Flying Colors may play only a handful of gigs after each album, but they still manage to release one of them as a live recording. The new installment in this lifecycle is called Third Stage: Live in London and is due on September 18, 2020, via Music Theories Recordings.

Third Stage: Live In London was filmed during their 2019 US and European tour and the footage captures the exhilarating sold-out final night, on the December 14 at the iconic Grade II Listed, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London. The album will be released on several formats including, orange transparent 3LP, Blu-ray, digitally, 2CD/DVD and a 40-page Earbook which includes 5 discs; 2CD album, 2DVDs and a Blu-ray. The Blu-ray and DVDs in the Earbook also include bonus material of music videos and concert footage of their Morsefest 2019 performance in Cross Plains, Tennessee.

Track listing:

1. Blue Ocean
2. A Place In Your World
3. The Loss Inside
4. More
5. Kayla
6. Geronimo
7. You Are Not Alone
8. Forever In A Daze
9. Love Letter
10. Peaceful Harbor
11. Crawl
12. Infinite Fire
13. Cosmic Symphony
14. The Storm
15. Mask Machine

On the same date, September 18, the first two albums — Flying Colors and Second Nature — will be reissued on light blue 2LP, both limited to 1000 units.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

There is a terrific cover band out in Italy which also happens to be an all-girl band. They are fittingly called Strange Kind of Women.

Ian Paice did a guest gig with them in March 2019 and now is giving them a shoutout on his DrumTribe channel:

Strange Kind of Women are:

Alteria – vocals
Eliana Cargneluttie – guitars
Paola Zadra – bass
Margherita Gruden – keyboards
Paola Caridi – drums

Check out their complete show from July 20th 2019 at Haus Eifgen Wermelskirchen in Germany streaming here. And support the musicians.

Thanks to andreas leutgeb for the heads up. Photo: Aleksandra Pruenner.

Deep Purple tribute band Demon’s Eye played live on June 19, 2020 at the Lÿz in Siegen. The whole show was streamed on Youtube and Facebook and in case you missed it, here’s the recording:

Besides recording two albums with own songs featuring Doogie White on vocals, the band also performed with Jon Lord in 2009 and 2010 and Ian Paice in 2007.

Steve Morse explains some of the intricacies and subtleties of his guitar playing on Man Alive — track from the upcoming Deep Purple album Whoosh.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

GasTank was a short lived in the early 80s show on British TV hosted by Rick Wakeman and Tony Ashton. Musicians were invited to be interviewed and jam with the house band. When Paicey got on the show, Resurrection Shuffle just had to be performed.
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Deep Purple’s new album Whoosh was supposed to come out on June 12 this year. But then the coronavirus struck and record company pushed release date back to August 7. Apparently not everybody got the memo, and on June 12 the album went on sale through at least one online retailer (and was soon removed). Our contributor Hein Bierman managed to purchase a download copy and offers us his thoughts on the album.

A popular HD-audio site had Whoosh available for a short while on June 12th: they probably missed the mail about the changed release date. I bought a copy (24 bit) and played it several times over the last days. I didn’t get a booklet with my download, so there’s probably a few details about Nashvillian banjo players guesting on track #14 I have missed.

Here are my first impressions:

It’s a very strong album. The songwriting is of a high level. I think as time wears on, What the What is the song that probably gets skipped first, but that is only because there’s a bunch of really great songs here and time is limited.

Lyrically, it’s a bold, outspoken (political?) album. The boldness is not so much in addressing controversial topics, but in the prominent use of the first-person perspective. IG tells it like he sees it, and he doesn’t hold back.

Production wise, it’s more compact and less trebly than Infinite and the drums sound a little less prominent than on previous albums. Both Now What!? and Infinite gave you the feeling they were semi-live albums, recorded more or less in one session, but Whoosh feels more produced. Compared to the previous Ezrin albums, there’s a lot more sonic variety between the songs. The semi-live aspect is less prominent; for example, there are a surprising amount of background vocals on the album.

What I miss: an opportunity to get out the air guitar. I really love Birds of Prey of Infinite, and there’s no song like that on Whoosh.

IG: The star of this album. Sings like he’s afraid of no one, with a lot of bravado. The best reference for his singing style on Whoosh is Infinite’s All I got is You.

SM: Less flashy and more melodic than on other albums. Over the last 20 years his guitar sound has evolved a lot. I don’t miss the Peaveys.

