Monday, July 30, 2007

Canadian Idol - Top 8

Acoustic Night! I'm on vacation, so sorry, it'll only be Greg this week!

Greg Neufeld - I'm Ready



I absolutely adore when Greg sings that kind of songs. His voice is so velvety, it makes me melt. His softer voice is just plain gorgeous, and his higher, more powerful register just grabs you and gives me chills. Awesome, Awesome, AWESOME!!!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Lukas Rossi - Red guitar

I have always liked guitars. Not only do I love the sound they make when expert hand caress them, but I've always loved the way they look. Wood, shiny, they smell good.... I don't know, there's just something about a guitar that really gets me.

But I've never seen a more beautiful and sexy guitar than Lukas Rossi's red guitar. I am in love with that guitar. It's beautiful, sexy, and Lukas looks and sounds great when he plays it.

Here are some pictures taken in Tallahassee, Florida on the 22nd of July 2007, during one stop of Lukas' Lust&Love tour.

Lust & Love.... Yep, that's appropriate for the way I feel about this guitar!

Photos by mandagale from rockbandlounge.com

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American Idol Tour, Sacramento, California, July 25 2007

Interviews/Articles:



Short article about the show:

'Idol' finalists rock out at Arco
http://www.sacbee.com/122/story/292664.html

Exert:

All the finalists played to their vocal specialties, especially Blake Lewis, whose beat-boxing brought the crowd to its feet.



Q& with Phil Stacey
http://www.tvguide.com/news/american-idol-phil/070726-01

Exert:

TV Guide: Have any of the other guys written for you?
Phil: Yeah! Chris Richardson and I have been writing a lot. He's just a phenomenal writer. He may end up with tracks on Jordin's record and Blake's record. Who knows, you know? Chris Sligh has written me some songs....




Pictures





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Videos:



Blake Lewis - Time of the Season (From: lisaboo3)


Blake Lewis - Beatboxing Part 1 (From: lisaboo3)


Blake Lewis - Beatboxing Part 2 & You Give Love a Bad Name (From: lisaboo3)


Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name Part 1 (From: lisaboo3)


Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name Part 2 (From: lisaboo3)


Idol Band - Hey Jude (From: lisaboo3)


Idol Band - Hey Jude Part 2 (From: lisaboo3)


Chris Richardson & Blake Lewis - Sunshine/Virtual Insanity (From: lisaboo3)


Chris Richardson & Blake Lewis - Geek in the Pink (From: lisaboo3)


Chris Richardson & Blake Lewis - Geek in the Pink (End) (From: lisaboo3)

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

American Idol Tour, San Jose, California, July 24 2007

Interviews




From the small screen to SJ: American Idols Live!
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6459055

Exert:

The next segment was one of the show's highlights, as Doolittle and LaKisha appeared in long white gowns and sang a medley of the Supremes' "Stop! In the Name of Love" and "Baby Love." The Motown mojo continued once Richardson joined the fray for a solid take on the old Marvin Gaye hit "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

Lewis, as expected, showed off the one main thing that separates him from the crowd -- his beat-boxing skills. The first dose was impressive.



No 'ponyhawk,' but Sanjaya does mean moonwalk in 'Idol' tour stop
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/26/IDOL.TMP

Exert:

Second-place finisher Blake Lewis seemed to be the only one working without some kind of guide vocal, occasionally straining for a note and at one point experimenting with a looping device. Consequently, his performances were among the best, with a natural connection with the screaming masses -- and enough beat-boxing to fill a "Fat Boys" album and two "Police Academy" sequels.



Videos:



Blake Lewis - Beat boxing Intro (From: peanutbutter516)
Very poor image quality, but great sound and fantastic beat boxing performance by Blake. He even throws in a line from Rehab by Amy Winehouse!


