The Scorpions have made a previously unheard demo available for streaming.
The demo version of Midnight Blues Jam is included as a bonus track on the reissue of 1977 album Taken By Force. Scorpions will reissue the record on November 6th, along with World Wide Live, Love At First Sting, Savage Amusement, Lovedrive, Animal Magnetism and Tokyo Tapes to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary.
A limited-edition, numbered vinyl box set is also planned.
On the reissue packages, the band say, “We really worked on the material to improve the sound quality, but always taking great care to preserve its original feel.”
Guitar legends Steve Vai, Zakk Wylde and John 5, along with drum powerhouse Mike Portnoy, bass icon Billy Sheehan and keyboard phenomenon Derek Sherinian are joining forces to play a benefit concert for guitar and keyboard virtuoso Tony MacAlpine, who was recently diagnosed with colon cancer.
The Benefit for Tony MacAlpine will take place at the Wiltern Theater on December 12th, 2015, at 7:00pm, featuring performances from John 5 & The Creatures, Zakk Wylde with Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and Derek Sherinian; Steve Vai and band, and culminating in an all-star jam with house band Portnoy, Sheehan, Sherinian, and featuring special guests. Eddie Trunk will serve as master of ceremonies for the night.
In addition to this extraordinary musical event, Steve Vai, John 5, Paul Gilbert and Joe Satriani have all graciously donated personal guitars to be auctioned during the event. Tony’s gear manufacturers Ibanez, Hughes & Kettner, EMG, Ernie Ball, Source Audio and Voodoo Lab have also generously donated equipment to be raffled.
Tony’s cancer diagnosis comes on the heels of his wife’s diagnosis with breast cancer in June, making the situation even more trying for Tony and his family.
“Tony is a dear friend, an absolutely sweet human being and one of the most talented musicians I’ve ever worked with,” says Mike Portnoy, “We are coming together to help raise money and awareness to help him fight his battle and come out on top!” Adds Steve Vai, “It’s a great privilege to take to the stage with my friends Zakk, John, Mike and Billy in support of our dear friend Tony. Tony has always been blessed with an exceptional talent and more so, he’s an exceptionally cool guy. It’s a great cause and will be a magical evening of guitar extravaganza.”
“Tony has been such an inspiration to me,” says John 5 “He is an incredible musician and an unbelievable talent. Please let’s all come together and beat this!”
“Tony is our brother. We look forward to making a historical night, and raising a lot of money to help our friend in need.” said Derek Sherinian.
Tony MacAlpine is widely known as a guitar virtuoso who is just as skilled on the keys. Edge of Insanity, his classic debut album, was recently ranked by Guitar World magazine as one of the Top Ten Shred Guitar Albums of all time. Aside from his solo work, Tony has also been part of several rock supergroups including Planet X with Derek Sherinian and Virgil Donati; PSMS (Portnoy/Sheehan/MacAlpine/Sherinian); as well as the Grammy nominated CAB with bassist Bunny Brunel and drummer Dennis Chambers. MacAlpine also spent seven years playing guitar and keys in Steve Vai‘s touring band The Breed.
Tony’s most recent album Concrete Gardens was released in May. Tony toured the US in June to promote the album, but was forced to cancel tours of Asia, Australia and Europe when his health deteriorated.
Tickets are on sale Saturday November 7th at 10am PT through LiveNation.com, with all proceeds going to help Tony and his family. A GoFundMe campaign will be set up for fans who can’t make the show, but still want to contribute.
Doors will be at 7 pm with the show set to begin at 8 pm. For tickets, visit Live Nation.
World-renowned guitarist, Joe Satriani and United Nations Musical Director Robin DiMaggio, recently teamed up to compose a new song entitled, Music Without Words set for a digital release on November 4th. A portion of all proceeds raised from downloads and streams will be donated to support UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund.
The song was first unveiled at the June 30th “Annual Presidential General Assembly of the UN 69th Session Gala” in New York City after being co-written by the two exclusively for the special event. The Assembly and Gala featured world dignitaries as well as the Heads of States from nations across the globe.
