A Swedish promotor in Gothenburg, Sweden, has been fined by the local authorities for not being able to keep sound levels at legal limits. One of the shows this summer that reached an illegal level was the Deep Purple show at Trädgår’n in Gothenburg where the band played at an average of 102 dB. The allowed decibel level for concerts held in Sweden and much of Europe is an average of 100 dB with peaks at 115 dB. Lower volumes are allowed for concerts where children under 13 are present (97 dB and 110 dB respectively).

Sources: Swedish, English

Blackmore’s Night Official Scandinavian Fan Club has posted two new exclusive interviews with Joe Lynn Turner and Bobby Rondinelli on their website. The questions for the interviews were sent in by fans.

Planet Rock will be running a contest between October 12th and 26th:

How do you fancy seeing Deep Purple live? OK, how do you fancy watching the gig from the stage? Now, how do you fancy sitting next to Ian Paice’s drumkit for the duration of the show? We thought so.

From Monday 12 October we will be offering you the chance to win a place onstage with Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice for an entire show on the band’s forthcoming UK tour.

So head back here on Monday to find out exactly how you can win your once in a lifetime opportunity (CLUE – you might want to dig out your Deep Purple records this weekend and listen closely to the drumming)

I would like to add that I was lucky enough to be on the side of the stage on a couple of occasions and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences in my life. You get a whole new level of appreciation for the talent that is on the stage. I can’t recommend any stronger to try your chances. Good luck.

It’s Bombay calling again and it says that nothing is new under the moon.

Many years ago there was a Canadian band called Warpig. Their music sounded clearly inspired by Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. They even shared a sound engineer with Purple — Tom Brennand:

It was during a concert by Deep Purple, that keyboardist, Jon Lord, asked if there was anyone in the audience that could rectify the feedback problem during the bands intro. Tom was pushed up and introduced, rectified the problems and was asked to continue on the tour, but due to commitments, that was impossible. Deep Purple, the band, hired him as their sound and recording engineer at every available opportunity. During this period some of the notables with whom tom worked, were Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Deep Purple, Bee Gee’s, etc.

But check out their track Rock Star — it was recorded in 1970 and thus predates Fireball. Interesting, eh? 😉

Here’s another interesting thing. This is a song called Maria Moite (Maria Quiet) performed by Brazilian jazz singer Astrud Gilberto (of the Girl from Ipanema fame). You might recognize the tune as the jazzy intro the band does for SOTW from time to time, most notably in Montreux 2006:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owOCJTDfJKs
What’s even more interesting, the above recording first appeared on the album Look to the Rainbow Astrud Gilberto did with Gil Evans, which was released back in 1965 or 1966. Very interesting. 😉 😉

I’m pretty sure Jon Lord, being jazz aficionado that he is, was aware of Gil Evans’ work and it is not inconceivable to imagine him jamming around the riff at one of the Purple’s sessions. And perhaps then the guitar player went thinking “Hmm… I wonder how it sounds in fourths”.

The point I want to make here is not about accusations of plagiarism. It is about creative process. All the musicians, writers, artists, creators of any kind stand on the shoulders of giants. They constantly reinterpret what was done previously and do it their own way.

Your hear/read/see (sometimes even smell or taste) and idea and it gets the train of thought rolling. Then you seemingly forget about it. If it’s not your mind every day it does not mean that the brain has stopped working on that idea, subconsciously. Then, many moons or years later, one of those heureka moments happen. The idea was thoroughly processed and surfaces as if it’s your own. Sometimes we remember what exactly got that train of thought rolling in the first place, sometimes we do not. And let’s not get too harsh on those moments when someone does not. That’s how creative process works.

But of course, in the end, credit should be given where credit is due. Whenever possible.

Ah, and by the way, you can buy Astrud’s album or songs from it at your nearest Amazon store:

It’s full of very smooth bossa-nova. And if you like your jazz a little edgier, I can recommend her work with Stan Getz.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov and Dan for bringing Warpig to your attention. Also thanks to whoever brought Maria Moite to my attention many years ago.

Child in Time, Edinburgh, Usher hall, October 5, 2009. The singer’s name is Grant Barclay. He had been given a tremendous voice and talent to use it, as evidenced by this recording. We wish him all the best in his endeavours.

Thanks to weissheim for uploading and to Daniel Bengtsson for spotting it.

