Black Star Riders with Dead Daisies at Cambridge Junction

Black Star Riders on stage at the Cambridge Junction

So Ross and I went down to the Cambridge Junction on Tuesday night to see the awesome Black Star Riders with The Dead Daisies supporting. I tell you what, there was certainly some talent in the house that night with a mixture of current and ex members of INXS, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, The Cult, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Whitesnake, Megadeth, Dokken, The Almighty and Thin Lizzy. It certainly showed through as both The Dead Daises and Black Star Riders really got the crowd going and both bands got an amazing reception and it seemed that the crowd didn’t want either band to stop playing.

The Dead Daisies are a supergroup with a bit of a revolving door policy when it comes to members including a guest appearance on the album by guitar legend Slash. On stage on Tuesday were the current band members:

Jon Stevens (INXS) – Vox

Richard Fortus (Guns n’ Roses) – Lead Guitar

Dizzy Reed (Guns n’ Roses) – Keys

Daryl Jones (The Rolling Stones) – Bass

Charley Drayton (The Cult) – Drums

David Lowy (Mink) – Rhythm Guitar

The Dead Daisies on stage at the Cambridge Junction

Their self titled album is superb and was on heavy rotation until I lent it to Ross to check out. On stage they were even better, full of grooves and riffs and clearly enjoying themselves. They worked through almost the entire album plus played a couple of new songs that they had not played on stage before so it seems they are already working on a second album, not bad for a side project. When they finished their set, the crowd went crazy and received a headline worthy ovation.

Black Star Riders entered the  stage starting off with the title track from their album “All Hell Breaks Loose”. Ricky Warrick looked like an Irish Biker and commanded the stage like one while the rest of the band looked there usual cool selves especially Scott who looked like the rock royalty he is – cool as a cucumber even while pulling off some extraordinary solos.

Scott Gorham doing his thing on stage at the Cambridge Junction.

The band worked through a set that was a mix of material from their album plus a selection of Thin Lizzy greatest hits just as you would expect. The crowd drank it up and sang and grooved along for the entire 2 hour set. Drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (ex Megadeth, Alice Cooper, Dokken and more) really caught my it was like his arms were separated from the rest of him, pulling off some amazing playing while looking like he was hardly moving and displaying the biggest grin throughout the entire set.

It was a great night and Ross got the opportunity to interview guitarist Damon Johnson which he will play on the show this Friday so tune in to Rock into the Weekend from 10pm on Friday to hear that exclusive interview. As always you can listen on 104fm, online at http://www.hcrfm.co.uk or via the TuneIn app on your smart phone or tablet.

As for me, I won’t be on the show this Friday as I am just about to set off on the Highway to Hell – Hard Rock Hell that is, where I will get the opportunity to watch Black Star Riders all over again as well as the likes of Airbourne, The Answer, Tracer, Black Spiders, Skindred, Tygers of Pan Tang, The Treatment and Grifter, I will be back next week though with more great interviews.

Cory

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!

 

 

 

Weekend Rant: Please, know your shit!

I was listening to a live radio broadcast on HCR104fm of the Huntingdon Christmas Lights switch on which we are hosting. One of the live acts was playing the Blues standard “Sweet Home Chicago” and when they finished playing they back announced it as Sweet Home Chicago by the Blues Brothers. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!

Ok, yes the Blues Brothers did play a version of this song but they are one name on a very long list that includes the likes of:

Junior Parker

Buddy Guy

Freddie King

Fleetwood Mac

Eric Clapton

and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Sweet Home Chicago is a song by Robert Johnson not any of those named above least of all the Blues Brothers. This kind of thing winds me up. If you are going to cover someone elses song, the least you can do is know whose song it is. I am especially surprised at this from a Blues band as people who like the Blues usually study the form in quite some detail and most will have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Blues.