Tour Montage (From: chococarebear)
- Chris Richardson / Jordin Sparks - "What Hurts the Most"
- Blake Lewis - Beatboxing
- Gina Glocksen - "Who Knew"
- Chris Richardson / Blake Lewis - "Geek in the Pink" intro


Blake Lewis _ Beatboxing
(From: Gladiatorgirl2)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Disheveled Media - Will the real Blake Lewis Please Stand Up

Totally awesome article/interview on Blake Lewis, American Idol 2007 Top 2 finalist. It gives insight on the Idol experience for Lewis, what his upcoming album will sound like, and what might well be the first single.... All of this complete with pictures and videos. Awesome!

Fing it here:

http://www.disheveledmag.com/blakelewis.html

Exert:

It’s amazing what can happen with some good exposure.

After being persuaded to try out for American Idol last September, Blake Lewis's journey has lifted him from Seattle musician to a nationally recognized personality. American Idol allowed Lewis to cover songs his own way, and in turn he changed the show, represented Seattle all he could, and exposed its music scene to the world, and more importantly, to Seattle.

“I was just riding the wave, it was my time to communicate me, I guess that’s how I view it,” Lewis said while on the back deck at Seattle’s Tost. “I was just having fun, Are you kidding me? People were like, ‘Are you stressed?’ and I was like 'Dude I get to perform one song a week, one song.' Not even A song, I didn’t even get to do a full song. I'm an improv musician, I can go for 10 minutes. I'm a diva with the mic, let me go.”


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American Idol Tour, Los Angeles, California, July 23 2007

Videos:



Blake Lewis - Beatboxing Intro (From: egyptiancotton)


Blake Lewis - Time of the Season (From: DisneyPrincess80)


Blake Lewis - She Will Be Loved (From: DisneyPrincess80)


Idol Band - Crazy/Hey Jude (From: chozenbyhim1788)



Pictures:



All from heatherlovesca

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Canadian Idol - Top 9

Tonight was a great night! The theme was songs of the 60's. I do have my favorites, and some singers just don't do anything for me - but all in all, it was the best night of the season so far. Really good! Everyone brought it tonight, and with one or two exceptions, I feel like all the idols produced their best performance to date.

I found it interesting that when Ben introduces all the idols, Greg and Dwight got the more cheers....

The COMPLETE show can be found here:

http://www.dailymotion.com/igrecman/1

JayDee Bixby - Runaway
Elvis is so alive. It's true! I saw him perform on TV tonight! But he was blond... What's up with that? *LOL* The top of the song was a bit rough, but when he does kick it into gear, it sounds great. I found his physical performance lacked a bit, but still, I love hearing him singing and watching him perform. I too wished he would hve joined the background vocalists on the "aie aie aie aie aie". :)

Tara Oram - Suspicious Minds
It was a good performance. She sung the song really well. I didn't like the bridge tho. I kinda like the country arrangement of the song. Not my favorite of hers, but it was really good.

Matt Rapley - Whipping Post
First - Bo Bice owned that song, and no one will ever come close to what he's accomplished when he sang that song. Now that out of the way, I thought Matt showed a very different side of him tonight, and it was really good. His gospel roots were showing, and it was great to see that from him. I thought that his physical performance was lacking, but still, it was the bset he's done so far.

Dwight D'Eon - Undone
Ouch. I felt this was his worst performance so far. The end was great - and I found myself wishing he'd reach like that more often.

Carly Rae Japsen - Gorgia on my mind
This was GREAT! I love Carly Rae doing songs like that. I really enjoyed the arrangement, it really suited her. Good job. My favorite of hers so far.

Brian Melo - Bold as Love
WooHoo!!! This was so GREAT! I love Brian, damn he's good. Again, I think this was his best so far. Very solid!

Khalila Glenville - Natural Woman
Again, I think this was her best so far. Still, there's something missing for me when Khalila sings. She sings well, she's beautiful, but there's something that is just not there.

