New documentary Dio: Dreamers Never Die debuts at SXSW today. The filmmakers discuss how the movie came together and the lessons we can all take from Ronnie’s James Dio’s heroic journey.
The post Don Argott and Demian Fenton On Their New Dio Documentary, ‘Dreamers Never Die’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

After years of fan requests, Canadian rock legend Geddy Lee — Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and frontman of the iconic rock group RUSH — is expanding his resume with another foray into acting with a guest star appearance on acclaimed long-running CBC period drama “Murdoch Mysteries”.

Geddy is set to appear in a pivotal episode airing March 21 at 8 p.m. EST, acting alongside series stars Yannick Bisson and Hélène Joy. The episode is chalk full of fun moments for RUSH and “Murdoch Mysteries” enthusiasts alike, and eagle-eyed fans will be able to spot some references to the legendary band throughout the episode.

Geddy plays Tom Sawyer, a carriage driver who escorts Detective Murdoch (Bisson) and an expecting Dr. Julia Ogden (Joy) for a relaxing retreat in Muskoka. After a minor accident along the way, Geddy’s character suggests the couple take shelter in a nearby cabin and is present for the most anticipated Murdoch event of the season.

A professionally cut EPK that highlights Geddy’s role on the episode, clips of him in character and wardrobe, and covers his experience filming with the cast and crew, can be found below.

Set in Toronto at the dawn of the 20th century, “Murdoch Mysteries” is a one-hour drama series that explores the intriguing world of William Murdoch, a methodical and dashing detective who pioneers innovative forensic techniques to solve some of the city’s most gruesome murders.

Murdoch’s circle of associates includes Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris, “Hatching”, “Matching And Dispatching”), Murdoch’s eager and often naïve right-hand man; Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig, “Coronation Street”), Murdoch’s skeptical yet reluctantly supportive boss; and the love of his life, pathologist-turned-psychiatrist Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy, “Durham County”), a staunch ally who shares the detective’s fascination with forensic science and innovative ideas. All are valuable allies who help Murdoch solve his varied cases and traverse the many stratums of Victorian-turned-Edwardian society.

As previously reported, Lee will release a memoir in the fall of 2022. The book will be edited Noah Eaker and made available via HarperCollins.

Last September, Lee was honored with a solo Lifetime Achievement Award at the Artists For Peace And Justice (APJ) gala in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lee was recognized for his “commitment to philanthropy,” including his support of brain cancer research, Toronto Food Bank, Alberta Floods, Doctors Without Borders, Grapes For Humanity, United Way, Canadian Museum For Human Rights and Casey House.

Lee appeared on Dave Grohl and his mother Virginia Hanlon’s series “From Cradle To Stage”, where he spoke about growing up the son of Holocaust survivors with his late mother, Mary Weinrib.

FOZZY will release a new single, “I Still Burn”, on Friday, March 18. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming album, “Boombox”, which is due on April 15.

FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho comments: “‘I Still Burn’ is the story of the dreams, the passion and the fire that lie within all of us to be the absolute best we can be…and to do WHATEVER it takes to achieve the goals that make our dreams come true! The sacrifices, the losses, and the triumphs that we have all experienced make up the lyrical DNA of this song. #IStillBurn is FOZZY’s mission statement, our life’s work and our destiny…and we are so proud to share this message of victory with our FOZZY family!! Plus, Rich’s [Ward] guitar solo fuckin rules!!!”

“Boombox”, which includes the top 10 singles “Nowhere To Run” and “Sane”, was once again produced by Johnny Andrews.

Jericho previously stated about the LP: “‘Judas’…both the album & the song…was a HUGE breakthrough for FOZZY. It took us to the next level and positioned us as legit players at rock radio and as a live draw. As a result, we knew that we had to follow up with the album of a lifetime… ‘Boombox’ is that album!! You’ve already heard the top ten singles ‘Nowhere To Run’ and ‘Sane’ — kick-ass, hooky songs that set the tone for this record. But it’s ‘I Still Burn’, ‘Army Of One’ and ‘Relax’ that, in my opinion, are going to take this album and this band even further up the rock ‘n’ roll ladder.

