No Cheap Effects, Just Talent

By Jenna Croyle

Things like talented and innovative musicians, drive and ambition, a great stage show and a passion for music and performing for the fans all lead a band step by step to the top of the staircase to success.

Every once in a while, a band comes along that has all that and more, making you just think, WOW after the first song they play.  This week’s featured band definitely has that no nonsense, just talent and energy wow quality. 

Open Island began in 2007 and is made up of Alan Minor on Guitar, Backup Vocals and Keyboard, Gary Magorien on Lead Guitar, Chris Vonvolken on Bass Guitar, Doug Bednarski on Drums and Backup Vocals and the very talented and versatile Mark Bartlett on Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboard and Harmonica.

Open Island is a classic rock cover band that performs a extensive range of hit songs that span more than sixty years of music including songs by Bon Jovi, AC DC, Red Hot Chili Peppers , Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eve 6, Black Crowes, Van Halen , Lynyrd Skynyrd, Weezer, Plain White T's along with so many more.

When Open Island takes the stage, you can immediately see that they bare the trademark of a truly phenomenal band with lyrics and music that comes from the heart.

With charismatic stage presence, boyish good looks and a voice from heaven, the bands front man, Mark Bartlett has an engaging freedom and innocence on stage that coupled with his diverse talent he exudes with every show surely makes for a fantastic musical experience.

The Bass Guitarist, Chris Vonvolken has all the skills and flair to not only support the band, but also stand out from the crowd as one of Erie’s rising stars. Vonvolken seems to carefully orchestrate every aspect of his performance, taking special care to play each note as it was originally intended as he blasts out the bass line for a truly energetic complement to the overall show experience.

While most guitarists’ possess the essential lead guitar skills like good vibrato and string-bending techniques, Gary Magorien seems to take those skills to new levels. With remarkable phrasing abilities, excellent presentation of musical context and the ability to bridge the gap between rhythmic variety and musical consistency, Magorien makes his licks really come alive.

Doug Bednarski and Alan Minor add a proficient complement to the bands overall sound and presentation, offering to every audience a well-balanced and tight treat to the ear.

Though there are many Classic Rock cover bands in Erie, you do not often come across one with a contagious, infectious vitality, and an enduring spirit that simply pours off the stage the entire night. Inspiring everyone who listens to simply enjoy the music is not good enough for this band, they will not stop till you just lose yourself in the music, forgetting all your problems and worries and just having the best damn time possible. Open Island is all that and more.

For more information on Open Island or their show dates, please visit their Facebook page

Nommin On The No-Nos In The No-No Tour, Part III

Inside Tour With In The Day and Tuesdays Too Late

By Drew Chiodo

After our short, but exhausting drive to Alliance Ohio, we finally settled in somewhere unfamiliar to us. This wasn't a Wal Mart... what is it? Oh my sweet Jesus its a house! With a shower! Sleeping in an actual house is like staying in Sheraton when you're on tour. There are two downsides however to finally being able to take a shower. The first is the fact that you can legitimately see and feel the grime and sweat peel itself off your body. The other thing is that you have no idea when the next time you will feel this clean will come around. So you learn to cherish the little things in life.

After a fantastic night sleep alone in my van (yea, I still chose to sleep in the van), we woke up to absolutely nothing. We were in the town we had to play in and load in wasn't for another 6 hours. What to do, what to do… Well since we were staying at Andy's house from Tuesday's Too Late we had gym passes, which I was more than happy to take off his hands. See, I am into the whole eating healthy, exercising thing. I'm not crazy about it or anything, I just like that I feel a whole lot better than when I just sit on my couch and eat pizza. When I'm back home, going to the gym is usually a normal thing for me, but being on tour totally hinders your diet and exercise to the max. You are surrounded by fast food constantly and you are usually nowhere near a gym. It kinda sucks, but I'm technically on vacation, so whatever. However, I will not turn down a free gym pass.

