As the 21-century unfolds; it’s becoming more and more obvious that we have moved into a ‘cyber’ world. After all, even the most socially awkward individuals among us can now reach out and touch millions of people from around the world with the same relative ease as when the pick up a telephone. In the world of radio, a Program Director now has the opportunity to put his station on the ‘net with the hopes that millions from around the world will discover their station. While few are lucky enough to hit the jackpot, Glen Gardner and the staff of WJJO Madison, WI. are one of the lucky ones who have struck pay dirt by successfully melding style, attitude and a touch of danger into a regional ‘terrestrial’ Rock station and turned it into a worldwide super-station. And the rest as they say, is cyber-history. Glen and his staff have elevated their station to #1 rated Rock station in their Arbitron market and a Top 25 ranking for time spent streaming. Not bad for a station less than 3 years old.

Anyone who has interacted with Kevin Vargas, PD of KISS San Antonio, knows him to be a consummate professional in every way. He immediately earns the respect, not only because of his undying passion of Active Rock radio, but also for his dedication to building the station into the powerhouse it has become.

His sound is unmistakable, his stance unforgettable. Notes stream from his guitar in metallic waves, occasionally softening into a feathery whisper. His voice is that of the six-string; as if being ripped from his throat, he screams tales of love, betrayal, hope, despair and all-night bacchanalia. It’s the blues at its most raw-nerved and ferocious–but look into the musician’s face as he gyrates and bends almost in half, doubling over to the floor. He breaks into a smile, eyes glistening with childlike joy.

The birth of Gov’t Mule began when Warren Haynes and Allen Woody sought an outlet to jam outside of the Allman Brothers. With the addition of Matt Abts, who played with Haynes in the Dickey Betts band, the trio was complete. “They’re a reckless rhythm section,” Haynes says of the other two. “They’re like an earthquake with an ‘on/off’ switch. When you’re improvising, a big part of it is how deeply you listen. These guys take up space, but in a very meaningful way. That’s what a trio is all about.”

Inspiration is a funny thing. Some guitarists, like Jimi Hendrix, claim their music comes to them in waves, as if you’re being struck by a lightning bolt right out of thin air. Others, like Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana and Robben Ford, play from the heart and not the head. It’s instinctual and not something that’s tangible or can be reasoned out. A true musician really has no method for what he plays, just a passion to share and an ability to communicate clearly through music.

Not since the late Stevie Ray Vaughan has anyone burned up the blues like Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The “Tornado” from Shreveport, LA, who has, with his long blonde hair and Stratocaster in tow, rekindled blues in the 90s much like Clapton, Page and Beck did in the late 60s and 70s. With his own band, as well as the additional support of Double Trouble, Kenny Wayne simmers, steams and rocks the blues so as to attract a crowd of serious concert-going fanatics. His unadorned guitar lines alternately caress and blister, easily whipping the unassuming into a mass frenzy. His sophomore album, Trouble Is…, continues the high-octane deluge he started on Ledbetter Heights by echoing the influences of B.B. King and Jimi Hendrix, all the while updating the blues for a new generation of guitar fans.

Americans like their guitar-based blues-rock to have some sort of geographical identification. Whether it’s New York’s underground, Los Angeles’ club scene, the Jersey shore or even Chicago’s house music–these are all places that can easily be located on the map. Lately, though, bluesy guitar rock has started pouring out of places not normally associated with those that are part of the cultural mainstream, cities like Seattle, Athens, GA, and Shreveport, LA, to name a few. The latter of which, to be sure, is an unlikely place to find any type of major trend (that is, unless you consider places like the Mall Of America a relevant and major trend in today’s society.) In general, though, most guitarists tend to think of the traditional places like LA, New York or even Austin as the strongholds of good old, guitar-driven, blues-rock.

Fame and fortune do not always equal happiness, hard as it is for the average working person to realize. For Cry Of Love, the rise from obscurity to chart topping success has not been the smoothest of rides. It might be tough to conjure up a real level of sympathy for those whole earn their living by playing music in front of thousands of screaming fans, traveling the world and having anything they desire at their fingertips, but as Audley Freed, songwriter and guitarist for the North Carolina based quartet, Cry Of Love points out, musicians are people first and are hardly impervious to pain. Fame does not insulate – in fact, it tends to decimate our lives and emotions, regardless of the consequences. Clearly a mixed blessing, Diamonds & Debris demonstrates that there are no exceptions to that rule.

Various Rock Format Song Reviews - Paul Rodgers, INXS, Sexpod

Various Rock Format Song Reviews - Sammy Hagar