It all begins when the lights go down. For Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus, it has been that way since they were playing for a handful of people in a club in Nashville's Printers Alley. These days, of course, they play for thousands of screaming fans a night, drawn by state-of-the-art production and sound, and by spectacular vocal harmonies in service to an ever-expanding catalogue of hits. In between, it was the magic of those performances that catapulted Rascal Flatts into the front ranks of entertainers in all genres.

By any measure, Rascal Flatts is in elite territory. They are the reigning 2006 CMA, ACM and CMT Vocal Group of the Year. In 2005 they added Billboard and R&R Artist of the Year trophies as well. The trio also picked up its first three Grammy nominations in 2005, and their "Bless The Broken Road" received the Grammy for Country Song of the Year. Coming off the biggest selling artist album of 2006, Rascal Flatts is geared up for their brand new album coming on September 25.

"Diamonds in the Sun"
by Walt Wilkins & The Mystiqueros

San Antonio-born Walt Wilkins has been called a genius, more than once, and a writer the caliber of John Steinbeck and his voice as comfortable as a pair of old blue jeans, and he is, and has, all of that. His crafting of story-songs, hard-edged vocals to sing them and a plaintive guitar have made him a fixture of the Texas music scene (and Nashville before that). He’s put his magical touch on recordings by new and veteran artists, too many to count.

With The Mystiqueros, Wilkins has created something of a “Texas Hill Country super-group” that features five great singers and four great songwriters from the heart of the Lone Star State, all of whom have made their own records and are flush with recording credits.

Onstage and in the studio, Wilkins is joined by Bill Small (bass, percussion, acoustic guitar), John M. Greenberg (electric guitars), Ramon Rodriguez (drums, percussion) and Marcus Eldridge (electric guitars). Live performances around Texas are being likened to both outlaw country and classic rock bands, and they’re captured on DIAMONDS IN THE SUN, released July 24 by Palo Duro Records.

Wilkins says this is the most fun he’s ever had playing music in a band in 30 years. He describes the music of The Mystiqueros (nicknamed mq5) as highly reminiscent of ’70s country rock from Texas and the West Coast and blues and soul that members grew up listening to and features high-quality songwriting and musicianship, rhythm, and vocal arrangements.

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Luckenbach! Compadres!
Various Artists

On January 19-20, 2006, the walls of the 120-year-old Luckenbach Dance Hall trembled once again with the music that 33 years ago put the tiny hamlet west of Austin on the map. An elite group of the now-generation Texas singer/songwriters assembled with a legendary all-star "Gonzos de Casa" house band to record Luckenbach! Compadres! (Songs of Luckenbach).

Featuring ...The (original) Lost Gonzo Band (Craig Hillis, John Inmon, Bob Livingston, Gary P. Nunn, Herb Steiner) Gonzos de Casa (“Freddie Steady” Krc, Bob Livingston, Bobby Rambo, Sam Hendricks, John Inmon, Craig Hillis)

With Performances By: Cory Morrow, Jimmy LaFave, The Derailers, Tommy Alverson, Walt Wilkins, Two Tons of Steel, McKay Brothers, Ed Burleson, Morrison-Williams, john Arthur martinez, Kent Finlay and Brian Burns.

Find Bill Champlin's lovely wife, Tamara on her myspace page and discover four songs from her upcoming album! Enjoy!

In 2005 Jock Bartley and Steven Weinmeister were asked to perform, as FIREFALL ACOUSTIC DUO, a few acoustic Beatles songs on a top radio station in Denver, Colorado. They had a great time doing so and the positive response led the station to ask them to appear a second time. After a third time of singing and strumming their favorite Fab Four songs on air, they kept hearing "When’s the CD going to come out?"
It made sense, although as everyone knows, over the decades so many "covers" of Beatles songs should never have been made or released. But even so, Steve and Jock were excited by the prospect and felt up to the task. Why? Because their love and respect of The Beatles’ timeless music would guide those sessions.. and because it was so much fun to play and sing those songs. And so in January of 2007, they began in earnest to record acoustic versions of some of their favorite Beatles songs.

