Monday, September 27, 2010

Gimme The Beat Boys And Free My Soul...

Greg's latest post got me thinking; he talks about what artists will be remembered for. It brought to mind something that's bothered me for quite some time now. No one can name band members anymore and by anymore, I mean roughly the last 15 years or so. I know that the average person these days can't name every member of most bands or even their favorite band, but they used to be able to get one or more for certain. John, Paul, George & Ringo. They'd make a fine band wouldn't they, wonder what they'd be called? I bet if Mick & Keith joined up, they could make a good band too. Steven & Joe from Boston could really give blues rock a kick in the ass if they formed a band.

Besides the above examples, the list goes on. I bet you can name more than one member from each of the following bands; The Eagles, Nirvana, KISS, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Mötley Crüe, U2. How'd you do? I'd be surprised if you weren't able to come up with a MINIMUM of two from each of those acts. Maybe even more right? Well let's move on to the hitmakers of the last 15 years or so. Can you name more than one member of any of the following bands? You may find it tough to even come up with one band member name in some cases: Lifehouse, Buckcherry, Matchbox20, Hootie & The Blowfish, Theory of a Deadman, Maroon 5, Hinder, Creed, Fall Out Boy, Daughtry, How'd you do?

Now, one could make the argument that "the average Joe" doesn't really know the names of many band members outside of the lead singer and some guitar players. But I beg to differ, I think that rings true in some cases but for the most part, people are compelled to remember something "real". And I believe that this is the biggest mis-step the music industry has made in the past 15 years. Nothing making it's way to the average consumer is real, they aren't compelled to make a connection, so they don't consume it. I truly believe that if the record industry was pushing out compelling, organic product, that people would still purchase it if it was priced right.

I don't want to tackle the "downloading demon" just yet, but I do care to make the point that I believe people aren't buying music these days because nothing is compelling them too. From the first time Elvis swung his hips on TV and sold a hundred thousand albums the next day, all the way down to when Kurt Cobain sold a million copies of Bleach by opening Nirvana's Unplugged set with the line "This is off our first record, most people don't own it", people have purchased music because they were compelled too. Over the course of the last decade, not one single artist has stood out as "the next...". There's nothing to look forward to anymore. There's nothing keeping us excited about what's next.

When The Beatles hit, they were "the next Elvis". When The Rolling Stones hit, they were "the next Beatles". When Led Zeppelin hit, they were "the next Stones". When Guns N' Roses hit, they were "the next Zeppelin". I could keep this up and/or provide an example from just about every genre but it all ends in the same place; it all dies out somewhere around the last 15 years or so. I could list out how Jackie Wilson and James Brown lead up to Michael Jackson, but again that lineage ends on June 25, 2009. No one even remotely on the horizon to pick up, be influenced, go further and carry it on.

I truly believe that when people identify with something because it's real, they are more compelled to purchase it. In an age where I've watched the record industry literally trip over itself to do quick cash grabs, cutting it's nose to spite it's face (crushing mom & pop record stores, making exclusive deals with Big Box retailers, churning out manufactured acts at record pace, etc) it's unbelievable to me that someone hasn't figured this out yet. For the love of all doesn't suck, STOP releasing half an album of crap, only to follow it up with the same album six months later, now enhanced with more forgettable shit, charging more and calling it a "Special Edition". Stop turning out these crap acts that no one can remember, with songs that were meant to last six months tops.


It all has to come back to something real, identifiable and valuable if they expect it to be memorable.

-Russ

Sunday, September 26, 2010

What will your favorite artist be remembered for?

Last week Eddie Fisher died, and as i am reading different things about him I almost forgot he was a singer. What I remember was that he was married to Elizabeth Taylor and the he was Carrie Fishers dad... I can't name one of his songs. It got me thinking about today's big name singers and musicians and what we will remember them for when they pass.

Take a guy like John Mayer, I know one of his songs but mostly I know about him trying to be funny on TMZ and all his affairs.

