– Rock Formats Music Reviews (10.25.11) By: Michael D. Vogel © October 25, 2011. Michael D. Vogel. All Rights Reserved Published in: Revved Magazine – October 25, 2011 Examiner.com – December 2, 2011    Songs Stevie Nicks “Secret Love” From The Release In Your Dreams (Reprise) Members: Stevie Nicks – vocals; Lindsey Buckingham – guitar, vocals; Glen Ballard – […]

– Rock Formats Music Reviews (7.5.11) By: Michael D. Vogel    © July 5, 2011. Michael D. Vogel.  All Rights Reserved. Published in: Free Gotham  – July 7, 2011 Examiner.com – July 6, 2011  Songs  The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Song: “Never Lookin’ Back” From the release: How I Go Label: Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud Records/RRP Members: Kenny Wayne Shepherd – guitar, […]

All posts from 2010 compiled into a monthly virtual magazine: Music reviews: Ian Moore, Robert Plant, Alpha Rev, Godsmack, We Are the Fallen, Rolling Stones, Elton John/Leon Russell, Dwight Twilley, Sweet Psychosis and Plain white T's Features: 311, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Metallica Book Review: Full Metal Jackie

Various Rock Format Music Reviews - Godsmack, Alpha Rev, We Are The Fallen, Robert Plant, Ian Moore and the Lossy Coils

Quickly glancing at the dial to confirm his format choice, Dave proclaims, “What’s old is new again!” while fumbling for the volume knob on his car stereo. The cyclical nature of this axiom holds true for so much of our lives, especially the music we listen to. Long before the days when rock radio fragmented, album oriented rock (AOR) was the source for all things with loud screaming guitars and bands like AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses ruled the radio airwaves. The main factor with heritage artists, especially to a younger crowd, is cultural relevance. Some bands have it and others don’t. You can’t go into a mall anywhere in America and not see a black t-shirt with a hard rock band logo on it. Heritage artists such as Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Metallica help bolster a station’s gold library by bringing a connection between the old and the new. These records are over 10 years old and in most cases help to attract the higher male demographics, which are so important for the Alternative format.

When it comes to defining the blues, there are several schools of thought, including the slick licks of Chicago, the soulful sounds of the Delta or the salty grooves laid down in Austin. These days, the blues are almost inescapable–it permeates rock (Led Zeppelin), folk (Ani DiFranco), jazz (John Scofield) and jam bands (Widespread Panic), as well as helping to launch all sorts of hyphenated strains. Back in the late ’40s, when Muddy Waters put his first blues band together, he set into motion a sound and style that would soon revolutionize popular music, leading to a tremendous blues movement that forged the way toward the formation of rock & roll. “The blues had a baby,” Waters once sang, “and they called it rock & roll!”

The dream goes something like this: You were born into a family with roots that can be traced back to Lightning Hopkins. You were a regular collaborator with both Vaughan brothers, as well as an active member of The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Arc Angels. If that wasn’t enough, you have co-written and/or recorded with rock legends like Eric Clapton, Roger Waters and B.B King. A dream? Hardly–this has just been the past 18 months in the life of Doyle Bramhall II. And he’s only getting warmed up! Returning home from a European tour with Clapton, Doyle sat down to discuss the past, present and future of the man known as Bramhall.

His sound is unmistakable, his stance unforgettable. Notes stream from his guitar in metallic waves, occasionally softening into a feathery whisper. His voice is that of the six-string; as if being ripped from his throat, he screams tales of love, betrayal, hope, despair and all-night bacchanalia. It’s the blues at its most raw-nerved and ferocious–but look into the musician’s face as he gyrates and bends almost in half, doubling over to the floor. He breaks into a smile, eyes glistening with childlike joy.

The birth of Gov’t Mule began when Warren Haynes and Allen Woody sought an outlet to jam outside of the Allman Brothers. With the addition of Matt Abts, who played with Haynes in the Dickey Betts band, the trio was complete. “They’re a reckless rhythm section,” Haynes says of the other two. “They’re like an earthquake with an ‘on/off’ switch. When you’re improvising, a big part of it is how deeply you listen. These guys take up space, but in a very meaningful way. That’s what a trio is all about.”

Inspiration is a funny thing. Some guitarists, like Jimi Hendrix, claim their music comes to them in waves, as if you’re being struck by a lightning bolt right out of thin air. Others, like Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana and Robben Ford, play from the heart and not the head. It’s instinctual and not something that’s tangible or can be reasoned out. A true musician really has no method for what he plays, just a passion to share and an ability to communicate clearly through music.