“I firmly believe this is the third best album of our entire career!! (Of course I think it’s our best… but I always wanted to hear a band say that.) So crank the volume and hold the ‘Boombox’ up to your earholes!! It’s gonna be a wild ride.”

FOZZY recently announced the “Save The World” 2022 U.S. tour. The trek, featuring special guests GFM, KRASHKARMA and THE NOCTURNAL AFFAIR, will start on March 31 in Detroit, Michigan and wrap on May 16 in Sauget, Illinois. Additionally, to celebrate the arrival of “Boombox”, FOZZY will play an album-release party on April 11 at Irving Plaza in New York City, where fans will be able to purchase and listen to the full album exclusively in advance of the release.

FOZZY debuted a brand new song, “Purifier”, during its September 18 concert in Flint, Michigan and has been performing it live ever since. Back in July, FOZZY played another new song, “The Vulture Club”, during its concert in Iowa City, Iowa. The band also performed its latest single, “Sane”, live for the first time.

In May, FOZZY dropped a video for its first new song in two years, the aforementioned “Sane”, which hit one million views in its first two weeks. This first-of-its-kind video was filmed on the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet today.

In the summer of 2020, Chris revealed that FOZZY’s next LP would contain 12 songs, including a cover of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD’s “Relax”.

Ward and Andrews once again did “the lion’s share” of the songwriting for the new LP, which was recorded primarily in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to producing “Judas”, Andrews previously co-wrote FOZZY’s “Lights Go Out” track back in 2014. He has also written songs with the likes of ALL THAT REMAINS, THREE DAYS GRACE and HALESTORM.

In November 2020, FOZZY appeared in its first global live streaming event from Madison Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.

This past January, FOZZY parted ways with longtime drummer Frank Fontsere and replaced him with Grant Brooks (THROUGH FIRE).

Fontsere was a founding member of FOZZY, having formed the group in 1999 with Jericho and Ward.

When FOZZY announced Fontsere’s departure, the band said that he was “stepping down to focus on his family and other projects.”

FOZZY is Chris Jericho (vocals), Rich Ward (guitars, vocals), Grant Brooks (drums), Billy Grey (guitars) and P.J. Farley (bass).

KREATOR frontman Mille Petrozza has called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The 54-year-old German musician, who is KREATOR’s principal songwriter and the only member to appear on every KREATOR album, addressed the ongoing conflict in an Instagram post on Tuesday (March 15). He wrote: “Stop the war in Ukraine! Stop all wars on earth! Now!!

“In the year 2022 we should be on the edge of a spiritual transformation, but it seems like we are moving back into the Neanderthal.

“War can never be justified! And to those that give me the ‘….but what about your lyrics? Flag of hate? You are not metal, etc.’. Understand one thing: where there is war, there is no concerts, festivals, music. We were about to play a tour for our fans in both Ukraine and Russia next month. And now? Nothing but pain, death, fear and suffering on both sides. The people are the ones that have to pay for this insanity. Like so many times in the history of mankind. Again!

“KREATOR stands for peace, music and a worldwide unity of like minded individuals, regardless of cultural, religious or material background.

“Call me a naive hippie or find a new favorite band.

“Real war is NOT Metal! It’s hell on earth!

“Have a nice day! #thrashmetal #stopallwarsnow #kreator”.

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Putin made the announcement during a televised early morning speech, peddling accusations of Nazi elements within Ukraine to justify the attack on his western neighbor, a move that experts slammed as slanderous and false. (Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish and lost three family members in the Holocaust.)

The Russian leader called for Ukraine’s “demilitarization and denazification” and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.”

According to NPR, nearly 600 civilian fatalities have been confirmed in the first three weeks of the war, including a U.S. journalist.

The U.S. military estimates that between 2,000 and 4,000 Ukrainian armed forces, national guard and volunteer forces have been killed. It estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 Russian soldiers have been killed.

