Early in July, Rusty Shaffer, the founder of Optek, a small music company in Reno, Nev., visited Salon’s offices to show me his invention, the Fretlight guitar. Though it looks and feels like a standard, rock ‘n’ roll-ready instrument, the Fretlight contains a set of LEDs invisibly embedded inside its fretboard — connect the guitar to a computer and the lights spark up to indicate where to put your fingers in order to play a chord. Shaffer is certain that his guitar is a great leap forward for the normally tech-averse guitar industry; the Fretlight, he says, will transform guitar… Read more »
Los Angeles – Kid Rock took fans on a wild ride through the history of rock ‘n’ roll by jamming with guitarists from Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top and the Allman Brothers Band during a Hollywood club show on Thursday designed to raise money for music education in schools. Grammy nominee Gretchen Wilson and former sidekick Uncle Kracker also joined Kid Rock on stage at the House of Blues, while music industry denizens such as Ahmet Ertegun and Rick Rubin bobbed their heads to the beat from the balcony. “It’s hillbilly night in Hollywood tonight,” Kid Rock said midway through the… Read more »
BABYMETAL are back with their new single, “Leave It All Behind.” The track features Thai artists F. Hero and Bodyslam to create an intricately interesting new path sonically for the Japanese trio. Read more: Bayside Needs A “Miracle” On New Single The track is a mix of pop-rock with nu-metal undertones, partnered with signature metal guitars, which generates a unique outcome. It’s a curveball that metal fans might not anticipate, but it highlights the genre’s new versatility through the collaborations. BABYMETAL isn’t new to partnering with other acts, either. Last year they were featured on Lil Uzi Vert’s album, Pink… Read more »
This week’s Singles Lost in Time features songs by Bright Eyes and Protest The Hero.
Today in Singles Lost in Time, we look at singles from Gym Class Heroes and Spitalfield.
Singer Songwriter Jaime Wyatt tells us about signing her first record label as a teenager, achieving early success before losing that deal and being put through the music-industry wringer, battling a nasty drug addiction and serving close to a year in L.A. county jail for robbing her heroin dealer. She’s got an amazing story and is an incredible singer songwriter.
After a two week break while Jaret and Gary dealt with their own COVID situations, The Rockstar Dad Show is back! The two talk about their experience with the virus and the symptoms they experienced before introducing this week’s guest.
As the guitarist for the Bret Michaels Band, Pete Evick has a lot of stories to tell. Listen in as he chats with the guys about meeting his heroes, writing a Bowling For Soup inspired tune, and social media experiments.
Later, Pete tells the guys about his son’s new mission to bring rock and roll to his generation as they talk family and co-parenting.
The mood inside the Sound Academy was tense. Two bands on the Snocore Tour had already canceled their sets, the loudspeaker was playing songs on repeat, and instead of the first band starting at its scheduled time, a confused-looking roadie walked across the stage and babbled away on his cell phone.
The Gym Class Heroes have experimented so much on their latest CD that even frontman Travis McCoy can’t quite describe the group’s newly formed sound. “It’s like our last two efforts combined in a sense, but pushed further. Hence the title ‘The Quilt.’ It’s like a patchwork of sounds, different arrangements (and) real lyrics,” says McCoy, trying to explain the CD, released earlier this month. “Musically, I think it’s a big cocktail of everything that’s inspired us over the past two years,” he said. “It is definitely rooted in hip-hop and hip-hop is like the main course on the plate,… Read more »
First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive feedback I received for the first edition of “Bigger Than the Sound.” There were a whole lot of really great comments made about the column – from your basic “this guy/MTV sucks” to the more advanced “this is my least favorite kind of pseudo-journalism” – but this was perhaps the best of the bunch: “For a bad, bad man he’s got some wack witeboy p—y taste in music.” – ILX member félix pié, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 17:41 If I knew how to work this Web site, I would… Read more »