Greg Neufeld - Long Black Veil

Greg
Uploaded by JeanneDupuis

OMG. I'm dying. This was soooooooooo freaking smooth....... So freaking beautiful..... I'll never say it enough, I love his tone, the tiny little bit of grit he's got in there, the beautiful strong voice when he reaches, the gorgeous, soothing voice he's got when he sings in his lower register.... Love, love, love everything about this performance.

Martha Joy - Love Child
Hum.... Just no.

Top 2: Greg and Brian
My Bottom 3: Martha, Khalila, Dwight
Real Bottom 3: Khalila, Tara, Dwight

Going home: Khalila


**********EDITED**********


So B3 was Khalila, Martha and Brian. WTF? Brian? He so didn't deserve to be in there! Khalila went home - it's too bad - she's a good singer, but I don't think she was quite ready yet to go the long distance.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Exclusive Q&A @ RBL - Johnny Colt!

Johnny Colt, aka C45, bassist for The Black Crowes, Train, RockStar Supernova has agreed to do a Q&A exclusively for RockBandLounge.com!

Here's your chance to ask Johnny questions about his career! come by his Forum at Rockbandlounge.com, and post a question or two or three for him!

http://www.rockbandlounge.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=5688

HAve fun!

Bouffe and 3redhead

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American Idol Tour, Anaheim, California, July 22 2007

Interviews:



Idols impress in Anaheim show
http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/jordin-song-blake-1783196-idols-crowd

The stars, Jordin and the Cake boys, gave the fans what they wanted.

Chris Richardson proved to be the workhorse, appearing in nine of the first 25 numbers. What Chris lacks in outright star power, he makes up for in versatility. He gave us pop ("This Love"), soul ("Ain't No Sunshine"), country (a duet with Jordin on "What Hurts the Most"), played acoustic guitar twice and manned the drums for "Crazy" and "Hey, Jude."

Runner-up Blake Lewis got a three-song mini-set at the end of the first act. The opening "Time of the Season" fell flat and the closing "You Give Love a Bad Name" was fine.

But it was the middle song, Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" that provided the evening's most interesting moments. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a foot-controlled playback unit, Blake built the song layer by layer into a dense fugue, topping it off by injecting a phrase from U2's "With or Without You."

If he can write songs as well as he can rethink them, Blake will be the one member of this year's Idol crowd we'll recognize 10 years from now.The stars, Jordin and the Cake boys, gave the fans what they wanted.

Chris Richardson proved to be the workhorse, appearing in nine of the first 25 numbers. What Chris lacks in outright star power, he makes up for in versatility. He gave us pop ("This Love"), soul ("Ain't No Sunshine"), country (a duet with Jordin on "What Hurts the Most"), played acoustic guitar twice and manned the drums for "Crazy" and "Hey, Jude."

Runner-up Blake Lewis got a three-song mini-set at the end of the first act. The opening "Time of the Season" fell flat and the closing "You Give Love a Bad Name" was fine.

But it was the middle song, Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" that provided the evening's most interesting moments. Armed with an acoustic guitar and a foot-controlled playback unit, Blake built the song layer by layer into a dense fugue, topping it off by injecting a phrase from U2's "With or Without You."

If he can write songs as well as he can rethink them, Blake will be the one member of this year's Idol crowd we'll recognize 10 years from now.



Excellent review, with pictures:

American Idols Live! @ The Honda Center, Anaheim, CA 7/22/07
http://billboard.blogs.com/mobile_beat/2007/07/american-idols-.html#comment-77028868

Exert:
The crowd erupted as the sounds of someone beat boxing was heard and the second Blake stepped on stage everyone seemed to get out of their seats and go absolutely insane. Blake began his three song set with the Zombie’s “Time of Season.” Blake sounded great live and the more I looked up at the big screen the more I realized, not only an this boy work the crowd, but he sure as hell knows how to work the camera as well.



Videos:



Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name (From: DisneyPrincess80)


Chris Richardson / Blake Lewis - Medley (From: DisneyPrincess80)


Blake Lewis - time of the Season (From: sdshellybean)


Blake Lewis - She Will Be Loved (From: sdshellybean)


Chris Richardson & Blake Lewis - Cake Medley (From: sdshellybean)



Pictures:


All from (heatherlovesca)

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Saturday, July 21, 2007

Another House Band Gig!!

