The Loudini Rock and Roll Circus

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.

 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!

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!

Bluesy Tuesday Episode 4 Slash Lives

: It may seem like a miracle, but you know that guy from Guns 'N Roses... Yeah.. .the one with the top hat and Les Paul slung down to his ankles? Well that sneaky so and so, found time to get together with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators and record and another record. And let me you kids, if the first single is any indication, this it going to be one bad ass record. It's called Living the Dream and we are going to give you a taste on this week's Bluesy Tuesday Episode 4.

We are also going to take a closer look at one of Slash's classic riffs, Paradise City and explore it a little deeper. When it comes to blues based hard rock it was hard to pick which track to talk about from the Slash catalog. We settled on Paradise City because it's main riffs and melodic structure are practically a lesson in great blues based riffs in the tradition of bands like Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. So... it's a double shot this week... a "two for Tuesday" if you will of the grand master himself... Slash!

Do your part to keep guitar driven rock ALIVE... join Loudini LIVE! Go to http://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!

Wicked Riff Wednesday Episode 3: Hey Hey My My... is Neil Young a good guitar player?

What does it mean when some one says that this person or that person is a good or even great guitar player? On what merits should we judge or is it completely subjective?

On this week's episode we discuss Neil Young. While mostly thought of as a singer songwriter, Neil has a very unique approach to playing lead guitar. His style is self decribed as "less is most". The solo to Cinnamon Girl is the same note repeated on two different strings. Yet I find his guitar work very moving.

Some of his best guitaring is live. Do a YouTube search of his live electic work and you will find a guitarist who plays with blind feel. He just goes for it. While he hits his share of clunkers for sure, there is a danger and a beauty at times in his playing that simply just tugs at your heart strings.

Today I want to celebrate the heavier side of Neil Young with the classic riff "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black). Whether you're a Neil Young fan or not, you have to admit that this is one of the HEAVIEST riffs in rock's pantheon. So grab a cold beverage and crank this one up because Rust Never Sleeps!

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!

 

A Stalking Fan asks to join the band, and Dan Too is Born

Dan Too is a country-rock, alt. country outfit from Santa Cruz, CA with a thinly veiled tendency towards yacht-rock. The band contains members from American Starlet, Painted Horses, Dan Juan, Grand Larson, Slow Ocean, T Sisters, Birdhouse, and Dos Osos.

Dan Too is about to become your new favorite band. Debuting with us today their latest single "Waiting around for life," we found ourselves instantly intrigued by the band.

From start to finish the track entices with strong hooks, prominent instrumentation and thoughtful lyricism. Hailing from Santa Cruz the band paves the way for new Alt-Country bands alike. It's evident that the band whispers hints of artists such as Wilco and Whiskeytown, but the music they create is on their own terms.

 

The band contains members from American Starlet, Painted Horses, Dan Juan, Grand Larson, Slow Ocean, T Sisters, Birdhouse, and Dos Oso, which is impressive to say the least. Singer and guitarist Daniel Talamantes is a vocal dream as he teams up with Ian Parks on pedal steel, guitar and vocals, Tyler Larson on bass and vocals and Jon Payne on drums and vocals. A match made in heaven, "Isis and Osiris," is only the beginning for Dan Too.. Listen closely....

Bluesy Tuesday Episode 3: Greta Van Fleet, the next rock gods, or cheap Led Zeppelin wannabes?

Every once in a while a band comes along the stirs the pot, generating a large fanbase as well as detractors. Greta Van Fleet with their Led Zeppelin flavored debut has done both.

Their fans love them and show up to their shows in droves, evidenced by the sold out shows that they are playing around the US, but they do have their share of haters.

It boggles my mind that the same people who decry today's bands a superficial, plastic, and unsoulful are the same ones who jump on the Greta Van Fleet hate wagon. Isn't this the band that they have been waiting for? Why is Greta Van Fleet so polerizing?

It's probably a combination of the band's blatant Led Zeppelin infunce which they actually deny. This has understandably earned the ire of a lot of Led Zeppelin fans and has even irked Robert Plant a bit. They owe a lot of what they do to Led Zeppelin and they would do best just to own that and wear it as a badge of honor.

They are a young band and it will be interesting to see what they do next. In the meantime, what side of the fence are you on? Are you a Greta Van Fleet fan or foe?

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!

Birthed from the rough streets of Homestead; Neostem brings their working class punk ethos to rock and roll

Formed in early 2013 in a very cold garage, the foundation of Neostem was formed. Three musicians from different musical backgrounds came together to make the sound that is only described as Neostem! The music is fused with punk, grunge, alternative and a tad of metal, wrapped in neatly in a loud, tightly knit shell. "LIpid" is the latest EP that was recorded at Razorblade Recordings and the band are preparing for EP #2 for the Fall of 2018! Catch them live at a venue near you! 

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!