Founding member of the Doors, Ray Manzarek died yesterday after a battle with Bile Duct Cancer. He was 74. You can get more details on his death here. If you are a fan of Rock Music, hopefully you are aware of the influence of The Doors. Ray Manzarek had a signature sound that made the band recognizable in the first few seconds of the song. It was a mix between Saloon Piano player and Psychedelic Church Organ. Manzarek also took on low end duty by playing Bass parts on a Fender Rhodes Piano. Which made The Doors incredible groove all the more amazing to me. To have that kind of swing without an actual bass player is pretty awesome.
Doors drummer John Densmore gave this statement yesterday:
"There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."
To back up Mr. Densmore's statement, check out this performance for Dutch Television from 1968:
He has recorded with a Beatle, he has won a Grammy, he has been a member of not one, but two bands, that will be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, AND he had a role in a Muppets movie. Dave Grohl is living the life, and here is one more thing that he can say he did, that we will never be able to do!
"Ray Manzarek, Founding Member of The Doors, Passes Away at 74
Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of The Doors, passed away today at 12:31PM PT at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. He was 74. At the time of his passing, he was surrounded by his wife Dorothy Manzarek, and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek.
Manzarek is best known for his work with The Doors who formed in 1965 when Manzarek had a chance encounter on Venice Beach with poet Jim Morrison. The Doors went on to become one of the most controversial rock acts of the 1960s, selling more than 100-million albums worldwide, and receiving 19 Gold, 14 Platinum and five multi-Platinum albums in the U.S. alone. "L.A.Woman," "Break On Through to the Other Side," "The End," "Hello, I Love You," and "Light My Fire" were just some of the band's iconic and ground-breaking songs. After Morrison's death in 1971, Manzarek went on to become a best-selling author, and a Grammy-nominated recording artist in his own right. In 2002, he revitalized his touring career with Doors' guitarist and long-time collaborator, Robby Krieger.
"I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today," said Krieger. "I'm just glad to have been able to have played Doors songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."
Manzarek is survived by his wife Dorothy, brothers Rick and James Manczarek, son Pablo Manzarek, Pablo's wife Sharmin and their three children Noah, Apollo and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending. The family asks that their privacy be respected at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please make a memoriam donation in Ray Manzarek's name at www.standup2cancer.org"
I had to pass this along to all of my other fellow Beatles fanatics!
According to a recent press release...
“Paul McCartney: Carry that Weight” the new comic book out today. The comic takes a snapshot of the afternoon Paul McCartney made the final decision to quit the most beloved band of all time, and imagines the thoughts and feelings behind it. The comic is inspired by the famously frank press release that came with his debut solo album and confirmed the end of The Beatles, and the end of his partnership with John Lennon.
“Paul McCartney: Carry that Weight” is written by Richard Elms and art by Orlando Maro. The new comic features two covers, one by Alberto Pessoa and the other by Graham Hill.
“Only the Beatles themselves will ever really understand what happened at the end, but as a Fan of the Fab Four and their various solo projects, I have spent many an hour imagining those troubled times. Now with 'Carry that weight' I get to present my spin on Paul's feelings at the time, Fed up, tired and in love. This comic is not the truth, it is just a few scenes that could have happened in real life, and have happened in my imagination many times.,” said writer Richard Elms.
To order all the comic books exclusively at Comic Flea Market in print for $3.99 please click here: http://bit.ly/XKXzyo
Bluewater already released a comic book and graphic novels on the Beatles. “The Beatle Experience” is a 270-page graphic novel and “Orbit: John Lennon” is a 32-page comic book. Both are available on Amazon as well as Nook, Kindle & ITunes.
Digital copies will also be available for $1.99. Download the comic to your e-reader from iTunes, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, ComiXology, Google Books, DriveThru Comics, Wowio, iVerse, and more.
