Media Watch: podcast ponderings

Recently an episode of The Music Den podcast was devoted to a discussion of the 1987 release Big Generator.  And this reminds me that one of my present unfinished projects is a podcast episode recorded last year featuring myself and Henry Potts discussing this exact album - or rather, attempting to adjust The Zeitgeist regarding the reputation of BigGen and redeeming it in the face of numerous detractors (including several members of the band which created it).  Hopefully, one day it will finally be edited and I can share it with all interested parties.  But for now, check out Armando and his guest, musician Ryan Gavalier, opining on this polarizing YesWest classic.

Real ones know, part five

Spotted on Twitter: Joe Bonamassa posted this meeting of the minds (and musicianship) to his Twitter account on Thursday.  Long-time mutual friends all, and it's great to see!

https://twitter.com/JBONAMASSA/status/1664500269470875649

Tina Turner (1939-2023)

The Queen of Rock n'Roll, Tina Turner, has passed away at the age of 83.  From her beginnings as the frontwoman of the Ike and Tina Turner Review, to her worldwide enduring fame as a solo artist (which enabled her to be the second woman inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), to all of the ways in which pop culture has made her an icon...Tina was a singular phenomenon and the world is less brightly bombastic without her and her fabulous legs.

Long-time fans are aware Trevor contributed to her 1996 album Wildest Dreams, playing and singing on the majority of the songs produced by Trevor Horn.  On her cover of John Waite's hit "Missing You" both Trevors are providing backing vocals and are even credited as "(The Two Trevors)."

"Dancing in My Dreams" which closes the album, has a bit of the ZA sound to it, and Trevor's presence definitely adds to the authenticity of that mood.

Update: Rabbitt on the run

With thanks to Henry Potts for giving me the heads-up.

Yesterday the boys gave a group interview to South Africa's LM Radio to promote the Rabbitt Reloaded tour, which begins on June 17th in Pretoria.  Duncan, Ronnie and Neil will be supported on stage by Marius Marais on keyboards and Mauritz Lotz on guitar.  The opening act is Watershed, which first came to fame worldwide in the early 2000s.

It was very interesting to hear that they're now living on three different continents, with Duncan in the US, Neil in ZA, and Ronnie in the UK.

The link to the interview has been posted on the official Facebook page, and here it is as well:

https://echocast.fabrik.fm/VzZKM7xnvVGynJ

Media Watch: new(ish) interview

Long-time fans are aware that one particular company endorsed by Trevor is Mark of the Unicorn (aka MOTU), a music-related hardware/software company originally founded in the mid-80s, creators of Digital Performer which was one of the very first digital audio workstations.  Yes' Talk album was the first to be recorded using this technology.  Yesterday the company announced a series related to Digital Performer to be offered on their website, and one of the interviews is a conversation (over an hour) with Trevor and Paul.  It appears it was recorded last year at some point as they were working on National Treasure: Edge of History.

The link below is for the Artist Spotlight Webinars, and Trevor's is the first on the page.

https://motu.com/en-us/products/software/dp/webinars/motu-artist-spotlight-webinars/

Media Watch: news notes

A few things to report on...

Unfortunately, it was announced last week that National Treasure: Edge of History has been cancelled by Disney+ as confirmed by Variety:

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/national-treasure-edge-of-history-canceled-disney-1235591191/

This adds the show to the "one and done" list of Trevor's television work, which also includes the limited-run series Zero Hour and the action drama Agent X.  But it is gratifying to know that Trevor's contract included a release of the score's major themes and cues via a soundtrack album.

Speaking of albums, Outlanders (the duo of singer Tarja Turunen and musician-producer Torsten Stenzel) has announced they will be releasing a full-length album of their project on June 23rd, which will contain the previous eight singles released over a three-year period, including the lead single "Closer To The Sky" featuring Trevor on guitar.  So anyone who desired to have that track in physical media form is now in luck!

And lastly, Captain Cuts is busy as usual, but I was excited to see that Ryan and Ben co-wrote a song with Italian pop-rock sensations Måneskin for their international debut album Rush! released earlier this year.

#fbf: it's always (friendly) in Philadelphia

Some may have seen this photo before, it's from the archives of Philadelphia rock station 93.3 WMMR, featuring Trevor and Tony posing with two of the station's DJs: Buzz Barkley and Pierre Robert.  Going strictly by their wardrobe, I tend to think this is from 1994, but it could also be from 1988.