So after getting my sweat on and taking a nice dive in the Olympic pool, I was more than ready for the day. We arrive to the venue early just to scope it out and it actually looks like a nice place to play, but of course, Andy chimes in with the unwanted comment. “I hate the promoter here and he hates me. It took a lot of string pulling to get this show.” Awesome Andy. So you're saying we are going into this show being hated by the promoter already? Great. Well, we will try and make the most of it.

We play first and have ourselves a pretty decent and tight set. There was a lot of space to move around in and overall we just had a great time up there. Up next, Tuesday's Too Late. Hopefully their set goes off without a... well Blues foot just went through the drum riser, fantastic. The promoter that already hates us will now definitely hate us. After the show, we all realized we actually got paid and that the promoter really wasn't that mad about the riser. I guess the night turned out to be alright after all. Now, for the after party!

Needless to say we all got pretty hammered that night in Alliance. No one had to drive and we were in a friendly environment, so we definitely took advantage of it. Now, time to pack up of bags and head off to Cleveland. The drive to The Grog Shop is about an hour and a half, so we arrived way ahead of time. We were the only people at the venue for at least 2 hours. This is when you start to worry. This show was sketchy already considering the headlining band who set the show up dropped and went and played somewhere else out of town, but now we had to worry about no one showing up, including the bands. Finally after hours of biting our nails, both bands show up. Pheww, that is a load off. There also seemed to be some people with them too, which is always a plus.

I think that night everyone brought there A game. All the bands, including us, playing harder and better than they thought they would for that show. It was a refreshing surprise. Once the show was over, we went to claim our payout for the show. Now, remember the show was sketchy, so how much do you think we got paid? If you said 0, then you are correct.

So now that we are totally out of money, we are diving into our own pockets to make it to our next show. Surprisingly, our friend Jackie let us shack up in here studio apartment near Cleveland for the night and of course, we all showered. After a stressful and very sweaty night, this is exactly what all of us needed.

So ready and revived, we set out for our show in Pittsburgh. Finally, we get to play in our home state again. After a quick brunch stop at Mr. Awesomes Chicken and Waffles, we set out for Pennsylvania. As much as I love the road, the rest of the band and I really don’t like driving through Ohio. It is scary driving next to cars that don’t need inspections. Its like they could just blow up while they are driving next to you. I have seen cars with such bad rust holes that I could literally see into the car. Just not for me.

Once we made it to Pittsburgh we realized something; we were in Pittsburgh on a Friday night with a van and trailer. Narrow streets and lack of parking are not your friend when your vehicle is two cars long. It is actually quite frightening to make your way through South Side with a trailer, but we made it through with flying colors. Another upside, our GPS did not get us lost. This is literally the first time this has ever happened for me in Pittsburgh.

After we loaded all of our equipment up two flights of steps and did our sound check, we were ready to play. We both did better than we had done in the previous shows and were excited that we got to sell a good amount of merch. People in Pittsburgh are very open-minded and helpful when it comes to playing a show. People knew we were a band on tour with no money and they threw us a sympathy bone and made some purchases.

We later chowed down on some Primantis and head to our friend CJs for another place to stay. Yea, another shower! Spoiled rotten by our friends and has nothing but kind words for the rest of the night. The AC in the apartment we stayed in that night made sleeping suitable for Mr. Freeze. All wrapped up in my sleeping bag, I had no complaints.

After waking up feeling like P Diddy, We were destined to head into Amish country in Philipsburg. Little note of advice to someone attempting to make the drive from Pittsburgh to Philipsburg, do not take the back roads. It is mountain after mountain after mountain. I was actually worried my van was going to explode and break down in the middle of nowhere, but we made it just in time for load in.

Though this town is right near the bustling college country known as State College, this place makes Erie feel like LA. There was no one in sight but the people working. Though this place (Club Squared) had great sound, a green room, friendly staff and free beer, we still felt kind of awkward in the presence of the town. You could obviously tell we were outsiders.

