Friday 29 March 2013


Free Appreciation Society
Magazine Issue #130
March 2013


Another year upon us and here is the first FAS issue of 2013. 
A diverse little content list in this magazine with a short article on the current run of large deluxe (and not so deluxe) boxed sets while we wait for our turn and the proposed 'Free - The Complete Recorded Works' mega box. There's a rather 'uncomfortable' interview with Andy Fraser as he wades into both Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke regards the abandoned re-formation of FREE for the Olympics among other things. Details of the FREE set played by Stone Axe at a couple of recent festivals, and an interview with Tony Reed about the project and his love of all things FREE. Finally the main feature is 30 pages of in-depth analysis of the 'Heartbreaker' sessions running through all the recording that makes up the album and the events surrounding it, including the departure of Andy Fraser in 1972 and the arrival of Wendell Richardson for the US Tour in 1973. Every 'Heartbreaker' tape is covered, reel by reel. Fascinating stuff.

44 pages all in full colour and with pictures of the tape boxes from the 'Heartbreaker' reels. A real history lesson. Don't miss it. 



The price of an individual magazine including postage in the UK is £4.30. 
Please enquire for overseas prices and subscriptions. fasarticle@aol.com

Tuesday 12 March 2013

BAD COMPANY 2013 HEADLINE DATES

 
New dates have been added to the Bad Company US Tour and this time the band 
headline their own shows. 
The co-headline dates are scheduled June 20-23, July 11-14 and July 17-27. 
The new gigs include the first and last stops on the tour as well as a handful
of gigs in between.

Here is the routing for Bad Company’s new headline gigs:

June 15 – Rancho Mirage, Calif., The Show At Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa
June 25 – Del Mar, Calif., Del Mar Fairgrounds (“San Diego County Fair”)
June 28 – Hammond, Ind., The Venue at Horseshoe Casino
June 29 – New Lenox, Ill., Community Center
July 5 – Hinckley, Minn., Grand Casino Hinckley Amphitheater
July 7 – Airway Heights, Wash., Northern Quest Casino
July 16 – Lewiston, N.Y., Artpark Amphitheatre
Aug. 2 – Solomons, Md., PNC Waterside Pavilion
Aug. 3 – Rama, Ontario, Casino Rama Entertainment Centre

Monday 4 March 2013

Bad Company & Lynyrd Skynyrd 2013 Tour Dates

 
 
 
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        
March 4, 2013
 
BAD COMPANY AND LYNYRD SKYNYRD
ANNOUNCE 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
SUMMER CO-HEADLINE TOUR OF 12 DATES
Both Bands Will Supplement This Joint Excursion With Individual Headline Dates

New York --- Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd have announced a co-headline tour that takes the bands coast-to-coast for 12 dates.  Both bands celebrate significant 40th anniversaries in 2013, with Lynyrd Skynyrd having released their debut album on August 13, 1973 and Bad Company being formed that same year.  While the pair have shared the stage and Paul Rodgers has toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company and Skynyrd have never toured as co-headliners together.
 
Bad Company were dubbed a super-group upon the  band's formation due to the union of Free's Paul Rodgers (Vocals / Multi-Instrumentalist) with Mott The Hoople's Mick Ralphs (Guitar) plus King Crimson's Boz Burrell (Bass) and Free's Simon Kirke (Drums).  Over the next nine years, the band released a string of six albums, yielding international hits "Can't Get Enough," "Bad Company," "Feel Like Makin' Love," and many others penned by the main songwriters Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs. Original members Rodgers, Ralphs, and Kirke will be joined by guitarist Howard Leese and bassist Todd Ronning (from Paul Rodgers solo band).  Original bassist Boz Burrell passed away in 2006. 
 
Bad Company has inspired many of today's musicians.  Most notably, Metal band Five Finger Death Punch who scored a #1 Active Rock hit with a cover of the song "Bad Company". Since 2001, the band has only played 11 isolated performances, and has not staged a tour of The United States until now.  In front of the run, Rodgers shares, "When Mick and I formed the band in the 70's we were amazed at the instant success.  It didn't hurt to have Led Zeppelin behind us, and we wrote some decent songs that still resonate.  This one is for fans."
 
Led by core members Gary Rossington (guitar), Johnny Van Zant (vocals) and Rickey Medlocke (guitar), along with longtime drummer Michael Cartellone, Lynyrd Skynyrd has maintained a tremendous legacy that began over 40 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, and continues with the recently released Last Of A Dying Breed (Roadrunner).  The band's career was halted for a decade after the 1977 plane crash that killed three band members, including Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, and then subsequently faced adversity through the losses of Billy Powell, Ean Evans, Allen Collins, Leon Wilkeson and Huey Thomasson, yet they rock on.  With a catalog of over 60 albums, sales beyond 30 million worldwide and their beloved classic American rock anthem “Sweet Home Alabama” having over two million downloaded ringtones, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations.  The current line-up features Gary Rossington (Guitar), Johnny Van Zant (Vocals), Rickey Medlocke (Guitar), Mark "Sparky" atejka (Guitar), Michael Cartellone (Drums), Johnny Colt (Bass), Peter Keys (Keyboards), Dale Krantz Rossington- Honkettes (Backing Vocals) and Carol Chase-Honkettes (Backing Vocals).
 
Paul Rodgers reveals, "The Skynyrds and I go back to the 70's and the days and nights at the Hyatt House on Sunset in LA aka the Riot House.  In the 90's the band introduced me to my wife Cynthia, and that's why I am so damned happy and healthy these years."  Lynyrd Skynyrd's Johnny Van Zant offers, "Every member of Skynyrd has been fans of Bad Company from the get go.  Personally, Paul is one of my favorite rock singers.  We have a deep appreciation for Bad Company’s music and look forward to being on the road with them and sharing the stage.” 
 
Special guests and Kentucky-bred hard rockers, Black Stone Cherry, will be kicking things off on The 40 Tour.  Their music has been described as Southern-fried hard rock about everything from being proud of where you come from and true to who you are.
 
The co-headline tour will stage performances at the following venues:
 
Thu Jun 20      Auburn, WA               White River Amphitheater
Fri Jun 21        Ridgefield, WA           Sleep Country Amphitheater
Sun Jun 23      Mountain View, CA   Shoreline Amphitheater
Thu Jul 11       Houston, TX              Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sat Jul 13        Charlotte, NC             Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sun Jul 14       Bristow, VA               Jiffy Lube Live
Wed Jul 17      Camden, NJ                Susquehanna Bank Center
Fri Jul 19         Burgettstown, PA       First Niagara Pavilion
Sat Jul 20        Noblesville, IN            Kilpsch Music Center
Tue Jul 23       Clarkston, MI             DTE Energy Music Theater
Wed Jul 24      Cincinnati, OH            Riverbend Music Center
Fri Jul 26         Gilford, NH                Meadowbrook (Not a Live Nation date)
Sat Jul 27        *Bethel, NY                Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
 
*Black Stone Cherry not appearing on this date
 
For more information contact:
Steve Karas
SKH Music