Dani Moz, a fan favorite of last year’s installment of NBC’s music talent show The Voice, took to social media to announce her latest EP, When It Comes To Love, will drop on November 18.
“I’ll be posting some other goodies for sale in addition to the digital EP,” stated Moz, “so be sure to stay locked into my website and all of my social media channels for all the scoop – I can’t WAIT for you to finally get your hands these tunes!”
Moz, born Danielle Mozeleski, was an aspiring musician from Albany, New York when her career took off with her appearance on NBC’s hit television show. She is best known for performing Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” during the playoff round. She was ultimately eliminated in the first round of live shows.
In an interview, Dani Moz talked about her preparations for this EP.
She already has one EP, titled Untamed, under her belt.
After consuming Dopapod’s fourth studio effort Never Odd or Even a few times I started to feel a kinship with that moth lead guitarist/vocalist Rob Compa sings about in “Present Ghost” – the albums lead track. Unlike most releases of late, it ruled my brains mental music player for days without rest. End to end the 9 (+1 hidden) track piece has no dead air, no filler, no bathroom songs and more peaks and valleys then the beautiful Upstate NY terrain. This is music that goes beyond simple listening and invites your other senses to an emotion filled rager (w/ free tequila!). It’s happy, sad, spooky, mysterious, and ecstatic all in one prettily packaged jewel case.
“Remembering is everything! Everything! Everything!”
The ‘pod’s music, like many of their peers, is impossible to pigeon-hole into any sort of simple description . This is genre-non-biased music by definition – a conglomeration of every influential mentor on four musician’s lives. Like Mr. Compa says – remembering is everything – to transcend ones predecessors one must appreciate their crafts in their own original way. Influences are rife throughout N.O.O.E – the “Empty Spaces” (Pink Floyd) like breakdown in lead track “Present Ghost” – the Zappa like guitar and organ harmony in “Like a Ball” – the Cream sludge rock bookends on quite probably the world’s only honky-tonk jazz instrumental: “Hey Zeus (Que Pasa)”. Even Hollywood gets a nod here with the Poindexter infused peaks of the aptly titled “Nerds” which – beyond an amusing spoken part – only contains the repeated lyric “No words”.
“They just don’t like sing that much, there’s like no words”
It would be remiss of me to exit this review without mentioning the absolute high point of an album full of them. Track 4 – the mysteriously titled all instrumental “FABA” – takes back the sadly overused word “epic” to its original meaning. Despite containing elements of jazz, funk, rock, and electronica this nine minute piece is closest to a classical composition – as if Mozart and Anastasio smoked a giant blunt and made a hippie opus for the ages. Put simply – it fucking rocks. All of it rocks, get on this album, it’s the best 10$ you’ll spend this year.
Big Bank Hank, original member of the legendary hip-hop group The Sugarhill Gang passed away today due to complications from cancer.
The Gang is best known for perhaps the most eponymous and appropriately named rap tune of all time: “Rapper’s Delight” – which was featured in countless movies and the first tune of the genre to crack the Billboards top 40 chart (in 1979). Hank was 57.
Co-founders Wonder Gee and Master Mike released a statement on the passing:
“So sad to hear about our brother’s passing. The 3 of us created musical history together with the release of Rapper’s Delight. We will always remember traveling the world together and rocking the house. Rest in peace Big Bank.”
We send our deepest condolences to Hank’s family and friends.
Billboard reports that ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, upon receiving Outstanding Contribution to Music award at Classic Rock Honours in Los Angeles, hinted that ELO will not just be writing new music, but also a 2015 tour is being planned.
Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Lynne, who revived the ELO name and revisited such classic ’70s and ’80s hits as “Telephone Line,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Showdown” and so many more at London’s Hyde Park, confirmed to Billboard he will be bringing ELO to the States.
“I had so much in Hyde Park with 50,000 people, where I just played in September, first time I’ve played in 28 years it was fantastic and I loved every minute, so I’m definitely gonna come here and play.” His manager clarified that 2015 was the target date for touring.
