JON LORD Music To Be Celebrated By Germany’s Philharmonic Orchestra

According to JonLord.org, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hagen, Germany will celebrate former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord's music at several of their concerts this year.

Working from plans put in motion early last year, this spring will see the orchestra perform five of Jon's pieces; "The Cathedral At Dawn", a segment of his "Durham Concerto"; "Diguises", released on the "Boom Of The Tingling Strings" album; "From Darkness To Light" in a brand new arrangement for full orchestra; "To Notice Such Things" and "Sarabande".

The dates are as folows:

February 28

Jon Lord: The Cathedral At Dawn

Peter Tschaikowski: Violinkonzert

Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Sinfonie Nr. 9

April 24

Jon Lord: Disguises

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Violinkonzert

Franz Schubert: Sinfonie Nr. 6

May 15

Jon Lord: From Darkness To Light (World premiere of version for large orchestra)

Jean Sibelius: Sinfonie Nr. 5

June 12

Johannes Brahms: Haydn-Variationen

Jon Lord: To Notice Such Things

Johannes Brahms: Violinkonzert

July 6

Jon Lord: Sarabande

All concerts take place at Hagen's Stadthalle, and Jon Lord is not scheduled to appear.

Lord revealed last summer that he was fighting cancer. Jon Lord is recognized for his Hammond organ blues-rock playing and unique sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms. He has most famously been a member of DEEP PURPLE, the band he co-founded in 1968. Lord last year received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Leicester.

ADRENALINE MOB Announces Long Island In-Store Appearance

ADRENALINE MOB — the band featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen and guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP) — will take part in an exclusive Samson- and Zoom-sponsored autograph signing at the following location:

Tuesday, March 13

7:00 p.m.

Looney Tunes

31 Brookvale Avenue

West Babylon, NY 11704

631-587-7722

The band will be signing autographs, meeting fans and taking pictures.

ADRENALINE MOB's debut album, "Omertá", will be released in Europe on March 19 in Europe via Century Media Records. The CD will be made available in the U.S. on March 13 through the newly formed Elm City Music in conjunction with EMI Label Services.

The 11-song effort — which was produced by ADRENALINE MOB and mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked on ANTHRAX's "Worship Music" and STEEL PANTHER's "Balls Out" — includes a blistering reinterpretation of DURAN DURAN's classic "Come Undone" featuring guest vocals by Lzzy Hale of HALESTORM.

"Omertá" track listing:

01. Undaunted

02. Psychosane

03. Indifferent

04. All On The Line

05. Hit The Wall

06. Feelin' Me

07. Come Undone (feat. Lzzy Hale)

08. Believe Me

09. Down To The Floor

10. Angel Sky

11. Freight Train

ADRENALINE MOB earlier in the month announced the addition of DISTURBED bassist John Moyer to the group's ranks.

Moyer will make his live debut with ADRENALINE MOB on March 12 at Hiro Ballroom in New York City.

Said Moyer in a statement: "Mike Portnoy called me about auditioning for his new band ADRENALINE MOB. He had heard through the grapevine that I was looking to stay busy while DISTURBED is on hiatus. After jamming with Russ, Mike Orlando, and Portnoy, the chemistry as musicians was undeniable. I am super stoked about

joining 'The Family' and I can't wait to hit the road with these guys

and see what kind of musical mayhem we can create!"

ADRENALINE MOB will perform at several European festivals this summer, including Graspop Metal Meeting (June 22-24 in Dessel, Belgium) and Gods Of Metal (June 21-24 in Milan, Italy).

ADRENALINE MOB's first-ever headline tour made stops in various markets, including Chicago, Denver and San Francisco. ADRENALINE MOB also opened for GODSMACK on select dates of the Massachusetts act's headlining tour.

ADRENALINE MOB formed in early 2011 when Orlando approached Allen with some material the guitarist had written. Allen and Orlando refined those ideas, at which time Allen reached out to longtime friend Portnoy to see if he had any interest in playing with them. Portnoy jumped on board and soon thereafter DiLeo and Ward were recruited to join the family. From the very first note, the chemistry was apparent and the beast that is known as ADRENALINE MOB was born.

Guitarist Rich Ward (STUCK MOJO, FOZZY) and bassist Paul DiLeo (FOZZY) announced their departures from ADRENALINE MOB last month due to scheduling conflicts with their other projects.

DEEP PURPLE's IAN PAICE To Perform At 'Buddy Rich 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert'

The Buddy Rich 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert takes place for

the first time in the U.K. at the world-famous London Palladium on April 2. The world-class lineup is confirmed as Dave Weckl, Gregg Bissonette, John Blackwell and Gregg Potter from the USA with Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Ginger Baker, Gavin Harrison and Elliott Henshaw from the U.K. Plus singing supremo Tony Christie will also appear.

One of legendary drummer Buddy Rich's last requests to his daughter, Cathy, was to keep his band working, his music alive, and to do something for young people. No easy task, but eventually Cathy decided that an annual memorial concert seemed the way to go. The first sellout memorial concert was in 1988 at the celebrated Carnegie Hall in New York. Since then, shows have followed in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Boston with the who’s who of the drumming world taking part and the

shows being described as the "The Greatest Drum Show Of All Time."

Artists to grace the stage in previous years have included Mel Tormé, Joe Williams, Stan Getz, Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta and Dennis Chambers.

This year, on the exact date of the 25th anniversary of Buddy's death, it is the turn of the London Palladium to host this prestigious

event. The show, co-hosted by Cathy herself, features the U.S.-based BUDDY RICH BIG BAND supported by U.K. session musicians who used to play with Buddy. Cathy will also present Lifetime Achievement Awards to three rock drumming legends.

On his involvement, the highly-respected Dave Weckl said, "Anytime I get to pay tribute to one of the greatest players of

our instrument, I am first in line. To be able to play with a great BIG BAND and play songs from the Buddy Rich book is one of my favorite things to do as a drummer." Joining Dave Weckl are Gregg Bissonette, known most recently for his work with the Ringo Starr band; John Blackwell, currently playing with Prince; and Gregg Potter from the BUDDY RICH BIG BAND. From the U.K., DEEP PURPLE's distinguished drummer, Ian Paice; the renowned CREAM drummer, Ginger Baker; respected session drummer Gavin Harrison; and Elliott Henshaw, veteran of over 20 West End shows and drummer for Tony Christie.

Tickets are available from the box office on 0844 412 4657 or online at www.seetickets.com and are priced from £25 to £60. VIP tickets are available on a strictly limited basis only. They include the best seats in the house, an opportunity to meet the headline artists, admission to the after-show party and signed merchandise.

SOURCE: RNR

JON LORD Music To Be Celebrated By Germany’s Philharmonic Orchestra

According to JonLord.org, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Hagen, Germany will celebrate former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord's music at several of their concerts this year.

Working from plans put in motion early last year, this spring will see the orchestra perform five of Jon's pieces; "The Cathedral At Dawn", a segment of his "Durham Concerto"; "Diguises", released on the "Boom Of The Tingling Strings" album; "From Darkness To Light" in a brand new arrangement for full orchestra; "To Notice Such Things" and "Sarabande".

The dates are as folows:

February 28
Jon Lord: The Cathedral At Dawn
Peter Tschaikowski: Violinkonzert
Dmitri Schostakowitsch: Sinfonie Nr. 9

April 24
Jon Lord: Disguises
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Violinkonzert
Franz Schubert: Sinfonie Nr. 6

May 15
Jon Lord: From Darkness To Light (World premiere of version for large orchestra)
Jean Sibelius: Sinfonie Nr. 5

June 12
Johannes Brahms: Haydn-Variationen
Jon Lord: To Notice Such Things
Johannes Brahms: Violinkonzert

July 6
Jon Lord: Sarabande

All concerts take place at Hagen's Stadthalle, and Jon Lord is not scheduled to appear.

Lord revealed last summer that he was fighting cancer.

Jon Lord is recognized for his Hammond organ blues-rock playing and unique sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque
forms. He has most famously been a member of DEEP PURPLE, the band he co-founded in 1968.

