bandweblogs – Page 40

In The Morning, Razorlight

“In the morning, you know he won’t remember a thing…in the morning you know it’s gonna be alright”.I can’t get the song out of my head. You know what I do when this happens? If I’m no where near a radio I try to hear (in my head) two different songs at once and then usually the song ‘goes away’. Sound crazy? Maybe but it works. Try it sometime. You’ll see.

Anyway, Razorlight has done it again with their song ‘In the Morning’ and that song rocks! Razorlight is one of my favorite bands – two summers in a row of hot tunes which is pretty good now a days considering the conveyor belt of bands that get thrown at us from the mainstream. Everynow and then though, they don’t disappoint and this is clearly one example.

How can you watch the singer of Razorlight, Johnny Borell and not think of Bob Geldof? If you’re a fan of The Boomtown Rats and you’re not familiar with Razorlight I think now would be a good time to check them out. Great tunes for the summer, hanging out with friends, spending time out in the sun. Crank it up!

Try to catch them on tour if you can. Here are some upcoming shows around the UK and Europe:

19/08/06 Staffordshire, UK V Festival, Weston Park
20/08/06 Chelmsford, UK V Festival, Hylands Park
20/10/06 Aberdeen, UK Press & Journal Arena
21/10/06 Hull, UK Arena
22/10/06 Sheffield, UK Hallam FM Arena
24/10/06 Nottingham, UK Arena
25/10/06 Swindon, UK Oasis Leisure Centre
26/10/06 Plymouth, UK Pavilions
28/10/06 Cardiff, UK International Arena
31/10/06 Brighton, UK Centre
01/11/06 London, UK Wembley Arena
23/11/06 Evreux, France Le Rock Dans Tous Ses États

Razorlight Website

Razorlight Myspace

By: Jenny May

Junkie Brush Live at the Wheatsheaf, Oxford

After spending the day wandering around Summertown and then making our way back in to town centre on Saturday, Dave and I decided to hang around and wait to see who was playing at the Wheatsheaf in Oxford. Since we were early getting back into town we had a couple pints at The Bear pub around the corner and then we made our way to the Wheatsheaf.

As we were going up the stairs just before we rounded the corner to be seen going in, we listened to see if what we were hearing was worth sticking around for. After all, Oxford is full of live venues and if we didn’t really like what we heard we could always walk down the road a bit to another venue. Before we had a chance to decide one of our friends saw us and waited for us to go forward, which at that point we had no choice but to walk in and stay regardless.

Well, it was a good thing that we did because the next band up was Oxford band Junkie Brush, and man did they ROCK! Dave was headbanging through their whole set-too bad there weren’t enough people there to appreciate them, but as we were to find out later, like any good band on the circuit they’ve had their share of great and not so great turn outs for shows. Either way for us it didn’t matter because they were playing like they were in front of a few thousand rather than a few.

It’s hard to really pinpoint their sound which is one reason why I liked them so much-right when you thought you could narrow their sound down to a certain band, they would change something half way through the song so that it would throw me off and eventually I just gave up trying to compare them. Let’s just say, really loud rock, punk and a lot of swearing and witty banter in between songs. So if you like your loud music, definitely check out Junkie Brush and you won’t be let down.

We’ve got a couple different sites for you:

Junkie Brush Myspace

Official Junkie Brush Site

-Jenny May-

Stream Of Passion Live In The Real World

Artist: Stream Of Passion (Featuring Ayreon)
Title: Live In The Real World
Format: DVD
Genre: Progressive Rock
Label: Inside Out
Website

Stream Of Passion felt they needed to silence their critics by releasing a live performance of their new music. Some people thought that the band was suspect because the first studio release Embrace The Storm came together by exchanging files over the internet. Arjen “Ayreon” Luccassen and the rest of the band are all over the globe so there was no other way at the time to make the recording happen. The results were fantastic and the album garnered some great reviews and it continues to gather momentum, the critics be damned! This is a common practice these days and many great albums have resulted by using the available technologies to eliminate the logistical nightmares that previously killed many great projects before their birth, leaving just a thought or an idea on the table, never to be revisited again. Welcome to 2006 and all the wonderful mediums at our disposal.

The Live In The Real World DVD (also available as two CD set) removes any doubt or speculation that this band is not the real deal and capable of performing their studio cuts and a range of previous Ayreon tracks just as well or if not better in a live setting. Marcela Bovio is magnetic on stage and she has her equally beautiful sister Diana by her side to provide the outstanding backup vocals necessary for all of the tracks the band runs through on the DVD. Damian Wilson (Threshold, Rick Wakeman) steps up and steers the ship for the Ayreon classics “The Castle Hall” and “Into the Black Hole.” His voice is widely recognized in the world of progressive rock and he is one of the most sought after lead vocalist today. Arjen knows who the best are and always manages to bring them into his projects at some point. The title track is one of the more dynamic and exciting performances and I can see why it was the choice for a single and video shoot. Every track has the ability to stand on its own and I enjoyed it so much, a few days later I watched it again.

