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WATCH OUR EXCLUSIVE SANTANA 'BLESSINGS AND MIRACLES' INTERVIEW 0
In our Australian exclusive, Carlos Santana chats to Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips about the creation of his wonderful new album Blessings and Miracles and tells us that there are plans afoot for some of the album collaborators to join him on stage soon. He also opens up about some bucket list projects he’d like to get to one day, including a mood album he wishes to record with Eric Clapton and Derek Trucks based around UFOs, in the vein of soundtracks like The Good, the Bad and The Ugly. Photo by Jason Rosewarne
For more than five decades – from Santana’s earliest days as a groundbreaking Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion outfit in San Francisco – Carlos Santana has been the visionary force behind artistry that transcends musical genres and generational, cultural and geographical boundaries.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Carlos has just released Blessings and Miracles, another magnificent recording to add to his already staggering discography. Blessings and Miracles presents Multi-Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana in all of his incarnations, playing in myriad styles featuring numerous alluring guitar tones. There are so many points of interest with this record, that it is difficult to know where to begin. From the beautiful short opening track Ghost of Future Pull/New Light, in the vein of Caravanserai’s Eternal Caravan of Reincarnation into the Soul Sacrifice-style Santana Celebration to the hook-laden latin influenced pop track Move with Rob Thomas, you’ll find multi-era splashes of Santana throughout this album. There’s the love song tribute to his wife, Song for Cindy, a poignant collaboration with the late great Chick Corea and his wife Gayle Moran, also a former Mahavishnu Orchestra member. Latin pop-rock fans will enjoy Rumbalero, a percussion-driven track with his son Salvador, joined by Ozomatali founder “Asdru” Sierra, and then daughter Stella Santana delivers a stunning vocal, along with Avi Snow on Breathing Underwater. A lifetime of ambitious ideas have been packed into this one extraordinary album.
As with many recent Santana projects, it’s very much a star studded affair. Steve Winwood performs a heartfelt version of the classic Procol Harum track Whiter Shade of Pale. Diane Warren and G-Easy join forces on the cruisy groove of She’s Fine. Living Colour’s Corey Glover unleashes a powerful vocal performance on the rocker Peace Power. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda get angry and political on the garage punk flavoured America For Sale. Sonically, Blessings and Miracles touches on many eras of the multi-dimensional musician’s career, there’s something here for all Carlos Santana fans.
Blessings and Miracles is out now. For more information please visit: Santana.com.
Santana, Chris Stapleton – Joy (Animated Lyric Video) from Blessings and Miracles
- Dom DiSisto
THE DOORS ROBBY KRIEGER WANTS HIS ORIGINAL GIBSON SG BACK 0
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Robby’s iconic red Gibson SG Special was the guitar he used to audition for The Doors, to write “Light My Fire,” and to record the first two Doors albums. Tragically, it went missing many years ago. But hopefully you can help! If you have a ’63 or ’64 Gibson SG Special, check the back of the neck for serial number 952727. You might have Robby’s guitar! If you find it, and it can be authenticated, we will buy the guitar from you, and will also give you an exclusive hand-signed Gibson SG hand-painted by Robby Krieger, along with an autographed copy of his new book, SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE. WATCH ROBBY’S FACEBOOK VIDEO PLEA HERE
- Dom DiSisto
AUSTRALIAN KEYBOARD WIZ LACHY DOLEY TO JOIN ROGER WATERS BAND FOR US TOUR 0
Photo by Jason Rosewarne
Australian independent artist Lachy Doley is kicking some serious goals right now.
Lachy, who has just been announced to play the iconic Bluesfest next easter, is stoked to announce that Roger Waters of Pink Floyd has hand-picked him to play keyboards in his band for Waters’ upcoming ‘This is Not a Drill’ US tour.
Although he’s had very little mainstream or national media coverage in Australia, Lachy Doley’s online fan base is enormous and his high-octane Hammond organ and Clavinet playing is being enjoyed by millions around the world. Roger Waters saw Lachy play on YouTube and put out the call.
Says Lachy, “It felt like one of those scenes in a movie. The phone rang at about 7 pm when I was just getting ready to put my 5-year-old in the bath. It was a private number, so I didn’t answer it and it went to voice mail. I listened back. ‘Hi, it’s Roger Waters’ manager here. Roger would like to talk to you about possibly joining them on the next tour. Please call me back’ I was like ‘you can’t be serious!’ Anyway, I spoke to Roger and had an awesome chat and laugh and teed up some remote auditions. We were originally meant to tour in 2019 but now it’s all happening in 2022.”
Photo by Jason Rosewarne
The news of Roger Waters’ tour finally going ahead was just one of a series of wins for Doley this month; his brand-new album ‘Studios 301 Sessions’ debuted at 13 on the ARIA Top 50 albums chart, 1 on the ARIA Jazz and Blues charts, 3 on the ARIA top 20 Australian Albums charts. A couple of tracks having reached 300k plays on YouTube since release.
