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kashifspanishbolo-blog · 5 years ago

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India's taste of Rock n Roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music. It originated in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This music style originated from different styles of music such as gospel, jump blues, jazz, boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues, and country music. This genre did not get its name until 1954. And, before this time, its presence can be glimpsed in the blues record from the 1920s and country records of the 1930s. Mainly, the instruments used to create this music style are electric guitar, bass, drums, and piano. Initially, the rock n roll music style made use of either saxophone or piano as the leading instrument. However, this trend was replaced by the use of the guitar as the leading instrument in the middle to late 1950s. The classic rock and roll was usually played with one or two electric guitars ( one lead guitar and another rhythm guitar ), a double bass ( string bass) and after the 1950s, an electric bass guitar and a drum kit began to be used.

Rock and roll impacted American society in a major way. It was depicted in movies, magazines, televisions. It even influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitude, and language. This music style may have played a role in the integration of African American and White American teenagers as this music style is liked by all the communities.

Rock music in India had a slow beginning. The musicians experimented with it and gave it an Indian touch. Gradually, Rock music gave rise to Raga-Rock which is indigenous and "desi''. Rock and roll music led to the development of Raga Rock. It is a rock or pop music that has predominantly Indian influence, either in the way in which it is created, it's timbre, and even in the use of classical Indian instruments such as Sitar and Tabla. Rock music from the 1960s and 1970s included South Asian musical influences and instruments, and also incorporated western perception of the Indian subcontinent. This kind of music style is known as Raga Rock. The typical instruments used are guitar, sitar, bass, drums, tambura, tabla, and electric sitar. This music style has cultural origins from the mid-1960s United States and the United Kingdom.

Ragas are melodic tunes. They are known for their use in the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. This term Raga-Rock originated in March 1966 after the description of Rock music that featured Indian Sitar styling. According to musicologist Jonathan Bellman, "Raga Rock is to describe any rock song that evokes an Indian or general oriental mood, whether by use of sitar or any other instrument imitating it ". Sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar 's music influenced Rock music to a great degree. After the Raga-Rock music style was popularised, Ravi Shankar became a pop icon.

Indian classical tradition contributed many elements to the Raga-Rock such as the Sitar which acts as an electric guitar, then tambura used in classical performances and Indian harmonium used in vocal performances, modal melodies based on Indian scales also came to be used, vocal stylings, additive rhythms known as Tal was used, sawal- jawab ( question-answer) between lead instruments was enjoyed, mirroring of the vocal line by lead instruments, lyrical themes related to mysticism or religious symbolism also came to be used.

Indie Rock is another music genre that makes use of rock music with Indian music. This style is mainly India centric. Instruments used in this style are vocals, gramophone, jazz, Indian musical instruments, guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, and electric sitar. Rock and roll genre developed gradually.

The bands which were formed initially faced difficulty in gaining recognition. But, from the mid-1960s, filmy songs started using rock n roll flavor. Songs such as" Jaan pehechan ho" sung by Mohammad Rafi in Gumnaam(1965), "O Saathi Re" by Kishore Kumar in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar(1978)and Asha Bhosle's "Dum maaro dum" from "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1971) made use of rock music and were great hits.

In the 1980s and the 1990s, the true effects of rock and roll on Indian music began to be seen as various bands came into existence and they produced rock music, be it soft rock n roll, pop-rock to hard rock, and even heavy metal. However, in the early 1980s rock and roll music was dominated by a disco which also dominated the Indian pop music.

MTV was introduced and this led to the change in the taste of the music. Bands were demanded to change their style and focus on underground styles such as death metal, alternative metal, and progressive rock. India has produced many rock bands. Few of them have even a part of mainstream media and gained recognition worldwide. Kapil Srivastava, an Indian guitar player, has composed Rock and Roll fusion in his Indian gitaroo volume 2. RLC66 is an upcoming band from Mumbai. Their main endeavor is to combine various genres from western music. They are predominantly influenced by Porcupine Tree, Tool, and Dream theater. The song ' Abrupt' has gathered quite a number of fans in the Mumbai underground scene.

Vivek Date, a Mumbai based bassist, released his rock and roll album " Wrapping Paper" . This album gained popularity and its reviews were great. Some called it the gift to rock and roll of India in 2015.

Raga Rock and Indian rock are gradually developing and accumulating more Indian taste.

For more Such content, visit www.bailabollywood.com

#rocknroll #bollywood

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howaminotinthestrokesyet · 4 years ago

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Wherever They May Roam: Robert Trujillo

Robert Trujillo was born on October 23, 1964 in Santa Monica, California. He came from a heritage of Mexican and Native American descent. He would grow up in Culver City, California, where his father was a teacher at Culver City High School . The future member of Metallica first became interested in music through his mother and her love of Motown like Marvin Gaye, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone. As Robert got older, his musical hero became jazz bass player Jaco Pastorius making this statement in an interview. "Jaco [Pastorius] was my hero growing up", and that the jazz bassist changed his view of what the bass could do: "Hearing him was like hearing Eddie Van Halen doing "Eruption" for the first time: You thought, 'What instrument is that?' I loved jazz fusion and branched out from there. But Jaco had an edge that far exceeded his jazz persona. He was funk, he was rock, he was soul. And his whole attitude was punk." As Trujillo went through high school, he would play in a few backyard party bands that would cover artists like Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush, and Led Zeppelin. At the age of 19, the guitarist began attending jazz school in the hopes of becoming a studio musician, while at the same time never abandoning his love for rock and metal.

Robert earned his first big break when he became the new base guitarist for Suicidal Tendencies in 1989. His first album with that group would be the 1989 album, Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Déjà Vu. He remained with the band until the mid-1990s, while also participating in the group’s side project with lead vocalist Mike Muir called Infectious Grooves. In the late 1990s, Trujillo joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band helping to co-write many songs on the Down to Earth album. The bassist did see some controversy come his way when the group decided to have him re-record bass parts for re-issues of the early 1980s albums, Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Original bass player Bob Daisley had complained that he had not been paid proper royalties, so Osborne made the decision to re-record the tracks. Zakk Wylde even brought Trujillo in to play a few shows for his band, Black Label Society. They were friends and knew each other from being in Ozzy’s band together.

Robert would join Metalica on February 24th, 2003. This was more than two years after the resignation of bassist Jason Newsted. He had first met the band in 1993 as Suicidal Tendencies opened for them on tour. He would receive a payment of $1 million for joining the band. This can even be seen in the documentary film, Some Kind of Monster. The guitarist has appeared on every Metallica release since that time including Death Magnetic and Hardwired to Self-Destruct. In 2009, Robert was inducted with other members of Metallica into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As far as his guitar playing technique goes, he is primarily a finger style guitarist much like Cliff Burton. In contrast, Jason Newsted had primarily been a guitarist who uses a pick style technique. In his personal life, Trujillo is married and has two children. His son Tye Is also a bass guitarist, who has filled in on occasion for the band Korn. He is currently a member of a band with the offspring of Scott Weiland and Slash. In 2012, Robert produced a documentary entitled Jaco about his favorite jazz musician.

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sef1208-blog · 7 years ago

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History of OPM(Original Pinoy Music)

