Farewell Gary Moore

Gary Moore, formerly of Thin Lizzy, has died. His body was found in Spain where he was on vacation. A cause of death is not yet known. BBC interviewed Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell after news of Moore's death broke. According to the BBC report, Bell said he was "in shock..." because "Moore was so robust."

While most people immediately recognize Moore from his work with Thin Lizzy, he did have a prolific solo career and worked with a slew of other musicians including Ozzy Osbourne and Jackson Browne. Moore had great blues feel and instantly provided groove to any track he touched. BBG! writer Christian fancies himself a blues guitarist and he weighed in on Moore's passing. Christian says:

"Gary Moore was always one of "those guys." You know, great guitar player, but somehow not on the A-list. He had some great songs, like "Out In the Fields" and "After the War," but, for me, he was more the guy who added some color to a compilations, than someone you followed rabidly. That changed overnight with the release of Still Got the Blues. See, I love the blues as much as I love rock and metal, and overnight, with a sappy ballad that was nine parts "Parissiene Walkways" and perhaps one part pseudo-blues riding high on the charts, he sold a whole generation of guitar players a CD full of incendiary blues playing, and brought players like Albert Collins and Albert King in to the limelight where they belonged. His next CD included a collaboration with BB King, and from there, he played blues for the rest of his life, with great skill and emotion. It was through loving his blues stuff that I went back and really came to appreciate his rock output more, too. As a guitar player, I can say I spent a year learning how to play that first album, and I learned a lot from it. Because Peter Green was being obtuse, the tab book didn't contain my favorite song, "Stop Messin' Round," which forced me to learn how to work out songs by ear. I don't know if I play at all like Gary Moore, but I know I try very hard to. As a lover of guitar music, I can only say I'm shocked and saddened to hear that we've lost a guy who was perhaps never huge in the mainstream eye, apart from a few minutes back in 1990, but who still made a real impact on the genres and on the instrument."

And now, some video requests from our very own Metalboy!

Slash and Fergie at Super Bowl XLV

Slash and Fergie perform a bit of "Sweet Child O' Mine" during the Super Bowl halftime show. I was not impressed - Fergie sounds off key. But here it is in case you missed it live:

Super Bowl Sunday: Slash Will Perform at Halftime

It's Super Bowl Sunday - finally! Packers vs. Steelers. I loathe the Steelers so for this game, I'll be a Green Bay fan all the way! During the halftime show, Slash, Usher and the Black Eyed Peas will perform. I wonder if some random Guns n' Roses songs will be thrown in the mix? Don't forget to watch!

I Wonder Who Will Tour with Def Leppard?

Months ago, guitarist Phil Collen confirmed that Def Leppard would hit the road again in the summer of 2011. While we don't have any dates yet, I'm fairly confident the band will be swinging through North America. When Phil confirmed the tour, he also said the dates would likely begin in May.

So, I'll ask again - who will tour with the Leps? The last time I saw them live, Billy Idol was on the package. Def Leppard has toured with just about everyone at this point. All indications are pointing that this will be a "light" summer for our bands on the road. If Motley and Poison really do tour together, that's two bands that can't travel with Def Leppard. Apparently Ann Wilson said Heart would be touring with the band. If it does happen, I think Def Leppard/Heart is a good package - but one more band would be needed to round it all out. 

At any rate, I suspect the tour will be announced within the next few weeks. Oh, and if you're ever looking for an awesome database of Def Leppard history I stumbled across a cool website that you should check out!

Major Tom Releases New Single, 'Rebound Girl.'

My friends Major Tom have a new single out this month called "Rebound Girl."The song is another slice of retro-glam. If you didn't get the album A Night on the Lash when I first mentioned it, maybe you should. 

Major Tom is an American/UK hybrid and I swear singer Stephen Kilkenny sounds like he could fit in classic Girl (you know, Phil Lewis and Phil Collen before L.A. Guns and Def Leppard, respectively).

Support independent music and check them out! The music is available at iTunes.

'American Idol' Apologizes for Steven Tyler and I Get Pissed

As you well know by now, Steven Tyler is a judge for American Idol this season. As I predicted weeks ago, he's actually pretty darn good at being a judge. After all, he's been a performer for decades - and he sure can sing. He doesn't cut down hopefuls - even when they are clearly horrid and have no business auditioning for a vocal competition. So, color me stunned when I tuned into Idol last night and found the beginning of the show start with the words “Mr. Tyler has been warned and assures us it will never happen again.”

Okay then. I started thinking really hard. I've seen every episode of Idol so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It's the same as it always is in this part of the show: audition after audition. Some good, some bad and Ryan Seacrest giggles. So why are the producing making a scapegoat out of Steven?

The show wore on and I got more and more angry. For years, I watched Simon Cowell cut down hopeful after hopeful and many of his comments were plain mean - and everyone loved it! Now, Steven makes reported "facial expressions" and odd comments and he gets a reprimand? Please. It's a double standard of rock n' roll proportions.

I'm all for apologies when someone is in the wrong. Since it was a public apology, issued by the American Idol producers, this means the "offensive act" must have happened on the show. And yet, I reiterate, I saw nothing.

The only reason I'm watching Idol this season is for Steven. If the produces try to shut him up and minimize his role, I'll stop watching. I suspect I won't be the only one. The show has falling ratings so the last thing the producers need is a viewer boycott.

I maintain the hope that Aerosmith will perform live on the show this season.

Lights Out, Lights Out...in Kettering, Ohio

I have no power at my house thanks to an ice storm here in Ohio. So, today's update is brought to you by a laptop battery and a Sprint Internet stick. Until I have more juice and more time online...I give you UFO and their song “Lights Out.”

Is winter over yet?