'WALLY' IN THE NEWS

Wally is a British progressive rock band formed by singer song writer Roy Webber in Harrogate in the early seventies. The band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1974 after entering a contest organised by the music paper Melody Maker. Unfortunately the band did not win the competition but they did catch the eye of One of the judges at the competition, presenter of the Old Grey Whistle Test Bob Harris who oversaw their prize which was to record a session for his Radio 1 programme. Through Bob the band were signed to Atlantic Records and Bob subsequently produced the band’s debut self titled album alongside Rick Wakeman. The band also enjoyed a number of high profile concerts including an appearance at the 1974 Crystal Palace garden Party which was headlined by Rick Wakeman and after being managed briefly by the manager of Yes Brian Lane would support Yes also at a number of high profile concerts.

Read on...

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL GONZO ARTISTS WHO USE THIS PARTICULAR ELECTRONIC DEVICE. Check out this remarkable new development...

What do you get when you combine a taxidermied badger with a theremin? You get the Badgermin. Yes, in this world of “if it can be done, why not try it?” somebody actually has created what is likely to be the first ever electronic instrument stuffed inside a dead animal.

RICK WAKEMAN: Live adventures and musings

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/rick-wakeman/2011/teatro-gran-rex-buenos-aires-argentina-13d1c59d.html

I was mildly impressed that there is an entire website set up devoted to reposting set lists, but then again I am always impressed when someone does something spectacularly trivial within a rock music context. Here you can see the set list from a gig in Argentina late last year, and if - like me - you have never really grown out of being a teenage space cadet, even well into the years of your prime, you are going to spend hour here, just footling about.

Anyway I am in the mood for Rick Wakeman at the moment. Not only have I been working on new issues of his autobiography, and the all singing all dancing 1978 biography by Dan Wooding, but these literary endavours have led me to spotify his albums, and - to my mild embarrassment - I had forgotten how good they are. Even Prudence (the massively unintelligent bulldog/boxer bitch who spends most of her life snoozing on the sofa) seems to like it.

So both Prudence and I are looking forward to the release of a new live album next week:

Rick Wakeman releases his latest album - an archive live album entitled "In The Nick Of Time" on the 19th of March.

The album was recorded in 2003 during an extensive British tour with the New English Rock Ensemble. The album is a single disc and contains 7 tracks including: Catherine Parr/Beware Your Enemies, No Earthly Connection,White Rock and Wurm which as many will know is a track originally found on The Yes Album as part of Starship Trooper.

In The Nick Of Time has long been anticipated by the large and dedicated Rick Wakeman fan base and the tour from which the album was sourced was one of Rick's most extensive and successful tours to date.

I am confident that my stepdaughter Olivia will sniff disdainfully at it, and give me the withering glanse that she always gives when she thinks that her darling stepfather is actually a tedious old hippy. But her favourite band is Slipknot, and whilst I know that Rick W has tried some extravagant new musical adventures in his time...

JUDGE SMITH: Speech Music and Allegorical tales

ORFEAS, Part Two

We sat down to listen to it last night, and although I know vaguely what I was expecting, but what we got was nothing like it.

For one thing I didn't expect it to be so enjoyable. I was expecting a piece of heavy Art with a capital A, but what we got was definitely well crafted, artostically valid, yadda yadda yadda, but it was also really entertaining and good fun.

It tells the story of George Orpheus, a rock guitarist of a certain age, whose career is dependent on his artistry on a magickal guitar called Eurydice (which he completely misunderstands, misreading it as "Furry Dice"). It transpires that Eurydice is actually his muse (no, not a three piece rock band from Teignmouth, that would have a capital M, duh!) and the magick guitar was her way of communicating her creative spirit into the engagingly numb skull of George O.

When George O turns his back on his creativity, disaster strikes....

