A Fresh Vibe for Veteran Musicians
By Jenna Croyle

Erie's vibrant music scene has spawned as many diverse bands as they are countless, entertaining all of us with their own unique and energetic sounds.
 

This week’s featured band is an original and classic rock group with a twist that devotes themselves to performing high-energy shows with catchy songs, excellent harmonies and most importantly, fun filled rock and roll good times for all. Comprised of veteran musicians PJ Askey on Drums, Doug Phillips on Bass and Vocals, Al Donadi on Guitar and Vocals, Craig Stevens on Keyboards, Guitar and Vocals and finally, leading the way, Elly Vahey on lead Vocals and Percussion, The Pick Up Band delivers their unique brand of Erie Rock and Roll.   Covering a wide variety of classic Rock and jam style tunes by artists like Traffic, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan,

The Pick Up Band offers welcoming, fresh originals that all mix together for a polished rock sound with a powerful groove.

Formed just over a year ago, The Pick Up Band has been featured at Celebrate Erie’s 2010 Main Stage and has performed at the Thursday Night Block Party series, along with numerous shows at local taverns.

As a veteran musician of more than two decades, Doug Phillips has performed in a plethora of local bands that include Midnight Riders, East Ave, Key West Express, Chance of Reign, Trev Zeppelin, and Spooner lending his talent to create a one of a kind reverberation of rhythm. Phillips’ consistent, inventive, classic and ultra groovy bass line adds a deep funky feel to every song.

With decades of experience under his belt, PJ Askey lends a supercharged manic energy to The Pick Up Band’s ensemble with his extreme chops that add that honed feeling to the band’s material.

Craig Stevens provides an electrifying element to the band’s overall sound and stage presence. Stevens’ keyboard wizardry blends the beauty of traditional sound with the excitement of high-level power keyboard work.

Al Donadi is the backbone of the band’s original side, writing most if not all of The Pick Up Band’s original tunes.

Influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and yes, even the great, late Bob Marley, Donadi creates originals that have not only become favorites of the band’s fans, but gives The Pick Up Band a truly distinctive feel.

Taking center stage is lead singer, Elly Vahey cranking out sweet soulful sounds with a powerful and energetic voice that creates the perfect cherry on top, complement to every song The Pick Up Band has in their set list.

Vahey, who was added to the band months after their first performances, has contributed that special spice, giving the band a one of a kind sound that transcends all others.

With a stage show that rocks, a collective talent pool spanning more than half a century and a hard hitting, goodtime jamboree of a Rock and Roll experience, The Pick Up Band is a must check out explosion of excellence in music.

For more information on The Pick Up Band and their show dates, please visit their Facebook page.

Lucky Dog
Erie’s Own Classic Rock Masters
By Drew Chiodo

Anyone who has been to a bar or venue in Erie has seen the numerous bands this city has to offer. Historically, tens of thousands of different bands have taken the stage to showcase their talents to the masses.

Some bands, needless to say, didn’t quite have what it takes to make it here and make a name for themselves. On the other hand however, there are some bands that even early on, make that impression that seems to stick.

It only takes a couple, if not just one show for a bands name and reputation to spread like wildfire. This seemed to be the case for Erie’s newest local classic rock band Lucky Dog.

Lucky Dog is a band with all the right moves and riffs to keep you singing, sweating and swaying on the dance floor all night. Covering everything from the classics of Journey, Styx, and Benatar, to the more modern sounds of Cee Lo Green, Lady Gaga and The Foo Fighters, this band has a little bit of everything for everyone.

This female-fronted band has been making a name for themselves all around Erie. The old saying “girls do it better” is in no way shape or form an untruth for this band.

Kayti Stadler is the bands lead vocalist with a set of pipes to make all the boys jealous. Mike Ohm and Mark Beery have got her back on guitar, with Dave Sabatine on bass, Jack Belczyk on keys and Ron Sutton beating the drums.

This all-star lineup of musicians brings their show to life in more ways than one. When Lucky Dog hits the stage they have the ability to take you back to when rock-n-roll meant cruising around in your GTO blasting Don’t Stop Believing and having a good old time. This band is able to pull this off with grace and a style all their own.

Lucky Dog does not stop there though. After taking you down memory lane with the classics, they bring you right up to speed on what is new in the music world. This band is able to put a classic rock spin on today’s modern hits and they do this all with their own touch.

It is one thing to be able to consider yourself a cover band and just fade into the background, but it is another to make a name for yourself and reengineer the art. Lucky Dog proves that they have the talent to take something classic or modern and make it something original with the stroke of a pick.

