Music Bender

This is just a friendly reminder to tune in to the ArtistFirst Radio Network today at 12 Noon EST (New York Time) for a full hour of music and live interviews with THE FORE!

Following this brief announcement, you’ll find out HOW to tune in (it’s right here, on the web!).
Get ready for some serious rockin’ enjoyment!

ATTENTION: ROCK MUSIC LOVERS EVERYWHERE:

The fab UK band THE FORE will be debuting their new CD “Run and Hide” on the ArtistFirst World Radio Network, T O  D A Y!! April 11th at 12 Noon New York Time (EST).
To tune-in on your PC: - Click this link to listen: http://wms.artistfirst.fastserv.com/artistfirst or visit www.artistfirst.com

E-mail us during the show for free CD and T-shirt giveaways!

SPECIAL CLASSIFIED
Auditions will be held Friday, April 10 in Los Angeles for drummers who are looking to play with THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. They should send their background info, photos and performance web links via email only to: pumpkinsdrummer@gmail.com.

A rejuvenated lineup of the popular Australian band Wolfmother has a brand new track available — and you can find it only through their website, wolfmother.com.

Singer/guitarist Andrew Stockdale is the only original member of the band, but now he’s joined by guitarist Aidan Nemeth, bassist/keyboardist Ian Peres and drummer Dave Atkins.

Your first look at new material from the band is a song called Back Round, and it’s being made available as a free download from the bands site!

Although the song is really free, Stockdale is asking fans to be kind and make a donation to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal at redcross.org.au.

Listen — it’s a very worthwhile cause — and God knows how many people you’ll help out (remember that devastating brush fire about a month-and-some ago? Imagine how you’d feel, losing everything you’d worked for but the shirt off your back!).

The group is now on its way back to LA to put the finishing touches to their as-yet-untitled new album.

So, for fantastic rock and to help our friends Down-Under to recover from these brush fires, check out their site, okay?

And I’ll see ya on the flip side!

The new album from Heaven And Hell has been given a title, tracklisting and release date (finally!).

The new album from the Black Sabbath spin-off (with Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler from Sabbath) is to be titled ‘The Devil You Know’ and will be released on 27 April.
The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, U.K., where the 1992 Sabbath album ‘Dehumanizer’ was also tracked.

Here’s the track listing for the CD:

01. Atom & Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double the Pain
05. Rock & Roll Angel
06. The Turn of the Screw
07. Eating the Cannibals
08. Follow the Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking into Heaven

Already, Bible Black is getting some solid airplay, and becoming increasingly popular.

The band will premiere ‘The Devil You Know’ on the April 29th edition of the U.S radio show “Rockline” at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. An encore presentation of the show will air on May 4th.

ATTENTION — ALL FANS OF THE FORE

Here’s your chance to hear the band live — no matter where ya live (and I know yer out there, ’cause the RelicMail don’t lie!):

All ya gotta do is tune in to the ArtistFirst Radio Network on Saturday April 11th at TWELVE noon EDT (New York time) for the live interview with THE FORE!
(man, it’s easy to remember: 11 at 12! Now ya can’t forget!).

They’ll be playing cuts from their new, hit album “Run and Hide”, so tune in by clicking this link http://wms.artistfirst.fastserv.com/artistfirst (hey … go on and click there now, and bookmark it for the Big Day!) They’ll be on for the full hour on The ArtistFirst Radio Network.

Oh … and check this out: You can e-mail the station during the show for free CD and T-shirt giveaways! Man, ya can’t do better than that if ya tried …

Okay … that’s it for this go’round.  But stay tuned … there’s more to come in less than 24!  Until then …
keep your eyes on the skies, your feet on the ground, your heart with the music … and I’ll see ya on the flip side!

In a way, the lineup does seem a little odd — Taylor Hanson (of the “MMM-Bop” brothers band), Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and former Smashing Pumpkin James Iha.

But Tinted Windows came together for one basic reason: “Lots of guitars, pure songs and simple production. This band is not just a collection of pieces — I can’t wait for people to discover how organic it feels,” according to Hanson.

The whole idea started in thirteen years ago when Hanson’s other band was recording its debut album. He met with Schlesinger about working together on some songs for the album.  No music ever came from it, but a long friendship did.