Now some might say “so what?, they got the artist wrong.” but I am not exactly talking about some obscure Blues player now, I am talking about Robert Johnson, one of the most legendary and influential Blues players that ever existed and arguably one of the greatest guitarists to ever pick up the six string. For those of you who need some educating, Robert Johnson is the blues player who, legend has it, took himself down to the crossroads at midnight and sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for phenomenal guitar skills. He recorded the song in 1936 and the melody dates back even further and was a standard in itself even at that point.

Anyway, I digress, I have seen this a number of times and not only from bands but fans as well. There was the funny scenario a few years back where, that T.V No Talent Show decided that the winner would release a cover of Hallelujah. This led to an outcry from fans who started a rival campaign to have the original version by… Jeff Buckley… to the Christmas number one spot. WRONG! The original was by Leonard Cohen. There are lots of examples I could go into and most of them on the fan side of things are forgiveable I guess. There are plenty of cover versions that have gone on to greater success and are some times even better than the original and if that original was recorded decades before you were born then I can see how it is sometimes easy to mistake a cover for an original. Perfect examples of this include, Hey Joe or All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix – covers of Billy Roberts and Bob Dylan respectively or House of the Rising Sun by the Animals (actually: Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster), Black Magic Woman by Santana (actually Fleetwood Mac) or Hound Dog by Elvis Presley (actually Big Mama Thornton). These are forgiveable but for a band to cover a song and not to have bothered to do some research on who wrote it and what it’s meaning is really bugs me, I do really think that bands should show a bit more respect and know their shit when they get up on stage to play someone else’s song.

The same goes for wearing a bands t-shirt. If you are going to wear a bands t-shirt, you better know your shit because I am going to quiz you on it. Too often you see teeny boppers walking round in Ramones T-shirts but if you ask them to name the members of the band they can’t do it and their names are even LISTED ON THE BLOODY T-SHIRT. The same seems to be the case for AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, The Clash and t-shirts for a handful of other bands. You see these t-shirts on sale in those horrible High Street clothing shops and they are picked up by all sorts of people that are trying for that kind of homogenized, safe but slightly edgy looking High Street rocker/punk look. In most cases they have never listened to the band let alone know anything about them except for the fact they existed at some point.

This really winds me up, band t-shirts are a badge of honour, they give people an instant snap shot of some of the kind of music you like, your possible philosophies in live (depending on the band) and signal you out as a brother/sister in arms or at least someone you can instantly strike up a conversation with. Too many times, I have been stood at a bar turned round and seen someone wearing a t-shirt of a band I like so I try to start up a conversation with them only to have them look at me blankly and say something like “what the hell are you going on about mate”, you then apologise and say that you noticed their t-shirt only for them to say “oh, that, I just liked the look of it”. I even had one person say to me, about the Jam t-shirt they were wearing, “well their an old band and I’m only 19 so how could I know anything about them”. THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU WEARING THE T-SHIRT? The internet could tell you anything you wanted to know about them in about 5 mins as well as provide you with their entire discography (not that I condone the downloading of music at all even if it is legal) for you to listen to.

T-shirts and other merchandise are sacred and special to us true fans, they are our equivalent of football shirts, we wear them because we support the music and the bands that play it. All you teeny bopper, fashion chasers and anyone else with not a single minute interest in the music, please kindly fuck off and leave our t-shirts alone and if I see you in one, you better know your shit because I will be testing you and there will be consequences.

So please, if you are going to pay tribute to a band, either musically through cover songs, or by wearing their t-shirts, patches, hoodies or bags, please know your shit.

Cory

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!

Brother in Arms

Brother in Arms

So my Brother in Arms on the radio waves Ross Kitson has started his own blog. Go and check it out, Ross presents Rock into the Weekend with me and has great taste in music and the knowledge to match it.

Ross will be blogging about all the music, new and old, that he is currently listening to. Expect to hear about some really cool, Punk, Metal, Hardcore and Classic Rock bands and of course all the latest about our show Rock into the Weekend.

Check out Ross’ ramblings at http://rosskitson.wordpress.com/.

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!

