Friday On My Mind, indeed! Yesterday, news came of the passing of George Young, older brother of Mal and Angus Young of AC/DC. He played a primary role in the band’s development. And he was in The Easybeats, writing and playing rhythm guitar. (I loved “Friday On My Mind” when I was a teen!)
George was born in Scotland in 1946 but emigrated to Australia with his family as a child. He broke out in the early 1960s as a member of The Easybeats, for whom he wrote the international hit song “Friday on My Mind.”
Malcolm Young told us a while back that it was inspiring to watch his older brother achieve such success: “We never really listened, ’cause they’d just go off and practice. You know, it wasn’t until I heard a record — he came home with it, and it was really good. It sorta happened without us seeing it growing, you know what I mean? The next thing, it was Number One (laughs) in Australia, you know? We thought, ‘Geez, how did this happen?’”
George started his own production company when the Easybeats split in 1970. He and Vanda became two of Australia’s best-known pop songwriters, before attracting still wider notice for their production work with AC/DC.
Angus Young told us not long ago that it was George who helped define the AC/DC sound: “My older brother George, he produced a lot of what we had done in the beginning, and he always said, ‘You’re just a guitar band. The guitars are so dominant in what you do.’ And he always thought it was a big plus factor, ’cause the guitars were just so strong.”
Publishing company Albert Music, which handled both the Easybeats and AC/DC, stated, “A consummate songwriter, trailblazing producer, artist, mentor and extraordinary musician, George was above all else a gentleman who was unfailingly modest, charming, intelligent and loyal — a man with a wonderful sense of humor. George was a pioneer who, with close friends Harry Vanda and (company namesake) Ted Albert, created a new sound for the Australian music industry.”
George Young was 70 and his cause of death was not immediately revealed. (The Pulse Of Radio.)
Halestorm singer and guitarist and Ask Lzzy host Lzzy Hale said an interview with the Speak N’ Destroy podcast the band is “doubling down” on rock music with its fourth album, which they’re currently in the midst of recording. Hale explained, “The thing about rock n’ roll is that it doesn’t go away but it’s not always the most popular thing. So when everybody jumps ship, that means you’ve just gotta hang on and go down with it. It’s so much more than a career choice.”
Halestorm has been working on its new LP in Nashville with producer Nick Raskulinecz, best known for his work with Rush, Korn, Alice In Chains and Deftones. Lzzy Hale told Lou Brutus why Raskulinecz has turned out to be a perfect producer for Halestorm: “Basically it starts and ends with the band with him, and his mark is being a fan of rock music and he’s always a fan of the bands that he works with. And so really he kind of, he lets us be ourselves, but he reminds us and pulls out certain things that, like, we didn’t know we were good at. He’s bringing out our best selves right now, and it’s really great to see.”
Raskulinecz also produced Halestorm’s third covers EP, ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP, which led to him getting the nod for the new disc. Hale explained, “(Nick) is just an amazing producer. Those tones that he got were a huge selling point for us to do the next record with the guy.”
Halestorm’s 2015 album, Into The Wild Life, was criticized by some fans for veering too far into pop music territory. The band just finished a month-long fall tour with Starset and will head back into the studio to finish the new record. (The Pulse Of Radio/Loudwire)
Marilyn Manson and Daisy Berkowitz (Photo: Marilyn Manson Instagram)
Marilyn Manson commented on Instagram about the death of his band’s original guitarist and co-founder Scott Putesky, a.k.a. Daisy Berkowitz, who recently lost a four-year battle with colon cancer at the age of 49. Manson said, “Scott Putesky and I made great music together. We had our differences over the years, but I will always remember the good times more. Everyone should listen to ‘Man That You Fear’ (from Antichrist Superstar) in his honor. That was our favorite.” (Noisecreep)
Queens Of The Stone Age announced yesterday (Oct 23rd) that they’d hidden three pairs of tickets in three different stations along Manhattan’s Q subway line — at 57th Street/7th Avenue, 14th Street-Union Square, and Canal Street/Broadway — for the band’s (Oct 24th) show tonight at Madison Square Garden. Apparently they were placed near the poles on the platform, and at press time there was no word yet on whether any had been retrieved. The stations where tickets were placed also got a small redesign and the band’s label also provided an updated subway map. The show is sold out. Knowing New York subway riders, they either scalped the tickets or returned them to MTA Lost & Found as any good samaritan would do. Genius idea from their marketing folks at Matador Records! (Stereogum)
Kid Rock announced his new album, Sweet Southern Sugar, will be released on Nov 3rd. He also posted a bunch of brand new tour dates, and you can find ’em in Road Rage.
Finally today, Blabbermouth reporting Chicago-based coffee roasters Dark Matter Coffee have teamed up with KHDK Electronics — METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett‘s boutique guitar pedal company — to release a limited collaboration coffee blend, celebrating Hammett‘s signature pedal. The beans are sourced from El Salvador and feature notes of apricot, praline, bourbon and mulling spice.
The Dark Matter Coffee web site describes the Ghoul Screamer Coffee as follows: “Guarding a serpentine circuit of obsidian, Ghoul Screamer was forged in the bottomless mines of Az’g’orath to protect humanity from the forces of evil by summoning the scream of the Ghoul. (from ‘ghôùll,’ Sumarian for ‘sick tone’). Heed the prophecy; only warriors of the sacred caffeine-to-blood ratio will wield the power of Ghoul Screamer, a fully fermented brew with waves of untamed punch. Those unworthy will be consumed by its force.”
Founded by Hammett and industry vet David Karon, KHDK Electronics is a new boutique guitar effects maker. Working with world renowned musicians to develop their products, KHDK stands for an exclusive lifestyle brand which caters to artists who are not afraid to push the envelope. Over the past few years, KHDK has relentlessly refined and polished their vision with pain-staking detail. From conception to prototype each product has been carefully crafted by engineer Antonin Salva. All KHDK products are hand-built by a family-run manufacturer in Paducah, KY. A 12-ounce bag of Ghoul Screamer Coffee can be purchased for $18.
Happy 81st today to The Rolling Stones’ original bassist Bill Wyman!