What about Oasis here in the states? Sure they had hits, but much like the Kinks they will be remembered for their fighting with each other.

Then I think of artists like Axl Rose... He was in the biggest band in the world and people are slowly forgetting the music and remembering the antics. Same with the Sex Pistols, one great punk record but they are known for Sid's antics and he wasn't even on that record or was even plugged in when they played.

So rest in peace Mr. Fisher...

And to the others? Watch yourself or all the hard work and all your creativity will be forgotten for sensationalism and you will be a joke

-G

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Roger Waters: The Wall

There comes a time when you're leaving a show and your mind in literally blown!  For those who attend or have attended numerous shows, by numerous bands, in numerous venues...  You know what I mean.  Last night it happened to me and it was real...

I witnessed perhaps the greatest show I've seen.  I'm not talking about the band or the setlist, I'm talking about the show.  The sound, the visual, the production.  Roger Waters has always been a purest, his fans know it.  His production of the Wall, was brilliant!  It's been a mixed bag in the media, but once again it proves that they haven't got a clue.

The evening started with no hassles getting my tickets at will call.  Thanks again to Roger for allowing his fans to get pre-sale prime seating, and making it impossible for scalpers to get their hands on the good seats.  Arrived in plenty of time to avoid lines, and plenty of time to look at the merchandise. 

"8 PM prompt" is a little bit of stretch, lights were out by 8:15PM.  It's more than I imagined!  The pyro, the sound, the visual!  In my opinion the Wall was written to be performed live.  The first 5 songs went by in a flash!  It wasn't until Mother that things started to sink in.  This is ROGER fucking WATERS doing the Wall!!!  LIVE!  Roger caught alot of shit in the press over performing this song, since he essentially sings it to himself. One of My Turns->Don't Leave Me Now KILLED IT! If you weren't paying attention to the band, you were watching the graphics, and watching the wall get filled in...  Goodbye Cruel World....  Intermission.

Second Set started with Hey You, just you and the Wall...  Interesting to "watch" a band behind a wall.  I'm not going to give away the ending until everybody sees the show!  It's everyhing you would expect and then some!  Comfortably Numb is the lowpoint is there was one.  David's vocal duties are handled by somebody else, and Roger just stands around awkwardly while this is happening.  I've heard Floyd do better versions of this song.  The last 15 minutes of the night will have you talking for months!

Overall, I would have paid twice as much for my tickets, and still got my money's worth.  The United Center has never sounded so good, I don't care how many times Chelsea Dagger is played when the Blackhawks score.  The quote of the night belongs to security...  "Hey you with the one-hitter you're not 16 anymore so put it away!"  I consider this show the end of my summer concert season, 7 shows this summer, got plenty more to write about....

Bottom Line:  GO BUY A TICKET AND TELL ME I'M WRONG...

-MD

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

2 new releases, 2 different approaches

I just got done listening to two new releases, and those these two acts have less then nothing in common, I was still surprised by how different their approaches were in the recording process.

First was Iron Maiden's "The Final Frontier". First off... Great album! I've never been a huge fan though I do like some of there songs. This disc though had glaring thing... The production, and it is very noticable. It is very glossy and over produced just a tad. The songs are strong and they tried some new things, and what can you say about Bruce Dickenson's classic voice? It sounded great as always, but the production was very obvious and it is something no one is supposed to notice. Stand out tracks: "Coming Home", "The Alchemist" and "When The Wild Wind Blows" among others.

6 out of 10

Then there was John Mellencamp's  "No Better Than This". Not such a good album over all. First off Mr. Mellencamp has been going in a rootsy direction for 3-4 records now and it has been really hit or miss. This one was in the middle of these but not as good as his well know stuff. But again with the production... It was so lo-fi that it is close to unlistenable. Very muddy sounding. Stand out track: "Don't Forget About Me"

3 out of 10

I also listened to Hearts's "Red Velvet Car".... Was this released by accident?

