Rock Gone Wild
By Jenna Croyle

When you think of Alternative Rock bands, certain groups come to mind, 30 Seconds to Mars, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Babes in Toyland, The Smashing Pumpkins, Magic Dirt, The White Stripes and many more.

Locally, many artists have been very important to the genre over the decades, paving the way for today’s musicians to take Alternative Rock to the next level. This week’s featured band, X7 has put a new look on the face of Alternative Rock in Erie.

Formed in the early part of the Millennium, X7 is made up of Michael A. Kraus on Vocals and Guitar, Hans Hetz on Bass, Geoff Bliss on Drums and Kevin Pentycofe on Keyboards, the band continues to give new meaning to the word innovative.

Taking much of its influences from bands like Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails, Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, X7 is an energy driven musical powerhouse that never stops the rock.

When you are watching the band on stage, you can immediately feel the natural chemistry that each member has with not only each other, but also an almost symbiotic relationship to the music.

With music that seems to be constantly evolving, X7 gives a great deal of respect to the style and structure of each song along with a strong dose of artistic expression in every verse that has a cathartic influence that overcomes you as you listen.

The bands Keyboardist and newest member, Kevin Pentycofe is truly one of the best Keyboard players in town, adding that special something to every note he plays. Seeming completely absorbed, dedicated and committed to his craft, Pentycofe flows flawlessly from note to note with superb musical insights.

Geoff Bliss is able to play a variety of music and have his style impact the way the overall sound of the band, raising the music to new highs beat after beat. Bliss’ fantastic rhythm and attention to detail creates a powerful sound that is very distinctive and surprisingly original in the world of drummers.

The band’s Bassist, Hans Hetz has the Essential Alternative Rock Bass Lines to propel any song to greatness. Hetz seems to center his playing on simplicity and minimalism, while developing his own style, earning him his place as one of the most amazing Alternative Rock Bassists in town.

Finally, as the X7 front man, Michael A. Kraus lends a powerful and melodic nuance to the band with his talents as the Lead Singer and Guitarist. Rock is all about the show, Kraus turns every show into an experience with his unique Rock voice, charismatic stage presence and excellent finger work.

As a truly talented individual, Kraus raises those around him up to true greatness making X7 a force to be reckoned with as one of the leaders of Rock in Erie. Kraus’ unique ability to connect with his audience is without doubt the secret to the success of X7.

There are many good bands that just weren’t around long, X7 has the staying power that only the true legends of rock have.

If you are looking for a hard hitting, fist pumping, high energy, big rock bang show experience, then an X7 show is the place to go.

For more information on X7, band members and show dates, please visit their website.

'Be Creative and Make Money Out of It': Dr Dre on Headphones (not Detox)
Nobody wants to hear Dr Dre talk solely about his Beats headphones. But when Kieran Yates tried to ask about his long-awaited album she was thrown out of the room
By Kieran Yates

Preparing to interview Dr Dre is quite a nervy affair. Not only is he responsible for soundtracking gangsta rap, inventing G-funk, signing Eminem and reshaping hip-hop for the 90s, he also has a team around him seemingly desperate to make the experience as tense as possible.

A handful of journalists are driven downtown to Cult Studios on West 27th St in New York – a run-down space in mid-town which looks from the outside like, well, a squat (they've succeeded at looking inconspicuous) but inside is actually some kind of bling Tardis, with scantily clad promo girls giving out canapes to nibble on while we wait for The Doctor to arrive. One of his team warns me in conversation that he's a man of few words, answering technical questions in meetings with a simple thumbs up or thumbs down – and after seeing him in a press conference earlier where he spoke a mere two words ("thanks guys"), I believe what I'm told.

In recent years, Dre's branched out from music, becoming a successful international businessman with the birth of his Beats headphones range, a project which he has worked closely with head of Interscope records, Jimmy Iovine. So is he living the American Dream? He has no doubt. "Absolutely. I've been living the American Dream for over 25 years – just being able to do what I do, be creative and make money out of it, it's incredible."

