor of supporting friends while they go through the process of getting an abortion. I’ve never for a second gotten the impression that the process was easy. “Wrapped Up” is a love song to all the women out there who have braved the storm of misunderstanding. All the women who were pressured into a life they didn’t choose. All the women who resisted. All the women who rose up. And all the women who fell. I love you. You deserve better than this. MuMu is a singer/songwriter based in Harlem, New York. Growing up in a house bursting with women (so much so that they nicknamed it ‘The Brothel’), she found early guidance in spangled pop stars who made her feel less alone in a home rife with addiction and mental illness. She began writing songs at age nine but was too shy to perform them. Instead, she whispered them to her goldfish and hid scraps of lyrics in the lining of the couch. Songwriting gave MuMu a sense of agency she severely lacked, even if she wasn’t ready to share them. After studying performing arts in school, MuMu began acting for television, film, and Broadway before deciding that she needed to tell her own stories. In 2018, she began collaborating with music producer and 5x Emmy winner, Jamie Lawrence, who helped craft her 2018 anthem “Free the Nip.” The video for that single has racked up more than a million views on YouTube. MuMu continues working with Lawrence tackling everything from women’s sexual satisfaction (in “Ladies First,” the sultry titular track from her 2019 EP), to never-ending political bullshit (in the rollicking “Battle Cry.”) More recently, MuMu combined her passion for songwriting with her admirable acting skills in the groundbreaking musical film Best Summer Ever which received critical acclaim by all major outlets. Embracing one’s body, women’s rights, and other themes related to sexuality and gender run throughout MuMu’s music, mostly due to her activist godmother who spent her life advocating for children’s rights. MuMu discloses, “She gave me this power I wasn’t getting anywhere else… (She) taught me the importance of using my voice for change.” And use it she does! From abortion rights to hookups, from sparkling highs to soul-wrenching lows, MuMu finds inspiration in all facets of life. Still, she doesn’t just want to challenge people with her music, she wants to inspire, uplift, move. “Women are sometimes confusing, and they’re complicated,” she says. “My music is a window into that experience. But it’s also fun… it’s pop. And if the message is too much for someone at that time, hopefully, they can just dance.”
Watch And Share MuMu “Wrapped Up” - Live Session YouTube @ https://youtu.be/wfWsZZJr9To Listen, Watch, And Share MuMu - “The Bitch In Me” Stream @ http://hyperurl.co/TheBitchInMe YouTube @ https://youtu.be/68c1cdAVjjw MuMu shares the following links, saying: The fight isn’t over. USE YOUR VOICE. Reach out to your State Representative at https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials Donate to Abortion Funds at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fundabortionnow Find an abortion clinic at https://www.ineedana.com Locate an event near you: https://map.wewontgoback.com Website @ https://www.mumuofficial.com Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MusicofMuMu/ Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/musicofmumu/?hl=en YouTube @ https://tellallyourfriendspr.us10.list-manage.com/track/ click?u=63f1674ecdb2a4574b77e600b&id=21213e0814&e=28146e6e7b Tik Tok @ https://tellallyourfriendspr.us10.list-manage.com/track/ click?u=63f1674ecdb2a4574b77e600b&id=bf7399ce5c&e=28146e6e7b Soundcloud @ https://tellallyourfriendspr.us10.list-manage.com/track/ click?u=63f1674ecdb2a4574b77e600b&id=8c05a8b9b4&e=28146e6e7b Bandcamp @ https://mumuofficial.bandcamp.com/album/ladies-first https://map.wewontgoback.com August 2022
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FCG HEEM UNLOADS NEW SINGLE & VIDEO “CLOSER”
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Rapidly rising through the ranks as one game’s hottest buzzing talents, Florida phenomenon FCG Heem unleashes a new single entitled “Closer” today. Listen to “Closer”—HERE at https://fcgheem.lnk.to/ closer On the confessional track, FCG Heem details how he gets one step “Closer” to his dreams of taking care of his people. He confidently raps, “I aint gone lie this shit a blessing to me.” The music video directed by Benny Flash shows this process in real time as Heem performs at a packed out festival. He is also joined by Florida’s HipHop elite as Kodak Black, Youngeen Ace, Supa Cindy, and more show him love. “Closer” was originally teased on Charlie Sloth’s “Fire In The Booth” freestyle series (via Apple Music) and received over 100K combined views to date. He recently maintained his incredible momentum of over 70 million streams and 22 million video views to date with,“Not Lit” [feat. Loe Shimmy] stirring up excitement from fans for more music to come. It arrived on the heels of “Walkin Lick” and “Headlock” [feat. Hotboii]. The latter earned critical acclaim right out of the gate. Raydar plugged the song and highlighted its “melodic prowess.” Last year, he dropped the fan favorite Neighborhood Poetry, tallying millions of cumulative streams. In its wake, Miami New Tunes named him one of “Ten South Florida Artists to Watch at Rolling Loud 2021,” and went to praise him as “relentless.” The project notably boasted “Hood Story” [feat. NoCap], “Beef” [feat. Pooh Shiesty], “Champagne Showers,” and “More Pain” [feat. Toosii]. Beyond his prolific solo output, he also joined forces with LBS Kee’vin on “Hood Dreams.” Straight out of the gate, HotNewHipHop promised, “The track will leave you feeling inspired.” Meanwhile, HipHopDX recently raved, “The 23-year-old rapper has honed his ability to drop catchy bars that sometimes moonlight as hooks.” Plus, “Haha” notably became a favorite song amongst NFL pros with stars such as Eddie Jackson, Dalvin Cook, D.K. Metcalf, Jerry Juedy, Calvin Ridley, and Lamar Jackson quoting lyrics in their social media captions. Receiving critical acclaim, ThisSongIsSick exclaimed, “He’s showing major sparks as one to watch!” About creating music FCG Heem said, “I’m trying to motivate the young people and give them something positive to look up to.” Hailing from the rough spot of Shallow Side in Fort Lauderdale, FL, FCG Heem turns struggles into soaring melodies and
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “CLOSER” AT https://youtu.be/bAHBkZwbmU4 MORE MUSIC COMING SOON Follow FCG Heem on Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/fcgheem/?hl=en Twitter @ https://twitter.com/fcgheem?lang=en YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtytwE-S11hMIIWtigF88LA Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/artist/6GSZ8C4Dyu5VsGz16jAgPC hypnotic rhymes. Music found him at just three-years-old when dad brought home a karaoke machine. As a kid, he spent hours singing along, freestyling, and entertaining the family with a microphone in hand. Growing up of Jamaican descent, he would be exposed to reggae early on and developed a passion for artists such as Sizzla in addition to discovering R&B and hip-hop. Citing 50 Cent as a favorite, he carefully cultivated a singular flow. Music became serious in 2018. Fired from his job at Walmart and now a dad, he started to upload tracks to Soundcloud, beginning with “This Year.” On its heels, “Dead Weight” caught fire organically. Fellow Broward County native and Chicago
Bears free safety Eddie Jackson enthusiastically evangelized and shared it online. The track perked up ears across the industry as it racked up over 224K Soundcloud plays. In between projects such as the Letter To My People EP and Street Virus EP, he signed to New Era Tha Label and 100K Management. Republic Records also took notice and welcomed him to the roster in 2020. After posting up 3 million views and 2 million streams independently and receiving the public endorsement of NFL stars Eddie Jackson, Dalvin Cook, D.K. Metcalf, Jerry Juedy, Calvin Ridley, and Lamar Jackson, he formally tells this story on Neighborhood Poetry.
