Dave is the "new" guitarist in Tesla, replacing Tommy Skeoch. I interviewed Dave on Friday night and you'll be reading that soon on Noisecreep. He's a really nice, funny guy and so excited about his band and the new music they continue to release.
The Dave Rude Band is a trio and right now the members are working on new music and releasing a song at a time for free by joining the website email list. Since you all like new music, I thought I'd share. (Dave wants to release the new songs as an album eventually).
If you like what you hear on the video below, you can buy the albums Carry Me Home (2009) or Dave Rude Band (2007) via iTunes.
Everyone and their cousin knows "Don't Stop Believin.'" Journey released the song in 1981 and it is on the album Escape.
I heard the song at least three separate times while I was out and about over the weekend. It dawned on me while eating at O'Charleys (the best rolls ever?) that "Don't Stop Believin'" is probably the world's most perfect rock song.
Not much in life is perfect. But there are pockets of perfection and "Don't Stop Believin'" is one of them. The song features an actual appropriate use of keyboards, there's an awesome chorus, meaningful guitar work - and a theme that touches all listeners. After all, who hasn't felt like a character in "Don't Stop Believin'" at one point or another? (In case you're wondering, I am, of course, the small town girl living in a lonely world).
Perhaps most important is that in "Don't Stop Believin,'"Journey created an approachable rock anthem, right at the dawn of the 80s. Journey is not a Glam band - make no mistake I am not arguing that they are - but they are arena rock and songs like "Don't Stop Believin'" helped make it easier for our Glam faves to hit high positions on the Billboard charts later during the decade of decadence.
I suppose "Don't Stop Believin'" haunts Journey to a degree. While the song made them rich and famous it also created an impossible standard for song writing excellence. "Don't Stop Believin'" is Journey's "November Rain" or "Dream On." You usually only get one of those songs in a career but if you do it right, the song lasts for all time.
And "Don't Stop Believin'" does last. It seems that the tune has gone through some sort of renaissance over the past few years. It was a big finale tune for American Idol when Adam Lambert and Kris Allen battled for the crown. Glee, a popular TV show, recorded the song and therefore introduced the tune to a whole new generation that had possibly never even heard of Journey. The song is, of course, a karaoke staple.
I thought for a long time and I couldn't find an 80s rock song more iconic than "Don't Stop Believin.'" Do you agree?
Phil Kennemore, bassist for Y&T, died Friday from lung cancer. He was 57.
Y&T was is one of those underrated rock acts. Sort of Glam, sort of not, they gained fans from both the straight rock and Glam worlds. The California band formed in 1972 but got hot during the 80s when metal ruled.
After Phil's death, Y&T singer Dave Meniketti issue a statement online:
"As a musician, with those huge fingers, his bass playing was always loud, strong, and deep, filling the largest or smallest of stages equally. I will miss his sense of humor, his amazing wit, but most of all I will always miss not seeing him to my left on the stages I will play from this moment forward."
I saw Y&T live twice: once at Rocklahoma and once at M3. Admittedly I'm not a Y&T die hard but I was immediately sucked in by the excitement when I saw them perform for the first time.
My friend Johnnie is working on a book about album covers. He says the book will be pure art – no photos of bands. It's hard to create a comprehensive list so he asked for our help. My fave covers are below – and I'm sure I forgot some as it is. It's always difficult for me to create lists like this because I invariably forget something I would have otherwise included. Let me know what you think of my list and please list your own as well.
Here's our second look at the new Nikki Sixx book This Is Gonna Hurt. SIXX: AM will release a new album in conjunction with the book. Now, we've got the first audio sample of that new album. Check it out at the 30 second mark of the clip below. I gotta say, I like it a lot. It's not much to go on, but it gives me hope for something good.
My friend Vernon Gowdy just produced a new book called Adventures of a Rock Photographer and it's very cool. The book is just over 200 pages and contains a collection of Vernon's best rock photos from 1976-1986.
In addition to photos, Vernon includes interesting stories of behind the scenes action and his days with Jam magazine. In total, there are more than 200 color and black and white photos. Some of the bands photographed in the book include the Rolling Stones, The Who, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Boston, Van Halen, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Pat Benatar, AC/DC, The Cars, Devo, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Sammy Hagar, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads and more.
In full disclosure, I should mention that I have a credit in the book and I did help Vernon with the copy. Friends do for friends, of course.
How do you save money while still keeping up with music?
That is a question that has bugged me for the past year or so. I've drastically cut back on non-necessary spending. These days I'm more into saving for the future instead of just living for the present.
It's hard to keep up with all the new music when you've made a conscious decision to not buy much of anything unless its a necessity. Concert tickets are another story entirely. Tickets are even worse because of the cost factor alone.
So, what do you do? Obviously I still buy albums (you already know I don't download) and I do go to shows. For 2011, I've decided to cut down on my number of concerts and I'll only be doing a couple festivals this year. At some point, we all need to make a collective decision to boycott astronomical tickets prices. After all, as much as we love our bands, at some point we're just lining the pockets of big corporations like Live Nation and hurting our own bottom lines.
Really, it's a frustrating predicament. I'm a bona fide music nerd. Music obsessed, that's me. I've been buying at least one CD a week since I was 14. That's a lot of music, yo. But now what? I always support the bands I love – but I just can't do it to my own detriment anymore. So what do you do? Or don't do? I'm curious.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 12:01AM 
Do you know the Dave Rude Band?
