tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619Mon, 04 Aug 2025 06:23:54 +0000music magazinet-shirtstshirtsteeshirtsrockt-shirts white lightRolling StonesmusicBrand XJohn LennonNeil YoungPaul McCartneyAbbey RoadAlmost FamousApocalypse NowAtlanta Pop FestivaBLUE HORIZONBeggars BanquetBlack SabbathBruce SpringsteenCAPRICORN RECORDSCalifornia musicDAVID BYRNEDavid BowieDonovanELOFILLMORE EASTFantasy FairFreebirdGIBSON FIREBIRDGoodFellasGrateful DeadGrease BandHAMMERSMITH ODEONHuman Be-InIggy PopIt BitesJack DupreeKeep Yourself AliveKing CrimsonKings Of LeonKnebworthLed ZeppelinLynyrd SkynyrdMagic Mountain FestivalMar-y-SolMick WallOld Grey Whistle TestPICTURE SLEEVEPJ HARVEYPaul KossoffPeter GreenQueenRoger DaltreySTESeattle Pop FestivalSilence Of The LambsSly And The Family StoneStill Too Young To RememberTangerine DreamTodd RundgrenTrainspottingVE VAN ZANDTYokoYouTubeZiggy Stardustcarole kingchartsdylanelvisfestivalsfree trade hallmoogpaul simonRock Solid Monthly Music Magazine from DJTees.com - T-shirts that Rock! For music fans including historic muso facts, articles and reviews from Johnny Nick DJTees t-shirts guitar crazy founderhttp://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Johnny)Blogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-3576760938950040388Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:29:00 +00002009-08-11T18:29:25.136+01:00Davy Graham, who died last December, was a guitarist who influencedPaul Simon, Jimmy Page,Ray Davies, John Martyn,Johnny Marr and Graham Coxon.He is not anything like as commercially successful as any of these acolytes, yet his techniques and vision helped to shape modern music and he was a revered figure to all of these players, and to countless other guitarists.Born (1940) in Leicester to a http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/obscure-guitar-hero-davy-graham.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-7405873312579285528Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:27:00 +00002009-08-11T18:28:56.436+01:00Knebworth Festival 1976THE ROLLING STONES were booked to play at Knebworth and entered right into the spirit of the ‘Knebworth Fair’ vibe. Earlier in the summer of 1976, they hired two brave souls to dress up in Harlequin outfits – the symbol of the event – and run onto centre court at Wimbledon on finals day with a banner ‘Stones At Knebworth’. Even better, they got two topless girls to do the http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/history-of-rock-festivals-chapter-13.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-6346563941619487568Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:27:00 +00002009-08-11T18:27:36.681+01:00Valerie by Mark Ronson featuring Amy WinehouseAn absolutely brilliant, Northern Soul-ish take on The Zutons original, this was the standout track on Ronson’s double platinum covers album, Version. Also love MR’s version of Dylan’s ‘Most Likely You Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine’.Have a look at Amy Winehouse t-shirtsDancing In The Street by Van HalenOne of Motown’s most iconic tunes, covered by http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/cover-to-cover.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-4596812835019411154Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:26:00 +00002009-08-11T18:26:38.489+01:00From making televisions and the unexciting beginnings of Petula Clark and Lonnie Doneghan to the freaked out acid folk of Paul Brett’s Sage, the story of Pye Records and its Dawn Records offshoot is a peculiar one.Pye was a television and radio manufacturer in the Fifties but diversified into record label ownership with the acquisition of Nixa Records in 1953, and then Polygon Records in 1955. http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/struck-from-record-dawn-records-1970.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5397650483320959896Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-08-11T18:26:03.287+01:00We were on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village the other day,standing outside the Café Wha? and eating a falafel sandwich from the awesome and still super cheap Mamoun’s Falafel. It was a very sunny early evening, not yet too warm, and – having liberally refreshed ourselves during a happy hour in some dive bar a couple of blocks over – we were feeling no pain.It’s still a very nice place to http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/legendary-rock-venues-cafe-wha.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-2997322341830418801Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:25:00 +00002009-08-11T18:25:39.967+01:00Roy HarperHis admirers and collaborators have included Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Dave Gilmour, Ian Anderson, Paul McCartney andKate Bush. His fingerpicking acoustic style is as recognisable as Jimmy Page’s bow. He’s written some of the most beautiful and uniquely English electric folk. He has recorded without a break of any length of time for more than 40 years. He has attracted controversy for http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/genius-of-month-roy-harper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5548921961999934171Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:24:00 +00002009-08-11T18:25:03.186+01:00The purpose of Live Aid was to raise awareness of poverty in Africa via concerts involving the great and the good of rock, a job it did rather well all things considered. It even made the cruel witch-queen, Margaret Thatcher, sit up and take notice in a way that meeting Katherine Hammnet wearing an anti-Cruise missile t-shirt just didn’t. Being leered down on by an irate Irishman with unkempt http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-if-what-if-live-aid-hadnt-happened.