Friday 30 September 2011

An Evening With Bill Bruford: American Dates!



Bill Bruford who over the last 18 months or so has been giving well received talks on his career and life has decided to "Head West" and is appearing at selected dates in America in October

Bill will be showing footage and discussing his career and issues raised in his recent autobiography. Books will be available on the night. There will be no hands-on drumming.

Mon. Oct. 17th 8:00 PM Columbus Percussion, 5052 North High St, Columbus OH 43214 Call toll free in the US (800) 775-7372

Tue. Oct. 18th 7:00 PM Sweetwater Music, 5501 U.S. Hwy 30 W, Fort Wayne IN 46818. Call toll free in the US (800) 222 4700

Wed. Oct. 19th 7:30 PM Drum Center of Lexington, 132 Southland Dr, Lexington KY 40503. Call toll free in the US (800) 341 DRUM

Thu. Oct. 20th 7:00 PM Explorer’s Percussion, 8050 Wornall Road, Kansas City MO 64114. Call (816) 361-1195

Sat. Oct. 22nd 2.45 PM Cascio Interstate Music, 13819 W. National Ave, New Berlin WI 53151. Call toll free in the US (800) 462-2263

Mon. Oct. 24th 6.30PM Daddy's Junky Music, 444 Providence Hwy, Dedham, MA 02026 Call (781) 329-9924

Bill Bruford's Website :

http://www.billbruford.com/

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Daedalus Vocalist Davide Merletto In feature on Classic Rock radio


Exclusive interview with Daedalus vocalist Davide Merletto in feature on Classic Rock Radio this coming Friday 30th September at 8pm UK Time. The feature will be repeated on Saturday night 1st October at 8pm UK time Davide is talking to Jon Kirkman about the new Daedalus album Motherland and playing tracks from the album.
Listen live on Friday and Saturday here .

http://www.classicrockradio.eu

You can buy the Daedalus album Motherland directly from the Gonzo Multimedia website here:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15276

Tuesday 20 September 2011

British Jazz Legend Graham Collier Dies.



James Graham Collier (21 February 1937 – 10 September 2011)
Gonzo MD Rob Ayling was saddened to hear that the British jazz composer Graham Collier has passed away. Rob released some of Graham's albums in the ninties as part of the jazzprint label.
Rob said
"It is a very sad day today having heard of the passing of Graham Collier. I was lucky to be able to release some of Graham's outstanding work as part of Jazzprint which was as the name implies the label specialising in Jazz which was distributed by Voiceprint. He was a lovely guy and one of the true greats of British Jazz and his loss is immense. My condolences and thoughts are with his family and friends at this time"

Monday 19 September 2011

Harmonic Jazz Festival: Arve/Dreams of Tall Buildings




Norwegian trumpet player Arve Henriksen has a unique voice on his instrument. He is capable of producing everything from ethereal, flute-like tones to guttural rasps in an ever-changing soundscape.

This project with duo Justin Wiggan (Roadside Picnic) and Darren Joyce (Modified Toy Orchestra) was first created for their album Rope/Drowning The Heart Sounds Is Heard Again.

This will be their first live performance together of brand new music created for Harmonic.

“Like Stan Getz stabbing Miles Davis in a floatation tank!”

Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman North American and Canadian Concerts



Yes legnds Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman have finalised their North American/Canadian tour. The tour which will take place during October and November and mark the first time the duo have toured together in North America in the duo format.

The pair who released their debut album the Living Tree in late 2010 will also release a live album of highlights from the British tour last year. The album will feature live versions of songs from The Living Tree alongside selected Yes Classics.

The tour dates are listed below and you are advised to check with the venue before travelling

Jon Anderson & Rick Wakeman Tour Dates 2011;

October 19 2011 – Potawatomi Casino Milwaukee, WI

October 22 2011 – Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead Munhall, PA

October 23 2011 – Lisner Auditorium Washington DC

October 24 2011 – Concert Hall New York, NY

October 26 2011 – Kleinhans Music Hall Buffalo, NY

October 27 2011 – The Palace Theatre Albany, NY

October 29 2011 – Tropicana Casino Resort Atlantic City, NJ

October 30 2011 – Temple Performing Arts Center Philadelphia, PA

November 1 2011 – Capitol Center for the Arts Concord, NH

November 2 2011 – The Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, CT

November 4 2011 – Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ

November 5 2011 – Sherman Theatre Stroudsberg, PA

November 6 2011 – Theatre at Westbury Westbury, NY

November 8 2011 – Hanover Theatre Worcester, MA

November 10 2011 – Grande Theatre du Quebec Quebec City, QC Canada

November 12 2011 – St. Denis Theatre Montreal, QC Canada

Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman Live Album



Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman will release a new live album in late autumn. The live album features highlights from the duo's British tour dates last year. It is hoped that the album will be available when Jon and Rick tour North America and Canada during October and November.