-15 out of 10

-G

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Red Rocks

Most people who know me would not understand if I didn't post about my favorite place on earth...  Red Rocks Ampitheater in Morrison, Colorado.  Having grown up in Denver, Red Rocks was THE place to spend your summers at concerts, or going up there just "to party" when there wasn't a show going on.  The great thing about Red Rocks is it's a public park owned and operated by the City and County of Denver.  So, it's an open space that is free to the public any other time than on show days....

Back in the day Red Rocks offered an amazing experience (it still does but the rules of the game have changed).  Red Rocks didn't have a liquor license ever.  That has since changed, but I'm still talking about the good old days.  The first 20 rows were all GA, followed by a narrow section of reserved then the back row were GA as well.  The parking lots opened at 10am on show days, the gates opened at 2pm on weekends and 4pm on weekdays.  You made a day of it.  A Red Rocks Day.  When peple asked what were doing on you said you're going to see Steve Miller at Red Rocks, then they knew you gone for the day.

They didn't care what you brought in, as long as it wasn't glass.  The rest was open for interpretation.  The day would start on getting supplied for the day.  Food, drinks, ice, maybe a hacky sack or something.  You would go and park and hang in the parking lot for a while.  Then you would catch just enough of a buzz to determine it was time to make the climb.  You had 2 choices to make the climb depending on where your seats were stairs or ramps.  Both were brutal especially if you had blankets, and various containers of beverages you're keeping cold.  Once you get to the gate you're now ready to make a run for it once they open.  During this time, there is more hanging out, you meet strangers, you may even see friends there, but you have lunch, and kinda chill.  Knowing that the next step is and it will determine your seats for the show.

Once the gates opened, the rush was on!  Tickets taken, bags and blankets checked for glass.  Then you would start at the bottom of the venue find you seats.  If was done properly, you were in the first 5 rows everytime, the first 2 if you were there early enough.  I was lucky enough to sit in the first 10 rows for most of the those days...  First row for Stevie Nicks once, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley(row 2), and lots of others.  I fell during Soundgarden and busted my knew wide open, moshed during Metal Church when they opened for Judas Priest, took dates there and puched my wife in the accidentally while grooving to Stone Temple Pilots (we were just friends at the time, but yet still married me!).  I've sat in the top rows and viewed the sklyline of Denver only 20 miles off in the distance, and once I fell out of the back of a pick-up truck and landed on ly feet...  magical place indeed.

If you were going to see somebody you REALLY liked this was the day...  You planned it, executed it, and lived it!  It added to the actual show experience.  There is NOT a bad seat at Red Rocks, but front row is front row!  This has mostly gone away these days...  Reserved seating for mostly all shows, Coors now has a piece of it (so they serve Coors products), and just like EVERYWHERE else the same rules apply.  They've also manage to add a gift shop and restaurant within the venue itself.  So, I won't say the've ruined it, but please stop messing with perfection! 

I encourage everybody to at least once and see band there!  Alot of bands have made their Live DVD's here, and it's no wonder.  The Beatles have played here, and every Easter Sunday Sunrise Service is breathtaking!  I've attended a wedding the chapel there once, climbed the rocks, and even got attacked by a racoon up there while hanging out...  It's Red Rocks, and it's awesome!   

-MD

The doomed record industry

Every couple of weeks we see articles about the end of the record industry and it is coming because of zero for thought. Instead of adapting they spent time suing their biggest supports, the fans. And why? Because, like most businesses they did not care for them, they only worried about the almighty dollar and had no long term vision. In the end all they did was create animosity towards them and their artists.

You see.... The record industries success is predicated on selling product, physical product. Take a band like the Beatles... First you bought the LP in the 60s thinking it was awesome, then in the 70s you bought the same album on 8-track so you could listen in the car, Then on cassette so you didn't have big clunky tapes and fade outs in songs, then on CD so it would sound better and your player wouldn't eat the tape anymore, so now you have bought the same album 4 times. Then when a band who is not putting out new material starts to have stale sales what do you get? REMASTERS!!! GREATEST HITS!!! Anything to squeeze one last dime. But now...Now there is no physical media to sell. the cost of one CD is less then a dollar yet at one time they charged $15 for the newest releases, there is no profit margin for MP3s since there is no physical media.

