The Story of Rock and Roll Radio Show

Episode 28 of Season 4 was a strange beastie.  It aired at 7 pm on 15 July 2021 and it marks the fact that South Africa was in the middle of a wave of, I can't say unprecedented violence because it's a violent place, so let's just say precedented violence that we haven't seen for a very long time.  Whole shopping malls have been looted and burnt down, Trucks have been burnt and thousands of people ran riot through the streets in KZN and Gauteng looting and destroying in an orchestrated orgy of violence that got totally out of control.  The result is supply lines cut off and shops that are empty.  It is not a good situation and at this point is not resolved.  While this show cannot but help to comment on the situation,  in many ways, it's a celebration of people coming together to stand against looting and violence and to protect their communities against the inevitable results of years of government policy failure.

We kicked off with Godsmack and 'Bulletproof' and then had 'Something For The Pain' courtesy of Bon Jovi.  Next up, a shout-out to the guys and girls who were patrolling on neighbourhood watch and community groups in the form of 'Guardian of the Night' and 'Got Your Six' by Accept and Five Finger Death Punch respectively.  We got positive with Joe Bonamassa's 'Bridge to Better Days' and Queensrÿche with 'Resistance' off the phenomenal Empire album.  I truly believe we are building a bridge to better days and solidified that with 'United' off Judas Priest's British Steel album.  

There was a nice little bit talking about the music and how important it is and how special the people who understand and value TSORR are and how the guitar unites us.  Piet Botha's 'Man Met Kitaar' underlined the point.  Things got heavy with Lamb of God and 'Walk With Me in Hell' but then we cooled it down with some Joe Jackson and The Boomtown Rats.  The bluesy stuff was courtesy of Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Tom Petty type stuff came from Tom Petty (surprise, surprise) and The Gaslight Anthem.  With about an hour to go, I saw the sad news that Jeff La Bar, guitarist for 80's metal legends Cinderella had just passed away so we took a listen to him and said RIP and thanks for the music, Jeff.  Anyway check it out, comments, questions, suggestions etc welcome on the TSORR Facebook page.  


Artists featured:  Godsmack, Bon Jovi, Buckcherry, Sinner, Accept, Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth, ACDC, The Pretty Reckless, Joe Bonamassa, Queensrÿche, W.A.S.P., Sammy Hagar, Piet Botha, Neil Young, Judas Priest, Slash feat Lemmy, Lamb of God, Joe Jackson, The Boomtown Rats, System of a Down, Candlebox, Mötley Crüe, Pride & Glory, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Petty, The Gaslight Anthem, The Lazys, We Are Harlot, Cinderella, Johnathan Martin, White Zombie, Kid Rock, The Damned Things, The Distillers, The Uninvited, Volbeat, Parkway Drive, Iron Maiden.   

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Here is another Rock Review, this one went out on 6 July 2021 and gives a quick overview of Ozzy and his awesome guitarists.  As always with the Rock Review it is impossible to do justice to an artist like this in an hour but its a good snap-shot. 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 27 of Season 4 aired at 7 pm on 8 July  2021.  We kicked off suitably with 'Jailbreak' by ACDC and then kept it there with U.D.O. and Animal Drive.  Next up we had a bit of vintage Def Leppard off the Mutt Lange produced High 'n' Dry and some classic Led Zeppelin.  One of the highlights was Ozzy Osbourne's cover of Joe Walsh's 'Rocky Mountain Way', it off his 1995 release Under Cover and features Jerry Cantrell doing the guitar work, it's a wonderful track.  Another wonderful track was Pearl Jam with 'Yellow Ledbetter', nice to hear Mike McCreedy out Hendrixing Hendrix. 

Other than that I didn't want to spend too much of the show gloating about Zuma going to jail but it was necessary to play Pink Floyd's 'The Trial' off The Wall and highlight the immortal lines "Of all my years of judging I have never heard before, of someone more deserving the full penalties of law".  I said my second last word about this and played Bruce Springsteen's 'One Minute You're Here'.  I think the point has been made.  The punk piece was fun with Blink 182, Green Day, and Sham 69 with 'Borstal Breakout'.  From Punk we went sort of proggy with a band out of Helsinki called Wheel and then we went to Sweden for a track off the brand new At The Gates album called The Nightmare of Being. I mentioned In Flames as being the band that members of At The Gates went to but it was actually The Haunted.  

