A.A. RockBlog

Folk rock is arguably one of the most forgotten rock subgenres. While some artists such as Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel have made long-lasting legacies, there is a group out there that has hit the ground running with a successful debut album and tour and is renowned for its vocal harmonies. So for your reading pleasure, here are some interesting facts. They are a soupergroup. By definition, a "supergroup" is a band in which at least one of the members was a former member of another band (disbanded or otherwise). In the case of CSNY, each member belonged to one of three different groups. David Crosby was a member of the Byrds where he was let go in 1967, Stephen Stills and later Neil Young were bandmates in Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash was a member of the Holies. They did not go for a formal name. Unlike most bands such as the ones listed above, CSNY elected to only use their last names as an identity (a la Simon & Garfunkel). Reason being, to al

In the hard rock department, few bands have been as underrated as Guns'n'Roses. Formed in Los Angeles in 1985 with the remains of two local bands, LA Guns and Hollywood Rose, the band released their debut album in 1987, Appetite for Destruction . The album was a massive success and yielded two of their most well-known hits today. Welcome to the Jungle Their breakout hit and arguably their most-known one. The "jungle," refers to Los Angeles - in particular the south central area. In their early days, the band members rented a home along Sunset Boulevard which was filled with alcoholism, drugs, and even groupies! The line "you're in the jugle, you're gonna die," came from a homeless man Axl Rose encountered in New York City. The title itself came  from a truck driver who drove Axl from Seattle (where the song was written). Upon arrival, the driver said to Rose, "Welcome to the Jungle." VH1 named Jungle the greatest heavy metal song o

Those who grew up listening to any form of rock may not realize it, but classical music and rock are intertwined. Some bands such as the Moody Blues and later Electric Light Orchestara have implemented symphonic elements in their music, but there is a very popular symphony that became the grounds to many a rock riff. What's this about? The photo above shows the notes of the iconic opening to Ludwig von Beethoven's 5th Symphony. This signature "da-da-da-dum," has become a staple of pop culture not to mention being even used as an answering machine message ("Nobody's hooooome,").  The notes of this opening have become the grounds for several signficant rock riffs. On Jethro Tull's live performance of Aqualung  at XM Studios, Ian Anderson has stated that each riff is basically the same notes arranged by a different monkey. What are some examples? Throughout the 60s and 70s there have been many reworkings of the opening riff - some w

There have been a few bands that suffered losses in their careers - most noteably Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crash, not to mention drug related deaths such as those in The Pretenders. But none is more significant, more amazing, than the fate of Def Leppard's drummer, Rick Allen. The band could have easily split had they wanted to, but Allen has made a massvie comeback since his incident and get this folks, at almost 60 he is still going strong! What happened? It all started back on New Year's Eve 1984 when Rick Allen and his girlfriend, Miriam Barendsen were driving home from the Ladybower Reservoir in his hometown, Shefield UK. On the A57 bypass (something like an American freeway or divided highway), Allen was rear-ended by an Alfa Romeo behind him and hit a wall with his Corvette Stingray. Take a look at the post-accident damage below. One photo is look towards Shefield, while the other one is looking away from Shefield. Help came quickly and Allen was hospitaliz

While there aren't that many, there are several songs that many people call by the wrong title, be it that are wrongfully titled. The most common cause of this is the fact that certain phrases appear frequently, and therefore it is assumed that one of those is the correct title. The Who: Baba O'Riley The opener to their fifth LP, 1971's Who's Next (and my favorite), has been incorrectly titled "Teenage Wasteland," due to the words appearing in the chorus and middle eight. The song was one of the songs written for Lifehouse , - a successor to The Who's massive success Tommy . It would be played at the beginning with the farmer, Ray, who takes Sally and his two children into London. It was one of eight songs that wound up making the cut for Who's Next . Journey: Don't Stop Believin' Commonly referred to as "Streetlight people," or "Small Town Girl," the song was was the second single from Journey's seventh album

Having written a blog post one on of the most influential former Yugoslav rock bands, it's important to highlight the so-called "body" of former Yugoslav music - the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock. What is this School of Pop Rock? It's not a "school," you would find at a college. Rather, it's a commonly known body of artists from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (back then Yugoslavia) that shaped the music of the nation and helped put Sarajevo on the map as the hub of the music scene in the former Yugoslavia. As Toronto was to Canada and Los Angeles and New York City were to the US, Sarajevo is considered the birthplace of many highly popular bands (a few of which I've even covered in earlier posts). It has been around from the early 1960s until the early 1990s (i.e. when the Yugoslav wars broke out). It started with Indexi The Sarajevo School of Pop Rock's beginnings are rooted back to the early 1960s with teh formation of Indexi. Being

In the former Yugoslavia, there were many successful artists, but one of the most important, and even overlooked sometimes, was a popular band called Indexi (The Indeces). They had an awesome lead singer. The late, great Davorin Popovich today is remembered for has raspy, tenor voice - to me, a bit comparable to Burton Cummings of The Guess Who fame. Over the years, he has earned various nicknames such as Dacho and Pimpek. They were the seeds for other bands. Formed back in 1962, Indexi set the stage for what is now known as the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock - a movement that would live for the next three decades (a la before the Yugoslav wars). Their name, by the way, is the plural of Index - a student's gradebook. Each student was expected to record and maintain their own grades. The core  members, aside from Popovich, consisted of late guitarist Slobodan Bodo Kavachevich and bass player Fadil Redzich (pronounce "dz," like "s" in "risotto)."

