It was a full house at Griffith Uni, for a night of brutal blast beat mayhem from Derek Roddy, the US’s first-call extreme metal drummer. Roddy has played with countless successful metal acts such as Hate Eternal, Nile and Serpent’s Rise.
In an unusual move for a clinic, there was a support act – Resin Dogs’ and Wolfmother’s Dave Atkins. Dave played a string of tunes to slick backing tracks ranging from hip hop mixes through to straight up rock. Atkins’ playing was solid and entertaining with a fluid style and powerful stroke. At the end of his set, Dave engaged in a quick Q&A, which left the crowd in stitches, with Dave’s very unique and humorous approach to his life on the drums.
Then, it was Derek Roddy’s turn. Wasting no time, he launched into some epic metal tracks, which had the crowd in awe of his precision power and speed. It was then Q&A time again, which the crowd participated in enthusiastically. Roddy again blew the roof off the joint with a few more tunes from his metallic career, displaying endurance not normally found in even the most athletic of today’s metal drummers.
As a special ‘Australia only’ last hurrah, Dave and Derek jammed until the end, trading fours on grooves ranging from bossa nova to double kick duelling.
Ever the metal-brethren’s old mate, Derek hung with the crowd afterward, signing skins, taking photos and fielding more questions from fans.
We can’t wait to see Derek on these shores again, perhaps in the context of one of his amazing bands? Until then, thanks Derek!
20-year-old Melbourne guitar shredder, Taylor Sterling, has attempted the world record for being the world’s fastest guitar player. So it’s all legit, the event was filmed for viewing by Guinness World Record judges, and the result will be announced in the not-too-distant future (2012). Hong Kong-based shredder ‘Dr Hot Licks’ aka John Taylor, who can play ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, by Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, at a blistering 620 beats per minute (BPM), currently holds the record. That’s approximately 40 cleanly-picked notes per second! If the people at Guinness decide that Taylor’s execution and timing are good enough, his new world record will be – hold on to your hats – a sizzling 999 BPM! Let’s hope it’s a positive result for Taylor, who chose us at Allans Billy Hyde, we’re proud to say, as his place to hold the event.
It’s amazing how time flies...20 years have passed since rock superstarsKISS released what critics say is their best album from the non-makeup era of the band and arguably the best album of their career! The album in question is 1992’s Revenge and we were lucky enough to have ex-KISS lead guitarist Bruce Kulick take the time to come to Australia and share his memories and insights into the creation of this monstrous album.
Melbourne was the first of two clinics onthis tour and with over 100 fans in attendance the mood was set for an exciting trip back in time. Bruce was greeted by a warm applause and proceeded togive some background on the clinic format before diving into the first track. Revenge was produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin who was the mastermind behind classic albums such as KISS’s Destroyer, Pink Floyd’s The Wall and Alice Cooper’s Welcome To My Nightmare. Revenge was Bruce’s first experience working with Bob and he spoke about the initial anxiety of working with him, how songs developed in the studio and other secrets along the way.
As part of the writing process, Bruce acquired very rare samples and rough tracks direct from Ezrin to take home and write his guitar solos for the album. Song by song Bruce played examples from these tracks that really shed a different light on the album, exposing the level of detail and work ethic that made this a truly special body of work. Bruce also used these tracks to jam along to which was exciting to see in this intimate setting.
Throughout the clinic Bruce encouraged questions from the crowd and took time to answer these thoroughly. The presentation concluded with a special meet n’ greet where Bruce posed for photos with fans and signed countless pieces of KISS memorabilia. It was a fantastic way to celebrate this classic album and get inspiration from his journey. Thanks Bruce for sharing!
Bruce Kulick Revenge 20th Anniversary Clinic Tour
Proudly presented by Allans Music + Billy Hyde and Seymour Duncan Date: Tues January 31, 2012 Time: 7pm Venue: Allans Music + Billy Hyde 152 Bourke St Melbourne VIC
Date: Fri February 3, 2012 Time: 7pm Venue: Allans Music + Billy Hyde 130 Pyrmont Bridge Rd Camperdown NSW
After a long week of online teasers and a series of clues posted on almost every major music website on the Internet, Motley Crue have announced their 2 week residency at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas!
