NOW-and-THEN-Magazine - ROCK NOW and THEN

w/ Triple Platinum Singer/Songwriter/Producer

'Andrew Farriss'

Hosted by Kim Cyr

Presented by NOW and THEN Magazine

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Triple Platinum Singer/Songwriter/Producer 'Andrew Farriss' Extraordinary Self-Titled Album Debut!

Andrew Farriss Self-Titled Album Debut

Country, rock, and Americana singer/songwriter and INXS founder delivers an adventurous full album with limited-edition, animated picture disc vinyl LP

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Triple Platinum Singer/Songwriter/Producer 'Andrew Farriss' Extraordinary Self-Titled Album Debut!

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Prolific songsmith and country and Americana singer/songwriter Andrew Farriss released his self-titled debut album on March 19th, 2021. Taking fans around the world on a journey through nature, history, love, and cultural spirituality, Farriss has put his whole heart into this work of art and has come up with nothing short of a masterpiece.

Farriss shares his genuine talents as he shifts into genres that encapsulate all he stands for. Inspired by adventure, exploration, and more, the complete album is now available to download and stream on all digital platforms. With the lead single and music video release of “Run Baby Run” and another album track, “Good Momma Bad” premiering on Cowboys & Indians, there is no containing the potential of this stellar work.

“One of the reasons many people have warmed to country music, is that it isn’t just happy songs,” says Andrew. “It is the sad songs; it is the gritty subjects that some genres of music won’t go near. That is something that attracts me as a songwriter. I don’t want to chase what train everyone else is on, I want to stay true to what I do as a songwriter, and keep a frontier sense of freedom. When I was putting the album together, I steered away from cliches, plus I wanted to put my own personality in it. If my album doesn’t sound like anyone else, then that is good.”

When creating this project, Andrew Farriss left no stone unturned. It was imperative to make a vinyl record like no other that reflects and provides not only a listening experience but a visual one as well. The vinyl, an original work of art in itself showcases a translucent record that comes to life with moving characters and breath-taking animation once it hits the turntable. The cover offers a classic “Western” feel that brings back the traditional qualities that albums once had, yet maintains a fresh new image to keep every collector wanting more.

“As well as digital, I was passionate about wanting my album released on vinyl as I think the music on vinyl is tangible - physically attractive with the right artwork. To me this is important in the current digital music avalanche,” beams Farriss.

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Triple Platinum Singer/Songwriter/Producer 'Andrew Farriss' Extraordinary Self-Titled Album Debut!

Andrew Farriss - Run Baby Run (Official Video)

Listen to “Good Momma Bad” premiered on Cowboys & Indians HERE.

Listen to, “With the Kelly Gang” premiere

Building anticipation, Andrew previously shared three singles from the debut. “Come Midnight,” released in 2019, has continued to build a strong following since it first received radio airplay. “Good Momma Bad,” released at the start of 2020, solidified Andrew’s new musical direction and garnered further acclaim. His latest single, “Run Baby Run,” hit airwaves in March 2021. Prior to COVID-19, Andrew’s solo debut was initially flagged for release in March 2020. However, that was put on hold for 12-months. In that time, Andrew released a five-track EP, ‘Love Makes The World’, that spawned two hit singles, the title track which recently took the #5 spot on the Australian country chart, and “All The Stars Are Mine.”

''Andrew Farriss is one of the most accomplished and exceptional artists in rock history,'' says Kim Cyr, Editor in Chief of NOW and THEN Magazine and host of Music's Journey Podcast. Farriss's skills as a songwriter/producer are showcased in this unique visual storyboard of a collection of songs that bring his artistry to life in his self-titled debut album. ''It is a masterpiece,'' says Cyr. Here are some of the questions I asked Andrew Farriss in my interview with him.

1. What song makes you emotional and why?

Farriss - “ HURT “ ( Trent Reznor ) - Johnny Cash's version.

About as real and gutsy a song as it gets.

Makes me emotional.

I felt an instant and heartfelt connection to this song, and as a songwriter myself it pushes all the right buttons.

2. If you could step into the shoes and mind of any artist past or present, who would it be and why?

Farriss - Bob Marley & The Wailers. Bob was a true master and communicator - a genius.

Love what that group of people achieved, love the Reggae music, love the songwriting, love the attitude to life, and conviction of faith.

After Bob passed, my band INXS was doing another major US tour and Ziggy Marley and the Wailers came out on tour with us for 3 months during the KICK tour.

Later down the road, I recall Ziggy showing me Bob’s bible, as a treasured possession.

I hope they are all well and in good health.

Love to all.

3. What is your biggest life lesson so far?

Farriss - Treat others as you’d like to be treated, never lose a great opportunity to keep your mouth shut.

