Category Archives: Blues

Giving back and helping others

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My wife, Mrs. Hellion is a very giving person with a big heart. She would help the world out if it were in her power to do so. She was recently nominated by someone to be arrested during the Muscular Dystrophy Association Lock-Up fundraiser. Her crime: Having a big heart. Her goal is to raise $1600.00 bail for the MDA. If you can, take the time and visit the link and donate to a worthy cause:

http://mda.convio.net/site/TR/Lock-Up/99-855-NewMexicoDistrict?px=2097387&pg=personal&fr_id=8532

 Thank you – the Hellion

The Hellion Rocks Photography

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They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well circumstances led me to pick up a camera in September of 2012. I have since spent a lot of time learning and will always be learning to understand the art of photography. I have put a selection of my shots up on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/117375233@N02/ I would dig it if you checked them out and gave some feedback. Any feedback is appreciated as we can only learn from it.  – the Hellion

The Sword “Arcane Montane” Video Live Today At Swordofdoom‏

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THE SWORD “ARCANE MONTANE” VIDEO LIVE TODAY –WATCH NOW AT SWORDOFDOOM.COM

(Austin, TX)- In conjunction with the start tonight of their final North American tour on the Apocryphon album cycle, The Sword today release a lyric video for the track “Arcane Montane.” The video appears here at Swordofdoom.com.
The tour, which starts tonight in the band’s hometown of Austin, TX, brings to an end the touring for Apocryphon,  which was released in October of 2012. Dates for the tour are below.
Thu/Feb 13 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Fri/Feb 14 – Houston TX @ Fitzgeralds
Sat/Feb 15 – Dallas TX @ Gas Monkey
Mon/Feb 17 – Nashville TN  @ Exit / In
Tue/Feb 18 – Charlotte NC @ Tremont
Wed/Feb 19 – Wilmington NC @ Ziggys By The Sea
Fri/Feb 21 – Washington DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel
Sat/Feb 22 – Cambridge MA @ The Middle East
Sun/Feb 23 – Brooklyn NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Tue/Feb 25 – Albany NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
Wed/Feb 26 – Montreal QC @ Foufounes Électriques
Fri/Feb 28 – London ON @ London Music Hall
Sat/Mar 01 – Toronto ON @ Lees Palace
Sun/Mar 02 – Cleveland OH @ Grog Shop
Mon/Mar 03 – Pittsburgh PA @ Mr Smalls
Wed/Mar 05 – Chicago IL @ Double Door
Thu/Mar 06 – Indianapolis IN @ The Vogue
Fri/Mar 07 – Grand Rapids MI @ The Stache
Sat/Mar 08 – Milwaukee WI @ The Rave Bar
Sun/Mar 09 – Minneapolis MN @ Mill City Nights
Mon/Mar 10 – Kansas City MO @ Riot Room
Tue/Mar 11 – Colorado Springs CO @ Black Sheep
Thu/Mar 13 – Salt Lake City UT @ Urban Lounge
Fri/Mar 14 – Boise ID @ Neurolux
Sat/Mar 15 – Spokane WA @ The Hop
Sun/Mar 16 – Seattle WA @ Neumos
Mon/Mar 17 – Portland OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Wed/Mar 19 – Sacramento CA @ Harlows
Thu/Mar 20 – San Francisco CA @ Slims
Fri/Mar 21 – Anaheim CA @ House Of Blues
Sat/Mar 22 – Phoenix AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Sun/Mar 23 – Albuquerque NM @ Launchpad
Mon/Mar 24 – El Paso TX @ Lowbrow Palace

 

New RONNIE JAMES DIO Covers Album “This Is Your Life” Celebrates the Life and Legacy of a Legend — Available April 1, 2014 via Rhino‏

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ew RONNIE JAMES DIO Covers Album “This Is Your Life”

Celebrates the Life and Legacy of a Legend

 

Available April 1, 2014 via Rhino

 

This Is Your Life Pays Tribute To The Late Singer With Covers Of

His Greatest Songs From Rainbow, Black Sabbath, And Dio

 

Features Newly Recorded Tracks From Anthrax, Halestorm, Rob Halford, Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions, Corey Taylor, And Tenacious D, Among Others

To Benefit The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund

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Ronnie James Dio is one of the most beloved figures in rock history. His gifts, both as a singer and songwriter, are instantly recognizable, whether he was with Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, or leading Dio. Sadly, Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer in 2010, but his towering voice and legacy live on.