One of the most striking things about the album is the way that Judge Smith uses a singular technique that I had not come across before:

"Speech-music involves taking a recording of a spoken voice, and then setting that recording to music; a music that closely follows the rhythm of the spoken words and the natural rise and fall of the speaker’s voice. This rather demanding and arduous technique was first heard in the 1980s, in the work of a small number ofcomposers and performers, all from the Americas. These include Scott Johnson, Hermeto Pascoal, and Steve Reich, while more recently René Lussier and Charles Spearin have continued to develop the idea. But perhaps the most accomplished speech- music practitioner to have emerged is another American, David Minnick,whom I was lucky enough to involve in the Orfeas project. My own initial experiments in the field can be heard on the 2007 L-RAD album Long Range Audio Device, and my only minor claim to originality in using the technique is that I believe I mightbe the first composer to use 'acted' or deliberately performed speech to generate the music, as opposed to documentary recordings of one kind or another".

JUDGE SMITH: Orfeas (Yer Press Release)

2/29/2012 - London, UK - Independent composer and recording artist Judge Smith, who in 1967 co-founded with Peter Hammill the influential underground band Van der Graaf Generator, has created a movie for your ears – a new concept CD titled 'Orfeas'; a retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus, the magical musican who travels to the Land of the Dead in search of the lost Eurydice. Since his Van der Graaf Generator days, Judge Smith has been responsible for a wide variety of music projects, including four stage-musicals (with productions at the Edinburgh Traverse, Sheffield Crucible and the Lyric, Hammersmith), opera and cantata libretti, songs for the ‘70s TV show ‘Not The Nine O’clock News’, and songs recorded by Peter Hammill and Lene Lovich. His film ‘The Brass Band’ has won several international awards. Judge Smith's music is complex in structure and often fragmented, but is always tuneful and strangely memorable, with humor never far from the surface. In the course of a twenty-year independent solo career, he has released ten CDs and DVDs.

“My principal interest is in telling stories with words and music,” explains Judge. “Some of my CDs are collections of songs, the usual format for an album, although people say that my songs are unusual and idiosyncratic. However, three of my projects are in a different category. Over many years, I have developed a new way of making extended musical narratives that I call ‘Songstories’, which are more complex than song-cycles or ‘rock operas’. They are not ‘musicals’ either, since they are pretty well un-stageable, and are each intended to be being complete as an ‘audio experience’. The three Songstories are all very different. The first, ‘Curly’s Airships’, a double CD with a running time of two hours and twenty minutes, was completed in 2000 after six years full-time work, and tells the story of the 1930 R-101 Airship disaster. It is probably one the largest and most ambitious pieces of rock music ever recorded. The second, ‘The Climber’, released in 2009, in complete contrast, is performed by me with an unaccompanied Norwegian male voice choir, and a double bass. The third Songstory is ‘Orfeas’, my own interpretation of the Classical myth.”

This Songstory uses wildly contrasting styles of music to tell its story, including instrumental Rock, Mediterranean guitar music, modern classical string sextet music, classical Trance dance music and Death Metal. 'Orfeas' also features a radical, and little-known, technique for transforming recorded speech into melody. “As far as I am aware, I am the only person making work like this, and I think it would be probably fair to say that no one else does what I do,” says Judge.

“Best known for his role in the formation of Van de Graaf Generator, Judge Smith is clearly not an artist with much interest in toeing the line. 'Orfeas', a three-act 'songstory' in which Smith and a host of guest performers re-imagine the titular Greek legend as he headlines at Wembley Arena, is effectively an exercise in schizophrenic musical theatre, replete with rambling soliloquies and plot-revealing dialogue set to avant-garde chamber music, that takes in everything from Jaunty rock radio-jingles and ethereal pop.” Dom Lawson – Classic Rock Presents Prog

In recent news, on November 6, 2011 a performance of Judge Smith's 'The House That Cried' was held in Como, Italy. The show also took place on November 20, 2011 in Chiasso, Switzerland.

