Some fabulous paintings by the one and only BOBBY WHITLOCK Abstract expressionism at its finest.

White Wings: Apocalypse: Miss Kitty: For more pieces, please visit www.bobbywhitlockart.com

DEEP PURPLE'S 21st studio album "Whoosh!", produced by Bob Ezrin, is out NOW

earMUSIC PRESENTS WHOOSH! THE NEW ALBUM BY ROCK LEGENDS DEEP PURPLE ~August 7, 2020~ ~PRE-ORDER HERE~ New York, NY (March 17, 2020)- Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame icons Deep Purple will release their 21st studio album Whoosh!, produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin, on August 7 -- available as a Standard CD, a Digital Album, a Limited Edition CD+DVD Mediabook (including the 1 hour feature “Roger Glover and Bob Ezrin in conversation” and, for the first time, the full live performance at Hellfest 2017” video), and a Vinyl 2LP+DVD edition (earMUSIC). Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse, and Don Airey were invited by Bob Ezrin to Nashville to write and record, during which the band were inspired to push their creative boundaries. Letting go of any artistic limitations, they adopted the motto “Deep Purple is putting the Deep back in Purple”. Whoosh! embodies that freedom, with lyrics that reflect their sentiments on the current situation of the world. “We’ve included everything that made the whole band smile, including Bob Ezrin,” exclaims Morse. “We’ve always enjoyed making music and having the incredible luxury of a loyal audience.” Whoosh! marks Deep Purple’s third album produced by Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd). The first -- 2013’s Now What?! -- charted at #1 in five European countries, as well as Top 10 in over 15 countries worldwide. Cementing itself as one of their most successful albums, inFinite, released in 2017, broke chart records the band accumulated over their 50+year history. With chemistry this electric, it only made sense for Deep Purple and Ezrin to collaborate a third time. “Another album?! Whoosh?!! Gordon Bennett!!!” -Ian Gillan One of the most important rock bands of all time, Deep Purple has built a legacy that is nothing short of immeasurable. The band continues to evolve and elevate the possibilities within hard rock, which is fully displayed on Whoosh! “When the Deep Purple falls Over sleepy garden walls And the stars begin to twinkle In the night…” -Ian Gillan Track list: 1.)Throw My Bones 2.) Drop The Weapon 3.) We’re All The Same In The Dark 4.) Nothing At All 5.) No Need To Shout 6.) Step By Step 7.) What The What 8.) The Long Way Around 9.) The Power Of The Moon 10.) Remission Possible 11.) Man Alive 12.) And The Address 13.) Dancing In My Sleep Vinyl Side Split: Side A: Throw My Bones / Drop The Weapon / We’re All The Same In The Dark / Nothing At All Side B: No Need To Shout / Step By Step / What The What Side C: The Long Way Round / The Power Of The Moon / Remission Possible / Man Alive Side D: And The Address / Dancing In My Sleep

Thank you, CNN, for supporting this amazing film we are so proud to be involved with -- "ELLA FITZGERALD: Just One Of Those Things"

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THANK YOU, Hollywood Reporter for this amazing review of "ELLA FITZGERALD: Just One Of Those Things"!

June 24, 2020 'Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things': Film Review William Gottlieb/Redferns/Getty Images 'Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things' Leslie Woodhead's doc traces the life and half-century career of the jazz luminary. When a nervous 17-year-old Ella Fitzgerald won Amateur Night at the Apollo in 1934, the legendary Harlem theater's talent contest was new, and the orphaned teen hadn't planned to sing. She was going to dance, as she had been doing on street corners in the neighborhood. But the Edwards Sisters, hoofers par excellence, preceded her in the lineup, and their showstopping act was one that she didn't dare follow. So she sang. With that spur-of-the-moment decision, the girl who would become one of the all-time greats set her life on its singular trajectory, unleashing a voice of staggering range, power, suppleness and unparalleled improvisatory genius. In one of the many excellent new interviews in Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things, dancer Norma Miller recalls being a rowdy teen in the balcony of that historic Apollo show, and joining in the jeers and boos when the scraggly girl in dirty clothes took the stage. Then Fitzgerald's voice filled the room. "She shut us up so quick," Miller says, "you could hear a rat piss on cotton." Gathering new interviews and a fine selection of archival material, British documentarian Leslie Woodhead tells Fitzgerald's story with a sure feel for the joyous swing and sultry depths of that voice, and a sensitive eye on the complexities of life as a self-made Black woman in 20th century America. The doc's virtual cinema release includes a June 28 conversation and Q&A led by producer Reggie Nadelson, who conducted the film's interviews. Among those he spoke with are singers representing several generations, from relative youngsters Laura Mvula and Jamie Cullum to showbiz veterans including Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Cleo Laine and an especially memorable Patti Austin. Fitzgerald's son, Ray Brown Jr., himself a musician, offers incisive commentary, but his feelings for his mother perhaps come through most powerfully when he croons a few lines of his favorite Ella recording, the Gershwins' "How Long Has This Been Going On?" With evocative footage of the streets and stage venues of New York, Woodhead follows the story through the Harlem Renaissance, the Swing era, the Depression, World War II and the postwar years. Jazz impresario George Wein (now 94) recalls some of Fitzgerald's career moves and management issues, conductor Itzhak Perlman extols the magic of her phrasing, and writers Will Friedwald, Margo Jefferson and Judith Tick lend historical context to the biography. As a child Fitzgerald was part of the Great Migration, the wave of Black Americans leaving the South for industrialized northern cities. In her case the move, with her mother and stepfather, was from Newport News, Virginia, to Yonkers, New York. After her mother's death when Fitzgerald was 13, it's suspected that she endured abuse at home, and it's documented that she was mistreated in a state-run reformatory, from which she escaped. Stepping onto the Apollo stage was one of a series of acts of self-liberation. Her Apollo triumph notwithstanding, Fitzgerald's story is defined not so much by serendipity as it is by hard work and perseverance to match her prodigious talent. Drummer Chick Webb, a popular Harlem bandleader, was resistant at first but became a mentor and made her the featured singer for his big band, and in the process a nationally known star. She recorded her first hit single at 19, and took over as bandleader after Webb's untimely death. (Photographs of the mourners who filled the streets for the funeral in his native Baltimore attest to his popularity and suggest a life story that should be more widely known.) Though she would eventually be known as the First Lady of Song, Fitzgerald also had to withstand being called "the plump chanteuse." That she didn't fit the glamour mold might have haunted her in appearance-obsessed showbiz, but what comes across in candid behind-the-scenes footage of her with Duke Ellington and Count Basie — not to mention a home movie of the elderly Fitzgerald at a kids' backyard birthday party — is a spirited humility, geniality and ease. Mvula describes how thrilling it was for her to discover a monumental singer who looked like she could have been her grandmother: "a Black woman that was really Black." "Everything was race," Miller says of the jazz heyday. "You couldn't go outside your zone." Black people could work at the Cotton Club, onstage and off, but not go there as customers. Even years later, in Los Angeles, the color barrier persisted even for performers at the city's hotspots, and it took the threats and clout of Fitzgerald superfan Marilyn Monroe to secure the singer a crucial booking at the Mocambo. Woodhead excerpts an extraordinary 1963 radio interview in which an atypically unguarded Fitzgerald speaks about the exhausting reality of racial inequality. It was never broadcast. The First Lady of Song's Beverly Hills home had to be purchased in the name of her white manager, Norman Granz. The man who founded the Verve label for Fitzgerald and took her career to a new level, Granz could also be controlling; a backstage scene in which he leans in for a kiss from his client carries a heavy undertow. The film acknowledges, through Fitzgerald's own words as well as in a wrenching rendition of "A House Is Not a Home," a sense of romantic disappointment in the long years after her brief marriage to bebop bass player Ray Brown. They kept working together after their divorce, a testament to the primacy of the work for Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's fans will probably be this film's chief audience. (I'm one of them, lucky enough to have seen her in concert, at Carnegie Hall, and to feel her joyful sound firsthand.) Ideally it will open new eyes and ears to the work of an immortal artist, an incomparable interpreter of the Great American Songbook and a scat singer nonpareil. The latter talent reached an apex with her 1960 scat version of "How High the Moon" during a Berlin show. Within five minutes she quoted the melodies of more than 40 songs in a wide range of genres, many of their titles reeled off here by a well-versed and still astounded Friedwald. Speaking of the transcendent way his mother turned her sublime voice into an instrumental soloist, Brown Jr. likens the feat to "skipping through puddles that could be six feet deep, and never sinking." Just One of Those Things suggests that this was her approach not just to wordless musical improvisation but to life itself. Available in virtual and in-house cinemas
Production company: Eagle Rock Films
Distributor: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Narrator: Sharon D. Clarke
Director: Leslie Woodhead
Producer: Reggie Nadelson
Executive producers: Terry Shand, Geoff Kempin, Jonathan Clyde
Cinematography: Roger Chapman, Andrew Muggleton, Tim Sutton, Peter Nelson, Allan Palmer, David Waterston
Editor: Ian Meller SOURCE

"Ella Fitzgerald made a powerful statement on racism in 1963 – but no one heard it"...USA TODAY delves more into this story with their review of "ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS" - read here.

June 26, 2020 Ella Fitzgerald made a powerful statement on racism in 1963 – but no one heard it Patrick Ryan USA TODAY In 1963, at the height of the civil rights movement, Ella Fitzgerald sat down for an interview with her friend Fred Robbins, a popular New York radio host. Fitzgerald, a legendary Black jazz singer, was coming off a series of international concert tours and the success of her 1960 live album "Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife," which went on to sell more than 1 million copies and win two Grammy Awards, including best female vocal performance. After being embraced by overseas audiences, Fitzgerald returned home to the U.S. and was reminded of the prevalent racism she and other Black musicians encountered in the South. In 1955, for instance, she was arrested in her dressing room at an integrated show in Houston. When she arrived at the police station, an officer asked for her autograph, Fitzgerald recalls. She candidly voiced her frustrations to Robbins in an interview that he promised would air "all over the world." For reasons unknown, the interview was never broadcast. But snippets of their conversation can be heard for the first time in the new documentary "Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things" (available to rent in virtual cinemas). Fitzgerald begins by telling Robbins that she can't play shows in Southern states, which would be legally desegregated in 1964 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. "Maybe I'm stepping out (of line), but I have to say it, because it's in my heart," Fitzgerald says. "It makes you feel so bad to think we can't go down through certain parts of the South and give a concert like we do overseas, and have everybody just come to hear the music and enjoy the music because of the prejudice thing that's going on. "I used to always clam up because you (hear people) say, 'Oh, gee, show people should stay out of politics.' But we have traveled so much and been embarrassed so much. (Fans) can't understand why you don't play in Alabama, or (ask), 'Why can't you have a concert? Music is music.' " She concludes that while it's difficult to change the hearts and minds of "die-hard" racists, she has hope that future generations will be more tolerant. "The die-hards, they're just going to die hard. They're not going to give in," Fitzgerald says. "You've got to try and convince the younger ones, they're the ones who've got to make the future and those are the ones we've got to worry about. Not those die-hards." t was a rare political statement from Fitzgerald, who asks whether the interview will be broadcast in the South. "I really ran my mouth," Fitzgerald says. "Is it going down South? You think they're going to break my records up when they hear it? This is unusual for me but I'm so happy that you had me, because instead of singing for a change, I got a chance to get a few things off my chest. I'm just a human being." "Just One of Those Things" is a comprehensive look at Fitzgerald's life and career, from being discovered as a homeless teen in New York at 16, to her death from a stroke in 1996 at 79. The documentary features interviews with some of her close friends and famous fans, including Tony Bennett, Smokey Robinson and Patti Austin, who recalls how Marilyn Monroe helped Fitzgerald book shows at white-owned venues in the 1950s. "Marilyn Monroe loved Ella Fitzgerald, and said, 'Whatever you need and however I can help you, I am going to do that,'" Austin says. "And she went to the owner of a club and said, 'If you don't open these doors to everybody, I'll make sure nobody shows up.' And she showed up every night, and half the reason everybody showed up was because Marilyn was sitting in the front row going, 'Yo, Ella!'" "I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt," Fitzgerald later said. "After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again." SOURCE

VARIETY'S "ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS" Film Review

June 26, 2020 ‘Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things’: Film Review Ella Fitzgerald mostly kept her sadnesses to herself, which allows a new documentary to spend a lot of time focused on her music. Redferns Early on in “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things,” singer Patti Austin tells the story of how Fitzgerald — traveling with a big band in the 1930s and apparently the only one on the bus with no interest in getting high — would sit in the back with her coat over her head to act as her “own personal filtration system.” That’s good for a laugh, and it’s also good for a sense of relief, in being reminded that this will be the rare film about a 20th century jazz giant that doesn’t have to worry about when to start in on the tragic foreshadowing. Living to a ripe old age, in this genre of documentary, is not just one of those things. It’s suggested in director Leslie Woodhead’s film that Fitzgerald lived a fairly lonely life when she was off the road — but it’s also emphasized that she was rarely ever off the road, and kept whatever sorrows she might have felt largely to herself. That lack of obvious downfall or overt trauma doesn’t make for the greatest sense of narrative momentum in “Just One of Those Things.” But it does mean that Woodhead, either by design or process of elimination, is compelled to shift focus to something that might get less attention in, say, a Billie Holiday documentary: music. There’s a lot of it in the movie, albeit in such short bursts that it’s never as much as you’d like, which could be good for a long tail for her Verve Records catalog after the film hits VOD on June 26. Woodhead’s movie is at its best in how neatly it delineates the different musical phases of Fitzgerald’s career. First, she was a Harlem-based big band singer who broke into the national spotlight in the ’30s and ’40s while still under the baton of an under-remembered mentor, band leader Chick Webb. Then, she was an enthusiastic and brilliantly gifted participant in the bop movement, heading out with smaller and wilder combos, improvising every bit as much as the sax or trumpet players did, to the point that her name is still nearly synonymous with scat singing. In a third musical act, all that accomplished vocal craziness got smoothed out (but not fatally so) when another benevolent mentor, Norman Granz, talked her into shifting to ballads and covering the Great American Songbook, at a time when its pages were still fresh. Race relations were hardly at a progressive state, as the film reminds, but her collections of songs by Berlin, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, et al. were practically de rigueur companion pieces for every suburbanite’s first new hi-fi. It’s hard not to start wishing this film had been made 20 or 30 years ago, when more of Fitzgerald’s contemporaries would have been around to throw first-hand light on her impact. Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis and a handful of other old-timers fleetingly turn up as talking heads, but Woodhead wisely gives more weight than these things usually do to writers who are eloquently able to give verbiage to Fitzgerald’s vocal greatness, notably Margo Jefferson and Will Friedwald. The latter narrates a typical, offhandedly thrilling moment in the singer’s mid-period career when she scat-sang excerpts from 40 songs over the course of five completely spontaneous minutes during a show in Berlin. If you have any doubts that Fitzgerald belongs in the company of Parker and Monk as an improvising jazz great on top of the due she’s given as an Irving Berlin-loving balladeer, this sequence will pretty much settle that. It’s naturally a bit tougher for the filmmaker to bring Fitzgerald into focus as a personality — and “Just One of Those Things” is not very promising a subtitle for a movie you’re hoping will set her out as anything but average. Laine says she “never seemed to have a strong love life in her life” after an early marriage and divorce, and her adopted son, Ray Brown Jr., who has the most emotional on-camera moments, seems to confirm that connection was a tough thing for his mother. A rare bit of Fitzgerald voiceover suggesting an innate loneliness without a man in her life is laid against her recording of “A House is Not a Home.” The movie plants the idea that, in touring for up to 42 weeks a year late into her life, she mated herself with her adoring audiences, the way Bob Dylan and so many road dogs before and after her have. There’s some melancholia in that, but not enough to turn the story of one of the most brilliant singers of anyone’s lifetime into a last-minute tragedy. A jazz movie whose dominant mode — amid valiant efforts to mine some personal sorrow — is actual musical joy? We’ll take it. SOURCE

VIEW "Hysteria" from DEF LEPPARD'S "London To Vegas" HERE

THE ROLLING STONES previously unreleased 1989 concert film "Steel Wheels Live" out on multiple formats on September 25!

