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Showing posts from April 14, 2013

Rock Goddess of the Month (Maria Brink of In This Moment)

Rock Goddess of the Month - Maria Brink of In This Moment We’re back here again for the month of April crowning another female rocker as the Rock Goddess of the Month. Our Rock Goddesses are the epitome of the Rock and Metal genre. They earn the spot through hard work, perseverance and endless talents. This month’s Rock Goddess fits the mold of rock royalty without any doubt. Her scream will send chills down your spine and her vocals are dark, dense and close to perfection. Here is our monthly tribute to the Rock Goddess of the Month. She is the lead singer and co-founder of the band In This Moment , Maria Brink. This alternative metal band has risen to the mainstream music waves with their latest album Blood , hitting the 15th spot on the Billboard charts . Released in August 2012, Blood is their darkest album yet. It combines heavy riffs, dark concepts and an injection of sexual aggression. Maria pulled out all of the stops when it came to creating this album showing her v...

Boss CS3 Compression Sustainer Review - Guitar Compressor

I've used the Boss CS3 Compression Sustainer pedal for several years now.  In fact, I used to leave this pedal turned on almost 100% of the time when I played mostly lead guitar in my last band.  It evened out my sound, made single note runs sound a little cleaner, and did add a small but measurable amount of sustain to my notes. With that being said, I recently sold this pedal (after making the above video review) because I wasn't using it anymore in my new band.  In this new band, I'm playing more rhythm guitar -- and even on the single note runs, I'm really liking having no compression, because I have better control over the dynamics of my sound.  I can pick softly and get a certain quality out of my amp, whereas I can pick louder to drive my tubes harder.  Especially now that I'm playing through a tube amp, it's nice to have this dynamic control.  Besides, tubes (especially the EL34's in my amp) provide a certain amount of compression of their ...

Review: Dave Grohl's SXSW Keynote Address

On March 14, 2013, the illustrious Dave Grohl , of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, gave the Keynote Address at the South By Southwest music and culture festival in Austin, Texas. Though the bespectacled (“Got these at a drugstore 'cause I'm going blind. Hope I still look like a rock star.”) Grohl's speech hit on both the high and low points on his path to rock superstardom, his career anecdotes were simply the backdrop for Grohl's thesis, which he aimed directly at musicians everywhere: “Find your own voice.” South by Southwest It was an inspirational sentiment, especially coming from someone many consider to be a father of modern-day rock n' roll, the founder of grunge, and a perennial figure in current music culture. “Now, more than ever, independence as a musician has been blessed by the advance of technology,” Grohl said, repeatedly tucking stray locks of dark hair behind his ear. “Any inspired young musician [can] start their own band, write their o...