Category Archives: music

music

Jimmy Page to host an autograph signing in Toronto, Canada for memoir photo book…

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Jimmy Page will host a rare autograph signing for his memoir photo book simply titled, “Jimmy Page” at an Indigo book store in Toronto. The man himself will be making a rare personal appearance to sign his book. The autograph signing will take place on July 21st.

More here…

http://www.antimusic.com/news/15/July/14Led_Zeppelin_Legend_Jimmy_Page_Announces_Book_Signing_Event.shtml

Only thing, the autograph will not be an actual autograph. It’s gonna be a “stamped” autograph. Jimmy will not be signing his name with a pen or a marker. He won’t be stamping other books or memorabilia… he will only be stamping his book. I’m sure fans would want their Led Zeppelin CD’s and posters signed by Jimmy Page but that’s not gonna be allowed. It’s a signing for his book only.

http://www.hennemusic.com/2015/07/led-zeppelin-jimmy-page-to-host-book.html

I don’t think he’s gonna allow photos with the fans but he does allow candid photos meaning fans can take photos of him if they please.

What’s with all the strict rules? I know Jimmy Page is not a big fan of autographs ’cause he rarely did them in his career. He probably doesn’t like signing autographs too much which is why he preferred to have them “stamped” instead of writing them by hand.

Anyway, I’m sure going through all this is worth it just to meet the master of guitar in person. Just to walk up to him say, “Hello” and shake his hand would be a dream come true. Toronto would be a 6 hour drive from here and it would be worth it. I probably would be speechless if I met him, probably would have fainted. Kneel down and do the “I’m not worthy” chant kind of like in that movie, “Wayne’s World”.

I saw a copy of the Jimmy Page photo book at Barnes & Noble last week and it’s $60. I’m gonna buy it sometime for sure. I’m the biggest Jimmy Page fan. He’s my no. 1.

Kev

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Oh wow, I’m really digging the new Lana Del Rey song… “Honeymoon”… powerful!!!

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Admittedly I’ve never listened to too much Lana Del Rey. I’ve heard all of her singles that she released and I quite like them. I really love one of her older hit singles, a song titled, “Blue Jeans” which is a song that I love… I think that tune is amazing and so is this new song that she just put out today.

Her new song “Honeymoon” is incredible and I’ll probably check out her new album when it comes out.

I’ll also have to listen to her previous albums “Born To Die” and “Ultraviolence”. I just put those two albums in my Apple Music library so maybe I’ll give those albums a listen later tonight. I probably will.

I never listened to much of Lana Del Rey but I should and will. I really did love her older song, “Blue Jeans” such a cool tune. I’ll post “Blue Jeans” along with it so enjoy.

Kev

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Is it cool to like pop music? Yes, absolutely!

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A lot of people out there like to put pop music to shame. Is pop music all that bad? No. Not all of it. I do like to listen to pop music once in a blue moon stuff like dance music, R & B and even some rap & hip hop, I would like. When I was younger in my school years, I used to be a big fan of pop music. Used to listen to artists such as Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, En Vogue, Lionel Richie, and maybe even some Rihanna.

I used to like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry but stopped liking them. I stopped liking Madonna as well. I still dig Janet Jackson, though.

I’m also a big fan of M.I.A., Pharrell Williams, Amy Winehouse and Pink. I would also think Bjork is a pop music and so is David Bowie. Billy Joel as well. You can also throw Whitney Houston in there. Whitney may have had her problems with drugs but her music is what I liked about her. Of course, we also have Taylor Swift who I’m a fan of as well ’cause I really dig her album, “1989”. This may sound crazy but I’m a fan of Paris Hilton’s music. I really dig her 2006 album that she put out as I have that album in my Itunes library thanks to Apple Music. I’m also a big fan of Iggy Azalea.

Nothing wrong with enjoying pop music ’cause I like it sometimes, ya know? I only like certain pop artists. Whatever music grabs my attention, I’ll like it no matter the genre. If it’s good, I’ll support the artist. I just feel it’s good to listen to pop music sometimes ’cause you gotta switch up your genres.

Sometimes it’s not good for the ears if you wanna listen to loud rock music all the time so sometimes you gotta listen to some fun pop music once in a while. The only kind of pop music I’m not into are stuff like boy bands like N’Sync, One Direction, Backstreet Boys, etc. I can’t stand that garbage. I’m also not into that bubble gum girl pop like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, etc. Ooops, did I just list Justin Bieber as girl bubble gum pop? HA!