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That's right...in case you've been living under a rock, you should know that the kick-ass House Band are playing the Summer of Love Festival in Monterrey, California on Sunday July 29th - but I thought I'd tell you anyway.

Alongside the House Band - Rafael Moreira (guitars), Paul Mirkovich (keys/MD), Sasha Krivtsov (bass) and Nate Morton (drums) - is some of the best talent from both seasons of Rockstar: Jordis Unga, Marty Casey, Ty Taylor, Dilana & Storm Large.

Go see them! You won't regret it!

Official Summer Of Love Website: www.summer67.com

The House Band @ MySpace: www.myspace.com/rockstarhouseband

American Idol Tour, Fresno, California, July 20 2007

Videos:



Blake as a Security Guard (From: alyce9967)


Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name (From: aDrIaN19892007)


Jordin Sparks & Chris Richardson - What Hurts The Most (From: aDrIaN19892007)



Pictures:



From ninergrl6

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All from heatherlovesca

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Friday, July 20, 2007

American Idol Tour, San Diego, California, July 19 2007

Interviews:



'AMERICAN IDOLS LIVE': Blake takes the cake
http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/street/2007/07/live_idol_top_10_in_the_619.html

"The Zombie's "Time of the Season"
Sung by Blake
The crowd erupts - comes to life, really - when Blake appears on stage in a full suit (something he never appeared in, either, during the season) and sings and beat boxes one of his best performances of the season. Girls scream when he waves to them.

He continues the momentum with an excellent acoustic and beat box version of Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved." It's a loop performance (he's recording it), and he asks the audience to take out their cells phones and wave them in the darkness.

Blake finishes with his most memorable performance of the season, a beat-box version of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name." The duet of Blake's beat boxing and the drummer is awesome, and the other guys (Chris R., Phil, Chris S. and Sanjaya) join Blake on stage for the song before intermission."





Videos:



Blake Lewis - You Give Love a Bad Name (From: farmer2888)


(From: sdshellybean)


Blake Lewis - She Will Be Loved (From: SoILieAwake)


(From: sdshellybean)


Jordin Sparks and Chris Richardson - What Hurts the Most (From: SoILieAwake)


Idol Band - Medley (From: SoILieAwake)


Blake Lewis - Time of the Season (From: sdshellybean)




Pictures:



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Canadian Idol - Top 10

Well, here we are, top10!!! It was a very strange night, with the stronger boys and the weakest girls all mixed up together. Made for a very anticlimatic night, I found, especially considering the theme for tonight was #1 hit singles.


Dwight D'Eon - Unwell
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbpf_dwight-july-17
While I thought that was his best performance to date (aside from the auditions), there was still something missing. Some depth to his voice maybe? The whole "crazy unwell wearing a straight jacket and I'm busting out of it" was a bit much for me. I still liked it, but I was expecting more.

Khalila Glanville - Killing Me Softly
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbrf_khalila
She made me long for some Bshorty magic! While I thought technically this was great, her performance bored me to tears. I wish she would have re-arranged it a bit.... Melionda Doolittle and Blake Lewis did this song on the first night of the American Idol tour (vid here:http://youtube.com/watch?v=kykXVPLr00w) - now this, THIS is much more entertaining!

Carly Rae Jepsen - Love You Inside Out
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbuv_carly-rae
Well, I don't like the song, so it doesn't bod well. Carly Rae sang it really well, and I liked her stage presence. She seems so comfortable... But still, there was something that made me go Meh while watching this. Still, the strongest female contender.

Brian Melo - If You Could Only See
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbx8_brian-melo
Oh that very first note was so baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!! But damn he recovered well. It was not perfect, but wow, that was really good. I LOVED when he was reaching on "Say you love but you won't you gimme love but you won't".... Mmmm... That's the kind of Brian I like.