EAGLE VISION PROUDLY PRESENTS THE ROLLING STONES – STEEL WHEELS LIVE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED CONCERT FILM OUT SEPTEMBER 25th 2020 ON MULTIPLE FORMATS RESTORED, REMIXED AND REMASTERED SHOW LIVE FROM THE USA FEATURING SPECIAL GUESTS AXL ROSE, IZZY STRADLIN, ERIC CLAPTON & JOHN LEE HOOKER WATCH THE TRAILER HERE PRE-ORDER HERE New York, NY (July 30, 2020)- Today, The Rolling Stones announced details of their previously unreleased 1989 concert film Steel Wheels Live – Atlantic City, New Jersey. This latest release from the band’s archives via Eagle Rock Entertainment has been restored, remixed and remastered and will be available on multiple formats from September 25. Pre-order HERE. Additionally, a double A-sided 10” picture disc of “Rock and a Hard Place” (Live from Atlantic City) and “Almost Hear You Sigh” (Live from Tokyo Dome) will be released for Record Store Day’s second drop date of the year, on September 26. This format will be exclusive to independent record stores all over the world. Their first tour hitting the US since 1981, Steel Wheels was famously one of their longest, and most ambitious, setlists. 2 ½ hours deep, The Rolling Stones not only played their hits, but dared to roll out several new songs from the then-newly released Steel Wheels album. Power-packed renditions of “Terrifying”, “Sad Sad Sad”, “Mixed Emotions”, “Rock and a Hard Place”, and “Can’t Be Seen” sizzle between “Jumping Jack Flash”, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, and “Gimme Shelter”. This was a statement - The Rolling Stones revisiting their vast body of work while confidently showcasing where they were going and the broad spectrums of music they’ve explored over their career. “I would hate to come out with something that’s not startling” Mick Jagger stated about the launch of the 1989/90 Steel Wheels Tour. The Rolling Stones delivered on that promise in this Atlantic City Convention Center tour stop in December ‘89. A highlight of this particular tour stop was the band being joined by special guests: Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin accompany the Stones for the first-ever live performance of “Salt Of The Earth”, from their 1968 Beggars Banquet album. Eric Clapton brings his slow blues burn to “Little Red Rooster”, and joins the Stones in backing up one of their idols, blues legend John Lee Hooker, on “Boogie Chillen”. All in all, Steel Wheels Live is a living testament to The Rolling Stones’ incomparable live shows.
Steel Wheels Live will be released as a limited 180gm 4LP coloured vinyl, DVD + 2CD, SD Blu-ray + 2CD and digital formats. Additionally, the set will be released as a special limited 6-disc version, which includes the Atlantic City performance on DVD, SD-Blu-ray, 2CD, a DVD of their Steel Wheels tour performance at the famed Tokyo Dome, as well as Steel Wheels Rare Reels, a CD featuring tracks which didn’t feature on the core tour setlist. Official Rolling Stones website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube About Eagle Vision Eagle Vision is an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, the world-leading producer and distributor of music-related audiovisual content. Founded in 1997, the multi-award-winning company completes over 50 productions a year including concerts, documentaries, scripted formats and specials representing over 2,000 hours of programming. The vast catalogue includes work by award-winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brett Morgan, Paul Dugdale, Stanley Nelson and Bob Smeaton. Eagle Rock has worked alongside a variety of artists including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Jay Z, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath and Imagine Dragons. eagle-rock.com

THE ROLLING STONES "Steel Wheels Live" trailer

Forbes.com highlights THE ROLLING STONES "Steel Wheels Live"

July 30, 2020 Rolling Stones Promise Satisfaction Via ‘Steel Wheels Live’ Concert Film British musician Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones performs on stage during the band's 'Steel Wheels' tour, late 1989. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES Just when you thought you’d never get to go to a concert again, rock and roll’s longest-running and arguably greatest band, The Rolling Stones, is reaching back into their archival film vault to release a long-awaited documentary presentation of their legendary, 1989 Steel Wheels world tour. According to Rolling Stone Magazine, fans should mark September 25th on their calendars, to seek out the concert film via Eagle Rock Entertainment. The Stones’ 1989 Steel Wheels series of dates was viewed by many as a comeback of sorts, as the British rockers hadn’t toured since 1982, allowing other mega-acts like Michael Jackson, Prince, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Van Halen, The Police and Guns ‘n Roses to dominate pop and rock arenas around the world, while also providing the soundtrack of the 1980’s. Stones’ classics like ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’, ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, ‘Paint It Black’, ‘Emotional Rescue’ and ‘Wild Horses’ had helped brand the rock and blues sound of the 1960’s and 70’s, but the band had largely given the 1980’s up to other acts and other music genres, including the emerging hip-hop and rap scene. While The Rolling Stones had a major hit with the album ‘Tattoo You’ in 1981, featuring the timeless track, ‘Start Me Up’ - - they sat out touring for the rest of the ‘80s until their release of ‘Steel Wheels’ in 1989. Those seven years between staged shows represented their longest break in touring since the band was formed in the early 1960’s. Featuring songs that have now become modern-day classics, like ‘Sad Sad Sad’, ‘Mixed Emotions’ and ‘Rock and a Hard Place’, ‘Steel Wheels’ was an energetic, lively and worthy addition to the canon of Stones’ anthems and ballads, and fans were eager to reward them with handsome album sales and packed concert arenas. One night in October of 1989, I was one of the lucky 100,000 who attended the Steel Wheels tour in Los Angeles, with Guns ‘n Roses opening for the Stones at the L.A. Coliseum. To be candid, at the time I was more excited about seeing Axl Rose and his band play, than I was for the title act. But everyone in attendance was rewarded with a fantastic Stones show, sealing in my memory one of my favorite concert experiences of all time. It will be an exciting and much-needed relief to get to once more experience that thrilling concert (which also features Axl Rose, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker), especially as all of us are staring down the real possibility of a new national order to shelter-in-place. As some concerts are already happening elsewhere around the world, the U.S. remains too dangerous a place for audiences to gather or for bands to perform. Virtual performances, like The Steel Wheels concert film, must suffice as the U.S. waits out the pandemic. Some may find it bitterly ironic that even though The Stones are offering up this trip down memory lane as a welcome respite, we should note that they taped the concert in Atlantic City - - at The Trump Casino Convention Hall. Sad, sad, sad. SOURCE

In this new interview with CNN.com, Ian Paice discusses working with Bob Ezrin on DEEP PURPLE's new album Whoosh! - View the interview here!

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Thank you, Goldmine Magazine for this COVER FEATURE INTERVIEW with Deep Purple! On stands now - September 2020 issue.

DEEP PURPLE’s Ian Gillan talks ‘Smoke on the Water,’ 'Whoosh!' with Fox News - read here!

August 11, 2020 Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan talks ‘Smoke on the Water,’ 'Whoosh!' and strangest fan encounter Deep Purple has zero plans to slow down. The rock band is releasing their 21st studio album, “Whoosh!,” on Aug. 7, making it their third release produced by Bob Ezrin, of Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd fame. Singer/songwriter Ian Gillan, along with Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey, were invited by Ezrin to Nashville to write and record the album. It was there where the group adopted the motto “Deep Purple is putting the Deep back in Purple.” And Gillan, 74, has plenty to say about the Deep Purple’s lasting success. Gillan spoke to Fox News about Deep Purple’s determination to make music for fans, how he really feels about “Smoke on the Water,” the one artist that surprised him and the most unique encounter he’s ever had with a fan. Fox News: Looking back, what do you believe has been the secret behind Deep Purple’s lasting success?
Ian Gillian: I think it’s simple, really. You have to get along with each other pretty well. And the band has evolved as human beings, as individuals and as teams. We’ve had our ups and downs. But you take strength from every disappointment, every failure, every dark period. The band really is a group go people who have experienced changed but together, we’re stable. Ian Gillan performing live onstage circa '70s. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty) And that’s a good thing. We are professional musicians. We have no illusions about fame. Sometimes things happen that you have no control over. Technology happens. But we have remained constant. And I think you can certainly see and hear that in our music. And we have to adapt. There’s really no other way to survive the business. But the secret to our success? I think it’s just being a family. Fox News: Everyone is familiar with “Smoke On the Water.” When did you realize that song had become larger than life?
Gillan: It was a delayed process. The song had very humble beginnings. It wasn’t even supposed to be on the album. We were short seven minutes when we were recording in Switzerland and after the fire of the casino [in Montreaux]. We only had a few days left to record the album. And I remember on the last day, the engineer says, “You’re short seven minutes.” So we just quickly wrote a song based on what had happened and forgot about it. We just thought it would be a good song to finish the album. We went on the road as if nothing had happened. And initially, the song wasn’t played on the radio because it was too long. But after it was edited for radio, that’s when it became a commercial success. Who would have thought that to this day, we would still be talking about this song? And it became so influential to many other artists over the years. We still play that song today. Fox News: What’s the strangest or most unusual encounter you’ve ever had with a fan?
Gillan: One time we were in Brazil and there was a fan named Yvonne the Tigress who was a lunchtime stripper. We all went along to see her. She sang “Smoke On the Water” to the accompaniment of a conga drum. And it’s the only time I’ve been to a strip club - and I’ve been to many of them - where I’ve seen that happened… Wonderful experience. That’s the oddest one. Fox News: As an artist, how do you feel about audiences making cellphones part of their concert experience?
Gillan: Well, at first it was weird. It just connected with me. Why would someone film you at a show when they’re at the show and missing out on the experience? But generations change. It became pointless to try and resist that tidal wave. We kind of got used to it. In fact, it became amusing to see everyone holding up their phones in the air when back in the day, it was lighters. Initially, I didn’t understand why everyone had to share everything and be in constant communication. But [with this pandemic], thank goodness for it. Because my phone hasn’t stopped ringing thanks to friends and well-wishers from around the world. I may not always understand it, but I’m too old *laughs*. Fox News: What does it take for an artist to make it in 2020?
Gillan: Holy moly, I have no idea. I can only tell you from my own experience. Performing is key. You’ve got to get people watching you somehow. You can be celebrated as the greatest musician on the planet by the press. But that means nothing if you can’t even play an instrument or write a lyric. Find one thing in music that you’re passionate about and master the craft of it, whether it be playing one instrument, singing or even songwriting. Vocalist Ian Gillan of Deep Purple performs on stage at Pechanga Casino on September 06, 2019, in Temecula, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images) Success doesn’t mean getting recognition from the press, although that is always nice. Being commercially successful shouldn’t be the only reason to pursue music. It’s about creating music, enjoying it for yourself and making it enjoyable for others. That’s what’s truly fantastic. Trends change and everything moves so quickly now. My advice is to learn your music, love it and enjoy it as a friend for life. Fox News: Who’s one artist that perhaps early on in your career you weren’t necessarily a fan of, but you went on to have a deep appreciation for and why?
Gillan: The big band jazz era was just before my time… And I think every generation tries to sweep away the past to have space for your own life and teenage culture. So consequently, there’s a gap between generations. [But] I remember working with Sammy Davis Jr. at the London Hilton back in the ‘60s. I was in awe. I thought, “Wow, this is way above and beyond anything I’ve ever seen.” He was extremely talented, but he also knew how to perform on stage. I learned lots of lessons just from watching him… It goes to show that musical history is very important. Now I can relate… We may want to rebel from the past, go against it, but there are still many lessons to be learned. Fox News: How does it feel to release a new album at this point in your career?
Gillian: It’s nice, to be honest. I feel like we’re back in the ‘70s. There’s this energy that’s quite fascinating to me. How does it feel? It feels good because we had a lot of fun making this record. We spent five or six days in Germany earlier this year. Then we went to Nashville for two and a half weeks where we did the writing and arrangements. It was remarkably quick. Then I rented a cottage on the banks of the Cumberland River, overlooking the Grand Ole Opry. So I can hear the music floating from across the river until the early hours of the morning. And then I would sit up all through the night and write in this magical atmosphere. How do I feel? Pretty good. It’s nice when you finish a project and you’re happy with the result. Fox News: What was it about Nashville that became a place of inspiration for you?
Gillan: I have to be quite honest with you, but I just think the circumstances were good. Our producer, who’s Canadian, lives in Nashville. And he has a place in Nashville where you have everything you need. It was a fantastic, relaxing environment to make a record. It was more from a practical point of view than an inspirational one. Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Jon Lord (standing at back) and Ritchie Blackmore. (Jorgen Angel/Redferns/Getty) But with certain places, you’re always drawn back to something that’s familiar and a creative environment. Nashville became that for me. Plus, if you want to go out and have a good night, you can’t go wrong with Nashville *laughs*. You can hear all kinds of bands and musicians here to get inspired. The country aspect may be part of its heritage, but it’s got a lot more going on here. SOURCE

USA Today touts DEEP PURPLE'S "Whoosh!" as one of their 10 Albums To Listen To This Month!

August 7, 2020 10 albums you need to hear this month, including Katy Perry, Deep Purple and Glass Animals Are you still crying to "Folklore?" If you're anything like us, you've had Taylor Swift's alternative-pop masterpiece on repeat ever since she surprise released it two weeks ago, successfully destroying what little was left of us emotionally. The album made a historic bow on the charts this past week, debuting at No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 (with heart-tugging lead single "Cardigan"). But if turtlenecks are more your style – or you simply want some fresh tunes – there's plenty of new music coming down the pike this month. From snarling rock anthems to dance-floor-ready bops, here are the 10 albums across genres that should be on your radar this month. Deep Purple, 'Whoosh!' (released Friday) For 21st studio album "Whoosh!", the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers teamed up once again with producer Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd), with the half-joking goal of "putting the Deep back in Purple," the band said in a statement. Written and recorded in Nashville, the album tackles timely subjects of an uncertain future ("Throw My Bones") and "demented" politicians ("No Need to Shout"). SOURCE

Associated Press says DEEP PURPLE "evokes best years on mighty ‘Whoosh!’" - Read the full review HERE!