You need good food and clean water and shelter.

You can't eat a smartphone.

4. When you want to shut out all the noise and stress of the world, what is your favorite thing to do?

Farriss - Read books. Think of positive things in life. Take a gentle walk, if possible with a loved one or friend - find a peaceful location. Eat pistachio nuts.

5. What is your most useless talent?

Farriss - I know how to repair a flat tire with a vulcanizing kit.

To hear the whole interview, click HERE

Andrew Farriss - All The Stars Are Mine (Official Video)

Andrew Farriss - Come Midnight (Official Video)

Andrew Farriss - Good Momma Bad (Official Video)

Andrew Farriss - Run Baby Run - Behind The Scenes (Official Video)

Andrew Farriss - Love Makes The World EP (Live Performance)

Andrew Farriss Ticket Information HERE

When it came to penning the tracks for the album, Farriss had looked within and through personal experience, writing a collection of songs that bring to life stories of outlaws, freedom, cowboys, love, and paints vivid imagery of gun-slinging bandits, Australian history, and international cultural spirituality. With no INXS touring plans in the immediate future, and an abundance of original material in his songbook, Andrew has now launched a solo career that sees him taking aim at the country and Americana; and this is only the beginning.

“I love writing songs and telling stories that hopefully resonate with people. I have not followed any trends or formulas creating these songs. What I have written and recorded is different. I like different, different is good."

Buy CD/Vinyl HERE

About Andrew Farriss:

Andrew Farriss is a creative, versatile, award-winning artist embarking on an adventure to present his individual talents to the world. Not only did Farriss co-found the iconic INXS mentioned above, but he was also the main songwriter, played the keyboard and guitar, and sang backup vocals for the band. His hard work has paid off as the group went on to be nominated for Grammy, Brit, MTV Music, and ARIA Awards. He alone won producer of the year at the ARIA Awards and has written songs for various albums that have gone triple platinum. Native to Tamworth Australia, Farriss now splits his time between his home country and Nashville, Tennessee. Farriss frequents the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and makes a highly anticipated yearly appearance at Tamworth’s Country Music Festival in Australia. Nothing can stop Farriss’s creativity and this album is a roadmap of the numerous feats he has achieved.

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Triple Platinum Singer/Songwriter/Producer 'Andrew Farriss' Extraordinary Self-Titled Album Debut!

For more information and everything Andrew Farriss, please visit www.andrewfarriss.com.

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Music's Journey Podcast

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Multi-Platinum Award Winning Rock Legend 'Alan Frew' Glass Tiger Worldwide Live Performance from Inside The El Mocambo on March 21st! Tickets On Sale NOW!

w/ Canadian Multi-Award Winning Rock Legends

Glass Tiger's Lead Vocalist 'Alan Frew'

Hosted by Kim Cyr

Presented by NOW and THEN Magazine

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Multi-Platinum Award Winning Rock Legend 'Alan Frew' Glass Tiger Worldwide Live Performance from Inside The El Mocambo on March 21st! Check It Out!

Glass Tiger

Worldwide Live Performance

From El Mocambo

Sunday, March 21st at 2 pm ET (6 pm GMT)

There are two different ways to see the show, general admission and VIP after-party with Glass Tiger!

Tickets on Sale Now HERE!

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Multi-Platinum Award Winning Rock Legend 'Alan Frew' Glass Tiger Worldwide Live Performance from Inside The El Mocambo on March 21st! Check It Out!

And so it continues...the story of one of Canada’s most enduring and iconic bands, Glass Tiger, roars on. Originally known as Tokyo, the band formed in Newmarket, Ontario in 1981 and spent several years cutting their teeth in the bar scene of the day. With rapidly growing popularity, it didn’t take long for all the major record labels to come courting, culminating in their signing of a worldwide recording deal with Capitol Records in 1985. Changing their name to Glass Tiger, their debut album, The Thin Red Line quickly became an unstoppable force, rocketing up the charts to become the fastest-selling debut in Canadian history, spawning no less than five hit singles.

Leading the charge, was the now-and-forever iconic, Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone), a song that is etched into the very fabric of popular music’s history. Grammy-nominated and five-time award winners of both The Junos and Canadian Classic, the band has shared stages and recording performances with some of the world’s leading acts including; Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Bryan Adams, Journey, Julian Lennon, and Cheap Trick (to name a few).

In 2018, Glass Tiger hit the road, touring extensively while promoting the release of their album, 31- an album of celebration through the reimagining of the classic songs they are best known for. Originally, the record was to be named 30, in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of The Thin Red Line, but life quickly turned to anguish when lead vocalist, Alan Frew, suffered a stroke in the summer of 2015, causing the band to shut down while Frew spent the next year in recovery. “If you lose your 30th to such a thing, said keyboardist Sam Reid, you wait and hope for recovery, then when it happens, you simply celebrate life and what lies ahead...and for us, that was 31. Simple math!”

