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The United States of Pennsylvania
United States Featuring Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson
By Deirdre Loy
Spring is the season for birth and renewed life-so it is with the music industry as well. A new album, United States, a much self-celebrated collaboration between Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson, both originally from Pennsylvania, produced, written and performed by themselves under Mascot Records, is on the list of 'must-hears.' With Gilbert on guitar, bass, and vocals, Nelson on vocals and guitar, and the help of Matt "Muck" Muckle on drums and Emi Gilbert on keyboards, the LP has been released in Japan and now is being released in the United States.
Gilbert's tight guitar chord progressions keep the fast tracks moving along methodically with distinction and clarity of every note. Nelson's vocals are at times reminiscent of the '90's rock stars, and at other times sway from the mainstream of today to melodic harmonies that pay homage to the Beatles. The music has a classic feeling but also many contemporary interludes mixed into a more traditional rock that verge on the intensity of metal. With classic rock vocals and ripping guitar leads, this album promises a variety of styles and more than efficient instrumentals.
Paul Gilbert's previous albums show a great range in musical styling with influences ranging from blues to metal to folk, emo to punk, and every era of rock even including a jig at times. Gilbert has a slew of albums available online at Amazon.com. Freddie Nelson has a huge spectrum of influence as well, stating in his bio, "My life changed when I heard the Beatles. It changed again when I heard AC/DC. And it changed a third time when I heard Ritchie Blackmore strike the 1st chord in Highway Star."
According to Gilbert, they are touring first in Japan and hopefully they will decide to grace the title track's homeland with a few shows of our own. Find links to Gilbert's music at paulgilbert.com and Nelson's at freddienelson.com.
Vinnie Moore: To the Core
By Deirdre Loy
Another guitar heavy album is the latest by Vinnie Moore, Vinnie Moore: To The Core, released May 25. The lead solo rips of Moore with Van Romaine on drums, Tim Lehner on Keyboards, and John JD Deservio on bass, feature guitar instrumentals with strong ballad leads.
Moore’s earliest influences include Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Queen." His first experiences as a musician was in the commercial industry, but since 1987's Minds Eye, Moore has released seven albums, been featured on compilations, worked in Alice Cooper's band, and has instructional videos available online. He is also a member of the rock band UFO, and is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.
Guitar experts love Moore for his skill on the six-string, introducing heavy, melodic instrumentals, and sharp, clear precision in his style. The slide guitar on Jigsaw will make anyone feel the groove and the odd time signatures of Over My Head are highly progressive for music today. The musical styles show expansion; including certain aspects of R&B, jazz, and some strong groove that reminds of the days when rock was King.
Music News
By Jonathon Freeman-Anderson
Kanye West says Jay-Z's Blueprint 3 will be well worth the wait. "Jay is in control of everything in his domain," Kanye, the album's producer, said recently during a promotional visit for his book, "Thank You and You're Welcome." Rapper, T.I. goes to jail for a year and a day after a farewell concert to his hometown fans at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. Nick Cannon is no longer upset over Eminem's brutal lampooning of the singer and his wife, Mariah Carey, in the song, "Bagpipes from Baghdad," which appears on Eminem's new LP, "Relapse." Entertainment Weekly talked with Cannon recently about the issue. E! News reports that Chris Brown is considering the song "Trapped in a Dream" for his next album, dueting with "Carrie Underwood." "It's that kind of song." Green Day's 21st Century Break-down is not available at Wal-Mart, the country's biggest music retailer. According to The Associated Press, the superstore refuses to carry Breakdown after asking the band to edit the album for language and content and Green Day refused. "Wal-Mart's become the biggest retail outfit in the country, but they won't carry our record because they wanted us to censor it," the article quotes frontman Billie Joe Armstrong as saying. "They want artists to censor their records in order to be carried there." MTV News reports the tour with newly-reformed Blink-182 also includes Weezer, the All-American Rejects, Panic at the Disco, Taking Back Sunday, Asher Roth, Chester French, and Fall Out Boy. Sammy Hagar told Billboard.com his decision to form Chickenfoot with guitarist Joe Satriani, former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith was a challenge he desired as an artist. Pete Yorn's fourth album "Back and Fourth" hits stores on June 23, but he's scheduled to release a Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot-style duets record with actress/singer Scarlett Johansson this fall. Entitled "Break Up," the nine-song set is due September 8 via Atco/Rhino. The lead single, "Relator," is available via iTunes and streaming on the album's website. Rap artists celebrated stellar sales on the new U.K. sales charts, with Dizzee Rascal and Eminem powering straight to No. 1 on the album bestsellers. Judas Priest has chosen 10 songs not previously released in live album form for its next concert set, "A Touch of Evil: Live," which is due out July 14, in the midst of the band's U.S. summer tour. "A Touch of Evil" includes live renderings of longtime fan favorites such as "Painkiller," "Dissident Aggressor," "Riding on the Wind," "Between the Hammer & the Anvil," and "Eat Me Alive," as well as "Hellrider" from "Angel of Retribution," the group's 2004 reunion album with front man Rob Halford, and two tracks, "Death" and "Prophecy," from last year's rock opera "Nostradamus." The Beastie Boys revealed the title of their forthcoming album in an email message delivered to fans recently. "Our new record that is coming out that we finished the other day is called HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE," the group's note reads. Singer Kelly Rowland was in France last summer when she discovered DJ David Guetta at a techno show in Cannes. One of Guetta's tracks, that would become the groundwork for "When Love Takes Over," moved Rowland to tears. The former Destiny's Child member took the track to London to write and record the song's vocals. In an interview with the Web site RapRadar.com, Jay-Z thanks the label's executives and calls his time at Def Jam "a unique and fulfilling experience." Last year, Jay-Z and Live Nation struck a wide-ranging deal that included touring, publishing, and albums. Jay-Z had owed Def Jam one more record. According to co-frontman Mike Shinoda, Linkin Park is hard at work on its fourth album likely coming out in 2010. Creed frontman Scott Stapp says the reunited group is about "a week and a half away" from pre-production for its new album, tentatively titled "Full Circle." John Fogerty says that he has finished his next album, "John Fogerty: The Return of the Blue Ridge Rangers," a sequel to his 1973 solo album. Natalie Cole, the 59-year-old daughter of R&B legend Nat "King" Cole, underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recently and received a new kidney. The R&B singer, who has been battling Hepatitis C, is resting comfortably, her representative said. Michael Jackson has delayed the opening four nights of his residency at London's O2 arena. The first show of the "This Is It" tour on July 8 has been pushed back by five nights.
