Jens Johansson and Timo Kotipelto of Finnish/Swedish metal band Stratovarius provide us with the first (to our knowledge) public review of Now what?! Que lots of Nordic restraint.
Continue Reading »

Some time in late May / early June 2011 Ian Gillan spoke to the Queen’s Park Rangers fan club, as he is an avid supporter of QPR himself for many years. he shared bits of anecdotage about his decision to say ‘yes’ to Purple reunion in 1984 (and how QPR was involved), and we also learn which team Don Airey is supporting.

Listen to the conversation on QPRnet (flash required).

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen for the info.

Don Airey spoke to AsiaOne before the Singapore gig earlier this month and when the topic of conversation turned to the Rock’n’Roll HoF, shared this:

Newman’s fantastic but he’s not really a rock act, is he? Neither is Donna Summer, although she made one of the greatest records I’ve ever heard. If you’re going to have a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, let’s have some rock and rollers in there.

There was a kind of ripple of excitement, like ‘Oh, we’ve been nominated!’. Then Ian [Gillan] said, ‘Don’t worry, we won’t get in’.

He also revealed that Uncommon Man from NowWhat?! will be a tribute to Jon Lord:

The awful news came through that Jon had passed away and we went in and recorded an improvised introduction to this number. It was really about Jon and it is quite moving, I must say.

He was always friendly to me, especially when I joined the band. He was a lovely man, Jon, and he’s greatly missed by everyone.

American cable channel VH1 Classic will feature Deep Purple in one of the upcoming episodes of the Behind The Music Remastered shows. The episode is scheduled for broadcast on April 27th at 9 PM ET/PT.

The blurb:

Deep Purple were true rock n’ roll: outrageous, bold, daring. Despite their limited success with the American mainstream, Deep Purple fans define the band as being one of the most important rock groups in music. They join Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin in being one of the pioneers of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, and their memorable riffs and classic songs are still in the hearts of metal fans today. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, band members Richie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse, Glenn Hughes, and many more lend their voice to tell the story of this epic rock band.

Thanks to Chris and Antimusic for the info.

Now what?! promotional campaign is upon us and Big Ian spoke to Noisecreep. He talked about Bob Ezrin, garage bands, Cliff Bennett, Rock’n’Roll HoF, congregational euphoria, and his most memorable show.

Bob Ezrin, huh? Not too shabby.

Between you and me [laughs], because this is just like us sitting in a bar or something, the one weakness that Purple always had, to me, was the sound of the records. Generally, I’ve always been slightly disappointed in sound and this new album wipes away everything we’ve ever done ever. I’m thrilled and delighted with what Bob was able to do. The first monitor mixes I ever heard from these sessions I just sat back and said ‘oh my God, what he has done it’s perfect.’ Everything was so clearly defined from the guitars to the Hammond organ. The definition is just remarkable. We always had a sort of delightful sound, don’t get me wrong. But I felt we were always kind of lacking a power thing that we finally have now.

Read more in Noisecreep.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

The track list for Now what?! has been released:

1. A Simple Song
2. Weirdistan
3. Out Of Hand
4. Hell To Pay
5. Body Line
6. Above And Beyond
7. Blood From A Stone
8. Uncommon Man
9. Après Vous
10. All The Time In The World
11. Vincent Price

The above track list will be featured on regular CD. Additional editions include:

• Limited edition with a bonus track and a bonus DVD featuring Deep Purple in conversation plus additional audio material. This edition will be available in a Digipak with a cut out front cover.
• Double vinyl LP containing 11 tracks as above plus bonus track, as in the limited edition CD.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for the info.

David Coverdale spoke to Rock Guitar Daily and revealed that he’s still in touch with Glenn Hughes and Bernie Marsden:

Glenn….Oh bless his heart. And it’s mutual – we are the original unrighteous brothers! We speak most every day.

