Check out the great two-page Guitar World feature on blues band GA-20 (with mention of the cover)….

To read the full feature pick up the latest Holiday 2020 issue of Guitar World Magazine (with AC/DC’s Angus Young on the cover)

Timeless Chicano Spectrum: Rudy de Anda’s Musical Cuteness
BY JOAN ESCUTIA
OCTOBER 22, 2020

When so-called ‘Latin music’ is ruling everything, it’s important to revisit and discover a movement that always challenged what it meant to be Latino.

When talking about the classic Chicano sound one can find so many things that it seems, even, unclassifiable. To look back and listen to the records of characters like Little Willie G, Little Julian Herrera, Frankie Lil ‘Cannibal and even Ritchie Valens is to find a wide range of possibilities that go from ranchera music to rock and roll , from soul to the gospel and from jazz to blues . It is a universe that knew how to feed on its context: being Mexican in the United States , a multicultural coexistence and a tangible passion for creation and the search for identity.

In his text for the iconic book by Rubén Molina, Louie Pérez, a founding member of Los Lobos, wrote that he, like many of his generation and geography, grew up listening to “ corridos, rancheras, boleros, jazz, rock and roll , music like Miguel Aceves Mejía and Pedro Infante ”. He also says that absorbing all that led them to imitate the creativity and perseverance of those early artists to create something that, surprisingly, sounded entirely different. The Chicano sound is, then, a spectrum. And Rudy de Anda is one of the artists who best understands it and who knows how to demonstrate it best today.

“My mom listened to Alaska and Dinarama, Dun Can Du and things like that played on the radio while she cleaned the house. Leo Dan, Los Yonics, Los Temerarios, Los Bukis, Luis Miguel, Cristian Castro and everything you hear when you live in a Mexican house. As we were Baja California also sounded the northern corridos s. “Says about his musical training to being a born Mexican led to California at a young age ..” Then I heard Bob Marley, teen listened to a lot punk rock and avant-garde ; in Los Angeles there was a very strange music scene, of many experimental sounds. Then I got into salsa, cumbia, Fela Kuti, William Onyeabor and the train never stopped, nor will it stop. I have records by José José, from Los Ángeles Negros, but also by MF Doom.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL FEATURE STORY

AUSTIN LUCAS ALBUM EXCLUSIVE!
By Gerry Ranson

American roots-punk songwriter AUSTIN LUCAS is back with a new album, released tomorrow, but he’s chosen to stream it exclusively with Vive Le Rock! today.

A troubadour in the truest sense, Lucas has spent much of the past two decades in Europe and the past few months have found the Indiana-born songwriter and activist locked down in Mainz, Germany. From this Euro vantage point he’s had the time an inclination to cast an eye on the disturbing tinderbox situation in his homeland during this most apocalyptic of years, from Black Lives Matter and the agitation of the far-right to the global shadow of Covid. The result is the ten songs on Alive, In the Hot Zone, arguably his most unrestrained and political statement yet.

“I’ve never had an album come about so fluidly, accidentally and seemingly against all odds,” he explains. “From the fact that everything about the world we’re currently living in found me sleepless, agitated and propelled me to wake up at all hours and write like a madman. To the chance meeting with Oli Rüger, who I immediately recognized for his exceptional skill set as a producer and guitar player.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND TO CHECK OUT THE PREMIERE

BIG THANKS TO ALL THE RADIO STATIONS SPINNING THE FREEDOM AFFAIR’S NEW SOUL ALBUM “FREEDOM IS LOVE”….

