Rock video of the week #6

Song: Hot for Teacher
Artist: Van Halen
Album: 1984

Eddie Van Halen, he is a god among guitar gods. Nobody can hammer and tap a fret board with such precision and ferocity as this man. Only Described as porno for a 10 year-old, the second single off the album "1984" was, HOT. Hot for Teacher was a pioneer for music videos like this, sure you could watch a half-naked woman strut around in a music video, but in this kind of setting with small children? What kid wouldn't want to see his favorite teacher struttin' her stuff across the lunchroom. Needless to say, this is pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMQLrnbBgE

Rock video of the Week #5

Song: Thunderstruck
Artist: AC/DC
Album: The Razor's Edge

Listening and playing this opening gives me chills, it's a fantastic song by one of the greatest rock bands, ever. Angus' style of playing is like nothing anyone has ever done before. With his insane head-banging, it looks like his head is about to fall off. And not to mention 90% of the song is hammering and pull-offs, he is without a doubt one of the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2AC41dglnM

Brian May

Wow, Where, do I begin with this one? Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, has herd "We Will Rock You". Its probably the greatest rock anthem of all time, and the man who gave the cool iconic riff at the end. He plays most of those solos on a guitar he built out of firewood.

Brian Harold May was born on July 19th, 1947, in the town of Hampton, London. In 1968 when he was 21 he formed the band Smile, featuring Tim Staffell on bass and vocals and Roger Taylor on drums.  The band lasted for only two years from 1968 to 1970, as Staffell left in 1970, leaving the band after only writing nine songs with the group. After that May and Taylor went on to find a new singer and bassist, and in 1971, Queen was born, consisting of the late-great Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano), John Deacon (Bass), Roger Taylor (drums, back-up vocals), and May. Sadly in 1991 after recording 14 amazing albums and winning the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, on November 23rd Freddie Mercury died of bronchial pneumonia, caused by AIDS. Everyone mourned for the loss of a great friend.

Following the death of Freddie Mercury in November 1991, May chose to deal with his grief by committing himself as fully as possible to work, first by finishing his solo album,"Back to the Light" and then touring worldwide to promote it. He frequently remarked in press interviews that this was the only form of self-prescribed therapy he could think of. Since then he has recorded 3 solo works and numerous singles and side projects.

He lives in Windlesham, UK, with his wife Angie Watts. He is a Guitarist, an Astrophysicist, and an Animal activist.

Rock Video of the week #4

Song: November Rain
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Album: Use Your Illusion I

For the second time, GN'R takes video of the week, this time for the wonderfully orchestrated November Rain. Now I will come out and say I am not a huge fan of Axl Rose, but this song is a masterpiece. Not only is it another one of Slash's Finest solos, but the whole solo aspect of it is an incredible cinematic sequence. The white chapel in the background of the solos was built for the video and cost a few $100,000. All in all, an amazing song, and a great video.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbUC-UaAxE

Tony Iommi

Such demonic and insane riffs as "Iron Man", "Paranoid", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" could only come from one person, Tony Iommi. Anthony Frank Iommi was born February 19th, 1948 in  Handsworth, Birmingham, United Kingdom. As a boy young Tony wanted to play the drums but was unable to due to the noise. So instead, he decided to play the Guitar. But in an industrial accident at the age of 17 on his last day of work in a sheet metal factory, he lost the tips of the middle and ring finger of his right hand. It almost caused him to quit playing the guitar, but he decided to keep playing.

Iommi played with a few bands during his career, But in 1969 his current band Earth, Renamed themselves to Black Sabbath, and thus, a legacy was born. Due to his accident when he was 17, he had to detune his guitar from an E to a D# (a semitone down), and from 1971's "Master of Reality" album, had detuned it further to C# (a minor third down), in order to ease the tension on his fingers. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler did the same to match Iommi. Sabbath were among the first bands to detune, and the technique became a mainstay of heavy metal music. Iommi combined blues-like guitar solos and dark, minor-key riffing with a revolutionary high-gain, heavily distorted tone with his use of a modified treble-boosting effect-pedal and a Gibson SG, as well as plugging his guitar into his amp's bass input. By the mid-1970s, incessant drug usage, managerial problems and constant touring had taken its toll on the band and Ozzy Osbourne was fired in 1979 by Iommi. Osbourne was replaced with Ronnie James Dio, the former vocalist for Rainbow.

Since the hiatus of Black Sabbath in 1997 Iommi has worked with numerous and even his own solo project and on 11/11/11 all of the original members of Black Sabbath made a statement saying that they'd be going into the studio and recording a new album. "13"is currently one of the most anticipated albums yet and it still has no release date.

In early 2012, Iommi was diagnosed with early stages of lymphoma. But later that year, it was announced that he was in remission.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

When I think of the blues 3 names come to mind, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Stephen Ray Vaughan was born October 3, 1954, in Dallas, Texas. He was born and raised in Dallas, and for a short period of time lived in Graham, Texas. As the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan, Vaughan started playing the guitar at age seven and formed several bands that occasionally performed in local nightclubs. When he was 17, he dropped out of high school and moved to Austin to further pursue his musical career, playing in many groups such as Krackerjack, the Nightcrawlers, and the Cobras. Then In 1977, he formed Triple Threat Revue, a band that eventually evolved into Double Trouble and regularly performed around Austin.

In 1982 they had their big break at the  Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, where they were noticed by David Bowie and Jackson Browne. Bowie came forward and asked if Vaughan would play on his new album "Let's Dance" and Browne offered the band free use of his personal studio in Los Angeles to record an album. In '83 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble signed with Epic Records and released their debut album, "Texas Flood" in June of that year. After some Successful touring Stevie and Double Trouble released "Couldn't Stand the Weather" in 1984 and "Soul to Soul" in '85, the latter of which featured new keyboardist Reese Wynans. Even though he ad built up a strong career Stevie Ray Vaughan checked himself into a rehabilitation hospital for cocaine and alcohol addiction. In June 1989, "In Step" was released and earned them a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Performance.

 On August 27, 1990, Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash following a performance in East Troy, Wisconsin. After his Death, "Family Style" was Released. It was a collection of studio recording he did with his Brother Jimmie Vaughan.

Rock Video of the Week #3

Song: Bohemian Rhapsody
Artist: Queen
Album: A Night at the Opera

This song still leaves me speechless. The greatest singer in rock history, at his very best. Queen is one of the most famous bands in rock history for their iconic and groundbreaking songs. Freddie Mercury was not only a Trained Opera singer, but a complete visionary. He changed the world with music. bravo Freddie, we all miss you, and bravo Queen for giving us such beautiful music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