Venezuela Fights Corruption with Corruption

I have just read a concerning report in The Guardian about Venezuelan attempts to fight corruption with corruption by taking steps towards dictatorship.

The Venezuelan General Assembly has granted it’s President, Nicolas Maduro, emergency powers of decree to make laws without consulting Congress for up to a year, in a bid to strengthen government control over the economy, as Maduro goes after businesses he accuses of sabotaging the  Venezuelan economy.

This is a man who recently instructed the military to seize or occupy dozens of electrical appliance stores, slash prices and arrest hundereds of business owners that he accuses of artificially inflating prices (sound like a familar practice?) I can only wonder what he will use these new powers for.

So far his actions have proved popular among Maduro’s working class supporters and even some opponents and Maduro has pledged to keep prices low in a number of industries, limit profit margins to 30% and actively tackle corruption. All of which sounds like reasonable promises to make. I am just dubious about the methods being used.

I am by no means a staunch capitalist and was only having a discussion last night with work colleaguea about the horrid greed and ridiculous profit expectations of big business in this country and how something needs to be done about the ever increasing abuses of capitalist society. The most criminal of all examples being the energy companies whose greed knows no bounds as they force people to choose between eating and heating. I was incredulous when these companies cried out, in response to Ed Miliband’s promise to freeze energy prizes, stating that such an act would prevent them from being able to invest in infrastructure – I assumes this is because it would mean cutting into their £4 billion annual profits which simply won’t do of course. The other example we were discussing was the supermarkets who claim to slash prices when really what they mean is “here is the price but we’re going to artificially increase it for two weeks of the year so we can tell you that we’re doing you a favour”.

It seems that capitalism today means raising the price of essential goods and services to extorniate levels in order to increase profit margins as much as possible even if that does mean bankrupting or even killing your customers. All the government seems willing to do about it is lower the taxes that they don’t even pay anyway! I have a lot of sympathy for any attempts to limit the greed and corruption of big business as I think it is far too prevalent in all corners of the world but I don’t think government corruption is the way to do it.

As if military occupation of businesses wasn’t worrying enough, the method by which Maduro gained these emergency powers is a pure example of unashamed political corruption. Coveniently, just in time for the crucial vote that awarded Maduro his emergency powers, an opposition congresswoman had her right to immunity from prosecution over corruption charges removed allowing a supportive legislature to replace her giving Maduro the crucial 99th vote he needed to gain the power of decree he desired. How very convenient indeed.

Has the power of big business really got to the stage where only the corrupt are willing to tackle its corruption by using corruption of their own?

To read the source article from the Guardian take a trip here: http://gu.com/p/3kgfz

Cory

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New Crowbar Album on the way

New Orleans heaviest metal outfit, the awesome Crowbar have officially entered the studio to begin working on their tenth studio album. The new material will be the band’s first since the release of “Sever the Wicked Hand” that was released in 2010.

Founder and frontman Kirk Windstein recently announced his departure from DOWN after spending more than 20 years as their lead riff-master; saying:

“After 22 wonderful years we are parting ways. They will always be my brothers and I wish the best to all of them. We have created some bad ass music together that we can all look back on and be proud of. All of our great times will never be forgotten.”

With Windstein devoting 100% of his focus on Crowbar, he is assuring fans that the sky is the limit. He continued by saying:

“Crowbar is my heart and soul. The music is a part of me that I am extremely proud of. It’s an amazing feeling to be putting all of my energy and focus into something that I created 25 years ago! We are extremely excited to record our 10th full length album and to bring the riffs to as many people as possible on tour. See you on the road!”

Crowbar have entered the OCD Recording Studio in their hometown of New Orleans with Duane Simoneaux taking on engineering duties. The legendary Zeuss has been tapped to mix the record. The band also welcomes new bassist Jeff Golden after the departure of Pat Bruders earlier this year.

The band will be heading out on a handful of dates throughout Europe shortly before the album’s release.

As well as playing Bloodstock in August next year, Crowbar have also been confirmed for Roadburn Festival, Maryland Death Fest & Hellfest all happening in 2014.