August 6, 2020 Review: Deep Purple evokes best years on mighty ‘Whoosh!’ Deep Purple, “Whoosh!” (earMUSIC) “Whoosh!” makes it three-for-three for the pairing of Deep Purple and producer Bob Ezrin, an album that at its numerous heights evokes the band’s most successful era of the early ’70s. With a stable lineup for nearly 20 years, the hard rock pioneers’ new album is built on its best assets: Ian Gillan’s robust vocals, the sturdy foundation set by the rhythm section of Ian Paice and Roger Glover, Steve Morse’s inventive inventory of six-string tones and phrasings, and Don Airey’s Hammond A-100. An album’s first song is not necessarily its first single, but “Throw My Bones,” which is both, is aural candy of the first order and a magnificent reintroduction after the three-year break since the previous studio effort, “Infinite.” “Drop the Weapon,” a call for de-escalation and wise choices; “We’re All the Same In the Dark,” a tongue-in-cheek, slightly desperate pick-up line; the decibel-denouncing “No Need to Shout”; and the haunting “Step By Step” all keep the needles in or near the red. Even among top-notch individual performances and the ensemble’s cohesion, Airey’s keyboard excellence stands out and his and Morse’s Bach-like runs on power ballad “Nothing at All” -- with plenty more potency than balladry -- are magnificent. As for instrumental “And the Address,” is Deep Purple really saying goodbye or is its place in the running order, and the mere fact that it was re-recorded, only a tease in the way the Beatles fed the “Paul is dead” rumors with clues in songs supposedly confirming his premature demise? After all, the group’s 2017-2019 tour was called “The Long Goodbye” but concerts are planned, post-pandemic, behind this album, as well. Written by the two members of Deep Purple’s towering “Mark II” lineup missing from the current roster, Ritchie Blackmore and the late Jon Lord, “And the Address” is the last song on the album, but for a bonus track. It was also the first tune on the band’s 1968 debut, “Shades of Deep Purple,” so is it just a coincidence or are they completing the circle and really drawing the shades on their career? Any ensemble still willing and able to emulate its best years shouldn’t call it quits after an album as good as “Whoosh!” -- unless Deep Purple wants to go out on a peak. SOURCE

RICKY BYRD Continues His Journey As A Recovery Troubadour With The September 25 Release Of New Album "Sobering Times"

RICKY BYRD Continues His Journey As A Recovery Troubadour With The September 25 Release Of New Album SOBERING TIMES

New York, NY (August 24, 2020)--On September 25, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (2015 inductee with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts) and guitarist/singer-songwriter Ricky Byrd presents Sobering Times (Kayos Records). Pre-orders are currently available at www.rickybyrd.com. Sobering Times is an honest and intimate reflection of recovery delivered through his signature brand of Rock ‘N’ Roll. As Goldmine Magazine states “...The Faces and The Rolling Stones with a dash of Otis...It rocks like a b*tch. His vocals are the best of his career...early indications make it seem likely that this will be his career statement.” Following the path he carved with his 2017 album Clean Getaway, Sobering Times (produced by Ricky Byrd and Bob Stander) continues his mission to deliver the message of hope to those recovering from addiction. He expresses the roller coaster of emotions and every day trials of recovery, from hitting rock bottom, to the gratitude of surviving and thriving in a sober life. On Sobering Times, Byrd is joined by an all-star cast of musicians: Bob Stander (bass guitar, percussion), Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (keyboards/ accordion/background vocals), Steve Holley (of Wings / Ian Hunter / Joe Cocker, contributed drums to most of the album), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel, drums), Rich Pagano (The Fab Faux, session drummer), Thommy Price (Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Mink DeVille, drums) and Christine “The Beehive Queen” Ohlman (vocalist, Saturday Night Live band). Additionally, he collaborated with Richie Supa (“I Come Back Stronger”) and Willie Nile, who duets with Byrd on “Recover Me”, in addition to Emily Duff, who co-wrote “Ain’t Gonna Live Like That.” Fittingly, he also recorded a cover of Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down”. Byrd chose the Sobering Times release date of September 25 as it’s also the 33rd anniversary of the day he started his sober journey. Having lived through the disease of addiction himself, Byrd has made it his mission to help others as a recovery coach and drug/alcohol counselor, who visits schools, rehab facilities, and detention and detox centers to perform, talk, and lead recovery music groups. In fact, he gave away almost 2500 copies of Clean Getaway at these facilities, so clients could take the message of recovery home with them. He dedicates Sobering Times to all of those who struggle with addiction, as well as the recovery warriors who help those who are struggling, those that support a clean and sober lifestyle, and of course, those that still love loud and proud Rock ‘N’ Roll. “As far as third acts go, I couldn't be more grateful for mine,” says Byrd. “I get to use the undeniable power of R'n'R to spread the recovery message to those that are struggling....pretty... pretty... pretty good.” “I Wanna Sing About How Lucky I Am You’re Looking At One Grateful Man I Should Be Long Gone Yet Here I Stand Hear My Song” 1.) Quittin’ Time (Again) 2.) Together 3.) Hear My Song 4.) Tired 5.) I Come Back Stronger 6.) Starlit Night 7.) Recover Me (feat. Willie Nile) 8.) Ain’t Gonna Live Like That 9.) Pour Me 10.) The Bottle Let Me Down 11.) Life Is Good 12.) Just Like You Although best known for his time with The Blackhearts, Byrd has also recorded and played with Roger Daltrey, and toured with Ian Hunter and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, respectively. He is also proud to have shared stages with such music royalty as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Smokey Robinson, and Mavis Staples, among others. www.RickyByrd.com # # #

Get to know one of the most likable, successful and complex guitar players in music history. "RONNIE WOOD: Somebody Up There Likes Me" receives a North American virtual cinema release on September 18!

EAGLE VISION PROUDLY PRESENTS RONNIE WOOD SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME A FILM TRACING HIS 50-YEAR JOURNEY TO BE RELEASED IN NORTH AMERICA AS A VIRTUAL CINEMA EVENT STARTING SEPTEMBER 18 AT RONNIEWOODMOVIE.COM DVD, BLU-RAY RELEASE TO FOLLOW LATER THIS YEAR Pre-order here Watch Trailer here “The perfect rock and roll treat” – The London Film Festival “Never less than honest” – The Times New York, NY (August 27, 2020)--Eagle Rock Entertainment proudly presents the first in-depth film biography of iconic musician Ronnie Wood with the release of Somebody Up There Likes Me. An official selection at both the Tribeca Film Festival 2020 and the BFI London Film Festival 2019, the film (by acclaimed director Mike Figgis) will be available in North America as a Virtual Cinema release starting September 18 at www.ronniewoodmovie.com, running through October. This will be followed by a DVD, Blu-ray and deluxe hardback book release on October 9. Pre-orders are available now. Those who purchase a ticket ($11) will also be treated to a Q&A with Wood and Figgis. As an artist, musician, producer and author, Ronnie Wood has made countless contributions to the cultural zeitgeist. Yet, there is so much more to know about the man himself. This intimate portrait traces the many lives and careers of one of the most important guitarists in music, capturing what it means to be a rock ‘n’ roll icon. Somebody Up There Likes Me traces Wood’s 50-year musical history, from The Birds, The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces (with Rod Stewart), and The New Barbarians, to becoming a permanent member of The Rolling Stones. Additionally, Mike Figgis captures Wood’s charismatic warmth, energy and honesty as he speaks openly about his battles with drink and drugs. The film takes its title from a conversation with Wood about surviving his chronic smoking habit: “When they operated on my cancer, they took away my emphysema. They said my lungs were as if I’d never smoked. I thought: ‘How’s that for a Get Out Of Jail Free card?’ Somebody up there likes me, and somebody down here likes me too.” The documentary features brand new interviews with Wood’s Rolling Stones bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts, as well as his Faces bandmate, Rod Stewart. Other interviewees include Wood’s wife Sally Wood, singer Imelda May and artist Damien Hirst, alongside both present-day performances and archive footage from Wood's stellar multi-band career. These interviews and performance segments blend with footage of Wood playing guitar and harmonica (a reminder of his talents as a versatile instrumentalist), as well as quiet, personal moments while he paints in his studio. It climaxes with Wood giving a beautiful, intimate performance of “Breathe On Me” from his 1975 solo album New Look. Somebody Up There Likes Me is a fresh look at Ronnie Wood – a rewarding and compelling insight into one of music’s most likable, successful and complex key players. Ronnie describes the film as summing up “the essence of survival” in a life he continues to live to the fullest, without regrets, “I wouldn’t change anything except I’d do it with my eyes open a bit more,” he says, “I was in the hands of destiny all my life…and being in the right place at the right time”. Virtual cinema tickets here DVD pre-order here
Official Ronnie Wood website Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube About Eagle Vision Eagle Vision is an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, the world-leading producer and distributor of music-related audiovisual content. Founded in 1997, the multi-award-winning company completes over 50 productions a year including concerts, documentaries, scripted formats and specials representing over 2,000 hours of programming. The vast catalogue includes work by award-winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brett Morgan, Paul Dugdale, Stanley Nelson and Bob Smeaton. Eagle Rock has worked alongside a variety of artists including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Jay Z, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath and Imagine Dragons. eagle-rock.com

Eagle Vision To Release Two Documentaries Celebrating American Jazz Icons: "ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS" and "COUNT BASIE: THROUGH HIS OWN EYES" on Digital Formats on September 11

EAGLE VISION TO RELEASE TWO DOCUMENTARIES CELEBRATING AMERICAN JAZZ ICONS ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS COUNT BASIE: THROUGH HIS OWN EYES ~ON DIGITAL FORMATS SEPTEMBER 11, 2020~ New York, NY (August 26, 2020)--This fall, Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate the legacy of two jazz music icons, with the release of Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things and Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes. These documentary films will be available exclusively on digital formats on September 11. Recently enjoying a hugely successful Virtual Cinema release, Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things presents a deep, insightful look into the life of The “First Lady Of Song”. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Leslie Woodhead and produced by novelist Reggie Nadelson, the film combines never-before-seen footage with conversations with Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Itzhak Perlman, Norma Miller, the late Andre Previn, and a rare conversation with Ella Fitzgerald’s son, Ray Brown Jr. Ella Fitzgerald’s journey is thoroughly explored, from her youth as a kid on the streets of Harlem during the Great Depression, to her meteoric rise to renowned jazz singer, innovator, and international superstar against the odds of severe racism and sexism. Blackbook called it “completely absorbing…”, while Hollywood Reporter stated the film captures “Fitzgerald's story with a sure feel for the joyous swing and sultry depths of that voice, and a sensitive eye on the complexities of life as a self-made Black woman in 20th century America.” Known as the “King Of the Swing Kings,” legendary bandleader / pianist / composer Count Basie is revered for his musical achievements. The first African-American to win a Grammy, he helped elevate jazz to a serious, respected artform in his 60+ year career, bringing it from clubs to concert halls. Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes unveils the man behind the music, as Basie tells his story in his own words. A revealing biography of this jazz pioneer, the film uncovers his inspirations and passions, as well as his private and family life. Director Jeremy Marre layers the film with a wealth of home movies and photo albums, underscoring Basie’s conversations of his relationship with wife Catherine (whose work in African-American causes placed her at the side of Martin Luther King) and his protective, undying love for his daughter Diane, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Featuring rare performances with Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis Jr., and more, the film is a well-rounded lens, encapsulating both Count Basie’s legacy and his personal life. Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things and Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes are both incredible documents about these pivotal figures of American music. ABOUT EAGLE ROCK Eagle Vision is an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, the world-leading producer and distributor of music-related audiovisual content. Founded in 1997, the multi-award-winning company completes over 50 productions a year including concerts, documentaries, scripted formats and specials representing over 2,000 hours of programming. The vast catalogue includes work by award-winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brett Morgen, Paul Dugdale, Stanley Nelson and Bob Smeaton. Eagle Rock has worked alongside a variety of artists including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Jay Z, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath and Imagine Dragons. For more information visit www.eagle-rock.com.

VIEW the trailer for COUNT BASIE: THROUGH HIS OWN EYES here!

Thank you so much to Newsweek for spreading the word on RICKY BYRD's "Sobering Times" album!

August 30, 2020 We Love Rock 'n Roll: Ricky Byrd FRANKIE BYRD
On the Street Jukebox: On September 25, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist/singer/songwriter Ricky Byrd (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) will release his latest album, Sobering Times. You can, and should, pre-order—right here. Great stuff—and a hell of a supporting cast with musicians who have worked with Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Billy Idol and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Mr. Byrd, by the way, was my band coach at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp, which I wrote about for Fortune magazine many years ago. He's a pretty patient guy and was nice enough not to make fun of me...Back next week. Be safe. SOURCE

Thank you, Variety, for highlighting the release of "ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS" and "COUNT BASIE: THROUGH HIS OWN EYES!"

August 26, 2020 Film News in Brief: Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie Documentaries Scheduled for September Ella Fitzgerald, County Basic Documentaries Scheduled Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate two jazz icons with the Sept. 11 digital release of “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One Of Those Things” and “Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes.” The Fitzgerald documentary is directed by Leslie Woodhead and produced by novelist Reggie Nadelson. It combines never-before-seen footage with conversations featuring Smokey Robinson, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Itzhak Perlman, Norma Miller, the late Andre Previn, and a rare conversation with Ella Fitzgerald’s son, Ray Brown Jr.“ Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes” is directed by Jeremy Marre and contains home movies and photo albums, underscoring Basie’s conversations of his relationship with wife Catherine and his protective, undying love for his daughter Diane, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It features rare performances with Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and Sammy Davis Jr.

"RONNIE WOOD: Somebody Up There Likes Me" highlighted on Ultimate Classic Rock

September 20, 2020 Ronnie Wood discusses his successful attempt to give up drinking and drugs in a new clip from the documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me. After a number of bids over the years, the Rolling Stones guitarist managed to clean up his act in 2009. He notes in the excerpt that he understands the difference between that attempt and the and previous ones.“ I thought I’d better change,” Wood said. “Change my way of thinking. Nothing was working … dope-wise. The coke wasn’t working. The drink wasn’t working. I’d try one more just to see if I could cut through it, and I’d turn into this sour person … and I thought, ‘This is not me.’” He added: “I took the ‘brave move’ again – but this time for myself – to abstain and try and clean up my act.” In the clip, two of his bandmates talked about his success, with Mick Jagger saying, “It’s really hard to do, but he knew he wanted to do it … if you don’t want to do it, it’s really impossible.” Keith Richards, despite having giving his bandmate a hard time in 2009, noted, “Ronnie’s just built like that. He’s kind of like me — I’ve broken every bone in my body. He has a great immune system … in fact, he’s very like me, with a great pain threshold.”
“A man still at the cutting edge in his [70s], the film tells the story from his humble beginnings in north London, where his older brothers shaped the musical powerhouse he would become, to the unique career that has not only spanned over 50 years (so far) but also traversed some of the most influential musicians the world has ever known,” movie producers said in a statement. “Ronnie guides us on a journey through his life – painting and performing, accompanied by the friends, musicians and artists who have been part of his life over the years.” Ronnie Wood: Somebody Up There Likes Me is streaming now and will be released in home video formats on Oct. 9. SOURCE

Thank you, Rolling Stone, for premiering a video clip from "RONNIE WOOD: Somebody Up There Likes Me"

September 18, 2020 Watch Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Reflect on Ron Wood’s Sobriety in New Documentary Clip Ron Wood documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me is out now The new documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me traces the career of Ron Wood, from his days as the bassist in the Jeff Beck Band, through his brief and boozy tenure in the Faces with life-long friend Rod Stewart, to his long run in the Rolling Stones. The film features new interviews with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charle Watts and Rod Stewart, along with Wood himself. It’s available now as a Virtual Cinema release on the movie’s official website and will arrive on DVD/Blu-ray on October 9th. In this exclusive clip, Wood explains why he finally quit drugs and alcohol after decades of abusing his body. “Nothing was working,” he says. “The coke wasn’t working. The drink wasn’t working. [I] tried one more to see if I could cut through it and I turned into this sour person. I thought, ‘This is not me.’ Took the brave move again, but this time for myself, to try and abstain and clean up my act.” Jagger has seen several bandmates go through this journey. “It’s really hard to do,” he says. “But he knew that he wanted to do it, which is obviously part of the thing. If you don’t want to do it, it’s really impossible. But he wanted to do it and found it really difficult to do.” The film, which was directed by Mike Figgis, takes its title from an offhand comment that Wood gave about undergoing cancer surgery after years of cigarette use. “When they operated on my cancer, they took away my emphysema,” he said. “They said my lungs were as if I’d never smoked. I thought: ‘How’s that for a Get Out of Jail Free card?’ Somebody up there likes me, and somebody down here likes me, too.” Elsewhere in the movie, Wood demonstrates how he creates his paintings and plays a handful of tunes, including the 1973 Faces song “Oh La La” and “Breathe On Me” from his 1975 solo LP New Look. Wood was supposed to spend the summer of 2020 on tour in North America with the Rolling Stones, but the pandemic forced them to cancel the shows. “In Europe, we’ve had small-scale concerts,” Jagger recently told Rolling Stone. “We’ve had socially distanced concerts. You can see [concerts] starting in some parts of the world, New Zealand, Australia, so on. But as far as the U.S. is concerned, we don’t really know what the future holds. So many people [are] out of work, losing money. Is it ever going to be the same again? Will it be always different? We just don’t know.” SOURCE

RICKY BYRD talks to Zach Martin / New HD USA re: recovery and "Sobering Times" - Very insightful! Watch here!

