Friends, one of the great rock stars of our time has unfortunately been plagued with bouts of ill health recently. You may already be aware that Lemmy Kilmister, frontman of heavy rock act Motorhead, has been too sick to perform during recent dates. His illness got so bad that the band had to make the unfortunate announcement that their recent European tour would have to be postponed. Rumor has it that this is due to complications with diabetes, and as…

If record sales and the success of their solo projects are any indication, progressive heavy rock act (with a bit of psychedelia) Tool has quite a large following here in the United States. Despite that, the band has outright refused to play US shows for quite some time; two years in fact. Well fans, that dry spell is now over, as Tool has announced a small string of shows in the Western states this March. This includes shows in Spokane,…

In practice, it’s not hard to distinguish the playing of a master guitarist from an amateur, but the difference is not so easy to vocalize. One trait most people would agree as a hallmark of an expert play is that of taste. A true virtuoso has uncanny ability over the themes of grace and subtlety and is content to pierce the mix when necessary, but never overbear. This proficiency is not something everyone has, but jazz guitarist Jim Hall certainly…

That’s right metal fans, you read that headline currently. Legendary Swedish metalheads HammerFall have officially announced a new tour and music are in the works. When the five piece announced they would be on temporary hiatus until 2014 earlier this year, it was quite hard to believe them. After all, how many bands actually come back from hiatus? Luckily, HammerFall appears to be in the small handful of bands that actually does come through with their promise. Seeing as their…

Often times, the side projects of musicians who gained their notoriety from another project don’t live up to the artist’s original works. This especially appears to be the case for solo projects; think of how many legendary acts that have gone on to produce some truly awful solo efforts. Fortunately, my dear readers, Sweethead, the side project of Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age, is an exception to this generalization. Van Leeuwen, who was also associated with…

Back in 2010, a humble Uruguayan by the name of Jose Mujica was voted into the highest office Uruguay offers, President. In his previous life, Mujica had been an idolized guerilla fighter, as well as a member of the left wing part coalition Broad Front. Certainly Mujica still had that spirit inside of him, but at 75 years old Mujica had in many ways became the ideal contented, simple living old man. Anyways, he already had a prison break, multiple…

Paul McCartney has a massive catalogue; besides the Beatles songs that he technically doesn’t own, the living legend can also draw from his decade spanning solo career, his work with the band Wings, or any of the songs he did not write but bought the rights to, such as Buddy Holly’s discography. This coming October, that catalog will once again be expanded with the release of New. The album is the result of many months of work between McCartney and…

Europeans fans of the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young received a disappointing announcement today: Neil Young and Crazy Horse will be canceling the rest of their European tour. This includes both concert dates and festival dates, as well as the group’s upcoming shows in the British Isles. According to their press release, Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro was involved in an accident which resulted in him fracturing his hand. Though the accident was by no means serious, it will prevent…

As Fender’s junior company, Squier often receives a lot of undue negative attention. While it is true that many of their instruments are cheaply made using low quality parts, Squier does its best to overcome the challenges low end companies face. Despite their efforts, however, Squier has long been thought of as a starter brand fit only for beginners. After all, living in the shadow of Fender is not exactly the most favorable place for a guitar manufacturer to find…

In the last few decades, the number of artists with posthumous catalog releases has exploded. After an artist dies, labels, producers, and even family members have begun releasing previously unheard tracks that went unused during the artist’s lifetime. Since the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, rumors have been flying as to whether or not the iconic entertainer’s catalog would be expanded. As of this fall, fans can rest assured that Jackson’s next release will be a unique…