All Articles – Page 146

TODAY SHOULD BE A NATIONAL HOLIDAY

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 25, 2019…ON THIS DATE IN 1972 DEEP PURPLE RELEASES THE ALBUM ‘MACHINE HEAD’ AND I WAS HOOKED ON ROCK N’ ROLL.

‘MACHINE HEAD’ WAS THE 6TH STUDIO ALBUM FROM DEEP PURPLE AND BY FAR THE BAND’S MOST SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIALLY. IT STAYED ON THE AMERICAN CHARTS FOR A TOTAL OF 118 WEEKS AND SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES IN AMERICA.

THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED UNDER INCREDIBLE CONDITIONS. THE BAND WAS IN SWITZERLAND TO RECORD MACHINE HEAD RIGHT AFTER A FRANK ZAPPA CONCERT, BUT SOMEONE FIRED A FLARE GUN AT THE CEILING DURING THE ZAPPA SHOW AND IT SET THE PLACE ON FIRE. DEEP PURPLE WAS IN THE AUDIENCE FOR THE SHOW, AND LEAD SINGER IAN GILLAN RECALLS 2 FLARES BEING SHOT OFF BY SOMEONE SITTING BEHIND HIM WHICH LANDED IN THE TOP CORNER OF THE BUILDING AND QUICKLY SET IT ON FIRE. FRANK ZAPPA STOPPED THE SHOW AND HELPED ENSURE AN ORDERLY EXIT.

THE REST OF THE BAND WAS ACROSS THE STREET AND WATCHED THE FIRE FROM A NEARBY RESTAURANT, AND WHEN THE FIRE DIED DOWN, A LAYER OF SMOKE COVERED LAKE GENEVA, WHICH THE CASINO OVERLOOKED. THE IMAGE GAVE ROGER GLOVER THE IDEA FOR A SONG TITLE ‘SMOKE ON THE WATER’, AND GILLAN WROTE THE LYRICS FOR THE SONG TO RECORD ON MACHINE HEAD.

THE BAND WAS RELOCATED TO THE GRAND HOTEL IN MONTREUX, WHERE THEY RECORDED THE ALBUM USING THE ROLLING STONES MOBILE STUDIO. ALSO INCLUDED ON THIS ALBUM IS A SONG MANY CONSIDER TO THE FIRST EVER “SPEED METAL” SONG ‘HIGHWAY STAR’, ‘SPACE TRUCKIN’

‘MAYBE I’M A LEO’ & ‘LAZY’

MACHINE HEAD HAS SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE, AND

OVER 7 MUSIC PUBLICATIONS CONSIDER THIS AS ONE OF THE TOP ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME

HERE’S HIGHWAY STAR

LAZY

SMOKE ON THE WATER

AN INCREDIBLE LIVE VERSION OF SPACE TRUCKIN’

AND HERE’S FANTASTIC AUDIO OF A LIVE VERSION OF ‘MAYBE I’M A LEO’ FROM AN APPEARANCE ON THE BBC FROM 1972

GUNS N’ ROSES

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 25, 2019…THIRTY THREE YEARS AGO TODAY GUNS N’ ROSES SIGNED THEIR 1ST RECORD DEAL WITH GEFFEN RECORDS.

HERE ARE SOME QUICK RANDOM NOTES ABOUT GUNS N’ ROSES.

-BEFORE HE JOINED GNR AXL ROSE WAS SO HARD UP FOR CASH HE JOINED A UCLA MEDICAL STUDY WHERE HE WAS PAID $8 AN HOUR TO SMOKE CIGARETTES

-SLASH’S FATHER, ANTHONY HUDSON, IS AN ENGLISH ARTIST WHO CREATED ALBUM COVERS FOR MUSICIANS, INCLUDING SEVERAL FOR JONI MITCHELL.

– ACCORDING TO INFORMATION PUT TOGETHER BY CONCERT HOTELS.COM, AXL ROSE HAS A GREATER VOCAL RANGE THAN ANY OTHER POPULAR MUSIC SINGER. ROSE HAS SUNG NOTES IN MORE THAN 5 OCTAVES, AND JUST A FEW SEMI-TONES UNDER 6 OCTAVES. THEY RANGE FROM THE HIGH OF F1(IN ‘THERE WAS A TIME’) TO A LOW B FLAT 6 (‘AIN’T IT FUN”) THIS IS A GREATER RANGE THAN MARIAH CAREY WHO HAS MANAGED TO SPAN A SLIGHTLY SMALLER GAP BETWEEN F2 AND G7 ON HER RECORDINGS, AND PRINCE, WHOSE SPAN HAS REACHED BOTH A B6 AND AN E2

-SOME BAND MEMBERS OF GUNS N’ ROSES KEEP UP COLLECTIONS IN THEIR SPARE TIME. AXL ROSE COLLECTS ANTIQUE CRUCIFIXES, AND SLASH COLLECTS SNAKES

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘SWEET CHILD O’ MINE’

photo courtesy of Jimmy O’Sheehan Photography https://www.facebook.com/jimmyosheehan/

GRAND FUNK ‘BAD TIME’

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 24, 2019…45 YEARS AGO GRAND FUNK RELEASED THE SINGLE ‘BAD TIME’. THE SONG IS ABOUT A GUY WHO MEETS THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS, BUT DOES SO AT AN AWKWARD TIME OF HIS LIFE, MEANING HE MAY HAVE TO LET HER GO.

