Video: Foo Fighters - Rope

I picked up the new Foo Fighters album, "Wasting Light" on Tuesday. I'm really digging it. You can watch them perform the whole album live on YouTube. That's not something you see...ever, so definitely check it out. Here's the video for the first single, "Rope".

See You Soon Conan

This is sad, at least for me. Conan O'Brien is off The Tonight Show after only 7 months. I love Conan, I never disliked Leno, but I always struggled to stay awake through Jay's show so I could catch Conan on Late Night.

Below is the link for the final episode of Conan's version of The Tonight Show. If you don't watch the whole thing, at the very least watch the last 5 minutes or so. It's a very rockin' and incredible end to a show cut too short.

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien - January 22, 2010 on Hulu

Ending The Year With A Bang...Not So Much

The fact that I'm just now writing this post about my New Year's Eve says quite a bit. This new year was supposed to be different, not the same 'ol hum-drum, sitting in front of the tv to watch the ball drop and pretending that I enjoy drinking a few. (Which I really don't.)

I mentioned in my post, "The New Year's Eve Let Down", back in November how ringing in the New Year is never what it's cracked up to be. Though the transition from '09 to 0-Ten (definitely doesn't sound right when you say it out loud) wasn't the same kind of let down, I'm thinking I hyped up this year's celebration a little too much in my head.

KJ and I headed to downtown Kansas City to catch a rock show put on by 98.9 The Rock featuring local band Red Line Chemistry, Cavo, and Rev Theory. Overall, the show was decent, Rev Theory was definitely the highlight, with Cavo almost putting me to sleep and Red Line Chemistry being pretty impressive. No offense to Cavo, they have some great tunes, but they followed the local opener who came out ripping as a 5-piece group (2 guitars, bass, drums and lead vocal), as a 4-piece (only 1 guitar) which was a major step down the intensity meter.

Compounded with a long, short week at work, it being way past my normal bed time (I'm usually in bed by 10:00 at the latest), many more drunk people in comparison to other shows, and the countdown being a little bit of a dud (you need to work on that for next year 98.9) I was most definitely ready to hit the door once Rev Theory finished their set.

So as for ringing in 2010, the new decade, this show was a major step up from most other countdown nights of my adult life, but I feel that it could have been a little better, even with my insane expectations.

What's the moral here kiddies? I enjoyed myself and that's all that really mattered. I have to quit with all the hype and enjoy things for what they are from now on, I think that will make all the difference. Rock on to 2010!

Oh, and the hell with resolutions! Let's just write some tunes and leave it at that.

Let me know how your New Year's Eve went!

Merry Rockin' Christmas (A Day Late)

Halestorm and My Ongoing Obession

I've mentioned before about how I can't help but dig women lead singers of rock bands. Bands like Flyleaf, Guano Apes, Paramore, and more recently Halestorm have been lighting up my iTunes playlists and blasting out of my car stereo. There's just something about those upbeat, raspy, intense, vocals that sends my music craving mind mad.

I had a chance to feed my obesession live and in person last night at the Uptown Theater in KCMO. (Kansas City, Missouri for those of you not up on the midwestern lingo.) Chevelle headlined a show featuring Halestorm, which as I mentioned, has one rockin' chick as the lead singer slash rhythm guitarist. Sporting the full body, striped, spandex body suit and flexing those amazing (amazingly hot, that is) golden pipes, Lizzy Hale truly rocked my world and was definitely the highlight of the show for me. And not only do I dig her slamming rock vocals because she's a woman, but I am just truly jealous of the power that those vocal chords blasted out at us. Me want some of those.

I can't come close to explaining how amazing her voice is so I included the video below of the band performing acoustically on the Johnny Dare Morning Show live on the radio here in Kansas City. I've had the song, It's Not You, stuck in my head since they opened their show with it last night. It so happens it's their new single so it's obviously doing it's job as catchy radio tune.

Definitely check out the video and keep rockin'!

Steven Tyler Living A Little Too Close To The Edge?

This is NOT a funny story by a long shot, I don't want to make it sound that way by the punny title. (For you Aerosmith fans out there, I think you see what I'm getting at. Living On The Edge, anyone?)

