Rock Of Ages

Benjy says...

Dear lovers of all things rocky (except for the Balboa type),

Cracking show last night with the Beth Hart special - damn that girl can sing and in response to all the calls about the song "Am I the one?", it can be found on her 1996 debut album "Immortal" released as the The Beth Hart Band. I'm not sure if it is still available locally but it can be found on import, if you can't find it hey ... go to Amazon.com.

Beth Hart

There are a lot of exciting new albums around, some of which I have been playing on the show recently. Although it has been out since late 2005 I can highly recommend Polish hard-progsters, Riverside's "Second Life Syndrome" album (The Laser's Edge label) - it's got everything ... melody, power, intelligence and some shit hot guitar work courtesy of Piotr Grudzinski ...

Riverside - Second Life Syndrome

if it's metal you're after look no further than Greek melodic metallers Firewind: their new album "Allegiance" (Century Media/EMI) fairly crackles with intense, full blooded rock riffs, a kind of combination of the best of 'old school' and 'new wave' metal (god all these labels!) .... on the blues rock side I discovered Michael Powers through a track on a recent Classic Rock mag sampler; his new album "Prodigal Son" (Baryon Records) is the best blues rock album since I first heard Joe Bonamassa's debut. Whilst not as fiery a player as Joe (and lets be honest there ain't many who are) he nonetheless fires off such stinging leads on the Don Nix classic "Goin' down" that I nearly thought there was a phantom bluebottle in the air! .... From the sound of the advance tracks, "Illuminate" and "Wolfmen", the new Springbok N*de Girls album "Peace Breaker" (SonyBMG) sounds like a real corker, a return to the right-in-your-face kamikaze rock that made them one of the most respected bands of the 90's. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album later this month

Springbok N*de Girls - Peace Breaker

..... as far as classic rock is concerned, one of the most important and seminal bands of the rock generation, The Doors, get the 'full monty' in March (see the story under Rock Of Ages News)

The Doors

... if you are a Neil Young fan (and there are thousands in SA) you will be holding your breath for the latest release from Neil's archive; the Live at Massey Hall concert. I have heard an advance copy of the album and all I can say is it's perhaps one of the best acoustic albums ever (see story here ...)

Neil Young

Remember the 80's

The next Rock of Ages Special will be "Back to the 80's ... again" - all those classic rock tracks from the 'makeup 'n hair' bands, the 'spandex' brigade, the 'alternatives', the 'metallers' and the like ... Please email your suggestions for the special to me at rockofages@icon.co.za.

No Rock Of Ages until 5th April

Like the majority of music shows on Radio 2000, Rock of Ages has been affected by the live coverage of the Cricket World Cup; we will not be broadcasting for a couple of weeks in order to accomodate the station's committment to this sports event ... the show will be back live on Thursday 5th April. In this time off I will be working on some new ideas for the show.

Rock of Ages presents "Footstompin' Music"

"Footstompin' Music" is almost ready for release through Universal Music, I guess it should be in the stores sometimes soon. Here is a pic of the front cover for you to drool over as well as the final tracklisting:

Rock Of Ages Presents Footstompin' Music

Grand Funk Railroad - Footstompin' Music
Deep Purple - Burn
Uriah Heep - Look at yourself
Black Sabbath - Sweat Leaf
Thin Lizzy - Chinatown
Robin Trower - Too rolling stoned
Mountain - Never in my life
Wishbone Ash - Blowin' free
Foghat - I just wanna make love to you
Budgie - Baby, please don't go
Santana - Toussaint l'Overture
Alice Cooper - Muscle of love
Nazareth - Go down fighting
Blue Oyster Cult - The Red & the Black
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme back my bullets
Free - The Hunter
Taste - What's goin' on

KEN E HENSON - A 50 YEAR CELEBRATION

Keep the rock real...

Benjy

Contact Rock of Ages

Email:
Website: www.rock.co.za/rockofages
Snail mail:
PO Box 53585, Kenilworth, 7745
Studio phones: 021-4342523 / 4342525

Disclaimer:
The views, opinions, rants, raves and ramblings expressed on this website are the author's own and in no way reflect the views of Radio 2000 or the SABC.