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The wait is almost over - NILE mastermind and multi-instrumentalist KARL SANDERS has finally unleashed the impending third chapter of his haunting Eastern-ambient Saurian solo project, Saurian Apocalypse via Napalm Records. After revealing the album’s cinematic first and second singles, “The Sun Has Set on the Age of Man” and “Skull Fuck Ritual (Skull Breach Edition)”, KARL SANDERS provides a final twisted taste of Saurian Apocalypse with the release of its entrancing third single, “The Evil Inherent in us All”. The track emerges as an energetic jam with exotic instrumentation, modernized acoustic grooves and urgent tribal vocals. This standout departure from the Saurian blueprint yet again features a thematic axe contribution by guitar virtuoso Rusty Cooley, who also appeared on the album’s first single, as well as percussion by original Nile drummer Pete Hammoura. KARL SANDERS says about “The Evil Inherent in us All”: “I am really happy with how this song turned out. ‘The Evil Inherent in us All’ was a lot of fun to write and record. The song was inspired by an infamous night in Cairo when Egyptian Metal Artist, Impresario, and underground legend Nader Sadek took Derek Roddy, Mahmud Gecekesu and me to a performance of authentic North African Exorcism Music. The unbelievable, highly advanced and intuitive ensemble musicianship we witnessed that night was unforgettable and really opened my eyes and ears to an entire wealth of new music. In keeping with that profoundly moving communal spirit of subtle yet intense shared musical frenzy among the performers, The Evil Inherent has two close friends of mine contributing some serious musical voodoo to the track. Original Nile drummer and lifelong friend Pete Hammoura conjures all manner of wickedly grooving percussion, and our metal brother Rusty Cooley lays down some truly unique acoustic guitar
Photo Credit: Nill Silver
NILE Mastermind Karl Sanders Releases Third “Saurian Apocalypse” Single, “The Evil Inherent In Us All” Listen/Watch the New Video here at https://youtu.be/lRw3KL00DEA KARL SANDERS online: FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/KarlSandersNileOfficial INSTAGRAM @ https://www.instagram.com/karlsandersofficial/ NAPALM RECORDS @ https://label.napalmrecords.com/karl-sanders exorcisms.” Saurian Apocalypse arrives 13 years after the release of its predecessor, 2009’s Saurian Exorcisms, and nearly 20 after 2004’s equally lauded Saurian Meditation. The musical and lyrical
themes on the album detail the vexing fictional journey of Dr. Eduardo Lucciani, one of very few survivors of mankind’s self-destruction, who descends into madness after discovering continued on next page
Upcoming Solo Album, Saurian Apocalypse, out nowvia Napalm Records Pre-Order here at https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/karlsanders Previous Solo Albums Saurian Meditation (2004) and Saurian Exorcisms (2009) Re-Issued, Available on Vinyl for the First Time Pre-Order here at https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/karlsanders 64
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Saurian Apocalypse track listing: 1. The Sun Has Set on the Age of Man 2. The Disembodied Yet Slither Among Us 3. The Evil Inherent in us All 4. Skull Fuck Ritual (Skull Breach Edition) 5. Nada Zaag 6. An Altered Saurian Theta State 7. Nihil Emplexus 8. Divergence: The Long Awaited Third Primordial Ascension 9. Mask of Immutable Self Delusion 10. No Creature More Deserving of Cataclysmic Annihilation Saurian Apocalypse is available in varying formats in various territories: - 1-CD Digisleeve (6 Panel) - 1-CD Digisleeve + Shirt Bundle (RoW Napalm Shop Mailorder Only) - 2-LP Dark Green Vinyl Gatefold - Music Cassette (Napalm Shop Mailorder Only, Limited to 100) - Digital Album
Karl Sanders (continued from previous page) the violent horrors occurring at the hands of the Saurian Masters. Emphasized by unique instruments like the baglama saz (Turkish lute), Ancient Egyptian Anubis Sistrum, Dumbek (Middle Eastern goblet drum), glissentar and gongs, the album’s score weaves cinematic auras and deep grooves, accented by the tribal percussive stylings of original NILE drummer Pete Hammoura and returning Saurian vocalist Mike Breazeale. A wealth of musical growth and refinement, both in Sanders’ guitar technique and compositional development, is strikingly evident. Eons more than just an album of interludes or ambient scores, Saurian Apocalypse is a shining advancement in the Saurian series, and the most dynamic, detailed KARL SANDERS solo release yet. Whispering atop the ominous sands of opener “The Sun Has Set on the Age of Man” are resonant flutes and forewarning percussion, and immediately, the album’s impactful production and crystal clarity is apparent. Produced by Sanders with mixing and mastering by Simone Mularoni at Domination
