Tomiko Dixon, blues singer and granddaughter of late blues great Willie
Dixon with R&B legends Marshall Thompson (left) and Gene Chandler. |
James Foster/For the Sun-Times
It was a day after Marie Dixon,
widow of blues great Willie Dixon, died, and several legends were
gathered in a downtown hotel in support of a granddaughter, Tomiko
Dixon.
There was R&B legend Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, who is Tomiko
Dixon’s amore, and her godfather, Marshall Thompson, founder of the
legendary Chi-Lites, credited with birthing a generation of R&B
vocal groups.
New Album Art For Billy Don Burns - Graveyard In Montgomery
Would
like to say thank you to everyone who has really dug this illustration
for Billy Don Burns new album cover, Graveyard In Montgomery and all the
shares. We thought on it and realized that maybe we should give away
the original art for the album as a way to say thank you to the fans for
sticking by him through thick and thin. So this Friday, once we
announce the pre-sale, every physical album order
sold through our webstore will be entered into a drawing to win the
original pen and ink sketch. Sure you can wait to stream it for free on
Youtube or Spotify, but if you want something to live on past your next
Appleoid Omega malfunction, purchase the album and maybe this art along
with BD's story about his travels to that infamous graveyard and much
more can potentially hang on your wall and reverberate from your
speakers for years to come.
All of the press and hype surrounding the music gear industry follows
a similar pattern every year. New products get announced at NAMM in
January, unleashing a wave of buzz that ripples through forums and
YouTube channels, and ultimately into shopping carts of websites like
Reverb.com.
Smaller brands often release gear later in the year to less initial
fanfare, building their reputations on merit rather than marketing. You
see this a lot with boutique pedals and guitars where an off-the-cuff
artist endorsement or a single demo video can do as much for a product's
popularity as any trade show press release.
Here is a look back at both the big
releases and sleeper hits that generated the most buzz in the music gear
industry in 2016.
Korg Minilogue
The Korg Minilogue
was easily the most talked-about synth at NAMM this year, and a steady
stream of praise has followed since. Analog synths are as en vogue as
ever, and this portable keyboard strikes a perfect target zone in the
broader market. It's analog, but not too expensive. Highly tweakable,
yet extremely approachable.
Korg understands the blossoming affordable analog market better than
anyone and brings a unified vision of how to lower the barrier to entry
for these machines. While it may not sound as juicy as vintage Juno or
any modern Moog, the Minilogue represents a major step forward for Korg
and claims a definite spot as the new entry point into the realm of
analog synths. As a testament to how well the Minilogue is doing, Korg
has a already announced a smaller follow-up – dubbed the Monologue – set for release next year.
Fat
Wreck Chords... The influential music label proud to say they've spent
the past 25 years "ruining punk rock". A Fat Wreck tells the story of
founders Fat Mike (of the legendary punk band NOFX) and his ex-wife Erin
Kelly-Burkett, spanning the birth, growth, struggles, and survival of
the Fat Wreck Chords label.
Half
inspirational story of chosen family and community, half debauchery and
occasionally involuntary drug use... A Fat Wreck blazes exciting new
ground in the cinematic genre of puppet-driven punk rock music
documentary filmmaking. If you only see one film featuring a dominatrix
spanking a puppet in your lifetime... Make it A Fat Wreck!
When legends release new material, it can be quite disappointing. For instance, when Metallica released Load, most heavy #metal
fans were let down immensely. The crunch was gone, the complexity was
all but absent, and years of over touring had taken a toll on singer
James Hetfield much sooner than his age would suggest. While the mighty Met have managed to redeem themselves since then, thankfully #Testament has yet to release a slab of sub par material, and thankfully their newest, “#Brotherhood of the Snake”
keeps that tradition in tact. If anything, with guitarist Eric Peterson
at the songwriting helm, they may have just released the most exciting
metal album of the year, if not of their career.
Pinecone Fletcher talks about why he likes cigar-box guitars and what drew him to the craft.
Andrew Thayer / Staff Video
Bluesman Pinecone Fletcher finds joy in re-creating instrument for 21st century
Back when cigars were plentiful and money was not — especially during
the Civil War, for example, or the Great Depression — some musicians
decided to work with what they had close at hand and built their own
cigar-box guitars.
The concept was pretty simple: Cobble together a
box, a stick and some strings, then tune it up and start playing. The
raw, organic sound proved to be much different than what a store-bought
instrument would deliver, giving a different twist to blues, country and
folk tunes.
As Americana and roots music have undergone a revival
in the last 15 years, led by the 2000 film “O Brother Where Are Thou?”
and bands like Mumford & Sons, the interest in cigar-box guitars has
grown, too. Ambitious do-it-yourselfers still prefer to put together
their own, but a few companies have sprung up to fill the need.