“Ever since we met, Taylor and I had talked about trying to do something together,” says Schlesinger. Finally, about three years ago, they got together.  “Adam called me and we just started brainstorming about this idea of a very straightforward project, music that we weren’t going to over-think,” says Hanson. “This is about the energy of guitar driven, tight pop songs. It sort of in the tradition of great bands like the Knack and the Buzzcocks and for that matter Cheap Trick.”

Schlesinger was then able to recruit his Smashing Pumpkins friend Iha, and the group’s early demos brought in Carlos (who, Hanson says, “… adds an incredibly cool vibe to the whole project”).

The lineup already has a lot of “pop purists” excited — the exclusive track “Kind of Girl” has inspired hundreds of enthusiastic comments on their Smoking Section blog.

“I think that’s going to be the most fun thing about the whole project, letting people actually discover that this is a band,” says Hanson.

WELDING IT TOGETHER

If you live on a farm with plenty of fencing, have ever tried to repair something by welding, or just know someone who works in an auto-repair shop, you’ll know the importance of having the right equipment.
One of the most invaluable tools, in any of those cases I just mentioned, is the MIG welder (”MIG” stands for “metal inert gas”).  It bonds the metal together by way of an arc, and is one of the most dependable welder types in the world (in fact, most mechanics swear by them!).
But, of course, if you need one of these in your line of work (or at home), you know that there are many places that’ll sell you inferior welders — and those, my friends, can be downright dangerous!
If you’re lookin’ for quality welders at the best prices, then just click the link I’m about to share with you … and you can be completely confident that you’ve got the best and safest! These folks will not only show you the finest (and at the lowest prices), but even show you how to choose the best welder for you!
And all you’ve gotta do is click on this link to find the best mig welder for your specific needs! You’ll like the quality and selection — and love the money you save!

THE FORE: Mini Compilation Album is now available!

Thousands of rockin’ fans around the world have experienced the energy and excitement of this fantastic UK band! Now, it’s your turn!

But they know, like the rest of us, that the economy’s tight, and many folks have gotta watch what’s in their purses and wallets. So they’ve come up with an awesome offering to help ya fight high prices and dig the fab sounds of the band that’s turnin’ the rock music world upside-down!

You can get eight of their most popular songs, delivered right to your computer … and for only … ONE POUND! (about $1.50 US)

YOU’LL GET:

• ‘Man of Few Words’ (2006 version)
• ‘Little Louisa’
• ‘Love For Sale’
• ‘You’ll Be Mine‘ (all from the Album ‘Black and White‘. released in 2007)
• ‘Run and Hide’
• ‘We Were Meant To Be’
• ‘Lazy Day’
• ‘No Other Love’ (all from the album ‘Run and Hide’ released in 2008).

All for just one pound!! And it’s available on download only from the INDIESTORE at
http://indiestore. 7digital. com/thefore/ indieProductDeta il.aspx?pid= -114739

HERE’S A SAMPLE, ON VIDEO!
This is The Fore, doing their hit, Man of Few Words (2006)

So don’t miss out! Ya can’t get great music like this for less! Do it NOW …
and I’ll see ya on the flip side!

Two very talented — and courageous — young superstars share the spotlight on this post, yardbirds:

First, Jazz artist Liza Lee’s new CD, Anima, is due to be released on January 27, 2009. Now, what makes this album so special is that it’s a personal comeback for her.
Y’see, two years ago, she’d just hit the jazz charts with her first release, Scarlet Mark, when Liza (pronounced like the singer Liza Manelli) suffered a stroke. Now, having made a full comeback, Liza (pronounced the same as the famous Minnelli) is back with the CD that reflects her life-altering experience.
“To me, Anima represents the feminine whisper inside of a patriarchal society,” she explains. “After my stroke I went from doctor to doctor searching for answers. I was having trouble getting back in touch both physically and creatively. Doctors told me that I might never sing or write again. These blanket statements without hope or answers were not acceptable to me.”
“I was confronted with a seeming lack of understanding regarding my plight from the primarily male dominated medical profession. This is when I learned that little research is done on how illness, disease and medications uniquely affect women’s bodies. I believe that we should increase funding for women’s health research and I’m trying to do my part with Anima.”

