As promised back in May, the Music of Cream tour — featuring Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son), Malcom Bruce (the late Jack Bruce‘s son) and Will Johns (Eric Clapton‘s nephew) will begin a North American tour shortly. This will mark the group’s first stateside tour, after previously performing in Australia and New Zealand in 2017. […]
Jorma Kaukonen has been a force in rock music for more than a half-century. A founding member of two groundbreaking bands – Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna – the singer-guitarist has just released his new autobiography, Been So Long: My Life and Music. Kaukonen’s guitar work with the Airplane helped define psychedelic rock guitar; at the […]
Sophomore jinx? Not a chance. Fresh from a seasoned slate of live dates peppered around the country, High Water I, the sophomore album by the Magpie Salute, whites out the band’s confident debut long player and imbues the follow up with an incendiary collection of tunes ready made for the concert stage. Guitarist Rich Robinson, […]
For the first time in North America, The Music of Cream tour will embark on a special 50th anniversary tour in the fall. The outing, which first went on the road in Australia and New Zealand in 2017, features Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son) on drums, Malcolm Bruce (the late Jack Bruce‘s son) on bass […]
“I am the Batman. This is my city. At night it belongs to me.” “Batman” by Neal Hefti On first listen, the theme from the Batman TV show seems pretty simple: a jazzy score and the word “Batman” repeated 12 times. But composer Neal Hefti said in TV’s Biggest Hits that it was the hardest […]
Among guitarists, few have led careers as legendary and influential as Eric Clapton — and today, the man affectionately referred to as ‘Slowhand’ celebrates his 73rd birthday. In late 2017, Rock Cellar published a piece from writer Frank Mastropolo that brought together insight from throughout the music world about Clapton and his importance over the […]
Sometimes, interviews don’t go well. It’s part of the business, and as rock journalist Steve Rosen can attest in his latest Behind the Curtain entry, it happens. I’m often asked, “What is the worst interview you ever did?” It’s an interesting turn of phrase, because lurking behind the suggestive and intriguing façade of the query […]
“Mony Mony” by Billy Idol “Mony Mony” was a 1968 hit for Tommy James and received renewed attention when Billy Idol recorded a version that reached No. 7 on the Billboard dance chart in 1981. In his autobiography Dancing With Myself, Idol explains the song’s attraction. “That song has always had special significance to me. I […]
Last month, we previewed this piece with a sneak peek at rockers recalling their first experiences hearing Eric Clapton — now, enjoy the full feature below. Eric Clapton is one of the most skilled and creative guitarists of his generation. For more than 50 years “Slowhand” has brought his brand of blues and rock to […]
In the summer of 1967, Carmine Appice was a 21-year-old kid from Brooklyn, New York living out his fantasy in the Summer of Love. For a brief heartbeat there during the summer of 1967, Vanilla Fudge were one of the hottest bands in the world. Carmine was the drummer and their amped-up and slowed-down version […]
