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Articles by Peter Roche
Phuket officials confirm monk swimming at Karon Beach was not naked
A Buddhist monk, who decided to take a dip at a Phuket beach, “was not naked”, despite the claims made by some “concerned citizens”. Officials in Phuket say a monk who went swimming at Karon Beach shortly after 2pm on Friday, April 5, was in fact, partially clothed. They were responding to reports from some people who claimed he had fully stripped off before going into the water.
5 reasons to see Glenn Hughes live
In his fifty-plus years as a working musician -- singer and bassist-- Glenn Hughes has jammed with such guitar legends as Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Bonamassa, John Frusciante, and Joe Satriani. But on Sunday at House of Blues Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee celebrated the songs of Deep Purple with a band of virtuosos assembled specifically for that task.
5 reasons to see Michael McDonald in concert
Most entertainers slow down, step away, or flat-out retire after a few decades in the business. Not so Michael McDonald, who either never got the memo about easing into his golden years…or simply chose to ignore it. But given McDonald’s prolific career as a Steely Dan session ace, hit-making member of The Doobie Brothers, and sensational soloist, it’s likely he funneled a few musings about aging gracefully into his new album, Wide Open.
Interview: MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer talks book, 50 years of kicking out the jams
Wayne Kramer rocked a star-spangled guitar in seminal Detroit proto-punk band MC5 in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. He also robbed houses, ran drugs, and almost blew away an innocent man with a shotgun. Kramer’s life has been a raging roller-coaster of euphoric highs and bottom-feeder lows.
Interview: Burleigh Drummond talks classic Ambrosia hits, tour
You remember Ambrosia for their breezy adult contemporary singles. But did you know the “How Much I Feel” hit-markers started out in L.A. as a progressive rock band whose melodies and tempos were as busy as those recorded by early Genesis, Yes, and Pink Floyd?
Blue Angels, Golden Knights rock Cleveland National Air Show
Things got hot, fast, and loud in the skies over Northeast Ohio this weekend for the 2018 Cleveland National Air Show at Burke Lakefront Airport. The annual Labor Day extravaganza once again celebrated the past, present, and future of flying machines—and the men (and women) who pilot them by displaying a fleet of vintage and modern aircraft for up-close scrutiny by thousands of enthused aeronautic aficionados.
Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman shine on Yes 50th anniversary live DVD
In April 2017 English progressive rockers Yes were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an overdue honor commemorating nearly a half-century of brilliant, cerebral recorded works crafted by some of the most virtuosic musicians in rock history. Only eight current and former Yes members received the nod—namely, those who appeared on the band’s 1991 album Union and participated in the similarly-titled promotional “super-group” tour.
Glenn Hughes set to play Deep Purple classics on tour
Glenn Hughes has played bass on more records than he can probably remember. But you can bet he recalls the LPs he made in 1973-76 with Deep Purple. Dubbed “the voice of rock” for his prodigious pipes, Hughes (formerly of Trapeze) was recruited by the “Smoke on the Water” warriors to replace the outgoing Roger Glover after 1973’s Who Do We Think We Are? David Coverdale—who would go on to form Whitesnake in the late ‘70s—also signed with Hughes, replacing DP vocalist Ian Gillan.
Interview: Jon Anderson talks Yes ARW tour, DVD
Okay, maybe not. Arriving at what singer Jon Anderson once described as time of “high ideals, low energy,” the ninth studio album from the English prog-rockers lacked the musical cohesion and spiritual catharsis found on Going for the One (1977) and yielded no major singles to stand with “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Roundabout,” or even “Wonderous Stories.” Still, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers embarked on another massively successful hundred-date tour in 1978-79 to promote the album.
Fans flock to Cleveland for first-ever Incuya Festival
The meticulously-planned two-day event went off without a hitch. If you speak with those who actually anted up for a wristband and attended on either day (or both), chances are they’ll report they had a grand old time rocking and rolling in the home of the Cavaliers, Indians, and (hapless) Browns.
5 reasons to see Counting Crows in concert
“I’m loath to say it, but man it’s hot!” noted Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz last night (Aug. 26) at Blossom Music Center. Indeed, it was a decidedly humid affair when Duritz and his band brought their 25 Years and Counting tour to Cuyahoga Falls with long-time friends Live. Duritz—his natty hair intact after a quarter-century—explained during one of his mid-song spiels that he actually loves snow.
