Written By: Moti Kupfer Release date - 07.02.1984 They knew each other well. Both were members of the SDP, the Social Democratic Party. “I found myself sitting next to him on a Concorde flight once, and he had this idea that his industrial plant in Billingham (in the north of England) might actually provide musical inspiration for somebody”, recalled Eric Woolfson, co-founder and member of "The Alan Parsons Project". “He flew me up there, we went in and the first thing that struck me was there was this avenue, but with no trees or people, just pipes where they made ammonia.” The image he saw during that visit stayed with him. Woolfson felt he had reached an insight few people arrive at. “I thought it was inspirational, particularly in relation to our lack of understanding of science and technology and the scientists’ lack of understanding of the world outside of science, particularly the arts.” Inspired by the visit, Woolfson wrote the song " Ammonia Avenue ", which became the title track of the seventh album by "The Alan Parsons Project", released on February 7, 1984. Woolfson and Alan Parsons  first met in 1974 at Abbey Road Studios. Parsons already had an impressive résumé as a recording engineer and assistant producer on albums by "The Beatles", "Wings", and the landmark " The Dark Side Of The Moon " by "Pink Floyd". Woolfson worked as a songwriter and composer. He wrote songs for artists such as Marianne Faithfull, Frank Ifield, Joe Dassin, "The Tremeloes", "Marmalade", Dave Berry, Peter Noone, and "The Poets". At the same time, Woolfson worked as a session pianist while composing material for a concept album based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe. His idea was to manage Alan Parsons and support his already successful production career. This marked the beginning of their long-standing business partnership and friendship. Woolfson managed Parsons’ career as a producer and engineer through a series of successes, including work with "Pilot" with their hit “ January ”, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, John Miles, Al Stewart, "Ambrosia", and "The Hollies". Woolfson then conceived the idea of creating an album based on developments in the film industry. The focus of film promotion had shifted from movie stars to directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. Cinema had become a director’s medium, and Woolfson felt that the music business could adopt a similar model, positioning the producer as the central creative force. He revisited his earlier Edgar Allan Poe material and found a way to combine his talents with those of Parsons. Parsons produced and engineered songs written and composed by the two of them, and the first Alan Parsons Project began to take shape. Parsons valued and appreciated when several people play together and create real interaction, rather than relying on automatic correction and auto-tuning. This mantra was always part of his essence and approach. The same applied to the band itself, led by two musicians and producers who were equal partners in songwriting, supported by a rotating group of regular collaborators including Ian Bairnson, Colin Blunstone, Lenny Zakatek, John Miles, Chris Rainbow, Andrew Powell, and others. "Ammonia Avenue" is an album that embodies the connection Woolfson and Parsons created between the scientific world and the spiritual or belief-driven world. These realms, usually seen as parallel lines, unexpectedly intersect here, forming a musical concept that offers a refreshing perspective. The album opens with " Prime Time ", one of the group’s more optimistic songs, portraying a person who sees better days ahead. The album includes several tracks that respond to the gap between the public and the technology that has made life easier. Yet when looking closely at the lyrics of this song in particular, they seem influenced by a sense of exaggerated euphoria driven by astrological predictions. Much of the album deals with spiritualist ideas, the ego versus the higher self, creation, and the conflict between creator and humanity. It reflects a scientific, material reality that increasingly presents itself as the only reality, the one in which humanity lives and creates on Earth. This is evident in " Dancing on a Highwire" , which carries a spiritual message that “we are all connected to everything and everyone.” It suggests a form of human surrender to progress. In many ways, Alan Parsons anticipated by forty years what we see today through social networks. From there, the individual reaches a stage of acceptance, looking inward and confronting the past and the self. It speaks to duality and the opposing forces that exist within each of us. Magic is a recurring theme in the songs of The Alan Parsons Project, and it appears again in " Don't Answer Me " with the key line: “If you believe in the power of magic, I can change your mind.” The song deals with the fragility of relationships, and how, in a moment of madness, it is possible to leave someone without a good reason and regret it forever. Parsons shaped “Don’t Answer Me”  in the style of Phil Spector and his famous "Wall of Sound" technique. Eric Woolfson, the songwriter and creative partner, handled the lead vocals on the single, while Mel Collins contributed the saxophone solo. "The Alan Parsons Project" famously avoided live performances and public appearances, leaving fans unaware of what the band actually looked like. The animated video solved this problem for the lead single, briefly featuring avatars of Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons during a bar scene. The clip was nominated for an award on MTV in the category of "Most Experimental Video", but lost to "Rockit" by Herbie Hancock. The video was filmed over 23 days, using a team of 40 animators. It combined traditional shadow animation for character design, stop-motion animation for most of the movement, and even clay animation. The final cost reached $50,000. For Listening : Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

A Sneak Peek... And this time. the Grunge godfather falls and raises! (Photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns) On February 7, 1993 Neil Young arrives at Universal Studios Los Angeles, with the "Stray Gators", the backing band that recorded masterpiece album " Harvest " with him. This time they came to accompany him during the performance and recording of an unplugged show, as part of the "MTV Unplugged" series. This was Young's second attempt to record the show, after the first attempt ended when Young left right in the middle of it. The first performance was about three months earlier, in December 1992, at Ed Sullivan Hall in New York. It is not clear what exactly went wrong that night, but things did not flow very well for young, there were glitches, mistakes, songs were stopped in the middle and played again, and to the small audience present at the venue it was very clear that Neil Young was completely unhappy with the results. At one point Neil Young even left the stage and the concert hall and went out wandering the streets of Manhattan, walking behind him where the stunned production crew members. Neil Young finally relented and returned to perform another two songs, before finally ending the show, but given the circumstances he refused to allow the MTV channel to broadcast it. About two months after that failed show, on February 7, 1993, Neil Young tried to do it again. This time at the Universal Studios Los Angeles. This time it worked! And in a big way! The recording made that day was released four months later as the masterpiece album " Unplugged ", released on June 15, 1993, without a doubt one of the greatest unplugged albums ever released. "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