Lord last year received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Leicester.

MIKE PORTNOY On FLYING COLORS' Debut Album: 'The Diversity Element Is Pretty Crazy'

FLYING COLORS — the spectacular new virtuoso prog/pop/metal rock band formed by drummer Mike Portnoy (ex-DREAM THEATER) and guitarist Steve Morse (DEEP PURPLE) — will release its self-titled debut album via Music Theories Recordings in the U.K. on Monday, March 26, followed by a U.S. release on Tuesday, March 27.

FLYING COLORS is Mike Portnoy (drums, vocals), Dave LaRue (bass), Neal Morse (keyboards, vocals), Casey McPherson (lead vocals, guitar), and Steve Morse (lead guitar).

"I
think if most people looked at this band on piece of paper, they would
think that it would be very progressive and instrumentally based music,
but I think once we started playing together, we got taken into all new
directions," Portnoy told Audio Ink Radio. "I think a lot of that had to do with Casey, because Casey comes from a more modern rock and alternative rock background, so I
think that really helped take the entire band in new directions."

He added, "The diversity element is pretty crazy. It ranges from poppy classic rock sounds like THE BEATLES and QUEEN all the way to modern rock and alternative bands like RADIOHEAD, MUSE and COLDPLAY, and everything in-between. There’s some prog stuff like YES thrown in, as well, and then there are moments that are like the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS or FOO FIGHTERS. So, it really runs the gamut from track to track."

"Flying Colors" track listing:

01. Blue Ocean
02. Shoulda Coulda Woulda
03. Love Is What I’m Waiting For
04. The Storm
05. Kayla
06. Forever In A Daze
07. Everything Changes
08. Better Than Walking
09. All Falls Down
10. Fool In My Heart
11. Infinite Fire

The formation of FLYING COLORS began with a simple idea: virtuoso musicians and a pop singer joining
together to make new-fashioned music the old-fashioned way. Refreshing, classic, old and new, the recordings are saturated with the many
styles, tones and hues of the players who in becoming a band have
delivered a unique fusion of vintage craftsmanship and contemporary
music.

In 2008, executive producer Bill Evans brought the idea to the world-renowned musicians and producer Peter Collins. Intrigued by the idea and the prospect of working together, the four
musicians signed on to form a band and record a first album.

Steve Morse and Dave LaRue have developed magical music chemistry over the years that began early in their careers as partners in DIXIE DREGS. In 1995, Morse subsequently became a member of DEEP PURPLE, while LaRue's ongoing musical adventures include Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Steve Vai, and the aforementioned Portnoy.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and singer Neal Morse is one of the leading figures in progressive rock, whose notoriety follows his co-founding of the seminal band, SPOCK'S BEARD in 1995, recordings as a solo artist, and contributions to the super-group TRANSATLANTIC.

Mike Portnoy is one of the most popular and respected drummers in both metal and
rock, and an accomplished writer and producer. He is the recipient of
numerous industry accolades, including 26 Modern Drummer awards, Revolver magazine's Golden God award for "Best Drummer" and Drum magazine's "Drummer Of The Year". He rose to prominence as the leader, drummer, producer, and co-writer for metal/prog juggernaut DREAM THEATER, before moving on in 2010. That same year, he worked on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's #1 album "Nightmare" and their subsequent tour.

It was Portnoy who recommended ALPHA REV's emotive singer Casey McPherson as a contender to join FLYING COLORS. McPherson, whose 2010 Hollywood/Disney album "New Morning" debuted in the Top 5 on two Billboard charts, enjoyed major success at radio with multiple hits. The track "New Morning" spent 17 weeks in the Top 10 on Triple A Radio, and enjoyed a run on VH1's Top 20 Countdown for months. Steve Morse offers, "Casey was a glorious find, because he could make anything sound fantastic, and is a multitalented like the others."

FLYING COLORS convened for just nine days in early 2011, and composed and recorded this album during a short and intense session.

Touring plans for FLYING COLORS will be announced in the coming months.