Because she now knows that women’s health care is not on par with men’s, Liza has chosen to donate the proceeds from Anima to The Society For Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy (www.womenshealthresearch.org).
The title of the CD comes from the concept of the Anima and Animus by Carl Jung. Anima is an emotional journey.
Anyway you look at it, it’s great to have her music — and inimitable voice back again!

Another great voice — with a different (and, sadly, more tragic) heartache — will be returning to stage next month! Jennifer Hudson will be singing the National Anthem at this year’s Super Bowl. It’s the first time she’s returned to performing since the terrible murders of her 57-year-old mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, 29-year-old brother Jason Hudson and 7-year-old nephew Julian King in October. (Her former brother-in-law has since been charged in the killings.)

Hudson, who had released her self-titled debut album shortly before the killings, is also scheduled to sing at the Grammys’ MusiCares event in Los Angeles a few days later. And she’s nominated for four awards at the Feb. 8 Grammy Awards. You can be sure the crowds are gonna give her a tremendous greeting at both shows!

The Super Bowl is the most viewed spectacle on television. Bruce Springsteen is scheduled to sing during halftime of the pro football championship game.

Okay … that’s it for this edition!  See ya with more in 24 …

They come from London and Liverpool, joining together to make a sound so exciting that thousands of fans throughout Britain, Europe, Canada, South America, Australia and the United States are flocking to CD Baby, Indiestore, Amazon and other outlets for this indie CD.

Run and Hide — the second album by the megapop band The Fore — is a mixture of raw, driving rock-and-roll sprinkled with some of the most beautiful ballads in the musical universe!

Where their debut album Black and White, took us to a world of pure rock excitement, this one explores that world with a musical progression tha’s gonna put your entire system into overdrive!  And, through it all, you’ve still got the inimitable style that the band is famous fore!

TRACKLIST FROM RUN AND HIDE (with notes)

• FORGIVE AND FORGET — This upbeat rocker has a vocal hook that I dare ya to try and get outta yer head!
• WE WERE MEANT TO BE — Like your music flavored with a bit of the Motown dance sound of the early ’60s?  You’ve got it, mixed with some solid, Bo Diddley-style rock in the bridge.
• HAVE ME BACK AGAIN — A solid mover with the lads’ signature harmony sprinkled liberally throughout!
• SEND MY LOVE TO YOU — Sung by drummer Simon Thompson, this folk-rocker is already a fave among some of our servicemen overseas!  Great arrangement and strong acoustic rhythm adds to the beauty of this ballad.
• YOU’VE GOT TO CHOOSE — Sometimes, if a guy’s got a rival for his girl’s heart, he’s gotta confront her about the situation; that’s what this song’s all about.  A strong piano helps build this melodic mover (and wait’ll ya hear the chorus!).
• RUN AND HIDE — This thriller starts with a sharp attack and pointed lyrics, warning the cheating girl to run and hide. The bridge builds tremendous suspense, as does the last of the track (with Si and Matt creating a dark, chase-type backing that would sound great on a spy flick!
• RUMOURS AND LIES — It’s every teenaged boy’s plea to his girl:  Don’t listen to the rumours and lies that might “take your love away”.  This slower number has a great calypso-style rhythm and lyrics that aim straight for the heart.
• THAT’S A LIE — Imagine the ultimate rock song, with Everly-style harmony, rockabilly-style guitar, great progressive arrangement and upbeat tempo.  That’s whatcha got here! (Oh, yeah … there’s a hook in the chorus that’s innovative: As Matt and Spencer sing “then I’ll put you down”, the tempo slows in sync with the words — then builds back up at the words “I’m tellin’ you now”.)
• IT’S YOU GIRL — Merseybeat at its finest!  Fantastic harmony with a great guitar bridge!
• LAZY DAY — A breezy, summertime song with a great hook and warm, inventive vocals.  Again, a strong piano only adds to a song that’s as refreshing as iced tea on a hot July day!
• LEAVE ME ALONE — Have you ever had someone break up with you, just to find them calling or trying to get you back?  That’s the premise of this song.  In the chorus, you can feel Spencer confronting his ex while feeling the heartache of having to speak with her again.
• NO OTHER LOVE — A slower, heartfelt, harmonic melody with minimal instruments and great lyrics.
• TELL YOUR FRIEND — A throwback to the Invasion band’s Hamburg/Star Club days, this is an amazing, raw, in-your-face rocker, with the Chuck Berry 4/4 rhythm, clappers and all!  And wait’ll you hear Matt’s guitar solo!
• EMMA — It starts darkly with a quasi-flamenco beat, and when Spencer gets to the mic and starts singing to “Emma” about her leaving, you can actually feel his pain!  Coupled with Si’s drum fill and Matt’s stirring acoustic 12-string, it’s one amazing song!!
• AIN’T THAT JUST FINE — An upbeat song built strongly around the rhythm, it deals with the singer’s happy-go-lucky independence.  Lyrics like, “Don’t walk like a rich man, but I got all that I need” and “I’m not the kind of guy to settle down” flavour a tune that’s great to have in yer car’s CD player as you’re hittin’ the open road!