THE SONG WAS WRITTEN BY THE GROUP’S SINGER MARK FARNER WHILE HE WAS GOING THROUGH A BAD TIME WITH HIS FIRST WIFE CHERYL.

ACCORDING TO FARNER,

“I was getting a divorce. My wife was in the kitchen throwing pans around while I was writing ‘Bad Time.’ It was quite emotional.” Source of quote: An American Band: The Story of Grand Funk Railroad by Billy James)

GRAND FUNK CASHED IN ON FARNER’S CRAPPY PERSONAL LIFE, SCORING ONE OF THE BIGGEST SINGLES OF 1975

HERE’S THE VIDEO FOR ‘BAD TIME’ WITH GRAND FUNK

A NEW ERA FOR VAN HALEN-5150

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 24, 2019…ON THIS DATE IN 1986, VAN HALEN, OR SHOULD WE SAY VAN HAGAR, RELEASE THEIR 7TH STUDIO ALBUM ‘5150’. IT WAS THE FIRST VH ALBUM TO FEATURE SAMMY HAGAR WHO REPLACED DAVID LEE ROTH.

5150 IS POLICE CODE FOR AN INVOLUNTARY PSYCHIATRIC HOLD. IT’S ALSO THE NAME OF EDDIE VAN HALEN’S HOME STUDIO ( BTW, THE STUDIO IS REPORTEDLY A 40-FOOT-LONG ROOM WITH AN ADJUSTABLE CEILING FOR ACOUSTICS THAT CAN RAISE UP TO 18 FEET HIGH)

SAMMY’S DEBUT WITH VAN HALEN SOLD OVER 11.5 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE AND PUT VAN HALEN BACK ON TOP OF THE ROCK WORLD.

THE ALBUM BOASTED 5 HIT SINGLES ‘WHY CAN’T THIS BE LOVE’’ DREAMS’

‘LOVE WALKS IN’ ‘SUMMER NIGHTS’ & ‘BEST OF BOTH WORLDS’

HERE’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE VAN HAGAR SONGS, A LIVE VERSION OF

‘BEST OF BOTH WORLDS’ FROM A CONCERT IN 1986

THE RELEASE OF NUTHIN’ FANCY

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 24, 2019… FORTY FOUR YEARS AGO, LYNYRD SKYNYRD RELEASED THE ALBUM ‘NUTHIN’ FANCY’.

THE GROUP CRANKED OUT ALBUMS AT A BRISK RATE DURING THE ORIGINAL LINE-UPS BRIEF RECORDING CAREER. THIS MARKED SKYNYRD’S THIRD STUDIO ALBUM IN AS MANY YEARS. ‘NUTHIN’ FANCY’ WAS CERTIFIED GOLD 3 MONTHS AFTER IT’S RELEASE.

THIS RECORD WAS THE FIRST ALBUM FROM THE BAND WITH DRUMMER ARTIMUS PYLE AND THE LAST WITH GUITARIST ED KING UNTIL THE REFORMATION OF LYNYRD SKYNYRD IN 1991. ‘NUTHIN FANCY’ CRACKED THE TOP TEN ON THE BILLBOARD ALBUM CHARTS, AND EVENTUALLY REACHED PLATINUM STATUS, SELLING OVER A MILLION COPIES. THE ALBUM WAS FUELED BY THE SINGLE ‘SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL’

HERE’S LYNYRD SKYNYRD PERFORMING ‘SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL’ CIRCA 1977

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 24, 2019…IT WAS 1982 AND I HAD MY MIND BLOWN BY A RELEASE FROM IRON MAIDEN. THE ALBUM WAS IRON MAIDEN’S ‘THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST’

IT WAS THE FIRST IRON MAIDEN ALBUM TO FEATURE SINGER BRIAN DICKINSON AND THE LAST WITH DRUMMER CLIVE BURR.

THIS WAS THE FIRST ALBUM FOR IRON MAIDEN TO ENJOY COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND WAS REALLY A LANDMARK ALBUM FOR THE BAND, SPAWNING TWO HIT SINGLES ‘RUN TO THE HILLS’ AND THE TITLE TRACK ‘THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST’

THE ALBUM TO DATE HAS SOLD OVER 2 AND A HALF MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE

HERE’S THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘RUN TO THE HILLS’

LAMONT AND TONELLI TALK TO STEVE TREVINO ABOUT FATHERHOOD AND MARRIED LIFE

Steve Trevino is performing at Tommy T’s Comedy Club in Pleasanton.