Other than that it was good fun and going from Parkway Drive to Crosby stills, Nash and Young is probably a radio first.  Short of SA stuff again this week, all we managed to hit was Derick Hougaat's favourite band Van Coke Kartel.  Good times, see you next week \m/ 

Artists featured:  ACDC, U.D.O., Animal Drive, Def Leppard, Chickenfoot, Led Zeppelin, Voices of Extreme, Overkill, Ricky Warwick, RavenEye, Mercyful Fate, Gov't Mule, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Jimmy Barnes, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Godsmack, Marilyn Manson, Soil, Soul Asylum, Blink 182, Green Day, Sham 69, Wheel, At The Gates, Van Halen Thunder, Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Judas Priest, Journey, Parkway Drive, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Smith / Kotzen, Type O Negative, Van Coke Kartel, Rancid, Motörhead, My Chemical Romance.  

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 26 of Season 4 is the high point of the year as far as I am concerned, it aired at 7 pm on 1 July 2021.  E26 marks the halfway mark of the year and the joyous news of our ex-president's impending incarceration.  It is also the only show so far to clock in at exactly 3 hours (and 15 seconds) and causing the most perfect switch over between me and the going 'back to the studio'. switchover.  We kicked off with Megadeth and their Rust in Peace classic 'Hanger 18'.  It made sense to stay with the trash heavyweights of the world and we followed with Metallica and 'Creeping Death'.  Next up The Raven Age off their album Darkness Will Rise and this led to a brief discussion of a slight glimmer of hope for SA as Jacob Zuma goes to jail for 15 months for contempt.  We celebrated with Prison Bound by Social Distortion and some optimism in the form of Bon Jovi's 'Keep The Faith'. 

There were plenty of big names, we heard from Van Halen, ACDC, W.A.S.P.,  Scorpions, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest.  The highlight for me, other than all the Zuma jibes, was Skid Row with a track off  United World Rebellion- Chapter One called  'This is Killing Me'.  It is an incredibly good song made all the more poignant by the sad passing of Johnny Solinger, the vocalist on the track earlier this week.  Largely ignored, these last two Skid Row albums shine, RIP Johnny.  We checked out a band I have just discovered this week, Seven Thorns out of Denmark, and their track 'Black Fortress'.  Check out the guitar work about 3 minutes in.  We also got a dose of what would happen if Marilyn Manson replaced Till Lindemann in Rammstein by listening to his vocals on Emigrate's second album Silent So Long.  

New stuff from Buckcherry, SA stuff from The Burning and Prime Circle, Punk from Sham 69 and The Jam, and oldies from Python Lee Jackson with 'In a Broken Dream'.  There were lots of dedications to listeners and as I said a huge celebration about Zuma's impending incarceration.  I let The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, have the final word for Zuma with When You're Alone.  It may well be the most perfect radio show I have ever done :-).   

Artists featured:  Megadeth, Metallica, The Raven Age, Social Distortion, Van Halen, Cinderella, Python Lee Jackson, W.A.S.P., ACDC, The Burning, We Are Harlot, Bon Jovi, Prime Circle, Oasis, Clutch, Thin Lizzy Emigrate, Seven Thorns, Children of Bodom, Skid Row, Scorpions, Tom Petty, Buckcherry, Danko Jones, Dirty Honey, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Hollywood, Vampires, Sham 69, The Jam, Type O Negative, Avenged Sevenfold, Nickelback, Papa Roach, Airbourne, Bruce Springsteen

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 25 of Season for aired at 7 pm on 24 June 2021.  Kicking off with Airbourne, one of Aussies finest we kept the pace up about 30 min with Deep Purple, Def Leppard, and a few others before going down south with some Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blackberry Smoke.  'One Horse Town' off The Whippoorwill by Blackberry Smoke is an emotional look at small-town America and a very cool track.   Next, we went as close to prog as we normally go on TSORR with Coheed & Cambia and a live version of Rush's masterpiece 2112.  

