MOUNTAIN DRUMMER CORKY LAING WINS BONZO BASH LEGEND AWARD

Drum Legend Corky Laing Is Presented The 'Bonzo Bash Legend Award' 

At John Bonham's Bonzo Bash By Kiss's Peter Criss!

“As the drummer for Mountain, Corky Laing shares the title as one of the best players of his genre. He's also the same good guy he used to be.” – Levon Helm

NYC - Much to the excitement of drummers worldwide, one of rock's icons, drum legend Corky Laing, recently received the prestigious 'Bonzo Bash Legend Award' at the Bergen PAC in New Jersey on May 31st. The award was presented by original Kiss drummer Peter Criss!

Corky & Peter Criss

Corky says, “It was a tremendous honor and a total surprise when Peter Criss (from Kiss) presented the 'Legend Award' to me at the John Bonham 'Bonzo Bash'. And to receive the award in front of all these brilliant drummers was a real rush. There seems to be a kind of 'magical crazy glue' that keeps the drumming community tightly wrapped. It's not like the 'Super Bowl of drumming', there is no competition.

Every drummer has his/her own uniqueness. We aspire to reach out while digging deep with a passion to become the very best. I humbly believe in receiving this award I'm being recognized for doing just that. Every day for me is another downbeat, and what a joy it is to live and breath it. It may sound a bit out there, but that's exactly how I feel when I play. I am sincerely in love with my 'all consuming mistress', my beautiful drum kit!”

As well as Mountain, Laing has recorded with a long list of legendary artists including Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Bo Diddley and Ozzy Osbourne. He has performed with Meat Loaf, Gov’t Mule, the Allman Brothers, Voivod, Teenage Head and dozens of others. And according to Modern Drummer magazine, Corky Laing “has done as much as anyone in Western culture to turn the cowbell into a rock ’n roll staple”.

This prolific artist is busier than ever. His latest project, 'Playing God', a rock opera created with Matti Häyry and Tuija Takala from Finland, premiered in Basel, Switzerland, and Paris, France in 2013. Recently, in the early spring of 2014, the rock opera was performed in Helsinki, Finland. Laing wrote the music for the album, and is the Musical Director in the stage performances where he also performs a key role, LUKE, who plays drums and sings. The 'Playing God' CD was released on GONZO Multimedia on July 15, 2013.

Check out Corky's upcoming appearance!

Corky Laing “Under The Rock”

Friday June 27 2014 at 8pm

Guild Hall- East Hampton, NY

Corky Laing flies solo… recounting his rock ’n roll life in words and music.

Montreal native Corky Laing, co-founder of iconic supergroups Mountain and West, Bruce & Laing, comes out from behind the drums and spills all about the Golden Age of Rock, which wasn’t always quite so golden… An era when rock stars were bigger than life, in spite of the fact that many of their lives spun out of control.

Laing, who wrote the platinum-selling rock anthem, “Mississippi Queen”, chronicles his life from his innocent early days on the Montreal sock-hop circuit (Bartholomew Plus 3 and Energy) to the pinnacle of rock 'n roll.

On June 27, 2014, Laing, whose skills on the skins are matched only by his wit and candour, will relate how he climbed up and fell down with some of the rock world's most prominent luminaries… but it's not all talk. Corky will show us exactly how and why he is one of the most acclaimed drummers in the music business. And he took it all in from UNDER THE ROCK!

When: June 27, 2014
Where: Guild Hall - East Hampton, NY (in The John Drew Theatre in the Dina Merrill Pavilion at Guild Hall)
158 Main Street
East Hampton, New York 11937
631-324-0806
Tickets online at GuildHall.org or at Box Office 631-324-4050; theatermania.com; or 866-811-4111

LIGHT MY FIRE: A CLASSIC ROCK SALUTE TO THE DOORS

First off readers let me say that I do not like cover bands, cover albums, tribute albums and compilation albums. I have always felt they should be considered a separate genre and that they usually do a disservice to the original composers and bands. After listening to “A Classic Rock Salute To The Doors” though I am rethinking those thoughts. It is hard to cover every song here, there are 16 of their greatest hits, so I will try to give an over view of what I think is important. I will leave the final decision up to you as to how good it really is after you listen to it.

