Weekend Rock: What Is the Best Prog Rock Album of All Time?

Last year we asked our readers to vote for their favorite prog rock bands of all time, and the response was overwhelming. Thousands of votes poured in, and Rush won by a landslide.

Now we have a new question: what is your favorite prog rock album of all time? Is it 2112 by Rush? The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis? Script for a Jester's Tear by Marillion? Vote for whatever album you want, but please just vote once and only for a single album.

source: rollingstone.com

GALLERY I Night of digital rock stars at Tatt Awards 2012

“So this is what my Twitter timeline looks like in real life.”

That was Gang Badoy opening her hip and well-received keynote speech at the Tatt Awards 2012 last June 29 at the NBC tent.

The founder of Rock Ed Philippines and one of the bonafide icons of the social media era, Gang said that while she’s thankful to everyone online for the wonderful sense of community brought about by the social media phenomenon, she stressed that it’s also equally important to be “a community of reason.”

“Go on Twitter not just to be heard but to learn, learn to be nice to one another online and know when to speak up, shout out for someone and shut up,” she urged. “If we can’t yet be a community of kind people then we can at least be a community that tries.”

Gang’s words resonated loudly as Globe Tattoo broadband once again honored the digital rock stars who, like her, have influenced, inspired and touched the lives of people through their strong online presence.

Led by the ever effervescent TV host and writer Bianca Gonzalez who bagged the ultimate prize with The One award, this year’s awardees were a happy mix of top celebrities, online advocates, YouTube sensations and trending superstars.

Hosted by Esquire cover girl Georgina Wilson, YouTube star Ashley Rivera (a.k.a. Petra Mahalimuyak), Miggy Chavez of the band Chicosci, and RX 93 DJ Gino Quillamor, the Globe Tatt Awards 2012 was truly a star-studded affair.

It featured spirited performances by Arnel Pineda, Rico Blanco, Up Dharma Down, Chicosci, Funk Avy, Pulso and singer/comedian Mikey Bustos who also provided the hilarious pre-taped introduction spiels to each major award.

Now on its second year, the Tatt Awards has grown exponentially bigger as Globe’s head of Tattoo Nomadic Broadband Business Dong Ronquillo announced that this year’s 1,050 nominations are more than twice the number they received from last year.

From the 50 finalists that comprised the top nominees, winners were chosen partly through online voting and by consensus among the Tatt Council members composed of Ronquillo, Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines Vice President Pao Peña, photographer Wyg Tysmans, singer and comedian Mikey Bustos, TV host Rovilson Fernandez, National Youth Commission commissioner Gio Tingson, journalist Maria Ressa, blogger Loi Landicho a.k.a. The Professional Heckler, TV host Raymond Gutierrez, musician Francis Reyes and eventologist Tim Yap.

For being The One, Bianca received some pretty cool prizes that include P100,000 in cash, a one year subscription to both Globe’s Tattoo@Home and Tattoo Superstick, a Blackberry Playbook and BlackBerry phone bundle.

The other major winners of Tatt Awards 2012 winners who all received P100,000 cash and one-year subscription to Tattoo@Home are the following:

• Stylisimo: Cecile Van Straten of chuvaness.com
• #ThoughtMover: Kimpoy Feliciano (@kimpoyfeliciano)
• Video Slinger Award: Real-life couple Jamyhille and Paolinne Michelle, more popularly known as JAMICH (youtube.com/JamichTV).
• The Visualizer: Ryan Vergara and Garovs Garovillo, of Everywhere we Shoot (everywhereweshoot.com).
• The Advocate: PAWS (facebook.com/pawsphilippines)
• Indie Rocker: Gloc-9 (facebook.com/glocdash9)
• The Explorer: Bogart The Explorer (facebook.com/bogarttheexplorer)
• Game Changer: Jinoe Gavan of takbo.ph
• Tech Junkie: Jason de Villa, of technoodling.net

In addition to the above major awards, special awards were also given to several entertainment figures.

