Reflections On ... Appetite For Destruction

I was but a wee babe in the teenager wilderness when one of the most phenomenal rock albums of all time was released.  In the summer of 1987 a little known band out of Hollywood California quietly unveiled their debut album, Appetite For Destruction. As hard as it is to believe now, the launch of the one of the most magnificent debuts in rock history received little to no fanfare. It would be months before a single even charted and more than a year before the album sales exploded. During the summer of its release, Appetite For Destruction was largely unknown and unheard.

That also happened to be the summer before my freshmen year of high school. I too was arriving with little to no fanfare, and it would also take me months before I charted or got any social traction at all. And as I made my transition from gawky, awkward junior high school student, to gawky, awkward high school student, I was still being spoon fed my music by Dial MTv. Bands like Poison, Cinderella, and Europe were about as heavy metal as I got. I had yet to discover the joys of Metallica and I didn’t know Judas Priest from Catholic Priest.

Enter Guns N Roses. I’m going to admit something that I rarely, if ever, confess to: the first time I heard “Welcome To The Jungle” I thought it was horrible. It was one afternoon while watching the aforementioned Dial MTv and this hot new band from Hollywood California made their way into the most requested videos show with their song “Welcome To The Jungle.” I watched with much interest, hoping to hear the next Poison or Warrant. What I got was something that I had never heard before in my young life. The drastic difference from what I was used to filling my ears with was so extreme that my mind couldn’t process the change and I immediately rejected the idea of that music. Seasons would pass before I even warmed up to that song.

Thankfully the band chose a different song for their second single. It was the endless playing of “Sweet Child Of Mine” that finally forced me to own Appetite For Destruction. For as much as I thought “Welcome To The Jungle” was awful, I thought “Sweet Child Of Mine” was magnificent. The opening guitar sang out in ways I had never known possible and I honestly thought it was the best song ever recorded. It was the new “Stairway To Heaven” as far as my ears were concerned. There would never be a better song in the history of rock songs. That is what my 14 year old mind thought of “Sweet Child Of Mine.” I loved that song whole heartedly, and knew that I had to own it so it could be enjoyed over and over and over again as often as my teenage heart desired.

Welcome to freshman year of high school. Just prior to my fifteenth birthday, life had gotten extremely chaotic in the Vie household. My mother and stepfather were divorcing, my sister was graduating and preparing for college, and there was a girl. Of course there was a girl. There’s always a girl, isn’t there? At least before college graduation and the settling pace of middle aged life there was always a girl. This girl was the crush of my freshmen spring, and probably the biggest crush that I had in all of high school. She was beautiful, kind, caring, sweet, and older. Yes, even then Ryo liked the older ladies.

And while the pace of life was berserker in other areas, birthdays remained special. Mom always made sure that our birthdays were properly celebrated and acknowledged, something I have since passed down to my family. And with life turning upside down in our house that year, I wasn’t actually sure how my birthday would be celebrated. But Mom was. She made sure that it was once again something special.

So for my fifteenth birthday, Mom decided that she would take me on a record buying spree. I was allowed five albums (or cassette tapes, as that’s what us kids purchased back then) as my birthday present, followed by lunch at the restaurant of my choice. And while I don’t remember what I picked for lunch, I do remember every album I purchased that day. I can see them in my line of vision like they were only purchased a day ago. And the pinnacle of those albums was of course, Appetite For Destruction. When we got home that evening, I was ecstatic to listen to all of my new treasures, but there was one tape that I had to play first.

The first listening of Appetite For Destruction left me mesmerized. I knew that this record was something special. What I didn’t know at the time was that I was hearing one of the few true rock masterpieces; a record that would spawn endless imitators and influence more teenagers to perform music than the Beatles did twenty years earlier. Appetite For Destruction absolutely shaped my teenage years and completely altered my listening experience and expectations. This album led me down the path to bands like Metallica and Iron Maiden.

And as my freshman year of high school ushered to a close, my love for Guns N Roses entered a beginning. I imagine that freshman year of high school is tough on just about any kid, with the exception of maybe the super confident and/or super athletic. There are just too many upperclassmen around to give one a hard time. It is awkward being the new guy, more awkward being the low man on the totem pole, and even more awkward being the new guy, low man on the totem pole, with a crush on an upperclassman. Or should that be upperclasswoman? Either way, it was a lady that I pined for and she had me by two grade levels. As previously stated, I always had a thing for older women.

Laurie worked at a flower store, and the budding romantic in me wanted to do something so cool, so drastic, so unbelievable that it would sweep her off her feet and we would waltz away like the end of a Hollywood tearjerker. I got the idea that I would buy a rose at her shop and hand it to her with an ultra cool look and a heart-melting smile charming her right into my arms. Unfortunately, I was about as smooth as chunky peanut butter on burnt toast with no milk to wash it down.  Yet what I lacked in posterity, I made up for with determination. And I was determined to have Laurie. She was endlessly on my mind and in my waking thoughts. I was obsessed and knew that something dramatic had to be done in order to get her attention.

And so the plan was set. With my best friend by my side, we rode our bikes to the local flower store. Tommy agreed to wait for me out back, keeping an eye on our bicycles in case, as I joked, we needed to make a quick getaway. I don’t remember if I scoped out her schedule ahead of time, or just decided to wing it, but I do know that when I sauntered into that flower store, Laurie was working that day. And as soon as the little bell over the door rang, she emerged from the back of the store like a fashion model in a runway show.

My heart burst rapid fire beats into my chest. My mouth dried and I got a little dizzy gazing at the most beautiful woman in the world.  I paused to give serious thought to what I was about to do. What the hell was wrong with me? There was no way that this woman was going to talk to me, let alone fall into my arms. Was I nuts?

