Herbie on TED

OK, so today someone on a website brought up it was International Jazz Day.  I did some looking into this claim and found out that I am a month late on this international day to celebrate the wonderful world of jazz. Nonetheless, that didn't stop me from cruising the net today in search of some cool music and possibly some video to go with it.

Enter TED Talks.  Now I know I have posted about this YouTube channel a couple times.  I think it falls back on the fact that TED Talks gives inspired minds of all industries their time and attention to show the world what they have learned, accomplished and developed.  My guilty pleasure of the day came in the form of a 27 minute (woah!) performance by none other than legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock.  In the video below, you will see a stunning ensemble of Herbie, alongside drummer Harvey Mason (The Headhunters) and bassist Marcus Miller, performing a standard classic "Watermelon Man" (via YouTube):



Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound. He was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace music synthesizers and funk music (characterized by syncopated drum beats).

Hancock's music is often melodic and accessible; he has had many songs "cross over" and achieved success among pop audiences. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

Hancock's best-known solo works include "Cantaloupe Island", "Watermelon Man" (later performed by dozens of musicians, including bandleader Mongo Santamaría), "Maiden Voyage", "Chameleon", and the singles "I Thought It Was You" and "Rockit". His 2007 tribute album River: The Joni Letters won the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, only the second jazz album ever to win the award after Getz/Gilberto in 1965.  Hancock is a member of Sōka Gakkai International.

On July 22, 2011 at a ceremony in Paris, Hancock was named UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Intercultural Dialogue. (via Wiki, sourced by Britannica Encyclopedia)

Music Releases for May 29th, 2012

Such a star studded lineup for this week's record hitting stores across the continent.  So after everyone is done their day job, make sure to head to your local record store or an online retailer to grab some awesome  albums!

(CD/DVD)

(CD/DVD)

(Public Image Ltd - This is PiL)

Stirling - Electronica meets Classical

Now this is quite a musician as I was stumbling through YouTube today.  I'm sure I am really late in the game (one of her videos is at 15,000,000 already!).  Lindsey Stirling (hailing from Provo, Utah), thank you for making my lunch time a very enthusiastic and relaxing time!



If you are new to this chick, like myself, she does some great techno/dubstep songs accompanied with some gorgeous violin pieces.  Check out a few of her videos below:


(Spontaneous Me)

Being that I am still new to her music and such, I thought it'd be best to let her bio do the talking when it comes to her background and influences.  Sounds to me like it's been quite a journey for a musician at her age...

***

I have had an interesting journey that has brought me to where I am today as a person and a performer.  As a child my family struggled financially and although my parents didn’t know when the next paycheck would come, they created a world of love and safety for my two sisters. I can’t imagine a happier childhood.

For as long as I can remember, music has played a huge role in my home. Through an old record player (our only source of music), my dad would play his favorite classical records to which magically turned my sisters and I into twirling ballerina princesses.  Along with that, every week my dad would make big red circles in the newspaper around all the free concerts he could find.  As a result of this musical exposure, at the age of 5, I begged my parents to let me play the violin.  After a year of relentless pleading, my mother found one teacher that would give me 15 minute lessons a week. No one else would agree to this because they were convinced that no child could learn with such little instruction. Even with this small commitment, it continued to be a struggle for years for my parents to financially facilitate lessons.  I will forever be grateful for the huge sacrifices they made for me to pursue a lifelong love.

[con't...] I was classically trained through private lessons, and symphonies, for 12 years; however, amidst my strict study, I creatively began to explore other genres. When I was 16, I joined the rock band Stomp On Melvin, and with my 4 best guy friends, experienced rock and roll.

(Crystallize)

[con't...] From there, I wrote my solo violin rock song which I used to compete in the Jr Miss Pageant. This was during my senior year and it was my chance to win scholarship money so I could pay for college. With my punky hair, and rocking talent, sandwiched between two formal gowns and piano concertos, I felt like I was a million miles away from the typical graceful pageant girl.  Because of this, I was shocked when I won both the Gilbert and the Arizona pageant.  From this I learned that if you are true to yourself, if you stand for what you believe in, people will love you for who you are and for who you love to be.  There really is no mold aside from the cookie cutter that we impose upon ourselves.  At the national Jr Miss Pageant I was the talent runner up and by the newspapers I was awarded the title of being the first Punk Rock Jr. Miss.

[con't...] My violin has continued to bring color and adventure into every phase of my life. I took it with me to NYC when I went on my LDS mission for the Mormon Church.  As I served the people and shared my beliefs with them, I grew to love them so much. I love seeing people find greater happiness as they came to know that there is purpose to life, that there is a Father in Heaven who loves them, and that God has a plan for them. I felt so privileged to share my love and my God given talent of music with so many amazing people.


