By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor "Rock 'n' roll's a loser's game. It mesmerizes and I can't explain." A rather profound observation made by Ian Hunter circa 1973 in the song 'Ballad Of Mott The Hoople.' The once vital obsession to find and connect to "real" rock and roll was the pastime of many […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor When the Steve Miller Band hit the music scene in 1968 with their debut album, 'Children Of The Future,' they were one of many bands from the San Fransisco Bay area vying for people's attention. Their mixture of blues, soul and rock and roll would prove a winning […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor After parting ways with Genesis in 1975, vocalist Peter Gabriel anxiously set off on his own path. Many critics, and some fans, assumed the band would fail without Gabriel, but for most fans there wa a sense of excitement wondering what each camp would come up with. While […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Americana is certainly a crowded field. It has come to represent everything from Alt. Country, to folk, to blues, to throwback rock and roll and seemingly every hybrid in between. At the core, however, is the song and the emotion. Those who can deliver that one-two punch of […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Santana exploded onto the rock scene in a literal purple haze at the legendary Woodstock Festival in August of 1969. Having been gifted a fairly large dose of LSD from the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, lead guitarist Carlos Santana settled in for a long trip before he and […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Hard rock is a true thing or beauty! That perfect balance of the almighty riffs put in motion by Chuck Berry and the other elder statesmen amped up in attack and volume to drive it all home. AC/DC took that approach, recast in their own unique spirit and […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor 'Sailin' Shoes,' the sophomore effort from Little Feat, delivered on any promises put forth on their debut, yet changed up their approach a bit at the same time. Released in 1972, 'Sailin' Shoes' was somewhat out of step, no pun intended, with so much of what was happening […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor As the Goo Goo Dolls stumbled out of their home base in Buffalo, New York back in 1986, it would have been hard for anyone at the time to have them pegged as becoming a million selling pop group. As they began, their sound was more akin to […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Roaming out of the great wide open that was the Drive By Truckers, Jason Isbell set his sights on a meaningful solo career right out of the gate. Sometimes with his band, the 400 Unit, sometimes without, Isbell has continued to grow as an artist, for many, setting […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor One of the most unlikely success stories in all of the rock and roll fables is that of Dire Straits. Formed in 1977 by brothers Mark and David Knopfler along with drummer Pick Withers and bassist John Illsley, Dire Straits slipped out of the British music scene during […]
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