For more information visit www.Judge-Smith.com

To purchase Judge Smith – Orfeas CD http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15417

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@cs.com

WALLY: Montpelier

Wally is a British progressive rock band formed by singer song writer Roy Webber in Harrogate in the early seventies. The band was signed to Atlantic Records in 1974 after entering a contest organised by the music paper Melody Maker. Unfortunately the band did not win the competition but they did catch the eye of One of the judges at the competition, presenter of the Old Grey Whistle Test Bob Harris who oversaw their prize which was to record a session for his Radio 1 programme. Through Bob the band were signed to Atlantic Records and Bob subsequently produced the band’s debut self titled album alongside Rick Wakeman. The band also enjoyed a number of high profile concerts including an appearance at the 1974 Crystal Palace garden Party which was headlined by Rick Wakeman and after being managed briefly by the manager of Yes Brian Lane would support Yes also at a number of high profile concerts. A second album emerged in 1975 again produced by Bob Harris entitled Valley Gardens the band now joined by keyboardist Nick Glennie-Smith who would go onto a successful production and composing career after Wally split in the late seventies just before the band could record their third album Montpelier is the result of a reformation of the band and includes material that would possibly have featured on the bands third album in the seventies alongside new material. The band have performed annual concerts in their home town of Harrogate for the last three years but Montpelier is the first studio album since Valley gardens in 1975. The band does have a large cult following and this album will certainly be welcomed by that substantial following.

Tracks: 1. Sailor , 2. Sister Moon , 3. Thrill Is Gone , 4. Surfing , 5. In The Night , 6. Human , 7. She Said , 8. Giving.

JUDGE SMITH: In the news

One does try not to be churlish, and the person who did this interview was obviouly impressed by the new album, but - goodness me - there are some massive cock-ups in this generally positive review:

http://www.antimusic.com/news/12/March/08Singled_Out-_Judge_Smiths_Orfeas.shtml

The ever wonderful Lene Lovich, as Eurydice:

MATT ROWE REVIEWS THE NEW LIVE ALBUM BY JON ANDERSON AND RICK WAKEMAN

http://musictap.net/2012/03/01/review-the-living-tree-in-concert-part-one-anderson-wakeman/

Review: The Living Tree In Concert Part One – Anderson / Wakeman

Being on an extended YES immersion, it’s only natural that I’d want to hear more of them than what was released. A good place are the many solo works that came afterwards. Jon Anderson is pretty prolific a recording artist, whether that be studio or live. One of the more recent recordings from Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman is The Living Tree In Concert with the teasing addition of Part One to the title indicating more to follow.

The Living Tree In Concert opens with a tame, truncated but heartfelt version of “And You And I” from Close To The Edge. Now, not everyone is forgiving of a seemingly different version of a classic that many have fallen in love with and jealously protect. And some would argue that this version of “And You And I” is not well presented. However, this is a live setting with no studio trickery applied (for the most part). And I would argue that Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, in their intimate 2-man show, without the full-bodied sound of other musicians to fill in the blanks, have done a fine job in presentation not only of that song but all of the tracks found here.

But more importantly, it’s how you come to the stage when listening to this particular live recording that features some well-known tunes as well as a selected collection of Anderson/Wakeman tunes. On the Living Tree In Concert, you are gifted with a unique experience with one of the more distinct voices of our time, and one of the most gifted keyboardists of Rock. Anderson/Wakeman revisits “And You And I” in a shortened but satisfying version of the song, “Long Distance Runaround”, an excellent (voice and all) version of “South Side Of The Sky”, and “Time And A Word” from YES. ”The Meeting” from the wonderful Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (1989) is also presented. The remaining tracks from the twelve found on the album are from the recent The Living Tree studio collaboration between Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman.

What you may come away with is that these two legendary performers have aged well. One listen to the previously mentioned “South Side Of The Sky” will reveal that Anderson can still flex his voice in remarkable ways. Rick Wakeman’s skill is as immaculate and beautiful as ever, if not more so. The Living Tree In Concert is a wonderful visit with two great friends. I’m glad I took the time to sit with them.

Release Date: February 1, 2012
Website

JUDGE SMITH - Tell me the old old story

ORFEAS, Part One

I've got a confession to make. I have vaguely heard of Chris Judge Smith over the years, but until this evening I hadn't ever got around to listening to him. And not for the first time in my life, I am cursing the unfortunate omission.

OK, what do you think when you hear that an ex-member of Van der Graaf Generator has made a mildly avant garde concept album based upon the classic story of Orpheus and Eurydice?

