Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival 2024 Headlined By Shinedown, Godsmack & Breaking Benjamin first appeared on Game On Media.

It is hard to believe that Shinedown has been a part of our lives for two full decades now. 20 years since we first showed up early at a Tantric concert in a small club, to see the band that maybe had that one song “Fly From The Inside” we heard a few times on the radio. There have been so many changes since then – changes in the world, the music industry, the band, the fans, everything really.

Even back in May of 2005, listening to “Leave A Whisper” from front to back felt like catching up with an old friend. I found this old blog post I had done in the middle of a 4 month cross-country adventure with my then-wife and our 2 young boys. The sentiments certainly stand up today, and with the appropriate passage of time, this Shinedown classic remains one of the greatest rock and roll records of all time, and one of my favorites. Are you still listening to it today?

An album is like an old friend

A great record album is like an old friend. You may not hear from them for a while, but once you hear from them again, it takes you right back to that place you were at.

On my drive up to Carlsbad today, I decided to listen to Heather and my favorite album from last year, from our favorite new band. We went to a Tantric concert about a year ago at Tremont Music Hall in Charlotte and the opening band was Shinedown. We ended up liking Shinedown better and proceeded to play their album all year long. We even saw them twice more at Tremont as headliners. The boys love the acoustic version of Burning Bright, and they even did an acoustic cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man, which was the song me and my Mom danced to at my wedding.

Now, it probably has not been all that long since I heard this album, but it seems like long, long ago that we lived in Charlotte. The memories were not so long ago, but hearing this album today [while going 4 MPH, which gives you plenty of time to listen closely and sing along] brought them back quickly.

I will include the link to their site https://www.shinedown.com/ and a few choice lyrics from each of their songs. We begin with the unofficial CRM Open, LLC theme song – ‘Fly From The Inside’ – this song kept me sane as my YOUcentric/JDEdwards/PeopleSoft days were coming to a close and gave me the encouragement to start my own consulting company. After my first non-billable month, it was a perfect time to be reminded to believe in yourself, stay focused, and keep moving forward toward your goals.

Fly From The Inside
– I am focused on what I am after – The key to the next open chapter
– Cause I found a way to steal the sun from the sky
– Long live that day that I decided to fly from the inside

Left Out
– Is there a place within for redemption?
– Is there a voice inside with a decision?
– And if so when, and if so then, where’s the conviction?

Lost In The Crowd
– Should I offer up my hand and lay the guilt on myself, so it’s easier to not stay

No More Love
– Now quietly I will walk away – there’s no bad blood but I can’t stay

Better Version
– I am not perfect, and I don’t claim to be
– And if that’s what you wanted, well then I’m so sorry

Burning Bright
– There’s always something new, some path I’m supposed to choose, with no particular rhyme or reason

In Memory
– some of the easiest habits are the hardest ones to break
– fixing your problems and starting over again

All I Ever Wanted
– If there’s a way to a remedy then lead me straight to it
– If there’s a path or a door I missed, then show me now, show me this
– Because all I ever wanted was a place to call my home
– To shelter me when I am there and to miss me when I’m gone

Stranger Inside
– I’m sick and tired of ‘you’ll be fine’
– Well how do you know? Do you read minds?

Crying Out
– Re-invent yourself today, re-invent your world today
– There’s no turning back now that you’ve opened up to your mind

45
– Everyone’s pointing their fingers, always condemning me
– Nobody knows what I believe

Check them out – maybe this album will have some special meaning for you too!

posted by Johnnie V @ 12:48 AM

20 Years of Memories – “Leave A Whisper” by Shinedown first appeared on Game On Media.

Shinedown continues to tour behind their outstanding 7th album ‘Planet Zero’. “The Revolutions Live Tour” 2023 currently has the up-and-coming Spiritbox and long-time friends Papa Roach on board, making for an incredible show from beginning to end.

On September 24, 2023, during a chilly, rainy Sunday evening, the tour set up shop inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The stage reached out almost to center ice, with a packed floor area all around 3 sides and fans filling seats from the boards all the way to the top of the arena.

After being sufficiently “warmed up” by Spiritbox and blown away by Papa Roach, the crowd was ready for more. A Shinedown show is not just a concert. It is an action movie, group therapy and spiritual revival all wrapped up together and delivered with emotions and explosions.

Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers and Eric Bass have carefully formulated an unstoppable movement. Their songs are powerful, even when they are quiet. Their lyrics are inspirational and aspirational. They have spent 2 decades making real connections with people, collecting new fans every step of the way. Their production value and stage craft borrow from all genres of entertainment, delivering everything you could want from a concert and more.

This tour features a “flying” piano, which drops from the rafters when needed, and disappears after being played brilliantly by Eric Bass. Every type of pyro is deployed to accentuate the heavy songs. Despite all of the flair, the most lasting moments happen with acoustic guitars, crowd sing-alongs, and encouraging words from Brent Smith. Everyone is included, and all are invited, and that is truly how it feels. Whether you have been around for 20 years, or came on board yesterday, the deep bonds of friendship are felt by all, and are strongly encouraged by this group of wonderful human beings.

The set list (pictured below) included so many incredible songs which produced magical moments. At this point, Shinedown has too many hit songs and deep cuts, and you could easily make a completely different playlist which would be just as special. What this means is that you should never pass up any opportunity you get to witness this band performing live.

Check out everything Shinedown, including special merch, and all 2023 tour dates at https://www.shinedown.com/.

Shinedown NJ 23

42 photos

Shinedown Preaches Sunday Gospel in Newark, New Jersey 9/24/2023 first appeared on Game On Media.

Full Music Lineup Announced For

Blue Ridge Rock Festival

September 7-10 At VIRginia International Raceway In Alton, Virginia

Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Staind, Danzig,

I Prevail, Flo Rida, Lorna Shore, Knocked Loose, Polyphia, Insane Clown Posse, Vanilla Ice & More

Just Added To The Lineup

Festival To Feature Performances From Over 100 Bands In Total Over Four Days

Single Day Passes On Sale Now At blueridgerockfest.com

The full music lineup has been announced for Blue Ridge Rock Festival–America’s Largest Rock & Camping Festival–which takes place September 7-10, 2023 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, VA. Newly announced artists include: Slipknot, Five Finger Death Punch, Staind, Danzig (performing his self-titled album in full), I Prevail, Flo Rida, Lorna Shore, Knocked Loose, Polyphia, Insane Clown Posse, Vanilla Ice, Project Pat and more.

Blue Ridge Rock Festival features performances from more than 150 music artists including Slipknot, Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, Evanescence, Limp Bizkit, Till Lindemann: The Voice of Rammstein (exclusive U.S. performance), Staind, Megadeth, Papa Roach, Danzig, Rise Against, Lamb of God, Three Days Grace, Pierce The Veil, Chevelle, Coheed & Cambria and many more.

The festival also hosts a one-of-a-kind Club Experience Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM, after the Main Festival with performances from some of the biggest and best ‘90s/2000s hip hop/rap legends, including Flo Rida, 2 Chainz, Three 6 Mafia, Soulja Boy, Vanilla Ice, Insane Clown Posse and Project Pat. The Club Experience is only available to three or four day festival campers and is an additional pass purchase.

The daily music lineup for Blue Ridge Rock Festival is as follows (subject to change):

Single day passes have just been released, and are on sale now at https://blueridgerockfest.com. 4-Day General Admission and VIP passes, as well as 3-Day VIP passes are now at level 5 pricing. 3-Day General Admission passes are at level 4 pricing. Fans save by purchasing early, and with the Blue Ridge Rock Festival 3-month payment plan, fans can purchase weekend or single day passes for only 25% down, with no additional fees.

The festival has seen record-breaking sales so far, with 4-Day Rockstar passes and Artist Meet & Greet Passes already SOLD OUT (wait list available). Premium tent camping, TV camping and glamping sites are also SOLD OUT, but a wait list is available. A limited number of standard 5-night tent camping sites are still available, but fans are advised to purchase soon before passes sell out. Blue Ridge Rock Festival has also partnered with Fuse to provide exclusive hotel packages.

Visit https://blueridgerockfest.com/festival-passes/ for full details and to purchase passes.

Independently-owned, Blue Ridge Rock Festival is the home of the “Fan Driven Experience,” with fans voting on the lineup and festival experiences through surveys across social media. What started as a one-day event in 2017 expanded to a 4-day festival in 2022, featuring almost 200 bands and proudly hosting a community of over 150,000 at the VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Watch the Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2022 after movie here:

www.facebook.com/BlueRidgeRockFest/videos/1629611474183192

Blue Ridge Rock Festival is located at VIRginia International Raceway, 1245 Pine Tree Road in Alton, VA, within a few hours of many major cities including Raleigh, Greensboro, Charlotte, Richmond, Virginia Beach and Washington, DC. In 2022, Blue Ridge Rock Festival  entered into a multi-year agreement with Virginia International Raceway, which allows festival organizers to work on the site year-round.

Blue Ridge Rock Festival is sponsored by ZYN, Monster Energy, on! Nicotine Pouches, URW Credit Union, Fizzy – CBD Infused Soda, Mortus Viventi, and more.

For more information on Blue Ridge Rock Festival, visit:

Website: https://blueridgerockfest.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlueRidgeRockFest

Twitter: https://twitter.com/blueridgerock

Instagram: www.instagram.com/blueridgerockfest

Hashtag: #BlueRidgeRock

BRRF22 Day 1

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BRRF22 Day 2

12 photos

BRRF22 Day 3

12 photos

BRRF22 Day 4

10 photos

Slipknot, Pantera, Shinedown, Evanescence, Limp Bizkit Lead Full Lineup For Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 first appeared on Game On Media.

The first 100 artists have been announced for Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023, taking place at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia from Septmber 7th – 10th, 2023. With 5 headliners yet to be announced, and a total of 144 acts scheduled to appear,

BRRF 23 is shaping up to be THE rock festival of the year.

Get tickets, camping spots, and all lineup and venue information at https://blueridgerockfest.com/

Blue Ridge Rock Festival actively involves their fans in the selection of artists, using social media polls to help set the stage. The first 100 performers for 2023  have been announced:

Pantera, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence, Megadeth, Three Days Grace, Chevelle, Parkway Drive, Pierce The Veil, Motionless In White, Coheed And Cambria, Beartooth, Highly Suspect, Corey Taylor, Coal Chamber, Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm, Bad Omens, Black Label Society, Machine Head, Blue October, The Ghost Inside, Asking Alexandria, Spiritbox, VV, Tech N9ne, Testament, Biohazard, Job For A Cowboy, Cavalera Conspiracy, Jinjer, Vince Neil, Avatar, Static-X, The Amity Affliction, Slaughter To Prevail, Stephen Pearcy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Exodus, Overkill, Electric Callboy, Sleep Token, Atreyu, Finger Eleven, Taproot, Death Angel, Drowning Pool, Trustcompany, Memphis May Fire, Crown The Empire, Dayseeker, Senses Fail, Stabbing Westward, The Color Morale, Cold, CKY, Dope, After The Burial, Emmure, Northlane, Bury Tomorrow, Escape The Fate, Attila, Fit For An Autopsy, Gemini Syndrome, Adema, Alpha Wolf, Woe Is Me, Make Them Suffer, Holding Absence, Born Of Osiris, Kublai Khan Tx, Like Moths To Flames, Upon A Burning Body, Caskets, I Set My Friends On Fire, Vended, Landmvrks, Psychostick, Rain City Drive, Bleed From Within, Bodysnatcher, Stitched Up Heart, Eva Under Fire, Thousand Below, Angelmaker, Paleface, No Resolve, Tallah, Catch Your Breath, Ten56., Hanabie, Patient Sixty-Seven, Until I Wake, Dropout Kings, Eternal Frequency and Heartsick.

Campers get a free bonus on-site pre-party on Wednesday night, featuring Scott Stapp of Creed, 10 Years, Nonpoint and Tantric.

One of the great features of Blue Ridge Rock Festival over the years has been its ability to deliver unique special performances. So far, this year’s event promises:

• Parkway Drive bringing their full pyrotechnic performance usually only seen in Europe.
• Cavalera Conspiracy performing a special set of Sepultura songs.
• Electric Callboy exclusive U.S. festival appearance.
• Finger Eleven rare U.S. performance.
• Hanabie U.S. debut.
• Patient Sixty-Seven U.S. debut.
• Cold 30th anniversary performance of “Year Of The Spider” in its entirety.
• Attila performing “About That Life” in its entirety.
• Heartsick fan voted talent search winner.

Once again, BRRF will satisfy its fans desire for band reunions, including:

• Lacey Sturm and Flyleaf original lineup reunion.
• Biohazard original lineup reunion.
• Trustcompany original lineup reunion.
• Woe, Is Me original lineup reunion.
• Coal Chamber reunion.
• Job For A Cowboy reunion.
• Taproot reunion.
• The Color Morale reunion.

In addition to most of your favorite bands playing shows, this fest also showcases some speical lead vocalist solo performances:

• Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Stone Sour.
• Ville Valo of HIM.
• Vince Neil of Motley Crue.
• Stephen Pearcy of Ratt.
• Scott Stapp of Creed.

Blue Ridge Rock Festival offers VIP upgrades, hip-hop after parties, acoustic performances and artist meet-and-greets. Plus plenty of music-based vendors and charities, and all the food and drink options you have come to expect.

Don’t wait. Get tickets, camping spots, and all lineup and venue information at https://blueridgerockfest.com/

For reviews and photos from previous editions of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival, click here.

BRRF22 Day 1

17 photos

BRRF22 Day 2

12 photos

BRRF22 Day 3

12 photos

BRRF22 Day 4

10 photos

Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Announces First 100 Artists Including Pantera, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence first appeared on Game On Media.

2022 saw the return to full time touring and consistent album release cycles. With many artists forced off the road for 2 years, creativity flourished and a ton of great music was released in 2022. With so many of my favorite artists releasing albums in 2022, this list was extremely difficult to put together. Fortunately, these bands delivered some of their strongest material to date, so the hardest part was sorting them. Here are our Five Fave: 2022 Mainstream Rock Albums.

#5 – Nothing More – Spirits

Nothing More released “Spirits” in 2022, an album 5 years in the making. With their self-titled 2014 debut and 2017’s “The Stories We Tell Ourselves” delivering hit after hit after hit, expectations were high for this creative band. Jonny Hawkins, Mark Vollelunga, Daniel Oliver and Ben Anderson put in the work and it shows. “Spirits” continues the unique path which Nothing More has charted for itself, full of the entire spectrum of sounds and emotions we have come to expect. Special effects, spoken word interludes and dramatic shifts in tone and tempo provide the perfect backdrop for deeply personal lyrics touching on love, mental health, socio-politics and philosophy.

Standout Tracks: You Don’t Know What Love Means, Best Times, Spirits

#4 – Halestorm – Back From The Dead

Halestorm has been steadily climbing the ladder to rock superstardom for more than a decade. Lzzy Hale has one of the best voices in rock and roll history. She possesses the ability to craft songs which fans can identify with, and all are welcome for the ride. “Back From The Dead” captures so many of the feelings and emotions that the world has experienced in the past few years. No matter the issue – love or loss, injustice or isolation – these songs offer cathartic release and cautious optimism. The album is a musical self-help therapy session, whether you are listening alone, or better yet, experiencing it live in concert, as part of the community that feels best screaming along together. Arejay Hale, Joe Hottinger and Josh Smith know how to inject joy and emotion into any song.

Standout Tracks: Raise Your Horns, The Steeple, Wicked Ways

#3 – Shinedown – Planet Zero

Shinedown has built a career diving into the darkness, and documenting a way out. “Planet Zero” is largely a warning of a possible future where we lose our humanity. Tucked within a science fiction concept album are subtle clues about how to recapture the brightness and brilliance that we all have within. Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers and Eric Bass complement each other perfectly. Each moment gets what it needs, whether that is a full out sonic assault, or a tender touch.

Standout Tracks: Daylight, America Burning, Dysfunctional You

#2 – Ghost – Impera

Ghost is one of the most creative rock bands of all time. Led by Tobias Forge, who transmogrifies from one religious icon to another, and a merry band of Nameless Ghouls who remain anonymous at all times, Ghost loves to play with religious concepts and traditions. “Impera” conceptually takes a look at the rise and fall of empires, and how that is playing out today. With each album, the band seems to grow sonically and consistently, and “Impera” is infectious and enjoyable from start to finish. They were even tapped to write a song for the final “Halloween” movie – “Hunter’s Moon” – a view of events from inside the mind of a serial killer. Literally every song has something special which grabs you and won’t let go. “Impera” is an album that gets better with every listen.

Standout Tracks: Hunter’s Moon, Spillways, Griftwood

#1 – Alter Bridge – Pawns & Kings

You can set your musical memory clock to Alter Bridge. Every three years, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall and Myles Kennedy deliver an exquisite package of emotional songs to add to the collection. 2004 introduced “One Day Remains”, 2007 brought “Blackbird”, 2010 dropped “AB III”, 2013 built “Fortress”, 2016 saw “The Last Hero”, 2019 sent “Walk The Sky”, and 2022 gave us “Pawns & Kings”. While each of these albums contains great music, this release is my favorite since “AB III”. There are many sonic pathways chosen, and all of them pay off. There is plenty of inspirational lyrical content, finding the truth and light in the darkness. And, of course, there is so much delicious guitar wizardry, you can listen to “Pawns & Kings” over and over again.

Standout Tracks: Sin After Sin, Stay, Pawns & Kings

Five Fave: 2022 Mainstream Rock Albums first appeared on Game On Media.

GRAMMY-NOMINATED ROCK ACT NOTHING MORE RELEASE “TIRED OF WINNING”

FIRST OFFICIAL RADIO SINGLE FROM THEIR UPCOMING STUDIO ALBUM
LISTEN NOW | WATCH MUSIC VIDEO

Follows Release of Last Month’s “TURN IT UP LIKE”
LISTEN NOW & WATCH MUSIC VIDEO

Track Comes ahead of NOTHING MORE’s Co-Headlining U.S. Tour with Asking Alexandria Next Month – GET TICKETS

“One of the most energetic live acts on the rock circuit” – BILLBOARD

Multi-GRAMMY-nominated rock act NOTHING MORE released their new single “TIRED OF WINNING” via Better Noise Music, which serves as the first official radio single from their long-awaited new studio album. The song is a high-energy rock anthem unapologetically confronting the state of humanity with lyrics like “ So will we steer this ship straight through the void / Or turn on ourselves and die out/ Are you tired of winning? / Cuz it’s already over.” “TIRED OF WINNING” is now available to download or stream across platforms HERE. The official music video for the track also premiered today, giving fans thought-provoking, sci-fi inspired visuals that amplify the poignant lyrics. WATCH HERE.

For more background on “TIRED OF WINNING,” the band’s frontman Jonny Hawkins gives context behind the song’s origin in the below Q&A.

Last month, the band gave fans the first official preview of the new album by dropping a new song and music video titled “TURN IT UP LIKE (Stand in the Fire).” Co-written by all four band members, the song is a sonic rejection of the divisive, digitally-drowned state of the world with lyrics like: “All my friends are dead / They all got fucked by the internet / All my friends are dead / Our brain’s bein’ bugged by the media.” Billboard gave an exclusive look at the music video, including some statements from Hawkins. He said, “Something we’ve always pushed for as a band is to question everything. And I think we’ve just gone through a period where it had been unfashionable to question things. Because if you did, you were the pariah, you were the outcast, the other. For the last few years, I’ve felt like an animal in a cage, just pacing, and my teeth are showing more. I had nowhere to vent that rage and that frustration until we put it into this song. I think a lot of people feel this way. You saw it spill over into riots and protests. There’s all this stuff just pent up inside people. Thankfully, we’re going back out on the road soon, so I’ll have somewhere to put it.”

The forthcoming album is the highly anticipated follow-up to the band’s 2017 album The Stories We Tell Ourselves, which earned them three GRAMMY nominations, including Best Rock Album, and Best Rock Song and Best Rock Recording for the single “Go To War.”

Fans will be able to hear the new music live on the band’s recently announced co-headlining U.S. tour this spring, with Better Noise Music label mates Asking Alexandria, with support from Atreyu and Eva Under Fire . The tour is set to kick off in Kansas City, MO on May 13 and end in Houston, TX on June 19, with other stops planned in Nashville, Denver, Atlanta, New Orleans, and more – see full list of dates below. Tickets, VIP Meet & Greets and additional information are available at: http://nothingmore.net/

JONNY HAWKINS on “TIRED OF WINNING”

• Q: “TIRED OF WINNING” is a compelling song with lyrics that underline the very precarious position that humankind is in right now: “So will we steer this ship straight through the void/ Or turn on ourselves and die out?” What inspired the song and how it mocks the phrase “winning”?