Dre has certainly had a more creative hand in his line of Beats than a cynic would imagine. Iovine tells a story in the press conference of meeting Dre on the beach. Dre said he'd been approached to design a range of trainers, to which Iovine responded, "F*** sneakers, let's make speakers". So they did. And Dre's been involved at every step – even harking back to hip-hop's early years in the new collection, which features a mobile beatbox designed to carry on your shoulder like a ghettoblaster. He talks about the project like his baby under a very simple premise: "I want people to enjoy music like I enjoy it in the studio, musicians have been hearing music differently for a long time and Beats are changing that".

Despite being flown to NYC to interview Dre ahead of the launch of this new range, I'm told that under no circumstance can I ask about his infamously long-awaited album Detox (It is testament to the brand he has become that Dre can keep the public eagerly waiting for a follow-up album to the legendary 2001 with no harm to his good name). Damn, I think, there goes the question on everybody's lips. As nice as they are, there's only so much I can bring myself to talk about headphones – what I want to know about, being a music journalist, is the music, not the earpieces you use to hear it. Unfortunately, a lot of my questions not relating to the product are cut short, so my allocated 10 minutes with Dre are punctuated with a PR's voice instructing me to "keep it Beats."

And yet, Dre is far from a sullen character. Before the interview, I stand outside and make small talk with him under the watchful gaze of his PR, and he manages to tell me that one UK act that he's listening to right now is the dubstep outfit Nero. He's so open and friendly, I wonder what all the fuss is about. The weight of the Dre legend is definitely felt by his team, though. The interview is conducted in a white room full of around 10 PRs, marketing managers and who-knows-who, and as a result the atmosphere is more than a little claustrophobic. At least he says more to me than he did in the conference, suddenly perking up about the project, adamant that he is not just a silent face of the brand.

"It's one of the best things I've ever been involved in" he says, laughing when I ask just how far he would take Brand Dre. Could he have a reality show like his long-time partner in hip-hop, Snoop Dogg on the cards? "No! In fact, I would advise against anyone doing reality shows. I won't be doing X Factor just yet."

I ask if his title as a businessman has overtaken the title of artist, "I don't think the brand has overtaken the music, I think that they just work together, like, I love watching the two come together."

We talk about how his journey has taken him from the streets of LA to the high-rise elevators of an international business mogul, and he says, with genuine modesty, that he's always surprised: "I could never have imagined where I am now." So has he let go of the anger that fuelled NWA? His PR steps in and insists, once more, that I "stick to questions about Beats." I want to scream.

I tell Dre how I saw a few kids wearing Beats on the subway earlier and he grins. "The ultimate experience is seeing young people in the headphones, almost as big as people listening to my album, well, listening to my album on the headphone would be pretty good too."

I try to talk about his influence on hip-hop culture and the awesome 2001, which my 14-year-old self played on repeat on my CD Walkman so that my mum wouldn't hear the unadulterated talk of b*tches and hoes but again, we're told to turn the questions back to headphones.

It's just surreal. What's funny, though, is that despite the pre-interview spiel from his "people" that tried to make speaking with Dre just a few steps down from an audience with God ("he's not doing any more interviews this year", "he doesn't speak a lot"), he actually comes across as modest, relaxed and entirely likeable, or at least not as intimidating as his build might suggest. Emboldened and frustrated, and with the PR theatrically tapping her watch, I decide to pose the question I've come 3,000 miles to ask. Lots have been cut short, I've been interrupted, and it's now or never.

"So Dre, when is Detox coming out?"

The room shudders, the PR bristles, and with that I'm ushered out.

The new holiday line from Beats by Dre will be out soon

Brian Wilson: 'SMiLE' Time
Rejuvenated creatively, the Beach Boys leader rolls out an album that has for decades been the stuff of legend
By Melinda Newman

Brian Wilson has a simple wish for all who hear "SMiLE," the legendary, never-completed Beach Boys album from the '60s that is finally coming out Nov. 1, 45 years after its inception.

When asked what he wants people to take away from the collected studio sessions, Wilson sits up straight in his chair at the conference table at the historic Capitol Records tower in Hollywood and simply says, "Some love."

