Tales from Dead Dog Express

Lynyrd Skynyrd to Headline Miller Lite Carb Day Concert

2012-01-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

"Legendary American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will headline the Miller Lite Carb Day concert Friday, May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The concert, free with Miller Lite Carb Day admission of $20, will take place on the Miller Lite Stage in the IMS infield. Miller Lite Carb Day tickets are available now at www.IMStix.com.

"It's very exciting to welcome Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Lynyrd Skynyrd for the Miller Lite Carb Day concert," said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. "The band's incredibly powerful live show will help to keep the good times rolling at IMS all the way through Race Weekend."
Read more.

Joe Satriani Becomes A Comic Book Hero

2012-01-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

Ultimate-guitar.com

"Joe Satriani is going to debut as a comic book hero. He will be part of the second volume of the comic book "Eternal Descent", appearing as a "cryptic entity" with supreme powers.

The storyline involves music. Upon making the ultimate sacrifice, the character Sirian finds himself caught lost in time and space as strange beautiful music ("Strange Beautiful Music" is a Satriani album title) resonates throughout the cosmos, heralding the arrival of Joe Satriani. He saves the day, of course. Eternal Descent is a "virtual band" in the comic book, and Static X and God Forbid have previously appeared."

Read more.

Sony Network Entertainment's Music Unlimited Service Expands to Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden

2012-01-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

Market Watch

"Sony Entertainment Network today announced that it is expanding its Music Unlimited cloud-based digital music subscription service to countries including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Debuting originally in December 2010, the Music Unlimited service features an ever expanding global catalogue of over 12 million songs(1) including all major U.S. labels, leading independent labels, and major publishers worldwide. In addition to the four new countries, the Music Unlimited service is also currently available in Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States."

Read more.

Bob Weston, Ex-Fleetwood Mac Guitarist, Dead at 64

2012-01-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

Billboard

"Bob Weston, a British guitarist who played with Fleetwood Mac, has died aged 64. Police say Weston's body was found in his north London home on Tuesday after neighbors raised the alarm.

Police said Friday that his death was not being treated as suspicious. An autopsy revealed the causes of death as gastric intestinal hemorrhage, cirrhosis of the liver and throat problems.

Weston joined Fleetwood Mac in 1972 as replacement for Danny Kirwan, and played on the band's albums "Penguin" and "Mystery to Me."

Read more

Is The Music Business Finally Rebounding? New Numbers Say Yes.

2012-01-06T15:57:00.004-05:00

Forbes

"Every January, Nielsen SoundScan releases an annual report on the music business for the prior year, and every year in recent memory, the numbers have sung the same sad song: overall music sales are down, again, as piracy and other factors chip away at the industry’s sales numbers.

This year, however, there’s a glimmer of hope. For the first time since 2004, overall music sales are up. It’s an incremental improvement–album sales edged up 1.4% to 330.57 million units from 326.15 million in 2010–but it’s an improvement nonetheless, especially compared to the 13% dip in total album sales from 2009-2010."

Chris Brown: Grammy Awards 2012 Welcome Singer Back

2012-01-06T15:55:00.003-05:00

The Boom Box

Chris Brown is set to make an appearance at the 2012 Grammy Awards, his first time back at the prestigious event since the 2009 domestic violence ordeal with ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

The 22-year-old singer will grace the red carpet on Feb. 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, according to RadarOnline.com. An unnamed source revealed that Brown has every intention on showing up to the ceremony for the three awards he is nominated for.

Reunited Van Halen Play Blazing Show at Tiny NYC Club

2012-01-06T15:50:00.002-05:00

Rolling Stone

"It's like climbing into a rocket in here," David Lee Roth said as he stepped onto the matchbox-sized stage at New York's 250-capacity Cafe Wha? for Van Halen's first concert in four years. "It's a rocket that comes from way back into the past into what the future's going to look like. Welcome to Occupy Van Halen, ladies and gentlemen!"

With those words Eddie Van Halen kicked into the opening notes of "You Really Got Me" and the crowd –composed almost entirely of journalists and music industry insiders – went absolutely bonkers. Over the next hour, the group played a stunningly tight set of songs from their 1978 debut LP all the way through David Lee Roth's swan song, 1984."

Ronnie James Dio, Rock Singer, Dies at 67

2010-05-16T19:59:00.002-04:00

New York Times

Ronnie James Dio, a singer with the bands Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, whose powerful, semioperatic vocal style and attachment to demonic imagery made him one of the best-loved figures in classic heavy metal, died on Sunday morning, according to an announcement on his Web site by his wife, Wendy. He was 67.

No cause was given in the announcement, but Mr. Dio had been suffering from stomach cancer, and recently his band Heaven and Hell canceled its summer tour because of his health. The Houston Chronicle reported that Mr. Dio was being treated at a hospital in Houston.

Malcom McLaren, Former Sex Pistols Manager, Dies

2010-04-08T18:14:00.002-04:00

Billboard

Famed rock 'n' roll raconteur Malcom McLaren, best known as the manager of the Sex Pistols, died Thursday (Apr. 8) in New York City at the age of 64.

McLaren's spokesman, Les Molloy, told the U.K.'s Independent that McLaren had been battling cancer "for some time, but recently had been in full health, which then rapidly deteriorated." Molloy said McLaren's body will be buried in London's Highgate Cemetery.

McLaren was born into a working class family in London's Stoke Newington section. After attending art college, he and designer Vivienne Westwood opened a Kings Road clothing store in 1971 called Let It Rock, later renamed Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die. Having traveled to New York in 1972, McLaren began making stage clothes for the New York Dolls and subsequently managed the group.

National Record Store Day - April 17

2010-04-05T22:26:00.002-04:00

10 Connects.com

What started as a simple celebration of the independent, locally owned record store has blossomed into the most of exciting day of the year for vinyl collectors and music fans of every persuasion.

It's Record Store Day, and for this year's installment, music shops coast-to-coast will be offering a treasure trove of exclusive and limited-edition new releases and reissues from over 100 artists, including the Rolling Stones, Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, the Beastie Boys, Soundgarden, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, Ani DiFranco, Dave Matthews and more. Even both Elvises (Costello and Presley) are in on the action.

A Rock and Roll Dinosaur Rolls On

2010-04-04T00:46:00.000-04:00

Wall Street Journal

During the eight years when Peter Wolf was putting together his new album "Midnight Souvenirs," he labored over which track should go where on the CD. His friends told him not to bother, nobody worries about that stuff anymore—everyone's shuffling playlists on their iPods anyway.

Mr. Wolf was adamant, and took great care to work out the best song sequence for the record, which comes out April 6. "I come from an era where an album is an album," Mr. Wolf explains on a recent afternoon at a chi-chi French bistro he's been coming to for years on Manhattan's Upper East Side. "Because things have changed, it doesn't mean my approach changed."

Mr. Wolf, now 64 years old and the former lead singer of the J. Geils Band, is a dinosaur. But he's a member of a select breed of dinosaurs, the few who wrote the history of rock and roll since the 1960s—and are still contributing to it. He's not as well known as Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones or Van Morrison, but he's been a rock star for more than four decades and has crossed paths with all of them many times. He probably couldn't fill a medium-size concert hall, but he's still making music that goes beyond rehashing the greatest hits of yore. He's rock's elder Renaissance Man—not just as a walking encyclopedia but as an ultimate fan who, Zelig-like, lived through pretty much the whole thing.

Ronnie Wood Gets Back to Guitar Roots With Radio Show

2010-04-02T19:49:00.001-04:00

Spinner

Ronnie Wood is probably keen to focus on his music after becoming a tabloid staple for all the wrong reasons. From Friday, April 9, he's getting his chance with the launch of a brand new weekly radio show in the UK.

The hour-long 'Ronnie Wood Show' on Absolute Classic Rock will see the Rolling Stones guitarist -- also a former member of the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group -- present a selection of tracks from the canon of rock 'n' roll inspired by his career and anecdotes from his years on the road.

The programme description says Wood "may get distracted or lost in the music but every record he plays comes with a story -- a memory, a tale of mischief or inspiration."

Jeff Beck interview: no regrets from reluctant guitar god

2010-03-31T21:14:00.002-04:00

Telegraph.co.uk

A phone rings in the middle of my interview with Jeff Beck. “F--- off!’ he snarls, comically. But then he looks closer at the digital display. “Oops, sorry, it’s Eric, I better take this.”

It is Eric Clapton, Beck’s fellow guitar god, calling to discuss a planned performance together. “It’s in D, Eric. Nah, don’t worry about that, I’ll do all the riffs,” chatters Beck. “You just play fills and solos. I’ll do everything else. We’ll give it a shot, anyway, if it doesn’t work, heave ho.”

It is a fascinating glimpse into the private world of guitar heroes. Not least because, at 65, remarkably fit, muscular and alert, it is Beck who appears to be calling the shots with arguably his more celebrated peer, giving some indication why he is so often referred to as the guitarist’s guitarist.

St. Blues Guitar Workshop

2010-03-30T15:09:00.007-04:00

I recently discovered a guitar maker on Facebook. St Blues Guitar Workshop has been around for a while but just off my radar. Here's a snip from the website.