And yet, determined me said, “Too bad, we are doing this.” And so it went. If my life were a movie, “You’re Crazy” would have played just before I entered the flower store, and “Sweet Child Of Mine” would have erupted when Laurie appeared from the back room. As it was, my life was far from a movie, so the only songs that played were in my head. And they couldn’t overcome the buzzing in my brain about how this was a bad idea.

Laurie gave me a smile of recognition that almost knocked me to my knees. Her “Hello,” was the sweetest sound ever heard. When she asked how I was, I knew she meant it. Wow! Laurie knew who I was and wanted to know how I was doing. Heaven couldn’t have been this great! Pushing aside all of my fear and doubts, I surged forward and explained that I needed to get one single red rose. As Laurie smiled and set off to pick out the best rose possible, I urged myself not to screw this up. Push forward and be cool! Don’t be a dweeb! Man up!

The rose was selected and as she wrapped it in meticulous fashion, small talk was made. I barely heard a word she was saying, mostly nodding and holding back drool. I probably looked like an escaped mental patient, but couldn’t help myself. My palms were sweaty, my nerves were a wreck, and my deepest, darkest desires and dreams were about to either become a sparkling reality or get stomped into the ground and added to the ever increasing pile of life scars.

When she completed the presentation, the rose was handed to me with another smile and the most wonderful “it was nice to see you” that I had ever heard. With a puff of the chest I took in a gulp of air and went to hand the rose back to her uttering the magical phrase “this is for you.” I was ready to look like Sir Lancelot. Instead, fear paralyzed me and all I could do was stare at her like a deer in headlights. If she didn’t think I escaped the mental institution earlier, she most certainly thought that now.

My throat seized, my lips refused to move, and I was held speechless and lost complete control of my entire body. What was going on? I was blowing it! Damn it!!! Thankfully, Laurie helped to make things slightly easier by saying goodbye and disappearing into the back room once again. Like a panic struck rabbit sensing he is about to be eaten, I bolted. Quick thinking had me grab a message card from the counter, write the unspoken phrase “It’s For You,” (I believe I chose the card that said I love you, just like any psychotic stalker would), and exit through the entrance door, a world of emotions swirling through my entire body.

And as I exited the scene, there was my best friend rampantly asking “What happened? How did it go? Did you get a date with her?”

I shook my head and told him we needed to leave, immediately. Tommy was confused but quickly followed as I hopped on my bike and tore ass out of that flower shop parking lot. I must have pedaled more than a mile away before I finally stopped to tell him what transpired as well as scold myself for lacking the balls to speak to her. Idiot!

That night I stayed up in my room listening to Appetite For Destruction over and over again. I would occasionally rewind “Sweet Child Of Mine” two or three times in a row, but other than that, I just let the cassette play and thought of Laurie. What a fool I was! How in the world did I freeze up like that? Why couldn’t I have just told her? What a coward I was!

The next morning, Laurie slipped me a note. And while it wasn’t the jubilant praises of love and lust that I had hoped for, it was a nice, quick, little note. “Thank you for the rose.” That’s all that was written on it, as no more needed to be said. Things were quiet for a few days after that. I wanted time to regain my composure and confidence, and there must have been a ton of thoughts going through Laurie’s head, because I did not hear from her or see her after that. Not even in passing while moving from one class to the next. Her lack of communication filled me with several thought patterns ranging from understanding to flat out rage. Finally, after a few days of moping and sulking, I decided that it was time to make my move.

Just as all the leading men did in every romance movie I ever saw (extreme sarcasm applied) I wrote Laurie a letter, asking if we could get together for a movie, a lunch date, or some other such option. By this point, I knew which locker was hers and slipped the note in there, hoping for the best. Another day would go by before a response was received. Then, the next afternoon, while heading to Spanish class, I saw the beauty of all beauties walking down the hall and she was headed straight for me. Boom! Fireworks exploded in front of my eyes, “It’s So Easy,” sang out in my head, Laurie and I were going to go on a date and she was coming toward me to fall into my arms! Oh happy day!

Not so fast, Casanova. As she passed me in the hall, she slipped me a note and kept her stride. I looked at her, but she continued to move away, so I took the note and hoped for the best. Maybe she wanted to profess her love to me on paper, so that I would be able to show the entire world! Maybe she had so much to say that she had to write it down! Maybe I was her knight in shining armor!

I took the note to class and flopped into my desk, trying my best to keep from passing out. This note only held the keys to my entire future…no big deal. Either I was going to be a man walking on air, or in front of a train. The contents of the note would determine my fate.

As the students settled into the classroom, I carefully unfolded the letter of fate. Not knowing what to expect, I took in a deep breath and began to read. Unfortunately, it was very clear by the third sentence that we would not be walking off into the sunset together. It was actually the exact opposite. I give Laurie a lot of credit; she was completely honest with me. She explained that as nice as she thought I was, the age difference bothered her and she was interested in someone in her own grade level. She appreciated how much attention I paid to her, and she reiterated that the rose was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for her, but she just couldn’t see us together. And as much as it hurt then, to this day, I still appreciate her honesty. And I still have that letter. Maybe one day I’ll scan it and post it as a follow up….

I can still see Laurie’s face whenever I close my eyes and listen to the opening notes of “Sweet Child Of Mine.” She ended up dating the boy she mentioned in the letter, and they eventually got married. After she graduated high school, I never saw or heard from Laurie again. I’ve looked her up a few times, but she doesn’t have a Facebook page or any other type of social media account, unless she is going by an alias. I would love to finally be able to take her out to lunch now, strictly plutonic of course, and laugh about that year of my life. But I would also like to thank her. She showed me how sweet some people can be.

Why The Hell Am I Still Here: An Understanding Of Why I Write The Rock And Roll Guru

Music blogs come and music blogs go. Just like magazines, bands, and your favorite ice cream flavor or comic book character. It’s inevitable and an accepted fact. The blog you love to read so much is going to go away at some point. However every once in a while it’s good for them to go away --- because sometimes it allows them to come back stronger.