The best thing in all of this? Bands can control their music. I hear bands still talk of record contracts....Why? I know it sounds good, but why would you want one? Bands now have opportunities they never had in the past as do fans. Think how awesome this would be as a band and as a fan.. You put out several songs on a website for a small fee per song, no executive saying "I don't hear a single" or any other misguided help to make a quick buck and you know what the fans want to hear by the number of downloads and listens. How awesome would it be to see a band in concert that knows what their fans want to hear?

My advice to fans right now is to cruise the websites of you favorite bands because with Best Buy and Wal-Mart eliminating shelf space there will be no CD sales soon. Subscribe to feeds so you can know when your favs put out new material, bands like radiohead, The Smashing Pumkins and Nine Inch Nails already do this and have had major success. Soon a CD will be like an 8-track, Piles and piles in garage sales...Heck..Your garage sale may have more media shelf space then a current Best Buy soon.

-G

So much new stuff to listen to!

With some time to myself, I'm finally gonna check out some newer records. I've got a Jamie Cullum album from 2009 to get to still, a new Santana album of "The Greatest Guitar Classics Of All Time" and a double album from Jamey Johnson that I'm really looking forward to digging into.

Anyone have some other suggestions?


-R

Monday, September 20, 2010

Four Concerts, Two Quality Shows

This past summer was extremely light for me as far as concerts go. Having seen over 500 shows through the years, I have become accustomed to spending quite a bit of time taking in shows. During one summer back in 1994, there was a week where I was at Pine Knob every night from Saturday to Sunday! For one reason or another though, this past summer wasn't nearly as eventful. But a few things have very much stuck out to me in the few shows I've seen or read about: artists MUST care about the quality of show they present in this day and age.

Roger Waters once said "If people come to a concert and they don't like it, they don't come again". Every touring artist today needs to repeat that to themselves as often as possible. I'll start off with two very negative experiences before coming around to two very opposite examples. The two negative examples that come to mind are the John Mayer show I saw at DTE (formerly Pine Knob) this past summer and Guns N' Roses' ridiculous occurrence at both the Reading & Leeds Festivals in Europe a few weeks back.

I should make clear that I rather enjoy John Mayer's music and I think he's one of the best guitar players around today. I've seen him in concert previously both in person and on film. I went in with high expectations for the show and was let down from the first note. As I said, I like his music and think he's extremely talented but none of that matters when it's clear that the artist just plain isn't into or doesn't care. To give you a clearer picture of how transparent his performance was, I was with two young ladies who were extremely excited for the show and by the fourth song, they were both very disappointed. They kept giving John a chance to bring himself around and place any amount of emotion into the show, but I had already checked out. Let's put it this way; when you have a group of people who've paid hard earned money for a concert and they leave saying that they wish they hadn't even stayed for the whole performance, you have a problem.

Here's the question though; how hard would it have been for John Mayer to put on a show that gave people the impression he was there for them? Whether or not artists realize it anymore, they are there for one reason only: the fans. In any successful business, you have to be able to read your customer and react to their needs. It was clear from the first note on, that John had no intention whatsoever on doing that. He seemed bored, out of it and entirely too impressed with himself to take the time to notice that his fans where not as impressed with him as he was. When it's apparent to your fans that you don't care, they certainly aren't going to carry that load for you as well. I speak for myself when I say that I won't be giving John Mayer any more of my hard earned cash to see what he calls a performance any time soon.

Then there's the debacle that Guns N' Roses pulled at both Reading and Leeds a few weeks back. I won't get into the pro's & con's of whether or not this particular incarnation "is Guns N' Roses", that's another post for another time. Despite all prior baggage that comes with the name "Guns N' Roses", they were booked to headline both festivals. Another thing I'm not going to get into is the infamous late starts that GN'R have been known for since roughly 1991. But what I do have a problem with is GN'R claiming to that their fans didn't get a full show because the promoter cut their power. The facts are these: Guns N' Roses fans didn't get a full show because GUNS N' ROSES chose to show up late and show total disregard for the curfews imposed by the cities both festivals were located in.

