Guitarist Joe Satriani once again addressed his disappointment that Chickenfoot would not be making any new music.
Speaking with Eddie, on the June 8th edition of his Sirius/XM show, Eddie Trunk Live, Satriani stated, “I think I was the one who was always banging on those doors, saying to those guys, ‘You’ve gotta come out and make another record. Let’s do it.” He continued, “…The first record was really fun, ’cause it was a crazy idea, but all the other people that we work with suddenly realized, ‘Wow! If this thing takes off, what are we gonna do?’ And I think that, sort of, started to… That was the beginning of the first dark cloud, and so the second record was harder to pull off, and it made the third one almost impossible.”
He added,”…When we get together and play, like we did… Chad and Sammy and I were playing together at the Acoustic-4-A-Cure benefit about two and a half weeks ago in San Francisco, and that was so much fun; it was great to play with those guys. I think I have a real connection with them. But, at the same time, Sammy’s got The Circle, and their new record is good. Sammy sounds very comfortable there.”
Joe’s new solo album, Shockwave Supernova, will be released on July 24th. To stream On Peregrine Wings from the forthcoming record, please click here. To read more about Shockwave Supernova, go here.
Robert Cavuoto of Guitar International spoke with former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing. Excerpts from the interview appear below.
Robert: I understand you had your reasons for leaving [Judas Priest], but how did things go from the band retiring in 2010 with a Farewell tour, to you leaving in 2011 and them continuing on?
KK Downing: I’m glad Priest is continuing on. I was so close to doing that tour it wasn’t funny. It was just one of those things. I had lots and lots of reasons for not continuing, as I wasn’t content with things as they were. I wasn’t happy with the band’s live performance. I thought it could have been better, not that the fans would notice.
To me, Priest was always a stealth machine and that’s what I liked about it. Even though you get older you still need to be able to deliver the goods. People came a long way and paid a lot of money to see us so you’ve got to make sure you still give 110%. I thought that should be inherent and what it should always be.
Robert: Would you ever consider joining Priest for a special one-off show or perhaps join them on stage for a song or two?
KK Downing: [Laughing] No, I don’t think that will ever, ever happen. Obviously I’m quite happy for Richie Faulkner to be in the band. But, I really wasn’t expecting to have someone who had so many familiarities as me, the looks and everything. At a glance nothing too much has changed for the fans.
Robert: Can we expect a solo CD or hear you on someone’s CD, as a guest performer?
KK Downing: It’s hard for me to be creative in music, if I thought I was still coming up with good ideas and writing good stuff it would probably still be befitting of Priest. It’s hard after 40 years; we’ll see what happens in time.
I get lots of requests to perform on people’s CDs. I had a bad time with the people from Cleopatra Records; they got me involved in a Who Tribute CD. The producer hacked the solos to death and then randomly put it into the song.
On my site you can hear what I originally did. I also did a solo on Geoff Tate’s CD. People have always asked me to do stuff, but I was always dedicated to Priest. It’s great that people still remember me.
Robert: Since your departure from Priest has any famous bands reached out to you to play for them?
KK Downing: There have been some good people putting tours together and asked me to join with them like the Rock n’ Roll All-star tour when they went to South America.
Paul Rodgers asked me to do some dates as well. I wasn’t able to do either this time around [but] thought it would be fantastic to play with them sometime.
Robert: Have you listened to Priest’s 2014 release, Redeemer of Souls?
KK Downing: I haven’t listened to all of it. Rob’s voice is synonymous with Priest and time will tell if there are any classic Priest songs that come out of it.
Robert: Is there a favorite Priest album that stands out to you as the epitome of what Priest was all about?
KK Downing: I think British Steel really hallmarked the phrase “Heavy Metal.”
I also think that everything came together on that album for us as a band. It was the first time everyone in the band was wearing leather and studs. When we went out on that tour it seemed like a new ship had set sail.
We felt like we had a lot of power, even though we were the underdogs as a support band. I can still recall when we were back stage dressed in our metal uniform, we felt like we had strength. We were a powerful force to be reckoned with.
Robert: I take it that you look fondly back on those times developing and growing as a band?
KK Downing: Yeah, I think when you look back at the ’80s; you had a lot of major bands come through town. It seems like all the bands were good and had value.