Vice Ganda’s primetime weekly show, “Gandang Gabi Vice” won #Trending TV; radio jocks Chico, Delamar and Gino Quillamor of RX 93’s “Morning Rush” was voted #Trending Radio; and “Becky Nights” of Divine Lee, Jake Galvez. Matt Gozun, Buem Rodriguez and Divine Lee won #Trending Podcast.

Singer-actress Julie Anne San Jose was the big winner of two special awards, namely Trending Personality and the People’s Choice award.

Journalist Howie Severino received the Safe Surfer award in behalf of GMA Network’s Think Before You Click campaign which was honored for its advocacy towards responsible internet usage.

Rounding up the special awards are “rookies” Robbie Becroft of robbieoffduty.com and food blog Pepper.ph as they tied for the Freshest award given to new blogs that created the most impact.

Another YouTube sensation, Luigi Yotoko, took home the The Prodigy award given to a social media rock star under 18 years of age.

source: interaksyon.com

Rock Band Secrets That Will Help Your Band Book Gigs and Get Signed to a Record Deal

If you are like most bands, the thing you want now more than anything in the world is to get your band signed to a record label. However, the issue of financing can get in the way and make you want to quit. This article will give you some tips the rock bands use to get financing until they get signed.

Sadly, getting your band financed is harder today than it's ever been. Since the economy blows right now and banks are reluctant to lend money to people, getting credit is difficult. But, there are ways around this.

Bartering is a great way to book gigs. Remember, if you want to get signed, you'll need to have a list of gigs under your belt. What you do here is offer to play for a charitable event. The cool thing is you can even ask for a sponsor for this. This sponsor could lead to financing in the future. It's a long way around the credit issue, but it works. And, you'll be able to schedule some gigs without costing you a dime.

If your band has never actually sat down and wrote out what you need to get financed, here's a short list for you to follow. You'll need funds for:

· Manufacturing

· Distribution

· Consumption

· Touring

Obviously, once you get signed most of these out of pocket expenses are no longer up to you. But until you get signed, you'll be footing the bill for these expenses.

The good thing is, half of that list above is real easy to do and real cheap. For example, manufacturing would involve real production of CDs. However, you can distribute your music digitally these days which will be a lot cheaper than a CD. You can even sell your songs on Amazon, one by one.

Distribution is the same way. Years ago you had to actually make a physical CD or tape. However, now if your band has a blog, you can just post your songs on your blog for digital downloads. Again, this is real easy and real cheap to do.

However, if you plan on touring the costs can get pretty high, even if you just plan on staying local. So do what you can to use the bartering trick I mentioned earlier.

Those are some of the secrets rock bands use to get financing. Remember, if you want to your band to get signed, you'll need to play at lots of venues. And if you're just starting out, bartering is the way to go.

Learn the Secret Steps that Most Unsigned Musicians Will Never Know. Visit How To Get Your Band Signed right now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shane_M._M._Boyd

Pink Floyd Was Instrumental In The Development Of Rock-n-Roll by Braden Aalders

One of the greatest bands in the history of modern music is Pink Floyd. Their unique sound and approach to music making has made them a living legend and has permanently marked their members as some of the most ingenious instrumentalists of all time.

Many bands have emulated the unique sound of Pink Floyd but few have actually attempted to cover any of their songs. Their sound is so distinctive that it is impossible to satisfactorily reproduce.

Sid Barrett

Originally called Tea Set, Sid Barrett initiated Pink Floyd's climb to fame. The band initially consisted of Sid Barrett on vocals and guitar, Roger Waters on bass, Bob Klose on guitar, Nick Mason on drums and wind instrument player Rick Wright.

The band's name was a spontaneous decision. They were playing an event at which there was another band named Tea Set. They quickly thought to combine the names of two successful blues musicians, Pink Anderson and Floyd Council, calling them The Pink Floyd Sound. It was not long until they shortened their name to its now unforgettable version.