Although 31 has been well-received by critics and fans alike, the demand for a new studio recording of unreleased original material remained first and foremost in their minds. Nothing would do it seems, other than a new Glass Tiger release. So now, ladies and gentlemen, the celebration of life and music continues with Glass Tiger’s latest offering…please welcome “33” Glass Tiger’s 5th studio album. Produced by Glass Tiger founding member Sam Reid and UK, singer, songwriter, Andrew Cole, “33” is an unapologetically raw, mature, eclectic, statement that states simply: “This is who we are today and this is how we see the world around us.” From the rough and tumble, rebellious, This is London, a throwback to their “bar days” when you simply picked up a guitar, started a band, and made raucous loud music, to the ethereal nature of pop with tracks such as, This is Your Life and Keepers of Time, this EP is, without a doubt, what Glass Tiger fans have been anxiously awaiting for over two decades.

Glass Tiger has always maintained a connection to their rock roots and two new major tracks, Show Me (how to get close to the sun) and Ebb & Flow are both strong evidence of their “pre-synthesizer” days. “Tokyo, says Frew, was basically formed out of the remnants of two rock bands and rock out we did! The ’80s found us. Not the other way around.”

Of course, no classic album would be complete without a classic ballad, and the lads have delivered yet again in this department with their haunting and majestic rendition of, Dying Is Easy (with you). “This song epitomizes the grandeur of living a full life,” says Reid. This feels like a song that only a band with an almost 40-year history together can deliver and make it believable. From the innocence and “smallness” of the opening vocal to the epic behemoth ending, this song’s statement is destined to be a Glass Tiger classic.

''Alan Frew is a multi-platinum award-winning entertainer and musician along with all his bandmates of rock legends Glass Tiger,'' says Kim Cyr, Editor in Chief of NOW and THEN Magazine and host for Music's Journey Podcast. ''Glass Tiger will forever be in our hearts as one of the most successful Canadian rock/pop icons of all time. Let's face it, the music industry is tough to break into and to cross borders onto the national stage and Glass Tiger did this so successfully.

''It was a pleasure to talk with 'Alan Frew' today,'' says Cyr. ''He is such a special soul and a true inspiration with his life story.'' ''Alan shared some pretty special stories with me during my interview with him. My favorite is the time that he got to meet 'Paul McCartney' at a Capitol Records after-party. You have to hear the interview HERE.'' Now all of you as fans can have an opportunity to ask your own questions to the band members of Glass Tiger this Sunday, March 21st on Session Live/GlassTiger. Check out the details below, see you there!

Keep up to date with all things Glass Tiger on all regular social media and at their website glasstiger.ca

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Multi-Platinum Award Winning Rock Legend 'Alan Frew' Glass Tiger Worldwide Live Performance from Inside The El Mocambo on March 21st! Check It Out!

March 21st is coming up fast!

Catch Glass Tiger performing LIVE inside

The El Mocambo

with

Sessions: Live Music Streaming

at 2 pm EDT (6 pm GMT). See you there!

There are two different ways to see the show, general admission and VIP after-party with Glass Tiger!

https://sessionslive.com/glasstiger/tickets

Glass Tiger - Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)

Glass Tiger - Behind The Song: This Is Your Life

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Multi-Platinum Award Winning Rock Legend 'Alan Frew' Glass Tiger Worldwide Live Performance from Inside The El Mocambo on March 21st! Check It Out!

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Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Ottawa, ON-based Rockers 'Taming Sari' Have Just Released Their Fourth Single 'Gone and Run Away' An Emotional and Raw Ballad! Available Now!

w/ Canadian Rock Band 'Taming Sari'

Hosted by Kim Cyr

Presented by NOW and THEN Magazine

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Ottawa, ON-based Rockers 'Taming Sari' Have Just Released Their Fourth Single 'Gone and Run Away' An Emotional and Raw Ballad! Listen To The Full Interview HERE!

Taming Sari

New Single

'Gone and Run Away'

Ottawa, ON-based rockers Taming Sari have just released their fourth single — and very first ballad; the emotional and raw “Gone and Run Away” is available now.

Between the musical composition, vulnerable lyrics, and blazing vocal delivery, the four-minute, 50 second-spanning ballad was made to convey emotion to the audience. It’s also jam-packed sonic elements similar to that of the Southern rock country scene and some of Canada’s finest modern rock acts — think The Glorious Sons or Rival Sons.

