Showing posts with label #Classic Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Classic Rock. Show all posts

Friday, October 8, 2021

ANDY SUMMERS LEGENDARY GUITARIST FOR THE POLICE CHATS ABOUT NEW BOOK 'FRETTED & MOANING' AND NEW MUSIC 'HARMONICS OF THE NIGHT' A LIVE ZOOM TV EXCLUSIVE!

 

 

A N D Y

S U M M E R S

LEGENDARY GUITARIST 

formerly with 

T H E  P O L I C E

New book  OF SHORT STORIES

FRETTED AND MOANING

AND NEW MUSIC COMING SOON!

HARMONICS OF THE NIGHT

The new record will join up with 

Metal Dog and Triboluminescence 

to complete the three-strong sonic collection. 

ANDY SUMMERS

EXCLUSIVE ZOOM TV INTERVIEW

CLICK BELOW TO WATCH IN ITS ENTIRELY



Andy Summers is most known as a member of one of the most influential and acclaimed acts in musical history, The Police. 

With a catalog that has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and spawned multiple chart toppers including “Every Breath You Take,” “Can’t Stand Losing You,” “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” just to name a few, as well as four of their five studio albums making Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, The Police continue to be one of the most important musical acts of all time. Summers is a five-time Grammy® winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and has spent the past five decades performing live to audiences across the globe.  Summers has released multiple solo projects in recent years as well as collaborations with John Etheridge, Robert Fripp, Fernanda Takai, Ben Verdery, and Victor Biglione.  In 2007, The Police reunited for a 14-month global tour becoming the third highest grossing tour of all time.  In recent years Summers has become a noted author including the 2006 release of his memoir, One Train Later, the inspiration for his 2012 documentary film, Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police.

 Summers has also found sanctuary behind the lens as a noted photographer who specializes in capturing a mood, an expression, or a location in striking black and white, with book releases including the stunning Desirer Walks the Streets (Nazraeli Press), I’ll Be Watching You (Taschen), and The Bones of Chuang Tzu (Steidl), while continuing to curate exhibits around the globe including Leica Gallery in Los Angeles, Paris/LA Independent Photo Show, Kunst, Licht Ggallery in Shanghai, and more. Summers is the recipient of the prestigious Chevalier De L’Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture in France. For more information, visit www.andysummers.com.


Purchase Andy’s latest book 

FRETTED AND MOANING

Short Stories

Musician, composer, photographer, guitarist and… author. Andy Summers has written short stories ever since he became a member of The Police, and they are as smart, witty, and unexpected as his music and photography. Now for the first time 45 are collected in this hardback book. Andy’s stories in Fretted & Moaning reveal a cast of characters drawn from the world of music, chief among them guitarists. Every tale has at its heart music or a guitar and a person whose ambition, hopes, dreams, loves, hates, failures, and successes are revealed in uncanny, funny, and never expected ways.

Available at amazon.com


Also watch for

HARMONICS OF THE NIGHT

by Andy Summers

The new record will join up with Metal Dog and Triboluminescence to complete the three-strong sonic collection. His 15th studio solo record and the final installment in his trilogy of albums.

Expected October 15, 2021 at amazon.com


For more information 

about

ANDY SUMMERS

Visit

www.andysummersbook.com

author site

www.andysummers.com

official website

www.facebook.com/andysummersofficial

facebook

https://twitter.com/asummersmusic

twitter

www.instagram.com/andysummers_official

Instagram

www.thepolice.com

the Police official website 

ANDY SUMMERS

DISCOGRAPHY

Solo albums

XYZ (MCA, 1987)

Mysterious Barricades (Private Music, 1988)

The Golden Wire (Private, 1989)

Charming Snakes (Private, 1990)

World Gone Strange (Private, 1991)

A Windham Hill Retrospective (Windham Hill Records, 1991) (compilation)

Synaesthesia (CMP, 1995)

The Last Dance of Mr. X (BMG/RCA Victor, 1997)

Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk (BMG Classics/RCA Victor, 1999)

Peggy's Blue Skylight (BMG Classics/RCA Victor, 2000)

Earth + Sky (Golden Wire, 2003)

The X Tracks (Golden Wire, 2004) (compilation)

Metal Dog (Flickering Shadow, 2015)