Yeah, it’s okay to listen to some pop music ’cause I like some of it. Plus, it’s good music to workout to. I just like good music, no matter the genre. My main taste in music is rock & metal mostly but I’ll listen to a little bit of everything else.

Kev

music

Black Sabbath, the Ozzy era…

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Over the weekend, I’ve just listened to the rest of the Ozzy era Black Sabbath albums on Apple Music. While I’ve been a longtime Sabbath fan, I’ve only heard a few Ozzy era Sabbath albums like their first album, Paranoid, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Masters of Reality, Sabbath Vol. 4, and their latest album 13. I got around to listening to the rest of Ozzy era Sabbath albums over the weekend: Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy, and Never Say Die.

All Ozzy Sabbath albums are really great but I think their best albums are: Paranoid, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, “Sabbath Vol. 4” and their new one “13”. I would say their newest album, “13” would be my favorite ’cause it is a really great album.

So far there are only 9 Ozzy era Sabbath albums and their planning to end their career with a 10th Ozzy album which is perfect to end their career on.

Black Sabbath went through 8 singers over the years but it’s pretty appropriate to end their career with Ozzy as frontman since he helped started the band.

I can’t wait for Sabbath’s next album. I think their next record is gonna sound different than 13 ’cause remember… Black Sabbath always liked to sound different in every album they did. You never know what they have in store for their next record. Each album they do, they usually do like 7 or 8 tracks ’cause they always write pretty long songs. I’m sure their next record is gonna be great like always. It’ll be full of tasteful riffs by Tony ’cause he is the riffmaster.

Black Sabbath has a total of 19 albums so they’ll be ending their career on their 20th album which is good. Sabbath had a good run. It’s sad that they have to end this soon but Tony’s health isn’t getting any better. I’m a huge Sabbath fan though and respect the hell out of Tony Iommi ’cause he’s a favorite guitarist of mine.

Hopefully they give us a heavy album for their next record. Give fans what they want before they go out.

As for the other singers in Sabbath goes, I was only a fan of the Ozzy era and the Ronnie James Dio era. The Dio era in Sabbath was great too. I never listened to much of all the other singers but I should check ’em out, though.

Kev

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Album Review: Van Halen “Live at Tokyo Dome”…

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Last night, I listened to the new Van Halen live album, “Live at Tokyo Dome”. It’s the first live album by Van Halen with David Lee Roth as the front man. Before this album, Van Halen never did a live album with David Lee Roth. Van Halen already did a live album with Sammy Hagar too, though.

I listened to “Live at Tokyo Dome” from start to finish. I thought it was a really great live album to be honest with you. I was pretty impressed with it. Ya know, Van Halen still kill it live. Eddie still kills it with his guitar playing of course and I still think DLR sings very good. So many people are shitting on DLR’s vocals and I can’t understand why. To me, all it’s showing that people are uneducated when it comes to music and they’re horrible at giving opinions. Sure, DLR doesn’t sing as powerful and strong as he used to but keep in mind, DLR is a 60 year old man now. As a singer age, he’ll lose most of what he had ’cause that’s what aging does to your voice. I mean, look at what happened to Robert Plant? I still think DLR is a great singer. In my opinion, he’s still got the head voice and all that stuff.

The rest of the band still have their energy and power. They still play tight. I was pretty impressed with Eddie’s guitar sound on this album too which is no surprise. Eddie is an expert when it comes to guitar tone. He knows how to get a good sound out of a guitar.

I thought it was really good live album. While the band makes good music in the studio, they sound even better live which is what they are known for mostly. They’re known as live performers and entertainers.

Back to Dave’s vocals, you don’t need to sing perfect ’cause
“perfection” is overrated. Just get up on stage and be yourself. That’s what performing is all about. Dave was just being himself. You don’t need to be an opera singer to have a good time so all those critics need to shut their mouths on Dave’s vocals ’cause it’s unfair, in my opinion. Dave is still a good singer, don’t care what anyone says.

“Live at Tokyo Dome” by Van Halen is a great live record and it’s recommended if you’re a Van Halen fan.

Kev

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Al Di Meola’s new album, “Elysium” is pretty freakin’ sick! WOW!

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I’ve been listening to a lot of Al Di Meola music lately ’cause I really love his guitar playing. His music is really addicting to me. I can’t stop listening to his stuff. I think “Elysium” is a really great album and listened to it a couple of times already. Al Di Meola is beginning to become one of my guitar heroes. Love his style and his music is fun to listen to.