RICKY BYRD discusses "Sobering Times" with ABC Audio - read here!

September 28, 2020 Ex-Joan Jett guitarist Ricky Byrd says new recovery-themed album 'Sobering Times' is " all rock 'n' roll" Kayos Records Former Joan Jett & the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd has just released his third solo album, Sobering Times. Like Byrd's previous album, 2017's Clean Getaway, the new record features songs focusing on the struggles of addiction and maintaining a sober lifestyle. "[I]t follows the same theme [as Clean Getaway]," Ricky tells ABC Audio. "[I]t's about addiction, recovery, hope, change for the better. But make no mistake, it's all rock 'n' roll." Byrd has personal experience with the subject, and he decided to release Sobering Times on the 33rd anniversary of the start of his own sobriety. Ricky says making a concept album also gave him the luxury of jumping around to a variety of musical styles he loves. "Look at it this way: Yeah, I'm on Highway 61 [or] Route 66 or whatever, but I'm making stops in different towns that have different music," he explains. "So, I could do a little bit of acoustic, folky kind of stuff there. There's a little R&B over here. Yeah, there's some Faces over here. Some juke joint over here…Some little bluesy [song]. A variety of musical guests contributed to Sobering Times, including ex-Wings drummer Steve Holley, longtime Blackhearts drummer Thommy Price, former Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes keyboardist Jeff Kazee. The album also features a duet with veteran New York singer/songwriter Willie Nile on a song called "Recover Me" that Byrd and Nile co-wrote. Ricky says its among the only duet recordings he's ever done. "I wanted it to be like a [rocking] Sam & Dave kind of thing," he tells ABC Audio. "And that's what it turned out like." Sobering Times is available now on CD and digitally. You can purchase signed CDs and special bundles at RickyByrd.com. By Matt Friedlander
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. <iframe></iframe> Byrdman · TOGETHER SOURCE

Forbes: "Ricky Byrd’s ‘Sobering Times’ Brings Rock To Recovery"

September 22, 2020 Ricky Byrd’s ‘Sobering Times’ Brings Rock To Recovery New York, NY, 2020 - Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd (Photo by Frankie Byrd) FRANKIE BYRD Veteran rocker Ricky Byrd’s latest album showcases the guitar skills and musicianship that landed him a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (a 2015 inductee with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts), but Byrd insists that Sobering Times (to be released on September 25) isn’t just about guitar playing. The album also showcases Byrd’s commitment to using his music to support those affected by addiction. Coming on the heels of his 2017 well-received, recovery-inspired album Clean Getaway and released in conjunction with the anniversary of his sobriety journey that began 33 years ago, Sobering Times is pure rock and roll wrapped around empowering messages. Millions of adolescents and adults in the U.S. are affected by substance abuse disorders. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 20.3 million people aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year. Get information on alcohol and substance abuse and mental health resources via the Centers for Disease Control. Slated for release before the pandemic heightened addiction issues and introduced another layer of obstacles (like difficulties in accessing treatment, additional stressors, and stress-induced increases in alcohol and substance use) for affected individuals and families, Sobering Times offers up classic rock and a supportive message-driven playlist for those touched by addiction. Byrd believes the message is the primary goal, but within that, his focus was to create a “cool” rock and roll record. “I’m not trying to have hit records. I'm trying to like save some kid's life and help somebody maybe hear something that they might need to hear. And if you just love rock and roll, it's a straight up rock and roll record. You know, there's some ballads on it, some cool different stuff, but it's my sound—the music is sort of like everything I grew up on." Was it difficult for him to create more theme-driven content beyond Clean Getaway? “This is what I do now,” says Byrd who has also studied to be a recovery coach. “What's funny is after the Clean Getaway record, I'm having issues trying to write about anything else but recovery. I'm just like locked in. But that's a good thing because I've become this—Recovery Troubadour. And I love that.” During his tours of treatment facilities, Byrd has given away about 2,500 copies of Clean Getaway so that patients could “take the message home with them.” As he discusses the evolution of the songs for the new album, it sounds like a process that began as a support group and morphed into a sounding board and inspiring source. “They [the songs] come from me traveling around the country to treatment facilities where I lead recovery music groups. So I write these songs and then I play them for the clients in treatment…When I wrote the new songs, I would bring that into treatment. I played those and I would get these people loving the songs or coming over to me afterwards and go, ‘Dude, you told my story, you know.’” Group feedback helped Byrd realize he definitely had another record in him, eventually he would have to narrow down those new songs to the 12 that would land in the album. With tracks like “Quittin’ Time (Again)” and “Together” to “Just Like You,” Sobering Times captures a range of emotions and song styles. Produced by Byrd and Bob Stander, Sobering Times musicians include Stander (bass guitar, percussion), Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (keyboards/ accordion/background vocals), Steve Holley (of Wings / Ian Hunter / Joe Cocker, contributed drums to most of the album), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel, drums), Rich Pagano (The Fab Faux, session drummer), Thommy Price (Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Mink DeVille, drums) and Christine “The Beehive Queen” Ohlman (vocalist, Saturday Night Live band). Byrd has been hearing a lot from those struggling with addiction and the recovery process, especially during the pandemic. He emphasizes the importance of reaching out for help, finding community support group meetings, including virtual support groups, and helping others. Adds the rocker, “Helping other people is an enormous plus for the spirit of somebody that's in recovery...I have to feel that that's why we're here in the first place anyway.” SOURCE

RICKY BYRD interviewed for AmericanSongwriter.com

September 24, 2020 Ricky Byrd Talks His Life in Recovery and How He is Using Rock and Roll to Help Others Before Ricky Byrd joined Joan Jett and The Blackhearts for a wild ride and career, he was just a kid from New York, listening to AM radio hits by The Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra. As a teen, he idolized the stars that graced the pages of Kerrang and Creem magazines in the 70s. And at the same time, he began to idolize their rock and roll lifestyles of glitz and drugs, just as much as the music. In the ‘70s and ‘80s before the takeover and intersection of black tar, china white, Nirvana and Soundgarden, cocaine had its grip over the rock world, and not too much longer after that, it had its hold over Byrd too, for almost ten years. Today Byrd is celebrating 33 years sober and partying the only way he does nowadays, with music and a new record, titled Sobering Times. Sobering Times follows his 2017 release Clean Getaway and is the second record from Byrd’s catalog that follows the concept theme of recovery, taking the listener through his journey as an addict, while offering up solutions in each song that can put the listener on the road to recovery. And Byrd inserted his advice into each song without being overbearing and “preachy” as he describes some recovery to be. “I used for 18 years, on a daily basis,” Byrd told American Songwriter. “Once cocaine came in the ‘80s, all bets were off and it ripped my brains out- that and Jack Daniels.” The Sobering Times tracklist itself lays out a narrative with titles like, the opener; “Quittin Time (Again) to the mid-point, punk rock anthem, “Recover Me,” featuring Willie Nile to “Life is Good” and “Just Like You” that close the album and conclude Byrd’s story on a hopeful note. Due to the intimate content of the album, Byrd wanted to write as much of the album’s content as independently as he could, which was less the case on Clean Getaway, where he did more co-writes. But that’s not to say there weren’t any this time around. “Ain’t Gonna Live Like That,” is a co-write with Emily Duff and “I Come Back Stronger” was a collaboration between Byrd and his friend Richie Supa. “I always write the music and I co-write the lyrics,” Byrd said. “Unless I’m sitting in a room with somebody it’s hard, where we can both play and say ‘hey try this’ or ‘do this chord.’ With Emily I sent her the track and we never got together in person. Same thing with Ritchie I sent him the music and he sent me few lines and we went back and forth. With Willie, I actually went to his apartment in the Village and we scrapped it out there in person, which is my favorite.” When Byrd got sober in 1987, he learned quite quickly what he needed to do to continue being a force in music and further collaborate after his departure from Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in ‘91. Since then his songwriting has only gotten better, which can often be the adverse reaction for artists who get clean, who often find inspiration hard to come by. “I just got better,” Byrd said about his songwriting abilities after maintaining his sobriety. “I had less self-doubt and worked more on instincts. I became better at everything I did when I got clean. But it took a while, it didn’t happen overnight.” “I played with Joan ‘81-‘91 and I got sober in ‘87, so I was on the road, in the same circus and I kind of had to maneuver around that,” Byrd added. “I learned quickly to not hang out in people’s rooms after the show or at the bar. I spent a lot of time going straight to my room. And I remember being on the Aerosmith tour and they had just changed their mode of living as well so I could always hang out with those guys backstage. And when we were on the bus, I would try to keep to myself in my bunk.” Sobriety not only affected his songwriting and perspective, but also his desire to help others in his situation. Along with being a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with two solo albums, he is also training to become a drug and alcohol counselor and spoke at workshops all over New York and the country frequently, prior to the pandemic. He shared his recovery songs during these workshops as well as his story about getting clean at 30 and weighing 128 pounds, an effect of doing cocaine every day for nearly ten years, and how he found his first meeting after being introduced to recovery by a friend he had asked for drugs from at a wedding. What Byrd came to realize was these people he was speaking to also had something to say. During music recovery groups, he often heard “your song made me cry man,” from what he called the toughest looking guys out there. Many others would often write Byrd telling him “this is my story too” and even share their own recovery songs. From then on, Byrd knew he found his niche and was doing something right and worthwhile in his music. And as much as Byrd would like to share more of his message and play his new songs for these same people, Covid-19 put a pause on any groups he was facilitating. But Byrd says he is taking advantage of Zoom and makes an effort every day to stay connected to someone else in recovery. “I talk to people in recovery every day,” Byrd said. “It’s not always about recovery, sometimes it’s just shooting the shit, but it’s about being connected and helping others.” With the release of Sobering Times, on September 25, Byrd is expecting things to die down further once press inquiries are settled and says he is turning his attention to learning some new things, like Garage Band, which he downloaded in attempt to ready for what the new post-pandemic music industry may look like with less access to studios. And as much as he loves walking to his local post office, with autographed CD’s in hand, wrapped in small, bubble mailers, he says he may be shifting to releasing singles. “I think I’m getting to the point- because of how music biz is- I might be doing singles,” he said. “I’d love to do an acoustic or blues record maybe. But I’ve got a long way to go with the next one.” Check out Sobering Times and be sure to order a signed copy here. And if you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction, reach out to MusiCares for free support groups and resources. SOURCE

IAN PAICE talks new DEEP PURPLE album "Whoosh" in Modern Drummer's October 2020 issue - read here!

ZZ TOP "Live From Texas" 2LP out NOW

THIS FALL, EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT TO REISSUE ZZ TOP LIVE FROM TEXAS 2LP ~SEPTEMBER 25, 2020~ Preorder here View “Heard It On The X” from “Live From Texas” here New York, NY--On September 25, Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to release ZZ Top: Live From Texas -- a reissue of the 2 LP set, originally released in 2010. Now, a decade later, this classic concert will be available as a special limited run of 1,000 copies, pressed on white vinyl. ZZ Top: Live From Texas features audio from the certified double-platinum 2008 Live From Texas DVD / Blu-ray / CD release. Additionally, “Heard It On The X” is included as a vinyl-exclusive track, an extra bonus to the original CD release. Live From Texas captures ZZ Top performing a stacked setlist of their celebrated songs, including tracks from their 10x platinum 1983 masterpiece Eliminator. “Tush,” “La Grange,” “Legs,” “Cheap Sunglasses,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’”, “Sharp Dressed Man”...these songs go beyond the title of “hits” -- they are classic anthems, woven into the fabric of both Rock and Roll and American culture. Recorded in Texas in 2007, this 2 LP sonically showcases Billy F Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard delivering their songs with the sound, spirit, and swagger, establishing them as international superstars. Five decades following their inception, the “Little Ol’ Band From Texas” continues to inspire and thrill fans worldwide. One of the most instantly recognizable music outfits in history, their rhythm-driven, big brand of blues-rock and distinct image made them inimitable entertainers and cemented their legacy in the Rock and Roll zeitgeist. ZZ Top: Live From Texas proves that prowess in spades. ABOUT EAGLE ROCK Eagle Records is an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment, the world-leading producer and distributor of music-related audiovisual content. Founded in 1997, the multi-award-winning company completes over 50 productions a year including concerts, documentaries, scripted formats and specials representing over 2,000 hours of programming. The vast catalogue includes work by award-winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brett Morgen, Paul Dugdale, Stanley Nelson and Bob Smeaton. Eagle Rock has worked alongside a variety of artists including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Jay Z, Paul McCartney, Katy Perry, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath and Imagine Dragons. For more information visit www.eagle-rock.com. Track Listing: Side A: A1: Got Me Under Pressure A2: Waitin’ For The Bus A3: Jesus Just Left Chicago A4: I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide A5: Cheap Sunglasses Side B: B1: Pearl Necklace B2: Heard It On The X B3: Just Got Paid B4: Rough Boy Side C: C1: Blues Intro C2: Blue Jean Blues C3: Gimme All Your Lovin’ C4: Sharp Dressed Man Side D: D1: Legs D2: Tube Snake Boogie D3: La Grange D4: Tush

Thank you to New York Times for highlighting "ELLA FITZGERALD: Just One Of Those Things"!