There were some great guitar players that broke through, like Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. They took over for the guitarists of the ’70s like Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton – all the great players.
In the ’90s it just stopped. Even though there were a lot of good players out there, you still have to play good songs. I like to think that our PainKiller CD ignited some good bands, as well, like Pantera, Exodus and, of course, Metallica. Those bands got a lot faster and more furious. Everybody thought this was the way to go.
Read K.K.’s entire interview with Guitar International, here.
While Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators are currently in the midst of a headlining world tour, the group has partnered with BitTorrent to release Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 as a BitTorrent Bundle on Monday, June 15th, the same day the live concert will be released on DVD, Blu-ray, 3LP, 2CD through all major retailers and digital formats simultaneously via Eagle Rock Entertainment. The group will make the digital version available in the BitTorrent Bundle on Monday, June 15th in the U.K. and on Tuesday, June 16th in the U.S. For more information, visit here. BitTorrent Bundle has a global user base of 170 million music and film fans.
Shortly after the release of their current World On Fire album–Slash’s third straight solo album to debut in the Top Ten in the U.S and the second album with his official band The Conspirators–the iconic American rock guitarist, songwriter and film producer SLASH took the stage with his band The Conspirators which features Myles Kennedt (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums), Todd Kerns (bass) and Frank Sidoris (touring guitarist) at the legendary Roxy Theatre on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA. A staple of rock history that helped birth countless bands, including Guns ‘N’ Roses, the atmospheric venue gave fans a brilliant opportunity to see the band up close as they delivered a set packed with recent solo tracks, including several from the new album World On Fire, and classics from Slash’s days with Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver: Ghost, Back From Cali, World On Fire, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Anastasia,Paradise City, Slither, Nightrain and many more. The intimate setting inspired the band to deliver a scintillating, dynamic performance that is brilliantly captured on Live At The Roxy 9/25/14. Slash’s guitar prowess paired with the raw energy of Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators proves a truly potent live force and Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 sets the benchmark for high octane rock n roll shows.
Last month, Slash and his band partnered with IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare to raise awareness of the slaughter of elephants which is leading to their early extinction, to read more about this, please click here.
Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 DVD/Blu-Ray track listing:
1) Ghost
2) Nightrain
3) Back From Cali
4) You Could Be Mine
5) Rocket Queen
6) Bent To Fly
7) Starlight
8) You’re A Lie
9) World On Fire
10) Anastasia
11) Sweet Child O’ Mine
12) Slither
13) Paradise City
Bonus Tracks:
(1) Stone Blind
(2) You’re Crazy
(3) Wicked Stone
(4) 30 Years To Life
Live At The Roxy 9/25/14 3LP/2CD track listing:
1) Ghost
2) Nightrain
3) Halo
4) Back From Cali
5) Stone Blind
6) You Could Be Mine
7) Doctor Alibi
8) You’re Crazy
9) Wicked Stone
10) 30 Years To Life
11) Rocket Queen
12) Bent To Fly
13) Starlight
14) You’re A Lie
15) World On Fire
16) Anastasia
17) Sweet Child O’ Mine
18) Slither
19) Paradise City
Rockers Lynch Mob are back this summer with their most-anticipated release to date. Rebel, the band’s 8th studio release, is slated for worldwide release on August 21st via Frontiers Music SRL. The first song released from Rebel is the scorching Automatic Fix. The song features an exciting opening riff and vocal melody and Lynch burns on one of his best guitar solos. A video for the song can be seen below. Fans who pre-order the album via iTunes will receive an instant download of Automatic Fix.
Talking about Automatic Fix, singer Oni Logan states, “This is an interesting song in that it was the last song that was recorded vocally. I initially thought that it might be best used as instrumental. I simply love this song because of its energy and attitude.”
From the blistering album opener Automatic Fix to the album closer War, it is clear Lynch Mob is back to show fans why they are one of rock’s most-loved bands. The Lynch Mob line-up on Rebel is comprised of namesake George Lynch on guitars, Oni Logan on vocals, Jeff Pilson on bass and Brian Tichy on drums. Songs like Testify, Sanctuary, and Dirty Money showcase Oni Logan’s trademark vocal ability while putting his diverse lyrical content on full display. The album was produced by George Lynch collaborator Chris “the Wizard” Collier. An EPK talking about the new album was recently released and can be seen below. Skip to 2:52 to watch Lynch and Logan discussing the record.