A: We find ourselves in the same position humanity has found itself over and over again… at the end of a series of self made problems. When we wake up to this, we realize that we are our own worst enemy, yet we focus so much of our energy on externalizing our problems. This song is a bird’s eye view of human nature.

• Q: Vocally, the performance is stadium-size and intimate all at once, putting across the urgency of the song’s lyrics. What was going through your mind as you sang with this level of intensity? How will you translate this message into your live performance?

A: This may sound a bit lofty, but when I sing this song I feel as if the entire universe is coursing through my veins. I get goosebumps because I feel in line with something I can’t quite describe… like an old familiar spirit shows up.

• Q: The song ends with the lines: “Are we going to live this life?” How do you feel we as a people got it all wrong–and where do you think we might all be headed?

A: I think we all tend to lose the meaning in life by hyper focusing on it and romanticizing it. It’s a paradox… It’s like trying to grasp water in your hand; the tighter you hold, the less you have. The more weight you put on the “meaning” of your life, the less you feel connected to it. The purpose of life might be as simple as life itself… nothing more, nothing less.

• Q: Musically, the song is very intense with unique sounds + a jarring rhythm that underline the chaos of this moment we are living in. Can you talk about the recording of the song and how you wanted it to sonically capture the song’s theme?

A: We wanted it to sound like aliens had a baby with a 90’s rock band. That baby grew up, dropped out of college and made our music video.

NOTHING MORE Spring U.S. Tour Dates (with Asking Alexandria):

May 13 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
May 14 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Criterion
May 15 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
May 17 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
May 18 – New Orleans, LA – The Fillmore New Orleans
May 20 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
May 21 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville*
May 23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE*
May 24 – Rochester, NY – Main Street Armory*
May 25 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
May 27 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
May 28 – Wallingford, CT – The Dome at Oakdale
May 29 – Reading, PA – Theatre at Santander Arena*
May 31 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center
June 1 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
June 3 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera*
June 4 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room @ Old National Centre
June 5 – Cleveland, OH – Agora Theater*
June 7 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
June 8 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
June 9 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
June 12 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
June 13 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
June 15 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
June 16 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
June 18 – San Antoni, TX – Tech Port Center + Arena
June 19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues

###

ABOUT NOTHING MORE
Rock audiences count NOTHING MORE among the most cherished acts, the kind of band who straddle the line between populism and intimacy with every performance. The San Antonio, Texas-born quartet builds unapologetically massive anthems from catchy hooks. Crowd-pleasers clear a path for heady, confessional, thought-provoking emotionalism. Fresh rewards reveal themselves with repeat listens, welcoming like-minded seekers with rich melodicism, like the best of Deftones or Tool.

Those who saw the band on tour with hard rock heavyweights like Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, Breaking Benjamin, Papa Roach, and Disturbed will attest to what The Guardian observed: “There’s a sophistication to NOTHING MORE’s angst that raises them above the tumult-tossed pit.”

Kerrang! named NOTHING MORE one of 22 Artists Shaping the Future of Rock, alongside Nine Inch Nails, Twenty One Pilots, and Bring Me The Horizon. And frontman Jonny Hawkins, who met guitarist Mark Vollelunga before they were old enough to drive, appeared with Billie Joe Armstrong, Dave Grohl, and Hayley Williams in the English tastemaker’s Top 50 Greatest Rockstars in the World.

Hawkins and Vollelunga started the band in 2003 and were quickly joined by bassist Daniel Oliver and later by drummer Ben Anderson. The band’s blend of explosive bombast and nuanced storytelling resulted in a half dozen Top 10 singles at Mainstream Rock Radio, including the No. 1 hit “Go to War” and the Sirius XM Octane song of the decade and Active Rock chart-topper “This is the Time (Ballast).” The Stories We Tell Ourselves earned a head-turning three Grammy nominations. They’re set to follow it up with a new album in 2022, which is filled with their most philosophical and primal music to date. The first offering, “TURN IT UP LIKE,” released in March 2022, is a fitting first taste of what’s to come.

NOTHING MORE appeals to fans of Linkin Park, Incubus, Rage Against The Machine, and all crucial acts that stoke relatable passion with authenticity and integrity. Memorize the arena-ready hooks. Get mesmerized by the intimate, communal live show. Dig deeper down the rabbit hole into the work of philosophers and artists like Eckhart Tolle, Carl Jung, and Alan Watts, who inspire the band. There’s a place for every type of rock fan with NOTHING MORE. Built to last, here to stay.

CONNECT WITH NOTHING MORE
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | TikTok

Nothing More Returns With “Tired Of Winning” Single And 2022 Tour Dates first appeared on Game On Media.

• Bud Light Seltzer – Bud Light & Bud Light Seltzer are proud to once again partner with Welcome To Rockville as they continue to provide crisp, cool refreshments and lasting memories through music. This year they are happy to have their very own Bud Light Party Zone facing the main stage where fans can enjoy an ice cold beer, and sample some of the innovative, new products. Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer look forward to seeing you all there! 21+
• Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach Presents Best Seats In The House – Hard Rock’s mission is about creating authentic experiences that rock, and a partnership with Welcome To Rockville brings that mission to life. Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach is bringing you an experience and vibe unlike any other by giving fans the chance to win The Best Seats in the House. Situated directly next to the sound booth at the Space Zebra Stage, with comfy seating and shade, two winners will be guaranteed the ultimate viewing and listening experience. Hard Rock looks forward to sharing the stage and connecting to people through the power of music – its energy, its history, its attitude – and sharing mementos and moments that fans can take home with them after the last chord has been struck.
• Hard Rock Expert Cocktails Presents RonzWorld – In his 6th year with the festival, Ron has partnered with Hard Rock Beverages in 2022 to show up for Rockvillians bigger and better than ever! In addition to his gallery of 25+ custom guitars, art and merchandise, Ron continues the tradition of allowing fans to win one of his highly coveted, limited-edition, all hand-painted Welcome To Rockville guitars and purchase the wildly popular 10-inch mini replicas! And for the first time, Ron will debut his Rock Star Paint Class to the festival grounds in 2022. Sign up to paint your very own Rock Star with Ron and unleash your inner Picasso on Daytona!
• The Music Experience – The Music Experience presented by American Musical Supply is celebrating its 10th anniversary at Welcome To Rockville! TME continues to bring the most relevant musical instrument brands to life this year with touch and play experiences from your favorites like Gibson, PRS, ESP, Ernie Ball, Ibanez, Breedlove, G&L, and many more. Whether you want to play your dream guitar, pick up your first guitar, meet your favorite rock star or win a guitar in the infamous “30 Seconds To Shred” contest, it’s all possible during Welcome To Rockville at this year’s Music Experience.
• Heavy Tiki Bar Presented By Kraken Rum – Fans can release their inner Kraken and say “aloha” to your Welcome To Rockville weekend with a stop at the must-visit destination bar on-site. Fans can escape from the heat and cool off with custom creations of frozen drinks and specialty island cocktails. 21+
• Jack Daniel’s Char House – We all know it’s going to be hot out there, so Jack Daniel’s is committed to supporting fans by offering two ultimate shade structures to cool off, enjoy finely tuned cocktails, and interactive engagements throughout the weekend. Jack Daniels’ strong relationship with Welcome To Rockville goes all the way back to their beginnings in 2014 and is excited to toast with them again in 2022. 21+
• Caduceus Wine Garden – Fans can enjoy a wine garden escape and indulge in bold, vibrant reds and crisp refreshing white varietals from some of the nation’s top vineyards. The wine garden will highlight Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, owned by Arizona resident Maynard James Keenan, co-founder of international recording acts Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. 21+
• Craft Beer Bar – Get crafty and try a wide variety of beer styles accommodating a range of palates. The Craft Beer Bar will showcase a variety of brews. 21+
• The Blackened Bar – The Whiskey Bar presented by BLACKENED American Whiskey is a DWP must-do! Our partners at BLACKENED hand-crafted a super-premium blend of straight bourbons & ryes, which is finished in black brand casks and sonically enhanced to extract more flavor from the casks, a process dubbed BLACK NOISE. Created by the late, legendary Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and the almighty Metallica, BLACKENED is now overseen by Master Distiller & Blender Rob Dietrich who guards Dave’s recipe and is responsible for the sourcing, blending, and finishing to bring us this award-winning, 90-proof American whiskey. Electrify your tastebuds with carefully crafted cocktails at this exclusive DWP experience. 21+
• Fxck Cancer / Dyin 2 Live Dreams Program – Fxck Cancer’s mission is to fight cancer by raising awareness and educating about early detection. Through the Dyin 2 Live Dreams wish-granting program, cancer fighters get an experience that will bring hope, courage, and inspiration. Visit them at Welcome To Rockville to get involved. Together We Fight. Fxck Cancer.
• Take Me Home – The not-for-profit, volunteer-based foundation has been saving the lives of homeless animals since 2001. Stop by their booth to win cool prizes, enter raffles and help our furry friends save lives!
• TWLOHA – We probably don’t need to convince you that depression is real, that treating addiction isn’t as simple as “just stopping,” or that suicide has robbed too many of us of too many memories. You already know that these words are attached to names and faces, and they may even remind you of the person you see in the mirror every day. This is not an attempt to raise awareness; rather it’s an invitation to move the conversation forward with more compassion and grace. We invite you to visit the TWLOHA booth on-site for information on mental health resources, opportunities to share your story, and the space to feel less alone, more hopeful, and connect to folks at the festival who believe your presence has made Welcome To Rockville a better place. Starting conversations about mental health can be difficult and intimidating, so throughout the weekend we are inviting you into the conversation by asking two questions: “What is one thing you wish you could say?” and “What is one thing that you need to hear?”
• Punk Rock & Paintbrushes X Rock Against Racism – Punk Rock & Paintbrushes is proud to announce that they will be a part of Welcome To Rockville with an onsite art exhibit that will showcase pieces from those playing at the festival and visual artists within the music community. This year they will also be teaming up with Rock Against Racism, an organization that brings together fans of all backgrounds through a shared love of music to discourage young people from embracing racism. Together they will be debuting their latest art collaborations with “Art on Shoes,” generously provided by TUK Footwear and created by a variety of band members playing at the festival through an on-site art auction to raise funds and awareness. Artists include but are not limited to: James “Munky” Schaffer of KORN, Mike Gallo of Agnostic Front and Charlie Benante of Anthrax.
• Roundabout Ferris Wheel – Fans will feel on top of the #worldcenterofrock on the Roundabout Ferris Wheel! They’ll get to watch all the magic of Welcome To Rockville unfold as you go around, and may even catch one of their favorite artists in a setting unlike anything you’ll experience.
• WhipSplash Water Slide – Fans will be able to cool off in between sets with Welcome To Rockville’s brand-new Water Slide activation. Get ready to rock hard & WhipSplash!

• Owners Club, Presented by TickPick, Upgrade for 2022 (for 4)
• VIP Upgrade for 2022 (for 4)
• 3-Song Viewing Opportunity from the soundboard (Welcome To Rockville will determine the set)
• GA 4-Pack for 2023 w/ camping spot
• VIP 4-Pack for 2023 w/ camping spot
• 10 Drink & 10 Food Vouchers
• Twitch guest appearance and on-show interview (for 4 – 2 to go on air, 2 to watch)*

 

Welcome To Rockville 2022 Announces Music Performance Times, Onsite Experiences And Food & Beverage Offerings first appeared on Game On Media.

Brent Smith and Zach Myers played the WJRR’s Acoustic New Year w/ Smith & Myers at the House of Blues Orlando on December 31, 2021.

The boys from Shinedown played the final show of their very successful acoustic side project, promoting their albums “Volume 1” and “Volume 2”, which feature acoustic cover songs and originals.

Check out info on merch and music at https://www.smithandmyersmusic.com/

The show was opened by JR Moore and Zack Mack, who also joined them as backup for most of the set.

The show was life-affirming and almost spiritual, as fans and family came together to ring in the new year. Zach’s wife even joined him onstage to perform together.

The show kept on rocking as they played for 2-1/2 hours, giving us all a chance to share emotions in community, sing along in catharsis, and leave full of hope and joy for 2022.

Smith & Myers Set List December 31, 2021 – January 1, 2022 Orlando, Florida

Rebel Yell
Coast To Coast
Bad Guy
Never Tear Us Apart
Don’t Look Back In Anger
I’ll Follow You Down
State Of My Head
Misfits
Dracula song from Forgetting Sarah Marshall
NYE Countdown
Auld Lang Syne (Zack Mack)
Valerie
Losing My Religion
Not Mad Enough
How Did You Love?
Sound of Madness
Zach Myers solo set:
All Too Well (Zach)
Forever And Ever Amen (Zach with Bethany Myers)
Night Moves (Zach)
Bad At Love
New School Shiver
Simple Man
Second Chance
Unchained Melody
In The Air Tonight

Smith & Myers NYE 2021

28 photos

Smith & Myers of Shinedown Rock in the New Year 2022 at House of Blues Orlando first appeared on Game On Media.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS RETURN TO THE ROAD FOR THEIR FIRST TOUR IN ALMOST FIVE YEARS

Shows begin in March, with more than three-dozen dates across the US, Europe, and the UK

The band’s bestselling 2014 album, Going To Hell, returns to vinyl in February

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER GOING TO HELL

The Pretty Reckless are thrilled to return to the road this spring with more than three dozen shows across the US, Europe, and the UK.

The extensive outing, which marks their first run of dates since 2016–2017’s Who You Selling For tour, kicks off with a pair of sold out headline shows at Brooklyn Made on March 22 and 23. On April 1, the New York City band embarks on a 24-date run across North America with Shinedown, before heading across the Atlantic for shows throughout the summer, including festival appearances at Britain’s Download Festival, Germany’s Rock im Park and Rock am Ring, and the Netherlands’ Pinkpop as well as direct support to Foo Fighters in Berlin. The Pretty Reckless’ long-awaited tour follows the release of their No. 1-debuting and fourth studio album, Death By Rock And Roll.

Get tickets here.

Ahead of the tour, one of the band’s most popular titles, Going To Hell, will return to vinyl.

The album, which includes three No. 1 singles, including the platinum-selling “Heaven Knows,” “Messed Up World,” and “Follow Me Down,” lands in stores on February 11, 2022, and is available for pre-order today.

Fans can also visit the band’s official website to find two exclusive color variants, pressed on purple marble and purple splatter vinyl, respectively. A solid purple vinyl variant will also be available exclusively in independent record stores.

Originally released in 2014, Going To Hell marks the second studio album from The Pretty Reckless, which consists of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums). Following the release of 2010’s Light Me Up, plus nearly two years of non-stop touring, the band entered Hoboken, New Jersey’s Water Music with producer Kato Khandwala (Paramore, Blondie, My Chemical Romance). But Hurricane Sandy had other ideas. In October 2012, the storm raged through the Eastern Seaboard, destroying the studio and forcing the group to re-record much of their new material. The album’s title track chronicled the devastating period.

Despite the initial setbacks, the band released their sophomore album in March 2014 to massive commercial success. Going To Hell debuted at No.5 on the Billboard 200, marking The Pretty Reckless’ first Top 10 album on the chart. Abroad, the LP fared equally as well, debuting at No.8 in the UK and No. 5 in Canada. Going To Hell was also embraced by the press, with Rolling Stone raving that the album “rages with the upbeat, beat-wise humor that hard rock has suppressed ever since grunge.” Revolver praised, “Momsen leaves most chick rockers in her rearview mirror thanks to her greatest assets — her daring arrangements and well-crafted tunes” while Kerrang! declared, “If Taylor is indeed going to Hell, at least she’s released a truly great album on the way down.”

The album also spawned several best-selling singles, including the anthemic “Heaven Knows,” the rollicking “Follow Me Down,” and the guitar-driven earworm “Messed Up World.” All three songs topped Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Songs chart, while just two years later, the band set the record for the most No. 1 singles on the chart by a female-fronted band, thanks to “Take Me Down” (off 2016’s Who You Selling For). The Pretty Reckless continued to defend their title with the release of their latest LP, which delivered three more No.1 hits: title track “Death By Rock And Roll,” “And So It Went” (Feat. Tom Morello), and “Only Love Can Save Me Now” (Feat. Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden).

Released in February, Death By Rock And Roll found the band reeling after two tragic deaths. The first was Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell, who tragically passed away while on tour with The Pretty Reckless. The second was the band’s longtime collaborator, Kato Khandwala, whose signature phrase inspired the album’s title. The album, which paid homage to both men, allowed the group to process their grief while taking a more vulnerable and reflective tone in their writing. Marking The Pretty Reckless’ Fearless Records debut, Death By Rock And Roll was welcomed warmly by audiences and critics alike — debuting at No.1 on several charts including Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart and earning glowing reviews from a variety of outlets, including PEOPLE!, V Magazine, and SPIN, who hailed the album as “a stunner; a dozen stellar songs that are at once reverential, referential and intensely personal.”

The Pretty Reckless’ North American tour dates are below.

THE PRETTY RECKLESS ON TOUR: 
3/22 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Made
3/23 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Made

WITH SHINEDOWN:
4/1 — Spokane, WA — Spokane Arena
4/2 — Boise, ID — Extra Mile Arena
4/4 — Billings, MT — MetraPark
4/6 — Fargo, ND — Fargodome
4/8 — Green Bay, WI — Resch Center
4/9 — Peoria, IL — Civic Center
4/11 — Sioux Falls, SD — Denny Sanford Center
4/12 — Des Moines, IA — Wells Fargo Center
4/14 — Toledo, OH — Huntington Center
4/15 — Hershey, PA — GIANT Center
4/16 — Uncasville, CT — Mohegan Sun Arena
4/18 — Portland, ME — Cross Insurance Center
4/20 — Baltimore, MD — UMBC Fieldhouse
4/22 — Charleston, WV — Charleston Civic Coliseum
4/23 — Lexington, KY — Rupp Arena
4/24 — Grand Rapids, MI — Van Andel Arena
4/26 — Evansville, IN — Ford Center
4/28 — Wichita, KS — INTRUST Bank Arena
4/29 — Little Rock, AR — Simmons Bank Arena
4/30 — Birmingham, AL — Legacy Arena
5/ 3 — Greensboro, NC — Greensboro Coliseum
5/ 4 — Nashville, TN — Bridgestone Arena
5/ 6 — Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena
5/ 7 —Knoxville, TN — Thompson-Boling Arena

Fantasy Festival 2020 The Pretty Reckless

20 photos

The Pretty Reckless 2022 Tour Dates + “Going To Hell” on Vinyl first appeared on Game On Media.

Announces The Revolution’s Live Tour

with Special Guests The Pretty Reckless and DIAMANTE

General On Sale Available December 17 On Shinedown.com

ATTENTION ATTENTION Album

Officially Certified Gold in the U.S.

ATTENTION ATTENTION Feature Film – Out Now

Fantasy Festival 2020 Shinedown

16 photos

Shinedown Announces The Revolution’s Live 2022 Tour first appeared on Game On Media.

America’s Largest Rock Festival

Welcome To Rockville

Announces Its Biggest Lineup Yet For May 19-22

Will Officially Kick Off Danny Wimmer Presents 2022 Festival Season

GUNS N’ ROSES, FOO FIGHTERS, KISS and KORN

 Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, The Smashing Pumpkins, Breaking Benjamin,

Megadeth, Jane’s Addiction, Papa Roach, Rise Against,

Halestorm, In This Moment, Seether, Bush & Many More

Set To Perform Over Massive Four-Day Weekend

Festival Returns To Its New Home At Renowned Destination

Daytona International Speedway In Daytona Beach, FL

Transforming It Into The World Center Of Rock

Single Day & Weekend Passes On Sale Now

Starting At $99.99 & Just $10 Down Through End Of 2021

www.WelcomeToRockville.com

Just when it was thought that Welcome To Rockville couldn’t possibly outdo its massive 2021 record-breaking event that featured 161,000 people and an at-home livestream audience of 1.2 million, Danny Wimmer Presents has put together the biggest lineup yet for the newly crowned Largest Rock Festival In America. Returning to its new home at the iconic Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over the weekend of May 19-22, 2022, the event includes previously announced headliners Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, KISS and KORN.

The music legends will be joined by an equally impressive who’s who of rock and metal, including Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, The Smashing Pumpkins, Breaking Benjamin, Megadeth, Jane’s Addiction, Papa Roach, Rise Against, Halestorm, In This Moment, Seether, Bush and many more, including buzzworthy up-and-comers Mammoth WVH, Dirty Honey, Poppy, Plush and more.

“Welcome To Rockville this past November was truly incredible. Our new home, Daytona International Speedway, welcomed us with open arms and our fans showed up in record numbers and experienced an unforgettable weekend,” says Danny Wimmer Presents founder Danny Wimmer. “We knew we needed to up the ante in 2022 so we went and booked the biggest lineup that has ever been booked for an American rock festival. We are so excited to welcome the biggest names in rock for one epic weekend this May.”

