RUSH, ANTHRAX, NIKKI SIXX, JON LORD Honored At 'Classic Rock Roll Of Honour'

 

RUSH, PINK FLOYD, ZZ TOP, ANTHRAX and LYNYRD SKYNYRD were honored at this year's Classic Rock Roll Of Honour awards gala, which was held earlier tonight (Tuesday, November 13) at the Roundhouse in London, England.

The event was hosted by Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER, LOADED), with MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx presenting his "Sixx Sense" radio show from the ceremony.

Classic Rock editor-in-chief Scott Rowley said: "You would never know it from listening to the radio or watching TV — but while you were all getting excited about PSY and FUN and NICKI MINAJ, it's actually been a great year for new rock music.

"We've heard brilliant new albums from ZZ TOP, RUSH, AEROSMITH, KISS, SPRINGSTEEN, SLASH, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and VAN HALEN.

“Some great new artists are coming in to their own: RIVALS SONS, TRACER, HOWLIN' RAIN, GARY CLARK JR. — the list goes on.

"Classic Rock is proud to keep on supporting rock music, classic and brand new, and the Roll Of Honour has become a office party for the rock industry."

Classic Rock Roll Of Honour 2012 winners:

* The Living Legend Award: ZZ TOP
* Event Of The Year: Ginger Raises £250k
* Breakthrough Act Of The Year: RIVAL SONS
* The Musicians' Union Maestro Award: Phil Manzanera
* Tommy Vance Inspiration Award: Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE)
* Classic Songwriter Award: Russ Ballard
* Outstanding Contribution: THE DAMNED
* Classic Album Award: STATUS QUO 'Live!'
* V.I.P. Award: Tony Smith
* Metal Guru Award: ANTHRAX
* Best New Band: TRACER
* Album Of The Year: RUSH "Clockwork Angels"
* Reissue Of The Year: PINK FLOYD's "Immersion"
* Film/DVD Award: PINK FLOYD "The Story Of Wish You Were Here"
* Band Of The Year: RUSH
* Spirit Of Prog Award: FAMILY
* Showman Of The Year: Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE)
* Comeback Award: LYNYRD SKYNYRD

RUSH: Super Audio CD Edition Of 'Counterparts' Due Next Month

 

According to the RUSH fan site RushIsABand.com, Audio Fidelity will release an SACD (Super Audio CD) version of RUSH's 1993 album "Counterparts" in December, as well as an SACD of YES' "Close To The Edge" LP. These will be the company's first SACD releases in over 10 years.

"Counterparts" is RUSH's fifteenth studio album. It became the band's highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 on The Billboard 200.

The lyrics of "Counterparts" continue the trends of "Roll The Bones", with dark and emotional themes being the primary focus. Some songs are "heavy"-sounding tracks like "Animate" and "Stick it Out", which topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks for four weeks in late 1993, becoming the band's fifth single to do so. "Leave That Thing Alone" earned a Grammy nomination for "Best Instrumental".

Roger Powell Donates Historic Keyboard To Bob Moog Foundation

Synthesist Roger Powell Donates a Piece of History to the Bob Moog Foundation

Asheville, NC - November 14, 2012 – In celebration of its recent six-year anniversary, the non-profit Bob Moog Foundation is pleased to announce a generous donation from American synthesist Roger Powell: a dual-manual keyboard that Moog Music custom built for him in 1974. The keyboard, which Powell acquired shortly after joining Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, was part of a synthesizer comprising two Moog System 55 cabinets housing a host of modules.

“The keyboard was designed to my specifications,” says Powell. “Bob himself worked on the mixer circuit design.” Powell had been doing clinics for Moog Music in the U.S. and Europe, sometimes with Bob Moog when the system was assembled for touring with Utopia.

Like a lot of Moog gear, Powell’s keyboard comes with a fascinating story:

“After the first evening of a two-night booking in Cleveland, the custom keyboard was stolen from the stage. Strangely, the modular system cabinets were left untouched. My guess is that the thief believed the keyboard itself to be playable, as it resembled a two-manual organ. A few years later, the System 55s were destroyed in a warehouse fire, thus removing all remnants of the original system.

“In 2002, much to my surprise, the missing keyboard was listed on eBay. The person offering the keyboard had no idea it had been stolen and was not the thief. (He was younger than the age of the keyboard.) I was able to negotiate its return and have held onto it since, hoping to refurbish it but never completing that project.

“After Bob’s demise and the creation of the Bob Moog Foundation, it occurred to me that the custom keyboard deserved to be in a place where it can serve as my personal tribute to my dear friend Bob Moog. Bob and I spent some very happy times together; I will always remember laughing a lot with him, as we both shared an acerbic, wisecracking sense of humor.”