Although "SMiLE" was intended as the follow-up to the 1966 classic "Pet Sounds," Wilson and his Beach Boys bandmates abandoned the project after more than a year of studio time due to ever-cascading challenges, including Wilson's increasing mental instability and the other Beach Boys' opposition to the musical direction. The best-known song on "SMiLE" is the layered masterpiece "Good Vibrations" -- even though the seven-month recording process for the song, which features Glen Campbell on guitar, started during the "Pet Sounds" sessions. "Was he on 'Good Vibrations'?" Wilson asks, when reminded. "I'll be darned. I don't remember that."

For Wilson, the release of "SMiLE" all these decades later is a validation and a sign that the times have caught up with his musical vision, which was often ahead of the technological capabilities of the era. "I think the music was too advanced, too quick-moving," Wilson says. "I think it's an adventure you go into, you know." (A new studio version, "Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE," recorded with Wilson's current backing band the Wondermints, came out in 2004).

Wilson's intent with "SMiLE," which featured lyrics by Van Dyke Parks (outside of "Good Vibrations"), was to take the listener on a musical trip across America from east to west, starting with "Roll Plymouth Rock" and ending with "In Blue Hawaii." "It's Americana," says Wilson, who adds that his favorite song from the album is "Heroes and Villains."

Capitol is serving up "SMiLe" in almost any way that consumers want to purchase it, from a two-CD set to the $5,999 "SMiLE" limited-edition box set, autographed by Wilson, and containing a surfboard.

For those eager to dive deeply into the studio experience, an expanded version includes four CDs of studio audio, including more than 30 outtakes from the recording of "Heroes and Villains" and 20 from "Good Vibrations" alone. Fans can hear Wilson, an exacting taskmaster, in total command of the sessions.

In one outtake, he chides the musicians: "If there's not any more cooperation than this, I'm splitting. We better get back into the groove."

In another, perhaps as a reflection of the times, someone in the studio questions, "You guys feel any acid yet?" When asked if he felt like drug- taking hampered the "SMiLE" recording process, Wilson says, "I don't want to talk about the drugs."

He's much more comfortable talking about the arrangements and his precise knowledge of how each voice and instrument should sound on "SMiLE." "I knew, I knew," he says. "I taught the musicians their parts. I drew their parts on what they call manuscript paper and I gave them all their sheets. We'd take one guy at a time. After we'd learn them, then we'd all play them all together."

If his frustrations are evident in the outtakes, so is Wilson's genius and the Beach Boys' nearly unparalleled ability to harmonize vocally in a way that seemed to summon the angels. In past interviews, Wilson referred to "SMiLE" as a "teenage symphony to God," and the proof is gloriously evident in some of the heavenly sounds, including the opening chorale, "Our Prayer."

At 69, Wilson finds himself in a prolific period that pleases him no end. "I'm having a creative explosion again!" he enthuses. "Finally ... after five years."

Indeed, the last few years have been a fertile time for Wilson. In 2010, he released "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin," a salute to his biggest inspiration and influence, George Gershwin. "The Gershwin album was the hardest album I've ever recorded," he reveals. "I was so afraid I couldn't [do] his music justice, you know. He's such a great music guy, but we did it." Wilson calls Gershwin's beautiful "Rhapsody in Blue," a piece that "totally inspired me and influenced me, too."

In October, "In the Key of Disney," Wilson's reinvention of Disney film classics such as "Dumbo"'s "Baby Mine," "The Jungle Book"'s "The Bare Necessities," and "The Little Mermaid"'s "Kiss the Girl" came out. "I've never heard such beautiful songs in my life," Wilson says of the Disney tunes. His favorite song from the set is "Stay Awake," the lullaby from "Mary Poppins." Interpreting other composers' songs and "weaving [them] around [to] take them to a higher place" gives Wilson a thrill, he says. Or as he describes it, to "give [the song] a Brian Wilson feeling."