Original Pilipino music, now more commonly termed original Pinoy music, original Philippine music or OPM, originally referred only to Philippine pop songs, particularly ballads, such as those popular after the collapse of its predecessor, the Manila Soundof the late 1970s. In the 1970s, popular artists were Nora Aunor, Pilita Corrales, Eddie Peregrina, Ramon Jacinto, Victor Wood, and Asin. The more major commercial Philippine pop music artists were Claire dela Fuente, Didith Reyes, Rico Puno, Ryan Cayabyab, Basil Valdez, Celeste Legaspi, Hajji Alejandro, Rey Valera, Freddie Aguilar, Imelda Papin, Eva Eugenio, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuniga, and many others. Between the 1980s and the 1990s, OPM was led by artists such as Regine Velasquez, APO Hiking Society, José Mari Chan, Janet Arnaiz, Dingdong Avanzado, Rodel Naval, Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, Joey Albert, Lilet, Martin Nievera, Manilyn Reynes, Lea Salonga, Raymond Lauchengco, JoAnne Lorenzana, Francis Magalona, Sharon Cuneta, Sheryl Cruz, Zsa Zsa Padilla, and Gary Valenciano, among many others. In the 1990s, famous artists included Eraserheads, Smokey Mountain, Rivermaya, Jaya, Donna Cruz, Jolina Magdangal, Jessa Zaragoza, Ariel Rivera, South Border, AfterImage, Side A, Andrew E., Lani Misalucha, Ella May Saison, Roselle Nava and Blakdyak, among many others. In the 2000s and the 2010s, leading OPM artists include Aiza Seguerra, Toni Gonzaga, Sarah Geronimo, Nina, Yeng Constantino, Spongecola, Christian Bautista, Charice, Jed Madela, Erik Santos, Parokya Ni Edgar, and Gloc-9, among many others. Underground bands emerged and along with them were their perceptions of idealism and self-expression. The famous lyricist of Circle's End, Geno Georsua landed on top as the melodramatic expressionist. Bassist Greg Soliman of UST Pendong grasps the title as the best bassist of underground music. From its origin, OPM has been centered in Manila, where Tagalog and English are the dominant languages. Other ethnolinguistic groups such as Visayan, Bikol and Kapampangan, despite making music in their native languages, have rarely been recognized as OPM. Unusual cases includr the Bisrock(Visayan rock music) song "Charing" by Davao band, 1017. Multiculturalism advocates and federalists often associate the discrepancy to the Tagalog-centric cultural hegemony of Manila. Having successfully created a subgenre of Philippine rock thatvthey called Bisrock, the Visayans, by far, have the biggest collection of modern music in their native language, with great contributions from Visayan bands Phylum and Missing Filemon. However, a band called Groupies' Panciteria that hails from Tacloban, a Winaray-speaking city, launched a free downloadable mp3 album on Soundclick.com in 2009 containing 13 Tagalog songs and only one very short song in the Cebuano language.[1] Following suit are the Kapampangans. The debut music video of "Oras" ("Time") by Tarlac City-based Kapampangan band Mernuts has penetrated MTV Pilipinas, making it the first ever Kapampangan music video to join the ranks of other mainstream Filipino music videos. RocKapampangan: The Birth of Philippine Kapampangan Rock, an album of modern remakes of Kapampangan folk extemporaneous songs by various Kapampangan bands was also launched last February 2008, which are regularly played via Kapampangan cable channel Infomax-8 and via one of Central Luzon's biggest FM radio stations, GVFM 99.1. Inspired by what the locals call "Kapampangan cultural renaissance", Angeles City-born balladeer Ronnie Liang rendered Kapampangan translations of some of his popular songs such as "Ayli" (Kapampangan version of "Ngiti"), and "Ika" (Kapampangan version of "Ikaw") for his repackaged album. Despite the growing clamor for non-Tagalog and non-English music and the greater representation of other Philippine languages, the local Philippine music industry, which is centered in Manila, is unforthcoming in venturing investments to other locations. Some of their major reasons include the language barrier, small market size, and socio-cultural emphasis away from regionalism in the Philippines. The country's first songwriting competition, Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, was first established in 1977 and launched by the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines. The event featured many prominent singers and songwriters during its time. It was held annually for seven years until its discontinuation in 1985. It was later revived in 1996 as the "Metropop Song Festival", running for another seven years before being discontinued in 2003 due to the decline of its popularity.[2] Another variation of the festival had been established called the Himig Handog contest which began in 2000, operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary music label Star Records. Five competitions have been held so far starting in 2000 to 2003 and was eventually revived in 2013. Unlike its predecessors, the contest has different themes which reflect the type of song entries chosen as finalists each year.[3][4]In 2012, the Philippine Popular Music Festivalwas launched and is said to be inspired by the first songwriting competition.[5] Pop music OPM pop has been regularly showcased in the live band scene. Groups such as Neocolours, Side A, Introvoys, The Teeth, Yano, True Faith, Passage and Freestyle popularized songs that clearly reflect the sentimental character of OPM pop. In the new millennium up to the 2010s, famous Filipino pop music artists include Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, Yeng Constantino, and Christian Bautista, among many others. Choir music Choral music has become an important part of Philippine music culture. It dates back to the choirs of churches that sing during mass in the old days. In the middle of the 20th century, performing choral groups started to emerge and increasingly become popular as time goes by. Aside from churches, universities, schools and local communities have established choirs. Philippine choral arrangers like Robert Delgado, Fidel Calalang, Lucio San Pedro, Eudenice Palaruan among others have included in the vast repertoires of choirs beautiful arrangements of OPM, folk songs, patriotic songs, novelty songs, love songs, and even foreign songs. The Philippine Madrigal Singers (originally the University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers) is one of the most famous choral groups not only in the Philippines, but also worldwide. Winning international competitions, the group became one of the most formidable choral groups in the country. Other award-winning choral groups are the University of Santo Tomas Singers, the Philippine Meistersingers (Former Adventist University of the Philippines Ambassadors), the U.P. Singing Ambassadors and U.P. Concert Chorus, among others. Rock and blues The United States occupied the Islands in 1898 until 1946, and introduced American blues, folk music, R&B and rock & roll which became popular. In the late 1950s, native performers adapted Tagalog lyrics for North American rock & roll music, resulting in the seminal origins of Philippine rock. The most notable achievement in Philippine rock of the 1960s was the hit song "Killer Joe", which propelled the group Rocky Fellers, reaching number 16 on the American radio charts. Up until the 1970s, popular rock musicians began writing and producing in English. In the early 1970s, rock music began to be written using local languages, with bands like the Juan Dela Cruz Band being among the first popular bands to do so. Mixing Tagalog and English lyrics were also popularly used within the same song, in songs like "Ang Miss Universe Ng Buhay Ko" ("The Miss Universe of My Life") by the band Hotdog which helped innovate the Manila Sound. The mixing of the two languages (known as "Taglish"), while common in casual speech in the Philippines, was seen as a bold move, but the success of Taglish in popular songs, including Sharon Cuneta's first hit, "Mr. DJ", broke the barrier forevermore. Philippine rock musicians added folk musicand other influences, helping to lead to the 1978 breakthrough success of Freddie Aguilar. Aguilar's "Anak" ("Child"), his debut recording, is the most commercially successful Filipino recording, and was popular throughout Asia and Europe, and has been translated into numerous languages by singers worldwide. Asin also broke into the music scene in the same period, and were popular. Folk rock became the Philippine protest music of the 1980s, and Aguilar's "Bayan Ko" ("My Country") became popular as an anthemduring the 1986 EDSA Revolution. At the same time, a counterculture rejected the rise of politically focused lyrics. In Manila, a punk rock scene developed, led by bands like Betrayed, The Jerks, Urban Bandits, and Contras. The influence of new wave was also felt during these years, spearheaded by The Dawn. The 1990s saw the emergence of Eraserheads, considered by many Philippine nationals as the number one group in the Philippine recording scene. In the wake of their success was the emergence of a string of influential Filipino rock bands such as Yano, Siakol, Parokya ni Edgar and Rivermaya, each of which mixes the influence of a variety of rock subgenres into their style. Filipino rock has also developed to include some hard rock, heavy metal and alternative rock such as Razorback, Wolfgang, Greyhoundz, Slapshock, Queso, Bamboo, Franco, Urbandub and the progressive bands Paradigm, Fuseboxx, Earthmover and Eternal Now. Rock festivals have emerged through the recent years and it has been an annual event for some of the rock/metal enthusiasts. One big event is the Pulp Summer Slam wherein local rock/metal bands and international bands such as Lamb of God, Anthrax, Death Angel and Arch Enemy have performed.[6] The neo-traditional genre in Filipino music is also gaining popularity, with artists such as Joey Ayala, Grace Nono, Bayang Barrios, Cocojam and Pinikpikan reaping relative commercial success while utilizing the traditional musical sounds of many indigenous tribes in the Philippines. Earth music Another genre that utilizes traditional instruments and found objects in primal compositions. Earth music recordings came out in 1994 under Backdoor Records.A series of albums have been recorded and released by Ambahayan Productions like Kubing Album, Chants Album, Kudyapi Album, Kulintang Album, Gabbang Album, Gangsa Album and Native Flutes Album. Airborne music A kind of music popularized by local musicians which is unrehearsed and played in public. Hip-hop Filipino hip-hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans. The Philippines is known to have had the first hip-hop music scene in Asia since the early 1980s, largely due to the country's historical connections with the United States where hip-hop originated. Rap music released in the Philippines has appeared in different languages such as Tagalog, Chavacano, Cebuano, Ilocano and English. In the Philippines, Francis M, Gloc-9and Andrew E. are cited as the most influential rappers in the country, being the first to release mainstream rap albums. Program music Unlike pure music which has no reference in the real world and no story component, program music is instrumental music that may tell a story with explicit episodes, reveal facets of a character, place or occasion, or imitate the sounds of the world. Sometimes this may take the form of a verbal explanation of the "story" or "program" of the piece. The term was invented by composer Franz Liszt, who understood program music to involve a program external to the music that set the parameters and the form in which the musical piece unfolds. Other genres A number of other genres are growing in popularity in the Philippine music scene, including a number of alternative groups and tribal bands promoting cultural awareness of the Philippine Islands. Likewise, jazz has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Initial impetus was provided by W.D.O.U.J.I. (Witch Doctors of Underground Jazz Improvisation) with their award-winning independent release "Ground Zero" distributed by the now defunct N/A Records in 2002 and the Tots Tolentino-led Buhay jazz quartet in the year before that. This opened up the way for later attempts most notable of which is the Filipino jazz supergroup Johnny Alegre Affinity, releasing its eponymous debut album in 2005 under London-based Candid Records. Mon David has also made the rounds of the Las Vegas music circuit. Among the female performers, Mishka Adams has been the most prominent. A recent development is the fusion of spoken-word and jazz and also with rock, chiefly attributed to Radioactive Sago Project. Other notable names of late are Bob Aves with his ethno-infused jazz, The Jazz Volunteers and Akasha which have anchored the now legendary underground jazz jams at Freedom Bar for almost half of the 11 years of its existence. Today, underground jazz jams are now held in a bar called TAGO jazz bar which is located at Main Avenue, Cubao. Newer jazz groups emerged in the local jazz scene namely Swingster Syndicate pioneering in the post-bop and modern trad jazz, and Camerata Jazz known for their Filipino jazz arrangements and sound. Bossa nova and Latino music has been popular since the 1970s. Performers like Annie Brazil were active in the 1970s, while more recently, Sitti has been earning rave reviews for her bossa nova covers of popular songs. While there has long been a flourishing underground reggae and ska scene, particularly in Baguio City, it is only recently that the genres have been accepted in the mainstream. Acts like Brownman Revival, Put3ska, Roots Revival of Cebu and The Brown Outfit Bureau of Tarlac City have been instrumental in popularizing what is called "Island Riddims". There is also a burgeoning mod revival, spearheaded by Juan Pablo Dream and a large indie pop scene. Electronic music began in the mid-1990s in the Manila underground spearheaded by luminaries like Manolet Dario of the Consortium. In 2010, local artists started to create electropop songs themselves. As of now, most electronic songs are used in commercials. The only radio station so far that purely plays electronic music is 107.9 U Radio. 2010s also began the rise of indie electronic producers and artists with the likes of Somedaydream, CRWN, NINNO, Kidthrones, and Jess Connelly. Source:Wikia

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blankasolun · 5 years ago

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It is the 10th anniversary of Ronnie James Dio’s death today so I am posting this article from Metal Hammer. Expect more Ronnie related articles next week.

Ronnie James Dio: A Life In Metal

By Malcolm Dome (Metal Hammer) March 03, 2014

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In 2014, Metal Hammer celebrated the released of tribute album Dio: This Is Your Life by looking back at the man’s inspirational career

Ronnie James Dio is more than an icon. He is among the most articulate and exhaustive representatives the metal community has ever had. See, even now, some four years after his death, you still think of the man in the present tense. A measure of his continuing impact.

“If you wanted to introduce aliens to what metal stands for, then you’d pick Ronnie as the man to convince them it’s got a lot going for it,” said the late Deep Purple keyboard master Jon Lord. And it’s hard to argue with that sentiment.

Born in New Hampshire to parents of Italian descent, Ronald Padavona listened to a lot of opera when growing up, but it was in 1957 that he got the rock’n’roll bug and formed his first band, the Vegas Kings. He was a bassist at the time, but quickly switched to vocals, as he strived to find the right style to suit his voice.

His first official single, with the band that started to make his name, The Red Caps, was released in 1958. Titled Conquest, it arrived at a time when Elvis Presley, Dean Martin and Chuck Berry still ruled the charts.

“I got into rock’n’roll through the radio,” Dio would recall in 1988. “It was an escape from reality, but like so many others, it inspired me to try my luck in a band.”

By 1960, he’d changed his name to Ronnie Dio – allegedly inspired by the Italian-American gangster Johnny Dio – but despite releasing a succession of singles under different band names, nothing appeared to be working for the young singer.

“I always knew something was wrong,” he later admitted. “But when Elf arrived, I found my home in heavy music.”

Originally formed as The Electric Elves in 1967, the band became Elf in 1972 when they released their first album. Self-titled, it was produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, and drummer Ian Paice, and kickstarted Dio’s journey into heavy metal history.

“You knew that while the band were good, it was Ronnie who was outstanding,” Roger recalled with admiration years later. “Elf were doing a lot of touring opening up for Deep Purple in the States, and they were getting bigger. It appeared this lot would be the next big thing out of America.”

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Sadly, that wasn’t to be the case; they recorded just two more albums, including the celebrated 1975 Trying To Burn The Sun, before Ritchie Blackmore took a major hand in the future of Dio’s career.

“We were on tour, when on a day off Ritchie’s guitar tech knocked on my hotel room door,” recalled Dio. “He said the man would like me to sing on a track he was gonna record away from Purple.”

The song in question was Black Sheep Of The Family, a cover version that Ritchie had failed to convince the rest of Purple to go along with. But what was intended as a one-off session with Dio and the rest of Elf (inevitably minus guitarist Steve Edwards) would ultimately turn into Rainbow. There was an obvious magic here from the start. Dio and Ritchie, together with a revolving cast of huge talents, worked on three studio albums and one live release. And it was 1976’s Rising, the band’s second offering, that proved the first of a number of true classics to feature the great vocalist’s name.