Punk was covered by Green Day, the Clash, and Ramones, it was great to hear the Clash's 'Somebody Got Murdered ' again, it's been ages since I heard that track off the very bloated Sandinista triple set.  For the heavy, we took in an aural assault courtesy of Pantera, Parkway Drive, and later some Mastodon and Megadeth.  Rory Gallagher and Zakk Wylde took care of the guitar lessons.  As usual, I had 3 times the amount of music that would fit into 3 hours.  The show is almost noticeable more for what we skipped than what we played :-)

A highlight for me was Papa Roach with between Angels and Insects', that lyric is something else, I didn't realise how good it is and that folks, is the beauty of the show, you get your attention drawn to the little things that are massive.  Another highlight was Queen off Live Killers, it is another of these "Never Forget" moments, Queen in their day were the best band in the world.  Anyway, check it out, if you want to get in contact check out The Story of Rock and Roll Facebook page, until next week Adios Ameoba's  

Artists featured:  Airbourne, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Armored Saint, Drowning Pool, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackberry Smoke, Coheed & Cambria, Rush, Thin Lizzy, Rainbow, Green Day, The Clash, Ramones, Slaughter, Warrant, Pantera, Parkway Drive, Rory Gallagher, Pride & Glory, Junkyard, ACDC, Queen, Queensrÿche, Disturbed, Black Sabbath, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, John Mellancamp, Jack Hammer, Papa Roach, Soundgarden, Paul Stanley, Palaye Royale, Myles Kennedy, The Pretty Reckless, Megadeth, Mastodon, Ozzy Osbourne 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 24 of Season 4 went live on air at 7 pm on 17 June 2021, kicking off with Billy Balloon Head' by Massive Wagons, which is guaranteed to get you into a good mood.  Next up some Iced Earth and a follow up on the Jon Schaeffer situation before we hit some indie type stuff in the form of Walking Papers and We Are Augustines,

As promised there was a lot of SA music on the show to make up for the last episode where SA music was a bit short-changed.  We had LA Cobra, Sugar Drive, Deadline, The Fismits, Springbok Nude Girls, and Sunken State all flying the local flag.   It is great to hear such a diverse range of rock from these bands, the talent in SA is amazing.  Incidentally, The Fismits is Rebel Rock Radio's own Mark Biagio's band,  check out their album Before the Hindsight.  Sunken State is my current favorite metal band, these guys are going to go far if lovers of metal get behind them.  Following on from Sepultura near the end of the show they absolutely hold their own and I explain why they are so good. 

Generation X with 'Kiss Me Deadly', The Stranglers, and Social Distortion took care of the Punk and gave me a chance to take some cheap shots at the government.  W.A.S.P. with 'The Idol' off  Blackie Lawless's masterpiece Crimson Idol was a highlight for me as was revealing who played the brilliant Comfortably Numb-esque solo on that track.  There is lots more here so go ahead and check it out, all comments welcome, catch me on The Story of Rock and Roll Facebook page or on the website.    

Artists featured:  Massive Wagons, Manowar, Iced Earth, Walking Papers,  We Are Augustines, Skid Row, Ratt, Kiss, The Rolling Stones, Accept, LA Cobra, KK's Priest, Halford, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Mötley Crüe, Hinder, Megadeth, Marilyn Manson, W.A.S.P., Demon, Savage, Generation X, The Stranglers, Social Distortion, Sugar Drive, Springbok Nude Girls, Deadline, The Fismits, Volbeat, Gary Moore, Guns 'n' Roses, Blackberry Smoke, Sepultura, Sunken State, The Distillers & Mark Knopfler 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

To say that being in South Africa right now is difficult is an understatement.  The continuous load shedding is playing havoc (hammock :-)) with the broadcasts, you never know when you are going to get cut off or if the cell towers are going to work.  Episode 23 of Season 4 went out on 10 June at 7 pm, load shedding kicked in one minute after the show ended, score one for Rock and Roll.

We started with W.A.S.P.  and ' The Invisible Boy' off their masterpiece, The Crimson Idol. Next, it was the turn of Great White off their '91 album hooked and I highlighted just what a great year 1991 was for new releases.  The show was light on both Australian and South African artists, with only Cold Chisel, ACDC, and Fokofpolisiekar getting a slot this week, I will put in some extra SA next week.  Cold Chisel's 'Yakuza Girls' off The last Wave of Summer went down very well.  We checked out Die Toten Hosen with 'Liebeslied' which just made it impossible no to follow up with The Damned and 'Love Song'.   

