Category Archives: Black Country Communion

Are You Using Pandora?

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Most of us by now have smartphones and those of us that do, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of Pandora Radio. Pandora is a free  application that allows you to type in your favorite band, song, genre of music. It will then create a radio station for you to listen to, starting with the original search term you used. After playing a song from that artist, it will play a song that it finds to be similar.

This is a genius idea, which brings me to my next question. Have you found Joe or Black Country Communion through this application? Pandora automatically selected Black Country Communion for me, based on what I had listened to previously.

If you do not have Pandora on your smartphone (Blackberry, Android, or iPhone), I suggest that you get it! You can also stream online from their website.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Black Country Communion DVD Trailer

Black Country Communion today posted the official trailer for their upcoming DVD release in October. The live DVD and CD will be released in the end of October. Pre-order should be coming up soon. The DVD features live footage from several shows of the overseas tour. Enjoy!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Interview with Kevin Shirley on Planet Rock

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Kevin Shirley sat down with Planet Rock recently to give his perspective on several songs that he has had the pleasure of recording. Of course he covered Joe Bonamassa, but he also went over The Outsider by Black Country Communion. Kevin also discusses Led Zeppelin, John Hiatt, Black Crowes, Iron Maiden, and Aerosmith.

You’ll also hear an some unreleased music from John Hiatt and Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes. Check out the full hour audio recording here.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Black Country Communion 2 – A Flashback To The 70’s

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Let’s take a flash back into the 70’s… that’s where you’ll find the Black Country Communion 2 album. The collaboration between all of the band members is fantastic. On the album, you’ll find a lot of influence from Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. The album starts off with the strong single, The Outsider. This track is a great single, has a killer opening riff that hits you right in the face – holy 70’s!

The album has a lot of other hidden gems, such as The Battle For Hadrian’s Wall. Joe Bonamassa’s vocals are right up front on this track and we get to hear some of his great acoustic guitar playing, that slams on to a full blown out rock song.

How about Save Me? This is a great track. In fact, this very track is an unreleased Led Zeppelin track. Save Me came alive after the O2 Led Zep gig in 2007.  John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page came up with the song, which was brought to BCC 2  by Jason Bonham. Hughes states “(Bonham) kept playing me that riff over and over, and I was interested. It’s a great riff, and he wanted me to write something really desperate. I finally got (Bonamassa) over to my house and said, ‘Listen, we really should finish this song,’ and we did, and it really turned into something special.”

Another one of my favorites is Smokestack Woman. This is another song that has a Led Zep twist to it, which you can hear in Bonamassa’s guitar playing. The song almost reminds me of a Gov’t Mule song. Glenn Hughes vocals are simply outstanding.

The 70’s train continues right on into I Can See Spirit. This is definitely a hit and would be great as a radio single – many tunes on this album are of that quality. I don’t think I’ve ever heard such awesome drumming, Jason Bonham really pounds the skins on this one.

Saving the best for last, Cold. This song has a very interesting intro, you can literally hear Bonamassa’s guitar talking. The jaw dropping, guitar solo lasts for well over a minute. Glenn Hughes has a nice, soft voice on this song. Definitely a great bluesy ballad. It’s one of the longest tracks on the album, coming in near seven minutes. Heck, if it went on for another seven minutes, I wouldn’t be complaining.

When it comes down to the bottom line – this is another master piece by Black Country Communion. The dedication and effort displayed in each song is outstanding. This record is a must have and I hope to hear many more records from this band. As Glenn Hughes says, this is real music. Many thanks to Kevin Shirley for  being the man behind such an amazing group and producing such an overall fantastic album. The mastering is phenomenal and definitely  has that 70’s groove to it.

Make sure to catch Black Country Communion out on the road. Latest dates available on the Black Country Communion Fan Website.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Bonamassa Featured On July Guitarist Cover

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Joe Bonamassa is featured on the cover of the July 2011 issue of Guitarist Magazine. The magazine is one of the largest, if not the largest guitar magazine in Europe. The magazine should be hitting new stands in the US as well, within in the next week. Both Borders and Barnes and Noble carry the magazine.

Joe Bonamassa & Glenn Hughes

We talk to the world’s hottest guitarist and the legendary voice of rock about the second coming of their phenomenal supergroup Black Country Communion.