St. Blues Guitars was born in the heart of the Delta, where country tangled with the blues and spawned the true birthplace of Rock & Roll, Memphis. On the street now called Elvis Presley Boulevard, across the way from Graceland, Mike Ladd and Tom Keckler were doing something magical with guitars at Mike Ladd’s Guitar City. Seems whenever these boys laid hands on someone’s guitar, it just played a whole lot better. Hell, they even customized one for the King ordered by his father. You can see him play it in “Aloha From Hawaii”.

After Mike Ladd’s Guitar City, Keckler worked as the guitar guru at the legendary Strings and Things music store, where his skills and legend continued to grow. Here is where the “Bluesmaster” body was first designed, built from a telecaster esquire that Keckler was looking to modify.

In 1978, Keckler joined Tom Anderson and David Schecter out in California to turn Schecter Guitar Research from a parts supplier to a guitar company. But anyone who’s ever lived in Memphis knows you can’t stay away long and in 1983 he came home to continue his guitar work, and formed St. Blues Guitars with the founders of Strings and Things in 1984. Using the body shape that Tom had created some years before, the first St. Blues model was created and not surprisingly named the “Bluesmaster”. Sometimes you hit it just right. This unique guitar stands up to any classic design, and people who know a great guitar were quick to notice. Soon you would find a Bluesmaster in the hands of Eric Clapton, Bono, Albert King, Elliot Easton, Marshall Crenshaw, Glen Frey, Billy Gibbons... We could go on but this isn’t a book.

EMI music licensing talks falter with Sony

2010-03-30T15:06:00.001-04:00

Reuters

EMI Group Ltd is struggling to reach a deal to license its catalogue of recordings, with Sony Corp on the verge of pulling out of discussions with the British music company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The newspaper cited unnamed people familiar with the matter as saying that EMI needed to clinch a licensing deal by Wednesday in order to satisfy a covenant of a loan agreement with Citigroup Inc (C.N).

A cash advance from a music licensing group would help it meet that test, the newspaper said.

Charlie Gillett, Disc Jockey and Historian, Dies at 68

2010-03-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

New York Times

Charlie Gillett, who turned his youthful zeal for rock ’n’ roll into an influential career by writing one of the first serious rock histories and, as a disc jockey in London, helping to discover talents like Dire Straits and introduce the new genre of world music, died on Wednesday in London. He was 68.

The British Broadcasting Corporation said he had suffered from an autoimmune disease and died of a heart attack.

As a broadcaster, journalist, author and musicologist, Mr. Gillett (pronounced GILL-et, with a hard G) strove to bring deeper, broader dimensions to people’s appreciation of popular music. His book “The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll” (1970) described how rock evolved from more or less authentic regional styles recorded by independent companies to a vast, homogenized business ruled by major labels.

Music legend Phil Spector roughed up for mouthing off to fellow inmate, says pal Steven Escobar

2010-03-22T11:22:00.000-04:00

New York Daily News

Has Phil Spector gotten a bloody taste of jail-yard justice? The hot-tempered music legend is minding his tongue after having several teeth knocked out by a fellow inmate at the state prison in Corcoran, Calif., two Spector confidants tell us.

"Phil has quite a mouth on him," says longtime pal and defender Steven Escobar. "Not everyone understands his humor. He said the wrong thing to the wrong inmate in the yard."

Lacking any of his trusty firearms, Spector wound up with a bruised nose, black eye and the loss of a couple of caps, according to Escobar.

Peter Gabriel deconstructs music, reconstructs world

2010-02-28T20:51:00.001-05:00

AFP

Peter Gabriel strips songs to their bare essentials in his latest album, the first in eight years, but he is as passionate about new technologies and saving the world as he is about music.

Looking forward to a concert tour to promote "Scratch My Back", the former Genesis frontman sits shoeless -- "I like big boots but always take them off" -- in a Paris hotel room, chatting about human rights and the music industry.

"The industry," Gabriel, 60, told AFP, "is a corpse but there's lots of interesting things crawling out of it.

"In some ways it reminds me of the early 60s because there wasn't a lot of business then the way we know it, so people could write or rewrite the rules," he said.

Hard-up EMI seeks buyer for Abbey Road studios

2010-02-16T16:40:00.002-05:00

iWon News

The long and winding road of Beatles history has taken a new twist.

Cash-strapped music company EMI Group Ltd. is seeking a buyer for Abbey Road, the London studio where the Fab Four recorded some of their most famous songs, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

The person said talks had been going on for several months but a buyer had not yet been found. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

A spokesman for EMI refused to comment on the sale bid, which could raise tens of millions of dollars for the struggling label.

Rush drummer uncomfortable with fame

2010-02-09T21:32:00.002-05:00

Toronto Sun

Over the years — in addition to his main gig with singer-bassist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson — the celebrated and innovative percussionist has written four non-fiction books about his life, career and travels; released two full-length instructional drum videos; done cartoon voiceovers and film cameos; organized tribute albums and concerts to iconic drummer Buddy Rich; and regularly blogs, reviews books and even shares recipes on his website. Most recently, he recorded a drum-based version of the iconic The Hockey Theme for TSN and shot a video to go with it, playing a custom-made kit bearing the insignias of all 30 NHL teams.

To publicize his latest project, the intensely private Peart — who retreated more or less permanently from the media after the tragic deaths of his daughter and first wife in the late ’90s — emerged from hiding to talk with QMI Agency. And while he still shies away from personal questions, the personable ex-pat was happy to chat about everything from the future of Rush and the integrity of the album, to parenthood and pop music.

Daltrey, Who unhappy with performance

2010-02-08T17:27:00.003-05:00

ESPN

The Who's medley of five songs -- shortened versions of the classics -- were "Pinball Wizard" out of the gate, sliding into "Baba O'Reilly," "Who Are You," a few bars of "See Me" (from the "Tommy" album) and then "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Looking at the 65-year-old Daltrey and 64-year-old guitarist Pete Townshend, the two surviving members of the original quartet, you could tell they weren't necessarily enjoying their moment in the Sun Life Stadium. And that's with family members in skyboxes, all the herbal tea you can drink and a stadium packed with 70,000 fans.

With only 12 minutes to perform, they had no time to talk to the audience. No time to mention the Super Bowl. No time to mention Miami. And no time to thank the audience.

I am still trying to understand why the Super Bowl organization chose to have The Who provide the halftime entertainment. I like the band and respect their contribution to modern music but this one has me baffled.

EMI parent seeking cash to avoid default

2010-02-05T13:56:00.002-05:00

Washington Post

The private equity firm that bought the recording label of the Beatles and Coldplay needs more cash from investors to avoid a possible foreclosure by Citigroup Inc.

The problems for British financier Guy Hands were detailed in a report that was audited by KPMG and released Thursday. Hands' private equity firm, Terra Firma, bought EMI Group PLC through a separate company, Maltby Capital Ltd., for 2.4 billion pounds (equivalent to $3.8 billion now) in 2007.

Maltby directors said in the report the company needs to raise money by June 14 or risk defaulting on its loans. Maltby said it may require more than 105 million pounds ($165 million) to last through this year.

Men At Work's Colin Hay hits out over plagiarism ruling

2010-02-05T13:53:00.003-05:00

BBC News

Men at Work's Colin Hay has issued an angry statement calling the Down Under plagiarism case "opportunistic greed".

Earlier this week, a federal court in Sydney ruled that Men at Work had plagiarised Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree in its 1983 hit, Down Under.

"It's all about money, make no mistake," said Down Under author Hay.

But Norm Lurie, owner of Larrikin Music who filed the case, said it highlighted "the importance of checking before using other people's copyrights."

Flashback: My First Home Studio

2010-02-03T21:03:00.005-05:00

Here's a pic showing me in my first home studio setup. I believe this photo was taken in the summer of 1987.

“The Day the Music Died” Remembered

2010-02-03T20:16:00.003-05:00

Long Island Press.com

Today, 51 years ago, was “The Day the Music Died,” the phrase immortalized in American folk singer/songwriter Don McLean’s 1972 hit “American Pie.”

The tune has been called a metaphor for the loss of innocence in America, inspired by, and about, the untimely deaths of rock and rollers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, Jr. They were killed in a plane crash Feb. 3, 1959 along with the plane’s pilot, Roger Paterson, in a snowy field in the middle of Iowa just a short while after 1 a.m.

Music's lost decade: Sales cut in half

2010-02-03T20:11:00.000-05:00

CNN Money

If you watched the Grammy Awards Sunday night, it would appear all is well in the recording industry. But at the end of last year, the music business was worth half of what it was ten years ago and the decline doesn't look like it will be slowing anytime soon.

Total revenue from U.S. music sales and licensing plunged to $6.3 billion in 2009, according to Forrester Research. In 1999, that revenue figure topped $14.6 billion.

Although the Recording Industry Association of America will report its official figures in the early spring, the trend has been very clear: RIAA has reported declining revenue in nine of the past 10 years, with album sales falling an average of 8% each year. Last decade was the first ever in which sales were lower going out than coming in.