On August 5th, Steven Tyler fell off the stage while performing on Sturgis, South Dakota and according to the NY Times article posted at the bottom,"sustained a broken shoulder and received stitches to the head," forcing them to cancel the rest of their summer tour. It makes you wonder what Tyler did to anger the rock gods or whether it's something that's just bound to happen when you've been rocking shows for almost 40 years. (I'm leaning toward the latter.)

Watching the video below makes me cringe a little, not only from the fall itself, but the reaction of the crowd, who you can tell knows something is up. (You can hear an obvious, "Hell no!" near the end.)

That's the scary thing about show biz, not only does stuff like this happen every once and a while, but it's usually bound to get caught on tape in the process.

Read the full details in the article here >>>

Will Our Lady Peace's New Disc Drop Already!?

As you can tell from my listening habits, OLP is undoubtedly my favorite band and I'm about ready for their new album Burn Burn. (A lot of those plays have been OLP recently, including right now!) I don't want my month of July to fly by but it's about time for the 21st to come.

Green Day It Up

I guess I've been going Green Day crazy lately. Eh, it happens. Here's the video for the new single "21 Guns" that I mentioned yesterday. Go ahead and Green Day it up, it's a great tune and a bullet riddled video. Rock on!

Green Day - "21 Guns" - HD

Music Is My Fuel

It's been a week at the new job and I gotta say, I'm exhausted. It's been 6 straight days of 3rd shift (10pm-6am) trying to get a huge order done by today. We still didn't get it done by the time I left this morning, that's the frustrating part. But I'm not complaining, it feels crazy good to be working, bringing home a paycheck and not feeling bad sleeping in the middle of the day because it's perfectly reasonable with this weird shift.

I'm moving to a more normal shift tomorrow, 7am-2pm (or something like that). It'll be great to start learning some more stuff but at the same time I think I'm going to miss the 3rd shift a little bit. Oddly enough, I kind of enjoyed the weird hours, the repetitive work and the empty building. Being only two of us for 8 hours we can just crank the rock music and roll on.

Truly, music is my fuel. I don't know where I'd be without music. Everyday I was driven on by the beats and the pumping guitars. Music keeps me in my zone, makes me oblivious to pain and annoyances, keeps me happy and singing, strong and energetic.

I've been especially enamored with 98.9 The Rock out of Kansas City. They play a great mix of old and new rock, from Korn to AC/DC, that keeps my tank full and kept me kicking during those late night shifts. (Although it was exceptionally depressing hearing all the talk about their Rockfest show that happened last Saturday that I didn't buy tickets for when I had the chance. I wrote about "dropping the ball" back in April.)

Hopefully, the move to the day shift won't mess things up too much. I'm digging work so far and I'm looking forward to using my extra time work on my pathetic guitar skills and my half done songs, my motivation to get through the day. Rock on!

Under The Cover of Rock

Are you ever scanning through the radio while driving along the highway and you can't help but stop and listen to the atrocity that is considered pop music these days? You're sucked in because you can't help but imagine how some of this stuff makes it onto the radio and into the brains of millions of impressionable teenagers.

No? Ok, maybe it's just me. So, now you're probably thinking, "Hey Eric, why don't you tell us how your really feel? And leave my Britney alone!"

But as much at it seems from that first paragraph, I'm really not that much of a prude. Yeah, some of the subject matter when it comes to pop music today is just gross. Somehow it went from the classic days of pop music when it was like "gee willickers, it would be right dandy if you'd let me hold your hand" to numerous unnecessary analogies about milkshakes and lollipops; some slightly steeped in innuendo, others plain out straight forward.

But I like a clever line as much as anyone else, regardless of what the subject matter may be. As a songwriter I can't help but have respect for all forms of music because of the sheer fact that it's music, which is truly an art form no matter how you look at it.

(By the way, click the links to hear and see the songs I mention in action. I spent a whole 5 minutes researching on YouTube, have some respect and click! I'm just kidding of course, but seriously, click the links. And don't forget to hit the back button.)