Once again The Doors sounded amazing and clearly, I need to play a bit more of them.  Amazing to think Jim Morrison only made it to 27, so young, imagine what he would be putting out these days.  Other than that Halford was great and so was Kid Rock, in fact, everything was good, just as it should be.  Check it out, i am sure you will find something in here.  

Artists featured: W.A.S.P., Great White, Soil, Cold Chisel, ACDC, Jorn, Overkill, David Lee Roth, Chickenfoot, Rammstein, Filter, Billy Idol, The Cult, Ivan Ivankovic, The Doors, Pearl Jam, System of a Down, Kiss, Guns 'n' Roses, Accept, The Stranglers, Die Toten Hosen, The Damned, Halford, Dio, Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Red Dragon Cartel, Mammoth WVH, My Chemical Romance, Staind, Testament, The Horrible Crowes, Halestorm, Foo Fighters, Fokofpolisiekar. 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 22 of season 4 was recorded at 7 pm on 3 June 2021.  It did not air due to the collapsing infrastructure in South Africa.  A continuous spate of load shedding, almost 12 hours in my area , in the last 24 hours has led to the cell phone tower batteries running down and thus no internet to send out the show.  Fortunately, the podcast is here to make sure that you get your weekly dose of music that matters. 

The show kicked off with Axel Rudi Pell and a track called 'Gunfire'.  We followed with Black Sabbath and  'Tomorrow's Dream' which at the moment is looking like a nightmare.  It is very easy to go off on a tirade about this so I will resist but just know that as relaxed as the show may sound I am in a constant war with wifi throughout.  I even set up a whole separate router system during the show which didn't work either.

I played Beatallica which is a very odd mash-up of The Beatles and Metallica, it sounds ridiculous I know but just listen to it, the guy has Hetfield down to a T.  I played another Sinner track off There Will  Be Execution, really enjoying the band, I paid tribute to the amazing Francois Van Coke and celebrated his fantastic victory over rugby star Derick Hougaat last Saturday.  Rock gave rugby a lekker klap, we took a listen to Fokofpolisiekar with 'Tygerberg Vliegtuig' to celebrate.  Then it was time for some UK punk in the form of the Sex Pistols with 'Holidays in the Sun' and The Clash.  Another notable mention was that it's 10 years to the day that I was in Germany for Rock Im Park.  We took a listen to Avenged Sevenfold and Bring Me The Horizon to mark that momentous event. 

It's 2 years since Piet Botha passed and I played 'Die Gemmerbroodman' and told you a little bit about who I had been told that song is about.  Incidentally on my iTunes copy of Die Mamba Piet Botha is called 'Pie Botha' so if you are living in another country and have the album, his name was Piet........not Pie.  I played the brand new Buckcherry called 'Hellbound' and I went on yet another big gushy rave about Sunken State.  It has been a long time since I have been as excited about a band as I am with SA's own Sunken State.  The album gets released on 11 June.   We wound up with The Parlotones and 'Disappear Without a Trace'  because that is how the future in SA feels right now and we said happy birthday to Charlie Watts by playing 'Street Fighting Man' and closed out by continuing the love affair with Brody Dalle and The Distillers with a track called 'Seneca Falls'.  Adios amoebas, check you next week.    

Artists featured:  Axel Rudi-Pell, Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains, Bush, Keel, Seether, Sinner, Ratt, The Winery Dogs, 12th Avenue, Rammstein, Type O Negative, ACDC, Aerosmith, Beatallica, Machine Head, The Band, Matthew Goode Band, Fokofpolisiekar, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Piet Botha, ZZ Top, Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me the Horizon, Hollywood Vampires, Buckcherry, Mark Morton, Greta Van Fleet, Halford, Iron Maiden, Sunken State, The Parlotones, The Rolling Stones, the Distillers. 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 21 of Season 4 kicked off on Rebel Rock Radio at 7 pm on 27 May 2021.  We started with Yngwie Malmsteen and Jeff Scott Soto's wonderful cover of 'Magical Mystery Tour' off Butchering the Beatles.  It's probably one of the best ways you can possibly start a radio show.  From there it was Five Finger Death Punch, and then a detour down 'Copperhead Road' with Steve Earle and some Dire Straits before we unwittingly ended up in a sort of Aliens theme for a few songs courtesy of Journey, Blink 182, and The Misfits.  The back-to-back Iron Maiden and Judas Priest with 'Blood Red Skies' bought us back to earth.