Once get all set up and ready to play a whole hoard of people start piling in, ready to see us. Some one drove 1,000 miles just to hear us play. Ok, so I may have exaggerated that whole last part a little bit. No one showed up and we played basically to each other but it was one of the funniest shows of the tour. We still ended up making our guarantee because I think the promoter felt bad for us, but we would have liked our last show with Tuesday’s Too Late to be a blow out. Like I mentioned though before in the past, its just the business we work in and you can’t expect that.

Although we didn’t have any shows left with our friends in TTL, we still had one more day of fun and we were heading to Bounce Plex in Shamokin. Bounce Plex is pretty much just a warehouse full of trampolines connected to each other. It might be the greatest thing Pa has to offer. This was going to be the cap to the most fun any of us have had in probably our entire lives. We made the decision to drive all the way to Shamokin that night so we could wake up and bounce our lives away. This decision is one that will haunt me for a while.

The final and upsetting conclusion to the journal for Nommin’ On The No-Nos In The No-No tour will be posted next week. Come back and read. I promise, next weeks article is one that you will not want to miss out on. 

Music Stars Campaign to End Hunger Crisis in Africa
By Christine Kearney

A global social media campaign featuring a Bob Marley song was launched by some of the music industry's top stars on Tuesday to help stem the hunger crisis that is increasing in the Horn of Africa.

More than 150 stars including Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney are among the well-known figures using their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to urge fans to donate money to help the numerous families starving in the region.

The campaign, called "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," can be found at www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org. It shows a video of Bob Marley & The Wailers' 1973 song, 'High Tide or Low Tide," accompanied by footage of malnourished children created by award-winning film director Kevin Macdonald.

About 3.6 million people are at risk of starvation in Somalia and 12 million people across the Horn of Africa, including in Ethiopia and Kenya, the United Nations says.

The drought-hit Horn of Africa urgently needs funds to rebuild agriculture and fight famine. The United Nations food agency has called for a high level meeting to help overcome the worsening crisis.

The "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," campaign estimated it would reach over a billion people with partners such as Universal Music Group, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, MSN, YouTube and Twitter and the power of celebrities' reach. The combined power of using Facebook and Twitter pages alone will reach 730 million, the campaign said.

Donations or downloads of "High Tide or Low Tide," for $1.29 will go to the Save the Children appeal for east Africa and used for food, water and medicine.

Other stars participating include Sting, David Beckham, Eminem, Rihanna, Annie Lennox, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Ricky Martin and Lily Allen.

"High Tide or Low Tide" was chosen by the Marley family for the resonance of the single's lyrics, "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend" and can also be found on www.facebook.com/bobmarley.

The video starts with the slogan "The Worst Drought in Decades" and after showing images of starving and thirsty children, ends with a black-and-white image of the late Marley behind the message, "Millions of children are facing starvation."

"We must stand up together as friends to put a stop to this, to feed our children and to save their lives," Rita Marley, Bob Marley's widow, said in a statement.

Amy Winehouse Duet with Tony Bennett Going to Charity
By Alex Dobuzinskis

A duet between jazz great Tony Bennett and the late singer Amy Winehouse is being released as a single to benefit a charity established by her father, Bennett's spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The classic pop standard "Body and Soul" that Winehouse recorded with Bennett in March is one of her last works. She died unexpectedly at age 27 on July 23, after a long battle with alcohol and drugs.

An official cause of death for Winehouse has not been determined. Her father, Mitch, is creating a foundation in her name to help drug addicts.

Proceeds from Bennett and Winehouse's "Body and Soul" recording, which is being released as a single, will go to the foundation, said Liz Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for Bennett.

The song will also appear on Bennett's "Duets II" CD to be released on September 20.

Bennett, a Grammy winning jazz legend whose biggest songs include "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" and "Rags to Riches," celebrated his 85th birthday on Wednesday.

He recorded "Body and Soul" with Winehouse at the Abbey Road Studios in London, and has credited her for her abilities as a jazz singer.

Grammy winner Winehouse was famed for her black beehive hair and soulful voice, and is best known for her 2006 song "Rehab" that summed up her struggles with addiction.