This means that GN'R is the sole cause for their fans not seeing a whole show, not some outside force. But the problem I have is simply expecting their fans to be stupid enough to lame blame anywhere other than those responsible: GN'R. In the days following both shows, GN'R lit up Twitter, Facebook & message forums explaining over and over again how sorry they were to their fans that someone else intervined that was the reason their fans did not get a complete show. Again, you cannot treat your fans with such disrespect or take them for fools. Both festivals were running on time, GN'Rs stage was set and ready to go ON TIME. The reason that the show did not start on time is because GN'R chose not to start on time. And the reason the power was cut was that the curfew had been reached, show over. To go on and on through social media sites about how much you care about your fans when you are the direct reason they were cheated is insulting on every level. It's just plain unacceptable to insult the intelligence of a fan base that has the resources (YouTube, Google, first hand reports on fan sites, etc) to prove that you are lying to their face.

Directly opposite of the two above shows are examples in recent memory of what artists should be doing these days; The Black Crowes and the Jay-Z/Eminem shows recently in Detroit. The Black Crowes brought their "Say Goodnight To The Bad Guys" Tour to the Fillmore Theater in the end of August. They went on stage around 8pm and played straight through to 11:15pm with the exception of a short break so they could switch from acoustic instruments to electric for the second half. I went to this show with a few people who had seen The Crowes prior and two people who hadn't. I can tell you that the passion, energy, talent and dedication pouring off of the stage made life long Black Crowes fans that night. All the Crowes did was come out, play with passion and entertain themselves as well as their fans. One of the people in attandance with me with also with me at the John Mayer concert a few weeks prior. She was one of the people who had been previously excited to see John Mayer. The Black Crowes were only about 25 minutes into their 3+ hour performance when she turned to me and said "THIS is how it's supposed to be!".

I was only able to go to one of the Jay-Z/Eminem shows of the four, but they both example the right way to give people their money's worth. While you could tell that there was no ego battle between the two, it was apparent from the beginning that Jay-Z knew what he was up against, so to speak. After he finished, I found myself wondering aloud if Eminem was going to be able to top him. Standing in a stadium full of Eminem fans, in his home town, I seriously asked myself that question. I was in doubt as to whether or not Eminem could deliver a performance equal or greater to that of Jay-Z, that's how focused and energized the show Jay-Z performed was. Jay-Z didn't have to do that; it wasn't his home town, it wasn't his turf. He could've shown only some of his hand, seeing as the pair were heading to New York the following week. It would've been absolutely acceptable to the vast majority in attendance too! But he didn't do that, he wasn't focused on anywhere or anything else. Other than delivering a strong performance to those who had paid for it.

When Eminem arrived on stage it was clear that he knew he had his work cut out for him. He was a man focused, razor sharp and on fire. He delivered a show equal to that of Jay-Z which was quite a feat but he pulled it off. It will be quite some time before Comerica Park is filled with such a fortunate crowd as those that night. On a different scale & genre, the two rappers had pulled off the same thing that The Black Crowes had a few weeks back. They delivered on a promise that they gave when they put tickets on sale for people to watch them perform. They treated their fans with respect and dignity and received the same in turn from their fans. Something that both John Mayer & Guns N' Roses had failed so miserably to do recently, and in return their fans gave them what they deserve. People left John Mayer early en masse, people such as myself will not be giving him a dime for any live performance any time soon. Guns N' Roses fans were left even more divided and splintered than prior. Many who went to those festivals with an open mind were confused at first, then outright hostile when their intelligence was so openly insulted by Guns N' Roses in the following days.

At the end of all of this, I want to say that I think live music is amazing. There's nothing quite like seeing an artist put their all into something. If any artist today wants to continue a successful career, I think they need to use the words above from Roger Waters as their personal mantra going forward.

