I was still in high school when Jeff Beck put out his classic Blow by Blow album in 1975. It blew us all away, as did the follow-up, Wired, released the following year. What really threw us for a loop was when we found out that Beck didn’t use a… Read More →
In 1991, just after the release of Pearl Jam’s Ten, the band made a tour stop at Tower Records in Yonkers. There, the band played Alive, Black, Porch and other songs that have become 90s classics and are still played live, though to much bigger crowds. In honor of Pearl… Read More →
Our eyes and ears on the street tell us that last night’s Dark Star Orchestra show at the Tarrytown Music Hall was a classic. We told you about the show last weekend, and shared our interview with Dark Star drummer Rob Koritz. In case you’ve been locked in a vault,... Read More →
It’s difficult to pin down Jake Cinninger’s musical style, because he draws on so many varying musical influences. Suffice it to say that Cinninger, guitarist with progressive jam rockers Umphrey’s McGee, has taken everything from country and jazz, to metal and progressive rock and crafted it into his own unique… Read More →
Irish rockers U2 have announced that lead singer Bono will need eight weeks to recover from emergency back surgery over the weekend. That’s a good sign for U2 fans following a pretty scary weekend for the socially-conscious rock singer. Spin magazine reported that Bono was admitted to Ludwig Maximilians-University Hospital… Read More →
It started as a weekly jam session among a group of talented musicians. It became a franchise. Since their first show at Martyrs’ in Chicago on Nov. 11, 1997, Dark Star Orchestra has played more than 1,800 shows, establishing themselves as the premier Grateful Dead cover band. They have, in… Read More →
Elvis Costello has canceled two planned concerts in Israel on political grounds, calling his decision “a matter of instinct and conscience.” Costello, who performed April 15 at Purchase College, wrote about his decision in a statement on his website: “Then there are occasions when merely having your name added to… Read More →
Geezer Butler is one of those musicians that many of us know about, but not enough of us fully appreciate. In fact, the founding member of Black Sabbath brought the bass guitar to a new level, using innovations like a wah pedal on the bass for the first time while… Read More →
Sad news this weekend that heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio died at the age of 67. Dio, one of the truly legendary heavy metal voices, had been suffering from stomach cancer, according to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper. His widow, Wendy Dio, posted this note to fans yesterday: Today my… Read More →
Tomas Doncker has been around. Over two decades in the music biz, the talented singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer has worked with some impressive artists, including Bootsy Collins, Yoko Ono, Bonnie Raitt and Ivan Neville. But thank God Doncker decided to do his own thing a few years back. In… Read More →
Popa Chubby didn’t start out as a bluesman. A native of the Bronx, the hefty guitarist started out playing drums as a kid, getting turned on to music listening to the jukebox in his parents’ candy store. Then he found the guitar — and eventually the blues. “When I first… Read More →
We started with Stevie Vai and Ronnie Montrose and ended with Eddy Shaver and Malcolm Young. Well, it’s not really the end, but you get the idea. We’ve reached another hallmark in our Guitar Players You Should Know weekly series, where we profile guitar players who fly just under the… Read More →
Omar Rodriguez Lopez (The Mars Volta) and John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) have released a seven-track album, which is awesome in and of itself. Yet what’s even better is that the album is available either for a free download or a donation of your choosing, with any and all… Read More →