Next up for Wilson is his first solo album since 2008's "That Lucky Old Sun." Wilson is collaborating with Joe Thomas, with whom he worked on 1998's "Imagination." "We're about five songs into that," Wilson says. "Half of it will be medium-slow and the other half will be uptempo."

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys, there are rumblings of a reunion tour of the surviving members: Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston (Wilson's brother Dennis died in 1983 and his other brother Carl in 1998). Wilson, who plays regularly with the Wondermints, has yet to sign on. "I haven't made up my mind," he says. "I'm not sure if I want to or not."

Vince Gill's Claim to Fame
The country veteran discusses his track record, work ethic and the family affair behind his new music
By Phyllis Stark

Vince Gill is doing his best to earn his place in the Country Music Hall of Fame, never mind that he's already a member.

Inducted in 2007, at age 50, Gill still admits to feeing a bit unworthy, despite his numerous career accomplishments, which include winning a whopping 20 Grammy Awards and selling more than 26 million records.

"I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I'm so young," says Gill, now 54, who has been making music professionally since the 1970s. "And I can't help but look [at other stars] and go, 'Well, I think THAT person should be in this hall long before I should.' That's just because of my respect for what's come before me.

"The other side of it is I do want to go earn it," he continues, describing what he calls his "workingman's mentality."

"I want people to say 'We chose well,' so from this point on, let me earn it and do as much as I've done to this point [all over] again."

His new album, "Guitar Slinger," is a big step in that direction, even though by now nobody but Gill thinks he still has anything left to prove. The Oct. 24 release is his first new project since 2006, when he released an ambitious, four-CD boxed set of all-new material titled "These Days."

Gill wrote or co-wrote the dozen songs on the new album, which manages to largely maintain an upbeat tone despite the fact that three songs are about death. Two are based on friends of Gill's who died, including one in a tragic murder-suicide. The third, "Threaten Me With Heaven," was co-written with Gill's friend Will Owsley, who later took his own life. That poignant song is the new album's leadoff single. It's currently in the mid-40s and still climbing the country radio airplay charts, although not swiftly. Gill's previous track record at country radio boasts 27 top 10 hits to date, including five No. 1s.

As the title would suggest, "Guitar Slinger" showcases Gill's celebrated guitar playing much more than most of his previous releases. For years, Gill says, his guitar skills were eclipsed by the critical acclaim for his voice.

"My singing has probably always overshadowed my guitar playing to some degree," he says. "It's been more attention getting, I guess." But thanks, in part, to his frequent appearances at Eric Clapton's annual Crossroads Guitar Festival, which brings together the world's best players, Gill says, "people are more drawn to my guitar playing than they may have ever been.

"I think I'm just finally being seen in my entirety, not so much as a country music star," he adds. "People [at the festival hear] I'm a country music star and they're surprised I don't have a hat."

"Guitar Slinger" was the first album Gill recorded at his newly built home studio, which lent a casual feel to the recording process, since Gill says he could work barefoot and pad into the kitchen for a sandwich during breaks.

Recording at his Nashville home also made it easy for Gill to make the album a family affair. Not only does the set feature the vocal and songwriting talents of wife and fellow music star Amy Grant, but also Gill's daughters Jenny and Corrina, and Grant's daughter Sarah Chapman.

In an odd but effective choice, Gill had Corrina, who was 9 years old at the time, sing on one the album's darkest tracks, the murder-suicide song "Billy Paul," after the child took a liking to the song.

"She grasped what it was about and it wasn't traumatic for her," Gill says, which hatched a plan he thought could be "the worst idea I ever had or the coolest." But first he had to run it by Corrina's mother, Grant, who understandably needed some convincing.

Once he got Corrina in the studio, he says, "She just killed it. Her pitch was good and she could match the phrasing, which was remarkable to me. I think it adds a really eerie quality to [the song]."

Having older daughter Jenny on the album was a treat for Gill as well, as it helped fulfill a long-held Everly Brothers fantasy.