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Rock music is often a medium prone to hyperbole, and the word 'classic' is one of the most over used words in the genre. However, when one finds out that the earliest known appearance of the story is in the 6th Century BC, it makes claims that "Robbie Williams has made a 'Classic' album" seem pretty small beer, but I digress - I do that a lot, you'll find)

Still digressing, for those of you who are not familiar with the old old story about how Orpheus lost his wife and went into Hades to find her, you had better check it out HERE)

You know it is going to be classy; you know it is going to be edufite; you know that it is going to be well crafted. But, bloody hell, you don't realise that it is going to be so much fun! Corinna, (my wife), Graham (my best mate) and Prudence (my rather silly bulldog/boxer bitch) sat down to listen to it this evening, and none of us got even slightly what we expected....

To be Continued...

PLEASE ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF

If you have been following the old Gonzo blog, ably edited by our friend Jon Kirkman, then you will probably be wondering who the hell I am, and what the blazes I am doing here.

Well, my name's Jon, and I am probably better known as "That fat weird bloke off the telly who believes in vampires". Well, as well as believing in vampires (which I do, by the way, but that is an entirely different story) I have been writing about music for even longer than I have been writing about things that go bump in the night. The only difference being that most of the time no-one much read what I had to say. Even less people bought my records (which is one of the reasons that I became a writer in the first place), but music never stopped being very important to me.

Yes, I admit it. I was one of those deluded souls who truly believed that sitting in muddy fields in the rain listening to a bunch of grown men making whooshing noises on synthesisers was somehow going to change the world! I'm still not sure that it won't.

About a quarter of a century ago when I was editing a small-press fanzine that no-one much read, I met a bloke called Rob Ayling. The main thing that we had in common was that we both took music far too seriously, but that was enough, and we soon became firm friends. He and I both had dreams; I was going to travel the earth in search of monsters, and he was going to start a record label for the delectation of those people who also take music far too seriously. Twenty-five years on, we have both realised our ambitions, and what other two disparate middle-aged men can claim that?

Now, twenty-five years on from our first meeting at a Daevid Allen concert in Exeter Arts Centre, we are collaborating again. Rob decided that although
I had never stopped taking music far too seriously, it was time that I started to write about it again. I won't ever argue with Rob - he is from Yorkshire, so I gathered a few like-minded folk around me, we girded our loins, and set to work.

So here we are, at the beginning of a brave new adventure. We are going to do our best to make this a daily thing, and we hope that you will join us. C'mon guys; it is time to see the world through the eyes of a bunch of middle-aged weirdos who still have a sneaking suspicion that music can change the world!

Dee Palmer Nuremburg Cantata Performed Live At Concert In March

Former jethro Tull keyboardist Dee Palmer sees her composition The Nuremberg Cantata performed live at a concert In Aid of the Bomber Command Memorial Fund and takes place at;
All Saints Church, The Drive, Hove BN3 3PB
Tickets are priced at £12.50/£10/£7.50 and are available from the Brighton Ticket Shop New Road Brigton or online here:
http://www.brightonticketshop.com/



The concert features the Manheim ensemble and soloists inluding DeePalmer. Dee will play piano on her composition of the Nuremberg Cantata as part of the orhestra. The evening also include a performance of the Warsaw Concerto and Dee will be the featured soloist on this piece

The Nuremberg Cantata, KM-C is a lyric cantata for soloists, chorus and chamber orchestra. Its subject is the ill-fated 1,000 bomber raid on Nuremberg during the night of 30th/ 31st March, 1944, when ninety six of our aircraft were brought down by enemy action, resulting in a huge loss of life. Commissioned by the Arundel Festival, the

Premiere, in August, 2010 was received with great acclaim.

In this moving and tuneful work - which, in one “upbeat” section hints, wittily, at the popular music styles of the 1940’s - the fallen are represented by a solo tenor, and those left behind ie the mothers, wives and sweethearts, by a female chorus and alto soloist.

Each of the nine sections of the Cantata reflects a phase in the lives of the aircrews – from their exuberant, youthful outlook in the opening chorus to their sadly predictable end in the closing and harrowing “In Paradisum”. On a personal note, KM-C was the 44 Squadron call sign of one of the Lancaster bombers lost in the raid. The pilot was a relative of the composer.