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Rock Of Ages News

The Doors 40th
The Doors' 40th anniversary celebration reaches a fever pitch on March 26 as Rhino celebrates one of rock's most daring and influential bands with two Very Best Of collections as well as reissues of all of the band's studio albums. Each release boasts brand new mixes supervised by The Doors and Bruce Botnick, the band's original engineer and producer.

"We want our fans, both new and old, to hear what we discovered on listening to the actual multi track recordings," says keyboard player Ray Manzarek. "There are background vocals by Jim Morrison, piano parts of mine that weren't used, and guitar stingers and solos by Robby Krieger that never made the original recordings that can now be heard for the first time. We used state-of-the-art techniques to bring these discs to the same sound quality we experienced in the studio when we initially recorded our songs. We invite all our fans to join us in this recreation of the legendary recording sessions of The Doors. And to be a part of our original conceptions." The Very Best Of The Doors, also released March 26th, distills the band's potent and enduring mix of music and mysticism down into a single- or double-disc collection that will be available at all physical and digital retail outlets outside the United States.

The digital versions of both collections each contain bonus remixes by celebrated electronic artists such as Paul Oakenfold, Adam Freeland and Crystal Method. The single disc features 20 tracks (the downloaded version adds two bonus tracks). The double disc contains 34 tracks (the downloaded version adds five bonus tracks).

Yoko says Oh No
The headmaster at a small private school in New England was worried about handling the large crowd he expected for the screening of a documentary film about John Lennon. He shouldn't have worried. Lennon's widow has blocked any public showings of Three Days in the Life. The story has its beginnings in 1970, just as The Beatles were about to break up. Filmmaker Anthony Cox, who had been married (twice) to Yoko Ono, shot film documenting Lennon's activities over a three day period -- writing songs, touring his estate, rehearsing for his first public performance of "Instant Karma."

Nothing came of the film until 2000, when it was sold (for $1-million) and edited into a two hour documentary. The film's producers, unable to get a talent release from Ono, opted for free public screenings at high schools and colleges, the first of which was to be Berwick Academy in South Berwick, Maine, alma mater of one of the producers. That's when Ono's lawyers descended on the headmaster, warning that Lennon's widow had a copyright interest in the film, and had not authorized any public screenings of it. Headmaster Hap Ridgway told Associated Press, "We certainly hope the two sides will get together. What we've learned since it all broke loose is that it's a long-running dispute."

Long may he Young
On January 19, 1971, Neil Young performed at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada. In many ways, this was a major homecoming event. He had left Canada in 1966, soon becoming a member of Buffalo Springfield in Los Angeles, then recording his self-titled debut solo album in 1968. That was followed by "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" with Crazy Horse, then Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Déjà vu" in 1970 and his best-selling album "After The Gold Rush." By the time Young came back to Canada for the Massey Hall concert, he had become one of the most exciting and successful singer-songwriters in rock.

Neil Young was performing solo that evening in Toronto, playing many of his well-known songs like "Down by the River," "Ohio" and "I Am a Child." But he also included several new originals that would be featured on his next new album, "Harvest," which had not been released yet, like "Old Man," "The Needle and the Damage Done" and "Heart of Gold." The audience had not heard any of these before, and the night was an historic and moving performance for all. "This is the album that should have come out between 'After The Gold Rush' and 'Harvest,'" Young says now. "David Briggs, my producer, was adamant that this should be the record, but I was very excited about the takes we got on "Harvest," and wanted "Harvest" out. David disagreed. As I listen to this today, I can see why."

Live At Massey Hall, produced by Young and the late David Briggs, is the second Reprise Records release in the Neil Young Archives Performance Series, following last year's "Live At The Fillmore East" album. Both are in anticipation of the "Archives Volume I" collection, due late this year That 8-CD, 2-DVD audiobiography will include Young's music from 1963 to 1972, and feature a treasure trove of previously unreleased recordings, both studio and live, along with concert footage and rare memorabilia from the first decade of Neil Young's long and unequalled career.