Interview: J-Pop star-turned-jazz man Senri Oe talks solo piano for Detroit Jazz Fest
Senri Oe was a big pop star in his native Japan in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Still is. Like, arena-packing, Billboard chart champion, Justin Bieber big. So audiences weren’t exactly thrilled when the classically-trained pianist decided to pursue jazz in his mid-forties. Why was the great Oe (who does possess a terrific singing voice) so determined to forgo the eye-catching choreography and tickle the ivories?
From Avett Brothers to SZA, your complete guide to INCUYA Festival
The inaugural INCUYA Festival will take place this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. If you've been to Lollapalooza or Coachella, you already know how this festival stuff kinda works. But here are a few tips to prep you for a fun, hassle-free weekend on the North Coast. There is lots to see and do in the city that created Superman...but it's not scary, New York-scale big, either.
Interview: Chris Butler and Ralph Carney conjure humorous holidays
Some holidays are religious in nature. Others are days of legally-sanctioned commemoration…or of cutthroat corporate opportunism. Some people love certain holidays, while others would prefer to dispense with them entirely. Regardless of which side you’re on, you’ll probably agree that holidays are getting out of hand. You see it on social media nearly every other morning: “Happy National Sibling’s Day!” announces Instagram. “Happy Donut Day” trumpets Facebook.
Interview: Guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor talks reissues, U.S. tour
Cleveland’s Music Box Supper Club will be serving extra sizzle and spice next Wednesday, Aug. 22, when British-born guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor plays the riverside concert hall on The Flats’ west bank. Taylor’s cut several independent solo albums, whose hot licks and Stevie Ray Vaughan-like riffs drew the attention of fellow fretboard wizards John Mayall, Joe Bonamassa, and The Tedeschi-Trucks Band.
Interview: John Oates revisits his roots, sets sights on Rock Hall
John Oates is feeling his roots these days. The Philadelphia-bred musician set new standards for soul in the ‘70s and ‘80s with partner Daryl Hall, with whom he’d go on to sell some 40 million records (six certified gold, seven platinum) around the world.
5 reasons to see The Happy Together Tour
Package tours have become a trusted source of revenue for veteran bands since the '80s when members of Woodstock-era groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash and Santana and '60s arena mainstays like The Rolling Stones, Moody Blues, and Pink Floyd began inching into their 30s and 40s. Some groups (like AC/DC and Aerosmith) were able to ride out trends, sticking to their guns (or reinventing themselves) in the studio as disco, punk, New Wave, made their marks on the musical landscape.
Cleveland's INCUYA Festival announces set times
Cleveland is no stranger to big rock shows. The revitalized town once known as the “Mistake by the Lake” is now taking turns hosting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (alternating years) with New York, where the HOF voting committee is located. Old Cleveland Municipal Stadium was ground zero for the now-legendary World Series of Rock concerts in the late ‘70s and witnessed major shows by Pink Floyd, The Eagles, and U2.
5 reasons to see Alkaline Trio in concert
Alkaline Trio fans waited a long time for the McHenry, Illinois band to record their 9th studio album, Is This Thing Cursed? That’s because vocalist Matt Skiba stepped away in 2015 to join Blink-182 (replacing Tom DeLonge). But Skiba and his “day job” band are back, Cursed is due Aug. 31 on Epitaph Records, and the guys are out on tour with California rockers Together PANGEA and alt-poppers Ogikubo Station.
Documentary looks back at Steve Wozniak's US Festival
You don’t hear much about the 1982-83 US Festivals anymore. Maybe that’s because unlike Woodstock and Altamont, the Steve Wozniak-sponsored US Fest featured that era’s greatest pop-rock acts rather than up-and-coming stars and wasn’t marred by mud baths (Woodstock) and mayhem (Altamont). By comparison, US Fest was meticulously-planned, well-organized, and smoothly operated.
