A pink trailer, a historical venue, an in-ear monitor that goes to eleven, a guitar tech of 30 years — all that, plus a lot more in the last installment of the Glenn Hughes 2010 UK tour diary:

As we reported earlier, the all-star version of Smoke on the Water recorded back in the day for the benefit of 1988 earthquake in Armenia is being re-released in newly remixed form. All the proceeds from this release will go towards rebuilding a musical school in the town of Gyumri, which still operates out of temporary housing.

I must say that despite the obvious scepticism, the new mix sounds to these ears very refreshing and energetic. See for yourselves:

The single can be purchased through iTunes or ordered from a store near you:

And if you are still hesitating, remember that it’s all for a good cause.

Thanks to Jon Dee and Ara Tadevosyan for the info.

On Wednesday, October 13, Jon Lord dropped by the Planet Rock studio to talk to Nicky Horne about the brand new Come Taste The Band remaster and the 30th Anniversary reissue of Deepest Purple. Both releases are due on October 25th.

You can listen to his interview through the Planet Rock Soundcloud using their player or directly here (mp3, 24 MB).

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen for the info.

Living on the road when everything is being recorded, off to the races with the little help from above, how it used to be when he was a nipper, and a new number one fan — all of this, plus more in the fifth part of the Glenn Hughes’ UK tour diary 2010:

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen and Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

Last weekend Steve Morse did a 3-night stint in New York City with his own band, plus sitting in with the Les Paul Trio on the fourth night. Guitar Player magazine has met him which resulted in a brief interview:

What is the difference between the way you play with Deep Purple and with your own band?
With my trio there is a lot more pressure because I am playing melodies and lots of difficult parts and changes. If it is a simple melody I try to enhance it by rolling in the right amount of synth or delay, or changing the pickup or tone setting. During difficult melodies, like “On the Pipe,” I have to adjust the balance between the wet amp and dry amp, then there is not even an eighth-note between the melody and playing this rising chord part, and I have to turn the synth on, go to a different pickup, etc. With my band the solos are really a chance to relax. With Purple we have a keyboard and melodies coming from the vocals. The only time I am in there crucially is during the solos.

Read more at GuitarPlayer.com.

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen for the info.

Despite the rain, fourth part of the Glenn Hughes’ UK tour diary have appeared like a clockwork. In this installment we get to meet a bunch of good people, including Sheriff of Nottingham (or is it Ham In Nott?)

There are two new developments in Gillan’s Armenian projects.

First, the Who Cares did get into the studio and recorded a song. There is a brief report on Tony Iommi’s website. Caramba! also reports that bass duties will be handled by Jason Newsted, who could not make it to the studio in London and will record his part separately.

Second, the remix of Smoke on the Water done back in 1989 by the all-star lineup is due to be released on October 26.

I still remember it clearly. I was woken by a phone call from Washington asking me to get footage out of the Armenian earthquake zone. It was December 7, 1988, and at 11:41 A.M. local time a magnitude 6.9 earthquake had shaken northwestern Armenia. Tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands were made homeless.

The footage I got out of Armenia was truly awful. Whole communities had been wiped off the map. The streets were lined with people wailing over dead family members. Schools had collapsed and many children had died. The saddest images were of people carrying tiny coffins filled with babies. The disaster zone was a cold and totally desperate place.

Having seen the footage, I felt I had to do something. After deciding to remake ‘Smoke on the Water’, the first person I called was David Gilmour from Pink Floyd. He agreed to participate and said I could use his name. That made it a lot easier to recruit the others. I would like to acknowledge the help of Ian Gillan and his manager Phil Banfield in this recruitment process. They were unbelievably helpful.

By the time the recording was complete, artists from Pink Floyd, Queen, Rush, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Yes, Iron Maiden and others had all joined forces to create the track. The heavy metal bible Kerrang called it “the greatest array of hard rock talent ever assembled”. We ended up with a top 40 UK hit.