In case you never noticed, and believe me, a lot of the P.R. people for bands I won’t name didn’t fucking notice, The Rock And Roll Guru went away for a while. Almost three years to be more specific. The Guru was gone for the same amount of time that it was here. And while it was gone, things happened. Life went on. Everyone continued about their business and no one made too much of a fuss. Well, except for the aforementioned P.R. people. They sent me even more requests. I found that rather humoring and speculated that they were not very good at their jobs.

But while I enjoyed all that time off and worked out other ventures and ideas, there was always a little gnawing in the back of my brain, always a little nagging feeling that maybe it wasn’t time to leave, not quite yet. It was a small feeling at first, but as time went on it grew. As my life circumstances changed, I realized that I had the itch to re-launch the blog. The itch needed to be scratched.

I dipped a toe in first. Took a few of the most recent press releases I got and read through them. I listened to the music they were pushing and I realized that I wanted to tell others about it. Again. Just like when it started. I wanted to introduce someone to some really great music that they may have otherwise missed out on. So I posted. It was my first one since October, 2011, and it felt great. Really great! And that’s when I knew it was time to come back.

I made sure to take it slow at first. I didn’t want to burn myself out. I wanted to keep it fun and exciting. So I went slow and eased myself back in. And of course, there was plenty of material to choose from, because as I mentioned, the P.R. folks never stopped sending me their shit. And some of it was shit. But some of it was grand. And it was the grand that I had to discuss and raise awareness about.

A re-vamp, re-launch, re-start is on the horizon. Pieces of that have already been put into place; the gradual changes being unveiled ever so slowly, by design. I’ve got plenty of great things planned and you will see them in the coming days, weeks, and months, but slowly. Because, for now, slow is the way to go. Thanks for taking this trip with me. I hope I don’t disappoint and I hope you enjoy the changes. I’m thankful to anyone who takes the time to read this blog. It means the world to me, now more than ever.

And to all that read this….you rock!

A Fond Farewell

“Sunrise doesn’t last all morning… A cloudburst doesn’t last all day…” The Beatles

Nothing lasts forever, not even the good things in life. One of my favorite sayings is that “Life often gets in the way of life.” When everything is insanely busy and I am completely overwhelmed and wondering why I haven’t seen a particular friend, or why I don’t have time to get X, Y, or Z done, I know it’s because “Life gets in the way of life.”

Here I am, once again at a crossroads. I started this blog for several reasons. The biggest was that I wanted to create something I just wasn’t finding on the web; something that, as a fan, I would stop and visit every day. I think that I have achieved that. I hope that other people have felt the same way and that over the last 2 ½ years, they have stopped by for a daily (or at least weekly) dose of enjoyment.

When I started this blog I felt that I had a lot more time than I do now, but that isn’t entirely true. I had the same amount of time; I just focused more of that time on the blog and let other things slip aside. Now, after 33 months of blogging, it’s a struggle to keep up sometimes. The blog is hard work and not returning the rush it did when I first began. It’s reflected in my mood and in the finished work that I publish.

Recently, I took some time to scroll through some of my earliest posts. What jumped out at me was how detailed they were, and how polished they were (especially for an amateur blog). That was due to a lot of dedication, devotion, and desire. I’m not saying that I don’t have that same drive that I did nearly three years ago, I’m just saying that I’m burning out. I could probably continue on with The Rock And Roll Guru for another year or two, but the finished product would not be as good.

I’ve been doing a lot of self realization lately. I’ve been asking myself to really do some critical thinking about what I want from life and to be honest with myself, not just provide lip service. I know that I had great expectations when this blog was launched. Part of me secretly saw it as my ticket out of the 9-to-5 world and into something that I could do for a living, making it my 9-to-5 job. Now, I don’t see that as the case. The level of dedication that I would have to put it into the blog to make it my day job in a year or two is a high level of commitment that I cannot adhere to at this time. It could be done, but it would require all other interests of my life to be forgotten. That just isn’t going to happen.

The biggest hurdle to The Rock And Roll Guru becoming my day job is the fact that the market is just too saturated. Looking back in hindsight, trying to be a jack of all trades, was not the best idea for growing a fledgling blog. It needs to be niche down. Just because I love ALL types of music, doesn’t mean that the music site I write is going to have massive visits from all types of music fans. Because The Guru is all over the page, it actually takes away from repeat customers. A niche market returns; a broad market isn’t quite sure what you are offering them.

I love this site more than I can put into words. I love the fact that people from all over the world have stopped and read a paragraph, a page, or quite a few pages of my work. Nothing could provide me deeper satisfaction than knowing I achieved that. It’s an indescribable experience that brings me pure joy.

However, The Guru has not gone where I had hoped it would. I know why, which is a great thing. The experience I have gained from writing this blog is priceless and will certainly help me be eons ahead should I decide to venture into something similar in the future. That being said, it is time for a long, possibly permanent, hiatus. I am burning out and I do not want The Guru to be riddled with shoddy posts in the waning days. Out of respect for myself, the blog, and most importantly, you, the regular readers, I have decided that it is time to shut it down. A re-launch is not entirely out of the question, but it is not very likely to happen.

The Every Album Challenge will continue. There may come a time when I put an additional post or two on The Guru about it, but mostly, updates will come via twitter (www.twitter.com/ryovie). The Challenge is a personal thing that I want to achieve and accomplish. I thought that I would be writing a LOT about it on The Guru, but it hasn’t created as many inspirational posts as I initially envisioned. That being said, I love a good challenge, and therefore will be completing it.

If you’re a huge fan of my writing, first I say thank you. Second, I say, if you would like to continue reading my writings, you can still find me on Hard Rock Hideout (www.hardrockhideout.com) with my bi-weekly column, Vie’s Verses as well as some record reviews. My writing for that site will continue, and who knows where else I may show up with a guest post.

