Richard Wright dies at 65; founding member of Pink Floyd

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

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'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.