“I feel so incredibly thrilled that as an independent artist with zero commercial or Triple J radio play that I’ve managed to crack the top 20 in Australia. I really hope it gives some inspiration to other artists without any label backing that it can be done, it all came down to the support of my fans.”
The Studios 301 Sessions album is available from all places that music is available.
The video of the live album is on YouTube: www.youtube.com/Lachydoley
Details of upcoming live shows, including his Bluesfest dates are here: www.lachydoley.com
- Dom DiSisto
JUDAS PRIEST’S RICHIE FAULKNER SUFFERS AORTIC ANEURYSM DURING US STAGE PERFORMANCE 0
Legendary British heavy metal act Judas Priest have announced that they have postponed the remainder of their American tour so that guitarist Richie Faulkner could be treated for a heart condition.
It’s been revealed that Richie suffered an aortic aneurysm while on stage at the Louder Than Life festival in Kentucky. However Richie is in good spirits and took the time to pen a message to fans:
In his own words….
“Maniacs…
I’ve always been grateful for the opportunities I’ve been presented with. I’ve always considered myself THE most fortunate man ever – to be able to play my favourite music – with my favourite band – to my favourite people around the world…
Today just being able to type this to you all is the biggest gift of all…
As I watch footage from the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky, I can see in my face the confusion and anguish I was feeling whilst playing ‘Painkiller’ as my aorta ruptured and started to spill blood into my chest cavity….
I was having what my doctor called an aortic aneurysm and complete aortic dissection.
From what I’ve been told by my surgeon, people with this don’t usually make it to the hospital alive…..
I was taken to nearby Rudd Heart & Lung Center and quickly went into what turned out to be a 10 ½ hour emergency open heart surgery.
Five parts of my chest were replaced with mechanical components…..I’m literally made of metal now….
It could have all ended so differently – we only had an hours set that night due to Metallica’s performance after us – and it does cross my mind if it was a full set, would I have played until total collapse…? If it hadn’t happened in such a high adrenaline situation would my body have been able to keep going long enough to reach the hospital…?
The amazing Heart & Lung Center was 4 miles away from the gig site – if it had been further away……..
We can always drive ourselves crazy with these things but I’m still alive thankfully. Whatever the circumstances, when watching that footage, the truth is, knowing what I know now, I see a dying man…..
I’ve been moved to tears and humbled by friends, family, my fantastic band, crew and management and also you guys sending me videos and messages of love and support during the last week – I thank you all so much and although I have a recovery road ahead of me, as soon as I’m able to get up and running again, you’ll be the first to know and we’ll get back out there delivering the goods for you all….!
One last thing maniacs, this came totally out of the blue for me – no history of a bad heart, no clogged arteries etc…my point is I don’t even have high cholesterol and this could’ve been the end for me. If you can get yourselves checked – do it for me please……
Lots of love and see you down the front again soon….
Richie…
Australian Musician wishes Richie well in his recovery
- Dom DiSisto
FENDER’S PLAYER PLUS STUDIO SESSIONS: GETTING INDIE ARTISTS BACK INTO THE STUDIO 0
Studios 301 Sydney
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today announced the launch of the Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender®. Amidst lockdowns and social distancing, it’s no secret that artists have been struggling for both inspiration and support. Enter Fender. This global program seeks to fulfill the creative aspirations of independent artists around the world by getting them back in the studio and providing them with the tools they need to create their musical art. To bring this program to life, Fender has partnered with notable recording studios in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Japan and Mexico to host Fender-funded studio sessions with engineers, a mixing credit, Player Plus gear and mentoring resources for winning artists.
Inspired by the recent launch of the Player Plus series, Fender’s new line of guitars and basses are designed with creators and independent artists in mind to be the tool that these artists use to bring their passions to a global stage. The Player Plus Studio Sessions aim to take that same goal a step further by purposefully supporting rising talent, helping them share their message and creativity through original music. This new global program reinvigorates Fender’s ongoing commitment to musicians, and in particular, independent musicians.
Starting today, Fender is calling for open submissions here. To enter, independent artists must submit either a recent single, music video or live performance to best showcase their talent and creativity. Instrumental acts, bands and solo artists are also encouraged and welcome to enter the Player Plus Studio Session. Eligibility requirements are as follows: applicants must be 18+ years of age, play or have a band member play guitar or bass and must be a fully independent artist. Additionally, applicants must be able to travel to the nearest selected city and studio as winning does not provide travel to and from the studio.
