The Loudini Rock and Roll Circus

BluesyTuesday Episode 6: Celebrating Led Zeppelin's Black Dog

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In this week's episode of Bluesy Tuesday we discuss and disect Led Zeppelin's Black Dog.

The main riff was composed by Led Zeppelin Bassist John Paul Jones and is organized around a call and response pattern. The song begins with Robert Plant singing accapella followed by the band "answering" him with Jones' riff. The song got it's name from a black labradore retreiver that the band found wandering around their Headley Grange studio.

The main riff is derived directly out of the blues scale and is often mistakenly thought to be "polyrhythmic". The confusion comes in because the way that Jones phrases the riff. Instead of hard resolutions on the predicatable downbeat, Jones creates a looping feel with the phrases that circle back on themselves in less predictable places giving Black Dog it's signature feel.

Surprisingly, Black Dog wasn't always a staple of Zepplen's live show. They played it off and on through out the 1970's. By contrast, it's become a signature song of Robert Plant's solo bands and he has performed many wildly different versions of the classic over the years, including a blue grass flavored version with country singer Alison Krauss.

 

 

Featured Loudini Artists:

Led Zeppelin

Ride the Bullsh*t Train with God Hates Unicorns

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Josh H. Unicorn formally of Debutante and and Skull Death Gut Corpse on Lead vocals and some programming.
Jeff (the Snowman) Unicorn on Bass guitar.
Nick J Unicorn formally of Pretty and the River Rats on guitar and additional programming.

God Hates Unicorns formed in 2015..or maybe 2014. I don't remember.I got an invite from Josh to go see their show. I knew of Josh from his earlier bands Skull Death Gut Corpse and Debutante. Josh and I traded shows with each other during the Pittsburgh music scene golden age (the early 2000's when everyone was on Myspace.com the greatest tool for musicians to ever have existed).
I remember seeing their very first "performance" at the Squirrel Hill Sports bar. It was a bit cold that night maybe early Spring or late Fall. The band was a classic 3 piece. By classic 3 piece band I mean a singer, a bass player, and some one on stage only to press play on a drum machine. The tracks were created on Josh's familiar Roland 505 (the same one he used to make tracks for Debutante). The tracks sounded pretty good from where I was sitting. If you like depressing dark wave dance tracks then what's not to love here? The songs had enough thumping kick drums and melodic keyboard sounds to pass most peoples standards for a song on there own. Unfortunately, something about the sound that night was off to the band as Joshua operating as the lead singer wondered on and off the stage seeming to try to find an area of the room where he could hear the track properly. Leaving the rest of the band that remained on stage looking confused and frightened as Josh careened through the crowd and then back to the stage again screaming into a bullhorn; finally he stopped on the stage for the last time and laid down in defeat. The bands first outing did not appear to be going well. They played about 3 songs from what I recall and none of them correctly based on the displeased expressions from the band members.

After the show I jokingly asked Josh if he still wanted me to join the band (he asked a few months earlier) and he said yes. He said they could use a guitar player. I told him I didn't currently own an electric guitar only an acoustic-electric. Then he said I could use the electric guitar that a previous musician left in his basement. I asked him what kind of guitar it was and he said it was a Fender Stratcaster. That was enough to get me into the idea of joining a band even though I didn't really feel like joining a band at the time. That and Josh made it sound like we would only play paying gigs and get fucking rich! BABY!
Anyway I'm still in the band today and I'm being held against my will,come save me!

-Nick J Unicorn

Getting a job as a lawyer, leads to songwriting and music press accolades for Paulo Franco

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Paulo Franco is a Richmond, Virginia based singer/ songwriter. In terms of recording, it may seem that Franco has come to the game later in life than some, but his musical journey has been a lifelong story. Born to Colombian immigrants and raised in Washington D.C., Paulo embraces his heritage as a first generation American and his songs and style reflect that. As a child, his father turned him on to the country music of the United States via the Johnny Cash Variety show and on his own he discovered a love for rock n roll through the Stones and the Beatles. At the age of nine, he picked up a classical guitar and a musician was born. After years of playing in various cover bands and honing his chops, Franco began writing his own material in earnest in 2010.

Paulo's songs are steeped in storytelling, often drawing from his own life and those around him. The sound is a seamless blend of the myriad of influences that have shaped both his everyday life and his musical tastes. Listeners will find glimpses of Robert Earl Keen's storytelling, John Prine's wit, The Stones' rock n roll heart, and the fluidity of The Grateful Dead often times infused with the rhythms of traditional Latin and Colombian music. He has recently included original Spanish songs into his songwriting, bringing a depth and a love of two cultures seldom seen during the same show or album. Paulo switches his voice from country twang, to rock anthem, to Spanish troubadour. His vocals are so authentically Spanish that it’s easy to forget you just heard him effortlessly sing a country tune in English.

