Tag Archives: Music

Catching Up With Ricky Phillips

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Photo by Rick Diamond

Ricky Phillips is one of the most talented musicians around. For the past 15 years, he’s been the bass player for STYX. He’s also been a member of Bad English and The Babys. All three of these bands have topped the charts numerous times and sold millions of albums. In between these three legendary gigs, Ricky has played with additional legends, including Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, and Eric Singer. 2017 saw the release of two new albums featuring Ricky’s masterful musicianship: STYX’s new studio album The Mission and Ronnie Montrose’s posthumous 10X10. STYX is on tour this summer with Joan Jett and Tesla, and Ricky was kind enough to speak with me about his impressive career and passion for music.

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Tommy Shaw’s Sing For The Day!

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Tommy Shaw, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist in STYX, is releasing his solo 2016 concert performance with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra on Blu-ray, CD, and Digital Audio/Video on June 29 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

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A Conversation With Great White’s Michael Lardie

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Photo by Neil Zlozower.

For several decades, Great White has been pleasing fans with rockin’ songs, albums, and concerts. In 2017 the band released its newest studio album, Full Circle, and this summer they’re back on the road playing to thousands of fans. The band’s keyboardist/guitarist, Michael Lardie, was kind enough to speak with me about his experiences in Great White, as well as Night Ranger.

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Review: Johnny Mathis’ The Voice of Romance Box Set

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To celebrate more than 60 years of Mathis magic, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings released The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection, a 68-CD box set containing all of Johnny Mathis’ Columbia albums and much more.

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A Conversation With Joel Hoekstra

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Photo by: Igor Vidyashev/ATLASICONS

Joel Hoekstra is an immensely talented guitarist that has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. In addition to being the lead guitarist for Whitesnake, Cher, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, he’s the former lead guitarist for Night Ranger and the Broadway musical Rock of Ages. I recently spoke with Joel about his impressive career and exciting projects he’s working on, including a summer tour featuring Whitesnake, Foreigner, and Jason Bonham.

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A Conversation With Bobby Rock

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Bobby Rock, the current drummer for Lita Ford, has a new book out: The Boy Is Gonna Rock. This exciting new memoir is about Bobby’s early years as a musician, with a focus on his time as the drummer of Vinnie Vincent Invasion. The book is receiving fantastic reviews from fans, and I look forward to reading it myself. Bobby was kind enough to speak with me about this new project.

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A Conversation With Night Ranger’s Kelly Keagy

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Photo by Ash Newell.

For more than 35 years, Night Ranger has been one of the preeminent rock bands, selling millions of albums, topping the charts with hit songs, and performing for its legion of fans across the world. Kelly Keagy, Night Ranger’s drummer and one of its lead vocalists, has played a key role in the band’s rich history and immense success. Kelly was kind enough to take the time to speak with me about a variety of topics, including Night Ranger’s excellent new album, Don’t Let Up. If you don’t already own this album, go buy it. While you’re at it, buy tickets to see Night Ranger live. Other than KISS and Journey, they are my favorite rock band. Once you see them live, you’ll feel the same way.

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Meeting Daryl Hall

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Last Saturday, after HoagieNation, my wife and I had the opportunity to meet the legendary Daryl Hall. We were the only people that met him after the show, aside from his family, so I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, and he was a pleasure to speak with. I shook Daryl’s hand, introduced him to Stephanie, reminded him of the cover story on Hall & Oates by me that was just published the other week in The Aquarian Weekly, and asked him to autograph it for me. Daryl said, “That was a really good piece you wrote” and gladly signed the cover for me.

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A Conversation with Johnny Mathis

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Johnny Mathis is the longest-running recording artist on Columbia records. In addition to releaseing 79 studio albums and six original Christmas albums, he has 50 hit songs to his name on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Mathis also has five Grammy nominations and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions. Simply stated, he’s a once-in-a-lifetime artist whose productivity and influence knows no bounds. Since taking the musical world by storm 62 years ago, Johnny Mathis has become the indisputable voice of romance. If you’ve yet to see this vocalist extraordinaire or you simply want to see him again, Johnny Mathis is performing at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City on June 2. Mathis was kind enough to take the time to speak with me about his remarkable career. I hope you enjoy our discussion, and don’t forget to buy tickets to his June 2 show in Atlantic City while you still can.

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Book Review: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Jonathan Cain

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Don’t Stop Believin’: The Man, the Band, and the Song that Inspired Generations, the long-awaited autobiography by Journey’s piano man, Jonathan Cain, is tied with Paul Stanley’s Face The Music: A Life Exposed as my favorite music autobiography. And if you have to choose one way to read this book, listen to the audiobook because it’s narrated by the man himself, making for a more intimate reading experience. Jon’s narration of his autobiography is so raw and authentic that at some points he becomes overcome with emotion, which only makes the stories he tells that much more impactful. And the generous amount of beautiful music weaved throughout the audiobook makes for an engaging and enjoyable audiobook that I’d gladly listen to again. It’s also worth noting that the audiobook features bonus chapters not found in the print version of the book.

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