Studio, the most subtle details of instrumentation shine. “The Disembodied Yet Slither Among Us” peaks between soulful acoustic guitar renderings and droning tones, ushering in “Skull Fuck Ritual (Skull Breach Edition)” as its marching drums make way for Middle Eastern-inspired leads, bridging the journey to 6+ minute desolating trek “Nada Zaag”. Fans will hear an alluring Oud (Middle Eastern lute) solo by Mustafa Stefan Dill and rare acoustic jazz drums by current NILE percussion goliath George Kollias on “An Altered Saurian Theta State”, before the seductive auditory excursion “Nihil Emplexus” and its iridescent strums and ominous chants signal the beginning of the end. Sitar-like sounds immediately ensnare the listener on “Divergence: The Long Awaited Third Primordial Ascension” before hopeful lutes make way for heart wrenching electric shred. Far-Eastern stylings creep in on “Mask of Immutable Self Delusion”, a tranquil moment of atmospheric bliss, before the album closes with the 10 minute epic “No Creature More Deserving of Cataclysmic Annihilation” – featuring the deft skills of jazz guitarist Matthew Kay and the panicked, incensed
narration of Jonathan “ADD” Garofoli as Dr. Eduardo Lucciani himself. In addition to the upcoming release of Saurian Apocalypse, KARL SANDERS and Napalm Records are proud to re-release 2004’s Saurian Meditation and 2009’s Saurian Exorcisms on vinyl for the very first time – out on the same day, July 22, 2022. Saurian Meditation will be available in both 4-Panel CD Digipak and Transparent Orange 2-LP Gatefold Vinyl formats, while Saurian Exorcisms will be available in both 4-Panel CD Digipak and 1-LP White Gatefold Vinyl formats. Act now while copies last! Pre-Order Saurian Meditation (2004) and Saurian Exorcisms (2009) here at https:// www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/ karlsanders Saurian Meditation Transparent Orange 2-LP Gatefold Vinyl Saurian Exorcisms 1-LP White Gatefold Vinyl
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Megadeth Premieres The Next Chapter Of Their Multi-Part Epic Short Film WATCH “NIGHT STALKERS: CHAPTER II” FEATURING ICONIC ARTIST ICE-T, HERE AT https://youtu.be/wAqc_zfmML0 Megadeth’s New Studio Album ‘The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!’ Will Be Released On September 2nd And Is Available To Pre-Order, HERE AT https://megadeth.lnk.to/SickDyingDeadPR MEGADETH recently premiered Night Stalkers: Chapter II, the next installment of a multi-part short film being released alongside MEGADETH’s next single “Night Stalkers” from their new studio album The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead! being released on September 2, 2022, via UMe. Both the video and single for “Night Stalkers” feature a special appearance by the iconic artist Ice-T. Created by Dave Mustaine, produced by Rafael Pensado, and directed by Leo Liberti, Night Stalkers: Chapter II is the next episode in the multi-chapter saga about the origin of Vic Rattlehead as we continue to follow the tragic events leading to our operative’s complete transformation as he systematically exacts his revenge. The first chapter We’ll Be Back: Chapter I premiered in June and within the first hour of release, the album’s first track and video were met with overwhelming fan reaction resulting in the
band trending on Twitter with the video already having garnered over two million views to date. On September 2, Thrash Metal pioneers and metal icons MEGADETH will release their highly anticipated 16th studio album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! via UMe. Featuring twelve new tracks, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! will be released on CD, vinyl, and cassette, as well as digitally through all online partners and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved, HERE AT https:/ /megadeth.lnk.to/SickDyingDeadPR. There will also be a limited deluxe edition 2LP, 12-track album pressed on 180g black vinyl housed in a numbered gatefold jacket with a 12x24 lyrics/credits insert, a lenticular vinyl lithograph and a bonus 7-inch featuring “We’ll Be Back” and the unreleased b-side “The Conjuring (Live).” The limited deluxe edition can only be purchased via MEGADETH’s official online store, through Sound of Vinyl, and uDiscover, and can be pre-ordered HERE AT https://megadeth.lnk.to/SickDyingDeadPR.
Official Website @ https://megadeth.com/the-sick-the-dying-and-the-dead/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Megadeth Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/megadeth/ Twitter @ https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3601357-1&h=3839608001&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FMegadeth&a=Twitter YouTube @ https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3601357-1&h=122652060&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2FMegadeth&a=YouTube 66 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
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described their live show “Like watching some insane hybrid of WAYNE KRAMER, JAMES BROWN, and the Tasmanian Devil.” The band is more than just a live act; they’re also committed to writing great memorable songs. Their new album Hoof It on Pig Baby Records due in Fall 2022 was recorded by Dean Reis at Singing Serpent studio (Plosivs, RFTC) and mixed by Steve Kaye at Sun King Studios. Hoof It will be available on LP, CD and download on September 2nd, 2022 via Pig Baby Records. Pre-orders are available HERE at https://youtu.be/OzF8c8bZDto.
