Wednesday, April 5, 2023

ALICE COOPER DRUM LEGEND NEAL SMITH RELEASES THE FOURTH IN HIS KILLSMITH SOLO SERIES ‘KILLSMITH GOES WEST’ ZOOM TV EXCLUSIVE ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS W/RAY SHASHO!

 




ALICE COOPER GROUP

Drum Legend 

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER

NEAL SMITH

 Releases the Fourth in His KillSmith

 Solo Series

 “KILLSMITH GOES WEST"

ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT

on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

CLICK BELOW TO WATCH IN ITS ENTIRETY!



Founding member of the original Alice Cooper Group and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee. Neal Smith’s newest album, “Kill Smith Goes West,” the fourth in his KillSmith solo series, is heading in a whole new direction partner.


Neal’s percussive, musical and songwriting contributions and influence to the world of rock are undisputed. From the groundbreaking shock rock direction of the multi gold, multi-platinum legendary band “Alice Cooper,” until the present, Neal has always taken on the challenge of exploring new musical directions.  Neal’s early music influences were not only rock, big band swing, theater and movie music, but also country western. Growing up in Ohio, his mother, who loved live music, would often take Neal and his sister Cindy to Fixler’s Ballroom in nearby Sharon Township. Neal would often dance the “Mash Potatoes” solo with a clapping crown encircled around him, to the live band’s rousing version of “The Orange Blossom Special.”

That band consisted of a drummer, guitarist, fiddle player, upright bassist and a blind piano player named Clarence. Now any band with a blind piano player named Clarence has to be a great band and this was a great country band.

In the story-telling spirit and tradition of great singer songwriter legends like Franke Lane, Johnny Horton, Jimmy Dean, Tennesee Ernie Ford, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Neal continues in that Western spirit with “KillSmith Goes West” and his ten new Outlaw Country Rock songs!

PURCHASE

KILLSMITH 

GOES WEST

BY

NEAL SMITH

In the story-telling spirit and tradition of great singer songwriter legends like Franke Lane, Johnny Horton, Jimmy Dean, Tennesee Ernie Ford, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Neal continues in that Western spirit with “KillSmith Goes West” and his ten new Outlaw Country Rock songs!

Available at    http://nealsmithrocks.com/store


FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

NEAL SMITH

and KILLSMITH

VISIT

www.nealsmithrocks.com

Official website

www.facebook.com/NealSmithRocks

Facebook



Discography

Solo

Platinum God (1999)

Cinematik (2001)

Cinematik: One Full Moon Away (2002)

Killsmith: Sexual Savior (2008)

Killsmith Two (2011)

Killsmith & The Greenfire Empire (2014)

Killsmith Goes West (2023)

 

With Alice Cooper

Pretties for You (1969)

Easy Action (1970)

Love It to Death (1971)

Killer (1971)

School's Out (1972)

Billion Dollar Babies (1973)

Muscle of Love (1973)

1969 Live at the Whisky A Go-Go (1992)

Welcome 2 My Nightmare (2011)

Paranormal (2017)

Detroit Stories (2021)

 

With Billion Dollar Babies

Battle Axe (1977)

 

With Plasmatics

Beyond the Valley of 1984 (1981)

 

With Buck Dharma

Flat Out (1982)

 

With Deadringer

Electrocution of the Heart (1989)

 

With Ant-Bee

Lunar Muzik (1997)

 

With Bruce Cameron

Midnight Daydream (1999)

 

With Bouchard, Dunaway & Smith

Back From Hell (2001)

BDS Live in Paris (2003)

 

With Hollywood Vampires

Hollywood Vampires (2015)

 

 







NEAL SMITH
APPEARS WEEK OF 
APRIL 6TH 2023
ON INTERVIEWING 
THE LEGENDS
WITH RAY SHASHO

ORDER NOW
 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
RAY’S BEST-SELLING BOOK

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE  

CHRONICLES, TRUTHS

 CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM 

FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS 

THAT SET US FREE!



BY MUSIC JOURNALIST ...TALK SHOW HOST...  

AUTHOR RAY SHASHO 

Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover or E-book at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

 

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   

Gold Award Winner



MORE BOOKS BY RAY SHASHO



Saturday, April 1, 2023

PROG ROCKERS BIG BIG TRAIN TO RELEASE 5-TRACK COMPILATION ALBUM OF EPIC SONGS -ZOOM TV INTERVIEW WITH GREGORY SPAWTON …NICK D'VIRGILIO AND ALBERTO BRAVIN!

 




PROG ROCKERS

BIG BIG TRAIN

TO RELEASE 5-TRACK COMPILATION ALBUM 

OF EPIC SONGS

ENTITLED

‘INGENIOUS DEVICES’

ON JULY 28TH 2023

ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT

with

GREGORY SPAWTON

NICK D'VIRGILIO

and ALBERTO BRAVIN

CLICK BELOW

TO WATCH IN ITS ENTIRETY!



Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990 and went through a number of line-up changes in the first 15 or so years of its existence.

The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton (bass, guitars and keyboards), along with Nick D'Virgilio (drums, guitars and keyboards) and Rikard Sjöblom (guitars and keyboards). Until 2009, the band were active as a predominantly studio project led by Spawton and co-founder Andy Poole (guitars, bass and keyboards), who departed the band in 2018. They have released fourteen studio albums and six EPs.

Big Big Train has gone on to win several Progressive Music Awards, has played numerous sold-out shows and has seen a series of studio albums reach number one in the official UK rock charts and make the top 40 in the official UK album charts.