October 1, 2020 CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK The Special Place Where Ella Fitzgerald Comes Alive The singer’s concert recordings have always had a power that her studio outings could only imply. “Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes,” a newly unearthed 1962 performance, magnifies her legacy. In 1962, Ella Fitzgerald performed in Berlin. Norman Granz, her manager and Verve Records’s founder, stashed the recordings away; they were uncovered earlier this year.Credit...Rolf Ambor Ella Fitzgerald hardly ever crooned the blues, and her vocals rarely overflowed with pathos or fury. Listening to her nail a ballad, you may not feel invited to leap into her own world and feel her pain, like you would with Billie Holiday or Little Jimmy Scott. You could say that Fitzgerald was to singing what Yo-Yo Ma is to the cello: utter perfection, personified. Fitzgerald thinks of the note, she hits the note. She learns the song, she becomes the song. Still, there’s a sacred exchange going on. Rather than beckoning you in, Fitzgerald is bringing the music to you. And the effect is undeniable — you’re disarmed. It makes sense, then, that Fitzgerald’s live recordings have always had a special power that her studio outings could only imply. As her biographer Stuart Nicholson put it, the best ones “reveal the real Ella, bringing pleasure to others by bringing pleasure to herself.” Of those live albums, few made a longer-lasting impression than “Mack the Knife: Ella in Berlin,” from 1960, widely considered one of her greatest captures. And this week, the pleasure grows: On Friday the Verve Label Group will release “Ella: The Lost Berlin Tapes,” documenting a concert that she gave there two years after her famed first appearance. Taken together with “Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things,” an informative documentary released on digital platforms earlier this month, it’s a worthy invitation to engage anew with a singer whose constant improvisations — equal parts precision and profusion — are all too easy to take for granted. On the album, Fitzgerald is in her mid-40s, and well established as popular music royalty. Hear the breadth and depth of her vibrato, the way she uses strong breath to give rhythmic passages a punch, how she reinvents the melody to Ray Charles’s “Hallelujah! I Love Her So” as if her voice were a saxophone with words. The Grammy-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, 31, said that as a student she saw Fitzgerald’s famed studio albums devoted to the Great American Songbook as an exemplar of flawless jazz singing. “Initially she was this model of perfection, and sort of the blueprint when learning a standard,” Ms. Salvant said in a phone interview. “My appreciation for her is shifting now, in that I see how fun she is, how much of a risk-taker she is, how much humor she brings to her performances,” added Ms. Salvant, who created the animations for a music video that accompanies “Taking a Chance on Love” from the new album. “For me, a live setting is the best way to hear her.” On the original “Ella in Berlin,” from 1960, Fitzgerald is heard hurtling confidently into “Mack the Knife,” a Weimar-era tune from “The Threepenny Opera” that had recently become a smash for Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin. By the middle of the second chorus, she’s realized how little of the song she remembers. But it’s her first performance in Berlin, and the 12,000-person audience at the enormous Deutschlandhalle is feasting from her hand. She carries along undaunted, ad-libbing in rhythm, flipping a flub into a bravura turn. “Oh, Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong/They made a record — oh but they did,” she improvises, loosely holding onto the song’s buoyant melody as her quartet swings unperturbed. “And now Ella, Ella and her fellas/We’re making a rec — what a wreck — of ‘Mack the Knife’!” What kind of “perfection” was this — a document of a mixed-up performance, with the song falling down all around her? Well, something worked: Norman Granz, Fitzgerald’s manager and Verve’s founder, recorded the concert and released it as an album, and sensing the magic of that lemonade moment, he made “Mack” the title track. The LP became a sensation, and earned two trophies at the third annual Grammys that year. The drummer and record producer Gregg Field, who was in Fitzgerald’s band during the later years of her career, said in an interview that for his boss no piece of material or song form took precedence over the energy she received from a crowd. “She sang them differently every night,” Mr. Field said of her songs, explaining that when she performed with a combo she was liable to switch up the set list depending on the energy in the room. “By the third or fourth song she could read the audience really well,” he added. Granz, a powerful impresario who sought to bring jazz into the realm of American high society, wisely captured as many of Fitzgerald’s concerts as possible — aware that lightning struck often when she was onstage. He had started Verve in the mid-1950s primarily as a vessel for recording her, and by the time of the concert in Berlin it was one of the jazz industry’s premier institutions. Early this year, Mr. Field and Ken Druker, a vice president at Verve — which survives today under the auspices of Universal Music Group — were digging through a rediscovered trove of live recordings that Granz had stashed away decades ago. They came across an apparently untouched reel-to-reel, with yellowed Scotch tape still holding the box shut, featuring a concert Fitzgerald had given in Berlin two years after that first famous outing. Upon inspection, they found that recordings had been made in both mono and stereo — a rare stroke of luck. They listened, and the quality was excellent. Using a new engineering software that allowed him to more precisely isolate the instruments and Fitzgerald’s voice, Mr. Field filled out the low end and brought her singing to the front. The 1962 recording completes a trifecta of stellar Berlin performances, given over the course of three years and each released roughly 30 years apart. In 1990, Verve put out an archival LP of Fitzgerald playing Berlin in ’61, under the name “Ella Returns to Berlin.” That was a fine album, but the newest recording has a number of advantages.
Fitzgerald is reunited here with the pianist Paul Smith, one of her favorite accompanists, who hadn’t been on the 1961 tour. And on the obligatory version of “Mack,” there’s another moment of imperfect perfection that’s almost too good to be true. On the song’s coda, bantering with the crowd, she forgets the name of the city she’s in — sincerely, it seems. Erupting in supportive applause, the crowd hardly has time to be offended. Her ease with audiences contrasted with her relatively solitary life offstage. It’s part of the reason she preferred to live her life on the road; from the start of her career in 1930s Harlem until she retired in the early 1990s, she typically performed hundreds of shows a year, and rarely stayed at home for more than a week at a time. Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Va., in 1917, and moved as a small child to Yonkers, just north of New York City. After losing both parents before she was a teenager, she bounced around Harlem, sometimes working for numbers-runners and serving as a lookout at a brothel. She was sent away for a stint at a reformatory, where she suffered abuse that she would later decline to speak of publicly. At 17, basically homeless, she auditioned for Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater. She had planned to try out as a dancer, but grew intimidated when a far better-appointed dance duo stepped forward before she did. Instead, she sang two songs, emulating the style of the popular jazz troupe the Boswell Sisters. Her preternatural talent and gregariousness neutralized the judgments of the crowd, which had been skeptical of the shabbily dressed youngster who couldn’t seem to figure out what art form was hers. She won the contest, and soon she was the toast of Harlem as the lead singer with the Chick Webb Orchestra. With that group, she sang hard-driving ditties and romantic numbers for dancers and radio listeners, in the era when jazz was pop music. By the end of her 79 years she had helped to enshrine the Great American Songbook as a pillar of American culture, playing to heavily white and seated audiences but bringing them to their feet around the globe. Throughout, she remained always in service to the song. And yet the song was only the space between the singer and her crowd. SOURCE

JOHN LEE HOOKER and The Coast To Coast Blues Band - Live At Montreux 1983 & 1990 out November 6 on Vinyl, Digital Video, and Digital Audio

EAGLE VISION PROUDLY PRESENT JOHN LEE HOOKER AND THE COAST TO COAST BLUES BAND LIVE AT MONTREUX 1983 & 1990 Released November 6th, 2020 Available on 2-LP 180gm vinyl, digital video & digital audio Pre order HERE Trailer HERE New York, NY (October 1, 2020)—On November 6th, The John Lee Hooker Estate and Eagle Rock Entertainment will release John Lee Hooker Live at Montreux 1983 & 1990 as a 2-LP set, digital video & digital audio. Four-time Grammy® Award winner and Grammy® Lifetime Achievement Award recipient John Lee Hooker will forever be hailed as a legend of the blues genre. His storied career continues its impact on modern music even today – with fans spanning generations and transcending borders. Hooker was responsible for molding the blues into a sound that was entirely his own, dispensing with 12-bar blues in favor of an intensely deep, funky groove. “John Lee Hooker sent a unique strand of DNA coursing through the gene pool of countless rockers and blues artists … both his guitar playing and, his vocals, in their chanting cadence, could reach the transcendence of devotional singing” – The Guardian. Located in Switzerland, the Montreux Jazz Festival is one of the world's biggest and longest-running jazz festivals. Live at Montreux witnesses John Lee Hooker deliver two blistering performances filmed at the festival in 1983 and 1990. He was joined by The Coast to Coast Blues Band, covering an impressive set of hits from across his storied career including “Boom Boom”, “Crawlin’ King Snake” and his very first single “Boogie Chillen” - the latter expanded to an epic 13-person jam on the 1983 set, featuring guitarist Luther Allison, harmonica legend Sugar Blue, and a horn section. For his triumphant return to Montreux in 1990, Hooker added an additional guitar and sax to the line-up, as well as female vocalist Vala Cupp. “The Hook” infuses his set with songs from his 1989 Grammy® winning album, The Healer, including the hypnotic title track. John Lee Hooker’s first single, “Boogie Chillen’’ rose to #1 on the R&B chart in 1949, selling over a million copies. Hooker was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. In 2008, “Boogie Chillen” was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library Of Congress as a song that is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform(s) or reflect(s) life in the United States." “Boogie Chillen’’ and “Boom Boom” were both inducted into the Grammy® Hall Of Fame and both songs are also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of The 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. 2LP Track Listing: LIVE AT MONTREUX 1983 - LP 1 SIDE ONE 1. It Serves Me Right To Suffer 2. I Didn't Know 3. Hi-Heel Sneakers 4. If You Take Care Of Me, I'll Take Care Of You 5. Boom Boom SIDE TWO 1. Worried Life Blues 2. I'm Jealous 3. Crawlin’ King Snake 4. Boogie Chillen LIVE AT MONTREUX 1990 - LP 2 SIDE THREE 1. John Lee Hooker Introduction 2. Mabel 3. I'm In The Mood 4. Crawlin’ King Snake 5. Baby Lee SIDE FOUR 1. It Serves Me Right To Suffer 2. Boom Boom 3. The Healer 4. Boogie Chillen' About Eagle Rock Entertainment Eagle Rock Entertainment is the world-leading producer and distributor of music documentary and concert films. Founded in 1997, the multi-award-winning company releases over 50 productions a year and controls the distribution of over 2,000 hours of music programming. The catalogue includes work by award-winning filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Brett Morgan, Stanley Nelson, Paul Dugdale, Bob Smeaton, Jeremy Marre, Mike Figgis, Leslie Woodhead and Michael Epstein. Eagle Rock works with a wide spectrum of artists including the Rolling Stones, Eminem, Madonna, Eric Clapton, Muse, Steven Wilson, Slash, Iggy Pop, Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney, Shania Twain and Van Morrison. Eagle Rock is headquartered in London. About John Lee Hooker Known to music fans around the world as the “King of the Boogie,” John Lee Hooker endures as one of the true superstars of the blues genre: the ultimate beholder of cool. His work is widely recognized for its impact on modern music – his simple, yet deeply effective songs transcend borders and languages around the globe. Each decade of Hooker’s long career brought a new generation of fans and fresh opportunities for the ever-evolving artist. He never slowed down either: As John Lee Hooker entered his 70s, he suddenly found himself in the most successful era of his career – reinvented yet again, and energized as ever, touring and recording up until his passing in 2001. www.JohnLeeHooker.com

VIEW trailer for JOHN LEE HOOKER "Live At Montreux 1984 & 1990" here!

RICKY BYRD talks "Sobering Times" on the Goldmine Magazine Podcast -listen here

October 2, 2020 Ricky Byrd talks about "Sobering Times" Singer-songwriter and former Joan Jett & the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd chats about his latest solo album, "Sobering Times," on the Goldmine Podcast. Singer-songwriter and former Joan Jett & the Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd chats about his solo album, Sobering Times. Byrd is also a recovery coach and drug/alcohol counselor, who visits schools, rehab facilities, and detention and detox centers to perform, talk, and lead recovery music groups. He elaborates on his personal mission to help others struggling with addiction to keep on the road of recovery. Listen to the podcast episode! SOURCE

BOB MARLEY "Uprising Live" 3LP, Limited Edition Colored 3LP out November 13!

EAGLE RECORDS & TUFF GONG PROUDLY PRESENT BOB MARLEY UPRISING LIVE RELEASED ON 3LP & 3LP LIMITED EDITION COLORED VINYL ON NOVEMBER 13TH 2020 Pre-order here New York, NY (October 6, 2020) – Eagle Records and the Bob Marley Estate celebrate Bob Marley’s 75th birthday anniversary with the release of Uprising Live!, available for the first time on vinyl, with black vinyl 3LP and highly collectable, limited edition colored vinyl 3LP. The Uprising Tour ran in Europe from May to July 1980 with five further dates in the USA in September. It was Bob Marley’s final tour before his tragic death from cancer in May 1981 at the age of just 36. A few days after the release of the Uprising album, Marley played this now legendary live concert from Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle on June 13th - showcasing Marley in superb form and delivering a set of hit singles and classic album tracks, including “Could You Be Loved”, “Redemption Song”, and “No Woman No Cry”, to fans’ roars of appreciation. His musical messages of encouragement, hope and comfort remain as relevant now as the day they were written. This special 3LP edition is released to celebrate what would have been Bob Marley’s 75th year. TRACKLISTING Side A 1) Precious World 2) Slave Queen 3) Steppin' Out Of Babylon 4) That's The Way Jah Planned It Side B 1) Marley Chant 2) Natural Mystic 3) Positive Vibration 4) Revolution 5) I Shot The Sheriff Side C 1) War / No More Trouble 2) Zimbabwe 3) Jamming 4) No Woman, No Cry Side D 1) Zion Train 2) Exodus 3) Redemption Song 4) Could You Be Loved Side E 1) Work 2) Natty Dread 3) Is This Love 4) Get Up, Stand Up Side F 1) Coming In From The Cold 2) Lively Up Yourself
ABOUT BOB MARLEY: Bob Marley, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is notable not only as the man who put reggae on the global map but, as a statesman in his native Jamaica, he famously brought together the country's warring factions. Today, Bob Marley remains one of the 20th century's most important and influential entertainment icons. Marley's lifestyle and music continue to inspire new generations as his legacy lives on through his music. In the digital era, he has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity, with the official Bob Marley Facebook page drawing more than 70 million fans, ranking it among the Top 20 of all Facebook pages and Top 10 among celebrity pages. Marley's music catalog has sold millions of albums worldwide. His iconic collection, LEGEND, holds the distinction of being the longest-charting album in the history of Billboard magazine's Catalog Albums chart and remains the world's best-selling reggae album. Marley's accolades include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) and ASCAP Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010), a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), multiple entries in the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001). For more information visit: bobmarley.com and facebook.com/bobmarley.

FORBES takes a deep dive into THE ROLLING STONES "Steel Wheels Live" and RONNIE WOOD "Somebody Up There Likes Me" -- Read Here!