Riots In London Destroy Massive Indie Label Distribution Warehouse
By Jonah Bayer

As if indie labels don’t already have enough to worry about these days, last night a London warehouse containing stock for a variety of U.K. independent labels such as XL Recordings, 4AD, Beggars, Domino and Rough Trade was destroyed by rioters.

The three-story building, which was owned by Sony DADC, was literally burned to the ground last night. It was the main warehouse for indie distributor PIAS and carried the stock for over 150 labels. Earlier today PIAS wrote on their site, “There was a fire last night at the Sony DADC warehouse which services the physical distribution for PIAS in the U.K. and Ireland. PIAS is working closely with SonyDADC who are implementing their emergency plans.”

Spencer Hickman, manager of London-based music retailer Rough Trade East spoke to BBC today saying, “For us it’s devastating. It’s complete chaos; we don’t know how long it’s going to take them to get back on their feet. It looks like people have lost everything that was in the warehouse. I’m sure there are labels which aren’t insured. I’m sure there will be labels that will go bust.”

Monday marked the third nights of riots which were sparked when a young cab driver named Mark Duggan was killed by the police pm Friday, however class and racial tensions have been building there for a while. Right now there’s no word on exactly how much stock was destroyed and how many labels were uninsured, but this could be devastating for many of the smaller labels whose stock was stored in the warehouse.

Many artists have also spoken out about the situation, especially U.K. artist Jessie J who tweeted. “Watching the news. I really dont understand… I dont get it??!!! Why dest[r]oy your own community? Why hurt innocent people. This is NOT how to gain respect. This is NOT how to get justice. This is NOT how to gain peace.” Experts are still unsure if the riots will continue again tonight although The Guardian reported this afternoon that “the cleanup from last night’s trouble is well under way, and preparations are being made for tonight. It’s clear that the police, particularly in London, are preparing a far more robust response.”

Amy Winehouse’s Fashion Line To Be Released This Fall
By Emily Zemler

Prior to Amy Winehouse’s tragic death a few weeks ago, design house Fred Perry had plans to release a fall clothing line in junction with the singer. Now it looks like the fashion line will still see the the light of day.

Perry announced that it will go forward with the final pair of collections designed by Winehouse this fall and next spring. The designer said in a statement, “After much consideration and with the blessing of Amy’s family, we have decided to release the AW11 Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry Collection. Amy was passionate and dedicated to the collaboration, and her signature style is clearly stamped across each piece. Amy’s royalties and fees from both collections will be donated to the soon-to-be-established Amy Winehouse Foundation. Fred Perry will also make a seasonal donation to the Foundation.”

Winehouse previously spoke to Harper’s Bazaar about her plans for the collections. She told the magazine last October, “Yeah, yeah, it was not hard at all, not hard at all, because, like … I knew exactly what I wanted. And I love Fred Perry so much. I was honored that they would even, like, ‘Do you want to come and do a line?’ Me? Like, me?”

The designs that have been revealed are almost exclusively black and white and embody a classic, vintage-inspired style (which seems fitting). You can view the clothes on Perry’s website here. As for why Winehouse’s family decided to go ahead with the upcoming collections? The singer’s father Mitch said, “When Fred Perry came to us to ask what we would like to do with the new collection, it was natural to continue. Amy loved working on both collections and would want them to be made available.”

Johnny Cash's Sideman Marshall Grant Dies in Ark.

Not all pioneers know exactly where they're going, and that was definitely the case for Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two.
 

as "I Walk the Line," "Folsom Prison Blues, "Ring of Fire," "Big River" and "Cry Cry Cry."
 

"Our inability had more to do with our success than our ability did, and I'm not ashamed of it," Grant once said in an interview.

That statement pierces the heart of just why Cash, Perkins and the steady — both in rhythm and in life — Grant were so special.