“I knew we had something special at the time,”

Dio said 10 years later. “But did I know it would stand up? You hoped that would be the case, however you can only see this retrospectively. I’m grateful so many people rate the album.”

However, Ritchie Blackmore’s steady drift towards a more commercial approach was at odds with Dio’s own penchant for a more romantic, gothic style of lyrical imagery.

“I love writing about fantasy,” Dio mused. “To me, this reflects the epic quality of our music. While there is a place for realism, it doesn’t allow me as much scope for allegory as I can get through my accepted style.”

Things came to a head after the recording of 1978’s Long Live Rock ’N’ Roll album. Itself successful, this only fuelled Ritchie’s desire to streamline the band.

“We just agreed to differ,” Dio remembers, while keyboard player Don Airey (who had just been brought into the lineup) has a vivid memory of his first day in rehearsal:

“I walked in as Ronnie was walking out. When I asked what had happened, I was told ‘He’s just quit the band.’ I was so looking forward to working with him, but it wasn’t to be.”

Over the subsequent years, Dio remained diplomatic about his relationship with the guitarist who gave him his big break:

“I have nothing but the highest respect for him, and if the chance came to work with Ritchie again,then I’d be delighted. My door is always open.”

The end of his tenure with Rainbow brought a fresh challenge for Ronnie Dio, who had now firmly established himself as one of the great singers on the heavy rock scene. Black Sabbath were floundering after firing Ozzy, but a chance meeting with Tony Iommi in late 1979 at the conveniently named Rainbow Bar And Grill in West Hollywood altered Ronnie’s life. He was asked to join Sabbath. And we all know what followed.

“None of us had any money,” Dio said of those early Sabbath days. “But what we did have was a real belief. I know what I can do, and was convinced I could help to take Sabbath in a different direction. The other guys were on the same wavelength.”

“We wrote Children Of The Sea on the first day, and it flowed from there,” laughed a still-amazed Tony several years later. “Ronnie was exactly what we needed.”

Heaven And Hell was released in 1980 and has since become, quite rightly, regarded as amongst the greatest metal albums of all time. A year later, the heavier Mob Rules proved this was no flash in the pan. By this time, Dio had made another bit of metal history by trademarking the devil’s horns gesture, which has since become the signature sign of metalheads across generations.

“Ozzy used the peace sign, so I wanted something different,” recalled Dio. “I remember my grandmother used this sign to ward off evil; I thought it would work in the context of Sabbath. But I had no idea it would catch on.”

But, following the release of Live Evil in 82, Dio left the band because of interminable arguments appearing during certain production cycles.“It was a misunderstanding,” Tony has said since.

“The studio engineer was telling us that Ronnie would come in and turn up his vocals when we weren’t there. And he told Ronnie that Geezer Butler and I were turning up our instruments in his absence. The result was confusion and anger.”

“I got a call from Geezer, who told me I was sacked,” admitted Dio. “But in a way that was so positive, because it meant I was free at last to do things my way.”

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However, the new band was starting from ground zero, as Dio revealed later on.

“I wasn’t even thinking about doing anything outside of Black Sabbath, until I got the call from Geezer,” revealed Ronnie. “I certainly wasn’t holding back any songs from the band, that’s not my way. So, when Vinny Appice [drums] and I got together, I quickly wrote two songs – Holy Diver and Don’t Talk To Strangers.”

Not a bad start. With bassist Jimmy Bain and then unknown guitarist Vivian Campbell completing the line-up, the band took the name of Dio.

“It wasn’t an ego thing on my part,” insisted the frontman. “I had a certain reputation, and it just made sense.”

Holy Diver came out in 1983 and made a huge impact in the UK and the States, where Dio’s stature with Rainbow and Sabbath stood him in good stead. This was the third iconic album he had blessed in a mere smattering of years, and his reputation grew steadily as 1984’s The Last In Line and 85’s Sacred Heart cemented Dio’s place as one of the elite hard rock bands on the planet. Ronnie even found time to put together the Hear ’n Aid project to raise funds through the metal community for the starving in Africa. While such endeavours were testament to the man’s character, it was his band that remained his chief focus over the following decade or so, with Dio’s lineup shifting a few times to keep the band’s creative output fresh and interesting.

In 1992, Dio returned to the Sabbath fold for the Dehumanizer album, as the band showed they had the rigour and vision to update their sound without losing their innate place in history. However, while the album was well-received, Dio’s reunion with his Sabbath chums came crashing down when the band agreed to support Ozzy at the Costa Mesa Amphitheater in California later the same year.

“I have no problem with Ozzy,” Dio remarked at the time. “But I just feel that it’s beneath a band of this stature to support their former singer. It shows a lack of self-respect, and I wouldn’t be part of this.”

Sabbath did the set with Rob Halford on vocals, and the reunion was back in the dumper. As for Dio, he returned to his own band, putting together a new line-up which was altogether more rooted in the realism of the era.

“It was a different Dio at that time,” insists keyboardist Scott Warren. “It was cool. And intense. It was the 1990s. Things had changed I remember thinking, ‘This is biker music.’”

“Every night, Ronnie would come up to each of us individually and say, ‘Have a good gig’,” sighs bassist Jeff Pilson. “That was the measure of the man. He cared about people, and wanted you to feel part of everything. I don’t think I have ever had so much fun working with anyone. Each night was a pleasure.”

Dio continued to enjoy a lengthy stint with his main band, with five studios albums released to generally positive acclaim between 1993-2004. After that, however, there was to be yet another twist in the tale, when Dio regrouped with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, together with Vinny Appice (who had been a part of the Dio-era Sabbath line-ups, as well as a crucial member of Dio’s solo band). They avoided any diplomatic fallout with the Ozzy camp by taking the name Heaven & Hell, touring to huge acclaim and releasing the album The Devil You Know in 2009 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. But it was all stopped in its tracks when Ronnie was diagnosed with stomach cancer in late 2009. Tragically, despite all the hopes and prayers around the world, Ronnie James Dio passed away on May 16, 2010. The tears and tributes to him at the High Voltage Festival two months later in London underlined what a massive loss he was to the metal community, and how much he was loved by hundreds of thousands of fans across generations and continents.

“Ronnie Dio can’t be replaced,” Anthrax’s Scott Ian said shortly after he died. “He was unique. As long as Ronnie’s music is played, he’ll be in our minds.”

Now, some of the greatest names in metal are paying homage to the man, and in doing so raising funds for the Stand Up & Shout Cancer Trust, set up in his memory. From Metallica to Anthrax, Motörhead to the Scorpions, and Halestorm to Killswitch Engage, there are a plethora of major metal mavens who’ve lent their considerable talents to make this album come to fruition. They perform songs from Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, yet again emphasising the insurmountable debt we all owe this most treasured and unique of metal singers.

And while he may have been born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, his heart was certainly won over by metal’s homeland.

“Ronnie loved the English way of life,” opined Tony Iommi in 2010 of the man’s penchant for his would-be adopted country. “He enjoyed a beer and a curry, and even took things so far as to have his house in LA built like a castle!”

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Above all else, though, and as loved as he was across every country his music touched, Ronnie James Dio himself always knew his worth. “I never underestimate my talent,” he said during one of the last interviews he gave before his death. “But nor do I overestimate it. I believe if you get that balance right, then you’ll have a healthy perspective on your place in music.”

At the time, Dio hinted that he could see an end to his performing days, but not to his involvement in music. When it was suggested to him that he might retire if he dropped even a small distance from his exacting standards, even if nobody else could detect it, he responded:

“Maybe there is some truth in there. I would never like to be one of those singers who carries on long past the point at which they can deliver. It’s a shame when a legend is diminished, and while I would never put myself into the category of ‘legend’, I can’t ever see myself disappointing fans who have paid good money.

“But the one thing I will never lose is my love of music. I still enjoy coming across young talent, and helping to guide them if I can.”

The breadth and depth of the classic songs on Dio:This Is Your Life proves that, more than anything else, Ronnie Dio’s life is defined by the music he has left us. And that’s an enduring epitaph.

This was published in Metal Hammer issue 255.

ROCK ‘N ROLL CHILDREN

COREY TAYLOR

“I heard that they were putting together this tribute album and they were trying to get hold of me and I was like, ‘Dude, I have to be on that record!’. When it looked like it was going to be difficult to get either of my bands together to do it, I was just like, ‘Fuck it’ and I put a band together myself, just me and some of my buds. I was that desperate to be involved. I was lucky enough to meet Ronnie on a few occasions, in fact I can remember the first time… It was at an awards ceremony and we were both nominated for the best vocalist award, which, to me, was an honour just to be in the same category as him. He won and I was so stoked, then I was being interviewed later on and he walks in to say ‘Hi.’ If you watch the video you can see on my face I’m just totally awestruck by the guy. The thing that most impressed me about Ronnie onstage was that he just made it look so effortless, so natural. The Dio era was my favourite time of his because it’s when he stepped out on his own. He wasn’t a member of Rainbow or Sabbath, he was just Ronnie. The guy’s a legend.”

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DORO

“I first saw Dio in 85 or 86. I didn’t meet him then, but it was the first time that I saw him. I went to his show somewhere in Germany, and we were standing on the sound desk, because I’m small! I tell you, I haven’t had this kind of experience before or after. I got chills, I couldn’t stand up, it was unbelievable. The sound blew me away, and really, I was so fascinated. I thought it was the greatest, most mindblowing thing I have ever seen. I was deeply, deeply impressed. I met Ronnie later on tour in 87 – he was playing pool, and we talked and he said, ‘We’re so happy you’re on tour with us. If there’s ever a problem, don’t go to the manager, don’t go to the tour manager, don’t go to my assistant. Just come straight to me.’ He was always very kind and lovely. We developed a great friendship.”

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GLENN HUGHES

“Ronnie was a human being who had time for all people – those he worked with and his family. But more importantly, he devoted a lot of his aftershow time to his fans, and would listen to them tell their stories of how their lives had been touched by his work, and he never, ever forgot a fan’s name. He was an amazing one-of-a-kind artist, who gave his love and life and art to the heavy metal genre. I first met Ronnie in the fall of 1973, when he fronted his upstate New York Band, Elf. They were opening for my band at the time, Deep Purple. I remember being backstage when Elf started playing, and I heard this thunderous super-lung voice echoing around the arena, so I went onto the stage to see and hear what was calling me. I was immediately turned on to something, someone, who I had not heard before, and that was a thrill for me. He was a master at his craft and soon, before our eyes, he would become heavy metal’s greatest vocalist. Ronnie was so believable in his realm, singing of dragons, dark lords and distant oceans that carried us all away. We knew we were not alone, because Ronnie was our formidable rider in the eye of the sky, who would lead us back to our safe land. Ronnie, my brother, I want to thank you for all the hours, days and years that we spent together, and on behalf of your loving fans – we believed we’d catch the Rainbow… See you again, dear heart.”