I was fortunate enough to see ‘The Doors’, 3 times, once at Cobo Hall in Detroit. They were a very unassuming band with almost no equipment. They used no special effects, fireworks, light shows or anything other than themselves, a few instruments and only a couple amps and speakers. The stage was pretty empty even by the standards of the 1960’s. What they lacked in equipment they made up by how tight and cohesive they were as a group when they were all in sync with each other and halfway sober. Jim Morrison usually took all eyes off the other 3 members but make no mistake that without them Jim Morrison would probably have become another undiscovered rock star.

Several of the guests on this album most likely knew ‘The Doors’ back in the day and are by all rights are ‘Superstars’ themselves. More than 42 of rock's greatest classic ‘Superstars’ showed up to play on this album. That’s a lot of “tribute” to any person or group and shows the love and respect they all had for ‘The Doors’ and their music. By my count there are at least 7 tribute albums out there for ‘The Doors’ but from where I sit this is probably the only one that should matter.

The biggest names in classic rock 

gather together to pay homage 

to the original riders on the storm, 

The Doors!

The 16 well done tracks on this album are:

1. L.A. Woman - Jimi Jamison (Survivor), Ted Turner (Wishbone Ash) & Patrick Moraz (Moody Blues)

2. Love Me Two Times - Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Thijs van Leer (Focus) & Larry Coryell

3. Roadhouse Blues - Leslie West (Mountain), Brian Auger & Rod Piazza

4. Love Her Madly - Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge) & Mick Box (Uriah Heep)

5. Riders On The Storm - Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Tony Kaye (Yes) & Steve Cropper (Booker T. & The M.G. s)

6. The Crystal Ship - Edgar Winter & Chris Spedding

7. Intro (People Are Strange) - Keith Emerson, Jeff Skunk Baxter & Joel Druckman (John Fahey)

8. People Are Strange - David Johansen (NY Dolls) & Billy Sherwood (Yes)

9. Touch Me - Robert Gordon, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Steve Morse & Nik Turner (Hawkwind)

10. The Soft Parade - Graham Bonnet (Rainbow), Christopher North (Ambrosia) & Steve Hillage (Gong)

11. Hello, I Love You - Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep) & Roye Albrighton (Nektar)

12. Spanish Caravan - Eric Martin (Mr. Big) & Elliot Easton (The Cars)

13. Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) - Todd Rundgren & Geoff Downes (Yes / Asia) & Zoot Horn Rollo (Captain Beefheart)

14. Break On Through (To The Other Side) - Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad) & Chick Churchill (Ten Years After)

15. Light My Fire - Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), Rick Wakeman (Yes) & Steve Howe (Yes)

16. The End - Pat Travers & Jimmy Greenspoon (Three Dog Night)

SOUND SAMPLER  HERE

The album starts off with one of my favorites, ‘LA Woman’. From their 6th, album released in 1971, ‘LA Woman’. Jami Jamison, Ted Turner and Patrick Moraz do an admirable job of covering this tune. The guitar work, Ted Turner I am assuming, gives an old favorite a different twist.

I could go into much more detail on more songs off this album but since space is limited I will just give some observations here. This is certainly an album to help introduce anyone who has never heard ‘The Doors’ before to their greatness. After listening to it I guarantee they will hunger for the original music just to hear who these 4 guys, who cut out a slice of rock history for themselves, really were.

The guitar work on every song is clean, precise and shredded, something that Robby Kriegers “fingerstyle” guitar playing did not allow him to do. Not that Robby Krieger wasn't great, he was just not as technical since “fingerstyle“ playing is better suited to Flamenco and Folk Music. It’s probably the most notable difference in all of the tunes here.

