Author Archives : Dana

JOE SATRIANI ANNOUNCES “SURFING TO SHOCKWAVE” 2016 RETROSPECTIVE TOUR

In 1986 Joe Satriani released his first solo album through Relativity Records, Not of This Earth. Fast-forward to this year when Satriani released his 15th solo album, “Shockwave Supernova” to critical acclaim. To mark this major milestone anniversary, Satriani will bring to life the Surfing to Shockwave 2016 Tour, an evening spotlighting his 30-year career.

The 45-date tour celebrating “30 Years of Mind-Bending Guitar Daredevilry,” a phrase coined in a June 2014 career-defining retrospective feature in Rolling Stone, launches February 25th at Seattle’s legendary Paramount Theatre crossing the US into Canada ending April 24th. The shows will highlight music over Satriani’s entire career, including songs the legendary guitarist hasn’t played live in over 20 years.

Joe’s touring band remains Marco Minnemann on drums, Bryan Beller on bass and Mike Keneally on keys & guitar.

Tickets will be on sale beginning September 25th with exclusive Joe Satriani meet & greet and VIP packages available on sale starting September 23rd, for details please visit, satriani.com.

Surfing to Shockwave 2016 Tour (Leg 1):

February 25 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
February 26 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
February 27 Grand Sierra Theatre Reno, NV
February 28 Fox Theater Oakland, CA

March 1 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA
March 3 Fox Performing Arts Center Riverside, CA
March 4 Pearl Concert Theater @ Palms Casino Las Vegas, NV
March 5 Talking Stick Resort Ballroom Scottsdale, AZ
March 7 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
March 8 Abraham Chavez Theatre El Paso, TX
March 9 The Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
March 10 House of Blues Houston, TX
March 11 Laurie Auditorium San Antonio, TX
March 12 Orpheum Theater New Orleans, LA
March 14 Iron City Birmingham, AL
March 15 Saenger Theatre Pensacola, FL
March 16 Parker Playhouse Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Tickets on-sale 10-2)
March 17 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
March 18 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL
March 19 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL

In related news, Satriani recently revealed that Chickenfoot is in the process of recording a new track, read more here.

IRON MAIDEN’S “BOOK OF SOULS” HIT THE NUMBER ONE SPOT IN 24 COUNTRIES

Iron Maiden have reached the number one spot in 24 countries with latest album The Book Of Souls.

They’ve also secured top-four placings in 10 other locations, with more best-selling results expected soon.

Maiden’s first-ever double-length studio release was already confirmed as the UK‘s top seller.

It’s also at number one in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The follow-up to 2010’s The Final Frontier sits at number two in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, New Zealand and Poland. It’s at number three in Turkey and number four in South Africa and the USA.

Parlophone Records boss Miles Leonard says, “We are delighted to announce that The Book Of Souls is number one in 24 countries with more to come – but more impressively, it’s sold more than The Final Frontier in its first week five years ago. A remarkable achievement!”

This week, drummer Nicko McBrain revealed that he’d momentarily thought the band were finished when he heard frontman Bruce Dickinson was suffering from cancer.

source: classicrock.teamrock.com

GUITARIST RICHIE KOTZEN TALKS NEW WINERY DOGS, SONGWRITING, SOUL MUSIC AND POISON

Richie Kotzen of The Winery Dogs (Kotzen/Billy Sheenan/Mike Portnoy) called into Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley to talk about the new Winery Dogs record Hot Streak.

The new record is a stylistic departure from their self titled debut while keeping their hard rock roots. The lead single Oblivion and a majority if the record is in the vein of what fans came to love with the preceding release while showing a few different sides of their musical tastes. The song Fire has a very Eagles feel while Ghost Town has a Concrete Blonde vibe.

“The record does have a broader style and I think that’s a good thing”, Kotzen said.

Unlike the debut record, Hot Streak contained no material that Kotzen had previously came up with. On the first record, Richie had brought in songs that he had already been working on.

“I brought finished songs in. I’m No Angel, Damaged, Elevate; they were all recorded. Elevate was actually a little different because I had a verse from another song and that Elevate chorus, so we did some kind of Frankenstein things with what I had written, but there is at least five songs on that first record that came off of my hard drive” he said. “This time, that I just decided in my own mind, that I didn’t want to be bringing in my songs. If I’m sitting in a hotel room and I write a song, that’s my song. I’ll put it on my record and be done with it.”

He also said, “I wanted this record to really just come from the three of us, at least from the initial foundation and it really worked well by doing that.”

Kotzen also talked about how he is doing it because he enjoys playing with Sheenan and Portnoy.

“The reality is that we do this because we love it and we will keep doing it as long we love it and as there’s a base and people that will respond favorably, we’re gonna keep doing it” he said.

“I personally don’t need to be in a band. I haven’t been in a band since 2002 and before that it was another 10 years since I was in a band. I love doing what I do, I’m a solo artist, that’s who I am, I will always be that. It’s what I enjoy” Kotzen continued.

When getting on the topic of Prince and soul music, he had a message for musicians out there, “As an artist I think it’s mandatory you can play at least two instruments, write your own songs, sing your own songs, and then be able to get on stage and do it live and do it well. Yet, there are so many people that are huge recording artists that can’t even sings and somehow they are playing stadiums. It’s really bizarre, it’s a bizarre thing. I try not to think about it too much because it can make think I don’t want to be a part of it.”