-Russ

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Does anyone in the NFL know how to put on a half time show?

The NFL announced the Super Bowl half time act earlier this week... The Black Eyed Peas. They wanted  to stay away from faded rockers (I understand) but did they have to go to such an awful unimaginative band? This band, to me at least, is a great example of what is wrong with 90% of popular music, it is brainless and dull and I've seen them play live (on TV) and they just aren't entertaining.

Say what you will about The Who (I liked the show they put on), yes they looked old (They are old after all) and yeah... No one wanted to see Pete Townshend's belly (lol), but the music and stage show was great. The Super Bowl has done well recently, Paul McCartney was a little stale, as was Tom Petty, But the Rolling Stones, Prince and Springsteen were all great picks that put on a hell of a show.

So now we have this... A "band" who is hyped as great but they have few memorable songs and for being young we know that there will not be much of a "show" just a lot of stalking the stage and acting like a bad ass while rap singing horribly. There is not one song of theirs that will be remembered in 10 years and that is what is needed for this honor.

Who would I like to see? It's in Dallas... How about Garth Brooks? I'm not a big country fan, but he puts on a great show and has actual memorable hits. I would love to hear 80,000 fans singing "Friends In Low Places" not so much a boring version of "Let's Get It Started" where 80,000 go to the bathroom in the stadium and millions more do the same at home.

Wanting to pull a younger audience is understandable, but there are more credible acts out there, maybe a package of 3-4 young exciting bands, how about a current band that is still making hits (and used to playing stadiums) like U2?Wanna get crazy? How about the Monsters of metal tour that ruled Europe? Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer would be AWESOME!!! (And never, EVER happen, LOL)

I for one will not be watching this Half time show or even DVR the game (I will either be watching or if I'm not home I'll get the score later) I DVR'd in the past just for the half time show, not this year though.

I would love to see some comments on who else you'd like to see play

-G

Friday, September 17, 2010

I was born a poor white child...

I love to quote "The Jerk"... It's one of my things, LOL

Okay.... Now on to what we are here about, one of the most important things in a lot of peoples lives and something most take for granted....Music.

My earliest memory is being baby sat at my Aunt Barb's and hearing this amazing thing, a thing like nothing before... This was not Sesame Street or any other children's music It was AWESOME!!! So I popped out the 8-track (yeah I knew how to operate this stuff at a young age) and I look to see the "The Beatles 1962-1966" and I was listening to "Eleanor Rigby"and I was hooked on music for life.

Through the years I have listened objectionably to everything...Or at least tried. I am not the type that will tell you your favorite band sucks and leave it at that, I will tell you why I think they suck and may even tell how they could have been good, but failed.

I have gotten caught up in what was popular and also been on the fringe. I have seen great music live. I have heard great music on 8-track, vinyl, cassette, CD and digitally.I have seen bands rule the world and record companies try to kill what I love.

I'm looking forward to sharing views with others and maybe finding some new great bands, rediscovering or introducing bands myself and some good discussions from the others on this blog.

Let me wrap this up by saying the most important thing you can do is go see a band live, it's the best way to show support in this day and age and if you truly like something vote with your wallet, let 'em know

-Greg Warren-

About Me

Wow...  this experiment should be a fun one.  I have never blogged before, so I plan on sharing all my opinions, and I hope you enjoy reading about them, as much as I do writing them.

 I remember my dad having his headphones on listening to what are now "classics": Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Eagles Hotel California and the first 3 Foreigner records.  He would put the headphones and was hooked.  Shortly after that I was listening to these albums as much as he was.  By the time I was 9 my parents were divorced, and my dad did just about anything to connect with me, and music was one of those things.  He took me to see Kiss on the Dynasty Tour when I was 9, Foreigner on the Head Games Tour, and Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band on the Against the Wind Tour.  All within a year of each other. 