Accompanying the song is a dramatic music video directed by Ramin Ouladi, Los Angeles-based director, cinematographer, and editor, who developed the video concept. “Joe and I had a concept of doing a song about healing, where the music spoke without words. That’s why I think we called it ‘Music Without Words.’” DiMaggio explains. “When it came time to add some images, it was tough to create abundance through visual statements. Ramin was the perfect addition. He brought a palette of pastels needed to make the story sync with the music.”
The video is premiering today on Yahoo! and can be viewed at music.yahoo.com.
DiMaggio offers, “I am sure that when the audience, young and wisely aged, watches this, they will feel the message, whether they just listen to the audio or intensely watch the video.”
“Collaborating with Robin evolved naturally,” Satriani says. “Starting with him challenging me to create a melody that would touch the hearts of seven billion people, a call to humanity; a message of love. I’m thrilled with the song and this video fits the music perfectly.”
The song also features vocals from Ms. Monet, a Grammy-award winning vocalist, songwriter and performer who has sung with everyone from Boz Scaggs to Faith Hill, Toto and Queen Latifah. It was DiMaggio’s decision, as the producer, to blend the beauty of Ms. Monet’s vocals with Satriani’s guitar to create such an incredibly moving piece.
Satriani will tour the U.S. in 2016 featuring an evening of music spotlighting music from his entire 30-year career.
Surfing to Shockwave tour itinerary:
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 2 Fox Tucson Theatre Tuscon, AZ *
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
March 17 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL
March 18 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL
March 19 Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL
March 21 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC
March 22 Knight Theater Charlotte, NC
March 23 Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA **
March 24 The National Richmond, VA
March 25 Sandler Center Virginia Beach, VA
March 26 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
March 29 College Street Music Hall New Haven, CT
March 30 Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY
March 31 The Vets Providence, RI
April 1 Tilles Center Brookville, LI
April 2 Lincoln Theatre Washington, DC
April 4 Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ **
April 6 Venue to be announced Philadelphia, PA
April 8 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, Ontario
April 9 UAB Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY
April 10 Hard Rock Cleveland **
April 12 Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA
April 13 Fillmore Detroit Detroit, MI**
April 14 Pabst Theatre Milwaukee, WI **
April 15 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL **
April 16 The Fitzgerald Theatre St. Paul, MN
April 21 Grey Eagle Event Centre Calgary
April 22 River Creek Casino Enoch, AB
April 24 Venue to be announced Vancouver, BC
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated self-titled debut album from Resurrection Kings on January 29th, 2016.
Resurrection Kings is a new band centered around the talents of former Dio and Giuffria guitar player, Craig Goldy. Everything starts from a set of demos he recorded with singer Chas West, a guy with an unbelievable set of pipes, who has worked with such bands as the Jason Bonham Band, Foreigner, Lynch Mob, Tribe Of Gypsies, and 3 Legged Dogg.
“It all started five years ago when Craig Goldy asked me to get together to write,” says Chas. Out of those demo sessions, the song “Livin’ Out Loud” in particular strongly impressed Frontiers’ President, Serafino Perugino who asked Craig to build up a project/band around that musical concept. He also suggested Sean McNabb for bass (Lynch Mob, Dokken, Quiet Riot), while Craig later brought in former Dio bandmate Vinny Appice on drums.
“Serafino wanted to make an album with famous musicians from the 80’s and I was flabbergasted when he asked me to participate” says Craig Goldy. “We’ve all know each other for a long time and it was a pleasure to work with everyone – my God with Chas, Sean and Vinny that’s a killer line-up!”
Frontiers in-house writer and producer Alessandro Del Vecchio (Revolution Saints, Hardline, Rated X) offered his services to the band and wrote (or co-wrote with Goldy) a few tracks to round up the material that was available. “He is a great songwriter, producer, musician and singer” says Goldy, “some of the demo versions already had vocals and everything else. So all we did was learn the songs and did them our way. When Sean and Vinny got hold of these songs they really came alive and gave me automatic inspiration to write and perform on top of what was already written”.
The resulting album is an impressive example of classic hard rock with a contemporary production and edge. Think Whitesnake 1987 mixed with Dio’s Dream Evil, with a touch of classic Zeppelin and Rainbow and you will not be far from the end result. An extremely strong record where the musicians are able to stretch their wings and please their numerous fans.