Written By: Moti Kupfer Release date - 07.02.1994 “We thought we made really good records, but we never envisaged hanging out and playing boules at Elton’s house on a Sunday. Some people, when you give them a little bit of fame and fortune they’re great with it. They’ve waited their whole life for it, and they take the baton and run. Hats off to them. But then you’ve got people like us, where it doesn’t sit comfortably, and it certainly didn’t at the time. We didn’t know what to do..” — Andy Cairns At the point when grunge was blooming worldwide and already beginning to fade, rock bands from the British Isles slowly started to nip at its heels. One of them arrived straight from the old port town of Larne in Northern Ireland. No one expected that "Therapy?" (the question mark was born from a design mistake on their debut album), a band raised on metal and punk, would suddenly turn into a group writing fast, direct, and highly communicative songs that would become live anthems and chart staples. But the EP "ShortSharpShock", released in March 1993, produced the explosive anthem " Screamager ", which, to everyone’s surprise, climbed to number 9 on the UK charts. "Therapy?" were formed in 1989 in the town of Larne by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. To complete the lineup, the band brought in bassist Michael McKeegan. In April 1989, they recorded a demo containing four tracks, titled "Thirty Seconds of Silence", with Andy playing bass guitar borrowed from Fyfe’s schoolmate, Michael McKeegan. When they decided to start playing live, they recruited McKeegan permanently and performed their debut show at the Belfast College of Art. Their sound was heavily influenced by bands that emerged from the indie-rock movement, such as The "Jesus Lizard", "Big Black", and "The Membranes". After releasing their first single in a limited pressing of 1,000 copies, they set out on their first UK tour and managed to catch the attention of pioneering musician and broadcaster John Peel. “When we formed the band, we were completely influenced by groups like Big Black, Tar, and Hammerbox,” recalled Cairns. “But after we made the album Nurse, things started to change.” The next album, "Troublegum", released on 07.02.1994, opens with " Screamager ". “We’d been talking about the history of Ulster rock and bands like "The Undertones" and "Stiff Little Fingers", and when I was 12 or 13 those bands were massive in Ireland and I was a big fan,” Cairns explained. “I wrote Screamager , kind of as an Ulster pop tribute song, and I brought it to the lads. They liked it, but we decided that it maybe wasn’t the kind of stuff we should be doing. But our producer Chris Sheldon was due to record some new stuff with us and he really liked Screamager because it had that big riff and the Helmet-style stop-start thing and the chorus was really catchy. That was the start of Troublegum .” Inspired by the EP and the success of its breakout hit, producer Chris Sheldon approached the band with an unusual request: to recycle that success by writing another song in the same vein. "Therapy?" hesitated. They felt they couldn’t keep holding both ends of the rope at the same time. While the riffs and noise of their early records remained a fundamental part of their sound, the band’s new songs were far more direct and melodic, leading to an album unafraid of moments of almost shameless simplicity when facing an audience. Sheldon’s request for another hit reminded frontman Andy Cairns of his pre-Therapy? days, when he played in a different band. “I had a song from an old band I’d been in that became Nowhere and I had Turn as well, so we demoed some of this stuff and it sounded great, and we just decided to make a whole album of it.” "Troublegum" was recorded in several studios across England during 1993. It still carried traces of the antisocial noise and abrasive rock that had always been central to "Therapy?’s" sound, but above all, it was an album dominated by massive anthems. “Like the music, we stripped the lyrics down,” says Andy. “[Acclaimed producer and noise rock legend] Steve Albini always said that lyrics should be punchlines, and that’s what we tried to do: make them short and snappy.” In line with their new philosophy of reducing everything to its simplest form, Therapy? underwent a major lyrical shift. Andy’s natural tendency toward darkness and oddness was quickly overtaken by a new approach, one that ensured every song on the album contained a line or two that anyone could shout along to, whether drunk or sober. "Troublegum" is an album that balances despair, frustration, and a faint belief that tomorrow might be better. It opens with the gnawing desperation of " Hellbelly ", a track that tackles the hypocrisy of Christianity in Northern Ireland, where child abuse, money laundering, and similar crimes could be hidden behind a religious façade. It is followed by " Stop It You're Killing Me ", which hints at the troubled situation in Northern Ireland. On one side stands the British government, attempting to reassure everyone that everything will be fine and that all sides will be satisfied, while doing nothing to stop the violence between terrorist factions on both sides. One of "Therapy?’s" greatest anthems is " Nowhere ", driven by its distinctive dual-siren sound, created using a delay pedal with a built-in sampler purchased by Andy Cairns. The track is heavily influenced here by Bob Mould, best known for his work with "Hüsker Dü" and "Sugar". Andy Cairns based " Die Laughing " on an old Irish story: “A man goes to the doctor suffering from depression after trying every pill and every form of treatment available. The doctor tells him that the only thing left he can offer is to go and see a clown who makes everyone in the town laugh. Only then does it become clear that the clown is the patient himself.” Another band that proved influential on "Therapy?"  was the New York metal outfit "Helmet". "Helmet’s" singer and guitarist Page Hamilton even collaborated with "Therapy?" on the song "Unbeliever" . Other standout moments on the album include "Isolation" , a reworking of the song originally recorded by "Joy Division" , and "Turn" , which was written under the influence of "R.E.M." during their "Murmur" era and carries with it a story that raises a smile. “I was reading a great book called Storming Heaven by this guy Jay Stevens,” Andy Cairns explained, “One of the chapters was called Turn And Face The Strange and I honestly did not realise that was a David Bowie lyric!.” “We were on a festival bill in Belgium with David Bowie a few years after Troublegum came out and he was on two bands after, and about three songs into the set I look over and standing by our monitor was David Bowie! He watched the whole thing and we played Turn, so I started to worry about having to walk past him to get to our dressing room, thinking he's going to say 'you thieving Irish toerag!' but he just went 'great energy!' I was off the hook." The album artwork perfectly captured the sense of mischievous menace bubbling beneath the album’s fast, hook-laden melodies. It was created by and features photographer Nigel Rolfe, who shot an image of a naked man with his head stuck inside a rubbish bin. “Nigel was a performance and design artist,” explains Andy. “He did a series of pictures where he covered himself in white paint and rolled around in sawdust. We’d been talking with him about this Samuel Beckett play, Endgame, which features guys in dustbins at the back of the stage, and then he brought this huge portfolio of stuff a couple of weeks later, featuring this naked man covered in sawdust, and the dustbin shot was the one that we all liked.” For Listening : Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