The Schizophonics issue title track from forthcoming album ‘Hoof It’, US tour in September & November The Schizophonics share title track from forthcoming album Hoof It, US tour in Fall San Diego garage-soul trio returns with powerhouse album recorded by Dean Reis (Plosivs, RFTC) Hear/share “Hoof It” (YouTube @ https://youtu.be/tNGwz1-PpXg) (Big Takeover @ http://bigtakeover.com/news/ SongPremiereHoofItbyTheSchizophonics) Watch/share “Won Your Love” video (YouTube @ https://youtu.be/ICV6iN97G_8) San Diego trio The Schizophonics share the title track from their forthcoming fourth. Hear and share “Hoof It” The band recently launched the video for their live show favorite “Won Your Love”. The band previously issued the lead single “Desert Girl” via YouTube @ https://youtu.be/ OzF8c8bZDto, and all other DSPs. The band just recently wrapped up an extensive tour of Europe, and will be very busy for the next year with tour dates around the world. Please see current dates below. Over the last few years, The Schizophonics have built up a formidable reputation around the world as an explosive live act. Tapping into the same unstoppable combination of rock ‘n’ roll energy and showmanship that fueled The MC5 in the heyday of the Grande Ballroom, their wild live show is heavily influenced by artists like James Brown, Iggy Pop, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, and The Sonics. Singer/guitarist Pat Beers and drummer Lety Beers formed the band in San Diego in 2009 and have worked tirelessly since then, playing hundreds of shows around the globe. In 2013 they were recruited as the backing/opening band for El Vez, which helped the band make a name for itself in Europe. Since then, they’ve played in numerous countries, and supported tours by like-minded acts like Rocket From The Crypt, Little Barrie, The Woggles and have opened for the Damned, DEVO, The Hives and Cage The Elephant. Shindig Magazine 68 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
THE SCHIZOPHONICS LIVE 2022: 07/22 & 23 Saint Paul, Quebec, CA - Le Festif! De Baie Saint Paul 09/07 Boise, ID - Neurolux 09/08 Yakima, WA - Punks Bar 09/09 Seattle, WA - Substation 09/10 Portland, OR - Dante’s 09/11 Eugene, OR - Old Nick’s 09/13 Albany, CA - Ivy Room 09/14 San Jose, CA - The Ritz 09/15 Santa Cruz, CA - Moe’s Alley 09/17 Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon 09/23 San Diego, CA - The Casbah 10/21 Los Angeles, CA - Permanent Records Roadhouse 11/03 Indianapolis, IN - Lo-Fi 11/04 Cincinnati, OH - Motr Pub 11/05 Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups 11/06 Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe 11/07 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar 11/08 Washington, DC - City Winery 11/10 Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie 11/11 Brooklyn, NY - TV Ete 11/12 New Haven, CT - Cafe Nine 11/13 Providence, RI - Alchemy 11/14 Boston, MA - Middle East 11/16 Montreal, QC - Casa Del Popolo 11/17 Toronto, ON - The Baby G 11/18 Rochester, NY - Bug Jar 11/19 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern 11/21 Detroit, MI - PJ’s Lager House 11/22 Chicago, IL - Schuba’s 11/23 Milwaukee, WI - Shank Hall 11/25 Minneapolis, MN - Icehouse 11/26 Green Bay, WI - Lyric Room Artist: The Schizophonics Album: Hoof It Label: Pig Baby Records Release date: September 2nd, 2022 01. Desert Girl 02. Creature 03. Hoof It 04. Won Your Love 05. Pendulum 06. The Alchemist Twist 07. Turns To Glass 08. Underneath The Moonlight 09. Rain Down 10. Ready 11. Dance at The End of Time On the Web: schizophonics.com facebook.com/TheSchizophonics instagram.com/theschizophonics pigbabyrecords.com
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photo: Charley Shillabeer
England’s Doom Metal Masters CONAN Share New Single “Righteous Alliance” and Music Video from Upcoming Album, Evidence of Immortality 72 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
Following their much acclaimed 2018 full-length, Existential Void Guardian, and their Live at Freak Valley record released just last year, England’s doom metal masters CONAN strike back again! The trio’s fifth studio album, entitled Evidence of Immortality, drops August 19, 2022 via Napalm Records. As first album singles showcase, CONAN’s upcoming magnum opus will overrun you like a steamroller. The British kings of brutally heavy slowness push their down-tuned axes and cranked pedals to the limit, crushing ears and minds when huge, rumbling chords and malevolent riffs muscle their way in over lances of infinite distortion and drums that pummel and thunder like the hands of a god against the gates of hell. Following their previously released first album single “Levitation Hoax”, today the band has unleashed a brand new, colossal track and music video! “Righteous Alliance” emphasizes that CONAN are the masters of their craft, while Jon Davis spits his lyrics over the uber-synchronized power chord changes and tempo shifts of the unholy trio of bass, drums and guitar. “‘Righteous Alliance‘ is another track that we have been playing live,“ guitarist and singer Jon Davis comments. “It is all about war, and the hopelessness of it. However, a hero is coming and just as death is imminent, an unflinching saviour enters the fray and the day is saved, for now. We were keen to include some fan footage from over the years, thankfully they came through so thanks to everyone for being a part of it.” Watch the new CONAN video for “Righteous Alliance” here at https://youtu.be/ E4cUCVnrnTo Evidence of Immortality was produced by Chris Fielding and mastered by James Plotkin. The album also sees former band member Dave Perry perform on the track “Grief Sequence”. The album’s artwork was provided by the skilled hand and mind of Tony Roberts, architect of the CONAN visual style since day one and their debut release, Horseback Battle Hammer. Bow down and hail CONAN, as their sound will live forever on the battlefield of doom. Their new album will be the ultimate Evidence of Immortality! “Evidence of Immortality was written between December 2019 and late 2021. As such, it has absorbed a lot of the emotions that were flowing through our lives then,” Davis explains. “The lyrics were written on the eve of the war in Ukraine so, naturally, they deal with subjects such as victory and defeat, loss and hope, pain and determination, fear and hatred. Movies such as Conquest, Lord of The Rings, Fire and Ice, Krull, Beast Master and Clash of The Titans once again provided inspiration for the themes of the songs, as we maintain our determination to not write about real world events. You want to escape? Throw this record on, turn the lights off and turn it up until your fucking ears bleed.”
