Guitarist, Composer, Instructor
Sending out thoughts to Tom Hamilton bassist for Aerosmith. He left the recent Australian tour with a chest infection.
Not many bands that I would miss the bass player, but, Aerosmith without any of their original lineup would be lacking.
Cheers Tom, hope your feeling better and back your post at stage left soon!
Boston is such a great music city, thought I would share some of my favorite bands from Beantown today as the city looks for some normalcy!!
Boston is such a great music city, thought I would share some of my favorite bands from Beantown today as the city looks for some normalcy!!
Boston is such a great music city, thought I would share some of my favorite bands from Beantown today as the city looks for some normalcy!!
Boston is such a great music city, thought I would share some of my favorite bands from Beantown today as the city looks for some normalcy!!
It’s going to be a great week! I feel it in my bones. Thus I thought I would kick it off with a solid, good ol’ fashioned, rockin’ tune from my past. Van Halen’s “Runnin’ With the Devil.” Remember the days when bands actually had guitar solos?? Still one of the coolest album covers.
I can’t believe this song is 35 years old already…
Make it a great week! Enjoy!
The playoff got a little biblical Sunday as Australia’s Adam Scott defeated Argentina’s Angel Cabrera…well maybe that’s a little heavy!
Congrats to Adam Scott for being the first Aussie ever to win the Masters! No ghosts of Greg Norman, the Shark, in 2013. Cabrera played great in the two hole playoff but Scott took it from him on a brilliant putt. Thats the way you like to see a major won.
A musical tribute, in honor of the Australian victory…We Salute You!!!
Can’t even imagine what song I would’ve had to pick if Tiger Woods won???
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I cant believe this album is 33 years old today. I was young when Van Halen originally debuted in 1978 and I didn’t really know about them until after their fourth album, “Fair Warning,” my favorite VH alum, which was released in 1981. The upside to this was I had four incredible guitar albums to digest at one time including this one. When you are 12 years old and have nothing else to do, I really got to delve into these collections, “Van Halen,” “Van Halen II,” and the two previously mentioned albums.
Last night I watched, “Argo.” Yes, I know I am the last to see it. Director, Ben Affleck, utilized Van Halen’s, “Dance the Night Away,” to create the vibe of 1979/1980. This did put into perspective how old these albums are. Images of Jimmy Carter, Ayatollah Khomeini and the whole Iranian Hostage Crisis were memories from my childhood. Glad the music sounds fresher today than these old news stories!
“Women & Children,” the bands third album, was a little heavier in sound then their first two albums. A trend that continued through, “Fair Warning,” which was the bands worst selling album, although critically at least in my opinion and the fans I know, their best! Of note, on Women and Children, was Eddie Van Halen a notable pianist, as well as, guitarist’s first effort using keyboards on a VH recording. Ironically the sound of the keyboards on “And the Cradle Will Rock…,” was masked by running the sound through a guitar amplifier and virtually sounding, well, like a guitar. Also ironic is the fact that the use of keyboards propelled Van Halen’s popularity with songs like, “Jump,” “I’ll Wait,” and many of the Van Hagar Era hits.
In 2012 the boys teamed up once again with frontman David Lee Roth for a new album, “A Different Kind of Truth,” and subsequent tour. The best part of this tour was the fact they could play the true Van Halen songs that Sammy Hagar would never sing. From, Women and Children, they included, “Everybody Wants Some,” “And the Cradle Will Rock…,” and “Romeo Delight.” Check out the Setlist from the San Diego show, June 14, 2012.
Here’s to listening to these albums in another 33 years! Watch out grandkids cause you will be the wrath of my old man tunes!!!
This video contains the complete album, 33 minutes in length.
Enjoy!
The first concert I ever went to was Ozzy Osbourne, January 4, 1982 at the San Diego Sports Arena. I remember it like it was yesterday. The only bummer about this show was that it was right after Christmas vacation from school. Since I was counting down the days until the show I was in essence counting down my vacation….
But, not only was it an Ozzy show, it was Ozzy with Randy Rhoads. Randy Rhoads the guitar legend who would tragically be killed in an airplane crash just over two months after this show. I can still picture the crushed students at my Junior High School wearing black armbands. That was the cool way to pay tribute to a fallen rock idol in those days. John Bonham and Bon Scott were two others so honored, I recall. I always cherish the fact I was lucky enough to see Randy live and my first concert!!
Randy was the first guitar hero to blend a classical approach with heavy metal. Most guitarists at the time were more blues/rock influenced. With only two studio recordings, “Blizzards of Ozz,” and “Diary of a Madman,” to his credit, Randy has left a huge legacy regardless. His influence still reaches out today 31 years after his death to new generations of guitarists.
RIP RR
“SATO,” is a cool song, maybe not one of Randy’s classics. I picked this video as it does a great job featuring him!
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 