The Demos confirm four live appearances in September

New York indie rockers The Demos have confirmed four appearances with Jukebox The Ghost for this coming September.

The dates are as follows:

9/12/12 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
9/13/12 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground *
9/14/12 – Ithaca, NY – The Haunt
9/16/12 – Rochester, NY – Water Street Music Hall (Club Stage)

Jukebox The Ghost will play at all shows.
Maps & Legends at all shows except *
* The Demos, Jukebox The Ghost and Savoir Adore

Read a review of The Demos’ 2011 release ‘Lovely’ here.

Tommy Bolin box set to be released soon

In 1975, Tommy Bolin released his solo album ‘Teaser’. The album – showcasing a variety of rock, blues and funk styles – is now considered a classic by many. It did not sell particularly well at the time of release; due to Bolin’s ongoing commitments with Deep Purple, he was unable to promote ‘Teaser’ extensively.

In 2011, a release named ‘Teaser Deluxe’ appeared on the market. Initially, this looked like it was to be an expanded version of the original album with a couple of unheard alternate takes. The album actually featured an entire disc of alternate takes.

A new ‘Teaser Deluxe’ 3CD box set has now been completed. The box set is said to conatain a remastered version of the original ‘Teaser’, plus two discs of alternate takes. It is not clear where the alternate takes have been sourced from, but it’s likely that across the two disc of alternate versions, the tracks from the 2011 ‘Teaser Deluxe’ will make a return appearance.

For the Bolin obsessive, a five CD set will also be available. The extra two discs do not contain any unheard Bolin tracks, but feature the ‘Great Gypsy Soul’ album, featuring other great musicians putting their stamp and finishing touches on Bolin’s otherwise incompleted music.

Confirmed track list (courtesy of blabbermouth.net):

Disc 1

“Teaser” Remastered

01. The Grind
02. Homeward Strut
03. Dreamer
04. Savannah Woman
05. Teaser
06. People, People
07. Marching Powder
08. Wild Dogs
09. Lotus

Disc 2

Alternates and Outtakes

01. Teaser
02. Flying Fingers
03. Cookoo
04. Wild Dogs
05. Chameleon

Disc 3

01. Crazed Fandango
02. People, People
03. Smooth Fandango
04. Marching Powder
05. Homeward Strut
06. Oriental Sky (Lotus)

Deluxe version of “Great Gypsy Soul” track listing:

Disc 1

01. The Grind (w/ Peter Frampton)
02. Teaser (w/ Warren Haynes)
03. Dreamer (w/ Myles Kennedy and Nels Cline)
04. Savannah Woman (w/ John Scofield)
05. Smooth Fandango (w/ Derek Trucks)
06. People People (w/ Big Sugar and Gordie Johnson)
07. Wild Dogs (w/ Brad Whitford)
08. Homeward Strut (w/ Steve Lukather)
09. Sugar Shack (w/ Glenn Hughes and Sonny Landreth)
10. Crazed Fandango (w/ Steve Morse)
11. Lotus (w/ Joe Bonamassa, Glenn Huges and Nels Cline)

Disc 2 – Bonus CD

01. Flying Fingers (w/ Oz Noy and Nels Cline)
02. Marching Bag – Movement One (w/ Nels Cline, Bolin, Greg Hampton, John Scofield, Sonny Landreth)
03. Marching Bag – Movement Two (w/ Nels Cline, Bolin, Steve Lukather, Derek Trucks, Peter Frampton)
04. Marching Bag – Movement Three (w/ Gordie Johnson, Bolin, Nels Cline, Oz Noy, Steve Lukather, Steve Morse, Joe Bonamassa)
05. Marching Bag – Movement Four (w/ Nels Cline, Bolin, Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa, Oz Noy, Brad Whitford, Peter Frampton)

The box set will be released on July 31st.

Upcoming shows for singer-songwriter Mick Terry

One of Real Gone’s favourite singer-songwriters will be performing a couple of shows over the next week and a third show in mid-October.

Mick Terry will be appearing at The Railway Tavern in Dalston (London) on Thursday July 26th.  Also appearing will be Matt Boulter.

The following night (Friday July 27th) , he will be appearing at The Birkbeck Tavern, Leyton, East London, as part of a songwriters’ circle event with Danny George Wilson (of Danny & The Champions of the World) and Gref Humphreys (ex-Dillon Fence).  This promises to be a very special event!

If you want more, Mick returns to the Birkbeck Tavern on Monday October 15th, to perform with US power pop hero and friend Jim Boggia.

Admission to all events is for 16+ and absolutely FREE!

…And remember, pop is not a dirty word!

COLLISIONS – Believe In This EP

With intense beats heavily rooted in alternative dance and guitar riffs chunky enough to satisfy most rock fans, Collisions are taking no prisoners.  Having landed support slots on tours with UK crossover heroes Senser and US rap/metallers Hed(pe), the Brighton based quartet have already built a live following.  This debut EP – although a far too brief snapshot of a very talented bunch – captures their barely containable energy levels with often uncompromising results.

As the intro of the opening track ‘Believe In This’ emerges from the speakers and the electronic sounds clash with the atmospheric wordless voice, it’s hard not to instantly think of Newport’s finest ragga-metal merchants Skindred (a band with whom Collisions gained early, favourable comparisons).  As the meaty riff kicks in, Collisions attack most of the next couple of minutes at full pelt: that riff sounds huge and awesome and the electronic beats suggest an equal love of Pendulum, while the vocal – unashamedly English (and none the worse for that) – is loaded with plenty of shouty charm.