For a chance to see these legends in the making, Lucky Dog can be seen performing at Girard Relay for Life this Friday. Don’t miss a chance to not only see their art, but to dance and sing the night away.

Alex Steinweiss, Inventor of Artist Album Cover, Dead at 94
By Theo Spielberg

Alex Steinweiss, the man credited with creating the artistic album cover, passed away Sunday, July 17, in Sarasota, Fla. According to the New York Times, he was 94 years old.

Steinweiss was born March 24, 1917, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Eastern European parents. His father, a women's shoe designer from Warsaw, and his mother a seamstress from Latvia, relocated to the Lower East Side of Manhattan before finally settling in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn. After graduating high school, Steinweiss merited a scholarship at Parson's School of Design on the strength of his portfolio.

In 1939, at the age of 23, he was hired by Columbia Records to design advertisements as their first graphic designer and art director. At the time, record covers were largely unadorned, and in the rare cases when they were decorated, the art was not original. "The way records were sold was ridiculous," said Mr. Steinweiss in a 1990 interview. "The covers were brown, tan or green paper. They were not attractive, and lacked sales appeal."

After convincing executives to let him design the covers to 78rpm records, Steinweiss was on his way to revolutionizing the music industry. His first record cover, for a collection of songs by Rodgers and Hart, featured a photograph of a theater marquee with the name of the album shown in lights. Newsweek reported that after Steinweiss designed the cover for Bruno Walter's recording of Beethoven's "Eroica" symphony sales "increased 895%."

Steinweiss continued to design album covers for albums including George Gershwin's 'Rhapsody In Blue' until 1972 when at the age of 55 he left the music business and moved to Sarasota with his wife. He is survived by his son Leslie, his daughter, Hazel, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Bob Dylan Is 70, and Forever Young
By James Sullivan

When Ben Lee was 18, he heard Bob Dylan's song 'Isis' playing on a turntable. It was Christmas Day, and the onetime boy rocker was in California, far from his home in Australia.

Lurching headlong into the "mysterious, terrifying world of adulthood," the young singer was floored by the mid-period Dylan track -- number 34, if you're counting, on Rolling Stone's recent list of the 70 greatest Dylan songs in honor of the great Bard's 70th birthday.

The song, like so many of Dylan's have been for so many admirers, was precisely right for the moment, Lee tells Spinner: "It summed up everything magical about taking a quest into the unknown."

Those words are well-chosen. Through 50 years, at least that many official album releases and countless words of analysis about what it all means, Dylan's career has been a musical quest to rival a medieval knight's, full of mystery, chivalry, adventure and transformation.

As Lee points out, any songwriter who has stood onstage holding a guitar can't help but feel Dylan's influence. Yet the elder statesman's most important contribution might be something far more elusive.

"He just had chutzpah," says the singer. "That's what all artists need -- the chutzpah not to conform, to be ourselves."

Tom Morello, the socially conscious Rage Against the Machine guitarist who performs solo as the Nightwatchman, is partial to Dylan's first several albums, when our newest septuagenarian set the standard for topical songwriting. An admitted latecomer to the cult of Dylan -- he says he discovered the singer's work moving backwards from Bruce Springsteen's 'Nebraska' album -- Morello was deeply moved by the way Dylan "humanized the political issues of the day -- issues of race, class and war -- but in a way that was profoundly poetic, and felt like it was world-changing."

Later moments in Dylan's sprawling career made believers of other aspiring musicians. Nicole Atkins fell hard for 'One More Cup of Coffee' off Dylan's 'Desire' album, from the fertile mid-'70s run that also produced the potent 'Blood on the Tracks' and 'The Basement Tapes,' the long-buried woodshedding he recorded with the band that would soon become The Band.

For Atkins, the mournful tone of 'One More Cup of Coffee' "is filled with so much passion and a sense of doom. And I always wanted to be just like the girl he was singing about."

Suzanne Vega, who first emerged from the New York folk scene two decades after Dylan, singles out 'It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding).' "I love the flow of words and images," she says, "the fact that it goes on for eight minutes, the breadth of ideas contained and the intensity of his performance."

And psych-folkie Alela Diane picks 'Lay Lady Lay,' from Dylan's surprisingly plum-voiced 'Nashville Skyline' album (1969), as her own personal favorite.

"It's the reason I have a brass bed frame," she says.

For a lot of artists, Dylan built the whole house they live in. Philadelphia's G. Love freely admits that "a lot of my songs are straight Dylan. Even in my hip-hop and blues writing, the stamp that Bob has made on me runs deep."