Two years ago, Ara Tadevosyan gave me a briefing about the earthquake zone. Life is still very tough for people over there and we found a children’s music school in Gyumri that still hadn’t been rebuilt. That’s why we decided to re-release the project. Every cent of the money that we raise will go towards rebuilding that school.

Updates on the school and photos from the original recordings are available at RockAidArmenia.com . Please check it out. On behalf of the school and the Do Something team, I’d like to thank you buying this CD and DVD. We really appreciate your help.

JON DEE
Founder of Rock Aid Armenia
Founder & Chairman of Do Something!
DoSomething.net.au

The release will be a double digipack containing a CD single and a bonus DVD. The single will include:

1. Smoke On The Water (2010 Wermut & Dee Remix)
2. Smoke On The Water (1989 Original Mix)
3. Smoke On The Water (1990 Radio Mix)
4. Smoke On The Water (1989 Ian Gillan Vocal Session)

The bonus DVD will include a 40 minute documentary featuring studio footage of the Rock Aid Armenia sessions and a promo video clip of Smoke on the Water.

This release will be distributed by Edel, so it should be widely available.

That’s Julian Lennon by the way… 😉

On his Facebook page Lennon Jr. writes:

I had the pleasure of going to see Glenn Hughes play tonight in Islington. I can say, without a doubt, he is one of the best singers/songwriter/performers I have ever seen. His range is Mind blowing! And his talent knows no bounds… If he’s playing in your neighbourhood, I urge you to go see him play LIVE, whether with Black Country Communion, or as a solo artist.

Just Amazing… Initially the show explodes with Rock tunes, the likes of which have been missing from our airwaves for many years now, but then Glenn also opens up & shows us his abilities as a Funk/Jazz/Soul/Blues performer. Outstanding…

A GREAT night out! – Looks like we might try a little writing together too… 😉

It would be interesting to see what the said “little writing together” comes to…

The first exhibition of Roger Glover’s art Paintings and Pictures 1964 – 2010 will open in Köln (Cologne), Germany, later this month and will run through the end of January.

Between and during his travels all over the world, from time to time RG has felt the need to take up a brush, pencil, pen or camera, purely for his own enjoyment. Apart from the realist paintings he has a keen interest in abstraction, looking for subjects that appear to be unconscious in their design. In his photography also, he takes pleasure in finding accidental images with a particular fascination for the effects of time and decay on various surfaces. This is his Found Art. There are also some samples from a future project called March of the Corridors.

All works, except for the painting (high quality prints) are presented in the original. The limited edition, signed works can be purchased. The sale proceeds will go to charitable and social institutions which do not have a large lobby and have been selected by Roger himself:

• Cancer Initiative-Cologne
• Gulliver Homeless Initiative
• Children’s Hospice Cologne

The opening event will be held at 19:00 on Friday, October 22 with the artist himself in attendance. Other events during the exhibition:

• Friday, December 3: Krysmah — Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake u.v.m. – Acoustic cover songs, 7 € admission
• Tuesday, December 12: Gerd Schinkel, “rooted in the life” – on roots music, 5 € admission
• Sunday, December 23: Manfred Stoffer photography — Deep Purple Live On Stage and Backstage, 5 € admission
• Friday, January 28: Stargazer — Deep Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake cover band, 9 € admission
• Sunday, January 30: Didi Zill, Deep Purple’s long time photographer, 7 € admission
• Monday, January 31: Peter Rüchel, “The Maker” from the Rockpalast, will read from his book + own experiences, 5 € admission

All events start at 19:30. All admission prices will be mostly donated to the charitable projects selected by Roger Glover.

Location:
K-8 Gallery
Ursulastr. 2, 50668, Köln (Cologne)
Telephone: 0221-7024660
Opening times: Mon-Thu 08-17, Fri 08-13, special events up to 22:00.

Thanks to Ralf Schmidt for the info

The third installment of Glenn Hughes’ UK tour diary, complete with a shopping trip, laundry instructions and a singing lesson:

Also, please note the venue change for Dublin gig on October 10: it has been moved to The Academy 2.

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen and Daniel Bengtsson for the info.