04.09: On this day in 1997, hard rock group Soundgarden announced their breakup. Born out of the rock scene in Seattle, Washington, the band is best known for radio hits “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun”. 2010, however, saw the announcement that the band would be getting back together for a reunion. They played a handful of shows, including a headlining spot at Lollapalooza in Chicago. In early 2011, the band announced the release of their first ever live album, plus a new studio album, which saw the light of day in 2012 and also saw the headling Hard Rock Calling in London’s Hyde Park. We were stoked to bask in live Soundgarden again. Even though they’ve been lumped in with the Seattle grunge bands, Soundgarden is really a hard rock/metal band. They were doing their thing long before Pearl Jam or Nirvana formed, and they had their sound solidified by the time the scene exploded in late ’91. Soundgarden rocks every which way and loose. [more]
04.10: On this day in 1962, the “fifth Beatle” died of a brain hemorrhage. Stuart Sutcliffe was The Beatles’ first bass player. Sutcliffe was John Lennon’s fellow student at the Liverpool College of Art and left the band in 1961 to pursue a career in art. Paul McCartney, who had been playing lead up to that point, took up the bass and, as someone once said, the rest is history. We’re not sure how to put a good spin on anyone’s death, but it’s probably a.) good that Stuart didn’t live to see how big The Beatles got and b.) the band would never have been the same without Paul on bass. Ever. Can you imagine a world without The Beatles as we know them? Shudder to think.
04.11: On this day in 1961, Bob Dylan made his professional debut opening for John Lee Hooker at Gerde’s Folk City in New York. Not sure how that went over with Mr. Hooker’s fans, but that’s a pretty damn good opening slot, we think, whether or not it’s your first or fiftieth show. After that debut, we heard that this Dylan kid went on to make some decent music or something.
04.14: On this day in 1974, Pete Townshend, from some band called The Who, played solo for the first time at the Roundhouse in London. Petey rocks any which way in our books, with or without his Who mates. Of course, we think The Who are one of the best rock bands ever and love it when they’re all playing together, but we’ll take Pete any day, anytime.