Posts by Leslie Michele Derrough

Here are some facts that we know about former Guns N Roses drummer Matt Sorum: He joined the band in 1989 following a stint with The Cult; he left GNR in 1997 but hooked up with former bandmates Slash and Gilby Clarke for Slash’s Snakepit, then with Slash and Duff McKagan to form Velvet Revolver; […]

Let Dream Theater fans rejoice – the band has not only released a self titled album of new material this past September but on its heels comes a Technicolor bombast of the band in all its live glory via the recent chart topping double DVD Live At Luna Park [which also features a pretty cool […]

If there is one thing that musicians love to do, it’s get together with other musicians, pull out the guitars and jam for fun. When you’re able to do this to help an organization or a friend in need, it makes it all the more sweet. So when former Guns N Roses drummer Matt Sorum […]

We first heard that megawatt voice on Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around & Fell In Love,” jolting us from our mid-seventies slumber of ballads and disco; where John Travolta had a Hot 100 single with “Let Her In” while Queen was going all “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It was a strange year in music, 1976, and with Mickey […]

Kings Of Chaos Concert for Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project. Featuring Slash, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan, Steve Stevens, Glenn Hughes, Corey Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Les Stroud, Franky Perez & Arielle. Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA November 18, 2013

In the late 70’s, a curious paperback book was published, filled with wackily twisted facts about famous people and unusual historical sidebars of eyebrow raising information. It caught people off-guard but the lure to peep into it’s catacombs of information was strangely alluring. It was titillating and a bit scandalous for the times, and led […]

Nobody likes being labeled, especially a band trying to make a name for themselves in the music world. And when your lyrics tend to sway towards the more positive with references to faith, hope and a higher power, being labeled a Christian band can sometimes make that journey a little harder. Although Jars Of Clay […]

As philosopher George Santayana once wrote, “The Earth has music for those who listen.” Her song is as beautiful as the wind rustling through the trees and as chaotic as the waves bashing a shoreline. A dove’s coo, a bee’s hum, a kitten’s purr. All are part of nature’s serenade. If you take time to […]

Matt Shultz has lost his wallet. As I wait on the line near the end of our interview, he scurries about his hotel room, muttering to himself as he searches. He has to hop into a waiting van downstairs that will whisk him off to a radio interview in Chicago in a matter of minutes […]

After an electrified Pearl Jam performance ended the activities of Day 1 at the Voodoo Music Experience, it was easily wondered if Day 2 could even come close. But there was a noticeable excitement blowing in the air as you walked onto the grounds Saturday morning, with people talking about the anticipated return of Nine […]

The 2013 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, Nov 1 – 3, 2013 in New Orleans

Ok, so here’s the deal. You’re already in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, you’ve played in a band with one of the most innovative singer-songwriters in the modern world, you’ve toured every nook and cranny on Earth, you’ve recorded with everyone from David Bowie to Mick Jagger and you’re currently living in a […]

They call it a music experience. Coming at the tail end of the so-called festival season, Voodoo always likes to go out with a bang. And Voodoo 2013, which begins this Friday, November 01, 2013, and runs through Sunday, is pumped with music: from the big headliners Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails and The Cure, […]

With the highly anticipated new record Fortress finally on store shelves, Alter Bridge has boom-boxed back with a triumph. Playing a sold out show earlier this month in Orlando, where three-fourths of the band live, they are now trekking across Europe and looking forward to a full-fledged tour on American soil in the new year. […]

Charisma is defined as a special charm that causes people to be excitedly attracted to someone. Beholding that ignitable quality can cause legions of worshipers to almost fall over themselves attempting to be closer to the light that beams forth from these people. Musicians tend to have this in abundance but it typically goes hand-in-hand […]

When it comes to bands that people love to hate, Jane’s Addiction certainly falls on the list. With two very strong personalities at the forefront of the group – Vocalist Perry Farrell and guitar player Dave Navarro – the haters are given plenty of fodder to jolly roger at the top of their Facebook pages. […]

If you go all the way back to the beginning, when rock & roll was new and exciting, when a guitar solo was the epitome of Jimmy Page in dragon pants and you harnessed that cataclysmic feeling by just thinking what kind of band you could create in your adulthood. “When we finished our song, […]

If you think your life is busy, take a look at Dizzy Reed’s recent agenda: As the main keyboard player in Guns N Roses, he has been touring hard all over the world for the past few years. He just finished up playing with the Dead Daisies on the Uproar Festival tour, with a few […]

A few weeks ago, former RIP Magazine editor Lonn Friend stepped inside a Genesis time machine when guitar player Steve Hackett cracked open his oeuvre to release a spectral prism in Illinois. “Steve Hackett’s whimsical guitar has been swirling in my subconscious since I was eighteen years old,” Friend told me recently. “His riffs and […]

Alice in Chains, Janes Addiction, Coheed and Cambria and more performing at the 2013 Uproar Festival in Phoenix AZ