Music Piracy Case will Go to Round 3

2010-02-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

PC World

The long music piracy fight between the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Minnesota native Jammie Thomas-Rasset shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

RIAA spokeswoman Cara Duckworth last week said the industry association is beginning preparations for a third trial in the case after Thomas-Rasset rejected a $25,000 settlement offer it made earlier this week.

Canadian producer Pierre Cossette, father of Grammy Awards, dies at 85

2009-09-13T06:16:00.002-04:00

Google/AP News

Pierre Cossette, the Canadian father of the modern Grammy Awards show, has died at a Montreal hospital. He was 85.

His death was announced in Santa Monica, Calif., late Friday by the Recording Academy. Academy president and CEO Neil Portnow paid glowing tribute to Cossette.

"It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our dear friend and father of the Grammy Awards, Pierre Cossette," he said.

The Valleyfield, Que., native was an accomplished television and theatre producer who also managed some of American pop music's most influential early bands.

But he's best known as the visionary who guided the Grammy Awards from its early days as a stuffy, unsuccessful production to the widescreen industry institution it's become.

In its early years, the Grammy show was an hour-long compilation of recorded performances, and it was not a commercial success.

Brian Eno exhibit in Long Beach invites viewers to see the music

2009-09-13T06:07:00.002-04:00

Los Angeles Times

Eight time zones ahead of Los Angeles, Brian Eno's cellphone is ringing. He's cycling along the Thames River towpath, savoring the shank of a summer afternoon. "Could you call back in an hour?" he asks politely.

The appointed moment arrives and Eno is ready to chat, having come to a temporary halt in the tranquillity of his London home. Like his fellow harried humanoids, the British multimedia artist intimates that he's constantly trying to carve out a few minutes of quiet, contemplative space for himself within the manic, tech-driven modern world.

Of course, Eno, 61, has been a pioneer of that world and a proponent of new artistic technologies for decades: first as a keyboardist for the definitiveglam-rock ensemble Roxy Music; then as the producer of countless albums by U2, the Talking Heads, Coldplay and other sonically promiscuous bands; and in his prolific audio-visual collaborations, ranging from the Microsoft Windows six-second start-up jingle to the sound design for the Spore(2008_video_game) video game to the soundtrack for Peter Jackson's upcoming feature film adaptation of Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones." Eno's seemingly inexhaustible list of projects and artistic partners has earned him a reputation as a kind of creative perpetual-motion machine. But he confesses that he, too, struggles to keep the 24-7 pace from overwhelming him.

iTunes Sells 24% of All U.S. Music

2009-09-03T22:46:00.001-04:00

PC World

Apple's iTunes Music Store now sells 25 percent of all music sales in the U.S., and 69 percent of the entire US digital music market. Relative newcomer AmazonMP3 sells just 8 percent of all U.S. digital music downloads.

Market research company The NPD Group reports that while CDs remain the most popular format for paid music purchases, digital music sales are making up an ever-greater share of US music sales. (See also "Apple iTunes: How to Organize and Manage Your Music Collection.")

CDs comprised 65 percent of all music sold in the first half of 2009 compared to paid digital downloads, which comprised 35 percent of music sales. By comparison, paid digital music downloads comprised just 20 percent of sales in 2007 -- growing to 30 percent of the music market last year.

Click HERE to read more.

878 guitarists are too few to break record

2009-08-23T10:42:00.002-04:00

Shreveport Times

A sea of guitarists flooded the lower level of Hirsch Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

But recording legend James Burton and 877 fellow pickers were not enough to break the Guinness World Record for largest guitar ensemble. That remains with a German band that had 1,802 guitarists playing "Smoke on the Water" in 2007.

The attempt, part of the James Burton International Guitar Festival, gave many a reason to dust off their guitars.

But 11-year-old Chase Rogers was able to participate because of Burton. The classical guitar the Summerfield Elementary student played Saturday was donated to his school by the James Burton Foundation.

The festival is a fundraiser for foundation, which provides technical training, music lessons and free guitars to young musicians, according to its Web site. The foundation has donated more than 1,800 guitars to Bossier and Caddo schools since it was began in 2003.

August 21st

2009-08-21T00:02:00.000-04:00

He's on the road to somewhere

2009-08-18T21:37:00.002-04:00

IrishTimes.com

Musician David Byrne never goes on tour without his fold-up bicycle. His latest project is a book about his experiences on two wheels

‘I’M CHECKING it out – I got it figured out,” sang David Byrne on the Talking Heads song Cities . “There’re good points and bad points – but it all works out.” A gentle description of a city if ever there was one, but back in 1979 Byrne would deliver it with the bug-eyed zeal of a man who is never more freaked out than when confronted with the normal. Thirty years on, the manic streak has gone, replaced by a gentle laugh and shock of white hair, but those lyrics serve well as a template for his latest endeavour, Bicycle Diaries : a series of accounts of Byrne’s experiences travelling to cities around the world.

The Bicycle Diaries title isn’t there to fool you; while the 57-year-old has spent much of the last few decades touring the globe, first with Talking Heads and then as a solo artist, there have been two constants by his side: a diary, which he has kept, if not religiously then frequently, and a fold-up bicycle. The first chapter begins with Byrne cycling aimlessly around Niagra Falls, Buffalo, relaying his casual thoughts on sub-standard town planning and the life of local hero and Kodak founder George Eastman. Later on he examines Detroit, citing it as an example of what an unhealthy reliance on oil does to the average American city.

Digital music sales catching up to CDs

2009-08-18T21:25:00.001-04:00

San Jose Mercury News

In this all-things digital era, CDs still dominate the U.S. music market — but not for long.

While CDs made up 65 percent of all music sold in the first half of 2009, digital downloads are quickly catching up, according to a report released Tuesday by researcher The NPD Group. With digital music sales increasing 15 percent to 20 percent a year — and CD sales dropping at an equal pace — purchasing tunes on discs is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Next year will be a tipping point, said Russ Crupnick, NPD vice president of entertainment industry analysis. "It will be a dead heat" between digital and CD sales, he said.

The speed with which digital sales have grown — they made up just 20 percent of music sales two years ago — have many people assuming CDs died long ago. "The assumption is that happened five years ago," Crupnick said. "In fact, at least in the United States, there are still 2½ times as many people who buy CDs as those who buy digital downloads."

Les Paul: 1915 - 2009

2009-08-13T16:46:00.004-04:00

There can be no question that the musician of today owes a debt to Les Paul much greater than they may be able to imagine. When you consider the contribution made by one man and how he changed the direction of music, it boggles the mind. I doubt that one could name any legendary artist whose success would not have been possible without the innovations of Les Paul. A genius for the ages and we are fortunate to have lived to witness even a small part of his contribution. Thank you.

New York Times

Les Paul, the virtuoso guitarist and inventor whose solid-body electric guitar and recording studio innovations changed the course of 20th-century popular music, died Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. . He was 94.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, the Gibson Guitar Corporation and his family announced. .

Mr. Paul was a remarkable musician as well as a tireless tinkerer. He played guitar alongside leading prewar jazz and pop musicians from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby. In the 1930s he began experimenting with guitar amplification, and by 1941 he had built what was probably the first solid-body electric guitar, although there are other claimants. With his guitar and the vocals of his wife, Mary Ford, he used overdubbing, multitrack recording and new electronic effects to create a string of hits in the 1950s.

Mr. Paul’s style encompassed the twang of country music, the harmonic richness of jazz and, later, the bite of rock ’n’ roll. For all his technological impact, though, he remained a down-home performer whose main goal, he often said, was to make people happy.

Founder of punk's Mink DeVille dies at 58

2009-08-07T23:19:00.002-04:00

iWon News

Willy DeVille, who founded the punk group Mink DeVille and was known for his blend of R&B, blues, Dixieland and traditional French Cajun ballads, has died, his publicist said Friday. He was 58.

The Oscar-nominated songwriter died at New York's Cabrini Hospital on Thursday of pancreatic cancer, said Carol Kaye at Kayos Productions.

"The rock world has lost another one of its influential pioneers," Kaye said.

Mink DeVille, for which DeVille was the principal songwriter, was billed as one of the most original groups on the New York punk scene after an appearance at the legendary CBGB club in Greenwich Village in the 1970s.

Andy Timmons & Steve Vai - Beat It

2009-07-27T20:42:00.007-04:00

Found this video posted at Andy Timmons website.

Runnin' Behind The Scenes

2009-07-06T18:47:00.004-04:00

I am in the process of repairing the template. I am taking the coward's way out and pasting the naughty bits onto clean code. I am taking bets as to how long before I can manage to screw this one up.

1.6M Jackson fans await word on memorial tickets

2009-07-05T17:43:00.007-04:00

I know, I know.
I swear this will be my only contribution to the Michael Jackson 24/7 news cycle (unless we all find out that the butler did it, in the billiard room, with the candlestick.)

MJ may have been a victim of his excesses as so many before him. Jackson seems to have abused himself as much as many of those around him did.

I don't think I can say he was as groundbreaking as Jimi Hendrix, Elvis, John Lennon but he certainly knew it was his time in cultural history. He jumped into the MTV revolution and defined the medium for many other artists. In this respect, he was a force.