Being a popular, but forgotten band, Dire Straits have released their fifth LP, Brothers in Arms , exactly 35 years ago yesterday. The album is one of their most significant and most celebrated, and features several of their well-known songs. A masterpiece at their pinnacle. With Brothers in Arms , Dire Straits reached the peak of their success. The album spawned five singles, but the most incredible of it is its chart longevity. The album was #1 in the UK for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. On this side of the pond, the album was #1 on the Bilboard 200 for ten weeks. It is also among the first albums to be recorded on a Sony 24-track tape machine. The album was recorded in the British territory Montserrat. After Mark Knopfler's satisfaction with producer Neil Dorfsman on the band's 1982 album Love Over God , and Knopfler's 1983 soundtrack album, Local Heroes , the band brought him back in to produce Brothers in Arms . The recording process altogether took about four

Last Saturday, we had to say goodbye to one of rock'n'roll's finest, Little Richard died at 87 as a result of bone cancer - an illness he'd been facing for about two years now, in his Tullahoma, Tenn. home surrounded by his family. A Legend Born Richard Wayne Penniman in Macon, Georgia, Little Richard rose to prominence and fame in the mid 50s along with other pioneering artists of the day such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and His Comets, Fats Domino, and Chuck Berry. He is most remembered for a string of hits such as Tutti Frutti, Good Golly Miss Molly, Long Tall Sally , and Shout. Although Little Richard was in a musical hibernation for much of the 60s and 70s, he made a arebound in the mid 1980s. In fact, in 1994, he was responsible for singing the theme song for the PBS Kids show, The Magic School Bus . Talk about above and beyond! He earned many nicknames. Over the years, Little Richard earned titles such as The Originator, The Innovator, and even The

Apart from today being Mother's Day, today is also a milestone birthday for one of rock's finest voices - U2's Paul David Hewson, also known as Bono. His life, in a nutshell Born in Dublin, Bono was a pupil that was not into the subjects taught at school. He idolized stars such as David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and T. Rex. In 1975, he enrolled in Mount Temple Comprehensive School, the birthplace of the U2 story. Well before the 80s. What many may not know, is that U2 was formed in 1976 - fours years before the release of their debut, Boy ! It all started when drummer Larry Mullen Jr. placed an ad on the school bulletin board looking to start a band. One of the first answers was Dave Evans - aka The Edge, alongside his older brother, Dik Evans. Soon Bono and bass player Adam Clayton joined and the band began rehearsing in Larry Mullen Jr.'s kitchen. By 1979, Dik left the band but the quartet continued to succeed. Working with Jimmy Iovine, the band produced three

Fifty years ago today, the Beatles released Let it Be . Their twelfth and final album, it was issued a little after their disbanding.  It was recorded before Abbey Road: The album's recording started back in February of 1968, when Across the Universe was recorded. The bulk of the album was made in early 1969. In addition to the Fab Four, American keyboardist Billy Preston joined in on the side.  The LP topped the charts on eithr side of the pond, but is regarded as one of the most controversial rock albums, folks. In particular, Alan Smith of British music magazine NME stated that the LP is an epitaph on a cardboard tombstone. Smith even went on to say that the Beatles "sold out all the principles they stood for."  There Was a Movie: In ddition to the album, a movie was produced and issued about the same time. The namesake movie is a documentary showing the Beatles recording the album as well as their unannounced, spectacular rooftop show at Abbey Roa

One of Detroit's finest and one of the biggest names in Heartland Rock has turned 75 today. With his powerful, raspy voice, Seger has become one of the biggest names in roots and heartland rock today. He's an Ann Arborite! Born Robert Clark Seger at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Seger and his family moved to Ann Arbor when he was five; however, due to his parent's constant arguments, Seger was left with the rest of his family as his parents relocated to California. Despite this, Seger was exposed to music at an early age thanks to his talented father who was a medical technician at (you guessed it) the Ford Motor Company. Seger's first band was formed in 1961, a trio called the Decibels. It was with them that Seger wrote and recorded his first official hit, The Lonely One . It received significant airply especially in the Detroit area. Taking a few "baby steps." Seger, in the mid 60s joined Doug Brown and the Omens as a guitarist and backup (but o

Some bands have their times and usually don't come back, but in May of '05, Cream reunited for a four-night residency at the Royal Albert Hall. All About E.C.'s Generousity: While Clapton had been closed to a reunion, he broke out of his refusals in 2005 saying that health was a big factor. Two years before, bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce had udergone a liver transplant, which had led to him nearly losing his life. Furthermore, drummer Ginger Baker had recently developed arthritis. The Shows Why the Royal Albert Hall? It was the last venue Cream had played their last shows back in 1968. The shows took place on May 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th - with only a break on the 4th. Most spectacular, folks, were the number of celebrities in attendance. Members that attended included former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Bill Wymann and Mick Taylor of the Stones, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Queen's Brian May, and even Clapton's and Baker's former bandmate, S