"Jenny happens to be a viciously great singer, so when I sing with her, I get to have a real DNA blood/Everly Brothers thing," Gill says. "You can't imagine what that feels like. I went my whole life trying to be Phil Everly or Don Rich or whoever the great harmony singer was, for hundreds and hundreds of [my] records over the last 35 years. For me to finally get to call on somebody that can give me that sound, that perfect family blend, it's unbelievable."

Teenage stepdaughter Sarah lends backing vocals to an album cut on which Gill and Grant duet, "True Love," and Gill says, "She has a really unique voice. It has a really cool texture to it that I think is fantastic."

On the title cut, one of the album's most humorous songs, Gill lightheartedly references losing more than 30 guitars and 30 amps last year when the Cumberland River overflowed and flooded Nashville, including the Soundcheck storage facility where Gill and many other musicians kept their precious gear. And while he can joke about it now, there was no humor in the situation at the time, especially coming as it did the day after Owsley's death.

"That Saturday I came home from Canada and was devastated by that news [about Owsley]," he recalls. "Then the flood started. We watched the weather for two days alarmed at what was going to happen [as the river rose.] Somebody called and said, 'Hey, have you heard about Soundcheck? It's completely under water.' My heart sank."

But when Gill told Grant the news, her reaction was pragmatic. She said, "'That's going to be devastating, but you can make a living with one guitar if you had to,'" he recalls. That comment inspired the song's lyrics "Even though half of my stuff's in the Cumberland River/Well, now all I really need is just one six stringer."

"Still, the hardest part for me was looking at all those [ruined] things and going 'Well, that guitar played the solo on that record' and 'That guitar played the solo on this record.' Those guitars had lives and they made memories," Gill says. "To a musician, those instruments are like your photographs. So in a sense, all those instruments took my pictures."

Gill says he's always been motivated by nothing more than a pure desire to make music. But in a way, his Hall of Fame induction is driving him to create that music with a bit more urgency.

"I'm 54," he says, "I don't know how long my voice will hold out. I don't know what's going to happen to my hands, if they'll stay nimble. In most cases, it doesn't happen. Once you get some years on you, stuff starts failing," he adds with a hearty laugh. "They say you get the first 50 for free, and that's the truth."

McCartney Organizes Motown Piano Restoration

Paul McCartney has organized restoration work on a piano used by several Motown legends, after he tried to play the instrument during a trip to the record label's museum.

The former Beatle wanted to show off his musical skills on the 1877 Steinway grand piano during a visit to the Motown Historical Museum in Michigan over the summer after finding out it had been played by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder.

Officials told McCartney the piano was no longer worked, so he offered to help get the historical piece restored to its former glory.

The museum's CEO, Audley Smith, Jr., tells The Detroit News, "He was disappointed when we told him it didn't play."

McCartney then got in touch with restorers at Steinway & Sons, who have promised to fix the instrument.

The piano is scheduled to be picked up Monday (Oct. 31) and shipped to Steinway & Sons' New York headquarters, where it will take four to five months to have it professionally restored.

Until Steinway assesses the piano, it's unknown how much restoration will cost. Steinway won't change anything on the outside of the historic piano; it's the guts of the instrument that will be restored, Smith told The Detroit News.

A spokesperson for the company says, "Steinway & Sons is honored to restore the historic Steinway piano that was used by such legends as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, and to do so in the very same New York factory where it was originally built in 1877.

"We're especially proud, as an American company, to help the Motown Museum in preserving the legacy of the Motown Record Company, whose artists and albums played such a vital role in one of the great eras of American music."

Anthrax Q & A
Guitarist Scott Ian on the return of singer Joey Belladonna, the 'Big 4' shows, and his goatee
By Kirk Miller

Multiple lead singer changes. Record label bankruptcies. An album that took four years and a complete re-recording to finish. A band name that’s forever linked to post-9/11 domestic terror attacks.

Whatever the situation over the last three decades, the guys in Anthrax just roll with the punches. “We’ve become very good at dealing with things dealt to us,” says guitarist Scott Ian, laughing.

