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Showing posts from July, 2013

BLUR

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Blur is an alternative rock band which formed in Colchester, England in 1989. The band consists of Damon Albarn (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Graham Coxon (guitar, vocals), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums). Blur’s debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and Shoegazing and spawned their first UK Top 10 single, There’s No Other Way. Following a stylistic change in 1992 (influenced by English guitar groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles, The Animals and XTC) Blur released “Popscene” as a stand alone single, this was a commercial flop, but was widely considered to be a crucial turning point for the band’s style. Following this, Blur released 3 studio albums in a similar style: Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993),Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis dubbed “The Battle of Britpop”. By the late 1990s,

SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK

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Sigue Sigue Sputnik is a British Pop- cyberpunk  band that achieved moderate fame in the mid- to late 1980s, when the song  Love Missile F1-11  hit the pop charts around the world. “Love Missile F1-11“‘s success was due in part to the song’s use in the hit movie  Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . Led by former  Generation X  bassist  Tony James , the band created a unique style of  new wave  music by layering vocals, yelps, guitar riffs, electronic sound effects, and short samples over pulsating synthesizer bass lines. The themes and imagery in the band’s songs were often influenced by futuristic, dystopian, or post-apocalyptic films such as  a clockwork orange ,  the terminator ,  Blade Runner , and the  Mad Max  trilogy. The band’s music and image also mashed together a range of other pop culture influences, including the New York electronica duo  Suicide ,  Marc Bolan ’s  T-Rex , and the swagger and sex appeal of  Eddie Cochran ,  Elvis Presley , and  glam rock . The original line-up al

311

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311 was formed in 1990 in Omaha, Nebraska, United States by singer/guitarist Nick Hexum, singer S.A. Martinez, guitarist Tim Mahoney, drummer Chad Sexton and bassist P-Nut. The band now resides in Los Angeles, California. 311 mix rock, rap, reggae and funk into their own unique sound. After years of consistent touring, 311 have developed a reputation as one of the hardest working, most influential and most entertaining live bands in the U.S. 311 have released ten studio albums, one live album, one greatest hits album and three dvd’s - and have sold over 8.5 million albums in the U.S. Seven of their albums have reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Sales Chart…and 9 of their singles have reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Alternative Rock Radio Chart (including the #1 singles Down, Love Song & Don’t Tread On Me. Along with Amber, All Mixed Up, Come Original, Creatures For Awhile, Hey You, and Sunset in July). 311’s newest album, Universal Pulse, released in Summer 2011, was pro

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

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Black Label Society is a  heavy metal  band formed by former  Ozzy Osbourne / Pride & Glory  guitar player Zakk Wylde in Los Angeles, California in 1998. They have released ten albums to date, eight of which are studio albums. The band, aside from Wylde consists of bassist John “JD” Deservio, drummer Mike Froedge, and fellow guitarist Nick “The Evil Twin” Catanese. The band is not to be confused with Zakk Wylde’s solo project (sometimes known as Book of Shadows after its only album) or with  Pride & Glory , Wylde’s southern rock band. In 1992, Ozzy retired after the No More Tears tour, which led Zakk to form his own solo band Pride & Glory, blending potent bluesy southern rock with heavy metal. In 1994 Ozzy decided to come out of retirement, and the numerous recording sessions for  Ozzmosis  took place. Around this time, Zakk was also offered the open guitar slot in  Guns N’ Roses  and had a hard time deciding whether to tour with Ozzy or join Guns N’ Roses. Neither pr

ULTRAMEN

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Ultramen is a Brazilian samba rock and hip hop band formed in 1998 in the city of Porto Alegre.  Current Formation * Tonho Crocco - vocals * Pedro Porto - bass * Julio Porto - eletric guitar * Zé Darcy - drums * Leonardo Boff - keyboards * Marcito - percussion * Malásia - percussion * Anderson - scratches Website ultramen.com.br

RICHIE HAVENS

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Richard P. “Richie” Havens (born January 21, 1941; died April 22, 2013) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He is best remembered for his intense, rhythmic guitar style (often in open tunings), soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival. Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Havens moved to Greenwich Village in 1961 in time to get in on the folk boom then taking place. Havens had a distinctive style as a folksinger, appearing in such clubs as the Cafe Wha? His guitar set to an open tuning, he would strum while barring chords with his thumb, using it essentially as percussion while singing rhythmically in a gruff voice for a mesmerizing effect. Havens was signed to Douglas Records in 1965 and recorded two albums that gained him a local following. In 1967, the Verve division of MGM Records formed a folk section (Verve Forecast) and signed Havens and other folk-based performers. The result was Havens’s third albu