Check out the band’s Facebook for regular updates from the studio:

https://www.facebook.com/crowbarmusic

Cory

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Rock into the Weekend favourites Monster Truck and Scorpion Child join forces for Lords of the Riff Tour

MONSTER TRUCK AND SCORPION CHILD JOIN FORCES FOR ‘LORDS OF THE RIFF’ TOUR

Right boys and girls listen up Metal Hammer and Classic Rock Magazine have joined forces to launch the very exciting ‘LORDS OF THE RIFF’ tour, featuring co-headliners MONSTER TRUCK and SCORPION CHILD, for March 2014.

The tour is designed to showcase new artists that both magazines are passionate about, championing their talents to their respective and very diverse audiences.

A support band is still to be announced but METAL HAMMER editor-in-chief, Alexander Milas comments:

“It isn’t often that Classic Rock magazine agrees with what we put on the office stereo, so you can imagine our surprise when not one, but two new Metal Hammer favourites met with their approval, and a pint or two later a tour was born. Monster Truck and Scorpion Child are two phenomenal live bands, and we can’t wait to see them on these shores. Riff on!”

Canadian rockers Monster Truck are thrilled to be returning to the UK, having recently wrapped their UK stint with the re-branded Kyuss Lives band, Vista Chino.  

The band released their warmly received debut album ‘Furiosity’, for their groove-laden performance at 2013’s Download Festival, via Dine Alone Records. The CD showcases Monster Truck’s ability to seamlessly integrate influences from grunge and punk-era greats, with alt-sounding vintage rock.  

True to their notorious maxim “Don’t Fuck With The Truck”, the band have steamrolled across their native Canada, becoming one of the biggest stories in rock there this past year with singles, ‘Sweet Mountain River’ and ‘The Lion’ reaching #1 on Canadian rock radio (and staying put for several weeks).  

The band took home a 2013 Juno Award for “Breakthrough Group of the Year” and also a 2013 CRMA (Canadian Radio Music Award) in Rock for ‘Seven Seas Blues’.  

Monster Truck fan and guitar icon Slash hand-picked them to tour with him, going on record to say:

“Monster Truck are one of the few really great down to earth rock n roll bands I’ve heard in the last couple of years. Hard, soulful, and heavy.”

Austin-based energy thieves, Scorpion Child will be returning to British Isles after their huge debut UK performance in London earlier this month. The band released their colossal hard rock self-titled debut back in June via Nuclear Blast. The record contains so much venom, the UK media and the band’s touring partners are positively writhing. Classic Rock Magazine described lead track ‘Polygon of Eyes’ as:

“Some mighty impressive shredding, a dramatic pause and then… Blam! Evoking memories of early 80’s Rainbow and Iron Maiden, this single by the Austin-based five-piece leaves you so breathless that you hardly have to time to wonder what a ‘Polygon Of Eyes’ actually is.”

Equally impressed are US touring buddies Clutch. Clutch frontman Neil Fallon raves:

”Aryn Jonathan Black has one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. His range is outrageous. And thankfully, it is accompanied by proper rock and roll riffage. Scorpion Child is unapologetic classic rock… just as the ancient ones intended.”

Monster Truck frontman/bassist Jon Harvey exclaims:

“We can’t wait to get back over to the UK with Scorpion Child!  A certified rock n roll roadshow that will melt your face off! Prepare your booties for a lot of shakin’!”

Aryn Jonathan Black, vocalist for Scorpion Child, said:

“We are super excited to rejoin our European family, along with Canadian brethren Monster Trucm for the March tour!”

