Category : LATEST NEWS

MICHAEL SCHENKER TO RELEASE “BRIDGE THE GAP” IN JANUARY, ANNOUNCES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

It’s universally agreed that Michael Schenker is one of the greatest heavy metal/hard rock guitarists of all-time, as the amount of renowned guitarists that list him as a prime influence is off the charts. And on his newest release,Bridge the Gap, this German guitar great has united with his old rhythm section from the Scorpions days – bassist Francis Buchholz and drummer Herman Rarebell – as well as enlisting ex-Rainbow singer Doogie White, plus guitarist/keyboardist Wayne Findlay. And if that wasn’t enough metallic star power, none other than Don Dokken lends his vocals to an exclusive track
(Faith) only available on the album’s “deluxe edition.”

Produced by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss (and engineered by Voss), Bridge the Gap will be released in the US via the inakustik label on January 7th, 2014 (and credited to “Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock”), with the traditional thirteen-track release features such fierce rockers as Where the Wild Winds Blow and Horizons.

Bridge the Gap will be released in three configurations:

* CD
* Deluxe Edition-media book packaging, plus o-card with high relief and partial gloss coating of the Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock logo, extended booklet with signatures of all band members, bonus track, Faith, sung by Don Dokken.
*180 gr LP

Watch a trailer for the album below:

Michael Schenker will begin the first round of his 2014 dates with a US tour, which will feature a line-up comprised of Schenker, White, and Findlay, as wellas bassist Rev Jones and drummer Pete Holmes, before the “album line-up” will take over for a World Tour starting in Japan in March.

Schenker says, “Hello America. I am very much looking forward to touring the States in Jan/Feb, and to introducing my new singer, Doogie White, and material from our brand new album,Bridge the Gap. Doogie, Wayne Findlay and myself will be promoting our new album in the States before teaming up with the album line-up for a World Tour starting in March in Japan. We are all looking forward to rock you. Til then, keep on rocking.”

Michael Schenker Bridge The Gap U.S. tour dates:

January:

9 Las Vegas, NV LVCS
10 Corona, CA M -15 Concert Theatre
11 Ramona, CA Ramona Main Stage Theatre
14 Denver, CO Ecks Saloon
16 Libertyville, IL Austins
17 Libertyville, IL Austins
18 Toronto, Canada Rockpile West
19 Toronto, Canada Rockpile East
20 Englewood, NJ Bergan Performing Arts Center
21 Londnberry, NH Tuepelo Music Hall
22 New York, NY B B Kings
24 Sayrevill, NJ Starland Ballroom
25 Poughkeepsie, NY Chance Theatre
27 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theatre
28 Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom
30 Oaklahoma City, OK Chameleon Ballroom
31 Houston, TX Concert Pub North

February:

1 San Antonio, TX Backstage Live
6 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s
7 Orangevale, CA Boardwalk
8 Portland, OR TBA
9 Seattle, WA El Corazon
12 Hollywood, CA House of Blues
15 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
16 Hermosa Beach, CA St. Rocke

Bridge The Gap track Listing:

1. Where The Wild Winds Blow
2. Horizons
3. Lord Of The Lost And Lonely
4. Rock n Roll Symphony
5. To Live For The King
6. Land Of Thunder
7. Temple Of The Holy
8. Shine On
9. Bridges We Have Burned
10. Because You Lied
11. Black Moon Rising
12. Dance For The Piper
13. Faith (Bonus Track – Deluxe Edition only)

For more information, please visit michaelschenkerhimself.com

.

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RIOT HIRE A NEW SINGER AND PLAN TO CARRY ON AS RIOT V

Riot’s classic Thundersteel and Privilege Of Power lineup reunited in 2009 and delivered a critically acclaimed album, Immortal Soul, via major metal heavyweights SPV/ Steamhammer and Avalon/ Marquee. A successful tour with performances on the prestigious 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise and appearances at Sweden Rock and Metalway festivals solidified Riot’s long-sought-after return a success, but success doesn’t come without tragedy.

The band’s journey has never been easy, with personnel changes and the untimely deaths of frontmen Guy Speranza, Rhett Forrester as well as the passing of long-time founding guitarist Mark Reale who finally lost his lifelong battle with Crohn’s disease early last year, and with Tony Moore battling his own demons and health issues, Riot, like Johnny, are back again!