Thankfully, the “things dealt” to the popular thrash metal band are starting to be positives. On September 13, Anthrax releases “Worship Music,” its first new album in eight years and a solid return to form. The following day, the New York natives play Yankee Stadium alongside fellow metal superstars Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer in a concert appropriately dubbed “The Big 4.” And Sept. 14 also marks the first “Anthrax Day,” as the band gets officially honored in the Bronx by the New York borough’s president.

Just before the Big 4 show at Yankee Stadium, Metromix spoke with Ian about the group’s legacy, his NYC roots and (surprise) his brief hip-hop career.

Have you been to the new Yankee Stadium?
Yeah, I love it. I’ve been going to Yankees games since the old stadium was renovated in 1976. Frankie and I are insane Yankees fans. Joey isn’t…he’s a football fan. He somehow likes the Ravens, even though he’s from upstate New York.

September 14 is going to be named “Anthrax Day” in the Bronx. Ten years ago, post 9/11, could you have imagined something like this?
Ten years ago every day was Anthrax day! The other anthrax. It was pretty trippy back in 2001; it was so weird to see our name on the covers of newspapers, in Time and Newsweek. I never got used to it. I’d see it out of the corner of my eye, and think, “Look, it’s the band!” And it wasn’t. At the same time, we got so much media attention, album sales went up, and we ended up on “The Tonight Show.” That’s when we realized it wasn’t going to be a problem for us, if Leno’s making jokes about us.

Do you ever feel like your band is slightly cursed? The anthrax attacks in 2001, lead singer changes, label bankruptcy…
Well, record labels, that’s out of our control. It sucks getting stuck in those business whirlpools. That’s been a frustration, but what would I change? Nothing. What’s to say I’d be here talking about our new record if things had been different? Now, if there’s a zombie holocaust next week, and we don’t get to release the record, yeah, maybe we’re cursed.

You recorded “Worship Music” with a different singer, then brought one-time Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna back and re-recorded it. This all took four years. Was it stressful to do an album that way?
It definitely wasn’t normal, but not stressful, no. We had a finished record in 2009 and suddenly no singer, and we’re like, “What are we going to do?” So you do what you have to do, you work harder to figure out a solution. I’m not a religious person, but some things that have happened in the last three to four years seem like they were tests, testing our resolve, making sure we were worthy of making a record. But once Joey came back, everything seemed to go the right way.

OK, you gotta choose one: Who are you most excited to play with, Metallica, Slayer or Megadeth?
I’d have to say Metallica. Anthrax has toured with those other bands before a lot, but we’ve only done a few shows with Metallica.

Your profile on the band’s website claims you were in House of Pain for two gigs. True story?
I really did! It was some time in the ‘90s. Danny Boy from the band stage-dove at a gig in New York and broke his ankle. Everlast called me, and I filled in for a couple of shows. I knew the words already. It was my chance to fulfill my rapper dream. I’m not a frustrated rapper, but it is a genre of music I have affinity for.

One of your most famous older songs is “I Am the Law,” about the comic book hero Judge Dredd. Is that going to be in the new “Dredd” movie?
We’ve tried! It’s a nebulous thing…nobody can find anyone who has anything to do with that movie. That might be a message that we shouldn’t try. But whatever the movie is, it’s gotta be better than the ‘90s film. Sylvester Stallone and Rob Schneider? That sucks on paper. Who greenlit that? That person deserves to be fired.

You do reality shows, you’re writing comic books, you’re in two bands (Anthrax and the Damned Things) that are both touring, and you have a new baby. When do you sleep?
Well, I slept before the baby came! I do stuff I have time for. Anthrax is my 100% priority, but what am I going to do, say no to writing for DC Comics? And doing the Damned Things album, that was worth putting in extra time and effort.

Your goatee is fantastic. Is that hard to keep up?
Not at all. I try to keep it low-maintenance; I want my appearance to require the least amount of work as possible. I think it’s a pain that I have to spend three minutes shaving around it.

Your tourmates Slayer are now selling condoms based on one of their albums (“South of Heaven”). What’s the strangest Anthrax merch you’ve ever sold?
Slayer’s doing that? [Laughs] Actually, right now, all these indie record stores are selling Anthrax rosary beads, these beads with the Anthrax pentagram logo on ‘em. But that’s admittedly a tie-in to our new record, “Worship Music.”