From the powerful drum fills, to the seemingly-endless slide guitar melodies and then an all-round groovy bass line to drive the Lynyrd Skynyrd-reminiscent track home, Taming Sari has delivered modern-day magic with this one.

According to the eclectic band, “Gone and Run Away” is a song for “rockers and lovers.” They describe it as a story about jealousy, heartbreak, and “the emptiness one can feel when a person is gone after a relationship comes to an end.”

On why they chose to record a ballad, Taming Sari agreed: “We had a desire to dip our toes into this slower tempo and explore the emotions of heartbreak within the soundscape of southern rock.”

Taming Sari is lead singer Warren Meredith, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Ouellette, guitarists Joe Fraser and Miguel Brunette-Kingsberry, as well as bassist Alex Pellerin-Auprix. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the group is based between Ottawa and Gatineau, Quebec. In their short tenure together before the world was swept off its feet by the worldwide health crisis, Taming Sari was able to play 45 live shows, including some with beloved Canadian bands like The Lazys and Planet Smashers.

Back in May 2019, the bilingual quintet made their official debut with the pummeling single “Down with the Devil,” before releasing another, “Wake Up Boy,” that July. The two singles helped the aspiring musicians promote — and build up hype for their soon-to-follow debut album — Thirsty from the Drought, which dropped in September 2019. Since then, the blues-inspired five-piece put out their 2020 hit single, “Loving Way.”

All 10 songs recorded by Taming Sari — including “Gone and Run Away” — were recorded and produced by Toronto-based producer Ross Hayes Citrullo. Commending him for his work and contributions to their success, Taming Sari said: “our creative relationship grows stronger every time we work on a new single together.”

''Taming Sari is brilliant with the musical composition for their new single 'Gone and Run Away.' Warren Meredith brings the emotional vocals that deliver this powerful ballad but he still brings the energy and powerful performance and I love it,'' says Kim Cyr, Editor in Chief for NOW and THEN Magazine.'' ''Drummer and back vocalist, Adam Ouellette, shares the story about how the band formed and how bringing Warren Meredith and Alexandre Pellerin-Auprix into the band felt like the glue that is Taming Sari. It was great to talk with Adam and to hear the vision the band has for moving forward.

''Each band member brings something special and without anyone of the band members, we just wouldn't be complete and have what we have right now,'' says Adam. ''The band has all the makings of a turn-key band ready to sign with any label,'' says Cyr. ''They know what they want and the music they want to bring to the music industry. From the branding, marketing, and music, the band is more than ready. It's not the fame that they are looking for, it's the love of music and hoping that the fans love what they do.''

''Adam is so talented and very in tune with who he is as an artist and musician and it shows in this interview,'' says Cyr. ''These guys are rock solid and work hard for every fan that follows them. The fans know that they will bring incredible live performances that sell out venues! Taming Sari had done it before and will do it again.'' To hear the whole interview, click the link below.'' You are going to love it!

Taming Sari - Gone And Run Away (Official Video)

Taming Sari - Loving Way (Official Lyric Video)

Taming Sari - Down with The Devil (Official Music Video)

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Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Canadian Rock Trio ''W3apons'' Sharing a Ton of Stories and A lot of Laughs You Just Need to Hear!

w/ Canadian Rock Band ''W3APONS''

Hosted by Kim Cyr

Presented by NOW and THEN Magazine

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Canadian Rock Band ''W3APONS'' Click Here

''W3APONS''

New Single

'Broken Promises'

Saskatoon-based rock trio, W3APONS has been very busy since their debut single, ''Off the Top of My Heart'', produced by The Trew’s John-Angus MacDonald.

The band’s debut single “Off the Top of My Heart” reached #11 on the Canadian Active Rock Charts completely independently in 2019 and has received over 700,000 plays on Spotify. In 2020, the band’s single “Bye Baby Gone” went Top 10 on the Canadian Active Rock Charts, peaking at #8.

Drummer/vocalist Tallus Scott, bassist/vocalist Myk Ulan-Hohol, and guitarist/ vocalist Jordan Welbourne are the elements in the perfect storm that is W3APONS - Energetic, Hard-hitting, and unmistakably Rock & Roll.

W3APONS has shared the stage with The Trews, Monster Truck, The Lazys, and The Wild! The band was also hand-picked by Theory of a Deadman (AKA THEORY) joining them for all 21 Canadian dates of their Say Nothing World Tour in January/February 2020.

