#keb again !! but older :)

[scruffedknife]

[namjoonsjagi]

k-pop tag

I was tagged by the lovely @btsminarmy: I never get tagged so THANKU

1. When and how did you get into kpop?

All because of that stupid Buzzfeed try guys video and my cousin. I had already watched their Korean themed videos awhile ago, but one late night my cousin watched it again and looked up the EXO song in that video cause Kai caught her eye right away. She instantly was hooked, but I wasn’t feeling it. About 3 weeks later after multiple tries of introducing me to them she said “if anything else, you have to watch Dancing King, I’d think you’d really like it”. And I swear that song had crack in it cause I was like “DAMN if that’s not a BOP idk what is”

2. Favorite hair on your ult bias?

quote Hoseok: “I like red!”

3. Who was your first bias in your bias groups and, is it the same now?

Well to be fair EXO was who I saw a lot of first. And my cousin was like “I’d think you would like Sehun”. At that point I was like sure you got me into this mess I trust you. But when we found BTS RM instantly caught my attention. (I think Save Me was one of the first things I saw) Just how tall he is and his striking face really made me question what I was doing in life. (I think I also liked that he could speak English cause at that time I was ignorant and didn’t want to have to read the subtitles) BUT a couple of months ago little red head Hobi just kept stealing my heart and now he is my ULT bias

4. Favorite non-kpop artists/groups?

Well I come from a huge blues/classic rock lovin’ family. I will always be a giant fan of The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. (I know polar opposites of k-pop)-but hey when BTS did Am I Wrong, one of my favorite Keb Mo songs, I about died; two worlds colliding.

5. Are your friends outside of Tumblr into kpop also?

That dang cousin who ruined my life annnnnnnd thats about it. I’m currently going through a “coming out stage” of letting everybody know I like k-pop and Korean culture and no one is taking it very nicely. My best friend is mocking me about it with my other friends and my family sees it as weird. So theres that...

6. Favorite era of your bias group?

Any time Hobi is red?!

Ha jk ummm probably Wings Era or what we just ended, which would be Her: Love Yourself era?

7. When you shuffle your music library, what are the first three songs that come up?

So I’ve always been confused by this question, cause I use Spotify so if I pick a k-pop playlist all the songs are going to be k-pop. Same with like a Beatles playlist, visa versa

1.) The Star- EXO (don’t hate for christmas all year long)

2.) As If It’s Your Last- BLACKPINK

3.) Confident- Justin Bieber feat. Chance The Rapper

8. Favorite kind of kpop concept? (i.e. cute, retro, school, etc.)

SUCKER for anything that looks, relates, smells, sounds, feels, tastes like Blood Sweat Tears music video. I’m a hoe for anything artsy with a little smokey eye AMIRITE LADIES?

9. If you had to be trapped on a deserted island with one of your biases, who would it be?

Okay, here is where I abandon my ult bias, cause I need RM’s street smarts to survive. So, Namjoon....sorry Hobi.

10. Favorite Kpop mv?

Can you make a wild guess?               --> Blood Sweat & Tears

11. If you were in a kpop group, what role do you think you would have? (i.e. leader, rapper, dancer, vocal, mood maker, etc.)

Either dancer or vocal- I freaking LOVE dancing. And I sing to myself all the time, but no one is allowed to hear me, I’m shy little mochi

12. Favorite kpop choreography?

Intro: Boy Meets Evil Hoseok Dance

Go Go BTS (so fun to dance to)

Not Today BTS

Just Right GOT7

13. In what company would you like to be a part of?

Currently watching Father Is Strange, and wherever Byun Mi-Young works seems cool. Ya know when she gets to work along side Ahn Joong-Hee ;)

14. Who is your favorite rapper, singer, dancer?

Rapper- Chanyeol or RM or Jackson Wang

Singer- I’m a sucker for D.O, he’s my son. BUT I have the BIGGEST girl crush on Jisoo

Dancer- my one and only Hoseok

15. How many years, months, days, etc, is your ult bias older/younger than you?

4 years older

16. Kpop songs you know all the lyrics to?

BLACKPINK So Hot cover

BLACKPINK BOOMBAYAH

BTS Go Go

BTS Silver Spoon

EXO Overdose

I want to tag @kimdaily @bangtanbinches @heartkook

[ulyssessklein]

Robben Ford Talks About His New Release Purple House, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison and More…

By: Rick Landers

In the world of guitar, five-time Grammy nominee, Robben Ford, stands out as musician who is technically focused and adept, yet plays in an intuitive way, much like a world-class surfer catches a wave and feels his way along its surging improvisational path, to become one with it.

And because of his musical prowess, mention Robben’s name and there’s that reverential nod, a genuflection acknowledging his prolific talent, as well as a sense of awe when recognizing his musical contributions, that include collaborations with Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespsie, Georgie Fame, Larry Carlton and Miles Davis.

Check out Robben’s instrumental work on the track, “Freedom”, and you’re taken on an instructive melodic journey of guitar emotion and precision, featuring pinpoint accuracy and colorful details, as well as turgid groans from the belly of some beast.

Then fast forward to his most recent release, Purple House, and and its straightforward approach. And he rolled in some great collaborators, including Shemekia Copeland (“Break In the Chain”); Travis McCready, and Bishop Gunn on “Somebody’s Fool”.  And listen up to hear some superb guitar licks by Gunn’s guitarist, Drew Smithers, on the punchy “Willing to Wait”.

“I was inspired to go past what would certainly happen on a traditional blues or R&B album, take more chances sonically, and open it up without losing the essence of soulfulness or live performance”. – Robben Ford

From a young age, Ford dug into the blues, rock and jazz, resulting in a gig that had him hanging with the legendary Chicago harp player, Charlie Musselwhite. Robben was 18 and, in many respects, the two were cut from the same traditional cloth. He wound up in L.A., where he found himself on Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark tour, and he recalled “The two years spent with Joni were the most formative of my musical life.”

