RATT, like many hard rock bands born out of California in the early ‘80s, were staples on MTV with such hits in heavy rotation like “Round and Round,” “You’re in Love,” “Way Cool Junior,” and “Wanted Man.” In 1984 they released their debut LP Out of the Cellar, and throughout the mid-to-late ‘80s, released a barrage of commercial hard rock LPs including Invasion of Your Privacy, Dancing Undercover and Reach for the Sky.
Rolling off Zep’s ’69 Led Zeppelin II album, “Heartbreaker” opens up with a simple, yet captivating, walking bass line by monster player, Jimmy Page, who later launches into an unaccompanied lead solo that’s been ranked as the #16 greatest solo of all time by Guitar World. And, of course, it never hurt a group to have legendary engineer, Eddie Kramer, in the studio.
Co-Producer Michael Bay optioned the bestselling novel I Am Number Four, authored by James Frey and Jobie Hughes, and assembled a smart and savvy screenwriting team comprised of Smallville’s Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Marti Noxon. With Disturbia Director D.J. Caruso at the helm, expectations loomed high for a bright, intelligent, science fiction thriller steeped in thoughtful character development, emotional resolve, and rich narrative. Well, maybe not so much.
Heavy metal would not be the same without the iconic lads of Judas Priest. Conjoining guitar leads of guitar masters K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton into the dark mix added a signature to the group’s sound that would weld heavy metal to the accelerator and “Breaking the Law” stages the guitar duo drive hard.
I was a young boy when I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. Experiencing Ed Sullivan introduce the Beatles, unlike other boys, I wasn’t interested in being in the band. I wanted to introduce great talent to the world.
In the fall of 1966, Jimi Hendrix was in London making a name for himself among the elite of British rock, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, The Who and others. With bassist and backing vocalist, Noel Redding, and drummer, Mitch Mitchell, the three would startle the world with the bluesy, psychedelic rock of their group, The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
HellYeah is a Supergroup comprised of Grammy nominated and chart topping musicians – drummer Vinnie Paul, vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Greg Tribbett and Tom Maxwell as well and bassist Bob Zilla. As HellYeah they also have an impressive history. Their debut album has sold nearly 400,000 copies in the US and produced two Top 10 Active Rock singles “Alocohaulin Ass” and “You Wouldn’t Know.” Their second CD, Stampede debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charted album to date.
Before James Taylor’s breakaway hit “Fire and Rain,” the sensitive Taylor traveled a hard road, suffering from depression, drug abuse and fitful starts and stops to his life, let alone his musical ambitions. But, the magic of music kept pulling him forward and his talents propelled him to erratic success until “Fire and Rain” literally made him a household name.
Modern rockers Irvine have recently released a video for their single “Welcome Home.” The song features strong lyrics, great musicianship and a vocal hook that sticks in in your head and just won’t let go. Irvine brings a maturity to their songwriting and performances that one would expect from a band much older and experienced, a testament to their natural talent and ability to play off their strengths.
Head out to an Iron Maiden’s gig and you’ll most likely still hear them play “Fear of the Dark,” from the 1992 album of the same name. It’s a crowd favorite and when released hit #5 on the U.K. charts. When Maiden played the song at the huge South American rock festival, Rock in Rio, their fans sang along, 250,000 fans strong – with the opening guitar duet, before joining in with arms raised and fists pumping.