When asked about his time in Poison, he had nothing but good things to say, but also talked about when it went sour for him.

“I joined a band that really opened a creative door for me to do whatever the hell I wanted. That Native Tongue record could have easily been my solo record and they let me do what ever I wanted and the only difference is that I co-wrote lyrics with Bret Michaels and he was the lead singer. They couldn’t have treated me better on a creative level during that process” he said. When they started playing live is when the problems started for him.

“When it got really hard and was really like a wake up call and I realized “oh, this is not your band, dude” is when we got on the road and suddenly we’re only playing two songs from the new record and I’m up there playing songs; not that they’re bad because they’re good songs and people like those songs and they sold a lot of records, but it just didn’t connect with me. They have a song called “Ride The Wind” and I can remember playing it thinking “I have no emotional connection to this whatsoever; I could be reading a book right now. I’m not here, I’m not present, I’m not enjoying this” and then obviously things happened and I moved on” said Kotzen.

On his departure from the band?

“I can tell you the truth about what happened back then. It was really sensationalized and not nearly as insane as what was put in the press. They needed a story because the tour was bombing and the band was really going into oblivion, so to speak. They needed a story but in the end we’re all on good terms”.

The entire episode can be heard through Spreaker and iTunes.

WEBSITE AND APP COMMEMORATE THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PMRC SENATE HEARINGS

Back in the mid 80’s, the PMRC published a list called The Filthy Fifteen, which were the top 15 songs they wanted banned due to objectionable lyrics suggesting violence, sex, drugs, alcohol or the occult. They petitioned for lyrics to be printed on the album jackets and no one was safe–heavy metal acts were right there alongside the pop stars — AC/DC, Madonna, Motley Crue, Mary Jane Girls, Judas Priest, Prince,, W.A.S.P., Mercyful Fate, Vanity, Def Leppard, Cyndi Lauper and Twisted Sister all made The Filthy Fifteen list. In November 1985, the RIAA agreed to put “Parental Advisory” labels on selected releases at their own discretion.

The Filthy Fifteen App features exclusive interviews by the artists whose artistic freedom was directly impacted in 1985 after Tipper Gore and a group of influential Washington housewives started the PMRC (The Parents Music Resource Center) which pressured the record labels to put “Parental Advisory” stickers on albums with explicit lyrics.

Highlights of the App include never-before-seen images from world-renowned photographer, Mark “Weissgy” Weiss. The visual power of Mark’s iconic images helped define the music and aesthetics of the Decade of Decadence. Weiss is proud that his photographs of The Decade That Rocked are an integral part of music history.

Please visit filthyfifteen.com for more information.

THE SCORPIONS’ ROCK DOCUMENTARY “FOREVER AND A DAY” HITS THEATERS IN OCTOBER

International rock superstars, Scorpions, continue to celebrate their 50th year in metal with a special one-night national screening event of their first theatrical release, the documentary film, Forever And A Day, Wednesday, October 14th. Watch a trailer below.

Presented by SpectiCast and Tempest Films, Forever And A Day captures the history of one of the most influential bands in music history – following them for 18 months with an insightful look into the dynamic that has kept them at the top of the metal community. Filmmaker Katja von Garnier accompanied the Scorpions on their Final Sting dates – originally the band’s farewell tour around the globe, from Bangkok via Los Angeles to Moscow, the resulting documentary Forever and a Day is a moving portrait of their unique history, packed with candid moments and Scorpions’ memories, culminating with the decision to scrap their retirement plans. Klaus Meine adds, “I think it’ll be a really special film for our fans.”

For more information on locations and tickets, please go to the-scorpions.com/foreverandaday/.

The title, Forever And A Day, outlines the philosophy Scorpions have internalized since their early days. In the Eighties of the past century, they wrapped it up in the slogan “Don‘t Stop At The Top” (allegorical: Never rest on your laurels). They simply are travelers, who always seek new challenges, overcoming all obstacles along the way.

Scorpions continue their global assault in support of their 19th studio album, Return to Forever (Sony Music/Legacy Recordings), just released September 11th, with North American dates (see below). For additional info please visit The-Scorpions.com.

Scorpions Return to Forever 50th Anniversary Tour, featuring longtime members Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and Matthias Jabs, alongside James Kottak (drums) and Paweł Mąciwoda (bass), kicked off in May 2015 with dates on four continents. For these milestone shows Scorpions have built a career-spanning setlist of their hits, anthems, ballads and vintage classics. In September 2015, Scorpions released their 19th studio album, Return To Forever, and embarked on the first leg of their North American tour featuring special guests Queensryche.

Remaining dates of the first leg of their North American tour:

September 18 Toronto, ON Canada Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
September 19 Montreal, QC Canada Bell Centre
September 22 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion
September 23 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica
September 25 Windsor, ON Canada Caesar’s Windsor TBA
September 26 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
September 29 Denver, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
October 1 San Jose, CA SAP Center
October 3 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
October 6 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
October 7 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Hotel
October 9 Seattle, WA ShoWare Center