The track listing is below and features songs from the duo's debut album The Living Tree alongside some Yes classics. More details will be released in the next few weeks


01. And You & I

02. Living Tree Part 1

03. Morning Star

04. Long Distance

05. The Garden

06. Living Tree Part 2

07. Time and a Word

08. Just One Man

09. 232411

10. Southside

11. House Of Freedom

12. The Meeting

Bill Bruford London Event!



Bill Bruford, the drumming man's thinker. London, October 5th.

There will be a launch party for the special limited editions sets of 'Bill Bruford: The Autobiography' at The Forge in London on 5th October 2011.

http://www.forgevenue.org/

Bill will introduce the limited edition, deliver a talk on the whys, whats and hows of composing for drummers, and illustrate with tracks from the accompanying album 'From Conception to Birth'.

Questions from the audience will be welcome.

Fans can register interest in free tickets by clicking here:

http://foruli.co.uk/about

And there is more detail about this Foruli limited edition here.

http://foruli.co.uk/books/bill-bruford-the-autobiography/7

Terry Christian projects for Gonzo!



Rob Ayling and renowned Author/Journalist/Brodacaster Terry Chistian were seen huddled conspiritorially in a pub recently discussing various projects recently.
MD Rob Ayling said "Terry was involved in some very high profile and even groundbreaking teleivision and media releases and events and continues to work widely in the industry and we are discussing many potential future projects including the possible release on DVD of some of Terry's Television projects.
Watch this space.

Terry ({Pictured above) continues to work within radio and television and also has written a number of books and articles for magazines and newspapers

Atkins May Project


Gonzo are proud to announce that they have signed Al Atkins and Paul May for distribution under the name The Atkins May Project and will be releasing their new album Serpent's Kiss. The album comes housed in a sleeve designed by famed artist Rodney Matthews.

Al Atkins of course will be familiar to many for having formed Judas Priest and writing key songs that the band recorded on their first two albums.
Paul May also has a varied history having worked with the likes of Roy Wood,Larry Norman and is also a member of A.N.D and Temple Dogs

The album is the first albuym from the duop and Al Atkins has said th recordings on the Serpent's Kiss album "are the best to date"

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Essra Mohawk



Gonzo MD Rob Ayling recently caught up with Essra Mohawk. Essra will be releasing a Best of CD later in 2011 and also a live DVD which was filmed and recorded at the recent Zappanale in Germany. Essra previously worked with Frank Zappa amongst many other artists and so the Zappanale was the obvious choice and venue to film the DVD.
Essra recently toured Europe and had hoped to play a concert in London however the date in London had to be cancelled and re scheduled for Spring 2012.
You can find out more details at Essra's website here:

http://www.essramohawk.com/

Friday 2 September 2011

Wally Live DVD!



Legendary British band Wally will be releasing a live DVD filmed at the bands reunion in Harrogate at the Royal Theatre in 2009.



The DVD entitled "That Was Then" will include the complete performance and also feature an exclusive nterview filmed with three members of the band Roy Webber, Will Jackson and Frank Mizen. The interview was filmed at the end of August 2011 at the bands recording studio in Harrogate and the band discuss their history and also forthcoming plans both as members of Wally and a new band called Jackson Webber.



The band also discuss what it was like playing for an audience for the first time in more than thirty five years.



The DVD will hopefully be released in late 2011 along with further albums from Wally and Jackson Webber. The picture above was taken while the band were being filmed for the interiew and features from left to right Will Jackson, Roy Webber, Frank Mizen and Jon Kirkman



In the meantime you can find out more about Wally by going to the bands website here:



www.wallymusic.co.uk

Gonzo Go West . . . . .



Gonzo Go West . . . . .



British Music Distributors Gonzo Multi Media the company that distributes releases from the likes of Yes and some of the Yes connected artists including Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman alongside other key acts such as, Ant Phillips, Gong, Hawkwind and the films of Tony Palmer have announced their launch into the American market.



Gonzo MD Rob Ayling said:





“Despite being popular and having a wide customer base we sometimes had difficulties when out American customers wanted to buy releases from us. What we originally did was merely convert the order into USD from GBP. Unfortunately over the last couple of years with the current economic climate we have found that some of our releases have been a little too expensive for our American customers.



Now with a dedicated American Gonzo website our American customers can now purchase releases at the equivalent US domestic prices and not have to worry about erratic currency conversions and postage costs. This will be good certainly for those who have in the past been prevented from buying items due to cost and or exchange rate flutuations and UK sales tax.”




