Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Record Store Day Edition

Tomorrow (4/17) is Record Store Day. It’s the one day of the year we get to celebrate the independent record store and remember how important they are to the community. As record store day has been gaining in popularity (or would that be notoriety?), more and more bands have been issuing exclusive releases to the independent shops. This year, The Rolling Stones are releasing a single from the upcoming Exile On Main Street remastered exclusively to record stores. Avenged Sevenfold has a special 12” album, Bruce Springsteen is releasing Wrecking Ball live, and the Flaming Lips are releasing their cover of Dark Side Of The Moon, just to name a few.

For a complete list of what stores are in your area, what exclusive albums are going to be released, and which stores will have in-store live appearances, visit http://www.recordstoreday.com/. You should always try to support your local record store. They have knowledge and passion that can’t be found anywhere else.

Here’s what rocked this week:

RUSH Tour 2010
Rush has announced a summer tour for 2010. While there is no new album to promote, the band has decided that they will perform Moving Pictures in its entirety, along with other Rush classics. I’m very interested in seeing what songs they choose to go alongside Moving Pictures. I’m also curious to know at which point in the concert will the performance of that album come out. Will it open the show? Close it? Tickets for the first group of shows go on sale tomorrow (4/17).

Roger Waters The Wall Tour
As expected, Roger Waters has announced a tour performing The Wall in its entirety. However, this time around it will be performed indoors at arenas, as opposed to the stadiums Pink Floyd performed at all those many years ago. No word on when tickets go on sale or how much they will cost, but I know Waters charged a lot for his Dark Side of the Moon tour in 2007. I’m sure this will cost even more.

Hear Ratt's New Album In It's Entirety
Ratt is streaming their new album, Infestation, over at their website. If you want to hear it before you buy it, head on over there and give it a whirl. The first single, Eat Em Up Alive is a rocking song with some massive guitar riffs. It gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the disc. The new album goes on sale April 20th.

For more news, shout outs, and moving pictures, you should follow me on Twitter.
www.twitter.com/ryovie

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Brand New Ideas Edition

Lately, I’ve been working on some ideas for some interesting projects that may come to fruition in the near future. Yes, acting on these ideas would cause me to lose even more of the time that is such a precious commodity these days, but it would be worth it. The excitement that I feel when I envision these projects in their completed stage is the same excitement I felt when I prepared to launch The Rock and Roll Guru. It’s a good feeling that makes me push harder to achieve my goals.

As always, research first. My first step will be doing a lot of research to make sure what I want to release does not already exist. That could take up a month of time alone. However, it is better to put the time in now instead of doing all the work only to learn that a similar site already exists.

As things progress, and if these ideas look like they are going to become reality, I will keep you posted on the end result. And of course, as soon as I can make it official, I will release the full information and details. If everything goes according to plan, these projects are going to be amazing!

Here’s what rocked this week:

Free Download From Ratt
Ratt has a brand new album coming out on April 20th (Infestation). They want to share the first single with you for free. Eat Em Up Alive is available as a free download and worthy of a listen or three. New Ratt sounds pretty darned good.

One Step Closer To Iron Maiden’s The Final Frontier
This is probably the most anticipated album of 2010 for me. The way that I couldn’t wait for Kiss’ Sonic Boom last year is the way I feel about Maiden’s The Final Frontier this year. The fact that it is mixed and I still have to wait 4-5 more months is annoying. In a world of instant everything, that disc should be out a little sooner than late summer.

Rock N America Takes Over As The Hair Metal Festival Of Choice
Well, it appears that there will be a new festival in Oklahoma this July. The Rock N America Festival is filling the hole left by Rocklahoma. The Scorpions, Warrant, Ratt, Dokken, LA Guns, Firehouse, and Lynch Mob (just to name a few) will all be performing. If I hadn’t already purchased my ticket for M3, I would be giving serious consideration to this one. This is a hair metal lover’s dream! Tickets go on sale this Saturday. This festival is really going to kick ass!

Lollapalooza Lineup Announced
Perhaps it’s just me, but this lineup is not exciting. After Soundgarden and Social Distortion, there is nothing here that would make me shell out the money and travel to Chicago. I am pretty disappointed with this year’s acts.