Triboluminescence (Flickering Shadow, 2017)

Harmonics of the Night (Andy Summers Music/Cargo Records, October 15, 2021)

Collaborations

I Advance Masked with Robert Fripp (A&M, 1982)

Bewitched with Robert Fripp (A&M, 1984)

Invisible Threads with John Etheridge (Mesa, 1993)

Strings of Desire with Victor Biglione (R.A.R.E., 1998)

Splendid Brazil with Victor Biglione (R.A.R.E., 2005)

First You Build a Cloud with Ben Verdery (R.A.R.E., 2007)

Fundamental with Fernanda Takai (2012)

Circus Hero with Rob Giles as Circa Zero (429 Records, 2014)

Film soundtracks

The Wild Life (MCA, 1984)

2010 (A&M, 1984) (contributor)

Band of the Hand (1985)

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (MCA, 1986)

The Craft (Columbia, 1996)

Singles

"Parade"/"Train" with Robert Fripp (1984)

"2010"/"To Hal and Back" (1984)

"Love is the Strangest Way"/"Nowhere" (1987)

As band member

With The Police

Outlandos d'Amour (1978)

Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

Zenyatta Mondatta (1980)

Ghost in the Machine (1981)

Brimstone and Treacle (1982)

Synchronicity (1983)

Every Breath You Take: The Singles (1986)

Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings (1993)

Live! (1995)

The Police (2007)

Certifiable: Live in Buenos Aires (2008)

Every Move You Make: The Studio Recordings (2019)

With Eric Burdon and the Animals

Love Is (1968)

With Kevin Ayers

First Show in the Appearance Business (1996)

Too Old to Die Young (1998)

Yes We Have No Mananas, So Get Your Mananas Today (EMI/Harvest, 2009)

With Kevin Coyne

Matching Head and Feet (Virgin, 1975)

Heartburn (Virgin, 1976)

In Living Black and White (Virgin, 1976)

Sign of the Times (Virgin, 1994)

On Air (Tradition & Moderne, 2008)

With Dantalian's Chariot

Chariot Rising (Wooden Hill, 1996)

With Eberhard Schoener

The Book (Ariola 1977)

Trance-Formation (Harvest/EMI Electrola 1977)

Video-Flashback (Harvest, 1979)

Video Magic (Harvest, 1978)

With Strontium 90

Police Academy (Pangaea, 1997)

With Zoot Money's Big Roll Band

It Should Have Been Me (1965)

Zoot! (Columbia, 1966)

Transition (1968)

Were You There? (Indigo, 1999)

Fully Clothed & Naked (Indigo, 2000)

 


 





ANDY SUMMERS

APPEARS WEEK OF

OCTOBER 12TH 2021

on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

with RAY SHASHO

STREAMING at  

THE CLASSIC ROCK MUSIC REPORTER

(classicrockmusicwriter.com)

Classic Rock Here And Now

Music Tried And True

Facebook LIVE

YouTube 




RAY’S BEST-SELLING BOOK

ENTITLED

THE 

ROCK STAR 

CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE

CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE


By Ray Shasho



 …Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover

 or E-book  at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES 

BOOK TRAILER

CHECK IT OUT!


BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

 

The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   Gold Award Winner

 


MORE BOOKS BY RAY SHASHO



Thursday, March 18, 2021

MIKE RENO THE VOICE OF CANADIAN HALL OF FAMERS 'LOVERBOY' SPECIAL GUEST ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS WITH RAY SHASHO ON BBS RADIO TV

 

L O V E R B O Y

Limited vinyl LP pressing of the Canadian rock band's 1980 debut, released to coincide 

with the album's

40th ANNIVERSARY

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

with

M I KE  R E N O

Lead singer of the legendary rock band 

MIKE RENO INTERVIEW 

IN ITS ENTIRELY 

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN

Canadian Music Hall of Fame group, LOVERBOY, celebrates the 40th anniversary of their 5x Platinum-certified, self-titled album Loverboy this year. To commemorate this sonic work of art, the group releases a special limited-edition vinyl of the legendary rock classic today via Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc.

