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Pete Thorn Too
An interview with Pete Thorn
Sure, we can sit here and tell you about the amazing contributions guitarist, writer, producer and tone aficionado Pete Thorn has made on tour with artists such as Chris Cornell, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley, and Japanese icon, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (to name a few). But you probably know all that.
Pete was generous enough to spend so much time with us, there’s simply little more we can add. That’s why we’ve upped the BPMs on this intro so we may bring you Pete Thorn, in his own words.
And in Part Two, Pete gives us a rundown of the gear used on his newly released second album; Pete Thorn II.
Hello My Name Is Jeff
An interview with Jeff Gutt
It takes more than sheer skill to fill the shoes of a legend. But when Jeff Gutt assumed the role of a singer he had grown up inspired by, he not only filled a void, but seems to have propelled the band to new levels of creative output.
It took him virtually no time at all to lock into the band’s formula. Gutt has the range, the tone, and the fuck-you-flare that has been at the heart of the Stone Temple Pilots signature sound for decades...
Phil X: A Cool Head and A Quick Draw
An Interview with Phil X
I read this really cool Harold Ramis thing when he did stand-up. He said “it’s all about killing. But not only killing the audience, it’s killing the next comedian and the comedian before you, [making] everybody forget everybody else."
So when I go on stage with The Drills, that’s my job. [But] when I go on stage with Bon Jovi, that’s Jon’s job.
The Concept Album: An American Myth Worth Believing In
The Rise and Fall in Springsteen's Born To Run
A dusty sense of wonder mixed with the very beginnings of making peace with where you are or where you came from, there is a rise and fall to Bruce Springsteen's most notable album. Born To Run is one of the most carefully calibrated albums out there, and one of the most perfect representations of album-as-art - each four song set (“Thunder Road” to “Backstreets,” then “Born To Run” to “Jungleland”) moving in a particular arc, tracing a spectrum from hope to desperation to refusing to settle. And each of those arcs, and the songs within them, play off each other...
Nita Strauss: In The Eye of the Storm
An Interview with Nita Strauss
Passion, joy, and great love for the guitar vie for attention every time Nita Strauss takes the stage. At first glance she looms larger-than-life, then underscores that image as her fingers move furiously, yet with confident precision, up and down the fretboard of her beloved Ibanez Jiva. It’s easily understood why she’s known as today’s First Lady of Metal.
“Everybody in my band’s an A-list player, I just don’t have time for B-list guys,” says Alice Cooper...
Stone Temple Pilots 2018
Album Review
It has been a polarizing few years of emotion for the founding members of Stone Temple Pilots. Few would have been surprised if they decided to hang up their guitar straps following the deaths of previous singers Scott Weiland and Chester Bennington.
But their resilience? Simply astounding. And audible within each verse, chorus, bridge and sparkling coda off their new self-titled album. Stone Temple Pilots (2018) is a finely-honed, intoxicating rock record on which new singer Jeff Gutt busts open the walls of his cocoon and takes flight like a butterfly...
dUg Pinnick Tribute to Jimi: Often Imitated But Never Duplicated
Album Review
It’s hard to imagine an album like Are You Experienced? getting made these days. Even harder to imagine is a major label picking up such a record, with its expansive combination of pop, rock, soul, jazz, funk and stoned experimentation. The marketing people would have a fit trying to figure out how to sell it to the kids today!
But King’s X frontman dUg Pinnick, much like Jimi Hendrix himself, likes to throw a wrench in the industry assembly line...
Hired Gun: Out of the Shadows, Into the Spotlight
DVD/Film Review
One bassist has played for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Whitesnake, Blue Oyster Cult, Geoff Tate's Queensryche, and The Guess Who. Can you name him? There is a guitarist whose "true Hollywood Story" began while painting the garage of Tommy Lee's producer when suddenly, a guitarist was needed. Stat! Who is this talent? After 30 years in a legendary band, this highly renowned player didn’t even know he’d been fired until his friends called, excited they’d be seeing him play in the most famous arena in the world. Who is the drummer who hadn’t been told about the upcoming show?
It is these stories and over 30 more that you will hear first-hand, in this year’s highly successful documentary, Hired Gun: Out of the Shadows, Into the Spotlight...
Jon Bon Jovi and the Kings of Suburbia: Where Kings Reign Supreme
When Jon Bon Jovi holds court with his Kings of Suburbia, it's not an internationally renowned rock star that you see, and not a front-man of a rock n' roll band, or, more formally, the CEO of the 13th highest grossing band on the Forbes Top 100 list. Think Jon Bon Jovi, music fan.
is most loyal fans outside of the Jersey Shore really have never seen this side him. Women travel thousands of miles to see their icon, their hero. And many leave asking... Who is this man and why is he confusing me like this...
