Monday, May 24, 2010

On Holiday in Poland

Just a quick hello from Poland.  I am away for two weeks holiday.  Weather is not great here.  The volcana ash is causing a lot of rain (and floods in the south of Poland).  Usually it is warm and sunny at this time of year.  For me it is still a break away from home.

Tonight I am just sitting up having a Piwo (beer, pronounced Pivo) in a friends house.  Updates to my guitar blog area and sites will not really happen untill I am back the week after.

I am thinking of doing a Guitar book to give away.  Will be more Heavy Metal than Rock though I think, and will tie up with a few posts on this blog.  I will let you know when it is done.

Thanks for reading,
Steve.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Ronnie James DIO Sad News

Heavy Metal singer Ronnie James Dio passed away yesterday (May 16 at 7:45PM) after after his battle with stomach cancer.  He was 67 years old.  He was well known for showing the "Devil's horns".

Dio in action with Tony Iommi.

Dio had been due to tour with Heaven and Hell (with Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler) to support Iron Maiden this summer but that had been cancelled due to his health.

In the past Dio sang with Rainbow (with Ritche Blackmore from Deep Purple), Black Sabbath and another recent Sabbath reincarnation Heaven and Hell.  He also had his own band called Dio which contained Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard at one stage.

On a personal note, one of my first albums was Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell which is one of the strongest classic Sabbath albums.  It was one of the first songs I wanted to play on guitar.  Also I saw him play live a few years ago.  It was a fantastic non stop 2 and half hour gig where he played the whole of the Dio Holy Diver album back to back.  He was a great singer and frontman and will be sadly missed but as Slash has said his music will live on forever.

"Sing me a song, you're a singer. 
Do me a wrong you're a bringer of evil."
Ronnie James Dio, 2010, Heaven and Hell.
Rock in Peace.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Heaven and Hell Tour Update

Heaven and Hell were meant to tour with Iron Maiden in Europe this summer kicking off in Dublin, Ireland.  Ronnie James Dio, singer, had cancer last year and it looks he is not up to touring this summer.  He unfortunately requires more treatment.  Lets hope he gets better soon.

Rumour is Dream Theater might step in to support Iron Maiden as they are touring with them in the states.  Their new album is great (Black Clouds & Silver Linings) so that won't be too bad.  John Petrucci is a fantastic guitarist so it would be great to actually see him play guitar live.  They are free for some of the dates in July / August but are in Japan for August the 7 and 8th.

Dream Theater Live in 2006.

Dream Theater have played whole Iron Maiden albums live before as part of their set and released them as a bootleg.  They also did a good version of "To Tame a Land" on a recent Maiden tribute album.
Thanks,
Steve.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Steve's Play Rock Guitar at Wordpress

There is a new Blog that has started on Wordpress dot com, Steve's Play Rock Guitar Blog.  There is quite a few articles on it.

The site has information on starting to play rock guitar, exploring what instrument you want to play, which type of music or songs, picking a guitar, amplifier.  A very detailed post on which guitar effects you need starting out.  And has other bits and pieces of interest to any guitarist.


Steve's Play Rock Guitar Blog on Wordpress dot com

If you want you can check it out here,
Steve's Play Rock Guitar Blog.  
Thanks for reading,
Steve.