25 Great Moments in Rock Drumming – Day 3: Vinnie Colauita, “The Central Scrutinizer,” from Joe’s Garage by Frank Zappa Vinnie Colauita has the ability to make the challenging seem easy and likewise the near-impossible. His drumming on the opening track to Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage is a rhythmic pastiche so off-kilter and devilishly difficult [...]
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In the spirit of the upcoming Halloween weekend, Grand Rapids Press Sound Check writer John Sinkevics has posted his list of scariest rock songs ever. Included are tracks from Pink Floyd, Iron Butterfly and the Velvet Underground. I would add Iron Maiden’s “Murders In The Rue Morgue,”Alice Cooper’s “Halo Of Flies” and Blind Melon’s “Skinned” [...]
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Guitarist Frank Marino’s Mahogany Rush got two long-overdue reissues with BGO Records’ release and remasters of Mahogany Rush IV and World Anthem. This two-CD set doesn’t get much better – Marino and band mates bassist Paul Harwood and drummer Jim Ayoub all share musical space in these weighty mixes. Marino was in his early 20s [...]
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The Unbelievable Truth is a white hot, live recording of a one-off gig uniting the late, former Soft Machine Alto Saxophonist, Elton Dean and the Belgian psychedelic-jazz quintet and former Frank Zappa cover band, The Wrong Object. Brought together through long distance appreciation and file swapping each other’s music, the combo had intended to collaborate [...]
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It’s safe to say that French band Magma is like no other. Leader Christian Vander’s concept of a futuristic rock/ jazz outfit included a language (Kobaian) constructed specifically to fit his musical vision. To my ears, Kobaian sounds something akin to German, and fans have Web pages devoted to translation if you care to delve [...]
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Mahogany Frog are a four-piece progressive rock outfit from Winnipeg, Manitoba, composed of Graham Epp (keyboards, guitars, trumpets), Jesse Warkentin (guitars, keyboards), Scott Ellenberger (bass, keyboards, percussion, trumpets) and J.P. Perron (drums, electronics). Mahogany Frog’s most recent release, DO5 (Moonjune Records), is their fifth, and served as my introduction to the band. DO5 features nine [...]
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