I think my major problem is my deep roots in rock that just can't fathom how this kind of music can be popular. I know there is what is called pop-rock, bands likes Nickelback and 3 Doors Down (whom I both love by the way) but I'm talking the rap, r&b kind of stuff that I just can't seem to stomach.

I mean, it's not like I don't listen to Hinder or Theory of a Deadman, with their songs like "Get Stoned" and "Bad Girlfriend". I'm sorry, but they both just rock and I can't help but like it. (They both play a decent live show as well.) These songs are probably as dirty as it can get and still be on radio but I can't resist the the slamming guitars and the screaming lyrics.

So, as disgusted as I am with most of today's pop music, what if you were to take it and turn it into my most beloved rock? You'd get gold in my eyes. (Or my ears..I don't know.)

Plenty of bands have made a name for themselves covering other musicians songs. It's hard to forget The Ataris with their cover of Don Henley's "Boys of Summer". That was on the radio every like 5 seconds back in 2006. I can't say I minded too much. There was also the roughed up version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" by Alien Ant Farm in 2001 that I can't help but like especially because of the Michael fun-poking they do in the video.

But these tunes were already classics and great examples of songwriting. (In my opinion of course. But seriously, quit ripping on Michael, he was good in his time.) However, as of late, it's been a common trend for bands to cover more recent hits, especially ones that are very far from rock based and actually make me want to listen to the song.

One that's huge right now on alternative rock stations is the song "Lollipop" as done my Framing Hanley. (This video ain't for the kiddies.) I still can't say I'm a fan of the Lil' Wayne lyrics, they are disgusting as it gets. (Lollipops are for kids, man. Just don't go there!) But as I wrote before, when you add on a couple cranked guitars, a bellowing bass, a slamming drum set, and belting vocals that make you want to scream along, it's really hard to resist. It makes me feel awful that I get those lyrics that I so loathe stuck in my head.

There's also a new song that I discovered that actually inspired this post. The video is embedded below. I just had to share it. It's a cover by All-American Rejects of "Womanizer" by Britney Spears. I can't say that this version is really rockin' but it's done to perfection by a rockin' band. This video actually makes me think an old country band with a glam band lead singer . You'll see what I mean when you see the overalls, bowler hat and tight pants. How the toy accordian fits in, I have no idea, it's just awesome, plain and simple. I've watched it at least 10 times today and I'm sure they'll be more. (UPDATE: 1/16/09 - I've watched it about 15 times now.)

Overall, I can't say I'll ever be a fan of pop music as a genre or for the contrived lyrics that you tend to find, but I'll love it for the fact that it gives the rock bands that I love to crank the opportunity to turn up the volume and rock the hell out of those poppy pieces of crap.

Enjoy the video, be prepared to giggle.

The Rock Star Rider

*Flashback*
Date: April, 2004
Place: University of Maine, Orono, Maine

Ahhh, the college years. Though not as campy and short lived as the "Saved By The Bell" crew's romp through higher education, it was still memorable and well worth the $20,000 I drown under now and for years to come. (Or so I'm told.) My junior year in particular was less about fighting with my former football player R.A. (Mike, played by Bob Golic) and dealing with the shenanigans of an accident prone and perpetually smart, yet dumb best friend (a la Screech), but more about hanging in my apartment which smelled rich of Subway sandwiches from the restaurant below, doing as little school work as I could (text books are overrated), and rockin' with my band Now Transmission as the stunning and oh so talented lead singer that would have made Kelly Kapowski look twice. (It's my blog, you gotta let me exaggerate a little.)

This particular spring was a big one for the band. We were pretty well known across campus, played quite a few shows around the area and in Portland (THE big city of Maine if you're unfamiliar), had a quick tour of New England, and garnered the popular vote to play the school's now defunct big music festival, Bumstock, as the campus band headliner to play two slots before SoCal rockers Eve 6.

It was incredible to be able travel around and play the songs we created with assorted covers to please the drunkards. (Sorry, no Freebird!) It wasn't very glorious, we rarely got paid enough to cover the gas, let alone a meal, but it was really all about the rockin' and having fun.

