Opening Act:
King’s X Making New Album New George Lynch Project Has a Name Alan Parsons Signs With Frontiers Shout out to Kansas fans Ear Candy: Greg Kihn Band: ReKihndled (2017) Ultraphonix: Original Human Music (2018) Six Degrees of Frankie B. Comin Atcha Live: Kansas at Tarrytown Music Hall in NY (8/17) Rockversation: Robert Barry Matt recently spoke with the musician and producer about 3.2 and the Greg Kihn band. You can follow Robert’s projects at http://www.robertberry.com. Bonus Track: Metal Souls by Destinia From the album of the same name, which is out now. Get it at http://radi.al/DestiniaMetalSouls. Thanks for listening! If you're subscribing on iTunes or Google play, please leave us a review, as it will help spread the word about the show! You can also hit us up on twitter at twitter.com/powerchordspod, and email us at [email protected].
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 by Matman About 6 months ago, Frontiers Music announced the formation of Dream Child, a band made up of some of my favorite players from some of my favorite bands! The problem with having an all-star band is the expectations and I was expecting a lot from these guys... putting a lot of pressure to deliver. Well... one listen and Dream Child lived up to my expectations... and then some!!! Dream Child is guitarist Craig Goldy (Guiffria and DIO, bassist Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, DIO and everyone else awesome), drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, UFO and DIO), guitarist/keyboardist Wayne Findlay (Michael Schenker Group) and vocalist Diego Valdez (Helker). Drawing influence from their previous bands, Dream Child is heavy, melodic and a throwback to a time when music was a full sensory experience, not just listened to. Musically the album is full of amazing riffs, thumping bass, dancing keyboards and crashing drums that hearken back to classic Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake with some moments of Black Sabbath and UFO thrown in for good measure! Goldy has always been one of my favorite players because he can play it heavy but also incredibly emotional when the song needs it. Vocally is where UNTIL DEATH DO WE MEET AGAIN really takes on a whole new level of excitement. Argentinian vocalist Diego Valdez is amazing... and sounds very much like Ronnie James Dio... a crap ton like Dio, but he also has a lot of originality and depth in his tones. Add to the fact that everyone in the band played in DIO, you kinda get a feel for where the album gets its feel. Album opener, Under The Wire is classic DIO with an incredible build up and fast energy. My favorite song on the album You Can't Take Me Down, Playing With Fire and Game Of Shadows are pure HEAVEN AND HELL/MOB RULES era Sabbath that just rock. For old school Rainbow fans, It Is What It Is sounds like something recorded during the RISING sessions with a hint of Michael Schenker in the solo. The rest of the album is just as solid and is nicely unified and quite balanced. As someone who doesn't just 'listen' to music I am so pleased by this albums overall feel. The production by Goldy and Alessandro Del Vecchio brings out the best in the members and the songs and just has so much open space, never feeling limited, Among the traditional and expected influences there are some progressive King Crimson moments that just make me love the album that much more. The album also has a few 'creepy' moments that give it some theatrics for good measure. UNTIL DEATH DO WE MEET AGAIN is the album we fans of real music and classic rock have been waiting for!!! It's one thing to pay homage to a particular era and style, but it is another to pull it off and Dream Child have not only pulled it off... they have made it fun and exciting again. MATMAN RATING: 5 OUT OF 5 UNTIL DEATH DO WE MEET AGAIN will be released on september 14th on Frontiers Music S.R.L. https://www.facebook.com/DreamChildRock/
 by Matman As I sat in my seat at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York I was struck by the beauty, elegance and history this venue has. As the hall filled in and the house lights went down I realized the adjectives I used to describe the hall can also describe Kansas... beautiful music, elegance on stage and a history that we were all going to enjoy and revisit together. Billed as the RADIO CLASSICS AND FAN FAVORITES tour, Kansas were stepping away from the full album celebrations like last year's LEFTOVERTURE and upcoming POINT OF KNOW RETURN tours to make it simple... play the hits and only the hits... with some suprises!!!! In my interview with guitarist Zak Rizvi (available now on this site or ITunes), I told him how the last time I saw the band I didn't get to hear my 3 favorite Kansas songs; All I Wanted, Play The Game Tonight and Fire With Fire to which he replied... "come see us on the current tour because you will get all three." Zak didn't lie!!!! On stage Kansas play as one and are the tightest band I have ever seen live. Considering their songs like Carry On Wayward Son, Dust In The Wind and Hold On are so ingrained in our music brains, any change in style, tempo or presentation may have a negative effect, but they play it close to the originals. This is not saying they are cookie cutter in any way because that isn't the case at all. I see many bands go through the motions when they perform... and Kansas isn't one of them. In the three times I've seen them live, each show is better than the last one and that isn't an easy thing to do, because they have set their own bar so high. The lights, the music and the personalities in the band all add to the magic that is Kansas. Kansas treat the stage as sacred, the audience as family and the time together as very precious. As I mentioned above the set list is a run through their history; all songs that are favorites of their fans from their debut album KANSAS (that featured drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Rich Williams), 1986's POWER (bassist Billy Greer's first with the band) right up to 2016's THE PRELUDE IMPLICIT that introduced vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist Dave Manion and guitarist Zak Rizvi to the legacy that is Kansas. Helping to bridge it all together was violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale who since 1991 has been providing the most recognizable and unique element to the bands music. There is something about Kansas and their music that keeps people coming back. My three times seeing the band is laughable compared to other 'Wheatheads' who have seen the band over 100 times. In the audience were a lot of teens who were drawn to the band by their cool parents or the show SUPERNATURAL. What impressed me about these kids (and gave me hope for the future) is that not only were they singing along to Carry On, they were also singing word for word What's On My Mind and The Wall. That is good parenting, folks! As the show began to wind down I found myself thinking how I couldn't wait to see them again in Worcester, MA in November. If you scroll down on this site you will find two other reviews of Kansas shows I wrote and you may find a similar tone... because I'm struggling to find another way to say that Kansas is the best band I have ever seen live, and this show was the best of all of them. Do yourself a favor, check the website for a show near you... and go!!!! You will thank me later, I promise. http://kansasband.com/tour-dates.php
Opening Act:
Jill Janus dead at 43 New Suicidal Tendencies album and tour drop September 7th Stryper’s Oz Fox Suffers Seizure Is AC/DC working on a new album? Ace Frehley’s new album details Glen Hughes tour Ear Candy: Badlands (1989) Primal Fear: Apocalypse (2018) Six Degrees of Frankie B. Top of the Pops: Top 30 Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs--August 19, 1989 Rockversation: Zak Rizvi Matt recently spoke with the musician and producer about joining Kansas and his work on The Prelude Implicit. You can follow Zak’s projects at www.facebook.com/Zak-Rizvi-Music. Bonus Track: Primal Fear--King of Madness Thanks for listening! If you're subscribing on iTunes or Google play, please leave us a review, as it will help spread the word about the show! You can also hit us up on twitter at twitter.com/powerchordspod, and email us at [email protected]. |