Their rise to fame was a pretty standard one for most 1960's rock bands. With songs being written primarily by the band's vocalist, Sid Barrett, the band easily scored gigs at some of London's more prominent nightclubs.

In 1966 they were asked to contribute music to the soundtrack for the movie, "Tonite Let's Make Love in London". Their popularity as an underground band was steadily growing and by the time they released their debut album in 1967 they already had a substantial fan base in England.

Most critics consider "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" one of the greatest debut albums in history. Their popularity grew tremendously as they released their album in the United States and toured with Jimi Hendrix in the late 60's.

The stress of fame and his almost obsessive use of psychedelic drugs, quickly overwhelmed Sid Barrett. By January of 1968, the band added David Gilmour to the band to help with the responsibilities that Barrett's progressive breakdown was making it difficult for him to do.

The band made every attempt to maintain this arrangement but by April of the same year it was obvious that Barrett had deteriorated to the point that the rest of the band decided that it was not working.

Barrett went on to produce two moderately successful albums before he went into seclusion for the last 35 years of his life. At the age of 60, Sid Barrett passed away in 2006.

Roger Waters

With the loss of Sid Barrett, Pink Floyd was facing an internal crisis. He had always been the primary songwriter and vocalist. In the absence of clear leadership, the band began writing communal pieces, with each member contributing something.

This writing style was segmented and not well received especially well by critics, but it still allowed the group to perform well in sales. Their successive album was a collection of experimental works of the individuals compiled into a single album. "Meddle" is the first glimpse Pink Floyd gives the public of their trademark style and thematic records.

As the bands writing and recording progressed, Roger Waters gradually became the primary writer of the group. By the time they release "Dark Side of the Moon" in 1973, Waters had become the driving force behind Pink Floyd, despite the collaborative efforts of the band on most projects.

"Dark Side of the Moon" marked the beginning of three epic albums whose success is still unrivaled.

In 1975, the band released their musical farewell to Sid Barrett in what is arguably the greatest album ever made. "Wish You Were Here" centers around the theme of absence and loneliness.

"The Wall" was released in 1979 and was dominated by Water's writings. His fascination with WWII and the themes of loneliness and isolation that provide this album made it an instant success, catapulting them back to the top of the charts.

This period marked the greatest success for Pink Floyd. Their epically themed albums are amongst the highest earning records in history.

David Gilmour

In December of 1985, Roger Waters announced that he was leaving Pink Floyd, stating that the band had used up its creativity. He expected that to be the end of the band. When it wasn't, a bitter legal battle developed over the use of the name.

The suit was eventually settled out of court, and Gilmour and Mason retained the right to use the name "Pink Floyd" as a result.

David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and ultimately Richard Wright continued to write and record albums under the name Pink Floyd. Together they released "A Momentary Lapse of Reason".

While it was not their most successful album, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" was their greatest. Many critics consider Momentary Lapse to be more of a solo project by Gilmour than a group effort.

The bands next two albums, "Delicate Sound of Thunder" and "The Division Bell", contained significantly more group contributions than their first. They also helped to reestablish Pink Floyd's reputation in the absence of Roger Waters.

Final Act

While the members of Pink Floyd have sporadically reunited to perform, they are commonly considered to be a thing of the past. However, their legion of followers is still a very real, ever-present entity.

A true Pink Floyd fan can argue with endless intensity about the superiority of Pink Floyd to all other bands in music history. The less devoted can at least acknowledge the intense impact that Pink Floyd had on the development of music, specifically Rock and Roll.



Braden Aalders was a child in the seventies, but he still loves his parents' music. Classic Rock Central features the classic rock artists and rock bands that classic rock fans consider to be essential listening. Listen to mp3s of interviews or music, or shop for CD's, books, and more at: http://www.classicrockcentral.com/

Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com