Originally released in October 1980, Loverboy features many fan-favourite singles, including “The Kid Is Hot Tonight”, “Turn Me Loose” and “Little Girl” – the latter serving as the inspiration behind the iconic album sleeve artwork. Contemporary Canadian artist Barbara Astman was commissioned to create the cover art, and brilliantly typed the lyrics from “Little Girl” onto a self-portrait Polaroid as it developed. The 2020 special edition is printed with a full cover emboss on Astman’s typed text to pay homage to this process.

While reminiscing about making the album and the musical test of time, lead vocalist Mike Reno reveals, “Boy did we get lucky in late 1979 to work with the best in the business, Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock..... oh and don’t forget Mike Frazer. This record still sounds great.” Echoing Reno, Guitarist Paul Dean confirms, “Considering we recorded ‘Get Lucky’ 40 years ago, I think it holds up really well. Especially on this new deluxe vinyl edition, I would say it’s the best it’s ever sounded.”

Loverboy went on to become a major Canadian rock hit, winning a record-breaking six awards at the 1982 Juno’s – a record the band still holds today. Upon release, the album sold more than 700,000 copies in Canada, two million copies in the U.S. and four million copies worldwide. The band’s success catapulted them into the Top 5 touring acts in the world, making them the first Canadian group to ever earn Columbia Records’ exclusive Crystal Globe Award, celebrating the sale of over five million albums outside their native country. Since 1992, the band has maintained a steady road presence, with Sony/Legacy releasing a greatest hits compilation. The group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2009 Juno Awards.

PURCHASE

CANADIAN MUSIC 

HALL OF FAME GROUP

 LOVERBOY 

40th ANNIVERSARY

 VINYL EDITION

OF THE MULTI-PLATINUM CERTIFIED SELF-TITLED ALBUM 

'LOVERBOY'

Limited vinyl LP pressing of the Canadian rock band's 1980 debut, released to coincide with the album's 40th anniversary.

At amazon.com

For more information about

MIKE RENO

and

LOVERBOY

 Visit

https://loverboyband.com/

Official Website

https://www.facebook.com/loverboyband

Facebook

https://twitter.com/LoverboyBand

Twitter

 

Loverboy discography

Studio albums

Loverboy (1980)

Get Lucky (1981)

Keep It Up (1983)

Lovin' Every Minute of It (1985)

Wildside (1987)

Six (1997)

Just Getting Started (2007)

Rock 'n' Roll Revival (2012)

Unfinished Business (2014) 









MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!

ENTITLED

THE

 ROCK STAR 

CHRONICLES


SERIES ONE



CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE

 

…Order yours today on the 

collectors edition Hardcover 

or E-book

 at bookbaby.com and amazon.com


Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of

the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 


THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER


BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time. 

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   Gold Award Winner

 



Wednesday, February 17, 2021

DAVID MUSE LEGENDARY MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST WITH 'FIREFALL' CHATS ABOUT BRAND NEW ALBUM 'COMET' W/RAY SHASHO ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

 

LEGENDARY ROCK BAND

F I R E F A L L

RELEASES NEW CD

ENTITLED

 "C O M E T"

FIRST NEW ALBUM IN MORE THAN TWO DECADES 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH 

LONGTIME BAND MEMBER

D A V I D 

M U S E 

AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID MUSE

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN 

IN ITS ENTIRELY

Very few legendary rock groups boasting a string of seminal 1970s hits contain three original members in their ranks more than four decades later. Even fewer have a brand-new album out that vividly captures the sound and power of their best-known classics. Firefall has both. That’s reason for serious celebration from their legion of loyal fans.

“Firefall hasn’t made a new record for a long, long time, since the ‘90s,” says Jock Bartley, the band’s founding lead guitarist and vocalist. “With three of us original guys in the band—myself, Mark Andes on bass, and David Muse on saxophone, flute, and keyboards—we’ve been touring, and it just felt to me as leader of the band, ‘It’s time. We need to start looking at material, writing material, to put a new album out.’” 

Comet, out December 11 on Sunset Blvd. Records, is that long-awaited release. Their lineup completed by drummer Sandy Ficca and singer/guitarist Gary Jones, Firefall set out to make an album on the same lofty artistic par as their ‘70s classics for Atlantic Records, when they set the pop singles charts ablaze with “You Are The Woman,” “Just Remember I Love You,” and “Strange Way.” They succeeded magnificently. 

