Tuesday, August 31, 2010

new band, Black Country Communion

Read about the new band "Black Country Communion" recently.  The band consists of Joe Bonnamassa, Glenn Hughes, Derek Sherinian, and Jason Bonham.  Billed as a US - British "supergroup", they sound like a fairly typical hard rock band, and even though they are all seasoned pros, they are aping the Audioslave template...hard charging guitar rock with hair metal vocals a la Chris Cornell (who has a better voice).  Excellent guitar by Bonnamassa, maybe this will be the vehicle for him to break out to a wider audience.  


9/21/10 - Update - I heard the disc...not terrible, but nothing original either.  The single "One Last Soul" is fairly tame, a radio-ready Foo-Fighters-ish tune.  If you're looking for some new hard-rock you could do worse than this.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Richie Hayward R.I.P.

The great original drummer for Little Feat, Richie Hayward, died on Thursday of liver cancer, he was 64 years old.  He was a tremendous drummer, and I got to see him play a few times, most recently up close at Mexicali Live in Teaneck a few years ago (also saw LF in their 1st show back after Lowell George died, at JazzFest in 1988).  During set break at the Mexicali show while I was walking outside to get some air I bumped into Hayward right outside the door by the side of the stage.  He looked old and weathered, lines all over his face...like a true road warrior.  It was strange, here was a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in a small nightclub in Teaneck, NJ, just doing his thing.  Drums and percussion were(are) a huge part of Little Feat's music, with the New Orleans style syncopation that's present in their best tunes, and Hayward played all the parts well.  He was an integral part of an amazing band and will be missed.  

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Mule / Madman

Gov't Mule played Central Park last night...they did a cover of the great Elton John tune "Madman Across The Water"....I found a good clip.  Wish I could've been there.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

BHTM new single

Found this video of Big Head Todd (and Monsters) performing their single off their new disc.  The new cd "Rocksteady" is their best and most consistent since "Sister Sweetly".  Good midtempo grooves and a few good covers (Beast of Burden and Smokestack Lightning).  Unfortunately they also have a song on there called "Muhammed Ali" (written by Tom Russell) that could be the worst thing they've ever recorded, it's that bad.  

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Lanois update

This interview was published recently in the Toronto Star.....Lanois is also producing the new Neil Young solo album, should be excellent.  Here's the link:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/article/837927--i-almost-died-daniel-lanois-says-of-motorcycle-accident