The members of RANDALL FLAGG may look like your typical NewJersey guys, but once the band’s vehement sound-a seamless blendof hardcore and death metal-begins blasting from the stage, it’sapparent they’re an extraordinary crew. Unabashedlyin-your-face, and yet melodic, the band’s heavy, carefullystructured, technical songs deliver the emotional wallop andcarnal assault that has...

“What does it cost to get a record on the charts?” The questionwas directed to Mike McVay, programming consultant to about 400radio stations owned by media giant Clear Channel.A hush fell over the audience, as this was a piece ofinformation that could determine the fate of independent artistseverywhere.McVay pulled no punches. Depending on your genre, the amount is”a hundred thousand...

Following jam bands is a blast because of the music, places yousee and cool people you meet. Jam band journals are great waysto keep track of your shows.Jam Band JournalsUndoubtedly, the Grateful Dead was the greatest jam band inhistory, but others such as String Cheese Incident have carriedon the tradition. Whatever your favorite band is, think back tothe last show you saw. What sticks out in your...

The ghost of Bob Dylan breezed into the studio this week andtouched me on the shoulder. Lyrically, Bobby Zim has always beenright up there, although melodically he’s down here with therest of us. I played in a folk group in the 60s around Britainand in France and my mental repertoire of folk music oftenhelped me in spotting melodies that ole Bob had borrowed fromthe folkies. For instance: the...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ventura, CA–10/31/05–There is gold in the vaults ofAudio Fidelity! Another audiophile classic rock collection isnow available. The Deep Purple Mark II lineup, arguably theirfinest, set the heavy rock-blues world on fire with their 1973release Who Do We Think We Are. Now it’s preserved in thesparkling format rendered so meticulously through the guidinghands of...

The iPod Nano is the newest digital audio player from Apple. Itreceived an overwhelming welcome when it was released onSeptember 7, 2005 and quickly sold out completely in many AppleStores. The iPod Nano combines features from both iPod shuffleand the standard iPod, and replaces the iPod mini. (The iPodmini was discontinued as soon as iPod Nano had been released.)Compared to the iPod shuffle, the iPod...

Ran into Eric McConnell over there on MySpace and he was kindenough to agree to do an interview with me, so here it is!OK, let’s start with the basics. Tell me about your music.Haha…you say “the basics” and hit me with the hardest questionfirst….I’m a Blues, Funk and old R&B guy with a guiltypleasure for Rock..haha. During a live show we play a mix ofeverything....