KING CRIMSON

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King Crimson  were a progressive rock group from London, England, United Kingdom formed in 1968 by guitarist  Robert Fripp  and drummer  Michael Giles . Though originally an all-British musical group, later members have included a number of Americans, most notably  Adrian Belew , and  Tony Levin . The name “King Crimson” was coined by  Peter Sinfield  as a synonym for Beelzebub, prince of demons. King Crimson’s debut album was  In the Court of the Crimson King . The first major success of the new genre of progressive rock, many bands that would come to dominate ‘prog’ in the 1970s first sought to emulate  In the Court of the Crimson King , including  Genesis ,  The Alan Parsons Project , and later  Rush . The line-up of King Crimson has at times changed drastically from album to album. Original lead singer and bassist  Greg Lake  left the group - as did lyricist Peter Sinfield - and went on to fame with  Emerson, Lake & Palmer  in 1970, replaced by  Gordon Haskell , Boz Burrell,

GODSMACK

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Godsmack  is a  hard rock / alternative metal  band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States which formed in 1995. They are often mis-categorized as  post-grunge  or  nu metal . The band comprises founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released five studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection. The band has had three consecutive #1 albums (Faceless,IV,The Oracle) on the Billboard 200. Godsmack’s fifth studio album, titled The Oracle was released on May 3, 2010. The band has also parked a ratified 18 top ten rock radio hits, including 15 songs in the Top Five, more than bands such as Linkin Park and Metallica. Godsmack are one of the most popular metal acts of the last decade in the United States, selling over 19 million records worldwide. Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and have toured with many other

LIVE

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Live is an American alternative rock band. Characterized by an earnest approach to anthemic rock and a spiritual zen reminiscent of Joshua Tree-era U2, Live climbed from modest modern rock success to the mainstream spotlight worldwide on the strength of their 1994 breakthrough album, the 6 million-selling Throwing Copper. Hailing from York, Pennsylvania, USA, the group comprises Ed Kowalczyk (lead vocals & guitar), Chad Taylor (lead guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass) and Chad Gracey (drums). Since approximately 1999, Live has toured with Ed’s younger brother, Adam Kowalczyk as a rhythm guitarist, and, previously, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton. Kowalczyk, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey first came together for a middle-school talent show in the Pennsylvania blue-collar town of York. The group remained together throughout high school, going through a handful of band names and new-wave covers before settling on the moniker Public Affection and recording a self-release

THE DAMNED

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The Damned are a  punk rock  group originally from Croydon, England, a suburb of London, who were formed in 1976. Despite being one of the definitive early punk bands they were also one of the most ambitious; with their later albums moving away from the breakneck garage sound of their debut and taking in elements from goth and psychedelia to prog and metal. They are notable for being the first of the British punk bands to release a single, put out an album, and tour the United States. Their debut album, Damned Damned Damned, was released six months before The Sex Pistols’ debut, Never Mind The Bollocks. The Damned have dissolved and reformed many times, with singer  Dave Vanian  remaining the sole constant. They have incorporated many styles in their music, most notably garage rock, psychedelic music, the British theatrical rock of  Screaming Lord Sutch  and  The Sensational Alex Harvey Band , and New Romantic.  In addition to serving as inspiration for many of the young bands who crea

ALICE IN CHAINS

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Alice in Chains are a rock band which formed in 1987 in Seattle, Washington, United States. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of  metal  and the gloomy strains of  grunge , the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding metallic riffs with subtly textured  acoustic  numbers. They were hard enough for  metal  fans, yet their dark subject matter and  punk y attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based  grunge  bands. While this dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their second album, 1992’s  Dirt , it also divided them. Guitarist / vocalist  Jerry Cantrell  always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band off the road for the remainder of the ’90s.  Formed in 1987 by Staley, guitarist Jerry Ca

T-REX

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T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in London in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist  Marc Bolan . The band began as a psychedelic  folk-rock  combo called  Tyrannosaurus Rex , a name that was later shortened to T. Rex. In the 1970s, the band had success with  glam rock  hits like “Jeepster”, “Get It On”, “Ride a White Swan”, “20th Century Boy”, “Children of the Revolution”, “Hot Love”, “Telegram Sam”, and “Metal Guru”. After their success in the early and mid-1970s, the band broke up after Bolan was killed in a 1977 car accident. T.Rex was a primary force in  glam rock , thanks to the creative direction of guitarist/vocalist  Marc Bolan  (born Mark Feld). Bolan created a deliberately trashy form of  rock and roll  that was proud of its own disposability, which stood in contrast to the low-key whimsical poetry of the earlier duo. T.Rex’s music borrowed the underlying sexuality of early rock & roll, adding dirty, simple grooves and fat distorted guitars, as well as an overar