(Shadows)

[con't...] I am still going to school at BYU studying Therapeutic Recreation. I am planning to work with at risk teenage girls in the future. On the side, I play with random bands for fun but I would love to join a band, or pursue a solo career in music.  There are very few things that I love more than being on stage and performing, but more than anything, I want to be a positive role model for teenage girls. Through my unique style of playing, I want to prove that you don’t have to conform to be accepted.  The greatest Value comes from loving yourself for who you are.

***

You can check out more of work and upcoming material through multiple sites:

- YouTube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Official Site

Memphis May 'Prove Me Wrong'

Memphis May Fire just made my Memphis May Friday (hahaha yeah I know....lame!).  Anyways, for those who haven't been following them too closely, they have a new album in the works called "Challenger", which is due out on Rise Records on June 26th, 2012.  So you wanna hear the newly added album preview(s)?  Its pretty badass in general since I am a avid fan of their later material .



"We've decided to stream the entire 'CHALLENGER' album online for those of you still on the fence about purchasing. If you like what you hear, please do check out our MerchNow & iTunes pre-order options and/or pick up the record in stores on June 26th!"

1. Without Walls


2. Alive In The Lights


3. Prove Me Right


4. Red In Tooth & Claw


5. Vices


6. Legacy


7. Miles Away (feat. Kellin Quinn)


8. Jezebel


9. Losing Sight (feat. Danny Worsnop)


10. Generation: Hate


11. Vessels


Enjoy and remember, if you like the album, show some love and pick some merchandise from them (whether it be a shirt, album, concert ticket) to show your love for this album!

Step Aside Cameron, A New Avatar Is In Town!

OK, well I admit these guys have made their mark in the European scene for quite some time now (been running since 2001).  Only recently has Avatar been able to break into the North American Market with the release of their latest album "Black Waltz", which was released on February 14th, 2012 via eOne Music.



1. Let Us Die
2. Torn Apart
3. Ready For The Ride
4. In Napalm
5. Black Waltz
6. Blod
7. Let It Burn
8. One Touch
9. Paint Me Red
10. Smells Like A Freakshow
11. Use Your Tongue

The band has released a fair amount of material since their inception and I am glad to see the progression of shock rock meets straight up Swedish death metal feel.  Is it just me or does someone see influences of circus meets 'The Crow'?  Either way, like it, love it, gonna crank the tunes.


Check out their discography and music videos below (music videos taken from "The Black Waltz)".

2003 - Personal Observations (Demo)
2004 - 4 Reasons to Die (EP)
2006 - Thoughts of No Tomorrow (LP)
2007 - Schlacht (LP)
2009 - Avatar (LP)
2011 - Black Waltz (EP)
2012 - Black Waltz (LP)


('Black Waltz' featuring world famous circus side show of Hellzapoppin)


('Torn Apart')

"My dad was a big fan of The Beatles and The Kinks, and my mom was really into classical music, so that was the kind of music I heard when I was really young. When I was really little, it was the heyday of Michael Jackson and the 'Dangerous' album, and I loved that.

I guess the big turning point, for me, was when my older brother turned me onto heavy metal when I was 12. My teenage years were mostly about hard rock and metal, but I've always been open-minded." -Johannes Eckerström

AVATAR is:

Johannes Eckerström - Vocals | John Alfredsson - Drums | Jonas Jarlsby - Guitars

Simon Andersson - Guitars | Henrik Sandelin - Bass

For folks who are diggin these guys and want more, check out the scenes in behind the making of "The Black Waltz".  All in all, it sounds like a great Gothenburg metal band and has some great visuals to go with it.  I hope to see these guys round Canada soon!



And I just couldn't resist putting some live material of them online, for those who are unsure of the live performance versus the albums.  This was taken from the Brewhouse in Gothenburg, Sweden on November 26th, 2009:

Video Overload for May 24th, 2012 (Part II)

And since the feeds seem to never end, I give you part II of the video overload for today.  Yes, I know it's a lot of visuals to take in, but I find that music videos help/hurt how the band is attempting to portray the song they are playing.  I guess I can see where people are coming from where you just see a band rocking out in front of a camera.  As cool as it is to put a face to a song, it's always nicer to see some artistic merit come into play.  For example, check out the Primus video for "Lee Van Cleef" below.  You'll see what I'm getting at ;-)



Taken from:




1. Morpheus
2. On Wings Of Integrity Pt. 2
3. Anathema
4. God Of Nothing
5. The Endless
6. SAMCRO
7. Dreamcatchers
8. Black Cloud
9. Hell Or High Water
10. Observer
11. No One Listens, No One Cares

