Music

Great to hear you're a QR fan. As I posted, I saw them with Metallica also but they weren't quite so hard on QR. I do remember The Cult opening for Metallica and the crowd was hard on them, booing etc. until Ian Astbury, The Cult singer bitched out the crowd and they responded well by shutting up and getting into it. Many Metallica fans at the time were not into any opening band.

I know I am lucky getting the opportunity to meet many of the bands that I grew up with and mean a lot to me. One of the bonuses of being in the business. It makes the 16 and 17 hour days that I did this week worth it.

I will be on a QR kick for the next week now I am sure. Get that vinyl spinning.

Here is a song by Blues artist and a good friend, Bernard Allison, who I just finished recording a new album recently. Great guitarist and singer/songwriter. He started in his dad's band, Luther Allison who was one of the Blues Greats.

This song is from an older album that was recorded at our studio also. Figured I would post up some music that I have worked on. New album isn't out yet.


Also an old video of Bernard jamming with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Bernard had been around.

Sorry, guys.. had to bring it "there"

Here is a song I produced/recorded along with metal Producer Andy Sneap for an album that was released in conjunction with a Science Fiction movie release.
The movie is called Scintilla and was Produced by my business partner in the UK. I thought the movie is pretty cool. It is available on DVD.

The music album features Biff Byford vocalist for the U.K. band Saxon and members of UK band Balance of Power and US band Blue Felix. I received a couple copies on double vinyl. It is great to listen to your work on vinyl.

Not sure how the movie is doing but the music is very cool. We shot a couple videos at our studio by our video production company. Here is one for the song Beware the Children.

I've always got shit from people for my love of KISS too for those reasons.  Music is art man, if it moves you, f*cking enjoy it.
No apologies.  We used to rock the shit out of Korn at the office when we were at the Universal lot because the execs were near by and they hated it.  But they couldn't stop it since 99% of the offices blasted music 24/7.  It was perfect for days when we were stressed out and needed to bang our heads on the desks!

I remember the summer I first heard the self-titled Korn album. It was 1995, right before Freshman year of high school. I helped a family move furniture and got $20. The day before school started, I used that money to buy that album. Good times were had. Everything after that, I thought was a little silly and the first one now sounds choppy and weird to me, but that one year...man, that was something.

a whole other direction (from other posts I have seen here), I have been listening to a lot of these NPR tiny desk things on youtube. Mostly miss, but I found a few amazing bands on there.

They have a lot of little jumps and oddities in their songs which took me a little while to appreciate.

I mean, they have some real garbage on there.


and I think this white dude is trying a little too hard (if I don't stand up here, they won't see my silly shoes!), but he can wail, man.

Kiss is one of the bands that got me into listening to music and playing guitar.
Along with many other countless musicians. It is kind of crazy as I know there are some who don't get Kiss but if you had a list of musicians who give Kiss as one of their biggest influences people would be surprised.

They were about being larger than life, the look, the music. It grabbed me as a 13 year old playing Destroyer at a friends house and looking at the album cover while listening to the album on headphones, I was hooked.
Kiss Destroyer. My favorite Kiss album still.

@winterland:  your story is almost 100% mine.  Looking back in my yearbooks, it's all about KISS - Destroyer being my fave as well.  I used to go our with my three pals dressed up as them, and I was Gene.  I learned how to blow flames really really well, and on Halloween, ~1977, I set the tree on fire in front of my house.  My Mom was out there with all of us nuts watching and it was pretty damn epic - not intentional.  Used the hose to put it out.  

I wanted to play drums.  But Dad, for whatever reason, wanted me to play guitar.  I tried and tried, and even bought this really cool-looking ax - a leftover '69 Les Paul at the shop (family friends, small town).  It's black and gold and beautiful.  I never got good at it, but I polished it and took care of it like a first girlfriend.
It's still at my mom's house in PA.  Part of me wants to get it and sell it, but I think for now it's just going to stay there.  Maybe I'll give it to my son one day.  He's firmly a Tele guy, but this one might change his mind...or be a down payment on a home.

I've got to meet Paul and Gene at work.  Businessmen to the hilt, but neat guys.  Universal gave me a plaque (everyone knows I'm a nut) for all the work I did (do) for their mastering and marketing and promo folks.  Was a pretty big thrill as you could imagine - going back into that 13 year old brain!

I never apologize for my musical tastes/likes.  It's like apologizing for what books or art you love.

Rock On Brahs!

Very cool. Make sure you hang on to that Les Paul. Sell it to Ace at least.
Blowing fire wow. Nice you got meet Paul and Gene.
I saw Kiss live for their first reunion with all the original members. Never got to see them in their prime.
I did see Ace a few years back at our best club in Minneapolis First Avenue.
It was a great show. Here's a clip from the same tour. Ace has always been my favorite.

I was never a huge Nickelback fan but they are a tight band and their albums sound amazing.
They started having many songs that have terrible lyrics the music became very formula sounding. They have done well and are still huge though.

Anyone watch the Grammys?
I wasn't able to watch live but DVRed and finished watching tonight.
I am going to actually go to it one of these years.

I thought it was an overall good show this year. AC/DC opening really started it with a bang.
Much fallout about Kanye again. He bores me.

Annie Lennox with Hozier was amazing and there were many other great performances. ELO with Ed Sheeran, Beck, a new country singer Brandy Clark and Dwight Yoakam and others.
Some not so good.
Katy Perry who usually really irritates me, surprise, actually did a decent job and wasn't lip syncing. Still won't be listening to her music though.

Overall was worth watching.
Here is the whole show. Note. Set the speed to 1.25 on the video or it is too slow.