Grant and Perkins were auto mechanics in Memphis, Tenn., who practiced together at the shop when their co-worker Roy Cash introduced them to his brother, John, in 1954. They quickly realized all three couldn't play acoustic rhythm guitar, said John Rumble, senior historian at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

So Perkins, who died in 1968 from injuries suffered in a house fire, borrowed a Fender Telecaster with volume controls stuck at wide open, Rumble said, and Grant bought a Kay bass. The resulting sound — The Johnny Cash beat — was both simple and driving, and there from the start.

"Luther played the way he did because he couldn't really play any way else," Rumble said. "That very sparse, plowing rhythmic sound was something they just fell into. They didn't just sit there and work on it for weeks. That's pretty much the way they started out."

After initially failing to impress Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, the trio passed a second audition and began recording in 1955 on a roster that included Elvis Presley and other proto-rockers such as Carl Perkins. They earned modest success quickly and built on it with appearances first on the Louisiana Hayride and eventually the Grand Ole Opry.

In time, that simple rhythmic pattern would infiltrate everything. To a young Marty Stuart, that sound coming out of the radio as he grew up in small-town Mississippi was an invitation to dream.

"I think the word that comes to my mind is originality," Stuart said. "They were pure American originals, all three of them."

And though Cash's name was out front, there was never any doubt where that sound that helped launch rock 'n' roll and modernize country music came from.

"The Johnny Cash sound was created by the three of them equally, you know what I mean?" said Rosanne Cash, Johnny Cash's daughter. "There was none of that `boom chicka boom' without Marshall. You can't separate the three of them at that point when it all started. It was one thing. You know, they're united again, the three of them."

Rosanne Cash spent the last days of Grant's life at his side in Arkansas, she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. They reconnected last Wednesday at rehearsals for a Johnny Cash Festival appearance that served as a fundraiser to help restore the late singer's boyhood home in Dyess. Johnny Cash, born in Kingsland in south-central Arkansas, died in 2003.

Rosanne Cash said Grant, who lived in Hernando, Miss., fell ill while in Jonesboro and the Johnny Cash Festival was held Thursday night without him. It attracted country music stars George Jones and Kris Kristofferson.

Grant played bass with Cash until 1980 when he began a career in management, handling The Statler Brothers until they retired in 2002 and later writing the autobiography "I Was There When It Happened." Grant and Perkins were among the first inductees into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2007.

Not only did the trio almost singlehandedly spawn rockabilly, a rich vein of rock 'n' roll that's mined today by stars such as Jack White and Brian Setzer, it helped popularize rock and modernize country music.

That sparse sound was perfect for rock 'n' roll, Rumble said, and eventually became part of the DNA of country music, a genre Cash would revolutionize, then symbolize for 40 years.

"It was a highly influential sound," Rumble said. "You had the standard 2/4 beat, the Ray Price shuffle and the Johnny Cash beat, and between those three that covers a whole lot of ground in country music."

Through much of that time, Grant was by Cash's side. Rosanne Cash argues that without Grant, you could forget about most of it — no rockabilly, no "Man in Black," no legend.

"He wouldn't have gone where he did without Marshall, and therefore this lineage not only of me but of the next generations of roots and rockabilly and country musicians would've disappeared," she said. "An entire generation of those musicians owe something to Marshall."

Arkansas State recently acquired Cash's boyhood home and sponsored last Thursday's concert to benefit its restoration and the establishment of a museum in the Dyess Colony.

Johnny Cash was born at Kingsland in southern Arkansas and grew up at the Dyess Colony, where during the Depression the government offered to support Delta farmers by funding homes and hospitals in return for their working the surrounding cotton fields. The experiment faded by the 1950s as the post-war boom attracted farmers to the cities.

Kiss Dropped from Michael Jackson Tribute Show
By Alex Dobuzinskis

The rock band Kiss was removed from the line-up for a Michael Jackson tribute concert in Britain, after it was revealed frontman Gene Simmons has called Jackson a child molester, organizers said on Tuesday.

The decision to scratch Kiss from the line-up came after Jackson's fans this week expressed anger at Simmons' comments.

"We have listened to Michael's fans and are grateful to have been alerted to these unfortunate statements by Gene Simmons," Chris Hunt, the chief executive of organizer Global Live Events, said in a statement.