October 9, 2020 No Rolling Stones Tour This Year? No Problem, Thanks To 3 Latest Releases To Give Fans Satisfaction NETHERLANDS - OCTOBER 13: ROTTERDAM Photo of ROLLING STONES, L-R: Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman performing live onstage (Photo by Graham Wiltshire/Redferns) Had it been somewhat normal times, the Rolling Stones would've performed dates this year as part of their No Filter tour of North America. But even the unstoppable ‘World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band’ became sidelined due to the pandemic, resulting in the tour being postponed (Fortunately it didn't stop them from putting out a new song, the very appropriately titled “Living in a Ghost Town”). At least fans, however, can find solace in a couple of recent Stones-related releases to keep them satisfied for now. Just last month, the Rolling Stones reissued their 1973 album Goats Head Soup—which at the time of its original release was met with a mixed reaction; critics have often said that this record ended the band's brilliant album run that began with 1968's Beggars Banquet and followed by Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. While it may not the strongest of efforts compared to its aforementioned predecessors, there are still plenty to relish from Goats Head Soup, including the lean and mean “Dancing With Mr. D”; the soulful ballad “Coming Down”; the blues-laden “Hide Your Love”; and the lush and melancholic “Winter.” Forgotten amid the talk of it being a disappointment, Goats Head Soup yielded two of the Stones best-known songs: the gritty, horn-powered rocker “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” and the tender ballad “Angie,” which became the Stones' seventh number one Billboard hit. Goats Head Soup concludes with the rollicking “Star Star,” highlighted by its raunchy lyrics and references to John Wayne and Steve McQueen. This new reissue is augmented by a second disc of outtakes and demos from the sessions as well as three previously unreleased tracks. Of those three, the most notable one is the slinky and passionate number “Scarlet,” featuring Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page on guitar, while the other two—the rocking “All the Rage” and the funky swinging and raucous “Criss Cross”—beg the question of why were they buried in the vaults in the first place. In addition to featuring the original album and bonus tracks, the four-disc deluxe version includes a rare 1973 concert recording, Brussels Affair. Not that this newly deluxe treatment of Goats Head Soup needed the bells and whistles to show what a good, if not perfect, album it is—but it certainly doesn't hurt either. Left to right: Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones wave to the crowd at the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall (now Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, N.J., during the Steel Wheels Tour, December 1989. The group played three nights at the venue from 17th - 20th December 1989. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES Flash forward 16 years after the release of Goats Heat Soup, and the Stones were still a commanding force by the time they embarked on the Steel Wheels tour. That period represented a sort of a comeback for the group: it was their first tour since 1982 and followed the personal reconciliation between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It has now been documented on Steels Wheels Live, the latest archival concert installment from the band. Originally recorded in December 1989 in Atlantic City New Jersey, the show may be familiar to fans as it was later televised on FOX several months later and utilized some 3-D effects. By this time, the Stones were a revitalized touring machine and it shows on this particular live spectacle of a performance—whose setlist drew from the then-new Steel Wheels album (“Mixed Emotions,” “Sad Sad Sad,” “Rock and a Hard Place,” “Can't Be Seen”) with the usual favorites (“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Sympathy for the Devil, “Gimme Shelter,” “Tumbling Dice” and many others). The nearly three-hour performance also included some special guests such as Guns N’ Roses members Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin on the deep cut “Salt of the Earth” from Beggars Banquet; Eric Clapton on “Little Red Rooster”; and the late blues legend John Lee Hooker on “Boogie Chillen.” The Steel Wheels tour was also notable in that it marked the last one with original bassist Bill Wyman before he left the band in 1993. As documented on this exciting 2-CD/1-DVD set, the Stones remained a viable live outfit that continues to this day. With a history like theirs, the Rolling Stones have been well represented in films such as Gimme Shelter and Shine a Light. Now their longtime and versatile guitarist Ronnie Wood takes his own turn in the cinematic spotlight with a new documentary, Somebody Up There Likes Me, directed by Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas), Previously screened at film festivals the documentary has been released Friday on DVD and Blu-ray disc. Long regarded as a latter-day member of the Stones (although he's been with them officially for over 40 years now), Wood has been a part of British rock and roll history going back to his time with the Jeff Beck Group and later the Faces in the late 1960s. Ronnie Wood, who is the subject of a new documentary 'Somebody Up There Likes Me,' directed by Mike Figgis. CREDIT: EAGLE ROCK FILMS Unlike most conventional music documentaries, Somebody Up There Likes Me feels more like an intimate sit-down conversation between Wood and Figgis without the intrusive jump cuts, narration or talking heads (interviews are limited to Wood's Rolling Stone band mates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts; former Faces cohort Rod Stewart; singer Imelda May; artist Damien Hirst; and Wood's wife Sally). Luck has certainly been on his Wood's side throughout his life and career, especially his arrival to the Stones after the abrupt departure of the band’s previous guitarist Mick Taylor in 1974 (the chemistry between Wood and Richards has long gone down into legend). Featuring archival performance footage of Wood’s bands mixed with his own recent solo performances, the documentary features not only the guitarist candidly talking about his music and career but also his substance addictions and health issues. And it isn't only rock and roll for Wood in his life: he's also an accomplished visual artist (his portrait of Eric Clapton adorns the cover of the latter's 1988 acclaimed boxed set Crossroads). Like his brother-in-arms Richards, Wood is a true survivor who acknowledges how fortunate he's been after nearly 60 years in music and personal ups-and-downs (hence the documentary title). He aptly quotes baseball great Yogi Berra in summing up his philosophy: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Somebody Up There Likes Me offers an intimate and nuanced portrait of a rock and roll renaissance man. SOURCE

BOBBY WHITLOCK interviewed in Sweden's Rock 'N Roll Magazine

Fantastic review of RICKY BYRD'S "Sobering Times" on Patch.com!

October 14, 2020 Ricky Byrd's "Sobering Times" An Emotional Rock-and-Roll Triumph Singer-guitarist's new album chronicling addiction and recovery brings joy and tears Guitarist Ricky Byrd is best known as a member of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer that performed on the all-time classic, "I Love Rock & Roll." Yet it's Byrd's solo work that is his most meaningful. On his inspiring and invigorating new album, "Sobering Times," Byrd, clean and sober for 33 years, channels his personal experiences with addiction and recovery through a moving, emotional rock-and-roll journey. Byrd's unique insight into the harrowing struggles with and joyous victories over addiction and his knack for writing great rock songs make "Sobering Times" a compelling listen. The disc, released in September, starts, fittingly, with "Quittin' Time (Again)." The New Yorker's jangly guitar and tasteful soloing lay bare the feelings of a hopeful, relapsed addict prepared to says goodbye to the party once again, and swearing this will be the last farewell. "Tired," with some fine slide guitar work, takes on the persistent temptation that leads to relapse. On other tracks Byrd celebrates the gratitude and joy that comes with sobriety. "I Come Back Stronger" portrays confidence in fighting off demons while the beautiful "Starlit Night" and the expressive "Hear My Song" are all about being thankful and grateful. Byrd's vocals adapt to his characters. He's a powerful singer who conveys heartache and exultation with honesty and fearlessness. And let's be clear: "Sobering Times," while at times delicate, also rocks hard. Raucous tracks like "Recover Me" (a duet with fellow NYC rocker Willie Nile), the boogie-rock of country legend Merle Haggard's "The Bottle Let Me Down" and the blues infused "Ain't Gonna Live Like That" showcase Byrd's rootsy, down and dirty guitar playing. It's with good reason that his playing has been linked to the Rolling Stones. "Sobering Times" is the follow-up to Byrd's 2017 effort, "Clean Getaway." The singer-songwriter is also dedicated to helping others in a very personal way. In addition to his albums, Byrd leads recovery music groups throughout the country, including right here in Northern New Jersey in Paterson. Byrd punctuates his messages during the group meetings with his songs. He will receive the Courage and Compassion award later this month from the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies. One listen to "Sobering Times" and you'll be pulling for Byrd and his protagonists. It's a wonderful album by an extraordinary musician who has led an even more extraordinary life. We're grateful for Byrd's recovery, and that he's chosen music to convey his message. "Sobering Times" is available through Byrd's website, www.rickybyrd.com and will be available across all platforms and in stores in the coming months. SOURCE

Listen here to RICKY BYRD'S interview with American Songwriter's "Bringin' It Backwards" Podcast

Bringin’ it Backwards: Interview with Ricky Byrd We had the pleasure of interviewing Ricky Byrd over Zoom video! <iframe></iframe> On September 25, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer (2015 inductee with Joan Jett and The Blackhearts) and guitarist/singer-songwriter Ricky Byrd presents Sobering Times (Kayos Records). Sobering Times is an honest and intimate reflection of recovery delivered through his signature brand of Rock ‘N’ Roll. As Goldmine Magazine states “…The Faces and The Rolling Stones with a dash of Otis…It rocks like a b*tch. His vocals are the best of his career…early indications make it seem likely that this will be his career statement.” Following the path he carved with his 2017 album Clean Getaway, Sobering Times (produced by Ricky Byrd and Bob Stander) continues his mission to deliver the message of hope to those recovering from addiction. He expresses the roller coaster of emotions and every day trials of recovery, from hitting rock bottom, to the gratitude of surviving and thriving in a sober life. <iframe></iframe> On Sobering Times, Byrd is joined by an all-star cast of musicians: Bob Stander (bass guitar, percussion), Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (keyboards/ accordion/background vocals), Steve Holley (of Wings / Ian Hunter / Joe Cocker, contributed drums to most of the album), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel, drums), Rich Pagano (The Fab Faux, session drummer), Thommy Price (Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Mink DeVille, drums) and Christine “The Beehive Queen” Ohlman (vocalist, Saturday Night Live band). Additionally, he collaborated with Richie Supa (“I Come Back Stronger”) and Willie Nile, who duets with Byrd on “Recover Me”, in addition to Emily Duff, who co-wrote “Ain’t Gonna Live Like That.” Fittingly, he also recorded a cover of Merle Haggard’s “The Bottle Let Me Down”. Byrd chose the Sobering Times release date of September 25 as it’s also the 33rd anniversary of the day he started his sober journey. Having lived through the disease of addiction himself, Byrd has made it his mission to help others as a recovery coach and drug/alcohol counselor, who visits schools, rehab facilities, and detention and detox centers to perform, talk, and lead recovery music groups. In fact, he gave away almost 2500 copies of Clean Getaway at these facilities, so clients could take the message of recovery home with them. He dedicates Sobering Times to all of those who struggle with addiction, as well as the recovery warriors who help those who are struggling, those that support a clean and sober lifestyle, and of course, those that still love loud and proud Rock ‘N’ Roll. “As far as third acts go, I couldn’t be more grateful for mine,” says Byrd. “I get to use the undeniable power of R’n’R to spread the recovery message to those that are struggling….pretty… pretty… pretty good.” “I Wanna Sing About How Lucky I Am You’re Looking At One Grateful Man I Should Be Long Gone Yet Here I Stand Hear My Song” Quittin’ Time (Again) Together Hear My Song Tired I Come Back Stronger Starlit Night Recover Me (feat. Willie Nile) Ain’t Gonna Live Like That Pour Me The Bottle Let Me Down Life Is Good Just Like You Although best known for his time with The Blackhearts, Byrd has also recorded and played with Roger Daltrey, and toured with Ian Hunter and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, respectively. He is also proud to have shared stages with such music royalty as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Smokey Robinson, and Mavis Staples, among others.
www.RickyByrd.com PHOTO CREDITS: Frankie Byrd SOURCE

RALPH SCALA of the Blues Magoos chats with RPM45 Podcast - listen here

Listen to Ralph Scala's recent interview about the Blues Magoos with RPM45 Podcast here.

RICKY BYRD discusses "Sobering Times" with NJArts.com

October 15, 2020 ‘Recovery troubadour’ Ricky Byrd releases new album, ‘Sobering Times’ RICKY BYRD Ricky Byrd says his new album, Sobering Times, “is for people that are struggling with addiction. It’s for people who are in long-term recovery. They will hear something in there that will remind them of why they are in long-term recovery. It’s for people who support the recovery lifestyle, whether you have somebody that is struggling or in recovery. “And last but not least, this is just a loud and proud rock ‘n’ roll record for all of you fans of the bands that I played with over the years.” Byrd, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, is a fierce advocate for those who are recovering from or fighting the demons of addiction. Byrd played with the Blackhearts from 1981 to 1991; they had some huge hits during this decade, including “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Crimson and Clover” and “I Hate Myself for Loving You.” Byrd also performed with Jett in a 1998 VH1 special. “I’m eternally grateful,” he said. “I mean, personally, from a kid who grew up in the Bronx who wanted to play guitar, it is cool, but it also gives me the ability to help a lot of people with recovery-based lyrics that sit on top of loud rock ‘n’ roll.” So how did this hard rockin’ axe man become a force in aiding people in recovery? “I did a basic solo record called Lifer back in 2013 which had nothing to do with recovery at all,” he said. “It was just straight-up songs about nothing in particular. Then in 2017 I put out the Clean Getaway record, which is about addiction, recovery, hope, change for the better — once again with loud, crunchy guitars. “I never really thought about it, all of these years, but maybe 10 years ago I was asked to be part of a recovery show in Florida that my friend Richie Supa, who co-writes a song with me on this record — we ran together and we’re clean and sober together —asked me to come down and do. So, it was this outdoor show. I never even heard of something like that, but I went down there and it was in Fort Lauderdale and it was like 120 degrees (laughs). I had no songs; I think I did some blues and ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and he had one song, but the whole afternoon was about recovery. They had tables set up with information. They were selling recovery jewelry. “But the thing that got me was after I finished playing and I was kind of lingering around by the stage, people were coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, I grew up on your music and it’s so cool to see that you’re in recovery,’ or ‘I’m in it,’ or ‘Unfortunately I lost somebody to addiction.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting,’ because I never had thought about it in those terms. Then I did a couple more and Richie and I wound up writing a song called ‘Broken Is a Place,’ which is on the Clean Getaway record. So I came back to New York and I put it online; I did a fast recording of it. … and I started getting messages from people literally around the world, saying, ‘Oh man, you told my story and I love that; you really spoke to me.’ And again, the light went off over my head and I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting, perhaps I should write another one.’ “I started writing songs that dealt with this, and when I had about six songs, I reached out to somebody that I met when I did the gigs in Florida. Those gigs turned into other gigs and we had a little band. I said, ‘I know that you have a treatment facility up here in New Jersey. Can I come in with my acoustic guitar and do recovery music groups?’ I didn’t even know what I was talking about but I said, ‘Let me see what I can do.’ They said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ So I went in there; it was actually a detox. And I played to the clients with those six songs and I spoke and told my story a little bit and the reaction I got was pretty impressive. It just shows that music can be a really great voice when you’re trying to help somebody and, also, maybe people don’t want to hear stuff conversation-wise when you are brand new in recovery, but put it in a song and it kind of slips by a little easier. It’s easier to swallow. “I really loved the response that I was getting, so I kept doing it and I did it for a couple of years, and then I went other places and I started getting asked to go around the country doing it. I kind of became a recovery troubadour. People all started asking me the same thing: ‘How can we take this music home?’ I procrastinated as I would do, for like six months, and then I said, maybe I should do a record. And that’s where Clean Getaway came from. The response from that was, again, overwhelming, from people around the world. I would get messages like, ‘I wanted to use last night but I listened to “High Wire” on the Clean Getaway record and it really spoke to me and I didn’t go out.’ And I thought, ‘This may be a good thing here, that I’m doing.’ “So once the Clean Getaway cycle was done I picked up my guitar and I started writing new songs. And now you’ve got the Sobering Times CD. It’s as simple as that.” The album came out on Sept. 25, “which also coincided with my 33rd clean and sober anniversary, which is cool,” said Byrd. “I did that on purpose, obviously, as it’s called Sobering Times.” A vintage photo of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (Ricky Byrd is second from left). Byrd does not shy away from his past. In fact, he uses it as daily inspiration to help others. “I’m in my third act,” he said. “I’ve played all over the world. I’ve played stadiums, clubs, theaters, and now I get to go into these facilities and really help somebody and make a difference a little bit. I want people who don’t have any addiction issues to listen to it and say, ‘Whoa, this is a cool rock ‘n’ roll record,’ which it is. “I’m blessed that I’ve managed to stumble into this thing where I’m combining two things I love dearly, and for right now this is what I do. Who knows? Maybe I’ll do a blues record next. Now it’s to the point where I sit down with my guitar and start writing lyrics and it’s like, ‘Oh no, not another one, let me write something else for a second.’ Right now I can’t because I’m kind of in this vein so I’ll just run with it until I run out of ideas. I get a lot of ideas from going to these treatment facilities, because I play and I talk and I ask if anybody has any comments and then people say stuff and I get other ideas for new songs. “One of the things that cemented the deal for me doing this was when we were in D.C. around 2014 doing an event for FED UP which is an organization of parents who have lost kids. I stepped off the elevator on my way to soundcheck and there had to be 300 people in the lobby who were going to the event wearing purple shirts with pictures of kids, friends, mothers, fathers or others that they lost. Talk about being emotional. They were all talking to me and I was like, ‘Yeah, I gotta do something here, I’ve got to see what I can do to help a little bit.’ You play to your strengths and I’m a guitar player. “If you listen to this record, I do not preach and I don’t even get that specific, like, ‘I was a high school football player and I got injured and I took opioids,’ or something like that … Here’s the facts. I do one and I can’t stop. That’s the facts for people who have the disease of addiction. Now, in this new world with opioids and fentanyl, you don’t even have to have the disease of addiction in order to get addicted and die. It just grabs you by the short and curlies and takes you right to the grave.” Over his years in rock music, Byrd has amassed quite a Rolodex of contacts and friends. So who did he choose to help with this new release? “There’s me, obviously, singing and playing guitars, and I do a lot of the background vocals because I’m great singing to myself. It’s easier and I know exactly what I want to hear. There’s a couple of backgrounds that I’ve brought in like Christine Ohlman, who is an old friend of mine and the singer from the SNL Band. We’ve been in bands together on and off for 15 years and she’s like my soul sister. I record at Parcheesi Studios out in Long Island and it’s like 45 minutes from me. So, to get people to come out there, you’ve got to be specific and you’ve got to plan it. Jeff Kazee came to the studio and played all of the keyboards on this record; he’s in Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes and he’s great and he sang backgrounds, too. Bass was Bob Stander, my co-producer. He is a great bass player and great musician all together … “I used four different drummers, depending on the songs. Rich Pagano played on one song, ‘Quittin’ Time’ the opener. He plays in the Fab Faux with Will Lee. And then we had Liberty DeVitto, my old friend, who played on one song; he played with Billy Joel and he’s got a book out now. I had Tommy Price, who played with me with Joan in the sort of late-’80s version of The Blackhearts. The song ‘Together,’ the big glam tune … I thought he’d be perfect to come in and play. And while he was playing on that I said, ‘Let me play you something else,’ and he played on the cover I did of Merle Haggard’s ‘Bottle Let Me Down.’ Finally, the one who played on most of the record was Steve Holley, who played with Paul McCartney in Wings and Joe Cocker and currently with Ian Hunter & the Rant Band. “I kept asking Little Steven if he wanted to do some stuff but he was either out with the Disciples of Soul or too busy. … I had Bobby Whitlock from Derek & the Dominos play.” A shiny new toy can be tempting to show off. But in this current climate where there are no tours, limited gatherings, face coverings and more obstacles than ever before, what is Byrd’s next move? “Drop back and punt!” he said. “I’ve done a couple of recovery events from my basement with a little backdrop. A lot of people are doing stuff on Instagram and Facebook live. I don’t know. Maybe I’m lazy or maybe I’m scared. When this first started in March, I did a couple of songs; when we were in the studio recording the record, I’d just turn on Facebook live and say, ‘Hey, I’m here with my producer. What do you think of this song?’ I did that but when it comes to doing a concert from my basement, I haven’t done that yet, and people say I should try it. We’ll see.” So, with an uncertain future, Byrd will continue to stay the course. By his estimate, he has “given away over 2,500 copies of Clean Getaway at treatment centers across the country,” and he sees no reason to stop anytime soon. For more information, visit rickybyrd.com. SOURCE