While the other three tracks are in a very similar vein, ‘Fire Fire’ ups the ante, and the band’s mix of metal, dance and industrial edginess sounds ever more intense.  While the dance elements bring most of the energy here, the enormous – and hugely downtuned riff – carries nearly all of the musical weight, sounding not unlike something from Skindred’s 2011 opus ‘Union Black’ played with maximum force.  Likewise, ‘Push’ really pumps up the listener with its hefty beats while simultaneously pummelling you with some superb sledgehammer riffing.   The ferocity in the performances really highlights how pumped Collisions are musically; after listening, you should feel hugely pumped too.

Perhaps the weakest of the four tracks here (and, in this sense, weakest is very much a relative term) ‘Chasing Forms’ isn’t quite as instant.  This is largely due to the slower intro combining clanky beats, clean guitar chords and electronic vibes.  The vocal is not quite as insistent either, with the rappy style recalling the male vocals from Sonic Boom Six, another cult UK genre-bending outfit.  By the time things slot together – just before the halfway mark – Collisions’ usual aggression takes over.  After spending a great amount of time with this EP, ‘Chasing Forms’ works its magic eventually, but never quite reaches the all-round brilliance of ‘Believe In This’ or ‘Push’.

While Collisions’ literal collision of genres sounds awesome, there is not always a huge variety in the end results.  That really doesn’t matter, though, since their main objective is to get you either dancing like a mad thing or going headfirst into the pit. In that respect, ‘Believe In This’ is a resounding success.

May/July 2012

PRAYER – Danger In The Dark

Finnish rockers Prayer issued their debut album ‘Wrong Address’ on the Escape Music label in 2005, before subsequently disappearing.  In 2012, the band name was resurrected, but only vocalist/chief songwriter Tapani Tikkanen remained from the band’s previous incarnation.  On this second album ‘Danger In The Dark’ – and with a completely new backing band in tow – Tikkanen reinforces any ideas that he’s the man in charge here, and while his songwriting chops are the kind which ought to please a fair few fans of the melodic rock genre, his vocal style may not be to everyone’s tastes.  Luckily, after a few plays, his slightly accented, warbling vocals take second place to the fact he clearly knows how to pen a good chorus.

Although Prayer have been likened to Canadian giants Saga, you won’t find a great amount of prog influences within the tunes that make up this release; the overall tone is more of the unashamedly pompy variety, offering a bunch of songs which combine reasonable amounts of power and melody.  Yes, the vocals could be a touch more melodic, but if you have a liking for twin guitars and blankets of keyboards, Prayer’s sound could still be strong enough to reel you in.

The melodic punch of the title cut recalls work of many AOR bands from the last gasp of the genre’s classic years (circa 1993), with the bass and keyboards taking a strong lead.  Throughout the number, those keyboards – played by Prayer’s second guitarist Valtteri Tikkanen – are used purely for musical colour, and as such, do a very good job.  Without them, the arrangement would seem somewhat lacking.  While the lead vocals aren’t the most tuneful, a strong chorus ensures Prayer begin on the right foot with a strong opening track. ‘Nobody Loves You’ has a striking intro, making excellent use of a twin lead guitar riff that recurs throughout.  It’s a shame more couldn’t have been made of it, since the moments between are a touch predictable, not moving too far from the blueprint laid down by the first track.  On the plus side, the lead guitar break – full of sweeping notes and a great tone – provides a little more enjoyment.   Although it provides no musical surprises, ‘Never Let Your Dreams Die’ is chockfull of hooky melodic elements, as Prayer ring as much power from a well-crafted chorus as possible and the band deliver another solid tune.  Once again, it’s the work of those guitarists which really makes the song stand up, with their twin riffing and some top-notch solo work.

After an intro where the music briefly takes a back seat, pushing Tapani’s voice to the front (sadly, the weakest element of Prayer’s sound), ‘Find Another Fool’ eventually blossoms into the one of the album’s strongest cuts.  An almost mechanical upbeat pulse replaces Prayer’s oft-favoured mid-paced approach; the guitars ring, the keys move between pompy chords and pure AOR tinkling, while again, the chorus is very strong.  By the time a twin lead guitar break fills the mid-section, it’s obvious that Prayer have a fair amount of talent: it’s just a shame the song couldn’t be tackled by someone with a stronger vocal.  That aside, it’s a great melodic rock track.  Another enjoyable offering, ‘It’s Not The End’, allows the bass more room in the mix, as Mika Pohjola leads a mid-paced, slightly swaggering rock number.  The vocals are a touch more restrained, the keyboards add an extra eighties vibe (always welcome), while the guitars bring a simple (slightly Thin Lizzy-esque) riff, topping things off nicely.  It’s not very complex, but therein lies most of the charm.

Although songs with the word “rock” in their title have the potential of being gut-wrenchingly embarrassing, Prayer manage to come up trumps on the unashamedly cheesy ‘Heart Wants You To Rock’, as they bring their listeners another (slightly different) variant of twin lead guitars and melodic keyboard work.  Without doubt here, the most enjoyable element comes from the track’s intro which is pure Thin Lizzy.  Still, if you’re gonna borrow something, borrow from the best!   Although this album has no obvious standouts, it’s not an album that includes anything truly awful either, but ‘KP’ – with softer sections which feature just vocals and keyboards – is somewhat trying.  Since those sections are designed to come across as the most emotive on this album and Tapani’s voice just isn’t strong enough to stand up with such minimal musical backing, it really lets this track down.  A lack of obvious chorus also works to the negative, making this particular four and a half minute number feel as if it is overlong.

Although not a classic release, ‘Danger In The Dark’ has solid enough foundations.  If you’re the kind of person who sets their expectations high when it comes to melodic rock, this will be an album you’ll likely spin a couple of times and then move on.  If, however – like the chaps at Escape Music – you have a fascination with lesser-known Scandinavian hard rock bands (and there are plenty of people out there over a certain age to which that definitely applies), you’ll probably find more than enough enjoyment here.

July 2012