RG: The variety of songs of on this album makes you realize how versatile RG is as a bass player. He plays rock ‘n roll, heavy and funk effortless and tight.

DA: Uses every opportunity to shine on this album, especially on synthesizers and piano. I could do with a bit more organ.

IP: There’s no drum-focused song on this album like Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, but IP impresses on every track. Love that ride cymbal and the kick drum. Superb.

1. Throw My Bones (3’38”): We all know this track as it is the first single of the album. It’s a very good introduction to the general style of Whoosh.
2. Drop the Weapon (4’23”): great interaction between DA, IP and RG. They get a nice choppy groove going. IG has plenty of swagger: “little brother, I’m telling you now, your pride can take a hit.” One of the more organ-oriented tracks on the album.
3. We’re All the Same in the Dark (3’44”): The riff is not really special, but as soon as IG starts singing the song gets a huge boost. Unusual guitar sound / style in the solo. The way SM bends the notes is unlike anything he’s ever done in DP. There are more background vocals in this song that on the previous five DP albums combined.
4. Nothing at All (4’42”): This song’s a bit widdly widdly. I like it, but stylistically it would fit better on Rapture of the Deep than it does on this album.
5. No Need to Shout (3’30”): After the intro reminiscent of Perfect Strangers, the song reminds me of Stormbringer. You hear Gillan revisiting his rock ‘n roll roots. “I got your message loud and clear. The meaninglessness is ringing in my ear. What a bunch of trash you’ve got exuding from your ass, that’s not the shit I want to hear. No need to shout, I’m hearing what you say.”
6. Step by Step (3’34”): Vincent Price meets Purpendicular Waltz. Very good but also very gothic: DA a bit too eager to show his Transsylvanian credentials.
7. What the What (3’32”): Nostalgic piano driven rock ‘n roll in the vein of Purple People Eater / It’ll Be Me. A bit forgettable, but every kick on that bass drum is right on the spot.
8. The Long Way Round (5’39”): tight groove, instrumentally very strong. Can see this working very well live.
9. The Power of the Moon (4’08”): the amount of vocal effects, combined with the prominent synths give it a retro flavor. Great bass! SM manages to get a very dark, Tony Iommi-like sound and add a groove to it.
10. Remission Possible (1’38”): a short instrumental that sounds like four people having a great time in the studio while the fifth band member is checking if he’s left his wallet in the car, cleverly disguising that in all probability it’s very hard work to play something like this. Fades into:
11. Man Alive (5’35”): when I heard this first as a single, I was disappointed. But it fits well in the flow of the album.
12. And the Address (3’35”): the most live sounding song on the album. Doesn’t add a lot to the original, but it’s a great tune to revive.
13. Dancing in My Sleep (3’51”): IG is 74, but this is a song where he sounds full of energy, like he drank a tray of Red Bull. This song is heavy, but it’s also funky. Great bass lines.

Paicey does a drum clinic, sharing some anecdotage from his illustrious career and playing some drums in between.
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Another gem from Paicey’s private video stash — the band tracking Out of Hand for their 2013 album Now What?!
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Fox News has a new interview with Ian Gillan, promoting the upcoming new album. Some questions are quite mundane, some are off the beaten path.

Fox News: As an artist, how do you feel about audiences making cellphones part of their concert experience?

Gillan: Well, at first it was weird. It just connected with me. Why would someone film you at a show when they’re at the show and missing out on the experience? But generations change. It became pointless to try and resist that tidal wave. We kind of got used to it. In fact, it became amusing to see everyone holding up their phones in the air when back in the day, it was lighters. Initially, I didn’t understand why everyone had to share everything and be in constant communication. But [with this pandemic], thank goodness for it. Because my phone hasn’t stopped ringing thanks to friends and well-wishers from around the world. I may not always understand it, but I’m too old *laughs*.

Read more on Fox News.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Behind every band is a hard working crew. And Deep Purple’s one is quite a few steps above the average. The band trusts them to have everything set up so perfectly that they rarely do the soundcheck themselves.

Unfortunately, the current global pandemic means there is no touring and no touring means many in the crew are really struggling financially.

The band and the crew has put together a couple of exclusive t-shirts with all the profit going to help the crew. They are available through the online store set up for the purpose. You know what to do.

Thanks to Mike Airey for the info.