The Band Creed - incomplete without Scot Stag

I can't digest the band Creed with the main vocalist Scot Stag. It just doesn't sound right without him. He was the life-blood to the band. All the band members were good but then it was his vocal which led the band to achieving hits after hits. Where is Scot now anyway? I miss his presence in the band ever since he left the band.

I don't understand these bands why they have to split when they are in the verge of reaching the summit. If we look at the history of most of the successful bands then they have almost the same stories. One band member not liking the other and the disputes they have inside or at the backstage. Once I watched a DVD of Metallica where the band members where yelling and swearing at each other at the backstage just before the concert. That's what goes on in a band. Egos burn at all times no matter how interdependent the band members are in a band.

I wonder when and how we can stop all these disputes. But then not even the greatest bands would have been formed if they hadn't come together despite their egos, would they? Anyway, it's a huge issue to discuss about. Scot Stag - I miss this rock-star so much in the band.

Joe Satriani - the God of Guitar

Have you listened to this track 'War' by Joe Satriani? Whenever I listen to Joe's this track I feel like I'm in a war for real. Really! It's sound is so intense and he has really portrayed a war scene through his unique music.

Joseph Satriani -  that's his real name. He was born in July 15, 1956, is an American instrumental rock guitarist, mulch-instrumentalist and multiple Grammy Award nominee. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, with many of his former students achieving fame such as: Steve Vai, Larry LaLonde, Rick Hunolt, Krik Hammet etc to name a few.

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for his first solo tour. In 1995, Satriani toured with Deep Purple as the lead guitarist. He has worked with a range of guitarists during the G3 Tour, which he founded in 1995. His G3 collaborators have included Vai, LaLonde, Steve Kukather, Eric Johnson etc.

I just can't explain the sound produced by Joe Satriani. It's sometimes happy and sometimes really sad. It's furious and quite often melodic. So my friends try Satriani and get swayed by his beautiful music. Jai Joe!!!

The Eagles

The band - Eagles has always been my friend anywhere I go. I'm never without it. I always listen to The Eagles because I fell in love with their music ever since my childhood. I use to rummage into my brother's room and one day I found the CD of this band. From that day, I'm listening to the Eagles.

The Eagles are an American rock band formed in LA, California at around 1971. It was found my band members Glenn, Don Henley, Bernie and Randy Meisner. With seven number-one singles, six Grammys, five American Music Awards, and six number one albums, the Eagles were one of the most successful bands of the 1970s. AT the end of the 20th century, two of their albums, Their Greatest hits and Hotel California, ranked among the 20 best selling albums in the US according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Hotel California is ranked 37th in the Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and the band was ranked no. 75 on the magazine's 2005 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

As I go on writing about the Eagles I don't like stopping to write more about their success. I can't do with the Eagles every single day.

Some Concert!

Over 8,000 people attended the Ncell Rocks concert in Lahan on February 25 at the premises of the Shree Pashupati Higher Secondary School. Kamal Khatri sarted off the concert with the popular numberslike "Aatma Ma" and "Korera Prem Patra", followed by a host of popular artists like Nima Rumba, Adrian Pradhan, Rajina Rimal and Shreya Sotang. The capacity crowd were seen greatly enjoying the music and singing along with the artists. Ncell rocks also provided a platform for local artists to entertain the crowd, along with additional entertaining acts like a DJ session and a B-Boying performance.

Similar was the atmosphere at Janakpur, on the premises of the Janakpur Cigarette Factory on February 23. Around 12,000 people attended the concert, stated a press release. "We thank out customers and music lovers for making Ncell Rocks successful," said Milan Sharma, Corporate Communication Expert at Ncell. "Ncell Rocks did not just entertain music lovers but also gave opportunities for local artists to share the stage with the national artists.

Free tickets to the concert were provided to new customers as well as existing Ncell subscribrs with the purchase of SIM cards and recharge cards worth Rs 100 and above. It was an awesome day for me. The event was spectacular and I hope to see the same kind of concert very soon. Nepal ROCKS!!!