New music can be expected, along with classic ELO tracks, as Lynne said “I’m working on a new album and that’ll be involved in the new times when we play.”
November 10 saw the release of Machine Head’s eight studio album Bloodstone & Diamonds. This marks the first time that original bass player Adam Duce is missing from a Machine Head recording. Since then, Duce has been replaced by Jared MacEachern, who auditioned for the part. The lineup is rounded off with lead guitarist Phil Demmel, longtime drummer Dave McClain, and main song writer vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn.
The album opens up with “Now We Die”, which starts the album up with an orchestral piece. The use of the orchestra throughout the song makes it a very unique Machine Head song. Far from the street metal sound from their debut Burn My Eyes. But don’t get it twisted, it’s still a heavy Machine Head that we all know. Phil Demmel’s guitar solo is brilliant in the song.
“Killers & Kings” is guitar blazing with very dark tone. This one is more in vein of 2007’s The Blackening. You can tell already by the opening tracks that there are far more guitar parts recorded in this album than ever before and real bonecrushing drums from McClain throughout the album. Vocally Robb Flynn has really getting better with the melodic parts, which really shows in the song “Ghost Will Haunt My Bones.”
The next track that really stands out is the dark, yet melodic “Sail Into The Black”. This one is a metal masterpiece, similar to “Darknest Within” off Unto The Locust. The band is kicking on all cylinders with this song, damn near perfect. This would be the reason to purchase the album even if you’re not a Machine Head fan. The next track “Eyes Of The Dead” is interesting and one of the heavier tracks off the album. It has that angry sound from 1997’s The More Things Change… that is sure to please the old school Machine Head fans.
Every song lyrically is brilliant. Some of them really paint a picture or tell a compelling story. Especially “Night Of Long Knives” (which tells the story of a woman who was raped and gets revenge) and in “In Comes The Flood.” Rob Flynn sings every lyric with emotion, and it properly suites the music. Lyrically this may be the best Machine Head record yet.
The album takes it slow with the ballad “Damage Inside”, similar to the song “The Burning Red”, a song off the album of the same name, but doesn’t have the produced beats yet it has that similar gloomy atmosphere. But it’s a good tune because you rarely ever hear Machine Head do any ballads in their albums.
Towards the end of the album there’s finally a nod towards Burn My Eyes. The second to last track is an instrumental tune called “Imaginal Cells” which also contains sound clips from news reports, similar to the track “Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies” off Burn My Eyes. This definitely put a smile on my face. Clearly Machine Head is working hard to gain new followers as well as keeping the fans of old happy. The album finishes with “Take Me Through The Fire” which is a fast blazing track with absolute killer riffs and solos from Phil Demmel, however it doesn’t feel like a closing track; “Sail Into The Black” would have been a more appropriate way to close the album.
Overall, this is a fantastic record, one that stands out among all the recent metal releases this year. Comparing it to the rest of the catalog, defiantly comparable to Burn My Eyes and The Blackening in terms of their best work. I would put this above Through The Ashes Of Empires and Unto The Locust which is saying a lot. Musically and lyrically this album is fiend and will grab the attention of people who have never listened to Machine Head and hook them into the band while keeping the current fan base happy. I would expect great things to come from Machine Head in the future due to this album.
You can purchase the album here. This one is a must.
Key Tracks: Killers & Kings, Sail Into The Black
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Murder by Death, featuring Americana rock from Kentucky, launched the Kickstarter for their upcoming album, Big Dark Love on November 5. The band, fronted by singer and guitarist Adam Turla, uploaded a full description of their latest project, asking for $150,000 to cover production, recording, art, touring, and other costs.
