A.A. RockBlog

Of all the months of the year, it seems February has the most birthdays. Well today we're celebrating another one in the world of rock. Journey's Jonathan Cain has turned 70. He is reponsible for composing a number of hits for the band in their heyday in the 1980s. Joining in 1980 Journey were founed by Neil Schon and Greg Rollie of Santana fame in 1973. Greg Rollie left in 1980 after the making of their LP Departure . His replacment came in the form of Babys keyboardist Jonathan Cain. Just as with Neil Schon in 1977, Steve Perry composed the song Open Arms with Jonathan Cain. This led to their massive hit album, 1981's Escape . The LP went to the top of the chart and was 1981's second-highest-selling LP (after Stevie Nicks' solo debut Belladonna ). Escape also featured five singles, three of which made the top 10 - including their signature song, Don't Stop Believin.' 1983's Frontiers was also a success for the band featuring the top 10 hit Sep

Throught the previous year, I wrote a few blog posts regarding the Rolling Stones and their No Filter tour. Well, folks, those of you who didn't get the chance to see them last year, may get a chance this year as after a resting break, the Rolling Stones will continue their tour of North America in May. It took a long time... Last April. Mick Jagger suffered a heart valve failure, which required surgery. The recovery was slow, but he was given the right-of-way to perform. Unfortunately this also blew them the chance at performing at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Nevertheless, the Stones started their North American leg in Chicago right at the start of summer 2019. In August, I also had the pleasure of going to see them. The show was awesome even though they did not perform my favorite song, Angie . They're back at it The Rolling Stones will start the second part of their North American leg in San Diego on May 8, and end the tour in Atlanta on July 9. Unlike last ye

The US and the UK have been responsible for the bulk of the classics from the 60s into the early 90s, but what most may not realize is that our northerly neighbors can also rock - and sometimes even harder. The Known There are many Canadian bands known to Americans (some more than others). Perhaps the most notable of these bands is Rush. A power trio, their heyday was in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a style blending progressive, art, and sometimes even arena rock. Chilliwack is also a less-known power trio. The other notable bands everybody (probably) knows about are Winnipeg's the Guess Who and the following Bachman Turner Overdrive. The former, in particular, was often mistaken for being a part of the then ongoing British Invasion. During the 80s came Calgary's Loverboy. Although rarely, their hits Turn me Loose, Working for the Weekend, and Lovin' Every Minute of It  get airplay on classic rock radio in the US. From a solo perspective, the only solo arti

There are many rock birthdays in February, but specifically tomorrow, the late, great Walter Becker would have turned 70. Becker sadly left this world back in September of 2017 as a result of esophagael cancer, but along with his musical partner, Donald Fagen, he created an ensamble known for its varied compositions, cryptic lyrics, and generally modern day jazz interpretations. In honor of what would have been Becker's 70th birthday, I will present to you some facts you may or may not have known about Steely Dan. It all started during college life. Yep! Becker and Fagen met each other way back in 1967 as students at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. However, seeing an opportunity in Los Angeles, the pair moved out in 1971 and rented an apartment together at the advice of record manager Gary Katz who got them a deal with the then ABC Records. The track, My Old School , from their 1973 LP Countdown to Ecstasy, actually tells of a drug raid that happened while Fage

February is Black History month, so while we are remembering some notable people from our history, we can't forget the rock icons that have made history in the world of rock. Chuck Berry The late, great Chuck Berry is, without a doubt, the Father of Rock. An early pioneer of rock'n'roll he is remembered for hits such as Maybelenne , Johnny B Good  (often re-quoted many generations later), My Ding-a-Ling , Roll Over Beethoven , and Rock and Roll Music  - the latter two of which were covered by the Fab Four in the 1960s. Little Richard Chuck Berry is to guitar as Little Richard is to piano. His frantic piano playing and raspy voice helped build the foundation for the future generations to come. His most notable hits include Tutti Frutti , Long Tall Sally , and Shout . In the early 1960s Richard toured Europe with the soon-to-be Fab Four on the supporting bill. Jimi Hendrix What's a discussion about African-American rock if it doesn't mention "Jimmy&quo

