The Music Venue Trust – the charity that represents the interests of almost 1,000 independent music venues across the Uber Kingdom – has issued a statement in response to the Government’s announcement today (Friday) that indoor venues can start to stage events, under strict social distancing conditions, from tomorrow (Saturday 15 August).
Read More
Robby Krieger is probably most well known for his stint as guitarist in The Doors. Born in LA, his early love was for classical music but after an initial attempt to learn to play the trumpet, he found the piano and used it to play mostly the blues. Krieger joined The Doors in 1965 after the departure of co-founder Ray Manzarek’s brothers, Rick and Jim from the original band, ‘Rick & The Ravens’. The Doors never replaced the bassist as they felt this gave them a unique sound, and it is this piece of information that hints at the talent that existed within The Doors.
Read More
Jonny B will be the first to admit that he’s particularly up to speed with the comings and goings of the Boston music scene. When he thinks about the scene in Boston, he’s always assumed that it’s all Irish bars and Dropkick Murphys clones, but obviously that’s not the case as this “new” release shows. Why “new”, we hear you ask? Well ‘Selfish Propensities’ is perhaps the only documented evidence that the band Nana existed in mid to late ‘90s which has recently been uncovered in a box of CD and written by Tom Baker (not the Doctor Who one, The Dirty Truckers one). So, while this may be new to most of us, this is certainly a bit of a relic of its time…
Read More
Black Crown Initiate are one of these prog bands that honestly baffles Jase W as to why they’re not bigger in the UK. In comparison with the sizable following they’ve got in the States, it’s surprising they’re not throwing larger weight around here as they’ve got solid offerings that are reminiscent of some of Opeth’s older material with all their heavy proggy motifs that blend in a bit of death metal. Their third album offering, ‘Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape’ comes in at nine tracks with two appearing to suit “outro” style tracks on a vinyl (‘Bellow’ and ‘He Is The Path’), and is the first album with their new rhythm guitarist Ethan McKenna. Jase mention this as their second album featured the well-known Wes Hauch on rhythm, so it’ll be interesting to see how the songwriting dynamic changes…
Read More
This one is a bit out of left field. It took John B a little while to figure out what to make of what he was hearing. There is such a wide range of styles that all come into play throughout the album. You never feel totally grounded in what you are experiencing – but JB means that in a good way. Every layer adds depth and texture. While still feeling connected through the experience each track also feels very unique from one another. Kind of like when you are watching a TV show with very set characters but each episode is a self-contained story. Our man gets that kind of impression. Every track is in the same family but takes on its own style distinct from the rest. It makes for a really cool experience.
Read More