Single day and weekend passes for Welcome To Rockville are on sale now at www.WelcomeToRockville.com starting at $99.50* for single day and $249.99* for 4-day (*plus fees).  Passes can be purchased as general admission or VIP and layaway is available for only $10.00 on any and all pass types, only through December 31, 2021.

Watch the official Welcome To Rockville announcement video HERE: https://youtu.be/ZQxyYRu2_gg

Says Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, “OMG…is this real life? So you’re saying that Halestorm is sharing the stage with Foo Fighters, Jane’s Addiction and The Smashing Pumpkins!! Also, not to mention Guns N’ Roses and KISS…all on the same festival! Yep! You heard it here straight from the banshee’s mouth! And we will be bringing our A-game as always. You do not want to miss this lineup! To say that Rockville is going to be legendary is an understatement…this will be a life-changing show! The countdown begins, see you all in Daytona in May!”

Adds Brent Smith of Shinedown, “We’ve said it before, and we say it now. Shinedown has only one BOSS. It just happens to be everybody in the audience. We are honored to be a part of North America’s BIGGEST Rock N’ Roll festival…Welcome To Rockville 2022, LETS GO!!!”

And Zolton Bathory from Five Finger Death Punch shares, “We are grateful to be part of Rockville 2022! Daytona Beach in May, tens of tens of tens of thousands of fans, and an incredible lineup of legendary bands? Twist my arm!!! We’ll see you all there!”

The current Welcome To Rockville 2022 lineup is as follows (subject to change):

Thursday, May 19: KISS, Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, In This Moment, Black Label Society, DOWN, Clutch, Mammoth WVH, Bad Wolves, Fuel, Ill Niño, Tetrarch, Shaman’s Harvest, Plush, Gemini Syndrome, Solence, Oxymorrons, Moodring, more TBA

Friday, May 20: KORN, Breaking Benjamin, Megadeth, Seether, Skillet, Parkway Drive, Ministry, In Flames, Sevendust, Hatebreed, The Black Dahlia Murder, Don Broco, New Years Day, Stick To Your Guns, DED, Diamante, Death Tour, Archetypes Collide, more TBA

Saturday, May 21: Guns N’ Roses, Shinedown, Rise Against, Bush, Jerry Cantrell, Nothing More, Baroness, Dirty Honey, Alexisonfire, John 5, Sick Of It All, Saint Asonia, Agnostic Front, The Violent, Against The Current, S8NT Elektric, Afterlife, Widow7, more TBA

Sunday, May 22: Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction, Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, The Struts, Poppy, The Hu, Spiritbox, Bones UK, The Chats, Radkey, Lilith Czar, Motor Sister, POORSTACY, Nova Twins, The Mysterines, AEIR, more TBA

Welcome To Rockville will feature more than 75 music acts over four days, with performances on four stages, along with award-winning spirits, craft beer, partner activations and the best food Daytona Beach has to offer.

Single day and weekend general admission and VIP passes for Welcome To Rockville are on sale now. Festivalgoers are encouraged to buy early and save as pass prices increase in throughout the coming months based on level quantities.  A limited number of specially priced tickets for military personnel are on sale now via GovX.

Welcome To Rockville campers get the ultimate experience, spending five days on the festival field right in the middle of all the action and with the quickest access to all the stages. Amenities include indoor restrooms and showers, in and out privileges, and a general store for supplies. A limited number of Weekend Camping Packages are available for both car and tent and RVs. Admission to the festival is not included in Weekend Camping Packages and must be purchased separately.

Welcome To Rockville VIP pass holders will receive a commemorative VIP laminate and wristband, dedicated entrance lanes into the festival, entrance into VIP areas, and access to dedicated viewing areas throughout the festival. The VIP section boasts shaded hang areas with dedicated bars, comfortable furniture, audio and video streams of the main stages, a dedicated merchandise stand, dedicated locker rental with charging capabilities, air conditioned and flushable restrooms, and premium food and drink offerings (for additional purchase).

The Daytona Owners Club VIP option is new in 2022. As a Welcome To Rockville “owner,” those choosing this pass option will truly be living like a ROCK STAR. In addition to being a festival VIP, Daytona Owners Club pass-holders will also receive exclusive access to an air-conditioned lounge with live audio and video of the main stages, a shaded viewing deck, unlimited complimentary drinks at dedicated bars throughout the Owners Club, complimentary hors d’oeuvres during lunch and dinner hours, dedicated WiFi, access to a main stage viewing area, owner locker rental with charging capabilities, dedicated air-conditioned, flushable bathrooms and concierge staff.  Current pass holders will have first rights to sign up for the waitlist, which is open now.  The Daytona Owners Club will go on sale to the public after the exclusive pass holder pre-sale, which is happening the week of December 13.

Welcome To Rockville is produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination music festivals in America. After welcoming a record-breaking crowd of 161,000 in 2021, the move to Daytona International Speedway will allow Welcome To Rockville to continue to grow and provide more enhanced audience experiences. A recent $400 million renovation of the Speedway and additional $200 million invested in the surrounding area in recent years has transformed the destination into a world-class facility, including numerous hotels within walking distance, many dining options and expanded space for camping, allowing Rockville attendees a convenient and well-rounded experience.

Danny Wimmer Presents is proud to welcome back its featured partners Bud Light Seltzer and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. Stay tuned for a full lineup of partners who will help enhance the festival experience all weekend long.

For more information on #WelcomeToRockville, visit:

Website: www.WelcomeToRockville.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/welcometorockville

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rockvillefest

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/welcometorockville

Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, The Smashing Pumpkins, Breaking Benjamin, Megadeth, Jane’s Addiction, Papa Roach, Rise Against, Halestorm, Bush & More Added to Welcome To Rockville 2022 first appeared on Game On Media.

ROCKVILLIANS… THE WAIT IS OVER!

Welcome to Rockville’s biggest lineup yet is HERE!

KISS, Korn, Guns N’ Roses, Foo Fighters, Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, The Smashing Pumpkins, Breaking Benjamin, Megadeth, Jane’s Addiction, Papa Roach, Rise Against, Halestorm, In This Moment, Seether, Bush & many more to America’s BIGGEST Rock Festival at the WORLD CENTER OF ROCK!

From Now until December 31, you can purchase weekend + single day festival passes, plus camping + parking passes for ONLY $10 down!

Lock your passes in NOW 

BUY PASSES NOW!

Welcome To Rockville 2022 Lineup Announcement – Kiss, Guns N’ Roses, KoRn, Foo Fighters and More first appeared on Game On Media.

Prologue

1. The Music Of My Life

Music means everything to me. It has for as long as I can remember. Each night I fall asleep listening to music. Every morning I wake up listening to music. I play music in the shower. I play music in the car. I play music at the gym. If I am not actively listening to music, I hear songs in my head. When somebody is talking to me, I hear lyrics in their words, and start singing to myself. While I have never completely written or recorded anything original, I have made mix-tapes and play-lists since the Seventies.

I have spent almost all of my free time and “disposable” income on music and music-related experiences. My first job was delivering The Daily News to a six block radius around my house on Long Island, New York. I took the job because they offered a free cassette tape of my choosing if I signed up 3 new subscriptions on my route. I took care of that task quickly, and scored what may be my most favorite album of all time – the self-titled debut from the Long Island based band named Zebra. I continued to find bargains and build my catalog thanks to the marketing efforts of BMG and Columbia House music mail order services. Eventually, I bought cheap guitars and amps, and later more expensive guitars. I have too many guitars.

Once the concert floodgates opened for me when I went to the University of Virginia, I started going to as many shows as I could, no matter where they were located. Music festivals began, locally and small at first, then larger ones able to draw a national audience of freaks like me who were willing to drive or fly all over the country, sleeping in any hotel, motel, Holiday Inn, tent, RV or Air B’n’B I could find. Woodstock ‘99, Rocklahoma, Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville, Aftershock, Earthday Birthday, Vans Warped Tour, Coachella, Voodoo Festival, Once Upon A Time in the LBC, Rock USA and KAABOO Del Mar – these are a few of my favorite things. Then the rock cruises came along, which I have enjoyed as a customer, staff member, charity worker, journalist and photographer – ShipRocked, Motörhead’s MotörBoat, MegaCruise, and Monsters Of Rock Cruise.

From 2010 to 2020, I was able to get up close and personal with the music, the musicians and the fans. I have been a photojournalist for several print magazines and online websites. I have previewed and reviewed concerts, albums and livestreams. I have interviewed artists backstage and on tour buses. I have photographed shows of every kind, from the smallest and darkest of clubs, to the largest of outdoor festivals. I have captured local artists, new acts, living legends and lifelong loves, from Aerosmith to ZZ Top.

During this mostly silent year, I decided to take a look back, to appreciate the journey so far, and perhaps to make some sense of my decisions and choices along the way. This isn’t exactly a memoir or biography, as I don’t believe that I have done anything of such consequence to merit such documentation. I won’t know if there are any lessons to be learned, or advice to carry with me on my second half, until I write it all down. The songs have been chosen, the memories have come rushing back. We will see where this experience takes me.

With 52 years of special songs to revisit, I also plan to really focus on learning to play complete songs on guitar. That gives me 2 songs to learn per week. That should hold me to a good working cadence. Is everybody in? Drop the needle on the record.

2. The Way I Chose The Songs

Choosing only 2 songs from an entire year was quite an ordeal. Some years had many releases that had a major impact at the time, others not as many. I chose songs based on the year that the album they came from was released. This means that the song itself may not have even been released as a single that year. Sometimes a song hits you right away, sometimes it builds slowly, and other times you discover it well after it was released. In many cases, it takes some new experience to bring the importance of the song into focus.

I suppose it generally takes some passage of time for the songs that mean the most to you to bubble to the surface. Only time will tell which ones continue to swim around in your brain, forming the soundtrack to your life’s story.

I chose the songs that have had the most lasting impression on my life, the ones that instantly take me back to a time, or a place, or a person, or an experience, or all of the above. The names will be changed to protect the innocent and guilty alike. These are the songs that mean the most to me, and nobody knows me better than I know myself, so I can’t really say if others share the same memories in the same ways.

Looking at the final list, there are sooo many songs that I love that did not make the cut. There are lots of artists that I cannot believe are not represented. I guess this should not be too surprising. Think about how hard it is to make a top 5 list in any given year. There are just so many artists and songs that I love, it is no wonder that I am almost always listening to, writing about, or photographing music. Out of the 104 songs chosen, 8 are from bands that appear twice. Those are obviously among my all-time favorites, and they are among the ones who have meant the most to me throughout my life. They are Alice In Chains, Candlebox, Creed, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Rush and Shinedown.

For more chapters of My Life In Music:

My Life In Music, Part 1, 1969-1974

My Life In Music, Part 1, 1975-1979

My Life In Music, Part 2, 1985-1989

Part II

26. The 1980’s – The Cassette Era

Welcome to the 1980’s, the greatest decade in musical history. A lot of people will tell you that music was better in the Seventies – more “real”, more “honest”, more “emotional”, more “acoustic”. These are the same people who will tell you that music just sounds better on a record album than on any other format. You need to know two things about these people. #1. They are hippies. #2. They are, as in all things, half right and half wrong. Yes, a record played on a good stereo system, with good speakers, still does sound better than any other way of listening to music. I am listening to “Signals” by Rush on an average record player with poor speakers as I write this, and it still sounds richer and fuller than any digital copy. But just because a record sounds better does not mean that the songs themselves are inherently better written or performed.

Cassette tapes are absolutely terrible as far as quality goes, but essential in the evolution of musical enjoyment. The tape itself is exposed to the elements, it gets unraveled, it gets twisted, it gets stuck. The speed at which it plays back varies. It wears out with every play, fast-forward and rewind. I actually made it a point to never rewind a tape. Instead, I would stop it, eject it, turn it over and fast forward it. To this day I have no scientific basis for such ridiculous precautions, but I faithfully executed those procedures nonetheless. Bottom line, the defense stipulates that cassettes are inherently terrible in sound quality and only get worse over time. On the other hand, your basement stereo setup is great and all, but can you take it on the road with you? Can you take it out for a “jog”, or a walk, man? Can you pop it into your pocket and have it inspire you at the gym? Of course not. Cassettes gave us musical freedom and artistic control. You could make your own “albums” with any combination of songs that you wanted. Note: when I was a kid, we called records “albums” as compared to cassettes which we called “tapes”. Technically, an album is a collection, and it does not even have to be music, so a more accurate term would be “LP”, which turns out to be short for “Long Play” 33-1/3 RPM vinyl record. You get why we just called them albums, right? It was just easier to ask your friends if they got the new Rush album or tape. You can also see why the “mixtape” was part of the plot of every teen movie from the decade.

Back to the music. Sure, rock and roll was epic in the 1970’s, some may even say “classic”, and I take nothing away from that by saying that I like the rock and roll of the 1980’s more. That “classic” sound endures and probably always will. However, rock and roll truly evolved in the Eighties. Not everyone may like or appreciate every style and sound that emerged, but none can deny that music went in so many directions that genres and sub-genres had to be created, if only to provide fodder for the message boards of the Nineties. Punk, thrash, glam/hair, new wave, emo/goth, college/alternative, pop and hip-hop all took off in the 1980’s. There is no single sound that represents music in the 80’s, no single image, no single path to stardom or infamy. Everything was thrown against the wall, and most of it stuck. Just look at the variety of artistic excellence represented in my selections, which were extremely difficult to make from this era. Consider who did not even make the cut. U2, The Police, Scorpions, LL Cool J, Run-D.M.C., Duran Duran, Quiet Riot, Queensrÿche and Whitesnake all spent time as my favorite band in the whole wide world, yet could not make the final list. Prince, Michael Jackson, Pat Benatar and Journey were left off. I could do a whole other set of songs that are just as good as these.

If anyone ever asks, I say that I “grew up” in the 1980’s. I was 10 years old when they started and 20 when they ended. I made it through junior high, high school, and most of college during this musical explosion. Growing up on Long Island, I did focus most of my attention on artists from New York. People sometimes wonder why New Yorkers are arrogant, and we are, but we come to it naturally. We just take credit for everything anyone of us creates while we just so happened to be in the general vicinity. I consider 2 of New York’s 5 boroughs to be part of Long Island. They are physically connected to the same land mass as Nassau and Suffolk Counties. So even if they are logically different, the same could be said about Montauk and the Hamptons. In my mind, I credit the entire Island as the foundation of my history and personality.

I was born in Hollis, Queens, so naturally I take pride in the fact that hip-hop took off based largely on the talents and rhymes of Run-D.M.C., The Beastie Boys and LL Cool J. Run (Joseph Ward Simmons) was born and raised in Hollis, Queens. D.M.C. (Darryl Matthews McDaniels) was born in Harlem and grew up in Hollis. LL (James Todd Smith) was born in Bay Shore on Long Island just a year before me, literally the next town over from where I grew up. He grew up in (and famously “represented”) Queens, where I spent the first 3 years of my life. The Beasties were also NYC through and through. I also followed Long Island rockers especially closely. Anthrax, Blue Öyster Cult, Zebra, Twisted Sister, Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Squier, even that other Billy who played piano. When taking credit for things, New Yorkers will even put claims on their neighbor across the river, New Jersey. Personally, I love New Jersey. I have always had family there and spent a large part of my life there. That gave me an affinity for Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi that was earned as honestly as the stories they continue to write to this day.

Enough preamble. Rip your acid-washed jeans a little more, tease up your hair, pierce your ear, and cut up those band t-shirts. Bring your #2 pencil, tighten up those cassette tapes, grab your bucket of D batteries, and turn that boom box all the way up. This is the 80’s!

27. 1980 – I Don’t Know – Ozzy Osbourne

I am not sure how many people know the precise moment that they became a metal head. That moment was instantly burned in my brain and is as clear a memory as any that I have.

My parents grew up in Flushing, Queens, and like much of their family and friends, had moved out to a house on Long Island in the early 1970’s. Other family members moved to suburban New Jersey or even up and coming South Carolina. Some of my parents childhood friends ended up moving a couple of miles away from us, so naturally they hung out all the time, and my sister and I were forced to become friends with their kids. Which turned out to be fine, because these were cool kids. The boy and I were early software pirates, trading hacked Atari cartridges and using the Pirate’s Toolkit to bootleg and modify computer games on our Commodore 64’s. Who knew that I was actually training for my career in software development? Before all that, we would just hang out and listen to music. The adults would drink and play cards upstairs, and the kids went down in the basement to make noise.

One particular fall day, we headed over to their house and he had just started playing something new. It was LOUD and the guitar playing was insane. We were both freaking out over how cool it was. I screamed at him “What is this?!?!” He yelled back “I don’t know!!” I countered with “Look at the cover!!!” He responded with “I don’t know!!!!” I tried to ask again as he shoved the album cover in my face and said “It’s called. I. DON’T. KNOW!!!” Then we fell out laughing. Then Ozzy started laughing as “Crazy Train” kicked in. My metal horns went up that evening, and they are never coming back down.

My favorite lyric:

Don’t ask me. I don’t know!

This song is full of brilliant lines about self reliance and independent thought. With the spectacle and drama that has always surrounded Ozzy, his deep lyrical content is often overlooked. Even “Crazy Train” is really a call to stop senseless violence and conflict, but who stops to ponder such things while enjoying the spectacle? All that said, nothing tops the simple exclamation that had two 11 year old kids rolling on the floor laughing in a Long Island basement.

I Don’t Know

Written by Randy Rhoads & Ozzy Osbourne

Performed by Ozzy Osbourne

People look to me and say
Is the end near, when is the final day
What’s the future of mankind
How do I know, I got left behind

Everyone goes through changes
Looking to find the truth
Don’t look to me for answers
Don’t ask me, I don’t know (know…)

How am I supposed to know
Hidden meanings that will never show
Fools and prophets from the past
Life’s a stage and we’re all in the cast

Ya gotta believe in someone
Asking me who is right
Asking me who to follow
Don’t ask me, I don’t know (know)
I don’t know, I don’t know (know), I don’t know

Nobody ever told me I found out for myself
Ya gotta believe in foolish miracles
It’s not how you play the game
It’s if you win or lose you can choose
Don’t confuse win or lose, it’s up to you
It’s up to you, it’s up to you, it’s up to you
Go, go, go

People look to me and say
Is the end near, when is the final day
What’s the future of mankind
How do I know, I got left behind, I’m lost

Everyone goes through changes
Looking to find the truth
Don’t look to me for answers
Don’t ask me, I don’t know!

28. 1980 – Keep On Loving You – REO Speedwagon

Couple skate!

Were two sweeter words ever heard by pre-pubescent ears? Roller skating was all the rage in 1980. Everybody would go. There was loud music, disco lights, soda on tap, and bodies flying by in every direction. For a bunch of not-yet-teens, we felt like we were in Studio 54. When the ballads were played, the DJ yelled “couple skate!”, and shy boys had an excuse to ask a girl to hold hands with him for 3 dizzying minutes. I didn’t care what REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Journey, Styx or Pat Benatar was singing about (it was still way over my head). I just knew that when those soft piano and guitar intros played, Johnnie was gonna get … a chance to skate with a girl he liked, maybe even one he had been waiting for.

My favorite lyric:

You should’ve known by the tone of my voice, maybe
But you didn’t listen

I have always had a few issues with communication and misunderstanding, especially after leaving New York. The first thing was the accent and speed at which New Yorkers speak to each other. We are quick and blunt, and sometimes loud. No disrespect, but part of living in a crowded place is standing up for yourself and trying to get your point in as quickly as possible. People from other parts of the country consider this to be rude. My other issue is my dry, sarcastic sense of humor. This leads to a tone of voice that is not always appreciated. What are ya gonna do? You didn’t listen.

Keep On Loving You

Written by Kevin Cronin

Performed by REO Speedwagon

You should’ve seen by the look in my eyes, baby
There was something missing
You should’ve known by the tone of my voice, maybe
But you didn’t listen
You played dead
But you never bled
Instead you lay still in the grass
All coiled up and hissing

And though I know all about those men
Still I don’t remember
‘Cause it was us, baby, way before them
And we’re still together

And I meant, every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever

And I’m gonna keep on loving you
‘Cause it’s the only thing I wanna do
I don’t wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you

And I meant, every word I said
When I said that I love you
I meant that I love you forever

And I’m gonna keep on loving you
‘Cause it’s the only thing I wanna do
I don’t wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you
And I’m gonna keep on loving you
‘Cause it’s the only thing I wanna do
I don’t wanna sleep
I just wanna keep on loving you

29. 1981 – Rapture – Blondie

“Rapture” from Debbie Harry and Blondie is the first “rap” I ever heard. It was also the first rap video played on MTV when they debuted on 8/1/81. Debbie herself seemed like some kind of alien, drifting effortlessly and carelessly across the Earth, dropping dreamy hit after hit.

