It's official: Phish will resume its tradition of Halloween thrills this year, as the band will be bringing its famed act to Indio, California this October 30-November 1 for a three-day music festival. America's most celebrated jam band will play eight sets during the three-day festival during Halloween weekend, sure to be packing the house at the Empire Polo Club, where the noted Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals take place every spring and summer.
(more…)

The drummer by definition has to be the most rock and roll member of the band. You have to be a little unhinged to be a drummer. All that time spent banging definitely seems to have an effect. It is remarkable therefore that some of the finest drummers seem to be strangely sensible. Take Phil Collins, Dave Grohl and John Densmore. These guys for some of the most hardcore bands ever to grace the planet (Nirvana and The Doors that is - I'm not sure Genesis could be called hardcore!) yet they have achieved phenomenal individual success despite, by definition, being a screw loose.
(more…)

Although individual playing styles and hand positions will vary tremendously from one player to another, essentially there are two basic techniques which can be used when it comes to plucking a string with the fingers. Generally these can be considered to be either with or without preparation, and depending upon which type of stroke is used, a different sound and tone can be achieved. The idea of plucking a string either without preparation, or with some form of preparation, can be applied to a wide range of playing styles and sounds.
(more…)

Blink 182 personified the genre of sophomoric punk rock when they broke onto the scene in 1997 with their third album, Dude Ranch. Propelled by the success of the high-school anthem "Dammit," the band became known on a large scale throughout the United States. The song is about growing up and how it's not always easy for teens to come to grips with situation and events at certain points in their lives. The song is filled with the kind of adolescent angst that plagues most teens. "And it's happened once again/I'll turn to a friend/Someone that understands/Sees through the master plan/But everybody's gone/and I've been here for too long/To face this on my own /Well I guess this is growing up," the lyrics go.
(more…)

Portland-bred indie rockers the Decemberists spoke with Rolling Stone prior to kicking off a spring tour in support of their most recent album, the hour-long, story-album inspired by British folk songs that is Hazards of Love. Frontman Colin Meloy thought up the ambitious album after a stint spent sampling the music of British folk revivalists like Fairport Convention and recruited indie rock mainstays like members of My Morning Jacket, Lavender Diamond, My Brightest Diamond, the Spinanes and original psych-folk-punk Robin Hitchcock, to help with the effort. The band played Hazards of Love in its entirety at South by Southwest and will follow suit on tour, so check online for the Decemberists tickets.
(more…)

Though it was announced in May that George Strait was adding more dates to his summer fest, fans still can't stop talking about the country star who has captured the world's heart over the years with his sweet voice, large hats and catchy tracks. Just ask Garth Brooks. Brooks was at Strait's ACM Artist of the Decade celebration, which was taped at the end of May just after the 44th Annual Awards in Las Vegas. There, the retired country star claimed he had once wanted to be Strait, and had looked up to him for years. Brooks, the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade for the 1990s, passed on the torch to Strait gladly as the all-star event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas attracted Jamie Foxx, Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Sugarland and Lee Ann Womack, among many other stars.
(more…)

Though audiobooks primarily evolved as a handy tool for the blind people who naturally have a meager access to the realm of texts, it’s now a growingly popular medium of enjoying the contents that earlier were available only in print. Alongside facilitating the access of the blind mass into an ever wider arena of knowledge, audiobooks are an excellent gizmo for multitasking. People find this to be extremely lucrative to be able to listen to their favorite novels and poetry, bestselling fictions, radio shows, audio training courses, self help and more of these types as well as continue doing some other thing(s) simultaneously.
(more…)

If you want to show off your knowledge about guitars, then throwing into the conversation words such as potentiometer, or commenting on the use of electronic preamplification, or even simply remarking on the good use of purfling or kerfing, you're sure to enjoy the blank look on the faces of those who thought they knew most things about guitars. In fact, these are all fairly common features when it comes to the design of electric guitars, but the terms and words are often ignored or forgotten.
(more…)

He's made a career out of one single. Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" has remained his theme for the entirety of his career, right down to the theme of his restaurants, the name of his supporting band and the aesthetic of his website. Now, as he travels through the States this fall with the "Summerzcool" tour, Buffett and friends will continue to sing an ode to that 'lost shaker of salt" and more, with dates that run through November. His tunes have defined a genre, and over forty years later the country music rebel who impressed audiences with his relaxed vibe continues to support that attitude with concert dates into the latest century. As his biography starts online, "Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. A state of mind is now a state of being." And for Jimmy, that starts with his favorite drink.
(more…)

The Mississippi rockers 3 Doors Down are getting ready for a show at the Four Seasons Arena on July 8. For this particular performance the opening acts will be Safetysuit and Parachute. The last time that the group played at the Four Seasons, which was in 2003, they drew in a crowd of 4,800 fans during the State Fair. 3 Doors Down has sold more than 16 million albums since they dropped their debut record, The Better Life, in 2000. Some of their most well-known singles, like "Kryptonite," "Be Like That" and "Here Without You," have gone onto top the charts. They are currently on tour to promote their most recent, self-titled album, which features the successful hit, "It's Not My Time." For more information be sure to go online and get your own pair of 3 Doors Down tickets.
(more…)