On 27 April 2022, Big Big Train announced singer and keyboard player, Alberto Bravin, as their new lead vocalist replacing lead vocalist David Longdon who died on November 20th 2021, after a traumatic fall at his home.

With the band currently in the early stages of working on a new studio album for release in 2024, their latest endeavor Ingenious Devices features new versions of a trilogy of revered Big Big Train epic tracks - East Coast Racer, Brooklands and Voyager - about how mankind has used its ingenuity to extend its reach by the development and deployment of technology.


The new versions of East Coast Racer, Brooklands and Voyager prominently feature an elite 17-piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Apart from the late David Longdon's lead vocals, which have been compiled from the original album sessions, East Coast Racer is a completely new studio version recorded by the line-up of the band as it was in 2019.

UK prog rockers Big Big Train have announced a run of live dates in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK. The tour will take place in August and September this year.


PREORDER

THE LATEST RELEASE

BY

BIG BIG TRAIN

INGENIOUS 

DEVICES



The album will be available on all major streaming platforms on July 28

Preorder at

https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain

and amazon.com

With the band currently in the early stages of working on a new studio album for release in 2024, their latest endeavor Ingenious Devices features new versions of a trilogy of revered Big Big Train epic tracks - East Coast Racer, Brooklands and Voyager - about how mankind has used it's ingenuity to extend it's reach by the development and deployment of technology. The new versions of East Coast Racer, Brooklands and Voyager prominently feature an elite 17-piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Apart from the late David Longdon's lead vocals, which have been compiled from the original album sessions, East Coast Racer is a completely new studio version recorded by the line-up of the band as it was in 2019. Brooklands features newly recorded drums, bass and bass pedals, while Voyager includes additional guitar and violin. All three songs have been re-mixed for this release. Additionally Ingenious Devices includes a previously unreleased orchestral piece called The Book of Ingenious Devices, which links East Coast Racer and Brooklands, as well as a live version of Atlantic Cable, which was recorded on the band's tour in September 2022.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

BIG BIG TRAIN

VISIT

www.bigbigtrain.com

Official website

www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain

Facebook

https://twitter.com/bigbigtrain

Twitter

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYl-LJDxj2Uc4Tuc8HgdbUg

YouTube


BIG BIG TRAIN

IN CONCERT

 2023

SATURDAY 26TH AUGUST

ZOETERMEER, THE NETHERLANDS

CULTUURPODIUM BOERDERIJ

SUNDAY 27TH AUGUST

HAMBURG, GERMANY

MARKTHALLE

MONDAY 28TH AUGUST

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN

STORA TEATERN

TUESDAY 29TH AUGUST

OSLO, NORWAY

COSMOPOLITE

WEDNESDAY 30TH AUGUST

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

FRYSHUSET KLUBBEN

THURSDAY 31ST AUGUST

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

VIFTEN

SATURDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER

REVISLATE, ITALY

2 DAYS PROG + 1 FESTIVAL

FREE CONCERT

DETAILS SOON

SUNDAY 3RD SEPTEMBER

PRATTELN (BASEL), SWITZERLAND

Z7

TUESDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER

REICHENBACH, GERMANY

NEUBERINHAUS

WEDNESDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER

COLOGNE, GERMANY

VICTORIA CARLSWERK

THURSDAY 7TH SEPTEMBER

ASCHAFFENBURG, GERMANY

COLOS-SAAL

FRIDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER

STUTTGART, GERMANY

MOZART-SAAL

SUNDAY 10TH SEPTEMBER

EDINBURGH, UK

QUEENS HALL

MONDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER

BIRMINGHAM, UK

TOWN HALL

TUESDAY 12TH SEPTEMBER

LONDON, UK

CADOGAN HALL

WEDNESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER

LONDON, UK

CADOGAN HALL

 Apart from playing live this year, we will also be recording a new studio album for release in 2024 and are looking forward to taking BBT across the Atlantic for Cruise To The Edge in March next year.

BIG BIG TRAIN

Discography

Albums

Goodbye to the Age of Steam (1994)

English Boy Wonders (1997)

Bard (2002)

Gathering Speed (2004)

The Difference Machine (2007)

The Underfall Yard (2009)

English Electric Part One (2012)

English Electric Part Two (2013)

Folklore (2016)

Grimspound (2017)

The Second Brightest Star (2017)

Grand Tour (2019)

Common Ground (2021)

Welcome to the Planet (2022)

 Demos and EPs

From the River to the Sea (1992)

The Infant Hercules (1993)

Far Skies Deep Time (2010)

Make Some Noise (2013)

Wassail (2015)

Proper Jack Froster (2021)

 Live albums

A Stone's Throw from the Line (2016)

Merchants of Light (2018)

Empire (2020)

Summer Shall Not Fade (2022)

DVD and Blu-ray

Stone & Steel (2016)

Reflectors of Light (2019)

Empire (2020)

Summer Shall ot Fade (2022)

 Compilations

English Electric: Full Power (2013)

Summer's Lease (2020)










BIG BIG TRAIN
APPEARS WEEK OF 
APRIL 1ST 2023

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS
WITH RAY SHASHO

ORDER NOW

 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

RAY’S BEST-SELLING BOOK

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE  

CHRONICLES,TRUTHS

 CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM 

FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS 

THAT SET US FREE!



BY MUSIC JOURNALIST ...TALK SHOW HOST...  

AUTHOR RAY SHASHO 

Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover or E-book at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

 

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   

Gold Award Winner



MORE BOOKS BY RAY SHASHO