All told, I’ve gotta give this CD an EAGLE-SIZED, five-star “thumbs up” rating! Now, I’ve been in the biz for over 30 years, and this album, while released independently, is one of the best I’ve heard in years! If I were you, I’d order “Run and Hide” today, and start rockin’ with some serious inner energy tomorrow!!

One more word:  Though this album’s only been out for about a month, it’s already gettin’ some great airplay across terra firma, and CDs/tracks are selling at a fantastic rate … and it’s all due to the band, their managers, and yours truly promoting them; no A&Rs, no high-end record labels or fancy ads!

And if that doesn’t tell ya how good the CD is, nothing will!

Johntá’s Official Website
Johntá’s Official MySpace

“Hope I die before I get old…”

The oldest and greatest rock band in the world - meet The Zimmers and their amazing cover of The Who’s “My Generation”.

Lead singer Alf is 90 - it’s quite something when he sings “I hope I die before I get old”. And he’s not the oldest - there are 99 and 100-year-olds in the band! The Zimmers will feature in a BBC TV documentary being aired in May 2007. Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely old people - those who can’t leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes. The finale of the show is this group of lonely old people coming together to stick it back to the society that’s cast them aside - by forming a rock troupe and trying to storm into the pop charts.

Some massive names from the pop world have thrown their weight behind The Zimmers… The song is produced by Mike Hedges (U2, Dido, Cure), the video shot by Geoff Wonfor (Band Aid, Beatles Anthology), and it was recorded in the legendary Beatles studio 2 at Abbey Road.
Look out for the single being released from May 21 - with proceeds going to a good cause.

More info available at their Myspace.

What a freakin’ awesome idea. Mad props to whoever thought this up. Seriously.

A guy walks into a bar and sits down to get a drink. At the other end is a pirate with a steering wheel on his crotch. The guy tries not to stare, but after a few drinks he is emboldened enough to go talk to the pirate. He asks the pirate, ‘Did you know that you have a steering wheel on your crotch?’ ‘Aye’ the pirate replies, ‘It’s driving me nuts.’

Sorry, I had to get that joke out of the system. Anyway…

Apparently there is this singer called Mika who is BIG in the UK. I can certainly see why his single “Grace Kelly” made #1 on their charts in January earlier this year. It’s just so freakin’ catchy!

Grace Kelly

Something that amazes me is how good he sounds live! Some bands like this are completely studio bands and shouldn’t be allowed on the stage unless it’s to set-up for a better band. But Mika sounds just as good, if not better than the recorded versions live!

Live

Okay, well I knew I would like Hellogoodbye when I saw the name of their latest album that came out in 2006. “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!”. Come on, folks, seriously.

However, they’ve got a rather pop-ish sound, which will definitely turn a lot of people off of it. It’s so up beat though, that I feel like just taking this CD and cruising down the highway with not a care in the world. Their single “Here (In Your Arms)” is incredible, and I can’t get enough.

Here are a couple of videos, pretty well done, if a little cliche.

Here (In Your Arms)

Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn

hellogoodbye, Here (In Your Arms), Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, music videos