If you are a band, PR department, producer, manager, or solo artist that has sent me work for review, I say thank you. The fact that you would even consider hearing my opinion about your music means the world to me. Keep making/producing/promoting the wonderful music that you do. It truly makes people happy.

To everyone who ever visited this site --- thank you. It has been a pleasure to produce this blog for you. Thanks for the visits, the memories, and the laughs. I’ll see you all down the road or at the next great show. Until then---keep on rocking!

Ryo Vie
October 10, 2011

The Scent Of Music

Recently I pulled out a Rolling Stones mix tape that I made over twenty years ago. I wanted to listen to the ingeniously titled, “Rolling Stones Mix” as part of my Every Album Challenge. The mix was recorded on the Maxell Brand that was popular at the time. I remember buying those blank tapes in packs of ten for all of the mixes that I made. And all of them had outstandingly creative titles like “Kiss Mix,” “Aerosmith Mix,” and “Rolling Stones Mix.”

When I pulled the “Rolling Stones Mix” cassette open and prepared to pop it into the cassette player, something hit me right away---the smell of the cassette. It still smelled new. It still smelled like it had twenty years ago. It was a sweet, plastic scent that was undeniably Maxell. I don’t know if this was caused from the process of manufacturing the tapes, or if the factory coated them with a special scent, but I immediately knew the smell. It brought back many memories of my youth.

As a kid, I was big on sense of smell when it came to new music. Whenever I would buy a new cassette, one of my biggest thrills came from ripping off the plastic sheet the cassette was packaged in, popping it open, and sticking my nose on the cassette to get a good whiff. The clear tapes always smelled the best, but the Maxell blanks were a close second.

The joy of smelling my music followed me around as I got older and technologically advanced. I would smell new CDs as they were purchased, and while the covers still had a pleasant scent, the CDs themselves did not smell like much of anything. I believe it was the plastic jewel boxes the CDs came in that secured any scent. The smell was not as invigorating as the cassette tapes, but it was still there.

Now, with modern technology, paper packaging, and electronically stored music dominating collections, we’ve lost a lot of that nostalgic scent. It is the one thing I miss most about collecting music. No new music smells the way the tapes of old did (and amazingly still do). I can’t believe that the scent of the Maxell held up for more than twenty years. I experimented with other cassettes, and while the scent was still somewhat apparent on a few of them, it was non-existent on most. However, every Maxell UR brand blank tape that I sniffed still had a strong smell of “cassette.” They all held up over time.

Has anyone else tried this? Did any of you ever spend time smelling your collection growing up and noticing how great/unique/invigorating the cassette tapes smelled? Was it only the tapes of the late 80s/early 90s? I noticed that the white tapes of the 70s/early 80s somehow did not carry the same scent. It must be the type of plastic that was used.

If you remember “smelling” your collection, drop a line in the comments section. Don’t be shy. We all have quirky habits as music collectors. I know that I cannot be the only music fanatic to have done this on a regular basis. That’s not only highly improbable, it is borderline impossible.

Maxell brand cassette tapes…you rock!

Open Arms, Mike Oldfield, And How Teenage Boys Are Idiots

I’ve recently listened to Journey’s Greatest Hits as part of my Every Album Challenge. While listening to the record, the mega hit “Open Arms” came on (as should be expected on their greatest hits album). The song got me thinking, reminiscing, and memory-laning of a girl I once knew many years ago. Dena. For a while, she was my best friend, she was in love with me, and I was an idiot.

During my senior year of high school, Dena and I were practically inseparable. I enjoyed her company as she did mine, but she had a major crush on me. I was just too stupid to notice. While struggling through my senior year, I dated a couple of girls, but Dena was never far away from me.

In the beginning she never flat out told me that she was in love with me or that she wanted to take our friendship to the next level. She did, however, leave me several clues that I was clueless to recognize. One day, she handed me a mix tape---first sign indicator. The mix tape was delivered with a track listing and a note.

Side one of the mix tape was Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, which is an album that I had mentioned to Dena I wanted. She was kind enough to record a copy for me. I guess that was our version of Napster back in the day, borrowing tapes from friends. Side two, however, was the important side. It contained carefully hand selected songs from Dena to me. Second sign indicator.

Now, I don’t know how many of you enjoy Mike Oldfield’s music. I had never heard of him before Dena. His biggest hit was “Tubular Bells,” the creepy music used in the 1973 horror film, The Exorcist. On the mix tape was a Mike Oldfield song, “Islands.” The song is amazing, but it also had a secret meaning. The chorus of the song goes something like this:

“We are islands, never to part, we are islands. And I need your love tonight, yes; I need your love tonight.” – Third sign indicator.

Another track on the mix tape was Journey’s “Open Arms.” The song was specifically mentioned in the note Dena had written me. I don’t remember the exact contents of the note, but I know the closing line was “think of me when you play “Open Arms.” Hit me over the head indicator.

I don’t know why I didn’t read more into the songs. I don’t know why I didn’t ask Dena on a date. I don’t know why I didn’t try to move our friendship to the next level. I was always attracted to Dena, she was a beautiful girl. We got along well, we would have made a great couple, and most people in our high school thought we were dating anyway. As I stated, teenage boys are idiots, and sometimes, I was their leader. The king of all idiots would have been a good title for me.

Shortly after the mix tape display, I proclaimed that I was giving up on women forever because all they do is hurt me. I don’t exactly remember why. Either my ex-girlfriend was playing mind games with me, or a girl that I really liked didn’t reciprocate her feelings. Kid stuff, really, but that was to be expected at 17. Well, when Dena heard me say that, she stormed out of the lunch room in anger. I was befuddled (because teenage boys are idiots) and didn’t understand what Dena was so upset about. I found out later that day in the form of a note.