Conspicuous by its absence here though is ‘The Unknown Soldier’ which could have easily replaced the version of ‘People Are Strange’ with David Johansen and Billy Sherwood. This is the only song I really felt did not belong among the 16 cuts on this album.

The closing song is my all time favorite and appropriately is, ‘The End’, featuring Pat Travers and Jimmy Greenspoon. Listening to this version gave me goose bumps and almost brought tears to my eyes. The depth is so different but not nearly as dark as the original. I think you'll find yourself listening to it over and over again!

“Electric Mike” Langford

TEN FOOT POLE BACK WITH TOUR DATES AND NEW ALBUM !

"I never doubted that I'd get back into it at some point – I just needed a break," explains TEN FOOT POLE frontman and founding member Dennis Jagard. "Once you've experienced a crowd singing along to the songs you wrote, it's hard to imagine just walking away from the chance to do it again."

Influential SoCal punk rock staple Ten Foot Pole will be releasing their first album in ten years on Cyber Tracks in 2015. But first, they're getting back into the swing of things by doing what they do best – perform. Their US and Canadian mini headline tour kicks off at Reggie's in Chicago, IL on July 15th then circles around the American Midwest and Northeast concluding at The Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ (dates below).

"It's too early in the process to limit or define what's going to come out, but I think it's safe to say that fans can expect candid, sincere, honest and outrageous lyrics matched with some aggressive music, a few well-placed stops, and generous helpings of pick slides and feedback," describes Jagard. "I think a good song works regardless of genre, so I just try to write whatever comes to mind." Jagard has teamed up with drummer Chris Dalley (Pulley, Implants), bassist Chris Del Rio (Implants), and guitarist Keith "DJ" Divel (Swindle, Red Devil Squadron) to help create their newest collection of punk rock sing-alongs.

Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 and got their start under the moniker Scared Straight releasing an album and a 7-inch. Ten Foot Pole self-released their debut album Swill in 1993, which would eventually lead to a record deal with Epitaph Records.

Their discography includes six albums (Swill, Rev, Unleashed, Insider – Epitaph Records, Bad Mother Trucker – Victory Records, Subliminable Messages – Go-Kart Records), a split EP with Satanic Surfers, and numerous appearances on compilations. Past members include vocalist and Major League Baseball pitching ace Scott Radinsky and drummers Jordan Burns (Strung Out, Pulley) and Tony Palermo (Papa Roach, Pulley, Unwritten Law). Their seventh studio album will be released in 2015 via Los Angeles-based Cyber Tracks, which is owned and operated by El Hefe of NOFX and his wife Jen. Catch them on tour this summer!

TOUR DATES

July 15 Reggie's – Chicago, IL

July 16 Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH

July 17 Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON

July 18 Belle Pub – Belleville, ON

July 19 Rockaganza! Festival – Drummondville, QC

July 20 The Dover Brickhouse – Dover, NH

July 22 Bogies – Albany, NY

July 23 The Legendary Dobbs – Philadelphia, PA

July 24 The Middle East – Cambridge, MA

July 25 The Grand Victory – Brooklyn, NY

July 26 The Brighton Bar – Long Branch, NJ

JACK WHITE'S LAZARETTO #1 ALBUM IN THE US!!

THE BEATLES GET BACK TO MONO

The Beatles in Mono: 180-Gram LPs Available September 8, Individually and in a Limited 14-LP Boxed Edition with Hardbound Book.

London – June 12, 2014 – The Beatles in mono: this is how most listeners first heard the group in the 1960s, when mono was the predominant audio format. Up until 1968, each Beatles album was given a unique mono and stereo mix, but the group always regarded the mono as primary. On September 8 (September 9 in North America), The Beatles’ nine U.K. albums, the American-compiled Magical Mystery Tour, and the Mono Masters collection of non-album tracks will be released in mono on 180-gram vinyl LPs with faithfully replicated artwork.