The Bob Moog Foundation is honored to accept Powell’s donation, and we look forward to restoring the keyboard to its original condition. Our goal is to display it publicly so that, in Powell’s words, “People can enjoy seeing it and hearing about its interesting past.”

The Bob Moog Foundation is quick becoming a repository for a variety of donated artifacts from music and synthesizer enthusiasts from all over the world. The foundation is stewarding the preservation of donated items including: synthesizers, controllers, photos, schematics, correspondence, equipment, literature and more. Interested donors can contact the foundation at info@moogfoundation.org. 

Woodenhead 37 year anniversary show Friday night

Long running New Orleans electric instrumental band Woodnhead will celebrate 37 years of obscurity with a gig at

 Carrollton Station in New Orleans this Friday, November 16th.

 Guitarist/founder Jimmy Robinson, keyboard player Fran Comiskey, drummer Mark Whitaker and bassist Paul Clement will be joined by guests 

The Bonerama Horns (Mark Mullins, Greg Hicks and Craig Klien) guitarist Cranston Clements and 2 former members,

 drummer James "Animal" Comiskey and bassist Lenny Jenkins.

 The show should start around 9:30, will go long in to the wee hours, and will be recorded and filmed.

This will be the last Woodenhead gig at Eric Orlando's Carrollton Station, as he is, after 10 years of running his great venue is moving on.

 He will be missed, and we look forward to sending him off in style.

Woodenhead

New Orleans legendary electric instrumental band

1975-2012

Woodenhead has emerged as probably the most important and certainly the most fascinating musical unit New Orleans has seen in years...adamantly original, almost spiritual.." Eddie Allman, BATON ROUGE MORNING ADVOCATE

"Ya'll suck!" audience member, Laplace Speedway, 1979

"Jimmy Robinson is a major talent who could easily become one of Austin's guitar heroes.."

Michael Point, AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN

"Why Ya'll play dat music dat make people fight?" Audience member, 1978 after huge brawl breaks out among frenzied Bridge City Gumbo Festival attendees during Woodenhead's set

"A great band. Really great feeling" JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, 1985

"They've been around forever. They're not really happening" Editor of defunct New Orleans music magazine at meeting for defunct music conference. 1986

"At the New Orleans jazz festival, Woodenhead gets a standing ovation for teaching traditional jazz fans just how far imagination and electricity can push the form" ESQUIRE MAGAZINE

"Woodenhead is not for the faint-hearted, musically or in spirit...they play a hard-driving, challenging

 music that will literally rock you out of the comfortable cradle of Jazz, R&B and rock and roll into which life in New Orlesans has lulled you." Rock Adam GAMBIT

"The guitar is way too loud" audience member, Cat's Cradle, Chapel Hill, N.C. June 15, 1985

"I can't hear the guitar at all" audience member, Cat's Cradle, Chapel Hill, N.C. June 15, 1985

"Robinson is a killer guitarist, capable of removing the heads of most head banging metal freaks. He is also 'tasty' in the old-fashioned sense, rarely letting speed overtake the essentials." Mark Bingham, WAVELENGTH MAGAZINE

"You boys need some uniforms" Jimmy Robinson's grandfather repeatedly from 1975 until his passing in the mid-eighties.

"An innovative band of extraordinary instrumentalists"...TRIANGLE LIVE, Winston-Salem, N.C.

A band dedicated to creating music of the highest integrity, and not compromising during their three decades of performances and recordings." MJ Brady PROGNOSIS

"It's kind of painful to my ear" Audience member, Tipitina's, 1980

RUSH: Phoenix And Dallas Concerts To Be Filmed For Upcoming DVD

 

Canadian rock legends RUSH will capture the "Clockwork Angels" tour by filming in Phoenix and Dallas on November 25 and November 28,
respectively. The shows are being recorded for a DVD release in 2013.

RUSH kicked off the "Clockwork Angels" world tour on September 7 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In addition to adding a lot of rarely played songs to their opening set, RUSH is bringing a string ensemble out on tour with the band for the first
time ever in its career. Orchestrations provided by well-known arranger David Campbell were used on several tracks from the band's new album, "Clockwork Angels", and RUSH is recreating that sound during the current tour.

RUSH's North American tour will wrap on December 2 in Houston, Texas.

"Clockwork Angels" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, selling 103,000 copies in its first week of release. The disc marked RUSH 's highest chart debut since 1993's "Counterparts", which also entered at No. 2.