| 'Hillbilly rock stars' party in Tampa
The band launched into a full-throttle version of "Rock and Roll," the propulsive second track on Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album. The instantly recognizable guitar riff echoed across Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and the crowd of about 45,000 erupted in approval with decibel-defying screams. However, it wasn't Robert Plant singing the sex-crazed lyrics and offering the overheated panting in between verses - like he did in front of a record-setting Tampa Stadium crowd in 1973. No, it was good ol' girl Gretchen Wilson singing "I don't know what I've been told / But big-legged woman ain't got no soul" to the delight of thousands last Saturday. Before channeling Plant, Wilson offered an equally faithful and effective cover of Heart's roaring, classic rock staple "Barracuda." Wilson ended her set with an amps-turned-to-11 run through of her trailer girl anthem "Redneck Woman," which in terms of sound and style, owed more to the Heart and Zeppelin covers than anything recorded by Loretta Lynn or Patsy Cline.
Avenged Win Over Crowd, System Snore, Ozzy Returns To Form At Ozzfest Launch
AUBURN, Washington - Some of the sun-crisped metalheads packed into the White River Amphitheatre for the first stop on this year's 11th annual Ozzfest were skeptical of "TRL" favorites Avenged Sevenfold being on the festival's main stage. But there they were on Thursday, and the naysayers weren't about to distract the band from the mission at hand: Trying to win the crowd over. So, Avenged, led by the diamond-grilled, Axl-Rose-imitating M. Shadows, pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat by covering -- and handily at that -- a tried-and-true metal classic: Pantera's "Walk." Shadows dedicated the tune to the memory of slain Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, and about three riffs in, the audience -- even the cynics -- were sold, pumping their fists and barking the song's stilted refrain: "Re! Spect! Walk!" And for the rest of the band's set, which ended with "Bat Country," Avenged owned them all.
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.
SNAMM06: We Will Rock You Say Digitech
DigiTech have been demonstrating it at the show and have announced that they are now shipping the Brian May Red Special Artist Series Pedal. Created using the original master recordings of legendary guitarist and Queen founding member Brian May, as well as his collection of vintage instruments, effects and amps used in the studio and onstage live, the long anticipated pedal delivers the signature tones of one of rock's pioneering guitar icons, say Digitech.
The man himself, Brian May, had this to say, “This piece of gear is — in my opinion — a work of genius. An amazing DigiTech team led by legend Eddie Kramer has created a device that captures 14 of the most memorable tones I've achieved for Queen over the years. From the searing harmonically rich solo sound of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody', to the churning saturated thickness of the climax of ‘We Will Rock You', to the hitherto inimitable ‘Deacy' amp tones, which I've used for years to create ‘orchestras' of guitars on record, this device will shock you! Our hope, is that you, the guitarist of the future, will use this machine as an aid to creating your own new tones and inspire you to greater heights."
The extensive selection of tones is modeled from Brian's exclusive original set-ups, including his one-of-a-kind Deacy amp and Red Special handmade guitar.
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