Continue reading “Stream Of Passion Live In The Real World”

Def Leppard-Yeah!

Artist: Def Leppard
Title: Yeah!
Genre: Rock
Label: Universal Music
Website
E Card

How many bands do you know can make a comeback with a cover album? I cannot think of that many. Def Leppard is one such band with the experience, the chops, and charisma to pull it off in a big way. When yet another ‘cover’ album press release comes through, I cringe because rarely do they fulfill the promise of the advertising and media prior to the release. This time my feelings were way off base. Yeah! is an incredible album, a full-fledged classic rock masterpiece.

I always liked Def Leppard and once I heard them cover some of their most beloved songs (and mine); I came to know them in a different way. All at once, they were a long lost friend that I knew when I was a teenager. I was there when all of this music first came out and I loved it all, and I still do.

This is not your typical cover album because of the track choices. You would expect a more generic group of songs that everyone would immediately identify with, this is not so, and that is exactly what makes cover albums so predictable and ultimately boring. They way this album kicks off, man its just killer, with a rockin’ “20th Century Boy.” I was speechless and immediately knew that I was in for a special treat. I am huge T. Rex Fan and “20TH Century Boy” is truly an amazing cover, it rocks with force and power and oozes with the spirit of Marc Bolan’s glam rock. One of my all time favorite albums is Mott The Hoople The Hoople and the track “The Golden Age of Rock ‘N’ Roll.” I think its one of the very best rock songs every recorded, a true classic from top to bottom. Def Leppard really give it its due, they do a terrific job. Two other tracks grabbed hold of me and would not let go, Thin Lizzy’s “Don’t Believe a Word” and Bowie’s “Drive-In Saturday.” I have to believe that Phil Lynot, god rest his weary soul, is smiling from ear to ear right now as he listens to the fantastic cover of one of his best. And surely, Mr. Bowie would approve of the Aladdin Sane classic cover. Just like Joe Elliot said in the liner notes…they felt as if they were re-recording one of their own songs because it was so deeply ingrained into their DNA. Honestly, every track is very good, the band should be proud of the job they did with all of these songs.

The booklet that comes with the CD is cool too. Each track has a write up and it gives some explanation as to why they chose it and other interesting facts, and what it all meant to them. A picture of each band member emulates classic album covers-Rick Savage (Queen II), Vivian Campell (Electric Warrior-T. Rex), Joe Elliot (Ziggy Stardust-Bowie), Rick Allen (Transformer-Lou Reed), and Phil Collen (Raw Power-Iggy and The Stooges), all good choices indeed.

There comes a time in a career when you lay all of your cards on the table and give credit where it is due. Def Leppard has done that and it comes up all spades. This band still has what it takes, they are special, and there never has been any doubt about that.

01. 20th Century Boy (3:40)
02. Rock On (2:53)
03. Hanging on the Telephone (2:22)
04. Waterloo Sunset (3:38)
05. Hell Raiser (3:19)
06. 10538 Overture (4:30)
07. Street Life (3:26)
08. Drive-In Saturday (4:07)
09. Little Bit of Love (2:33)
10. The Golden Age of Rock ‘N’ Roll (3:28)
11. No Matter What (2:51)
12. He’s Gonna Step on You Again (4:04)
13. Don’t Believe a Word (2:19)
14. Stay with Me (4:30)

Blog in the Spotlight – Billy Morrison

Billy Morrison has one of the coolest blogs out there – if you like your rock ‘n roll that is. Talk about a working musician-he plays guitar for bands Camp Freddy and Circus Diablo and each band has an ‘all-star’ musician line up of some of the biggest names in rock right now like Dave Navarro, Scott Weiland, Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch and the list goes on. Actually it’s easy to lose track of what he’s up to because when he’s not playing in one of the two bands you might find him jamming with other musicians like Slash, who happens to be one of my personal guitar heros of today or appearing in some cult indie flick. He’s also played bass with the Cult.

Luckily Billy Morrison is willing to offer a window into his life via his blog, allowing VIPesque access to gig details, photo shoots, road trips as well as video blogs on occasion which is even more satisfying for the music fan who wants to become more familiar with the rock musician way of life.

Check out Billy Morrison’s blog for all the latest details of his comings and goings!

-Jenny May-