The issue features both information on Joe’s solo career and Black Country Communion. These magazine are of high quality and the glossy covers always look nice with a signature. Make sure you pick up your copy.. Read more on Guitarist’s website.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Black Country Communion ‘Went from a Side Project to a Band’

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Black Country Communion was recently featured on Billboard.com and everyone in the band agrees that this has turned from a side project into a full blown band.

It’s almost unheard of for any band these days to release two albums just nine months apart, but Glenn Hughes says that’s one of the things that makes Black Country Communion “a freak of nature.”

“I’ve never been in a situation in a band before that’s like this,” Hughes tells Billboard.com of Black Country Communion, the all-star group that also includes guitarist Joe Bonamassa, former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian and Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham’s son Jason, who’s played with both Zep and Foreigner. Its sophomore album, simply titled “2,” is due out June 14, with tour dates starting today (June 9).

Read the rest of the article, which has a lot of interesting information, on Billboard.com.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Joe Bonamassa Ripping It Up

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Joe Bonamassa is back in the studio for several days finishing up some  guitar riffs for the upcoming Black Country Communion album. The second album from the supergroup is due out in June of this year. Joe is playing Kevin’s 1955 Gibson Les Paul Junior with no pedals or effects. That guitar is plugged into a Marshall Class 5 combo amp. The microphone being used to record was especially built for Joe’s guitar sound by Tully McCully. Rock on…

Popularity: 12% [?]

Joe Sweeps Planet Rock

Planet Rock recently released the results of the voting for the best acts, albums, films, and events of the year. Joe and Black Country Communion took a majority of them.

 

BAND OF THE YEAR:
WINNER: BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION

The first rule of supergroups is that they must be a crushing disappointment. Black Country Communion obviously didn’t get the memo and despite playing just two unbelievable concerts this year they have beaten several very big bands to win this category by some margin. An excellent album, several musicians at the top of their game and a bunch of songs that put the classic in classic rock. More please. Much, much more.

LIVE ACT OF THE YEAR
WINNER: JOE BONAMASSA

He’s the hardest working guitarist out there. Want proof? He’s released a new solo album this year, recorded and released a new album with Black Country Communion, recorded another solo album and appeared on his girlfriend’s album. Oh, and he’s played more than 200 gigs in 2010. It’s a staggering feat made even more amazing due to the fact that he’s one of the most loved blues guitarists on the planet with a relentless stream of praise from everyone that’s been to see him at a gig in the past 5 years. Find someone that HASN’T enjoyed a Joe Bonamassa live show and we’ll show you a person that doesn’t know music.

GUITAR HERO OF 2010
WINNER: JOE BONAMASSA

For the second year running Joe beats a whole host of guitarists that have been at the top of their game for decades. Joe’s star is rising fast and it’s only a matter of time before the world at large realises what they’re missing. His reputation now precedes him and his name is now mentioned in the same sentence as the guitar legends he seems to keep beating in these polls. We can’t wait to see what he does next.

BEST NEW BAND
WINNER: BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION

BCC are an unparalleled success in supergroup terms. Anticipation was high before the band even had a name. The idea of Glenn Hughes returning to rock and recruiting Joe Bonamassa on guitar with the rhythms of Bonham driving the whole thing along was undeniably exciting, and when they delivered on their promise it was almost too good to be true. They received more than half of the votes in this category.

You can check out the rest of the results on Planet Rock’s website.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Joe in Germany Summer of 2011?

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I was browsing over at the Black Country Communion forum and came across this topic. Several links are listed in that thread that contain six tour dates for the summer of 2011 across Germany. Tickets are already on sale here. Tonight will be BCC’s first public show, followed by the second show tomorrow night in London. Check BCC out on the web if you haven’t already.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Black Country Communion UK Dates

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Just a heads up – Black Country Communion has posted two UK dates for at the end of this year. You people over there in England are very lucky! You can check out the official Black Country Communion press release below:

BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION
ANNOUNCE DEBUT UK CONCERTS IN WOLVERHAMPTON
AND LONDON THIS DECEMBER!!!

WOLVERHAMPTON CIVIC HALL
Wednesday 29th December

O2 LONDON SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE
Thursday 30th December

GLENN HUGHES – JOE BONAMASSA
JASON BONHAM – DEREK SHERINIAN
CONFIRM THEIR FIRST UK SHOWS

TICKETS ON SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
FRIDAY 19th NOVEMBER AT 9:00am
24 HOUR BOX OFFICE: 0871 230 1101
www.seetickets.comwww.eventim.co.uk

Popularity: 6% [?]