You know George. He’s that gravely-voiced madman who sings about bein’ bad and drinkin’ alone. He would like, no, he demands one bourbon, one scotch, and a beer, and screw you if you don’t have it. He’s bad to the bone and has been since he started playing blues standards and his own dirty originals with his band The Destoyers in the mid ’70s.
In May 2002 I was honored to interview a true musical legend, as an artist and as a guitarist, the Kinks’ incomparable Dave Davies. At the time, the six string virtuoso and innovator of the infamously raunchy “You Really Got Me” guitar riff had just released, and was touring the U.S. in support of, his first studio album in nearly twenty years, the imaginative, socially conscious, and critically acclaimed Bug.
The Motor City Mad Man is on the loose and touring the US for his summer I Still Believe tour. While most people are more familiar with Ted for his political candor, music fans know Ted from where it all began, back in 1975 on his first solo CD Ted Nugent.
The Arc Angels, their sole 1992 self-titled international release on Geffen Records, and the epic, incendiary musical maelstrom that they divined in their short lived body of work, ignited fireworks of accolades from both the public and the music industry, further propelling Sexton’s career and renown into the stratosphere to this very day. But personal problems and creative differences among the band’s members forced The Arc Angels’ dissolution in 1994, just as they were only beginning to fulfill their promise.
In October 2002, I was honored to interview Texas singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso extraordinaire, the incomparable Charlie Sexton. Sexton was, at the time, taking a few hours break from his extensive and very esteemed gig as Bob Dylan’s tour guitarist, which after some three very high profile, prestigious years’ tenure from 1999 to 2002, was coming to an end, due to Charlie’s stellar and in demand forays as a producer. Also getting in the way was writing and crafting his fourth solo album, 2005’s Cruel And Gentle Things.
Charlie Sexton is an extraordinary gifted artist, whose lifetime musical odyssey has profoundly touched, as well as likewise been charted, by the extraordinary circumstances, fate, and people of music legend, legend of which the revered Sexton has often arguably been a part of himself.
Alter Bridge was formed out the fires of Creed in 2004 by Mark Tremonti and Scott Phillips after their relationship with singer Scott Stapp had gone array. The new band hooked up with then ex-Creed bassist Brian Marshall and former Mayfield Four frontman Myles Kennedy and together recorded their first CD; One Day Remains. It went gold in the United States and spawned three singles. In 2007 the band released the critically acclaimed second album, Blackbird, which included the hit singles “Rise Today” and “Watch Over You.”
Rejoining Ted Nugent for his summer 2011 I Still Believe Tour is none other than Derek St Holmes on vocals.
Derek is the original voice on so many of Ted’s classic hits, like “Stranglehold”, “Hey Baby”, “Just What the Dr. Ordered”, and “Dog Eat Dog” to name just a few. He was a member of The Amboy Dukes from 1973 and provided that magic soulful voice to the ground breaking Ted Nugent solo record in 1975. In 1978, Derek headed off for his own solo musical adventure, but again collaborated with Nugent on the Spirit of the Wild CD and tours in 1995-96. Fast forward to 2011, and Derek is now a full-time member of the Nugent Band once again, so buckle up for one hell of high octane All-American rock ‘n’ roll party.
With 20 years of experience under his belt, Bill Gaal has been a musician, touring the world, packing houses and pleasing a legion of fans in the early ’00s metal band Nothingface. Not only did he play bass, but he sat behind the boards, serving as a producer, engineer and mixer, having co-written and co-produced all of Nothingface’s five releases.
You may not have heard of Bob Boykin, but it’s a near certainty that you have heard him play. It’s always inspiring and equally uncanny how some guitarists have the creative juice to produce work that can fit into a broad spectrum of the performing arts. Bob Boykin has been a “go to” session player in Los Angeles and Nashville and a performing artist with some of the country’s top acts. He has also written an impressive body of music that regularly finds its way into top television programs and commercials as well as major motion pictures.