I do believe he was committed to his music with an integrity and determination forgotten by most other entertainers. Too bad he couldn't find a way to transcend this to his personal life.

iWon News

The more than 1.6 million fans who registered for tickets to Michael Jackson's memorial service will learn Sunday whether they are among the lucky few to win tickets for the Tuesday ceremony.

Fans registered for free at the Staples Center Web site for the random drawing of only 8,750 names. Each person selected will receive two tickets and will be notified by e-mail after 11 a.m. PDT Sunday, according to a Staples Center news release.

The odds of getting a ticket were about 1 in 183.

The tickets will admit 11,000 people to the Staples Center plus 6,500 in the Nokia Theater overflow section next door.

Richard Wright dies at 65; founding member of Pink Floyd

2008-09-16T17:59:00.002-04:00

Los Angeles Times

Richard Wright, the founding member of Pink Floyd whose piano and synthesizer work played a critical part in the pioneering British psychedelic rock band's ethereal sound, died Monday after a short battle with cancer, his spokesman said. He was 65.

Doug Wright, who is not a relative, said Wright died at his home in England and that his family did not wish to release any more information, the Associated Press reported.

Wright never achieved the high public profile of the group's three key figures -- founding singer-guitarist Syd Barrett and the often-feuding co-leaders, singer-bassist Roger Waters and singer-guitarist David Gilmour, who joined shortly before Barrett left in 1968.

Warner Music reorganizes top tier

2008-09-16T17:01:00.000-04:00

Variety

Citing the radical changes in the music biz since its 2004 launch as a stand-alone company, Warner Music Group announced a major management restructuring Tuesday.

The company created an office of the chairman and upped Lyor Cohen and Michael D. Fleisher to vice chairmen. In the restructuring, Warner Music Intl. chairman and chief exec Patrick Vien is ankling.

Cohen will also be chairman and CEO of recorded music in the U.S. and U.K. Cohen had been leading WMG's U.S. recorded music operations.

Fleisher has been WMG’s exec VP and CFO since January 2005. He helped take the company public in May 2005 and established its finance, investor relations and IT areas.

Steven Macri, WMG’s senior VP and global controller, has been named exec VP and CFO.

Metallica tries to revive classic sound on 'Death Magnetic'

2008-09-09T18:25:00.001-04:00

Chicago Tribune

In the last decade, Metallica has had a few image problems. They had run-ins with Napster and fans who were downloading their music, then they battled with each other and fired their bass player. Once metal innovators, they became parodies of bloated, past-their-prime rock stars in the "Spinal Tap"-like 2004 documentary "Some Kind of Monster."

With its scenes of petty in-fighting, group therapy, and champagne-sipping extravagance, "Monster" exposed a band that had lost touch with everything that had once made it great.

"Death Magnetic" (Warner), the band’s first studio album in five years and the ninth in its 25-year career, tries to rehabilitate the band’s image by explicitly referencing its late ‘80s Golden Age.

David Byrne Designs Guitar-Shaped Bike Rack, 8 Others

2008-08-20T17:07:00.002-04:00

The Associated Press

Musician, artist and bicycling enthusiast David Byrne has designed nine unusual bike racks that have been installed around New York City.

The Department of Transportation says the artistic installations by the Talking Heads singer are meant to spark interest in bicycling.

Each rack reflects its location. A guitar-shaped rack named Hipster has been placed in Brooklyn's trendy Williamsburg neighborhood. A rack that looks like a dollar sign is in the Wall Street area.

Chuck Berry cancels pre-paid Spain concerts

2008-07-29T09:31:00.002-04:00

France 24

Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry pulled out of two sold-out weekend concerts in Spain at the last minute without any explanation, organisers said Monday, sparking concerns over his health.

Berry, who has been on a tour of Europe, had already been paid for the two concerts and organisers said they are considering taking legal action.

The American guitarist and singer, who turns 82 in October, was scheduled to perform in Estepona on Spain's Mediterranean coast on Saturday and in the northern city of Leon a day later.

But just one hour before he was to take the stage in Estepona, his agent called concert promoters to inform them that the singer had left the country, leaving behind over 4,000 disappointed fans, organisers said in a statement.

Rolling Stones sign with Universal Music, ditching EMI

2008-07-26T21:42:00.002-04:00

I work for the company that distributes Universal Music. In many ways, this is a homecoming for the Stones discography. The early Rolling Stones albums were released on London Records. London is a distributed label now owned by Universal Music. Now it seems that all Stones material will be available under one roof, so to speak.

USATODAY.com

The Rolling Stones, the world's top earning music act last year, have signed a long-term, exclusive worldwide contract with Vivendi's Universal Music, dealing a major blow to the group's former recording company EMI Group.

Universal said on Friday that the new deal covered both future albums by the Stones and their back catalog, including albums such as "Sticky Fingers" and "Black and Blue" and the songs "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up."

Universal, the world's biggest recording company, did not disclose terms of the deal.

The Stones had been on the EMI label for more than 20 years and their departure is a low point in a bumpy ride for Terra Firma Capital Partners, the private equity firm that bought the London-based recording company last year.

Rush To Perform On The Colbert Report Wednesday Night

2008-07-15T14:30:00.003-04:00

iWon News

Rush will be appearing on "The Colbert Report," and it's not Limbaugh.

The Canadian band Rush, which hasn't performed on U.S. television in more than three decades, will play their classic "Tom Sawyer" on the Comedy Central show Wednesday (11:30 p.m. EST). The Geddy Lee-led trio, which is currently on tour, hasn't played on U.S. television since 1975.

Rush is only the latest act to perform on "The Report," which has steadily edged closer to "Ed Sullivan Show" territory. With increasingly frequent musical performances, "The Report" has grown a variety-show impulse, evident in other upcoming bookings.

Grand Funk: In Concert 1972

2008-06-24T16:11:00.002-04:00

Here's a clip of GFR playing at Madison Square Garden in late 1972. This was part of the In Concert series. I have a bootleg of the show but it is not the best quality. Found this on You Tube.

Grand Funk Railroad - Flight of the Phoenix / Footstompin' Music

Dead Dog Express - From The Ashes

2008-06-23T15:24:00.004-04:00

I have decided to resume writing on this page. It will be again somewhat different from it's initial inception. I will share some of my rock and roll stories from my playing days but will also add other snippets related to the music industry. I have a couple of music projects that I am launching and will share them as they develop.

Dick Clark rock'n'roll collection to be sold in NY

2006-10-26T20:15:00.000-04:00

Dick Clark rock'n'roll collection to be sold in NY:

"Fifty years after Dick Clark first hosted the popular television show that came to be called 'American Bandstand,' he's ready to let go of some of the rock'n'roll items he's collected.

Thousands of pieces in Clark's memorabilia collection are set to be auctioned on December 5 and 6 by Guernsey's Auction House in New York.

One of the top items is the microphone Clark used for 31 years while hosting the live music and dance show featuring artists from Jerry Lee Lewis to L.L. Cool J.

'It was an extension of my right arm,' Clark told Reuters. 'I held onto it for several hours a day, every day.'"

Bullets Loaded

2006-10-26T20:06:00.000-04:00

Pullenmyblog:

A spokeswoman for Bob Seger has confirmed just who will be in the Silver Bullet Band when the Bobster hits the road for the first time in 10 years Nov. 8 in Grand Rapids.

The lineup includes long time Bullets Alto Reed (sax), Chris Campbell (bass), Flint native Craig Frost (keys) and singers Laura Creamer and Shaun Murphy.

Rounding out the lineup: Grand Funk Railroad drummer Don Brewer, guitarist Mark Chatfield, percussionist Jim Brown and Detroit singer Barb Payton.

Seger's "Face the Promise" tour sold out three Michigan shows in less than 20 minutes last Saturday, including the Nov. 10 show at Saginaw's Dow Event Center (six minutes) and a second stop at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena on
Nov. 12.

Four more shows go on sale this weekend. Word has it the rumored Palace and Joe Louis stops in December could go on sale within the next two weeks.

Six Degrees Of Separation

2006-10-22T08:22:00.000-04:00

It's not only who you know but it's who you know that may lead you to others. The path that lead us to Dead Dog Express began in the Spring of 1976.

Todd and I had gotten into some trouble in school that required us to get jobs to pay restitution. In our home town of Plymouth Michigan, a new dinner/dance club had opened by the name of Napoleon's where we found work in the dish room. As we got to know some of the wait staff, we met a girl named Amy. We found out that her brother, Bob, was a musician and had a small studio in the basement of the family home. She informed us that Bob would occasionally take on demo projects for other area musicians.

After exchanging the contact information, we contacted Bob and a few months later, we recorded our first demo at his studio. We would eventually record three different demo sessions at his place. These demos never really went anywhere but it did give us some valuable experience in developing our songwriting skills and gaining a better understanding of the recording process.

Several years later, as we were trying to reform the band, we were seeking a location for rehearsals. I had the thought that Bob might be able to assist in some direction. Once I contacted Bob, he mentioned that his mother had worked for local studio owner, Danny Dallas, who ran Sound Patterns DXM. He told me that Danny might be able to connect us with a situation that would work.

