Best In Life Always With The Rock & Metal

In the late 1970s, Fletcher and schoolmate Vince Clarke formed the short-lived band **No Romance in China**, in which Fletcher played bass. In 1980, Fletcher met Martin Gore at the Van Gogh Pub on Paycocke Road in Basildon. With Clarke, the trio, now all on synthesizer, formed another group called **Composition of Sound**. Clarke served as chief songwriter and also provided lead vocals until singer Dave Gahan was recruited into the band later that year, after which they adopted the name **Depeche Mode** at Gahan’s suggestion.

Elias ‘E.Vil’ Viljanen (born July 8, 1975) is a Finnish #musician, known for being the #guitarist for #power #metal #band Sonata Arctica since 2007. Viljanen joined Sonata Arctica in spring 2007 in order to replace Jani Liimatainen, who left the band in August 2007 to fulfill his civil duties in Finland. The decision was only made official on August 8, 2007, but Elias Viljanen had been known to replace Liimatainen in concerts during the spring and summer tour. Viljanen cites KISS, Metallica, Slayer, and Whitesnake as his musical influences.

Elias Viljanen traveled with the band Sonata Arctica in 2007, filling in for their guitarist Jani Liimatainen on tour. On August 8, Sonata Arctica formally released a letter naming Viljanen the official guitarist in Sonata Arctica. Liimatainen had apparently not been fulfilling his mandatory civic duties as declared by the Finnish government, and this had caused a rift in between him and the other members of the band. Viljanen took up the mantle as guitarist with much controversy, with many hard-core fans still wanting Liimatainen to be a part of the project. But Sonata Arctica were adamant, as was Liimatainen, and Viljanen thus maintained his status.

Viljanen toured with Sonata Arctica in support of their album Unia in late 2007 and early 2008. During the time off from tour in 2008, he began work on his third studio album, but the recording of Sonata Arctica's sixth studio album. So, Viljanen entered the studio with Sonata Arctica for the first time in the earlier half of 2009, recording the album The Days of Grays. As they were touring at the time of the release, Viljanen did not get to begin recording work on his album until early 2009. Later that year, his third studio album with Evil Spirit was released, Fire-Hearted.

Replacing Randy Rhoads in the reformed Quiet Riot in 1982, he remained with the band until the band split up in 1989. He rejoined shortly after Kevin DuBrow reformed the following year, and remained until they broke up again in 2003. However, when vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Frankie Banali reformed the band to record the 2006 album Rehab, Cavazo was not included.[1]

Joan Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an #singer, #songwriter, and interpreter of #music, having recorded and performed in various popular American #musical #genres including #pop, #soul, R&B, #blues and #country. She is best known for her recording of the Eric Bazilian song “One of Us”. She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb of Louisville, Osborne moved to New York City in the late 1980s to study filmmaking at New York University, where she had classes with legendary documentarian George Stoney among others. Osborne was paying her own way through college and taking time off to earn money for another semester when by chance she sang at an open mic night at the Abilene Café. The other musicians encouraged her to return, and she began singing weekly at the Abilene's open mic and at other blues open mics in NYC's East Village. She soon became immersed in NYC's live music scene, forming her own band and playing in nightclubs alongside groups like the Sweetones, Surreal McCoys, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, and the Holmes Brothers, and artists like Chris Whitley, Frankie Paris and Jeff Buckley.

Starr was twice afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during childhood, and as a result of prolonged hospitalisations fell behind in school. In 1955, he entered the workforce and briefly held a position with British Rail before securing an apprenticeship at a Liverpool equipment manufacturer. Soon afterwards, he became interested in the UK skiffle craze, developing a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he cofounded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, which earned several prestigious local bookings before the fad succumbed to American rock and roll by early 1958.

When the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success with that band in the UK and Hamburg, he quit the Hurricanes and joined the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best. Starr played key roles in the Beatles’ films and appeared in numerous others. After the band’s break-up in 1970, he released several successful singles including the US number four hit “It Don’t Come Easy”, and number ones “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen”. In 1972, he released his most successful UK single, “Back Off Boogaloo”, which peaked at number two. He achieved commercial and critical success with his 1973 album Ringo, which was a top ten release in both the UK and the US. He has been featured in a number of documentaries and hosted television shows. He also narrated the first two series of the children’s television programme Thomas & Friends and portrayed “Mr Conductor” during the first season of the PBS children’s television series Shining Time Station. Since 1989, he has toured with twelve variations of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

He was musically active for less than ten years, in which he recorded four singles with Pink Floyd, the debut album (and contributed to the second one), plus several unreleased songs. In 1969, Barrett started off a solo career with the release of the single, “Octopus”, which foreshadowed his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs (1970), which was recorded over the course of one year (1968–1969) with five different producers (Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Barrett himself). Nearly two months after Madcap was released, Barrett began working on his second – and last – album, Barrett (produced by Gilmour, and featuring contributions from Richard Wright), which was released in late 1970, before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting until his death in 2006. In 1988, an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, was released by EMI with Barrett’s approval.