Through the storm of life’s obstacles, Mike Flyntz, Bobby Jarzombek and Don Van Stavern are joined by powerhouse vocalist extraordinaire Todd Michael Hall (Jack Starr’s Burning Starr, Reverence) and are ready to raise the flag in honor of the Riot legacy of music and our fallen bandmates and heroes, as well as the fans who have been demanding Riot for years and years to come! With the blessing of Mark’s father Tony Reale, the remaining members prepare for the next phase, the fifth phase if you will, of Riot.

Mark always used to say that there were always different phases of Riot throughout the years continuing on with a new singer, sound, logo as well and each having a few records under their belt, Phase One: Guy Speranza, Phase Two: Rhett Forrester, Phase Three: Tony Moore, Phase Four: Mike DiMeo and now Phase Five: Todd Michael Hall! A new album is in the works for a summer 2014 release and reissues are due on Sony, EMI and Metal Blade.

Riot V is:

Todd Michael Hall – Vocals
Bobby Jarzombek – Drums
Don Van Stavern – Bass
Mike Flyntz – Guitar

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THE COLLECTION OF LEGENDARY ROCK ICON RONNIE MONTROSE OFFERED AT CHARITY AUCTION

Legendary rock icon Ronnie Montrose has been called the “Father of American Hard Rock,” an innovator and an incendiary guitar genius. For the first time fans of Ronnie Montrose will have the opportunity to bid on a vast array of instruments, personal items and memorabilia from the late genius’ musical life which will benefit the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Highlights of the Montrose Collection at Julien’s Auctions’ upcoming Icons & Idols: Rock N’ Roll event include an extraordinary array of Ronnie Montrose’s personal guitars, played on stage and part of his unprecedented place in rock history. It also includes personal items, stage and studio equipment and memorabilia.

Luthier CJ Hutchins describes Ronnie Montrose’s 1997 Baker B2 “The Beast” guitar which is offered in the auction as “a very special guitar.” Hutchins tells the story of how for years Montrose’s sound was produced by a Gibson Les Paul that sadly was stolen off stage. Since Ronnie was more comfortable with a 25.5 scale length and a 17/8” nut width, he pretty much quit playing Gibson Les Pauls and Gene Baker made him “The Beast” to bring back the power into Ronnie’s arsenal. He added that “this was the go to guitar for a Les Paul that’s more Les Paul than a Les Paul.” (Estimate: $5,500-$6.500)

“Flat Top Red – If ever there was a man’s alter ego, Flat Top Red was it! If I had a dollar for everytime I heard the opening riff from “Rock Candy” played on a stage somewhere in the world, well, you get the idea,” said Ronnie’s luthier CJ Hutchins. He added “The Beast was much sweeter but Flat Top Red has more throat. He used it everywhere for nearly everything. He loved it so much; in fact, he had Gene make a clone of it, only in blue which he named “Blue Dog.”This very special guitar offered at auction is estimated at $5,000-$5,500.

Hutchins also explains the Bogner Shiva and how he would describe Ronnie changing guitar rigs like he changed his socks. Montrose was always looking for the elusive ratio between headroom and distortion and how the FX loop was engineered was also vital to him. He personally modified that part of the amp to make it more clean and less reactive to his tone, in other words more transparent. The Shiva was all he used at home, in the studio and on stage. “Gamma 4” was recorded with the Shiva. The custom modified amp will also be offered at auction with an estimate of $3,000-$4,000.

Other highlights include a Ronnie Montrose owned, played and personally modified 1963 Fender Stratocaster (Estimate: $15,000-$17,000), a Ronnie Montrose 2003 Taylor 712 CE guitar which he used as his main acoustic performance guitar (Estimate: $3,000-$3,500), original Montrose handwritten lyrics (Estimate: $1,000-$1,200), a Ronnie Montrose owned and played 1994 Fender Stratocaster “Skinny” model guitar (Estimate: $6,000-$7,000), a 1943 Gibson J4 “The Old Boy” guitar (Estimate: $6,000-$7,000), a Ronnie Montrose Custom MOOG System (Estimate: $800-$1,000), a Ronnie Montrose 1980’s SHO-BUD pedal steel (Estimate: $1,200-$1,400), a 2002 Baker BJ “Montrose” model guitar (Estimate:$4,000-$4,500) and much more. The full selection of Ronnie Montrose items can be viewed at www.juliensauctions.com. Once at the site you can click “flip catalog” and view all of the items.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to Sweet Relief, an organization that provides financial assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. For more information go to www.sweetrelief.org/news/ronnie-montrose.