Gaining this referral, I called Danny to set an appointment. We met with Danny Dallas at his studio in Farmington Hills Michigan. He gave us a tour of his facility and we sat down and listened to some of his "war" stories. Initially, he had offered to let us rent place in an unused room within his building. As we began to discuss this option and negotiate an affordable rate, we all agreed that it would not work out.

Danny gave us a referral to his landlord, Gus, who owned several properties in the area. We contacted Gus McCreedy and arranged to look at some remote property he owned where he stored several pieces of construction equipment. There was an "out-building" on the property set off about 300 feet from the main road. We looked at the property and came to terms. Thus, we found what we would come to call - Dead Dog Express.

Back into the swing

2006-10-12T19:03:00.000-04:00

For longer than I care to admit, I have not picked up my axe very often. I have been overloaded with business issues and not made time in my day to do much playing.

I have begun to clear my schedule a bit and have reconnected.

Put That Finger Down There!

2006-09-19T21:15:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I am reminded of the expression -
"Those that can - do; those that can't - teach."

Whatcha think this guy gets for a half-hour?

Artist Spotlight

2006-09-17T06:56:00.000-04:00

On one of my other pages, I write a weekly series that focuses on artists that have some tie to my home state, Michigan. This series has been running for about nine weeks now. This series has been a blast for me because it lets me explore some of the history of the selected artists. With my background in the music business, some of the focus artists I knew about previously.

I have opted to share information about the more obscure or lesser known artists. I have also tried to present a wide variety of artists by bouncing from opposite genre from one week to the next.

Through this experience so far, it has led me to expand the focus of this blog quite a bit wider than originally intended. I think it will make both pages a bit better - at least for me.

eric johnson: cliffs of dover

2006-09-08T23:10:00.000-04:00

All I can say is....
damn! this guy can play like nobody's business.

Another favorite song of mine by Eric Johnson. Cliffs of Dover was on one of my "car trax" cassettes I used to keep in the car.

Warren Zevon Remembered

2006-09-07T23:11:00.000-04:00

Warren Zevon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Warren Zevon was born to a Russian Jewish father and a Mormon mother and soon moved to California. By the age of 13, Warren Zevon was a regular visitor to the home of Igor Stravinsky where he, along with Robert Craft, would study music.

Zevon turned to a musical career early, including a stretch as part of a Sonny and Cher-type male/female duo called lyme and cybelle (a band whose correct spelling is all lower case), and he spent time as a session musician (notably as piano player and band leader for the Everly Brothers) and jingle composer. He wrote several songs for his White Whale label-mates the Turtles, though his participation in their recording is unknown."

Guitar Intonation and Setup

2006-09-07T22:52:00.000-04:00

Guitar Intonation and Setup:

"As always, I'm tearing out what's left of my hair trying to keep guitars in tune. I'm from a small area and there is no “go to” guy for setting up guitars. I've got a few buddies who do a solid job, but I hate to keep bugging them to intonate guitars."

Music thing: eBay of the day: Amazing 60s Mosrite/Von Dutch guitars

2006-09-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

Music thing: eBay of the day: Amazing 60s Mosrite/Von Dutch guitars:

"This kind of thing doesn't come along too often: These three guitars were made for the 60s psychedelic one-hit-wonders Strawberry Alam Clock by Semie Moseley of Mosrite (much more about him here) . As if that wasn't cool enough, Semie sent the surfboard-shaped guitars to Von Dutch to be painted. After the band played them in a film (possibly 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'), Semie got the guitars back."

You really have to see these guitars to believe it. They are beyond description. Very cool article.

The Gauntlet :: Porcupine Tree - Heavy Metal - Buddy Icons - Porcupine Tree Videos - Porcupine Tree Ringtones - mp3s - Tabs - Wallpaper - lyrics

2006-09-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

The Gauntlet :: Porcupine Tree - Heavy Metal - Buddy Icons - Porcupine Tree Videos - Porcupine Tree Ringtones - mp3s - Tabs - Wallpaper - lyrics:

"Roadrunner Records is delighted to welcome epic rockers PORCUPINE TREE to our family.

Porcupine Tree is unquestionably one of the most difficult-to-categorise and innovative bands out there. The music is breathtaking, ranging from psychedelic trip-hop to progressive metal, and a compendium of other sounds in between.

Evolving from one man’s self-indulgent creative outlet back in 1992, Porcupine Tree has grown into a well respected major-label-signed four-piece who have released several albums. Their most recent, 2005’s ‘Deadwing’, served to further skyrocket the band's renown and they are currently hard at work on a brand new record - set for release on Roadrunner (excluding North America and Japan) in early 2007. "

Rush: Analog Kid

2006-09-03T19:57:00.000-04:00

Here's a clip of Rush playing at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. This is doubly good for me as this is one of my favorite tunes, Analog Kid, by Rush plus having it recorded in my home state is sort of cool.

Hat tip: Rush Blog

Texas Traveler: Eric Johnson blossoms, returns to Grant Street

2006-08-31T18:33:00.000-04:00

The Daily Advertiser - www.theadvertiser.com - Lafayette, LA:

"Fans may notice a new Johnson release on music store shelves: Live From Austin Texas: Eric Johnson. The footage for the DVD and the audio for the CD come from a Dec. 14, 1988, recording of the PBS series Austin City Limits.

However, Johnson had little to do with the release. The footage and audio belong to Austin City Limits, he explained. It was the decision of executives with the popular music showcase to release the CD and DVD this summer.

Each release does something Johnson said he cannot reproduce in the studio: The vibe, sound and emotion the music takes on in a live performance."

Guitar Hero Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush Plan 35th Anniversary Tour

2006-08-31T18:29:00.000-04:00

Guitar Hero Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush Plan 35th Anniversary Tour:

"Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush return with the two-CD concert album RealLIVE! , via Canada-based Just A Minute/Justin Time Records and confirmed 35th Anniversary U.S tour dates for October, 2006.

It is the first release for the Montreal-based guitarist/vocalist in three years, and it reunites him with longtime friend Jim West -- president of Justin Time Records, who once was the first-ever Mahogany Rush tour manager and one of the few people in the music business he truly and completely trusts."

Bayfest: Sept. 29 through Oct. 1

2006-08-31T18:19:00.000-04:00

Caller.com: Local News:

"On Sept. 30, grounds open at noon and don't close until midnight. Check out hip-hop acts Omarion and Chingy, who will hit the stage that night, along with DeAnda.

For the final day, the festival runs from noon to 10 p.m. Performances include Ayala, rocker Pat Travers and country group Diamond Rio."

The Rock Radio: Mark Farner recalls Grand Funk Railroad's run-in with the NYPD

2006-08-31T17:26:00.000-04:00

The Rock Radio: Mark Farner recalls Grand Funk Railroad's run-in with the NYPD:

"Just out is an expanded edition of the Grand Funk Railroad Greatest Hits album that was released in April. The new version pairs the 14 songs from the original release with a DVD that has footage from 1969, 1971, 1973, and 1997. The 1971 material is especially important in Grand Funk history, since it's from their show at Shea Stadium in New York City, which they sold out faster than the Beatles. Grand Funk flew to the gig in a helicopter, and singer-guitarist Mark Farner told us that the guys wound up in police cars soon after they landed: 'We land in the parking lot where the limo is supposed to pick us up -- no limo. This is the age of no cell phones back then. The guy runs to the corner telephone booth, this guy who was riding with us and happened to have some influence with the telephone -- in three minutes, there were three cop cars. We all jump in cop cars, come in to the Shea Stadium with the lights going and the sirens going -- it was the grand entrance! The police escort us to the stage! It was great!'
"

More headlines about GFR.

Grand Funk endures musical change - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

2006-08-31T17:24:00.000-04:00

Grand Funk endures musical change - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

"Don Brewer didn't expect Grand Funk Railroad's run to be lengthy. When the band disbanded after seven years, he was not at all surprised.

'We felt like we had a good run, from 1969 to 1976,' he says, 'and we were very thankful and thought that was about it. Let's all move on.'

Brewer, who performs with the band Sunday at Heinz Field as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers Kickoff and Rib Festival, didn't reckon with the American passion for nostalgia. When classic-rock radio re-emerged in the 1990s and the band's CDs began to be reissued, people started to ask, wither Grand Funk?"

Just a few news items I found today about one of my strongest musical influences.

Good Advice

2006-08-27T11:06:00.000-04:00

If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week.

-- Charles Darwin

Roots

2006-07-28T20:07:00.000-04:00

A moment of repose, a slight detour of sorts.
Today I was talking with my wife about a post about Dick Wagner I was preparing for another site I am writing. Well, one thing lead to another and I began to reminisce.
I was thinking back to when I first became interested in music and my first guitar. From there, a quick google directed me to this photo. There it is, not the exact item but the same model that was my first electric guitar.

Christmas 1971 -
In November of that year, I found a sale ad for a local department store of the day named Topps. They were running their specials for Christmas lay-aways and there, a half-page ad of a Teisco guitar and amp combo for $39.95. I tore the ad out of the paper and told my mother that I wanted this for Christmas. And nothing else.
I saved the ad. I looked at the ad every day. I studied it closely. I would fold the worn newsprint what must have been hundreds of times from that day until Christmas.

