Tag Archive for: alice cooper

ALL ACCESS LIVE WITH JOHN NEFF

Portland resident recently retired from a very long, productive, and fascinating career in music and recording. John started playing guitar at the age of 10 while growing up in Pontiac, Michigan. He formed The Ascots at 14, writing and recording the garage-rock classic “So Good”, hanging out with future Detroit-based rock stars Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, and the MC5, and opening for groups like the Turtles, the Who, Shades of Blue, and the Capitols.

Two more groups followed – The Tribe and Toad and the Mushroom – before he got a steady job playing guitar in Motown/Stax producer Don Davis’s house band, backing some very big names such as Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Mary Wells, the Spinners, and Billy Paul. From there, he played bass guitar for Steppenwolf in the late 70s, then with Hoyt Axton and Redeye.

In 1979, John quit the music business, for the time being, married, and moved to Maui. He was asked to deejay at a local radio station, and that turned into a popular and long-running morning show. John was there for the birth of Jawaiian music, a mix of Jamaican reggae, Hawaiian pop, and a touch of Motown soul.

While living on Maui, John met Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and partnered with him to build a recording studio. There he worked as audio engineer on Becker’s solo album “11 Tracks of Whack” and again on Donald Fagen’s “Kamakiriad”.

After a stint in Phoenix running his own recording studio. John moved to Los Angeles and collaborated with filmmaker David Lynch on the soundtrack and audio for The Straight Story, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire. He also did the sound mix for DVD releases of Lynch’s Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, and Eraserhead.

From L.A., John moved to Portland to be closer to family. And here he built and ran a sound studio called The Lab. John retired, or so he claims, just a few months ago. But music’s in his blood, and he continues to take on a few production gigs while also playing bass in the Portland band Christie Josef and the Purpose.

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with ALICE COOPER’S GLEN SOBEL

Currently the drummer for rock legend Alice Cooper and the Hollywood Vampires, Glen Sobel has played in a variety of genres including rock, hip hop, pop, metal, punk, and fusion. Recently he has played, toured, and/or recorded with gigs ranging from hard rock (Alice Cooper), pop/r&b (tour with ELLIOTT YAMIN- American Idol finalist who topped the Billboard Hot 100), instrumental fusion (Glen played on PAUL GILBERT’s DVD), stadium/arena rock (Glen toured in 2010 with VASCO ROSSI- Italy’s biggest rock super-star, playing to crowds in excess of 40,000), last minute subbing with some of the industry’s heaviest hitters (Glen subbed a week for Tommy Lee in Mötley Crüe on a few hours notice pulling double duty on the Crue/Alice tour), to studio TV work (Glen plays drums on the new version of the MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL theme on ESPN).

Recent live events have found Glen playing in the house band backing such heavyweights as Steven Tyler, Rob Halford, Weird Al, Pat Simmons & Michael McDonald of The Doobie Brothers, Sammy Hagar, Richie Sambora, Joe Lynn Turner, Night Ranger, Jonny Lang, Nils Lofgren, Sarah Mclachlan, Nuno Bettencourt, Dexter and Noodles of The Offspring, Robby Krieger of The Doors, Ke$ha, Orianthi, Johnny Depp, Mike Myers and many more.

Other touring/recording credits for Glen include Chris Impellitteri, Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson’s guitarist), Tony Macalpine , Gary Hoey, Warner Bros recording act Beautiful Creatures (Ozzfest tour), Cypress Hill and many others.

Sponsored by Five Star Guitars and Rhythm Traders

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with QUIET RIOT’S CHUCK WRIGHT

Long-time bassist for multi-platinum rockers Quiet Riot, Chuck Wright, proudly presents the release of the first single from his new solo album. Wright has also worked alongside such rock music luminaries as Alice Cooper, Greg Allman, Ted Nugent, various members of Guns N’ Roses and Kiss to name a few, and now embarks on his first-ever solo excursion.

The first single is a hard-rocking, intense interpretation of Björk’s 1995 hit “Army of Me” and is accompanied by a video that represents Wright’s exploration into disorder and parallels with the recent chaotic state of world affairs. The visuals include a 3D animation of an “army” of Ruth Bader Ginsburgs, the late Supreme Court Justice, feminist icon, and steadfast advocate for women’s rights and gender equality. “I chose to recognize the late Justice Ginsburg in this video as she was such a formidable presence on and off the bench. She challenged the status quo knocking down legal obstacles to women’s equality and inspired an army of believers.”

The track “Army Of Me” features several of Wright’s musical peers including the late Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) on drums, guitarist Lanny Cordola (House of Lords), and Sven Martin (Jonathan Davis Band) on keyboards along with songstress Whitney Tai, the recent “Best Vocalist” winner at The Intercontinental Music Awards.

The full-length album from Chuck Wright’s Sheltering Sky, coming in 2022, features over 30 guest performers including members of Mr. Big, Skid Row, Tesla, Dream Theater, Great White, Asia, Jefferson Starship, acclaimed solo artists Allen Hinds, Toshi Yanagi, and many others. Wright is finally stepping out on his own with a wide range of genres, from Jazz Fusion, Prog, Funk to in-your-face Hard Rock, which was in itself one of the things that led him to want to forge his own way and create this unique collection of songs within his “Sheltering Sky” project.

Sponsored by Five Star Guitars and Rhythm Traders

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with MICHAEL MILLER

Get the scoop on working with the best in the biz! Alice Cooper to Rob Zombie and everyone in-between, Michael Miller has seen it ALL. He splits tech duties for Kenny Aronoff and Glen Sobel, and has worked every corner of the entertainment business, from artist rep to the feature film industry. Our chat’s going to be the highlight of your day – I can guarantee it!

Sponsored by Five Star Guitars

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with GLEN SOBEL (ALICE COOPER) Part 2

If you heard part 1, you got to know how Glen got his start at an early age in the music business. He has recorded and toured with so many notable artists, it’ll make your head spin. Speaking of spinning, we’ll catch up to talk about Glen’s filling in for Tommy Lee, including a ride on the spinning roller-coaster drum kit. You won’t want to miss this one!

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ALL ACCESS LIVE with GLEN SOBEL (ALICE COOPER) Part 1

You might think you know Glen’s rock pedigree from his phenomenal work with Alice Cooper and Hollywood Vampires, but there are SO MANY levels of progression in Glen’s rise that may have slipped through the cracks. We’ll talk about that stuff, his boundless energy of performance and education while touring, and everything in-between.

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Tag Archive for: alice cooper

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