Here we go again
The Van Halen saga continues to descend into farce. Eddie Van Halen has publicly admitted he's going into rehab to deal with his problems, while it now seems certain that the entire band will not be present at their induction into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame on March 12. In fact, will any of them turn up? ..... David White from classicrock.about.com had this to say about the whole debacle ..... "Pardon me for being a cynic, but when a front page announcement appears on the Van Halen Web site proclaiming that Eddie Van Halen is checking himself into rehab "to work on myself" I start looking around to see if Chicken Little has any announcements to make. They beat into your brain in journalism school that you can never never ever rely on only one source, no matter how reliable it seems to be, especially if it's a Web site. Remember, it was this same "source" that announced a Van Halen reunion tour, and was still announcing it long after the tour's promoter had announced that not only was it not going to happen, it had never been "officially" announced in the first place. So why should we believe Eddie when he says he's seen the light and is going to "change for the better" for the sake of his legion of loyal fans? Absent confirmation from more than one other reliable source, I'll believe it when I see it. "

Police Raid UK
The re-united Police have announced a series of UK and European shows, running from August 29 to October 19. The British gigs so far happen at Birmingham NIA September 4, London Twickenham Stadium 8, Manchester MEN Arena October 15, Cardiff Millennium Stadium 19. Get tickets via the ticket link at www.totalrock.com

Short Cuts ...... Velvet Revolver members Slash and Scott Weiland are to induct Van Halen into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame on March 12. And it's been confirmed that all members associated with the band will be present for the ceremony. We'll believe it when we see it! ..... Alice Cooper is to release a new album in May. It's to be called 'Along Came A Spider'......

More Classic Rock?
I can highly recommend the About Classic Rock website run by Dave White. Not only does Dave host one of the most knowledgeable classic rock blogs on the Net but the site itself is very entertaining and informative. There are always great indepth stories on the artists and the rock quizzes are addictive. If you are like me, a classic rock fan, then the weekly About Classic Rock newletter is a must. Sign up at classicrock.about.com

More rock on R2K......
Suffering from Rock withdrawal symptoms on a Tuesday night? Well then tune the dial el pronto to Barney Simon's show between 8 and midnight every Tuesday on Radio 2000 (or R2K as Barney calls it) for the best in South African rock plus gig guide, albums reviews, demos, new releases, news from around the country and much more...... Unmissable!.... Also don't forget to catch Michelle Constant between 1pm and 3pm Monday-Friday for news, music, interviews and loads of cool stuff.... and of course.... Mo G on the morning drive, weekdays 8-10am... Exclusively on Radio 2000.

Live Gigs

KEN E HENSON - A 50 YEAR CELEBRATION
(see poster on the left)
Thursday 29, Friday 30, Saturday 31 March - Thunder Road Rock Diner, 136 Florida Road, Durban
Thursday 29 - John Stengel / Red House / Roly Struckmeyer / AK Massive / Cubic Inch
Friday 30 - Dave Marks & Alan Judd / Roger Lucey & Dan Chiorboli / Interitmo Drummers/ Barry Thomson / Squeal / Mike Slavin's Blues Train
Saturday 31 - Nux Schwartz / Chris Chapman & AntiGravity / Guy Buttery & Nibs van der Spuy / Ken E Henson w Robbie Pavid & Neil Wainwright Steve & Tara Fataar / Abacus feat. Dawn Selby, Barry Thomson, Mark Freel & Mali Sewell / Bobby & The Dynamites w Richard Haslop / Dan Patlansky w Bobby & The Dynamites

Ken E Henson: Featured Guest on all 3 nights

ATFN
23rd March @ Carfax (Newtown, JHB)
With: Hog Hoggidy Hog and The SlashDogs
24th March @ Nile Crocodile (Sunnyside, PTA)
With: Hog Hoggidy Hog, The SlashDogs and Shu
Boulevard Blues Band
16th/ 17th iKhapa backpackers Stellenbosch
21st Human Rights day Festival Stellenbosch
22nd Klein Libertas Theatre With Delta blue & Southern gypsy queen
23rd Fogeys Muizenberg
24th Cornerbar Durbanville
25th Guzzlers Durbanville
28th Berties mooring Gordansbay
30/31st Arrabella Sheraton "Deep south theme"

Fuzigish Album Launch
17th Thrashers Skatepark, PTA 1PM
17th Zanzibar, Faerieglen PTA

Fearstrike
24 March Gandalfs, Observatory With Support acts: Umbilical Suicide and Downfall.

