Artist Spotlight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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