Posts by Leslie Michele Derrough

She is the girl with the magical fingers, who won over a legend and has been thrilling audiences ever since with her prowess on the bass. Although beginning her musical journey on the guitar, it was someone else who actually pointed out to her that she was playing her instrument more like a bass and […]

What a difference a span of time can have on something. Last year, a DVD of The Who’s 1982 Shea Stadium concerts was released, revealing a bit of the frayed edges that a supposed farewell tour can have on a band that had been together since 1964. Townshend seemed bored at times and fairly new […]

It is a well-documented fact that when Bonerama hits the stage and those triple trombones start humming, an entire room full of people will stand up and start moving to the rhythm. There is something very electrical about this band full of horns, something magical and unique. Their brand of funkified brass quenches the thirst […]

“Let’s get me to New Orleans, please,” Eliot Sumner says with a laugh that is more serious than joking. Upon learning that I am based near the historically musical Deep South city, she reveals her desire to one day play there for more than one reason. “I’ve never been there. I want to drink a […]

When Tyler Bryant released his first album with his newly-formed band the Shakedown, he “wanted to make a rock record for kids like me,” the then twenty-two year old Bryant explained in a 2013 interview with me shortly after Wild Child’s release. “I wanted to make a rock & roll record for my generation and […]

If you’ve ever watched a performance by Rival Sons, your first impression of singer Jay Buchanan is that he is serious, mysterious, almost shamanistic in the way he seems to put every drop of emotion into the conveyance of the song he is singing. His body will twist in turmoil, sweat pouring off of him, […]

Having seen Gregg Allman play many times over the years with his solo band, there was something very noticeable about their performance recently in Baton Rouge: the total connectivity of the players to music that has been around long before any of them were a part of the group. These songs – which make up […]

Frank Zappa was a genius. No one will dispute that whether you can grasp his music or not. The man was years ahead of anyone else when it came to cerebral experimentation on a musical instrument. How his brain functioned must have been a cross between a carnival ride, a circus act and Mozart. His […]

Back in 2011, Glide called Scott Sharrard, “Gregg Allman’s Secret Weapon.” But that anonymity didn’t last long. Joining the band in 2008, by 2011 the guitar player was feeling right at home within the rhythms and harmony of Allman’s solo band; so much so, that he has done nothing but soar ever since. Currently the […]

“Playing it seemed an impossible task,” Eric Clapton wrote in his 2007 autobiography about learning to play the guitar. One of the greatest players in the history of rock & roll started out like any other kid picking up a guitar for the first time. It was “almost the same size as I was” and […]

What a year it has been for The Suffers. After just a few years of existence, this group has everybody talking. With an arousing appearance on Letterman, which left the host slobbering all over himself with excitement, and house-shaking performances at festivals and clubs, The Suffers are stirring a pot. But don’t call them Retro […]

[rating=8.00] The Flaming Lips are justifiably famous for any number of reasons — their eclectic aural imagery, leader Wayne Coyne’s floating bubble that carries him over the crowds during their concerts, their oblique lyrics and oddly inspired references, a host of critical kudos and five Grammy nods to boot. And yet, ask any outsider for […]

No one can bring the house down quite like Devon Allman. With his soaring guitar licks, unique vocals that straddle the border between blues, rock and country, songs that touch upon the pulse of zen positivity and real deal life and love situations, Allman can rock hard, rouse up a crowd and become your best […]

If you have been listening to Jethro Tull for the past forty-six years, you will know the imprint they have made in the music world. That unique sound created when a group of musicians changed from being a blues-tinged band into one with a cacophony of medieval bings and whistles mated with the new darker […]

Lenny Kravitz was born into a celebrity family. His mother was actress Roxie Roker and his father Sy, an NBC News producer. He transformed into Romeo Blue, married an actress, spawned a daughter, became “Lenny Kravitz” again, released a zen-excitable album, became a rock star, an actor, a sexy man on the cover of Vanity […]

Guitar legend Leslie West loves to take a song created and recorded by someone else and give it the ole Leslie West twist. Known for his tone and remarkable soloing, the founder of Mountain has always loved to wrap his fingers around a great tune, be it his own or ones belonging to some of […]

What happens when you unleash Sammy Hagar in a Biloxi casino with a virtually sold out crowd? You get one hell of a show. With the energy of a six year old kid, Hagar bounced around the stage, cracked jokes, signed anything that was handed to him, played guitar and whipped the audience into an […]

When guitar player Jeremy Brown passed away in March, Scott Weiland was left not only sad about his friend’s untimely death but in a unique quandary: a new album with his band the Wildabouts was being released and a tour was right around the corner. He needed someone to step in almost immediately, someone who […]

On October 2nd Atlanta’s Sevendust released their eleventh studio album, Kill The Flaw. The energy is there, the passion is there, the blazing guitars and machine gun drumming are there. Everything you could possibly want on a Sevendust record is served right up. “We took some time off from the heavy side of Sevendust and […]

Scott Weiland is a lucky man. After success with two hit-producing bands – Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver – he currently has a hot trio behind him he calls the Wildabouts. They are solid, they rock out and they have an electric atmosphere, even if Weiland weren’t in front of them singing. On a […]