May 28, 2014

It was a beautiful Memorial Day beach weekend, and when you add to it the likes of John Mayall, Troy "Trombine Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue and Gregg Allman, the lineup for the 21st Annual Avila Beach Blues Festival made it a Central California coast Sunday (May 25) like no other.

Pretty of sunshine, palm trees, good vibes and good brews added to the feel good festivities at the Avila Beach Resort as John Mayall hit the stage to kick off the festival. Mayall played the first Avila Beach Blues Fest, and it was a pleasure to have him back, as and his band got the crowd going and feeling great. (click on photos to enlarge)

Mayall ran through a set of his best, wrapping up with 'Room To Move.' The living legend showed that at 80 years of age, the music continues to keep him young, and for that matter, the rest of us as well.

I was eager to see Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews & Orleans Avenue live in person for the first time and the band really delivered a dynamic and exciting set showcasing the talents of he and his stellar players. Andrews himself started playing trombone at the age of 6 and comes from a long line of New Orleans musicians. At the age of 19, he got his big break as a featured member of Lenny Kravitz's horn section on a world tour that shared billing with acts including Aerosmith. He has since toured with his own bands since 2009, and has ascended to becoming one of the most in demand horn players in the world.

The legendary Gregg Allman has gone through some rough times so far in 2014, with a few health issues and the tragedy that happened on the set of the Allman biopic "Midnight Rider" (on which production has since been stopped), but you wouldn't know it, as the total pro delivered a show with that distinctive voice that can only be his. A set of all his best wrapped up an unforgettable day by the beach in beautiful Avila Beach. Can't wait until next year already!

Find more video on the Marshall Of Rock You Tube Channel and more photos on the Marshall Of Rock Facebook page.

Special thanks to Jill Kettles

May 23, 2014

Drummer Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces, The Who, The Law) has announced he will be reuniting with his former Who band mates Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend for a benefit concert for prostate cancer awareness.

Following a routine check up last summer, Jones himself was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After an MRI scan showed the disease had not spread, he underwent treatments in January. The concert, dubbed 'Rock 'n' Horsepower' will benefit Prostate Cancer UK, which was a huge support in Kenney's diagnosis and recovery.

The concert will be held June 14 at Ewhurt’s Hurtwood Park Polo Club. Genesis’ Mike Rutherford and the Moody Blues’ John Lodge, and Procol Harum will also be a part of the lineup. “The line up is looking amazing,” said Jones. “I have a number of very talented friends on board who are set to make this day a totally unique event,” he added. Jones joined the Who in 1978 death after the death of drummer Keith Moon and was with them through 1988.

May 23, 2014

The epic battle months in the making finally went down last night, as Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chickenfoot) and Will Ferrell staged their 2014 drum-off on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Watch the battle with some surprise special guests below.

Back in February, Chad Smith was participating in a Reddit chat and was told he looked like Will Ferrell. That set off a verbal battle between the two that culminated with the drum-off last night.

So funny and such a great cause as the drum-off benefits two charities. Little Kids Rock, for Chad, the largest free instrumental music program in the U.S. public schools, having enriched the lives of more than 300,000 schoolchildren, as well as Cancer For College for Will, which provides financial aid to cancer survivors in the form of college scholarships. Go to the charities pages to find out more and support the cause buy purchase some official drum-off merch, including t-shirts and even a cowbell at these links : www.represent.com/drumoff or www.gumroad.com/drumoff

May 21, 2014

A new series set to premiere June 8 on The History Channel about the pursuit of the Kodiak Brown Bear has tapped a man with a legendary roar of his own to narrate. James Hetfield of Metallica will be the voice of an eight- episode series that documents one of the most dangerous pursuits known to man. 'The Hunt, will document a select group of hunters that head into the wilderness battling the elements and looking out for the largest land predator on Earth – the Kodiak brown bear.

Hetfield lists hunting as a hobby, so he was game to be a part of the show. An official press releases says:

"Bear hunting on Kodiak goes back millennia, tracing back to the early Alutiiq people who sought these enormous creatures to provide food and raw materials. Today, the bear hunt remains a cultural fixture on Kodiak and is crucial to the delicate natural balance on the island. Strictly regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, every year thousands of hunters apply for one of 496 tags that are given via a lottery system. While Alaskan residents may hunt by themselves, outsiders must hire seasoned guides who are experts in both the Kodiak brown bear and the island terrain. At the root of their craft, these guides have a profound reverence for this animal.

The average Kodiak brown bear hunt is 10 days, most of which are spent living off the land with only the supplies carried on the backs of the guide and hunter. During that time, expeditions trek miles of treacherous terrain, often enduring ferocious weather changes that can become extremely dangerous at a moment’s notice. The game they’re hunting can grow to be 12 feet tall, 1500 pounds, and are armed with razor sharp claws and powerful jaws. The Kodiak brown bear also possesses an eerie elusiveness and a sharp intelligence that is not to be underestimated. They have the ability to blur the lines between the hunted and the hunter.

Most of the hunters look at Kodiak as the hunt of a lifetime, yet less than half walk away with their tag filled. While getting a bear is no easy task, most hunters still value time-honored traditions by hunting with bow-and-Arrow, black powder single-shot rifles, and/or use the minimum amount of technology possible. Honoring the animal is paramount and taught to all hunters who come to the island. Hunters have an ethical and legal responsibility to strive for clean kills that is taken very seriously. There are pages of stringent regulations they must follow that ensure respect for the animal and the land."

May 20, 2014

After being talked about for over four years, the official Philip Anselmo (Pantera/Down) autobiography is slated to hit shelves on Jan. 13, 2015, according to Amazon. The 288 page 'Mouth for War: Pantera and Beyond,' was written with the help of Housecore Horror Festival creator and true crime author Corey Mitchell.

Here's the official description for the autobiography:

"In this brutally honest, no-holds-barred memoir, Philip Anselmo, former frontman of the legendary metal band Pantera, finally tells his side of the story—on everything from the band’s meteoric rise to the murder of guitarist Darrell Abbott onstage.

From bar band obscurity to the bright spotlight of the world’s stage, Anselmo helped lead Pantera to world domination. He soared to the top with the first extreme metal album to debut at #1 on the Billboard music charts with Far Beyond Driven in 1994. He turned a bar-bumping glam metal band into the heaviest, most extreme, and most successful heavy metal unit since Metallica.

But the ride to the top wasn’t easy.

Soon after Far Beyond Driven topped the charts, Anselmo hit rock bottom at the band’s celebrated return gig in Dallas, Texas, where he was declared clinically dead for more than four minutes after he overdosed on heroin. He later watched Pantera disintegrate due to backbiting, alcohol and drug abuse, and chronic pain. And in addition to nearly killing himself, Anselmo has been blamed for killing the band and wrongfully accused as the reason his best friend and guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott was murdered onstage by a deranged fan.

Anselmo’s rise to the top of the heavy metal heap as the ultimate frontman is the stuff of modern-day legend. Finally, he tells all in this fascinating narrative of his hard-won music career with incredible highs and devastating lows. Mouth for War is the hard, honest, brutal truth."

The book will be released by Gallery Books and sold by Simon and Schuster. To pre-order ‘Mouth for War click here: www.amazon.com