Beatle George Harrison asked Robben to be on his Dark Horse tour (U.S. and Canada) and having been on Joni’s and George’s tours, his name became known to Elektra Records, the label that produced his first solo recording, Then Inside Story. Grammy nominations would follow, as well as collaborations or tours with the likes of Miles Davis, Phil Lesh, Bob Dylan and collaborations with Warren Haynes, Keb’ Mo, Robert Randolph, ZZ Ward, and Sonny Landreth.

Ford has also shown other guitarists the ropes with his own guitar instructional videos with TrueFire and the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo.

******

Rick Landers:  Guitarist David Grissom has said that he’s a huge fan of yours, but something in particular caught my attention. He said, “With Robben, every note means something.” I know he’s probably talking a bit off the cuff. Would you say there are notes that have more meaning than others, and what about the space between the notes? How important are those?

Robben Ford: I’m certainly flattered to hear it. He’s a great guitar player. I come from a real strong Blues tradition. A lot of my contemporaries have been Blues players primarily and then moved that into other genres. Everything should mean something and everything should have a thread running through it.

For me, it’s kind of a singer’s approach with more notes than some people will play: like B.B. King with more notes. Again, I’m happy to hear that from David. Everything that you play should matter.

Everything should have a purpose, and it should tell a story. It’s storytelling really. That’s what playing is all about for me, and that basically comes out of a blues tradition: not the rock tradition, not the jazz tradition so much. It’s in the jazz tradition, of course, but it’s that blues thing. [Both chuckle]

Rick: Who were you listening to when you first got into the Blues? Was it B.B. King? There were a lot of different people around back in those days.

Robben Ford: The first guy to really light me up, and I was young, I was like 13, was Mike Bloomfield and the Providential Blues Band. Very shortly thereafter, Clapton appeared with that first John Mayall record.

Rick: Yes, Beano. 

Robben Ford: Yeah. Then along came Jimi Hendrix. I used to go to the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, in and around those places. I went to see Mike Bloomfield with the Electric Flag at the Winterland, and B.B. King was the second act on the bill.

I had no idea who he was. I was 15 and it just completely rocked my world, and of course I became a huge B.B. King fan.

Those guys right there were the major ones for me: Bloomfield, Clapton, Hendrix, B.B. King. Those were the really big guitar influences on me.

Rick: And then Clapton move to Cream. 

Robben Ford: His playing on the Fresh Cream release is just brilliant, very melodic. I love the way he played on that record.

Rick: I was listening to your latest release, Purple House. I really like “Bound for Glory”. “Cotton Candy” was really wild; is that a saxophone on “Cotton Candy”?

Robben Ford: Yes, a tenor.  

Rick:  “Willing to Wait” and “Wild Honey”, there were a couple of others, but those were the ones that I went back to a couple of times.  What songs do you enjoy playing most of all of those? 

Robben Ford: At this point, it’s difficult to replicate a lot of that music, for a variety of reasons. The only things we’re playing off the record are “Tangle With Ya”, “What I Haven’t Done” and “Bound for Glory”. 

Those are the only three songs we’ve been playing live at this point. We used a lot of acoustic guitar on the new record, which is a flavor I really like. Haven’t quite gotten the instrumentation together to be able to perform some of that music.

Rick: What kind of acoustic guitars do you play?

Robben Ford: The only acoustic that you hear on Purple House is a 1959 J-45, a beautiful guitar.

Rick: How did you meet Ryan Madora, and did you get a chance to hear her play drums? I hear she started out with drums.

Robben Ford: I never heard Ryan play drums. My co-producer on Purple House is Casey Wosner; Purple House is actually Casey’s studio.

I have a string of dates on the West Coast. I wanted to do something different than what I had been doing. I was friends with Casey. He had worked for me as a guitar tech and stage manager. I knew he was very talented, multi-talented.

I wanted to have a group of two guitarists, so I talked to Casey.

I said, “Hey, man, why don’t you play guitar and who do you know who’s out there?” He recommended Brian and the drummer on the record, Derrek Phillips. We got together one day and started playing and it was just instantly a pleasure. They are delightful people, wonderful people, and we clicked, you know?

We did two weeks on the West Coast and I said, “Let’s just do the record together. Let’s just make a record.” I liked the way we jelled so much. I like the group concept. I’m not really one to bring in individuals for this song, that song. So, we cut the record together in Casey’s studio. And I’m very happy with the results.

Rick: Yeah, it’s a good production. Now Casey’s another drummer. He also plays drums, right?

Robben Ford: Plays drums, plays guitar, a great engineer, sings his ass off [Both chuckle]

Rick: Casey said after watching you and Larry Carlton play on a video, he said he might just stick to playing the G-chord, and that you guys were so good, you probably should plateau around the G-chord only. I thought that was pretty humble and clever of him to say. 

I know that you’re an instructor. Have you found some of your students online breaking barriers like finally getting the fretboard, finally getting improvisation and other challenges that we all face, I think, at some point? And how does that make you feel when somebody you’re actually teaching has broken through one of those barriers?

Robben Ford: I don’t really teach one-on-one. Everything that’s available online is accessed through TrueFire, the company that produces all of my instructional materials.

I don’t really have that kind of interaction with individuals unless I sometimes do an all-day seminar in which I’ll interact with individuals. I’ve also done a guitar camp the last five years in a row and there’s some interaction in those cases. But, I’m always looking for the light bulb to go off. These are usually group situations, not one-on-one.

Rick: You played with a guy named Tyler Bryant. He’s pretty young, right? Did you teach him anything or was he just so good that he was like a brother with guitars? 

Robben Ford: I had Tyler as a guest and that’s it. I’ve met him a couple of times and he sat in with my group the first time I played in Tennessee. My manager at the time suggested connecting, so I had him play on the record, but there’s not been any mentoring situation there. He’s certainly a lot younger than I, so “brothers” I wouldn’t say, but he’s a very talented young man.

Rick: When you were developing your videos, did you have a learning curve? Did you go back and look at older videos and think that you may have done them differently or were you working from a template that TrueFire has used?