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5052940801295256072Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:24:00 +00002009-08-11T18:24:39.965+01:00Few British bands of the Seventies have aged as badly as The Sweet. The stupid spandex outfits, the chuggalonga riffs, the greasy, lank hair. They released their best LP, Desolation Boulevard, in 1974: that year, Bowie did Diamond Dogs and Roxy Music did Country Life. Even Supertramp’s Crime Of The Century andQueen’s Sheer Heart Attack have been far more kindly judged by posterity.However, we http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/so-uncool-theyre-cool-sweet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-8234786323925000348Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:23:00 +00002009-08-11T18:24:12.471+01:00RCA 5156 DJ US Copy 1967Oh to be in San Francisco in 1967 just before it all went commercial and bus tours were laid on for the straight people to gawk at the freaks.Ironically, it was this record, perhaps more than any other, which brought the tourists, the curious, the seekers, the freakers, the users, losers, two-time cheaters.Originally written by Grace Slick for The Great Society she took ithttp://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/picture-sleeve-of-month-jefferson.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-1304664909153791380Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:22:00 +00002009-08-11T18:23:41.241+01:00When we were talking about writing something about Stomu Yamashta,the percussionist and composer who formed the mid-Seventies supergroup Go with Steve Winwood, conversation turned to other Japanese people in rock. Miki Berenyi from Lush is half-Japanese. Sakamoto Kiu did that ‘Sukiyaki’ song that was top of the charts in the USA in the Sixties.Taka Hirose plays bass for Feeder. Testsu played basshttp://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/forgotten-but-fantastic-stomu-yamashta.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-549973626124234866Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:21:00 +00002009-08-11T18:22:07.310+01:00Massachusetts - The Bee GeesThis 1967 hit gave the brothers Gibb their first UK number one and was, triv fans, the second-ever song played on Radio 1. Parodied famously by Kenny Everett as ‘Massive-Chew-Sets.’ You had to be there.The State of Massachusetts - Dropkick MurphysRowdy, no-nonsense whiskey-pounding Irish rock from the masters of the genre. It’s about drugs, which makes it a little bit http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/state-were-in-10-songs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5561728468989898090Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:20:00 +00002009-08-11T18:21:25.960+01:00HOFNER VIOLIN BASS“Nobody wants to play bass,” said Paul McCartney. “Or nobody did in those days. Bass was the thing that the fat boys got lumbered with and were asked to stand at the back and play. I definitely didn't want to do it but Stuart left, and I got lumbered with it.”After Stuart Sutcliffe leftThe Beatles in 1961 to pursue his art studies and a German girl, and the stand-in bass player http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/instrumental-hofner-violin-bass-and-arp.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-549958059836033467Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:20:00 +00002009-08-11T18:20:28.286+01:00So you’re a 23-year-old New Yorker and you want to re-invent rock music. You’ve met a Welsh avant-garde classical guy with a love for droning, atonal, challenging noise. You’ve got your mate from university on guitar, you swap between rhythm and lead, blending together perfectly. You’ve got a mate’s sister in to play drums – she pounds stark, stripped-down tribal beats heavy on the tom-tom and a http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/white-light-white-heat-velvet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-4990244753920657508Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:41:00 +00002009-08-11T18:19:57.600+01:00In our ongoing quest to net you enough money for a decent weekend on the drink by selling one of your old albums, this month we visit the back catalogue of one the best selling groups of all time to find a record that can put over £80 in your pocket.Head by The Monkees in its mono form is a real rarity, not least because it wasn’t a big seller when it first came out. The boys had taken control ofhttp://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/08/am-i-rich-monkees-head-rca-rdsf-8051.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5934862615768559999Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:27:00 +00002009-07-09T11:28:20.345+01:00We have some fantastic USA released DVDs to give away.There’s no competition, it’s just the luck of the draw.Email me john@djtees.com and put the DVD you’d like in the subject box, I’ll draw them out of that hat on 30th July.The lucky winners will get an email from me.Good luck!Deep Purple - History, Hits and Highlights.A fantastic 2 Disc set that covers the band from 1968-1976. You get 287 http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-stuff.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-3424295277327888672Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:27:00 +00002009-07-09T11:27:41.182+01:00The ambient techno music of the first half of the 1990s owed a lot, thematically, to space rock of the early 1970s. Yet the number of people who have worked significantly in both genres can – and we welcome corrections here – be pretty much counted on the fingers of one finger.So step forward, Steve Hillage. The Chingford man is an underappreciated craftsman whose fluid, clever guitar-playing washttp://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/obscure-guitar-hero-steve-hillage.