***

Taken from:




1. Prelude To A Crawl
2. Hennepin Crawler
3. Last Salmon Man
4. Eternal Consumption Engine
5. Tragedy’s a’ Comin’
6. Eyes Of The Squirrel
7. Jilly’s On Smack
8. Lee Van Cleef
9. Moron TV
10. Green Ranger
11. HOINFODAMAN
12. Extinction Burst
13. Salmon Men

***

Taken from:




1. The King
2. Fearless
3. Stand Defiant
4. Immortal
5. The Call
6. Foundation
7. Open Eyes
8. Under God (feat. Tommy Green of Sleeping Giant)
9. Set Apart (feat. Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red
10. The Only Name (feat. Sonny Sandoval of P.O.D)
11. My Confession

***

Taken from:




1. War Machine
2. Hangman
3. Voodoo Doll
4. Gates of Hell
5. Rise from the Shadows
6. We’re All Gonna Die
7. Strange
8. Time & Time Again
9. Old Man
10. Mysterious Ways
11. Up in Flames
12. Revenge

***

Taken from:

1. War In Me
2. Band Of Brothers
3. Rage/Burn
4. Drink Drank Drunk
5. Bigger God
6. Between You And Nowhere
7. Call It
8. Why Does It Always
9. WM Free
10. Dig Myself A Hole
11. What It Takes To Be Me

Video Overload for May 24th, 2012 (Part I)

Now trying to play catch up has been awfully fun for me when you're gone on an extended vacation for the long weekend.  Even 3 days back and I'm still trying to cover most major music news, video and touring and all I can say is....fun!  It may seem like work but I really just enjoy going through the trends to see what's the next big tune to tingle my ears (yeah, might sound creepy but whatever haha).  Anyways, the video overload for the day has been broken down into two posts, simply to not crash the page when you're trying to load it (at least for Explorer and Firefox users).

There are some great new music videos that were released last weekend and this week.  Between Lostprophets, Nightrage, Moonspell and Bury Tomorrow, we are covering all music angles today for rock n roll!  Check em out, crank em on the computer and drop some comments if you feel you got an opinion on the video and/or the song.  Cheers!



Taken from:




1. Bring ‘Em Down
2. We Bring An Arsenal
3. Another Shot
4. Jesus Walks
5. A Song For Where I’m From
6. A Little Reminder That I’ll Never Forget
7. Better Off Dead – Lostprophets Watkins, Ian
8. Heart On Loan
9. Somedays
10. Can’t Get Enough

***

Taken from:




1. So Far Away
2. Delirium of the Fallen
3. Insidious
4. Wrapped in Deceitful Dreams
5. Hate Turns Black
6. Sham Piety
7. Cloaked in Wolf Skin
8. This World is Coming to an End
9. Utmost End of Pain
10. Poignant Memories
11. Hush of Night
12. Poisoned Pawn
13. Solar Eclipse (prelude)
14. Solar Corona
15. Emblem of Light (outro)

***

Alpha Noir:
1. Axis Mundi
2. Lickanthrope
3. Versus
4. Alpha Noir
5. Em nome do medo
6. Opera Carne
7. Love Is Blasphemy
8. Grandstand
9. Sine Missione

Omega White:
1. Whiteomega
2. White Skies
3. Fireseason
4. New Tears Eve
5. Herodisiac
6. Incantatrix
7. Sacrificial
8. A Greater Darkness

***

Taken from:




1. Redeemer
2. The Maiden
3. Lionheart
4. Message to a King
5. An Honourable Reign
6. Knight Life
7. Royal Blood
8. Bitemarks
9. Abdication of Power
10. Kingdom
11. 1603
12. Sceptres
13. Vacant Throne
14. A Curse

***

The Cult's Choice of Weapon: Live on Jimmy Kimmel

Well it's always nice to see The Cult back at it again with some good ol rock n roll.  Considering these guys have been performing since 1983 (keep in mind they have gone through a significant amount of lineup changes, minus Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy), it's good to see they still got some great riffs in their back pocket and came out strong with their latest album "Choice of Weapon".  Gotta throw in a personal favourite though... "Rise" of of 2001's "Beyond Good and Evil" album, check it out since you're on here anyways (haha).