The date of the concert, March 30th, 2012 coincides with and marks the 68th anniversary of the Nuremberg Raid.
Gonzo MD Rob Ayling and his son Hunter will be attending. Rob siad
"I am really looking forward to this concert and hearing Dee's new composition and of course it is raising money for a very good cause so I hope others will also buy tickets and support the cause"

Mimi Page Live Dates In March and April

Gonzo recording artist Mimi Page embarks on a series of live concerts in March and April in support of her recently released album. Breathe me In. Some of the dates find Mimi as the special guest of Jefferson Starship and also Choir of Young Believers. Elsewhere Mimi will be headlining her own show. More details below and also at Mimi's website here

http://www.mimipage.com/

Her album  Breathe Me In can be ordered directly here:

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15424/Mimi_Page-Breathe_Me_In.html

MARCH

15 - Ridgefield, CT/ Ridgefield Playhouse (supporting JEFFERSON STARSHIP)

16 - New Hope, PA/ Havana

17 - New Hope, PA/ Havana (supporting JEFFERSON STARSHIP)

18 - Bearsville, NY/ Bearsville Thr.

19 - NY, NY/ Mercury Lounge (supporting CHOIR OF YOUNG BELIEVERS)

20 - Prov., RI/ The Met

21 - NY, NY/ Lucille's @ BB Kings Blues Club & Grill

22 - New Haven, CT

23 - Huntington, NY/ The Paramount (supporting JEFFERSON STARSHIP)

 

APRIL

13 - Indio, CA/ Coachella 

14 - Indio, CA/ Coachella 

15 - San Diego, CA/ House of Blues

Fish UK Tour in May Including Three Dates With Genn Hughes

Fish embark on a short UK tour in May. The tour starts on the 21st of May in Southampton and ends on the 27th of May in Glasgow. Three of the dates are double bill concerts with Glenn Hughes. The dates and relevant booking information are listed below.

Fish is also involved in a major back catalogue overhaul which will take place throughout this year. There will also be liove DVDs and CDs from the recent Fish Heads tours.

MAY	Location	Venue	Info
Monday 21st May	England Southampton	The Brook	466 Portswood Road, Portswood, Southampton SO17 3SD Box Office: +44 (23) 8055 5366. Hours 1pm - 7pm Mon - Sat
Tuesday 22nd May	England Bath	Komedia	22-23 Westgate St, Bath BA1 1EP 0845 293 8480 Tickets also from Seetickets
Wednesday 23rd May	England Exeter	Phoenix	Bradninch Place, Gandy St, Exeter EX4 3LS +44 (1392) 667080 Tickets also from Seetickets
Friday 25th May	England London	O2 Shepherds Bush Empire	Double bill with Glenn Hughes Shepherds Bush Green, London W12 8TT Enquiries: 0905 020 399 (25p per min) Box Office: 0844 477 200 Doors 7pm. Tickets
Saturday 26th May	England Manchester	Manchester Academy	Double bill with Glenn Hughes Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PQ Box Office: 0844 478 0898 Doors 7pm. Tickets
Sunday 27th May	Scotland Glasgow	O2 ABC	Double bill with Glenn Hughes 330 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JB Box Office: 08444 999 999 Doors 7pm. Tickets

New Releases In The Lost Broadcasts Series Available NOW!

The Lost Broadcasts are a series of DVDs featuring performances that have rarely been seen since the original transmission on German television, in some cases more than forty years ago. Some of the artists featured within the series are legendary and these “Lost” performances will be a fine addition to any music fans collection.

The material featured on this DVD is drawn from a session that took place in March 1972 and included the songs Memphis Tennessee, Let It Rock , In The Wee Wee Hours, Oh Carol, (which initially starts as Let It Rock but which breaks down before the band re start and Chuck leads them into the proper take of Oh Carol), School Days, C’est la Vie, Roll Over Beethoven and an extended interview. Incidentally for this session Chuck was backed by Liverpool band Rocking Horse who featured former member of the Merseybeats Billy Kinsley on bass alongside Jimmy Campbell on guitar, Dave Harrison drums and Michael Snow on piano.

