Metal proves to be a mainstay niche for guitar makers
The News Review:
- Metal proves to be a mainstay niche for guitar makers
- Sun kisses music fans at Reading
- Red Hot Chili Peppers close Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival
- Sunday 26/08/07 Day Three @ Leeds Festival Bramham Park Leeds
- Chthonic: A voice for Taiwan’s freedom history
- The Heist the Getaway and the Sawed-ff Leg
Metal proves to be a mainstay niche for guitar makers
International Herald Tribune – Aug 27, 2007
Fueled by a resurgence in heavy metal music and its numerous dark sub-genres Halo makes and sells evil looking instruments with bodies carved to resemble rotting flesh distended eyeballs and bone. The demonically themed guitars primarily find their way into the hands of death metal musicians. Regular heavy metal music can cover the usual topics of scorn and despair while the death metal sub-genre leans heavily on growled vocals and themes such as Satanism and dark mythology. Both are an important niche for electric guitar manufacturers like 5-year-old Halo. It sold 200 guitars its first year in business and now sells 200 to 300 a month in direct sales and another 200 per month to dealers said co-founder Waylon Ford. Today in Business with Reuters.
Sun kisses music fans at Reading
BBC News – Aug 27, 2007
For 80000 music fans gathered by the Thames for the Reading Festival their numbers came up. The event climaxed on Sunday night with The Smashing Pumpkins and the nasal tones of singer Billy Corgan. The band’s performance on the main stage included heavy rock beat tracks like Zero an echoing guitar version of the Star Spangled Banner and Pink Floyd-esque tones. Along with the sunshine The Nine Inch Nails who preceded the Pumpkins were another of the festival’s highlights. Singer Trent Reznor also showed his versatility by switching from electro-rock numbers such as Closer to God to much more violent tracks… It was almost a relief when night really fell and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers added their Californian spice to the mix earlier in the festival. Bassist Michael Balzary congratulated Sheffield United on beating West Brom that afternoon with a cry of ‘Go Blades go!”He then proceeded to lock swords with guitarist John Frusciante in a bout of sparring that led into Californication. Hurdy gurdyThe Chillis switched from funky blues numbers like Scar Tissue to the more gentle rhythms of Snow (Hey h) and By the Way before coming back for an encore of Give It Away. Singer Anthony Kiedis thanked individual members of the audience: “You in the blue.
Red Hot Chili Peppers close Carling Weekend: Leeds Festival
NME.com – Aug 26, 2007
We just want to thank our crew past and present. The band then launched into an extended intro to ‘Can’t Stop’ before the crowd sang in full voice once the track kicked in. The Chilis mixed up their set from Reading which was watched by Eagles f Death Metal singer Jessie Hughes throwing in fan favourite ‘ther Side’ ‘Charlie’ ‘Throw Away Your Television’ ‘Get n Top’ ‘So Much I Wish’ and ‘C’Mon Girl’. Towards the end of the show bassist Flea told the crowd: “Thank you for waiting around to see us. I know there was lot of music over the last three days so thanks for coming. All we have ever wanted to do is warm your hearts. With the Chilis wrapping up proceedings with classic hit ‘Give It Away’ singer Anthony Kiedis also drew reference to the end of their world tour… The Chilis mixed up their set from Reading which was watched by Eagles f Death Metal singer Jessie Hughes throwing in fan favourite ‘ther Side’ ‘Charlie’ ‘Throw Away Your Television’ ‘Get n Top’ ‘So Much I Wish’ and ‘C’Mon Girl’. Towards the end of the show bassist Flea told the crowd: “Thank you for waiting around to see us. I know there was lot of music over the last three days so thanks for coming. All we have ever wanted to do is warm your hearts. With the Chilis wrapping up proceedings with classic hit ‘Give It Away’ singer Anthony Kiedis also drew reference to the end of their world tour. “Thank you it has been a hell of a run” he said. “We came here to give a little love and get some back too.
Sunday 26/08/07 Day Three @ Leeds Festival Bramham Park Leeds
Gigwise – Aug 26, 2007
Frontwoman Hayley Williams is doing her best to rouse the crowd from their Sunday morning comedowns and its actually working – just not on us. It’s always going to be tough for the first act on but they’ve proved that they’ll quite possibly be climbing up the list of acts in years to come. The Dead 60’s and The Eagles f Death Metal follow suit clearly revelling in the spotlight. The Shins provide pleasant sunshine music as their floating melodies primarily from their latest offering ‘Wincing The Night Away’ wash over us. They may be best known for their inclusion into the impressive Garden State soundtrack which pulls much of the crowd but today gave them a chance there’s more to them than being Zach Braff’s favourite band. Bottling of the weekend is reserved for Angels And Airwaves who from where we’re standing aren’t going down too well with the Leeds lot who are booing. Panic! At The Disco may have learnt how to dodge the bottles after last year’s incident but it’s former Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge’s band that the audience have it in for this time.
Chthonic: A voice for Taiwan’s freedom history
China Post – Aug 26, 2007
?All our songs are about mythology in Taiwan. I?m a fan of all kinds of mythologies since I was in kindergarten. When I started to write music I made up my mind to write about things that normally human beings cannot do. I love to write about gods ghosts spirits. ?Lim says he and his bandmates grew up on Slayer Anthrax Deicide Iron Maiden Megadeth Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir ?the bands we liked the most when we first listened to black metal in the mid-?90s especially their arrangements. ? He also cites Emperor and Enslaved from Norway and England?s Hecate Enthroned bands whose complex structures and arrangements sired the ?symphonic black metal? movement. England?s Cradle of Filth and Norway?s Dimmu Borgir wrote about their native cultures after traditional pagan religions had been forcibly replaced by Christianity… The Seediq part of the Atayal one of the 12 officially recognized indigenous peoples in Taiwan rebelled in 1930 resulting in the Wushe Incident an infamous massacre. Chthonic makes dramatic use of facial tattoos also known as ?corpse paint. ? Painted rockers go back to Alice Cooper and Kiss and death and black metal bands in the ?80s and ?90s embraced particularly dramatic foreboding imagery. Taiwanese folklore had the Eight Generals painted deities empowered with the eight Taoist spirits to be judges of good and evil. ?The makeup that we have is very traditional? Lim said. ?Taiwanese Taoist priests would have to communicate with the gods and ghosts to let the spirits into their bodies to transcend themselves.
The Heist the Getaway and the Sawed-ff Leg
New York Times – Aug 26, 2007
334) in the 1950s and 1960s. For years afterward Ruth Ellington maintained an office in No. 333 for the Duke’s music publishing company and Ellington himself used to drop by and compose there. 335 the building recently for sale was occupied for 35 years by the family of Lothar Faber president of the Eberhard Faber pencil company… Though all are five stories each has its own character. The corner buildings are larger No. 330 at 105th Street is the most Parisian-looking and River Mansion on 106th Street with its red brick facade and tall metal fences has a Victorian air; Miss Havisham could have lived there. 336 is the most stolid; No. 335 is squeezed between it and No. 334 the scene of the amputation and the most imposing of the row.