Editor's Choice... Are there any Prog fans in the audience? So you should stay tuned because today we are going to tell about "Brave" - "Marillion's" seventh album, which was released on February 7, 1994. We assume for most of you the name "Marillion" immediately evokes an unconditional reflex that plays the song "Kayleigh" in the background of your mind. But "Marillion" is so much more than one melodic and catchy song, as successful as it may be. "Marillion" is the band that is almost exclusively responsible for the development of the Neo-Prog genre and thus its historical importance and contribution to the world of music. Neo-Prog is a musical genre developed in the early 1980s in England. It leans on the laps of the classic Progressive Rock of the seventies, just a little less complex and challenging and much more innovative and friendly. "Marillion" is a very prolific and active band and to date has released 18 studio albums (the 19th is just around the corner), four of which came out during the band's classic era with singer Fish , including the excellent concept album " Misplaced Childhood " released in 1985. It is interesting to note that the band's lineup is quite stable and has remained unchanged since the band's first album, with the exception of drummer Mick Pointer who was replaced after the first album with Ian Mosley and singer Fish who was replaced by Steve Hogarth in late 1988. The other members of the band are Steve Rothery on guitar, Pete Trewavas on bass and Mark Kelly on keyboards. So "Brave" is another concept album by "Marillion". This is the band's seventh album and third with new lead singer Steve Hogarth, who also came up with the idea for the plot behind the concept album. Steve heard on the news a story about a girl who was taken into police custody after she was found wandering on the " Severn Bridge " connecting England and Wales. The girl did not know who she was, where she came from and even refused to talk to the police. This story inspired Steve to write a fictional story about that girl and what might have led her to " Severn Bridge " on which she was found. After two relatively commercial albums released by the band with lead singer Steve Hogarth, "Marillion" returns to her Progressive roots, only this time the emphasis is on slower rhythms and a quiet and melancholy atmosphere, which is warranted by the concept story. The album opens with the instrumental track " Bridge " designed to put us in the mood of the story, right where the girl was found. The vinyl version of the album allowed the listener to choose the end of the story from two possible options. Thus, the fourth side of the album is recorded in "Double Groove" technology, with 2 parallel soundtracks, with the needle choosing to play only one of them depending on the point where the needle was placed on the record. In this way, the first and "happy" version of the fourth side included the songs " The Great Escape " followed immediately by " Made Again ", while the second and "sad" version included the song " The Great Escape (Spiral Remake) " followed by 7 minutes Of water sounds ... This album was chosen by "Classic Rock" magazine as one of the 30 best albums of the 90's and one of the 30 greatest concept albums of all time. It's recording method and technique influenced the way the album " Ok Computer " by "Radiohead" was recorded. Curious? great! now be "brave" and listen, it's worth it: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

Today we will tell you about David Bryan the musician, composer and keyboardist of "Bon Jovi". (Photo: Kevin Mazur ) 1. He was born David Bryan Rashbaum on February 7, 1962 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. 2. He grew up in a Jewish family. His father, Eddie Rashbaum, played the trumpet. 3. David attended Clara Burton Elementary School, where he learned to played many instruments, including violin, viola, trumpet and clarinet. 4. He started studying piano at the age of seven and already in his youth he played keyboards for a band called "Transition". 5. David was the first member to join "Bon Jovi". As soon as Jon Bon Jovi found out he got a recording contract, he called Bryan and asked him to join the band. Bryan of course agreed. 6. At the time he received the fateful call, he was a Pre-Med student at Rutgers University, with a perfect average grade of 4.0. 7. He chose his stage name David Bryan because he was constantly tired of spelling his full name. 8. He played keyboards and sang background vocals on all 15 of Bon Jovi's studio albums, including masterpieces " Slippery When Wet ", " New Jersey ", " These Days " and more. 9. In addition, he also played on some of Jon Bon Jovi 's and Richie Sambora's solo albums, including Jon Bon Jovi's "Destination Anywhere", where he also played the accordion and Richie Sambora 's "Stranger in This Town" where he co-wrote the songs and was also responsible for the string arrangement. 10. Byran has been a co-writer of the band's songs since his debut album " Bon Jovi ", in which he co-wrote two songs "Love Lies" and "Breakout". 11. On the album " Slippery When Wet " he plays the trumpet but the credit is given to the pseudonym Lema Moon. 12. Before recording the album " Crush " he had an accident with a chainsaw in a way that prevented him from playing for a certain period of time. 13. In 1992 he participated in the writing and playing in the soundtrack of the horror film "Netherworld". 14. In 1995 he released his first solo album "On a Full Moon". (Photo: This Day in Music Facebook Page) 15. In 2000 he released his second solo album "Lunar Eclipse". The album, which is mostly instrumental, showcased his abilities in playing in a variety of genres such as Jazz, Blues, Classical and of course Rock. 16. In 2018 he was inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall" of Fame as a member of "Bon Jovi". 17. He wrote the music for the successful musical "Memphis" that first debuted on Broadway in 2002. 18. The musical was nominated for 8 Tony Awards, of which he won 4, among them the best musical and the best score for musical. 19. Byran has written music for other musicals such as "The Toxic Avenger" from 2008 and "Diana" about the Princess of Wales. The musical was filmed and released for viewing on "Netflix" in October 2021. 20. He came to Israel twice with "Bon Jovi" and appeared in front of an audience of 100,000 people in total. He even visited the Western Wall tunnels. For his second visit from 2019 he arrived with his children and they toured the country. (Photo: https://thekotel.org) "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

A Sneak Peek... And this time, on the day Beatlemania arrived to the U.S.A !!! (Photo: AP) On February 7, 1964, a "Pan Am" flight landed in at Kennedy Airport in New York which took off from Heathrow Airport in London, - that flight signaled the musical and cultural revolution that the United States would go through. The Beatlemania bacterium began to flood America. This is the first visit of the Fantastic Four to America and it comes at a perfect timing. Six days earlier, the song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" reached number one on the US charts and became the band's first hit on the other side of the ocean. The four members got off the plane in fashionable suits for that period and with a "plate haircut" (or rather a bowl in their case) on their heads, to hysterical applause from about 3,000 fans who were waiting for them and caused a big commotion at the airport. Two days later, the band made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan's show , which was a "tribal bonfire" for viewers in the United States at the time. The number of households that watched the show was inconceivable and was estimated at about 73 million viewers, who at the time were about forty percent of the U.S. population, a hysterical figure in itself. The band made their first live appearance in the United States a few days later, on February 11, 1964. The performance was held at the Colosseum in Washington in front of a particularly screaming crowd of about 20,000 fans. The next day was the first in a series of two performances at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York, and this time the police were forced to close the streets around the hall, again due to hysteria from fans. The Beatles' first tour in America left a deep imprint on American cultural memory and was recorded in the pages of U.S. history. The perfect catalyst for the process that American society has gone through. Follow us on Facebook or Subscribe to our website "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog & Podcast