Friday, March 22nd at 7:30pm & 10:15pm

Saturday, March 23rd at 7pm & 9:45pm

Sunday, March 24th at 7pm

For tickets and more info go to: www.tommyts.com

Steve Trevino’s third comedy special “Til Death” is out now and available through his website: www.stevetrevino.com

Listen to Lamont and Tonelli’s interview with Steve Trevino.

Follow Steve Trevino here.

TIME FOR SOME ‘RED VOODOO’

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 23, 2019… TWENTY YEARS AGO THE RED ROCKER RELEASED THE ALBUM ‘RED VOODOO’. THERE IS SUCH A GREAT PARTY FEEL TO THIS ALBUM. WHEN HAGAR FINISHED TOURING IN SUPPORT OF HIS ‘MARCHING TO MARS ALBUM’ HE WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE STUDIO TO RECORD THIS RECORD. I THINK PART OF THE REASON THIS ALBUM HAS SUCH A GOOD VIBE TO IT IS HE RECORDED IT WITH THE WABORITAS. ALONG WITH SAMMY, THE BAND INCLUDED THE GREAT DAVE LAUSER ON DRUMS, JESSE HARMS ON KEYBOARDS, VIC JOHNSON ON GUITAR, AND MONA GNADER ON BASS.

THE BIG SONG ON THE ALBUM WAS ‘MAS TEQUILA’. IN THE SONG HAGAR SINGS ABOUT A TRIP TO MEXICO, WHERE HE HAS SOME GOOD TIMES ENJOYING SOME SHOTS OF HIS FAVORITE BEVERAGE , HIS “VITAMIN T”

HAGAR IS SERIOUS ABOUT HIS “VITAMIN T” OR TEQUILA. IN 1996 HE FOUNDED CABO WABO TEQUILA. WHEN HAGAR HAD IT IMPORTED INTO THE USA, IT BECAME A POPULAR PREMIUM BRAND. IN 2007, HAGAR SOLD 80% OF THE COMPANY TO CAMPARI FOR $80 MILLION DOLLARS. HE SOLD THEM THE REST OF HIS STAKE IN THE COMPANY FOR ANOTHER $11 MILLION.

HERE’S SAMMY PERFORMING ‘MAS TEQUILA’ FROM HIS BAR IN CABO

TODAY THE CARS RIC OCASEK TURNS 70 !

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 23, 2019… RIC OCASEK WAS BORN IN 1949, WHICH MEANS TODAY HE’S CELEBRATING HIS 70TH BIRTHDAY.

HERE ARE SOME QUICK NOTES ON RIC OCASEK

-OCASEK IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE CARS

-THE CARS PUT TOGETHER A STRING OF MONSTER HITS FROM 1978-1988

-HE PLAYED RHYTHM GUITAR AND SANG THE MAJORITY OF CARS SONGS.

BASSIST BENJAMIN ORR WAS LEAD VOCALIST ON THE REMAINING TRACKS.

-HE MET THE SUPERMODEL PAULINA PORIZKOVA ON THE SET OF THE VIDEO FOR DRIVE IN 1984. THE GOT MARRIED AND HAD 2 KIDS TOGETHER. OCASEK HAS 4 OTHER CHILDREN FROM 2 PREVIOUS MARRIAGES.

-IN 1978 THE CARS LOST THE BEST NEW ARTIST GRAMMY TO ONE HIT WONDER ‘TASTE OF HONEY’

-OCASEK’S FATHER WORKED FOR NASA ON TOP SECRET PROJECTS. RIC RECALLED THE TIME WHEN GOVERNMENT AGENTS VISITED HIS HOME AND QUESTIONED HIS MOTHER ABOUT THE DREAMS HIS FATHER HAD AT NIGHT

-BEFORE THE DEATH OF BENJAMIN ORR, OCASEK RULED OUT ANY POSSIBILITY OF A CARS RE-UNION, SAYING HE WOULD RATHER HAVE “HOT DIARRHEA FOR 6 MONTHS THAN TOUR WITH THE CARS FOR 6 MONTHS.”

HERE’S A GREAT LIVE VERSION OF ‘LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL’

THE MEGA ALBUM FROM ZZ TOP

LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-MARCH 23, 2019…ON THIS DATE IN 1979, ZZ TOP GAVE US THE ALBUM ELIMINATOR. ELIMINATOR IS ZZ TOP’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ALBUM, HAVING SOLD MORE THAN 14 MILLION COPIES WORLDWIDE. IT SPAWNED 5 SINGLES ‘SHARP DRESSED MAN’ ‘GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ‘TV DINNERS’ ‘GOT ME UNDER PRESSURE’ AND ‘LEGS’

THE RECORD WAS NAMED AFTER BILLY GIBBONS 1933 FORD HOT ROD, WHICH HE CALLED “THE ELIMINATOR”

THE CAR WAS FEATURED IN THE BAND’S VIDEOS FOR ‘GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’ ‘SHARP DRESSED MAN’ AND ‘LEGS’

THIS ALBUM WAS ALSO THE FIRST ZZ TOP ALBUM TO USE SYNTHESIZERS.

HERE’S ZZ TOP AND THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR ‘GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN’