 News Note: After Dave Grohl's recent tumble from the stage and subsequent injury, The Foo Fighters are hitting the road for their 2015 North American tour kicking off with an all day, multi-band concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, July 4. The general admission show features rock, blues, rap, and soul legends along with fireworks and a motorcycle rally.
Foo Fighters 2015 North American Tour Dates: 07/04/15 – Washington, DC – RFK Stadium 07/06/15 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center 07/08/15 – Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre 07/09/15 – Toronto, ON – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre 07/11/15 – Quebec City, Canada – Festival d'ete de Quebec 07/13/15 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center 07/15/15 – New York, NY – Citi Field 07/16/15 – New York, NY – Citi Field 07/18/15 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park 07/19/15 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park 08/12/15 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place 08/13/15 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome 08/14/15 – Walla Walla, WA – Gentleman of the Road Stopover 08/16/15 – Denver, CO – Fiddler's Green Amphiteatre 08/17/15 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre 08/19/15 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater 08/21/15 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center 08/22/15 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center 08/24/15 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre 08/25/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion 08/27/15 – Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center 08/29/15 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field 09/11/15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena 09/12/15 – George, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre 09/14/15 – Portland, OR – Moda Center 09/16/15 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre 09/19/15 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center 09/21/15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum 09/22/15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum 09/24/15 – Chula Vista, CA – Sleep Train Amphitheatre 09/25/15 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion 09/27/15 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater 09/29/15 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena 09/30/15 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena 10/02-04/15 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits 2015 10/04/15 – Atlanta, GA – Centennial Olympic Park 10/05/15 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena 10/07/15 – Memphis, TN – FedExForum 10/09-11/15 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits 10/17/15 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center 10/18/15 – Castaic, CA – 2015 Love Ride (News Notes are edited press releases sent by publicists, labels, bands, or musicians)  By Samir Shukla Practically every kid I knew in middle school and later high school dreamed of playing the guitar. Like a rock star. Nothing less. It was the 70’s and rock ‘n’ roll ruled the radio airwaves. The lead guitarists of rock bands were our idols. Their guitar strings spewed mighty sounds, from subtle to loud, melodic to feedback. In an era before music videos, the Internet, and social media, their mystique added to their legends. My guitar hero was Pete Townsend. His riffs awoke a primal sense of belonging to something bigger while his words spoke to me, a scrawny immigrant kid trying to fit in. Like many of my friends, I bought a guitar, a small amp and signed up for lessons. I spent hours trying to figure out the chords and riffs of favorite songs. I learned to play “Behind Blue Eyes” and the opening chords of that song, or more like the song that is requisite for every kid that has picked up a guitar since the mid 70’s. “Stairway to Heaven.” I set my guitar aside after a few years. I found it easier to work with words and sentences than chords and riffs. Writing is a lazy man’s passion and I found it perfectly suitable for my restless and constantly evolving frame of mind. I also lacked the discipline required to master musical instruments. I have written about music since the days my passion for learning to play music slowly waned. Variations of guitar-like instruments have been around for centuries, millennia, really. The acoustic complexities of a classical guitar, the sensuous strumming of a flamenco player, the signature windmill playing style of Townsend, Jimi Hendrix coaxing previously unimagined, ungodly sounds out of his guitar, these are some of the cultural markers, musical ethos and histories created by guitarists. It is the quintessential rock instrument and the most widely played musical instrument around the world. One imagines a lonesome cowboy in the wide open American West playing for himself and maybe his horse, wishing for that pretty woman to sing to; or the young rocker flailing his hair and his instrument playing in front of tens of thousands of people, making them sway to his vibes. That’s the soul of the guitar. The connection between varied styles and generations separated by decades. A guitar can be reconfigured in myriad variations and tuned to the player’s choice. One of my favorite bands made a glorious blast of sound using detuned or weirdly tuned guitars. Sonic Youth’s dual guitar interplay and experimentation is like discovering the spaces between the possible, the unexplored vibrations in the ether. The guitar is pervasive in all genres of music. It can tag along to ancient rhythms and percussions or accompany any contemporary forms of music. One of these days, I’ll dust off the ole electric guitar still lurking in my basement and make some noise. Return to that primal teenage urge to imitate but also create original sounds. Till then, well, I’ve got my words. They keep me fine company while I’m listening to the masters of metal or nylon strings animate the air. For those interested in all things guitar, there’s an informative traveling guitar exhibit currently on display at the Discovery Place in Charlotte. “Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked the World” is installed for a limited engagement now through September 7, 2015. Subtitled “The science, history and cultural impact of the world’s most popular instrument,” this is a touring exhibition on loan from the National Guitar Museum. The exhibit includes over 60 rare and funky instruments including early Fender, Gibson, Ovation, and Martin guitars (from circa 1835 to present), the Rock Ock, the only playable guitar with 8 necks and many other instruments that were the predecessors of the guitar. For more details visit www.DiscoveryPlace.org.  News Note: Here's a press release from Neil Young on his recent exchange with Donald Trump's announcement of his Presidential candidacy. Yesterday my song "Rockin' in the Free World" was used in an announcement for a U.S. presidential candidate without my permission. A picture of me with this candidate was also circulated in conjunction with this announcement but It was a photograph taken during a meeting when I was trying to raise funds for Pono, my online high resolution music service. Music is a universal language. So I am glad that so many people with varying beliefs get enjoyment from my music, even if they don't share my beliefs. But had I been asked to allow my music to be used for a candidate - I would have said no. I am Canadian and I don't vote in the United States, but more importantly I don't like the current political system in the USA and some other countries. Increasingly Democracy has been hijacked by corporate interests. The money needed to run for office, the money spent on lobbying by special interests, the ever increasing economic disparity and the well-funded legislative decisions all favor corporate interests over the peoples. The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling is proof of this corruption, as well as the proposed trade deals, which would further compromise our rights. These Corporations were originally created to serve us but if we don't appropriately prioritize they will destroy us. Corporations don't have children. They don't have feelings or soul. They don't depend on uncontaminated water, clean air or healthy food to survive. They are beholden to one thing - the bottom line. I choose to speak Truth to this Economic Power. When I speak out on corporations hurting the common man or the environment or other species, I expect a well-financed disinformation campaign to be aimed my way. Such is the case with the reaction to my new album The Monsanto Years, which covers many of these issues. I support those bringing these issues to light and those who fight for their rights like Freedom of Choice. But Freedom of Choice is meaningless without knowledge. That's why it's crucial we all get engaged and get informed. That's why GMO labeling matters. Mothers need to know what they are feeding their children. They need freedom to make educated choices at the market. When the people have voted for labeling, as they have in Vermont, they need our support when they are fighting these corporate interests trying to reverse the laws they have voted for and passed in the democratic process. I do not trust self-serving misinformation coming from corporations and their media trolls. I do not trust politicians who are taking millions from those corporations either. I trust people. So I make my music for people not for candidates. Keep on Rockin' in the Free World. - Neil Young (News Notes are edited press releases sent by publicists, labels, bands, or musicians)  News Note: Richmond, VA based heavy rock band Lamb of God will release their seventh full-length album, VII: Sturm Und Drang, on July 24, 2015 via Epic Records. VII: Sturm Und Drang is once again produced and mixed by Josh Wilbur with engineering by Wilbur, Nick Rowe, and Kyle McAulay, and was recorded at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, CA and Suburban Soul Studios in Torrance, CA North American Tour: LAMB OF GOD W/ Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine & Motionless In White 7/24 - West Palm Beach, FL - Cruzan Amphitheatre 7/25 - Tampa, FL - MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre 7/26 - Atlanta, GA - Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood 7/28 - Detroit, MI - DTE Energy MusicTheatre 7/29 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center 7/31 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center 8/1 - Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater 8/2 - Hartford, CT - XFINITY Theatre 8/4 - Boston, MA - XFINITY Center 8/5 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center 8/6 - Pittsburgh, PA - First Niagara Pavilion 8/8 - Toronto, ON - Molson Canadian Amphitheatre 8/9 - Montreal, QC - Parc Jean-Drapeau - Heavy Montreal 8/11 - Washington, DC - Jiffy Lube Live 8/12 - Virginia Beach, VA - Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach 8/14 - Indianapolis, IN - Klipsch Music Center 8/15 - Chicago, IL - First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre 8/16 - St. Louis, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre 8/19 - Denver, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre 8/21 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre 8/23 - Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheater 8/24 - Vancouver, BC - Rogers Arena 8/26 - Concord, CA - Concord Pavilion 8/28 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Resort Festival Grounds 8/29 - Phoenix, AZ - AKChin Pavilion 8/30 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater 9/2 - Austin, TX - Austin360 Amphitheater 9/4 - Houston, TX - The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 9/5 - Dallas, TX - Gexa Energy Pavilion (News Notes are edited press releases sent by publicists, labels, bands, or musicians) |
Proudly powered by Weebly