The performances featured on this DVD are drawn from two sessions filmed just over a year apart. The first session from January 1970 saw John pioneering a line up without a drummer. The then current album was Turning Point and featured Jon Mark on guitar and John Almond on sax. Holding down the bottom end was bassist Steve Thompson who left shortly before this session was filmed and would eventually join Stone The Crows. The bassist featured here was Thompson’s short lived replacement Alex Dmochowski. Two tracks were performed live in the studio one of which would be familiar to those people owning the Turning Point album as I’m Gonna Fight For You JB featured on that live album. The second track is the extended workout of The Train.

The next session was filmed in February 1971 by which time John Mayall had formed another band, this time featuring American musicians including Don “Sugarcane” Harris, Paul Lagos, Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel the latter two musicians had previously been with American blues band Canned Heat. The two tracks featured here My Pretty Girl and Deep Blue Sea would feature on the USA Union album which had been released in late 1970.

Night Featuring Chris Thompson Reissue Second Album Long Distance

Night, the band formed by former Manfred Mann's Earthband vocalist Chris Thompson at the end of the seventies, reissue their second album Long Distance through Gonzo on the 16th of April

Originally released in 1980 Long Distance is the second album from Night and this album features material mainly written or co written by front man Chris Thompson although there is a cover of the Todd Rundgren song You Cried Wolf. The line up had changed as well with the departure of both drummer Rick Morotta and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins.

Recorded in London at Battery Studio the album was produced by Tim Friese-Greene who also played on the album. This release is the first time this album has been made available as a single album previously it was part of a double set with the first album and it is the first time it has been released in the UK.
Chris Thompson recorded an exclusive interview where he talks about both Night albums. The interview can be found here:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/gonzo_web_radio.html

Judge Smith Releases His Third Songstory Album: Orfeas

Judge Smith releases the album Orfeas through Gonzo on the 26th of March. It is the third "Songstory" release from the former Van Der Graaf Generator man following in the footsteps of Curly's Airships and The Climber

Judge's third Songstory is a retelling of the ancient myth of Orpheus, the magical musician who travels to the Land of the Dead in search of the lost Eurydice. Orfeas features John 'Fury' Ellis, David Jackson & Lene Lovich and the following cast of performers: Gigi Cavalli Cocchi, René van Commenée, Dorie Jackson, David Minnick, Ben Nation, Ricardo Odriozola, Marco Olivotto, 'Black Path', Bert Santilly, David Shaw-Parker & Judge Smith.

Orfeas is performed by seven separate ensembles, playing entirely different kinds of music, including Rock Band, String Sextet, Mediterranean Guitar, Classic Trance and Death Metal.

Judge Smith will be recrdinng an exclusive podcast to tie in with the release of the album

Wally: First Two Albums Reissued With Bonus Tracks In April

Wally reissue their first two albums in April through Gonzo. The first release will be the bands second album Valley Gardens on the 2nd of April. Valley Gardens was originally released in 1975 and features the extended song The Reason Why which took up one side of the album on its original release

Valley Gardens will be followed by the release of the bands self titled debut album on the 23rd of April. Originally released in 1974 the album receved strong critical support and the band supported Rick Wakeman at his Crystal Palace Garden Party Concert.

Both reissues have been overseen by founder member Roy Webber and also feature bonus tracks from Roy's own archive in the case of the self titled album the bonus tracks are Right By Me and Yes I Would plus a live version of Your Own Way

The bonus tracks for Valley Gardens are Green Room Smiles and a live version of Nez Perce

Both albums were originally produced by Bob Harris of The Old grey Whistle test fame and Rick Wakeman served as Executive Producer on the self titled debut album.

This is the first time these two albums have been relased on CD in the UK and as such will be welcomed by the loyal Wally fan base

Robert Calvert's First Book of Poetry Re Published

Robert Calvert enjoyed massive commercial success in his lifetime as a member of Hawkwind and also enjoyed a successful solo musical career. He was also an accomplished writer and poet publishing a number of well respected books.