The former Yugoslavia has seen many prominent rock and pop stars during the so-called Schoo of Pop Rock - concentrated on and around the Sarajevo area between 1961 and 1991, but none have been more prominent and more important than Serbian chanson star Djordje Balasevich. He was born on May 11, 1953 in the town of Novi Sad, Serbia to a Serbian father, and a half-Croatian/half-Hungarian mother. Developing an early interest in music, it was not until he was twenty-five years old that he got any exposure at all. His style: rock, folk rock, and chanson From 1978 till about the early 90s, Balashevich was known for a large number of ballads. His first two LPs were recorded with Rani Mraz (The Early Freeze). While the band saw a solid amount of members come and go, the only two that persevered in its short, four-year term were Balashevich himself, and co-founder Biljana Krstich. It was here that Balasevich defined the sound for most of his solo career - a balance between ballads and e

Nowadays, rock birthdays are highly celebrated - especially as stars age. Well today my friends, is the 70th birthday of a prominent British musician. The photo above is Peter Gabriel performing in 1986 during the promotion of his fifth LP, and best-seller So . Gabriel has gone from prog rock to world music in his career but outside the studio and off the stage is also renowned as a human rights activist.  His life... He was born Peter Brian Gabriel on February 13, 1950 in Woking, Surrey, to a middle class family - a musical mother and a father who was an electrical engineer. He was educated at private schools for the most part such as the Cable House, but his calling came at thirteen when he started attending Charterhouse. By fifteen he hooked up with Tony Banks on piano and percussionist Christ Stewart to start The Garden Wall - a precursor to Genesis.  Genesis In 1967, as the Garden Wall was breaking up, guitarist Anthony Phillips and bassist Mike Rutherford, of Av

Canada has seen its share of rockstars, but the most iconic of them all has got to be Randy Bachman. Formerly of the Guess Who fame and of his own band, Bachman-Turner-Overdrive (BTO), Mr. Bachman has written a number of hit songs, some with some interesting stories. No Sugar Tonight Being the last hit Bachman played on, and a #1 US hit, the story behind the song is that Randy Bachman was walking with a bandmate through downtown Berkley, California, when he was approached by some bikers. He crossed the street as a car skid forward and a biker lady got out. She told one of the bikers, "One more thing honey. You're not getting any sugar tonight." The song also segues into New Mother Nature , a song lead singer Burton Cummings was working on at the time. As neither Bachman nor Cummings had finished their respective songs, they decided to simply put them both together. American Woman The title track form their 1970 LP, and the last LP Bachman made with the Guess Who b

Historically, rock has been made up of varied chord structures, but none is as interesting, or even as popular as twelve-bar blues What is twelve-bar-blues? In a nutshell, twelve-bar blues involves playing the I chord - base chord of a key signature for four  bars, the fourth inversion (IV) chord for two bars, back to the first (I) inversion for two more bars, followed by the fifth (IV) inversion for one bar and fourth (IV) inversion for one more bar, before playing two final bars with the I inversion. Twelve-bar blues first came to attention in roock'n'roll of the late 50s and early 60s. Let's take a look at a few popular riffs, shall we? The Surfaris - Wipe Out Need I say more? This is the "flagship" song of the twelve-bar blues. Being in the key of C major, the song is built around a repeating, arpeggiated guitar riff, which goes up and down in tone playing C,F, and G chords. The drums are also very interesting and its a popular song among school marc

Being one of the most prominent of the "big four" prog-rock movement of the early to mid 70s (alongside Yes, ELP, and King Crimson), Genesis enjoyed a cult following during the Gabriel era between 1967 and 1975, but their biggest moment came when Phil Collins, drumming since 1971, took center stage as the lead singer. Well lo and behold, last week, the three core members: drummer/vocalist Phil Collins, guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford, and keyboardist Tony Banks, were spotted at Madison Square Gardens. While Banks and Rutherford were seated together, Collins was seperate. Now folks, there could have been several reasons for this. Some speculate that they may have been celebrating Collins' birthday, which was last Thursday, or that we could really see a reunion in the works... They haven't toured since 2007... Their most recent tour was back in 2007, the Turn it on Again  tour. That tour saw them touring all over Europe and North America. The band's Collin