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Band Hungers for Guitarist

Requiem For Oblivion is still seeking a guitarist. If you have the madness or know someone who does send them to these animals to feast upon. We must bring Requiem For Oblivion back to life with the blood of a young virgin & bow down at their feet as they hypnotize us with their lyrics.

Steve-814-392-2321

***Passing on Message From  E Lisa Froncillo-Bower ~ Please Contact Her if Interested**

I have openings in October and November for radio interviews on COOL 101.7 fm. Thursday mornings. You would need to be in studio (Meadville) by 7:45 am, out by 8:30 am. (Catching the driving to work listeners and businesses) It's a great chance to promote your upcoming gigs, cds and more. Family friendly, we need to keep within the studio's programming guidelines. Cover bands/artists welcomed as well as original. Metal bands must be not too heavy... no gutterals, etc. Rock/classic is fine. One band member can come with a CD, or bring everyone and do something live. COOL 101.7 supports local music and reaches from Erie to Slippery Rock (and below on a good day) west into Ohio, and also includes a new Cory station, and more. Good exposure. PLUS you can listen live via your computer anywhere!

Message me with links to your:

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Contact Lisa on her Facebook Page or email her Lisa@dirtydoglive.com

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2012 Nominees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the nominees for its 2012 induction class on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Leading the way this time around are such worthy first-time nominees as Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, the Cure and Guns N' Roses. Other artists appearing on the ballot for the first time include Rufus with Chaka Khan, British rockers the Faces (aka the Small Faces) featuring Rod Stewart, '60s R&B group the Spinners, bluesman Freddie King and hip-hop duo Eric B. and Rakim. The ballot also includes several artists who have been previously nominated but never inducted: the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, War, Donovan, Donna Summer and Laura Nyro.

To vote on who you think should be inducted from this year's class, visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website.

Yoko Ono: 'Imagine' Tune is Bigger Than Expected

Yoko Ono says John Lennon's iconic song "Imagine" wasn't initially embraced by the public.

She says the song, released in 1971, "was not really accepted ... it wasn't 'Wow!'"

Ono, who is listed as a co-producer on the track, says she remembers when Lennon created it, calling that time "really beautiful."

Lennon's 78-year-old widow made the comments at the launch of her Imagine There's No Hunger campaign in New York's Times Square on Tuesday. The global campaign aims to raise money and awareness for childhood hunger and poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Imagine" at No. 3 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

Big Band Singer Beryl Davis Dies at 87 in Calif.

British-born big band singer Beryl Davis, who made her U.S. debut on Bob Hope's radio show and later performed with Frank Sinatra and Benny Goodman, has died in Los Angeles at 87.

Family spokesman Greg Purdy tells the Los Angeles Times she died Friday of complications from Alzheimer's disease.

She was daughter of British band leader Harry Davis.

During World War II, she sang with Stephane Grappelli and pianist George Shearing in a group that performed in London clubs throughout the Blitz. She sang with Glenn Miller's Army Air Force Band near the end of the war.

After Hope's radio show, Beryl Davis appeared with Sinatra on the "Your Hit Parade" radio show.

In the 1950s, she formed a vocal quartet with Jane Russell, Connie Haines and Della Russell.

Hugh Jackman Proves to be a Hot Broadway Draw

Hugh Jackman is doing what he does best — selling tickets.

The Broadway League says the Tony Award-winning performer's one-man show pulled in more than $1.2 million at the box office during eight preview performances last week.

"Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway" beat out Daniel Radcliffe's "How to Succeed in Business" and the all-star cast of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies," for the week ending Sunday.

In Jackman's show, he and an 18-piece orchestra perform songs from his stage and film career, including his star turn in "The Boy From Oz." The show opens Nov. 10.

Jackman's pull broke The Broadhurst Theatre's box office record, beating "700 Sundays" starring Billy Crystal, "Hamlet" with Jude Law and "The Merchant of Venice" starring Al Pacino.