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WENDY DIO

“I’m so pleased with how this album came out, everyone involved has just been a pleasure to work with. I know Ronnie would have been so humbled and so proud with these incredible artists paying homage to him. When you have Metallica saying ‘We can’t pick one song – we have to do a medley of four!’… well, he’d have been honoured. I’ve so many wonderful memories of Ronnie, we had 30-plus years together and we were so happy. It’s hard to pick out one specific memory, but the early days when he was starting out was an exciting time and he was so happy to get back together with Sabbath and rebuild those bridges at the end of his life. That was fitting. I think people loved Ronnie because they could relate to him, he never changed, he stood for what he believed in and never wanted to let people down. He was always delighted to speak to his fans, as I said, he was a humble man, a genuine man. He always gave everything, even towards the end when he was suffering with these stomach pains, which he thought was just indigestion, he never gave less than everything he had. I just hope this album raises a lot of money for cancer research and carries on the memory of Ronnie and keeps his legacy alive.”

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The 10th Anniversary of Ronnie’s Death It is the 10th anniversary of Ronnie James Dio’s death today so I am posting this…

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classicrockblog1 · 5 years ago

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Merritt Gant (born February 18, 1971) is a #guitarist originally from Millville, New Jersey. Gant is most recognized for his association with the #thrash #metal #band Overkill.

In the late 1980s, Gant entered the local music scene with hard rock band Drastic Measures. During Gant’s tenure with Drastic Measures, one full length album and one demo were released. In 1989, Gant was recruited by Chris Bombeke to play guitar with Faith or Fear.[2] However, shortly after doing a series of shows and recording several songs with Faith or Fear, Gant auditioned and was hired to play for the thrash metal band Overkill.

In 1990, Overkill held auditions to replace departing guitarist Bobby Gustafson. Gustafson was replaced by two guitarists, Rob Cannavino and Merritt Gant. From 1990 to 1995, Gant toured and recorded on the albums Horrorscope, I Hear Black, W.F.O., and the live album Wrecking Your Neck. Gant appeared in several music videos featured on MTV, including the thrash metal anthem “Horrorscope.” In 1995, Gant and Cannavino both left Overkill.

After leaving Overkill, Gant’s involvement in the music industry evolved beyond being just a guitar player. Gant currently plays, engineers, and produces music in several bands, including his experimental music project Blood Audio.[3] In 2001, Blood Audio released Bludgeoning Timbre[4] and in 2003,Null Evil.[5] In 2009, Gant also laid down several guitar tracks for New Jersey band, Dearly Beloved.[6] In addition to being a recording artist, Gant is also a guitar instructor, producer and sound engineer, and an accomplished repairman and restorer of vintage and modern electric and acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments.[7][8] In June 2009, “Faith or Fear” released a new album, Instruments of Death, featuring Gant on four previously unreleased tracks recorded in 1990.[9]

Since then, he has settled down in southern New Jersey with his wife and three children.[10] Also he and his brother own a music store.

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groupiesmusic · 6 years ago

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A Drummer’s Guide To Metal

What do we mean by metal music?

Metal, a brief introduction to the genre

Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a style of rock music emerged that was darker and heavier than ever before. This became known as heavy metal. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, and Black Sabbath are considered pioneers of the heavy metal genre, influencing other early heavy metal bands like Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, and Blue Öyster Cult. Many consider Black Sabbath’s self-titled and “Paranoid” albums (both released in 1970) to be the very first heavy metal albums ever recorded.

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, heavy metal had developed a massive following. Bands like Motörhead, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden had taken the world by storm creating music that was faster, louder, and more aggressive than ever before. The musicians during this era had also become more technically proficient than any other time in history. Phil Taylor (Motörhead) and Clive Burr (Iron Maiden) are two early metal drummers who are recognized for pushing the boundaries of metal drumming. Throughout the 1980s, new metal subgenres like thrash metal (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth) and death metal (Death, Morbid Angel, Obituary) also began to emerge.

Metal music in the 1990s became quite diverse. During this era, new subgenres like nu metal (Linkin Park, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit), metalcore (All that Remains, Hatebreed, Bullet for My Valentine), and groove metal (Pantera, Sepultura, Lamb of God) surfaced and attracted new metal fans from all over the world. By this point, the sound of modern metal drumming had really started to take shape. Double bass drumming, blast beats, and hand-to-foot combinations had become essential elements of metal drumming. Gene Hoglan, Chris Adler, Tomas Haake, and Joey Jordison are all pioneers of modern metal drumming who demonstrate these elements in their playing.

Over the years, countless other metal subgenres have developed around the world including progressive metal, folk metal, deathcore, doom metal, electronicore, black metal, industrial metal, and many more!

Learn Metal Drum Beats

This section will dive into four of the most important types of drum beats used in metal music. You’ll learn some basic double bass beats, blast beats, odd time signature beats, and some breakdown beats.

Double Bass Beats

Double bass is one of the most essential elements of metal drumming, and sets this genre apart from other music. We can play double bass with two separate single bass drum pedals attached to two separate bass drums, or with a double bass drum pedal attached to one bass drum (the most common choice). Here are some double bass grooves to get you started!

Blast Beats

Blast beats are common in many metal subgenres like black metal, death metal, metalcore, and deathcore. Most blasts incorporate double bass; however, some can be played with only one bass drum pedal. Here are three of the most popular types of blast beats.

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The Traditional Blast

(Napalm Death, Morbid Angel)

The Hammer Blast

(Suffocation)

The Bomb Blast

(Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation)

Odd Time Signature Beats

Odd time signatures are often incorporated into metal music as well. This is especially true in progressive metal (check out “A Drummer’s Guide To Prog”), but also in other subgenres like thrash metal, groove metal, and nu metal. “Overactive Imagination” by Death and “Blackened” by Metallica are two examples of metal tracks that feature a variety of meters. Here are some metal grooves that are played in odd time signatures.

Breakdown Beats

In many modern metal subgenres like metalcore and deathcore, it’s common to hear breakdowns. These sections usually feature drum beats played in a half-time feel (or even a quarter-time feel). This gives the music a very slow and heavy feel, even if the tempo remains the same. Drum beats played during these sections usually feature a basic hand pattern played together with a more intricate, syncopated bass drum pattern. Check out “Reign of Darkness” by Thy Art is Murder and “Blueprints” by Wage War for some examples.

Drumeo Live – Metal Lessons

Here are 6 incredible drummers teaching metal during their Drumeo Edge live events.

Gene Hoglan (Death, Dark Angel, Testament, Strapping Young Lad, Dethklok)

Dan Wilding (Carcass, Aborted, Trigger the Bloodshed)

Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Flotsam and Jetsam)

Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders)

Billy Rymer (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Glassjaw)

Derek Roddy (Hate Eternal, Nile, Today is the Day)

Learn Metal Drum Fills

This section will introduce you to the most essential drum fills used in metal drumming: hand-to-foot combination!

Hand-To-Foot Combinations

When it comes to double bass drum fills, most of them are created using hand-to-foot combinations. Hand-to-foot combination fills alternate between the hands and the feet. These can be played in any subdivision and orchestrated around the kit in countless ways. Here are five hand-to-foot combination fills to introduce you to the concept. As an additional challenge, try orchestrating these drum fills around the kit to create your own unique sounds!

The Equipment

The Drums

Types & Sizes

Drum sets used for metal are typically larger than the standard 5-piece used in rock music. Large sets were even used on early metal records by bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Mega kits have been part of the “metal sound” since the early days of metal music. Metal drummers will often use one or two bass drums (22”-24”), two or three rack toms (10”-13”), one or two floor toms (14”-18”), and a snare drum (14”). Of course, every metal drummer will have a different setup depending on their preferences and the specific music they’re playing. For example, Billy Rymer of the Dillinger Escape Plan only uses a basic 4-piece setup, while Mike Mangini of Dream Theater uses a kit with 10+ toms and four bass drums!

Drum Workshop Design Series (Tobacco Burst)

Pearl Masters BCX (Lava Bubinga)

Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple (Classic Walnut)

Tama Starclassic (Red Sparkle Burst)

Drum Workshop Collector’s Series (Gold Glass)

Pearl Reference (Granite Sparkle)

Snare Drums

When it comes to snare drums, you need to choose a snare that can project through a mix of distorted guitars and screaming/growling vocals. Brass and steel snares are usually the go-to choices for metal drummers. They produce a consistent sound that projects a TON of volume. Here are some snare drums that we recommend for metal drumming:

DW Steel Collector’s Series

AMAZON

Tama Starphonic Steel

AMAZON

Pearl Reference Brass

AMAZON

Ludwig Hammered Brass

AMAZON

The Cymbals

Types & Sizes

Cymbals used for metal are often thicker than cymbals used in other styles of music. These cymbals need to be able to withstand aggressive playing styles and project through distorted guitars and powerful vocals. Metal drummers are known for incorporating many different cymbals into their setups. At the bare minimum, they will use a pair of hi-hats (14”-15”), a ride cymbal (20”-22”), a variety of crash cymbals (16”-20”), and a Chinese cymbal (18”-20”) or cymbal stack (sizes vary).

Recommendations

Popular cymbals used in metal are the Zildjian A Custom Series, Sabian AAX Series, Meinl Byzance Brilliant Series, and Paiste RUDE Series.

In addition to these popular metal cymbals, here are some other cymbals to check out that will work perfectly in a metal drumming context:

Ride Cymbals

Sabian 22” HH Power Bell Dry Ride

AMAZON

Zildjian 21” A Mega Bell Ride

AMAZON

Paiste 20” Signature Precision Heavy Ride

AMAZON

Meinl 20” Classics Custom Powerful Ride

AMAZON

Hi-Hats

Sabian 14” HHX Groove Hats

AMAZON

Zildjian 14” A Rock Hi-Hats

AMAZON

Paiste 14” Signature Precision Sound Edge Hi-Hats

AMAZON

Meinl 14” Byzance Brilliant Heavy Hammered Hi-Hats

AMAZON

Crash Cymbals

Sabian 19” Artisan Crash

AMAZON

Zildjian 20” A Custom Projection Crash

AMAZON

Paiste 20” 2002 Power Crash

AMAZON

Meinl 18” Byzance Brilliant Heavy Hammered Crash

AMAZON

Chinese Cymbals

Sabian 19” Paragon Chinese

AMAZON

Zildjian 18” Oriental China “Trash”

AMAZON

Paiste 18” Signature Heavy China

AMAZON

Meinl 20” Byzance Brilliant Hammered China

AMAZON

Cymbal Stacks

Sabian 18” AAX O-Zone Crash

AMAZON

Sabian 19” Paragon Chinese

AMAZON

Zildjian 14” FX Trashformer

AMAZON

Zildjian 18” K EFX

AMAZON

Paiste 14” PSTX Swiss Flanger Stack

AMAZON

Meinl 18”/16” Matt Garstka Fat Stack

AMAZON

The Drumheads

Material & Thickness

Both coated and clear batter heads are used for playing metal. Two-ply drumheads are most commonly used by metal drummers, specifically for their durability. Clear drumheads provide a brighter sound with more attack than coated drumheads. Using a coated batter head will provide warmth and some muffling. The choice is up to you, depending on the specific sound you’re trying to achieve. One-ply clear resonant drumheads are the most common for metal drummers. This allows for maximum resonance. Some resonant heads will feature subtle dampening to control unwanted overtones as well.