“With Rebel, we allowed ourselves to move outside our normally imposed self restraints and tread some forbidden sonic territories,” recalls George Lynch. “What surprises me is no matter how far we attempt to stray away from the classic ‘Lynch Mob formula,’ we can never really escape the chemistry between myself and Oni. There’s just a thing that happens there that’s unique to us and undeniable.”
Rebel track listing:
1) Automatic Fix
2) Between The Truth And A Lie
3) Testify
4) Sanctuary
5) Pine Tree Avenue
6) Jelly Roll
7) Dirty Money
8) The Hollow Queen
9) The Ledge
10) Kingdon Of Slaves
11) War
Lynch Mob formed in 1989 after George Lynch parted ways with his former band Dokken. This year marks the 25th Anniversay of Lynch Mob’s debut release Wicked Sensation (see videos for River of Love and the title track below), which is the band’s most popular work to date achieving gold-selling status. The band has released seven other albums throughout their career. Lynch Mob will be touring throught the summer in support of Rebel with more information to be announced at a later date.
Former Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy has released a video for the song, I Can’t Take It, from his forthcoming solo album, Smash. Watch it below.
Pearcy is currently on tour, his recording and touring lineup includes:
Greg D’Angelo – Drums
Erik Ferentinos – Guitar
Matt Thorne – Bass
Chris Hager – Guitar
Stephen Pearcy tour dates:
Jun 13 @ Riverside Park Amphitheatre Rushville, IN
Jun 27 @ J & P Cycles Annual Open Monticello, Iowa
Jul 11 @ Mc Henry Fiesta Days Festival Peterson Park, Mc Henry, IL
July 17 @ The Boardwalk Orangevale, CA
July 18 @ Roc Bar Theatre San Jose, CA
Fri, Jul 24 @ Sycuan Casino El Cajon, CA
Fri, Jul 31 @ 210 Kapones San Antonio, TX
Aug 1 @ Scout Bar Houston, TX 77003
Aug 2 @ Brewsters Corpus Christi, TX
Aug 4 @ Trees Dallas, TX
Aug 8 @ Rockn’ The Railroad Fest Trails End Concert Park Sheridan, WY
Aug 15 TBA
Sep 7 @ Milwaukee Rally Harley Davidson Milwaukee, WI
Sep 12 @ TBA
Sep 25 @ Bossanova Ballroom Portland, OR 97214
Sep 26 @ Studio Seven Seattle, WA
Oct 3 @ Storm Stadium Outdoors/Hair of the Dog Festival Storm Stadium Outdoors Lake Elsinore, CA
Allan Fryer, singer for the Australian band Heaven who once auditioned to front AC/DC, has died after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was sixty years of age.
Heaven released a trio of albums in the early ’80s, touring with Dio, Kiss, Motley Crue and Judas Priest along the way. Their 1983 album, Where Angels Fear to Tread, featured guests such as Ronnie James Dio, Lita Ford and Glenn Hughes. But Fryer may be most famous outside of Australia as a footnote in AC/DC’s search to replace Bon Scott. Fryer was closer to getting the gig than many people knew. Brian Johnson eventually took over, but in a 1999 interview, Fryer said he originally had the backing of AC/DC producers George Young and Harry Vanda, and that they’d already started adding his vocals to existing tracks.
“They took Bon’s voice out of the tapes on songs like Whole Lotta Rosie, Shot Down In Flames, Sin City and all that stuff. They shoved me in them,” Fryer said. “I went back to Adelaide and found out from George and Harry that I had gotten the gig. Then it came on a TV show that local boy Allan Fryer is the new singer for AC/DC. I said, ‘What the hell?’ – because nobody was supposed to know anything like this. So George and Harry wanted me in the band, but meanwhile the boys [AC/DC] were in London at the time and they were trying out Brian from Geordie. So, to cut a long story short, he ended up getting the gig.”
Fryer later formed Heaven in Sydney, but he had at least one more intersection with AC/DC. Mark Evans, early bassist with AC/DC, was also a member of Heaven at one time.
[Editor’s note: I remember seeing Heaven’s video for “Rock School” on a local channel called U68. They played the video pretty often during the rock hour. Watch it below.]