The band had to overcome a few obstacles along the way. “The problem was that the five members of the band live in five different states,” says Jock, who produced the disc along with the band and a handful of collaborators. “When we’d fly somewhere to a gig, at soundcheck or something, we might look at a new song or talk about recording or whatever. But to get all of us in the same town at the same time to record was really a challenge for me. We’d have a gig in Colorado, and everybody would come out and we’d stay out for a couple of days and record a couple of songs. Same thing when we’d go into Nashville—we’d go stay at Gary’s house and go in the studio and record a song or two.” 

Conquering those logistical roadblocks was worth all the effort. The rocking opener “Way Back When,” one of four tracks on the set that Bartley wrote or co-wrote, pays tribute to the classic musical era that inspired Firefall. “The first verse and first chorus is set in 1965. The second verse and chorus is ‘67, and the third verse and chorus is 1969,” says Bartley. “The first verse is kind of the Beatles and the Stones sand the Byrds. The second verse is Aretha Franklin and the Young Rascals and the groups that had music out then. I sing the song, but the person singing the lyrics is looking back and remembering how the ‘60s were so vibrant and had such great music. We thought it would never end.”

Firefall cut its 1976 Atlantic debut album at Criteria Studios in Miami. It included “You Are The Woman.” “Rick was thinking in his head, ‘I need to write a really happy, positive pop song that’ll be in the Top Ten!’ And he wrote ‘You Are The Woman,’” says Jock. “Some of us in the band didn’t really like it, because it was really different. It wasn’t like ‘Mexico’ or ‘Livin’ Ain’t Livin’’ or ‘Cinderella’ or any of that strummy, fast, ballsy stuff that Firefall was becoming. But boy, most everybody, including the producer and then Atlantic Records, they heard that song, and they went, ‘That’s what we want!’” “You Are The Woman” crashed the Top Ten. 1977’s “Just Remember I Love You” and “Strange Way” the next year cemented their stardom. 

“Boulder, Colorado became this hotbed for music, and Firefall was kind of the shining light out of that,” says Jock. “A lot of people have called Firefall ‘the Colorado Sound.’” Now Comet is poised to rocket into the cosmos, the latest chapter in Firefall’s amazing saga. 

 


Purchase 
the 
latest release

by

FIREFALL


Entitled

 "COMET"


at amazon.com



Firefall's first album of new music in 25 years. Formed by the former members of the Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, Spirit and Zephyr, Firefall's commercial success includes three Gold albums, two Platinum albums and eleven chart-topping singles. The band's biggest hit, 'You Are the Woman' has been played on commercial radio more than 8,000,000 times and has also appeared in over 75 films and television shows. Over the past four decades, Firefall has toured the world and shared stages with other iconic bands such as Fleetwood Mac, The Band, The Beach Boys, Kenny Loggins, Journey, Heart, ELO and Marshall Tucker Band. Currently touring with three original members (Jock Bartley, David Muse, Mark Andes), longtime drummer Sandy Ficca and talented newcomer Gary Jones.

For more information about

D A V I D

M U S E

And

F I R E F A L L

Visit

Facebook facebook.com/FIREFALLofficial 

Instagram |  instagram.com/firefallofficial/

David Muse Official https://davemuse.com/

 

DISCOGRAPHY

Albums

Firefall (Atlantic, 1976) U.S. No. 26, AUS No. 72

Luna Sea (Atlantic, 1977) U.S. No. 11, AUS No. 73

Elan (Atlantic, 1978) U.S. No. 11, AUS No. 31

Clouds Across the Sun (Atlantic, 1980)

Undertow (Atlantic, 1980) AUS No. 90

Break of Dawn (Atlantic, 1982)

Mirror of the World (Atlantic, 1983)

Messenger (Redstone, 1994)

Colorado (Burning Airlines, 2001)

Colorado to Liverpool: A Tribute to the Beatles (Winged Horse, 2007)

Comet (Sunset Blvd Records, 2020)

Live albums

Reunion Live (Winged Horse, 2009)








MY NEW BOOK IS FINALLY OUT!

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE

CHRONICLES, TRUTHS, CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS THAT SET US FREE

 …Order yours today on Hardcover 

or E-book

 at bookbaby.com and amazon.com


Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of

the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER


BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles, by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time. 

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   Gold Award Winner