Bass Drum:

Evans EMAD Onyx

AMAZON

Evans REMAD Resonant

AMAZON

Remo Powerstroke P4 Clear

AMAZON

Remo Powerstroke P3 Ebony

AMAZON

Aquarian Impact II Double Ply

AMAZON

Aquarian Regulator Ported

AMAZON

Snare Drum:

Evans Heavyweight Coated

AMAZON

Evans Clear 500 Snare Side

AMAZON

Remo Powerstroke 77 Coated

AMAZON

Remo Ambassador Hazy Snare Side

AMAZON

Aquarian Triple Threat

AMAZON

Aquarian Hi-Performance Snare Side

AMAZON

Toms:

Evans EC2, Clear

AMAZON

Evans Onyx 2-Ply, Coated

AMAZON

Remo Emperor, Clear

AMAZON

Remo Pinstripe, Clear

AMAZON

Aquarian Super-2, Clear

AMAZON

Aquarian Performance II, Clear

AMAZON

Muffling & Dampening

Muffling or dampening is a common technique used by metal drummers to achieve a more focused and less resonant sound. This sound can be achieved by using specific drumheads like the Evans EMAD Series and other drumheads that include dampening systems. Muffling products like Drumtacs, MoonGel, and RemOs Tone Control Rings are also commonly used by metal drummers.

The Pedals

Double bass drum pedals are a must-have for any metal drummer (unless you’re using two individual bass drums – then you will need two single pedals). These consist of a primary pedal that attaches to your bass drum, as well as a slave pedal that attaches to your primary pedal via a metal link system. The two main drive types (the mechanism that controls the bass drum beater) used by drum manufacturers today are direct drive and chain drive.

Direct Drive

These pedals feature a direct link between the footboard and the bass drum beater. These pedals are ideal for a smooth feel and maximum speed.

Recommendations

Pearl P-3002D

AMAZON

DW Machined Direct Drive

AMAZON

Yamaha DFP9500D

AMAZON

Chain Drive

These pedals include a chain between the footboard and the bass drum beater. These pedals are ideal for power and are the most common of the two drive types.

Recommendations

Pearl P-2002C

AMAZON

Tama HP900PWN

AMAZON

Yamaha DFP9500C

AMAZON

Triggers

Metal drummers often use triggers on their toms, snare drums, and most commonly on their bass drums. When a trigger is attached to a bass drum, whenever the bass drum is struck, any sampled bass drum sound of your choice can be “triggered” from an electronic module. This allows drummers to achieve consistent sounds that cut through the mix. One of the most popular bass drum triggers is the Roland RT-30K Kick Drum Trigger which can be controlled using the Roland TM-2 Trigger Module.

The Greats

Here is a list of ten drummers that have had a significant impact in the world of metal drumming. You can click on each name to watch a performance by each drummer!

Clive Burr

Gene Hoglan

Dave Lombardo

Scott Rockenfield

Vinnie Paul

Nick Menza

Lars Ulrich

Vinnie Appice

Chris Adler

Tomas Haake

The Records

Here are fifteen essential metal albums that every drummer should check out. These albums span a wide range of metal subgenres including thrash metal, death metal, nu metal, and metalcore.

Motörhead “Overkill” (1979) Drummer: Phil Taylor

Iron Maiden “The Number of the Beast” (1982) Drummer: Clive Burr

Dio “Holy Diver” (1983) Drummer: Vinny Appice

Metallica “Ride the Lightning” (1984) Drummer: Lars Ulrich

Slayer “Reign in Blood” (1986) Drummer: Dave Lombardo

Queensrÿche “Operation: Mindcrime” (1988) Drummer: Scott Rockenfield

Megadeth “Rust in Peace” (1990) Drummer: Nick Menza

Judas Priest “Painkiller” (1990) Drummer: Scott Travis

Pantera “Vulgar Display of Power” (1992) Drummer: Vinnie Paul

Death “Symbolic” (1995) Drummer: Gene Hoglan

Opeth “Blackwater Park” (2001) Drummer: Martin Lopez

Lamb of God “Ashes of the Wake” (2004) Drummer: Chris Adler

Meshuggah “obZen” (2008) Drummer: Tomas Haake

Architects “Daybreaker” (2012) Drummer: Dan Searle

Wage War “Blueprints” (2015) Drummer: Stephen Kluesener

Metal Listening List

Recommended tracks as curated by Brandon Toews

Wow! You Made It To The End!

Although it’s the end of the article, it’s not the end of the great content we have available. If you want to become the best drummer you can be, check out Drumeo Edge.

We bring in the world’s best drummers to teach you how to play the drums.

160+ step-by-step courses

2000+ on-demand lessons

230+ play-along songs

90+ song breakdowns

20 different genres of music

Live lessons every week

Student plans and reviews

Helpful community forums

Includes song breakdowns for:

Pantera – Walk

Meshuggah – Bleed

System of a Down – Chop Suey

Metallica – Master of Puppets

Iron Maiden – Run to the Hills

Van Halen – Hot for Teacher

Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train

Drumeo Edge exclusive courses by:

Gene Hoglan

Billy Rymer

Gavin Harrison

Derek Roddy

Matt Garstka

Jason Bittner

Check out Drumeo Edge »

from Drumeo Beat https://ift.tt/2JmTMtQ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Drumeo Beat

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daggerzine · 8 years ago

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Southwest Sound and Fury! A Short Overview of Indie and Punk in New Mexico by David Ensminger (Special thanks to Jobrian Stammer)

By and large, New Mexico is a wind-swept, arid slice of the U.S. known as the home to the nuclear bomb; vast white sands; an occasional gritty city; stretched-out Albuquerque, the notorious backdrop to Breaking Bad; uber modern popsters The Shins; and hot-pounding drummer extraordinaire Randolpho Francisco "Randy" Castillo, from Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue. It has nonetheless produced a startling punk community, especially from the 1990s until today.

In the 1960s, frat-rock, big beat, and garage nugget style music held some sway, in which King Richard and the Knights instrumental surfy forays broke through the din, while The Kreeg offered up desert-rock tuneage and Fe-Fi-Four Plus 2 unleashed psychedelic noodling.

Flash forward a few decades, though, starting with the time that band like Jerry’s Kidz electrified the state at joints like B&M (behind a lock shop), where Conflict from Arizona would stop by for insurgent gigs in 1983.

That same year Jerry’s Kidz released their opus “Well Fed Society,” a well-produced, manic, guitar-slathered, incisive EP (sonically resting between Secret Hate, Los Olvidados, and the F.U.’s) on Test Site; the fine-lined horror punk graphics by Jaime Trujillo (who sketched for Mutual Oblivion zine too) are grim, death-teeming, and memorable as Pushead, firmly within the skate-punk aesthetic (a shreddin’ skeleton leers on the back cover), while the tunes like “Marionetts” and “DWI” are smoldering bash’n’rock embodying frantic pre-hardcore rage and rigor. Check out the cut’n’paste images of E.T, skate crews, and the band in action on the insert. Singer David Duran soon joined Clown Alley, legendary mid-1980s Bay Area metal-punk provocateurs featuring Lori Black (later of Melvins fame), the daughter of Shirley Temple, who released Circus of Chaosfor Alchemy Records.

On the new wave and power pop spectrum, The Philisteens, a slightly geeky but fluid and focused power trio unit, were tightly coiled and electrifying, producing tuneful, hi-energy fare that reminds one of agile Code Blue meets a meatier version of the Police. Their gigs drew boisterous crowds at the likes of the Student Union Ballroom at the University of New Mexico, while the groovy light dance-pop of the Muttz (from Taos) drew similar college crowds, as did Beverly’s Boyfriend, who embraced Pat Benatar formulas. Most bizarre, though, might be The Wet Sox, a homegrown version of UB40 that played “NM Funk Rock Reggae.”

By the 1990s, though, punk had metastasized as the hammering genre of choice for many antsy, dissenting, feral, and fierce desert youth looking for kicks.

Santa Fe, a tourist-heavy enclave in the northern half where one can smell pine nuts roasting in the biting chill, somehow delivered Logical Nonsense to the world, who were grabbed up first by Very Small, then Alternative Tentacles, by the late 1990s. Their wall-of-noise and scum/thrash/grind/powerviolence is menacing and seemingly out-of-whack with the Polaroid picture, pueblo-lined nature of the city. Try the metallic “Death Approach.” One member later helped form Econarchy in 2013, a grind/hardcore unit known for releases like Economy Monarchy. Others in the 2000s, like Laughing Dog, bottled the grindcore method too.

On the southern tip, Las Cruces has been often overshadowed by its larger, West Texas sister city El Paso, which burgeoned with punk, from the Plugz and Rhythm Pigs to At the Drive-In. Often, lonely Las Cruces suffered brain drain, like the five punks who ventured north to Albuquerque in the mid-1990s to form the rockabilly-punk Jonny Cats, whose “Burning Rubber” 7" (American Low Fidelity) is a pomade-drenched motorcycle classic. In recent years, Local Crap Records took up the slack in town, producing bands like The Casual Fridays and Homegrown Outlaws.

For years, the underground music scenes clustered in Albuquerque, centered mostly around Central Ave. and the university neighborhoods, where cheap rent, dry bursts of oven-like heat, abundant diners and eateries, as well as armies of skittering roaches were the norm. Record stores like Mind Over Matter, Natural Sound, Bow Wow Records, and Drop Out Records became epicenters.

Meanwhile, rock’n’roll clubs offered cheap thrills, from small dives like collegiate Fat Chance, all ages Club 909, and the murky Dingo Bar, which booked the likes of Mike Watt, Unsane, God Bullies, and the Cows, to Golden West Saloon, which hosted road shows by the dozens, from Brainiac and L7 to the Dickies, Pegboy, and Jon Spencer. The sister venue to Golden West was the much larger El Rey, which held terrific nights of brazen underground rock’n’roll, like co-billed Jawbreaker and No Means No drawing 1,000 kids.

Unfortunately, the Golden West Saloon, in the hands of the Kathy Zimmer family since 1929, when her grandfather erected it, was ravaged by fire in 2008, after a linseed soaked rag in a plastic container spontaneously combusted, not long after the Business gigged there.

Such spaces nourished locals like Elephant. Not unlike the Pixies, they were a tight, dual-gendered, gravely rock’n’punk outfit that released two singles and an album on Resin Records, a start-up label that incubated a variety of acts, like Bring Back Dad, ALLUCANEAT, Treadmill, Flake, and more. In fact, Flake toured out West on occasion, opening for notables like Archers of Loaf, Rocket From the Crypt and Yo La Tengo. They also cut the tune “Deluca” for a split single with Henry’s Dress, for Omnibus Records, and the Spork EP for Science Project before renaming and rebranding as The Shins.

Meanwhile, Big Damn Crazy Weight, whose thudding, thundering “Tijeras” 7” (on Resin) recalls the era of Amphetamine Reptile, landed a single, “Mighty As Well,” that debuted on Sub Pop in Oct. 1992.

Resin’s prime act was The Drags, the delirious three-piece garage ensemble that soon took up residence on Empty and Estrus Records, who released three of their non-stop action albums, including Dragsploitation … Now! Try the scurvy surf beater “$7 Bologna” or the full-bore smash’n’pummel “Shovel Fight,” a little like early Makers, or “Elongated Man,” a head-spinning mash-up of the Ramones, Ventures, and Man or Astroman? They even appear on The Sore Losers soundtrack alongside Jack Oblivion, ’68 Comeback, and Los Diablos Del Sol. And in a true testament to their stripped-to-the-bone, wild-ass charms, Rocket From The Crypt covered their “Allergic Reaction” on RFTC’s EP On a Rope in 1992.