Music knowledge from abroad

The British Council in Kathmandu brought in two music experts from the UK for a two-day workshop, from February 26 to 28, for music professionals and upcoming artists at the British Council, Lainchaur.

Ruth Daniel, who co-founded Un-Convention four years ago aiming to strengthen music-related infrastructure from the grassroots level over the world, and Sharon Dean, music publisher and founder of Respect Music, discussed the commercial aspect making music with workshop attendees. Majoj KC of 1974 AD, Roshan Sharma, music teacher at the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, and Garima Gurung Shah, were among the participants at the workshop.

Daniel informed that they had conducted similar workshops in 22 different countries, including Uganda, Venezuela, Colombia, Australia and India, and that this was their 44th event focusing on building a sustainable career in music.

During the workshop, participants pointed out problems like the lack of quality instruments and studios, the lack of brand sponsorship and few large scale music festivals for local bands. Un-Convention attempts to mobilize artistes and create a network of artistes at the workshops conducted across the world.

Music - not a piece of cake, is it?

"I would like to make a real jazz album someday because I never have. But that's something I'm not in a rush to do," admits multiple Grammy award winner Norah Jones who majored in jazz piano at college. In spite of all the perfect notes and steps on or off stage, many might lag the most essential element - the soul the music has. To judge any artist picking up strings or clashing cymbals, in jazz it would be the idea he/she projects and portrays through their instrument. The point of the music would be to do something and carry on doing it for the rest of your life. And despite the hard work and never ending rehearsals jazz musicians go through, at the end of the day the camera angles and the crazy stage lights - what matters the most seldom shines down toward these musicians.

In Nepal, musicians of all standards and ability have often come together for numerous occasions to perform jazz music at different venues. It's also the listeners who prefer to go to a more chic jazz show with musical horn sand off beat drums energetically, flaunting their signature styles. Call it a leap of faith or the attraction towards the comparatively new and low profile sounds of jazz, the Nepali crowd seems to have built a strange, yet deep relationship with it. The audience applauding vigorously to jazz at many instances might seem strange. Has the Nepali audience really adapted to jazz music? Matters get more complicated when you chat away with a bunch of musicians gulping down multiple glasses of local aaila. The words of wisdom they utter then are nothing more than jazz. That is very jazzy.

More Jazz

Since the days of its initiation, jazz has traveled grounds merging with different styles and cultures. Sub genres of jazz, like New Ore land's sound, spreading notes through Latin America and to other subcontinents have emerged with tunes swaying in various styles using numerous musical instruments. The effects of the genre were not just limited to the musical scenario in its hay days.

Even daily newspapers of immensely reputed standards did not spare the genre, or at least the word "jazz". Use of the word was often seen in the headlines despite the vague meaning it portrayed. For instance, a headline in the New York Times published a story that claimed jazz to be the cause of death of a celebrated orchestra conductor - Ureli Corelli Hill. The actual cause had nothing to do with Jazz. A fatal heart attack, a natural cause, was how the conductor had died. This shows the influential effects of jazz from its very beginning in avenues other than music.

According to music legends of the yesteryear, jazz has had a very close relationship with its musical counterpart -  blues music. Blues guitar player and living legend BB King explained the connection between jazz and blues saying, "Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy;s playing blues like we play, he's in high school. When he starts playing jazz it's like going to college, to a school of higher learning". There are musicians who claim the two genres as being an integral part of each other. With an essence of European and African traditions, both jazz and blues are a fusion of similar elements and both emerged from the American south, Afro-American community to be more distinct.

Jazz - A Healer

Jazz -  a music genre developing proud and loud with a tagline of being as complicated as pieces of strings entangled onto each other. Indeed jazz has roots sprouting in and toward different corners of the globe. Jazz legend Louis Armstrong once said, "If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know". This statement defines the versatility the genre has. Every musician from a different place carries off the genre with their own approach. Jazz's influential grid and profound presence in the global music area has left marks in every other musical genre and music culture known to man.

