6/25/2010 Roadrunner/ Loud & Proud Records Sign Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Roadrunner/ Loud & Proud Records is pleased to announce the signing of four-time Grammy nominated, American blues/rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd to a worldwide, multi-album deal. He is currently working on his Roadrunner/Loud & Proud debut projects, which include his first live album and a new studio album.

"Kenny Wayne is a special artist" stated Loud & Proud President Tom Lipsky. "He is passionate about his songwriting, his musicianship and he values the relationship that he has with his fans."

Shepherd himself said, "I am both excited and proud to be a part of the Roadrunner/Loud & Proud family. We have some very exciting music coming for our fans, and I couldn't think of a better home for my music. I've been playing it 'loud and proud' for years."

Widely regarded as a guitar hero before that term exploded into pop culture with the video game, the self-taught Shepherd learned to play at the tender age of seven-years-old, learning Muddy Waters licks while listening to his father's record collection. At 13, he was invited onstage and performed with New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee. Signed to Giant Records at 16, Shepherd recorded his first album while a senior in high school.

In 1997, Kenny was ranked third in Guitar World's list of favorite blues artists behind legends B.B. King and Eric Clapton. He has enjoyed two platinum and one gold albums, six Top 10 singles and his album Trouble Is… holds the distinction of being the longest running album on the Billboard Blues Charts. It held strong at #1 for 20 weeks including 15 weeks consecutively. The hit single "Blue on Black" was also a record-breaker, #1 for 17 consecutive weeks at rock radio.

Shepherd's decorated career includes four Grammy nominations, two Billboard Music Awards, two Orville Gibson Awards, the Blues Foundation's "Keeping the Blues Alive" Award and a Blues Music Award. In September 2008 Fender released the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Series Stratocaster, designed exclusively by Shepherd. The inimitable James Brown referred to him as "one of the wonders of the world."

His most recent release, 2007's #1 selling Blues Album 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads, documents Shepherd as he travels the country to jam with and interview the last of the authentic blues musicians. This full length CD/DVD documentary was nominated for two Grammys, aired on PBS television nationwide and has been certified RIAA Gold as a Long Form Video.

6/25/2010 Ratt Guitarist Carlos Cavazo Interviewed by Gibson

"Carlos Cavazo was at the epicenter of the ’80s metal scene," writes Gibson.com. "He undertook the daunting task of replacing Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot, when Rhoads left to join Ozzy Osbourne. Cavazo proceeded to lead that band, alongside stentorian singer Kevin DuBrow, to the heights of popularity, with hits like 'Bang Your Head (Metal Health),' 'The Wild and the Young' and the Slade covers, “Cum on Feel the Noize' and 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now.' In 2008, he joined another legendary metal outfit, Ratt. The band released their first Cavazo/DeMartini-fueled album, Infestation, in April and have hit the road with a massive tour to support it. We caught up with Carlos on a rare day off in rain-drenched Cleveland."
Read an excerpt of the insightful interview below, and go right here to get the full Q&A.

The long-awaited return to Ratt n' Roll form Infestation is out now! Get your copy RIGHT HERE.

On how he came to join Ratt, Cavazo explains:

"Actually, Warren DeMartini ran into Vinnie Appice at a club in Hollywood — and Warren had known that I’d been playing with Vinnie off and on in different projects — and he asked what I had been up to. He got my number from Vinnie, and he called me. He had my number for about a year before he called me; I guess the timing just wasn’t right yet. He called me up one day, out of the blue, and I had missed his call and then I got the message, “Can you give me a call if you have a chance?” And I’m thinking either there’s a big party in town or they are looking for a guitar player and it ended up being the latter. I went down, and I knew they were working with a couple of people, as well, and I went in there and they liked what I did and it worked out."

On playing in a two-guitar band:

"Ah, you know, I’ll tell you, I’ve played with other guitar players in the past, in different projects, and it really wasn’t that much of an adjustment. Actually, a bigger adjustment was my sound. I’ve been using more of a modern set-up with digital processing kind of sound and these guys just hook into a couple of pedals (and then straight) into an amp. So I adapted to that, which I’ve done before. I prefer that myself. It’s more of a natural sound. And as far as our playing, mine and Warren’s styles are very similar in many ways and we were influenced by some of the same guitar players; so, it just kind of fell into place and it felt natural."

On the scene in the 80s:

"You know, everybody was friends. I think the press made it look like we hated each other. I mean, I’ve known these guys all of my life, since I was in my 20s. And oddly enough, I was friends with Robbin Crosby before I knew any of these guys. We used to hang out. He was the first guy in the band that I knew. Then I hung out with Stephen after that. I don’t think I ever met Warren until like the ’90s. I knew the guys in Mötley Crüe, Dokken… I hang out with all those guys. We were all friends. It’s just made to look a certain way in the press. You know, that battle against each other."

On his history playing Gibson guitars:

"The first time I got a Gibson was in, probably, the early ’70s, when I was about 15 or 16 years old. I bought it for $100. It was a double cutaway Les Paul Junior. A red one. And I loved that guitar. I bought it from a good friend of mine. We used to always trade and sell each other guitars back then. And that’s the first Gibson I had, and I’ve been sold ever since. And I started using Vs in Quiet Riot in the early ’80s. I acquired a V from some guy in Denver, Colorado, on the road. He sold it to me, that cream-colored one from the early ’80s. And I still have that V, actually. It almost became my trademark. Everybody liked me playing a V. Actually, one day, I came in with Ratt and I brought in a V and they all said, “Oh, I love you playing that guitar. Play that from now on.” So I’ve been using the Vs a lot with Ratt now."

6/23/2010 Watch Ratt's Final Webisode From Their Triumphant Return to the Sunset Strip

Coming up on the Sunset Strip in the early 80s, Ratt spawned a huge following worldwide with their swagger, style and straight-ahead hits.

Fast forward to nearly 30 years later, and the band are continuing where they left off at their inception with their brand new crushing album Infestation.

To commemorate this feat, Ratt -- Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Carlos Cavazo, Robbie Crane and Bobby Blotzer -- have returned to the Sunset Strip, unleashing their one-of-a-kind Ratt N' Roll on The Key Club on April 20th, 2010.

We showed you some behind-the-scenes footage of the band getting ready to perform, talking about the new album, reminiscing about their early days, remembering their fallen brother Robbin Crosby and more, and now we've got the 5th and final installment in this series where we see the guys perform their classic cut "Way Cool Jr." and talk about how far they've come. Watch it below and if you haven't done so already, pick up your copy of Infestation RIGHT HERE.



Stay tuned to therattpack.com for more from Ratt as they prepare to return to the touring circuit following frontman Stephen Pearcy's routine surgery.

6/21/2010 Meat Loaf Rings Opening Bell at NYSE, Interviewed by CNBC

Grammy-award-winning artist Meat Loaf rang the opening bell this morning at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the recent release of his latest album, Hang Cool Teddy Bear, and CNBC was on hand to talk to the artist as this great honor took place.

Writes cnbc.com, "The majority of Meat Loaf’s music career took place during the 1970s. Now in an age where the music business is primarily online, Meat Loaf suggested that making money can be a little more difficult.

"I’m really working hard," he said. "The download(s), I mean you have to have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of downloads (to turn a profit)." He also noted that tours also produce substantial revenue once interest builds up in a new release."

Watch the video below to see what else Meat Loaf had to say about the state of the industry as he's seen it evolve, and his brand new album Hang Cool Teddy Bear.