''Saskatoon rock'n roll independent trio W3APONS serve up a certified hard-hitting, killer rock jam that delivers the real deal with the heavy guitar riffs bringing that classic rock music with a modern sound that will put this band to the top of the charts'', says Kim Cyr Editor in Chief NOW and THEN Magazine. The trio has really found their sweet spot that will be filling the festivals with fans singing every word. You can hear just how hard this band has been working to develop their craft and harmonies. I love every bit of their new music. I was a big fan before and it is really cool to see just how far they have come in such a short period of time. This is just the start of what will surely be fan favorites with their full body of work yet to come. The band co-wrote this 'Broken Promises' with JUNO Award winner Clayton Bellamy from The Road Hammers and John-Angus and Colin MacDonald from The Trews. W3APONS will be working with John-Angus MacDonald to produce more songs and maybe a full album''. For a ton of laughs and stories about Jordan, Tallus, and Myk, listen to the full interview HERE.

W3APONS ''Off the Top of My Heart'' Official Video

W3APONS ''She Was The One'' Official Video

W3APONS - Bye Baby Gone (Official Audio)

W3APONS - Broken Promises (Official Audio)

Music's Journey Podcast INTERVIEW w/ Canadian Rock Band ''W3APONS'' Click Here

Be sure to check out their socials to find out when they play next and check out their single, below!

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The World Mourns the Loss Of Legendary Guitar Player and Rock Legend ''Eddie Van Halen'' Who Died of Cancer at 65!

Rocker Eddie Van Halen died Tuesday morning at the age of 65 from throat cancer.

Wolfgang Van Halen, 29, posted a message to his Twitter page announcing his father’s death.

The legendary rock star and guitarist had been suffering from cancer for more than a decade.

Van Halen is considered to be one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and one of the kings of the rock genre. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Janie Liszewski, 50, and his son Wolf, 29, from his previous marriage to Valerie Bertinelli, 60.

Hollywood took to social media to mourn Van Halen’s death. From the likes of Sammy Hagar to Gene Simmons to Jimmy Kimmel, stars are paying tribute to the late musician:

His son also confirmed his death and the cause on Twitter.

"I can't believe I'm having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning," Wolfgang Van Halen said in the tweet.

With his distinct solos, Eddie Van Halen fuelled the ultimate California party band and helped knock disco off the charts starting in the late 1970s with his band's self-titled debut album and then with the blockbuster record 1984, which contains the classics Jump, Panama and Hot for Teacher.

Van Halen is among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time and the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine put Eddie Van Halen at No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

Eddie Van Halen was something of a musical contradiction. He was an autodidact who could play almost any instrument, but he couldn't read music. He was a classically trained pianist who also created some of the most distinctive guitar riffs in rock history. He was a Dutch immigrant who was considered one of the greatest American guitarists of his generation.

The members of Van Halen — the two Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex; vocalist David Lee Roth; and bassist Michael Anthony — formed in 1974 in Pasadena, Calif.

They were members of rival high school bands and then attended Pasadena City College together. They combined to form the band Mammoth, but then changed to Van Halen after discovering there was another band called Mammoth.

Their 1978 release Van Halen opened with a blistering Runnin' With the Devil and then Eddie Van Halen showed off his astonishing skills in the next song, Eruption, a furious one-and-a-half minute guitar solo that swoops and soars like a deranged bird. The album also contained a cover of the Kinks' You Really Got Me and Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love.

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam told Rolling Stone magazine that listening to Van Halen's Eruption was like hearing Mozart for the first time. "He gets sounds that aren't necessarily guitar sounds — a lot of harmonics, textures that happen just because of how he picks."

Van Halen released albums on a yearly timetable — Van Halen II (1979), Women and Children First (1980), Fair Warning (1981) and Diver Down (1982) — until the monumental 1984, which hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album charts (only behind Michael Jackson's Thriller).

Rolling Stone ranked 1984 No. 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.

"Eddie put the smile back in rock guitar, at a time when it was all getting a bit brooding. He also scared the hell out of a million guitarists around the world, because he was so damn good. And original," Joe Satriani, a fellow virtuoso, told Billboard in 2015.

Van Halen also played guitar on one of the biggest singles of the 1980s: Jackson's Beat It. His solo lasted all of 20 seconds and took only a half an hour to record. He did it for free, as a favour to producer Quincy Jones, while the rest of his Van Halen bandmates were out of town.

Van Halen received no compensation or credit for the work, even though he rearranged the section he played on.

"It was 20 minutes of my life. I didn't want anything for doing that," he told Billboard in 2015. "I literally thought to myself, 'Who is possibly going to know if I play on this kid's record?"'

Rolling Stone ranked Beat It No. 344 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Jackson's melding of hard rock and R&B preceded the meeting of Run-DMC and Aerosmith by four years.

But strains between Roth and the band erupted after their 1984 world tour and Roth left.

