All time Low March 17th 2018

As a present for Christmas and Valentines day, my girlfriend bought me a ticket to see her favourite band at Alexandra Palace on the 17th March. This was a significant moment for me as I had never seen live music up until this point and, being so lovely, she thought I would appreciate the opportunity (Which I did). We were accompanied by her best friend and her boyfriend, myself and him being the only half of us who didn't know much All Time Low and had never seen them. Other than spending an hour and a half in the snow without a jacket whilst queuing, I found the experience very interesting and I enjoyed a lot of the music despite not really knowing many of their set list. I am very grateful to my beautiful girlfriend for allowing me the opportunity to go somewhere I wouldn't have been had she not surprised me and I believe that the other male in question also rather enjoyed his first experience of All Time Low.

The main difference between live gigs and studio music is of course the interaction with the crowd and I must credit the band for their great relationship with the crowd. They seemed genuinely grateful to their die-hard fans as well as everyone else who had paid to see them and they took a selfie with the crowd after the encore. They seem to be very genuine and friendly musicians and thus I enjoyed the gig very much, even if my usual taste is heavier than their style. If you are open minded and enjoy pop punk then I would very much recommend seeing All Time Low; If only to appreciate their humility and good grace.

I would like to publicly thank my wonderful girlfriend for giving me the opportunity and buying the ticket for me and also for keeping it such a secret (she isn't great with the secrecy stuff). I would also like to thank her best friend and her boyfriend for accompanying us and making my experience of the whole day even more pleasant.

Furthermore, I'd like to apologise for being so absent recently, I've been working and I never want to publish work without just cause for the sake of statistics but I intend to come back with a vengeance! Never fear , there will be more content.


* All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

To all my readers

What do you want to see me discuss?

Good afternoon to you all. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my blog and I cannot thank you enough for your loyalty. This is going to be one of my shortest blog entries but I want to include you in my work and get a flavour of what you would like me to review or discuss. If you want my opinion or explanation for anything then please leave a comment at the bottom of this post or anywhere else on my blog and I shall endeavor to answer them to the best of my ability.

Depending on how many responses I get I will upload as many posts as necessary in reply to your requests next week. Expect the first one mid-week and I may even upload a couple in one day if need be.

Cheers once again for your time and ,as always, stay lucky everyone!


*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights

My Dream Guitar

Gretsch Falcon guitars

Like any musician, one version of you weapon of choice, in my case guitar, is never enough. Despite being just 21 and being skint all the time, i have the privilege of saying that I own 3 beautiful guitars which I endeavor to give equal attention. These consist of a timeless budget Fender Strat which I have reviewed on this very blog, a bright and well crafted Tanglewood which I have also reviewed on here, and a budget Epiphone LP that was given to me on my 21st birthday. I adore all of my guitars as my lovely girlfriend and my family would testify and they all sound unique from each other and I believe that I have a playing style which is unique to me. I will own, treasure and play them all forever.

Nonetheless, ever since I first laid eyes on the Gretsch White Falcon in none other than Denmark street, and later saw it in the video for Californication by The Red Hot Chili Peppers being played by the brilliant Frusciante , I have always wanted one of my own in glossy black. With them being such an expensive guitar, they are not offered to test out with the same blaze attitude as most models and thus I have never played one but I have held one and the weight and balance is perfect. The model I held was called the Black Falcon (not the most original name but pretty damn accurate). If you have never heard of this guitar I have put a clip from YouTube on the bottom of this post so please do watch it and if you have the chance then give a Gretsch a try in person. They are deep and rich in tone and the body is wide and hollow enough that you can produce a great sound even from unplugged and when they are paired with a valve amp the combination is a symphony of beauty.


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Thank you for your time and I hope you are all well and are looking forward to my favourite time of the year and the time of peace on earth and good will to all men. Be lucky!


*All images sourced from google .I do not claim to own any rights 

3 Christmas Songs By Rock artists

As the festive season and my favourite time of year approaches and edges nearer and nearer, I am refraining from listening to Christmas music until December or at least until after my gorgeous girlfriend's 21st which is also coming up. However, some people complain about Christmas music, saying that it is cheesy and all sounds the same. Personally I enjoy all of that about Christmas music, despite being a fan or metal and grunge, but in order for everyone to get the most out of the season and prepare for the most wonderful time of the year I thought that I would list 3 Christmas songs in no particular order that are by or covered by rock musicians. And without any further digression, here they are:

1) "Christmas Time (Don't let the bells end)" The Darkness

I know The Darkness are a postmodern band and are not everybody's cup of tea and that is fine. However, their contribution to Christmas is too good to miss. It is cheesy and catchy and comes with an equally corny music video but if you can be cheesy at Christmas then whats the point of all the decor and festivities?

2) "Please come home for Christmas" Jon Bon Jovi

This is a festive song by none other than the one and only Jon Bon Jovi, the king of hair and 80's soft rock bands in my opinion. It is also a song that is easy to relate to if you have ever had to spend Christmas or part of the festive season away from loved ones. It contains Bon Jovi's classically pharyngeal voice along with a traditional Bon Jovi ballad tempo. It is a banger of a song and one that you should definitely give a try as we approach the season of peace on earth and good will to all men.

3) "Blue Christmas" Elvis Presley

If the King sings about Christmas and you don't feel the urge to join in then there may be something wrong with your ears. This is a song about missing loved ones at Christmas and another relevant message at the time of love and understanding. If you have the time, check out the mash up of Elvis Presley and Martina Mcbride on YouTube and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

So there we have it! Hopefully I have given you some information that you can use to immerse yourself in the festive season that is approaching so quickly and I hope that you are able to get as excited as me about Christmas. Hope you are well and as always, stay lucky and thank you for reading.

