By Ian Liberman
BEATLES CHANNEL ON SIRIUSXM
Although I prefer to listen to newer bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed these days, I have always been obsessed with The Beatles. I consider them to be one of the most eclectic and esoteric bands in rock and roll history.
SiriusXM recently launched a Beatles channel. The question is, does the channel give the average a fan an exceptional examination of their history and discography? After spending three days exploring the channel, I’d have to say that it does.
The Beatles channel features a lot more than just the hits…live bootlegs, mono recordings and solo material. It also features historical facts and pop culture stars like Neil de Grasse Tyson, Ricky Gervais, and Ice-T, expressing how the Beatles’ music profoundly influenced them.
The music dominates the station and provides a lively household ambiance that contributes to creating musical bliss all day. If you listen to this station, I guarantee a day of whimsy and fun with plenty of triggered memories from the past. The station also includes concerts, panel sessions, listener favourites and a program with Peter Asher from Peter and Gordon.
The one flaw in the programming is having pop artists do renditions of the traditional Beatle tunes (like Miley Cyrus performing “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”). Overall though, it is an amazing channel.
ROCK ON THE RANGE
Rock on the Range is an annual festival that is analogous to a hard rock version of Woodstock, where three days of guitar blazing musical mayhem occurs. The festival began a decade ago (with 14 acts including ZZ Top and Three Days Grace) in Columbus, Ohio. It was an unbelievable success, and continues to go strong to this day.
This year`s festival took place from May 19-21, and was probably the most musically diverse offering yet. The lineup included Black Sabbath, Metallica, Volbeat, Gojira, Korn, Pappa Roach, Seether, Dorthy, Ded, Offspring, Amity Affliction, Of Men and Mice, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, and more. However, this year, sadness permeated the concert due to suicide of Chris Cornell. Soundgarden was scheduled to headline with Metallica. Instead, Corey Taylor and Stone Sour delivered an emotional tribute before playing “Outshined.”
THE DEATH OF CHRIS CORNELL
The death of Chris Cornell has inspired virtually all popular hard rock bands to pay tribute during their concerts. Reports of tributes included Aerosmith dedicating “Dream On” to him, Metallica doing “Black Hole Sun,” and Megadeth performing “Outshined.”
Chris was born on July 24, 1964, in Seattle and grew up playing in garage bands. His peers knew him as being a loner and an exceptional vocalist and drummer. In the mid-‘80s, he formed Soundgarden with his friend Hiro Yamamoto (bass) and Kim Thayil (guitar). The final piece of the puzzle was drummer Matt Cameron.
Soundgarden was one of the first groups to sign with A&M Records. Cornell’s career also Audioslave (with members of Rage Against The Machine) and Temple of the Dogs. He also produced albums for Screaming Trees. In recent years, Cornell pursued a solo career where he could indulge his desire to experiment with musical creativity, pulling away from grunge in favor of more melodic, acoustical songs.
After reforming Soundgarden in 2016, the band began to tour internationally, and had planned on releasing a new album, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Following the band’s show at Detroit’s Fox Theater on May 17th, Cornell committed suicide in his hotel room. He was 52. RIP Chris!
ROB ZOMBIE RESURRECTS THE DEAD
Rob Zombie is planning to release a live album of the band performing 1995’s Astro-Creep: 2000 (filmed in 2016 during Chicago’s Riot Fest).
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.
JUNE 2017 TRIVIA QUESTIONS
[1] Between the ages 9 – 11, what artist did Chris Cornell listen to most?
[2] What was the name of the Chris Cornell’s cover band in the early ’80s?
MAY 2017 TRIVIA QUESTION ANSWERS
[1] Who was the vocalist of the J. Geils Band? Peter Wolf
[2] The J. Geils Band rose to fame in the early ’80s. What year did the band form? 1968
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