The group then recruited Sammy Hagar as lead singer — some critics called the new formulation "Van Hagar" — and the band went on to score its first No. 1 album with 5150, More studio albums followed, including OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance. Hit singles included Why Can't This Be Love and When It's Love.

Hagar was ousted in 1996 and former Extreme singer Gary Cherone stepped in for the album Van Halen III, a stumble that led to his quick departure. Roth would eventually return in 2007 and team up with the Van Halen brothers, with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass, for a tour and the albums A Different Kind of Truth in 2012 and Tokyo Dome Live in Concert in 2015.

Van Halen's music has appeared in films as varied as Superbad, Minions and Sing as well as TV shows like Glee and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Video games such as Gran Turismo 4 and Guitar Hero have used his riffs. Their song Jamie's Cryin was sampled by rapper Tone Loc in his hit Wild Thing.

Eddie Van Halen was born in Amsterdam and his family immigrated to California in 1962 when he was seven. His father was a big band clarinetist who rarely found work after coming to the U.S., and their mother was a maid who had dreams of her sons being classical pianists. The Van Halens shared a house with three other families. Eddie and Alex had only each other, a tight relationship that flowed through their music.

"We showed up here with the equivalent of $50 and a piano," Eddie Van Halen told The Associated Press in 2015. "We came halfway around the world without money, without a set job, no place to live and couldn't even speak the language."

He said his earliest memories of music were banging pots and pans together, marching to John Philip Sousa marches. At one point, Eddie got a drum set, which his older brother coveted.

"I never wanted to play guitar," he confessed at a talk at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2015. But his brother was good at the drums, so Eddie gave into his brother's wishes: "I said, 'Go ahead, take my drums. I'll play your damn guitar."'

He was a relentless experimenter who would solder different parts from different guitar-makers, including Gibson and Fender. He created his own graphic design for his guitars by adding tape to the instruments and then spray-painting them. He said his influences were Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

Van Halen, sober since 2008, lost one-third of his tongue to a cancer that eventually drifted into his esophagus. In 1999, he had a hip replacement. He was married twice, to actress Valerie Bertinelli from 1981 to 2007 and then stuntwoman-turned-publicist Janie Liszewski, whom he wed in 2009.

MACHINE GUN KELLY RELEASES EAGERLY ANTICIPATED FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM TICKETS TO MY DOWNFALL WILL PERFORM TWO LIVESTREAM CONCERTS FROM THE ROXY!

Photo Credit Randy Henderson

25 SEPTEMBER 2020 (TORONTO, ON) - Following an impressive two-song performance at last month’s MTV Video Music Awards where he took home Best Alternative Video for "bloody valentine," and newly nominated for a Billboard Music Award, Cleveland powerhouse, Machine Gun Kelly, aims to keep his winning streak intact with the release of his fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall. Executive produced by rock luminary Travis Barker, MGK recruits a bevy of stars such as Halsey, Trippie Redd, blackbear, and more to fulfill his latest journey. A deluxe addition of the album sold exclusively at Target will include four bonus tracks "misery business," "roll the windows up," "in these walls (my house)," featuring PVRS, and "love on the brain."

''Drunk Face''

Listen to Tickets To My Downfall HERE

Tickets To My Downfall (SOLD OUT Deluxe) [Explicit]Machine Gun Kelly

MGK’s forthcoming effort is already churning out Billboard hits, including "bloody valentine" and "my ex's best friend," which currently sit in the Top 10 on the Hot Rock & Alternative charts. In August, the latter helped MGK achieve his first No. 1 on the Rock Streaming Songs chart. On Monday, "I Think I'm Okay" off last year’s Hotel Diablo earned a nomination for a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Song. Earlier this week, the artist appeared on Howard Stern and will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show this Thursday and Friday performing two songs.

Machine Gun Kelly will perform his first US concert of 2020 on Thursday, October 1, playing Tickets to My Downfall in its entirety from the legendary Roxy stage with special guest Travis Barker. On Thursday, October 8 he will perform Hotel Diablo. Both shows will livestream for fans who pre-purchase tickets with shows beginning at 9:00pm est/6:00pm pst. A once in a lifetime experience, the shows will not be available to stream after the event. Aiming to bring live events back to 2020, NoCap and Machine Gun Kelly are excited to partner to bring these concerts to fans. Backed by his full band, the event is putting musicians back on stage and concert venues back in business.

Tickets will be available starting at 12am est on Friday, September 25th at MGK.NOCAPSHOWS.COM. Fans will also have the option to add exclusive MGK x Roxy Event Merchandise to their purchase package.