Recreating the wild wild west out of discarded
farm equipment, South Dakota-based artist John Lopez’s amazing metal
sculptures will blow your mind! Check them out below:
Source: John Lopez Studio
Sculptor John Lopez is a product of a place. His people’s ranches are
scattered along the Grand River in northwestern South Dakota—not far
from where Sitting Bull was born and died. Not far from where thousands
of buffalo were killed during the westward expansion of settlers and
gold miners. In the bone yards of Tyrannosaurus rex and grizzly
bears. Since farmers and ranchers populated this chunk of reservation
land, real cowboys have been roping and branding and sheering and haying
and harvesting.
From Buzzoven Kirk's blog on Google... "So its
been right at a week since our west coast tour with the mighty Bongzilla
ended. Needless to say, we hit it off very well with the Bongzilla
boys.Actually Dixie played on one of their albums and did a tour with
them. Me and Michael (Pee Wee) really hit it off and i firmly believe i
have a new brother in him for life. Touring with them,renting their
back line and all around working together made life on this tour much
easier. Bongzilla is still out there touring so get out and see them and
buy some merch if you can to support this hard working band.
I have a
few individual stories to tell but I'm just typing some thoughts and
observations from this recent 8 day jaunt through the west. I want to be
sure i tell the stories i have as they actually happened and get
permission from all those involved so i don't step on any toes or piss
anyone off. I never piss anyone off. HA!! While our first tours back, in
2011,after 10 years of doing nothing proved to be lucrative and full of
hype, this recent leg of shows, which by the way was after another 4 year
lull proved to be good but only part of the hype previously experienced
was present. It's becoming painfully obvious that if we don't stay
busy, tour and work harder we will slowly dwindle back to an unknown band
of the past. Some musicians i feel get spoiled from certain things being
a certain way and expect that every tour or show will be just as
lucrative and also bigger venues with a consistent amount of crowd
attendance. Which of course is not the reality of being in the
music business as things change year to year and even day to day.
Johnny Lydon, otherwise known as Johnny Rotten.
mbl.is/Freyja Gylfa
Reykjavik has a new museum, the Iceland Punk Museum and, with a nod
to anarchy it's actually located in the former public toilets in
Bankastræti in the city centre. Who better to open a punk museum than
the world's most famous punk - John Lydon- better known as Johnny Rotten
from legendary UK punk band The Sex Pistols.
Lydon is a guest of the Iceland Airwaves festival and took part in
the Airwords programme at Harpa where he read excerpts from his books.
The Icelandic Punk Museum offers a fascinating look at the history of
punk in Iceland with photographs and objects related to the period
around 1980. Iceland's music history is documented from early days to
the punk and new wave revolution which in turn served to create some of
Iceland's best known artists including Björk, The Sugarcubes and Sigur
Rós.
Singer Neil Diamond and songwriters and producers Ellie Greenwich, Bert Berns and Jeff… more
Michael Ochs Archives
Show times: 4:15 p.m. Thursday, 9 p.m. Saturday and 11:15 a.m. on Nov. 13 at United Artists Denver Pavilions
Industry it spotlights: Music recording
The story:Bert Berns
was a 1960s pioneer in the music industry, producing records ranging
from “Twist and Shout” to “Hang On Sloopy.” This documentary recalls
both Berns’ successes and challenges and focuses on his business
dealings with both a cut-throat industry and with the mob.
Heavyweight 8 Ounce Leather Tool Bag For Your Motorcycle, from Rusty Knuckles
For a long time we had been plotting on our own style of tool bag. We
wanted a clean and classic design that could compliment any bike with
flowing lines and choice style. Our concept is based on numerous
sketches and going through our own tools to find the right dimensions
and fork widths. These bags were made to fit wide glide, narrow glide,
sissy bars, attached to the frame or a variety of other options due to
the flexibility on how they are mounted with heavy duty zip ties.
The
leather we use is a shoulder hide that comes in 8 oz weight and the
options are currently for Chestnut Brown, Dark Brown, Black and Ox Blood
Red. We do have some customization options on these bags, so get in
touch with us. The D Rings are a great compliment to the bag as buckles
tend to rattle and this is a quick cinch solution to strapping tight and
rolling. Each bag is hand cut, riveted and sewn in our shop to insure
the highest quality and made right here in North Carolina. If you ever
have an issue with our bags ripping or tearing, send it back and we will
fix for free as we stand behind our quality.
The guitar strap is made out of 8 oz. leather that is tanned and
softened to be an easily worn for hours upon end. The strap has screw
holes cut out for a variety of mounting options and adjusts from 46"
inches to 65" inches. If you are looking for a specific length, just let
us know upon checkout and we can get the strap set up to your exact
specs for a perfect right out of the shipping box.