New Music Video Premiering “Righteous Alliance” here at https://youtu.be/E4cUCVnrnTo New Album out August 19, 2022 via Napalm Records Pre-Order here at https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/conan - Cassette Tape Edition - Album Cover Shirt & Digisleeve Bundle (European webstore only) - Digital
CONAN is: Jon Davis – Guitar, Vocals Chris Fielding – Bass Johnny King – Drums Evidence of Immortality track listing: 01. A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots 02. Levitation Hoax 03. Ritual Of Anonymity 04. Equilibrium Of Mankind 05. Righteous Alliance 06. Grief Sequence Evidence of Immortality will be available in the following formats: - Digisleeve - 2LP Gatefold BLACK (ltd 300) - 2LP Gatefold MARBLED CLEAR/ BLACK (ltd 300) - 2LP Gatefold GLOW IN THE DARK (Band exclusive)
Conan Live 12th August - Sonic Blast, Portugal 3rd September - Septembro Negro, Brazil 23rd September - Homme Sauvage, France 14th October - ManorFest, UK 12th November - Tyrant Fest, France
For More Info Visit: www.hailconan.com www.facebook.com/hailconan www.instagram.com/hailconan label.napalmrecords.com
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Photo Credit: Christian Ripkens
POWERWOLF Hits the Official German Album Charts at #1! THE MONUMENTAL MASS A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT Out Now in Physical Formats! Get Your Version Here At https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/powerwolf Watch the Official Live Video for “Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend”, Taken from the #1 Album, THE MONUMENTAL MASS: A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT, HERE AT https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/powerwolf 74 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
THE MONUMENTAL MASS: A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT Tracklist: Chapter I - Temptation 1 Prologue / Monumental Mass Theme 2 Faster Than the Flame 3 Venom Of Venus 4 Stossgebet 5 Demons Are A Girl‘s Best Friend Chapter II - Sin 6 Dancing with the Dead 7 Cardinal Sin 8 Resurrection By Erection 9 We Drink Your Blood 10 Glaubenskraft Chapter III - Confession 11 Fire & Forgive 12 Beast of Gévaudan 13 Incense & Iron 14 Where The Wild Wolves Have Gone Chapter IV - Forgiveness 15 Amen & Attack 16 Army of the Night 17 Blood for Blood (Faoladh) 18 Armata Strigoi 19 Epilogue / Monumental Mass Theme
Powerwolf (continued from previous page) Currently reigning as Germany’s most successful heavy metal band, POWERWOLF has once again entered the Official German Album Charts at #1! With THE MONUMENTAL MASS - A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT, produced by Jörg Michael Musielak, POWERWOLF delivered the new benchmark for music streaming events at the end of 2021. After months of detailed work, a story was crafted and presented in several chapters based on stunning music and elaborately staged cinematic scenes. If you thought you’d seen it all in the live sector, you’ll be proven wrong with this visually stunning event. Now, the breathtaking streaming event has finally been released on DVD, BluRay and many other physical formats and went straight to #1 on the Official German Album Charts! Napalm Records founder and owner Markus Riedler congratulates: “What a special award for this exceptional band and the label! POWERWOLF, a name in the metal scene that always ensures top quality, plus the team at Napalm Records, which has implemented perfectly here and provides the fans with the products they continued on next page
Cover Artwork: Zsofia Dankova THE MONUMENTAL MASS - A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT is available in numerous formats including a 96 page earbook, 48 page mediabook, deluxe box, vinyl box and other elaborate formats. The mediabook format features POWERWOLF’s legendary headline show from Wacken 2019, Hallowed Be The Holy Ground, in full as a special bonus. The show is also included in the vinyl box – you can’t get more live action than this! THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT is available in the following formats: 48 page Mediabook (incl. BluRay, DVD) in DVD Format – THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT & Hallowed Be The Holy Ground: Live At Wacken 2019 96 page Earbook – TV Wolf Cover (incl. Hardticket) – limited to 1000 (Napalm Records Shop exclusive) 96 page Earbook – Wolf Church Cover – limited to 1500 4 LP Vinyl Box Napalm (incl. Vinyl THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT & Vinyl Hallowed Be The Holy Ground: Live At Wacken 2019 + Cover Poster & Wide Shot Poster) – limited to 500 (Napalm Records Shop exclusive) 4 LP Vinyl Box EMP (incl. Vinyl THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT & Vinyl Hallowed Be The Holy Ground: Live At Wacken 2019 + Cover Poster & Torches Poster) – limited to 500 (EMP exclusive) 4 LP Vinyl Box Powerwolf (incl. Vinyl THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT & Vinyl Hallowed Be The Holy Ground: Live At Wacken 2019 + Cover Poster & Group Poster) – limited to 500 (Powerwolf Bandshop exclusive) (incl. Mediabook, Jewelcase, Flag, Ticket, Poster, Wristband) – limited to 900 (Amazon Germany exclusive) – SOLD OUT! 2 CD Jewelcase 2 LP Gatefold Vinyl Music Cassette Digital Album August 2022
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Powerwolf (continued from previous page) want, create the perfect storm! We are glad that the band has such loyal fans and music lovers who appreciate quality in the form of a high-caliber physical product. Something like this drives the band and the label to continue investing in such quality. Thank you for this great support! It’s thanks to you that we get to celebrate such successes in the first place.” At the end of 2021, POWERWOLF – the most successful German metal band to date – fascinated with a streaming event of unprecedented dimensions. Those who thought they had seen everything in the live sector were instantly proven wrong with unmatched audio production and visuals that can only be described as simply breathtaking. Now, this new benchmark for music streaming events is finally available to view any time you crave. THE MONUMENTAL MASS - A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT is unleashed on DVD, BluRay and many other physical formats! POWERWOLF have stood at the peak of superlative, epic metal moments for years, but what they present with this streaming event surpasses anything seen before. All show effects, actors and stage settings work hand in hand with each other and bring the medium of live music to a level never seen before. From battles with clergy to stories of nuns, monks and burning angels, cinematic images immediately capture the viewer. THE MONUMENTAL MASS - A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT is a live spectacle that unveils new details watch after watch, and cements POWERWOLF’s status as the most outstanding band in their genre! Get your version of the #1 album THE MONUMENTAL MASS – A CINEMATIC METAL EVENT HERE AT https:// www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/ powerwolf