My friends and I would gather and have "air guitar" bands.  Music blaring, lip synching, and tennis rackets for guitars.  The girls loved it, and even though it was kids just messing around, something about the music stayed with me. No idea where those friends are now, but those moments of "imagining" stayed with me.  Unfortunately I possess no musical talent to play, and the only ears my voice sounds good to is my own. 

I really believe that music is the soundtrack of our lives...  good times and bad, there is always a song.  I followed my love of music into my occupation.  I used to hang out in this record store during lunch my sophmore of HS, eventually working there.  A mom and pop operation run my 2 drug addicts who had money to open the store.  Back then Ticketmaster was a start-up ticket company competing with the big ones such as Select-A-Seat.  We had the head shop in the back, burned incense, played album sides, hung poster and flats to make displays on the wall, and most importantly talked to people who loved music about music.

I first met Russ last fall (about a year ago).  Within 5 minutes of mentioning music I hear Black Crowes come of his mouth, and the amount of times he'd seen them was impressive.  I said to my HOLY SHIT this guy is the only guy who can talk about music as much as I can.  Thank you Russ for this opportunity.

So, here I am blogging about it 30 years later.  I am very excited about this opportunity.  I will be witnessing the Roger Waters Tour on Tuesday, and you'll read about it here.  Thanks to everybody in advance for reading our opinions. 

-Mike Downing

"Well I never been to England..."

"Here I come again now baby, like a dog in heat" At the age of 3, I knew I loved that song. Somewhere there's an old box of Polaroids with a picture of me, having built a very rudimentary ladder. The purpose of the ladder was to gain access to my sisters turn table. Once I made it up there, the idea was to scratch up my sisters self titled Ted Nugent album until I found that riff once again. My sister was furious at all the scratch marks on the record but I eventually found the song and that's all that mattered to me at the time. That was the first time a sibling made the mistake of making me listen to something, but not the last.

The reason I recall that story so well is not because of the photographic proof, it's because that's my first music related memory. I was absolutely hooked in music from that point on and it's been a long, crazy, enjoyable trip thus far. The first album I can remember purchasing was "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden", I made my selection because Elvis looked like a super hero on the cover. Sure, I had a mom that was into Elvis Presley as many of my generation did, but I honestly don't recall listening to any of his material prior to owning that record.

What struck me about that record after a couple spins was that I had made a wise choice; Elvis looked like a super hero on the cover but he sounded like a super hero as well. Once you get past the rushed "That's All Right" and uncomfortable rendering of "Proud Mary" soon enough you're hit with a man on fire. Being passionate about everything to do with what he loved; performing live music. Believe it or not, that record pretty much set my bar for what I want to hear even at such a young age. As I mentioned, I could tell that the first two cuts were either not being performed with any emotion or worse being performed by someone who couldn't care less about the song.

But then I got to soul stirring renditions of songs like "Never Been To Spain" and "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and I knew the man meant business. I once heard a member of Elvis' band say "with Elvis, you could see the lyrics go through his brain, through his heart, then out his mouth". And that was 100% true of the sound that was coming out of the speakers to me. At one point or another, I may get around to doing a full "review" of that record, but that remains to be seen.

My son's mother mentioned the idea of starting a music blog to me years ago and I didn't really know what to write. Then the other night, while furiously convincing two friends that they should hurry up and purchase tickets to the upcoming Roger Waters The Wall 2010 show here in Detroit, both of them mentioned the idea to me. When I used the same argument I had before, one of them said something that made me feel really good. He said "Yeah, but you do though. The way you orate the way you feel about music is really cool. And if nothing else, you should log some of these random thoughts". That compliment stuck and away we go!

I have also asked two friends to contribute to this blog. One being from here in Detroit and the other being from Chicago. Both of whom are similar to myself in that they like what they like, but they give everything a chance and they've ALWAYS got an opinion. For now, I decided to just write that little intro above as a way to explain a little about me from the start. This blog has no set direction, there may be album reviews, band retrospectives, concert reviews or just general opinions on whatever is going on or has gone on in music.

I appreciate anyone and everyone who may take their time to read it.

-Russ Robinson