In 2012, Paulo released his debut record, By The Light Of A Paper Moon regionally and began playing more and more shows around the Richmond area as well as other markets across the country. In the last few years he has the honor of sharing the stage with the likes of Robert Earl Keen, Eli Young Band, Chris Knight, Rhett Miller (Old 97s), Walter Salas Humara (The Silos), Dan Baird and Homemade Sin, Adam Carroll, Cris Jacobs, Cory Branan and many others. 2016 saw the release of Franco's latest work, The Last Card, an album No Depression calls “a phenomenal sophomore record.” No Depression's Emily Hinde listed The Last Card at No. 2 of the year's best, behind only Avett Brothers. Paste Magazine hails Franco's effort as possibly the most sincere album of the year. The Last Card, produced by Bob Rupe (The Silos, Cracker, Gutterball and Sparklehorse) and featuring a virtual who's who of Richmond musicians, shows that Paulo wears his heart on his sleeve musically and can hang with any songwriter working today.

Paulo closed out 2017 with a Tour of Colombia that included stops in Medellín, Cali, Roldanillo, Cartagena and Santa Marta.

In 2018 Paulo plans to release two brand new songs on July 14, Richmond's Just Fine and El Rey y Su Cadillac. The Freightliners plan on heading back to the studio soon to record a brand new record.
Paulo Franco is a Richmond, Virginia based singer/ songwriter. In terms of recording, it may seem that Franco has come to the game later in life than some, but his musical journey has been a lifelong story. Born to Colombian immigrants and raised in Washington D.C., Paulo embraces his heritage as a first generation American and his songs and style reflect that. As a child, his father turned him on to the country music of the United States via the Johnny Cash Variety show and on his own he discovered a love for rock n roll through the Stones and the Beatles. At the age of nine, he picked up a classical guitar and a musician was born. After years of playing in various cover bands and honing his chops, Franco began writing his own material in earnest in 2010.

Paulo's songs are steeped in storytelling, often drawing from his own life and those around him. The sound is a seamless blend of the myriad of influences that have shaped both his everyday life and his musical tastes. Listeners will find glimpses of Robert Earl Keen's storytelling, John Prine's wit, The Stones' rock n roll heart, and the fluidity of The Grateful Dead often times infused with the rhythms of traditional Latin and Colombian music. He has recently included original Spanish songs into his songwriting, bringing a depth and a love of two cultures seldom seen during the same show or album. Paulo switches his voice from country twang, to rock anthem, to Spanish troubadour. His vocals are so authentically Spanish that it’s easy to forget you just heard him effortlessly sing a country tune in English.

In 2012, Paulo released his debut record, By The Light Of A Paper Moon regionally and began playing more and more shows around the Richmond area as well as other markets across the country. In the last few years he has the honor of sharing the stage with the likes of Robert Earl Keen, Eli Young Band, Chris Knight, Rhett Miller (Old 97s), Walter Salas Humara (The Silos), Dan Baird and Homemade Sin, Adam Carroll, Cris Jacobs, Cory Branan and many others. 2016 saw the release of Franco's latest work, The Last Card, an album No Depression calls “a phenomenal sophomore record.” No Depression's Emily Hinde listed The Last Card at No. 2 of the year's best, behind only Avett Brothers. Paste Magazine hails Franco's effort as possibly the most sincere album of the year. The Last Card, produced by Bob Rupe (The Silos, Cracker, Gutterball and Sparklehorse) and featuring a virtual who's who of Richmond musicians, shows that Paulo wears his heart on his sleeve musically and can hang with any songwriter working today.

Paulo closed out 2017 with a Tour of Colombia that included stops in Medellín, Cali, Roldanillo, Cartagena and Santa Marta.

In 2018 Paulo plans to release two brand new songs on July 14, Richmond's Just Fine and El Rey y Su Cadillac. The Freightliners plan on heading back to the studio soon to record a brand new record.

email: paulo@peflmusic.com

Links:
"Richmond's Just Fine": https://soundcloud.com/peflmusic/richmonds-just-fine

"El Rey": https://youtu.be/VYldQYOueFA

Paulo Franco on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/peflmusic

Paulo Franco on Twitter
https://twitter.com/peffer69

www.peflmusic.com (Main Website)
www.facebook.com/peflmusic
www.soundcloud.com/peflmusic
www.twitter.com/peffer69
www.instagram.com/peflmusic

Rockin' Rant #2: Peter Frampton wants to punish you for streaming his songs

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This week 70's icon Peter Frampton Tweeted that he had over 55 million downloads of his song "Baby I Love Your Way" for which he only received $1700. The tweet was part of a series of tweet where he told about testifiying to congress on the behalf of ASCAP. You can read it for yourself here:https://twitter.com/peterframpton/status/1025584924609400832 .