Dena delivered a note to me prior to one of my afternoon classes and after reading it, everything clicked into place. In the note, she told me that I had hurt her with my statement of giving up on women. She couldn’t believe that I didn’t realize how I felt about her and that I needed to get a grip on reality (or something to that effect). Basically, she told me to piss off (but with much harsher language).

I’d like to tell you that I ran to her after class, swept her off her feet, and asked her on a date. However, I can’t tell you that, because I didn’t. Instead, I got angry. I was mad that she scolded me in a letter. Instead of a romantic embrace that day, we had a not so romantic argument. That led to us not speaking to one another --- for a while. After that, our relationship pretty much went downhill. After high school, I never saw Dena again.

I still think about her from time to time, especially when I hear “Open Arms,” Mike Oldfield, or Pink Floyd’s A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. I tried to look her up on occasion, but Dena was nowhere to be found. She hasn’t become a Facebook member, and Google stalking searches have yielded no results. Perhaps one day, maybe even at my upcoming high school reunion, we will run into each other. And maybe I will tell her how stupid I was. Even though I am a happily married man, I sometimes wonder how different life would have been if I had only realized how Dena felt about me and how I felt about her as well.

“So here I am, with open arms, hoping you’ll see, what your love means to me…open arms.” Journey

Working With Your Voice Career Resource Guide Released by Alfred Music Publishing

Alfred Music Publishing, the leader in educational music since 1922, is proud to announce its release of Working With Your Voice, a career resource guide for aspiring and professional singers from performer, educator, and author Jaime Babbitt. This guide was published in association with Lawson Music Media, Nashville, TN.

Working With Your Voice reveals essential methods to successfully launch a professional singing career. As the product of Babbitt’s many years of experience as a professional singer, teacher, and coach, her “Zen” approach provides a deep understanding of how the voice, body, lifestyle, and attitude can all work together to achieve success. Topics include auditioning and how to score gigs; practical advice for the studio, session, and touring singer; press kits; promotion through social networks; business tips for professional singers; and much more.

Geared for singers who seek to jumpstart or further their professional careers, Working With Your Voice features a reference guide to the music industry with a helpful glossary of commonly-used terms. Interviews with professional jazz singer Annie Sellick, in-demand session singer Russell Terrell, pianist, singer/songwriter, and voice teacher Kira Small, and record producer and former VP of Disney Records, Fred Mollin offer valuable career insight and real-world application. For a quick glance, valuable tips on signing, gigs, marketing, and the professional singer’s lifestyle are called out in the margins of the book.

Babbitt has many years of experience as a singer, and has performed both live and via recording with top artists such as Leon Russell, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Courtney Love, and more. Her voice has also graced hundreds of television and radio jingles for a variety of well-known brands.

“Jaime Babbitt is one of the best singers I've ever heard,” said Jimmy Webb, Grammy® award-winning, singer-songwriter/composer, and Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. “She knows the artistic side of her profession, and in this book she shares everything the up-and-coming session singer or recording artist would ever need to know about getting started and about staying in the game.”

Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Grammy award-winning songwriters and members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, said: "Anything you want to know about singing is in this book. Jaime Babbitt shares her vast knowledge of every aspect of how to be a pro singer."

Babbitt has worked as a vocal and performance coach for Disney Records in Los Angeles, CA and sings, teaches and coaches in Los Angeles and Nashville, TN.

As part of Alfred’s ongoing commitment to improving the environment, this book is printed on 100% recycled paper stock.

Working With Your Voice (00-36791) is now available for $19.99 at music retail stores and at www.alfred.com/voice

This Eleven Year Old Is Cooler Than You (Or I) Will Ever Be

Check out this great story. An 11 year old girl designed T-Shirts that rock stars will be wearing and is living out her dreams. At 11, I was barely making it through junior high math class.

Rock Stars to Flaunt Love Gone Apparel Rock-Inspired Tees Backstage
Pre-Teen-Helmed Clothing Company Aligns with Backstage Artist Lounge to Dress Music’s Elite

Vero Beach, FL – Love Gone Apparel, the manufacturer of a line of T-shirts and other clothing with a rock and roll edge, has just aligned forces with Backstage Artist Lounge (BAL) to dress some of the music industry’s hottest rock stars. In conjunction with this partnership, Love Gone will soon launch its very first collection of men’s tees. The alliance affords BAL’s founder Christina Martin an opportunity to mentor Love Gone’s young designer, 11-year-old Megan Kent, on her path to women-owned business success.

According to research conducted by the Extensive Search Institute, “When young people know their spark [in life] and have adults who support it, they are more likely to have a sense of purpose,” to be socially competent and physically healthy, to volunteer to help others and to have better attendance and higher grades in school. Love Gone Apparel’s Megan Kent discovered that spark at the age of 10, when she debuted her line of rocker-edge tees to the public. When Christina Martin, the feminine powerhouse behind Backstage Artist Lounge, learned of Kent’s entrepreneurial passion, she jumped at the opportunity to mentor the young designer.

A female entrepreneur herself, Martin is all about empowering young woman like Kent to live out their dreams and strive for their goals. Her company, Backstage Artist Lounge, is a private lounge that is installed backstage at major music festivals where sponsors connect with talented bands for product sampling and relationship building opportunities. As someone who regularly rubs shoulders with rock and roll’s biggest stars, she will put Kent in front of the very individuals who inspired her line of rocker-edge T-shirts.

The collaboration between Love Gone Apparel and Backstage Artist Lounge will begin on May 1, 2011 at the 94.5 The Buzz Buzzfest in the Houston, Texas area. Music artists on the bill include Sickpuppies, AWOL Nation, Atomic Tom and Panic! at the Disco. Two weeks later, Love Gone will again be in wardrobe for the 29 rock bands in the line-up at KPNT 105.7 POINTFEST in St. Louis, Missouri.