The co-headline dates are as follows:

Sun 16 Mar – BRISTOL Exchange (MT closes the show)
Tue 18 Mar – COLCHESTER Arts Centre (SC closes)
Thu 20 Mar – BIRMINGHAM Academy 3  (MT closes)
Fri 21 Mar – SHEFFIELD Corporation (SC closes)
Sat 22 Mar – GLASGOW King Tuts  (MT closes)
Sun 23 Mar – NEWCASTLE Academy 2 (SC closes)
Tue 25 Mar – NOTTINGHAM Rock City (MT closes)
Wed 26 Mar – LONDON Underworld (MT closes)
Thu 27 Mar – MANCHESTER Roadhouse (SC closes)

Tickets will be available via presale on Wednesday 20 November, and on general sale Friday 22 November, for the bargain price of £10 (+ booking fees).  

To buy online, visit:
http://www.seetickets.com (Bristol, Sheffield shows)
http://www.livenation.co.uk (Birmingham, Newcastle, London, Manchester)
http://www.gigsinscotland.com (Glasgow)
http://www.colchesterartscentre.com (Colchester)
http://www.alt-tickets.co.uk (Nottingham).

Get the latest on the bands online at: http://www.ilovemonstertruck.com and http://www.scorpionchild.com, or on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/ilovemonstertruck and http://www.facebook.com/scorpionchild.

Cory

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The Rock into the Weekend “Rock Off” on HCR104fm

So last night Ross Kitson and I hosted the latest “Rock Off” on our show “Rock into the Weekend” on HCR104fm. Our guests last night were Gaz Jones currently of local band She’s Dead Now and formerly of Horn Dog, General Lee and various other local bands throughout the years and Ash Crowson, Barfly, Beer and Whiskey connoisseur, metaller and general righteous dude.

The idea of the Rock Off is that we get two listeners onto the show to go head to head picking their favourite songs from 6 categories while all the other listeners vote for who has picked the best tracks. The loser then has to face the forfeit of wearing this lovely t-shirt to their next gig or event.

As you can see the stakes are high so the tension is always up there and the banter as sharp as a Sunday League dressing room at half time. It really is the highlight of the month for Rock into Weekend. The categories the guests get to choose from are:

The harder they come: A perfect example of balls out heavy rock.
Easy like a Sunday morning: Slowing the pace down a little and showing their softer side.
Musical wizardry: A song that showcases the exceptional talent of the technical elite.
Hidden gem: A song or band that often gets over looked but deserves much more attention.
Guilty please: Self explanatory really!
Hit the Lights: The live track.

So what did Gaz and Ash pick well here they are:

The Harder they Come:

Gaz – Bruane Bren – Kvelertak

Ash – Killed by Death – Motorhead

Easy like a Sunday Morning:

Gaz – The Wind Cries Mary – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Ash – Blessed Hellride – Black Label Society

Technical Wizardry:

Gaz – Spirit of Radio – Rush

Ash – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – Black Sabbath

Hidden Gem:

Gaz – Wreckage – Entombed

Ash – Walking Away – Godsized

Guilty Pleasure:

Gaz – The Touch – Stan Bush (not really a guilty pleasure in my book. How can the song from the Transformers Movie, original cartoon version, ever be a Guilty Pleasure?)

Ash – Steal Your Fire – Lauren Harris

Hit the Lights:

Gaz – Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

Ash – Native Blood – Testament

________________________________________________________

Other tracks played on the night were:

Fight Song – Marilyn Manson

Expand Your Mind – The Vintage Caravan

72′ Nova – Caveman Voicebox

Black Saucers – Lonely the Brave

My Love Wont Let You Down – Curran

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

At the Oche – Baby Godzilla

Full Circle – Obey the Brave

I won’t tell you who won the Rock Off at this point as I am interested to see who would have got your votes so please let me know in the comments section who you would have voted for in each round and in a couple of days, I will reveal who the winner was on the night and who will be took home the dreaded One Direction T-shirt that previous loser, Danny Ackerley is modelling here.

 

Tune in to Rock into the Weekend every Friday night from 10pm on HCR104fm by turning the dial to 104fm or listening online at http://www.hcrfm.co.uk or via TuneIn on your smartphone or tablet.

If you are in the Peterborough – Huntingdon – Cambridge area and want to take part in the Rock Off just send your details to rockteam@hcrfm.co.uk.