"It seems as if he has always been purely creative on his own terms," says the singer. "Almost all of the great artists from the '60s have made some questionable records, but Dylan never made a record that was overproduced or trying to be something he was not... To see Dylan on the road year after year lets me know that I might get old, but I'm never gonna retire."

And Matt Costa, who, like G. Love, is often associated with Jack Johnson, might have the simplest explanation of all for the power of Dylan's songwriting.

"It makes me want to put down the guitar," he says, "and pick up the pen."

Bill Anderson Celebrates 50th Anniversary With The Grand Ole Opry
by Phyllis Stark

At the Grand Ole Opry tonight, one of the institution’s longest tenured cast members, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, was feted for his 50th anniversary as an Opry member. Anderson, who is also a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, made his Opry debut shortly before his 21st birthday, and became a member less than three years later.

During tonight’s performance Anderson said, “I’m more nervous tonight than I was 50 years ago!”

Anderson was honored with a surprise appearance by Alison Krauss, who performed “Whiskey Lullaby” with Jon Randall and Dan Tyminski. The song, a hit duet for Krauss and Brad Paisley, was written by Anderson and Randall. Tonight’s presentation also included videotaped messages for Anderson from Opry members Paisley and Steve Wariner, and Anderson was given a #50 Ryman Martin guitar by Opry VP and general manager Pete Fisher.

In his 53-year career, Anderson has had numerous successes as both an artist and a songwriter beginning when Ray Price cut his song “City Lights” in 1958 and continuing through such recent hits as Kenny Chesney’s “A Lot of Things Different” and George Strait’s “Give It Away.” His own hits as an artist have included “Po’ Folks,” “Mama Sang a Song,” “Still” and “Bright Lights and Country Music.” Among his other most notable cuts as a songwriter are Connie Smith’s “Once A Day,” Lefty Frizzell’s “Saginaw, Michigan,” and Conway Twitty’s “I May Never Get to Heaven.”

Tony Bennett Duets With Daughter Antonia at Montreal Jazz Fest
By Tad Hendrickson

Tony Bennett has gone through various phases in his career. That's not surprising considering the 85-year-old has been singing since the swing era. He was a young star, a pop singer trying to grow beyond silly pop repertoire, a master storyteller of song, the comeback act who played for the kids on MTV. Now, Tony Bennett is simply a legend. These days he spends more time painting than he does performing, so a chance to catch him live is not to be missed.

Bennett and his band played Friday, July 1, at the Montreal Jazz Festival. While his career has been perceived in different ways over the years, Bennett himself has changed very little. He's a classic pop singer who projects emotion. He's also an entertainer who connects with his audience with a likeable personality that balances his humble working class roots in Queens with the sophisticated persona of a romantic who left his heart in San Francisco.

The night opened with a few tunes sung by his 30-something, auburn-haired daughter Antonia Bennett. This is a classic showbiz move, leaving the band to be led by a secondary figure for the open songs of the performance. Antonia didn't embarrass her father, singing 'Too Marvelous for Words' and few other standards, but it's a tough gig opening for Tony, and the crowd was polite but not particularly supportive. Her father, on the other hand, got a standing ovation when he walked on stage. Acknowledging the crowd, Bennett waved, gave the thumbs up, and told them, "Thanks for stopping by."

The 75-minute set opened with the Bennett original 'Someone Who Cares' and from there went through the pages of the great American songbook. Highlights included a lighthearted 'I Got Rhythm' with a great little scat closing from the singer. Other Bennett classics like suitably sentimental 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' and a robust version of 'The Best Is Yet to Come' were taken out for a spin. The singer also strolled down memory lane to do 'My Cold Cold Heart,' the Hank Williams tune Bennett made one of his first big hits back in the early '50s.

Ever the consummate entertainer, the show was the epitome of pacing and dynamics. Bennett bounced from song to song, rarely stretching past the 2-to-3-minute mark with arrangements that went beyond the songs' second verse. In classic pop standards fashion, the songs were banged out one after another with adoring applause between each. He worked the stage and sometimes he'd do a little soft shoe with Antonia joining him to dance on Stephen Sondheim's 'Old Friends.' Every few songs he'd pause to chat. There were stories of growing up in Queens and getting his big break from Bob Hope (who advised him to change his name from Anthony Dominick Benedetto to Tony Bennett) and Pearl Bailey (who put the young singer in her show down in Greenwich Village).