Robben Ford: We really do it together with TrueFire, myself and Brett Wendkos, who’s the head of the company. He’s been doing this for many years. He’s very good at directing. He knows what people need and what they watch. He’s really good at that.

I often will let him if there’s something I’m particularly interested in doing. I’m very spontaneous. I can easily get into a flow about something: pick a topic and I can kind of run with it. So, we kind of improvise, but there are certain goals, certain things that we want to accomplish and present clearly.

His experience on the production side and I have a pretty natural sense of teaching is just a great combination. I’m really proud of the things we do together.

Rick: They’re really good videos. Would you mind describing, maybe using a song from your album as an example, how you work with Casey producing a song, How It might change from when you first write it to its final production? How does that involve? Is it very collaborative or does somebody take the lead?

Robben Ford: Musically, the instruments, it’s all of the guys in the group. They’ll come up with their own parts, but I really direct the whole thing musically. I write all of the music and I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do.

Where Casey was most important was making sure the recording studio is really dialed in. He has great gear and he really knows how to use it. We had an engineer who did a lot of the recording named Ross Collier, a young man who’s credited on the album as the engineer. Casey worked very closely with him in terms of getting the sound. I would have certain ideas, but I didn’t know how to get to them.

Ross was very good at finding a lot of alternatives sonically. Casey once again does a lot of recording and mixing in his studio, so he really knows the room super well.

And there’s my own vision of the song, so it’s very collaborative on the recording side, in capturing what we were doing, on how the instruments sounded. and on how we can change the sound of the instruments. That’s Casey strong suit there. There’s rhythm guitar, too. And Ross Collier, once again, if you needed something, he could get it for you.

Rick: He’d find it somewhere.

Robben Ford: Yes, a lot of alternatives.

RICK: When you were young, I think you started out with saxophone, right?

Robben Ford: Uh-huh.

Rick: Back in the ’50s, a lot of the time a saxophone was the lead instrument, not a guitar. Have you found that your experience with the sax influenced your guitar playing?

Robben Ford: I was never really very good at it. I loved the saxophone, but I didn’t really excel at it. Honestly, I think it’s kind of a love thing. When I picked up the guitar, I just kind of excelled quickly. I have this sort of back and forth with the guitar and the saxophone. I would say I played saxophone more like I played the guitar, than the other way around.

Rick: Oh, really? That’s a twist.

Robben Ford: What I was listening to was saxophone players: the way they phrased, the way they breathed. You have to breathe if you play a horn. On a guitar, you don’t have to breathe.

Rick: [Laughs] Not till the end.

Robben Ford: The harmonics have sophistication that I was drawn toward. I wanted to understand, to have more musical knowledge, so I could play more things��that was hearing in blues guitar. And the saxophone was kind of the premier instrument for me that I was drawn to.

Rick: Okay, I’d like to move a little bit into some of the people you’ve worked with. One is Joni Mitchell. How did you and she meet and what was your first impression of her? After working with her, did her magic, talent and work ethic, I suppose, continue to impress you? 

Robin Ford:  I met her because the group that backed her on the Court and Spark record, she was hoping to have them do the tour after the record was released.

The guitarist was Larry Carlton primarily and the keyboard player was Joe Sample, primarily. Both of them had tour dates with The Crusaders. They couldn’t go on the road with her. They went looking for a keyboard player and a guitarist.

They invited a brilliant pianist composer named Roger Kerlerec, who was in the band when I first came along.

I just got a call from Tom (Scott). He had heard me play but the two others hadn’t, so I suggested we meet. He asked me if I’d come in and just jam with the group and see how it goes, which I did and it went really well.

Joni actually came in when I was there with them. She was just beautiful, radiant. After we played, I was asked to join the band, and I said yes [Both laugh].

That began probably the most gratifying year of my musical career. The music was brilliant and completely outside my wheelhouse as a player, so I was learning on the job. I was amazed honestly [Chuckles] that they were okay with me, because I was basically a blues guitarist who wanted to be a jazz guitarist, who was suddenly playing in a fusion group.

Tom Scott took me to Guitar Center and bought me a bunch of pedals. I was plugging them in, and I don’t really know how to use them, and I’m playing all this music that’s very different from anything I’ve ever done before.

It was the greatest learning experience of my life, that first year with her. I learned more in that year than at any other time of my life before or since.

Rick: Really?

Robben Ford: Yeah. I mean, I was around great musicians, accomplished musicians for the first time in my life, and Joni Mitchell was the center of the mandala with incredible music, absolutely beautiful, stunning voice, wonderful personality.

Everybody was nice, friendly. It was just incredible. It was just the best thing that could have happened to someone like myself, who very possibly would have wound up like many other guitarists who pretty much just play one style, just one thing their whole lives.

This opened up the world of music to me in a way that I was certainly happy about: being introduced to classical music by people who knew it, being introduced to Indian music. It was just awesome.

Rick: Have you listened to Mali Music at all?

Robben Ford: Yes, I have. It’s unbelievable.

Rick: Joni was with Asylum Records I think back then, right?

Robben Ford: Yes, Elektra/Asylum.

Rick: There was another female artist there who sang, assigned to Asylum, Judee Sill. Did you know her?

Robben Ford: No.

Rick: She dated JD Souther for a while. You should look her up. She was pretty brilliant herself. Even before Joni was signed, she got signed by Asylum. She passed away in the ’70s, sort of like Nick Drake, a British Folk guy from the ’70s who I think was brilliant as well. I saw a video and I think you were playing on it. It was Joni Mitchell and the group was playing, I want to say, “Just Like This Train”, but it looked like you guys were having a blast playing on stage.

Robben Ford: Yeah, that’s probably that show from London.

Rick: Yeah, I think it was London. You guys were really getting into it, just the instrumental part of it. It was pretty cool. Were you able to hang out with Larry (Carlton) to figure out guitar parts for Court and Spark, or did you have to figure them out yourself?

Robben Ford: Well, I merely listened to the records a bit. It was really a style.

Rick: Yeah, it was like fusion.