My first video game design was based on this song. I had written a plot and made some sketches based on the Man From Mars and his alleged adventures on earth, eating things. On each level, you would control the hungry, hungry Martian, eating one of the things mentioned in the song. Sadly, I did not have any mad programming skills yet, so it just went into the cool idea pile. I kept myself busy dropping quarters into the arcade machines at the local pizza parlors and stationery stores. Space Invaders, Missile Command, Super Cobra and Galaga ate a ton of coinage, while slaking my alien blasting thirst.

My favorite lyric:

‘Cause the man from Mars stopped eatin’ cars
And eatin’ bars and now he only eats guitars, get up

As ridiculous as the entire premise of this song is, the absurdity reaches its apex with this rapidly rhymed narrative. By now, you know the whole thing is a goof and this just sounds wicked cool.

Rapture

Written by Debbie Harry & Chris Stein

Performed by Blondie

Toe to toe, dancing very close
Barely breathing, almost comatose
Wall to wall, people hypnotized
And they’re stepping lightly
Hang each night in rapture

Back to back, sacroiliac
Spineless movement and a wild attack
Face to face, sightless solitude
And it’s finger popping
24-hour shopping in rapture

Man to man, body muscular
Seismic decibel, bite the jugular
Wall to wall, tea time technology
And a digital ladder
No sign of bad luck in rapture

30. 1981 – Too Much Time On My Hands – Styx

“Paradise Theatre” was a sprawling conceptual piece by Styx that was a bit all over the place. Like many bands that began in the 1970’s, they struggled to balance the rockers and the ballads. Pianist / vocalist Dennis DeYoung had some good ballads, and I do thank him for “The Best Of Times” at the skating rink. However, I prefer the guitar and the rock and roll stylings of guitarist / vocalist Tommy Shaw. That lead me to choose “Too Much Time On My Hands” to represent this year.

Night Ranger is another band with 2 singers and 2 styles. Bassist / vocalist Jack Blades is the rocker, and he and Tommy Shaw joined up with Ted Nugent to form Damn Yankees in 1990. I got to meet them after a show, and I told Jack that I loved his and Tommy’s songs the best in Night Ranger and Styx, so this was a perfect project for them.

The song also reminds me of all the high school lunch times I spent trying to beat Time Pilot at the local pizza place next to DPHS. I was so obsessed with beating that game, and making it through all 5 levels of aircraft dogfighting. You started in 1910 fighting bi-planes. Next was 1940 with prop planes and bombers. Then 1970 versing helicopters. The “present day” at the time, was 1982, dueling jets. Finally, you traveled to the future, 2001, when UFO’s were invading. Beating all of this with a single quarter was a monumental task. I always made my friends stand far behind me, quietly, or else I could blame them for my failures. One day I was locked in, and they had all headed back to class. I managed to beat the future level alien scum and wondered what could possibly be next up. It was Level 1 again – lame – but I had done it! I arrived late for class (which I NEVER did) and was questioned. My response was “I don’t even care! I finally beat Time Pilot!!” I bought a multi-game home arcade machine when the pandemic started, created a Rocker’s Dozen playlist with 13 songs about time, and it took me months to once again complete all 5 levels.

When I lived in Maryland, and had just started photographing concerts for Shockwave Magazine, Styx played a theater in Baltimore, and I was granted a photo pass. Paradise! Sometimes when you get your photo pass, you also get 1 or more tickets to watch the entire concert and write a review about it. At this show, I was handed 2 tickets in the 5th row center. As I was getting sorted, a father and son were at the ticket window next to me, and I overheard the fact that only 1 seat was left in the entire theater. Realizing I was about to let a great second seat go to waste, I told him to buy the one ticket and I would trade him my 2 prime seats so he and his son could enjoy the show together. I felt good as I walked up to the front of the stage, only to have the bouncer inform me that there is no photo pit in a theater, and I certainly could not stand in front of the people who had paid the most money to be front row. I was instructed to shoot from my seat. That’s when I realized that I had traded my photography tickets for a balcony seat against the side wall. I didn’t even have a zoom lens at the time. Well, all of my shots were of the entire stage and lower level, from a side angle. Oh well, the performance was outstanding, so I focused on my writing.

My favorite lyric:

And I’ve given up hope for the afternoon soaps
And a bottle of cold brew

This line hits me on a few levels. Growing up (and to this very day) my Mom watched General Hospital, an ABC afternoon soap, religiously. My sister and I would watch with her at 3:00 every day, whenever we were not in school, such as the summer of Luke & Laura, when they were away from Port Charles, on the run from Hutch the bounty hunter. In high school, I would walk home between class and soccer practice and watch The Young & The Restless. As for the bottle of cold brew, I have always felt that drinking a beer signaled your giving up on the day, as far as productivity is concerned. Perhaps it was this lyric imprinted on my young brain that has guided me along.

Too Much Time On My Hands

Written by Tommy Shaw

Performed by Styx

Yeah, I’m sitting on this barstool, talking like a damn fool
Got the twelve o’clock news blues
And I’ve given up hope for the afternoon soaps
And a bottle of cold brew

Is it any wonder I’m not crazy?
Is it any wonder I’m sane at all?

Well, I’m so tired of losing, I got nothing to do
And all day to do it
Well, I’d go out cruisin’, but I’ve no place to go
And all night to get there

Is it any wonder I’m not a criminal?
Is it any wonder I’m not in jail?

Is it any wonder I’ve got too much time on my hands?
It’s ticking away with my sanity
I’ve got too much time on my hands
It’s hard to believe such a calamity
I’ve got too much time on my hands
And it’s ticking away, ticking away from me

Too much time on my hands
(It’s t-t-t-t-ticking away)
Too much time on my hands
(And I don’t know what to do with myself)
Too much time on my hands

Too much time on my hands
Too much time on my hands
Too much time on my hands

Now, I’m a jet fuel genius – I can solve the world’s problems
Without even trying
I got dozens of friends, and the fun never ends
That is, as long as I’m buying

Is it any wonder I’m not the president?
Is it any wonder I’m null and void?

Is it any wonder I’ve got too much time on my hands?
It’s ticking away with my sanity
I’ve got too much time on my hands
It’s hard to believe such a calamity
I got too much time on my hands
And it’s ticking away, ticking away from me
Too much time on my hands
(T-t-t-t-ticking away)
Too much time on my hands
(And I don’t know what to do with myself)
Too much time on my hands
Too much time on my hands
(T-t-t-t-ticking away)
Too much time on my hands
Too much time on my hands
(Too much time on my hands)
(Too much time on my)

31. 1982 – Heat Of The Moment – Asia

When Asia burst on the scene, it was the first time I remember having a Favorite Band. I believe they were the first “Supergroup”. They took members of 4 successful bands and made something even better. Steve Howe played guitar for Yes. John Wetton sang and played bass for King Crimson. Geoff Downes played keyboards for The Buggles. Carl Palmer was the drummer for Emerson, Lake & Palmer. “Heat Of The Moment” was the first single, a classic that everyone knows and loves to this day. The rest of the album contains magical musical performances and cutting lyrics. Every note of every song is perfection.

I was all in on Asia merch. I had an Asia trucker hat, wristbands, a baseball sleeve shirt, and a sweatshirt (which I later cut off to wear bouldering). I drew variations of their logo on every textbook cover (hand made from brown grocery bags) and notebook that I owned. Needless to say, this did not make me the “cool kid”. Asia was no Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, but I was forced to like those bands in secret, due to their bad reputations.

I had tickets to see the original band on their first reunion tour, with my friend from Brick in the Wall infamy, but he tragically died and I could not bring myself to go to the show without him, so I gave the tickets to some other friends.

I did get to see the final tour with all 4 original members with my uncle and his friends, in New Jersey. They played all of their classics, some great new songs, and a song each from their previous bands. Quite a moment.

My favorite lyric:

And when your looks are gone and you’re alone
How many nights you sit beside the phone
What were the things you wanted for yourself?
Teenage ambitions you remember well

I stole this, verbatim, for an English class poetry assignment, which I had forgotten to do. I quickly scribbled this out as the teacher was collecting the assignments, one of the few times having a last name starting with a “V” came in handy. I got an “A”. I also found a creative writing assignment from 1984, which I called “The Modern Cowboys” (a title Tesla later stole from me!), where the final sentence was “We live to fight another day.”, taken from Asia’s second album “Alpha”.

Heat Of The Moment

Written by Geoff Downes & John Wetton

Performed by Asia

I never meant to be so bad to you
One thing I said that I would never do
A look from you and I would fall from grace
And that would wipe the smile right from my face

Do you remember when we used to dance?
And incidents arose from circumstance
One thing led to another, we were young
And we would scream together songs unsung

It was the heat of the moment
Telling me what my heart meant
The heat of the moment showed in your eyes

And now you find yourself in Eighty Two
The disco hot spots hold no charm for you
You can concern yourself with bigger things
You catch a pearl and ride the dragon’s wings

‘Cause it’s the heat of the moment
Heat of the moment
The heat of the moment showed in your eyes

And when your looks are gone and you’re alone
How many nights you sit beside the phone
What were the things you wanted for yourself?
Teenage ambitions you remember well

It was the heat of the moment
Telling me what your heart meant
The heat of the moment showed in your eyes

It was the heat of the moment
Heat of the moment
Heat of the moment showed in your eyes

Heat of the moment
Heat of the moment
Heat of the moment
Heat of the moment

32. 1982 – Subdivisions – Rush

Rush is my favorite band of all time, but it took time to get there. “Subdivisions” was the song that started their ascension for me. Combined with “The Analog Kid” which immediately follows it on the “Signals” album, I heard my teenage life perfectly described. These songs expressed sympathy for the plight of youth, living in the relative comfort and safety of the suburbs, imbued with a fear of missing out. Suburban life is seen as an improvement from city life, but the sprawl and isolation actually limits your opportunities. When you are young, you can only go as far as you can walk, so your social circle is limited to your school friends. I was fortunate to have some amazing friends, some of which I keep in contact with (primarily through our common love of Rush). Then you get a bike, and your world opens up a little more, at least as far as you are willing to pedal. Finally, if you are lucky enough to have access to a car, you can do even more.

By the time I was a senior, I was still biking and walking. I found a job at a frozen yogurt / pita shop (a health food option decades ahead of its time) in a futile attempt to earn enough money to buy my own ride. Some of my friends were planning to put together a band for the annual school High School talent show. I spent months rehearsing alone in my room for months, primarily working on “Tom Sawyer” and “Subdivisions”. For the second of 3 times in my life, I had a serious asthma attack in December of my senior year, while frantically approaching the deadline to apply for Ivy League colleges, which I didn’t even want to attend. After that, I could never hold my breath long enough to sing this song right.

In 2010, I caught up with my oldest friends from the neighborhood to see Rush: Time Machine at Jones Beach Theater. That started an all too brief yearly tradition. The last show we saw together was in the summer of 2015 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, during their final tour, R:40. Drummer Neil Peart retired after that tour, and got brain cancer soon after, eventually passing away in January of 2020.

Somehow, I was approved to take pictures of Rush while seeing them in Northern Virginia with the drummer who had encouraged me to learn to sing Rush songs for that talent show. That band ended up being called “The Misfits”, which I never even got to join, because I had work the night they finally got together to rehearse. ”Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone.“ I had just gotten my first real camera, and barely begun photographing shows. I was shocked that I even got a photo pass. When Geddy Lee looked straight down into my lens as I was shooting, I felt like Wayne and Garth – “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!”. That will always stand as my most surreal concert experience.

See my article about what Neil Peart and Rush mean to me: What Neil Peart and Rush Mean To Me

See my article on my High School English analysis of this song as a poem by Neil Peart: My High School English Paper on Subdivisions by Neil Peart

My favorite lyric:

Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided

Oh, the irony of giving yourself an asthma attack while stressing out over a pre-decided future that you had no interest in, destroying your ability to sing, which then shatters whatever confidence you had scraped together thinking you could actually be a rock star, if only for a brief instant. “Be cool or be cast out.”

Subdivisions

Written by Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson & Neil Peart

Performed by Rush

Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Growing up it all seems so one-sided
Opinions all provided
The future pre-decided
Detached and subdivided
In the mass production zone
Nowhere is the dreamer or the misfit so alone

(Subdivisions) —
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions) —
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out

Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth

Drawn like moths we drift into the city
The timeless old attraction
Cruising for the action
Lit up like a firefly
Just to feel the living night

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory
Of lighted streets on quiet nights

(Subdivisions) —
In the high school halls
In the shopping malls
Conform or be cast out
(Subdivisions) —
In the basement bars
In the backs of cars
Be cool or be cast out

Any escape might help to smooth
The unattractive truth
But the suburbs have no charms to soothe
The restless dreams of youth

33. 1983 – Who’s Behind The Door? – Zebra

Zebra is the band who led me to that paper route job, where I quickly earned enough points to nab their self-titled debut album. An album that still rates in my all-time top ten, deserted island list. Zebra was the only band I managed to see live during my high school years, and I saw them many times. I continued to see them as often as I could. My parents never had cable, so I could only see cool things like HBO and MTV when I went to my best friend’s house, which was quite often. He had a basement and an in-ground pool with a diving board and slide. He also had an older sister with many cute friends, but I digress. His Dad was the O.G. “dad joke” teller. One time when I arrived, my friend excitedly told me that had seen “Who’s Behind The Door?” 4 times that day. His Dad, cocktail in hand, deadpanned “Well, who was it? You saw him 4 times!”.

Until I got to college, Zebra was actually the only band I had seen live. I have often wondered how a high school kid saw a rock band play at bars across Long Island. My Mom was gracious enough to drop me off sometimes. My little sister was infatuated with singer / guitarist Randy Jackson and even had his poster on her wall. After one show, she went with my Mom to pick me up. When I reluctantly went outside at the pre-planned time, I quickly told my Mom that they weren’t done yet, and hadn’t even played “Who’s Behind The Door?” yet. She agreed to let me go back in as my sister begged to go with me. Shockingly, she agreed. Even more shockingly, the bouncer let me back in, with my kid sister in tow! We rushed right up to the front of the stage as they began their encore of “Who’s Behind The Door?” and a brilliant cover of “The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin. I used to wear a bandana tied to my leg, just like Chachi from “Happy Days”. I had gotten a special zebra striped one to wear to the concert. My sis was so overcome, she pulled it off my leg and threw it on stage, yelling “I love you Randy!!”.

Bob Buchmann was the morning DJ on WBAB 102.3, and every winter, he did a 102 hour “Charity Begins at Home” marathon to raise money for Long Island charities. Bands and celebrities would drop by to speak on the air and help in raising money. When Zebra released their 3rd album “3.V“ and was set to appear with Bob, my friends and I went down to the hotel where he broadcast the event from. We got our cassettes signed, hung out near our favorite DJ and favorite band, and had a blast. When they left, for some reason unexplained to this day, we followed them out. Bassist / keyboardist Felix Hanemann got into his Mercedes, and we got into a Toyota Tercel and proceeded to tail him. He quickly lost us on the Southern State Parkway. To this day, we have no idea why we followed him and what we planned to do if we had somehow kept up with him. In 2018, after seeing them play in Orange County, CA I told Felix this story and he had a huge laugh about it.

I finally had the chance to photograph them when they made a surprise West Coast tour to commemorate the 35th anniversary of this classic debut album. Of all places, I was extremely fortunate to catch them at none other than the world famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. Talk about checking off some boxes! Zebra still plays a few times a year, with Guy Gelso as always on the drums, mainly in their hometown of New Orleans and their adopted home on Long Island. Randy Jackson performs marathon solo acoustic shows quite often, and he has kept that going online throughout the pandemic, bringing some joy and light into the darkness.

My favorite lyric:

Life is a waiting room
I hope they don’t call me soon

To me, this sums up a lot of what religions teach us. That we are merely passing through Earth, on our way to an eternal destination. If so, I am in no hurry to have my number called. I have no idea who or what is behind the door, and I have way too much to explore and experience here to even think about it.

Who’s Behind The Door?

Written by Randy Jackson

Performed by Zebra

We sailed away
We walked two thousand miles and then we slipped away
We looked so hard
But couldn’t seem to find just what the world was for
Now we know
Just what the journey’s for

Looking out to the stars
Think about what you are
What do they think of you?
Animals in their zoo
They haven’t got the time
Landing is not on their minds
How do they have the nerve
We’re animals in preserve

They watch us all
They’re only making sure that we don’t trip and fall
They looked so hard
But they can’t tell us why they’re here and just what for
Because they don’t know
Who opened up the door

How can we find out more?
Who owns the keyless door?
Where does the circle end?
Who are the unwatched men?
Where do we go from here?
Faith is a fading fear
Life is a waiting room
I hope they don’t call me soon

How much more do you really think you know than a flower does about who’s behind the door?

34. 1983 – Photograph – Def Leppard

The “Pyromania” album by Def Leppard is another all-time classic, along with Asia’s and Zebra’s self-titled debuts, which has a hard time getting shaken from any personal favorite lists. The first song, the one that blew us all away, was “Photograph”.

In Junior High, we would take class trips to explore the history of America. Our 7th grade trip was to Washington, D.C., 8th grade was Philadelphia and other parts of Pennsylvania, and 9th grade was Boston. Apparently, the level of alcohol, drug and sexual related activity observed in the Boston hotel passed the acceptability threshold, and all future school wide “educational” trips were permanently canceled. Being a good Catholic kid, I was not party to any of these misadventures. Which brings us back to the 8th grade trip.

I always brought a boom box on bus trips, whether it was to visit my cousins in Massachusetts, traveling to another school for a tennis match or soccer game, or on an educational adventure. I did not own many cassettes in the spring of 1983, so we were listening to Philadelphia’s rock station, 93.3 WMMR when we first heard “Photograph”. Conveniently, we soon stopped at a shopping mall, for a healthy meal in the food court. I sprinted to the mall’s record store and purchased the “Pyromania” cassette, which we proceeded to listen to nonstop on the bus for the rest of the trip (except for Amish country – they are not supposed to know about such things as electricity and rock and roll). The store also gave me a WMMR sticker which I slapped on my boom box.

I probably listened to that cassette every day for a year, singing along, playing air guitar and air drums (possibly some air bass?). I wish I had somehow gotten hold of a guitar and learned to play it. If you add up the number of hours I spent imaging myself playing along, and applied that to actually practicing on an instrument, I bet I would not be half bad by now.

My favorite lyric:

I wanna touch you!

Let’s revisit that 8th grade bus trip, and appropriate levels of sexual activity. Imagine a bunch of 13 and 14 year old boys, away from home, sleeping in hotels, listening to some raunchy new music from British glam gods. It put some ideas in our heads. Something we thought would be hilarious to do is queue up “Photograph” on my boom box to just the right part of the song, and then go up to a girl we liked, and ask her if she wanted to hear this great new band we had just discovered. We would then press play and Joe Elliott would exclaim ‘I wanna touch you!’. Then we would run away and giggle. Super inappropriate, and highly ineffective as well.

Photograph

Written by Rick Savage, Pete Willis, Robert John “Mutt” Lange, Joe Elliott & Steve Clark

Performed by Def Leppard

I’m outta luck, outta love
Gotta photograph, picture of
Passion killer, you’re too much
You’re the only one I wanna touch

I see your face every time I dream
On every page, every magazine
So wild and free, so far from me
You’re all I want, my fantasy

Oh, look what you’ve done to this rock ‘n’ roll clown
Oh Oh, look what you’ve done

Photograph
I don’t want your photograph
I don’t need your photograph
All I’ve got is a photograph
But it’s not enough

I’d be your lover, if you were there
Put your hurt on me, if you dare
Such a woman, you got style
You make every man feel like a child

You got some kinda hold on me
You’re all wrapped up in mystery
So wild and free, so far from me
You’re all I want, my fantasy

Oh, Look what you’ve done to this rock ‘n’ roll clown
Oh Oh, Look what you’ve done

Photograph
I don’t want your photograph
I don’t need your photograph
All I’ve got is a photograph

You’ve gone straight to my head

Look what you’ve done to this rock ‘n’ roll clown
Look what you’ve done

I gotta have you

Photograph
I don’t want your photograph
I don’t need your photograph
All I’ve got is a photograph

I wanna touch you!

Photograph
Photograph
Your photograph
Photograph
Photograph
I need more than your photograph
I’m outta love
Photograph
I’m outta love
Photograph
You’re the only one
Photograph
I wanna touch

35. 1984 – Dancing In The Dark – Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen is the one classic rock artist from the 1970’s who managed to become even bigger in the 1980’s. The “Born in the U.S.A.” album produced an insane 7 Top 10 singles. “Dancing In The Dark” was actually written in one spiteful night, 2 years after most of the album had already been recorded, yet another example of either divine intervention or musical magic. I actually have written a lot of good software code out of spite, so whatever motivates you is good to use for creative fuel.

The live performance video is also a classic, most notable for the moment when Bruce pulls a young fan out of the crowd to dance with him on stage. That young fan was an unknown by the name of Courteney Cox. This was years before I fell in love with her as Alex P. Keaton’s girlfriend on “Family Ties”, and way before “Friends” and “Scream”.

I played this cassette so much over the next two years, that I had to buy another copy. Then I dug deep into the back catalog, which my aunts and uncle were more than happy to help me with. One of my best memories is seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play for hours on end at Giants Stadium, somewhere in the swamps of Jersey, with my uncle and aunt. I collected bootleg concert tapes and became obsessed.

When I started my own software consulting company in the 2000’s, I had an NFL credit card. If you collected 200,000 points (by charging $200,000), then you could get 2 Super Bowl tickets! I put every business and personal expense on that card for years. When I finally hit the magic number, they told me that they had changed it to 300,000 points!! What?!??!? Now I was scrambling to charge anything I could, even stuff for my family, just to get to the new level. I really wanted to see the Super Bowl in Tampa, where I had lived for 6 months in the 90’s, and had seen several Buccaneers games over the years. I made it late that fall, and I was able to pay back my Dad for all that he done for me by taking him on an all expenses paid trip to the Super Bowl. I had airline miles, hotel points and 2 tickets to the big game. This was Super Bowl XLIII in 2009. Turned out to be the most dramatic and exciting game of them all, where the Pittsburgh Steelers took a halftime lead on a 99 yard INT return. Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald led the Arizona Cardinals back to take a late lead, only to have Big Ben pull off a 90 yard last second drive where Santonio Holmes allegedly got 2 feet down, even though I have never seen that second foot touch grass. We had already had a great week, eating dinner next to ESPN hosts, spending time playing games at the NFL Experience, and seeing concerts by 3 Doors Down and Journey. We told each other that no matter what happens at the game, it was all worth it. Besides, the halftime show was Bruce Springsteen. Not only did we get one of the best games ever, we got one of the best halftime shows ever.

My favorite lyric:

I check my look in the mirror
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face

Anyone who does not feel this way from time to time must be a model or actor. I could have picked any line from here s my favorite. They are all perfect in their own way. This song only enhanced for me what Rush had started. I knew that there was a whole wide world out there somewhere, and I had to figure out a way to get there.

Dancing In The Dark

Written by Bruce Springsteen

Performed by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

I get up in the evening
And I ain’t got nothing to say
I come home in the morning
I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain’t nothing but tired
Man, I’m just tired and bored with myself
Hey there baby, I could use just a little help

You can’t start a fire
You can’t start a fire without a spark
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark

Message keeps getting clearer
Radio’s on and I’m moving ’round the place
I check my look in the mirror
I wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face
Man, I ain’t getting nowhere
I’m just living in a dump like this
There’s something happening somewhere
Baby, I just know that there is

You can’t start a fire
You can’t start a fire without a spark
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark

You sit around getting older
There’s a joke here somewhere and it’s on me
I’ll shake this world off my shoulders
Come on, baby, the laugh’s on me

Stay on the streets of this town
And they’ll be carving you up all right
They say you gotta stay hungry
Hey, baby, I’m just about starving tonight
I’m dying for some action
I’m sick of sitting ’round here trying to write this book
I need a love reaction
Come on now, baby, gimme just one look

You can’t start a fire
Sitting ’round crying over a broken heart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
You can’t start a fire
Worrying about your little world falling apart
This gun’s for hire
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark

Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
Even if we’re just dancing in the dark
Hey, baby

36. 1984 – The Warrior – Scandal featuring Patty Smyth

“The Warrior” by Scandal is forever linked in my mind to Victory Soccer Camp. For two summers in a row, I got to spend a week in the Connecticut country side, with my closest friends and family, doing nothing but play soccer. Naturally, I had by boom box, and the 2 most played albums that first summer at camp were from The Cars and Scandal. That first trip to Victory Soccer Camp is my favorite week ever. My sister was there. My best friends were there. My cousins who lived in Massachusetts were there, and I never got to see them enough. Plus it was soccer, soccer everywhere. Soccer drills, soccer skills, soccer matches, soccer patches. Somehow it got even better. I met a girl named Amy who was perfection. She had the athletic soccer body. She had long dark hair. She loved rock and roll. We fell in love that week, that perfect teenage love that they make movies about.

On the last night of camp, some of the parents came to collect their kids. Sadly, she was one of them leaving early. My parents planned to arrive the next morning. After I kissed her goodbye and watched her drive away, I was floating. A bunch of my friends were scheming to sneak into the girls dorm. I had no reason to do so, after all, my true love had just left. I followed along anyway, we got spotted, and ran in every direction. I made it back to the boys dorm and dove under the covers. Bad move, as the counselors went in each room, and my Catholic guilt over “almost” doing something wrong must have showed on my face. They hauled me off to the office, called my parents and demanded that they come get me immediately. My parents laughed them off and told them they would be making the 3 hour drive in the morning. Once again, I was the only one to get caught. Everyone who was hiding in the woods had snuck back into the dorm while I was being held in detention. The whole time, I just kept thinking about Amy, and didn’t really care about getting in trouble. My heart had followed her down that dusty road.

My favorite lyric:

I’ll hold you close in Victory

Victory soccer camp. My first love. My first soccer chick / rocker chick. I have been “chasing Amy” for the rest of my life.

The Warrior

Written by Holly Knight & Nick Gilder

Performed by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth

Ohhh, oh, oh, ohhh, oh, oh, oh, oh

You run, run, run away
It’s your heart that you betray
Feeding on your hungry eyes
I bet you’re not so civilized
Well, isn’t love primitive
A wild gift that you want to give
Break out of captivity
And follow me, stereo jungle child
Love is the kill. Your heart’s still wild

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang bang
I am the warrior
Well, I am the warrior
And heart to heart you’ll win if you survive
The warrior. The warrior

You talk, talk, talk to me
Your eyes touch me physically
Stay with me, we’ll take the night
As passion takes another bite

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Who’s the hunter, who’s the game
I feel the beat call your name
I’ll hold you close in victory
I don’t want to tame your animal style
You won’t be caged in the call of the wild

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang bang
I am the warrior
Well, I am the warrior
And heart to heart to win if you survive
The warrior. The warrior
I am the warrior

Shooting at the walls of heartache
(Shooting at the walls of heartache.) The warrior
I am the warrior and heart to heart you’ll win
Heart to heart you’ll win if you survive
The warrior. The warrior

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang bang
I am the warrior
Yes, I am the warrior and victory is mine
(Shooting at the walls of heartache.) The warrior
I am the warrior
Shooting at the walls of heartache

My Life In Music, Part 3, 1980 – 1984 first appeared on Game On Media.

Prologue

1. The Music Of My Life

Music means everything to me. It has for as long as I can remember. Each night I fall asleep listening to music. Every morning I wake up listening to music. I play music in the shower. I play music in the car. I play music at the gym. If I am not actively listening to music, I hear songs in my head. When somebody is talking to me, I hear lyrics in their words, and start singing to myself. While I have never completely written or recorded anything original, I have made mix-tapes and play-lists since the Seventies.

I have spent almost all of my free time and “disposable” income on music and music-related experiences. My first job was delivering The Daily News to a six block radius around my house on Long Island, New York. I took the job because they offered a free cassette tape of my choosing if I signed up 3 new subscriptions on my route. I took care of that task quickly, and scored what may be my most favorite album of all time – the self-titled debut from the Long Island based band named Zebra. I continued to find bargains and build my catalog thanks to the marketing efforts of BMG and Columbia House music mail order services. Eventually, I bought cheap guitars and amps, and later more expensive guitars. I have too many guitars.

Once the concert floodgates opened for me when I went to the University of Virginia, I started going to as many shows as I could, no matter where they were located. Music festivals began, locally and small at first, then larger ones able to draw a national audience of freaks like me who were willing to drive or fly all over the country, sleeping in any hotel, motel, Holiday Inn, tent, RV or Air B’n’B I could find. Woodstock ‘99, Rocklahoma, Rock On The Range, Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville, Aftershock, Earthday Birthday, Vans Warped Tour, Coachella, Voodoo Festival, Once Upon A Time in the LBC, Rock USA and KAABOO Del Mar – these are a few of my favorite things. Then the rock cruises came along, which I have enjoyed as a customer, staff member, charity worker, journalist and photographer – ShipRocked, Motörhead’s MotörBoat, MegaCruise, and Monsters Of Rock Cruise.

From 2010 to 2020, I was able to get up close and personal with the music, the musicians and the fans. I have been a photojournalist for several print magazines and online websites. I have previewed and reviewed concerts, albums and livestreams. I have interviewed artists backstage and on tour buses. I have photographed shows of every kind, from the smallest and darkest of clubs, to the largest of outdoor festivals. I have captured local artists, new acts, living legends and lifelong loves, from Aerosmith to ZZ Top.

During this mostly silent year, I decided to take a look back, to appreciate the journey so far, and perhaps to make some sense of my decisions and choices along the way. This isn’t exactly a memoir or biography, as I don’t believe that I have done anything of such consequence to merit such documentation. I won’t know if there are any lessons to be learned, or advice to carry with me on my second half, until I write it all down. The songs have been chosen, the memories have come rushing back. We will see where this experience takes me.

With 52 years of special songs to revisit, I also plan to really focus on learning to play complete songs on guitar. That gives me 2 songs to learn per week. That should hold me to a good working cadence. Is everybody in? Drop the needle on the record.

2. The Way I Chose The Songs

Choosing only 2 songs from an entire year was quite an ordeal. Some years had many releases that had a major impact at the time, others not as many. I chose songs based on the year that the album they came from was released. This means that the song itself may not have even been released as a single that year. Sometimes a song hits you right away, sometimes it builds slowly, and other times you discover it well after it was released. In many cases, it takes some new experience to bring the importance of the song into focus.

I suppose it generally takes some passage of time for the songs that mean the most to you to bubble to the surface. Only time will tell which ones continue to swim around in your brain, forming the soundtrack to your life’s story.

I chose the songs that have had the most lasting impression on my life, the ones that instantly take me back to a time, or a place, or a person, or an experience, or all of the above. The names will be changed to protect the innocent and guilty alike. These are the songs that mean the most to me, and nobody knows me better than I know myself, so I can’t really say if others share the same memories in the same ways.

Looking at the final list, there are sooo many songs that I love that did not make the cut. There are lots of artists that I cannot believe are not represented. I guess this should not be too surprising. Think about how hard it is to make a top 5 list in any given year. There are just so many artists and songs that I love, it is no wonder that I am almost always listening to, writing about, or photographing music. Out of the 104 songs chosen, 8 are from bands that appear twice. Those are obviously among my all-time favorites, and they are among the ones who have meant the most to me throughout my life. They are Alice In Chains, Candlebox, Creed, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, Rush and Shinedown. I had expected Tesla and Queensrÿche to be represented twice, but they both have so many great songs from each album, it was hard to select one at times.

Act I

3. The 1970’s – The Record Era

I have been wandering this spinning rock for over five decades now. Conveniently for retrospective purposes, I arrived at the end of the 1960’s, so I can organize my playlists and analysis by decade. Generally, each decade is defined by the methods most often used to collect and listen to music. From record albums to cassettes, to Compact Discs (CDs), to digital files (mostly MP3), to digital streaming services and apps, the song remains the same. Specifically, I landed on this planet the very same day that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 made history mere hours after Johnnie Crow was born in a hospital in Hollis, Queens. The Eagle had landed after a long journey, and the Crow had begun a journey of his own. Most of my musical memories of the 1970’s revolve around listening to old records with my Mom or my Dad in our suburban Long Island basement, and listening to 45’s with my little sister in her bedroom, on a cheap yellow plastic record player.

4. 1969 – Space Oddity – David Bowie

It is only fitting for a moon baby to start with an astronaut song. I don’t specifically remember humming along to this in my crib in Flushing, New York, as the Miracle Mets were making their historic World Series run down the street at Shea Stadium. Actually, not many Americans remember this first track from all-time great David Bowie from when he first released it. It did not become a hit in the United States until 1973, when we had moved to the house in Deer Park in the middle of Long Island that my parents kept for 45 years. It probably did not fully reach my consciousness until I started listening to the local rock station, 102.3 WBAB Babylon, on my clock radio. Bowie was a staple on that station, and legendary morning DJ Bob Buchmann would often wake me up with its sweet sounds throughout the 80’s.

The song itself is haunting, mysterious and somewhat disturbing. I often thought about becoming an astronaut working for NASA. The lyrics to this track were a serious counterweight to the wonder of space. The fear, loss, desperation and ultimate acceptance of a lonely fate are all explored within the confines of a musical tour de force. The genius of David Bowie continues to be appreciated more as time passes on, and this song also grows in stature.

My favorite lyric:

“Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do”

This line works on many levels. The planet literally looks blue, yet it is also sad from time to time, as it struggles to survive humanity. There is nothing that the astronaut can do, since there is nothing to do out in space, yet there is also nothing he can do for anyone on Earth.

Space Oddity

Written by David Bowie

Performed by David Bowie

Ground Control to Major Tom

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on

(Ten) Ground Control (Nine) to Major Tom (Eight, seven)

(Six) Commencing (Five) countdown, engines on

(Four, three, two)

Check ignition (One) and may God’s love (Lift off) be with you

This is Ground Control to Major Tom

You’ve really made the grade

And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear

Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is Major Tom to Ground Control

I’m stepping through the door

And I’m floating in a most peculiar way

And the stars look very different today

For here am I sitting in my tin can

Far above the world

Planet Earth is blue

And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past one hundred thousand miles

I’m feeling very still

And I think my spaceship knows which way to go

Tell my wife I love her very much

She knows

Ground Control to Major Tom

Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you-

-Here am I floating ’round my tin can

Far above the moon

Planet Earth is blue

And there’s nothing I can do

5. 1969 – Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin

Once again, I was not rocking the cradle to Led Zeppelin. They were way too screamy for my Mom, and far too sexual and occultish for my Dad. I got into Led Zeppelin from WBAB radio, particularly during their “Get The Led Out” blocks. I began collecting the record albums, thanks to Columbia House record club’s crazy 8 albums for a penny promotions. Led Zeppelin I and II both came out in 1969. I prefer “II“ by a small margin over the debut, as it is a more
representative collection of the band that they grew to be. Led Zeppelin is notorious for ripping off American Blues artists without crediting them. Parts of the song were adapted from Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love”, recorded by Muddy Waters in 1962. A lawsuit in 1985 was settled with a payment to Dixon and credit on subsequent releases.

”Whole Lotta Love“ is perhaps the most Zeppelin song of all, and it opened the doorway that allowed Heavy Metal to exist. The combination of riffs, effects, vocal gymnastics, wild man drumming and intricate bass all combine with the primal urges of love and sex to create a song that moves you at every level. I don’t remember when headphones were invented. I know it was long before “beats”, but I am pretty sure that they were invented to listen to Led Zeppelin II, and particularly “Whole Lotta Love”.

I never got to see Led Zeppelin perform, obviously, since they broke up when drummer John Bonham died in 1980 at the age of 32 after drinking way too much the day before. I did get to take a road trip up to Washington D.C. with a college roommate to see Page / Plant, which was incredible.

My favorite lyric:

“Way down inside, woman, you need love”

Admittedly, this is not the most eloquent lyric ever written. It is the delivery and recording of it that makes it the highlight. The buildup, the reverse echo, just powerful.

Whole Lotta Love

Written by Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones & Willie Dixon

Performed by Led Zeppelin

You need coolin’, baby, I’m not foolin’

I’m going to send you back to schoolin’

Way down inside, honey, you need it

I’m goin’ to give you my love

I’m goin’ to give you my love, oh

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

You’ve been learnin’, baby, I’ve been yearnin’

All them good times, baby, baby, I’ve been learnin’

Way, way down inside, honey, you need it

I’m gonna give you my love, ah

I’m goin’ to give you my love, ah, oh

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

You’ve been coolin’, baby, I’ve been droolin’

All the good times, baby, I’ve been misusin’

Way, way down inside, I’m goin’ to give you my love

I’m goin’ to give you every inch of my love

Goin’ to give you my love, hey, alright, yes, sir

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Want a whole lotta love

Way down inside, woman, you need love

Shake for me, girl, I want to be your back door man

Hey! Oh! Hey! Oh! Hey! Oh!

Keep it coolin’, baby

Keep it coolin’, baby

Keep it coolin’, baby

Keep it coolin’, baby

Keep it coolin’, baby

6. 1970 – Paranoid – Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is widely acknowledged for creating the genre of Heavy Metal. “Paranoid” is probably the most succinct example. Driving beat, chugging riff, impassioned vocals. When it came out, I was shaking my cradle, exercising my vocal cords, trying to understand what Ozzy Osbourne (and anybody else) was saying. Later on, I would learn a lot more about lyrics and song titles.

It could be argued that the lyrics of the song describe someone who is paranoid, but I did not make that connection as a kid. I guess I never really knew what the song was called. My Mom would never have let be bring an album called “Black Sabbath” into the house, so I had only heard this song on the radio. I knew that it was Sabbath, and I knew it kicked ass, but I didn’t know what it was called. At the Junior High School talent show, we had a rock band who played it, which was clearly the highlight of the show. When a friend who hadn’t seen the performance asked me if they had played “Paranoid”, I said “No. They played a Black Sabbath song.” See, I had thought that “Destroyer” by The Kinks was called “Paranoid”, since they actually said the word paranoia in the chorus. How embarrassing, when another friend explained that the song was indeed called “Paranoid”.

The lyrics themselves are very personal to me. I gravitated to rock music for the sound and the messages. Unfortunately, a lot of these lines have directly applied to me throughout my life.

My favorite lyric:

“I need someone to show me the things in life that I can’t find.
I can’t see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind.”

I have often wondered if I was creating my own prison by choice, or if I just wasn’t seeing what everyone else appeared to be seeing. I want to be happy and satisfied, so I don’t think I intentionally avoid those things. I actually believe that I think about and see *more* things than most people do, and see how bad things can go, way before they actually do. My struggle is to figure out if there is a way to avoid things going down the dark path. In most cases, I have no influence over events, so the battle becomes identifying which things I can influence. Writing this, it is starting to sound like a version of the serenity prayer. Serenity is definitely the other side of the paranoia coin.

Paranoid

Written by Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi & Ozzy Osbourne

Performed by Black Sabbath

Finished with my woman ’cause she couldn’t help me with my mind

People think I’m insane because I am frowning all the time

All day long, I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy

Think I’ll lose my mind if I don’t find something to pacify

Can you help me occupy my brain?

Whoa, yeah

I need someone to show me the things in life that I can’t find

I can’t see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind

Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry

Happiness, I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal

And so, as you hear these words telling you now of my state

I tell you to enjoy life, I wish I could, but it’s too late

7. 1970 – Cracklin’ Rosie – Neil Diamond

Some of the best memories I have of my early childhood with my Dad are listening to records in our basement. I don’t remember what we were doing down there, but I remember listening to albums and talking about them. I am sure that we listened to multiple artists, but other than The Beatles, the only thing I remember listening to is Neil Diamond. Neil had the coolest voice, attitude for days, and mysterious music.

I know that I used to ask my Dad what the heck he was talking about, and I know that he told me, but I can’t really say that those answers stuck with me. For example, I still don’t know what a “store-bought woman” is, but he probably made some joke about my Mom loving to go shopping at the mall, which I suppose makes as much sense as anything else. I definitely recall giving my Dad a hard time whenever a song had nonsense lyrics, such as “Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba…”. I used to ask my Dad why they didn’t have enough words invented when he was a kid. There were all of these “Be bop a lula” and “Ram a lam a ding dong” and “Dip de dip de dip” and “Shimmy shimmy koko bop” and “Sha la la la la” songs, the only explanation my young brain could offer was a lack of real words to choose from.

Neil Diamond released a landmark live album in 1972 called “Hot August Night”, an album so great, he has released 3 sequels. One of those was recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August 2008. I was able to bring my Dad to one of these shows. We got to take the train in from Long Island, grab a steak downtown, and walk into the Garden, an old arena, but a very special one. We were not sure how he would sound after so many years, but he was on point, the production was incredible, and it was a memorable (and hot) August night.

My favorite lyric:

“We got all night to set the world right”

This is such a succinct, uplifting message, full of hope, in the middle of a song with loads of attitude.

Cracklin’ Rosie

Written by Neil Diamond

Performed by Neil Diamond

Aw, Cracklin’ Rosie, get on board

We’re gonna ride

Till there ain’t no more to go

Taking it slow

And Lord, don’t you know

We’ll have me a time with a poor man’s lady

Hitchin’ on a twilight train

Ain’t nothing here that I care to take along

Maybe a song

To sing when I want

No need to say please to no man

For a happy tune

Oh, I love my Rosie child

You got the way to make me happy

You and me we go in style

Cracklin’ Rose

You’re a store-bought woman

But you make me sing like a guitar hummin’

So hang on to me, girl

Our song keeps runnin’ on

Play it now, play it now

Play it now, my baby

Cracklin’ Rosie, make me a smile

Girl, if it lasts for an hour, that’s all right

We got all night to set the world right

Find us a dream that don’t ask no questions

Yeah

Oh, I love my Rosie child

You got the way to make me happy

You and me we go in style

Cracklin’ Rose

You’re a store-bought woman

But you make me sing like a guitar hummin’

So hang on to me, girl

Our song keeps runnin’ on

Play it now, play it now

Play it now, my baby

Cracklin’ Rosie, make me a smile

Girl, if it lasts for an hour, that’s all right

We got all night

To set the world right

Find us a dream that don’t ask no questions

Ba ba ba ba ba ……

8. 1971 – Imagine – John Lennon

The first murder that I remember is that of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. I was 11 years old, and it may be the first death that I was aware of. Obviously, I did not know Lennon personally, but I certainly knew who he was. He had made a comeback that year with his album “Double Fantasy”, released just weeks before, and I had been listening to that. I had also gotten into 2 greatest hits albums from The Beatles, the red one and the blue one (did you have them?). I loved everything he had done with and without The Beatles, and preferred his songs to McCartney’s by a large margin. I was still young enough to believe in his ideals and messages of hope and peace.

“Imagine” has a beautiful melody, and I am sure that is what had grabbed me in my younger years. Later, I could analyze the lyrics, which seemed to make perfect common sense to me. I recall that Howard Hesseman’s character “Johnny Fever” (my favorite of course) on “WKRP in Cincinnati” had used this song in a classic episode, in which protesters against rock and roll wanted the station to stop playing songs that it considered “offensive”. Fever used “Imagine” to argue the point that it was not an anti-religious song that declared that heaven did not exist, but instead was a challenge to imagine if certain things were different, how people would react to and treat each other.

I was raised as a Catholic, a religion that does not promote critical thinking or questioning of any kind. It is one of those successful religions that lays out a specific dogma, and excludes the possibility that any other religion has validity. That never sat well with me, as all religions are created by man, or at the very least interpreted by man, without proof of evidence. I suppose in that way, “Imagine” did set me on a path that most religions fear, the path of self discovery and open questioning. I ended up practicing Unitarian Universalism for a long while, where any source of enlightenment and inspiration are welcome. I may have even heard this song performed during a service or two.

My favorite lyric:

“You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one“

This is the most enduring and inspiring line, and one I latched onto as a youngster, believing that even though Lennon had been taken from us far too soon (he was only 4 years older than my Dad, his son Julian 6 years older than me), he left all of us a path to follow.

Imagine

Written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Performed by John Lennon

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us, only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

I

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will live as one

9. 1971 – Behind Blue Eyes – The Who

First of all, I don’t have blue eyes, I have brown eyes. It took me a while to latch onto this song, as I was taking it quite literally. I came to realize that “behind blue eyes” was just a metaphor for someone who appeared to be happy on the outside, but was struggling within. I have always had every reason to be happy in general, but I have spent a lot of my life unhappy. I often think too much, and over analyze. All my life have I looked away… to the future, to the horizon. Never my mind on where I was. What I was doing. Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things.

My Mom always told me “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Roger Daltrey sings Pete Townshend’s words “No one bites back as hard on their anger, none of my pain and woe can show through.” I have tended to stay quiet and keep things to myself, feeling that nobody wants to hear about your problems, they are too busy hiding their own. Rather than stir things up, or cause controversy, I tend to keep things inside, “like a man”, until they explode in words of anger – spoke or emailed or posted socially. Like the protagonist in the song, I constantly try to regulate myself, by letting off a little steam, usually through attempted humor, before things get ugly.

In college, The Who was one of our go-to bands, when we were finished playing poker and pre-gaming, and were about to head out to a party. We would stand on the furniture and scream along to our favorite songs. One night, one of my roommates personified another line in the song, a secret nod we would give each other anytime we listened after that. “And if I swallow anything evil, put your finger down my throat.” That’s what true friends are for!

Recently, I was covering a rock radio convention in Las Vegas, as a photographer. Some of us were coming down the elevator at the Hard Rock Hotel, when in stepped none other than Pete Townshend. He asked what we were doing there, we told him it was a rock radio convention, and he smiled and said “In that case, I should be there!” So true – rock radio would not be what it was without The Who.

My favorite lyric:

“When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool”

This is the embodiment of the eternal internal struggle to maintain mental health. Don’t get too low, and don’t get too high. Let other people help you regulate and support you, in good times and bad. For some people, this is a weekly battle, a daily battle, even a minute-to-minute battle. Remember that when you engage with a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or even a stranger. You never know what somebody is going through in that moment.

Behind Blue Eyes

Written by Pete Townshend

Performed by The Who

No one knows what it’s like

To be the bad man, to be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

No one knows what it’s like

To be hated, to be fated

To telling only lies

But my dreams, they aren’t as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance that’s never free

No one knows what it’s like

To feel these feelings like I do

And I blame you

No one bites back as hard

On their anger, none of my pain and woe

Can show through

But my dreams, they aren’t as empty

As my conscience seems to be

I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance that’s never free

When my fist clenches, crack it open

Before I use it and lose my cool

When I smile, tell me some bad news

Before I laugh and act like a fool

And if I swallow anything evil

Put your finger down my throat

And if I shiver, please give me a blanket

Keep me warm, let me wear your coat

No one knows what it’s like

To be the bad man, to be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

10. 1972 – American Pie – Don McLean

I do remember loving this song as a young kid. Most of it is very upbeat and fun to sing along to. I had no idea what it was about until later on. “Bye-bye, Miss American Pie” – fun to sing, still no idea what it means, especially when the movies came out, which definitely had their own meaning. “Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry” – we had a green Chevy Nova forever, so I knew what half of that line meant. “But February made me shiver, with every paper I’d deliver. Bad news on the doorstep” – I had a paper route through junior high and high school, waking at 6 AM, rain or shine, snow or sun, to deliver the New York Daily News based in NYC. Newsday is the Long Island paper, which was delivered in the afternoon, totally interfering with the day, so I had no interest in delivering that. I probably sang “Bad news on the doorstep” every time The Daily News had a negative headline.

Eventually, I figured out what some of the other lyrics meant. The verses refer to songs from The Beatles, The Stones, The Byrds, The Who, David Bowie and Bob Dylan. Clearly a lot of this is an homage to those classic bands. The core theme of the song is “The day the music died.” My Dad told me that this referred to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, while they were on tour together on February 3, 1959. That tragic event always brings me to the plane crash that killed members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and also the plane crash that killed Randy Rhoads. All of which I try not to think about anytime that I fly.

Every year while I was in college at the University of Virginia, almost the entire school headed down to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the week after finals end. We rented big houses on the beach, and slept on beds, couches, kitchen floors, lounge chairs – whatever was available. I was in full mix-tape mode all throughout college, making the party cassette mixes that we played on poker nights or during our massive BYOB daiquiri parties (BYOB = Bring Your Own Blender – we would burn out several each time). I remember making a mix-tape for Myrtle Beach, which included “American Pie”. I recall large groups of us sitting by the beach, drinking until the sun came up, singing this song en masse.

This epic song became one of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s best parodies. “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” was a shaky reboot, and ripe for spoofing. “The Saga Begins” nailed it perfectly, so perfectly that I sing some of Al’s lyrics, even when listening to the original. I always try to go to a birthday concert, some time around my actual birthday. Recently, “Weird Al” performed in San Diego, and I finally got to see him in person. He went through all of his classics, complete with multiple costume changes. The encore was “The Saga Begins”, played in its entirety, complete with droids and stormtroopers. Epic!

My favorite lyric:

“Do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock ‘n roll
Can music save your mortal soul?”

As a recovering Catholic, I have spent a lot of time pondering these types of questions. As a heavy metal fan, I have felt ostracized and criticized by organized religion. Personally, I have found more joy, community, understanding and inspiration from rock and roll than from religion. A person wrote “The Bible”. A person wrote “Crazy Train”. Why should one be universally accepted as gospel and one be demonized as madness? Maybe it’s not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.

American Pie

Written by Don McLean

Performed by Don McLean

A long, long time ago

I can still remember

How that music used to make me smile

And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And maybe they’d be happy for a while

But February made me shiver

With every paper I’d deliver

Bad news on the doorstep

I couldn’t take one more step

I can’t remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

But something touched me deep inside

The day the music died

So bye-bye, Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

And them good old boys were drinkin’ whiskey ‘n rye

Singin’, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die.”

Did you write the book of love

And do you have faith in God above

If the Bible tells you so?

Now do you believe in rock ‘n roll

Can music save your mortal soul?

And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him

‘Cause I saw you dancin’ in the gym

You both kicked off your shoes

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues

I was a lonely teenage broncin’ buck

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck

But I knew I was out of luck

The day the music died

I started singing

“Bye-bye, Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singin’, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die.”

Now for ten years we’ve been on our own

And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone

But that’s not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen

In a coat he borrowed from James Dean

And a voice that came from you and me

Oh, and while the king was looking down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjourned

No verdict was returned

And while Lennon read a book on Marx

The quartet practiced in the park

And we sang dirges in the dark

The day the music died

We were singing

“Bye-bye, Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singin’, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die.”

Helter skelter in a summer swelter

The birds flew off with a fallout shelter

Eight miles high and falling fast

It landed foul on the grass

The players tried for a forward pass

With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the half-time air was sweet perfume

While the sergeants played a marching tune

We all got up to dance

Oh, but we never got the chance!

‘Cause the players tried to take the field

The marching band refused to yield

Do you recall what was revealed

The day the music died?

We started singin’

“Bye-bye, Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singin’, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die.”

Oh, and there we were all in one place

A generation lost in space

With no time left to start again

So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick!

Jack Flash sat on a candlestick, ’cause

Fire is the devil’s only friend

Oh, and as I watched him on the stage

My hands were clenched in fists of rage

No angel born in hell

Could break that Satan’s spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night

To light the sacrificial rite

I saw Satan laughing with delight

The day the music died

We were singing

“Bye-bye Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die…”

I met a girl who sang the blues

And I asked her for some happy news

But she just smiled and turned away

I went down to the sacred store

Where I’d heard the music years before

But the man there said the music wouldn’t play

And in the streets, the children screamed

The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed

But not a word was spoken

The church bells all were broken

And the three men I admire most

The father, son, and the holy ghost

They caught the last train for the coast

The day the music died

And they were singing

“Bye-bye Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

And them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die”

“This’ll be the day that I die”

They were singing

“Bye-bye Miss American Pie”

Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry

Them good old boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye

Singing, “This’ll be the day that I die…”

11. 1972 – Rocket Man (I Think  It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time) – Elton John

Everybody loves Elton John, right? My first memory of Elton is from looking at the record collection that my Uncle had in my grandparents’ house in New Jersey. I was fascinated by the artwork on the fold out record covers of “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” and “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”. My uncle let me borrow them to play at home in the basement. I soon found out that my parents had other Elton John records. We all loved his songs, even my sister. When he appeared on “The Muppet Show”, singing “Crocodile Rock” with muppets, that created another great lasting family memory.

“Rocket Man” is an obvious choice for me, since it is so similar to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and I was born the day we landed on the moon, allegedly. Like Bowie’s classic, this one is haunting musically and lyrically, exploring the isolation and desperation of an astronaut’s journey. I have always been fascinated by the space program and exploration, but totally freaked out by the thought of being stuck inside a tiny vehicle that I cannot easily exit. Elton’s brilliance on the piano exquisitely matches the poetry of his lifelong writing partner Bernie Taupin, creating a song that instantly captures your attention and captivates.

This song made a huge comeback for me when it was used in the dramatic final scene of the season 3 finale of the TV show “Californication”, starring David Duchovny, AKA Fox Mulder of “X-Files” fame. This scene is the culmination of a 3 season story arc which finds Hank Moody literally at rock bottom. The version used is a remix, using acoustic guitar in place of piano. This is one of the most hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking scenes ever produced. “Californication” is one of my all time favorites, and was a major inspiration that led me to move to San Diego.

My favorite lyric:

“I think it’s gonna be a long, long time.
I’m not the man they think I am at home.”

These words perfectly capture the tone of the exquisitely written, acted and filmed series. It also is a striking way to capture the emotions of the astronaut in the song.

Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time)

Written by Elton John & Bernie Taupin

Performed by Elton John

She packed my bags last night, pre-flight

Zero hour: 9:00 a.m

And I’m gonna be high as a kite by then

I miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife

It’s lonely out in space

On such a timeless flight

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find

I’m not the man they think I am at home

Oh no, no, no

I’m a rocket man

Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find

I’m not the man they think I am at home

Oh no, no, no

I’m a rocket man

Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids

In fact, it’s cold as hell

And there’s no one there to raise them if you did

And all this science I don’t understand

It’s just my job five days a week

A rocket man

A rocket man

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find

I’m not the man they think I am at home

Oh no, no, no

I’m a rocket man

Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find

I’m not the man they think I am at home

Oh no, no, no

I’m a rocket man

Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time

12. 1973 – Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Free Bird” is an interesting song, in that it only has 2 verses, yet it is over 9 minutes long. A lot of that is due to one of the greatest guitar solo outros ever created. The music in this song is beautiful and haunting throughout – piano, acoustic guitar, slide guitar and electric guitar. Singer Ronnie Van Zant always sang with such precision that you could instantly feel the emotions he was conveying.

This song is so powerful and beautiful that even my Mom likes it. She has almost never liked anything I listen to, but I clearly recall listening to this in the car with her, and she actually enjoyed it, did not change the station, and commented afterwards. In fact, Lynyrd Skynyrd would also provide our Mommy-Son song, which we danced to at my wedding, their classic ballad “Simple Man”. I wanted to hear that entire song, so halfway through I had the DJ ask all the Moms and Sons to join us on the dance floor. That was a special moment.

Back to “Free Bird”, it always inspired me, although as a kid you don’t have much freedom to travel and make your own way. I suppose it was always embedded in my brain, and probably helped me decide to go away for college. My “safety school” was a New York state school 5 hours from Long Island. I have lived in 5 states, worked in 20 states, and visited 37 states. I have been to Aruba, Belgium, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain, as well as several Caribbean Islands. I absolutely cannot wait to start traveling on again, ‘cause there’s still too many places I’ve got to see.

I was fortunate to be able to photograph Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky. LTL is perhaps my most favorite festival of all. We have wonderful friends who open their house to us every year. Fans travel from all over the country to this central location, which hosts the premier fall festival, so the odds are good that most of my photo pit pals (photographriends) and festival family will be in attendance.

My favorite lyric:

“For I must be traveling on, now
‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see”

As I just mentioned, I love to travel. I have traveled for work, for music, for vacation and for tradition. Starting at a very young age, we flew to South Carolina every Easter and every summer to visit my Grandparents. I went away to school, and even from there, made road trips for concerts, parties, and football bowl games. No matter where I was living, I have gone home to New York for Christmas almost every year of my life. I have not gone anywhere since Valentine’s Day of 2020. I have not even left San Diego County in almost a year. This is by far the longest I have ever gone without exploring, and it is making me restless and uncomfortable.

Free Bird

Written by Allen Collins & Ronnie Van Zant

Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd

If I leave here tomorrow

Would you still remember me?

For I must be traveling on, now

‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see

But if I stay here with you, girl

Things just couldn’t be the same

‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now

And this bird you cannot change

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

And the bird you cannot change

And this bird you cannot change

Lord knows, I can’t change

Bye, bye, baby, it’s been a sweet love, yeah yeah

Though this feeling I can’t change

But please don’t take it so badly

‘Cause Lord knows I’m to blame

But, if I stay here with you, girl

Things just couldn’t be the same

‘Cause I’m as free as a bird now

And this bird you’ll never change

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

And the bird you cannot change

And this bird you cannot change

Lord knows, I can’t change

Lord help me, I can’t change

Lord, I can’t change

Won’t you fly high, free bird, yeah

13. 1973 – Dream On – Aerosmith

Aerosmith was the go-to band on classic rock stations in the Northeast. By the time I had really gotten into them, they were in the middle of their “Behind The Music” meltdown, so I figured that they were just one of those old bands it would have been nice to see. Run-D.M.C. made them relevant again, with a killer remake of “Walk This Way”. Then they got their act together in the late 80’s, and made a massive comeback, with “Permanent Vacation”, “Pump”, and “Get A Grip” delivering some of their greatest songs. The music videos from this era are legendary, many starring Steven Tyler’s daughter Liv Tyler and Alicia Silverstone.

With their new lease on life and hit after hit in their setlist, Aerosmith have become a touring machine. I would finally be able to see America’s greatest rock and roll band live in person. One time, they were playing an amphitheater show in Charlotte, North Carolina with Kid Rock. My wife was pregnant, and had told me that she was finished with lawn seats, and would only go to shows if we had seating. As we approached our seats for the show, she noticed that we were once again walking towards the lawn. She was getting upset, but I showed her that they did have small bleachers, just 3 rows of them, in the front of the lawn, and we would be dead center on the top row and able to see the stage perfectly. Halfway through the Aerosmith set, they had all left the stage. I asked her to turn around, and suddenly we were not on the edge of the lawn, we were front row center for a small stage which had been built on the lawn. We got to see 3 songs performed directly in front of us. That stands as one of my favorite concert experiences.

I was fortunate to be able to photograph Aerosmith in 2016 at the KAABOO Del Mar Festival in San Diego, California. I had a photo pass for every stage except the main stage, but was allowed to shoot the main stage from the crowd. I decided to find a vantage point on the railing which would allow me to shoot down the center aisle between the soundboard and the stage. I got my spot early and stayed there for Third Eye Blind and Lenny Kravitz. Since I was not in the pit, I did not have to get all of my shots in during the first 3 songs. By being patient, I was able to get some great shots of Tyler and Perry, and ultimately captured Steven Tyler sitting at the piano, playing and singing “Dream On”. This was the song that first broke them and it continues to be an iconic masterpiece.

My favorite lyric:

“Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay, yeah”

I have always believed that dreams were great, but you have to put in the work if you have any hope of achieving them. You have to manifest your own destiny through effort and will. If you look at the story behind almost every successful person, the sheer will power to succeed is the driving factor, despite talent level, lack of support or assistance from doubters. Dream on, but also act towards fulfilling that dream.

Dream On

Written by Steven Tyler

Performed by Aerosmith

Every time that I look in the mirror

All these lines on my face getting clearer

The past is gone

It went by like dusk to dawn

Isn’t that the way?

Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay, yeah

I know nobody knows

Where it comes and where it goes

I know it’s everybody’s sin

You got to lose to know how to win

Half my life’s in books’ written pages

Lived and learned from fools and from sages

You know it’s true

All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

Sing with me, it’s just for today

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

Sing with me, it’s just for today

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Dream on, dream on, dream on

Dream until your dreams come true

Dream on, dream on, dream on

Dream until your dreams come true

Dream on, dream on

Dream on, dream on

Dream on, dream on

Dream on

Aaaaaah!

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

Sing with me, it’s just for today

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing for the year

Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear

Sing with me, it’s just for today

Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

14. 1974 – Thank God I’m A Country Boy – John Denver

I also spent a lot of time in the basement with my Mom. She has always had her own taste in music. I think she may have tried to get my sister and I to listen to musicals and soundtracks, like “The Sound of Music”, “Doctor Zhivago” and Abba, which probably wasn’t a movie or play at the time, but certainly had that theatrical quality to it. The artist I most remember us singing along to while doing laundry, or watching her use the sewing machine, was John Denver. “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” was the most played track. We didn’t listen to a lot of country music – Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, John Denver – that’s about it. But we definitely had fun when we did, and it is a warm memory that I can always access.

My favorite lyric:

“So I fiddle when I can and I work when I should”

Curiously, this country classic has the same core message as the rock epic from the year before. A positive attitude combined with a solid work effort makes you a worthy human being. Maybe we are as different as some would like us to think. Maybe we are all Donny and Marie. Maybe we are all a little bit country, and a little bit rock and roll!

Thank God I’m A Country Boy

Written by John Martin Sommers

Performed by John Denver

Well, life on a farm is kinda laid back

Ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack

It’s early to rise, early in the sack

Thank God I’m a country boy

Well, a simple kind of life never did me no harm

A-raisin’ me a family and working on the farm

My days are all filled with an easy country charm

Thank God I’m a country boy

Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle

When the sun’s coming up, I got cakes on the griddle

And life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle

Thank God I’m a country boy

When the work’s all done and the sun’s setting low

I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow

The kids are asleep so I keep it kinda low

Thank God I’m a country boy

I’d play “Sally Goodin'” all day if I could

But the Lord and my wife wouldn’t take it very good

So I fiddle when I can and I work when I should

Thank God I’m a country boy

Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle

When the sun’s coming up, I got cakes on the griddle

And life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle

Thank God I’m a country boy

Whoo

Well, I wouldn’t trade my life for diamonds or jewels

I never was one of them money hungry fools

I’d rather have my fiddle and my farming tools

Thank God I’m a country boy

Yeah, city folk driving in a black limousine

A lot of sad people thinking that’s a-mighty keen

Well son, let me tell you now exactly what I mean

I thank God I’m a country boy

Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle

When the sun’s coming up, I got cakes on the griddle

And life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle

Thank God I’m a country boy

Well, my fiddle was my daddy’s till the day he died

And he took me by the hand, held me close to his side

Said, “Live a good life, play my fiddle with pride

Thank God you’re a country boy.”

My daddy taught me young how to hunt and how to whittle

He taught me how to work and play a tune on the fiddle

He taught me how to love and how to give just a little

And thank God I’m a country boy

Well, I got me a fine wife, I got me old fiddle

When the sun’s coming up, I got cakes on the griddle

Life ain’t nothing but a funny, funny riddle

Whoo, thank God I’m a country boy, yes!

15. 1974 – Bad Company – Bad Company

To be clear, this is the song “Bad Company”, as written and performed by the band Bad Company, from the album “Bad Company”, which was produced by Bad Company. Got it?   That always made us laugh. A lot of the songs from the 1970’s got new life in the late 80’s and early 90’s with the popularity of CD’s. Typically, to save money as a college student, I would buy greatest hits collections on CD. Bad Company’s “10 From 6” was one of out most played during poker nights.

I finally got to see the band live right before I moved away from Maryland, around 2010 at something called “Outlaw Jam”. It was out in Western Maryland, featuring Bad Company, Blue Oyster Cult, Candlebox and Black Stone Cherry. In keeping with the Outlaw vibe, they also had the cast of a new TV series about a biker gang in Northern California. Unfortunately, I had not yet realized that “Sons Of Anarchy” was one of the greatest TV dramas of all time, and I did not participate in that part of the event. Musically, it was a very special night.

One of the other reasons that this song is so important is that Five Finger Death Punch made it their own at their live shows. I have covered and photographed so many 5FDP shows over the past decade, and their heavy version of this classic, which they always dedicate to our Armed Forces, is always a highlight. YEAH!!

My favorite lyric:

“Rebel souls, deserters we are called”

This reminded me of “Star Wars”, which made me think that rebels were cool, and the good ones in a conflict, which also made the rebel flag seem cool. No, wait, “The Dukes of Hazzard” made the rebel flag seem cool, painted on the roof of the General Lee orange 1969 (great year!) Dodge Charger. Possibly, it was Daisy Duke and her shorts that made the whole show seem cool. In any event, Paul Rodgers delivers that line so smoothly, it makes this whole song sound cool.

Bad Company

Written by Paul Rodgers & Simon Kirke

Performed by Bad Company

Mmm

Company, always on the run

Destiny, is a rising sun

Oh, I was born six-gun in my hand

Behind a gun, I’ll make my final stand, hey

That’s why they call me

Bad company and I can’t deny

Bad company ’til the day I die

Oh, ’til the day I die

‘Til the day I die

Rebel souls, deserters we are called

Chose a gun and threw away the sun

Now these towns, they all know our name

Six-gun sound is our claim to fame

I can hear them say

Bad company and I won’t deny

Bad, bad company ’til the day I die

Ha, ha, oh yeah

‘Til the day I die, ooh

Oh

Hey, hey, hey

Bad company, I can’t deny

Bad company ’til the day I die

And I say it’s bad company

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Bad company ’til the day I die

Whoa yes

Said I’m young and I’m free

Oh, but I’m-a bad company

That’s the way I play, yeah

Dirty for dirty, heh

Oh, somebody double-crossed me

Double-cross for double-cross

Yeah, we’re bad company

For more chapters of My Life In Music:

My Life In Music, Part 1, 1975-1979

My Life In Music, Part 2, 1980-1984

My Life In Music, Part 2, 1985-1989

My Life In Music, Part 1, 1969 – 1974 first appeared on Game On Media.

What are New Year’s Resolutions? People are always analyzing their intentions, adjusting their behaviors, and attempting to improve their lives. Whenever a new year begins, we give ourselves permission to start over, to let go of our past failures to better ourselves. We wipe the slate, delete the logs, swab the decks, clear the clutter, and resolve to do things differently.

What do we need to keep our resolutions going?  We need inspiration. We need metaphors that help us wrap our heads around what we have resolved to do, and why. We need help stopping, starting, increasing, decreasing whatever it is that is most important to us.

My metaphorical musical inspiration this year is “learning to fly”. The dream of flight has always inspired ambition. The idea of learning is a necessary humbling of our ego – to admit that we have failed, and perhaps we don’t know why we fail, or how to succeed. Taking steps toward educating ourselves is an attempt to fly beyond our current limitations. Shinedown, in particular, has always inspired me, giving me the courage to start my own consulting business over 15 years ago, an endeavor which succeeded for a decade, until it was time to take on another opportunity.

Here are our Five Fave Inspirational New Year’s Resolution Songs.

#5 – Mr. Mister – Broken Wings

Baby, don’t understand
Why we can’t just hold on to each other’s hands?
This time might be the last if fear unless
I make it all too clear I need you so, ohh

Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Take these broken wings

Baby, I think tonight
We can take what was wrong and make it right
Baby, it’s all I know that you’re half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole, I need you so

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Take these broken wings
You’ve got to learn to fly, learn to live, love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Yeah, yeah
Let us in
Let us in

Baby, it’s all I know that you’re half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in
Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly, learn to live and love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up for us and let us in
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ooh

#4 – Pink Floyd – Learning To Fly

Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reel
A fatal attraction is holding me fast
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Can’t keep my eyes from the circling sky
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earthbound misfit, I

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladen, empty and turned to stone

A soul in tension that’s learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try

Can’t keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earth-bound misfit, I

Above the planet on a wing and a prayer
My grubby halo, a vapor trail in the empty air
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

There’s no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss

Can’t keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted
Just an earth-bound misfit, I

#3 – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Learning To Fly

Well, I started out down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down as I crossed the hill
And the town lit up, the world got still

I’m learning to fly but I ain’t got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

Well, the good old days may not return
And the rocks might melt and the sea may burn

I’m learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain’t got wings (Learning to fly)
Coming down (Learning to fly)
Is the hardest thing (Learning to fly)

Well, some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I’ve started out for God knows where
I guess I’ll know when I get there

I’m learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up (Learning to fly)
Must come down

I’m learning to fly (Learning to fly)
But I ain’t got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
I’m learning to fly (Learning to fly)
Around the clouds
But what goes up (Learning to fly)
Must come down
I’m learning to fly (Learning to fly, learning to fly)
I’m learning to fly (Learning to fly, learning to fly)
(Learning to fly, learning to fly)

#2 – Foo Fighters – Learn To Fly

Run and tell all of the angels
This could take all night
Think I need a devil to help me get things right
Hook me up a new revolution
‘Cause this one is a lie
We sat around laughing and watched the last one die

Now I’m looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I’m looking for a complication
Looking cause I’m tired of lying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high

I think I’m done nursing the patience
It can wait one night
I’d give it all away if you give me one last try
We’ll live happily ever trapped if you just save my life
Run and tell the angels that everything’s alright

Now I’m looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I’m looking for a complication
Looking cause I’m tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high
Make my way back home when I learn to…

Fly along with me, I can’t quite make it alone
Try to make this life my own
Fly along with me, I can’t quite make it alone
Try to make this life my own

I’m looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I’m looking for a complication
Looking cause I’m tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to
I’m looking to the sky to save me
Looking for a sign of life
Looking for something to help me burn out bright
I’m looking for a complication
Looking cause I’m tired of trying
Make my way back home when I learn to fly high
Make my way back home when I learn to fly…
Make my way back home when I learn to…

#1 – Shinedown – Fly From The Inside

Here’s the weight of the world on my shoulders
Here’s the weight of the world on my shoulders
On my shoulders

All alone I pierce the chain
And on and on the sting remains
And dying eyes consume me now
The voice inside, screams out loud

I am focused on what I am after
The key to the next open chapter

‘Cause I found a way
To steal the sun from the sky
Long live that day
That I decided to fly from the inside

Every day a new deception
Pick your scene and take direction
And on and on I search to connect
But I don’t wear a mask and I have no regrets

I am focused on what I am after
The key to the next open chapter

‘Cause I found a way
To steal the sun from the sky
Long live that day
That I decided to fly from the inside

I can’t escape the pain, I can’t control the rage
Sometimes I think that I’m gonna go insane
I’m not against what’s right, I’m not for what’s wrong
I’m just making my way and I’m gone

Here’s the weight of the world on my shoulders

‘Cause I found a way
To steal the sun from the sky
Long live that day
That I decided to fly from the inside

That I decided to fly from the inside
That I decided to fly from the inside

Five Fave: Inspirational New Year’s Resolution Songs first appeared on Game On Media.

Towards the end of every decade, a couple of artists emerge with something different, that leads to new trends for the following decade. In 1969, Led Zeppelin took the final step towards what became heavy metal, which Black Sabbath unleashed upon the 1970’s. In the late 1970’s, Van Halen took the world by storm, leading to a guitar explosion in the 1980’s, with one path towards glam metal and another towards thrash. Guns N’ Roses absorbed everything around them and broke it back down as the 80’s ended. This led to the grunge movement of the 1990’s, where the music and the image was more raw and natural. The 90’s were full of actual alternatives, and by the end, hip-hop was making its way into the mix. The 2000’s launched with rap influences found in the music of Linkin Park, Disturbed, Papa Roach and others. As the 2000’s evolved, bad-ass artist such as Shinedown and Halestorm made music personal, sharing the deepest, darkest parts of themselves, while still inspiring us. When the 2010’s wound down, and sharing had become a way of life, artists began looking outwards, writing about the world around them and hoping to bring about positive changes. Bands like Fire From The Gods and Fever 333 led the way to rocking out for social justice.

2020 has been different in many ways, and music has been a reflection of our shared reality. With a global pandemic, a massive social justice movement, and a heated political situation as background, many artists stood up tall to address everything that was going on all around us. There seem to have been more standalone singles recorded and released this year than any other. Some were cover songs, some were re-imagined, and some were written in direct response to the times. Bon Jovi even went so far as to hold the release of their album (mainly due to the cancellation of their summer tour), and recorded 2 new songs – one about the pandemic, “Do What You Can”, and one about racial injustice, “American Reckoning”.

The first trend to hit was a response to the year’s first crisis. As it quickly became apparent that our doctors, nurses and other essential frontline workers were being impacted the most, bands offered emotional and financial support. Nonpoint re-imagined their pro-soldier song “Frontlines” into a pro-healthcare worker anthem “Remember Me (A Frontlines Tribute)”. Shinedown polished off an unreleased track, “Atlas Falls”, and used it to raise money for Direct Relief, who provides personal protective equipment. Bring Me The Horizon unleashed the song of the year, “Parasite Eve”, perfectly capturing the anxiety and fear that continues to grip us all. Halestorm supported #RoadieStrong, an effort to support suddenly out of work concert crew.

The next gut punch to our collective consciousness was the deliberate murder of George Floyd, which sparked the Black Lives Matter movement to achieve worldwide support. FEVER 333 released “SUPREMACY” in their continuing efforts to inspire Community, Charity, and Change. Robb Flynn and Machine Head released “Stop The Bleeding”, and enlisted Jesse Leach from Killswitch Engage to join him. Black Veil Brides recorded a Bruce Springsteen song from the 1990’s, “American Skin (41 Shots)”.

Everyone expected a fierce political battle as the American Presidency was up for grabs, with the current occupant being our most polarizing figure ever, but his strategy of ignoring and minimizing both the pandemic and racial justice poured fuel on a country quite literally on fire for most of the year. Lamb Of God released an album chock full of sociopolitical commentary. They enlisted Jamey Jasta and Chuck Billy to lend their voices. Tom Morello, Shea Diamond & Dan Reynolds combined on “Stand Up”. Amy Lee and Evanescence released the single “Use My Voice”, accompanied by Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel, violinist Lindsey Stirling, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale and The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen. The band used the song to publicize HeadCount, which encouraged voter registration. System Of A Down responded to the attacks on Artsakh and Armenia with their first new song in 15 years, “Protect The Land”.

In addition to the trends of releasing singles, and supporting social justice causes, the other thing that should be evident by now is the increased level of collaboration between artists. The hip-hop industry has long used guest vocals as a way to enhance each other’s status, and introduce new artists to their audience. The rock world finally seems to be catching on. Hyro The Hero tapped Hellyeah’s Chad Gray on this week’s “Fight”, capping off a year that saw many interesting combinations. This was preceded by Hollywood Undead featuring Papa Roach & Ice Nine Kills on “Heart of a Champion”. They also have Hyro The Hero and Tech N9ne on new tracks. Corey Taylor also tapped Tech N9ne on his solo debut track “CMFT Must Be Stopped”. Islander added AJ Channer of Fire From The Gods on “Freedom”. I Prevail added Joyner Lucas to “DOA”. Breaking Benjamin enlisted Lacey Sturm on a new version of “Dear Agony”. Sixx: A.M. returned in 2020 to headline the opioid crisis Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation benefit single “Maybe It’s Time”, with an all-star cast that includes Corey Taylor, Joe Elliott, Brantley Gilbert, Ivan Moody, Slash, AWOLNATION and Tommy Vext. The Struts enlisted Joe Elliot and Phil Collen of Def Leppard on “I Hate How Much I Want You”. Even Ozzy Osbourne featured Post Malone and Elton John on 2 of his best tracks in decades, “It’s a Raid” and “Ordinary Man”.

If these trends hold true, we can look forward to an exciting decade of rock music, as worlds collide, sounds expand and artists work together to not only make great music, but to leave a positive impact on the world. When concerts and festivals resume, we can only hope that we get to experience some of these musical mashups in person, live on stage.

Top New Trends For Rock Music In The 2020’s first appeared on Game On Media.

In the absence of new festivals to cover, GameOn.media is taking a look back at some of our favorite festivals, which we look forward to writing about and taking pictures of, just as soon as we are able to safely do so again.

Danny Wimmer Presents has become the leading producer of rock festivals in the United States, and one of their crown jewels is Monster Energy Aftershock Festival, which takes place in the fall at Discovery Park in Sacramento, the state capital of California. This event, held amongst the trees in the brilliant sunlight of the day, which fades into the cool crisp autumn evening, has become the biggest hard rock event west of the Mississippi. Fans travel from far and wide to catch up with old friends, check out the biggest legends in music, and discover the new artists which will become their favorites.

Aftershock Festival is perfectly curated to bring in the biggest acts of today, rare appearances by legends, and star-making sets by new bands. Headliners Slipknot, Tool, Blink-182, Korn, Rob Zombie, Disturbed, Shinedown, Limp Bizkit, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Avenged Sevenfold, System Of A Down, Deftones, and Slash always put on a killer performance. This fest also offers the chance for younger fans to experience legends such as Alice In Chains, Anthrax, Testament, Megadeth, Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails, Weezer, Tech N9ne and Ozzy Osbourne. You should always show up early, as you may get the chance to be introduced to rising stars like Nothing More, Volbeat, Avatar, Ghost, Fever 333, Starset, In This Moment, Badflower and Highly Suspect.

More than 200 artists have graced the stage of California’s largest rock festival, including:

Get your tickets and all info NOW for the 2021 edition, expanded to 4 days and featuring 2 sets from Metallica, as well as headline sets from My Chemical Romance and Limp Bizkit – https://aftershockfestival.com/

These are some of our favorite pictures, captured between 2013 and 2019:

Best of Aftershock Festival

149 photos

Festival Rewind – Aftershock Festival first appeared on Game On Media.

Six months into the 2020 global pandemic, and I have literally started dreaming about attending festivals, photographing concerts, and interviewing artists. Music festivals and live concerts have been postponed, rescheduled and canceled, sometimes all three. As the fall events have finally been eliminated, and the winter rock cruises have been pushed into May, I have no idea when I will be lucky enough to cover an actual concert again. In the meantime, GameOn.media presents Fantasy Festival Friday – a fictitious concert performed by 5 bands we wish we could watch live in person, at full volume, with all of our rock family in attendance.

On Fantasy Festival Friday #2, our hearts were as full as our voices were loud, as we sang along to the emotional hits of Shinedown, Nothing More, Highly Suspect, Badflower and Crobot.

Crobot kicked it off with their typical energetic performance. Brandon Yeagley is a force of nature with a great voice. Guitarist Chris Bishop has moves as funky as his grooves. Drummer Dan Ryan and bassist Eddie Collins shine, particularly on songs from their latest album, “Motherbrain”, including “Lowlife” and their current barn-burner “Gasoline”. Don’t pregame too long in the parking lot, you will want to catch this opening set.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Crobot

16 photos

Next up was the chaotic beauty of Badflower. Josh Katz captivates an audience like few can. Joey Morrow, Anthony Sonetti and Alex Espiritu weave in and out of quiet reflection and explosive noise, perfectly complementing Josh’s gut wrenching vocals. Badflower is going to be huge, now that they have broken through after a decade of putting in the work.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Badflower

16 photos

“Terrible” Johnny Stevens led Highly Suspect through an intense show. You never know quite what to expect from this band, but you know it will be entertaining. Brothers Rich Meyer on bass and Ryan Meyer on drums are as tight as can be. New addition Matt Kofos adds another guitar and keyboards to the mix, fleshing out their live sound. They continue to evolve their sound, with elements of hip-hop being added to their blues base.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Highly Suspect

16 photos

Nothing More went next, driving the crowd into a frenzy as they unveiled the sequel to their Scorpion device. This is something that must be seen to be believed. Jonny Hawkins, Mark Vollelunga, Daniel Oliver and Ben Anderson were a welcome sight back on the stage, after spending time working on new music. Nothing More is one of the most original, creative and dynamic acts to come along in decades.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Nothing More

16 photos

Finally, the main event arrived. Shinedown opened the highly anticipated show with their latest single, “Atlas Falls”, which is their record 16th #1 rock song, and has raised over $300,000 for Direct Relief. Shinedown has always been a band that wears its heart on its sleeve, and bares their soul through their songs. This is what connects Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Zach Myers and Eric Bass to each other, and to their adoring fans. Every show is a shared catharsis and spiritual release, empowering everyone present.

Fantasy Festival 2020 Shinedown

16 photos

Quarantine Dreams – Fantasy Festival Friday – Shinedown – Nothing More – Highly Suspect – Badflower – Crobot first appeared on Game On Media.

Sully Erna & Friends: Live From The Living Room Marathon Fundraiser to Benefit The Scars Foundation first appeared on Game On Media.

2020 has been a tumultuous year, to say the least. A worldwide pandemic, an historic human rights movement, and the death of legendary musicians has rocked the world unlike any year in recent memory. Live concerts, festivals and tours have come to a stop. Planned album release cycles have been put on hold. Several artists have released singles that help us connect and deal with the issues that 2020 has forced upon us. These are our Five Fave Rock Singles of 2020 So Far.

#5 – Shinedown – Atlas Falls

“We need music, and each other, now more than ever as we all are witnessing a global pandemic, unlike anything we’ve ever seen in many generations. Years ago during the writing and recording of the ‘Amaryllis’ album, there was a song that meant a great deal to us titled “Atlas Falls.” It has never been more clear to us than right now, that the time has come for the never before heard song, “Atlas Falls” to arrive. We’ve partnered with an incredible organization, Direct Relief, who are doing important work globally to help the medical community receive the protective equipment they need in order to save lives. As the world responds to this global pandemic, we want to offer a message of optimism and faith in humanity. We ask that you share this anthem of strength and show the world how you’re delivering optimism and awareness during this time.” – Shinedown

It won’t pull me down
The weight of impossible days
I’ll stand tall
I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

#4 – Black Veil Brides – American Skin (41 Shots)

“‘American Skin (41 Shots)’ is a song originally written and performed by Bruce Springsteen inspired by the police shooting and death of a young black man named Amadou Diallo in New York City in the late 90’s. Tragically the subject matter of this song is as relevant today as it’s ever been and so we wanted to share with you our own rendition of this song and urge you to donate to support the movement for justice and anti racist organizations. While obviously a song alone will not be an inflection point for societal change, we as artists wanted to share something in support of this incredibly important time in history and direct you to organizations who are at the forefront of effecting real change and fighting against the systemic oppression and racism that the black community and people of color face every single day.” – Black Veil Brides

If an officer stops you
Promise me you’ll always be polite
And that you’ll never ever run away
Promise Mama, you’ll keep your hands in sight

#3 – Machine Head (feat. Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage) – Stop The Bleeding

“I wrote and sang the lyrics on Wednesday May 27th, 2020, the day that the four officers who murdered George Floyd were (originally) not charged with anything. This day was engulfed in protests and riots across America. I drove into Oakland, past large demonstrations already happening and, in a fury, wrote down everything I was feeling after watching the horrific footage. Within hours, what I wanted to say, what I needed to say, had been recorded in the song.” – Robb Flynn, Machine Head

I stare and look out at the world in disgust
These men are dying over nothing just
Good men stand up and show your bravery
For a lost democracy
Our democracy

#2 – FEVER 333 – Supremacy

“The advantages we predict we will see if crossing demographics musically to proliferate a message that MUST find its way over the barriers of genre. Music and art have served as the catalyst for socially inclined movements for as long as we can remember, but for some reason, at a time where we are now granted the ability to see how deeply flawed our system is, we have slowed the charge for change. FEVER 333 has dedicated its entire platform to that change from its inception with its music, activism, even its own charity fund that sees a percentage of proceeds funneled from all profits the project receives. This is not a marketing method this is a tool for change. Please consider widening this message for the people with FEVER 333 by joining us in this effort.” – FEVER 333

When time turns into history
The story that we’ll tell will be
When we were marching for our lives
You stood on the other side

#1 – Nonpoint – Remember Me (A Frontlines Tribute)

“Essential by definition is something that is absolutely necessary; extremely important. A worker can be defined as person who does a specific kind of work. A person who achieves a specified thing as in, ‘They are working miracles.’ With this video our band is celebrating only one thing. We hope you will join us to honor, give thanks, cheer and revere those who are essential. Who work countless hours and months on end. Who put their lives at risk to keep you safe. Who leave their families just to help you feed yours. Who give their service to brave the frontlines of something mankind faces together. Who you may never meet, have the opportunity to say thank you to or whose name you may never know.” – Nonpoint

Will you remember me?
Can’t you remember why?
Even though you didn’t ask me to
I risk my life for you

Full Lyrics:

Shinedown – Atlas Falls

The push is always part of us
And gravity’s never a friend
Deciding on who we can trust
And finding our way to crescendo, to the unknown

We’ll never make it outside
Lest we unlock the past and release
The future that we’ve left to die
For too long we’ve taken placebos
But the unknown, is awakening

Don’t give up now, there’s already so much at stake
If Atlas falls, I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

No, we can never look back
Return to the salt and the sea
The quiet is only a trap
And I will not take the placebos
‘Cause the unknown is awakening
But I will crescendo

Don’t give up now, there’s already so much at stake
If Atlas falls, I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

It won’t pull me down
The weight of impossible days
I’ll stand tall
I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

Keep moving forward now
Keep your head above the clouds
I’m right with you, I will lift you
Just hold on

Don’t give up now, there’s already so much at stake
If Atlas falls, I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

It won’t pull me down (moving forward now)
The weight of impossible days (keep your head above the clouds)
I’ll stand tall (I’m right with you, I will lift you, just hold on)
I’ll rise up and carry us all the way
I’ll carry us all the way
(Keep moving forward now)

Black Veil Brides – American Skin (41 Shots)

41 shots
And we’ll take that ride
Across this bloody river
To the other side
41 shots
Cut through the night
You’re kneeling over his body in the vestibule
Praying for his life

Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
No secret, my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

41 shots
41 shots
41 shots
41 shots

41 shots
Mary gets her son ready for school
She says, “On these streets, Alex
You’ve got to understand the rules
If an officer stops you
Promise me you’ll always be polite
And that you’ll never ever run away
Promise Mama, you’ll keep your hands in sight”

Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
No secret, my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it in your heart? Is it in your eyes?
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)

41 shots
And we’ll take that ride
Across this bloody river
To the other side
41 shots
I got my boots caked in this mud
We’re baptized in these waters (we’re baptized in these waters)
And in each other’s blood (and in each other’s blood)

Is it a gun? Is it a knife?
Is it a wallet? This is your life
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
It ain’t no secret (It ain’t no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin

Machine Head (feat. Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage) – Stop The Bleeding

The endless scroll of human tragedy
I swipe along as the days go by
Another brother murdered out in the streets
I connect to the shame, we don’t know what it’s like

Born lucky ’cause the color of skin
America, your heart is caving in
Somehow I thought this was the land of the free
Where is our humanity?
Our humanity

Beating after beating
Throat choked under knee
Help me, please
Because I can’t breathe
Just stop the bleeding
Body after body
Piled up in the streets
Stand and fight
Not another life
Just stop the bleeding

And some will claim it’s a conspiracy
The fake news out to undermine
When riots fight off white supremacy
Never given a choice, so they’re drawing a line

I stare and look out at the world in disgust
These men are dying over nothing just
Good men stand up and show your bravery
For a lost democracy
Our democracy

Beating after beating
Throat choked under knee
Help me, please
Because I can’t breathe
Just stop the bleeding
Body after body
Piled up in the streets
Stand and fight
Not another life
Just stop the bleeding

Our strife
Our struggle
Fight through these open wounds
Our strife
Our struggle
Fight through these open wounds

Beating after beating
Throat choked under knee
Beating after beating
Throat choked under knee
Help me, please
Because I can’t breathe
Just stop the bleeding

Body after body
Piled up in the streets
Stand and fight
Not another life
Just stop the bleeding now
The bleeding now
The bleeding

Our strife (our strife)
Our struggle (our struggle)
Fight through these open wounds

FEVER 333 – Supremacy

Born into a world
Where we’re dying to be free
But we’re living underneath their supremacy
Yeah, yeah, yeah

See I was raised in the west
Where we stay stressed
Where they lie if they have to
To make an arrest
‘Cause we living in the shadow of the suburbs
While the price of this house is going upwards
I don’t understand how
The poor get robbed by the rich
And they calling it a handout
(Aw, hell nah)
And it’s evident
The neighborhood fucked up
Got us sending letters to the president

Tell me, can you hear us?
Through the sounds of the sirens
And you wonder why the streets getting violent
Another mother shed tears at the cemetery
Burying a first born child (damn)
I’ve been watching through the years
Got my nerves firing, waking up screaming
And we live in a cold sweat
Segregated, they consider us a known threat
So we hopeless, ayy

Born into a world
Where we’re dying to be free
(I just wanna be free, let’s go)
But we’re living underneath their supremacy
(Looking out from, we ain’t out from their supremacy)
One day you’ll see us
But until then we’ll all sit and wait
For the rapture
(Ain’t no more waiting)

They trying to relegate my DNA
Break it down into something easier to hate
They afraid of the outcome
‘Cause the race they call human
Keep evolving and they know they will get outrun
(That’s why, huh?)
Still behind on the times, yeah
Protest culture on strike like lightning (damn)
Losing hold and control, so we rising
Put the muzzle on, but we won’t stay silent

Born into a world
Where we’re dying to be free
(I just wanna be free, let’s go)
But we’re living underneath their supremacy
(Underneath, under their supremacy)
One day you’ll see us
But until then we’ll all sit and wait
For the rapture (What you waiting for?)
(Go and get it)

When time turns into history
The story that we’ll tell will be
When we were marching for our lives
You stood on the other side

When time turns into history
The story that we’ll tell will be
When we were marching for our lives
You stood on the other side

When time turns into history
The story that we’ll tell will be
When we were marching for our lives
You stood on the other side

Nonpoint – Remember Me (A Frontlines Tribute)

Will you remember me?
Can’t you remember why?
Even though you didn’t ask me to
I risk my life for you

You may never know my name
You might not even care
But when the world is burnin’ down
You’re gonna want me there
Gonna want me there

On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Knowin’ tomorrow, I may not be alive
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life

Fightin’ for your…

When you need protection
Without an agenda
Without an intention
When you’ve given up
You’ve lost your direction
I’ll be your glimmer of hope
I’ll be your north star
I’ll be your north star

On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Knowin’ tomorrow, I may not be alive
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life

On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Knowin’ tomorrow, I may not be alive
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life
On the frontlines
Fightin’ for your life

Fightin’ for your life

Five Fave: Rock Singles Of 2020 So Far first appeared on Game On Media.

Releases New Single “Atlas Falls” With A Powerful Message Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic PRESS HERE to Listen   Has Raised More Than $300,000 With Special “Atlas Falls” T-Shirt & Song Bundle Benefiting Non-Profit Humanitarian Aid Organization Direct Relief Don’t give up now / There’s already so much at stake / If Atlas falls, I’ll rise up and carry us all the way / It won’t pull me down / The weight of impossible days / I’ll stand tall / I’ll rise up and carry us all the way

Multi-platinum band Shinedown has released their new single “Atlas Falls,” sharing a message of optimism and faith in humanity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PRESS HERE to listen and watch the lyric video:     Until now, “Atlas Falls” has only been available as part of an exclusive T-shirt and song bundle for Shinedown‘s fundraising relief effort for humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief, one of the largest providers of humanitarian medical resources in the world whose mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergency situations by mobilizing and providing essential medical resources needed for their care.  The band has raised more than $300,000 and counting (including a $20,000 donation from Shinedown that kicked it off), for the organization which is currently working to provide personal protective equipment to frontline health workers responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and essential medications and supplies for patients. This includes 10,800 shipments to more than 1,800 health care facilities across all 50 U.S. states and 62 countries, totaling more than 3.4 million masks, 2.8 million gloves, 119,000 gowns and coveralls, 600 oxygen concentrators and ventilators, as well as 40.1 million doses of medications to treat a range of chronic and acute health conditions.  Shinedown is continuing its fundraising efforts – the “Atlas Falls” T-shirt is still available for purchase with 100% of proceeds going to Direct Relief – PRESS HERE to purchase.   Written eight years ago during the sessions for the Amaryllis album but never released, “Atlas Falls” was always special to the band and it became clear to them that it was the right time for the song’s message to arrive as the world was beginning to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing inspiration from the Greek myth of Titan Atlas who carries a celestial sphere on his shoulders, “Atlas Falls” is a reassuring anthem that if Atlas falls, we will lift each other up in times of strife.  Shinedown pulled the song from their vault for their partnership with Direct Relief, and now as the world continues to combat the coronavirus, the release of the song continues to remind us that when times get tough, we will hold each other up and we will stand tall…together. “Atlas Falls” is already a Top 20 rock radio hit and climbing.    “The response to ‘Atlas Falls’ has been overwhelming, and Barry, Zach, Eric and I cannot say thank you enough to Shinedown Nation and everyone around the world that has supported Direct Relief during the COVID-19 response. The faith, the love, and the showing of humanity has just been incredible. ‘Atlas Falls’ is a reminder that we are at our best when we need each other, and the only way through this is together,” says Shinedown front man Brent Smith.   “Direct Relief is so deeply grateful for the extraordinary commitment of Shinedown Nation to help keep health workers safe as they put themselves at risk to keep all of us safe,” shares Direct Relief President & CEO Thomas Tighe. “This support translates into immediate, practical help, and is such a wonderful example of everyone pulling together and doing whatever we can to protect those who are most vulnerable.”   Stay tuned for much more to come from Shinedown. The band recently released a “prelude” – a sneak peek at a very special upcoming project – check it out:     Additionally, front man Brent Smith and guitarist Zach Myers are working on their next Smith & Myers album. For up-to-date information, please visit www.shinedown.com. ABOUT SHINEDOWN Since forming in Jacksonville, Florida in 2001, Shinedown – Brent Smith [vocals], Zach Myers [guitar], Eric Bass [bass, production], and Barry Kerch [drums] – have sold more than 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, earned 14 platinum and gold singles, five platinum and gold albums, 16 No. 1 Active Rock hits, and amassed more than 2.5 billion total streams. They have crushed Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart with all of their 26 consecutive career singles reaching the Top 5, an unparalleled achievement. Recent hits “ATTENTION ATTENTION,” “GET UP,” “MONSTERS“ and “DEVIL“ bring their total to 16 No. 1s on the Mediabase Active Rock Chart and 15 No. 1s on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, tying the record for the most No. 1s ever on both charts. The story that unfolds on their latest acclaimed album ATTENTION ATTENTION  (Atlantic Records) is an enduring statement about the resolve of the human spirit – touching on themes such as mental health, overcoming struggles and not being afraid to fail and the importance of our human connection with one another. Speaking to the human spirit in a time of need, crossover hit “GET UP” (which has racked up more than 59 million streams and landed the band on Live with Kelly & Ryan) quickly became a beacon of light for listeners around the globe with its urgent and universal message of hope, empathy and encouragement. Shinedown‘s distinct mix of explosive rock ‘n’ roll spirit, thought-provoking lyrics, melodic sensibility and cinematic flourishes colors on ATTENTION ATTENTION, which has racked up more than 355 million global streams, simultaneously hit #1 on Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock and Hard Rock Albums Charts, debuted Top 5 on the Billboard 200, and led to two iHeart Radio Music Award nominations for Rock Artist of the Year and Rock Song of the Year in both 2019 and 2020. Hailed for their high-octane live shows, Shinedown continues to engender diehard love from millions of global fans and has racked up countless sold-out tours and festival headlining sets, propelled by their world-class showmanship and the undeniable power of front man Brent Smith‘s voice. (Photo Credit: Sanjay Parikh) FOLLOW SHINEDOWN Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website | Atlantic Records Shinedown Irvine 19 34 photos

Shinedown New Song “Atlas Falls” Brings Powerful Message and COVID-19 Relief first appeared on Game On Media.

Shinedown has been on a steady rise for the past 16 years, growing from a support act in the club scene to a worldwide headliner. As their latest single, “Monsters”, became their 14th #1 rock single, the band hit the summer road with the biggest production of their stellar career. Vocalist Brent Smith and drummer Barry Kerch have been on this journey together for close to 2 decades, and once guitarist Zach Myers and bassist/keyboardist Eric Bass joined for the making of “The Sound of Madness”, their performances have skyrocketed.

On Sunday, July 21, 2019, Shinedown brought their Attention Attention tour to Fivepoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. The opening bands were Broken Hands, Dinosaur Pile-up, and one of the hottest new bands around, Badflower. Zach Myers even graced the stage for one Badflower song.

Shinedown has always delivered sonically and emotionally with their audience, but this tour takes things to a new level. Specifically, the higher level seating. At Fivepoint Amphitheatre, the “lawn” seats are actually stadium-style metal bleachers. Halfway through the set, the boys disappeared from the main stage and suddently emerged on 4 small stages that were set up in the crowd, amongst the ecstatic fans. They played 4 songs from this intimate location, interacting with the crowd and each other in between songs.

As Shinedown made their way back to the main stage, a recording of Linkin Park’s “Numb” played with a photo of Chester Bennington, who committed suicide on July 20, 2017, which is also Chris Cornell’s birthday. Zach and Brent then performed a dramatic version of “Black Hole Sun” as a tribute to Cornell, followed by a full band electric version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man”. Then it was back to the Shinedown catalog, featuring lasers, fire, and creative video. This was yet another inspiring, hopeful show from one of the best bands you will ever experience.

Shinedown Irvine 19

34 photos

Shinedown Reaches New Heights on Attention Attention Tour first appeared on Game On Media.

The ninth annual Welcome To Rockville Festival expanded to 3 days in 2019, spread out across Jacksonville, Florida’s Metropolitan Park along the St John’s River. The weekend was full of memorable shows from the top bands in the rock world.

All of the bands put on emotional performances, but none more so than hometown heroes Shinedown. During their nightly tribute to Jacksonville’s own legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd, Brent Smith brought out late Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant’s granddaughter as he and Zach Myers (and the loud crowd) performed ‘Simple Man’.

Barry Kerch and Eric Bass form one of the most dynamic and entertaining rhythm section in all of rock and roll. When they combine with Smith and Myers obvious chemistry, the results are nothing short of magical.

WTR19 Shinedown

38 photos

Shinedown Makes Jacksonville Proud at Welcome To Rockville first appeared on Game On Media.

INKCARCERATION Music and Tattoo Festival Reveals Daily Set Times and Stages

The Second Annual INKCARCERATION: Taking Place July 12-14, 2019 at the Historic Ohio State Reformatory | GET TICKETS HERE!

INKCARCERATION 2019 to Also Feature:

70+ Tattoo Artists

Food Trucks & Beverages

Tent & RV Camping

“Escape from Blood Prison” Haunted House Attraction

+ More!

The INKCARCERATION Music and Tattoo Festival will return to the historic Ohio State Reformatory, a.k.a. Shawshank Prison, in Mansfield, OH, on July 12, 13 and 14! This year’s massive line-up will be led by none other than colossal rock bands  Shinedown,  Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch. Quickly becoming one of the nation’s premier rock festivals, INKCARCERATION will feature over 30 bands on two outdoor stages, 70 tattoo artists, reformatory tours, gourmet food trucks, the best drinks and for the first time, the haunted house attraction, Escape from Blood Prison.

Today, INKCARCERATION has revealed the daily set times and stages for performing bands!

INDIVIDUAL DAILY LINE-UPS:

Friday July 12^th:

Doors at 3:00 PM

Main Stage

10:00 – 11:15: Shinedown

8:50 – 9:40: Taking Back Sunday

7:40 – 8:30: Skillet

6:00 – 6:30: Fozzy

4:50 – 5:20: Awake at Last

3:40 – 4:10: Broken Hands

Second Stage

6:40 – 7:35: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

5:25 – 5:55: The Funeral Portrait

4:15 – 4:45: The Everyday Losers

Saturday July 13^th:

Doors at 12:00 PM

Main Stage

9:30 – 11:00: Godsmack

8:00 – 9:00: +Live+

6:05 – 7:00: Motionless in White

4:45 – 5:25: Red Sun Rising

3:25 – 4:05: Buckcherry

2:10 – 2:45: Light the Torch

1:00 – 1:30: Titans in Time

Second Stage

7:05 – 7:55: Andrew WK

5:30 – 6:00: Stabbing Westward

4:10 – 4:40: Eyes Set to Kill

2:50 – 3:20: Raven Black

1:35 – 2:05: Monster Dolls

12:25 – 12:55; Impending Lies

Sunday July 14^th:

Doors at 12:00 PM

Main Stage

9:30 – 11:00: Five Finger Death Punch

8:00 – 9:00: Seether

6:05 – 7:00: I Prevail

4:45 – 5:25: Starset

3:25 – 4:05: Issues

2:10 – 2:45: Smile Empty Soul

1:00 – 1:30: Scattered Hamlet

Second Stage

7:05 – 7:55: P.O.D.

5:30 – 6:00: From Ashes to New

4:10 – 4:40: Kerbera

2:50 – 3:20: Beyond Unbroken

1:35 – 2:05: Monster Dolls

12:25 – 12:55: Rivals

In addition, INKCARCERATION Music and Tattoo Festival will host 15 gourmet food trucks serving up the most delicious local eats! This year’s festival will feature Island Noodles, Smash Time Food Truck, Chicky Chicky Waffle, Zaki Food Truck, Swat Food Truck and Catering, Bistro de Mohr, Pizza Cottage, Three Lil Piggies BBQ, The Gaucho & The Gringa, OH Pizza and Pretzels, Loops Food Truck, Dirty Frank’s Hot Dogs, Graeters Ice Cream, Barroluco Argentine Comfort Food and Gorilla Gurt! Visit https://www.inkcarceration.com/faq to learn more about what each truck has to offer!

While the stages and food trucks will be busy outside, INKCARCERATION will feature 70 local and regional tattoo artists tattooing all weekend inside the reformatory. Appointments are recommended if there is a specific artist you would like to work with. Visit www.inkcarceration.com/tattoo for information on how to book your appointment and to see a full list of featured tattoo shops, companies and artists. Tattoo competition details and judges will be announced soon.

INKCARCERATION Music and Tattoo Festival‘s incredibly unique festival setting – the historic Ohio State Reformatory – is considered one of the most haunted buildings in the country and the setting of the 1994 cinematic classic/IMDB’s highest rated movie of all time, The Shawshank Redemption (celebrating its 25^th anniversary his year). The Ohio State Reformatory is centrally located about an hour away from Cleveland, Columbus, and Canton/Akron, Ohio and within a three-hour driving distance of Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, Michigan and southern Ontario. Additionally, INKCARCERATION features tent and RV camping for a true outdoor festival experience!

Escape from Blood Prison is the annual Halloween haunted house attraction hosted at the historic Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, OH. It typically runs from the end of September through early November every year, but INKCARCERATION will make this spooky attraction available for festival goers to experience all weekend long in 2019! Once Blood Prison takes over the reformatory, the enormous facility is filled with bloodthirsty inmates waiting for victims to enter and try and make it through the facility alive!

INKCARCERATION 2019 Ticketing Details:

All available via https://https://inkcarceration.frontgatetickets.com/!

VIP & CAMPING PACKAGES – SOLD OUT!

Now offering MILITARY DISCOUNTS via GovX (12% off Weekend Tickets Only)

Visit GovX here to buy tickets!