Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Monday, October 30, 2023
Spur of the moment - Dave Weckl - Drum Cover by Daniel Baldoza
I think I have the plastic square record from my Modern Drummer magazine downstairs in my bookcase. Great tune and great cover!
Dokken Returns with their 13th Album
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE SINGLE / VIDEO ‘OVER THE MOUNTAIN’
NEW ALBUM, HEAVEN COMES DOWN
OUT THIS WEEK VIA SILVER LINING MUSIC
Watch/Listen to ‘Over The Mountain’ here
Pre-orders available here
DATELINE: Wednesday, October 25, 2023 — Legendary American rockers Dokken release the mesmerizing video for the new single ‘Over The Mountain’, taken from the band’s 13th studio album, Heaven Comes Down, out this week via Silver Lining Music.
“‘Over The Mountain’ is a metaphoric song lyrically about people searching for better times and better days” explains Don Dokken. “It seems everybody is always looking for their Shangri-La.”
“My studio in the Sangre de Cristo mountains has wrap-around windows staring at three mountains ranges and the city lights of Santa Fe below,” continues Don. “Your environment affects what you write. I’m not staring at a black soundproof wall, I’m looking out ten windows where I can see Sandia, Ortiz and Jemez mountains, looking at the sunset every day, purple, yellow and pink, and it affects you… very inspiring.”
Watch the captivating video for ‘Over The Mountain’ here. Video by Above The Void.
Watch/listen to ‘Gypsy’ here. Video by Natalia Jonderko Śmiechowicz.
Watch/listen to ‘Fugitive’ here. Video directed by Chris Eyre (Dark Winds, Smoke Signals) at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Filming by Tom Strickfaden.
You can feel that heat off the Sunset Strip and see that hair in the wind as Dokken bring their timeless convertible Ferrari rock ‘n’ roll power to the table with Heaven Comes Down, an unapologetic celebration of everything Dokken do best. You want to rock? Sink your teeth into ‘Fugitive’, which rides some shimmering guitar work courtesy of 20+ year member Jon Levin, and if you want ballads, head on over to ‘I’ll Never Give Up’, hanging on that Coliseum chorus, Levin laying down a landmark solo. The pattern of Heaven Comes Down never falters in delivering the goods on both sides of the fence. ‘Just Like A Rose’ brings the Pacific Coast Highway to desert plains with its smooth, effortlessly-driven gears, and ‘Saving Grace’ carries a mystical malevolence. But ‘Santa Fe’ is perhaps the most revealing with Don Dokken opening up with what amounts to a ‘life-moment biography’: a spartan acoustic arrangement allowing the rich yet road-driven vocals to frame what might well prove to be the defining moment of Dokken’s career.
Mixed by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa) and produced by Bill Palmer and Don Dokken, fans will love it, neutrals will be wonderfully surprised by some of the ingredients within Heaven Comes Down.
“An inspiring and courageous hard rock album by Don Dokken where the songs tell their own tale. ‘Over The Mountain’ is a pearl, ‘Just Like a Rose’ even a better one – with the captivating harmony sound” – ROCKS MAGAZINE
“The long dry spell finally comes to an end. Heaven Comes Down is an ingenious comeback album” – ROCK IT
“Don Dokken can still do it – great voice, pleasant pitches but still Dokken. Our staff are listening to Fugitive: an escapism hymn from Don Dokken, the opener on Heaven Comes Down – infatuating 80’s flair without kitsch or cliché” – CLASSIC ROCK
“All elements seem to be in place for Dokken to be a truly great band again” – FIREWORKS
“Fans will love it and causal bystanders will be won over” – ROCK CANDY
“Reference Point for all things hard ’n’ heavy” – GUITAR CLUB MAGAZINE
“This chapter can really defend itself” – ROCK HARD ITALY
“A solid album with really sharp and well-produced touches as expected” – MY GLOBAL MIND
“Don can still write good songs and delivers them fine by me! Heaven Comes Down is a great return after a decade” – OUTSIDER ROCK
“This album is not an obvious attempt to go back to the roots or to rekindle the past. It is a modern sounding heavy rock album with a powerful production but it is based on good songs…the result is in and the result is good! – HEADBANGERS LIFESTYLE
Dokken Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday 8 November - Jergel’s Rhythm Grille - Warrendale, PA
Friday 10 November - The Robins Theatre - Warren, OH
Saturday 11 November - Piere’s - Fort Wayne IN,
Friday 17 November - Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, NV
Saturday 18 November -Whisky A Go Go - West Hollywood, CA
Heaven Comes Down will be released this Friday October 27th 2023, on CD Digipak, 12” Vinyl Album in Black and colour variants, digital formats and special D2C products and bundles. Pre-order now at this location
Track Listing:
1 - Fugitive
2 - Gypsy
3 - Is It Me Or You?