No Fast Lanes on a Country Road
By Deirdre Loy
Hailing from the Tri-State area of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio, is a young country musician that goes by the name of Jeffrey Michaels, who caught up with Valley Scene magazine for an interview about himself and his new album. Now in the Los Angeles market, VS wanted to know why a country singer of his caliber was interested in the west coast instead of other places geared toward the good ole' boy mentality and style. Michaels revealed that he moved out here in 1992, and when asked why he chose California instead of Nashville, Tennessee, his honest response was simply: "I tried Nashville for a bit, but growing up in a small mountain town, California always seemed like an impossible dream." The music, he states, in Nashville is pop country, whereas L.A. has more variety, which allows this crooner to stick with some of the oldies but goodies when the mood is right.
Many of the influences in Michaels' repertoire are apparent when you catch his live performances, hosting such great range that echoes style ranging from Hank William Senior's twang and awesome yodeling, to more contemporary country western styles that can make anyone dance or cry at the drop of a cowboy hat. "As a performer…I grew up watching Buck Owens on Hee Haw and as a singer I've always been a big fan of Marty Robbins, Faron Young, Jim Reeves, etc.; the guys that really sang. As a guitarist, John Denver influences me because I mainly play acoustic, but I am really influenced by the people in my band: Howard Yearwood is one of the best country pickers around and Robert Heft, our steel player, rips on guitar as well. I learn a lot from performing along side such seasoned musicians. Overall however, Rodney Crowell is my biggest influence as a writer and singer."
Michaels grew up in a house that was filled with music, and he always knew he wanted to be on the radio; "When I was 5 my older brother received a guitar for Christmas; he never touched it. I however picked it up and never put it down," and Michaels has been "picking ever since." His first experiences in performing were talent shows and other school functions. By the age of fourteen, he was already playing in bars and honky-tonks. Michaels went on his first real tour at the age of seventeen years-old with the Young American Showcase based out of Florida, performing three shows a day, covering all of the United States and parts of Canada.
Michaels told us about the new release entitled No Fast Lanes on a Country Road, featuring Jeffrey Michaels and The Trail to Heartache band members Howard Yearwood on guitar and banjo; Robert Heft on pedal steel guitar; Paul Sinacore on drums; and Mark Thomas on bass. "With every album I grow more as a writer, and a musician; this album has more story songs then my past recordings. I think the title track sums up the theme. I'm just sticking to what I do." When asked how he met the top-shelf musicians employed in his band, he said, "Everyone in the band started out as a hired gun. We went through many musicians before we got this line-up. They are four great musicians." It seems that these hired guns have been more than inspiring for Michaels as an artist. With tight chemistry between them as performers, their years of experience and talent shine through while Michaels' beaming smile and charming demeanor make for a charismatic team. "I do most of my own writing. The new album has 11 new originals plus a cover of Buck Owens' Streets of Bakersfield written by Homer Joy; I just put my own twist on it."
Watch out for Jeffrey Michaels in the near future on the radio, internet, and the local honky-tonks. His music will bring back the feeling of good ole days when times were simpler and pie was made from scratch. The public can view performance dates and listen to some samples of Michaels tunes at http://myspace.com/jeffreymichaelsmusic. Buy the album online at Best Buy, CDBaby.com, at Amoeba Records or at their shows, and become a friend of the band: "I don't really like to call the people that come out to see us 'fans.' We're blessed to have made some good friends who enjoy the music." Quality country fans can enjoy the Wild West lurking in the corners of the San Fernando Valley at a Jeffrey Michaels show in venues where jeans and a t-shirt still look just fine.