Barrett’s innovative guitar work and exploration of experimental techniques such as using dissonance, distortion, and feedback had an enormous legacy, with a wide variety of musicians from David Bowie to Brian Eno to Jimmy Page and more drawing influence. In his post-musician life, Barrett continued with his painting and dedicated himself to gardening, never to return to the public eye. A number of biographies have been written since the 1980s, and Pink Floyd wrote and recorded several tributes to him after he left, most notably the 1975 album “Wish You Were Here”, with tracks such as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.

Larry “Rhino” Reinhardt (July 7, 1948 – January 2, 2012) was an #rock #guitarist who played with #rock #band Iron Butterfly and Captain Beyond. At one time Reinhardt was known by the nicknames “El Rhino” and “Ryno”.

Born in Florida, United States, Reinhardt started his musical career in the 1960s in the Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida area. He worked with several bands, the most well-known of which was The Thunderbeats. In 1969, Reinhardt, along with bassist Richard Price and drummer Ramone Sotolongo, formed a “power trio” called The Load. The band landed a house gig in Gainesville, at a club called Dubs. Sotolongo was replaced by Monty Young. The Load performed mostly original, psychedelic blues-rock. They were invited to move to Jacksonville to share a house with a group from Bradenton called The Second Coming (formerly the Blues Messengers). Reinhardt had previously been a member of this group, which also included guitarist Dickey Betts, singer/keyboardist Dale Betts (Dickey Betts’ wife), bassist Berry Oakley, drummer John Meeks, and keyboardist Reese Wynans. After Betts and Oakley left to join what would become the Allman Brothers Band, Reinhardt, Wynans and Meeks briefly carried on and, in 1969, Reinhardt was guitarist for The Second Coming. Upon relocating to Macon, Georgia, Reinhardt heard that Iron Butterfly needed a replacement guitarist, whereupon he flew to Los Angeles for an audition.

Both Reinhardt and Blues Image guitarist/singer, Mike Pinera, from the Tampa area, replaced Iron Butterfly guitarist Erik Brann. In 1970, Iron Butterfly released an album that included Reinhardt and Pinera, titled Metamorphosis, which was officially credited to “Iron Butterfly With Pinera & Rhino”.

He released his solo album, Rhino's Last Dance, in February 2009. On January 2, 2012, Reinhardt died aged 63 of cirrhosis of the liver, not BPS as earlier reported.[2]

Starr was twice afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during childhood, and as a result of prolonged hospitalisations fell behind in school. In 1955, he entered the workforce and briefly held a position with British Rail before securing an apprenticeship at a Liverpool equipment manufacturer. Soon afterwards, he became interested in the UK skiffle craze, developing a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he cofounded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, which earned several prestigious local bookings before the fad succumbed to American rock and roll by early 1958.

When the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success with that band in the UK and Hamburg, he quit the Hurricanes and joined the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best. Starr played key roles in the Beatles’ films and appeared in numerous others. After the band’s break-up in 1970, he released several successful singles including the US number four hit “It Don’t Come Easy”, and number ones “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen”. In 1972, he released his most successful UK single, “Back Off Boogaloo”, which peaked at number two. He achieved commercial and critical success with his 1973 album Ringo, which was a top ten release in both the UK and the US. He has been featured in a number of documentaries and hosted television shows. He also narrated the first two series of the children’s television programme Thomas & Friends and portrayed “Mr Conductor” during the first season of the PBS children’s television series Shining Time Station. Since 1989, he has toured with twelve variations of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

He was musically active for less than ten years, in which he recorded four singles with Pink Floyd, the debut album (and contributed to the second one), plus several unreleased songs. In 1969, Barrett started off a solo career with the release of the single, “Octopus”, which foreshadowed his first solo album, The Madcap Laughs (1970), which was recorded over the course of one year (1968–1969) with five different producers (Peter Jenner, Malcolm Jones, David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Barrett himself). Nearly two months after Madcap was released, Barrett began working on his second – and last – album, Barrett (produced by Gilmour, and featuring contributions from Richard Wright), which was released in late 1970, before going into self-imposed seclusion lasting until his death in 2006. In 1988, an album of unreleased tracks and outtakes, Opel, was released by EMI with Barrett’s approval.

Barrett’s innovative guitar work and exploration of experimental techniques such as using dissonance, distortion, and feedback had an enormous legacy, with a wide variety of musicians from David Bowie to Brian Eno to Jimmy Page and more drawing influence. In his post-musician life, Barrett continued with his painting and dedicated himself to gardening, never to return to the public eye. A number of biographies have been written since the 1980s, and Pink Floyd wrote and recorded several tributes to him after he left, most notably the 1975 album “Wish You Were Here”, with tracks such as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”.