These older artists cannot seem to come to terms with the fact that the world has moved on. We no longer have the same music industry that we did in the 70's, 80's and 90's where a handful of acts dominated the industry because radio and MTV were really the only places to get heard by a significant number of people. The industry today is much more friendly to the indie artist. For a fraction of the money that it would take to produce and promote a band in the 80's, indie acts can produce totally professional sounding recordings and promote themselves by themselves or with the help of some very affordable outsource partners.

The industry is also much more friendly to the music fan. Heard about a great band from a friend or magzine? Just do a YouTube search and you can check them out immediately. Instead of buying albums of filler to get one or two good songs you can buy the good tracks on iTunes or listen on Spotify. For true music fans, this is nothing short of a miracle.

So... recorded music, for the most part is now free. That's the price of all of the democatization and simplication of producing and listening to music. That sucks for artists like Peter Frampton who enjoyed big royalty checks but it does not mean that people do not value music, nor does it mean that there isn't a lot of money to be made in the new music industry. There have been some great books and articles written on this subject. For a primer I would recommend "Free" by Chris Anderson. you can check that out here: https://www.amazon.com/Free-Future-Radical-Chris-Anderson/dp/1401322905

This democatization is not the end of recorded music, just like radio was not the end of live concerts and sound recording was not the end of sheet music; although many people in the industry thought that it was! These older artists want things to go back to the way that they used to be... "Let's make music great again!" is their motto. Does that sound familiar?

Sorry Peter, but this is the new music industry. It's the wild wild west and this new generation has set out to tame it in their own way. There is more music than ever in EVERY genre for fans to enjoy and it's easier for bands to connect with fans who love what they do. Wether you are a fan or an artist, this is the greatest time in history for music and potentially very profitable for those with vision.

Wicked Riff Wednesday Episode 5: Grunge's Greatest Riff

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In 1991 Soundgarden released their 3rd studio album, Badmotorfinger. As the saying goes, "third time's a charm!" BMF continued the band's hard rock/metal rooted sound but with more mature songwriting. The songs "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" were MTV hits and pushed Soundgarden into the mainstream.

With it's groove doom tuned down riff, locked in rhythm section, humungous guitars, imagination bending lyrics and legendary vocal performance, "Outshined" is one of grunge's most important moments and to put it bluntly, grunge's greatest riff... period.

In this episode we uncover what makes this riff so magical and a get a peek at it's inception. So grab your favorite flannel shirt and crank this one up

 

What Are Top 5 Twin Guitar Attack Bands Of All Time

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Pop Quiz Hot Shot: What's better than a band that plays great guitar driven rock?

Answer: A band that plays great guitar driven rock with TWO guitarists!

Excess has been a characteristic of rock and roll since it's inception. Louder, bigger, faster, harder and of course more have been the cries of rock's biggest fans. While legendary acts like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen feature one hot guitar player, some bands just want to take it up a notch.

What do you do when you are already on ten? How do you get that "push over the cliff?" You add another guitar player of course!

The two guitar sound has been a staple of rock and roll since the Beatles, but put to much better use by bands like the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and of course AC/DC. This week on The Loudini Hard Rock & Metal Circus we ask the question, "What are the top five twin guitar attack bands of all time?"

What two guitar bands are the most iconic? Which one made the best use of two guitars? What guitar tag team is the most talented? Which twin guitar band is the most influential?

 

Bluesy Tuesday Episode 5: KIX Celebrates 30 Years of Blow My Fuse

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In the history of blues based hard rock there is a tradition of bands playing great heavy rhythm riffs with catchy singable chorues. Bands like AC/DC and KISS come to mind but there are many others including this week's Bluesy Tuesday featured band; KIX.

Originally calling themselves Shooze and eventually changing their name to the Generators and ultimately, the hard rocking boys from Balitmore, KIX, garnered quite a reputation for themselves as one of Maryland's most exciting live bands, covering influences in the blues based hard rock format.

This year marks the thirtith aniversary of their smash album, Blow My Fuse and the band is celebrating by releasing a two disc special edition of their late eighties classic featuring a remixed and remaseterd version of the album by Beau Hill as well as an entire disc of demos that will give a fans a peek under the hood at how the songs evolved. Featured Loudini Artists: KIX

Rockin' Rant #1: Dumbass Artists That Block Me

YouTube is the number one source for people to find music. If you want someone to hear your music, you have a better chance of catching their ear on YouTube than you do on Spotify, Soundcloud, Pandora, or Bandcamp. Those are just the facts, as of the writing of this blog post.