5 reasons to see Boy George & Culture Club in concert
Quick, what’s a good name for a group with a Jamaican / Briton bassist, ethnic Englishman guitarist, Jewish drummer, and cross-dressing singer? In the ‘80s people weren’t too sure about openly professing their love for Boy George O’Dowd and his pop-soul combo. George looked different. He was flamboyant, sported pirate and gypsy attire, and wore lots of makeup. Even more mascara than the heavy metal dudes…or your sister.
5 reasons to catch a Retro Futura concert
The music biz is fickle and unfriendly these days, with streaming and downloading siphoning the album-sale proceeds that used to cushion artists’ coffers back in the old days of vinyl LPs and analog cassettes. Where established musicians once toured to promote new albums, they now create digital albums and EPs as a means to advertise the tours.
5 reasons to see George Thorogood in concert
“Hot damn, here I am!” George Thorogood greeted a packed Hard Rock last night (Aug. 5) in Northfield, Ohio. The 68-year old “Bad to the Bone” guitarist has been playing with his Destroyers band for forty years now, and (judging from his Sunday evening blowout) evinces no signs of slowing down.
Paul Rodgers rocks old Free hits at Royal Albert Hall
Most rock fans know uber-vocalist Paul Rodgers for his successful stint in Bad Company, with whom the Middlesbrough native notched a string of AM/FM smashes (“Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Running With the Pack,” “Can’t Get Enough” before going solo (in 1983) with Cut Loose. Then came Paul’s titanic team-ups: Rodgers rocked with The Firm (with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page) in 1985, The Law (with Kenny Jones of the Who), and a revamped Queen (Brian May, Roger Taylor) in the mid-2000s.
5 reasons to see Living Colour in concert
Living Colour turned in a tight forty-five minute set outside Ohio State Reformatory this weekend as part of the first inaugural Inkcarceration Festival. The New York City hard-rockers behind “Cult of Personality” played the tattoo and heavy metal-oriented music event at the end of a sweltering Saturday (July 14) at the historic prison in Mansfield, Ohio.
Interview: Asian Man proprietor Mike Park talks Ogikubo Station
You can’t get more DIY in music these days than entrepreneurial Asian Man Records exec Mike Park. In the ‘90s and early ‘00s Park played saxophone and guitar in Skankin’ Pickle, The Chinkees, and The Bruce Lee Band. And for the last twenty-two years, he’s run his own record label out of a California garage. Asian Man provided an early home for Midwest rockers Alkaline Trio and folk-punks Andrew Jackson Jihad.
Interview: Jonah Koslen talks Breathless, Stage Pass, and solo music
When it comes to classic rock and roll icons from the Midwest, Jonah Koslen ranks right up there with Eric Carmen (Raspberries), Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles), Michael Stanley (“My Town,” “Rosewood Bitters”), and Donnie Iris (“Ah! Leah!” “Love is Like a Rock”). Koslen—who got his start with The Michael Stanley Band in Cleveland—took a huge gamble when he left that group to form his own ensemble, Breathless, in 1978.
5 reasons to catch The Bacon Brothers in concert
You saw Kevin Bacon on the silver screen in the ‘80s in classics like "Friday the 13th," "Diner," "Quicksilver," "The Big Picture") and watched him rock the box office in the ‘90s and ‘00s ("Flatliners," "Apollo 13," "Stir of Echoes" and "Mystic River." He even won a Golden Globe for his turn in the HBO postwar drama "Taking Chance." But did you know that Kyra Sedgwick’s beau is also an accomplished singer-songwriter?
5 reasons to catch Foreigner and Whitesnake in concert together
When you ante up for tickets to a concert on the Jukebox Heroes Tour, you should expect to hear more than a few big hits and familiar FM radio staples. Fortunately, Foreigner and Whitesnake delivered the goods last night (July 10) at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, offering a slate of hard rock classics from the ‘80s that had fans singing in both the pavilion and out on the lawn.
Interview: John Corabi talks 'Dead Daisies' album, tour
After high-profile stints with The Scream and Motley Crue in the ‘90s, the vocalist performed in Union (and The Eric Singer Project) with guitarist Bruce Kulick (Kiss) and Twenty 4 Seven with drummer Bobby Blotzer (RATT). In the mid-2000s he fraternized with members of Alice in Chains and The Cult in Cardboard Vampyres, and hung with old Crue pal Nikki Sixx in Brides of Destruction.
