Seeking Indie Musician Interviews

Looking for indie musicians to interview on my blog. If you're interested, contact me and let me know what your current project is. I will need a copy of your latest CD (mp3 is fine) as part of the presentation. The interview will be conducted by email. Looking forward to hearing from you. Take the opportunity to promote your music and let your fans know who you are, and hopefully grab some new fans in the process.

Eric Clapton - Layla or Layla?

Just curious, which version of Layla do you prefer? I normally love acoustic versions of songs and my wife typically doesn't. She heard the acoustic version of Layla before she heard the original, and when she heard the original version, she thought it sucked. I love the original version. Not crazy about the acoustic version of the song at all. To me, it's too sleepy and loses the beauty of the original. Weigh in on this, people. I'm curious as hell to see what everybody thinks.

Forgotten Gems

Five killer songs that have long been forgotten or have been underplayed. These are tunes I loved from the  moment I heard them and feel like they are as valid today as they ever were.

Dreams - Barry Goudreau (1980)

Movin' On - Missouri (1977)

Don't You Know What Love Is? - Touch (1980)

Black Betty - Ram Jam (1977)

Hearts on Fire - Randy Meisner (1980)

Interesting all of these songs are 1977 or 1980. Must have been good years for music.

What the Hell Is a Nog and Is It really Made with Eggs?

I have no clue what egg nog is, but when it's Christmas season, I love to drink it. Don't even know if you can get it any other time of the year. I could probably do a little research and get answers to these burning questions, but honestly, some things are best left undiscovered.

Great White - Hooked

In the late eighties, Great White was riding a tidal wave of success. The album Once Bitten . . . in 1987 was not the band's first, but it was the album that brought them to the forefront of the music scene. Followed by the more successful Twice Shy . . . in 1989, it seemed Great White was unstoppable. Unfortunately, the band did not continue their success with the next album, Hooked, which came in 1991.

Not that Hooked was a complete failure. It reached number 18 on the Billboard alb.um chart and was certified gold in April 1991. Critical reception of the record was good too, there just wasn't enough of the tidal wave left over from the late eighties to keep Great White riding high.

That's too bad because Hooked, while it didn't produce hits like the late eighties albums, is one of the finest Great White albums I've heard. The songs and production are top notch and the band is in top form, laying down blues rock tracks in traditional Great White fashion.

1. "Call It Rock 'n' Roll" (Mark Kendall, Michael Lardie, Tony Montana, Jack Russell, Alan Niven) - 3:56
2. "The Original Queen of Sheba" (M. Kendall, A. Niven, M. Lardie) - 4:39
3. "Cold Hearted Lovin'" (Mark Anderson, A. Niven, J. Russell) - 4:19
4. "Can't Shake It" (John Brewster, Bernard Neeson, Rick Brewster) - 4:45
5. "Lovin' Kind" (M. Lardie, A. Niven) - 4:45
6. "Heartbreaker" (M. Kendall, M. Lardie, A. Niven, J. Russell) - 6:44
7. "Congo Square" (M. Kendall, A. Niven) - 6:57
8. "South Bay Cities" (M. Lardie, A. Niven) - 5:35
9. "Desert Moon" (M. Kendall, M. Lardie, A. Niven, J. Russell); - 4:32
10. "Afterglow" (Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott) - 5:52

I'd be hard pressed to find a bad song on this CD.

The opening song starts off with a guitar hook reminiscent of sort of like Once Bitten and doesn't let up. A catchy, infectious number that gets your foot taappin' and your groove thang shakin' with the first notes.

The heavy blues groovin' continues with The Original Queen of Sheba and Cold Hearted Lovin' and then comes the almost AC/DC inspired Can't Shake It.

Lovin' Kind is a beautiful piano-heavy ballad that lets Jack Russell really exercise the emotional side of his vocal abilities. Good stuff. Great guitar solo.

It's back in the thick of it with Heartbreaker (not a cover of the Zep song). Mark Kendall does some funky guitar rippin' during the intro and throughout the song, which leads to some bluesy jammin during the solo, backed by some more funky fills.

Congo Square is probably the low point for me, but the album picks up again with  the rock boppin' South Bay Cities, the polished, hard groove of Desert Moon, and another fresh ballad, Afterglow.

Not sure why some of these songs weren't big radio hits, but that's the music business. There's no accounting for tastes in music and what the public wants. Do yourself a favor and give Hooked a listen.

KISS in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

KISS finally in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Well, good for them, and it's about time. It took long enough.

What more can you expect from an organization that inducted Run DMC and the Beastie Boys  before KISS and others who should have already been there?

Back in Black or For Those About to Rock?

Back in Black was Brian Johnson's first album with AC/DC. For Those About to Rock was the follow up to that album. Both were produced by Mutt Lange. Back in Black was the album that truly cemented AC/DC's rock gods status in America and it was the album that made it clear Mutt Lange was a producer in demand. Both albums are fantastic. Which do you prefer?

Back in Black features the massive hit You Shook Me all Night Long as well as such favorites as Shoot to Thrill, Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, Hell's Bells, Have a Drink on Me, and the title track Back in Black. The album is the second best selling album worldwide, topped only by Michael Jackson's Thriller.

For Those About to Rock includes tracks like Let's Get It Up, Inject the Venom, Put the Finger on You, C.O.D., Evil Walks, and the anthem-like For those about to Rock (We Salute You).

While For Those About to Rock sold less copies than Back in Black, it became the first AC/DC album to reach number one on the Billboard charts in America.

