rawk Archive
07 Mar 2024
There’s a Fire in the House: A Conversation with Steve Vai (Part 4 of 4)
Continued from Part Three… What led to the release of your latest album Vai/Gash some 30 years after you made the record? It was 1990, and I was really into […]
06 Mar 2024
There’s a Fire in the House: A Conversation with Steve Vai (Part 3 of 4)
Continued from Part Two… Beyond artists who are associated with the guitar, what musician has inspired you the most? My favorite artist – maybe of all time – is Tom […]
05 Mar 2024
There’s a Fire in the House: A Conversation with Steve Vai (Part 2 of 4)
Continued from Part One… How important is it to you that the listener understand the thoughts and feelings that you put into a song? It’s not that it’s important or […]
04 Mar 2024
There’s a Fire in the House: A Conversation with Steve Vai (Part 1 of 4)
Playing melodically and “shredding” are each in their own way highly valued qualities in music, especially in the genre of hard rock. But those two qualities – crafting an accessible, […]
27 Feb 2024
Take Five: Early Gems from Billy Idol
Along with his friend Siouxsie Sioux, William Broad was part of the so-called Bromley Contingent, a group of punks who were central to the music and fashion movement in late […]
24 Feb 2024
Album Review: Al Stewart – Songs on the Radio
By most any reasonable measure, Al Stewart is not a singles artist. Though the Glasgow-born singer-songwriter has had a long and creatively fertile musical career, his primary artistic vehicle has […]
23 Feb 2024
Album Review: Eddie Roberts & The Lucky Strokes
Eddie Roberts can pretty much do it all. Guitarist in The New Mastersounds, he’s also a producer and label owner, applying his gifts to the work of other artists on […]
22 Feb 2024
Album Review: 3 – Rockin’ the Ritz
As I and many others have often pointed out, the 1980s were a tough time for progressive rock bands. A few thrived: King Crimson, in its own fashion, was among […]
21 Feb 2024
Album Review: def.fo — Eternity
Shimmering modern psychedelia with a tuneful foundation is at the core of Eternity, the new album from def.fo aka Tom Powell. His liquid, phase-shifted guitars and laid-back vocals are part […]
20 Feb 2024
Album Review: Neon Leon – 1979-84 Singles Collection
Here’s one out of left field. I’ll admit a complete lack of knowledge of Neon Leon, but even a few seconds into “Rock ‘N Roll is Alive,” the opening track […]