Tickets to My Downfall - Tracklist:

tickets to my downfall
kiss kiss
drunk face
bloody valentine
forget me too ft. halsey
all I know ft. trippie redd
lonely
WWIII
kevin and barracuda (interlude)
concert for aliens
my ex’s best friend ft. blackbear
jawbreaker
nothing inside ft. iann dior
banyan tree (interlude)
play this when i’m gone

Machine Gun Kelly Official Video ''Bloody Valentine''

Machine Gun Kelly - concert for aliens

Machine Gun Kelly ft. blackbear - my ex's best friend (Official Music Video)

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Gord Downie’s Final Solo Album ‘Away is Mine’ Set For October 2020 Release!

Photo Credit Copyrights Affects Media Kim Cyr

GORD DOWNIE ANNOUNCES NEW DOUBLE ALBUM 'AWAY IS MINE'

OUT OCTOBER 16

RELEASES TWO NEW SONGS

FINAL SOLO RECORDING IS PRESENTED IN ELECTRIC AND ACOUSTIC VERSIONS

LISTEN TO “HOTEL WORTH” & “USELESS NIGHTS”

Away Is Mine is Gord Downie’s final solo recording.

Steered to life by “my oldest Toronto friend,” guitarist and co-writer Josh Finlayson, Downie recorded the ten songs of Away Is Mine in July 2017 at The Tragically Hip’s studio in Bath, Ontario, mere months before he died on October 17th that year. A characteristically questing and idiosyncratic work that holds fast to its author’s unwavering artistic spirit, Away Is Mine is a contemplation on Gord’s life, written with his deft hand and forever inscrutable sense of humour even as he locked eyes with the Great Inevitability.

“This won’t be his last release, but these are the final ten songs Gord sang before he passed away. The last time he ever sang into a mic,” Finlayson and brother Patrick Downie wrote in a joint statement. “That’s pretty special to us.”

Presented as a double album with electric and acoustic versions of all ten songs, the 20-track collection highlights Gord’s poetic mastery at its most bare and personal, with vibrant yet haunting production that casts each song in different otherworldly light. Away Is Mine will be released October 16, 2020 in 2LP, 2CD, and digital formats via Arts & Crafts.

The first two songs of Away Is Mine, released with today’s album announcement, reflect the spectral setting and unguarded lyrical force at play. Gord’s album-opening words on “Hotel Worth” reverberate over a cloudy ambient shuffle, his at first disembodied voice floating on a resonant sonic plane while slyly asking “Yer walking me to the door / of what was it again ... ?” Then, on “Useless Nights,” a lattice of starry synthesizers and electric twang plods in a carefree almost joyous swagger toward the definite abyss, while Gord pleads “Please be good to me / Yea, save me from the useless nights” in his most gentle, fatherly tone.

“There really wasn’t a plan to make a record,’ says Finlayson. “The whole thing was that I knew this was a great way to spend time with Gord, listening to music, talking about music, talking about things that we’d always talked about. And this just evolved pretty organically.”

Sessions began on July 17, 2017 with producer/mixer and Bathouse in-house engineer Nyles Spencer at the helm. The album came together in a flare of creative energy, recording in a burst of live takes over the next four days. Acoustic sketches in “open C” (a remnant tuning from Secret Path songs) that Gord and Josh had knocked together over Garageband that spring became adorned, often in real time, with thoughtful embellishments and lavish space that Spencer – who had proven himself something of a sonic savant on The Tragically Hip’s Man Machine Poem (2016) and Gord’s preceding solo records Secret Path (2016) and Introduce Yerself (2017) – describes as “from another world, from the future, from a place we don’t know.”

Rounding out the so-called Family Band, another cherished friend and decades-long collaborator Travis Good of The Sadies rode out to Bath to sprinkle in fiddle, mandolin, and guitars, while longtime Bathouse overseer Dave “Billy Ray” Koster and Lou Downie (Gord’s son) contributed live drum parts further spliced by Spencer into the mix. Through judicious use of drum loops, synths, vocal effects and “general madness,” as Finlayson puts it, Spencer transformed Away Is Mine into the supernatural end product at hand.

“They are the same record,” avows Spencer, referring to the loosely labeled ‘electric’ and ‘acoustic’ discs. “Just different mixes.” Finlayson asked for the stripped-back versions after the fact “purely for selfish reasons,” as personal mementos, but their standalone value has since grown clear to all who have heard them. They could be mistaken for two entirely different recordings, and yet they are actually the same – the same lightning, just in different bottles.

Whereas Introduce Yerself – Gord’s 23 songs of personal love letters to family, friends, and the Bruins – was his farewell album, arriving just ten days after his passing, the posthumous Away Is Mine is Gord’s existential reckoning with life. Away Is Mine is a document of an artist disappearing into his art, essentially becoming his art through that process. Here, laid bare, is the process.

