When we left Part I, Mike Campbell was living his rock ‘n’ roll dream playing in the band Mudcrutch. Mike’s first band in Gainesville (Dead or Alive) had broken up when their lead singer / bass player quit and sailed to Hawaii to be a surfer dude. Mudcrutch had come to the farmhouse to […]
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers enjoyed the ride of a lifetime. There are only so many rock ‘n’ roll bands that can ascend into the rarified air of stardom as they did over their 41 year run. It all came to a screeching halt when Petty died in 2017 thus ending the long term partnership […]
To celebrate our 46th anniversary in mid-July 2025, my wife and I traveled to Crystal Falls, Michigan to see The Traveling Musical Hillbilly Hippie Commune Show (or TMHHC). Never heard of them? They have been around since 1971 so perhaps you knew them by one of their previous names: Family Tree? Burlap Socks? Emergency Band? […]
No, that is not a typo. When I cracked open the July 2025 issue of Guitar World (Vol. 46, Issue No. 7), I initially read the headline as ‘Brian May’ and thought, “Wow, he has been getting a lot of press lately.” Upon closer inspection, I realized it actually said ‘McCartney’s Brian Ray’. It […]
Late in May, I got a sonic treat of epic proportions when Gary Tanin, our friend at Daystorm Music in Milwaukee, sent us an early copy of Peggy James’ new album. First the disclaimer – I have had the opportunity to preview several of Peggy’s albums. With each and every one of them, I […]
On February 28, 1980, AC/DC played the last date of the tour that introduced both their album Back in Black and their new singer, Brian Johnson, to the world. It had been one year and a day since they played their last show with singer Bon Scott. The concert a few nights earlier, (February […]
The Bangles had a lot going for them when they broke into the big time in the 1980s. One burden they did not have to carry was that of being the first all female rock band (see Vixen, The Runaways, The Go-Gos, etc). Earlier all-female rock bands were viewed as a novelty and most […]
REO Speedwagon came charging out of Southern Illinois and made a national name for themselves in the 1970s and 1980s. With the band’s name pretty much retired as of December of 2024, it seems a fitting time to chart the ups and downs of the band. The REO story, from its inception in 1967 […]
Blues Music Magazine is a quarterly publication I have subscribed to for many years. I have been a fan of all types of music for years but it was former WOAS-FM General Manager Mike ‘Zenith’ Bennett’s over the top love for the genre that got me deeper into the blues. BMM is published quarterly […]
At the end of 2024, I took some time to repay a long overdue debt. Over the last decade, Gary Tanin from Daystorm Music in Milwaukee has been kind enough to send me music from a host of artists he has worked with. Corresponding via email, I got to know a bit about Gary […]