Anyways, the band made their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live over the weekend and performed a few tunes to promote the new album.  Check em out below:



"I think we went back to a place of instinct. There were no predetermined agendas. We've had periods of stagnation and being stale and repeating ourselves, but I think that's common. With 'Choice Of Weapon', we just said, '(Screw) it! We're going to grab every jewel we can find. We're going to play the ace and go as deep as we can.' There's definitely hard rock moments on this record, but then again, there's moments that are kind of pastoral." -Ian Astbury



The Cult's new album, "Choice Of Weapon", is out as of yesterday (May 22, 2012) via THE CULT's new label Cooking Vinyl.

"Choice Of Weapon" track listing:

01. Honey From A Knife
02. Elemental Light
03. The Wolf
04. Life > Death
05. For The Animals (Click for music video)
06. Amnesia
07. Wilderness Now
08. Lucifer
09. A Pale Horse
10. This Night In The City Forever
11. Every Man And Woman Is A Star
12. Embers
13. Until The Light Takes Us
14. Siberia

Pick up a copy of the album here and be sure to check them out on their all long summer tour, hopefully coming to a city near you!


MAY
25 San Diego, CA – Humphreys By the Bay
26 Las Vegas, NV – M Resort
27 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
30 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre

JUNE
1 Chicago, IL – Congress Theatre
2 Windsor, ON – Great Canadian Beaverfest, Riverfront Festival Plaza
3 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE – Indoor Stage
5 Boston, MA – House of Blues
8 New York, NY – Terminal 5
9 Hampton Beach, NH – Ballroom
10 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
12 Washington, D.C. – The Fillmore
13 The Norva, Norfolk, VA
15 Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues
16 Orlando, FL – House of Blues
17 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
19 Houston, TX – House of Blues
20 Dallas, TX – House of Blues
22 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
23 Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA

JUNE
28 Belgrade, Serbiz – USCE Park (with Ozzy & Friends)
29 Graz, Austria – Schwarzl Freizeit Zetrum (with GN’R)

JULY
1 Bucharest, Romania – Rock the City Festival (with GN’R, Faith No More)
3 Split, Croatia – Spaladium Arena (headline)
4 Ljubljana, Slovenia – Kino Siska (headline)
7 Zottegem, Belgium, Rock Zottegem Festival
8 Weert, Netherlands – Bospop Festival
10 Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli (headline)
13 Pizzola Sul Brenta, Italy – Contarini Festival (headline)
14 Rimini, Italy – Velvet Rock (headline)
15 Milano, Italy – Carroponte (headline)
17 Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz (headline)
18    Madrid, Spain – La Riviera (headline)
19 Porto, Portugal – Mares Vivas Festival (with Garbage)

Music Releases for May 22nd, 2012

So the weekend was nice, long and hot here in good ol Toronto.  Now to make the week even better, check out the great selection of tunes hitting shelves today.  I usually have a top album that I want to get my hands on, but for some reason, I can't seem to choose between TesseracT, Kill Devil Hill, Firewind or Infected Mushroom.  Nonetheless, eventually I will be checking out all of the following albums, I hope my record store can hook me up and help drain my bank account (haha).  If they can't be found in your local record shop, hit up online and see what you can get:

(The Cult - Choice of Weapon)

(Deluxe Edition)

(TesseracT - Perspective EP)

Middle Finger Metal from London, England: An Interview with The Defiled's AVD

I love the fact I'm not the only member of my family to be into music as much as I am.  I got a text message a few weeks ago from my cousin asking me "Hey, have you ever heard of a band called The Defiled?"  I instantly replied with a "familiar from magazines and the online world but never really explored them yet."  He familiarized me with their latest album "Grave Times" and told me to check em out after seeing photos from the Jager tour in Europe.  Needless to say... thank you Brandon!

Straight out of the UK, The Defiled have been another notable band making their stamp on UK heavy metal.  They are setting the stage for Download Festival this summer and can't be more excited to continue their climb in the music game.  With an image that is just as powerful as their music, you'll be happy with a copy of their album at home and the visual sensation of their live performances.

AFGM was fortunate enough to have a Q&A with keyboard/vocalist AVD about their upcoming plans and their background history.

First off, much thanks to you AVD for taking the time to sit down and hash these out.  Where does the roots of the band lie?  What did you guys listen to [growing up] that made you want to pick up an instrument/play in a band?

My dad is a crazy music lover.  We always had instruments in our house and there was always music playing where ever we went.  My sister played the piano and I was obsessed by the drums.

How did you guys come together to form The Defiled?

Stitch and our old bassist Drex where working at Cyberdog in Camden and decided to form a band, they had no members so they where just harassing passers by.  I was one of those.  They where like "hey, can you play an instrument"?  I said yes and that was kind of how all of us started getting together.  It was nothing like the Defiled though.  We went by the name "Devoid".  Curse did all the electronics and keyboards and I was playing drums.