Interview: Living Colour's Doug Wimbish talks inspiration,
Living Colour stunned the rock world with the release of Vivid in 1988. Featuring the iconic “Cult of Personality,” menacing “Middle Man,” earnest “Open Letter to a Landlord,” and glitzy “Glamour Boys,” the Mick Jagger-mentored album was an awesome eye-opener for suburban white teenagers too young to know that rock ‘n’ roll was born black, and too out-of-touch to appreciate the Afro-punk of Bad Brains or soulful grooves of Parliament / Funkadelic.
5 reasons to see Melissa Etheridge in concert
Ohio continued its love affair with Melissa Etheridge last night (Sunday, July 1) when the Grammy-winning (Best Rock Vocal, Female) singer returned to the Hard Rock in Northfield. Etheridge has played the Buckeye State a lot over the last couple years, with prior dates at Evans Amphitheatre (Cain Park) and Severance Hall (with Liza Grossman and Contemporary Youth Orchestra) allowing her to stretch different musical muscles and show off her myriad vocal and instrumental skills.
Overlooked Big Country album gets magnificent makeover
Sometimes life throws so many curveballs at you at once that your head starts spinning and you don’t know which direction is up. Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson knew that better than most. “I need a guidebook, get me a map!” he sang on the group’s overlooked 1995 album Why the Long Face.
Interview: Cindy Alexander talks musical truth, Bacon Brothers tour
The USC School of Drama taught Cindy Alexander how to act like other people. These days, however, the spunky L.A. soprano is okay just being herself: Songwriter, mother, wife, cancer survivor, and artist. Alexander’s fresh, no-frills outlook and vulnerable approach are reflected on her latest album, Nowhere to Hide.
5 reasons to see Steely Dan with The Doobie Brothers
Thousands of “yacht rock” fans ventured out to Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on a drizzly, humid Saturday (June 23) to revel in the guitar rock of The Doobie Brothers and smooth jazz-pop of Steely Dan.
Interview: Goodnight Moonshine debut video, discuss musical marriage
Molly Venter and Eben Pariser have been active members of their respective bands for years and—until recently—always managed to live separate creative lives. Venter’s been a singer / guitarist in the New York folk trio Red Molly since 2010. Pariser’s been the string-tickling, harmonica-huffing front man in Brooklyn bayou-blues ensemble Roosevelt Dime for just as long. But marriage and parenthood prompted the couple to pool their talents in Goodnight Moonshine.
Interview: Jeremy Porter & The Tucos on tour again with 'Contagious'
Jeremy Porter’s been rocking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a quarter-century now, having founded (or fronted) hard-hitting punk / rock groups like The Regulars, The Off Ramps, and SlugBug in the ‘90s and early ’00s. The guitar hero also recorded a solo album, Party of One, before he started searching for new musical conspirators. Now Porter is three LPs (and several 7”ers) deep with his Detroit-based trio, The Tucos.
Interview: Pere Ubu synth whiz Allen Ravenstine flying high again
English keyboard wizards Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, and Richard Wright used both talent and technology to season and spice such progressive rock masterpieces as Fragile, Close to the Edge (Yes), Tarkus, Pictures at an Exhibition (ELP), and Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd). Some of their skill was natural, and some nurtured…but the gents were all keenly in-the-know when it came to advances in electronic instrumentation (Moog, minimoog, Mellotron, Birotron, etc.).
5 reasons to see John Fogerty with ZZ Top
Youngstown, Ohio was treated to a hefty helping of swamp rock and Tex-Mex boogie-woogie Tuesday (June 19) when Rock and Roll Hall of Famers John Fogerty (Class of 1993) and ZZ Top (2004) brought their Blues and Bayous tour to Covelli Centre.
5 reasons to see Gin Blossoms in concert
The Gin Blossoms figured their 1997 dissolution would be permanent. The Tempe / Phoenix, Arizona band didn’t play together seven or eight long years, but their hit songs still frequented FM radio airwaves…and lots of American teens and twenty-somethings knew every word.
