dammit, Tim!! Lennon is the only singer that pretty much makes me cry instantly. 27+ years later I'm still upset at his brutal murder. Amazing songwriter, great singer. I used to sing Beautiful Boy to my son when he was having troubles going to sleep. Great pick.
With my 3rd pick, I am proud to select, for guitar player, Mr Edward Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26, 1955), is a Dutch-Americanguitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer most famous for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Van Halen.
Van Halen was a son of saxophonist Jan Van Halen, his mother Eugenia was from JavaIndonesia. At an early age he moved with his family to the city of Nijmegen (Netherlands). In 1962 they moved to Pasadena, California. Eddie learned to play the piano as a child, and has won many different talent shows. His older brother Alex also played the piano.
However, playing the piano did not prove sufficiently engaging - he once said in an interview, "Who wants to sit in front of the piano? That's boring." Consequently, whilst Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit and began practicing drumming. After Eddie heard Alex's performance of the The Surfaris' drum solo in the song "Wipe Out", he grew annoyed that his brother had overtaken his ability and decided to switch and begin learning how to play the electric guitar.
He has stated that he would often walk around at home with his guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing. It's said that he would sit in his room for hours with the door locked, as a teen practicing the guitar. He once claimed that he had learned almost all of Eric Clapton's solos in the band Cream "note for note" by age 14; in later interviews he stated he could never play the solos precisely, instead he would modify them slightly to suit his style.
With our 3rd pick, BF & the BFFs are ecstatic to select, the hardest-hitting, hardest-partying, hardest-core drummer in rock, David Grohl's personal idol, the most notorious and influential pounder of the skins, from Birmingham, England, John Bonham!
After the recent rush of drummer picks, we are stunned Bonham is still on the board and wasted no time in taking him with our 3rd round selection.
Quote:
[Throughout the 70s], the band ruled the heavy metal landscape, and Bonham's drumming was a key part of their appeal. His most basic playing, exhibited on early classics such as "Whole Lotta Love," had an explosive power that was larger-than-life (even next to Plant's singing and Page's soloing), especially in tandem with Jones' bass work, and in later years, when he added orchestral tympani and other, more exotic and advanced percussion devices to his array, it only added richness to the power and articulation that he already exuded. He was as well known as Page or Plant, and his featured spot, the sometimes 45-minute-long piece best known as "Moby Dick," was a recognized musical reference point far beyond the ranks of their fans (enough that it could be satirized in This Is Spinal Tap). He could also play with admirable restraint and great effect as well, as on "Bron-Y-Saur Stomp," and his more circumspect presence on some of the band's middle-period folk-based material, such as "The Rain Song" from Houses of the Holy, is welcome. But Bonham's great musical virtue was his raw power -- Ginger Baker could generate polyrhythms that teased and dazzled the listener (even next to Eric Clapton's solos and Jack Bruce's thunderous bass); Bill Bruford, whether in Yes or King Crimson or any of the bands that followed, could make his drums seem to sing (and very sweetly, at that); Carl Palmer exuded almost unnatural speed behind his kit; and Keith Moon played his drums like an orchestra accompanying the Who. But whether it was the bass, the snare, the cymbals -- even the symphonic gong, which he added to his sound a couple of years into the band's history -- that he was hitting, Bonham played with the power of a pair of pile-drivers. Not coincidentally, he used some of the heaviest sticks around, and he never gave up that attribute of forcefulness, even when he added synthesized drums to his array of sounds in the late '70s.
Last edited by liamenator; 06-06-2008 at 10:06 AM.
With the 3rd round pick, I would like to select Vanessa Mae for the Instrumental Soloist category.
I just got the opportunity to listen/watch that video and I just want to thank you for showing me this. I really like her sound and I'm going to definitely check this out.
dammit, Tim!! Lennon is the only singer that pretty much makes me cry instantly. 27+ years later I'm still upset at his brutal murder. Amazing songwriter, great singer. I used to sing Beautiful Boy to my son when he was having troubles going to sleep. Great pick.