Kurt Cobain said it's his "favorite album of all time. In his list of the top 50 albums he thought were most influential to Nirvana's sound". Thurston Moore of "Sonic Youth" noted "that record sliced my head off... In a way, it brought me into all those other aspects of music and literature. Johnny Marr of "The Smiths" said: "It gave me a path to follow as a guitar player. It was an opening into a world of rock & roll.." "Guns N' Roses", "Def Leppard" and the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" performed songs from it. Ladies and gentlemen, let's read about one of Rock's most influential albums, let's listen to how history is produced in 30 minutes. "Raw Power" is the third studio album by "The Stooges" (titled "Iggy and the Stooges"), which was released on February 7, 1973. The story of this album begins from the ruins of a band whose bassist Dave Alexander is addicted to alcohol. A band whose lead and charismatic singer struggles with heroin addiction. A band whose record company decided not to renew its contract, after two unsuccessful albums. Under these circumstances, music critics and fans wondered if the band would continue to exist at all. But then, a miraculous thing happens. David Bowie , who saw the band live during a visit to the US in 1971, was very impressed with them and especially of Iggy Pop 's abilities. He took Iggy Pop under his wings, helps him recover and make sure he signs a new recording contract with a company owned by Tony Defries - his manager. In 1972 Iggy moves to England and begins to form the new band that will accompany him. He takes guitarist James Williamson who from 1970 served as a second guitarist in the band's live shows and drummer Scott Asheton, with him. After a long search for a bass player, Iggy decided, on Williamson's advice, to move guitarist Ron Asheton to the bass player position, thus completing the lineup that would record the masterpiece "Raw Power". The people in charge of writing the materials for the album are Iggy Pop and James Williamson, who shared the creation process. The album title - "Raw Power", simply represents in the best way what's happening inside. A display of immature, powerful and rough power, which will lay, among other things, the cornerstones for the establishment of Punk and Grunge genres. The theme song " Raw Power " describes the rock 'n' roll ethos of "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" as "raw power". Iggy referred to this "raw power" as something that can lift a man from the deepest places, but can also ruin and destroy. The simple rock 'n' roll piano riff is played by Iggy, who also opens the song with a burp, yes, yes. A burp accidentally recorded and did not edit out. The powerful opening song " Search and Destroy ", was written following an article Iggy Pop have read in "Time" magazine, about the Vietnam War. And as in war, James Williamson's guitar firing in bundles, Ron Asheton's bass rolls towards us like a hand grenade, Scott Asheton's drums drop napalm bombs upon us from the sky and Iggy Pop 's singing rushes forward in full force. Not for nothing has singer and creator Henry Rollis tattooed the title of the opening song on his arm, not for nothing this song included in the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. The second track " Gimme Danger " is one of two "ballads" that the record company "Columbia" demanded that the band include on the album, one on each side of the vinyl. The lyrics were written by Iggy Pop on one of his walks at the Hyde Park, London. He wrote it about the girl he feared would just ruin him - Johanna. He also wrote the song "Johanna" from the album "Kill City" from 1977 on the same girl. Williamson wrote the music on an acoustic guitar that also rarely stars here alongside the rough electric guitar. (Photo: Mick Rock, Sony Music) The second "ballad" that the record company demanded to be included on the album is " I Need Somebody " and it is located as the second song on the other side of the vinyl. It's a slow, rough blues piece, that features chilling and mesmerizing Iggy's singing. Beyond the two "ballads" mentioned above, this album is a ticking time bomb. " Shake Appeal " initially called "Hard to Beat", is a vicious and cruel rock 'n' roll piece. " Penetration " is a dark and menacing piece with psychedelic touches. " The Shake Appeal " could have been written by the "Rolling Stones" after swallowing a stimulant drug cocktail and " Death Trip " is indeed one long "killer trip" that takes us on a 6 minutes "trip" accompanied by sawing guitars up until the end of the album. Even though David Bowie got the credit for producing the album, the one who actually produced it was Iggy Pop . At the end of the recordings, the record company thought it would be appropriate to transfer the recordings to David Bowie so he can handle them. Eventually David Bowie , who was then in Los Angeles, got 7 of the album's eight songs for production. He had a very hard time getting his job done since the album was primitively recorded on a number of individual channels. The result was disastrous for Iggy and Williamson, who really did not like it. But who cares if the record company is happy? They made sure to mention Bowie's name prominently as the one who co-produced the album with Iggy Pop . Eventually justice was done with the recordings years later, when in 1997 a remix of the album was released and includes the original production of Iggy Pop . It is interesting to note that singer Bruce Dickinson was also credited as an executive producer of the 1997 reissue. For Listening to the album with the Iggy Pop production: Spotify For Listening to the album with the David Bowie production: Spotify "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

"I Think This Is The Beginning Of A Beautiful Friendship"... This famous phrase that ends the film "Casablanca", was not included in the original text, it was improvised and became a classic. This sentence can describe exactly what created the band of Aviv Geffen and Steven Wilson and the debut album which also bears the band's name "Blackfield", released on February 6, 2004. In 2002, Aviv released his tenth album "Memento Mori" 10 years after the release of his debut album "It's Just the Moonlight". Aviv was already huge in Israeli terms with the aura of a rock star, a complex character, a controversial figure, provocative but musical, talented, and powerful. But even Aviv the rockstar is a fan himself. He admired other bands as any music fan and one of them was "Porcupine Tree", Steven's famous band. Aviv admired Steven, he flew to the band's shows and even had a fan meeting with Steven. In the early 2000s Israeli producer, Shuki Weiss brought the band to Israel for three shows, during that time he made the connection between Aviv and Steven, the initial connection was formed very quickly and the two became friends, but the musical collaboration did not happen that quickly. Aviv said that for months he tried to collaborate with Steven but without success, he sent him lyrics, demos, and even finished materials but did not receive any response from Steven until... One day Aviv gets an envelope with a CD from Steven. The CD included music that Aviv created himself and Steven wrote the lyrics for and recorded his vocals. Aviv said that the minute he put the CD in the car audio system he just started crying, he could not believe that Wilson himself, whom he admires so much, wrote and recorded vocals for music that Aviv wrote and composed himself. At that moment he knew something was going to happen between the two. In one of the interviews, Steven said that although he loves Aviv very much and appreciates him as a person and a musician, he would not have come to collaborate with him without the love and inexplicable connection he has to Israel. Steven said he was fascinated by the country, the culture, and the people, and his love pushed him to create with Aviv. And not only that, Steven even moved to Israel and lived here for a while. (Photo: Steven Wilson Productions) At that time Aviv really wanted to break out of Israel's borders, he felt very identified and even belonged to Israeli culture as if he could not break away from it and that is his fate. He was determined to recalculate a route and it was not easy. Aviv had a great fear of being alone and a great fear of flying so he decided he had to take a significant step. Aviv said he had been in psychotherapy for a year and a half to treat himself, not only in terms of fear of flying but also in terms of his personal identity, relationship, and more. All of this was a kind of preparation or rather led to what created "Blackfield". So the two new members started collaborating as they send each other materials and created together in Israel and England. While collaborating, Aviv recorded vocals for the two songs "The Sound of Muzak" and "Prodigal" on "Porcupine Tree's" seventh album "In Absentia", released in 2002. Over time the two created