“Excited is an understatement,” says Kent of her collaboration with Backstage Artist Lounge. “Not only do I listen to many of these musicians, but they’re also the same people who fueled my inspiration in designing the Love Gone collection. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have them wearing my creations.”

Kent has good reason to be proud. Martin hand-selects only those products she knows her rocker clients will love to be part of the Backstage Music Lounge. She has a professional reputation to uphold, as Morgan Rose of Sevendust points out. “When I get to a festival show, the first thing I do is look for Christina and the BAL mafia! They’ve turned me on to so many different companies … they always have the coolest gear.”

Buzzfest and POINTFEST attendees who want to get a sneak peek at the Love Gone rocker tees their favorite rock stars will be flaunting backstage at these events can do so online at http://www.LoveGoneApparel.com.

Time For A Change

Change, now it’s time for change, nothing stays the same, now it’s time for change --- Motley Crue

The time has come for change. For quite a while I have wanted to take The Rock And Roll Guru to the next level. This is not due to lack of enjoyment with the work that has been accomplished over the last two-plus years. It is more because I feel so much can still be achieved with this blog. You can go almost anywhere to get a lot of the information that I produce here at The Guru. While some of the commentaries and everything that’s in the Best Of section is a product of my best, unique work, The Rock And Roll Guru has moved away from what was originally envisioned.

Sure, all blogs and websites evolve over time. Sometimes their creators can make solid changes and steer the direction of the blog. Sometimes the blog takes on a life of its own and the creator rides the wave to see where it will go. That is what I have done for the last year. The blog has morphed and while I’ve enjoyed some of the changes, there are other areas that left me wondering if I could have worked harder to make it better. I’ve decided that now is the best time for me to step in and really take over.

With that being said, I propose a huge change in the format of The Rock And Roll Guru. Originally, this blog was started so that I might capture a memoir of every concert I ever attended. Anything else that was blogged was pure gravy. Now that most of my concert memoirs have been written, I knew there was a new direction that I needed to go in. With approximately 20 concert reviews remaining (not counting the concerts I will attend this year), the original vision of The Rock And Roll Guru is coming to an end. And now I am excited to start the next phase of this blog.

I’ve been paying a lot of attention to my music collection lately. 90% of the reason this blog exists is due to my undying love for music. I have amassed quite a record collection over the years due to my obsession. But recently, between record reviews and listening to a lot of my favorite bands over and over and over again, I’ve gotten away from my collection as a whole. I’ve forgotten what it was like to listen to multiple artists. I’ve even forgotten some of the albums that I’ve owned.

Recently, I decided to log my entire record collection to understand exactly what was in my possession. This was something that had been done years ago, but I lost that file when the disc went corrupt, and my collection has grown since then. So I went through the entire process once again from album zero and re-entered every album that I own into a spreadsheet. The net result was 2,053 albums. That found me asking myself, how many of these albums do I truly listen to? More importantly, how many of these albums do I truly enjoy?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’ve discovered a way to find out. With the changes taking place to the format of The Rock And Roll Guru, I am embarking on a self made challenge. The challenge is for me to listen to every single album that I own without buying any new music before this task is complete. I call this challenge to myself, the “Every Album Challenge.”

Why The Every Album Challenge?
Recently, I read a book entitled “The 100 Thing Challenge.” In this book, Dave Bruno, author and creator of “The 100 Thing Challenge,” decided to live his life for one year by only owning 100 things or less. While I could never live my life like that, I can do something similar in my music life. “The 100 Thing Challenge” was an inspiration to me. It caused me to take a closer look at my life and my stuff. The one particular area where I spend way too much money and acquire way too much stuff is obvious --- my record collection.

I feel that I do not appreciate my music collection the way I should. I own over 2,000 albums. Before I logged my entire collection, I knew that I owned a hell of a lot of music, but I didn’t realize it was that much. 2,053 is a LOT of records. And how many of them do I listen to regularly? How many of them have I NOT listened to in ten years or more? I probably haven’t listened to the vast amount of my collection in years. Eric Steel’s Infectious? I didn’t even remember I owned that one. Lenny Kravitz’s Lenny probably hasn’t been played since the year it was bought (2001). Jefferson Starship’s Greatest Hits is still in the wrapper for crying out loud! And yet, here I am, waiting for the next great release to come out so I can run to the store and buy it. It’s time to put an end to this madness.

The Sacredness Of Enjoying Your Collection
These days, it’s even easier to own hundreds or thousands of albums. With the internet making every album ever recorded just a click away, anyone can own a massive record collection in a matter of days (whether legally or illegally is a post for another day). Now more than ever it’s how we utilize that collection that matters most. If I were to truly sit and enjoy my massive collection on a regular basis, then all would be well and the Every Album Challenge would not be necessary. But I don’t sit down and enjoy my entire collection on a regular basis. I enjoy parts of my collection, over and over again, and the rest gets ignored, collecting dust, and taking up space in my home or on a hard drive. The Every Album Challenge is bound to change that forever.

How The Challenge Works
Let’s get the basics of the challenge out of the way right now. The purpose of the challenge is for me to realize the music that I already own and to find a way to appreciate my record collection, one album at a time. In order to do this effectively, I really need to listen to every album that I own and then determine whether it truly belongs in my collection.

The overall challenge is simple. I will listen to every album that I own in my collection without purchasing, listening to, or otherwise obtaining any new albums until the challenge is completed. Estimating that I can listen to approximately 2 albums per day, I can safely assume it will take more than 1,000 days (or just over 3 years) for this challenge to be completed. That’s a long time to go without any new music. Yet, that is really the purpose of the challenge.

A lot of music that I own, I had to have it when it was released. Then after listening to it for a couple of weeks to a month, it was thrown into the collection and forgotten. Even my favorite artist’s new albums like Kiss’ Sonic Boom or Pearl Jam’s Backspacer got a few spins, and then were quickly filed away. It’s a lot of money to spend for a small return. The Every Album Challenge is a way for me to take back my music collection and see larger returns.