The Doors with 'Riders on the Storm' really went down well, it's such an incredible song, or as one listener put it "for my soul".  SA bands included Mark Haze, Wonderboom, Arapaho, The Color Blew, and near the end, what I consider to be the best metal band in the country, Sunken State with a new track called ' Separation Has Begun'.  Mark my words this band is going to be huge as far as metal bands can be huge in today's world. 

Highlights for me were listening to The Mayfield Four with 'Summergirl' and around 4 min in where Myles Kennedy just takes his vocals to a new level, absolutely incredible.  Whitesnake with 'Still of the Night' sounded amazing and Arch Enemy with Alissa White-Gluz on vocals and Michael Amott on guitar rounded out the highlights with 'You Will Know My Name' off War Eternal.   

Artists featured:  Yngwie Malmsteen, Dangerous Toys, UFO, Slash, Five Finger Death Punch, Steve Earle, Dire Straits, Anthrax, Journey, Blink 182, Ramones, The Misfits, Whitesnake, Skid Row, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Rammstein, Metallica, Shinedown, Mark Haze, Wonderboom, Arapaho, The Doors, LA Rats, Arch Enemy, Megadeth, W.A.S.P., Thin Lizzy, Sinner, The Mayfield Four, The Pretty Reckless, Temple of the Dog, Biters, Van Halen, Sunken State, Venom, The Color Blew 

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock

Episode 20 of Season 4 aired at 7 pm on Rebel  Rock Radio on 20 May 2021.  We kicked it off in grand style with Danko Jones and a track called 'Party'.  Ozzy Osbourne's 'Scary Little Green Men' sounded great and it's amazing how well Uriah Heep's 'Look At Yourself' stands up  50 years later.  One of my favorite parts of the show was Queensrÿche's 'The Thin Line' off Empire which is an absolute masterpiece of an album followed by Coheed & Cambia with a track called 'The Dark Sentencer'.  I did take the opportunity to give you some suggestions about what to do when it comes to Coheed and Cambria, you should do that :-). 

Punk from The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and Anti-Flag, Jimmy Barnes & ACDC from Australia, and Rabbitt, Arno Carstens, L.A. Cobra, and the Fismits from SA.   Ministry took care of the unusual with their cover of Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay'.  The new stuff came from Thunder with a cracker of a track called 'Last one Out, Turn Off The Lights' off their new album called All the Right Noise.  It's really good, Danny Bowes and Luke Morley on top form.  I figure that the track is about Brexit but that's just my opinion.  

The back end of the show went a bit morbid with songs about death courtesy of Avenged Sevenfold, Soundgarden, and The Pretty Reckless with 'Harley Darling' and then it went surprisingly mellow with  Billy idols ' Kings and Queens of the Underground'.  Zakk Wylde's found a Friend was goose bumping to the extreme and we finished off with Lou Reed and a band called The Fismits.  The Fismits is Rebel Rocks Radio's very own Mark Biagio's outfit, he has done the guitar, vocals, and songwriting and this track called 'Questions' is as good as anything anyone has released ever.      

Artists featured:  Danko Jones, Cinderella, Mötley Crüe, Ozzy Osbourne, Uriah Heep, Queensrÿche, Coheed & Cambria, Jimmy Barnes, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Ministry, My Chemical Romance, Foo Fighters, Guns 'n' Roses, ACDC, Thunder, Q5, Rabbitt, Arno Carstens, The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Anti-Flag, Greta Van Fleet, Badlands, Avenged Sevenfold, Soundgarden, The Pretty Reckless, Billy Idol, Great White, L.A. Cobra, Porcupine Tree, Gojira, Pride & Glory, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, The Fismits

The Story of Rock and Roll.  TSORR - Your one-stop shop for Rock