enough material for an EP and planned to release it back in 2001, But the materials accumulated and it was decided to make a full album out of them and release it in 2004. The album was released in Israel and Europe in 2004, and in the United States in 2005. The album reached sales of over one hundred thousand records all over the world. The album consists of eight original songs, and three songs by Aviv Geffen translated into English by Wilson - "Cloudy Now" (based on a song in the same name from Aviv's Israeli album), "Scars" (based on the same song from "Journey Diary") and "Glow" (predicted it's release on the album "With Time"), the songs were re-recorded by the group. Apart from Steven and Aviv the group ensembled Daniel Salomon on keyboards, Seffy Efrati on bass, Gavin Harrison ("Porcupine Tree") on drums, Yirmi Kaplan and Chris Maitland also on drums. Four singles have been released from the album: "Hello", "Pain", "Blackfield" and "Cloudy Now". (Photo: Steven Wilson Productions) In our opinion this is an exemplary album that brings these two artists to play together creativity and talent, a combination of softness and melancholy with roughness and aggression, Aviv brings his emotions and Steven his incredible talent. A dramatic and complex album on one hand but also a simple melody on the other. Wilson said he brought the complexity and depth of the Prog from which he came from and Aviv brought the pops and melodies in lyrics and melody. To date, this is the band's most notable album, the band released five more albums later when the last one was released in 2020. The amazing collaboration between Aviv and Steven erupts right from the opening song "Open Mind" written by Wilson and composed by Aviv. A very dynamic song that starts soft and quiet with a classical guitar and later erupts with a rough riff and returns the circle of quiet-loud. It is followed by the no less amazing theme song "Blackfield". The simple piano melody composed by Wilson just doesn't go out of our heads. A melodic and catchy piece that is just waiting for the acoustic guitar to wrap it with softness that it is impossible not to indulge. Salomon's Hammond and Wilson's howling solos make this song no less than perfect, without a doubt one of the album's highlights. "Glow" is simply pure "glowing" firefly magic in the sky of darkness, until Aviv arrives and in the last third of the song lights up the spotlight in a big light with the rough sound that blends in with Wilson's sawing guitar. No offense to Aviv, but Steven's voice in "Scars" do kindness with the amazing song. Wilson also contributed to the English rendition of the lyrics as well as of the song "Cloudy Now". "Lullaby" does sound like a lullaby led by Daniel Salomon's marvelous piano playing. Salmon is also responsible for the strings arrangements in this song, as well as other songs on the album ("Open Mind", "Summer" and "Hello"). The excerpts from an old movie that are incorporated into the song take us back to similar excerpts from "Pink Floyd's" album "The Wall", and this is not the last time this album will evoke "pink" memories. Anyone who listens to the closing track "Hello" and especially to Wilson's guitar work there, can not help but get flashbacks from "Pink Floyd" and we certainly do not say that is a bad thing. This is a great song that deserves all the superlatives. It is interesting to note, that 8 of the ten songs on the album were composed by Aviv Geffen, among them is "Pain" which Aviv wrote, composed and sang and is without a doubt one of the greatest songs on the album. After the release of the album and in an attempt to increase the audience, the band decided to go on a tour in Europe and the US. The tour in Europe is documented in Moti Kirshenbaum's film "The Dream Bus". The band (drummer Tomer Zedekiah replaced Gavin), their instruments, and technical staff on a tour (no matter where), this is the pinnacle of rock 'n' roll, sorry, that's the meaning of rock 'n' roll !!! Aviv was so excited about this dream come true that when he entered the bus he just sat and cried for an hour in the coffee corner of the bus. BTW, Shuki Weiss accompanied the band throughout the tour. "Blackfield's" debut album is without a doubt one of the most beautiful and special albums released In Israel. "Blackfield" is indeed the product of a dream come true for Aviv Geffen, but somewhere it is a dream come true for all Israeli music industry!!! Listen to the album on: Spotify, Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

A Sneak Peek... And this time, on the mini-reunion of the three remaining "Beatles" members, to record a song in memory of their friend John Lennon. On February 6, 1981, a kind of mini-reunion including Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr was held during the recording of the song "All Those Years Ago", written by George Harrison in memory of John Lennon, who was murdered three months earlier, on 8 December 1980. The song appeared on Harrison's ninth solo album "Somewhere in England", which was released a few months later, on June 1, 1981. Harrison originally wrote the song for Ringo Starr before Lennon's death, but Ringo felt that the song did not suit him vocally and also did not like some of the lyricsת so he returned the song to Harrison. After Lennon was murdered Harrison decided to change the lyrics to the music he wrote, to make it a tribute song for his friend. In the new lyrics, George Harrison mentions how much he admired John Lennon and the sadness he felt over his death and thus in the lyrics: "I always looked up to you Now we're left cold and sad ...". The lyrics also refer to the Beatles' song "All You Need Is Love" and John Lennon's song "Imagine". The recordings included all the remaining Beatles members, Linda McCartney and Danny Lane (members of "Wings") as well as Al Cooper on keyboards and Ray Cooper on percussion. This is one of the few songs that is not a "Beatles" song, but still features three members of the band. Harrison and Ringo originally recorded the song in November 1980 for Ringo's album. After Lennon's death and Ringo's relinquishment of the song, Harrison removed Ringo's vocal channel, left his drums channel and recorded his singing with lyrics he rewrote in Lennon's memory. McCartney, his wife Linda and their bandmate Danny Lane arrived to the studio on February 6, 1981 to record their vocals for the song. In the album's booklet, Harrison also thanks George Martin - the Beatles' producer and Geoff Emerick, one of the Beatles' sound engineers, who were apparently part of the project. This is the first collaboration of the three members since the song "I Me Mine" which was included on the album "Let it Be" in 1970, and it will take another 13 years before the three will collaborate again on the recordings of the songs "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love", included in the Beatles Anthology project. To listen to the song: Spotify "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook / Instagram or Subscribe to our website

There are always a lot of hustles and scandals around him because he can not do without them... There is no doubt that he is a hopeless Diva... But he is a huge performer and one of the best singers with the widest vocal range... So let's get to know Axl Rose a little better: (Photo: KMazur) = His first name was William Bruce Rose Jr. and he was born on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana. = His birth was unexpected, he was born when his mother was only 16 and his father 20, his parents separated when he was only two years old. = His mother remarried and changed his name to William Bruce Bailey, only at the age of 17 did he discover that his stepfather was not his biological father. His biological father was murdered in 1984. = He and his two brothers were physically and verbally abused by their stepfather when they were kids. = The education they received was devout Christianity and anything other than Christianity like television, radio, and music was considered in the family as satanic. = He and his two brothers sang in the choir and at events, they were called the "Bailey Trio", then Axl discovered his love for music and singing in particular. = The first band he formed was with his friend Jeff Isbell and Izzy Stradlin . = While he was 17, he discovered his real father and he changed his name to W.Rose, this is when the troubles started too. = Axl took out all the rage, and anger, that has accumulated all these years to the streets of Lafayette. He used to walk around drunk and destroy everything in his path. He was arrested several times and even spent 3 months in jail. (Photo: Indiana Police Dept.) = After he was released from prison, the police threatened to declare him a criminal and as a result, he decided to leave for the city of Angels - L.A. = Axl landed in L.A. in May and joined a band called "Rapidfire" with whom he recorded a demo of five songs that came out as an EP called "Ready to Rumble" only in 2014 in light of legal disputes (which have been Axl share all his life). = That same year he left the band and co-founded with Izzy (who also moved to L.A) and Chris Weber the band AXL, they wrote materials and appeared in a number of small clubs as they replaced a number of other musicians in the band and their name eventually became "Hollywood Rose". (Photo: Discogs) = Axl who fell in love with the band, the music, and the name AXL decided to change his name to W. Axl Rose. = In January 1984 they recorded a demo of 5 songs that was only released in 2004 under the name "The Roots of Guns N 'Roses" and featured songs that were later released on Guns albums. = At one of the shows, Axl got hit in the head by Chris (the guitar player) so he decided to fire him from the band. He replaced him with Slash and the drummer was replaced with Steven Adler , but following Chris' dismissal, Izzy decided he was also leaving (a real telenovela). = The band continued for a number of shows with the new lineup but very quickly disbanded and Axl joined a band called "L.A. Guns". (Photo: Last.fm) = They also appeared several times until they disbanded but then a miraculous thing happened... = On March 18, 1985, by the advice of their manager, Axl, and guitarist Tracii Guns, who was with him in "L.A. Guns", decided to form a band called "Guns N 'Roses". = They added Izzy, drummer Rob Gardner and bassist Ole Beich (both from L.A. Guns), the band lasted only three months until Slash replaced Tracy, Steven Adler replaced Rob and Duff McKagan replaced Oli. The "Guns N' Roses" first classical lineup was formed. (Photo: Ross Marino) = Two years later, in July 1987, the band released their debut album "Appetite for Destruction" which became the best-selling debut album of all time in the United States. = During the band's performance in London in 1988, Axl saw that a number of people in the audience were crushed and began giving instructions to the security personnel which did not help when he finally stopped the show until the audience calmed down. = During his career Axl continued his involvement with the audience and with what happens in front of the stage. The most famous case was at the band's show in St. Louis in July 1991, in which Axl identified a fan in the audience who filmed the show with a video camera. He made a head-first jump as he dived into the crowd and broke the camera. After he got out of there he decided to stop the show which led to violent outbursts of vandalism on the part of the audience. = In November 1988, the band released the album "G N 'R Lies" , which also reached the top of the charts and took 2nd place. = After the release of the album there was a big storm around the lyrics of the song "One in a Million" where Axl treats blatantly and uses words like niggers and fagots. To this day he has not really apologized or given a convincing explanation for the lyrics. = At the forefront of one of the most successful bands of the time, Axl was given the status of a superstar and a real celebrity (already then began to develop the diva in him), he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in August 1989. = In the early 1990s Guns began to work on their next album in a rather jarring tone. Axl decided to fire Steven Adler because he could not function due to his drug use and replaced him with drummer Matt Sorum . In addition he decided to add keyboardist Dizzy Reed despite the opposition of the rest of the band. = Three years later Steven Adler sued Axl for illegal dismissals, he won the lawsuit and received from Axl $2.5 million in damages and royalties at the rate of 15%. = Axl continues to execute his desires and decides to fire the band manager Alan Niven also to the opposition of the rest of the band. Axl did not agree to continue recording the album if Allen was not fired and he was replaced by Doug Goldstein who was apparently a close friend of Axl. = In September 1991, the band released the double album "Use Your Illusion I & II" which reached number one and number two on the Billboard charts together, an achievement that no band has achieved. (Photo: Robert John) = With the release of the double album, Axl's relationship with the rest of the band continued to deteriorate... = He developed the habit of going up late on stage forcing the rest of the band and audience to wait for him, often more than an hour until he got on. = During the tour to promote the albums, he began to add additional musicians and backing singers to the shows without the knowledge and agreement of the other members of the band. = The lifestyle he created around the band did not suit the other members and the first to leave was his childhood friend Izzy who was replaced by Gilby Clarke (who was later fired without the knowledge of the other band members). = Another famous case occurred during Guns' tour with "Metallica" in 1992 when during "Metallica's" show James Hetfield was badly burned and they had to stop performing. Since Axl was not in the area because he was chronically late, the crowd waited more than an hour. The angry crowd began vandalizing the property, causing $ 400,000 in damages. Axl was charged with causing the outbursts and received a $50,000 fine. = In May 1993 the band made its first show in Israel - Guns N' Roses - Hayarkon Park . Two months later, on July 1993, Axl appeared for the last time with "Guns'" "second" classic line-up. = In November 1993, the band released the cover album " The Spaghetti Incident? " = As he continues to try to dictatorially control everything related to the band, Slash decides to leave the band in October 1996. (Photo: Peter Still) = Matt was fired in June 1997 as he objected to Gilby being replaced by Axl's childhood friend. = Duff left the band in August of that year to concentrate on his family and himself. = Axl took all the rights to Guns and after almost all the band members left, he stayed with Dizzy and his childhood friend Paul "Huge" Tobias. He appeared at all sorts of festivals here and there, while the band members continued to change almost regularly and he maintained a very low profile. = In 2004 Axl's character was included in the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas". = During 2006 and 2007 Axl with the new "Guns", continues a hectic tour but fails to fill out stadiums as before (he even performed with this band in Israel) while at the same time, there were rumors of a new album. = In November 2008, 15 years after the last album, Axl issued with his new line-up "Guns's" sixth album "Chinese Democracy". = Axl did not initiate any marketing activities to promote the album and even disappeared from the media during the first months of the album's release. = In 2012 Guns was inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame", Axl who refused to attend the ceremony sent a letter to the production announcing that he would not attend as he did not feel valued or wanted by the Hall of Fame institution. = ​​In April 2016, a wonderful thing happened and... Slash, Duff, Dizzy, and Axl reunited and went on the most anticipated tour in the world "Not in This Lifetime..." tour that continues to this day and of course visited Israel. = That same year, Axl replaced "AC/DC" singer Brian Johnson with a number of appearances due to Brian's hearing problems and the danger of deafness. = In 2017 he performed for the 3rd time in Israel with "Guns", you can read about it here: " Guns N' Roses - Hayarkon Park - 15/07/2017 " = In 2018, Axl participated in an episode of the cartoon series Looney Tunes with a song he wrote called "Rock the Rock". = In