Featuring pianist Lee Musiker, drummer Harold Jones (whom Bennett introduced as Count Basie's favorite drummer), bassist Marshall Wood and guitarist Gray Sargent, the band ably supported both Bennetts like the seasoned pros they are. The elder Bennett did a touching interpretation of 'The Way You Look Tonight' with only Sargent joining him, but the two really locked in later in the set when they tackled the ballad 'But Beautiful,' wringing a complex set of emotions from each line in the song. The singer also hooked up with Musiker for a jazzy version of 'Kiss the Good Life Goodbye' and at other points as well.

Interestingly, Bennett dedicated that song to Lady Gaga, whom he announced he was recording a duet with for the upcoming 'Duets II.' Bennett has long been a serial collaborator, recording with Count Basie in 1959, Bill Evans for a couple of duets albums in the early '70s, a 2002 album with K.D. Lang and 2006's million-selling 'Duets' with a galaxy of stars, but the Lady Gaga announcement nonetheless comes as a surprise. That said, nearly 70 years into a career, things certainly need to stay fresh.

One thing that hasn't changed is that Tony Bennett is still a master of dynamics. His husky tenor would be soft and conversational at times, hard and piercing others. He moved his microphone around, close to his mouth or as far away as his waist to create different vocal textures. Bennett's vocal technique came to the fore with his solo version of 'Fly Me to the Moon' where he set aside his microphone altogether to sing to the audience without the aid of a PA or musical accompaniment. Tony Bennett has been doing this for years but it remains his showstopper. It's proof positive that the singer still has his chops after all these years, but it also says that Bennett is the consummate entertainer willing and able to sing nakedly as it were for the sheer entertainment of his many fans.

Slash -- A Day in the Life
By Dan Reilly

It's an overcast but not unpleasant morning when we meet Slash in midtown New York City. Obviously, it's easy to spot him amidst the busy midtown hustle along 6th Avenue -- though he's slightly shorter than he looks on television (probably thanks to his lack of top hat), his long, bushy black hair, his black leather jacket and tight black pants make him stick out in a crowd of what seems like 90 percent navy and gray suits, causing pedestrians to stop and wonder if they're actually seeing the Guns N' Roses guitarist walk out of Fox News headquarters, of all places. Used to the attention, he gives no indication that he notices the gawking bystanders from behind the mirrored aviator sunglasses that will remain affixed to his face for the rest of the day, whether we're outside or not.

It's not even noon, yet the guitarist is already over four hours into a full day of radio and TV appearances in Manhattan to promote 'Slash,' his debut solo album that came out in April, and a summer tour that will take him around the world. For someone who's written some of the all-time greatest guitar riffs and sold over 100 million albums with Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, Slash doesn't carry himself like a megastar. The guitarist has no entourage aside from his bodyguard/assistant, Junior, and despite not being thrilled by another day of press obligations -- he's already done this in Europe, Japan and Australia -- he's not treating it like a burden. "That's what sucks about the solo thing -- you can't pawn anything off," he says with a grin. "But I'm so easygoing, right? I'll do an interview between songs."

Easygoing is probably the best word to describe the guitar legend's mood as we set off in a black Escalade that will take him to several media outlets around the city. Within minutes of meeting us, he seems as comfortable as anyone can be while being filmed and photographed by complete strangers. Somehow, we end up on the topic of MTV and 'Jersey Shore,' which then leads to a discussion of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey.' "You see, the thing that's wrong with Jersey is that Bon Jovi's from Jersey," he quips as we pull up to ABC, the first of many deadpan, sarcastic one-liners he'll deliver throughout the day.

After a lengthy wait in the green room, Slash gets on camera for his segment, which follows news items on Lindsay Lohan, Bret Michaels, 'Dancing With the Stars' and Justin Bieber. It's further proof -- aside from the chart-topping sales -- that 'Slash' represents a surprising mainstream success for the guitarist. Thanks to his appearance in 'Guitar Hero III,' he's even becoming more popular among a much younger generation. An onscreen caption bills him as a "Video Game Star," and Slash tells the interviewer that a kid once recognized him from the game but had no idea he was ever in a real band.

Off camera, Slash admits to Spinner that after being hooked on 'Guitar Hero 2' -- "I locked myself in my office for three weeks until I mastered it," he says -- he can't enjoy the third installment. "Ever since I've actually been implemented into the game, I can't play it," he says. "Anything my image is in -- interviews, concerts, games -- I avoid like the plague."

The hard work Slash put into the album -- which features an all-star cast of guest musicians such as Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Dave Grohl, Fergie and Maroon 5's Adam Levine -- represents a larger transition in Slash's life. Now 44 years old and the father of two "precocious" boys -- seven-year-old London and five-year-old Cash -- he's been sober for four years. Surprisingly, it wasn't the Guns-era heroin overdose (which stopped his heart for a few minutes), nor was it his surgically implanted defibrillator (which he received in 2001, thanks to 15 years of hard drinking and drugging) that got him on the wagon.