the official German album charts at the top position of #1. With Blessed & Possessed (2015), POWERWOLF achieved Gold status (in the Czech Republic) for the first time, while its predecessor, Preachers Of The Night (2013), hit the official German album charts at #1, and the incredible DVD, The Metal Mass (2016), came in at #1 of the German DVD-Charts. POWERWOLF’s holy mass in the name of heavy metal is unstoppable – their latest magnum opus, The Sacrament of Sin (2018), again entered the album charts at #1. The accompanying, almost completely sold out Wolfsnächte headline tour – in which POWERWOLF headlined large venues with their phenomenal stage performances – became a single major triumph, as well as the numerous summer festival shows in which crowds were thrilled and
completely captivated by the wolves and their unique, (un)holy metal mass. In the end of 2021, POWERWOLF celebrated The Monumental Mass – a streaming event that set new standards. With the physical release of the streaming event, the wolves hit the Official German Album Charts on #1 once again! Once the new studio album, Call of the Wild, will be performed live on stage during POWERWOLF’s upcoming tour, charging through the largest halls in Europe, the whole world will be completely under the sign of the wolf pack once again! POWERWOLF are: Attila Dorn – vocals Falk Maria Schlegel – organ Charles Greywolf – guitar Matthew Greywolf – guitar Roel van Helden – drums
Powerwolf On Tour POWERWOLF live:
16.07.22 RO – Bucharest / Romexpo (KISS Support) 20.07.22 DE – Bremen / Bürgerweide (IRON MAIDEN Support) 22.07.22 FI – Laukka / John Smith Festival 24.07.22 FE – Selestat / Rock Your Brain Festival 26.07.22 DE – Frankfurt / Deutsche Bank Park (IRON MAIDEN Support) 03.08.22 ES – Villena / Leyendas Del Rock 06.08.22 DE – Wacken / Wacken Open Air – Headline Show! 19.08.22 FR – Saint Nolff / Motocultor Festival Wolfsnächte Tour 2022 w/ Dragonforce, Warkings 11.11.22 DE – Berlin / Velodrom 12.11.22 DE – Munich / Zenith 13.11.22 CZ – Prague / Tipsport Arena 14.11.22 PL – Katowice / MCK 16.11.22 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 17.11.22 AT – Vienna / Gasometer 18.11.22 DE – Stuttgart / Schleyerhalle 19.11.22 CH – Zurich / Samsung Hall 21.11.22 ES – Barcelona / Razzmatazz 22.11.22 ES – Madrid / Riviera 24.11.22 IT – Milan / Alcatraz 25.11.22 DE – Frankfurt / Jahrhunderthalle 26.11.22 DE – Oberhausen / Rudolf-Weber-Arena 27.11.22 FR – Paris / Zenith 29.11.22 UK – London / Roundhouse* 01.12.22 NL – Amsterdam / Afas Live 02.12.22 DE – Hamburg / Sporthalle 03.12.22 DE – Saarbrücken / Saarlandhalle 04.12.22 BE – Antwerp / Lotto Arena * without Dragonforce
More Info:
The story of POWERWOLF, HOMEPAGE @ https://www.powerwolf.net/ beginning in 2004, reads like a true FACEBOOK @ https://www.facebook.com/powerwolfmetal fairytale, but is the result of the most INSTAGRAM @ hard-working and entertaining live band https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/officialpowerwolf/ on the heavy metal planet. POWERWOLF has not only received NAPALM RECORDS @ plenty of Gold and Platinum awards to https://label.napalmrecords.com/powerwolf date, but numerous releases have entered 76 Rock and Blues International • August 2022
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“The Best Of ROXY MUSIC” To Be Released On Vinyl For The First Time On September 2 PRE-ORDER / PRE-SAVE HERE AT https://roxymusic.lnk.to/TBORM2022 50TH ANNIVERSARY UK ARENA SHOWS BEGIN OCT. 10, 2022 TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE AT https://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/roxy-music Website @ https://www.roxymusic.co.uk/ Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/roxymusic Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/bryanferry_roxymusic/ Spotify @ https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fhOTtm0LBJ3Ojn4hIljLo Apple Music @ https://music.apple.com/us/artist/roxy-music/650587 78
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ROXY MUSIC
ROXY MUSIC
(continued from previous page) The Best Of Roxy Music Track Listing 1. Avalon 2. More Than This 3. Jealous Guy 4. Over You 5. Same Old Scene 6. Oh Yeah! 7. Angel Eyes 8. Dance Away 9. Both Ends Burning 10. Love Is the Drug 11. Out of the Blue 12. All I Want Is You 13. Mother of Pearl 14. Street Life 15. Do the Strand 16. Pyjamarama 17. Virginia Plain 18. Re-Make/Re-Model Marking the very first time an allcareer-spanning ROXY MUSIC collection has been made available on vinyl, The Best Of Roxy Music will be released this September 2, 2022 via Virgin / UMe. This iconic collection of songs will be available on 2LP 180-gram black vinyl and limited yellow vinyl D2C exclusive editions. Both include restored and enhanced artwork, lyrics, and have been remastered at halfspeed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Pre-order The Best Of Roxy Music HERE. Since their inception in 1972, multiplatinum Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Roxy Music have left an indelible mark on the worlds of music, fashion, and art, merging the three with a singular and astonishing vision that brought them immediate, global success. Today they are regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time, whose music and iconic imagery continues to inspire new generations of artists.
generation of aspiring young musicians from St. Vincent, Sex Pistols and Grace Jones, to Duran Duran, CHIC, Franz Ferdinand and countless others. Of course, also included are the all-time great ballads “Oh Yeah!”,” Dance Away,” and “Over You” and their sensitive interpretation of John
ROXY MUSIC “Avalon”
40 years since their eighth and final studio record, Avalon, shot to No. 1 in the UK album charts on its release in 1982. In celebration, Roxy Music will embark upon their first tour in over a decade. Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson will perform together on stage for the first time since their sold-out and critically acclaimed 2011 For Your Pleasure tour. 10 arena shows across North America will take place in September, before arriving in the UK on October 10, 2022 for three special dates in Glasgow, Manchester and London.
