Wednesday, November 26, 2014

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!

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

For The Record Documentary On Nathan East To Debut On Hulu






Yamaha Entertainment Group will release 'For the Record', the first-ever documentary on one of the world's most recorded bassists Nathan East, on Hulu this December. The film follows East's prolific career from his start as a 16-year old who toured nationally with Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra to playing on over 2,000 different albums and performing at the GRAMMYs with Daft Punk earlier this year.

You can view the trailer: http://shorefi.re/1sz5vRa

Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, Kenny Loggins and Eric Clapton, among many others, share their personal stories of working with East during his 40+ years in the music industry.
Phil Collins describes how Nathan helped him pen the RIAA gold-certified single "Easy Lover" in a whirlwind 20-minute writing session based on one long riff, and Eric Clapton details how catching East's commanding performance at Live Aid with Kenny Loggins, turned into an immediate recruitment and 25-year touring history together.

Yamaha Entertainment Group Founder, Vice President and Director of 'For the Record', Chris Gero said of the film, "This was more than just making a documentary. This was personal for me. I consider it my duty to ensure that the entire world knows exactly who Nathan East is and the impact he has had on the music industry. Nathan is the most famous person you don’t know you already know, and this film will change that."

The documentary also captures the recording process for 'Nathan East', East's self-titled solo debut released in March which hit #1 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Albums chart and held #1 for a record-breaking 36 weeks on SmoothJazz.com. Called "a striking debut, blinding brilliance" (Bass Player), the album features musicians who also appeared in "For the Record", including Eric Clapton, Ray Parker Jr., Michael McDonald and Sara Bareilles.

Capping one of the most exciting years in his career, East will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on January 24 at the NAMM TEC Awards, the longest-running awards show recognizing outstanding achievement in audio production innovation and sound production.

Monday, November 24, 2014

August York - Alright Already



Here is some tasty music from August York. They are an excellent folk pop duo with catchy tunes. Check out “Alright Already” for yourselves:

August York rocks!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Barkhouse - Wolves At The Wall



Holy shit, this is good! By way of good fortune, Barkhouse’s Wolves At The Wall entered my inbox and even included a link for streaming the entire EP. That’s good news for all of you Rock And Roll Guru Fans. Why? Because Wolves At The Wall is simply amazing!

Wolves At The Wall is the perfect blend of blues, rock, and soul recorded with grit and determination that rings through in the music. This EP is just fantastic!

Do yourself a favor, after you stream the EP below, go over to ITunes and buy the damned thing. It’s worth the money and you know you want to play this in your car, at your office, in the shower, and anywhere else that you can. You can buy the EP here: http://bit.ly/1AcCCnz 

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Down With Webster Announces US Tour With Johnny Craig






Toronto, ON - Toronto-based pop-rock-rap group, Down With Webster, is thrilled to announce their upcoming U.S. tour with Jonny Craig, Kyle Lucas, and Captain Midnite! The band is currently finishing up their current tour with Timeflies and will be heading out on the road with Jonny Craig starting on January 14th in West Hollywood, CA. See below for the full list of dates. Down With Webster have recently been in the studio working on new music with Matt Squire (Ariana Grande, Panic! At The Disco, 3OH!3) to follow up their latest album Party For Your Life. For more information on Down With Webster, please visit: www.downwithwebster.com

From their first performance at a high school talent show, Down With Webster have created their own flavor of genre-bending sounds, and blown away audiences ever since.  After winning the "Best Unsigned Band" recognition from Rogers Mobile, DWW attracted attention from record labels, and musical heavyweights including Sir Richard Branson, Timbaland, and KISS front man Gene Simmons. Today, the group is built of two emcees (Cam Hunter & Bucky), a DJ (Diggy), a charismatic lead singer (Pat Gillett), and one of the most talented rhythm sections in the game (Andrew "Marty" Martino on drums, Tyler Armes on bass/keys). One might describe their sound as hip-hop with a hint of electro-alternative, delivered by a kick ass rock band.

In the few years since practicing in their parents garage, Down With Webster's songs have charted at Top40 Radio, amassed more than 500,000 Facebook likes, sold 900,000 downloads and 100,000 albums. Their videos have been streamed over 15 million times, and they've rocked hundreds of shows. It's their tireless pursuit of creating the greatest party on stage that has won them loyal believers coast to coast, and earned them this description from UPVENUE Magazine: "It's like taking a handful of fireworks, lighting them, then throwing them in to a barrel of fireworks."  

Because their music defies classification, and they've been called "the second coming of The Beastie Boys," Down With Webster has earned the respect of, and both shared the stage with, and performed with, LMFAO, Timbaland, Ludacris, Lil Jon, 3OH!3 and even KISS.

Down With Webster's new album Party For Your Life debuted as the #1 digital album in Canada (#2 overall on the charts), and enlisted collaborators Ludvin (Childish Gambino), Boi-1da (Drake, Eminem), and have reunited with production duo The Maven Boys (Meek Mill, Childish Gambino) to help them continue their twist of conventional music genres.  Songs from the album have already been licensed by NBC's hit show "The Voice," as well as CBC for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The band also recently wrapped up a U.S. tour with Hoodie Allen this past spring.

 Party For Your Life Available Now: bit.ly/1CNcKux

Upcoming Tour Dates

w/ Timeflies

Nov 20                      Boston, MA                         House of Blues
Nov 22                      New York, NY                     Best Buy Theater  

w/ Jonny Craig, Kyle Lucas, and Captain Midnite

Jan 14                       West Hollywood, CA           The Roxy Theatre
Jan 15                       Pomona, CA                         Glasshouse
Jan 16                       San Diego, CA                     Soma Sidestage
Jan 17                       Phoneix, AZ                         Joe's Grotto 
Jan 19                       San Antonio, TX                  The Korova 
Jan 20                      Dallas, TX                            The Door
Jan 21                       Austin, TX                           Red 7
Jan 22                      Houston, TX                        Walter's Downtown
Jan 24                      St. Petersburg, FL                The Local 662
Jan 25                       Jacksonville, FL                   Jack Rabbits
Jan 26                      Atlanta, GA                          Masquerade
Jan 28                      West Springfield, VA           Empire
Jan 29                      Philadelphia, PA                  The Barbary
Jan 30                      Allston, MA                        Brighton Music Hall
Jan 31                       New York, NY                  Marlin Room @ Webster Hall
Feb 3                        Pittsburgh, PA                    The Smiling Moose
Feb 4                        Columbus, OH                    The Basement
Feb 6                        Indianapolis, IN                  Emerson Theatre
Feb 7                        Chicago, IL                        Bottom Lounge
Feb 8                        Minneapolis, MN               Triple Rock
Feb 10                       St. Louis, MO                   The Firebird
Feb 12                       Denver, CO                       Marquis Theater
       
For more information, please visit: