The Rock and Roll Guru

A Fond Farewell

Published on 2011-10-10 05:00:00

“Sunrise doesn’t last all morning… A cloudburst doesn’t last all day…” The BeatlesNothing lasts forever, not even the good things in life. One of my favorite sayings is that “Life often gets in the way of life.” When everything is insanely busy and I am completely overwhelmed and wondering why I haven’t seen a particular friend, or why I don’t have time to get X, Y, or Z done, I know it’s because “Life gets in the way of life.”Here I am, once again at a crossroads. I st

The Rebellion - II

Published on 2011-10-09 07:58:00

The Rebellion has returned with their sophomore effort, II. After releasing a solid and enjoyable debut, the stakes were high for The Rebellion to deliver on their second album. Fortunately for the fans, the band was up for the task. II is every bit as good as the band’s debut record (Time).While their first album sounded all Muse, Coldplay, and The Fray, the new disc sounds more like The Rebellion. The band has solidified their sound. Piano driven modern rock is the style of Rebellion, and it

Lollapalooza - July 23, 2003

Published on 2011-10-08 05:00:00

Back in 2003, Lollapalooza was still a travelling tour, as opposed to the one city, one weekend event that is the current format. In the summer of 2003, Lollapalooza announced their tour dates and one of the stops was at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. With bands like Incubus, Audioslave, and Jane’s Addiction on the bill, there was no way I would miss out.The DonnasThe Donnas opened the main stage in style. I always wondered what happened to The Donnas. They were a decent, all

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Home Repair Edition

Published on 2011-10-07 07:54:00

This past week, Mrs. Vie and I have been working on our daughter’s room, transforming it from “the little princess” theme to a more teenage oriented theme. This has meant scraping, painting, spackling, cleaning, color picking, and a lot of hard work. When it is all over with, the room will look immaculate. Quite possibly, it could be the nicest room in the house. Getting to that point though, that is the battle. I have never spackled so many holes in one room before this. My word of advice

The Scent Of Music

Published on 2011-10-05 05:00:00

Recently I pulled out a Rolling Stones mix tape that I made over twenty years ago. I wanted to listen to the ingeniously titled, “Rolling Stones Mix” as part of my Every Album Challenge. The mix was recorded on the Maxell Brand that was popular at the time. I remember buying those blank tapes in packs of ten for all of the mixes that I made. And all of them had outstandingly creative titles like “Kiss Mix,” “Aerosmith Mix,” and “Rolling Stones Mix.”When I pulled the “Rolling St

New Music Monday Featuring Three Metre Days, Sorrows, And Stone Joy

Published on 2011-10-03 05:00:00

Welcome to another edition of New Music Monday, where your cousin Ryo gets your week kick started with some great brand new tunes that you’re bound to enjoy!Three Metre Days – Stay That WayWe start this edition of New Music Monday off with something mellow. Three Metre Days “Stay That Way” is a beautiful song that should be listened to while watching the sunrise with a nice hot cup of coffee in your hand. This song is as beautiful as nature’s morning. Grab yourself a free copy of the �

Barry - Yawnin' At The Dawnin'

Published on 2011-10-02 05:00:00

Never have I wanted to spend an entire day doing nothing except listen to an album and soak in the amazing music coming through my headphones. Barry’s Yawnin’ At The Dawnin’ made me want to do just that. I could spend an entire weekend hitting the repeat button on my IPOD, playing Yawning At The Dawnin' on an endless loop. Yawnin’ At The Dawnin’ is spectacular and will be battling Dom Liberati’s The Good Hurt for album of the year in 2011. This is not only what modern folk music shou

Kiss/Poison - July 20, 2004

Published on 2011-10-01 05:00:00

Yes, you can call me biased, but I’ve always felt that everyone who enjoys music or concerts should see Kiss perform live at least once in their lifetime. Their stage show set the mark for what a live performance should be and they still work as hard as they can to provide incredible entertainment in the live setting. Thus, it was with much persuasion that I convinced my wife to attend a Kiss concert so that she could finally see what all the fuss was about and why I am so obsessed with the ba

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Playoff Baseball Edition

Published on 2011-09-30 05:00:00

Regular readers of this blog know how much I love this time year. Not just because the seasons are changing, the colors are vibrant, and I can sleep with the windows open at night---it’s mainly because baseball’s postseason has arrived.The regular season ending in a thrilling fashion and I was up watching four baseball games at once. That was a real treat and a great way to end the season. Now the time has come for the best month of the year---October. Nothing is more exciting than playoff b

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

Published on 2011-09-28 04:48:00

More than 20 years ago, Public Enemy leapt into the mainstream with the release of their second album, It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. This was music like the kids never heard before and their strong album crossed races getting everyone involved in this new sound. They were also my introduction to rap music and once I got a taste of this record, I loved it!The rap that the kids knew before this was Run-DMC, Tone Loc, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. Public Enemy, however,