As it turned out, many of the tunes they picked were not the hugely successful "singles" that still permeate the world’s consciousness. They picked a number wonderful "album cuts" - songs they grew up on in the 1960s, songs they learned how to sing harmonies with.. songs as Steven has said, "that are in our DNA." Songs like "Girl," "Norwegian Wood," "I’ll Be Back," "You’re Gonna Lose That Girl" and "No Reply." Some of these FIREFALL ACOUSTIC recordings are straight forward and uncomplicated, like they’d be in someone’s living room or live on the radio. And then on others like "Eleanor Rigby," "Come Together" and "Within You Without You," Jock and Steve have treated them in new and different directions, creating surprising and satisfying versions of those classic songs. Their version of ‘Come Together’ features a swampy acoustic slide guitar groove; their "Eleanor Rigby" is a medieval Madrigal of layered acoustic guitars and mandolin; "Within You Without You" is a high string acoustic guitar raga with tablas and udu that captivates and soars; and their version of "Girl" features John Magnie of the Subdudes on accordion that will transport listeners to the streets of Paris.
The Beatles are the best band ever. Their songs are some of the most brilliant and emotional music ever composed; their original recordings between 1965 and ‘69 are as magical and transcendent as recordings can be. Steven and Jock have treated these eleven Beatles songs with love, reverence and the upmost care. They humbly offer these acoustic versions of Beatles music, paying tribute to their musical and cultural heroes. The smiles and pure joy they both experienced in the studio comes through on every cut.

Take a look at BGO records site and find reissue cds which will interest you for sure.
New BGO releases include Reo Speedwagon first two epic albums from 1971 & 1972.
Dan Fogelberg's third and fourth albums from mid 70's on a cd slipcased with extensive new notes. "Captured Angel" & "Nether Lands" were US Top 30 achievers.
Kenny Loggins's "Celebrate me Home" & "Nightwatch", two US Top 30 albums which marks Kenny's debut in solo career after his million-selling partnership with Jim Messina. "Nightwatch" features the Top 5 single "Whenever I call you friend".

On January 9th 2007, Allumination Filmworks launched the American Beat Records label with the release of their first batch of classic reissue CD's. Included in that first batch were discs from such artists as Brian Setzer, Gary U.S. Bonds, George Jones, Ian Hunter and Graham Parker. Since those first releases, they have continued to add to their reissue library on a monthly basis. their roster now includes Joe Jackson, Haircut 100, Chuck Berry, Nils Lofgren, Willie Nelson and many other top-notch artists. A lot of surprises to come!!!

After, we have been talked about the reissue of Tommy Shaw's "Ambition" amazing album, there's 3 other releases to pay attention:

Billy Squier's third album, Emotions In Motion, reached #5 on the U.S. pop charts, in part due to heavy radio and MTV airplay of the title track and the smash "Everybody Wants You". Squier continues his Led Zeppelin influenced, radio-friendly rock sound with what All Music Guide calls his "most consistent solo record to date." To top it off, the album art was commissioned by legendary artist Andy Warhol.

Cleveland native Eric Carmen first rose to prominence as the lead singer and chief songwriter for the 70's pop group The Raspberries ("Go All The Way", "I Wanna Be With You"). Following their breakup, Carmen forged a solo career and earned instant success with "All By Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again". Boats Against The Current and Change Of Heart are two long out-of-print releases that showcase Carmen's outstanding singer/songwriter style that made him a household name in the 80's.

Grammy award winning artist Rodney Crowell (1989 Best Country Song - "After All This Time") has scored 10 country-charting albums and 24 country-charting singles (five #1 songs!) during his career that has spanned nearly three decades. This self-titled album, originally released in 1981, includes his hit songs "Stars On The Water" and "Victim Or A Fool". This is the first time that this monumental release has been released on CD!