4 - Just Like A Rose
5 - I’ll Never Give Up
6 - Saving Grace
7 - Over The Mountain
8 - I Remember
9 - Lost In You
10 - Santa Fe
DON DOKKEN – Vocals
JON LEVIN – Guitar
CHRIS McCARVILL – Bass
BJ ZAMPA – DrumsProduced by Bill Palmer & Don Dokken
Bill Palmer: acoustic guitar on ‘Santa Fe’
Mark Boals: special guest (background vocals)
Follow Dokken on:
Official Site ► https://www.dokken.net/
Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/DokkenOfficial
YouTube ► https://www.youtube.com/DokkenOfficial
X/Twitter ► https://www.twitter.com/Dokken
Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/dokken_official
The Lost Dr Seuss Story
From: Mark Feldman from BANG The Drum School
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2023 6:57:21 AM
Subject: The Lost Dr Seuss Story
Hey Everyone -
I found an old notebook that belonged to Dr Seuss. His estate had misplaced it. As I was thumbing through it, I found this wonderful little story. I had no idea that Dr Seuss was a drummer, did you?
Check it out...
It's called:
Drummers Are Brothers
---------------------------------------------------------
There once was a drummer
Whose name was McGhee
He could play paradiddles
Much faster than me
And not just a little bit
faster, oh no!
Compared to this chap
I was dreadfully slow
I studied and worked
with some great drumming masters
But nothing I did
Seemed to help me go faster
I practiced all day
and I practiced all night
I tell you I practiced with all of my might
As I watched McGhee play
on his huge YouTube channel
he wore tight blue jeans
and a black and red flannel
He blazed all these diddles
Oh Man, he was tight
but later it hit me
McGhee's groove was light
So I laughed
and remembered
I really COULD play
My groove was quite good
I had pocket for days!
I ran into McGhee
on the street yesterday
and he said,
"Hey my brother!
You really can play!"
He sounded quite humble
He looked at his feet
and he asked,
"Do you think you
could help with my beat?"
I smiled and I said,
"I like how you play too.
Come down to my drum room
on Street Number Two."
So we climbed up those stairs
with a huff and a puff
we played us some drums
hey we both had some stuff!
Your drums might be red
or your drums might be blue
but drummers are helpful
we're brothers--that's true!
Right? That's one of the things I like about being a drummer. We help each other. We are brothers (and sisters).
I've been helping drummers learn to play since 2009 and my Drumming Acceleration Program is my most in-depth, turn-key and hands-on teaching yet.
It covers everything you need to get from zero to hero. And it organizes everything for you.
You won't have to worry about what to do next.
Just follow the steps I lay out and you'll be good to go.
The next group starts on January 9th, 2024.
But, enrollment closes on November 30th, so don't wait.
More here:
https://www.drumaccelerator.com
Regards,
your drumming friend,
Mark F
Sunday, October 29, 2023
How to Rip a CD to MP3 (And Auto-Name the Files Correctly)
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-rip-a-cd-automatically-correctly-name-the-files-windows/
The 4 Best Tools to Manage Your MP3 Music Collection
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-fantastic-tools-to-manage-your-massive-mp3-collection/
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Leftist Media Aghast Over New GOP Speaker – But Helpful To Hamas | Wacky MOLE
I admit that I look forward to this series on Friday afternoons... it ends my week with a smile.
Friday, October 27, 2023
Them Bones - 1
Post Malone has recorded a cover of Them Bones on The Howard Stern Show, which has reignited my admiration for this tune. Brian Rock bought this CD ... and hated it... so he gave me the CD "Dirt" because he didn't want it.
So I am going to have multiple posts about this tune, leading to the PM Cover, then a reaction to the cover. Enjoy Them Bones on a Friday!
Up first, Rick Beato analyzing the tune in his
"What Makes This Song Great? Ep.13 ALICE IN CHAINS" episode.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
BR
I saw this on Facebook - I didn't write it!
-------------
Why is the song called 'Bohemian Rhapsody'?
Why does it last exactly 5 minutes and 55 seconds?
What is this song really about?
Why did the Queen movie premiere on October 31?
The movie premiered on October 31 because the single was first heard on October 31, 1975. It's titled that way because a 'Rhapsody' is a free-form musical piece composed of different parts and themes that seem unrelated to each other.
The word 'rhapsody' comes from Greek and means 'assembled parts of a song.'
The word 'bohemian' refers to a region in the Czech Republic called Bohemia, where Faust, the protagonist of Goethe's work of the same name, was born. In Goethe's work, Faust was an elderly and intelligent man who knew everything except the mystery of life. Unable to comprehend it, he decides to poison himself.
At that moment, church bells ring, and he goes outside. When he returns to his room, he finds a dog that transforms into a kind of man. It's the devil, Mephistopheles. He promises Faust a full life without misery in exchange for his soul. Faust agrees, rejuvenates, and becomes arrogant. He meets Gretchen and has a child. His wife and child die. Faust travels through time and space and feels powerful. When he becomes old again, he feels miserable once more. Since he didn't break the pact with the devil, angels contend for his soul.