As you have guessed, under the tree that year was, in fact, an oddly shaped package that held the answer to my wishes. I know that my mother had to endure some hardships that year as she was recently a single mother of five and struggling with re-entering the workforce. She found a way to buy that gift for me and I have never forgotten the conditions we were living with at the time.

A few adjustments

2006-07-27T22:39:00.000-04:00

Making a few changes to the color palette for ease of reading. Made a few adjustments in the sidebar too.

Before We Resume The Tale

2006-07-25T17:51:00.000-04:00

I think the strangest part about this blog for me is knowing how the story ends and that it will end. As far as the saga of the Dead Dog years, which was relatively short.

My experiences as a musician continued beyond the time invested at DDE. I continue to play, write, and record original music, though not as frequently as I would like.

Whether I will take the telling of my tale further into the years after "The Dog" remains to be seen. I have a hunch but ....

Where'd it go?

2006-07-23T00:34:00.000-04:00

Holy crap! A year has passed since I made anything close to a serious entry. Gotta fix that right away.

I am making some page adjustments. Some new features and coding going in currently.

Back shortly.....really.....I mean it.

New entry soon

2006-02-19T19:20:00.000-05:00

Neglected and overlooked for a while, I will be posting more in the saga shortly.

Happy Birthday Jeff!

2005-07-20T22:44:00.000-04:00

To my friend, Jeff Lightfoot, a person I admire and respect. Jeff is also one of the finest musicians I have ever known and had the good fortune to have worked with in more than 34 years of playing. I learned so much from Jeff while we worked together. He challenged me to improve my playing ability and to stretch beyond my current skills to become a better musician.

Thank you Jeff for making me push myself but most of all, thank you for your friendship, especially after all the years. I wish you the happiest of birthdays and continued happiness and prosperity for you and your family.

Friends We Made Along The Way

2005-04-08T19:10:00.000-04:00

As our sessions began to develop, we started to "plan our plans" to market the band. We determined that there were some legal things to consider as well so we began to look for an attorney that would be able to assist us.

As our good fortune would have it, I met an attorney that was looking to develop his practice into the music industry. I met Howard Hertz while he was working with the public defender's office in Detroit. It is a long story about how we met, I'll leave it to your imagination. During this meeting, we had some moments that allowed me to ask him some questions about music business issues and he gave me his card.

Later, as we finished our next recording, I contacted Howard to help register our copyrights. We set up a meeting with the band a short time later. Howard told us that we were one of his first music act for his burgeoning legal practice. If memory serves me correctly, I think his first artist was a gentleman named Ted Strunck.

Today, Howard Hertz is a powerhouse in the music industry. His firm, Hertz, Schram, and Saretsky have represented many notables in the business. Here is his bio from the firm's website:

Howard Hertz formed the law firm of Hertz, Schram & Saretsky with Bradley Schram in 1979. He specializes in entertainment law and is the lead attorney of Hertz, Schram & Saretskys Entertainment & Sports Practice Group. Since 1976 he has represented numerous artists and entities in the entertainment field, including authors, screenwriters, recording artists, radio personalities, producers, production companies, record labels, agents, artist managers, music publishers, songwriters and athletes. Among others, his most well-known clients have been George Clinton, Sippie Wallace, The Romantics, The Bass Brothers, Eminem, Marilyn Manson, O-Town, The Go, Elmore Leonard, Warner Tamerlane, CDNow and Atlantic Records. Services provided to entertainment clients range from contract negotiation and litigation to entity formation and estate/tax planning. Mr. Hertz travels to MIDEM, the International Music Festival in Cannes, France, and to South by Southwest, in Austin, Texas, annually, on behalf of his clients.

Among the many organizations and honors to Mr. Hertzs credit, he is a Michigan State Bar Foundation Fellow, a member of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers, a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Motor City Music Foundation, a member and former chairperson of the Arts, Communications, Entertainment and Sports Section of the State Bar of Michigan, counsel to and a member of the Board of Directors of ArtServe Michigan, speaker and member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences and is on the Advisory Board for Common Ground Sanctuary. He is the subject of biographical record in "Whos Who in Entertainment" and "Whos Who in American Law".

Howard Hertz has participated on panels and lectured on various entertainment related topics for organizations and schools such as: the Michigan Institute of Continuing Legal Education, National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences, Motor City Music Foundation, Wayne State University Law School, Cooley Law School, Detroit College of Law, the University of Michigan, Motortown Gospel Music Network and the Detroit Historical Museum.

Mr. Hertz graduated from Wayne State University in 1972 with distinction and received his law degree from Wayne State University in 1976, where he graduated cum laude.

Howard and his partners are featured panel members at the upcoming Motor City Music Conference 2005 on April 20-24th. If I am not mistaken, this is the second occurrence of this now annual event. Take a moment to check out the line up of talent that will be appearing during this event in addition to all the industry reps on the various discussion panels.

Oh, if you happen to attend the panel discussion with Howard, tell him Dave Stone says "hi".
Dave who?
Exactly.

And The Band Played On

2005-03-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

As we got to know Jeff better, we felt he was a great "fit" in our little band. Despite the differences in our musical appreciations, the diversity of styles that Jeff brought to the trio was essential to creating the expressive tension that I believe to be the main requirement for good composition.

Jeff and I rehearsed more frequently in the beginning as we were both very dynamic songwriters. Not that our songs were dynamic necessarily, just that we were active in the process of songwriting. It was great to have another writer to work with though there were challenges in finding our way to communicate our ideas. There were many times that I know I was a real shithead. I admit that my ego got in the way on more than one occasion and it's hard telling how many good ideas were lost in the pissing match. This is something I regret and find no pride in to this day. (Jeff, I am sorry for that.)

Through the summer, we wrestled through the process of gaining familiarity with each other, finding ways to goof off together, and preparing for a recording session we were playing in October 1978. Since Todd and I had already ventured into the studio, we were considered the veterans (in our minds, at least) and we wanted to make certain to avoid some of the mistakes we felt were made in previous outings. We had developed a playlist of about 10 songs but were mainly focused on refining 2 songs for our new demo.

We had also begun to prep for possible gigs and made a checklist for our demo distribution, once complete.

- more to come -

New Blood

2005-03-12T14:01:00.000-05:00

After a short time, I approached Jeff with the idea of rehearsing with Todd and I. The first couple of sessions were a mixture of nerves and excitement. It had been a while since we had a bass player to rehearse with and I was really enjoying the playing freedom it afforded me.

Jeff was a big Beatles fan and knew just about everything the Beatles ever recorded. Todd and I weren't really fans but welcomed the influence it would have on what we had been writing and rehearsing. I was wearing out the grooves of my Rush - All The Worlds A Stage LP and loaned it to Jeff. The difference between Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee is pretty dramatic as their music covers a totally different spectrum.

We continued to play together for a couple more months and soon we decided to take some new songs into the studio at Bob Goodsite's once again. Basically, we reworked an earlier song I wrote, "Stand Up", and wrote a new song called, "You Come Crawlin' Back". Todd had written the lyrics and Jeff and I thrashed out the music.

More about this........

Dishwasher, Janitor & Pump Jockey

2005-02-20T15:11:00.000-05:00

I quit school two months before graduation in my senior year. I should say, my classmate were going to graduate but, due to my misaligned values about attending classes, I was not to be paroled any time soon. Looking ahead to probably two more years of school, I knew the die was cast and the smartest thing to do was leave school and jump into the work force before all the "good" jobs were taken. (Chuckling to myself.)

Being seventeen and a high school drop-out, my immediate employment opportunities were considerably limited. I took a job as a dishwasher at an all-night diner in town. Later, once I turned eighteen, I took a job as a porter at a film processing center which led me to getting a job at a gas station. What a career path, no!

As I was bouncing through these different jobs, Todd and I began toying with the idea of playing as a band again. Now that school was out and we were both working, we had some badly needed funds for equipment purchases and beer. We were set.

We still had the eternal struggle for a rehearsal space so we would squeeze in band practices whenever possible. We set our site on another recording session, planning to learn from our previous experiences, we felt confident that the outcome would be dramatically better.

As we re-engaged the rehearsals, we were still on the look-out for a bass player. Reminiscent of "Spinal Tap", we just could not seem to keep a bass player on the roster. Through our entire experience as a band unit, we had nine different bass players over an eight year period.

We spent the rest of 1977, until spring of 1978, looking for a third member and continued our writing. I once again changed jobs and took a position at KMart as a stockman. While at KMart, I met a fellow employee named Jeff Lightfoot and we became friends. Lo and behold, Jeff played bass!

The In-Between Time

2005-01-15T23:00:00.000-05:00

After completing my "solo" demo tape, I spent a few months basking in the aura seeking a new band to join. I recall going on a few auditions but these didn't quite click. I have always had a preference for playing in a trio and many of these situations would have had me playing the second guitar role. One band I tried out for was a six-piece band that already had two other guitarists. I knew the moment I entered the rehearsal room there would be little chance that I could be happy playing in such a subordinated position. Another band was looking for a lead guitarist and I knew the drummer from Jr High School. I had jammed with him a few other times and we had a pretty good feel for each other's playing styles. He had arranged the audition and I thought it may hold some promise.

