For the 17th time in my 27 years on the radio I had the great pleasure of speaking with guitar master Steve Vai. As usual his Royal Vai-ness has a lot going on including the 52-Hour Big Mama-Jama Jamathon, a gig with an orchestra in Alabama and the Generation Axe Tour with Zakk Wylde, Yngwie…
A couple of days ago I saw the headline: Acclaimed Music Producer Michael Beinhorn (Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ozzy, Fuel, Marilyn Manson) Launches Pre-Production Services for the People. I was thrilled and then quickly recalled that I had advised dozens of band and musicians that producers and pre-production are critical if you want the…
Segment One: The Sound Of…Sammy’s Guitar: - We welcome guitarist Sammy Boller in to challenge the panel to identify songs by listening only to the guitar solo.
Mark Farner's American Band is in town tomorrow, Saturday June 16, to play a free show at Detroit Music Weekend. I sat down with Mark to talk about his musical journey from his 1st guitar to the local band Terry Knight and The Pack to the global success of Grand Funk and his current American…
Imagine yourself visiting a sun-soaked small city that floats to and from scenic destinations inhabited by dozens of amazing rock bands. It’s the kind of place where you get a big bear hug from guitar God Zakk Wylde while grabbing your morning coffee (actually happened), a place you can enjoy a late-night ice cream with…
As a life-long rock & roll fanatic who has been attending concerts since 1982, hundreds upon hundreds of them especially during my 26 years on the radio, you get to a point when you think you’ve seen it all…then you see Nothing More. Within moments you realize this is different new and unquestionably authentic. The…
The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band is back with an outstanding new album called Lay It On Down. The record hit #1 on Billboard's Top Blues chart and landed at #5 on Billboard's Top Current Albums chart during its first week of sales. I spoke to Kenny for the Chop Shop by phone on Wednesday (August…
Guitar master Marty Friedman (Megadeth/Cacophony/Solo) will be playing a gig at the Diesel Concert Lounge in Chesterfield on Wednesday August 9th. I spoke to Marty on Thursday (August 3rd) about his new album, Wall of Sound, his 13th solo record, the current tour and his life living in Japan. Enjoy – Steve Black
I spoke with John Connolly (Sevendust) today (7/21/17) about the new album from his band Projected. We also talked in depth about the loss of Chester Bennington and depression. Ignite My Insanity is on sale now. The band is a modern-age super-group comprised of Sevendust guitarist John Connolly, Alter Bridge/Creed drummer Scott Phillips, Sevendust bassist…
Former guitarist for The Eagles and music legend Don Felder is part of the United We Rock Tour with Styx and REO Speedwagon. All three bands will play DTE on July 25th. Last week I spoke to Don for the Chop Shop Guitar Show about the upcoming tour, new music and some of the groundbreaking…
If you know me outside of radio at all you know I’m a big science, space, sci-fi junkie. From super heroes to time travel to space travel to the possibilities of an endless multiverse, yep, you can count me in. On June 16th Styx released their 16th studio album, a concept album called The Mission.…
On May 26th, Mark Slaughter released his new studio album Halfway There. The record was Produced and co-mixed by Slaughter with John Cranfield (AFI, Andy Grammer), with art by famed horror/album artist “Mister” Sam Shearon (Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden, KISS, Clive Barker). Last week I spoke with Mark by phone about the album, life, guitars…
On August 3rd of 1987 Def Leppard released their 4th studio album Hysteria, now nearly 30 years later to the day (August 4th) the band will celebrate their top selling landmark album with the release of several ultimate 30th Anniversary editions. The reissue will be available in multiple formats: the 1-CD "Vanilla" version, a 3-CD…
Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 has released his 8th solo album Season of the Witch. Leading up to the release John has been releasing great videos of each song, one per month as a unique way to reach out to fans. I called John 5 on Monday (March 13th) as he was at the start…
On Friday March 24th the music community will come together to celebrate the life of Michigan’s own Dick Wagner. The 3rd Annual Dick Wagner "Remember The Child" Memorial Concert will be held at the Sound Board inside of Motor City Casino & Hotel, in Detroit. And will include music from Mark Farner, Suzi Quatro, Kip…
Just a couple of years ago Scott Stapp was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Scott, the frontman of Creed, has been diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder, a serious mental illness that when mixed with drugs and alcohol can lead to death. This time around though, that familiar crash and burn rock & roll story has…
I must admit after a lifetime of going to concerts (more than 600 at this point) I’ve become a bit jaded. Last night at JLA (2/2/17) taking in the Red Hot Chili Peppers not only proved that I haven’t seen it all, they also gave me the needed slap in the face style reminder of…
ShipRocked 2017 is in the books and as a media partner via The Chop Shop, I’m saddled with the arduous task of describing what it’s like to experience 4 full nights of pure rock & roll heaven in the format of a quick blog post. The 44 concerts, spread out across 5 on-board venues on…
Myles Kennedy is one of the premier talents to emerge in the last 15 years. In this new Chop Shop interview with our old friend, we discuss the new Alter Bridge album The Last Hero, the band’s upcoming US Tour, the ShipRocked Cruse which departs in January plus Slash and Myles' solo album. Enjoy the…
Yesterday (December 7th) the rock community lost another brilliant musician. Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer died after a lengthy battle with cancer, he was 69 years old. As host of the Chop Shop Guitar Show I was fortunate enough to interview Greg just a few weeks ago. He sounded great as he reflected…
To me personally, Rik Emmett is one of the most influential artists or musicians ever. Rik and his band at the time Triumph were life-changing to me during my teen years. Rik was the first “rock star” I ever met. He was also part of my first back-stage experience, and Triumph was my first concert…