"The only reason I quit was I finally got to a point where I was bored with everything -- bored with drinking, bored with drugs," he says, noting he also quit smoking a year ago. "I found it was pointless trying to chase a high around and finally decided to do it sober. It's been a really productive four years. I feel like I've done things I wouldn't have been able to do if I was still under the influence. I could always turn around and go back, but it's been good. It's not so much feeling healthy; it's being able to do what it is I set out to do and not having any distractions."

That said, Slash still has a sense of humor about his former lifestyle. Since he's battling a cold and fears getting sick just before the tour, he medicates himself with small servings of powdered vitamin C. When we're in the ABC green room, Slash attempts to pour some of the powder into a bottle of water but manages to spill much of the package all over a conference table. Without a beat, he says, "Hmm. Maybe we should snort it," then adds the slight chuckle that usually follows his wisecracks.

If Slash is addicted to anything these days, it's his BlackBerry. Like many of the on-the-go business types we pass throughout the day, he keeps it in a holster on his belt for easy access. Throughout the day, he's constantly checking his messages and typing away (he even admits that he wrote portions of his bestselling autobiography, 'Slash,' on it).

While we're in the Escalade between interviews, Slash checks his Twitter feed and shares a fan-submitted question about female genitalia that's way too graphic to be repeated here. "I'll have to give it an in-depth answer in private, I suppose," he says (he sends his followers as many direct messages as he can, a personal interaction that makes them "flip out"). "There are a lot of kids on Twitter. You get used to what they say and realize, 'That person can't be any older than 16.' What an embarrassment it would be if I was f---ing talking dirty to a minor on Twitter."

Twitter was also responsible for a well-publicized event in which Slash offered to take a minor to a strip club -- the minor, of course, being Justin Bieber. The 16-year-old star wrote something on his feed about wanting to go to dinner with Slash when they were both in Australia, causing Slash to respond with the strip bar invitation. "That was an interesting little episode," Slash says. "I got thousands of tweets from kids that all thought that was a great idea."

This is just one of many times the topic of strip clubs come up during the day. Slash swears that one network employee was a stripper at Rick's Cabaret, where he hung out the previous evening. Later, on our way to MTV, we get stuck in the Times Square traffic, watching tourists take pictures with someone in a Minnie Mouse costume. "I miss all the smut," he says nostalgically. "Where did it all go?"

When we arrive at the MTV offices, Slash carries with him a small, fabric-lined hard case that holds a valuable accessory: his famous top hat. "I only have the one, really," he reveals. "I've had this hat since 1989, 1990. I covered it in leather a few years back. Underneath there's just an old, beat-up felt hat I've had forever."

Of course, it's that era of Slash's career that he gets asked about constantly, much to his annoyance. One journalist even inquires if there's any chance of a GNR reunion in the near future. Slash laughs uncomfortably and responds that the only time he discusses that topic is with the press. Though he's frank about everything else, Slash's patience wears thin when the subject of Axl Rose comes up, though he never stops being polite about it.

"Anybody who asks me that hasn't done their homework. It gets tedious," he told us when, earlier in the day, we asked if he gets tired of all the Axl questions. We brought it up because Rose was in the news the day before for suing his former manager over fallout from a proposed Guns reunion. Slash, for his part, has remained intentionally out of the loop when it comes to his former bandmate, who he hasn't spoken to since the '90s. "I just hear what I hear through the grapevine," he says, with a touch of defensiveness that makes it clear he wants to move on to another topic as soon as possible. "I don't investigate the details into any of that stuff if it doesn't pertain to me." That said, if Slash has any sense that public opinion favors him over Rose, he seemingly gets no joy from it.

By late afternoon, Slash looks drained. He's survived the day thanks to coffee, but he's ready for a nap and to be done with all this media -- at least until tomorrow, when he'll start all over again. "This part of it is just like a job," he tells us about press tours. "I don't complain because it's worth doing. A lot of people don't like doing it. They blow it off or do it half-assed but it really works for you in the long run. But it is the most job-like part of the whole f---ing thing."

A true professional, Slash keeps his spirits up whenever he's being interviewed. Although he says he's more comfortable expressing himself through his guitar playing, he never resorts to canned responses during the Q&A sessions. As he said, it's worth doing, especially for a project he cares about so much, and with the surprisingly strong album sales, he wants to maintain the momentum.