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!

Caveman Voicebox Live Webcast – Tonight 8pm GMT

Caveman Voicebox Live Webcast – Tonight 8pm GMT

For all you rockers that like your riffs huge, check out the Live Webcast with Caveman Voicebox on Aiiradio.net at 8pm tonight (16th November).

Caveman Voicebox are a bunch of crazy dudes from L.A who have big driving riffs with a sound specially put together for all you petrol heads out there.

I have been championing these guys for a while now as their music rocks and front man GW (Graham Wilson) is a complete dude! We had a live phone in with GW on Rock into the Weekend on HCR104fm earlier in the year that was awesome and I play them fairly regularly including during the Rock Off last night.

I keep in touch with the guys via their twitter page and you can follow them there – just search for @CavemanVoicebox or check out their Facebook and Sound Cloud pages http://www.facebook.com/caveman-voicebox and cavemanvoicebox.bandcamp.com where you can listen to some of their tracks. If you are a fan of Stoner Rock and bands such as Red Fang, Clutch, Queens of the Stone Age, ZZ Top and you love the smell of exhaust fumes, beer and barbecue, you wont be dissappointed.

Their EP “Facial Hair and Harmonies” is available now from CD Baby as is their first EP “Strippers, Mullets and Beer” just go to http://cdbaby.com/cd/cavemanvoicebox2.

Check them out live tonight at 8pm on AiiRadio.net.

Cory

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!

Classic Rock Roll of Honour 2013

• Black Sabbath take home three awards – The Living Legend Award, Album of the Year and Event of the Year (for their #1 album, “13”).
• Led Zeppelin win Film of the Year (for their Reunion Concert film “Celebration Day”.
• The Rolling Stones are awarded Band of the Year.
• Zakk Wylde receives Metal Guru award.

So, last night, I had the pleasure of being invited to the Classic Rock Roll of Honour at the Round House in Camden to cover the ceremony for my radio show Rock into the Weekend on HCR104fm.

This is the most prestigious event in the Rock music calendar so to say I was excited is an understatement. I have been a music fanatic since I was about 8 or 9 years old and ever since I first heard Guns n Roses, Led Zeppelin and most of all Black Sabbath, music has dominated my life. I am still very much a fan boy now so the thought of being in the same building as some of my all time heroes, let alone getting to interview them was a dream come true then add to that a free bar (I was poured half a pint of Chivas Regal at one point) and Zakk Wylde playing the Piano in the middle of a room full of the who’s who of Rock and you have the recipe for a very special night, it’s fair to say that I have had worse nights.

Me on the Red Carpet

I was situated on the red carpet as you can see above and was lucky enough to get to talk to legends like Black Sabbath, Jimmy Page, Zakk Wylde, Wilko Johnson, Mott the Hoople, John Mayall, Walter Trout, Fish, Alex Lifeson from Rush Black Star Riders, John Coghlan from Status Quo, Rick Wakeman, The Darkness and up and coming stars The Temperance Movement, Blackberry Smoke and The Virgin Mary’s.

Well enough of my fanboy ramblings, here is how the night went down.

After getting everyone down the red carpet the evening was opened by a performance from young pups The Temperance Movement. I can only imagine how nerve racking it must have been for a bunch of young Irish guys who have only just broken on to the scene to be playing in front of the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, John Mayall and countless other legends but when talking to the band, they seemed to take it completely in their stride and treated it as just another date on the tour. Pure professionals.

The stars then had their dinner while I joined Neil Jones from the Star Radio Rock Show in propping up the bar and blagging about half a bottle of 18 yr old Chivas Regal for myself and a bottle of white wine for Neil. As we were making our way through our contraband, there was a call for silence and as we looked over, Zakk Wylde had seated himself at a mini grand piano in the middle of the room and gave a mini performance of two songs that were simply incredible and with the end of that, the awards got underway.

First up, The Temperance Movement took the well deserved award for Best New Band.

