By Ian Liberman
THE CROWDFUNDING TREND
There was a time when artists and creative types had to rely upon larger entities to bring their projects to fruition. The challenge in the creative process in those situations was having to worry about corporate influence.
As a result, some artists will use crowdfunding campaigns that take the corporate influence out of the equation by going directly to the fans. The goal of these campaigns is to have a compelling enough sales pitch that fans will want to contribute to help fund various projects (albums, tours, books, movies, etc.).
I am going to keep an eye on two specific crowdfunding campaigns over the next few months and report back on the results in future Inferno Of Rock columns.
Rockfest In The Park 2017 – Get Ready For Action
The first project is called Rockfest In The Park 2017 – Get Ready For Action. This two-day festival will take place the first weekend of April in Sunrise, Florida. Last year’s lineup included a number of well-known ‘80s hard rock artists. Click here to check out the Kickstarter campaign.
The History of Metal and Horror
The second project is a film called The History of Metal and Horror. The filmmaker for this project is Mike Schiff, whose resume includes working on The Howard Stern Show for eight years.
In this documentary, both horror and metal artists will be discussing the integration of the two genres into horror movies. A number of interviews with metal and horror artists have already been conducted to date. For a complete list of the people that have been interviewed, check out the project’s Indiegogo campaign.
THE ROCK OPERA REVIVAL
I have always defined a “rock opera” as a collection of rock, hard rock or metal tunes linked together by a specified thematic storyline or the metaphorical contrast of sequential ideas that were held together through characterization. My personal favorites include: The Who`s Tommy, Green Day`s American Idiot, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, and 2112 by Rush.
A recent addition to the rock opera category is Dream Theater’s latest release, The Astonishing. The album tells the story of a dystopian United States of the next three hundred years, brought on by political change. The band will be performing this rock opera on the road over the next six months.
At long last, Jim Steinman’s rock opera, Bat Out of Hell, will be turned into stage musical. This is the great supernatural love story will be start in previews on Feb. 17, 2017 at Manchester Opera House in England and will eventually play in Canada as well.
Avatar will be touring with their new rock opera entitled Feathers and Flesh, where animals become metaphors for humans.
And of course, with the Christmas season fast approaching, Trans-Siberian Orchestra will once again be performing their annual rock opera, The Ghosts of Christmas Eve. This is the ninth year of the performance that has become synonymous with Christmas.
“THE BEATLES: EIGHT DAYS A WEEK”
Featuring actual words from the band and audio dissertations of those who surrounded them, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week is a movie that chronicles the band’s touring years between 1962-1966.
Viewers get to watch a whole concert as the tour progresses through different cities. Ron Howard chose to focus the movie from an era of The Beatles where there was an emphasis on the guitar.
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week is now available on DVD and on demand.
THE BEATLES’ INFLUECE ON HARD ROCK MUSIC
Two hard rock bands that were influenced by The Beatles are Ozzy Osbourne and Slipknot. Ozzy has stated in an interview that The Beatles’ music had a tremendous influence on much of the early Black Sabbath material.
Most Nu-Metal bands of a younger generation found The Beatles to be outside their line of fire, but not Slipknot. They recognized the band’s creativity and implemented their style into their own music. Corey Taylor has stated in recent interviews that Slipknot’s next album will take on the same ambiance and style as the classic album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
INTERGALACTIC HEAVY METAL
Billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk (Tesla Motors, PayPal, Space X) is getting ready to organize a colony on Mars. The heavy metal band Raptor Command has devoted a whole cd to to the life and times of Elon Musk.
LEGENDARY ROCK AND ROLL ADULT COMIC BOOKS
Comic books are not just for kids, especially some that pay homage to rock legends who passed away earlier this year (Motorhead’s Lemmy and David Bowie).
Lemmy: Colour the Ace of Spades and David Bowie: Colour the Starman are both collections of adult comic books based on these talented, creative, deceased rockers. They are biographical in nature, and reflect a personal look at both stars’ personal interaction with the music and people that they encountered during their respective lifetimes. The comics are manufactured by Feral House comics and will be available for Christmas. Click here to read the entire story.
INFERNO OF ROCK TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
If trivia is up your alley, make sure to check out the Inferno of Rock Trivia Card Game available on Amazon or worldwide from Rock From Hell.
OCTOBER 2016 TRIVIA QUESTIONS
- Who bought out the rights for usage of the movie entitled School of Rock to be used for a play that will open in London`s famed West End starting October 24th? [A] Tim Rice [B] Andrew Lloyd Webber [C] Bono
- What is the present name of Richard Christy`s metal band, and why do we know his name even though his band is unsigned?
- Which artist does not have a direct relationship with horror movies? [A] Rob Zombie [B] Thousand Foot Krutch [C] Kiss
SEPTEMBER 2016 TRIVIA QUESTIONS
- Name the band that is not a punk band… [A] The Jam, [B] Killing Joke, [C] Gentle Giant
- Who replaced Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple for a temporary time in the ’90s? [A] Slash, [B] Joe Satriani, [C] Randy Rhodes.
- The Tragically Hip got its name from a movie filmed by a member of The Monkees. What movie and which Monkee? Elephant Parts / Mike Nesmith
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