Mila Miller - Signed, Sealed, Delivered
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbxs_mila-miller
Soooooooooooo over hearing that song. Mila sounded really flat. No intonation to her voice at all tonight. Didn't like it.

Jaydee Bixby - It's Only Make Believe
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kby9_jaydee
How freaking cute is that kid? His home package was cute - loved how he said he liked singing for the elderly because they have a real appreciation of the songs he sings. *L* I can't believe how he looks, acts and sings like Elvis Presley... Really uncanny. While I thought his performance was really dated, it suited him perfectly, and he did it really well.

Greg Neufeld - All These Things That I've Done

I desperately wanted to LOVE it... But I didn't. I liked it. Sort of. Part of it was great - when he was reaching on "I got soul but I'm not a soldier", that was amazing. But the rest of it.... Too monotone. Greg needs to sing something more melodic. And WTF with him being dressed like the The Killers singer? It was far from being the worst performance of the night, but it was not the best Greg can do. What I really wanted to hear was the rest of that concert we go to hear in his home package at the beginning! THAT sounded FREAKING AWESOME! **ADDING** Listening to the audio only, this was much better than I originally thought.I liked the intensity, and I appreciated that Greg got out of his comfort zone and did a different kind of song. But I'm with Zach - *GASP* - I dind't think the whole manic routine worked for Greg. I think it was the performance that bothered me more than the singing. Listening to the audio only proved that the vocals were there, and vocally, I liked it a lot. A whole lot - I love when Greg reaches in his higher register, as much as I love it when he sings in his soft, soft, beautiful lower register. Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think it's the performance that bothered me a bit.

Martha Joy - The Power of Love
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kbzn_martha
*gag puke* Technically, she sang the best tonight. But that was so boring, so full of cheese, so...... *puke* Jake said it best, she was milking that song for all its worth. **ADDING** Actually, listening to the audio only, this is even worse. She hits tons of bum notes.

Tara Oram - You Win My Love
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kc0m_tara-oram
I actually enjoyed that. She's not the best singer, but good enough to pull this off. I like her energy - she's not as Carrie Underwoody as she was - and her tone. Good job.

Matt Rapley - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2kc21_matt-rapley
Best from him since the start of the season. I enjoyed it, even tho I thought he can sing better than that.

My Top 3: Brian, Carly Rae, Tara
My Bottom 3: Martha, Mila, Dwight

I think Dwight might be going home, only because he was first to sing... He was not the worst I thought. I'd rather see Martha or Mila go home.


*****EDITED*****


Not surprised Mila went home, or that Khalila was in the B3. I was, however, surprised that Carly was in there. I HATED her fake face, trying to cry and looking pathetic up there. Blech. Still was not expecting her to be in the B3 tonight.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

American Idol Tour, Glendale, Arizona, July 18 2007

Interviews:



* http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/myfox/pages/Entertainment/Detail?contentId=3815898&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=7.1.1



Articles:



* http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/ConcertReview/3754

"After Jordin, runner-up Blake got the most solo moments. He reprised his seductive take on Time of the Season from the TV show, then got the crowd on its feet with his electric You Give Love a Bad Name, a savvy mix of beatboxing and power chords. He also was one of the few performers who realized less can be more, as he rarely oversang."



*http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0719jordinfans0719.html

"To welcome the other contestants to her hometown, Sparks' uncle made gift baskets that included T-shirts and John Deere hats. The group also went to Sparks' house for a home-cooked turkey dinner.

"Her entire family has just been so welcoming," said Idol singer Haley Scarnato."

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

American Idol Tour, San Antonio, Texas, July 16 2007

Articles:



* 'American Idol' singers get ready for performance
http://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/music/stories/MYSA071607.en.idol.807824e2.html

Stacey is talking to labels in Nashville and hopes to have a country music album out by the end of the year. "For me, that's where I belong," Stacey said. "I'm a country artist that has roots in gospel."



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