On the poppier spectrum, bands were aplenty, like the Alarm Clock, Young Adults, and the Ponies, but the persistently tuneful Rondelles (also members of LuxoChamp) drew the attention of Grist-Milling, Teenbeat, K, and Smells Like Records, producing fare that is garagey, smart, lean, and wooly. They eventually hightailed to Washington D.C. and toured with the likes of Mooney Suzuki before imploding. On the emo side of things, Silver, featuring writer David Ensminger on drums, self-released a 45 single as well as a split single with roiling Midwest greaser punks Nitro Jr. Guitarist Jobrian Stammer, currently a noted tattooist, continued in acts like Rollover 45, Better Off Dead, and more recently, the venal distorted grit of Losing It.

In 1994, the tongue-tying, indie rock Triskadeckaphobia released “Lady Brown” on Superstition Records, while Luxo Champ (punchy keyboard punk ala Servotron) released their self-titled EP on Super 8 Underground, including titanic tunes like Spacerobotactionfun! Scared of Chaka blitzkrieged the states with their manic Dickies-meets-Marked Men energy, producing numerous quintessential cuts for 702, Sub City, Hopeless, and Empty Records, including a split with Word Salad for Science Project. As their more obscure counterparts, Word Salad pursued the dark side relentlessly, cutting drum-heavy grind for Prank, Dogshit Recurdz, and Hater of God.

Meanwhile, three adept sisters (Gel, Laura, and Lisa Baca) formed the core of the Eyeliners (formerly Psychodrama), who remain one of the state’s most prolific and recognized exports. Their stealthy pop-punk fare quickly rose to the top of the heap, making labels like Sympathy for the Record Industry, Lookout! Records, and even Blackheart Records scramble for them. Chew on "Here Comes Trouble" for snotty, leather-jacketed, melodic fury.

Meanwhile, young guns from Albuquerque over the last decade continue to ply their trade, like trad-punkers Party Vikings, the hybrid metal minders Leeches of Lore, and Russian Girlfriends, a nimble hardcore unit reminiscent of a thrashier version of early Asexuals or Samiam, whose debut LP was released by Orange Whip Records. Doomed to Exist (brute distortion that sounds like Japanese d-beat), Wulff, Lucia, Twelve Titans, Honorable Death, Embelisk, and Cobra Vs. Mongoose shred too, filling up places venues like the Launchpad, American Legion Post 49, and the Armory.

In addition, SceneXSplitter is now one of the self-made DIY media outlets that keeps the city abuzz.

Though most of the country thinks the southwest is a weird void, desert youth will never recede and keep quiet in the dustbin of history.

piry"��)

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blackkudos · 8 years ago

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Ice-T

Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958) better known by his stage name Ice-T, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a rapper in the 1980s and was signed to Sire Records in 1987, when he released his debut album Rhyme Pays, one of the first hip-hop albums to carry an explicit content sticker. The next year, he founded the record label Rhyme $yndicate Records (named after his collective of fellow hip-hop artists called the 'Rhyme $yndicate') and released another album, Power.

He co-founded the heavy metal band Body Count, which he introduced in his 1991 album O.G.: Original Gangster. Body Count released its self-titled debut album in 1992. Ice-T encountered controversy over his track "Cop Killer", which was perceived to glamorize killing police officers. Ice-T asked to be released from his contract with Warner Bros. Records, and his next solo album, Home Invasion, was released later in February 1993 through Priority Records. Body Count's next album was released in 1994, and Ice-T released two more albums in the late 1990s. Since 2000, he has portrayed NYPD Detective Odafin Tutuola on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On August 1, 2006 the fourth Body Count album Murder 4 Hire was released, followed by Manslaughter on June 10, 2014.

Early life

Tracy Lauren Marrow, son of Solomon and Alice Marrow, was born in Newark, New Jersey. Solomon was an African American, and Alice was Creole. For decades, Solomon worked as a conveyor belt mechanic at the Rapistan Conveyor Company. When Marrow was a child, his family moved to upscale Summit, New Jersey. The first time race played a major part in Marrow's life was at the age of 7, when he became aware of the racism leveled by his white friends toward black children, and that he escaped similar treatment because they thought that Marrow was white because of his lighter skin. Relaying this incident to his mother, she told him, "Honey, people are stupid"; her advice and this incident taught Marrow to control the way the negativity of others affected him.

His mother died of a heart attack when he was in third grade. Solomon raised Marrow as a single father for four years, with help from a housekeeper. Marrow's first experience with an illegal activity occurred after a bicycle that Solomon "bought" him for Christmas was stolen. After Marrow told his father, Solomon shrugged, "Well, then, you ain't got no bike." Marrow stole parts from bicycles and assembled "three or four weird-looking, brightly painted bikes" from the parts; his father either did not notice or never acknowledged this. When Marrow was 12 years old, Solomon died of a heart attack. For many years, AllMusic.com has stated that his parents "died in an auto accident", but Ice-T has stated that it was actually he who had been in a brutal auto accident and that was decades later.

Following his father's death, the orphaned Marrow lived with a nearby aunt briefly, then was sent to live with his other aunt and her husband in View Park-Windsor Hills, an upper middle-class black neighborhood in South Los Angeles. While his cousin Earl was preparing to leave for college, Marrow shared a room with him. Earl was a fan of rock music and listened to only the local rock stations; sharing a room with him spurred Marrow's interest in heavy metal music.

Gangs, criminal life, and the Army

Marrow moved to the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles when he was in the 8th grade. He attended Palms Junior High, which was predominantly made up of white students, and included black students bussed in from South Central. He attended Crenshaw High School, which was almost entirely made up of black students.

Marrow stood out from most of his friends because he did not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or use drugs. During high school, gangs began to intensify in the Los Angeles school system. Students who belonged to the Bloods and Crips gangs attended Crenshaw, and fought in the school's halls. Marrow, while never an actual gang member, was more affiliated with the Crips, and began reading the novels of Iceberg Slim, which he memorized and recited to his friends, who enjoyed hearing the excerpts and told him, "Yo, kick some more of that by Ice, T," and the handle stuck. Marrow and other Crips wrote and performed "Crip Rhymes" .

His music career started with the band of the singing group The Precious Few of Crenshaw High School. Marrow and his group opened the show, dancing to a live band. The singers were Thomas Barnes, Ronald Robinson and Lapekas Mayfield.

In 1975, at the age of 17, Marrow began receiving the Social Security benefits resulting from the death of his father and used the money to rent an apartment for $90 a month. He sold cannabis and stole car stereos for money, but he was not making enough money to support his girlfriend and once his daughter was born he joined the United States Army. Marrow served a four-year tour in the 25th Infantry Division. He was in a group that was charged with the theft of a rug. While awaiting trial, he received a $2,500 bonus check and decided to go AWOL, yet he returned a month later after the rug had been returned. As a consequence of his dereliction of duty, Marrow received an Article 15. non-judicial punishment.

During his time in the army, Marrow became interested in hip hop music. He heard Sugar Hill Gang's newly released single "Rapper's Delight," which inspired him to perform his own raps over the instrumentals of this and other early hip-hop records. The music, however, did not fit his lyrics or form of delivery.

During his time in Hawaii as a squad leader at Schofield Barracks, where prostitution was not a heavily prosecuted crime, Marrow met a pimp named Mac. Mac admired that Marrow could quote Iceberg Slim and he taught Marrow how to be a pimp himself. Marrow was also able to purchase stereo equipment cheaply in Hawaii, including two Technics turntables, a mixer, and large speakers. Once equipped, he then began to learn turntablism and rapping.

Towards the end of his time in the Army, Marrow learned from his commanding officer that he could receive an honorable discharge because he was a single father, so he left four months ahead of schedule.

During an episode of the Adam Carolla Podcast that aired on June 6, 2012, Marrow claimed that after being discharged from the Army, he began a career as a bank robber. Using combat skills allegedly acquired in Ranger School, Marrow claimed he and some associates began conducting take-over bank robberies, "...like [in the film] Heat." Marrow then elaborated, explaining, "Only punks go for the drawer, we gotta go for the safe." Although Marrow may have been lying about his bank robbing exploits, he also stated he was glad the United States justice system has a statute of limitations, which had likely expired when Marrow admitted to his involvement in multiple Class 1 Felonies in the early- to mid-1980s.

Music career

Early career

After leaving the Army, Marrow wanted to stay away from gang life and violence and instead make a name for himself as a disc jockey. As a tribute to Iceberg Slim, Marrow adopted the stage name Ice-T. While performing as a DJ at parties, he received more attention for his rapping, which led Ice-T to pursue a career as a rapper. After breaking up with his girlfriend Caitlin Boyd, he returned to a life of crime and robbed jewelry stores with his high school friends. Ice-T's raps later described how he and his friends pretended to be customers to gain access before smashing the display glass with baby sledgehammers.

Ice-T's friends Al P. and Sean E. Sean went to prison. Al P. was caught in 1982 and sent to prison for robbing a high-end jewelry store in Laguna Niguel for $2.5 million in jewelry. Sean was arrested for possession of not only cannabis, which Sean sold, but also material stolen by Ice-T. Sean took the blame and served two years in prison. Ice-T stated that he owed a debt of gratitude to Sean because his prison time allowed him to pursue a career as a rapper. Concurrently, he wound up in a car accident and was hospitalized as a John Doe because he did not carry any form of identification due to his criminal activities. After being discharged from the hospital, he decided to abandon the criminal lifestyle and pursue a professional career rapping. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, he won an open mic competition judged by Kurtis Blow.

Professional career

In 1982, Ice-T met producer Willie Strong from Saturn Records. In 1983, Strong recorded Ice-T's first single, "Cold Wind Madness", also known as "The Coldest Rap", an electro hip-hop record that became an underground success, becoming popular even though radio stations did not play it due to the song's hardcore lyrics. That same year, Ice-T released "Body Rock," another electro hip-hop single that found popularity in clubs. Ice-T then was a featured rapper on "Reckless", a single by DJ Chris "The Glove" Taylor that appeared on the soundtrack for the 1984 movie Breakin'. He next recorded the songs "Ya Don't Quit" and "Dog'n the Wax (Ya Don't Quit-Part II)" with Unknown DJ, who provided a Run–D.M.C.-like sound for the songs.

Ice-T received further inspiration as an artist from Schoolly D's gangsta rap single "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?", which he heard in a club. Ice-T enjoyed the single's sound and delivery, as well as its vague references to gang life, although the real life gang, Park Side Killers, was not named in the song.

Ice-T decided to adopt Schoolly D's style, and wrote the lyrics to his first gangsta rap song, "6 in the Mornin'", in his Hollywood apartment, and created a minimal beat with a Roland TR-808. He compared the sound of the song, which was recorded as a B-Side on the single "Dog'n The Wax", to that of the Beastie Boys. The single was released in 1986, and he learned that "6 in the Mornin'" was more popular in clubs than its A-side, leading Ice-T to rap about Los Angeles gang life, which he described more explicitly than any previous rapper. He intentionally did not represent any particular gang, and wore a mixture of red and blue clothing and shoes to avoid antagonizing gang-affiliated listeners, who debated his true affiliation.