As part of their move into publishing books Gonzo Publishing is proud to re publish Robert Calvert's first commercially available book of prose and poetry Centigrade 232.

Centigrade 232 was originally published in 1977 whilst Bob was a member of Hawkwind and original copies of the book now exchange hands for high prices on the collectors market.
Gonzo Publishing have now re published the book  in softback and the book is now available to order directly from the Gonzo website and also other online outlets such as Amazon

Mimi Page Breathe Me In Album Trailer

Mimi Page releases her album Breathe me In shortly through Gonzo Multimedia. The album contains the track Black Valentine  which can be seen on video here for all you romantics at heart

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1rCsmMtRM&feature=related

The album Breathe Me In will be released to Europe shortly through Gonzo Multimedia in the meantime you can watch a trailer for the album here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUbFsY8lSUs&feature=player_embedded#%21

The album has already been well received in America in terms of sales and reviews. Mimi has also played selcted solo dates notably as a guest of Jefferson Starship and Breathe Me In is going to be one of the major releases for Gonzo this spring.
You can find out more about Mimi by going to her website here

http://www.mimipage.com/

Rick Wakeman Live Album: In The Nick Of Time

Rick Wakeman releases his latest album an archive live album entitled "In The Nick Of Time" on the 19th of March.

The album was recorded in 2003 during an extensive British tour with the New English Rock Ensemble. The album is a siongle disc and contains 7 tracks including: Catherine Parr/Beware Your Enemies, No Earthly Connection,White Rock and Wurm which as many will know is a track originally found on The Yes Album as part of Starship Trooper.

In The Nick Of Time has long been anticipated by the large and dedicated Rick Wakeman fan base and the tour from which the album was sourced was one of Rick's most extensive and successful tours to date.

Jeff Green Live At Progmneister Festival In June

Gonzo Recording artist Jeff Green has been added to the bill of the Progmeister Festival 2012.
The Festival takes place on Saturday June 9th at The Studio Tower Street, Hartlepool, Cleveland TS24 7HQ
More details about the festival can be found here http://www.progmeister.com/
Tickets can be bought here http://www.nettickets.net/

Jeff will be appearing alongside The Tangent and Tony Patterson frontman of Genesis tribute band ReGenesis

Jeff is currently working on the follow up to his debut album Jessica which was released in 2011. The album is called Elder Creek and is expected sometime in the summer of 2012. Jeff will be previewing material from the new album alongside material from Jessica

Jeff's album Jessica can be purchased directly from Gonzo here:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/artists/Jeff%20Green

Michael Des Barres In Discussion With Gonzo About New Album and Archive Projects

Michael Des Barres recently played a special showcase for Gonzo MD Rob Ayling in front of  a specially invited audience at Little Feat's rehearsal facillity in North Hoillywood.
Michael performed new songs which will fore the basis of a new studio album which will be released later in 2012.
Michael is pictured above front centre with Gonzo MD Rob Ayling front left

Rob Ayling was also discussing with Michael the possibility of other archive projects with Michael which are also looking to see the light of day later in 2012 and into 2013

Michael first came to prominence in the seventies as frontman of British band Silverhead where he recorded two albums for Purple records. Following that Michael formed Detective  with former Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye and recorded two albums for led Zeppelin's Swansong label with the first album being produced by Andy Johns and James Robinson with James Robinson being a pseudonym for Jimmy page.

Into the eigties  and Micheal formed Chequered past with former Sex Pistol Steve Jones and former Blondie rhythm section Clem Burke and Nigel Harrsion(Nigel had also been a member of Silverhead)
In the eighties Michael also replaced Robert Palmer in the Power Station performing at the legendary Live Aid concert in Philadelphia.

As a songwriter Michael also scored a massive success when he co wrote the song Obsession with Holly Knight which was a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic for Animotion

Michael Des Barres is also an accomplished actor starting his career in the film To Sir With Love alongside Sidney Poitier and Lulu. he subsequently appeared in Television in the dramas McGyver and Miami Vice(With The Power Station),music however is Michael's first love and the new album is big priority for Michael this year along with the other archive projects currently under discussion with Gonzo.