It reminds me of the transition we made from Saints & Sinners into Slide It In – with Slide It In I wanted to electrify Whitesnake more. I was talking to Bernie Marsden yesterday, and we were just chatting about different bits and pieces – and I can honestly say, and it’s no disrespect to my former colleagues, I felt that I’d read all the books that were in that series.

He even apparently managed to patch things up with His Blackness:

I’m reaching out – Ritchie Blackmore and I are communicating in the most positive way – and I truly appreciate that.

But not Micky Moody:

…I put Whitesnake on hold at the end of 1981, and Micky didn’t even bother coming to the meeting we had. He had a more important engagement – a darts match at the local pub.

Then, a couple of months later, I get a call from him saying, ‘Look, I’ve seen the error of my ways, can I come back?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely!’

Because, I had literally – I was starting a sold out UK tour in three weeks, and I didn’t have a band! I had Cozy – and that was it!

So, he came back in, but he really wasn’t invested or engaged in the writing process for the Slide It In album, as you can see on the writing credits. Then, when we were doing the actual album, you could see that he wasn’t having a good time. When his manager called me, and shared the same information, I said, ‘Well, you guys do what you want, I’m moving forward with this. And that was the end.

In fact, Tony, recently I reached out to Micky Moody through his manager – to shake his hand, but he feels there’s still too much water under the bridge, and presumably he would rather not shake my hand.

Read more in Rock Guitar Daily.

Thanks to Classic Rock for the info.

David Coverdale & Co. have posted a video trailer for their upcoming live album Made in Japan:
Continue Reading »

Part 1 of Roger Glover’s diaries covering recording of the new album have been published online. The published portion covers June 24 to July 25, 2012, with hints of more to come.

24 June Sunday
Nashville. Our first day in the Soundcheck rehearsal studio. The setup is similar to Werne, so it’s fairly comfortable and quite spacious. After a jam to warm up, we start going through the list of songs. IG, who wasn’t in Werne, needs to hear all the latest ideas. We discuss the keys that each song is in and we occasionally try tuned-down guitars. Bob Ezrin stops by to welcome us to Nashville. He is a ball of energy and very enthusiastic.

Read more at deeppurple-nowwhat.com.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for the info.

In a recent interview to PremierGuitar Joe Bonamassa says that his involvement with the Black Country Communion is over:

As far as I’m concerned, my involvement is pretty much done, and I’ll tell you why: Originally, I did it for the same reasons I did the stuff with Beth Hart and Rock Candy Funk Party—it was an excuse to play a different kind of music that I don’t get to play normally.

The first two records were a blast—the band is fantastic when the Ritalin kicks in, the ADD goes away, and everyone’s focused. It’s a devastatingly good rock band of the early-1970s type, and Glenn is a fantastic singer—just one of the best ever. So I did it and did a nine-week tour in 2011 that really, by the end of it, wasn’t fun for me. It wasn’t because I didn’t like the cats in the band, but it was just too much—too much involved in getting people from place to place and getting the band onstage. Everybody seemed to be very tense, and it made my crew very tense, and it’s not the way I like to tour. I run a family—I have 21 people who go on the road with me all the time, and if you asked them who was the cause of the least of their problems, they would say me. Unless there was no Diet Coke—then it’s a huge [expletive] problem, and either I’m going to the supermarket or somebody else is [laughs].

But it just wasn’t fun for me anymore. All the stuff that Glenn says in the media, essentially pinning it on me—that I was the reason for the band’s lack of touring and the band’s lack of future. It became rapidly not fun at all. It would be dishonest of me to get onstage and pretend like I’m having fun to please the band. I’m just not the guitar player for that band, but unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any out-of-work guitar players in L.A. that they can get. There are so many guys that can fill that role and I would be the first guy to queue up and buy a ticket. So that’s my story with it. I’m happily not involved anymore, but I’m happy with the legacy that I left with that band and happy with the records we made. It was a great three years for me.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the heads up