Listen to Part 1 of "All Songs Considered" interview with DEEP PURPLE'S Steve Morse on Hawaii Public Radio!

October 1, 2020 LISTEN HERE HPR's All Things Considered Off The Road With Deep Purple's Steve Morse - Part One Today our Off the Road pandemic-based series welcomes one of the great names in classic rock, Deep Purple, and their iconic guitarist Steve Morse. The only American in the otherwise British band, he joined HPR All Things Considered Host Dave Lawrence for a wide-ranging, personal interview we’re sharing in two parts, concluding tomorrow. Steve Morse has been among the most respected guitarists for decades, ever since bursting onto the scene in the 1970s with his pioneering fusion band, the Dixie Dregs, inspired by among his favorite guitarists, John McLaughlin, and his groundbreaking Mahavishnu Orchestra. Equally as a solo artist with his Steve Morse Band, his playing quickly earned him a broad fan-base and recognition from publications like Guitar Player magazine, where he was voted “Best Overall Guitarist” so many times he’s been made ineligible and instead placed in their “Gallery of Greats”. His skills also got him a spot intended to fill-in for Al Di Meola on a tour with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia; when Al ended up being able to do the tour, Steve was invited to open, and then perform with the trio as part of the finale each evening. A prolific artist contributing to numerous projects, Steve would go on to be part of classic rockers Kansas, and eventually join Deep Purple in the early 1990s. Steve Morse is the longest running guitarist in the group, far eclipsing the number of years that original guitarist Ritchie Blackmore logged in Deep Purple. He’s also associated with side-projects Flying Colors and Living Loud. For our Off the Road feature, we got a chance to spend over an hour speaking with Steve Morse. Steve explained the group-isolation writing process Deep Purple utilizes, and then took us inside the studio with legendary producer Bob Ezrin to learn about the production of the latest Deep Purple album, Whoosh, and hear some classic stories. The tour for Whoosh was heavily impacted by the virus, Steve explained, sharing how his personal journey through the pandemic has been one involving challenges and themes many have faced, from fear of infecting vulnerable family members, to losing loved ones during the lockdown. He also shared a few inspiring lessons he’s learned from touring the world with Deep Purple, through stories involving far-flung international destinations. It’s a remarkably candid, unvarnished conversation, in some ways unlike anything we've had so far in the series. Tomorrow we’ll conclude the radio feature and post the complete hour+ interview. Off the Road is a series of interviews with musicians remotely sharing how they’ve been touched by the pandemic and other crises, including hours of conversation and many exclusive musical performances, speaking to artists across the musical spectrum, including Jack Johnson, Alice Cooper, Al Di Meola, Soul Asylum, John McLaughlin, 10,000 Maniacs, Carlos Santana, Randy Brecker and many others.

ABC Audio highlights ZZ TOP'S upcoming "Live From Texas" LP

September 17, 2020 ZZ Top releasing limited-edition white-vinyl 'Live from Texas' reissue next week Eagle Rock Entertainment ZZ Top will reissue its 2008 concert album Live from Texas on Friday, September 25, as a limited-edition two-LP set pressed on white vinyl. Only 1000 copies of the colored-vinyl edition of the record will be available. Live from Texas was recorded at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas, in November 2007, and initially was released on CD, DVD and Blu-ray the following year. A standard vinyl edition was issued in 2010. The 17-track collection features renditions of ZZ Top's biggest hits and most popular tunes, including "Got Me Under Pressure," "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," "La Grange" and, of course, "Tush." You can check out a video of the band performing its 1975 tune "Heard It on the X" from the Live from Texas concert now at the Eagle Rock YouTube channel. Here's the Live from Texas two-LP set's full track list: Side A
"Got Me Under Pressure"
"Waitin' for the Bus"
"Jesus Just Left Chicago"
"I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
"Cheap Sunglasses" Side B
"Pearl Necklace"
"Heard It on the X"
"Just Got Paid"
"Rough Boy" Side C
"Blues Intro"
"Blue Jean Blues"
"Gimme All Your Lovin'"
"Sharp Dressed Man" Side D
"Legs"
"Tube Snake Boogie"
"La Grange"
"Tush" By Matt Friedlander
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. SOURCE

View "Heard It On The X" from ZZ TOP'S "Live From Texas" here

"The rocker, while never downplaying the danger of the fire he’s played with throughout his life, has to chuckle as he admits he’s led a largely charmed life. We end up charmed, too..." - read the rest of Variety's "RONNIE WOOD: Somebody Up There Likes Me" review here

September 17, 2020 ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’ Review: Through the Years With Ronnie Wood, a Rolling Stone Who Never Stopped Being Lovable, Even in Excess Ronnie Wood has always seemed like he’d be nothing if not an enjoyable hang. That proves to be very much the case with “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” a documentary about the Rolling Stones guitarist from British director Mike Figgis (“Leaving Las Vegas”), who has clearly been hitting it off for quite a while with the musician … although Wood is so hail-fellow-well-met, you suspect he might have a good rapport with anybody. A surfeit of conviviality and a storied 60-year career do not always add up to a great story, though, and so “Somebody” will be liked by hardcore Stones fans down here more than raved about by anyone hoping Figgis has sussed out a narrative worthy of one of his fictional projects. When Wood is glimpsed in the doc’s opening, there are pianos tinkling instead of guitars blaring, as we see him at work on his other passion, visual art. That he’s working on sketches may serve as premonition of the sketch-like quality of the entire short (72-minute) feature, which dips in and out of bands, eras and tales of druggy excess and family redemption without ever making too much of an impact in any one area. It lacks the harrowing qualities of a lot of rock biopics, although that isn’t necessarily for Figgis’ lack of trying: There are numerous moments in which the filmmaker tries to cajole Wood into exploring the limits of excess or personal devastations. No danger of this turning into “Leaving Las Vegas 2”: The rocker, while never downplaying the danger of the fire he’s played with throughout his life, has to chuckle as he admits he’s led a largely charmed life. We end up charmed, too, if never really riveted. Wood fills in a few early details that might have left psychological scars: an alcoholic father who might have ended up spending the night in any random neighbor’s garden; a first love who perished in a car crash. From there, things look up for Scott, even if it does take him more than a decade after he first spots the nascent Stones playing blues covers in a nightclub in 1963 and make good on his vow to someday join them. In the interim, he spends the ’60s and early ’70s making career moves that would be peaks for most musicians, even if it was all prelude for him: stints with a garage band called the Birds (not to be confused with the Byrds), then fruitful hookups with Rod Stewart in the Jeff Beck Group and Faces, before Mick Taylor’s abrupt exit from the Stones creates a dream opening. What’s almost funny — but which also precludes “Behind the Music”-level highs or lows — is how utterly functional an alcoholic and addict Wood was. “He has a great immune system. He’s very like me, with a great pain threshold,” figures Keith Richards, laughing; Charlie Watts allows that he “did do a lot of things to excess” but “never lost it.” Wood’s third wife, Sally, his junior by several decades (two prior spouses and their children go unmentioned), points out that he’s “always a happy person” whether sober or not, but she prefers the extra realness now that, having rounded 70, her husband is completely substance-free. Wood is operated on for lung cancer but comes out being told it’s as if he hadn’t smoked any cigs, let alone 30 a day for 50 years — what he calls “a get out of jail free card.” At some point we can agree with the title: God must enjoy doing the hang with Wood as much as Figgis. For all that’s left out of a movie this short, Figgis makes some curious inclusions, like old video footage of himself talking with the famously scary rock manager Peter Grant, or Mick Jagger discussing about what kind of jazz art-school students favored in the early ’60s — interesting subjects for other, longer films. It certainly could have used one more film clip of the Stones with Wood in the band than the one we get, of them playing “When the Whip Comes Down.” There’s some interesting talk by Richards of how different a flavor Wood brought to the band, entwining with his own efforts instead of going off on melodic solos like his predecessor, Taylor; Jagger talks about how they suddenly became a more “good-timey” band upon Wood’s mid-’70s arrival. Not surprisingly, “Somebody Up There Likes Me” becomes a good-timey movie, too … as much of one as any movie that introduces the subject of freebasing cocaine and other usually more ominous topics can be. By the way, for anyone whose knowledge of Wood comes mainly from remembering Mike Myers’ impression on “Saturday Night Live”: The movie does not have, or require, subtitles; rest assured that the rocker’s oft-parodied dialect is really as clear as his present-day head. SOURCE

"RONNIE WOOD: Somebody Up There Likes Me" Film Story on All Access

September 16, 2020 Ronnie Wood Documentary Set For Virtual Cinema Release, Sept. 18th A RONNIE WOOD documentary, "Somebody Up There Likes Me," is being released by EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT as a virtual cinema event on SEPTEMBER 18th at www.ronniewoodmovie.com. An official selection at both the TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2020 and the BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2019, the biographical feature by acclaimed director MIKE FIGGIS will run through OCTOBER, followed by a DVD, Blu-ray and deluxe hardback book release on OCTOBER 9th. Pre-orders are available now. Those who purchase a ticket ($11) will also be treated to a Q&A with WOOD and FIGGIS. As an artist, musician, producer, author and ROLLING STONES guitarist, RONNIE WOOD has made countless contributions to the cultural zeitgeist. This intimate portrait traces his many lives and careers, capturing what it means to be a rock ‘n’ roll icon. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" traces WOOD’s 50-year musical history, from THE BIRDS, the JEFF BECK GROUP, THE FACES (with ROD STEWART), and the NEW BARBARIANS, to becoming a permanent member of the STONES. The film takes its title from a conversation FIGGIS had with WOOD about surviving his chronic smoking habit: “When they operated on my cancer, they took away my emphysema. They said my lungs were as if I’d never smoked. I thought: ‘How’s that for a Get Out Of Jail Free card?’ Somebody up there likes me, and somebody down here likes me too.” The documentary features interviews with MICK JAGGER, KEITH RICHARDS and CHARLIE WATT, as well as ROD STEWART, his wife SALLY WOOD, singer IMELDA MAY and artist DAMIAN HIRST, alongside both present-day performances and archive footage from WOOD's half-century career. These interviews and performance segments as well as footage of WOOD playing guitar and enjoying quiet, personal moments while he paints in his studio. It climaxes with RONNIE giving a beautiful, intimate performance of “Breathe On Me” from his 1975 solo album "New Look." WOOD describes the film as summing up “the essence of survival” in a life he continues to live to the fullest, without regrets, “I wouldn’t change anything except I’d do it with my eyes open a bit more,” he says, “I was in the hands of destiny all my life … and being in the right place at the right time." SOURCE

RICKY BYRD's In-depth conversation about "Sobering Times" and career with NPR The Lakeshore's "Midwest Beat"

Chicago, IL September 29, 2020 Ricky Byrd Still Rocks Through These "Sobering Times" This edition of "MIDWEST BEAT with Tom Lounges" originally aired on FRIDAY, SEPT. 25th @ on 89.1FM-The Lakeshore This edition's MUSICAL GUEST is classic rock guitar great, Ricky Byrd, a former member of Joan Jett's Blackhearts and a popular and in-demand side and session player with a cavalcade of other top stars. On this program, Byrd will talk about his long career -- from his first recordings with the band Susan (RCA), to his years with Jett as a Blackheart, to working with other rock icons including, Roger Daltry. In addition to the music, Byrd discusses his work as a rehab counselor and public speaker and his mission to help others in battles with addiction. This show was done live on Byrd's own 33rd anniversary of sobriety. Songs from Byrd's latest solo album, "Sobering Times" are heavily featured, although a few others from various parts of his career are also heard. This program marked the world debut of new songs from Byrd's "Sobering Times," released worldwide the morning this show was first broadcast. More at: www.rickybyrd.com. If you missed this full 2 hour Lakeshore Public Radio program with the amazing rock guitarist RICKY BYRD on "Midwest BEAT with Tom Lounges" when it first aired, click and listen. Ricky is not only a great guitarist (just listen to the tunes featured on this show!), but also a great person who is helping others through addiction issues. While some might assume Byrd's music might have softened because of age and sobriety, think again! Just listen to the tunes featured on this program from his brand new solo album, "SOBERING TIMES." Byrd is certainly NOT at all preachy as one discovers during the course of this awesome interview and music spotlight, but Byrd is certainly at the ready to throw a life line to folks who have decided they are ready to follow his path to a cleaner lifestyle. Being sober has not watered down Mr. Byrd's ability to kick ass! This guy still rocks with the best of them. While Byrd has left a lot of great music in his wake, his more recent solo albums feature some of his best work ever. SOURCE

LISTEN HERE to RICKY BYRD'S conversation with Ace's Space Radio

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Blinded By Sound says: "With Sobering Times, RICKY BYRD has constructed a strong set of tunes that sound as if they could have come from rock's glory days. With strong playing and singing, well-crafted songs and a strong message for those in need, Sobering Times is a winner."