BEAUB FM 89 (France Radio)

THE COLORFUL RADIO (France Radio)

THE FACE RADIO (Brooklyn Soul / Funk Radio)

KDHX (St Louis MO Community Radio)

KFAI (Minneapolis MN Community Radio)

KKFI (Kansas City MO Community Radio)

KNSJ (Descanso, CA Community Radio)

KRBX / RADIO BOISE (Boise, ID Community Radio)

KTBG / 90.9 THE BRIDGE (Kansas City, MO AAA Radio)

KTRM (Kirksville, MO College Radio)

KVMR (Nevada City, CA Community Radio)

PRUN’ RADIO (Nantes, France Radio)

RADIO BOISE / KRBX (Boise, ID Community Radio)

SOUL HAVEN (Italian Soul Radio Show)

SOUL SERMON MIX w/ MARK MERRY (Soul Podcast Show)

STAR POINT RADIO (UK radio)

UMFM 101.5 (Winnipeg, MB College Radio)

VALLEYFM 89.5 (Australia Radio)

WCOM (Chapel Hill NC Community Radio)

WDET (Detroit, MI Public Radio)

WERU (Blue Hill, ME Community Radio)

WESU (Middletown, CT Public Radio)

WFUV (New York, NY AAA Radio)

WOMR (Provincetown, MA Community Radio)

WPPM (Philadelphia PA Community Radio)

WRUW (Cleveland OH Community Radio)

WSFM / ASHEVILLE FM (Asheville, NC Community Radio)

WSUM (Madison, WI College Radio)

WVMO (Monona WI Community Radio)

WXOJ (Northampton MA Community Radio)

WXOX / ARTxFM (Louisville, KY Community Radio)

VIDEO PREMIERE: AUSTIN LUCAS REVELS IN PUNK SUBCULTURE WITH ALT-COUNTRY ROCKER “DRIVE”

Austin Lucas is a punk journeyman, activist and songwriter from Bloomington, Indiana. Consumed by an overdeveloped sense of wanderlust as a young person, Austin spent his formative years in the driver’s seat of various beat-up Ford Econolines. Burning through countless miles and living the world over, he’s made his home everywhere from the American West Coast to the Czech Republic.

Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for “Drive,” one of the standout songs on the new album. Filmed in moody black and white, the video captures a cast of characters, including Lucas, wandering city streets by foot and by taxi. Compared to Lucas’ more country-inspired work, the song finds the talented songwriter shifting gearings into a everyman alt-country rock and roll. With feisty electric guitar and a quick and steady beat, the song lets Lucas put his twangy and powerful vocals in the spotlight. Comparisons to Jason Isbell are obvious, but Lucas also taps into his own unique sound as he balances heartfelt lyrics with a rocker’s edge. Ultimately, the song is a perfect example of this troubadour’s ability to continually progress his sound.

Lucas describes the inspiration and process behind the song and video:
“I initially had other arrangements for the making of this video, which fell through quite last minute. In the end, by some amazing coincidence, my friend and wonderful filmmaker – Patrick Jankowski, wrote a message offering to make a video. In earnest, I organized some of my dearest friends in Berlin and we set about making a video that is a celebration of friendship and love.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND TO CHECK OUT THE PREMIERE

Austin Lucas Reflects on The Times – A Twangville Premiere
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 BY MAYER DANZIG

Austin Lucas has never been one to pull his punches so one shouldn’t expect him to do so now. Alive in the Hot Zone, his forthcoming album, finds him reflecting on the jarring tumult of 2020 from a unique viewpoint – an American sequestered in Germany.

There, isolated from family and friends at home, he’s watched social, economic, and political tumult roil the US alongside even as the Covid pandemic has swept across the country. Lucas channeled his feelings into an album teeming with apprehension, determination, and intensity. True to form, his lyrics are raw and penetrating, in this case accompanied by resolute electric guitars.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND TO CHECK OUT THE PREMIERE

Music Reviews: A 1989 Rolling Stones Concert, Plus Rudy De Anda, Darlingside, and Radio Receiver
by Jeff Burger

Rudy De Anda, Tender Epoch. Southern California–based guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Rudy De Anda makes an impressive solo debut with this difficult-to-categorize album. The record—which is sung mostly in Spanish and employs bass, keyboards, percussion, synthesizer, and organ—draws on genres ranging from Latin and pop to rock, soul, and punk. The music takes lots of surprising twists and turns: one minute, it might conjure up traditional Mexican music or Malo; the next, it may evoke Question Mark and the Mysterians.

