Motley Crue to Invade Sin City

Posted by Allans Billy Hyde , Thursday, December 22, 2011 12:55 PM


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.”

Tommy Lee plays Pearl Drums. See the range at Allans Music + Billy Hyde.

Motley Crue’s Las Vegas experience is scheduled to run from Feb 3 to 19, 2012.
www.motley.com

0 comments

Chapman Seminar & Stick Concert Review 29.11.11 Blackburn Store

Posted by Allans Billy Hyde , Thursday, December 1, 2011 3:55 PM


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

1 comments

Gene Hoglan Offers Online Lessons

Posted by Allans Billy Hyde 3:19 PM


Legendary extreme-metal drummer Gene "The Atomic Clock" Hoglan (Testament, Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad, Fear Factory, Dethklok) and RealLesson.com have joined forces to offer a rare chance for fans and musicians to receive live, interactive lessons online. According to a posting on the site, "RealLesson.com is your outlet for taking live, interactive lessons online or in person. During the site's pre-launch phase, we are having great success in attracting and securing a wide variety of teachers! There is no limit to the style/genre of the teacher, so you will have no shortage of qualified teachers to learn from. We will not only be providing lessons with musicians, but also sound engineers, tour managers, lighting/stage professionals and other relative categories of instruction."

A legend in the drumming world and an icon in the metal community, Gene has been a reoccurring face on the Pearl Drums artist roster since breaking into the drumming spotlight, with his blazing feet and quick hands being revered by those who are fortunate enough to witness it.  Gene’s setup, an uncharacteristic one for most drummers playing at the blistering speeds that Gene manages, consists of 2-24x16 kick drums, a 12x8 rack tom, 14x10 rack tom, a 18x16 floor tom, and finally topped off with his unforgettable 14x8 Free Floating snare drum (brass).  A left-handed player on a right-handed kit, Gene’s flawless open-hand drumming style makes his setup more unconventional than most as well, with his left hand, Gene’s dominant hand, leading on most rolls and fills, but his right foot taking the lead on the kick drum. 
Check out our range of Pearl Drums here
 For more information on Gene, please be sure to visit him online at www.HoglanIndustries.com.  Be sure visit Gene’s website to pick up his DVD, “The Atomic Clock”, which is available now!

0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)