As it started, I felt very relaxed and comfortable. We ran through about ten songs that they were using in their set. Even though I didn't know the songs very well, I laid down some decent ad-lib that made playing easy and fun. Then it happened.

The lead singer/rhythm guitarist and his girlfriend, a back-up singer, began to argue about something that happened the night before. They lived together and were renovating the house we were rehearsing in and some debate began relating to the damned remodeling project. Right in the middle of a song, this dude stops playing and starts yelling at the girlfriend through the PA system. She grabs her microphone and started yelling back at him. The rest of us stop playing, hoping the two will stop using the equipment to broadcast their fight for the neighborhood. I look around the room and notice that the band doesn't seem to be phased by the display. (I asked my friend later about this and he said, "Yeah, that shit happens every time we practice. And they're getting married next year.")

The session ended with the girlfriend throwing a tambourine at the guy, he responded by yanking his amp cord, pulling the unit onto the floor on it's face. He then stormed off to their loft room upstairs. She chased after him, both screaming at each other. The rest of the band slips outside to the front porch for a smoke break and to talk about anything except what we had just witnessed. About twenty minutes later, someone commented that it gotta pretty quiet inside and that we may be able resume the rehearsal.

We went back in the house and from our vantage point, could see up into the loft and that the couple were now doing the horizontal bop! Needless to stay, the party broke up.

I packed my stuff and fortunately, I was not asked to return. I later learned two things about this band. About 2 months later, the girlfriend caught the guy with another girl, who was being auditioned. The band broke up shortly thereafter. I think the new girl must has passed.

Rework....again

2005-01-01T23:46:00.000-05:00

As part of my New Year's resolution, I made some changes to the appearance of the blog. More posts coming soon. In a day or so....

Thanks for reading. I hope you like the changes so far and stories yet to come.

First Solo Recording

2004-11-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

After working on the lyric re-writes for about a week, I returned to the Goodsite studio to complete the demo.

When I arrived to work on the songs, Bob had a friend in the studio. Scott was a keyboard player that Bob was collaborating with and they had some work planned for a bit later in the day. Bob asked if I would mind that Scott hung around and though it did make me a little uncomfortable, I said it would be fine.

We listened to playback of the tracks from the previous session to get warmed up. I asked Bob if we could re-track a couple of the lead guitar overdubs that just didn't quite work. I ran down a basic feel that I wanted to change and Bob talked to me about using a new stomp box he just bought, a phase shifter. We hooked it up and did a quick rehearsal on one of the tracks I wanted to record. It sounded great! Little did I know that Bob ran live tape on the rehearsal take. When it was done, he said, "Dave, listen to this. I think that song is done now." He was right. My test became the keeper for that song. It just sort of flowed forth and with the phase shifter, it was a perfect fit. Quickly working through the remaining overdubs, we moved to the lyric parts.

Should have stopped while I was ahead. A singer, I'm not. Still.

Bob offered some ideas to help me with my delivery and did a fair amount of tape tricks to minimize the poor performance. Rather than trying to force something that just wasn't there, I decided to get the lyrics down and call it a day.

Despite the vocals, this session did a lot to bolster my self-confidence as a songwriter/performer. It allowed me to see that I could write material and perform it on my own. (I could always hire a singer, right? Take voice lessons?) For the next couple of months, I "shopped" my tape around to other musicians I knew and began to educate myself in recording techniques. I continued writing and fashioned a rudimentary multitrack recording set-up using 2 standard cassette recorders. This allowed me to develop my ideas in greater detail and rehearse the vocal parts in advance. This would help me to convey the concept to other musicians must easier and save me time and money and frustration.

Collision of Vision

2004-11-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

I experienced a lot of frustration in the days following our meeting with Don Brewer. What added to my frustration was learning that members of our "entourage" were secretly laughing and poking fun at the tape behind our backs. I let my ego get the best of me and I began to lash out at the others involved in our project. This stressed the relationships with everyone and ultimately caused a cessation of rehearsals. The fact is: I quit. I began writing some new material and set a goal to record on my own. I auditioned for couple other local groups but found it difficult to absorb their respective cultures. In these cases, I was the extra member of the band and not really a contributor to the creative process. This left me largely unfulfilled and more frustrated.

About six months after the first recording sessions, I contacted Bob Goodsite again to schedule some more sessions and began recording some of the new material. I had written an overly ambitious medley of songs, a theme song in the style of "2112" by the band, Rush.

This time, I was the only person in the studio playing all instruments. Now, playing drums was NOT my forte and I quickly decided this session would be sans-percussion.

The first day of recording started as before, laying the basic foundation tracks for the piece. The medley was written for an approximate running time of 17 minutes. There were 6 distinct component passages to the work, 4 parts had lyric content woven with 2 instrumental segues. I ran through the piece once for setting proper levels before we began to print tape. Quickly, the rhythm guitar parts were laid and I started to overdub bass guitar. I immediately felt the piece was not going to work and I was losing my drive to salvage it in it's intend form.

I decided to break up the medley, using the stronger musical passages, and make them individual songs. This decision left me with 3 songs that I felt comfortable about and we began to re-track the foundations for the songs.

Song titles were:
1. Rain Forest of Tugin / Findleragin (I kept the concept from the original medley, "Infinite Destiny".)
2. Ocohed
3. We'll Be Together

The first session ended on a much higher note (sorry) than it had begun. All initial tracks recorded with bass guitar and lead guitar overdubs complete. There were some sound effects added to the Rain Forest song and these were finished as well. At the end of the day, Bob made me a rough mix dub tape and I would spend the next week fine tuning (sorry again) the lay of the lyrics.

Lake Shannon Days

2004-10-04T22:07:00.000-04:00

Now flash forward about 7 months from the day we met Don Brewer at his home. It is now about 4 months after we finished recording our demo tape and we decided to take it to our new mentor in Parshalville.

We drove to Don Brewer's house several different times but were unable to find him at home. Finally after these many failed attempts, we hit pay dirt. Fortunately, he remembered us and invited us into the house. "So, you guys have a tape with you?", he said. "C'mon in and sit down so we can listen to it."

My thoughts were overwhelmed by the fact that he had invited us into his home and had done it so naturally as if we were old friends. Now, here I was, looking around the room to see what his years of a successful career in music had afforded him. There was a surreal quality about sitting on his living couch admiring the artwork and other decor. I don't remember who was holding the tape but somehow it found it's way into his hands and then onto his open reel equipment on a nearby tape. He returned to the center of the room and sat on the arm of an easy chair as the tape began the countoff for the first song.

Panic!

Suddenly I was struck by a rapid and deepening panic. It was so odd and I am sure my face betrayed this emerging fear I was experiencing. The first song was nearly ended and I had the realization that this was NOT going to result in anything GOOD. I knew, I knew, I knew. I watched his face for some sign, some visible reaction, some reassurance, that he would take some pity upon us in his final assessment. He would occasionally smile and nod his approval at certain times through listening to the rest of the demo. Me, I found myself wincing at moments when I knew some part of the song had failed to hit the mark, missed the beat, or was offkey. Sadly, there were many such moments. My palms grew damp and a bead of unending sweat had formed on my forehead. Hell, my ears were even perspiring.

It's almost over, it's almost over, god, let it be almost over!

I found myself hoping we could pretend we hadn't brought a tape and that we could talk about sports or cars or women or beehives or fish hooks or ANYTHING!

Once the tape was though, he walked over to rewind the reel. He kept his back to us the entire time and I sensed that he was purposely taking extra time to compose his words before delivering the verdict. I swear it was almost in slow motion, the way he slowly turned around and walked up to me to hand me the tape. As he handed me the tape, he smiled with a gentle expression for I am sure he knew what I knew he knew.?

"Well guys," he began, "it's not bad. The one thing, the main thing, I would suggest is that you need to get your sound tighter." I know he kept talking but I truly cannot recall what was said for the next several moments. I was battling my own demons at that time. After a few moments, the other guys stood up and I realized it was the cue to hit the road.

As we walked out onto his front porch, Don offered, "When you guys put another tape together, feel free to bring up here again. Don't give up, just keep working on it."

Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad

2004-09-29T23:40:00.000-04:00

Our would-be mentor, Don Brewer, drummer extraordinaire for Grand Funk Railroad. Donnie was a source of mucho inspiration and would give us some critical insight that had a dramatic impact on the direction we followed in our musical pursuits.

Demo Afterglow

2004-09-02T21:39:00.000-04:00

The agony of my vocal nightmare notwithstanding, we were really jazzed about our first demo recording. For the next week after concluding our session, I listened to our mix tape everyday. I managed to find way to work into every conversation, a mention of THE tape and I just happened to have a copy that we could listen to right now.

It was like parental love, unconditional, forgiving, and totally blinded to faults that were obvious to just about everyone on the planet. This was my view of our project, at least, at first. Later it took on a completely different complexion. It evolved into my nemesis within the next few months and even brought about a temporary breakdown of the group for a period.