After 24 hours, the new album has seen nearly $120,000 in donations. They posted on their Facebook page, “we had such an incredible experience pre-selling our last album through Kickstarter that we felt this was the best way to do it.” Their last album, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, saw the same treatment on Kickstarter. Additionally, the band have offered several levels of reward tiers, from digital download of the album, handmade album art by the band’s cellist, Sarah Balliet, time to spend with the band, and much more. Tiers went between $1 and $10,000.
Anyone wishing to donate to the making of Big Dark Love can do so via the Kickstarter page.
Rosas most recently was on the Crazy Horse tour last summer after Billy Talbot had suffered a Stroke where Rosas assumed duty.
Rick Rosas, nicknamed “Rick The Bass Player” worked on several of Neil Young’s albums which included Prairie Wind, Freedom and Living with War and was also part of the controversail music video, “This Note’s For You” which was banned on MTV.
Freekbass has been reinventing funk music for years, cultivating his own sound after having been birthed in Southern Ohio’s already rich funk scene. If you haven’t heard his sound yet, don’t make the mistake of assuming that he’ll turn out to be just another George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic. His cutting-edge take on the genre he loves truly sets him apart from his musical touchstones.
His style of funk bass playing brings an infectious bombardment of super low-end grooves and popping signature slap bass arrangements that ensure his albums and live performances aren’t soon forgotten.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, Freekbass is bringing his CD release party to DBGBs (Duke’s Bohemian Grove Bar) on Allen St. in downtown Buffalo. His new album is called Everybody’s Feelin’ Real, which is just another testament to his already well-known arsenal of heavy-hitting synthesizers and extreme bass licks, the combination of which can only be described as space-groove funktronica.
So, if you find yourself craving a generous helping of new age funk this Thursday night, the likes of which will make you believe you’re watching Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Sly and the Family Stone all performing at the same time, along with Freekbass’s incomparable style of electric bass playing, get yourself down to DBGBs! The show starts at 9 pm.
Editors note: According to a report Nov 10 from The Guardian, Robert Plant’s publicist has denied any Led Zeppelin Reunion talks happened, calling it “rubbish”. I guess we can go back to hoping for a reunion someday? Original article remains intact below.
For those holding your breath for a Led Zeppelin reunion, you should probably give it up. Robert Plant reportedly turned down £500 million (approximately $795 million) to reunite with fellow bandmates Jimmy Page and John Paul-Jones for a 35 date tour that included stops in London, Berlin, and New Jersey. Son of the late John Bonham, Jason Bonham would have been behind the kit.
According to The Mirror out of the U.K., Plant ripped up the contract in front of promoter Sir Richard Branson. Branson, who is the biggest Led Zeppelin fan had arrangements for flights to all the venues with his jump jet rebranded as “The Mothership.” The rest of the band minus Plant signed the contract immediately while Plant decided during a 48 hour time frame that he is not interested what so ever.
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin last reunited back in 2007 at the 02 Arena in London. Led Zeppelin disbanded back in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham. It’s pretty safe to say at this point Led Zeppelin is no more. Until then, enjoy their music that they have given to us and enjoy our parents and grandparents Led Zeppelin concert stories.
The day of the dead saw the demise of one Phish Halloween tradition and the birth of something completely different. Rather than play another band’s album as a musical costume, Phish opted to interpret a rare cut from the Disney collection – Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House (1964), turning a 25 minute sound effects album into a 65 minute demonstration in improvised interpretation.
The result was one of the most talked about nights of Phish, not only for the performance that was experienced, but the potential of what was to come the next two nights and over their upcoming New Years run in Miami.
The first of three sets was bookended with haunted numbers, an opening sequence of “Buried Alive > Ghost” and a funk filled “Wolfman’s Brother” to close it out, steadily building the anticipation for the grand mystery of what this Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House set would end up being.