OCEANS OF TIME Releases Debut Album

Norwegian progressive metallers OCEANS OF TIME have just released their debut album, "Faces", via Melodic Revolution Records. Two years in the making, the CD contains 10 original songs with a running time of 55 minutes. It was recorded at Oceans Studios and was mixed and mastered by Tommy Hansen (HELLOWEEN, PRETTY MAIDS, IRON FIRE, JORN) at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark.

Formed in 2005 by guitarist Lazz Jensen, OCEANS OF TIME played a lot of gigs between 2005 and 2008 which helped them establish themselves as one of the premier local bands. In 2009 OCEANS OF TIME took a break from touring to concentrate on writing and recording its debut CD.

"Faces" track listing:

01. Quest For Mystery
02. Walls Of Silence
03. The Beast
04. Faces
05. Kingdom Falls
06. A Touch Of Insanity
07. Roar Of Organs
08. Uncertainty
09. Panic
10. You're So Cold

OCEANS OF TIME is:

Ken Lyngfoss - Vocals
Lasse "Lazz" Jensen - Guitar
Nickolas Main Henriksen - Synth
Geir Nilsen - Bass
Baard Kolstad - Drums

NIGHTWISH: 'Imaginaerum' Certified Gold In Poland

"Imaginaerum", the new album from Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH, has been certified gold in Poland for sales in excess of 10,000 copies.

As previously reported, "Imaginaerum" was certified gold in Switzerland, Slovakia and Germany.

The effort entered the official chart in Finland at position No. 1 and has already been certifield triple platinum in the country after shifting more than 60,000 units.

NIGHTWISH has now sold more than 1,000,000 albums in Germany.

"Imaginaerum" sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's
previous CD, 2007's "Dark Passion Play", opened with 11,000 units to land at No. 84.

"Dark Passion Play" has sold more than 130,000 copies in the U.S. so far, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"Imaginaerum" was released in North America on January 10 via Roadrunner Records.

The track listing for the CD is as follows (note that track 12 is broken down into four parts):

01. Taikatalvi
02. Storytime
03. Ghost River
04. Slow, Love, Slow
05. I Want My Tears Back
06. Scaretale
07. Arabesque
08. Turn Loose the Mermaids
09. Rest Calm
10. The Crow, the Owl and the Dove
11. Last Ride of the Day
12. Song Of Myself
Song 1: From A Dusty Bookshelf
Song 2: All That Great Heart Lying Still
Song 3: Piano Black
Song 4: Love
13. Imaginaerum

MASTODON To Perform On 'Last Call With Carson Daly'

Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODON will perform on the Febraury 20 episode of NBC-TV's "Last Call With Carson Daly"

"Last Call With Carson Daly" airs on NBC at 1:35 a.m. Eastern.

MASTODON will hit the road for a spring North American tour in support of their current album "The Hunter", which was released by Reprise Records in September. The tour kicks off on April 4 in Portland, Maine, and
visits more than 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada before wrapping up
with a hometown show at Atlanta's Masquerade Music Park on May 12. These shows will feature an amazing night of powerful music featuring a dream bill with Swedish metal band OPETH as co-headliners, with special guest GHOST providing support on all dates. Collectively MASTODON has stated: "We're excited to co-headline this tour with OPETH for whom we have great respect and admiration. Having GHOST along as well will make this tour a special event." Tickets go on sale February 3 and February 4. There will be a fan presale scheduled to
begin at 3 p.m. local venue time on Wednesday, February 1 available only at MastodonRocks.com.

MASTODON is among the nominees for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2012 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The band's Grammy nomination is for "Curl Of The Burl", the first single from MASTODON's new album, "The Hunter".

MASTODON received its first Grammy nomination in 2006 for the single "Colony Of Birchmen", from the band's Reprise Records debut album, "Blood Mountain".

JETHRO TULL's IAN ANDERSON Reflects On His 'Metal' GRAMMY Win

METALLICA was nominated for the very first "Hard Rock/Metal Performance" Grammy in 1989, but famously lost to JETHRO TULL, a band distinguished mainly by its heavy use of flute. Fans (and even some audience members) were rightly outraged, though TULL's record label tried to make light of the faux pas by placing a Billboard ad that read, "The flute is a heavy, metal instrument."