The Hellphones
17th Trotters, Boksburg
18th Back2Basix, Westdene
Jo Day
Sat, 24 March - Cafe Barcelona, Pta. (unplugged)
Sat, 31 March - Rafterz, Vanderbijlpark. (with Hiccup)

James Stewart
20th The Theatre at Bridge House Bridge House School, Franschhoek
Josie Field & The Bang - Know Your Rights
Human Rights Day - 21st The 88 Lounge, William Road, Norwood

Laurie Levine & Michael Canfield's Rhythm Section Africa
17th Back To Basix, Lancaster Street (off Kingsway), Westdene

Running With Scissors
19th Cool Runnings

Southern Gypsy Queen
24th March Dorp Street Theatre, Stellenbosch

FESTIVALS
Human Rights Day
21 March Die Lentelus Corner of Hammanshand St. and R310 Stellenbosch
Valiant Swart, Taxi Violence, Southern Gypsey Queen, Gerald Clark
12th Avenue, Jo Martin, Boulevard Blues Band, The Rudimentals, Velve.

Splashy Fen Festival
5-9 April Underberg KZN … See www.splashyfen.co.za for artist lineups

VENUES
Tanz Café, Bryanston
30th Louise Carver

You say it's your birthday...

March 17
Scott Gorham - Thin Lizzy - 1951
Harold Brown - War - 1946
John Sebastian - Lovin' Spoonful - 1944

March 18
John Hartman - Doobie Brothers - 1950

March 19
Paul Atkinson - Zombies - 1946

March 20
Carl Palmer - Emerson Lake & Palmer - 1950

March 21
Roger Hodgson - Supertramp - 1950
Eddie Money - 1949
Conrad Lozano - Los Lobos - 1951

March 22
Jeremy Clyde - Chad and Jeremy - 1941
Keith Relf - Yardbirds - 1943

March 23
Ric Ocasek - The Cars - 1949
Phil Lanzon - Uriah Heep -

March 24
Dougie Thomson - Supertramp - 1951

March 25
Elton John - 1947
Aretha Franklin - 1942

March 26
Steven Tyler - Aerosmith - 1948
Richard Tandy - Electric Light Orchestra - 1948
Fran Sheehan - Boston - 1949

March 27
Tony Banks - Genesis - 1950

March 28
John Evan - Jethro Tull - 1948

March 29
Bobby Kimball - Toto - 1947
Chad Allan - Guess Who)

March 30
Graeme Edge - Moody Blues - 1942
Eric Clapton - 1945
Dave Ball - Procol Harum
Jim "Dandy" Mangrum - Black Oak Arkansas - 1948

March 31
Mick Ralphs - Mott The Hoople, Bad Company - 1944
Angus Young - AC/DC - 1955

Courtesy of
About ClassicRock

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Benjy Mudie

Then	Now

Benjy Mudie is a self confessed 'rockaholic' with little chance of recovery... a music obsessive whose entire life has been spent in search of the lost chord... from discovering Jimi's "Are you experienced" at 13, he has constantly devoured music through lp's, singles, tapes, cds, dvds, books, magazines, film, concerts, radio, tv and the internet. His entire working life has also been music related: from running a record store and later joining WEA Records in the mid 70's through to his 21 year A&R/Marketing stint at Tusk Music where he signed some of the biggest names in South African rock and pop. The last 8 years have been spent nurturing new talent at his indie label Fresh Music and reissuing classic albums as part of it's ongoing Retro series.... To say that 'music is his first love' (to paraphrase John Miles's classic song) is somewhat understated.

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