Since we have established this as a fact, why in the hell would an artist block a video who's sole intention was to promote their music? That sounds like madness... right? Let me tell you kids, it happens ALL THE TIME!

We actually stopped posting our podcast on YouTube for a couple of years for this reason. We would put a lot of time and effort and even financial expense into producing a great podcast, converting it to video, promoting it, only to have the artist, or their label block it. I even had labels block videos of artist that THEY had me interview for them. WTF???

And it's not just me... Rick Beato also did a great video about this. Rick is awesome and you should definitely check out his YouTube Channel. You can check out Rick's rant on "the blockers" here: https://youtu.be/nnp2VS2cBwA

This music (guitar driven rock music) isn't exactly setting the world on fire. It's really guys like me, Electric Monkey Radio, Rock Rage Radio, Metal Devastation, Loudwire and a few others that are truly passionate enough about it who are beating the drum for rock and roll. People find us on YouTube and discover new bands and younger folks (almost none of them listen to corporate radio these days) find out about great classic bands. I wanted to let you know that this was happening for you to tell your favorite bands and their labels to knock this crap off.

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Wicked Riff Wednesday Episode 4: What Was The First Heavy Metal Riff

When we speak of the beginnings of heavy metal, we may mention acts like Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience or Blue Cheer and while all of these bands played heavy music for their time, there is one track by one band that predates them all.

In 1964 when everyone was trying to sound like The Beatles, frustrated Kinks guitarist Dave Davies took a razor blade to the speaker cone of his amp affectionally known as "little greeney" and changed the course of rock and roll forever.

The song "You Really Got Me" sounded nothing like anything of it's time. It was heavy and sleazy and the first track in history who's hook was based around a distorted guitar riff. This was a year before Keef Riff-hard rocked our socks off with the fuzztone riff of Satisfaction and four years before The Beatles would cut Helter Skelter.

The track was a complete stand out in it's day and has become one of the most recognized riffs in all of classic rock-dome. So this week we celebrate Dave Davies, The Kinks and the birth of heavy metal!

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When Should Aging Rockers Retire?

Getting older... it happens to ALL of us. Someday we will be talking about how old Greta Van Fleet looks. Trust me... we will. This begs the question, is rock and roll an inveritable fountain of youth or do rockers have an expiration date?
Being a musician and getting a little older myself, I can tell you that the love of playing music for those of us who truly have it never goes away. When I strap on that Les Paul, I honestly feel pretty much the same way that I did when I was seventeen. I would imagine that it's no different for Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, Robert Plant or Bruce Dickinson. There is something about playing music that feels eternal no matter how long you have been doing it.

Still the question comes up when you hear about a Meatloaf reunion tour where, Meatloaf won't be singing. I will admit that that one is a real head scratcher for me too. It also comes into question when you go see and artist and it's obvious that they are only going through the motions with no real passion behind what they are doing. And of course it can be disheartening to hear one of your favorite rockers sound completly burnt out and singing terribly off key all night. When I see and hear things like this I am tempted to say, maybe it's time to rethink what you are doing.

But... who the hell am I to tell someone when it's time to stop playing music???

Ultimately the fans will decide when a rocker will retire. I have seen bands out there, like Whitesnake still doing it, with a grizzled and very tired sounding David Coverdale but people still turn out to the shows. Obviously, people still want to see them doing their thing. As long as fans will show up, there is no practical reason to stop touring.

People love artists for a lot of different reasons. It isn't always how well they sing or play... I will refrain from listing current bands... folks in their twenties who fall into THAT category. Sometimes its nostalgia; sometimes it's just being in the same room with a band that had a huge impact on their life, no matter how they sound now. There was something comforting knowing that Tom Petty, David Bowie, and Prince where still out there making music and very sad that they are no longer with us. It makes me feel good that the Stones put out a blues album and that Robert Plant is doing Americana. These artists, despite what they do are touch stones. These are the men and women who showed us what rock and roll is. They are our elders and while poking fun at celebrities seems to be a favorite past time of western culture, we should always have some reverence for those who laid the way for us. They should be given leway to sound as they sound, look as they look and to grow old gracefully... or not. Featured Loudini Artists: Hardcore Superstar
 Do your part to keep guitar driven rock ALIVE... join Loudini LIVE! Go to LouLombardiMusic.com/InnerCircle to find out how you can be a part of our LIVE online audience and get access to exclusive music and video!