The Rules Of The Challenge
Since every good challenge needs a set of rules, below are the rules I have set for myself. These rules must be followed during the challenge. If any of these rules are not followed, then the challenge will be considered a failure and I will be placed on a 10 year moratorium from obtaining any new music.

Here are the rules:
• I will listen to every album that I currently own in my collection as of April 18, 2011

• I will not listen to any album more than once

• I will not listen to or obtain any new albums during this challenge

o The exception to this is albums that I receive to review both here at The Guru and for Hard Rock Hideout (www.hardrockhideout.com)

. I will listen to those long enough to write a comprehensive review, and then the album will be placed aside until the challenge is completed

• I will mark each album as “listened” on my master spreadsheet once they have been listened to

• I must truly listen to the album, not have it on as background noise

• If after listening to a particular album, I determine that it is completely junk or something that I will never listen to again, it will immediately be purged from my record collection

• If I fail in any of these rules, the challenge will be considered a failure and I will place myself on a 10 year moratorium from purchasing any new music.

Can I still listen to new music? Sure, if it’s on the radio. I do have Sirius/XM, so I am bound to hear some new songs every now and again. I just can’t obtain a new album, or run online and stream a new album once I’ve heard the single. That would be considered a failure.

What Does This Mean For The Rock And Roll Guru?
Obviously, this challenge is going to be the focus of the blog for a while. Will I still be posting my concert reviews? Yes, until they are all complete. Will I still be reviewing new music? Yes, but it will likely be less for a while. New Music Monday’s will still pop up from time to time and album reviews will still be around, albeit less.

Will I still post Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup? Most likely, but there is no guarantee. The challenge may force me to stop reading about forthcoming releases as to avoid temptation, but I doubt it. I still like to keep my finger on the pulse of the music industry.

Will I still post press releases/upcoming concert information/summer tours/etc? Yes, but again, these will be considerably less. In the coming weeks I know that I am going to be blogging a lot about the challenge and how I am doing with it.

I will be doing my festival week series once again and I will continue with my How To… series as they are written. Elements of The Rock And Roll Guru will remain the same, but the Every Album Challenge is going to be the core focus for a while. I hope that you enjoy it and I hope that you will follow me all the way.

Come Join Me On My Journey
This is not going to be an easy challenge. Just off the top of my head, I know that Kiss is working on a new album, U2 will be releasing new music this year, Pearl Jam is bound to release an awesome live disc of their upcoming festival, and I’m sure that Dave Matthews Band will also release a live album from their four summer festivals. The Cars are releasing a new record in May, their first in over 20 years. How am I going to avoid the temptation of listening to that album? That is why it is called a challenge.

I am excited about the prospect of focusing solely on the music I already own and not rushing out to get the latest disc from (insert band name here). It is going to be quite a journey and I hope that you will stay along for the ride. I’ll be sure to update you as much as I can. The challenge begins on April 18th.

Comments are open. Feel free to post some.

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - 600th Post Edition

This very post marks a special milestone for The Rock And Roll Guru – 600 posts. Yes, this edition of Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup is my 600th post. That’s a lot of posts. It’s also a good way to announce that there are some changes coming. Big changes. Huge changes. Changes that will find The Rock And Roll Guru going in an entirely brand new direction. I am excited about these changes, and I hope that you will be too.

In the next week or two, I will be making an announcement here at The Guru that details exactly what these changes are and what is going to take place. Some of you faithful readers are going to love it and others may not particularly care for the direction we move in. However, like any good blog, website, or music magazine, evolution is inevitable. I hope that you will stay along for the entire ride. Details are coming soon.

Here’s what rocked this week:

A Cool Little Site That I Stumbled Upon
The name of the site is “I Own Every Record You’d Never Buy” and it’s a blog that strives to review all of the obscure music from the 1970s. It’s an interesting idea and a neat little site worth checking out. You will definitely learn a lot about music you not only never heard of, but probably don’t care to hear either. The author is even kind enough to provide links to a video or audio of at least one song from each album. If you love the obscure, this is a site to visit.

Pearl Jam Re-Issues Out This Week
In continuing the celebration of their 20th anniversary, Pearl Jam have released a re-issue box set of Vs. and Vitalogy that also includes a 1994 concert from Boston. The review by Anthony Kuzminski is a long one, but worth the read. Not only does it provide a nice history of the time when the albums were originally released, it also is a well written soliloquy to Pearl Jam and their second and third album releases. Vs. and VItalogy were two of the best albums Pearl Jam ever recorded and it’s nice to see the re-issued versions available as a package deal. The addition of the live concert from 1994 makes this a must own for any Pearl Jam fan.

Another Aerosmith Best Of
Seriously? Does the world really need yet another best of from Aerosmith? I think they have more greatest hits packages than they do studio albums. This is ridiculous!

Another Great Music Site Is Shutting Down
To be filed under the tag of “this really sucks,” Shockhound has announced that they will cease to exist as of May 15th. Shockhound is a great source for music news, information, and upcoming releases. It’s a shame to see that they will be disbanding. A lot of great sites have gone down in the past couple of years, and The Guru is sad to see this one go.

For more news, reviews, rants, raves, concert dates, tour packages, and occasional shout outs, you should follow me on twitter. www.twitter.com/ryovie

My First Record Club

I started collecting albums when I was 8. The first record I ever owned was Destroyer by Kiss, which I purchased at a yard sale for 25 cents. I would love to say that I still have that record, but I’ve long since traded it away (for other albums, I believe). Of course, I do own the remastered CD, so it’s not like I don’t have Destroyer, I just don’t have my first copy of Destroyer.