With its origins in the US in the early 20th century, in its early stages, the genre was merely African Americans grooving to European style music - a clash of African  rhythm and technique with European classical and folk music. With time, jazz not only evolved within the Afro-American community but also traveled across borders paving the way for many styles with the elegance of jazz. The music, due to multiple evolution and swift changes does not have a definite style or sound unlike other genres of music. In just over a century, it has turned out to be one of, if not the most, versatile music genres. Probably due to its dynamic persona causing changes in style, in a 1988 interview trombone player JJ Johnson said, "Jazz is restless. It won't stay put and it never will".

I love jazz - don't you? I shall write about it more in my next post.

Kanye West "Cruel Summer"

Kayne West can easily be classified as a hyper-narcissistic fame monster. To see this one does not need to fo further than the first song of the album (To the World) where he refers to himself as the "God of Rap". Officially this isn't a Kayne West album, it's a G.O.O.D Music. But that is pretty much all that stops it from being one. Kayne is featured in almost every song and his presence is felt in some way in every single song. Cruel Summer is an album that showcases all the talent Kayne has on his crew.

There are a total of 22 artists on this album and each artists on this album wants to be unique and show that they deserve a spot on the album. This results in an album that does not feel cohesive. This isn't true for songs like "Clique" where Jay Z, Kayne and Big Sean complement each other brilliantly. However, it is accurate for most of the rest of the album.

For most of the album, you get what you expect. Kayne raps about what you expect him to: arrogant self-praise and comments on current affairs. In "To the World" he even claims that "Mitt Romney don't pay no tax". Rap veterans like Raekworm and Jay Z also dominate younger performers. The presence of many artists also seems to be superfluous. The album starts off as a great one with its first four songs.

Why is everybody playing guitars???

Hello world! Are there no other instruments other than guitars? Everybody is buying guitars and talking about. Are there no other instruments to compete with guitars? How about trying your fingers in some other instruments? How about leaving your strings and try your hands on pianos or keyboard?

These days keyboard or pianos do not only come with black and white keys. If you look into its versatility I bet you'll gape in wonderment. You talk about companies like BOSS and M-AUDIO, these music gadget companies have taken keyboard playing into a whole new level. An M-Audio keyboard is a versatile machine. It cannot not only produce music but it enables a musician to think as well as create simultaneously. It's totally user friendly and it has been a primary choice for music companies and recordists. I see every record studios using it these days. It has replaced old keyboard massively.

Every Nepali youth who love music loves the underground band 'Jindaabad'. No wonder Abhishek is a genuine musician who has utmost passion in playing keyboards. Do you know why this band is so unique? It's because they have the latest gadgets and instruments. They are aware and updated with everything that is latest in the music scene.

So in conclusion, my suggestion here for the young-wannabe musicians is; before you buy a guitar you first look around and see. You'll find so many instruments which might suit you and your interest.

Music - My Passion

 How would you like to start your day? For me, I start with with my daily dose of music. It's like my morning coffee or you could say an alarm to wake me up everyday. Music is my sun-shiner because it makes me happy and brings out the best in me every time I listen to my favorite songs.

No wonder, in this big ocean of music industry there are innumerable artists, singers, band and musicians with different genres. It's really a tough time finding the right music which suits you. It totally depends upon what kind of person you are. Describing about my type of music, I really cannot chose what's the best for me. It's has to suit my mood and I must say that it entirely depends upon my mood. For example; if I'm happy I go for happy music and if I'm not in a good mood I choose to listen to slow songs.

Preferably, my ideal choice of music is Slow Rock if I really have to choose one. It's because I grew up listening to slow rock music ever since my childhood days. My elder brother has been one of my source of inspirations for liking slow rock music because he is also a big fan of this genre. We used to listen to the songs from the hit bands like Bad Company, Nazareth, Led Zeppelin, The Scorpions etc.

However, I still haven't been able to cope up with Hip-Hop music. I think it's because I never gave it a try. But seriously, Hip-Hop music cannot be ignored since there are millions of fans all around the world now. Also, if we go to any disco party rock music will just not do. We need Hip-Hop music to dance to it's beat. Well, whatever that it, I love music and we all love it. It's deficiency causes me numbness in my soul.