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-3740343414730023755Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:25:00 +00002009-07-09T11:26:55.726+01:001969 was a momentous year for the Fillmore and for its owner Bill Graham, after a difficult start, it quickly became the place to play for every major rock band. By the end of January, Led Zeppelin had played their first shows in support of Iron Butterfly and just days before Jethro Tull had done the same as second on the bill to Al Kooper’s new jazz/rock venture Blood Sweat & Tears. Within http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/live-at-fillmore-east-chapter-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5719007762031618796Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:25:00 +00002009-07-09T11:25:52.942+01:00CHAPTER 9Texas International Pop Festival, 1969AUGUST 1969, three days of acid, peace and love, hippies and music. It can only be one thing, right? Perhaps not: just two weeks after Woodstock came the Texas International Pop Festival.Nowhere town Lewisville was the host to 120,000 hippies, as well as Led Zep, Grand Funk Railroad, BB King and Janis Joplin for the Labor Day weekend in August 1969. http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/history-of-rock-festivals.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-635523498801672665Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:24:00 +00002009-07-09T11:25:02.510+01:00With their genius for strange, huge soundscapes, relentless technical invention and mastery of mood, there can be no band in rock better suited for continued excellence on movie soundtracks than Pink Floyd.In 1967, they performed on Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London, a documentary about the swinging Sixties, baby, that featured everyone who was anyone – John and Yoko, Mick Jagger, Michael http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/rock-on-screen-pink-floyd-soundtrack.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-2643997368274674472Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:24:00 +00002009-07-09T11:24:33.384+01:00See the Video For everyone who thinks ELP was all about giant mountains of keyboards and massive instrumental wig outs, here’s Greg Lake doing his thing on acoustic. One of English rock’s finest singers who would have graced many a band for his voice alone, he couldn’t half play a bit of nifty classical guitar as well. And what a cool shirt too.Ah 1973 – we love you.http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/video-of-month-elp-1973.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-7328951902018416666Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:23:00 +00002009-07-09T11:23:52.126+01:00Black Sabbath: Sabbath Bloody SabbathOften forgotten is how delicate some of Sabbath’s work was. Here’s were they blended the bone-crunching riffs with a bit of acoustic lovelinessSteve Hillage: Live HeraldGloriously ambient riffing from the master.Winger – In The Heart Of The YoungBig hair metallers who tried to copy Def Leppard and ended up making superb pop/metal with a seasoning of shred on http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/djtees-playlist-albums.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-5094653812306494317Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:22:00 +00002009-07-09T11:23:21.820+01:00STRUCK FROM THE RECORDA celebration of sadly departed labels - Manticore & Purple RecordsMANTICORE RECORDSA manticore is a legendary beast with the body of a lion, the head of a man, the tail of a scorpion and a giant Hammond organ for a bottom. Okay, the last bit is made up. Well, the whole thing is made up; it’s a mythical creature.It’s also the name of the record company formed by Emerson,http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/struck-from-record-manticore-purple.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-6890270726671216350Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:21:00 +00002009-07-09T11:22:04.764+01:00The Apollo Theater, Harlem“Where Stars are born – and Legends are made,” boasts the sign at the Apollo Theater, Harlem. And for once, the marketers have not overhyped: the list of careers that started at this most iconic of venues is as long as it is impressive.Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson were just some of the greats who got their start at the http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/legendary-rock-venues-apollo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-4157636193572948023Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:20:00 +00002009-07-09T11:21:26.018+01:00What was the single most extraordinary thing about Frank Zappa?Was it the incredible diversity of musical styles – from classical to doo-wop to avant garde to jazz to rock? The facility for sharp, cruel satire? The endlessly surreal innovation? The strident campaigning against censorship? The sheer volume of work? The influence, not just on the countless musicians he worked with, but generations http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/genius-of-month-frank-zappa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8289744475640788619.post-6856057312768210571Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:20:00 +00002009-07-09T11:20:50.305+01:00If it weren’t for Boris Karloff, the world would not be facing environmental disaster. And much more importantly, Jack Osbourne would not be on the telly so goddamn much. Journey back with us to 1969, and we will explain…It’s 1969, and a little-known blues band by the name of Earth are dreaming of the big time. Their set consists of covers of Cream and Blue Cheer songs, and they have just http://rocksolidmusicmag.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-if-what-if-black-sabbath-were-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Johnny)0