I got my tickets!

Yay, tickets went on sale this morning for Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood this summer and I got some pretty decent seats!!
I always have a hard time getting good tickets and I'm no pro at it, but I think I did well: We're going to be on the floor 15 rows back! Now it's not the center section of the floor, it's Floor A (which is, when you're looking at the stage, on the right) but nonetheless, it's the best seats I've ever had for any concert and it's sure to be AMAZING!!

Do you have any upcoming concerts that you're excited for?!

Happy Birthday to Neal Schon!

Neal Schon, most notably known for his work in Journey, was born this day in 1954.

He joined Santana at the mere age of 15. Ironic story behind this: He was asked by Eric Clapton to join Derek & the Dominos, but since Santana had called first, he decided to join Santana.
Think about if he had joined D&tD instead... he probably wouldn't be where he is today. He obviously would have been overshadowed by Eric Clapton and no one would have truly picked out his talented guitar work.

In 1973, he founded Journey and, after all the Steve-Perry-diva-ego drama, is still rockin' today!

Clapton/Winwood Tour!

Just saw on Eric Clapton's website that a 14-city tour this summer with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood has been announced!
For more info, go here: http://www.whereseric.com/tour/

What a concert that's going to be! I was bummed out for a bit because I thought I wasn't going to be able to go... I'm going to be in the U.K. for a good chunk of June.
Turns out, I'm coming home on June 22nd and they'll be in Houston on the 24th! My dad and I are going to go together. :)

In a span of nine months, I will have gotten to see:
-my favorite band of all-time... THE EAGLES!
-another one of my favorites... JOURNEY (don't laugh, I know you have "Don't Stop Believin'" on your iPod!)
-this May, I will be seeing JAMES TAYLOR which I am really excited about. He was one of the few artists that my parents never saw when they were younger, so we're all three pretty excited about this one.
-this June, ERIC CLAPTON, the epitome of a guitarist, and STEVE WINWOOD!

Here's a clip of EC & SW singing the Blind Faith hit "Prescence of the Lord" from the Crossroads Festival 2007:

Have any of you seen James Taylor or EC live before? What have been your favorite concerts?

This Day in Rock - 1993

Eric Clapton wins six Grammys, including Record of the Year (for Tears in Heaven) and Song of the Year (for "Tears in Heaven").
The song was a tribute to his four-year-old son Conor who had fallen from a 53rd story window of a NYC apartment. What a tragedy.

If you haven't read his autobiography yet and you're even just the slightest fan, I would definitely recommend it. One of the best musician biographies (auto or not) I've read in a long time.

"I believe I've got some reason to be here. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. I ask myself that question a lot. 'Why me?' In the end, the closest I can come to is I might have something left to do which is of use to somebody else. And I don't mean on a global scale. I'm talking about maybe one other person can benefit from my existence that makes it worth God keeping me alive." -Eric Clapton


And here's a later performance of the song that won him a Grammy this day 16 years ago:



P.S. I prefer Clapton over Jimi Hendrix anyday (*hiding under desk*)

All-Time Favorite Band

Happy Saturday, everyone!
And a happy birthday to David Geffen who was born this day in 1943!

Thinking about Geffen made me think about Asylum Records (which he founded in 1971) which made me think about my all-time favorite band ever - The Eagles (who were signed to Asylum the same year)!

Now the Eagles started out as a country-rock band (especially the album Desperado), the country part being heavily influenced by Bernie Leadon's skills on mandolin, banjo, etc. After Leadon left, the band became more rock sounding (ala Hotel California).
When most people think of the Eagles, they think of "Hotel California" which is almost always in the top 10 of every Greatest Guitar Solos list out there.
However I think their entire catalogue is AWESOME. In my opinion they're the greatest harmony band ever. And I can't choose what lineup I like the best. From the original Frey-Henley-Leadon-Meisner to Frey-Henley-Leadon-Meisner-Felder to Frey-Henley-Meisner-Felder-Walsh to Frey-Henley-Walsh-Schmidt, I've loved 'em all.

I could go on and on and on all day, but I wanted to ask you:

Who is your all-time favorite band/artist? And why?

Hre's "Saturday Night" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling" from a BBC performance in 1973:

Lynnerd Skinnerd?

^Maybe that's the way they should have spelled their name.

On the latest cover of Guitar Hero, Lynyrd Skynyrd's name was misspelled.
(See for yourself here: http://videogames.yahoo.com/featurescreenshot?eid=1289774&index=0&spaceid=567002212)

Now come on! Really? No one caught this mistake?
In my mind, Lynyrd Skynyrd is the epitome of Southern rock.
The group has been through so much (from the plane crash in 1977 to just recently losing a member) and now this happens. I'd be pretty ticked off.
Granted, Johnny Van Zant has done a tremendous job stepping in and taking over after his brother (a hard act to follow).