"I make a point of not anticipating -- you're happy with the material, you put it out and support as best you can and you see what happens. I was really shocked, the first couple weeks," he admits. "From what I can tell, the majority of people picking up this record were actually new [fans]. There's a lot of old ones, obviously, but I'd say the majority are kids who weren't around for Guns N' Roses. It's an interesting dynamic, for sure. The gigs are selling out too, and that's even cooler than selling records."

At the time Slash had barely played with his new touring band, which features singer Myles Kennedy, the Alter Bridge vocalist who lent his talents to two songs on 'Slash.' Naturally, Slash is eager to get out there and bring the music to his fans. "The shows so far have been great," he says. "The guys in the band are all phenomenal; I'm lucky to have been able to find them. Myles is phenomenal and sings everything from this record to Guns N' Roses albums to Velvet Revolver and Snakepit stuff as well, so that's really cool."

And just like his personality, Slash's gigs will be straightforward and all about the power of the music. "As far as the spectacle of it, it's really a rock 'n' roll gig," he says. "There's no choreography to it. We're just going to go out and do it. It's very high energy and the band really kicks ass. All things considered, it's a pretty damn good show."

With all his media tours over, Slash is now out on the road doing what he enjoys most -- standing in front of thousands of fans and letting his guitar do all the talking.

Judas Priest's Rob Halford Reflects on Coming Out, Years Later
By Benjy Eisen

Heavy metal titans Judas Priest announced earlier this month that their forthcoming world tour will be their final go-round. But it was another statement made by their frontman, Rob Halford -- years ago -- that had a much more profound effect on their audience and, indeed, their genre altogether. In 1998, Halford outed himself on MTV News, publicly declaring his homosexuality.

While coming out is an act of bravery regardless of profession, Halford was plunging himself into unchartered waters as far as heavy metal was concerned. Nicknamed the "Metal God," his audience appeared to be largely populated by rowdy, young heterosexual men. Furthermore, heavy metal in the previous decade was often criticized for its misogynistic portrayal of women, sometimes depicting them as subservient sexual objects.

In an interview published by San Diego Gay and Lesbian News on Tuesday, Halford -- a longtime San Diego resident -- says that coming out was a personal triumph that didn't have a measurable effect on his musical career, per se. But, he claims, it did have a significant impact on the mentality of heavy metal at large.

"There are areas of music that are more compassionate, more tolerant, more open, more accepting and more aware," said Halford. "What I think I have done is destroy the myth that heavy metal bands don't have that capacity. It's a different world now. Heavy metal now is a completely different world compared to heavy metal in 1980."

In 1998 when Halford made the announcement, he was not currently a member of Judas Priest -- he left the band in 1992 and didn't reunite with them until 2003. Halford admitted in the interview that having some space from Judas Priest partially afforded him an easier opportunity to come out. "I probably would have not made the announcement had I been in Judas Priest at that time," he admitted. "I was always protecting Judas Priest, protecting the music, protecting the fans, protecting everybody except myself."

Originally formed in 1969, Judas Priest is without question one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time. As mentioned, their upcoming Epitaph world tour is set to be their final bow. "With all guns blazing and amps cranked to eleven, the band will be giving all their fans one last chance to witness the ultimate metal experience that is Judas Priest," reads the announcement on their website. Spoiler alert: expect the shows to end with a standing ovation.

Sima Bina and the Lian Ensemble Team to Bring New Life to Persian Traditions
By Steve Hochman

A woman comes into a cozy courtyard behind a small West Los Angeles house, joining a few others sitting there, some smoking hand-rolled cigarettes, some drinking tea from glasses. Petite, demure, bespectacled, she says little more than a curt acknowledgment of an introduction to a new arrival, though a warm smile and sparkle to her eyes show that she's friendly and welcoming, just perhaps shy.

You'd never guess that this woman is one of the giants Persian classical and folk music. Sima Bina looms large over a challenging, male-dominated field for her intensive research into centuries of traditions spanning the dozens of regions and dozens more language dialects of what is now Iran, as much as for her affecting and entrancing voice, even if she's keeping it largely silent at the moment.

A few minutes later, though, the voice is heard in all its power and confidence as she rehearses with the others, members of the L.A.-based Lian Ensemble, all Iranian expatriates and arguably the preeminent Persian group in the US. Together they're preparing for a landmark North American concert tour and recording project that began in late May and continues into late June, focusing on the music and words of early 20th century composer-poet Aref Ghazvini, whose music reflected and commented on the transitions of culture into modern times under the first Shah. Starting the session with an instrumental, the evocative instrumental whose title translates as 'Limping Horse,' they segue into 'Ghaleh Peer' ('Old Fort') featuring Bina's expressive singing, entrancing and moving even without translation and showing the dynamics and promise of this combination of artists.

