Music News Blog

What’s happening in the world of prog and other related scenes. News about gigs, record releases, new videos and band changes.

Karnataka Split

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Tim Hall

Posted on the Karnataka forum this morning

Dear Karnataka fans and friends…..

Karnataka is set to begin a new chapter following the announcement that Lisa, Ian Harris and Gonzalo will be leaving the band.

We look forward to bringing you further news and line up announcements in the near future.

We also look forward to seeing you on the road!

Thank you for your wonderful support!

We wish Lisa, Gonzalo and Ian Harris all the best.

As one door closes another opens…

This came as a complete shock. They’d just released a stunning album, were getting better and better as a live act, and one got the impression they were well on the road to bigger and better things.

As the statement says, it’s not the end. Ian Jones and guitarist Enrico Pinna plan to regroup and promise to be back with a new singer, drummer and keyboard player.

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RIP Ronnie Dio

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Tim Hall

As announced on his website, Ronnie Dio passed away this morning.

There were premature rumours about his death circulating yesterday, but it’s now confirmed he died early this morning, after a long battle with cancer.

The little man with the big voice, he was perhaps one of the greatest hard rock/metal singers of all time, fronting Rainbow, putting his own mark on Black Sabbath, and followed this with a lengthy and successful solo career. Few people have managed to produce all time classic albums with three completely different bands, but with “Rainbow Rising”, “Heaven and Hell” and “Holy Diver”, Dio is one of those few. He was a true legend, one of my biggest heroes in my formative years.

It’s worth noting that 90% of the Facebook updates in my timeline tonight are about Dio. That says something about how much he was loved.

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Heather leaves Mostly Autumn

Posted on January 16, 2010 by Tim Hall

Heather Findlay

Sometimes a bombshell comes completely out of the blue.

Heather Findlay is leaving Mostly Autumn to concentrate of a solo career. The news came late on Thursday night, and I’m still trying to come to terms with it. I’m completely devastated in a way people for whom music is background wallpaper or a once-a-year trip to an enormodome will never be able to understand.

I first saw Mostly Autumn live at Jillys in Manchester back in 2004, and have seem them 40-odd times since, 30 of those in the past three years. Their music has changed my life over the past few years in ways I could never have anticipated, and helped me through some difficult times.

And there’s just something uniquely magical about Mostly Autumn’s live shows; no other band is quite like it for me. Seeing another great band live is like visiting an exotic location on holiday, seeing Mostly Autumn feels like coming home. I’ve made so many great friends through Mostly Autumn fandom it feels like an extended family.

Although I’ve only met Heather a handful of times, she has always treated me like a personal friend.

Mostly Autumn are to continue, with their backing vocalist Olivia Sparnenn taking over on lead vocals. The knock on effect of that is that Olivia will be leaving her own band, Breathing Space, another great band I’ve seen almost as many times as Mostly Autumn, and who now face an uncertain future.

While there’s going to be a new-look Mostly Autumn, and we’ve got Heather’s solo project to look forward to, I need time to reflect on what we’ve lost before I can really start to look towards to the future.

The absolutely electrifying live shows in 2009 meant Heather’s time with Mostly Autumn ended on a high. She will be playing one last farewell show with the band, at The Assembly in Leamington Spa on Good Friday, April 2nd. I’ve already got my ticket.

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The Great Journey Lip-Synch Controversy

Posted on July 28, 2006 by Tim Hall

A few weeks ago, I saw Journey at Manchester Apollo, which I thought at the time to be a superb show. Since then I’ve noticed the stories that have rumbling on for a while across various message boards, such as this one, suggesting that vocalist Steve Augeri had been lip-synching on some songs where he couldn’t hit the high notes.

Initially I dismissed these stories as malicious gossip, perhaps spread by diehard Steve Perry fans, which is why I didn’t blog about it at the time. But since Steve Augeri has been ‘temporarily’ replaced by Jeff Scott Soto, the dead tree media have picked up the story. As the official Journey website states:

Jeff Scott Soto to assume JOURNEY lead singer duties starting on July 7th in Bristow, VA due to Steve Augeri throat infection

July 6, 2006 — Due to a chronic throat infection, Journey’s lead singer, Steve Augeri, has been forced to leave the band’s current nationwide tour with Def Leppard. Jeff Scott Soto, who has previously performed with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, will assume the band’s lead singer duties starting with the July 7th show in Bristow, VA. Steve Augeri’s condition will be closely monitored by his physician to determine when he may be able to rejoin the tour.

According to Journey, “Steve’s been suffering with an acute throat condition since before we kicked off the tour with Def Leppard. We were hoping he’d be in well condition to handle the rigors of the road but unfortunately it appears to be a chronic condition requiring total voice rest. We all wish Steve a speedy recovery.”

I’m still not sure what to make of this. I did notice Augeri’s vocals falter in one song (it might have been ‘Faithfully’, which is one song I’ve heard mentioned), quite early in the set, but he was still note-perfect later in the show. Was I hearing taped vocals later on?

I’m not fond of the use of tapes or programming in live performance. I found myself annoyed when Paradise Lost used a lot of programmed keyboards rather than have a live keyboard player on stage last year. But background keyboards are one thing, lead vocals are another thing entirely.

I hope this story isn’t true, but I fear it might be.

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