What's the image you guys want to portray to your fans?  Basically, what's TD's reason for rockin?!

The reason for rocking is completely out of self necessity.  We would be doing this if we had no fans.  We have, done this with no fans!   It's just really rewarding that some of the people that have heard us happen to feel exactly the same way we do!

You seem to have a great reputation running in the UK so far, any luck breaking into the the North American market?

We Just played in Texas at SXSW.  It was really cool, definitely want to go back there.  We have loads of plans in the pipe line, watch this space…



I was checking out the photos from your Brixton Academy Jager gig, where did the idea of stage performers come from and what do they add to the show?  I think I saw them in your music video "Black Death" as well.

The people in the video are myself and Stitch. We are musicians but we are definitely also entertainers and pushing that aspect of our band is very important to us, there are people that have seen us countless times live so we try and keep it new and exiting for them.  No one wants to see the same five guys on stage just playing the same old songs every time.

How was the Jager tour by the way?  Skindred and the other bands must have been great energy to tour with.

We only played the London date for this Jager tour, we did the full tour last year with Sylosis.  Jager are always so good to us and take care of their bands so well it's always a pleasure to play any of there events.  We are starting to bump in to the Skindred guys more and more these days, really cool guys!
Also it was nice to meet the Therapy? boys, I have been a fan since I was a young boy so that was definitely a highlight.

Favourite city/venue you played in thus far and why?

London is our hometown and it's always amazing to play shows here.  It feels like such an accomplishment to sell out venues that we used to watch are heroes in!

Download 2012 will see you guys sharing the Pepsi stage with the likes of Devin Townsend, Soil, and fellow UK bands While She Sleeps & Silent Descent.  Looking forward to the event?  Will you be playing tunes mostly from "Grave Times"?

Oh my god, one of our main goals when we started this band was to play Donnington so to say we are excited is an understatement and yes, we will definitely be playing tunes off Grave Times!

Personal question.  What band are you most excited to see at Download when you guys are performing?

I have to say I was a big Metallica fan growing up, so seeing the black album in it's entirety is going to rock!  I saw them do puppets in it's entirety a few years ago that was amazing!

Any pregame rituals before a show?  A shot?  Special tunes to listen to?  Workout?

Whenever we have speakers backstage we always listen to "Losing It" by Bury Your Dead.    It's a minute and a half long and really gets us in the mood.

Killer track!  Love it every time they bust it out on tour!

"Call To Arms" was a monster of a track and a great music video.  Can you give us some insight into the making of it.  Where was it done?  How long did the process take?  Did you use your own instruments in the video?  Who produced the video?

It was shot in two days!  The first day was at an abandoned estate in elephant and castle, we burned my piano cause it was taking up too much space in my house.  Playing a burning piano is very, very painful.  The second day we did the live performance portion in an industrial complex which our director Tiernan Hadby had found.



What's the next move for TD?

We are recording our next album with Jason Suecof in Florida this summer.  We are also doing a pledge campaign to do a live album of Grave Times in its entirety.

There is a site (pledgemusic.com/projects/thedefiled) you can go there, sign up and buy all sorts of one off things like hand written lyrics by me, guitars used by Stitch live, drum lessons with Needles, even masks made by Curse.  There is an option of us coming to your house to play!  We thought that would be amazing, turning up and playing in someones living room!

Haha, that would be quite a treat for big fan of yours to have you jammin out in their pad.

Do you guys do much as a band in your spare time, or does everyone just get back to their personal lives in between recording and touring?

Our band is generally our life so we are in each others faces quite a lot of the time.

Where did the inspiration come for lyrics in "Grave Times".  Do they come from personal experiences?  World issues?  Politics?

Yea, all of the above.  They generally come from little sayings I carry around with me or ideas and concepts that I turn into.  They can be born out of anything, really personal issues like "Land of Fools" or "Final Sleep", or just something I read that had an intact on me like "Blood Sells".

What kind of mics are you using while recording versus on tour?  Any specific reason why?

Well, for vocals on Grave Times we use the only mic I own which is a Rodes NT2.  We did all the recording in my house so there wasn't much choice.  Live, we use Sure SM58's they are robust and are a kind of industry standard.


(Photo taken by Scott Chalmers)

And now for some fun, random questions that every musician likes to answer:

If you had one band who you would be honored to share the stage with, who and why?

There are too many to mention!!!

Covers are always fun to do when your jammin out in the studio, any songs in particular you guys like to play and have fun with or is it all original material?

We are actually working on a cover right now, it's coming out next month but we are not allowed to reveal what it is till then.

Favourite band/album of 2012 so far?

Meshuggah - Koloss