Thanks...
I had another pick all set but i looked at the board and was amazed that he still hadn't been taken and thought i couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Searched whole thread to ensure that my next pick wasnt already taken. Very pleased to draft guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May.
And heres more on Queen and their outstanding album A Night at the Opera. (The making of) Includes footage of May demonstrating his technique on guitar.
Few rock guitarists possess a playing style as instantly recognizable as Queen's Brian May. With his orchestrated guitar armies (multi-tracked guitar lines overdubbed on top of each other) and instantly memorable, well-constructed melodic leads, May is in a class all by himself. Born in Hampton, Middlesex, in July 1947, May showed an interest in music at a very early age — learning to play the ukulele and piano before receiving his first guitar as a present on his seventh birthday. Shortly thereafter, May and his father began to build a custom guitar from scratch. Completed two years later, the one-of-a-kind instrument would become known as the Red Special, a guitar that would later become May's sonic and visual trademark throughout his career.
Awesome pick dooz! I was thinking about making that one myself.
On to my pick! Sorry if it is a little soon after yours, I have to head off pretty quick here.
Our band [Name Pending] (I'm working on it, seriously!) is...prepared to make its 3rd pick of the draft. We have had long deliberations about our next choice and we have decided that this will be our pick, partly due to fears of this category causing us pain later.
And now we present an artist whom we will grudgingly accept as being one of the best female vocalists in the world we present our choice for Female Singer:
*groan*
Céline Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC, OQ (born March 30, 1968 in Charlemagne, Quebec) is a Canadiansinger, and occasional songwriter and actress. Born to a large, impoverished family, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record.In 1990 she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s after she won the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to Sony Records in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide success with several English and French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retirement from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the music scene in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from pop, soul, and rock to gospel and classical, and while her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. In 2004, after amassing 175 million in album sales, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards show for becoming the "Best-selling Female Artist in the World".In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold more than 200 million albums worldwide.
Only going to post one video or I'll hate myself.
Fourth pick to come sometime soon (before midnight, sorry). It will be one that I won't hate myself for making.
Oh for crying out loud WhiteTom.. there are dozens of female singers better than her.. ugh!
I knew I should have picked Alanis! I've failed EVERYONE. Seriously though, for some reason I drew a complete blank on this one, and this is the only thing I could come up with. I knew that if I left this one till later I'd be hooped.
[Name Pending] is proud to pick for our 4th pick, our choice for band or artist from the UK, one of my favorite bands
The Who
The Who are an Englishrock band that formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. The band reached international success, became known for their award-winning live performances, are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and '70s, and recognized as one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.
Keith Moon died in 1978, after which the band released two more studio albums, the top five Face Dances (1981) and the top ten It's Hard (1982), with drummer Kenney Jones, before officially disbanding in 1983. They reformed on several occasions to perform at special events such as Live Aid and for reunion tours such as their 25th anniversary tour (1989) and the Quadrophenia revival tours of 1996 and 1997. In 2000, the three surviving original members began to discuss the possibility of recording an album of new material. These plans were delayed following the death of John Entwistle in 2002. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey continue to perform as The Who. In 2006 they released the studio album Endless Wire, which reached the top ten in the USA and UK.
Way to save face. Funny you should pick The Who for, not to steal your thunder or anything, I am picking Pete Townshend who I will tentatively place in the songwriter category, although I thought of him more for his solo work as I prefer his voice to Daltrey's
I was recently in Toronto on a layover coming back from Peru and I picked up Q magazine which cover story was "50 Years of Great British Music". Anyway they had a multipage feature on The Who for their section on British music in the 60's. It was a great article. I would recommend reading it if you can find it. Might explain all the Brits I've been taking.
On to youtubes...
I now hold my breath that my next choice will still be on the board by 20th pick next round.