"Under the circumstances, we fully agree that even though Kiss is a band Michael admired, we have no choice but to rescind our invitation to them to appear in our tribute concert," Hunt said.

Kiss, a rock band famous for such songs as "Rock and Roll All Nite" and "Detroit Rock City," was a recent addition to the line-up for the tribute concert.

The "Michael Forever" show is planned for October 8 in Cardiff, Wales, and so far the scheduled performers include Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Smokey Robinson, organizers said.

The concert has the backing of Jackson's mother, Katherine, and his siblings LaToya, Tito, Jackie and Marlon.

The 61 year-old Simmons, who is known for being outspoken, had in the past criticized Jackson over old accusations that the singer abused children. Jackson was acquitted at a trial in 2005 of charges that he molested a boy at his Neverland Ranch.

"The only sexual references ever made about Michael Jackson that were made by anyone, anywhere around the world, have always been made by kids, and specifically males usually 10 to 14 years of age; never females that age or older, and never grown men," Simmons told Classic Rock magazine in 2010.

Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the executors of Jackson's estate lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain, said on Monday in a letter to the tribute concert organizers they were "disappointed" at the decision to include Kiss.

The letter from Weitzman also raised questions about the October 8 show, including whether all the artists booked to appear will indeed perform that day.

And Weitzman noted that Michael Jackson's brothers, Jermaine and Randy, have publicly said they cannot offer their support for the show.

Jermaine and Randy have said the show is ill-timed because the upcoming involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was Jackson's personal physician when the singer died in 2009, is expected to be ongoing when the show is held.

"In light of the questions raised...and the confusion surrounding this 'event,' we are extremely concerned about Michael's legacy, his fans and the public-at-large," Weitzman wrote in the letter.

A spokeswoman for the concert organizers declined to comment on the letter.

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Shotgun Jubilee is in the market for a new logo! We'd like you the fans to show us what you've got! Draw something up, either by hand or with a graphic arts program and send us a .jpeg of your work. We'll choose the design we like the best. The winner will receive a free copy of our album! Please email all entries to ryan_bartosek@yahoo.com

Officials Block Attempt to Name Peak After John Denver

A campaign to name a peak in the Colorado Rockies after singer John Denver has been blocked by U.S. officials.

More than 2,000 people signed a petition to rename Mount Sopris in honor of the late singer/songwriter, who wrote his hit 1972 song "Rocky Mountain High" while camping nearby.

However, the plan was rejected by officials at the U.S. board on Geographic Names, who insist it is federal policy to avoid adding new names to federal wilderness areas.

Denver was killed in a California plane crash in 1997.

The Monkees Cancel Anniversary Tour

The Monkees have cancelled the remaining dates on their 45th anniversary tour.

Peter Tork, Mickey Dolenz and Davy Jones teamed up for the first time in 10 years for a comeback tour, which kicked off in the U.K. in May. But now the "Daydream Believer" hitmakers have disappointed fans by calling off the rest of their planned concerts, which were scheduled into September, without offering an explanation.

A statement from Jones' representative posted on Facebook reads, "It has been determined that the remainder of The Monkees 2011 tour has been cancelled. No reason has been given at this time ... We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your continued support of The Monkees."

Before hitting the road earlier this year, the '60s icons denied widespread rumours suggesting they were struggling to get along during rehearsals.

Composer Changes Album Cover of Attacked Towers

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steve Reich (ryk) is picking another image for his album dedicated to 9/11 after the original photo — of the twin towers under attack — was met with protest.

Reich's "WTC 9/11" is out Sept. 20, nine days after the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Kronos Quartet performs the music, and the piece includes prerecorded voices from air traffic controllers, firefighters and others.

The initial image shows one tower in flames after the first plane hit and another jet about to hit the second tower. Since the music included documentary material from the attacks, Reich says he wanted the album art to do the same. But after some criticism, he agreed to choose another image, though he hasn't selected one yet.