With the 2012 Grammys coming up this Sunday, Powerline asked JETHRO TULL's vocalist Ian Anderson to recount that historic day when JETHRO TULL was given the award for best hard rock/metal performer.

"I probably get (the question) a lot more when I'm talking to American writers than I do [at home in England]," says Ian Anderson. "It's not really a big deal over here. It was in a year where it was a
new category for 'hard rock' forward slash 'metal' and that category
still exists today … and we were, for some strange reason, nominated.
And at the time no one paid any attention to the fact that we were
nominated. There was not a peep out of anyone. Because they thought
there's no way JETHRO TULL are gonna win it. Nor IGGY POP, nor JANE'S ADDICTION. It's going to be METALLICA because they were the huge, new, straight-out-of-the-box, enormous, hit talent that year and everybody took it for granted that METALLICA were gonna win the Grammy, including METALLICA themselves. And when it was ordered to JETHRO TULL, to a barrage of boos and hisses and gasps of disbelief, I'd like to
think that it wasn't that the six thousand voting members of the National Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences were voting for JETHRO TULL as a heavy rock band or a heavy metal band. They gave us the award because we were a bunch of nice guys who never won a Grammy before. And sad to relate, even after all these years, there is still
no category for best one-legged flute player. Otherwise, I'd be winning
it every year."

He continues, "And as we said at the time, METALLICA were an exciting new band. and they will be sure to win the Grammy next year and indeed they did. And to prove the point that heavy metal
bands do have a sense of humor, they took out a full page ad in Billboard when they won the Grammy, thanking their record producer, their record company, their mums, their dads, their brothers, the family dog and JETHRO TULL for not bringing out a new album that year."

SOURCE: RNR

SPOCK'S BEARD Brings Fans 'The X Tour Live' On New Multi-Disc Set

"The X Tour Live", the new release from progressive rockers SPOCK'S BEARD, out February 14 on Music Theories Recordings, documents the one and only American show from the acclaimed band's tour in support of their last studio album, "X".
Being spread out geographically makes live shows in the band's Los Angeles-area home base a rarity these days, but SPOCK'S BEARD was afforded the opportunity to do a one-off with CalProg promoter Jim Harrel at the Downey Civic Theater in Downey, California, during area rehearsals for an upcoming European tour.
"Jim Harrel puts on a helluva good production, so we really didn't have to stress out about technical details," said bassist Dave Meros. "He brought in a great sound system, lights, the venue was deluxe, and he treated us right."
Atthe time, there was no intention of recording a live album. "It was just a chance to play in the USA for a change, which we don't do nearly enough of," Meros said. "But the venue was already set up for 32-track digital recording and some friends of ours wanted to take a run at recording video as well, so it just kind of fell into our lap."
Meros admits that recording the first show of a tour is not the wisest of decisions in most cases, but for SPOCK'S BEARD, it couldn't have worked out better.
"The first couple of shows are when kinks are worked out and we gain confidence playing the set," said Meros. "We figured if we made some little mistakes here and there we could cover them up in the mix, and if the whole thing was horrible we could just simply not release it. But fortunately we had a pretty good show. Rob Aubrey did an absolutely superb job mixing the CD and DVD audio, so it sounds fantastic. The feedback has been great so far."
"The X Tour Live" is a two-CD set, and will also be available in a limited edition deluxe version that includes a bonus live DVD with exclusive extra features such as a photo slide show, backstage and rehearsal footage, a version of "Their Names Escape Me" without the names but a killer sax solo, and also a time lapse video of the stage setup.
SPOCK'S BEARD has established itself as the crème de la crème of modern progressive rock. Not simply a musician's band, SPOCK'S BEARD has also mastered the art of penning catchy, harmony-driven songs that will appeal to any fan of well-written pop songs. The music of SPOCK'S BEARD is a reflection of their varied influences, which include classical, pop, rock, jazz and jazz fusion, and R&B, while their intricate multi-part vocal harmonies and use of counterpoint add a whole other dimension.

SOURCE: RNR