“Sweet Relief Musicians Fund is thrilled to have been chosen by Leighsa Montrose as a beneficiary for the sale of Ronnie Montrose’s gear. We look forward to being able to honor Ronnie’s legacy by continuing to provide help to musicians in need who are suffering from Cancer, MS, Diabetes, Depression and other debilitating ailments. It is generosity like this that allows us to do our work in a real and meaningful way,” Bill Bennett, President of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

Ronnie Montrose created the iconic guitar riff for the classic song Wild Nights during his time with Van Morrison. In the Edgar Winter group he left even a bigger mark with his catch heavy-handed riffs on songs like Free Ride and “em>Frankenstein. It was his self-titled release Montrose that would become his iconic moment and a cornerstone of American hard rock. This release in 1973 gave fans such classics as Rock Candy, Space Station #5 and Rock the Nation. It laid the ground work and became the template for bands like Van Halen and countless others. His musical journey led him to the creation of GAMMA where he crafted songs like Voyager, Thunder and Lightning and Ready for Action. Known for always reinventing himself through his ownself-inflicted creative challenges he ventured through a brief instrumental period and brought the world Open Fire and Town without Pity.

“Ronnie was a force of nature and in his time here on this earth, he followed his own true north, making the music that came from his heart and inspired
millions. He was never afraid to step off the beaten path, and take the direction that his instinct told him to follow,” said his wife Leighsa Montrose. “He fully understood his gifts, and constantly pushed himself to evolve, improve, and make better music. He did this for himself, and he did this for you because he adored and appreciated his fans. I can only hope that youwill choose to celebrate Ronnie’s life, and what his music meant to you, rather than mourn his passing. Ronnie would have wanted it that way. He loved being a guitarist, a composer, a producer, and a creator of magic. Please keep his energy, his joy, and his love in your hearts.”

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JUST CALL HIM DR. IOMMI, BLACK SABBATH GUITARIST RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTORATE DEGREE

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has received an honorary degree.

The founder member of the Birmingham heavy metal band was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by Coventry University.

He said it was a “great honor” to receive the doctorate and thanked the university for his nomination.

The honorary degree was “in recognition of his contribution to the world of popular music”, the university said.

It recognized “his role as one of the founding fathers of heavy metal music and his status as one of the industry’s most influential figures”.

Iommi said: “It’s brilliant. I couldn’t believe it.”

He planned to head straight from the graduation ceremony at Coventry Cathedral to join Black Sabbath in Helsinki for the start of their latest European tour.

He has sold more than 80 million records worldwide during his career.

Other high-profile recipients of honorary degrees from the university included artist George Shaw, whose depictions of Coventry’s Tile Hill landscape have won him a Turner Prize nomination.

source: bbc.co.uk

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RUSH DECIDE TO TAKE SOME TIME OFF

Gary Graff of Billboard reports:

Rush is giving its fans plenty of fourth quarter treats this year including a new live a new live CD/DVD a box set and a long-desired remixed version of its 2002 album Vapor Trails. Also, guitarist Alex Lifeson is hoping that will be enough to tide them over while the Canadian trio takes a break.

We’ve committed to taking about a year off,” Lifeson tells Billboard. “We all agreed when we finished this [Clockwork Angels] tour (in early August) we were going to take this time off and we weren’t going to talk about band stuff or make any plans. We committed to a year, so that’s going to take us through to the end of next summer, for sure. That’s the minimum. We haven’t stopped or quit. Right now, we’re just relaxing. We’re taking it easy and just enjoying our current employment.”

Since being inducted into Rock N’ Roll Hall of fame, the Rush guitarist was happy to cast a ballot for this year’s nominees.

“I put my votes in,” says Lifeson, whose impromptu “blah, blah, blah” speech was a highlight of the 2012 induction ceremony. “Certainly with Deep Purple and Yes and Nirvana, I think they’re all candidates, and I think KISS deserves to be in there, too. We have lots of great memories of working together with them, and I think they’ve been influential and worked for a very long time and worked very hard. I think for all the indifference we had before, actually going through it and feeling the love in the room and the sense of community we felt with all the other musicians that are in there, it’s a good thing provided it’s inclusive and it’s broad.”

Read more at Billboard.

source: billboard.com

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