Doug Brod News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

John Varvatos is not just a designer. He is a rock-and-roll designer. His ads have featured Franz Ferdinand and ZZ Top. Robert Plant wore three of his suits to the Grammy's.

The most comprehensive list of the best Jewish pop song features Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Rush, The Bangles, Haim, Matisyahu and many more.

Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment: • Brown Acid, a series of albums released by RidingEasy Records that is devoted to obscure early metal and stoner rock music, regularly unearths gems from the Mahoning Valley. The local music scene will be represented once again on “Brown Acid: The Twelfth Trip” with “Every Lady Does It,” recorded in the mid-’70s by the Youngstown band Artist. The track actually is the B-side to the single recorded at Youngstown’s Peppermint Productions and released on its Peppermint Presents label. The A-side is “For the First Time.” A...

What happened? They just never clicked with radio. And back in the ’70s, radio was key. It really dictated a band’s chances of getting a hit single. They never had a hit single. They had one single that made it to #33 in 1977 called “Cherry Baby,” but that was not enough to take them over the top. There’s also an incident between one of the members of Starz and the manager. Some of the band members think this confrontation may have put the kibosh on a successful career. Why have the other three bands been able to stay relevant?

How Gene Simmons Recorded His 1978 Solo Album: Book Excerpt examines the intertwining histories of Kiss, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Starz to show how they paved the way for both hair metal and grunge. In the following excerpt, Brod delves into the recording of Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album, which featured guest turns by lead guitarists from the other three acts – Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Richie Ranno: Simmons recorded the album’s basic tracks in around four weeks at the Manor, in the quaint village of Shipton-on-Cherwell, 65 miles northwest of London. The studio, then owned by Virgin ...