The Man Of A Million Projects, Dave Grohl has been guest hosting Chelsea Lately this week and Sir Elton John made an appearance this week. After the initial love fest Sir Elton talked about working on the new Queens Of The Stone Age and Alice In Chains albums. He joins an impressive lists of guests on the Queens Of The Stone Age project like Trent Reznor, Mark Lanegan(who is a floating member), Brode Dalle, as well as Grohl. But that's been the Queen's MO since Rated R. Josh Homme brings in who he needs for the song or just for the hell of it to see what happens. Can't wait to hear it!
At a press conference today at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flea announced the list of performer inductees and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipients for induction. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2013 are:
Performer Category:
· Heart
· Albert King
· Randy Newman
· Public Enemy
· Rush
· Donna Summer
Ahmet Ertegun (non performer) Award:
· Lou Adler
· Quincy Jones
Scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 2013, the 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. This marks the first time since 1993 that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on the West Coast. The ceremony will again be open to the public, as it was in 2009 and 2012 in Cleveland.
Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said, “We are thrilled to announce this year’s class of inductees, which again represents the broad, compelling and significant definition of rock and roll.”
The induction ceremony will broadcast on HBO on Saturday, May 18 at 9pm ET/PT. Said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO Programming, "We are excited to team up once again with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for what is sure to be an incredible evening of one-of-a-kind performances.”
Ticket Purchase Information
Tickets to the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony go on sale to the public on Friday, January 25th. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Members will have the opportunity to purchase advance sale tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 Inductions. Memberships must be active as of January 1st, 2013. Some restrictions apply. Click here or reference the Rock Hall Membership e-newsletter for details.
The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performer inductees were chosen by more than 500 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. To be eligible for nomination, an individual artist or band must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. The 2013 Nominees had to release their first recording no later than 1987.
For the first time in its history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame offered fans the opportunity to officially participate in the induction selection process. The public was able to visit rockhall.com, hbo.com, CNN.com and rollingstone.com to cast votes for who they believe to be most deserving of induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The top five artists, as selected by the public, comprised a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2013 inductees.
All inductees are ultimately represented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission both through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form; and through its library and archives, as well as its educational activities.
Well, if the new Rolling Stones video, is any indication of what is going on inside Mick Jaggers mind, it's a scary and perverted place.
No surprise there!
The new song from GRRR!, is called Doom and Gloom and the video... let's just say...
Zombies, puking chicks, boobies, war footage, miniskirts, blood, boobies, chicks roling around in garbage, chicks rolling around in cash, cigarettes, baseball bats, dreadlocks, dirty toilets, boobies, and at the end... Mick turns into a girl!
Between 1970-1972 Aerosmith called 1325 Commonwealth Ave home. If the neighborhood didn't know that before, they sure learned that fact today. Thousands of Aerosmith fans stood out in the cold from very early this morning to celebrate the release of Music From Another Dimension, the new album from the "Bad Boys of Boston", which comes out tomorrow. A plaque will be installed on the building, and the bands handprints will be permanently embedded in the sidewalk.
To say Thank You to their adoring, and loyal fans, the band belted out new and classic songs for free, closing Comm. Ave, and shutting down the Green Line this afternoon! That fact didn't go unnoticed by Steven Tyler, as he introduced "Train Kepta Rollin". Also included in the set, "Walkin The Dog", "Mama Kin", "Lover Alot", "Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way", and "Oh Yeah".
The event brought out the big guns today, with Bob Kraft, Robert Kraft, Tom Brady, and Gerard Mayo introducing the band on stage!
We've been keeping this whole thing a secret for a couple of weeks, and it was nice to finally be able to talk about it! I hate keeping secrets from you!
The day started at the TD Garden, where I hopped onboard a Duck Boat to ride through the streets of Boston with the band. It was crazy to have hundreds of police blocking traffic for us, as we rode through town. That must be what it feels like to win a championship in this town! I guess that's as close as I'll ever get! Thanks Aerosmith!
The band sounded amazing, and they looked like they were having a blast!
Axl Rose stepped out of his house, and showed up ON TIME for a sit down interview with Jimmy Kimmel last night. He talked about his tardiness, voting for Obama, Halloween decorations, dressing up like corn with corn rows, and how members of G'N'R used to work at Tower Records on Sunset where Axl was a manager. Check out the videos below.