Ice-T finally landed a deal with a major label Sire Records. When label founder and president Seymour Stein heard his demo, he said, "He sounds like Bob Dylan." Shortly after, he released his debut album Rhyme Pays in 1987 supported by DJ Evil E, DJ Aladdin and producer Afrika Islam, who helped create the mainly party-oriented sound. The record wound up being certified gold by the RIAA. That same year, he recorded the title theme song for Dennis Hopper's Colors, a film about inner-city gang life in Los Angeles. His next album Power was released in 1988, under his own label Rhyme Syndicate, and it was a more assured and impressive record, earning him strong reviews and his second gold record. Released in 1989, The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say established his popularity by matching excellent abrasive music with narrative and commentative lyrics. In the same year, he appeared on Hugh Harris's single Alice.

In 1991, he released his album O.G. Original Gangster, which is regarded as one of the albums that defined gangsta rap. On OG, he introduced his heavy metal band Body Count in a track of the same name. Ice-T toured with Body Count on the first annual Lollapalooza concert tour in 1991, gaining him appeal among middle-class teenagers and fans of alternative music genres. The album Body Count was released in March 1992. For his appearance on the heavily collaborative track "Back on the Block", a composition by jazz musician Quincy Jones that "attempt[ed] to bring together black musical styles from jazz to soul to funk to rap", Ice-T won a Grammy Award for the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, an award shared by others who worked on the track including Jones and fellow jazz musician Ray Charles.

Controversy later surrounded Body Count over its song "Cop Killer". The rock song was intended to speak from the viewpoint of a criminal getting revenge on racist, brutal cops. Ice-T's rock song infuriated government officials, the National Rifle Association and various police advocacy groups. Consequently, Time Warner Music refused to release Ice-T's upcoming album Home Invasion because of the controversy surrounding "Cop Killer". In some of his songs some may assume that it will increase the amount of crimes and bad behavior because he talks about how much he hates the police which can influence others to do the same.Johnson, James D., Lee Anderson Jackson, and Leslie Gatto. "Violent attitudes and deferred academic aspirations: Deleterious effects of exposure to rap music." Basic and Applied Social Psychology 16.1-2 (1995): 27-41. Ice-T suggested that the furor over the song was an overreaction, telling journalist Chuck Philips "...they've done movies about nurse killers and teacher killers and student killers. Arnold Schwarzenegger blew away dozens of cops as the Terminator. But I don't hear anybody complaining about that." In the same interview, Ice-T suggested to Philips that the misunderstanding of Cop Killer, the misclassification of it as a rap song (not a rock song), and the attempts to censor it had racial overtones: "The Supreme Court says it's OK for a white man to burn a cross in public. But nobody wants a black man to write a record about a cop killer."

When Ice split amicably with Sire/Warner Bros. Records after a dispute over the artwork of the album Home Invasion, he reactivated Rhyme Syndicate and formed a deal with Priority Records for distribution. Priority released Home Invasion in the spring of 1993. The album peaked at #9 on Billboard magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at #14 on the Billboard 200, spawning several singles including "Gotta Lotta Love", "I Ain't New To This" and "99 Problems" – which would later inspire Jay-Z to record a version with new lyrics in 2003.

Ice-T had also collaborated with certain other heavy metal bands during this time period. For the film Judgment Night, he did a duet with Slayer on the track "Disorder". In 1995, Ice-T made a guest performance on Forbidden by Black Sabbath. Another album of his, VI - Return of the Real, was released in 1996, followed by The Seventh Deadly Sin in 1999.

His first rap album since 1999, Gangsta Rap, was released on October 31, 2006. The album's cover, which "shows [Ice-T] lying on his back in bed with his ravishing wife's ample posterior in full view and one of her legs coyly draped over his private parts," was considered to be too suggestive for most retailers, many of which were reluctant to stock the album. Some reviews of the album were unenthusiastic, as many had hoped for a return to the political raps of Ice-T's most successful albums.

Ice-T appears in the film Gift. One of the last scenes includes Ice-T and Body Count playing with Jane's Addiction in a version of the Sly and the Family Stone song "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey."

Besides fronting his own band and rap projects, Ice-T has also collaborated with other hard rock and metal bands, such as Icepick, Motörhead, Slayer, Pro-Pain, and Six Feet Under. He has also covered songs by hardcore punk bands such as The Exploited, Jello Biafra, and Black Flag. Ice-T made an appearance at Insane Clown Posse's Gathering of the Juggalos (2008 edition). Ice-T was also a judge for the 7th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists. His 2012 film Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap features a who's who of underground and mainstream rappers.

In November 2011, Ice-T announced via Twitter that he was in the process of collecting beats for his next LP which was expected sometime during 2012, but as of October 2014, the album has not been released. A new Body Count album, however, is scheduled for 2017.

Acting career

Ice-T's first film appearances were in the motion pictures, Breakin' (1984), and its sequel, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1985). These films were released before Ice-T released his first LP, although he appears on the soundtrack to Breakin'. He has since stated he considers the films and his own performance in them to be "wack".

In 1991, he embarked on a serious acting career, portraying police detective Scotty Appleton in Mario Van Peebles' action thriller New Jack City, gang leader Odessa (alongside Denzel Washington and John Lithgow) in Ricochet (1991), gang leader King James in Trespass (1992), followed by a notable lead role performance in Surviving the Game (1994), in addition to many supporting roles, such as J-Bone in Johnny Mnemonic (1995), and the marsupial mutant T-Saint in Tank Girl (1995). He was also interviewed in the Brent Owens documentary Pimps Up, Ho's Down, in which he claims to have had an extensive pimping background before getting into rap. He is quoted as saying "once you max something out, it ain't no fun no more. I couldn't really get no farther." He goes on to explain his pimping experience gave him the ability to get into new businesses. "I can't act, I really can't act, I ain't no rapper, it's all game. I'm just working these niggas." Later he raps at the Players Ball.

In 1993, Ice-T along with other rappers and the three Yo! MTV Raps hosts Ed Lover, Doctor Dré and Fab 5 Freddy starred in the comedy Who's the Man?, directed by Ted Demme. In the movie, he is a drug dealer who gets really frustrated when someone calls him by his real name, "Chauncey," rather than his street name, "Nighttrain."

In 1995, Ice-T had a recurring role as vengeful drug dealer Danny Cort on the television series New York Undercover, co-created by Dick Wolf. His work on the series earned him the 1996 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 1997, he co-created the short-lived series Players, produced by Wolf. This was followed by a role as pimp Seymour "Kingston" Stockton in Exiled: A Law & Order Movie (1998). These collaborations led Wolf to add Ice-T to the cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Since 2000 he has portrayed Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, a former undercover narcotics officer transferred to the Special Victims Unit. In 2002, the NAACP awarded Ice-T with a second Image Award, again for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, for his work on Law & Order: SVU.

Around 1995, Ice-T co-presented a UK-produced magazine television series on black culture, Baadasss TV.

In 1997, Ice-T had a pay-per-view special titled Ice-T's Extreme Babes which appeared on Action PPV, formerly owned by BET networks.

In 1999, Ice-T starred in the HBO movie Stealth Fighter as a United States Naval Aviator who fakes his own death, steals a F-117 stealth fighter, and threatens to destroy United States military bases. He also acted in the movie Sonic Impact, released the same year.

Ice-T made an appearance on the comedy television series Chappelle's Show as himself presenting the award for "Player Hater of the Year" at the "Player-Haters Ball", a parody of his own appearance at the Players Ball. He was dubbed the "Original Player Hater."

Beyond Tough, a 2002 documentary series, aired on Discovery Channel about the world's most dangerous and intense professions, such as alligator wrestlers and Indy 500 pit crews, was hosted by Ice-T.

In 2007, Ice-T appeared as a celebrity guest star on the MTV sketch comedy show Short Circuitz. Also in late 2007, he appeared in the short-music film Hands of Hatred, which can be found online.

Ice-T was interviewed for the Cannibal Corpse retrospective documentary Centuries of Torment, as well as appearing in Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair, in which he reminisced about going to school in hair curlers.

A 2016 advertisement for GEICO features Ice-T behind a lemonade stand run by children. When people ask if it's Ice-T, the actor yells back, "No, it's lemonade!"

Voice acting

Ice-T voiced Madd Dogg in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as well as Agent Cain in Sanity: Aiken's Artifact. He also appears as himself in Def Jam: Fight for NY and UFC: Tapout fighting video games.

He also voiced the character Aaron Griffin in the video game Gears of War 3.

He was the voice of Jackie A in Tommy and the Cool Mule.

He voiced over the "LawBreakers" announcement trailer.

Other ventures

Podcasting

On December 27, 2013, Ice-T announced that he was entering podcasting in a deal with the Paragon Collective. Ice-T co-hosts the Ice-T: Final Level podcast with his longtime friend and manager, Mick Benzo (known as Zulu Beatz on Sirius XM). They discuss relevant issues, movies, video games, and do a behind the scenes of Law Order: SVU segment with featured guests from the entertainment world. The show will release new episodes bi-weekly. Guests have included Jim Norton. Ice-T released his first episode on January 7 to many accolades.

Reality television

On October 20, 2006, Ice-T's Rap School aired and was a reality television show on VH1. It was a spin-off of the British reality show Gene Simmons' Rock School, which also aired on VH1. In Rap School, rapper/actor Ice-T teaches eight teens from York Preparatory School in New York called the "York Prep Crew" ("Y.P. Crew" for short). Each week, Ice-T gives them assignments and they compete for an imitation gold chain with a microphone on it. On the season finale on November 17, 2006, the group performed as an opening act for Public Enemy.

On June 12, 2011, E! reality show Ice Loves Coco debuted. The show is mostly about his relationship with his wife of ten years, Nicole "Coco" Austin.

Style and influence

Ice-T cites writer Iceberg Slim and rapper Schoolly D as influences, with Iceberg Slim's novels guiding his skills as a lyricist. His favorite heavy rock acts are Edgar Winter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. His hip hop albums helped shape the gangsta rap style, with music journalists tracing works of artists such as Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., Eminem and N.W.A to "6 in the Mornin'".

His love of rock music led Ice-T to use electric guitar in the instrumentation of his hip hop albums in order to provide his songs with edge and power, and to make his raps harder; he used the fusion of rock and hip hop of Rick Rubin-produced acts like Beastie Boys, Run-DMC and LL Cool J, which featured rock samples in their songs. His work with Body Count, whose 1992 debut album Ice-T described as a "rock album with a rap mentality", is described as paving the way for the success of rap rock fusions by bands like Kid Rock and Limp Bizkit; however, Ice-T states that the band's style does not fuse the two genres, and is solely a rock band. He is also a fan of the British singer Phil Collins; Collins claimed he was "incredibly flattered" when he learned this.

Personal life

In 1976, Marrow's girlfriend Adrienne gave birth to their daughter LeTesha (born March 20, 1976) and they attended high school while raising her. While filming Breakin' in 1984, he met his second girlfriend Darlene Ortiz, who had been at the club in which the film was being shot. They began a relationship and Ortiz was featured on the covers of Rhyme Pays and Power. Ice-T and Ortiz had son Ice Tracy Marrow in 1992. Ice-T married swimsuit model Nicole "Coco Marie" Austin in January 2002. In celebration of their impending 10th wedding anniversary, the couple renewed their wedding vows on June 4, 2011. They own a condominium in North Bergen, New Jersey, and built a home in Edgewater, New Jersey that was completed at the end of 2012. On July 27, 2015, Austin said she had announced three days earlier, on the set of their newly-begun talk show Ice & Coco, that she and Ice-T were expecting their first child together. On August 3, 2015, they revealed they are having a girl and would be naming her Chanel. On November 28, 2015, the couple announced their child had been born, without specifying a date.