Eric Clapton battles the blues, addiction in documentary
It’s an argument that dates back to The Rolling Stones’ first years as an active band: You can teach white English boys how to play the blues, but you can’t make ‘em feel it. If you hadn’t lived the hard knocks life of a Southern sharecropper or Chicago busker, what emotions could you possibly bring to the music? Eric Clapton never had a problem convincing the world (or his African-American blues mentors) that his passion for blues was authentic.
5 reasons to see Poison in concert
Long before bandana-wearing bad boy Bret Michaels was a reality TV star (Celebrity Apprentice, Rock of Love, etc.) he was the front man of a fairly well-known glam metal band from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania called Poison. Michaels remembered—and reconnected with—that past Tuesday (June 12) in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio when a reunited Poison brought their Nothin’ But a Good Time tour to Blossom Music Center.
5 reasons to see Cheap Trick in concert
Cheap Trick’s been rocking and rolling for over forty years now. And if their performance last night (June 12) at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio is any barometer, they won’t be letting up any time soon. Indeed, We’re All Right! is the name of the Rockford, Illinois ensemble’s last studio album.
Five reasons to see Lamb of God in concert
Maybe you’ve seen Lamb of God at the Download, Sonisphere, or Mayhem Festival—or caught their electrifying act on the 2006 Gigantour (with Megadeth) or 2009-10 World Magnetic Tour (with Metallica). But once just ain’t enough when it comes to these Richmond hard rock heavyweights.
Five Reasons to see Flogging Molly with Dropkick Murphys
Now that the feisty Float fellows (and gal) in Flogging Molly are back from their annual Salty Dog cruise, it’s time once again for the L.A. septet to hit the road for summer. The Celtic-punk pioneers kicked off their 2018 co-headlining tour with Boston bad boys the Dropkick Murphys Friday night (June 1) at Jacobs Pavilion in Cleveland.
Five reasons to see Nathaniel Rateliff & Night Sweats in concert
They’ve played SXSW, Farm Aid, and Coachella. They rocked the Monterey Pop Festival’s 50th Anniversary, played the late night talk shows, and made their Grand Ole Opry debut. Now Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats are shoe-bootin’ their way to your town. The Hermann, Missouri-born Rateliff’s been through quite a lot in his 39 years—from singing in his church band to losing his father to working dead-end factory jobs, fighting off alcoholism, and embracing rock stardom.
Interview: Gin Blossoms' Scotty Johnson talks tour, new tunes
Hey, Jealousy! The Gin Blossoms are coming your way this summer. Responsible for the memorable hits “Allison Road,” and “Found Out About You” and yes, "Hey, Jealousy"—all from their 1992 breakthrough New Miserable Experience—the Blossoms are hitting the highway again with Tonic (“If Only You Could See”), Vertical Horizon (“Everything You Want”), and (in select cities) Sister Hazel (“All for You”).
5 reasons to see Hall & Oates in concert
Daryl Hall and John Oates haven’t made an album together in over a decade...but it almost doesn’t matter. Well, for starters, Hall & Oates were already rock’s best-selling pop duo by the early Eighties, when songs from the platinum-certified albums Voices, Private Eyes, and H20 hurdled and hopscotched to the top of the Billboard charts.
Video Premiere: Soul singer Eryn says 'Hallelujah, You're Gone!'
Sometimes you’ve got to jettison yesterday’s ghosts and start all over again. When life’s got you down, you need to inventory your emotions and dump the negativity. And that often means pumping the brakes on relationships with the people who’ve been doing you wrong, weighing you down, or dragging you on a path you’re absolutely loathe to follow. You hit the reset button…and blow all the naysayers and nasties out the airlock like monsters in a sci-fi horror flick.
Solitary woman Chrissie Hynde intrigues in new documentary
Anyone looking for a comprehensive, chronological Pretenders documentary might want to pass on "Alone With Chrissie Hynde." It’s neither a nostalgic, post-punk Reagan / Thatcher-era retrospective on post-punk shenanigans nor Hynde’s retelling of the ups and downs of her influential British / American ensemble. No rock star romances blossom (and implode) here: There are no break-ups or make-ups, no descents into drugs addiction or second chance sobrieties to tug heartstrings.
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