 

To celebrate one of rock’s most powerful voices, an all-star group of his friends and fans recorded 13 of their favorite tracks for a tribute album that will raise funds for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund (diocancerfund.org). Produced by his longtime manager and wife Wendy Dio, the album includes contributions by such metal heavyweights as Metallica, Motörhead, Scorpions,Anthrax, and Rob Halford, as well as appearances by many of the musicians who performed with Dio over the years.

 

This Is Your Life will be available from Rhino on April 1, 2014 for a suggested list price of $18.98. A digital version will also be available.

 

Although the songs featured on the album touch on the different eras of Dio’s career, several spotlight his time with Rainbow, including Metallica’s epic, nine-minute “Ronnie Rising Medley,” which combines the Rainbow songs “A Light In The Black,” “Tarot Woman,” “Stargazer,” and “Kill The King.” Scorpions add a scorching take on “The Temple Of The King” while Motörhead is joined by Biff Byford from Saxon on “Starstruck.” Rob Halford teams with frequent Dio collaborators Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, and Scott Warren for “The Man On The Silver Mountain.” The final line-up of Dio’s solo band – Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo and Scott Warren – are joined by Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) for “Catch The Rainbow,” a track from Rainbow’s 1975 debut.

 

Anthrax and Adrenaline Mob honor Dio’s memorable stint with Black Sabbath with their takes on “Neon Knights” and “The Mob Rules” respectively, as does a group, led by Oni Logan on vocals along with Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, and Brian Tichy, which performs “I” from Dehumanizer.

 

This Is Your Life also includes songs from Dio’s back-to-back platinum albums Holy Diver (1983) and The Last In Line (1984), withDoro’s take on “Egypt (The Chains Are On)”, Halestorm tackling “Straight Through The Heart,” Corey Taylor (Stone Sour,Slipknot) covering the classic “Rainbow In The Dark” and Tenacious D (Jack Black and Kyle Glass) putting their signature spin on “The Last In Line.” Killswitch Engage’s cover of “Holy Diver,” a hit in its own right when released in 2006, is also included here.

 

Fittingly, Ronnie James Dio provides the finale (and the album’s title) with his moving performance of “This Is Your Life.” Originally released on Angry Machines (1996), the song’s lyrics explore mortality and are backed by a stark and beautiful arrangement that features Dio accompanied only by his longtime keyboardist Scott Warren on piano. The song serves as a poignant reminder that we will never hear a voice like Dio’s again.

 

The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, co-founded by Wendy Dio, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charitable fund dedicated to supporting cancer-prevention research, raising awareness and educating the public about the vital importance of early detection and prevention when dealing with this deadly disease.

 

 

RONNIE JAMES DIO: This Is Your Life Track Listing:

 

  1. “Neon Knights” – Anthrax*
  2. “The Last In Line” – Tenacious D*
  3. “The Mob Rules” – Adrenaline Mob
  4. “Rainbow In The Dark” – Corey Taylor, Roy Mayorga, Satchel, Christian Martucci, Jason Christopher*
  5. “Straight Through The Heart” – Halestorm*
  6. “Starstruck” – Motörhead with Biff Byford*
  7. “The Temple Of The King” – Scorpions*
  8. “Egypt (The Chains Are On)” – Doro
  9. “Holy Diver” – Killswitch Engage
  10. “Catch The Rainbow” – Glenn Hughes, Simon Wright, Craig Goldy, Rudy Sarzo, Scott Warren*
  11. “I” – Oni Logan, Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson, Brian Tichy*
  12. “Man On The Silver Mountain” – Rob Halford, Vinny Appice, Doug Aldrich, Jeff Pilson, Scott Warren*
  13. “Ronnie Rising Medley (Featuring A Light In The Black, Tarot Woman, Stargazer, Kill The King)” – Metallica*
  14. “This Is Your Life” – Dio

 

* Previously unreleased

the Hellion Rocks mourns with Gabe Gambino over the loss of his beard

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Join Gabe Gambino and myself as we discuss the recent loss of his beloved beard:

     I have no words

     -the Hellion

 

A Message from FLEA regarding the Red Hot Chili Peppers Super Bowl performance

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From http://redhotchilipeppers.com:

A Message From Flea

Dear everybody,

When we were asked by the NFL and Bruno to play our song Give It Away at the Super Bowl, it was made clear to us that the vocals would be live, but the bass, drums, and guitar would be pre-recorded. I understand the NFL’s stance on this, given they only have a few minutes to set up the stage, there a zillion things that could go wrong and ruin the sound for the folks watching in the stadium and the t.v. viewers. There was not any room for argument on this, the NFL does not want to risk their show being botched by bad sound, period.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers stance on any sort of miming has been that we will absolutely not do it. The last time we did it (or tried to) was in the late 80’s, we were thrown off of ‘The Top Of the Pops’ television program in the U.K. during rehearsals because we refused to mime properly, I played bass with my shoe, John played guitar atop Anthony’s shoulders, and we basically had a wrestling match onstage, making a mockery of the idea that it was a real live performance.