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any rights.

Top 3 Three Days Grace Songs

I'm not sure why but recently I have delved into the musical catalogue of Three days Grace and its fucking brilliant (Excuse my language, but if you know me then you'll know thats just me). So as the band are so great and my favourite songs are from the Adam Gontier years, I will be listing my top 3 Three Days Grace Songs in the Gontier Years in ascending order:

3) "Running away"

Taken from 3DG's self titled album, this is arguably the slowest of the contents. It is about a difficult relationship and the struggles of sticking around and keeping a partner. It has an acoustic factor but it manages to retain Gontier's violent vocals without interfering with the sweeter and deep sentiment. That is one of the things I love so much about the Gontier years of 3DG. Therefore, it is my first entry on this list of great songs.

2) "Gone forever"

Once again, the second pick is also a more acoustic like song of a break-up. I think Adam may have had difficulty in his relationships...Anyway, this is a more positive take on being left alone. It is unclear as to whether Gontier is telling us that he feels better, or telling himself. His soaring and raw vocals are still prominent on this track and his voice seems to climb higher and higher. It is is very impressive in terms of range in style and vocals, accompanied by an awesome musical backing too of course. Thus, this is the runner up.

1) "Animal I have become" 

My winner was a toss up between this and "I hate everything about you" but currently I had to choose this as the champion since it as the song that led me to 3DG. I remembered it from Smackdown Vs Raw when i was young and listened to it in the gym on day on a 3DG station and the biggest weights felt particularly inferior to me one that day. The song is a pump up and destroy song with a climax and several build ups. I know my Uni training partner, Jakey, was also a fan as he also used to listen to "Riot" of heavy deadlift sessions. Thus this is the winner and deservedly so.

I hope you enjoyed my countdown and i hope you agreed. Take care!!

*I do not claim to own any images; all images sourced from google

Ode to my girlfriend's music taste

Good morning everybody. I have been with my girlfriend for quite a while now and it came to my attention that I listen to and enjoy a lot more variation of what i would call "her music". Therefore, as a kind of thank you to the lovely woman she is, I thought I would list a top 3 of these new repertoire of tracks that are my favourites. So, in ascending order, here are three of my favourites:

3) My Chemical Romance "I'm Not OK (I Promise)"

I have never been a fan of MCR but my girlfriend and a good friend of hers are long time big fans. Thus, I have heard much about the band and the influence that they had on my girlfriend as a young lady. This song is one that I had heard many times in my life but I have recently listened to it a few times and it is certainly a catchy song with a relevant message. For this reason, this is my first entry in this list.

2) Paramore "Still into you"

Now my girlfriend admits to not being a big fan of what she calls new Paramore but she says this song is an exception and I would have to agree. It is easy to listen to and has a likability factor that I don't think anybody could really deny. Catchy and sweet in sentiment; this is a decent song. 

1) All Time Low "If these sheets were the states"

All time low are my girlfriend's favourite band that is still together I believe. This song's message is sweet and relatable; being away from my girlfriend for a lot of the time whilst she studies at University. It is a catchy and once again radio-friendly track that I would likely have not noticed had it not been for my girlfriend directing me towards it and I am most grateful that she did. The band as a whole are actually very good and the members seem like really nice people who are grateful for their fans and popularity. It would be fair to say that they are a band that surprised me in terms of my liking them so. 

I hope you enjoyed my little nod to my lovely girlfriend and her music. If you haven't heard the songs mentioned then please do check them out if you have time. As always, thank you to everybody that reads this blog and feel free to share it on. I cannot thank you enough. Stay Lucky everyone.

*All images sourced from google; i do not claim to own any rights and this is all opinion

My top 3 Female Vocalists

I recently posted a selection of my personal top 3 male vocalists and it was inevitable it would be followed by my picks for the top 3 Female vocalists of all time. So, Without further ado and in ascending order, here we are:

3) Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin is the queen of soul and pretty much anything that she sings. She is a name that even the most oblivious and passive of consumers would recognise due to her appearance in The Blues Brothers where she famously sang and danced to Respect. Her voice is powerful and piercing whilst she maintains an effortless look on her face and in her eyes. She has real passion for music, having started in Gospel and moving to Soul and Motown/Blues later on in her career. Therefore, Aretha Franklin comes in third place for me. 

2) Amy Lee

My pick for runner up is the vocal powerhouse from Evanescence, Amy Lee. As a trained operatic singer, her range is almost unparalleled in today's standards. She has developed her own style by crossing very operatic and dramatic vocals with her rock persona in Evanescence and has demonstrated that, along with the entire band, she is very versatile and cannot be tied down to one genre with such variety among their work as Bring me to life, Lithium, and My Immortal. Therefore, Amy Lee gets runner up in my personal picks for top female vocalists of all time. 

1) Amy Winehouse

It would seem that all the Amys made it to my favourites. Amy Winehouse is fully deserving of the title of Queen of the female vocalists. Her style both in terms of fashion and musical style were unique and instantly recognisable. She was lost too soon due to problems with addiction but her legacy remains and had she lived a fuller life she would likely be the most praised female singer of recent times. She had a raw talent that she was able to capture and tame to create her unique style and thus she is the top pick for my top 3 female vocalists of all time.  

*All images sourced from google. I do not claim to own any images