When I turned 10, I got two cassette tapes for Christmas that I had been dying to own. The first was Knee Deep In The Hoopla by Starship. I was a huge fan of We Built This City, which sounds dated and cheesy to me now, but at the time, it was an incredible rock song. The second album was Stay Hungry by Twisted Sister. We’re Not Gonna Take It was a massive anthem that I had to hear on a repeat basis. I still own both of those cassettes and they both still work.

When I hit my teen years, I started requesting tapes for my birthday. The bands of the day that I heard on the radio needed to be added to my collection. I would borrow albums that friends had and copy them until I could afford the original myself. When I would get birthday or holiday money, it went to buying more albums to add to my collection. Then one day I saw an ad in the paper (or maybe it was in a music magazine) for Columbia House.

Buy 12 albums for a penny, the ad proclaimed. 12 albums for a penny? What was the catch? How was it possible to get 12 albums for such a low price? How could I sign up for this? After doing some research, I decided to give it a shot. I had saved some of my allowance and by then I was working (odd jobs and part time selling newspapers), so I knew that I could pay the bill when it arrived. I picked my 12 albums, bought the first one for the low price of $7.99 and then got three more for free. 16 albums all at one time was an amazing experience.

I remember sending away the coupon with my album selections and waiting for the mail to arrive. Every day, I would check the mailbox, hoping that my shipment would come. It took a while, but the day that package showed up was one of the finest days of my youthful life. Seeing the big brown box with my name on it was a jubilant experience. When I ripped that box open and saw the massive amount of cassette tapes that fell out, I was in Heaven.

I had never received that many albums at one time. I was overwhelmed! How was I going to listen to them all? And of course, I wanted to play every one of them right then and there. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough time to pull that off before bedtime. Compromising, I picked the one I wanted to hear the most and popped it into my little boom box. Then I tore open the packaging of all the other cassettes and read their linear notes. It was one of the greatest days of my life.

From that moment on, I was hooked. Record clubs became my best friend (and a huge drain on my bank account). As the booklets showed up every month, I would go through them, picking out albums that I didn’t own and ordering them for my collection. Every time a package appeared in my mailbox, I got that same giddy feeling that I did the day I received my first one. Getting new music brought me phenomenal joy.

From Columbia House, I would go on to join BMG music and order even more cassettes. Both companies are responsible for filling the majority of my record collection early on in life. They also were the recipients of a lot of my money, but it was worth it. I stayed a member of both record clubs until they finally dissolved in the mid 2000s. With the advent of ITunes and online record shops, Columbia House and BMG could no longer keep up, even though they tried as hard as they could. When they finally closed their doors, it was a sad feeling. It was as if part of my youth had been killed forever. No longer could I order 12 CDs at a time and wait for that package to arrive in the mail.

These days, it’s all instant gratification. We can now go onto ITunes and order any album that our heart desires. If we don’t want the whole record, we can order just the single, or select songs. And while that is really convenient, it takes away from the joy of discovering the entire album. It also takes away from building patience. Once an order was placed with a record company, it was days before that package arrived, which helped me to appreciate it more when it came. Now, with instant downloading, it’s one listen, maybe two, and then it’s off to the next great thing. Hey, what else can I buy online? It’s a shame and it takes away from the joy of the entire record.

When I look over my vast music collection, I still see a lot of cassette tapes that I got from either BMG or Columbia House. When I listen to them, it’s with a smile on my face. Remembering how I would get goosebumps while opening the package filled with multiple albums for me to enjoy. I don’t know if I will ever experience that feeling again, and that is a real shame. Columbia House and BMG Music, you are missed. Thanks for all the great memories.

Comments are open. Feel free to post some.

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Today marks the two year anniversary of The Rock and Roll Guru. In honor of this day, I am reposting my very first blog post ever. I have had the time of my life blogging over the past two years. Thanks to everyone who keeps coming back!

Why This Blog Was Created

Since the ripe old age of 3, beginning with my self-imposed exposure to Bob Seger’s Night Moves, I have been obsessed with music of all kinds. Classical, jazz, hip-hop, rap, country, bluegrass, and of course, rock and roll of all types, have been endlessly enjoyed throughout the years.

Music has always been my passion. I’ve never been able to get enough of it, I can discuss it for hours on end, and my thirst for knowledge on the subject can never be quenched. Rock and Roll Jeopardy was my favorite show, because I would always score over 90%.

During my lifetime I’ve amassed a music collection nearly 3,000 albums strong (and growing). I’ve attended close to 100 live concert performances, and some of my greatest memories (as well as tragedies) revolve around music. At 35 years of age, that’s a lot of memories!

And now it is time to preserve those memories and share them with other fans of music. Thanks to modern technology, this can easily be done and thus, this blog was created for all those that are interested in reading about rock music of all types.

What do I hope to accomplish with this blog? Well, other than communicate my passion for music to anyone who cares to read about it, there’s a feeling of sharing. I want to share my experiences, my excitement, devotion, and love of music with like-minded people. There are many of us out there, we just need to find each other.

I also want to give back some of the joy I’ve received through music. If my words make anyone tingle for the briefest of moments, if my dedication to a particular band makes someone purchase one of their albums and feel the same level of joy, if the writings published here make anyone smile, rejoice, or feel momentarily entertained – then I have completed my quest.

Please feel free to follow me every step of the way on this journey through the world of music. As new music is released, you’ll hear about it. When new bands are discovered, I’ll share them here. When ticketmaster infuriates me with their disgustingly overpriced fees, expect to see a rant and a scream for change.

I’ll also be posting a detailed review of every concert that I’ve ever attended. These are currently scheduled to post every Saturday, but that may change as time moves on and this blog progresses.

Feel free to come back as often as you’d like, mark the page, or follow the feed. I’ll be here with a new post daily and I hope you’ll be strapped in and ready to follow along. I look forward to our time together and to being the rock and roll music blog of choice. Thanks for visiting my little space on the web.

Comments are open. Feel free to post some.