One can assume it’s not easy surviving as a band for over 15 years, especially in today’s ever-changing music scene. For prog-rockers dredg, this has become a reality. Recently, idobi had a chance to chat with vocalist Gavin Hayes about the band’s current tour with Circa Survive, the band’s upcoming album, the changing landscape of the music industry and much more.
If, by chance, you happen to read something Thursday about Led Zeppelin reuniting or Jim Morrison coming out of hiding, don’t believe it.
After he joined the Smashing Pumpkins 17 years ago, drummer Jimmy Chamberlin’s career began to revolve around incidents of death and rebirth. In March of 1996, his father died when the Pumpkins were on tour. Then in July of that same year, road keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin died from a heroin overdose while shooting up with Chamberlin. The drummer was arrested for possession and booted from the band for his inability to kick smack, with which he had battled since 1991. Ironically, the seeming death of his career triggered his spiritual rebirth. With help from friends, he got clean and rejoined… Read more »
The pioneering rock supergroup Yes- currently celebrating their 35th anniversary – is en route with acoast-to-coast North American spring 2004 itinerary that launched April 15 andruns through mid-May. The historic arena tour – in the grand scale of pastYes excursions – presents the band’s formidable “classic” line-up of 1969co-founders Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, along with Rick Wakeman, SteveHowe, and Alan White, all three of whom started with Yes in the very early’70s. The three-hour 35th anniversary shows bring to life essential Yes songsfrom throughout the visionary prog-rock icons’ extraordinary career, as wellas the brand new composition, “Show Me.” The… Read more »
Vertical Horizon re-entered the studio for two days recently to record a version of “I Believe In Father Christmas,” originally recorded by prog-rock heroes Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The song will appear on a holiday release being readied by BMG. The track was produced by John Shanks, who is also overseeing the band’s next album, Go, due early next year from RCA. The recording marks the first time that Vertical Horizon has recorded another artist’s tune. “It was a wonderful experience,” the band writes on its official website ( verticalhorizon.com). “We spend a great deal of time creating our own… Read more »
The song “One Little Victory” starts with flailing militaristic drums, followed by a churning down-tuned guitar riff that drips with angst. It sounds like Tool covering P.O.D. Strangely, it’s Rush, a band that was around when Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were considered “new metal” and Rush members Geddy Lee (vocals/bass), Alex Lifeson (guitar) and Neil Peart (drums) were articulate mavericks carving out their own iconoclastic space. Some things never change. The track is from Vapor Trails, due May 14, and it’s a major triumph for Rush. Not only does it represent a commitment to remain sonically relevant, it marks… Read more »
No-Cal scenesters, local yokels, friends and even fans of Jason Newsted’s old band showed up in force to witness the launching of Echobrain’s first tour at an all-ages show at the Mystic Theatre. Echobrain, with drummer Brian Sagrafena and singer/guitarist Dylan Donkin, is Newsted’s first steady gig since leaving Metallica in January 2001. The bassist seemed overjoyed at the intimacy of the show, which took place in a small theater in a town known more for its chicken industry than its cosmopolitan culture. “It’s the first day of spring today, and it’s a fresh start for all of us right… Read more »
There might be a better setting for a Tool concert, but it doesn’t exist in waking life: The prehistoric, rugged beauty of Red Rocks Amphitheater felt almost threatening when serving as the physical backdrop for the band’s volcanic performance on Friday night, which opened a brief tour with prog-rock veterans King Crimson. Flanked by rock formations pushed up from the bubbling earth more than 60 million years ago (and donning a bald head, sporadic body paint and a black leather bodice), Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan looked like an androgynous ambassador of the apocalypse. Judging by the capacity crowd –… Read more »
Along with the release of Amnesiac Tuesday (June 5) and a trippy new video on the air, Radiohead announced a dozen more summer U.S. tour dates. Following seven previously announced shows between June 18 in Spring, Texas, and June 30 in Santa Barbara, California, the British prog-rockers will kick off a second leg of the tour July 30 in Atlanta. They’ll wrap things up August 20 at the Hollywood Bowl. Amnesiac, the band’s fifth full-length, sticks close to the ethereal, electronics-heavy sound of 2000’s Kid A – it was recorded during the same sessions – but throws in a few… Read more »
Joey Ramone, lead singer of legendary punk band the Ramones, passed away at 2:40 p.m. Sunday at the age of 49. The towering front man, born Jeffrey Hyman, did not respond to treatment for lymphatic cancer, a disease that attacks the body’s ability to fight infection. Along with his cohorts Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee – all of whom adopted Ramone as a surname – Joey was credited with helping found the modern punk movement. In mixing the griminess of the New York streets with a love of bubblegum pop, ’60s girl groups and the Stooges, the Ramones inspired everyone… Read more »