When we did have that rock star moment, it was definitely memorable. That's where the "rider" comes in. If you don't know what a rider is, it's basically a list of requests by a band of what they want the night of a show for them and their crew. Items will include anything from certain foods to accommodations. You name it, it's probably been on some big bands rider. I actually stumbled on the backstage section of a site called thesmokinggun.com which is an archive of band riders. I recommend starting with Foo Fighters '08, it's hilarious.

But anyway, I digress. In April '04, before the big Bumstock show we were given the opportunity to open for one of my favorite alternative rock bands, Fuel. (This is before Brett, the lead singer left the band.) They were going to play on campus at the Maine Center For The Arts, the big performance hall on campus which seated somewhere around 1,500, give or take. Anyway, it was going to be the biggest crowd we ever played for. (But that's another story for another day.)

For such a big show, and because their budget apparently allowed it, we were offered a rider. This was a lot of pressure. I'm supposed to be a rock star yet I have no idea what I would want for a rider. We were provided a nice dressing room, cool. We were opening for Fuel, incredible. What more could I want?

Of course, their budget for us was probably meant for some drinks and a few snacks, maybe even a towel, so I didn't want to go overboard and look like an idiot. And I certainly wasn't going to go all Van Halen, making sure there were no brown M&M's or demand "real knives, forks, spoons, plates, and napkins" with the only exception being Solo cups like the Foo.

So you know what I asked for? Nutty Bars and Gatorade. I love Nutty Bars and they sure hit the spot. And how can you wrong with free Gatorade? You can't. The other guys settled for some of their favorite snacks and we enjoyed every ounce of free rock star goodness.

Was it very rock star of us? Maybe not. I'm sure the Zack Attack, the Zack Morris led supergroup would have outdone us, but we rocked the show just the same. We got to meet Fuel, watch their show from the back stage area and pretend like we were a big deal for a whole night. And it was spectacular.

Here's the real question. What would you include in your rock star rider? We're assuming that you're a small, but successful act. You're no U2 but people sing along to your songs that have made it to the airwaves. Let's hear it.

Photos courtesy of Holly Barber: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbhocusfocus

Guitar Hero or Guitar Loser?

About a month ago, I couldn't help but run out and hunt down the new Guitar Hero World Tour for my Wii. If you're not aware, this new Guitar Hero comes complete with drums, a mic, and a guitar, allowing you to rock it, full band style like Rock Band introduced.

Also, from my previous post "Rock Out Or Get Out", you'll realize my obsession with Guitar Hero in the first place. I take my music very seriously, so when it comes to my music based video games, you don't even have to ask. But, as far as GH World Tour is concerned, I was insanely excited about getting the chance to rock the drums.

In the past couple of years I've acquired this desire to learn to play the drums. It never even crossed my mind while I was in a band for 4 years, but I was always intrigued by how intricate a skill playing a full drum kit really was. Back in the day, it was hard enough for me to control my fingers on the fret board of my guitar while I strummed and sang along. I still have that problem sometimes. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be doing so many things at one time, all while keeping the beat.

So, almost 3 years after the band broke up and a couple of years of wanting to learn the drums, I was getting my chance to be a drumming rock star with GH World Tour. I've read that playing on the most difficult level would be like the playing the song on a real kit, so I was pumped when I ripped open the box and started playing along.

I got a decent start, but easy was just too easy. It didn't feel like I was playing the drums at all. But then came medium. I started hitting multiple pads at the same time, adding in the bass drum. I could feel the rhythm, I could see the crowd in front of me as I slammed away to "Everlong" by Foo Fighters. At that moment, I couldn't wait to progress to the next difficulty because I knew I was on my way to becoming the next Neil Peart, right there in my living room.

But I didn't have a chance to get that far. It was 2 days ago when my dreams of becoming a master drummer by playing Guitar Hero were dashed. I stumbled across the video posted below on YouTube. It humbled me as quick as a double bass smack to the gut and knocked me from the clouds that my mind was swimming in. At that moment I became a Guitar Loser. I knew no matter how good I became on those Guitar Hero drums, nothing could replace the real deal.