Williams Honor Does Poetic Justice
Album Review
Many people have a hard time figuring out what they’re listening to when they listen to today’s Country music. Today’s biggest Country names have broken boundaries. People’s tastes have changed. And there’s a bit of backlash here because tradition is at the core of Country music. But there’s also a growing audience that’s willing to accept how the genre is evolving.
Williams Honor is the Jersey Shore’s first Country duo. And there was no hesitation among its members – Reagan Richards and Gordon Brown – to introduce the genre into New Jersey’s signature sound...
Richie Sambora: In the Light of A Legend
Concert Review
Les Paul is a guiding light in the life of Richie Sambora and it seems he still is, shining a 'spot' on his man from above. On July 22 and 23, in honor of the legendary Les Paul, Sambora delivered his blues-based vocals and signature guitar sound to an intimate room of 170 lucky fans at The Iridium Theatre in Manhattan.
For those whose fortune's wheel landed on "Sold Out," the series of 3 shows - meant to mark the late Les Paul's birthday and raise funds for the Les Paul Foundation - will air on Public Television's Front And Center this Fall...
Uncool and In Good Company: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman
There are few films that capture the experience of being a music fan better than Almost Famous. There are also few films that capture the experience of being a music journalist better than Almost Famous. A chronicle of writer-director Cameron Crowe's fledgling days as a music lover and reporter disguised as a fictional coming of age story; the 2000 opus rests at a crossroads between personal passion and professional obligation. And - in an age when the Internet heightens accessibility and the media examines every aspect of their lives - the film's underlying message about that tenuous relationship between adoration and the truth seems more relevant than ever: "Be honest, and unmerciful," as Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) succinctly puts it...
Connecting and Reconnecting with Gordon Brown
An Interview with Gordon Brown
It’s a glorious Shore day and there’s a rockstar sitting in my living room. He was his relaxed, confident, easy-going self. I wish I could say the same. Even if we had developed a rapport over the years, this just felt different. At once, it was personal and business.
Sitting across from me is a man as talented as your average rockstar, owning all the tools needed for success and one more, one that makes him unique, even from the A-listers he works with. But it is one thing to have vision, quite another to extract it from others.
It’s what sets Gordon Brown apart...
One Afternoon with Reagan Richards
An Interview with Reagan Richards
#SharpNotes sits down with Reagan Richards to talk everything music and more. From her childhood performance successes, modeling, to her work with Les Paul. Her quirky notoriety on Social Media and her exciting upcoming Revue Show; One Night with Reagan Richards.
In this two-part interview, Reagan gives everyone a first-hand look into her life...
Bobby Bandiera: The Last Man Standing Joins Bon Jovi
What an interesting age it is to gauge success in music. The listening public is bombarded daily by the viral campaigns of major label marketing departments working diligently to remind a largely attention deficient pop culture that their flavor of the weak is worth your 99 cent digital download. Club owners around the world are struggling to maintain their original music venues, ultimately having to diminish the original integrity they set as the standard for the acts that play their room in favor of those who bring in more dollars. Even those age-old rock-n-rollers who may have onceupon-a-time never dreamt of taking an endorsement deal are the voices behind mortgage brokers, automobiles and batteries. You know when Springsteen is envious of U2’s spot for iPod that the business is going through ch-ch-ch-changes. And where failure may not prove fatal for many of these established rockers in this new climate; failing to change will...
About the Author
Jennifer Pricci, is music enthusiast, industry historian and contributing writer for many publications including the International gear publication MusicPlayers.com where she serves as Features Editor. Jennifer came up in the trenches of Asbury Park. Currently residing in West Hollywood, Jennifer's contributions to Jersey Shore arts publications such as Chorus & Verse, New Jersey Stage and NJArts.net. are still frequently, widely read pieces. A
Jennifer’s pieces tend to cover those she holds in high esteem, with a goal of paying homage in addition to enticing and educating readers. For this reason you’ll rarely find a negative content written by Jennifer; constructive criticism at best.
Jennifer Pricci is a Marketing Professional with 20 years of broad-based experience combining both brand and agency side successes; perhaps most notably driving the campaign that secured sponsorship for ClearChannel’s iHeartRadio Theater Presented By P.C. Richard & Son in New York City.
On the live performance side, Jennifer has appeared as part of a barbershop quartet at Carnegie Hall, The Alamodome in San Antonio, the Superdome in New Orleans, The Times Union Center (formerly Pepsi Arena) in Albany and more.
In 1999 Jennifer founded her own marketing agency; PHANTOM POWER, a fully integrated marketing agency serving the needs of local musicians, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-sized businessess.
For more information about Jennifer Pricci and PHANTOM POWER Marketing visit www.phantompowermarketing.com.