This work is essential to understanding 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'
The song is about Freddie Mercury himself. Being a rhapsody, it has 7 different parts:
1st and 2nd acts - A Capella
3rd act - Ballad
4th act - Guitar solo
5th act - Opera
6th act - Rock
7th act - 'Coda' or final act
The song talks about a poor boy questioning if this life is real or if his distorted imagination is living another reality. He says that even if he stops living, the wind will keep blowing without his existence. So, he makes a deal with the devil and sells his soul.
Upon making this decision, he rushes to tell his mother and says...
"Mama, I just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead. Threw my life away. If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters..."
The man he kills is himself, Freddie Mercury.
If he doesn't fulfill the pact with the devil, he will die immediately.
He says goodbye to his loved ones, and his mother breaks into tears, tears and desperate crying that comes from Brian May's guitar notes. Freddie, terrified, cries out, "Mama, I don't want to die," and the operatic part begins. Freddie finds himself in an astral plane where he sees himself: "I see a little silhouetto of a man"... "Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?"
Scaramouche is an "escaramuza," a skirmish between armies with horseback riders (4 horsemen of the Apocalypse of evil fighting against the forces of good for Freddie's soul), and he continues, saying, "Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me."
This phrase appears in the Bible, specifically in Job 37 when it says, "the thunder and lightning frighten me: my heart pounds in my chest." Seeing his son so scared by the decision he has made, Freddie's mother begs to save him from the pact with Mephistopheles. "He's just a poor boy..." "Spare him his life from this monstrosity." "Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?" Her pleas are heard, and angels descend to battle the forces of evil. "Bismillah" (an Arabic word meaning "In the name of God") is the first word in the holy book of Muslims, the Quran. So, God Himself appears and shouts, "We will not let you go."
In the face of such a confrontation between good and evil, Freddie fears for his mother's life and says, "Mama mia, mama mia, let me go." They shout again from the sky that they won't abandon him, and Freddie cries, "No, no, no, no, no," and says, "Beelzebub (the Lord of Darkness) has a devil put aside for me." Freddie pays homage here to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach when he sings... "Figaro, Magnifico," referring to Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," considered the greatest opera of all time, and to Bach's "Magnificat."
The operatic part ends, and the rockier part bursts in. The devil, angry and betrayed by Freddie not keeping the pact, says, "So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye? So you think you can love me and leave me to die?"
It's chilling how the Lord of Evil feels powerless against a human being, against repentance and love.
Having lost the battle, the devil departs, and we reach the final act or 'coda' where Freddie is free, and that feeling comforts him. The gong that closes the song sounds. The gong is an instrument used in China and East Asian cultures to heal people under the influence of evil spirits.
It lasts for 5:55 minutes. Freddie liked astrology, and in numerology, 555 is associated with death, not physical but spiritual, the end of something where angels will safeguard you. 555 is related to God and the divine, an ending that will lead to a new beginning.
And the song plays on Halloween eve for the first time. A holiday called 'Samhain' by the Celts to celebrate the transition and opening to the other world.
The Celts believed that the world of the living and the dead were closely connected, and on the Day of the Dead, both worlds would unite, allowing spirits to cross over.
Nothing in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is coincidental.
Everything is carefully crafted and has a meaning that goes beyond being just a song.
It has been voted worldwide as the greatest song of all time.
It's Official - Dream Theater Reunite With Mike Portnoy!
I hope that all of the MM haters are happy.
As a MM "anti-hater", I am un
happy. 
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Monday, October 23, 2023
NBA Power Rankings: Where All 30 Teams Start On Opening Night
This suggests that the Indiana Pacers could make the 2024 NBA Playoffs. I hope that is true 👍
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Friday, October 20, 2023
Thursday, October 19, 2023
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Sixx Amplifies Insults After Sharon Osbourne Calls Him an A-hole
https://loudwire.com/motley-crue-nikki-sixx-transphobic-insult-sharon-osbourne/?external=yes
The Conclusion of FTWD
It was August 23, 2015, when Fear the Walking Dead, Season 1, Episode 1, captivated me. It started a series that told a different story than the main show, The Walking Dead, and I have watched every episode. There have been some really great moments and other moments where I just wasn't excited about the story being told. Of the show's initial 4 main characters - Travis, Madison, Nick, Alicia - only Madison is alive and present. Both Travis and Nick are deceased and Alicia? Well, some fans speculate that she is alive. I never saw her actually die in the show but it was suggested that she was going to die. I will watch the final 6 episodes and hope that the story concludes appropriately.
https://youtu.be/ Nz8iroTq1IY - Fear The Walking Dead Series Finale 'Alicia's Return & Last Episode Has A Conclusion' Breakdown
68-year-old engineer spent 50 years at one company—the key to his long tenure
If I can, my plan is to work until Friday, 3-28-2036. I will turn 66 in 12-2035 and then I want to work until the 20th anniversary of my first day. I hope that I have the means to accomplish this goal.
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