Activism

During the popularity of Public Enemy, Ice-T was closely associated with the band and his recordings of the time showed a similar political viewpoint. He was referred to as "The Soldier of the Highest Degree" in the booklet for Fear of a Black Planet and mentioned on the track "Leave This Off Your F***in' Charts". He also collaborated with fellow anti-censorship campaigner Jello Biafra on his album The Iceberg/Freedom Of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!.

On June 5, 2008, Ice-T joked that he would be voting for John McCain in the 2008 American elections, speculating that his past affiliation with Body Count could hurt Barack Obama's chances if he endorsed him, so he'd choose instead to ruin John McCain's campaign by saying he supported him.

Personal disputes

LL Cool J

Ice-T had a non-publicized feud with LL Cool J in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Apparently, this was instigated by LL's claim to be "the baddest rapper in the history of rap itself". Ice-T recorded disses against LL on his 1988 album Power. On the album was the track, "I'm Your Pusher", in which a rap music addict declines to buy an LL Cool J record. The album also contains the posse rap track, "The Syndicate", which took aim at LL's lyrical ability, claiming that rapping about oneself so frequently was a "first grade topic". The song also mocked the song's hook "I'm Bad", which identified it as an LL diss specifically. In the book Check the Technique: Linear Notes for the Hip-Hop Junkies, Ice-T said that the song "Girls L.G.B.N.A.F." was also intended as a diss to LL Cool J, by making a crude song to contrast with the love songs that LL was making at the time.

On LL's response, To da Break of Dawn in 1990, he dissed Kool Moe Dee (whose feud with LL was far more publicized) as well as MC Hammer. He then devoted the third verse of the song to dissing Ice-T, mocking his rap ability ("take your rhymes around the corner to rap rehab"), his background ("before you rapped, you was a downtown car thief"), and his style ("a brother with a perm deserves to get burned"). He also suggested that the success of Power was due to the appearance of Ice-T's girlfriend Darlene on the album cover. Ice-T appeared to have ignored the insults and he had also defended LL Cool J after his arrest in the song "Freedom of Speech".

In August 2012, Ice-T said that the rivalry was "never serious" and that he needed a nemesis to create "an exciting dispute".

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em

In June 2008, on DJ Cisco's Urban Legend mixtape, Ice-T criticized DeAndre Cortez "Soulja Boy Tell 'Em" Way for "killing hip hop" and his song "Crank That" for being "garbage" compared to the works of other hip-hop artists such as Rakim, Das EFX, Big Daddy Kane and Ice Cube. One of the comments in the exchange was when Ice-T told Way to "eat a dick". The two then traded numerous videos back and forth over the Internet. These videos included a cartoon and video of Ice-T dancing on Way's behalf and an apology, but reiteration of his feelings that Way's music "sucks", on Ice-T's behalf. Rapper Kanye West defended Way saying “He came from the ‘hood, made his own beats, made up a new saying, new sound and a new dance with one song.”

Wikipedia

#Ice-T

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dexterbrains97 · 7 years ago

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Music for me nothing without these bands. In today’s time, my generation really needs to listen to these bands’ songs to realise what real music is. So here is my top favourite classic rock bands from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

1. The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The members consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They were soon known as the foremost and most influential act of rock era. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging from pop ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. The Beatles produced what many consider their finest material, from 1965 onwards including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (commonly known as the White Album, 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). According to the RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling music artists in the United States, with 178 million certified units. They have received ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. However, there were a few members that passed away. John Lennon died of assassination in 1980, and George Harrison died of cancer in 2001.

2. Pink Flyod

Pink Floyd were an English progressive rock band formed in London . They achieved international acclaim with their progressive and psychedelic music. The band consisted of 5 members �� David Gilmour (Vocals and Guitar), Syd Barrett (Vocals and Guitarist), Nick Mason (Drums), Roger Waters (Vocals and Bass), and Richard Wright (Vocals and Keyboard).

Their critically and commercially successful albums are The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979), and The Final Cut (1983). The Dark Side of the Moon is also considered as one of the greatest albums of all time. Pink Floyd were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

3. Led Zepplin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group consisted of Robert Plant (Vocal), Jimmy Page (Guitar), John Paul Jones (Bass, Keyboard) and John Bonham (Drums). The band’s heavy, guitar-driven sound, rooted in blues and psychedelia on their early albums, has earned them recognition as one of the progenitors of heavy metal. They achieved significant commercial success with albums such as Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), Led Zeppelin IV (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), and Physical Graffiti (1975). Their song ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is among the most popular and influential rock music of all time.

However in 1980, John Bonham’s death had put an end to the band’s career. However, they have played some reunions in 1985, 1988, 1995, and 2007. And from 2014-2015, they released Deluxe Editions of the albums.

Led Zeppelin are widely considered one of the most successful, innovative, and influential rock groups in history. They are one of the best-selling music artists in the history of audio recording; various sources estimate the group’s record sales at 200 to 300 million units worldwide. With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million units, they are the second-best-selling band in the United States. They were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1995.

4. Guns N Roses

Guns N’ Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1985. The classic lineup, as signed to Geffen Records in 1986, consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. Apart from hard rock they are also associated with heavy metal.

They are best known for their album ‘Appetite for Destruction’ and songs like ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’. Guns N’ Roses has been credited with reviving the mainstream popularity of rock music, at a time when popular music was dominated by dance music and glam metal. Its late 1980s and early 1990s years have been described as the period in which the group brought forth a “hedonistic rebelliousness” reminiscent of the early Rolling Stones, a reputation that had earned the group the nickname “the most dangerous band in the world”. The band’s classic lineup, along with later members Reed and drummer Matt Sorum, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, in its first year of eligibility.

5. Queen

Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970. Members were Freddie Mercury (Vocals and Piano), Brian May (Guitar, Vocals), Roger Taylor (Drums, Vocals), and John Deacon (Bass Guitar, Vocals). Before forming into Queen, Brian May and Roger Taylor had played together in a band named Smile. Freddie Mercury was a fan of Smile and encouraged them to experiment with more elaborate stage and recording techniques. He then joined the band in 1970, suggested “Queen” as a new band name, and adopted his familiar stage name. John Deacon was also recruited to complete the line-up.

Their release of the album “A Night at the Opera” in 1975, brought them international success. They entered the mainstream with the album’s track “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which stayed at number one in the UK for nine weeks and popularised the music video. Their 1977 album, News of the World, contained “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”, which also have become anthems at sporting events. In 1991, while embracing their success and their fans, Mercury died of bronchopneumonia, an AIDS-related disease. Deacon then retired and left the band in 1997 . After that, both Brian May and Roger Taylor returned to the state of Smile band, although they kept the “Queen” name.

By the early 1980s, Queen were one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world. Their performance at 1985’s Live Aid is ranked among the greatest in rock history by various music publications, with a 2005 industry poll ranking it the best. Queen has won an award for “Best Band of the 80s” and has a star in Hollywood. They released more then 16 number one hits and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 .

6. AC/DC

AC/DC are a Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm’s illness and departure in 2014. They were fronted by Bon Scott until his untimely death due to alcohol poisoning in 1980, after which they hired Brian Johnson to front the band .

Commonly referred to as a hard rock or blues rock band, they are also considered pioneers of heavy metal.

7. Nirvana

Nirvana was an American grunge band that was formed in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Nirvana disbanded after Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994. The drummer of the band, David Grohl, went on to start the Foo-Fighters, an alternative rock band.

The band was comprised of Kurt Cobain (Vocals, Guitar), Dave Grohl (Drums) and Krist Novoselic (Bass).

Nirvana is most well-known for their album “Nevermind” and their song “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. The band is known for being one of the most popular grunge bands of all time . Together with Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains, the band is part of the Big 4 of Grunge. Since its debut, the band has sold over 25 million records in the United States alone, and over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time . Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, in its first year of eligibility.

8. Metallica

Metallica is an American Thrash Metal band formed in 1981 . The original lineup was James Hetfield (Vocalist and Rhythm guitarist), Dave Mustaine (Lead Guitar), Lars Ulrich (Drums), Ron McGovney (Bassist). The group came into mainstream from their Self-Titled album and the hit single “Enter Sandman”.

With their first two albums, Kill ‘Em All and Ride The Lightning reaching underground success, their third effort, Master of Puppets has since become one of the most important heavy metal albums ever, as it became the first thrash metal album to be certified platinum. The title track has since become the band’s most played song live.

On September 27, 1986, bass player Cliff Burton was killed after he was thrown out of the window and crushed to death.

Metallica released their first music video in 1989. The song was One from their 1988 album, …And Justice For All. The song received heavy critical acclaim and has since become their most played song from the album. The album also saw the debut of new bassist, Jason Newsted.

Their fifth album, Metallica (also known as the Black Album), took more of a mainstream approach and has since become one of the best selling albums in America, certified 16x Platinum. The album spawned five singles, Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters, Wherever I May Roam and Sad But True.

After Load, ReLoad, Jason left the band and the heavily criticised St. Anger featured longtime producer Bob Rock play the bass, although Robert Trujillo would later be handed the job of permanent bass player.

Metallica’s ninth studio album, Death Magnetic received critical acclaim as the band return to their thrash roots from the 80s. Critics have called it the best Metallica album in 20 years. The album also made Metallica become the first band to ever receive five consecutive albums debut at number 1 in the Billboard 200. It was also Robert Trujillo’s debut on a Metallica album. The song, My Apocalypse, won Metallica a Grammy in 2009 for Best Metal Performance.

Metallica’s tenth studio album, Hardwired… to Self-Destruct, would be released worldwide on November 18, 2016 via their independent label, Blackened Recordings. They also unveiled the track listing, album artwork, and released a music video for the album’s first single, “Hardwired” . The album was released as scheduled and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 .

Metallica is currently on a worldwide tour called “WorldWired Tour” with Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat.

9. Green Day

Green Day are an American pop punk and alternative rock band formed in East Bay, California in 1987. The members include Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals and guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), Tré Cool (drums) and Jason White (guitar) . Green Day are associated with punk rock, pop punk and alternative rock. Some of their influences include The Ramones, Sex Pistols, NOFX, Bad Religion etc. They are best known for their songs like ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’, ‘Basket Case’ etc and their ‘American Idiot’ & ‘Dookie’ albums. Their album “American Idiot” sold 6 million copies in the U.S. and won a Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album”. Green Day have sold over 75 million records worldwide and have won 5 Grammy Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

10. The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. The first settled line-up consisted of Brian Jones (guitar, harmonica), Ian Stewart (piano), Mick Jagger (lead vocals, harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Bill Wyman (bass) and Charlie Watts (drums).

Their best works include songs like Paint it Black, Sympathy for the Devil, Satisfication (Which ranked no. 2 in The Rolling Stones Magazine’s best songs of all time list).

The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2012, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary.

The Legendary Bands

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