The Temperance Movement

Next up is Breakthrough Band which goes to The Virgin Mary’s followed by The Musicans’ Union Maestro Award which was received by James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers. The V.I.P Award went to Shep Gordon, long time manager of Alice Cooper and subject of an upcoming documentary “Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon” in which the likes of Michael Myers (Director), Alice Cooper, Michael Douglas and the Dali Lama pay tribute to the man.

The Classic Album Award went to John Mayall’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (or the Beano album as it is affectionately known). This was awarded to him by an unrecognisable Walter Trout who has been ravaged by Liver Cancer. It was sad to see this legend of a man literally wasting away but he was in great spirits and incredibly proud to be giving this award to John who revealed that, rather criminally, this was the first time that this seminal album or the man himself had ever received any official recognition from the industry. This really is a crime given how many true legends received their musical education in the Blues Breakers, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck being among the most prominent, and how many people were in turned inspired by those John schooled.

John Mayall with Walter Trout

Of course, the buzz of the evening was all about Black Sabbath who were nominated for and won three awards: The Living Legend Award, which was announced ahead of the evening and also Album of the Year for their album “13” and also Event of the Year for that album reaching Number 1 in the mainstream album charts. It was great to see Ozzy, Tony and Geezer walking the red carpet but unfortunately the absence of Bill Ward was more than obvious and Tony revealed that Bill is currently in hospital so all the best to him for a quick recovery from whatever has put him there.

Black Sabbath

There were of course a number of other awards so I will sign off with a full list of the winners and some select photos from the evening and you can of course tune in to Rock into the Weekend next Friday at 10pm on HCR104fm to hear all the interviews from the evening.

Cory

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out

The Winners: 

The Living Legend Award (Sponsored by Orange Amplification) – Black Sabbath

Event Of The Year (Sponsored by Roadrunner) – Black Sabbath go to #1 spot

Breakthrough Award – Virginmarys

The Musicians’ Union Maestro – James Dean Bradfield

Tommy Vance Inspiration Award (Sponsored by Spinefarm Records) – Rory Gallagher

Outstanding Contribution (sponsored by Monitor Audio) – Mott the Hoople

Classic Album (sponsored by Eagle Rock) – ‘Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton’ – John Mayall

V.I.P. Award (sponsored by currencies.co.uk) – Shep Gordon

Metal Guru (sponsored by Mascot Label Group) – Zakk Wylde

Best New Band (sponsored by Kraken) – The Temperance Movement

Album Of The Year (sponsored by Live Nation) – Black Sabbath ‘13’

Reissue Of The Year (sponsored by Alchemy) – Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumours 35^th Anniversary Edition’

Film Of The Year  – Led Zeppelin ‘Celebration Day’

Band Of The Year (sponsored by Investec) – The Rolling Stones

Spirit Of Prog (sponsored by USM / UMC) – Alex Lifeson

The Showmen– The Darkness

Innovator – Wilko Johnson

Pictures:

Jimmy Page

John Coughlan (Status Quo)

Blackberry Smoke

The Darkness

 Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)

The Virgin Mary’s

Zakk Wylde

The power of that fist pump was equal to 10 Chuck Norris Round House Kicks.

Listen in to Rock into the Weekend next week at 10pm on 104fm or online at http://www.hcrfm.co.uk to hear all the interviews.

Turn on, Tune in and Rock Out!

You know it’s Christmas when…

Your facebook news feed gets filled up by those annoyong fuckers you usually call friends who get far too excited about Christmas far too early to have any ounce of sanity left exclaiming:

‘You know it’s Christmas when the Coke Christmas advert comes on’

No No No! You know Christmas is coming becauase it is on the fucking calendar. It is on the same date every year. If you need an advert for some major corporation (no matter how iconic it may be) to tell you Christmas is fucking coming then you need to wake up, find your brain and stick back inside your head.

CHRISTMAS IS ON THE 25TH DECEMBER – it’s the same every year and you can shut up about it for another month yet.

Cory

Turn on, Tune in and Rock out!