Before and after the rehearsal (the latter over a wonderful Persian meal prepared by Lian co-founder and tar player Pirayeh Pourafar), Bina doesn't need to speak -- her cohorts are more than happy to speak for, and of, her.

"We were talking about that element she has in her voice," percussionist Houman Pourmehdi, Pourafar's husband, tells Spinner of an earlier conversation between the Lian musicians. "It touches the being of humanity when we hear her. That's rare to find."

But what she's done with that voice is even rarer, and matched with an equal vision.

"There are many female singers in our culture, but she's the only one who can be in folk music and classical," says Pourmehdi, who teaches Persian percussion at the California Institute of the Arts. "The only one."

Her explorations of the great wealth and range of cultures within Iran, particularly those of her home region of Khorisan, redefined modern perceptions of Persian music as an inclusive form with deep and wide-reaching roots. As such, it stood in contrast to the quasi-Western orientation under the Shah and the tight reigns that were put on after his deposition by Islamic fundamentalists. That latter put Bina, and all women artists, in jeopardy, as public singing by females was and largely remains forbidden. That, ultimately, led to her self-imposed exile in Köln, Germany, where she has been based for 25 years.

And nowhere in her dozens of recordings drawing on all those roots is that humanity more evident than on 'Iranian Lullabies,' an unprecedented book and four-CD set that was released in 2009 following years of research. On it, she performs -- as the title implies -- lullabies from all parts of Iran, many that were part of oral tradition but never written down, collected personally by her from women in rural villages. To at once personalize them and provide aural context, she added various ambient and nature sounds, such as birds singing and water trickling. Opening track, 'Kerman Lullaby,' is fittingly a song that her own mother sang to her, here with the rising sound of a ticking clock as childhood slips by.

"She gathered all the lullabies in Iran, 30 states, everything together," says Pourafar. "Spent about 15 years putting everything together. Her voice was forbidden in Iran since she's a woman, and she put everything aside to research and collect these. Never done before."

Now Bina, with Pourmehdi translating, interjects a thought.

"She says that the book belongs to all the mothers in Iran," Pourmehdi says.

"A part of the lullabies project is documenting the oral history, what happened, what they are singing for the children is what happened to them," says Pourafar.

The project was both inspiring to the singer and, she believes, the people who preserve the music in everyday life. Speaking up for herself, again through Pourmehdi's translation, she notes that her trips to Iran, once or twice a year, have taken on increased significance to her through this work.

"After the ban of female singing in Iran, I've been more encouraged to work on this," she says. "I still keep contract in Iran, going and studying and traveling, finding more sources and unheard music in Iran is important."

The music being featured on the Bina/Lian collaboration is of a different nature, though. In some ways it's more traditional/classical than many of Lian's projects -- the group has engaged in some very rewarding cross-genre and cross-cultural projects, such as the 2006 album 'Pangea' with Armenian duduk giant Djivan Gasparyan, 2008's 'Dark Wing' teaming with L.A. jazz players and last year's 'Windows,' a magical collaboration with the Tuvan instrumental and throat-singing quartet the Chirgilchin Ensemble,

"Ghazvini was a pioneer of relating the political ideas in the country in relation to the music," says Amir Koushkani, the ensemble's tar and setar player and, for his day job, on the music faculty of York University in Ontario, Canada. "His works are among the most famous in Persian culture, Persian classical music."

But there are new twists in this presentation, not least being just who is doing it.

"We are presenting the most famous compositions by Aref, but with her voice," Koushkani says. "This has never happened, with a female voice."

Of course, this comes at a time in which Iran is still struggling with issues of the modern world, such as women singing. It's no coincidence that these musicians chose this material. They believe they speak just as strongly to the Iran of today as it did to the nation a century ago.

"Yes, of course," says Pourmehdi. "She wanted to bring that out to the community."

"We are seeing some things which existed in our culture before," Koushkani continues. "Unsolved problems. And the message is sometimes more clear with old material. Some people make new songs, but we are saying the problems already existed -- if we look at them. Still struggling with the same problems."

"She mentioned that the songs she's singing this time are because our people are always under dictatorship," Pourmehdi says on behalf of Bina. "No different between now and before. Folk songs are the same about being separated from the land."

He looks around this charming courtyard he's sharing with this mix of musicians, mostly living far from their roots.

"We feel that," he says. "All of us are not where we were born. We are outside."