We mimed on one or two weird MTV shows before that and it always was a drag. We take our music playing seriously, it is a sacred thing for us, and anyone who has ever seen us in concert (like the night before the Super Bowl at the Barclays Center), knows that we play from our heart, we improvise spontaneously, take musical risks, and sweat blood at every show. We have been on the road for 31 years doing it.

So, when this Super Bowl gig concept came up, there was a lot of confusion amongst us as whether or not we should do it, but we eventually decided, it was a surreal-like, once in a life time crazy thing to do and we would just have fun and do it. We had given this a lot of thought before agreeing to do it, and besides many a long conversation amongst ourselves, I spoke with many musician friends for whom I have the utmost respect, and they all said they would do it if asked, that it was a wild trippy thing to do, what the hell. Plus, we the RHCP all love football too and that played a big part in our decision. We decided that, with Anthony singing live, that we could still bring the spirit and freedom of what we do into the performance, and of course we played every note in the recording specially for the gig. I met and spoke with Bruno, who was a beautiful dude, a real talented musician, and we worked out something that seemed like it would be fun.

We recorded a track for the day, just banged one out from our hearts that was very like in spirit to the versions we have been playing live the last few years with our beloved Josh on guitar.

For the actual performance, Josh, Chad, and I were playing along with the pre recorded track so there was no need to plug in our guitars, so we did not. Could we have plugged them in and avoided bumming people out who have expressed disappointment that the instrumental track was pre recorded? Of course easily we could have and this would be a non-issue. We thought it better to not pretend. It seemed like the realest thing to do in the circumstance. It was like making a music video in front of a gazillion people, except with live vocals, and only one chance to rock it. Our only thought was to bring the spirit of who we are to the people.

I am grateful to the NFL for having us. And I am grateful to Bruno, who is a super talented young man for inviting us to be a part of his gig. I would do it all the same way again.

We, as a band, aspire to grow as musicians and songwriters, and to continue to play our guts out live onstage for anyone who wants to get their brains blown out.

Sincerely,

Flea

Photo by Clara Balzary

Photo by Clara Balzary

 

Great live band, I have seen them several times. Thanks Flea!

the Hellion

 

the Hellion Rocks presents: Justin Manning of Crowned By Fire

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It’s always great to talk to Justin Manning. We had a great discussion about the new deal Crowned By Fire signed with the newly formed Chrome Mountain Records.1044077_1452670484954224_2072048793_n

 

Make sure you go to Facebook and show Crowned By Fire and Chrome Mountain Records some love:

https://www.facebook.com/CrownedByFire

https://www.facebook.com/ChromeMountainRecords

 

 

This conversation went for about an hour so I’ll keep it short here and let you get to it:

     it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s CROWNED BY FIRE!

the Hellion

 

A conversation with guitarist Mike Araiza

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I have known Mike Araiza for several years now. In fact I remember sitting in the parking lot of the Owl Cafe with him and Jeff Sandoval listening to the freshly minted tracks from the Of The Earth project they had just completed.

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They moved on in their journey and the next step was an album of songs they had written that turned out to be the frank Hannon Band ‘Six String Soldiers. Which featured appearances by legendary guitarists Dickey Betts, Dave Meniketti, Rick Derringer, and Pat Travers.

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Now, I am excited to say, Mike and Jeff are taking the next step in their musical evolution. They are going to be releasing a series of new tracks as single releases over the next year. The first of which is tentatively called “All I Need” or “It’s All I Need”. This first track features mutual friend Kurt Arft on bass guitar and Chris Collier pulling double duties on drums and production duties.

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bassist Kurt Arft

bassist Kurt Arft

drummer and producer Chris Collier

drummer and producer Chris Collier

 

Mike and I had a nice conversation about all of these events and would love to invite you to listen to it right here:

 

Make sure you got to Mike and Jeff’s Facebook page and give them a like and show your support: https://www.facebook.com/JeffandMikeMusic!!!