Classic Rock magazine reports that there is a new live compilation in the works by Purple Records. It will be released in November and will mark the 10th anniversary of the label. The double CD compilation will be called Space Truckin’ Round the World Live 68-76.

Track list:

CD 1
1 Hush (Inglewood 1968)
2 River Deep Mountain High (Inglewood 1968)
3 Hey Joe (Inglewood 1968)
4 Wring That Neck (Aachen 1970)
5 Into The Fire (Stockholm 1970)
6 Mandrake Root (Montreux 1969)
CD 2
1 Child In Time (Granada TV 1970)
2 Lazy (Denmark 1972)
3 Strange Kind Of Woman (Denmark 1972)
4 Burn (San Diego 1974)
5 Mistreated (San Diego 1974)
6 The Gypsy (Paris 1975)
7 Lady Double Dealer (Paris 1975)
8 Wild Dogs (Tokyo 1975)
9 Love Child (Tokyo 1975)

Liner notes are promised to include history of the band with photos and details of all the gigs concerned.

Thanks to TheRockRadio.com for the info.

Scottish music students interviewed about rehearsing the Concerto for Group and Orchestra with Jon Lord on keyboards. This Monday October 5 they will perform the Concerto at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall.

Talking about their very first rehearsal with Jon Lord:

– The first time he came into the room we were having a little groove going, and he just sat at the keys and played along. It was like, ‘wow! We are jamming with Jon Lord.’ It was a bizarre experience in a great way, remembers guitarist Thomas Temple, 19 years old (photo left).

– He gets right in there and plays along. Afterwards he gives us tips on little things – ‘the dynamics should be quieter’ – or louder, or ‘that should be a Bb there’ – suggestions here and there for different parts and how they should be played.

– But the freedom he gives us is really cool. He is very free with things such as solo sections, who plays where and making our own sound fit the piece, says Thomas Temple.

Grant Kilpatrick, also 19, (photo right) will be the other guitarist at the concert. He is particularly thrilled with Jon Lord’s approach to rehearsals.

– He works at a very relaxed pace. It’s a pleasant atmosphere to work in.

– This was a surprise at first because you have this perception that Jon Lord, being a very seasoned musician, is going be much more intense than the tutors you get at college. But he was the opposite. Completely laid back and very, very inspiring. Even just sitting and talking to him you feel he has a lot of wisdom.

Read the full interview on Jon Lord’s official website, JonLord.org.

As we have reported previously, Armenia is honouring the 20th anniversary of the Rock Aid Armenia project. On October 1 Ian Gillan together with Tony Iommi, Geff Downes and the project organizer Jon Dee have arrived to Yerevan to take part in the Armenia Grateful 2 Rock celebrations. On October 2 they were received by the Prime Minister of the country who awarded them with the republic’s Orders of Honour. In addition to Gillan, Iommi, Downes and Dee, Dave Gilmour and Brian May were also decorated with the Order of Honour.

Ritchie Blackmore who also took part in the Rock Aid Armenia was awarded `Honorary Medal of the Prime Minister of Armenia’, along with other participants — Brian Eno, Bryan Adams, Bruce Dickinson, Roger Taylor, Roger Daltrey, Alex Lifeson, Paul Rodgers, Keith Emerson, Chris Squire, tennisist John McEnroe and Brian Eno’s wife/producer/manager Anthea Norman-Taylor.

Thanks to Ara Tadevosyan for the info.

Connecticut based graphic artist Ioannis has been working with Deep Purple (among other bands) for more than 10 years now. This time they have partnered to produce 25 copies of the 2004 North American “Machine Head” tour commemorative artwork. Each copy is numbered and signed by Ioannis and all 5 of the band members. All proceeds from the sales are donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation for fighting cancer.

The artwork can be purchased at the Dangerous Age.

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads up, and to Dangerous Age for permission to reproduce the artwork.

BBC has announced that Don Airey will appear on the Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show on October 9. The show broadcasts between 21:00 and midnight on BBC Radio 6 and online, and will be available for online listening for 7 days after that.

Update [Oct 6]: The interview with Don was recorded last night and, according to the show producer “Don has a lot of great stories”. Tune in this Friday to BBC Radio 6.

Thanks to BraveWords for the heads up and to Ian Callaghan for the additional info.