For this
guitar strap we use vintage black denim as the fabric, which is then
glued and stitched to the heavyweight leather strap.
The guitar strap is 2.5" inches wide at full width and then tapers on both ends.
Creating a custom motorcycle seat is a lot of work and design ideas, but when it all comes together, there is no better feeling. Functional art is what drives us daily and make a seat that will reside on a custom motorcycle is one of our favorite endeavors. Want to buy this seat? Hop over to our Etsy page
The Bonneville Salt Flats are one of Utah’s most iconic landscapes, covering more than 30,000 acres of BLM-managed land in the Salt Lake Field Office. Since 1914, this majestic landscape has served as the racing grounds for generations of land speed racers from around the world. For decades, these passionate racers have tested themselves, each other, and their vehicles in an ever-escalating contest to go faster than ever before.
The area gets its name from the prehistoric Lake Bonneville that extended over 19,000 square miles and reached depths of over 1,000 feet. The salt flats are a remnant of this ancient lake – where evaporation left large concentrations of dissolved minerals in the surrounding soils. In the winter, groundwater and regional storms flood the Salt Flats – creating a salty, shallow lake. When temperatures rise in the summer months, the water evaporates, leaving behind the iconic white salt crust – sought after by landspeed racers for the hard and flat surface it forms. The salt is also influenced by changes in weather patterns. For example, mid-summer rains in 2014 and 2015 flooded the salt and forced cancellations of the late-summer land speed racing events.
Beyond these seasonal changes, there are additional and complex dynamics that drive this geological system, of which we have only scratched the surface on scientific understanding. Adding to the challenge is the complexity raised by a changing climate in the Great Basin. To help unravel the system, the BLM has partnered with Dr. Brenda Bowen at the University of Utah on a long-term scientific study.
BLMers, scientists, and landspeed racers are all “gunning” to preserve the Bonneville Salt Flats. These scientific studies will help the BLM in making challenging management decisions and will undoubtedly uncover further questions regarding the dynamics of this unusual geologic system.
Two
hard rock bands, one young and one old, walk into a bar. The bartender
asks to see the older band’s ID. “Welcome,” she says. “I loved your
music when I was a college student in the 90s.” The younger band hands
the bartender its ID. “Sorry,” she says, fiddling with the knob on her
FM radio, “you’re far too young to be in here. Go get a few radio hits
and come back in a decade or two.”
Ghost BC, a.k.a. Ghost, one of the few metal bands with songs popular at both Pandora and hard rock stations.
Such
is the dilemma for young hard rock and metal bands. Radio has all but
turned its back on the hard rock and metal stars of tomorrow. It’s a
shame. Radio has remained the most common source of music discovery,
according to numerous surveys over the years. The old-fashioned format
is tied with friends/family at 68 percent, according to Edison Research and Triton Digital.
Where do fans of metal and hard rock go for new music? Not commercial
radio. Metal, and its umbrella genre, hard rock, has become a format for
the middle-aged listener. People wanting to find new, hard music will
find what they’re looking for at Pandora.
But
hard rock and metal do well at Pandora, a democratic platform that
rewards songs for their listeners’ positive reactions, not the decisions
of radio program directors. Metal,
a sub-genre of the more popular rock category, is tied for 13th in
monthly time spent listening and currently gets over 6 million unique
listeners per month. Rock,
which includes hard rock and other types of rock music, has the most
monthly listening hours on Pandora, ranks 2nd in monthly time spent
listening and gets 50 million unique listeners each month.
The
numbers show the severity of hard rock radio’s problem. According to
Nielsen BDS data, only 10.5 percent of hard/active rock stations’
playlists are current tracks while 82.9 percent are legacy/golden tracks
and 6.6 percent are recurrents (“active rock” stations have an emphasis
on hard rock, “recurrents” are former current songs that still get
spins). For comparison, current songs are 85 percent of music played at
both pop and rhythmic (a catchall spanning upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop
and upbeat R&B) and 68 percent at country.
Instrument 1 is a MIDI controller, a tool for generating the
standard digital music file. But whereas most MIDI controllers are
keyboards hooked up to inscrutable boxes, Instrument 1 is shaped like a
purposefully vague string instrument.
Typing notes into software can’t capture the totality of
writing and performing music. The physical act of hitting a drum or
plucking a string or moving yours hands up and down piano keys, on stage
or in a tour bus, is crucial to the experience. Instrument 1 wants to
replicate that. Pressure sensitive buttons let you strum, press frets,
or even hold the device up on your shoulder like a violin. And if you
lay it on a surface, the neck acts as a piano/drum kit.