Here's a performance of "I Ain't the One" (I bet you were expecting "Free Bird" or "Sweet Home Alabama", right? Those are classics, but this song is underrated!) from the Old Grey Whistle Test - BBC 1975.
Allen Collins always creeped me out by his bushy long hair and his freakishly tallness! Awesome guitar player nonetheless.



Did any of you get the chance to see Lynyrd Skynyrd with this original lineup? I know my dad saw them the February before the October crash and he said it was a just a great concert.

My Top 10 Fleetwood Mac Songs

Well nothing too exciting happened this day in classic rock history, so instead I'm going to do a top ten post!
Anybody out there fans of Fleetwood Mac? Well I'm super sad that I can't see them when they come to Texas, but it's right during finals here and it just doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Anyways, here's my top ten FM songs:

10. "Say You Love Me" (Fleetwood Mac 1975)
Catchy chorus!
9. "Say You Will" (Say You Will 2003)
"...that you love because you become someone else in an instant."
8. "Gypsy" (Mirage 1982)
"Lightning strikes, maybe once, maybe twice. And it all comes down to you."
7. "Go Your Own Way" (Rumours 1977)
A must. "Maybe I'd give you my world. How can I, when you won't take it from me?"
6. "I'm So Afraid" (Fleetwood Mac 1975)
Awesome guitar solo live. "I been alone, always down. No one cared to stay around."
5. "The Chain" (Rumours 1977)
The only FM song that includes writing credit to all five members. "If you don't love me now, you will never love me again."
4. "Silver Springs" (The Dance 1997)
Haunting. "Time casts a spell on you, but you won't forget me. I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me."
3. "Dreams" (Rumours 1977)
"But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness, like a heartbeat drives you mad..."
2. "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac 1975)
"Well I've been 'fraid of changing, 'cause I've built my life around you."
1. "Rhiannon" (Fleetwood Mac 1975)
I prefer The Dance version. For some reason I really like this song. Most people would expect "GYOW" or "Landslide" at the top spot, but for right now it's gotta be this song. "Dreams unwind, love's a state of mind."

I'm the type of person that really likes LYRICS of a song just as much as the music!

Are you any of you planning on see FM on this tour? What are your favorite FM songs?

This Day in Rock - 1968

First, I just wanted to say thank you for the comments!
I'm really excited about getting into the blogging world and appreciate you guys reading my blog. I'm even more excited to read all of yours!

This day back in 1968, David Gilmour joined Pink Floyd.
Before Gilmour, their primary leader/songwriter was Syd Barrett. Syd became heavily involved in drugs (especially LSD) and the band at this time was contemplating his exit, which would come in March. At stage peformances, Syd would be so out of it that he would just stand there not even trying to mime his actions on guitar or anything. When Gilmour and Syd were both in the band, Gilmour had to learn Syd's parts to play in case Syd "zoned out" in the middle of the show.


Now I have two questions for any PF fans out there...

1) The Dark Side of the Moon was and is an epic record. Enough said. Do you remember your experience of hearing it all the way through for the first time? I remember I listened to it with headphones on because on songs like "On the Run", it was very cool listening to footsteps move in and out of your ears. The lyrics throughout are absolutely oustanding. It was just an awesome experience. I was watching a documentary on the making of the record, and David Gilmour said something along the lines of him being a little sad that he would never have the experience of listening to it for the first time all the way through.

2) Has anybody seen the Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular? I got a chance to see it this past December, and it was pretty cool. They played TDSOTM all the way through, then played hits from The Wall and Wish You Were Here. Even a song or two after Waters had left the group. It was a pretty psychadelic experience and since I don't do drugs and didn't "enhance my viewing" myself, I had to wear these 3D glasses.
The lights and lasers were pretty cool, but I just really enjoyed being able to sit in a theater with a great sound system and listen to the music.
It's as close as we're ever going to get to a PF show nowadays, since they just lost a member and David Gilmour & Roger Waters don't seem to be wanting to collaborate anytime soon.

On a side note, I highly recommend everyone getting David Gilmour's latest album called On an Island. It's great.
There's also a DVD/Bluray out there called "Remember That Night" with David Gilmour from a couple of years ago. It has Richard Wright playing keyboards - his last recorded performance. Also Crosby and Nash pop up to backup sing, as well as David Bowie on "Comfortably Numb" -- if you want to impress your friends with your sound system, buy it on Bluray. It's unbelieveably amazing. The audio and video quality is just AWESOME. And David Gilmour is still as amazing as he was back in the day

Here's a clip from the DVD:

This Day in Rock - 1971

James Taylor is a 1960s/1970s singer-songwriter who has collarboated with other greats such as J.D. Souther, Carole King and Carly Simon.

This day in 1971, James Taylor made his first network television appearance on the Johnny Cash Show.
He sings "Sweet Baby James", the title track off his second album.