Newly mastered from the analogue master tapes, each album will be available both individually and within a lavish, limited 14-LP boxed edition, The Beatles In Mono, which also includes a 108-page hardbound book.

In an audiophile-minded undertaking, The Beatles' acclaimed mono albums have been newly mastered for vinyl from quarter-inch master tapes at Abbey Road Studios by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Sean Magee and GRAMMY®-winning mastering supervisor Steve Berkowitz. 

While The Beatles In Mono CD boxed set released in 2009 was created from digital remasters, for this new vinyl project, Magee and Berkowitz cut the records without using any digital technology. Instead, they employed the same procedures used in the 1960s, guided by the original albums and by detailed transfer notes made by the original cutting engineers.

Working in the same room at Abbey Road where most of The Beatles' albums were initially cut, the pair first dedicated weeks to concentrated listening, fastidiously comparing the master tapes with first pressings of the mono records made in the 1960s. Using a rigorously tested Studer A80 machine to play back the precious tapes, the new vinyl was cut on a 1980s-era VMS80 lathe.

*NEW VIDEO* TRIBUTE TO BOOTSEY X AND THE LOVEMASTERS!!

In memory of the legendary Bob (Bootsey X) Mulrooney, this music video was edited from 30 years of Bootsey X and the Lovemasters concert footage. It follows the band (in its various line-ups) from some of their earliest filmed shows in 1984 through their memorial show for Bootsey in 2014.

One of their most iconic songs, The Lovemasters recorded multiple versions of Genius from the Waist Down over the years. This version is the one that was released as a single on the 1986 Tremor Records compilation End of the World A Go-Go.

T.M. CALDWELL'S RARE FILM SCREENING AT THE PAINTED LADY JUNE 26!

Detroit artist/archivist T.M. Caldwell will be the programmer for an exclusive night of rare 16mm films at the Painted Lady Lounge (formerly Lilli's 21).

Thursday June 26th 2014

in Hamtramck. 9:30 to 11:30 p.m.

The Painted Lady Lounge

2930 Jacob St. off Joseph Campau Ave.

Hamtramck,MI 313 874-2991

www.facebook.com/paintedlady.hamtramck

A night of genuine ol' school style audio/visual tech geek for celluloid purists. These will be in actual motion picture film reels shown on former public school 16mm A.V. projection equipment onto a linen screen.

Jump

1969-71 (?)

An anti-recreational drug film by William Dear and Robert Dyke w/ legendary Detroit music afficianado Anthony 'Tony' Fusco in a cameo role. Great fuzzed out garage/psychedelic score, rag top sports car, dope-in with dum-dum boys and gals, sporting classic beat ray bans & wrap around shades,

late '60's hip stoner hair and clothes. A twisted, scared-straight, moralistic tale.

WXYZ Detroit Radio Promo Film

1969-70

With revered local disc jockey personalities Dick Purtan 

(post CKLW & Keener & pre- mustache)and Tom Shannon.

Phone pranks, near subliminal shot of John Sinclair, many scenes of Detroit. All to the sounds of musicians from

Johnny Cash to Thunderclap Newman.

Good Life

1968-70

A hippie outsider nature retreat (Alaska/California./Washington commune?),back-to-the-wilderness getaway,

documentary.Gorgeous forest nature imagery,

blue grass banjo pickin',skinny dippin',good clean (?) fun.

 

Untitled

1965-70 (?)

Unidentified jazz ensemble performing several numbers

with commentary by leader of group. B&W kinescope film shot by Jam Handy Studio of E. Grand Blvd. Detroit.

Javelin

1970-72 

Classic Detroit muscle/sports car, action packed, auto racing promo film. Vehicle is painted red,white and blue

in patriotic manner of Evel Knievel's bike & MC5’s Brother Wayne Kramer's axe.