“River Don’t Care” ambles along the water’s edge following a deceptively breezy groove through which to confront or accept that the river of time “don’t care” what any of us “write for it” or “cast into it.” “About Blank” morphs from a plaintive bluegrass picker into a bizarrely upbeat electro-hoedown lifted by the auspicious refrain of “Come be surrounded / By those who love you the most” before it dives into the ether. “I Am Lost” could find dub-like buoyancy in naked acoustic blues pondering “the waste, the glory, and the vast debris.” “Untitled,” the last chapter, spins the emotional heft of the final dissolve, claiming “night is good, think of it like that” with a ghostly but dazzling exhale.

“I found him to be pretty quiet. And now, looking back, it was kind of the ‘last gasp’ almost because when Gord got this one done, Gord went irretrievably downhill,” recalls brother Patrick. “Almost to the day we got back to Toronto, there’s no way he would have been able to do it. Things just went really far south.”

Despite the grim undercurrent or the “elephant in the room” during the album’s recording, joy is the guiding light of what Gord, together with loved ones, created over four summer days by Lake Ontario: joy in friendships, joy in family, joy in collaboration, joy in writing, joy in music and joy in mystery. Everyone involved in the making of Away Is Mine refers to it as “a gift,” the magic of which has carried through the completion of the album over this summer 2020, including the creation of the original artwork by Clare Downie and Willo Downie, Gord’s daughters.

Like all of the music and the poetry and the memories and the mad genius Gord gave us during his 53 years on our planet, Away Is Mine is immortal. And yet it took a fearless reckoning with his own mortality to get us here.

“We feel so blessed for this opportunity. Simply described as gratitude. Grateful for another gift from Gord. A gift that has been our beautiful companion and an unintended source of solace in the face of life without him,” Josh and Patrick share. “May it lift you up and carry you onwards and upwards always and forever. Away Is Mine. Away Is Yers.”

GORD DOWNIE AWAY IS MINE TRACKLISTING

Disc One:

1. Hotel Worth

2. Useless Nights

3. I Am Lost

4. About Blank

5. River Don’t Care

6. The Least Impossible

7. Traffic Is Magic

8. Away Is Mine

9. No Solace

10. Untitled

Disc Two:

11. Hotel Worth (Acoustic)

12. Useless Nights (Acoustic)

13. I Am Lost (Acoustic)

14. About Blank (Acoustic)

15. River Don’t Care (Acoustic)

16. The Least Impossible (Acoustic)

17. Traffic Is Magic (Acoustic)

18. Away Is Mine (Acoustic)

19. No Solace (Acoustic)

20. Untitled (Acoustic)

Gord Downie Hotel Worth Official Video

Gord Downie 'Useless Nights' Official Video

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Legend John Lennon's 80th Birthday Will Be Celebrated With A New Remix Album ''Gimme Some Truth'' On Oct 9th 2020!

John Lennon, Yoko Ono

"Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) [Ultimate Mix]"

In everything he did, John Lennon spoke his truth and questioned the truth. An incomparable and uncompromising artist who strove for honesty and directness in his music, he laid bare his heart, mind and soul in his songs, seeing them as snapshots of his current emotions, thoughts and world view. Believing the one quality demanded of himself as an artist was to be completely honest, he did not disguise what he had to say or conform his messages to be more in line with what he felt others thought they should be. Love, heartbreak, peace, politics, truth, lies, the media, racism, feminism, religion, mental well-being, marriage, fatherhood – he sang about it all, and one just needs to listen to the songs of John Lennon to know how he felt, what he cherished, what he believed in, and what he stood for.

On October 9th, 2020, Lennon’s 80th birthday, in celebration of his remarkable life, a collection of some of the most vital and best loved songs from his solo career will be released via Capitol/UMe as a suite of beautifully presented collections, titled GIMME SOME TRUTH. THE ULTIMATE MIXES. Executive Produced by Yoko Ono Lennon and Produced by Sean Ono Lennon, these thirty-six songs, handpicked by Yoko and Sean, have all been completely remixed from scratch, radically upgrading their sonic quality and presenting them as a never-before-heard Ultimate Listening Experience.

Mixed and engineered by multi GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Hicks, who also helmed the mixes for 2018’s universally acclaimed Imagine – The Ultimate Collection series, with assistance by engineer Sam Gannon who also worked on that release, the songs were completely remixed from scratch, using brand new transfers of the original multi-tracks, cleaned up to the highest possible sonic quality. After weeks of painstaking preparation, the final mixes and effects were completed using only vintage analog equipment and effects at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and then mastered in analog at Abbey Road Studios by Alex Wharton in order to ensure the most beautiful and authentic sound quality possible.

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