| New Black Label Society Album Details
NEW YORK (RoadRunner Records) - New endorsement deals, scoring for ESPN, and an up-coming headlining tour prepare Zakk for world domination! Legendary Grammy winning guitarist Zakk Wylde and his band Black Label Society (BLS) are preparing to release their new studio album Shot To Hell on September 12th. Produced by Zakk and executive produced by Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers) this latest offering is his 8th album since becoming Ozzy Osbourne's lead guitarist and co-songwriter 20 years ago. Shot to Hell is the first BLS release for Roadrunner and follows the band's success of selling nearly 2 million albums in the U.S. to date. Currently headlining the second stage at Ozzfest, BLS will announce a US headlining tour shortly. The buzz is already starting to build dramatically as the September 12th release date approaches.
Weekend Beat/ Axmen of air strike invisible chords
It happens all the time--adolescent boys get interested in guitars to attract girls. At 13, Tatsuya Kobayashi was no different. He bought an electric guitar and a small amp for 30,000 yen at a local music store in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture. Secretly dreaming of passionate glances from teen bunnies, he struggled to master the instrument, following directions in a how-to guitar manual. Alas, he soon discovered there was more to it than he'd imagined. Just randomly plucking at the six strings wasn't working. Kobayashi's fantasy collided with reality and lost. He gave up. The guitar became a dusty ornament in his room. Ten years passed. It was a weekday night in May. The rock club Shinjuku Loft Plus One was packed. Rage Against the Machine's "Guerrilla Radio" burst out of the club's sound system.
Rock stinks? No, but for Geils, jazz and blues smell sweeter
He's gone from J. to Jay and from rock to jazz and blues. Smoky bars and concert arenas have transformed into jazz haunts and clubs, and leather and jeans have been replaced by a jacket and tie. For Jay Geils, the days of rocking with frontman Peter Wolf and the J. Geils Band are a universe away. These days, it's jazz, blues and swing from the likes of Count Basie and Duke Ellington that make his guitar sing. So, don't expect to hear "Centerfold," "Love Stinks" or "Freeze Frame" - a few of J. Geils' '70s and '80s hits - when the now 60-year-old ex-rock 'n' roller takes the stage tomorrow to kick off the season at Maudslay Arts Center in Newburyport. The reinvented Geils will be flanked by Gerry Beaudoin and their quintet for an evening of seminal jazz in the outdoor amphitheater.
Disposable Nation
In my teenage years, I was pretty handy with cars. Being decidedly working-class, we Jowerses favored used cars, somewhere between two and 10 years old. I did my own tune-ups, replaced my own rusted-out exhaust systems, stripped wrecked cars for parts and put those parts on my own cars. On any given day, I could fix just about any given car problem and get to where I wanted to go. But I felt the winds of change one day when my daddy, Jabo Jowers, pulled into the driveway with a lightly used 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire. Jabo opened the hood like men did in those days when they wanted to show off a car. “Look here, boy," he said. “They tell me this thing's got a turbocharger." I looked into the cramped little engine compartment, which had tubes and wires crammed together so tight that there was no room for human hands or Craftsman wrenches.
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