  Fender Custom Shop Signature Robben Ford Ultra FM – Photo courtesy of Red Circle Guitars (Vic Ratz).

Robben Ford: Kind of. You know there’s a lot of use of the volume pedal. That was kind of a good thing and that music. It was strummy. It wasn’t difficult in a physical way, a technical way.

It was more just like getting the style and learning how to fit in, and as I say, I was just learning. I never did get together with Larry. He didn’t show me parts or anything like that. We did get together later. He came to the jam when I first jammed with the group and showed me some of the L.A. Express’ music, what they were doing.

That was helpful to be able to play with the group. They played a little bit with the band. It was always a group. I was kind of just learning with them. We’d play and I’d listen.  They would often tell me what to play because I hadn’t a clue.

Rick: You played on two albums after Court and Spark, right?

Robben Ford: I’m on The Hissing of Summer Lawns. That’s it.

Rick: Working with Charlie Musselwhite and Joni and Larry Carlton and Miles Davis, you must have heard plenty of stories. Did Charlie ever talk to you about moonshining days?

Robben Ford: I was very young. I was 19. I was very naive, very shy, very quiet. Charlie, in those days, well I don’t think he’s ever been that talkative. I didn’t hear stories. [Both laugh]

Rick: Apparently he was a moonshiner with a 1950 Lincoln.

How would you describe George Harrison as a guitar player, as well as a friend? I know a lot of people don’t think of him that much as being a great guitar player, but I listen to some songs of his. They’re melodic and I think they’re great. What did you think when you saw him and met him?

Robben Ford: Well, he was a simple guitarist. The music that we played was all very basic major and minor chords.

I kind of picked up on the strength that was back there. For some reason when it was just him and me in his hotel room with a couple of guitars – I don’t even remember how that happened – again, I was very young, very naive, very shy. But, he’d try to play something on on the slide, and it was strong.

There was a certain quality that comes from experience. It’s sort of undeniably present. He had that, and that, to me, is the ultimate thing anyway.

I honestly don’t care how many notes you can play. I don’t care how much you know. If you’re not able to really say something with it, then I don’t care [Both laugh]. George had that.

Rick: It’s special, yeah. Have you ever listened closely to The Beatles song, “What Goes On”?

Robben Ford: Sure.

Rick: I don’t know what they did there because you hear crackling and bits of notes going through it. Have you listened that closely? It’s wild.

Robben Ford: Oh, sure.

Rick: You couldn’t hear that on radio back then, but if you listen closely on the record – and I can only imagine it’s George Martin who did that rather than George, but I don’t know. I’m not sure who was in the studio working that, but that was a pretty amazing song.

Robben Ford: It’s very sticky playing [Both laugh]. Getting it is sort of not getting it. That’s what’s going on.

Rick: When you’re hanging out at home, do you have other hobbies or are you married to the guitar?

Robben Ford: I’ve always been kind of drawn to meditation, a little bit of yoga, a little bit of qigong, health-oriented activities like that. I don’t have other hobbies, no.

Rick:  What albums do you tend to return to after time? I tend to go back to people like Tim Buckley and the old British Folk music. What do you go back to and listen to over and over again?

Robben Ford: I listen to people like Wayne Schroeder, Kenny Rollins. I was really happy when this previously unreleased John Coltrane record came out. They called it the “lost album”. That was just a wonderful thing to hear. I like Monk. Beyond that, I like Indian music. I went through a very strong phase over the last couple of years I’ve been listening to Indian music. It has kind of tapered off now.

Rick: Was that like Ravi Shankar or…?

Robben Ford: Well, Ravi is the famous one. There are so many others.

[avaliveradio]

2.4 Rock Mania Bad Company New Indie Music Playlist

TODAY'S LIST OF WHAT'S FRESH COMING INTO A.V.A LIVE RADIO. THIS IS A ROCK GENRE SHOW SEGMENT FULL OF MUSIC THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU AND SEND YOU SEARCHING THE ARTISTS PAGES FOR MORE. EPISODE HOSTED BY JACQUELINE JAX.

Todays show is all about Rock and Roll. Get ready Rock fans to discover some new favorites.

Listen to the show at 12 pm Monday February 4th

The Anchor Fm page: https://anchor.fm/ava-live-radio

iHeartRadio station page : https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-AVA-Live-Radio-Musi-29336730

The Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2toX0f3dPmI8gmUSOKZicx

FEATURING:

Artist: Cwiredband

New Release: Persian Woman

Genre: Resurrection Rock

Located in: Berkeley Springs, WV - Nashville, TN

We call our music Resurrection Rock. Persian Woman is all about the emancipation and release of feminine energy. The old patriarchal order (God as a separate white male with a beard in the sky looking down somewhat disapprovingly) is being over thrown. But not without severe resistance and pushback. We are thankfully evolving towards more healing nurturing feminine energy in control of the planet. We are out of balance because women have historically been repressed by most cultures and religions, some more than others. Freedom and acceptance of feminine energy can take many forms, including sexuality, clothing, (“Woman why you hiding C’mon show a knee:) etc. Our sisters of the Islamic faith have been severely restricted by oppressive egoic males that rationalize their repression though archaic interpretations of religious tenets. “Daughters of Dena please enter the arena”.