The website can be accessed here:



http://www.gonzomultimedia.com/



We have more fantastic releases to take us through the final quarter of 2011 including new releases from British band Wally and many more stretching into the new year of 2012 making us one of the biggest independent music distributors in the world. We have our own Facebook and Blogging pages which can also be subscribed to and a Channel on YouTube and also a channel on Radio 365.com where people can here podcasts featuring music from our artists and also exclusive interviews



2011 has been a year of consolidation fro Gonzo Multimedia and the company is now primed for even greater things into 2012.



We hope you will join us!







Wally - To The Urban Man – New Double Live Album of 2010 Concert. Coming Soon





Wally - To The Urban Man – New Double Live Album of 2010 Concert



1970’s progrock legends WALLY, protĂ©gĂ©s of Rick Wakeman and Bob Harris, previously signed to Atlantic records, reformed after a gap of 36 years in 2009 and are releasing their 4rd album titled ‘To The Urban Man’ a live double album of their 2010 concert recorded before a capacity audience of a thousand loyal fans in their home town at Harrogate Royal Hall.



WALLY had two successful albums on Atlantic records titled ‘Wally (1974)’ and ‘Valley Gardens (1975)’ both produced by Bob Harris and Rick Wakeman and with a string of singles including ‘The Martyr’, ‘I Just Wanna Be A Cowboy’ and the amazing ‘Nez Perce’ with guest Madeline Bell on backing vocals, which was a Johnnie Walker record of the week on Radio One, along with appearances on The Old Grey Whistle Test. They released a stunning and highly successful new studio album Montpellier in 2009, produced by Will Jackson (Kaiser Chiefs, Pigeon Detectives).



The Montpellier album was recorded in Leeds at the Soundworks Studio, home studio of Leeds bands The Pigeon Detectives and the Kaiser Chiefs, and introduces new tracks written by Wally, who are Paul Middleton (Pedal Steel and Bass), Pete Sage (Violin), Roger Narraway (Drums), NickGlennie-Smith (Keyboards), Roy Webber (Lead Vocals) and new members Will Jackson (Guitar) and Frank Mizen (Pedal Steel and Bass).



The band reformed in the spring of 2009 for a one off concert, tragically the original guitarist Pete Cosker died in 1991 from illnesses linked to a combination of drink and drugs and just as the band were preparing to come together the original keyboard player Paul Gerrett died in his sleep on a beach in Thailand where he owned a popular bar. His popularity as a person had not waned over the years and he was given a traditional Buddhist funeral by his close friends and family.



With the remaining five members comes a new member Frank Mizen who plays a multitude of instruments including pedal steel, banjo and bass along with another new member Will Jackson on lead guitar.



Over the years the band members have been involved in many projects the most notable being keyboard player Nick Glennie-Smith who has seen great success as a film score writer in Hollywood writing the scores for films such as Man in the Iron Mask and The Rock and is currently writing the score for a new Disney movie for release in 2011.



WALLY are holding the 2011 concerts at Harrogate Theatre, hosted by Radio 2 DJ, and host of the Old Grey Whistle Test, Bob Harris, who was also co producer of their original albums titled, WALLY and Valley Gardens, along with co -producer Rick Wakeman.



The double live album To The Urban Man captures Wally at their best, live on stage and performing their classics Nez Perce, The Martyr and Your Own Way along with the epic title track To The Urban Man.



It is hoped the album will be released in October in the meantime you can find more information about Wally at the bands website here :



http://www.wallymusic.co.uk/


SACRAMENTO-BASED ELECTRONIC DUO HARDBOILED WONDERLAND READIES TO RELEASE DEBUT CD, AS SMALL AS A WORLD AND LARGE AS ALONE, IN LATE FALL



Electronic duo Hardboiled Wonderland, featuring Martin Birke (synths, samples, electronic percussion, drum programming) and Percy Howard (lyrics, vocals, vocal samples), are proud to announce that they will release their debut disc, As Small as a World and Large as Alone, in late Fall. The record will be distributed through the UK-based label Gonzo MultiMedia, the innovative company that releases a wildly eclectic variety of CDs and DVDs from a number of renowned artists and record labels, spanning rock and pop music from the ‘60s to today.



Hardboiled Wonderland, named after half of the title of one of Birke and Howard’s favorite novels by Haruki Murakami (Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World),recorded and produced As Small as a World and Large as Alone from 2009-2010. The disc was co-produced with Christopher Scott Cooper (guitars, samples and engineering) at Blue Seven Audio in Fremont, CA, with contributions by Benito Cortez (viola, violins), Edo Castro (7-string basses) and Tara C. Taylor and Essence on backing vocals.



