Jerred's Music Blog
http://jerredmathews.com
Jerred's Music Blog

Ronnie James Dio diagnosed with stomach cancer

Earlier this week, I found out Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Right now, he's going through treatments at the Mayo Clinic.   The last time I saw Dio was in 2007 with Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath's Mob Rules lineup).  He was 65 then and still going strong.  When I heard about his diagnosis, I immediately thought to play his music so I went to my iTunes library and played, Black Sabbath's "Children of the Sea".  I could go on and on about how many great songs he's made. 

These are my favorite:

Rainbow - "Man on the Silver Mountain" (1975)
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell (The entire album) 1980
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules (The entire album) 1981
Dio - "Holy Diver", "Rainbow in the Dark" - Holy Diver (1983)
Dio - "The Last in Line" - The Last in Line (1984)
Dio - "Rock 'N' Roll Children" - Sacred Heart (1985)
Black Sabbath - "The Devil Cried" - Black Sabbath - The Dio Years (2007)

If there ever was a time to play Dio's music, it's now so if you have any Dio in your music collections, play it!!!

Get well soon, Ronnie!!

Source:
http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/

Posted by Jerred Mathews at 12/5/2009 12:45 PM | Add Comment

Metallica's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - April 4th, 2009

Today, Metallica will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and deservingly so.  No other metal act has sold more records or done more to popularize the metal genre.  Metal purists may cry foul at this accomplishment, citing the band as sell-outs who watered down their style to sell more records.  This viewpoint, however, is deeply cynical and oversimplies the band's rise to fame.  It is inconceivable for me to imagine James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich planning the success that followed the release of the Black Album.  Metallica's music progressively became more complex with each release, culminating ...<< MORE >>
Posted by Jerred Mathews at 4/4/2009 2:02 PM | Add Comment

Guns N' Roses - What's in a name?

As I was reading through Blabbermouth.net's news articles today, I ran into one in particular that caught my attention called, "Ask Guns N' Roses a question".  As I read the article, there was a glaring omission.  The one person who would not be accepting questions was none other than frontman Axl Rose, the lone original member of Guns N' Roses and flag bearer of the GNR brand.  Axl has been relatively quiet since the release of the band's long-awaited album, "Chinese Democracy" on November 23rd, 2008.  Seemingly out of nowhere, he appeared on several GNR fan websites from Dec. 11th ...<< MORE >>
Posted by Jerred Mathews at 3/5/2009 6:45 PM | Add Comment

The Weather

I always like checking out the lunch hour theme on 107.7 The Bone, one of the local rock stations in the Bay Area.  Usually, the host Steven Seaweed will pick a theme and invite listeners to make requests based on that theme.  Given today's constant rain, today's theme was appropriately, "The Weather". 

As a listener, here are my top 3 songs relating to the weather.


Stevie Ray Vaughan "Couldn't Stand the Weather" from his 1984 album of the same name.  Stevie will always be one of the greatest blues guitar players ever.  Always humble, he never wanted to take credit for ...<< MORE >>
Posted by Jerred Mathews at 2/17/2009 8:30 PM | Add Comment

The Brazilian Metal Scene: From Angra to Andre Matos

There is a certain phenomenon that happens every time a Brazilian metal band breaks up.  The remaining members keep the band name and reform around a group of musicians who unexpectedly elevate the band's previous legacy.  In 2001, Angra guitarists, Kiko Loureiro and Rafael Bittencourt did the unthinkable.  Following the departure of singer Andre Matos, bassist Luis Mariutti, and drummer Ricardo Confessori, Angra continued with a new lineup featuring Edu Falaschi on vocals, Felipe Andreoli on bass, and Aquiles Priester on drums.  Matos, Mariutti, and Confessori, meanwhile, formed a new band, Shaman, with Luis Mariutti's younger brother, Hugo, on guitars.  With the break-up ...
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Posted by Jerred Mathews at 12/3/2007 4:12 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Interview with Talking Metal's Mark Strigl

Mark Strigl is the co-host and creator of the Talking Metal Podcast, the number-one heavy metal/hard rock podcast on iTunes.  The podcast began as a hobby and extension of Strigl's Music News site which featured news articles and reviews.  As Mark points out in the following interview, there wasn't really a need for another music site.  After listening to other podcasts and noticing a lack of coverage in the metal genre, "Talking Metal" was born.  Since inception, The Talking Metal podcast has grown in popularity, averaging 100,000 downloads and 1-2 million hits per month to its website.  

Jerred: I want to take listeners and fans of the show all ...<< MORE >>
Posted by Jerred Mathews at 11/18/2007 11:46 AM | View Comments (3) | Add Comment

Talking Metal on Fuse - 11-9-07

This Friday (12:30am ET, 9:30pm PT) will mark the debut of Talking Metal TV on the FUSE channel.  The show will feature interviews with Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) and Serj Tankian (System of a Down).  Other highlights include a jam session with Talking Metal co-hosts Mark Strigl on bass and John Ostronomy on guitar with Guns N Roses members, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal on guitar and Frank Ferrer on drums.  Other guests will include Rob Halford guitarist, Metal Mike Chlasciak, voice-over personality Bud Friendly and Talking Metal Forums Webmaster and metalhead Xcitor.

For more information, be sure to visit
http://strigl.wordpress.com/

Posted by Jerred Mathews at 11/8/2007 12:49 PM | Add Comment

107.7 The Bone commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Sputnik I

On this day, 50 years ago, Sputnik 1, was launched into orbit around Earth.  To commemmorate this historic event, 107.7 The Bone, the San Francisco Bay Area's premier Classic Rock station took song requests that fit the theme of Space.  Some of the songs played included "Space Oddity" by David Bowie and "Eclipse" by Pink Floyd. 

Here are my picks fitting this theme:

"Big Bang Theory" - Steve Vai - Available exclusively through Vai-tunes, Steve Vai's own music download store (http://www.vai.com/vaitunes/).  There are certain guitar players who, when they pick up the instrument, have that intangible quality to their playing - where you know it is ...
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Posted by Jerred Mathews at 10/4/2007 10:05 PM | Add Comment

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Time.com very recently ran an article on the music industry with a particular focus on Radiohead's upcoming release, "In Rainbows".  While different artists have experimented with selling their own music on the Internet, Radiohead is taking it one step further by giving listeners the option to pay as much or as little as they want for their new album.  The implications could be far-reaching.  For years, CD prices have fallen within a certain price range, typically selling anywhere from $9.99 for new releases to $15.99 after a cooling off period.  Whether an album is worth these prices largely depends on a person's musical taste and temperament.  Opinions ...
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Posted by Jerred Mathews at 10/3/2007 8:08 PM | Add Comment

Def Leppard - Sleeptrain Pavilion, Concord, CA - Sept. 18th, 2007




The following setlist was performed by Def Leppard on Sept. 18th, 2007 at the Sleeptrain Pavilion, Concord, CA:

Rocket
Def Leppard pays tribute to its past though an amazing video montage, depicting different eras of the band.   For old and new fans alike, it's a powerful (re)introduction to a legendary band.  The live version of this song closely mirrors the edited version from MTV where a large part of the song's middle is cut out.
Animal 

Excitable As one of the more diverse tracks on the Hysteria album, it's an unexpected choice live.  There's no mistaking the song's pop/new wave influence and although it may sound a bit dated, one's ...
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Posted by Jerred Mathews at 10/1/2007 8:40 PM | Add Comment
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