Participating studios by market include:
● Australia: Sing Sing (Melbourne), Studios 301 (Sydney)
● U.S. Studios: EastWest Studios (Los Angeles), MDDN (Los Angeles), Flux Studios (New York City), Welcome to 1979 (Nashville)
● UK: RAK Studios (London), Coastal Sound Recording Studio (Liverpool), Steelworks Studios (Sheffield), Chamber Studio (Edinburgh), Camden Recording Studios (Dublin)
● LAT AM: Pieza Estudios (Mexico City)
● Japan: Freedom Studio Infinity (Tokyo)
Sing Sing Melbourne
The entry period will run from September 27 through October 20, 2021 with winners announced on November 10, 2021. Each submission will be reviewed by a panel of judges made up of noteworthy producers, artists, journalists and Fender Executives including: Fender CEO, Andy Mooney; Fender VP of Marketing and Head of Artist Relations, Matt Watts; legendary singer-songwriter and producer, Nile Rodgers (U.S.); Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde (U.S.); Director at Heartstop Music and Secretary of the Association of Artist Managers, Alastair Burns (Australia); Emily Kokal, singer and guitarist for the band Warpaint (U.S.); singer-songwriter and lead vocalist/guitarist for Mercury Prize-winning and Grammy-nominated Wolf Alice, Ellie Rowsell (U.K.); Joaquin Pavia Wakks, artist manager and CEO of Nakama Entretenimiento (Mexico); and more. Submissions will be judged on set criteria including: songwriting, performance quality, creativity, technical guitar playing ability, originality and more.
“I’ve been a fan of Fender since I bought my first Mustang back in 1970, and I still carry my 50 year old Stratocaster across my back as I travel around the world,” said judging panelist, Nile Rodgers. “I’m passionate about nurturing new artists, it’s something that I’ve done my whole life, and as a producer it’s very exciting to provide undiscovered artists with the tools they need to speak through their music and not just play. My hope is that by allowing these musicians to take their craft to the next level, we will discover something completely unique that the world has never heard before. With the new Player Plus line, I believe Fender’s come up with some really special gear that will be defining instruments for a new generation of artists and creators.”
Nile Rodgers
“At Fender, we are dedicated to providing artists with the resources they need to fuel their creativity,” said Andy Mooney, CEO of Fender. “Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender® is the manifestation of Fender’s dedication to artists at every stage of their journey. The hope is this program will jump start their artistic careers enabling them to fuel their passion to achieve their dreams.”
In addition to earning valuable studio time, the winning artists will receive a one-hour consultation with Ari Herstand, CEO of Ari’s Take and author of the bestselling book How to Make It in the New Music Business. Herstand is also the author of the 2021 Fender Artist Playbook, a step-by-step guide for emerging artists to tackle the new frontier of music, from cracking TikTok algorithms to leveraging alternative revenue streams, digital marketing tips, NFTs and more. Winners will also receive a Fender® Player Plus guitar or bass to use in the studio at their recording session and keep for future shows and creative endeavors. The new instruments bring Fender’s most iconic models into the modern era. Noiseless pickups provide classic Fender® sound with enhanced clarity and advanced switching capabilities for a wide variety of tonal options. Upgraded features include rolled fingerboard edges and locking tuners and hot, fresh finishes including Belair Blue, Silver Smoke and Tequila Sunrise.
To learn more about the Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender® head to https://playerplusstudio.com/ now and ENTER TO WIN. Winners will be contacted by Fender directly in early November. Recording will take place throughout November and December 2021 and through January 2022 in Australia.
- Dom DiSisto
WATCH: JOE CAMILLERI - THE BLACK SORROWS 'SAINT GEORGES ROAD' INTERVIEW 0
Pic by Ian Ritter
Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows are thrilled and proud to announce the world-wide release of Saint Georges Road on 10th September through Ambition Records. It also happens to be Joe’s 50th album release. To celebrate this milestone – and to make this record truly special – Joe Camilleri reunited with Grammy nominated Peter Solley – producer of Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons’ breakthrough album Screaming Targets (‘79) that featured Joe’s first Top 40 hits, Hit and Run and Shape I’m In – and together they’ve created something very special. Saint Georges Road showcases 11 original tracks written by Joe Camilleri and his long-time writing partner Nick Smith.
As I mention in our zoom video interview with Joe Camilleri, there’s always an element of soul in his music. However, Saint George’s Road is possibly Joe’s most soulful album ever and I don’t mean that in relation to the amount of Sam and Dave style tracks on the disc, cos there’s only really one which falls anywhere near that radar. I mean it’s got so much beating heart and passion that it’s bursting out of this band’s chest. Whether it’s master guitarist Shannon Bourne’s sublime licks on My Heart Don’t Feel A Thing or the vibrant brass parts on the album opener What Stephanie Knows or Joe’s pure vocal sentiment on the title track and it’s nod to friends who have passed, the album possesses a spirit that reaches deep down into your inner feels. Even the fabulous rockers such as Livin’ Like Kings, Chiquita and Revolutionary Blues touch your heart as much as they move your feet. The album sees a return to production duties for internationally acclaimed Peter Solley and it’s obvious that the Solley/Camilleri chemistry was alive and well and living in Woodstock Studios during the recording of this album. Saint Georges Road might be Joe Camilleri’s 50th album release but it may also be his best yet.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips chats with Joe about the creation of the Saint Georges Road album.
- Dom DiSisto