May 2022 saw the Arranged in reversepublication of Lyrics, the works chronological order, The Best of Bryan Ferry’s evocative lyrics Of Roxy Music track listing of aspiration and romantic bookends their peerless longing, published in one recording career. The set opens collection for the first time. A with “Avalon” and “More Than celebration of one of the most This,” two iconic compositions that propelled the band’s final Link/Embed: https://youtu.be/bpA_5a0miWk innovative and influential recording artists in the history of album on to multi-platinum recorded music. Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” – a UK No. 1 for the success. “More Than This” alone has band in 1981. Intense and emotive, these 18 garnered more than 123 million streams. In addition to the newly pressed The songs capture the wide-screen vision of Roxy Elsewhere, songs like “Love Is The Drug” Music’s restless creativity across eight classic Best Of Roxy Music, each of Roxy Music’s and “Angel Eyes” pioneered a new fusion of eight studio albums are also reissued this year studio albums, recorded between 1972-1982. rock and disco; “Do The Strand” and “Street as special anniversary editions with a new Life” blurred the lines between genres, and half-speed cut, revised artwork and a deluxe 2022 is a landmark year. Celebrating “Re-Make/Re-Model” and “Virginia Plain” at gloss laminated finish. All albums are both the 50th anniversary of Roxy Music’s once birthed and defined the art-rock available here at https://roxymusic.tmstor.es/ ground-breaking self-titled debut album and movement and influenced more than one August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
Photo by Norman Seeff
Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 Out August 26th on UMe & The Numero Group Blondie Discover “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer,” Original Demo for Autoamerican’s Classic “Go Through It” Listen at https://blondie.lnk.to/ILoveYouHoney Pre-Order Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 Here at https://blondie.lnk.to/AgainstTheOddsPR Resurrected From Obscurity, The Band’s First Definitive Box Features 124 Tracks & 36 Previously Unissued Recordings, Two Volumes of Liner Notes, Track by Track Commentary, Illustrated Discography & More See the unboxing of the Super Deluxe Collectors’ Edition here at https://youtu.be/YinV0R7scrA and hear Blondie’s recently excavated, previously unreleased take on The Doors’ “Moonlight Drive” at https://blondie.lnk.to/MoonlightDrivePR 80
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Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 (continued from previous page) With the release of “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer,” Blondie find the previously forgotten, original demo for the song that became the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers’ classic, countryinflected “Go Through It.” Initially tracked in 1980 and possibly written for Alan Rudolph’s Roadie, a film that marked the band’s collective foray onto the big screen, the recording offers the latest look into the breadth of rediscovered history and multi-genre, musical treasure that is mapped out on the forthcoming box set, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982. Out August 26th via UMe and The Numero Group, following six years of work and two decades that the material spent silently sitting in Chris Stein’s Woodstock barn, Against The Odds 1974-1982 is Blondie’s debut, definitive archive. Featuring 124 tracks and 36 previously unissued recordings – which range from the band’s first-ever basement studio session to dozens of alternate versions, outtakes and demos like “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer” – the historic collection tells a near-complete story of how frontwoman/ songwriter Debbie Harry, guitarist/ conceptual mastermind Chris Stein, powerhouse drummer Clem Burke, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Gary Valentine, guitarist Frank Infante and bassist Nigel Harrison evolved out of pop and punk to become a vital strand of American music’s DNA. While “Go Through It” famously closed out Side A of Blondie’s 1980 album, Autoamerican, “I Love You Honey, Give Me a Beer” appears on one of Against The Odds’ several bonus records of rarities, this one named after Autoamerican’s intended title: CocaCola. Traveling from their New York City home and the Chelsea Sound Studios where they first laid down the “Go Through It”
Photo by Mick Rock demo, Blondie made Autoamerican at Los Angeles’ United/Western Recording with producer Mike Chapman. The concept for the album centered on themes of American pop culture and Americana, and Chris Stein’s original idea was to adorn the cover with a CocaCola logo and nothing else, the ultimate expression of US innovation, pleasure, and capitalism. Though the brand was not interested in Blondie’s idea back then, the art for the bonus LP included on Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 honors the band’s vision. In addition to five albums worth of outtakes and rarities that were mixed and resurrected by Tom Camuso and Steve Rosenthal, Blondie: Against The Odds
1974-1982 delivers all of Blondie’s first six studio albums, which have been remastered from the original analog tapes and cut at Abbey Road Studios. The set also comes with extensive liner notes by Erin Osmon, track by track commentary from all seven of the original band members, essays by producers Mike Chapman, Richard Gottehrer and Ken Shipley, a 120-page illustrated discography, and hundreds of period photographs. The expansive box set is available on four formats, a Super Deluxe Collectors’ Edition (10xLP, 1x7", 1x10" in Red, White, and Black vinyl formats), plus Deluxe 4LP, Deluxe 8CD and 3CD editions. Nearly 50 years and more than 40 million record sales into the legendary New Yorkers’ career, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982 is a collective moment to celebrate their legacy and be immersed into their timeless, trailblazing and perennially timely worlds of music, art, fashion and more.
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The Biker, The Blues, Festivals, & Keep On Truckin’ (If you haven’t done a legitimate blues festival you haven’t lived. Normally two or three days of musical bliss jammed with like minded blues lovers. Most festivals schedule a number of sub-genre performances so just about everybody that attends gets down with the music. Traditional blues, blues rock, slow blues, dirty blues, elegant blues, all kinds of sub-genres each with its own appeal) I was scooting up the freeway on my way to Casper Wyoming from Kansas City by way of I-29 north until I would connect onto Interstate 80 and then head west. I pulled into a place named Nebraska City as I had been told that they had begun to hold an annual Blues Festival. The festival was sponsored by a craft brewing company out of Lincoln Nebraska known as Backswing Brewing Company. I had read that Whispering Pines is where it’s held but I wasn’t too sure at the time. A rather new event but as blues festivals go if any of them continue to host them they grow real big real fast just look at Chicago Blues Fest or any number of others around the world. I had heard that this one offers ribs, corn, brews and blues and basically is there anything else in this world better than that? Prior to arriving I ran into a husband and wife truck driving team. Nice folks from somewhere in the Georgia area I think they said. They specialize in long haul loads and as long as they keep moving the money is good. The gal, her name was Melissa, told me about her Dad, he’s passed now but he was a dyed in the wool Harley guy having rode Shovelheads for the better part of his life. Obviously, I related to that as that’s what I ride so it was an interesting conversation. Melissa, and Mister was his name, warned me about a speed trap about a hundred miles west and I was grateful to learn that bit of news. It was around 4pm and they were headed to a campground a bit up the road. They told me that the place allowed folks on two wheels with a sleeping bag. Kind of rare but it sounded ideal and upon arrival it was definitely a cool place. By the time I had arrived Mister and Melissa had already registered and parked in a shaded truck area. I registered and was directed toward the back end of the campground. Maybe that sounds bad but it wasn’t as they had outdoor sinks with running water, indoor showers, clean restrooms, picnic tables, and grills. Close by there were tent dwellers who seemed a bit skeptical of a guy riding a chopper. I wanted to tell one of them not to worry too much as I had all