Right now we are... Working on our next EP. C Wired has more than enough material to record a full-length album, but both he and producer Addison Smith are really comfortable with more frequent releasees every 3-6 months utilizing the 6 song EP format. It’s more in tune with the way we consume and listen to music today anyways. Most people are not taking the time to listen to an entire album. They select the one or two songs they like and add them to their playlist. Working on getting booked for European and US based tours, festivals, etc

LINKS:  https://open.spotify.com/track/57Zwn1RR6RlGOqCIFMYFJ0?si=dH7DztSESeah5qAHzs8EIg https://www.instagram.com/c_wired https://www.facebook.com/cwiredband

https://twitter.com/c_wired

Artist: Ivan Beecroft

New Release: BAD COMPANY

Genre: Rock, 90's rock, retrorock

Located in: Melbourne, Australia

This song is... off my next album called "Liars, Freaks & Fools" and is paying homage to all those great rock bands from the 70’s such as deep purple, rainbow, free and many others. The song was written in response to a period of life when I was struggling to find work and both my parents lost their jobs in a recession and the bank callously foreclosed on my parents mortgage right down to taking a small amount of money that was to be used as a deposit to rent another place, during this period I was constantly pulled over by the police whilst driving a $400 piece of junk, I received numerous fines that I was unable to afford to pay so the amount of money I owed inadvertently quadrupled and eventually I was threatened with incarceration it also led to having my license cancelled without my knowledge which in turn led to more hefty fines the next time the police pulled me over, with all that weighing heavily on my shoulders I ended up making some very poor decisions and eventually started to self medicate on drugs to relieve some of the misery and sadness that I was experiencing until one night at a house that I used to frequent I was set upon by a group of guys and beaten up to the point where I couldn't recognise myself in the mirror, the experience still haunts me years later.

The music we are creating is going back to my roots in rock and blues which is why I initially started playing in bands as I was interested in guitar rock from the 80’s and 90’s, it’s a very important transition from my earlier releases as it shows a more pub rock style that was typically around in Australia in the 80’s as I really want to turn people back onto this type of music

Right now we are... Still working on songs for my next album and have had to re-record most of the songs on an analogue desk to get the type of punchy guitar rock sound I was looking for, so hopefully that will be ready early to mid 2019

LINKS:  https://twitter.com/beecroft_ivan https://m.facebook.com/Ivanbeecroftmusic https://instagram.com/_u/ivanbeecroft @ivanbeecroft

Artist: Heavy AmericA

New Release: Easy Killer

Genre: Rock / Indie Rock

Located in: Boston, MA. USA

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the core Heavy AmericA sound finds its influence in a diverse blend of rock idioms, from the expertly performed progressive rock circles to the edgy and incisive sounds of alternate rock rebellion. Blend in a pinch of stoner rock, and the listener has transcended the run of the mill, stagnant musical forms that occupy a good deal of the digital music we hear today. Yet, Heavy AmericA manages to defy the conveniences of category, presenting an arsenal of sounds and moods while unlocking a natural ability to employ a fiery insurgency across the seemingly endless styles the band works within. Heavy AmericA is: Michael T. Seguin, lead vocal & guitar / Dan Fried, drums & vocals / Budd Lapham, bass & vocals. “Heavy AmericA’s “Easy Killer” is a unique track who’s elements suggest T. Rex and Mott The Hoople, by way of Queens Of The Stone Age. The result is sexy, adrenaline-soaked rock and roll. They’re out for a thrill, and this song is like the theme song to a wild night. This act rocks, and by that we don’t mean in a PG-13 way.” -Skope Magazine

Right now we are... enjoying the successful release of our new single "Easy Killer". The video has been doing really well on youtube & the single is slated for release on 100 college radio stations Nation Wide in February. Heavy AmericA is currently booking shows to support our new single in the New England area starting mid February. We plan on keeping the ball rolling & will be back in the studio in March to record another single for release in early summer 2019.

LINKS: spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2z9CWsizZLMTl1anTm1PNo?si=Ug2b6DxwRkS_HRypbHjxOQ twitter: http://www.twitter.com/heavyamerica facebook: http://www.facebook.com/heavyamerica youtube: http://www.youtube.com/heavyamerica website: http://www.heavyamerica.us

Artist: The Refusers

New Release: My Baby Loves Rock & Roll

Genre: Rock

Located in:  Seattle Washington

This song is... A tribute to inspirational rock music. Inspired by the banality, misogyny and vapid musicality of rap.

The music we are creating is... We're musicians, not algorithms. This song features hot drumming by Brendan Hill from Blues Traveler, Dynamic piano by Eric Robert from Keb Mo' and blazing guitar by yours truly.

Right now we are... Inspiring a musical revolution with our new album Disobey.

LINKS:  https://www.reverbnation.com/therefusers/song/30443184-my-baby-loves-rock--roll https://open.spotify.com/album/2QVBL5T4jgi2b3PDCFHwtS https://www.facebook.com/TheRefusers https://twitter.com/the_refusers

Artist: Living Waters

New Release: Anna Post Writing

Genre: Christian Rock

Located in: New Hampshire

This song is... This is a story like just about anyone's now. What's happening here is Anna Post's life is falling apart and she's burying herself in her work. But then she has an amazing experience, gets the answer to her prayer and reaches out again. It's a little 70's rocker that goes back to our roots as a band, now resurrected in 2019, deep in our roots but full of the vigor of a new creation.

The music we are creating is... It is part of our newest album, "Overflow". It is our very first full-length studio-produced album since our founding in 1976. (We did have a two-song EP, and several collections of older tracks and live pieces.) This album is like saving the best for last. It has several of our earliest rockers, yet also has some of our newest most innovative creations. It is like a cumulative climax to everything we've done and are.

Right now we are... This album is just released a couple of weeks ago! We are so excited to share it in any way we can!

LINKS:  https://www.reverbnation.com/livingwaters/song/28210995-anna-post-writing https://open.spotify.com/track/3uWoVrtbVl2VWCQ9YTFL8a?si=iKVaVM21RxWIE-kiXyKutw https://twitter.com/LivingWatersMsc https://www.facebook.com/livingwatersband https://www.instagram.com/livingwatersmsc

Artist: BlindSide Thunder

New Release: My Baby Loves to Dance

Genre: Rock, Blues, Hard Rock

Located in: Tampa, FL

This song is... This song is about girls. It's rock n roll

The music we are creating is... : The music we are creating is fun and upbeat. We aren't here to make any political or social statements. We're having a great time and so should you. Life presents enough stress and discord, music should not add to it. If our music offends you, we're not sorry. Move along, please.

Right now we are...: BST is very excited right now. It's a great time to be an independent artist. We have a handful of new videos being produced, and we're working on a deal for distribution into the Asian markets.