http://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/music-reviews-a-1989-rolling-stones-concert-plus-rudy-de-anda-darlingside-and-radio-receiver/

Austin Lucas Shares Politically-Charged “Already Dead” (premiere)
by JEDD BEAUDOIN

Photo: Mike Dunn / Courtesy of Pavement PR

Marrying heartland rock with a punk ethos, Austin Lucas charts a new course on his upcoming LP, Alive in the Hot Zone! “They may seek to terrorize us into submission, but they can’t stop joy, they can’t stop love,” he says.

Austin Lucas releases Alive in the Hot Zone! on 30 October via Cornelius Chapel Records. The release will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital streaming outlets. The album was written and recorded as the COVID-19 pandemic and a groundswell of new social change began to emerge via Black Lives Matter and other movements. Perhaps inspired by seeing these ideas find purchase in the political strata, Lucas, who cut his teeth in the punk rock scene, pegs this new effort as a change in direction in his solo career. The ten tracks on Alive in the Hot Zone! provide direct and distinct commentary on the current global climate.

Though penned in a time in which the future appears uncertain and dark political undercurrents are on the rise, he remains hopeful that a shift toward a more positive future, which includes equality and a beating back of fascism on American soil. That is evident in “Already Dead”, which is accompanied by a new video. Lucas refers to the track as a “confluence of the Strokes, John Mellencamp and Against Me!” coupled with “heartland rock and indie punk”. “In these times, there can be nothing more important than remembering to be our true and most authentically beautiful selves.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE AND TO CHECK OUT THE PREMIERE

BIG THANKS TO ALL THE RADIO STATIONS SPINNING GHOST FUNK ORCHESTRA’S NEW ALBUM “AN ODE TO ESCAPISM”….

CHIRP RADIO (Chicago, IL Radio)

CJLO (Montreal College Radio)

CJSW (Calgary Alberta College Radio)

THE FACE RADIO (Brooklyn, NY Internet Radio)

KBGA (Missoula, Montana College Radio)

KDHX (St. Louis, MO Community Radio)

KEBF (Morro Bay, CA Community Radio)

KEXP (Seattle WA Community Radio)

KHOL (Jackson, WY Community Radio)

KMNO (Wailuku, Hawaii Community Radio)

KNSJ (Descanso, CA Community Radio)

KOTO (Telluride, CO Public Radio)

KTRM / 88.7 THE EDGE (Kirksville, MO College Radio)

KUAA (Salt Lake City, UT Bilingue Radio)

KUWS (Superior, WI Public Radio)

KVMR (Nevada City, CA Community Radio)

KVRF (Sutton AK Community Radio)

KXRY / XRAYFM (Portland, OR Community Radio)

KXSF (San Francisco, CA Community Radio)

KZYX (Philo, CA Public Radio)

PUBLIC SPACE (Anthony Valadez’ podcast)

RADIO BOISE / KRBX (Boise, ID Community Radio)

UMFM 101.5 (Winnipeg, MB College Radio)

WDCE (Richmond VA College Radio)

WDRT (Viroqua, Wisconsin Community Radio)

WESU (Middletown, CT Public Radio)

WFMU (Jersey City, NJ Freeform Radio)

WFUV (New York, NY Public Radio)

WMPG (Gorham, ME Community Radio)

WNMC (Traverse City, MI Community Radio)

WNRN (Charlottesville, VA Community Radio)

WOMR (Provincetown MA Community Radio)

WOWD (Takoma Park, MD Community Radio)

WRUW (Cleveland, OH Community Radio)

WSFM / ASHEVILLE FM (Asheville, NC Community Radio)

WSUM (Madison, WI College Radio)

WUNC (Chapel Hill, NC Public Radio)

WUTK (Knoxville, TN College Radio)

WUVT (Blacksburg, VA College Radio)

WXNA (Nashville, TN Community Radio)