Ukrainian armed forces say more than 12,000 Russian troops have been killed since February 24.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mille Petrozza (@mille.petrozza)

I am extremely loyal to vintage Fender amps. I love their clean and transparent tones, and how their simplicity makes for amplifiers that are not only collectable but serviceable. I do play other guitars and amps besides Fenders, although I have to admit that I always measure them against the brand and often try dialing them to a sound as close as possible to Fender tone. But this month I want to share a story about a Fender-inspired amp that I love: the Victoria Victorilux.Victoria has had great success with their point-to-point-wired amps based on classic designs—with a twist. Their long customer list of influential musicians and weekend players proves they’ve done something right. Who doesn’t want a new, robust, high-quality amp that looks and sounds vintage?My love of the Victorilux started in 2011, when I got to try one for the first time. It was my brother’s, and he showed me a long email thread with company founder Mark Baier discussing different speaker and tube options. I was impressed. My brother’s amp was a 3×10 combo loaded with Jensen P10R speakers. It had dual 6L6GC power tubes and a 230V power transformer. Other speaker configurations were also offered by the company including 2×10, 2×12, and 1×15. Today, Victoria offers Eminence speakers instead of Jensens, according to the company’s website. I really like Eminence Legend 1058 10s and Legend 1518 15s because of their full tone and ability to handle high power without losing touch-sensitivity.I describe the Victorilux as a Fender-black-panel-style amp in a tweed enclosure with brown-panel charm.I describe the Victorilux as a Fender-black-panel-style amp in a tweed enclosure with brown-panel charm. As with Fender tweed amps, the chassis is placed vertically in the cabinet, which is robustly constructed with finger-jointed solid pine. The speaker baffle board is Baltic plywood. The controls consist of two 1/4″ inputs, volume, treble, mid, bass, reverb, and speed and intensity for the tremolo. With just a single channel, there are fewer things that can fail. The circuit component layout is tidy and takes no shortcuts, and everything is coupled and fitted tightly.For me, the Victorilux was love at first sight. And that deepened when I heard it. I expected the amp to sound something like a Super Reverb: good and clean. But I was surprised by how fine it sounded at low volumes. It had a sparkling clean-yet-lush-and-warm voice even at the quietest bedroom levels. The EQ spectrum seemed wider than I was used to with older Fender amps—especially for the mid control. I have seen a few Victoriluxes without mid knobs, and I strongly recommend trying one with mid control, since that dial can change the amp’s character between a mid-based British voice and an American scooped tone. With the mid knob set high, the Victorilux starts breaking up surprisingly soon for a dual 6L6GC amp. Lowering the mids will take you back into Fender-black-panel land.At that first meeting, I was quickly able to dial in a nice tone—as can be done with a vintage Fender. But when I turned up the volume, it didn’t sound Fender black-panel at all. The amp broke up earlier and was more aggressive, with more sag and compression—thanks to the Victorilux’s cathode bias design, which reduces clean headroom. I guess Baier was inspired by the early breakup characteristics of small Fender tweed amps when he chose cathode bias for the relatively high-powered Victorilux. Cathode bias is a less efficient power-amp design compared to fixed bias. All black-panel-era amps and the bigger tweed amps had fixed bias, to maximize clean headroom.I also expected the reverb to be lush, but I particularly liked the smooth and gradual knob response. The tremolo could nicely sweep deep and slow or very fast. To summarize, I found the Victorilux to be a brilliantly designed amp that contains the best inspirations from Fender’s tweed and black-panel eras.I later tried a set of Weber speakers in the amp: two alnico 10A150s in the bottom row and a 10A125 on top. That made it much more powerful and chunky, with firm, well-defined bass response. For those who play in power trios with a loud drummer, I recommend this speaker setup. You will fill the stage completely with massive guitar tone. Those are my favorite Webers, though the ceramic 10F150 or 10F125 will also do the job.I hope my experience will encourage the vintage Fender fellowship to try out various amp brands. There are ambitious alternatives out there, and my experience with the Victorilux proves that classic tone can be crafted using well-built modern amps.