LINKS:  www.facebook.com/BlindSideTHunderOfficial www.twitter.com/BlindSideT www.blindsidethunder.com www.instagram.com/BlindSideThunderOfficial https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/blindside-thunder/id577701131 http://www.reverbnation.com/BlindSideRI

Artist: Melekai Joe - THE BEGINNING

New Release: The Black Hole

Genre: Rock, psychedelic rock

Located in: Hardwick Ma 01031

This song is... Depression, Anxiety, Judgement, Space, Chaos, The Universe, The Black Hole. A Fun Dynamic Song recorded Live on Guitar, Roland Gr. Guitar Synth, 2 channel Looper and Drums. Added Bass and Gong Later.. Vocals are also Live as in a Show performance.. We want to capture that Live feel.

The music we are creating is... As a Songwriter, I write in Many Genre's. Country, Blues, Rock, Indie, Americana, Reggae/Ska, and try to keep as original in sound and feel as Possible.. Yes, Most Popular bands use Classic Genre rhythms and Chord progressions, that have been used over and over again. The Only thing different about them is the Words or Lyrics and a guitar riff or hook.. Also there is a lack of real story telling today.. Just repeat the same phrases over and over and over and over again.. We try to tell a story with every song.. Yes, some songs we have made a more commercial approach to, that has a repeat hook and chorus, but over all, Stories and lessons learned all the way.. Definitely Life and experiences..

Right now we are...We are on our 3rd International World Tour. of : Prague, CZ., Villach, Austria, Morocco/Marrakesh, Fez, N. Africa, Barcelona, Spain, And Cancun, Mexico last stop before USA in April 2019. We are releasing New tunes as we speak, and through the summer 2019 in different genre's. We are blessed and thankful to have a full set of each genre' for performance purposes. Now we can Play Country concerts, Rock Concerts, Etc. We have been Independently signed to start opening for established National Acts in the USA this year 2019. It is Our first few gigs coming up, first in March 22, 2019 Hartford Ct at the Underground. And A trip to Austin Tx in August 15-21st is on the calendar as well as Nashville Tn.. we are also Playing some festivals and Local Smaller intimate venues in Worcester and Springfield Ma over the Summer.. Our Next and 4th International tour will be coming up around Sept 2019.

LINKS:  https://www.facebook.com/MelekaiJoeBMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9Nc6-QFhI https://www.reverbnation.com/melekaijoe https://twitter.com/MelekaiJoe

Artist: Then Falls The Sky

New Release: Synical

Genre: Metalcore

Located in: : Bainbridge, Ohio

This song is... Synical is a song of contemplation. Most of us have someone to reach out and talk to when we need to, but some don’t. Synical deals with that demon.

The music we are creating is... We are actually releasing a video for Synical in the coming months. We have worked tirelessly with our producer to do this song the justice it deserves. Though the song isn’t a new release for us the video will be. The song won an IMEA Award and we wanted our last video from The Catalyst album to be an epic tale. While we have no official release date on the video we expect to release in March.

Right now we are... Recording our second EP. we do not have a working title for the release yet but the first couple of songs from this release have become our personal favorites.

LINKS:  https://www.reverbnation.com/thenfallsthesky/song/28994743-synical https://open.spotify.com/track/7inKQkCiwqu0sJIznbhgOX?si=Rsi_Yh3FRYSETw604z571g www.twitter.com/thenfallsthesky www.facebook.com/thenfallsthesky www.instagram.com/thenfallsthesky

Artist: Twistedships

New Release: Chart a Course

Genre: Rock, Instrumental Rock

Located in: : Toronto, Ontario

This song is... Chart a Course is the realization of needing a plan to pursue your goals. It’s the most positive vibe track on the album which continues the themes of life (ups/downs) from my last album. It’s also why I put this song so early in the album. Just because you have a plan and a goal doesn’t mean everything is figured out, but it’s definitely something to be hopeful for. With this album I've gone deeper into compositions and fully produced/engineered all on my own. Variety is another key element I kept in this album too, not just sub-genres but emotionally. I believe there's something in here for everyone. Since picking up the guitar in high school my biggest influences have been instrumental guitarists like Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai and many more from the 80s and 90s. Along with that Ive been playing video games since before I could walk which has been a gift in how I’m able to create and feel atmosphere in music. I still game a lot and my dream job would be to write music for video games.

The music we are creating is... Inspired by my obsession with video games (mostly RPGs) and movie soundtracks. I love how (when done right) music can tell a story without vocals and lyrics. Outside that I listen to a lot of Progressive Metal and Pop Punk so I tried to meet them halfway as my influences.

Right now we are... I’m mostly excited to be getting the new album out to listeners. I’ve never worked so hard on something, I didn’t intend on doing everything myself but it just happened that way. I’d love to collaborate or find others to work on music similar to this so that makes getting this album out there all the more important. Even to find similar bands for creating connections and friends in Toronto (which I've recently called home) would be great.

LINKS: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/5eQhmXiOlaY0jQ4wDN6QAU Bandcamp https://twistedships.bandcamp.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/twistedships Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Twistedships

Get even more great music by following our playlists:

Retro Rock Vibes on The Rise https://open.spotify.com/user/avaliveradio/playlist/3J1nglWkgQxAkj279XXq4P?si=jYgJCYspS1K7uS96gUhnbA

Metal Mania Playlist https://open.spotify.com/user/avaliveradio/playlist/46Fxf5hm9rJ9oF538FCTH3?si=uE1Lw3GlTI-4cavOYlv0hw

Rock Mania Playlist https://open.spotify.com/user/avaliveradio/playlist/1GQ3ByTMykOVzgzJVLXQ79?si=WbJlNLCSQNqwpZG_RxOm4w

[rockersdive]

James Cotton, hard-blowing harmonica master of the blues, dies at 81

Born in Tunica, Mississippi, Cotton became interested in music when he first heard Sonny Boy Williamson II on the radio. He left home with his uncle and moved to West Helena, Arkansas, finding Williamson there. For many years Cotton claimed that he told Williamson that he was an orphan and that Williamson took him in and raised him, a story he admitted in recent years is not true. However, Williamson did mentor Cotton during his early years. Williamson left the South to live with his estranged wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, leaving his band in Cotton's hands. Cotton was quoted as saying, "He just gave it to me. But I couldn't hold it together 'cause I was too young and crazy in those days an' everybody in the band was grown men, so much older than me."