my shots and was not communicable well at least that I knew of anyway. Odd how some folks can just make rash judgments without knowing someone at all. I suppose that’s due to fear and fear of course can be a weird motivator. Before arriving I had stopped at a NAPA auto parts store and picked up two spark plugs. I thought I would swap them out either later that night or in the morning. The ones in the engine were fine I just wanted to change the heat range due to the upcoming change in elevation. Interestingly enough I got a craving for pork and beans for some reason and decided to walk back to the front entrance where I had noticed a small grocery store. Along the way I saw my new truck driver friends and they motioned me over their way. When I reached them I could smell hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill and typical to on the road hospitality they invited me to sit down and passed me a cold beer. It was interesting because here we were two different lifestyles, them in their big rig and me on my bike, different but not really. They were living on the road and so was I. We understood each other rather well. Melissa had one of those cylindrical blue tooth boom tower speakers sitting on the picnic table. I asked if they would like some good blues. They smiled and nodded yes. I accessed my cell phone and chose a playlist that I used to listen to on flights. The first song was Canned Heat’s famous “On The Road continued on next page
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Page 2 - The Biker, The Blues, Festivals, & Keep On Truckin’ Again”. It started and we toasted to both the music and the lyrics. “On The Road Again” was released by Canned Heat in January of ‘68 on the Liberty Records label. Today it remains a cult classic synonymous with the Woodstock era and freedom. When the song ended a voice yelled out. “good song man play another one” which of course it was coming right up. The next song was a Joe Cocker number named “Feelin’ Alright” and it was my good friend’s, Carlos, favorite song. We lost Carlos a few years back but his spirit will always be with me along with a countless number of his friends. He rode a bike too and one time he traveled with me to Pittsburgh to hear Jake’s Blues (aka Jake Banta) perform on a riverboat that docks there. But that’s another story for another day. The man was something else. But on this day at the campground I was telling Mister and Melissa about that trip and they were familiar with those blues cruises which made the telling of the adventure even better. Next up on the playlist the Rolling Stones with “Miss You”. That somewhat far off voice was back yelling “Oh Ya”. I wondered if a person could get thrown out of a campground for having too much fun. The song “Miss You” came out in May of ‘78 which means it was about ten years later than “On The Road Again”. Both good tunes, upbeat and cool. Melissa told me that her and Mister had met while working at a restaurant in Texas. One of their original ideas was to open their own place. He would be the chef and she would manage the front office. Well they fell in love and eventually cashed their checks, quit their jobs and went lived by the San Jacinto river for a while. To this day they still love camping and cooking and with that she handed over one of her Mister Missy Burgers. Got to tell you it was really good. I still needed to walk to the little grocery store so I begged away and made tracks on the small dirt road. I hadn’t walked about an eighth of a mile and a voice I had become all too familiar with as I am sure most everyone else on our end of the campground knew too shouted, “Hey are you with those folks playing all that music”? I shook my head yes and told him that if they walked over to their campsite they would probably find more music, food, and beer. He seemed to nod yes, grabbed the gal’s hand he was with and it seemed to me they were making a bee line to go see the truck folks. In the back of my mind I also knew that I would have to walk passed everyone on my way back with whatever I would pick up at the store. I remember thinking that this could get interesting and true to form it was indeed. We knocked off a case, swapped road lies, then called it a night. I woke up early smelling fresh mowed grass that I hadn’t noticed the night before. There was a bit of dew on the ground and somebody, somewhere was frying some really good smelling bacon. Time to hit the head, clean up, roll up the bed roll, kick the shovel over and make tracks west. Nice morning with the sun behind me, very little traffic, and the engine was purring. I had installed a new S&S carburetor not too long ago and I thought ok now might be a really good time to see how she does on top end. So I turned my right wrist and in a flash I was hauling ass Jack. I passed 100 mph and decided to slow down (the speed trap would be somewhere around here) and so I dropped continued on next page August 2022 • Rock and Blues International
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Page 3 - The Biker, The Blues, Festivals, & Keep On Truckin’ down to a subtle 80 mph. Life is good out here and I was still thinking about the aroma of that bacon back at camp. So a breakfast nook would be good ust about now but sometimes in life you can’t always get what you want just like the song goes. I finally pulled into Nebraska City was really hungry by now but not for lunch, I still wanted breakfast. I saw an elderly man and the woman he was with getting into an older classic Chevy truck. I pulled up beside the driver’s side window. The man smiled and gave me a thumbs up which was cool. He rolled down his window and I asked where a guy might find a good breakfast in Nebraska City and he said, “Without a doubt The Downtowner Restaurant”. However, he didn’t stop there he went on to tell me that he had owned one of the very first Indian Motorcycles in these parts way back when he was a young man. I asked him if he still had it and he said no actually he had lent it to his cousin who wrecked it and parts were hard to come by back then. I told him I was riding a ‘75 Shovel that took me four years to complete. He nodded, it was obvious that he knew what I was talking about. Interestingly enough he pulled out without me asking where this restaurant was located. You know it seems that if you talk to me about bikes, cigars, blues, or women I seem to lose my memory. Been that way my whole life. Ok so I needed to find this place. Right about then a car pull into that same parking space right beside me and the man got out on the driver’s side. I asked if he could tell me where the Downtowner was and he just smiled and pointed a few store fronts down the sidewalk. I could have crawled up under a rock, duh! So I shut her down and walked about four doors down the sidewalk to the Downtowner Café. Nice clean place, quiet, friendly folks. Breakfast was good and afterward I asked the server where Whispering Pines was and followed the lady’s directions. However, once I arrived I leaned that they hadn’t hosted a blues festival since Co-Vid began and I thought how appropriate. I have a cell phone, I could have called, but no I didn’t so there you go. Nice lady, in fact everybody in Nebraska City was pleasant, she told me that she was sure they would hold another festival in the future. Armed with that information and a bit deflated I was ready for cold beer and music. After all that is what I came for in the first place on my way to Casper and points beyond. Yet it was another nice day and I was wondering what was up the road. Cool Lincoln Nebraska and in Lincoln there is the Zoo Bar which is famous for its annual July Zoo Fest. Lincoln was about one hour away and lots of day light left so why not? Actually when it comes to the blues The Zoo Bar has been supporting live blues for years. When I arrived the place did not disappoint at all. Daytime and the place was already humming right along and with good reason the buzz was that veteran bluesman Albert Castiglia would be performing on Friday, July 22nd. Now that’s cool. For a guy born in 1969 Albert has performed with a virtual who’s who of established greats in blues. Many much older than himself but his gift was and remains obvious. Cool is cool so doors were opening for him and the man was on board. Most recently Albert performed on stage with another great bluesman, Mike Zito. Now Albert was going to entertain blues lovers at The Zoo Bar in Lincoln, way cool for them. By the way if you want to hear some really good blues on the radio check out KZUM from anywhere in the world. Until next month - adios! 84
Rock and Blues International • August 2022