My vote goes to For Those About to Rock. It's really splitting hairs here and nothing more than a personal preference for the songs on For those About to Rock over the songs on Back in Black. Although Back in Black probably has more recognizable songs, I like the tracks on For those About to Rock better. It's really as simple as that. Both albums have the same great production quality and bring the blood to a boil. Put either one on and you're tapping your feet Angus style.

Comment with your favorite and why.

Favorite Christmas Songs

What are your favorite Christmas songs? I don't mean your favorites by a particular performer. I'm talking about based on the song, regardless of who performs it.

My five favorites, not necessarily in this order, are:

1. Frosty the Snowman
2. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
3. Silent Night
4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
5. Do You Hear What I Hear?

This was tricky. There are others I could have picked. White Christmas, Away in a Manger, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Little Drummer Boy, and The First Noel are all contenders.

Holiday Rockers

I love this time of year. Snow, Christmas trees, decorative lights, presents, good food, and rockers singing Christmas tunes. These are some of my favorites.

Everybody Loves Christmas is an original Eddie Money song that appears on the live record Shakin' with the Money Man. The song reunites Eddie with Ronnie Spector, and the two of them deliver a performance like the one they did on Eddie's hit Take Me Home Tonight.

A Very Special Christmas is a CD series that benefits the Special Olympics. The first one featured lots of great Christmas songs sung by some of the best singers in the business. This CD includes some of my favorite songs for this time of year, including John Mellencamp doing a spectacular version of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Bob Seger doing Little Drummer Boy, Stevie Nicks singing Silent Night, Brice Springsteen with Merry Christmas, Baby, Madonna singing Santa, Baby, and Bon Jovi singing I Wish Every Day Could Be Like Christmas. There are some others as well. Awesome CD.

A recent addition to my holiday list is Billy Idol' Happy Holidays. Yes, you heard me right. Billy sings just about every Christmas classic you would want to hear, including Silent Night, Frosty the Snowman, and Here Comes Santa Claus. Seventeen Christmas classics in all, Billy Idol style.

A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night is a holiday record by .38 Special. It features the band performing a nice balance of traditional holiday favorites as well as a few .38 Special originals.

And how about this one? Check out this track list and the lineup.

1. We Wish You A Merry Xmas - Jeff Scott Soto/Ray Luzier/Bob Kulick/Chris Wyse/Bruce Kulick
2. Run Rudolph Run - Dave Grohl/Lemmy Kilmister/Billy Gibbons
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Alice Cooper/Vinny Appice/Billy Sheehan/John 5
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Ronnie James Dio/Rudy Sarzo/Tony Iommi/Simon Wright
5. Silver Bells - Geoff Tate/James Lomenzo/Ray Luzier/Carlos Cavazo
6. Little Drummer Boy - George Lynch/Simon Phillips/Billy Sheehan/Dug Pinnick 
7. Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Juan Garcia/Marco Mendoza/Steve Morse/Tim "Ripper" Owens/Vinny Appice
8. Silent Night - Chuck Billy/Jon Donais/Scott Ian/John Tempesta/Chris Wyse 
9. Deck The Halls - Craig Goldy/Oni Logan/Tony Franklin/John Tempesta
10. Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer - Greg Bissonette/Stephen Pearcy/Tracii Guns/Billy Sheehan/Bob Kulick
11. Rockin' Around The Xmas Tree - Joe Lynn Turner/Rudy Sarzo/Simon Wright/Bob Kulick/Bruce Kulick
12. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - Kenny Aronoff/Marco Mendoza/Steve Lukather/Tommy Shaw

Digital EP Track Listing
1. Frosty The Snowman - Steve "Lips" Kudlow/Bumblefoot/Chris Chaney/Kenny Aronoff
2. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - Dez Fafara/Doug Aldrich/Blasko/John Tempesta
3. O Christmas Tree - Doro/Michael Schenker/Tony Franklin/Frankie Banali
4. Auld Lang Syne - Girlschool

Need I say more? Well worth the price of admission.

Of course, this is just the stuff I like to listen to. Tons of bands and solo artists have done holiday music. If you have any personal favorites from performers in any genre, leave a comment so we can all experience the holiday season with some great music.

Music from the Elder

Released in 1981, Music from the Elder is the ninth studio album by KISS. It was also the final album Ace Freley did with KISS until the reunion many years later. Peter was already gone, replaced by Eric Carr. The Elder is a concept album based on a short story written by Gene Simmons. I have always sort of dug the record, but it was a huge disappointment for many KISS fans at the time of its release. Even KISS didn't much like it and, for the first time in their career, didn't tour to support a record. They have only recently begun playing a couple of the tunes live. Paul Stanley has admitted to not even remembering how to play the tunes.

Time does have a way of changing things. The young KISS fans have gotten older and a lot of them are starting to appreciate The Elder for what it is. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe the appreciation is genuine. Whatever the case, long-time KISS fans seem to hold the album in higher esteem today than they did in 1981.

It's never been one of my favorite KISS albums, but a few of the songs are really good. Taken individually, The Oath, Dark Light, Mr. Blackwell, A World Without Heroes, and I are all strong songs and could have been successfully included on other KISS albums. Dark Light is classic Frehley and I features a Stanley/Simmons lead vocal and exhibits some potential as an anthem.

During the period of The Elder Kiss cut their hair short and streamlined the costumes, going to basic leather costumes with minimal design and adornments.  The new look was not especially appealing to many fans any more than the new music was.