 

it’s loud, it’s tonerific, it’s Jeff and Mike!

the Hellion

 

 

 

 

RED DRAGON CARTEL RELEASE VIDEO FOR “DECEIVED” FROM BAND’S UPCOMING SELF-TITLED DEBUT OUT ON JANUARY 28th

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RED DRAGON CARTEL RELEASE VIDEO FOR “DECEIVED” FROM BAND’S UPCOMING SELF-TITLED DEBUT OUT ON JANUARY 28th

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Band Set To Hit The Road For The First Time This March

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(New York, NY – January 21, 2014) – Red Dragon Cartel have been making waves since the band announced the release of their upcoming debut last year. Now, the band made up of guitar legend Jake E. Lee, bassist Ronnie Mancuso, singer D.J. Smith and drummer Jonas Fairley are unveiling their debut video for the song “Deceived.” The song comes from their soon-to-be-released Frontiers Records album Red Dragon Cartel out on January 28th. The video for the song can be seen at  and fans that pre-order the album digitally on iTunes at http://smarturl.it/reddragoncartelreceive the song as an instant download. The album is also available for pre-order on Amazon.com at http://amzn.to/1aYjMng.

 

 

Jake E. Lee is best known for his work in Badlands and as guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne on Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin albums. Red Dragon Cartel also features various guest appearances from some of music’s most notable faces including legendary Cheap Trick vocalist Robin Zander, original Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno, Kill Devil Hill/Pantera bassist Rex Brown, Sass Jordan, Slash’s Conspirators Todd Kearns and Brent Fitz and In This Moment front woman Maria Brink. The album was produced by Ronnie Mancuso and Jake E. Lee and was executive produced, mixed and mastered by Kevin Churko (In This Moment, Ozzy Osbourne, Five Finger Death Punch).

 

Red Dragon Cartel will be hitting the road in the road in March to showcase Jake E Lee’s return to the world. The tour kicks off March 5th in Tempe, AZ and runs all the way through April 6th, where it wraps up in Seneca, NY. The tour will make stops in Oklahoma City, Houston, Raleigh and Philadelphia to name a few. The band will also be heading over to Europe where they are confirmed to perform at this year’s Download Festival in Donnington, England and the famed Sweden Rock Festival. More dates are being added around the world as the band looks to bring the music of Red Dragon Cartel to every corner of the globe.

 

From the opening riff of “Deceived” to final sustained piano chord of “Exquisite Tenderness,” it is clear Red Dragon Cartel has created an album that stands amongst some of the greatest hard rock albums of all time. Infectious songs such as “Shout It Out,” “Wasted” and “Slave” showcase the band’s ability to write memorable hooks and vocal melodies. Robin Zander of Cheap Trick lends his voice to the track “Feeder” and a lyric video for the song can be seen athttp://tinyurl.com/FeederLyricVideo. Maria Brink of In This Moment lends her unique vocals to the track “Big Mouth.” Paul Di’Anno and Sass Jordan also lend their talents to the band’s debut. Jake E. Lee’s trademark playing style instantly shines through and picks up right where he left off.

Red Dragon Cartel – Official Website: http://reddragoncartel.com Official Facebook: www.facebook.com/reddragoncartel  Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/reddragoncartel

 

Tour Dates:

Mar. 5 Las Vegas, NV The Marquee

Mar. 13 Owaso, OK Lava Cable

Mar. 14 Oklahoma City, OK The Chameleon Room

Mar. 15 Houston, TX Concert Pub North

Mar. 20 Hazard, KY Summit City

Mar. 21 Janesville, WI The Back Bar

Mar. 22 Fridley, MN Leighton’s Pickle Park

Mar. 23 Richmond, IN The Firehouse

Mar. 25 McKees Rocks, PA Dead Hourse

Mar. 28 Largo, FL Largo Cultural Center

Mar. 29 – Apr. 1 Miami, FL Monsters Of Rock Cruise

Apr. 2 Teaneck, NJ Mexicali Live

Apr. 3 Philadelphia, PA The Legendary Dobbs

Apr. 4 Amityville, NY Revolutions

Apr. 6 West Seneca, NY Rock & Roll Heaven

May 30 Vienna, AUS Szene

May 31 Munich, GER Backstage

Jun 5 Norje Solvesborg, SWE Sweden Rock Festival

Jun 15 Donnington, ENG Download Festival

Jun 19 Seattle, WA El Corazon

Jun 21 Idaho Falls, ID Rock The Falls

 

My conversation with Emperors And Elephants drummer Jason Meudt

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Very lucky to have the opportunity to speak with drummer Jason Meudt from Emperors And Elephants. Great conversation and we could have spoken all day. We spoke about the new release ‘Devil In The Lake’ and even premiered a track “Your Will”. Here’s the link for your enjoyment:

     Their new CD ‘Devil In The Lake’ has just dropped and you can pick it up world wide

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     Emperors And Elephants are on the web find them at: https://www.facebook.com/EmperorsandElephants and http://emperorsandelephants.com

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     it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s EMPERORS AND ELEPHANTS!

     the Hellion