October 27, 2020 CD Review: Ricky Byrd - Sobering Times Ricky Byrd offers hope to those struggling with addiction, and a killer set of songs, on Sobering Times. Three years ago, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Ricky Byrd released his acclaimed album, Clean Getaway, a record aimed at helping people struggling with addiction as he once did. The former Joan Jett and the Blackhearts guitarist has been sober for over 30 years and dedicates much of his time working as a recovery coach for other addicts. The response was so positive to Clean Getaway that Byrd decided to have a go at it again with his new release, Sobering Times, an album rich in classic rock hooks but, more importantly, rich with a message of hope for those struggling as he once did. Produced by Byrd and Bob Stander -- who played bass, percussion, and guitar on "The Bottle Let Me Down" -- Sobering Times is a master class in gritty, Stones-influenced rock and roll. Byrd collaborated with the likes of Richie Supa and Emily Duff, and the top-notch band includes Steve Holley, formerly of Wings, and Jeff Kazee of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes fame, among others. Jangly guitars and a memorable melody punctuate album opener "Quittin' Time (Again)." Byrd delivers a gritty vocal that has a heavy Stones/Springsteen vibe without ever sounding derivative. A bit of b-bender gives the song just a hint of country in this strong lead off track. A Gary Glitter drumbeat propels the rocking "Together," a driving track with a melodic, stadium-ready chorus and a dose of psychedelia in parts of the vocals. Byrd slows down the pace on "Hear My Song," a bluesy track showcasing some tasty mandolin and country-tinged guitar leads. Once can sense the joy Byrd has in his voice while conveying his message of hope to those in need. Byrd's group sounds like the world's greatest bar band on a sizzling "Tired," a song that is anything but tired musically. Byrd delivers a strong vocal and the song features some tasteful slide playing. On the up-tempo "Recover Me," Byrd duets with Willie Nile, who co-wrote the track. The song is a driving rocker with a strong, melodic chorus and some sizzling lad guitar work from Byrd. Byrd does a rock and roll take on Merle Haggard's "The Bottle Let Me Down," with Stanton getting a chance to show off his considerable lead guitar chops. This is country through a Keith Richards filter with killer results. The album closes with "Just Like You," a ballad dedicated to those who think they are alone in their struggle. Byrd gives a strong vocal and the song's stripped down approach gives emphasis to the message in the lyrics. With Sobering Times, Byrd has constructed a strong set of tunes that sound as if they could have come from rock's glory days. With strong playing and singing, well-crafted songs and a strong message for those in need, Sobering Times is a winner. SOURCE

Read GoldmineMag.com's interview with IAN GILLAN and IAN Paice here

October 28, 2020 Deep Purple perform onstage during first day of Hell And Heaven 2020 on March 14, 2020, in Toluca, Mexico. Photo: Medios y Media/Getty Images It’s a bloody fight, but I’m constantly finding myself in it, defending the idea that Deep Purple are — and have been for 25 years now — making some of the best records of their long, distinguished career, right here in the Steve Morse era. But it’s also the Bob Ezrin era, with the band’s 21st album, Whoosh!, being the third in a row produced by Ezrin, famed for Destroyer, The Wall, plus records for Lou Reed and lots for Alice Cooper. If you liked 2013’s Now What?! and 2017’s Infinite, chances are you will devour the sounds and the musings burbling to the surface all over Whoosh!, for it’s a work of a band feverishly creative into their official senior citizen years, and recorded with a certain poshness that is hard to describe, never particularly heavy but always sizzling and electric, rich of taste, regal and purple like heavy plush drapery at an English castle. Goldmine cornered the band’s two Ians — Paice, drums and Gillan, vocals (the band are rounded out by Steve Morse on guitars, Roger Glover on bass and Don Airey on keyboards) — to give us the goods on where the band are situated as septuagenarians. The answers are both surprising and inspiring. GOLDMINE: Let’s start with Bob Ezrin. How does he contribute to the band dynamic? How does he help facilitate these records? IAN PAICE: Every collection of people needs a leader. Doesn’t matter if you’re hiking across the hills or in an army, or you’re in the studio. (laughs) Musicians left to their own devices tend to get sidetracked and a bit myopic about their bit. “My bit is more important than everybody else’s.” You get hung up on getting your bit heard and noticed, and sometimes your bit isn’t the most important bit; it’s somebody else’s. And Bob has a very, very shrewd ear. He just picks out what is important, and you might not initially agree with that, if you think your bit is the important bit. But at the end of the day, when the mix is done, he’s 99% correct. So he’s looking at the whole picture. And he makes sure we don’t waste time trying to get to the solution he would get to immediately — he has a great musical brain. If we’re going around with something that isn’t working, he’ll come out of the control room, and he’ll pinpoint what’s wrong. And he’ll do it in a musical way. He’ll say, “That chord isn’t working” or “That change is wrong” or, “We need a drum fill there.” He’ll make a musical critique of it. Which, again, 99 times out of 100 it’s something that improves the actual track. When we’re onstage, that’s our world. Here in the studio, that’s his world. We are there for a few weeks every three or four years. He’s in the studio 48 weeks a year. If you’re gonna work with somebody that talented, then you have to understand that he’s going to have input, and you better listen to it. GM: And what has Steve Morse done new this time out? IAN GILLAN: Steve had some problems recently, physically, with his wrist, in his tendons, and it made it difficult for him to do the style of lightning-fast histrionics that he was so well known for. And so he’s relaxed a little bit. And my God, some of the stuff that is coming out... there’s a solo on a song called “Dancing in My Sleep” where he plays a baritone guitar, an old Danelectro, and it’s one of the greatest guitar solos I’ve ever heard in my life. He also plays a brilliant solo on a song called “We’re All the Same in the Dark.” But in general, I guess you wouldn’t have recognized it as Steve’s style 10 years or 20 years ago. It’s more, I don’t know, laid back. Steve’s a kind of frenetic guy. He’s pretty intense with his personality, but he has a lovely, lovely nature. But this sort of slightly more laid-back style seems to suit him. This blues element that is coming out, I’ve never heard in Steve’s playing before, and he’s been encouraged to do that. And I think that’s part of life’s evolution. It happens to us all. When we’re 20 years old, the world is a different place. But when you reach middle age, you start becoming a little more philosophical about things. Your experiences are different. You can do things you couldn’t do when you were 20. In my first band, in my first interview with the local newspaper, he wanted an anecdote and I didn’t have any. I hadn’t done anything. I hadn’t been anywhere. I could do the pole vault and I could do sports and play football, but I do other things now — and it’s just as satisfying. IP: Steve Morse is one of those few magical musicians who have the technical ability to go anywhere he wants to. You throw a piece of music at him, of any style, and he will throw something back at you, which is wonderful. Like any of us who have some technique, it’s very, very easy to fall back on that. I mean, sometimes I fall back on drum fills that are more complex than they need to be for the piece of music that you’re playing. And again, when we’re in the studio, if any one of us is going the technical route rather than the feel route or the emotional route that a piece of music needs, Bob Ezrin is there to get us back on the straight and narrow again. Steve has this wonderful ability to do lyrical, beautiful runs of music, and sometimes you just have to persuade him that that’s just as good as the super-technical stuff. It’s a side of his music which is incredible. And we have to sometimes push him in that direction: “Look, Steve, you don’t have to do that fast run on that; show us some of those beautiful notes.” Same as anybody who has a surfeit of technique — it’s always there to fall out of you, and sometimes you just have to stop thinking and just do. Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images GM: Tell me a bit about the lead single, “Throw My Bones.” IG: Well, it’s very simple. Everyone I know is trying to make a forecast, whether it’s the weather or finances or politics or looking into the future. People with Brexit say, “Well, we haven’t got enough information.” But then it’s, “Wait, what more can we give you? We can’t tell you what’s going to happen.” Throwing bones was an original primitive practice. It was to do with witchcraft and trying to see into the future. And they started painting them with dots and they became dice. So that’s where ‘throw my bones’ became throwing dice, and a game of chance, and all that kind of thing. So it was just a question of sitting there thinking I’ll take my chances. This is what I’ve got. I don’t need that much, so I’m kind of cool with it. (laughs) GM: And what about this album cover? If you were a volunteer interpreter in the local museum and were telling visitors about this artwork, what would you say? IG: Well, the album cover is a reflection of the word. It’s fairly abstract. But the concept of Whoosh! was “Whoosh!” is the last word in the song “Man Alive.” It’s a story about an apocalyptic situation. I’ve written stuff about telepathy and empathy, and here a mother clutches her breast at the very moment that her son falls dead on a distant battlefield. There was a powerful image inside my head. “Sun sets in the West, boy has gone to rest, mama clutch her breast.” And then you get the image of “All creatures great and small, graze on blood-red soil and grass that grows on city streets.” It’s all that post-humanity type of thing. And then all of a sudden something’s washed up on a beach. It’s a man. It’s just one man. And that’s the end of it, really, because one man alone is no good to anybody. (laughs) And then “whoosh” is a kind of onomatopoeic word, and it kind of illustrates the transient nature of humanity on the planet. It’s a little subplot. It also describes Deep Purple’s career quite nicely. (laughs) Like over in a second. I mean, 1970 seems like yesterday. And then they took it to the design company in Hamburg and they threw a few ideas around, and we gradually whittled it down, and everyone is happy with where they went. It’s difficult to pin down an abstract concept, but I think they’ve done a good job. It looks nice to me. That sort of dissolving spaceman idea. “When we’re 20 years old, the world is a different place. But when you reach middle age, you start becoming a little more philosophical about things. Your experiences are different. You can do things you couldn’t do when you were 20.” — Ian Gillan GM: What is a musical track on here that titillates you greatly? What’s a song you were quite impressed with musically on here? IG: Well, obviously, “Nothing at All” just had me jumping up and down. When they first jammed it, in Germany — we had a five-day writing session and we came up with a load of stuff — I couldn’t get it out of my head. So I kept pressing for us to include it. And, well, quite apart from the technical aspects of the trade-off between Steve and Don (Airey), and the construction, it had an atmosphere to it that was… what was it? Capricious, I think, is the word. It had a sense of mischief to it. And so I literally wrote a song about a leprechaun. And I wrote tons, more and more verses than were ever needed. But it was too literal and it matched the music too much, and still I didn’t want to lose the capricious nature. So one day last spring we were talking about environmental issues and Extinction Rebellion, and the idea came into my head, about Mother Nature, the one true God, being an old lady. And quite benign, generally speaking, but ready in tooth and claw, as they say. And when we’re doing all this stuff, I’m not really caring, because the kids are saying, “Hey, come on, you know; we gotta do something. It’s getting bad. It’s getting bad.” And everyone is going, “Oh yeah, close my eyes, it’ll go to way. Never mind, there’s nothing at all, don’t worry.” And then, Mother Nature, the little old lady, smiles, and then she blew all the leaves off my tree. Which is the key phrase that changed it all around. So I started writing about that. But it still had that whimsical, capricious feeling to the music, which is in congress, really, with the seriousness of the message. But that makes it all the more ironic, I think, and so it worked pretty well for me. I was thrilled with that, and I’m still stimulated by that. When I turn it on, it just makes me smile, the sheer… what Steve and Don do on those riffing sections is magnificent. And the way it comes in and then resolves into the modulation and into Don… I mean, what would you call it? That wonderful Bach fugue in the middle. I hope I’m not overselling, but I love it. Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice Photo: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images GM: To take you back 50 years with a historical question, over the years I’ve asked everybody this except for you: why is In Rock such a heavy record? It’s essentially music that previously hadn’t existed. IP: By the time we had done the third record, with (vocalist) Rod Evans and (bassist) Nick Simper, there was an unconscious realization from definitely Ritchie and I, and somewhat Jon (Lord), that our music was actually getting harder. And because we were playing live so often, and we were getting better at it, the ideas were becoming slightly more aggressive. And we needed a different sound at the top. Rod Evans’ voice was lovely, but he wasn’t what I would call a rock and roll voice; it really wasn’t. So when that change came and we got Ian and Roger (Glover) in, not only did we get that voice, we got a couple of songwriters in. And so the shift was sort of inevitable. The amalgamation of those five musical influences, and the way that the musical dynamic was shifting, we had to make a statement and say let’s make sure everybody realizes this is a big shift from the first Deep Purple. I wouldn’t say it was a conscious thought, but there was a deliberate effort. In Rock was very, very hard. And then we heard Mountain’s first record, and we went back and said, “We’ve got to do some work.” (laughs) “Steve Morse is one of those few magical musicians who have the technical ability to go anywhere he wants to. ” — Ian Paice GM: What would Roger’s preoccupations be in terms of lyrical subjects versus you? I mean, if an outsider was to try to pick apart what a Roger lyric is verses an Ian lyric, what does Roger concern himself with more than you? IG: Well, Roger and I have worked together since ’65. And it’s like the odd couple, I suppose (laughs), in that sense. Roger did virtually all the lyrics on the last album. And here, the gates just flung open. I just started scribbling one night and I didn’t stop and there it was, all finished. The first one I wrote was “Drop the Weapon,” which is because I was very moved about kids dying on the street, shooting each other, stabbing each other in London. It’s getting worse and worse. And it was a kind of metaphorical arm around the shoulder: “Hey kid, you know, your pride can take a hit. Let’s drop the weapon. There’s other things we can do.” That came out, and it was just stream of consciousness, and before I knew it, it was all finished. But to answer your question, I think Roger’s style is more romantic. He’s a much nicer person than I am. In fact I complain about it all the time: “I hate you Roger, ‘cos you’re just too nice.” And, well, he’s the nearest thing I ever had to a brother. He’s more poetic. And he’s very good at narratives. I’m probably more aggressive than Roger, and probably more cryptic. Roger is much more straightforward when he’s telling a story. I tend to bury meanings in two or three layers. Of the songs we’ve written, over the years… I mean, I’ve written 500 or more songs now, and probably half of them are with Roger. Of the songs we’ve written, you know, he’s probably written 30% and I’ve written 30% on my own and the rest we’ve written together. We don’t actually count. If somebody has a good idea, we go with that. GM: And so in closing, can we look at these three records with Bob as a bit of a unified suite? IG: Sure. This one particularly is the climax of a trilogy that was the beginning of an amazing journey, at this late stage in our career. I couldn’t imagine so much creative input and energy from a bunch of guys at our age. Not only that, but it’s the best sound we’ve ever had. I’ve made comparisons — there’s nothing like it in our career. So that’s a boost as well. But this little set of records for me is either a nice way to finish up, or it leaves the door open for another one. I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about that. It may be happening in two or three years’ time, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a very satisfying little group of records. SOURCE