So until I can go out and buy my nice shiny new 18 piece set, with a glorious midnight blue finish and my name printed on the bass head with flames surrounding the print, then spend 8 years perfecting my master stick work, I'll settle for rocking out in my living room and pretending that John Bonham is looking down at me from heaven, holding up a set of rock horns with his left hand.

Rock Out Or Get Out!

• Imagine yourself waiting in line along a busy street in the freezing January weather of a small Maine city. Posters advertising a rock show plaster the cold brick wall to your right: Foo Fighters, one night only!
  
  The snow is gently floating down amongst you and the crowd of anxious and die-hard fans. Jackets are few, hats and gloves mostly forgotten, the warmth of a packed arena floor only an excruciating memory of rock show past. People with significant others stand wrapped in each others arms, rubbing and consoling, keeping minds at ease with the anticipation of the opening doors. Loners blow in their hands and hop up and down in the impatient dance of frostbitten toes.
  
  Thoughts of death from the harsh Maine winter's breath start creeping into your mind only moments before the doors finally open, letting the warm indoor air sweep across the few lucky enough to be close to the doors. Hurriedly, frozen feet carry people across the threshold into the arena as you shake the icicles out of your hair and feel the twitch of life flow back into your nose. The 4 hour wait is over.
  
  You feel like the floor in front of the stage couldn't be any more packed with people. You lift your feet only to be held up by the shoulders of your fellow rockers. The three opening bands have come and gone and you've rocked through all three, bobbing your head and singing along where you could. Everyone's frozen bodies have not only recovered from the cold but are so hot that the sweat from yourself and all the exhausted fans around you soak your body and clothes. The heat that's emanating off the crowd creates a fine mist floating toward the ceiling creating a cloud of perspiration and spent screams. Impatience creeps in. The chant "Foo, Foo, Foo" echoes and deafens. The moment is coming, the lights go out, the time has come.
  
  A drum beat, steady and hard swallows you. The bass beating on your already tortured eardrums keeps punching you in the gut with each heavy beat. Then there is beam of light that streaks from the scaffolding above.
  
  Illuminated at the center of the stage is burgundy, swede couch. The cushions have seen better days, stains streak the right arm rest, tears criss cross the left cushion. But your attention is drawn to the center of the couch. Behind a boom stand with its microphone positioned downward is Dave Grohl: the icon, the living rock legend, the front man of Foo Fighters. He sits reclined with his axe in his lap and his head back. The memorable opening notes of "My Hero" come flowing out of his fingers. You stand motionless as the crowd around you is paralyzed with shock, bewilderment and outrage. Your rock star dreams are destroyed like skinny and overexcited kid in a mosh pit.
  
  You're probably thinking, "This wouldn't happen." You're right, it wouldn't.
  
  But this same thing is happening in living rooms all across the nation without the second thought that it deserves. This needs to be stopped. Its an affliction I call GHOLS. Short for Guitar Hero Obsessive Laziness Syndrome. You may notice your friend or loved one playing "Slow Ride" by Foghat while sitting on the couch, the floor, in a recliner, with their feet up, or completely lying down. It is a common misconception that these are acceptable methods of which to play Guitar Hero. In truth they are not and can lead to a very serious case of GHOLS. In some cases this condition could be seriously life threatening.
  
  You may wonder why I went through this whole story just to inform you of this condition. My point is if Dave Grohl wouldn't do it on stage you shouldn't be doing it in your living room while playing Guitar Hero. The motto in my living room is: Rock out or get out, stand up or step down! Common behaviors for a healthy Guitar Hero player in my home include: jumping on furniture, flashing of the horns, power stance, crazy eye, and head banging.
  
  There will be a day when the world can live without GHOLS but it all starts with recognizing the symptoms. I will never let a case of GHOLS afflict anyone I care for and neither should you. Remember, if Dave Grohl wouldn't do it then neither should you. Show the same courtesy your rock hero would show to you and keep it rockin'!
  
  Also see: Chronic Axe Neglect Disorder for Rock Band (CANDRB)