Watch a video for the song, Who Did You Run To, below.
Tracklisting for Resurrection Kings:
Distant Prayer
Livin’ Out Loud
Wash Away
Who Did You Run To
Fallin’ For You
Never Say Goodbye
Path Of Love
Had Enough
Don’t Have To Fight No More
Silent Wonder
What You Take
Resurrection Kings:
Chas West – vocals
Craig Goldy – guitars
Sean McNabb – bass guitar
Vinny Appice – drums
Bryan Reesman of New York’s Newsday has written a feature article about Judas Priest. Highlights from the story appear below.
Rob Halford discussing aging:
“I wonder where I’ll be on my 70th birthday..I’m going to make sure I’m onstage somewhere and getting ready to scream that out, no matter what condition I’m in, because it’s on my bucket list…The shelf life doesn’t really come into the metal world anymore, so that’s great for bands of the old guard like Priest and Maiden and now Metallica and Megadeth. It just proves what we’ve always said, that at the heart of it, it keeps us thriving and connected. It’s the music, plain and simple. It’s the music that matters.”
The Metal God on wanting to record a blues album:
I still want to do that blues album…I’ve always felt that that’s very much a part of my background and musical roots. I don’t know what kind of blues album I could do because there are so many different facets [to explore]. Maybe I’ll just mix it up. As far as stuff out of the metal world, I’m a fan of people like Michael Bublé and Michael Feinstein. I’ve always been a fan of Sinatra and Tony Bennett and Elvis. I’d love to hear what my voice would sound like in that kind of musical mix, with wind instruments, trumpets and sax, piano, just that big-band sound.”
Journey drummer Deen Castronovo was handed a suspended sentence and four years of probation after pleading guilty to domestic violence crimes on Monday, October 12th.
Castronovo, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree assault constituting domestic violence, two counts of menacing constituting domestic violence, unlawful use of a weapon and coercion. If he violates the terms of his probation, a sentence of five years and five months in prison could be imposed.
In a statement dated October 30th, Deen admits that he hit bottom and thanks the prosecutors for saving his life…
“Two weeks ago, I, Deen Catronovo, made a plea deal with Salem, Oregon prosecutors. I plead guilty to one count of coercion, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of assault 4, and 2 counts of menacing. Ref: Case #15CR23974 in Marion County Court.
Anyone who witnessed the events remains adamant that my abrasive behavior stemmed from the fact that I was at a drug-induced psychosis level of intoxication at the time of the occurrences. Otherwise, I am an easy-going guy who loves being a father and a musician.
After my Indictment in June, I completed a 75-day inpatient treatment program at the Hazelden Betty Ford Springbrook Center, the most comprehensive drug abuse treatment center in the State of Oregon. It was at Hazelden that I quickly realized how dire the situation had become. I made a vow to myself and my family to not only stay sober but to dedicate time telling my story, speaking to promote sobriety, being a good example to my sons and advocating for the rights and assistance of domestic violence victims. I hope by telling my story I can help prevent someone else from making the same mistakes I did.
Taking into consideration that I have been able to stay completely sober since my Indictment in June as well as the fact that I have continued domestic violence and drug counseling without any difficulties, Judge Jamese Rhodes sentenced me to four years of probation. The probation requires me to continue the domestic violence and drug abuse counseling.
At the sentencing I apologized to my ex-fiancé, Deidra, and her family for the hurt I have put them through. I continue to wish Deidra the best. I know Deidra is not at fault for my behavior nor the consequences I have suffered because of it. Again, I want to apologize to Deidra, her family, my family, my band-mates in Journey and the fans of Journey. I’m sorry I let you all down. I have hit my bottom and I’m taking the necessary steps to ensuring that this never happens again.
As devastating as this was for me it was far more devastating to Deidra and our children. Had it not been for her calling the police and the intervention of the prosecutors I’d probably be dead. I’m going to focus on my family, finding happiness in sobriety and helping others who might be going down the wrong path to avoid destruction. For now I’m taking it one day at a time and looking to discover what new path God has planned for me.”
