Man, i feel bad. In 2003 I did a really long interview with Alex Skolnick for Lifestyles Magazine – then I got engaged, everything went to hell and I lost the interview tape.

Anyway, consider this a public apology for wasting your time, if you read this, Alex. My dad really dug your CD.

From Blabbermouth-

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, the band led by TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, has just released two special iTunes-exclusive tracks. You can now get live versions of both “Fear of Flying” and “Transformation”, recorded at the Apache Cafe in Atlanta, GA on August 16, 2005. The songs are posted on both the main Magna Carta web site as well as on the MySpace page.

ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO’s new album, “Last Day in Paradise”, is available on Magnatude Records. The CD consists of seven original compositions along with three arrangements of hard rock “standards” (a concept upon which the trio has built a strong reputation as an instrumental group that appeals to straight-ahead jazz fans and rock fans alike).

From Greg of DMA –

“We have signed a production deal with German producer Rolf Munkes (Majesty, Empire) and we are going to record our first full length album this May in Empire Studios in Germany. The name of the album is soon to be revealed. Later this year we plan to promote this album with a European tour.”

B’hatzlacha…

From Yidcore’s Myspace Site…

Both the Herald Sun in Melbourne and The Australian Jewish News will be doing giveaways of signed posters and albums so make sure you pick it up and save urself a trip to JB hehehe. Also we will be running a competition here tomorrow to win signed CDs for those people not in Australia or just too lazy to go get the Herald Sun or Jewish News. So keep an eye out tomorrow!!!

While perusing the Seek Irony Myspace Blog, I discovered that recently, Seek Irony collaborated with a Lebanese band called Blood Ink about last summer’s war.

The bands became friends while Seek Irony were in the States recording their album with Sylvia Massey Shivey, before the war broke out. They wrote this song together to vent their frustrations at the fact that the whole word thinks each side hates each other (there are a few exceptions). It’s ironic to note that although no one from Seek Irony faced any pressure from anyone in Israel not to record with the Lebanese act, Blood Ink, except for vocalist Rab, pulled out of the collaboration because of the fear of reprisal against anyone who would dare work with Israelis.

The song, which can be heard on Seek Irony’s Myspace site is called “Everything We Are.” If I was to categorize it I would lump it in the same category as Korn and Linkin Park style but better – there’s also a Mizrachi tinge that doesn’t try to be there, it flows with the rest of the song quite aptly. You can read the lyrics on the Myspace page as well. Check it out.

Taken from his Myspace blog…

Peter Dolving’s Take on The Holocaust:

“Sometimes when I talk to people in Germany it´s as if they think I´m about to blame them for what happened back then. Who cares anymore, unless you´re a total nutter.”

Check out the rest of the stupid shit he says at http://myspace.com/dolving.

Alright, as far as I’m concerned, the beginnings of the song aren’t great here.. the opening riffs sound too much like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the singer, at the beginning, sounds a little like he’s trying too hard to sing in a style that isn’t necessarily his own. However, when he gets into the song during the chorus, his vocals rock, and the same goes for the originality and the quality of the music. I think this band is gonna be something.

Sunday – April 15th 4:30 – 10:30 p.m.

Donations are discretionary so the show is essentially free, give what you can, we’ll have about six hours of live acoustic music and entertainment for you. Come in at any point and help a good cause. These people were there for all of us, to do what needed to be done. We should do right by them. If you’re not in the area but you’d like to make a donation you can use the contact info at the end of the letter.

TASTY COCO CAFE & LOUNGE
291 Bloomfield Ave.
Caldwell, NJ 07006
(973) 364 – 1734

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taken from http://www.martyfriedman.com

This is a chat that I had with a friend, who just came home from seeing ex- Megadeth and Cacophony Jewish-American guitar virtuoso turned Japan national Marty Friedman play at the Teatron Club in Yafo, Israel.

MI: So tell me about the show. Did he play Megadeth stuff?
MS: No, mostly newer solo stuff of his and some from the older solo albums he did like “Dragon’s Kiss.”
MI: How many people were there?
MS: 1000. That many tickets were for sale and it was pretty much sold out.

Marty Friedman – Hatikva

MI: As a Megadeth fan, are you happy with (Friedman’s) new stuff?
MS: Eh.
MI: Why eh, what does it sound like?
MS: Loudspeaker has some nice songs. It’s modern.
MI: Modern meaning jazz fusion trippy shit?
MS: Yeh. Some songs even have a Japanese singer. The show did have some nice heavy parts so its partly a return to roots but still very modern in the sound. He played lots of new stuff at the show, He played the first two tracks off “Loudspeaker.” But he didn’t have any of those small strange guitar frills I seem to remember from the album. The lineup was just two guitars, a bass and drums. The sound was OK, but not great.

Alright… I think this band should be signed by now. I haven’t made mention of them in a year or two and the time is nigh to remind the world this awesome band exists. Give respect, and support! There”s nothing Israeli about ’em but that’s not the point. My first interview with vocalist Jimmy Tamarrazzo was one of my first posts ever on Metal Israel and Nervosa is an unsung classic – check out their Myspace as well.