Cults Cull Their 'Greatest Hits' for Upcoming Debut Album
By Tara Lacey

Much like the mystery and intrigue synonymous with the real-life versions of their namesake, very little information is currently available -- aside from some viral hit singles -- about indie-pop newcomers Cults. In an effort to avoid societal expectations associated with adulthood, Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion formed Cults as their own escape. They recently spoke with Spinner about the whirlwind surrounding their seemingly overnight success, their backgrounds and their plans following the May 3 release of their self-titled debut album.

Where did you get the name Cults?

Brian Oblivion: We felt that a lot of [our] songs had to do with being afraid of modern society and living a straight, normal life. When we wrote the album we were 21, just about to turn 22, dropping out of school and kind of terrified of being an adult. Joining a cult is the ultimate escape. The band was our way of forming our own cult and running away from that -- having a group with our own morals and our own sound.

How did you start making music together?

Madeline Follin: Just out of boredom, being on our own in the house. We just decided to go and record. He had been making music around the house and I said "let's go up ... and record some vocals on it."

BO: She bought me a keyboard for my birthday and I sat down and just wrote the three songs we recorded in a few days.

Since you released those songs, you've skyrocketed in popularity. Is it intimidating to release a full-length LP with expectations so high?

MF: It's exciting!

BO: We're just stoked to get more music out. We wrote 23 songs for this 11-song album. We took our time. It's been a year -- we're really confident in all the songs for that reason.

I'm not worried about [the album's release] too much. It all started for us so naturally and was never part of our plan. We cared for a while, but now we don't care what people think. We just want people to hear it and experience it. You can only care for so long.

What sort of musical background do you have?

MO: My whole family is a musical family. I was raised around it. My mom says it's a disease. I caught the disease.

BF: Her brother is in a band called the Willows and her dad was in White Zombie. When our band first broke and we came to her [mom] with all this exciting stuff, she got all depressed and was like, "not again, not again" [both laugh]. I was a suburban kid and I grew up playing in like Slayer cover bands and stuff.

What were you going for with your debut album and how do you feel like the songs flow as a whole?

BO: I think we threw out the book as far as debut albums are concerned. We wrote so many songs in so many moods and styles, and we just picked the best ones. Our [generation's] favorite albums are all greatest hits. What's your favorite Bob Marley record? 'Bob Marley's Greatest Hits.' It's disjointed in a way I really like -- like greatest hits.

Where do you draw your influence from?

BO: We draw a lot of mood influence from movies.

MF: I think it's more like Chinese music.

BO: A ton of old American Bands.

Madeline, for the 'Oh My God' video, you wore an elaborate suit made out of balloons. What was that like?

MF: It was awful! I had no idea what to expect and I got there and there's a giant balloon suit!! Adult Swim contacted us and said that they wanted to make a video and we said, "whatever you want to do, we'll do it."

BO: We worship Adult Swim.

MF: It was an interesting shoot.

'I Am the Walrus,' The Beatles: I Freakin' Love This Song
By Ed Berenhaus

When I first heard the pulsating, hypnotic sound of 'I Am the Walrus' in 1967, John Lennon was well into a mind-bending musical journey that helped usher in the psychedelic rock era. The Beatles ruled rock 'n' roll, and Lennon was determined to push the limits of music production to create new sounds. Like many other musicians Lennon was experimenting with the drug LSD and producer George Martin helped transform John's hallucinatory visions into layers of kaleidoscopic sounds. Lennon's 'Tomorrow Never Knows,' 'Strawberry Fields Forever,' 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' and 'A Day in the Life' quickly became instant classics, decades before multi-track recording and digital production were invented.

When Lennon recorded 'I Am the Walrus,' I practically wore out my LP listening to this delightfully strange masterpiece! John's intense and urgent singing demands your attention as he practically shouts out the strange and confusing lyrics. A playful arrangement of orchestral strings and horns surround Lennon's vocals as a powerful chorus of voices chant silly, syncopated phrases and make shrill whooping sounds whenever Lennon proclaims, "I am the Eggman." Added to the mix is a seemingly random assortment of sound effects and a long snippet of Shakespeare's 'King Lear.'

'I Am the Walrus' will never grow old for me. Its many musical facets keep it sounding vital and fresh and will easily attract new fans for generations to come. Goo goo g'joob!
 

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Phantasm: Releasing A New Demo Every Week in July

July is demo month for Phantasm. We are recording our new album right now and we want you to be involved in the process. Every week in July we will be posting a NEW DEMO for songs that will appear on our upcoming album).

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Demo #1 "Think Twice"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqL2guzBh5Y

Demo #2 "What Makes You Tick"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5No2O0qiUw

New Phantasm Demo #3 "All I Need"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v​=0Z-9okJgLKQ