Following the tradition of any Motley Crue event, a psycho circus of hard rock pandemonium, and probably some form of nudity, will be included in the show, along with Motley’s ever-present and mind blowing production of pyro, explosions, and Tommy Lee’s unforgettable 360 degree drum-coaster.
For 30 years Motley Crue have been the front-runners in rock stardom, with unparalleled debauchery guaranteed to ensue in whichever town they invade on the road. The band’s Las Vegas residency is certain to include their traditional antics, but on a stage and at a level in which no one has witnessed before. The Los Angeles-based, multiplatinum band will be the first hard rock band to establish a residency in Sin City, and are in the planning stages of a production that singer Vince Neil compared to Cirque du Soleil. “This show is going to be more towards the Cirque-type, over-the-top, full-production thing,” Neil said in a conference call to announce the series. “We’re really not interested in just going out there and playing songs. We want to make a full-blown interactive [show].”
A Vegas residency is a growing tradition established in recent years by the likes of Elton John, Santana and Rod Stewart, and is something Motley has discussed for years, said drummer Tommy Lee. Band members were excited by the possibilities whenever watching a big Vegas show, including the Beatles-themed “Love” by Cirque du Soleil. “We all have talked about it many times going, “God, could you imagine if we could only get our hands on this kind of an opportunity, what we could do?” said Lee.
For the drummer, the possibilities include expanding on the daring acrobatics of the band’s current tour, which has Lee’s drum kit attached to a 36-degree rollercoaster that sends him spinning around and upside down during a wild drum solo. At the Hard Rock, Lee predicted “something even more crazy.” “We love putting on an incredible show and when it doesn’t have to move around from city to city, day by day, the options become incredible,” said Lee. “Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to design a show that people want to come to?”
On recent tour stops at the Hollywood Bowl and the Sunset Strip Music Festival, the band brought a high-octane stagecraft to their material, from "Girls, Girls, Girls" to “Saints of Los Angeles.” Details on the Vegas show were still vague, and the band members were openly considering the possibilities as they spoke with media on the conference call. “This is Vegas and it sure would be fun to, really do it full Vegas style and have there be, some -- nudity or almost nude,” said Neil. “It would be great to do things Vegas-style where you couldn’t do some of those things in a normal arena in Ohio.”
An audience of around 40 people came to enjoy an evening of Stick music. Drum teacher from the Blackburn Academy, Konrad Park aka Stickrad opened the concert with some recognisable tunes - Coldplay’s Trouble and the main theme to Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, which set pace for the foray into the progressive world of the Stick. He also described the design and tuning of the Stick allowing the audience to feel that they could play a simple idea on the instrument without any real effort.
The performances were kickstarted by Stickrad’s trio rendition of Elephant Talk by King Crimson, which is the entry point for most people familiar with the Stick, via Tony Levin’s groundbreaking and expressive playing with the early 80s King Crimson line-up. Stickrad performed the world premiere of his new piece Brute-iful, which is much like European Jazz meets The Terminator. Evan Harris performed two outstanding tracks from Steve Turner’s EP CD, Not in Kansas Anymore and forthcoming second solo CD (Untitled). Showcasing an early ironwood Chapman Stick and the NS Stick; a multirole bass-tapping instrument. Evan’s performances were polished and highlighted the melodic capability in the high bass range as well as thunderous bass riffs through Steve’s progressive compositions.
The audience were then delighted to meet Emmett Chapman the inventor of the Stick via Skype resulting in a 10min jam with the Melbourne based, internationally acclaimed Reeds player, Adam Simmons and Stickrad on drums. It was fantastic to hear the Stick in the hands of the master and inventer and showed people the full range and sonic capability of the Stick.The evening concluded in a Q&A with Emmett, leaving the audience with the feeling of having a personal meeting with him and a clear window into the world of Stick music.
What is The Stick? The Stick combines elements from bass guitar, keyboards, drums and the melodic inspiration from wind instruments and is designed for a technique called Free Hands. Both hands become equal partners, playing parallel to the strings and allowing all fingers the maximum freedom to tap and hold the strings.You will find yourself playing chords, lead melody, bass lines and rhythm, in new and creative ways because of the instruments design.
- Erin Whitwell
Marketing Co-ordinator / Allans Music + Billy Hyde