Watch this space for more details

Please Help In Appeal That Will Benefit Tibetans In Exile

Gonzo Multimedia are heartily behind an appeal which could benefit 56,000 Tibetan’s living in exile.
We need just x40 hard drives. Can you help by providing one?That old spare hard drive, abandoned in the corner of your desk space would give several thousand Tibetans, lay and monastic, direct access to their heritage and in doing so would enable us to fulfil H.H. Dalai Lama’s request for his people.

In the 1980′s, at the urgent request of H.H. the Dalai Lama the Meridian Trust began to film many of the old teachers who escaped from Tibet before they passed away. This original filming initiative came to be known as the Lama Project; a total of 600 hours of unique footage was recorded.

To learn more about the Project go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MciTeg3r548
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xcNtoNeR228

Meridian Trust has digitized and encoded these 600 hours of unique Buddhist teachings so that they fit onto a 120GB (or larger) portable hard drive. In March this year around 40 representatives from the major monasteries of India and Nepal are meeting at Sarnath University, India, making this the ideal opportunity to give each monastery a copy of the Lama Project on hard drive.

 

You can help by:

• Donating any spare120gb hard drives? (Using our FREEPOST address).
• Sponsoring a monastery by buying hard drive using our Amazon Wish List: http://www.amazon.co.uk/registry/wishlist/1MWXVQCQQ62OJ
• Making a donation to The Meridian Trust via PayPal our account address is: admin@meridian-trust.org
• DONATE ONLINE via our website: http://meridian-trust.org/wp/?page_id=101

While the Tibetans have had so much of their culture and traditions destroyed, the culmination of the Lama Project directly gives back something of what has been lost. We are sincerely grateful for any contributions you feel you can make towards helping us achieve our goal.

Anyone giving to this URGENT appeal before the end of February 2012 will receive a FREE CD of ‘Songs for Tibet’.
View the map of the network of Monasteries: http://www.tibetanknowledge.org/provisional/map.html

Monasteries that will benefit:Ulan Bator: Gandan Monastery Library, Mongolian National LibraryLadakh: Lama Yuru MonasteryHimachal Pradesh: Drolma Ling Nunnery, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Menri Bon Monastic Centre, Thupten Dorjidak Institute, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Tibetan Medical InstituteDehra Dun: Bon Zamongyal Yungdrung Ling Monastery, Drikung Kagyu Institute, Mindroling Monastery, Ngor Monastery, Sakya College, Sakya MonasteryKathmandu: Shechen Monastery, Thukche Choling Nunnery, Trangu Tashi Choling Monastery, Triten Norbutse Bonpo Education CentreSikkim: Dodrup Chen Monastery, Rumtek College, Sikkim Institute of TibetologyArunachal Pradesh: Gyuto Monastic UniversityVaranasi: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, CIHTS Medical Institute, Thrangu Vajra Vidhya InstituteOrissa: Dechen Choephel Ling MonasteryNorth Kanara: Drepung Gomang Monastic University, Drepung Loseling Monastic University, Ganden Shartse Monastic University, Ganden Jangtse Monastic University, Jangchub Choling NunneryMysore:. Dekey Larsoe Computer Input Centre, Dzongkar Chode College, Gyumey Monastic University, Ngagyur Nyingma Monastery, Rabling Computer Input Centre, Sera Jey Monastic University, Sera Mey Monastic University


THANK YOU for any help you can offer!

Very best wishes,

Dolma Beresford
Director

Kate Westbrook Art Exhibtion!

Kate Westbrook steps away from music briefly in order to oversee an exhibtion of here work at The BrownstonGallery in Devon for a month. The exhibition consists of Kate's paintings in oils and other works on paper. The work shown here is entitled The Long Shed In Spring 2011and it is a pastel work on paper. Full details of the Exhibtion can be found by checkin g out the links below or by checking with the gallery.
Alternatively you can check out Kate's work at the online Gallery here
http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/gallery/
from
Saturday 4th February to Saturday 3rd March 2012
at
The Brownston Gallery 36 Church Street, Modbury, Ivybridge, Devon PL21 0QR
01548 831 338
http://www.thebrownstongallery.co.uk/gallery/