August 2021, another wonderful thing happened, the band released the first single of their current line-up "Absurd", followed by the singles "Hard Skool", "Perhaps" and "The General" (2023). These singles might signal that the band is planning to release an new album in the future or maybe it's just a test that checks how they feel together again in the studio. = He had an interesting collaboration with Don Henley from the "Eagles". He sang background vocals in the song "I Will Not Go Quietly" taken from Henley's excellent album "The End of the Innocence" from 1989. Henley returned a favor to Axl and Guns after performing with them in the song "Patience" at the 1989 Music Awards. = He was also featured on two songs from Sebastian Bach 's third solo album from 2007 called "Angel Down". = He performed the song "Under My Wheels" with Alice Cooper , Slash and Izzy Stradlin in the soundtrack of the documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years". = He is one of the singers who have the greatest vocal range. It reaches over five octaves and extends from F1 to Bb6. By the way, singer Mike Patton is in first place with a range of six and a half octaves. Feel free to listen to the live performance album which is the peak of Axl and Guns shows "Live Era 87'-93" Spotify , Apple Music "Hayarkon Park 1993... a promo ticket from a certain bank, I think Bank Discount ?! Waiting for hours upon hours with two good friends... gates opening and... running like crazy to the front row! Many bad comments were about that show, and rightly so. ...but! One guitar pick thrown by Slash , made my heart very happy, and all the way back to Haifa, hitchhiking with my skateboard! Years passed, and I discovered that it was actually a guitar pick that was printed to Axl.... ah! ". Glory Days! Those were Da Best days of my Life!" "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

On February 5, 2021, Todd La Torre, the amazing frontman of "Queensrÿche" released his first solo album "Rejoice in the Suffering". The album is not a musical sequel to "Queensrÿche" at all. it has its own entity with a separate identity and musical style. This can be heard already from the opening track " Dogmata ", which at times feels like a classic heavy metal in the style of "Judas priest". Todd wrote all the tracks on the album together with his childhood friend Craig Blackwell, with whom he formed his first band. The two who grew up in Florida, play on all the instruments on the album. They began writing the excerpts for the album back in 2017, but took advantage of the break "Queensrÿche" took in the face of the Covid-19 lockdowns to end it, while recording it in both of their private studios in Florida. The two also recorded and produced the album themselves, but enlisted the help of renowned producer Zeuss who, among others produced "Queensrÿche", to help them with final mixes and mastering. For those who do not know Todd, we will note that he joined "Queensrÿche" in 2012, as a replacement for singer for Geoff Tate . Since then he appeared in all of their last three albums. Todd started his career as a drummer when he was 7. He shows off his amazing drumming abilities throughout the album, for his variety of styles, from classic Metal, through Speed, Power, Metalcore, Thrash and even Death touches (in one of the bonus tracks). Todd is also not bad of a guitar player and his voice is so versatile that it sounds like several singers in one voice. He knows how to adapt himself to the specific song and change it just like a chameleon with full control in an amazing way. Sometimes he sounds like Rob Halford (" Pretenders "), sometimes like Tony Martin (" Crossroads to Insanity "), of course he also sounds like Geoff Tate he replaced in "Queensrÿche" and even sometimes like Chris Cornell . Craig Blackwell's guitar work in this album is excellent and even surprising in relation to a fairly anonymous guitarist. He deserves a lot of credit for the dynamic, tight and varied playing that pushes this album forward, with powerful and catchy riffs like in " Hellbound and Down " or " Vanguards of the Dawn Wall " and melodic, fast and accurate solos, with some deviations from the classic metal, like the bluesy part at the outro of " Crossroads To Insanity " or the acoustic intro in " Vexed ". It's amazing to think that Craig is also responsible for playing all the bass and keyboards roles on the album, it's not a trivial matter and a proof of Craig's amazing talent. The name of the album and the theme song " Rejoice in the Suffering " refer to the story of Todd's father's suicide in 2016. The song includes a guest appearance by Jordan Ziff who is familiar to us from "Ratt". The tragedy of Todd's father suicide, hovers over all of the creation process, as reflected also in the the moving ending song “ Apology ” dedicated to him. The album was also released in an expanded version that includes three bonus tracks, that do not fall short of the rest of the album's songs. The most surprising of which is perhaps " One by One " which corresponds with Death Metal. In conclusion, for us this is probably the surprising album of 2021. Although in the three "Queensrÿche" albums in which he participated, Todd La Torre proved to be a talented and excellent singer, we still did not expect such a high level of writing and performing ability, as demonstrates in this album. What amazes us even more, is the diversity and versatile, both in terms of musical styles and especially in Todd's tone of voice, which is able to change it just like a chameleon, as he moves between different styles from classic Heavy Metal, through Metalcore and even Death, in clean singing, growling, ultrasonic screams And heavy roars. Song list: 01. Dogmata 02. Pretenders 03. Hellbound and Down 04. Darkened Majesty 05. Crossroads to Insanity 06. Critical Cynic 07. Rejoice in the Suffering 08. Vexed 09. Vanguards of the Dawn Wall 10. Apology Bonus Tracks : 11. Fractured 12. Set It Off 13. One by One For Listening: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website

He's not just a bassist, he's a multi-instrumentalist, he's blond and very tall and Guns are just part of his career. So let's learn a little about Duff McKagan... (Photo: Kevin Winter) = His full name is Michael Andrew McKagan and he was born in Seattle, USA on February 5, 1964. = He got the nickname "Duff" when he was a baby as part of his Irish childhood. = He is the youngest of 8 siblings and the son of divorced parents. = Although he was an excellent student and even received an honorary degree he left school in the 10th grade and started working as a confectioner, but don't worry he completed his matriculation at a later stage. = His brother Bruce is the one who taught him to play the bass guitar and he was mainly influenced by punk players like Barry Adamson and Paul Simonon. = At the age of 15, he formed his first band "The Vains", while at the same time, he also played in "The Living" band, which received exposure by being an opening act for the bands "Hüsker Dü" and "D.O.A." = In 1980 he joined as the drummer in the punk-pop band "Fastbacks". The band was active until 2001 and changed more than 15 drummers. = Two years later, in 1982, he moved to become the drummer for the band "The Fartz" which was one of the most prominent bands in the hard rock genre in Seattle and became famous due to the fast and heavy style of music. Duff recorded a number of demos with them, some of which were included in one of their albums. = Still in the same year, two members of the band, Duff and Paul Solger decided to form another band called "Ten Minutes Warning". Duff took the role of guitarist and they added two other members, one of whom is the future drummer of the band "Mother Love Bone" and he is Greg Gilmore. (Photo: Media Punch) = Some say this hardcore punk band paved the way for the Seattle Grunge scene to break out. = In 1984 the band broke up and Duff and Gregg moved to Los Angeles to seek his musical future. = Duff found a job as a waiter in a steakhouse and Greg, who couldn't get out of the shock of crazy Los Angeles, decided he was is going back home to Seattle (and it's a good thing because that's when "Mother Love Bone" was created). = While still searching for his musical future, he decided to answer a