Each of the ten tracks on the record show not only the duo’s talent as musicians, but more importantly, their unbridled zeal and enthusiasm for creating adventurous music. From the sultry, emotionally charged title track to the infectious dance beats of ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Looking for Strange’, the trip-hop of ‘Filthy’ and ‘I Carry Your Heart’, the album is bold, delicate and introspective.



You can download the track “Jungle Fever” here:



http://www.hardboiledwonderland.net/HWmp3.htm





http://soundcloud.com/hardboiled-wonderland-1/jungle-fever



Prior to forming Hardboiled Wonderland, both Birke and Howard were already established musicians in their hometown of Sacramento, CA. Howard, no stranger to musical performance, was the singer in the local band NUS, who released two recordings, both produced by Bill Laswell, which came out in the mid 90s on the Belgian Art label Sub Rosa. He is also the generator and impetus behind the Meridiem Project, which has included collaborations with Bill Laswell, Vernon Reid, Buckethead, Charles Hayward, Fred Frith, Jarboe, Happy Rhodes, Trey Gunn, Robert Rich, Jill Tracy, Eraldo Bernocchi, and Oz Fritz amongst others.



Composer/producer Birke, whose adept technical skills allow him to create richly textured electronically-rooted compositions, is the writer & director of the studio project Genre Peak. He has created commissioned scores for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Oxygen Cable Network, and Lions Gate Films ("Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane", "Retribution"). He has also co-scored two films in collaboration

with the band Sandbox Trio (“Animals” and “Heartbeat”) in addition to touring and recording in Europe with the Frank-Mart-Arts label with the bands Casualty Park and Sandbox Trio.



Although the two met several times in the mid 90’s when Birke’s band, Sandbox Trio, often opened for Howard’s band NUS, they officially began their songwriting partnership in 2009 when they realized they had similar musical styles and visions. With their conceptualization of Hardboiled Wonderland crystallized, after a year writing and recording a collection of songs, including a remix by the late great bassist Mick Karn (Japan, Dalis Car), which is available on the band’s official website as a download, they felt that they have truly created a wonderland of modern music that brings the listener into themselves and out into the exploration of new eclectic music.



As Small as a World and Large as Alone combining Birke’s elegantly layered keyboards and samples and Howard’s sultry vocals, is a sonic venture through electronic and trip-hop compositions and a passionate and powerful debut.



www.hardboiledwonderland.net



www.percyhoward.com



You can buy the Hardboiled Wonderland album directly from the Gonzo website here :



http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15356

David Bedford Feature in Latest Edition of Classic Rock Presents Prog!





There is a fantastic article in the latest edition of Classic Rock Presents Prog.

It is issue 19 and features Pink Floyd on the cover as illustrated above.



David talks about his current activities and also working with the likes of Kevin Ayers,Roy Harper and also Mike Oldfield. He of course discusses his own solo career and mentions his latest release which is a live recording of The Odyssey from a performance recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in January 1977 which features Deep Purple's Jon Lord,Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge and Mike Oldfield amongst many others.



The live version of The Odyssey can be purchased directly from the Gonzo website here:



http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15358

British distributor Gonzo signs worldwide deal for Steve Cooke’s album – Radio.





British distributor Gonzo signs worldwide deal for Steve Cooke’s album – Radio.



UK label & distributor Gonzo has a roster featuring some of the biggest names in the music business like, Yes, Rick Wakeman, Ginger Baker, Fish, Leonard Cohen to name a few.

Gonzo CEO Rob Ayling said:



“We are looking forward to bringing this amazing voice to the world and are very happy with the new addition to our catalogue, “



Steve Cooke’s album also features international artists like Monte Pittman, (guitar Madonna/Adam Lambert), Madonna’s/Seal’s rhythm section, Steve Sidelnyk on drums and Marcus Brown on keys and bass. Additional musicians are Ric Fierabraci on bass and Phil X (Bon Jovi) adding some special guitar licks.





Composer, Dublyn Jones, wrote the songs on the Radio album.





There is much more to the Cooke story, so watch this space

www.stevecooke.net
...BECAUSE SOME OF US THINK THAT THIS STUFF IS IMPORTANT
What happens when you mix what is - arguably - the world's most interesting record company, with an anarchist manic-depressive rock music historian polymath, and a method of dissemination which means that a daily rock-music magazine can be almost instantaneous?

Most of this blog is related in some way to the music, books and films produced by Gonzo Multimedia, but the editor has a grasshopper mind and so also writes about all sorts of cultural issues which interest him, and which he hopes will interest you as well.