Here’s a cool track off his new album. Enjoy.

Kev

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Finally, I found a positive review on Apple Music thanks to the New York Post…

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Ever since the release of the new Apple Music streaming service, it of course sparked all kinds of controversy. Apple Music got mixed reviews, a love or hate kind of thing. Finally, I found a positive review toward Apple Music and this article defends the service a little bit too.

Take a read:

http://nypost.com/2015/07/11/why-apple-music-is-worth-every-penny/

Like I said before, I have no problems with Apple Music at all as I’m pretty impressed with it so I’m probably gonna keep it after my three free months are up. I’ve been listening to a lot of music on there already. Like the article says, Apple doesn’t tell you when your monthly subscriptions are up but hopefully they stick to their word that their 3 free months will be 3 full months. I started my 3 free months in July so my free trial should go on through August and might end at the end of Sept, hopefully.

I’m definitely gonna keep the service for sure. Don’t listen to all the negative reviews out there. You should give Apple Music a try yourself. The playback is fine and the sound quality is fine. I wanna keep this service so I don’t have to keep buying music from the Itunes store as much anymore. I think that’s what they made it for to begin with.

The question you have to ask is since “streaming” music is a new trend and about ready to take over the industry, could this hurt record sales? If so, good ’cause I hate record labels to begin with. Online “streaming” of music could take record labels out of business and bands & artists can release music for these “streaming” services. The industry is changing. We have streaming services such as “Spotify”, “Pandora”, “Tidal” and now here comes “Apple Music”. Maybe I’ll have another blog post about this soon.

Kev

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Is Joe Bonamassa overrated??? I’d say no…

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A lot of musicians would declare that Joe Bonamassa is overrated. I’d say no and would say that he is actually underrated. Very underrated in fact. He’s not much of a mainstream artist. You hardly ever see him on guitar magazine covers. He does get featured in guitar magazines often but I don’t see him on the cover that much. You never see his albums in the top 200 of the Billboard charts. His albums may sell well in the blues charts but the main charts, no. So Joe overrated??? Not even close, in my opinion.

If you want a blues guitarist who is overrated, that would be John Mayer. I was never a John Mayer fan to begin with… I think Joe is way better than John.

I have also been getting into Joe Bonamassa a lot. He’s a genius guitar player, a great singer and songwriter too. Joe is also most famous for being a guitar collector and gear junkie. Seriously this guy is a music gear addict. He has thousands of guitars and amps in his home. Mostly vintage stuff. Some of you would accuse Joe of being a spoiled rich guy for getting all that music gear for himself but come on now. He deserves it. He did pretty well in his music career. He’s been playing guitar in bands since he was a child. He did pretty well for himself ’cause he released most of his albums on his own label. He certainly didn’t need a major or an indie label to release his music ’cause this dude did it all on his own.

I think Joe is a genius and he’s a phenomenal live performer, of course. He is coming to perform a concert in my area at SPAC in Saratoga Springs later this summer and I’d really like to go but don’t think I can afford it. He’s coming Aug. 10 and actually, I’m still thinking about going to that show ’cause I would like to get my chance to see him live. I haven’t been to a national concert in many years and this would be a good one for me to go.

Joe is awesome. I’m listening to his album “Sloe Gin” on Apple Music as I type this.

Joe should be respected. He plays his own instruments and writes his own songs. He’s one of the few good musicians left in this industry while most everyone obsesses over Justin Bieber and Kanye West.

Kev

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Video: Beth Hart “LA Song” (live)

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I think Beth Hart’s live album, “Live at the Paradiso” is one of my favorite live albums I’ve ever heard. I love this woman’s music. I just listened to all of her albums thanks to Apple Music. I love her music ’cause she’s a great songwriter and love her singing voice. She doesn’t stay in one genre either. She plays a little bit of everything from rock n’ roll to blues to slow piano ballads. I even love her piano songs too.

I did hear her newest album, “Better Than Home” that she released this year. That album is so different than her previous albums ’cause there’s really no electric rock songs on it. That record is more mellower than everything she did but still a great album. I got into her music when I first saw the “Live at Paradiso” on TV when it first aired sometime back in the early 2000’s years.

I still got more Beth Hart music to listen to though… still got to listen to all the stuff she did with Joe Bonamassa and will this weekend. Love Beth Hart music. Her voice is pretty powerful and killer. I’ve been a fan of her stuff for a pretty long time and finally got around to hearing her albums.

Kev