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If I didn’t believe Rolling Stone before, I do now: John Mayer is a rock god. Playing a sold-out, two-plus hour show at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, Mayer blew through a crammed-full setlist of already-classic cuts off of 2006’s Continuum, catchy, folk-pop hits from earlier in his career, a surprisingly wide selection of covers, two encores, as well as the debut of a promising brand new song. “The set list is so right on and so packed that I was told not to trade story time for song time tonight,” Mayer announced at the beginning of the…

I’m not really one for guilty pleasures. I like what I like, whether it’s a weepy Coldplay ballad, driving along to old Backstreet Boys hits, or in this case, George Michael. But though he’s more associated with the bubblegum choruses and short-shorts of his Wham! days, over the years Michael has proven himself as a more than competent songwriter and cemented his chops as a tremendous singer. And there’s no better evidence of that than seeing him live on his Twenty-Five Live tour, which has him delving through his rich back catalogue for the first time in fifteen years (and…

As I was walking out of the Rush concert in Moline, IL, on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, I overheard a woman say, “Yeah, that was not the best Rush show I’ve ever been to, but it was pretty good.” Pretty good?? Rush provided around 6,000 fans with a grade-A, excellent rock concert. In addition to superb musicianship, a couple of loud explosions startled fans and an impressive laser light show supplemented the songs. There were also three huge screens that showed an assortment of images throughout the concert. The only way I can come close to understanding what this woman…

Disclaimer: I adore Elton John. I mean, really love him. Growing up, the music of Elton John was shoved down my throat the same way some children are force-fed the Bible. One of my earliest childhood memories is being in my bed, supposed to be napping, while my mother played Blue Moves and Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Piano Player brain-scramblingly loud on the record player. It always seemed to me, and still does, that Elton John’s music was unusually and distinctively sophisticated for pop; there’s really nothing else like it out there. Between Elton’s gift for composition, Bernie…

Jozef Skrzek sounds very relaxed speaking from his home in Poland.  It’s a late evening when I call, but he seems to be happy to discuss his beloved SBB, a band he formed nearly 40 years ago.  Despite the poor phone connection, Skrzek is full of enthusiasm, very laid back and willing to share a lot of interesting facts about the band and his songwriting in general.  SBB(which stands for Silesian Blues Band) is a fantastic progressive rock band from Poland. They formed back in 1969 with three already established musicians: Jozef Skrzek handled keyboards, bass and vocals, Apostolis Antymos…

The one idea that resonates throughout this film is that it is about The Smiths from the people who were actually there (and no, they aren’t Marr or Morrissey. And the way it is shot goes hand-in-hand with this idea – Inside The Smiths is not a typical rock documentary of The Smiths. It doesn’t go deep inside the lives of the band to expose spectacular facts about its members that the public never knew. It is merely a series of interviews – almost like story-telling – of the “other” two Smiths, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.In a…

Bloodsimple first came to my attention as a band “featuring former members of Vision Of Disorder.” However, Bloodsimple quickly stood on its own feet, inking a deal with Bullygoat, Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray’s imprint on Warner Brothers. The New York-based quintet has toured with the likes of Alice In Chains, Stone Sour, Trivium and Sevendust. Summer 2007 saw a stint with Korn on the Family Values Tour, which preceded the October 2007 release of Red Harvest. The band’s second full-length, as produced by Machine, has been earning substantial U.S. radio airplay with first single “Out To Get You.” Bassist Kyle…

Too often, we see music superstars who pass away long before their time. The list of the all time great rock musicians is littered with the names of those who died young: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc. Today, it is not a stretch to imagine waking up, turning on the television, and seeing that Amy Winehouse has OD’ed. Thankfully there are still those who, against the odds, continue to play music and contribute in some manner despite having faced major problems and addictions. Eric Clapton is one of those people. Clapton…

San Diegans Jonathan Foreman, his brother Tim and their friend Chad Butler started Switchfoot while Tim was still in high school and the other two were at UCSD.  Their original format was the classic power trio with Jon on guitar and lead vocals, Tim on bass and background vocals, and Butler behind the drum kit.  Older brother Jon was -- and is -- both a major Led Zeppelin fan and an avid surfer; Switchfoot is a surfing term.The band issued three albums as a trio: The Legend Of Chin (1997), New Way To Be Human (1999) and Learning To Breathe (2000), steadily…

A collective made up of four Milwaukee locals, Maritime formed in 2003.  In an age where bands take years between albums, Maritime stands out as a prolific quartet.  Issuing three albums and an EP since formation, Maritime's latest is Heresy And The Hotel Choir, an album that has found its way into my Top 10 for the year. Even if the group’s members come from The Promise Ring (vocalist/guitarist Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Didier), Decibully (bassist Justin Klug), and The Benjamins (guitarist/keyboardist Dan Hinz), Maritime is standing on its own eight feet.  The year 2007 saw the band…