Several months prior, I had the incredibly good fortune to learn the addresses of two members of the band, Grand Funk Railroad. These guys were my idols. Mark Farner was the reason I took up playing guitar. Grand Funk was based out of Flint, Michigan and so they were considered local boys and this was also a source of great musical pride for many natives. My parents are in the real estate business and had begun working with an exclusive, custom home builder in the Flint area. As it turned out, he built the home of the drummer, Don Brewer, in an upscale neighborhood on Lake Shannon near Parshallville, MI, about 45 minutes northwest of the metro Detroit area.
Using platte maps that my parents had, I was able to locate not only Don Brewer's house, but I found property listings for Mark Farner!

With this information, we put our balls on and decided to drive to Parshallville and locate the houses belonging to our heroes. Mark Farner's house, a farm actually, was pretty easy to find. I mean, we had a map and all, just like Hollywood. His mailbox had no name except for a sign that said "Singing Spruce Farm" and we knew this was the place. There was a clapboard fence along the road and an electronic gate with security access. We pulled into the driveway and pushed the announce button. Finally, after several minutes, a voice asked, "what can I do fer ya". I said, "Is Mark home?" (Like, can Markie come out and play?) We were told he was not at home so we had not choice but to move on down the road.

We next navigated our way through the country roads of Parshallville looking for Lake Shannon. After some basic directions from a local cyclist, we found ourselves driving through a neighborhood of large, distinctive houses. I had the house address with me and we once again, summoned our courage to pull into the driveway. There was a jeep in front of the attached garage and we took that as a "good" sign. NO fence. NO wandering attack dogs. NO surveillance cameras to be seen. All "good" signs. After arguing the merits of getting out of the car for about 15 minutes, we disembarked and walked up to the front door. The house was of a modern architectural design using natural woods and a lot of angled glass windows. We rang the doorbell. Through the open expanse of the entryway, we could see the house was a split level and then we saw Don Brewer walking up a set of stairs to answer his door. Holy crap!

He opened the door and we introduced ourselves as big fans. We told him that we were in a band and that he and Grand Funk were a huge inspiration to us. We made groupie fan talk for another minute and then I asked the question. "If we brought you a demo tape of our group, would you give us an honest evaluation of what we should do next?", I asked.

(Don Brewer drum roll inserted here)

"Sure, I'd be happy to, I enjoy helping new bands get things together", was his reply.

If only he knew what he had gotten himself into with that statement and that we had every intention of taking him up on his foolish generosity.

Dreaded Vocal Overdubs - Day Two

2004-08-28T21:08:00.000-04:00

We spent the next week fawning over the dub tape we had from our first recording session. I had worked on trying to edit the lyrics and make sure they were a good blend with the music tracks.

We returned to Bob Goodsite's studio the next Sunday to wrap up our first demo tape. There were a couple of minor re-takes that needed to be done on one of the lead guitar sections so we did that first. This went quickly and Bob began to set up the vocal mics we would be using. I was getting so nervous because singing was just not something I was very confident about and it really showed once I began to sing the first line. Oh man. It was horrible! I felt so self-conscious and became very frustrated by how unprepared I felt.

I opted to take a break and let Todd work on his vocal parts (Cruisin' Down The Road) first. He did a great job and I quickly ditched my attitude as I enjoyed the performance. He was able to get the keeper track after only 2 takes! I was very excited again and, with words of encouragement from Todd, I once again set upon the task. One of the songs I was to sing was a love ballad (I Need Your Love) and the other (Stand Up) was more of a rocker. I chose to sing the second one first in hopes of building my confidence for what would be a more lyric featured song. Good thing too. (I am listening to this tape now as I am writing and, believe me, I am almost reliving each painful note.)

Personal agony. That is the best way for me to describe it. I had gone from feeling so good about the music we had recorded to be extremely discouraged by my contribution on the vocals. I tried to get Todd to take the vocals on all the songs but he wasn't rehearsed to where he felt comfortable. He kept telling me "c'mon Dave, you wrote those words. Remember how you felt when you did? Just let it out. You can do it". Thanks Todd. You have been a good friend but perhaps never more than at that moment. Of course, HE WAS LYING!

Our First Day of Recording

2004-08-21T07:35:00.000-04:00

We arrived at the Goodsite Studios around 9:30 on a cold Sunday morning. Our cars were packed full with our instruments and various accessories. Our entourage consisted of a 3 car motorcade, Todd drove his van loaded with his drum equipment, I drove my car with my gear, and a third car with our "roadies" to provide moral support and provide security in the event of overzealous autograph seekers. OK, then.

We quickly set up our equipment in the cramped sound room. As I stated earlier, the studio owner left some major pieces of equipment in the room which made our set-up a little difficult. There was a full drum set enclosed by a baffle system, 2 small amplifiers, a suitcase piano, as well as a grand piano with more baffles.

Once the initial set was finished, Bob Goodsite, studio owner, began the process of microphone placement and conducting recording levels check. By noon, we were ready to start cutting tracks. Bob gave us a brief explanation of the process we would follow to record as the studio used only 4-track equipment. We reviewed the songs we intended to record with Bob and soon set about the recording process.

Our goal for today was to record all instrument tracks with overdubs for bass guitar and lead guitar parts. We had to wrap up the day's work by 4:00 pm that day so we burned through the initial recording phases. At the time, we were not really aware of how much we were conceding in terms of performance quality. There were many mistakes, some minor and some major, that we allowed to remain on tape in favor of our recording schedule.

The centerpiece of this day's session has to be while recording "Stand Up". We decided to incorporate a drum solo in the middle of the song. We added the drum solo a few days prior to this session so most the timing of this song we still "sight cues". We had a few of the guys in the sound room while cutting these tracks adding vocal encouragement for the drummer. Studio owner Bob added some special tape effects while recording the drum solo, reverb and echo effects, that really added character to the recording.

We barely completed our band tracks in time that day. Bob made a rough mix tape from our session for us to take with us. We set the next record date to be one week later and planned to finish the songs with any edits for the music and start recording of the vocals. This next session was NOT so much fun for me. More about that next time.

Todd Katke

2004-08-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

Day One: This is a picture of Todd Katke during microphone level check. The studio owner left all his equipment set up in the room so we had to wedge our equipment anywhere we could find the space. Todd played such a large drum kit, finding room was challenging to say the least. I think the cramped quarters actually added to the enthusiasm we were experiencing that day.

Dave Stone

2004-08-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

Day One: Here I am getting ready to start recording band tracks. It was a cold day outside and we just had a big snow the night before as you can see out the window behind me. I was 17 years old at the time.

All Roads Lead To Dead Dog Express

2004-08-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

Our journey to DDE began while fellow band member, Todd Katke, the drummer, and I were working at a local resturant/night club in 1976. We worked in the kitchen as dishwashers. We met a waitress whose brother was an active recording/performing musician in the area named Bob Goodsite. She told us that Bob had a small recording studio in the basement of their house and occassionally rented it out for demo work. Bob had recorded several songs, some of which found their way onto an album sponsored by a local radio station that highlighted local talent in the Detroit area called "W4 - Home Grown". (FYI: W4 or WWWW were the call letters of the radio station. This was the station that Howard Stern worked at early in his career before he became syndicated.)

We had been working on several of our own songs and decided to contact Bob about using his studio to record a short demo. We continued our rehearsals to sharpen and refine our material. After spending about 3 months in the rehearsal/writing phase, we set our session dates. We entered the studio in January 1977 to record 4 songs for our first demo.

The songs titles were:

Cruisin' Down The Road
I Need Your Love
Misdemeanor
Stand Up

At the time of this session, we were minus 1 bass guitarist so I performed all bass parts as overdubs. Todd was to sing lead on 1 song (Cruisin' Down The Road) and I would sing lead on 2 songs (I Need Your Love, Stand Up). We had a small entourage in attendance while all the initial band tracks were cut. These were guys that had become our stage crew and helped us drink beer whenever it was available. We had a lot of fun during the 1st session. Plenty of clowning around. I had such an adrenalin rush from the excitement of our first recording session and hearing our songs taking shape. We even had some of the guys in the sound room while we recorded Stand Up and you can hear them yelling during the drum solo section of the song. (yeah, I know, cheesy.)

I'll scan a couple of pics from the session shortly.

To be continued............

2004-08-06T01:16:00.000-04:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

The Dead Dog Express

2004-08-02T00:48:00.000-04:00

Finally, a photo of the Dead Dog Express This picture is facing the southwest. More to follow.

What the hell is Dead Dog Express?

2004-06-23T23:26:00.000-04:00

I played guitar in a band for many years. In the late 80's we were renting an outbuilding on a remote piece of property just northwest of Detroit. We were converting this building to function as a rehearsal studio and later a recording studio. We spent about a month remodeling and securing the building prior to beginning to actual rehearse. The building was set back about 250 feet from the main access road and was sort of tucked behind a small cinderblock building.
Well, one night, we were working on the place and decided to take a break and walk around the property. Our exploration led us to the frontage along the driveway. We almost tripped over the remains of a dog that had been struck by a car.
I admit now that it may have been gruesome, but we decided to name our rehearsal facility after that unfortunate animal.
Thus, The Dead Dog Express.
I will attempt to upload pictures if possible of the buildings and the surrounding property.