newspaper ad for a band looking for a bassist. = At the meeting, drummer Steven Adler and guitarist Slash were waiting for him and no...it's not what you think... = The three decided they would form a band called "The Road Crew" and they started playing together and at the same time looking for a singer for the band, but since they couldn't find any singer and nothing connected the three decided they are breaking up the package. = At the same time in another place in Los Angeles there was a band called "Hollywood Rose" in which the singer Axl Rose and the guitarist Izzy Stradlin were members and in addition, there was a band called "L.A. Guns" whose members were guitarist Tracii Guns, drummer Rob Gardner and bassist Ole Beich. Somehow it happened that these two bands broke up and together formed a band called "Guns N' Roses". = In March 1985 Duff replaced Ole the bassist and in June Steven Adler and Slash replaced Guns and Gardner, thus Duff started his way in the biggest band of his career. (Photo: Paul Natkin) = Two years later, in July 1987, the band released their debut album "Appetite for Destruction" which became the best-selling debut album of all time in the US. = Less than a year later, the band released the album "G N' R Lies" , which also reached the top of the charts and took 2nd place. = In September 1991, the band released the two albums "Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II" which together reached number one and number two on the Billboard charts, an achievement that no other band had achieved. = In November 1992 the band released a covers album " The Spaghetti Incident ? " in which Duff sang four songs. = In September 1993 Duff released his first solo album "Believe in Me" playing all the instruments and also singing. He also hosts on the album many friends such as: Slash, Matt Sorum , Dizzy Reed, Gilby Clarke, Sebastian Bach , Rob Affuso, Dave Sabo , Lenny Kravitz , and Jeff Beck . = In 1994, he became ill from drinking a lot of alcohol and his body has difficulty functioning radically as a result. = Two years later Duff formed a supergroup called" Neurotic Outsiders" along with Steve Jones of the "Sex Pistols", Matt Sorum , and John Taylor of "Duran Duran". They released one self-titled album and went on a short tour after which they released a five-song EP called "Angelina". = In 1995 Duff participates in the recording of Slash's debut solo album "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere". = In August 1997, Duff officially left "Guns" and returned to Seattle saying that the main reason for leaving was his desire to be a father and invest in parenthood and himself as a musician. = When the Grunge scene was in its decline Duff decided to reorganize his former band "Ten Minutes Warning" and they released an album under the band's name in 1998 under the Sub Pop record label. = In the same year, Duff participates in the recordings of his friend Izzy Stradlin 's second solo album called "117°" and his third solo album "Ride On" and later also in the following albums of Izzy . (Photo: Kevin Winter) = In 1999, Duff's second solo album "Beautiful Disease" was supposed to be released, but following the breakup of the Geffen record company, it did not materialize and Duff founded the band "Loaded" in order to tour the album (if it is not released, then at least perform with it). = Although the band broke up soon after, they reassembled in 2000 and released their debut album, "Dark Days Cab", in 2001. = In 2002, together with his friend Dave Kushner from the band "Loaded", Duff founded the supergroup "Velvet Revolver" with his friends from "Guns", with none other than Scott Weiland as the singer. (Photo: M&M Group) = This crazy supergroup releases its debut album " Contraband " in 2004 and it climbs straight to the top of the charts and with it, they also win a Grammy. = In 2006, Duff joins as a backing guitarist for several performances of "Alice In Chains". = The band's second album "Libertad" comes out in 2007 and brings much less success than the first album and the members to go on hiatus in 2008 due to the reunion of Scott's band, "Stone Temple Pilots". = In the same year Duff reunites his band "Loaded" and they release an EP that year called "Wasted Heart" a year later they release their second album "Sick". = In 2010, Duff received an offer he couldn't refuse, to be the bassist for "Jane's Addiction". He wrote several songs with the band and even performed 4 shows with it, but 6 months later the band broke up. = In October 2010, 17 years after he left Guns, Duff performed with what was then "Guns N' Roses" for four songs during a show in London. = Returning to "Loaded", Duff records with the band their third album "The Taking" which is released in 2011 when in the same year they appear twice as an opening act for "Guns". = In April 2012, Duff entered together with Guns into an institution that in 2021 received a lot of slander, which is the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". = That same year he went on tour with a supergroup called "Rock N Roll All Stars" which later became "Kings Of Chaos". = In 2014, Duff replaces "Guns's" bassist for five full shows, which seems to be the beginnings of a big band reunion. = At the Coachella festival in 2016, Slash also joins "Guns", and from there the famous union of Duff, Axl, and Slash to Guns was created and they go on the amazing tour named "Not in This Lifetime..." = In May 2019 Duff releases his third solo album "Tenderness" which is inspired by Duff's experiences from the "Guns" tour. = In August 2021, another wonderful thing happened, the band released the first single of their current line-up "Absurd" , followed by the singles "Hard Skool", "Perhaps" and "The General" (2023). These singles might signal that the band is planning to release an new album in the future or maybe it's just a test that checks how they feel together again in the studio. = In 2023 Duff released his 4th studio album "Lighthouse". = In addition to his musical talent, Duff also writes. He writes a column for SeattleWeekly.com, a weekly column called "Duffonomics" for Playboy, and a column for the sports website ESPN.com. = Duff's autobiography "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" was released in October 2011 and four years later he released a book called "How to Be a Man: (and other illusions)" which was accompanied by a three-song EP. = He is married for the third time to Susan Holmes and they have two daughters. = Duff was among the last to see Kurt Cobain . He was with him on the same plane on the way to Seattle, saw that his mental state was not good, and invited him to his house. Kurt refused. Two days later he committed suicide. = He is left-handed and learned to play the left-handed bass guitar from his brother who was also left-handed. When his brother left with the guitar and he couldn't find a left-handed guitar, he taught himself to play right-handed guitar. = Duff trains in kickboxing and even competes in it professionally. = He once "wrangled" Chris Holmes from W.A.S.P. And broke two of his ribs because he went down on Slash. = He is color blind. = His favorite movie is "A Clockwork Orange". = He was a member of the supergroup "Hollywood Vampires" which also includes actor Johnny Depp, guitarist Joe Perry , Alice Cooper , and Matt Sorum . (Photo: Cereal Kyler) = He claims that the imaginary beer that Homer Simpson drinks "Duff" is named after him. = He participated and co-wrote several songs on Iggy Pop 's "Brick by Brick" album. = In 2012, he founded the group "Walking Papers", a kind of supergroup that included, among others, members of "Screaming Trees" and "The Missionary Position". In the band's first album released in 2013, Mike McCready from "Pearl Jam" collaborated with them. = He is an ardent fan of Prince and was heavily influenced by his "1999" album which he also wrote in the booklet included with his deluxe edition about how it influenced him. Even his bass guitar features Prince's iconic logo. = He is part of Ozzy Osbourne 's backing band on the 2020 album " Ordinary Man " and the 2022 album " Patient Number 9 ". Listen to his solo album "Tenderness" on: Spotify , Apple Music "Face/Off" - Israel's Rock Blog Follow us on Facebook  / Instagram  or Subscribe to our website