Cotton played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing. He began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin' Wolf's band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings as a solo artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1953. In 1954, he recorded an electric blues single "Cotton Crop Blues", which featured a heavily distorted power chord–driven electric guitar solo by Pat Hare. Cotton began working with the Muddy Waters Band around 1955. He performed songs such as "Got My Mojo Working" and "She's Nineteen Years Old", although he did not play on the original recordings; Little Walter, Waters's long-time harmonica player, played for most of Waters's recording sessions in the 1950s. Cotton's first recording session with Waters took place in June 1957, and he alternated with Little Walter on Waters's recording sessions until the end of the decade.

In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters's band. Their performances were captured by producer Samuel Charters on volume two of the Vanguard recording Chicago/The Blues/Today! After leaving Waters's band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin while pursuing a solo career. He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. The band mainly performed its own arrangements of popular blues and R&B from the 1950s and 1960s. Cotton's band included a horn section, like that of Bobby Bland's. After Bland's death, his son told news media that Bland had recently discovered that Cotton was his half-brother.

In the 1970s, Cotton recorded several albums for Buddah Records. He played harmonica on Waters's Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter. In the 1980s he recorded for Alligator Records in Chicago; he rejoined the Alligator roster in 2010. The James Cotton Blues Band received a Grammy nomination in 1984 for Live from Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself!, on Alligator, and a second for his 1987 album Take Me Back, on Blind Pig Records. He was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for Deep in the Blues in 1996. Cotton appeared on the cover of the July–August 1987 issue of Living Blues magazine (number 76). He was featured in the same publication's 40th anniversary issue of August–September 2010.

In 2006, Cotton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at a ceremony conducted by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. He has won or shared ten Blues Music Awards. Cotton battled throat cancer in the mid-1990s, but he continued to tour, using singers or his backing band members as vocalists. On March 10, 2008, Cotton and Ben Harper performed at the induction of Little Walter into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, playing "Juke" and "My Babe" together; the induction ceremony was broadcast nationwide on VH1 Classic. On August 30, 2010, Cotton was the special guest on Larry Monroe's farewell broadcast of Blue Monday, which he hosted on KUT in Austin, Texas, for nearly 30 years. Cotton's studio album Giant, released by Alligator Records in late September 2010, was nominated for a Grammy Award. His album Cotton Mouth Man, also on Alligator, released on May 7, 2013, was also a Grammy nominee. It includes guest appearances by Gregg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Ruthie Foster, Delbert McClinton, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, Chuck Leavell and Colin Linden. Cotton played harmonica on "Matches Don't Burn Memories" on the debut album by the Dr. Izzy Band, Blind & Blues Bound, released in June 2013. In 2014, Cotton won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Blues Artist and was also nominated in the category Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica.  Cotton's touring band includes guitarist and vocalist Tom Holland, vocalist Darrell Nulisch, bassist Noel Neal (brother of the blues guitarist and harmonica player Kenny Neal) and drummer Jerry Porter.

[j-eliasepp]

Changing Stasis

The paper for this letter was difficult to obtain, a candle’s flame so near causes me some concern. Concern…normally I wouldn’t feel concern for losing anything. It used to be incredibly simple to get anything back. Back in those days nothing was really gone for long. It would keep coming back, over and over.

           Writing with a quill proves difficult. It is nothing like a keyboard. Screens never had ink to run out of either. This is my first venture outside after getting everything settled and I am already longing for the comforts of my base of operations. I am sick of the idea of going back at the same time. My share of historical artifacts was exceptionally large since we agreed this was the lowest risk world out of the eight of them. I ended up spending a hundred-odd years organizing it all. I am both sick and proud of it.

           My traveling companions are snoring rather loudly at this point in the straw beds behind me. For them this is comfort. A moon adds a contrasting pale blue light that fights in the middle of this page with the warm yellow light of the candle. It is summer here in the small town of Stagberry. Small and quiet. All the houses are made of logs and I see smoke from the chimney of one, the remnants of a cooking fire for supper.

I’m amazed I can still smell freshly baked bread through the window.This room absolutely reeks of unwashed men and stinky feet. The sound of a cart’s wheels clattering over the flagstones and the clip clop of horse’s hooves grows louder as it nears and passes beneath our window and dwindles into the distance. The air is stale and baked from the day’s heat. The gritty dirt from the road I can still feel on the soles of my feet, in my hair, and scratching under my clothes.

           I write this…no, I tell this story for I have no desire to write a real story ever again. You misunderstand me though, I would imagine. I do not know who I write to. Books and records disappear through history very rapidly. I do not want the same to happen to this story. Perhaps when this world is older…no, they will take it as fictional. I had first intended to tell this story only to humble myself and also give it as a gift to this world as a piece of history they likely will otherwise lose. I see the future in it though. This story will be seen as fiction so I will write this for enjoyment instead, despite the truth of it.

           It is incredible. I fear for my hard work to go to waste because it can go to waste. Everything is final these days. I feel a slight thrill in it. A feeling I haven’t had for a long time. This writing could be burned and lost forever. A man can die and stay dead. I could die.

           I digress. Whoever reads these stories, understand this and you will not misunderstand when I say I will never write a story again; I once helped write the story of history. I am no longer that man. The title, “Author of Life,” belongs to another man than the one who was my leader. I realized the futility of it all as did some of my co-workers. They are stronger than I. That is why I am on this world and not any of the others who survived the locking of the Utopia Machine. I am the only one here out of the rebels.

           I still have some of the tools of the trade. Twenty-two eyes is one tool set. My eyes allow me to see at any distance through anything. It isn’t omniscience but it’s the most information a human can process at once with a machine’s help. My eyes are sharp enough I can even discern thought or the vibrations of sound. However, such minute perceptions are only possible by using two eyes at once. Pity. Only being able to see clearly in eleven places at once is a handicap, but one I’ll have to live with.