The stage and lighting were well done, per usual. The word in the casino was that the Cirque du Soleil show at MGM Grand, KÀ, was not in production that night, meaning the elaborate stage performances that Phish has become known for at their larger events would be accompanied by some of Vegas’ best. Phish began their set with “The Haunted House” inside of a haunted house that was pushed out onto a stage filled with smoke and a graveyard. An audio-visual highlight, “The Fuse” showed a slow burning fuse across the front of the haunted house which built the audience to froth and a jam that is hopefully heard in Miami. When the fuse went out, the walls from the house blew down and it was game on – the band was dressed in white tuxedos with ghoulish makeup, playing on top of this haunted house. The cheers were defeaning.
photo by Rene Huemer
During “Dogs” the audience, naturally, howled along with the pre-recorded barks and screams and the band worked into a jam that could re-emerge in “I Saw it Again.” “Timber” was the first really spooky song of the night while “Your Pet Cat”, like all songs on the album, were introduced by Esther, a graveyard resident who kept the interpretation of the album true to the original by including the original narration.
photo by Rene Huemer
The spaciest jam of the night, “Shipwreck”, was full of weirdness and had the deepest jam, in the vein of “Sand”, a looming threat in Set 3. “The Unsafe Bridge” became a PulpFiction-esque surf rocker while both dark and foreboding.
“The Chinese Water Torture” ended up being the song that sounded most like an above-standard Phish-jam while “The Birds” got deep and heavy and gave the crowd a gift in the form of Esther’s pre-recorded “They Attack!” serving as both a catalyst and bridge to the jams that developed. The set was ending on such a high note when “Martian Monster” followed “The Birds” with its own sound snipper with ‘Your Trip is Short’. Repeated over and over, the crowd caught on quickly during a 10 minute groove that never let up.
photo by Dave Vann
I look forward to finding out how this album came to the band’s attention and how their discussion of how to play this set developed, as well as how the night was produced and choreographed. Those who put the show together command respect for contributing such a major component to evening.
The third set kept the energy flowing, starting with “Punch You in the Eye > Golden Age > Tweezer > Heavy Things”, all of which flowed together seamlessly. Guyute was greeted with cheers for its rarity while “Sand” gave us the longest jam of the weekend, clocking in at 18 minutes and segued seamlessly into “Tweezer Reprise”. An encore of Leonard Cohen’s “Is this what you Wanted” referenced ghosts of a relationship haunting a house, and doubling as a question to difficult to please Phish fans. Page McConnell broke out the keytar for an appropriate “Frankenstein” cover that ended the night.
Poster by Michael Boyer
The introduction of brand new improv, a counterbalance to last year’s brand new album Wingsuit (later released in June as Fuego) was more than welcome by fans – there was no ambivalence here as nearly all saw this for what it was: Phish doing the unexpected and appealing to the pleas of fans who seek a greater degree of improvisational jamming.
We all won in Vegas with Phish. Each night kept getting better and we had reminders on the 1st and 2nd of November with some choice teases and jams. Never a dull moment to be had, Phish connected early with a surprise roundhouse and we enjoyed the bewilderment that followed through the bold choice of Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House.
Set 1: Buried Alive>Ghost, Scent of a Mule, Sample in a Jar, Reba, 46 Days, Big Black Furry Creature from Mars, Lawn Boy, Saw It Again>Tube, Wolfman’s Brother
Set 2: The Haunted House, The Very Long Fuse, The Dogs, Timber, Your Pet Cat, Shipwreck, The Unsafe Bridge, The Chinese Water Torture, The Birds, Martian Monster
Set 3: Punch You In the Eye>Golden Age>Tweezer->Heavy Things, Guyute, Sand->Tweezer Reprise
Dani Moz, a fan favorite of last year’s installment of NBC’s music talent show The Voice, took to social media to announce her latest EP, When It Comes To Love, will drop on November 18.
November 10 saw the release of 
The first of three sets was bookended with haunted numbers, an opening sequence of “Buried Alive > Ghost” and a funk filled “Wolfman’s Brother” to close it out, steadily building the anticipation for the grand mystery of what this Chilling Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House set would end up being.
