Brought up on The Beatles, they’ve always been my ground zero for music, the gold standard in songwriting, innovation and beautifully crafted guitar parts. Still inspired by them, I decided to release an EP of their songs called, Calvin Travers Plays The Beatles.
Hilton Valentine, The Animals’ original guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, died on January 29, 2021 at his Connecticut home. He was 77 years old.Born on May 21, 1943, near Newcastle, England, Hilton first picked up a guitar after being caught up in the skiffle craze that was spearheaded by Lonnie Donegan, whose cover of “Rock Island Line” became a Top 10 hit in both England and America.
Quarto Valley Records (QVR) recording artists, The Immediate Family, a rock & roll band composed of longtime friends and legendary musicians Danny Kortchmar (guitar and vocals), Waddy Wachtel (guitar and vocals), Leland Sklar (bass), Russ Kunkel (drums) and Steve Postell (guitar and vocals), recently participated in several events at NAMM’s Believe in Music week (Jan 18-22)
Scott McKuen will release his new album, New Morning, this Spring, with pre-orders call set to go. He tells us, “I am extremely happy to announce that my album ‘New Morning’ is available for pre-order! Available on 180g double vinyl, Compact Disc and digitally via my website and Bandcamp store https://scottmckeon.bandcamp.com/album/new-morning. The official release date is April 23.
The world situation with COVID-19 has made the concert scene disappear, allowing many musicians to focus on the studio and invest their time in composing and recording material. On the other hand, Neal Morse is a musically restless artist
For the past 127 years, Gibson has been synonymous with creating, inspiring, supporting and shaping sound. Gibson has emerged as the legitimate industry leader by leveraging its’ iconic past and leaning into the innovative future. Gibson is played by the best and brightest artists, across generations and genres and is widely considered as the most relevant, most played
Leslie West, born Leslie Weinstein, has passed away. The iconic guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and storyteller has left a legacy that to this day is celebrated by peers and fans across The World. Weinstein was born in New York City, and first emerged in the scene as a member of The Vagrants. A few years later he and Felix Pappalardi formed Mountain, a band that was amongst the first to pioneer the genre later to become known as Heavy Metal.
Blues guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Andy Watts, known in his native Israel as Israel’s “Ambassador of the Blues”, has released his latest album, the aptly titled Supergroove, on Booga Records.
Nile Rodgers’ We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) created the Youth To The Front Fund (YTTFF) to support and fund under 30-year-old BIPOC-centered youth activists, youth-led organizations, projects, innovations and creative solutions that are at the forefront of fighting systemic racism, inequality and injustice in the United States and around the world.
One cool album released in early 2020, New Shade of Black gifts fans with some initial cuts of several songs released on records by The Flaming Stars. The songs were captured after Max noodled around developing them, so we get early glimpses of his style and lyricism.