I’m one of the few who retained a connection to the machine you see. Well, built one is more like it. Excuse me, I digress again. My current job amongst the dispersed rebels is clear-cut. I keep tabs on everyone and try my best to facilitate communication with the tool I have left.

           In any case, here I am. I drew the short straw. We all knew it was a gamble. But who would have thought he would choose this surviving world? Perhaps he knew our plan all along. I have no powers with which to defy him.

So here I am. I have chosen to tell stories and never write them again. I’ve changed history with the machine too many times for my sins to be forgiven. Even if the machine wasn’t locked I still wouldn’t use it.

I don’t know what else to do. The people of this world will have to defy him. I would help but I cannot stand to manipulate history anymore. I am too good at it. I can look in those places that matter the most. I can analyze the likelihood of outcomes. I can act in the most efficient way to achieve the best end. What if I were to make a mistake? I couldn’t undo it.

           I will make myself sick thinking of these things. Let’s look elsewhere besides my past and other dark tidings. I’m sure this world I’m on has some distracting stories we can look into. Yes, here’s one. I’ll narrate it to you. I give you my word, I don’t have a single stake in it. I never manipulated it in any way to bring about The Utopian End.

***

           A multi-walled city clings to the mountains around a wide inlet of water in the night. Docks line the shores on each side of the inlet. Down by the docks inside the first wall’s main gate, an inn warms the street with the glow of its lanterns. Raucous laughing erupts from its door as two men exit and stumble awkwardly together through the narrow doorway with a slam. The smell of beer sticks to them.

           “That is soome goooood beer.” Said the taller of the two.

           “Hoho! Better for me because it was free! See? Didn’t I tell ya a local knew the best inns in town? I know where all the good drinking spots are!” Said the shorter.

           The taller man began to lose his balance and grabbed hold of the shorter man. Together they stumbled to the right, then to the left, overcompensating.

           “Whoa my boy! We best get you to bed!” The shorter man steadied his companion.

           “Mmm, thank yoou. I heeard things aboout this plaace, but itsss not sooo bad.”

           The shorter man smiled and his teeth gleamed in the lamplight. “Let’s get you back to your ship.” The shorter man was the older of the two and he had a burly frame. His cheeks were rough with stubble. His clothes had a few holes in them but seemed to have been of better quality at one point.

           The taller of the two had a handsome young face. His arms were corded with the hard labor of a ship and burned with a healthy dark tan.

           The two stumbled down the narrow street towards the city gate. The younger one kept leaning on the other man’s right shoulder forcing the other to give a little. They got closer and closer to the front of the buildings on the right side of the road. When they got to a narrow alley between two of them, the shorter man stopped resisting and let them fall into the narrow alley together. The taller one groaned. “Oow, my heead.”

           The shorter man got up and brushed himself off and stood over the taller man who was holding his head. His jacket had fallen to the side revealing a money purse. The shorter man slipped out a knife and deftly cut it from the man’s belt and walked quickly away. The taller man still in the alley did not notice his companion had left.

***

           I…can’t look away from this scene. A man lies without a penny in an alley. How many times have I seen this kind of thing happening and worse? It is different now. It cannot be undone.

Well, call me a sinner. I’m searching the machine’s recordings. We locked its ability to reverse change, we didn’t turn it off. We couldn’t turn it off, it was never made to be turned off.

           I found the man in the records.

He was a peasant working on a farm.

Lets see… yes, a drought came. His little brothers and sisters are hungry and their clothes are tattered. The land is so dry his father can’t do the work alone. There isn’t much land to work. The soil is bare and cracked even by the stream bed, which is little more than a rivulet now. The man’s name is Keb. Keb sits down with his parents and they agree to let him try to become a sailor for money. He travels to the nearby port with money only for food. He sleeps by the road at night. He arrives at the harbor dusty, grimy and thin. The moisture of the sea air fills his lungs and hope rises in him. He goes from ship to ship trying to get work but they don’t want him. He becomes a beggar in that town for a while before a passing ship captain sees Keb’s determination and takes him on board. Keb soon becomes an able sailor. Unlike the other sailors, he doesn’t go to shore and spend all his pay. Then they reach the city he is in now, the last stop before he goes home. His sailor friends convince him to come into town and celebrate his good fortune. He earned it after all! Keb agrees and goes with them to town. A local shows them the best bar in town and they all get drunk. None of Keb’s crewmates notice when he and the local guide walk out of the bar.

           That vulgar miscreant! His family…they are more poor and hungry than when Keb left. The beets the father planted by the trickle of the stream were pillaged by rabbits. He sits dozing on a log there tonight. A long knurled stick rests on his shoulder. He cannot let his family starve.

           Gah! The machine’s control’s aren’t there. Is there nothing I can do? Almost burned my hand on the candle.

           I could find that man and mug him! See how he’d like it! Why I’d…I’d…

           No. No, I can’t do that.

I’ve inserted myself into history to change the future too many times. What do we have for it? Broken worlds. I…I don’t even know if I want to walk among people anymore, to interact with them. A life touches so many. By all accounts I should be dead. I have no right to touch other’s lives anymore. I have no right to manipulate them.

I know what I was. I only strove to tie the strings of time to my own ends.

Every time I meet someone new, I want to reach out and know their story. But I feel if I touch them…I’ll taint them and they’ll become a pawn in my plan.

***

It is late where I am at now. The gray of dawn is clarifying the horizon.

           Was that all the money Keb had?

           The dying candle in front of me flickers and goes out.

 We made the lock unbreakable. We made a lock with no key.

 Signed, Thennar Rawya Rabia Aldan-Bern Autor

The End

 Thank you for reading my short story! If you enjoyed it, please like, share and leave a comment! :D

 I wrote this to practice writing from a character and narrative perspective I had an idea for. It is a little tricky to pull off but I think it has many interesting points for potential.