Email Author Bob Ruggiero

2012 Stories by Bob Ruggiero

• The Boys are Back...and Sometimes in Town

  published Jan 25, 2012

  ​You may think you've traveled a long way to get to a show, but it's unlikely you gone the distance that Stephen O'Brien has. In 2003 the Dublin, Ireland-based musician flew to Austin, primarily More >>

• Friday Night: Tedeschi Trucks Band at Verizon Wireless Theater

  published Jan 23, 2012

  ​When the 11-piece Tedeschi Trucks Band caravan rolled into Houston, it was with the fresh knowledge that Etta James - a musical hero of singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi - has passed away earlier More >>

• The Tedeschi Trucks Band Keeps in the Family

  published Jan 17, 2012

  ​Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks are married both to each other and their musical careers. She with a busy solo schedule, and he with full-time gigs fronting the Derek Trucks Band, playing guita More >>

• Houston Film Critics Society: Best of 2011

  published January 5, 2012

  According to the Houston Film Critics Society, not even an ounce of high-quality bud could make one enjoy the James Franco/Natalie Portman... More >>

• Eyeballin' - The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live in Texas '78

  published Jan 11, 2012

  ​In the multi-fractured musical landscape of time, even "the world's greatest rock and roll band" found themselves in a precarious position in 1978. Joe Strummer and the Clash had declared "No More >>

• GET LIT - Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography

  published Jan 04, 2012

  ​In the '70s and '80s, during stints with Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and solo/duo efforts, Glenn Hughes proved a triple threat musically as a singer, songwriter, and bassist. Plus, he h More >>

• Memoir From Early AC/DC bassist Mark Evans Sheds Light On Band's Beginnings

  published Nov 29, 2011

  ​Get Lit: Dirty Deeds - My Life Inside/Outside of AC/DC By Mark Evans 288 pp., $19.95, Bazillion Points Books The Thunder from Down Under that is AC/DC has been blasting eardrums for nearly fo More >>

• Ace Frehley's Wild Rocket Ride

  published Nov 17, 2011

  No Regrets by Ace Frehley with Joe Layden and John Ostrosky 320 pp., $26, Gallery Books ​Even by standards of '70s hard rock excess, original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was out of this world. I More >>

• Jerry Shirley: A Slice of the Pie Has His Say

  published Nov 15, 2011

  ​English lad and budding drummer Jerry Shirley was all of 16 years old in late 1968 when he received the phone call that would change his life forever. On the other line was Steve Marriott, th More >>

• Get Lit: Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Kevin Avery

  published Nov 09, 2011

  Everything is an Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson by Kevin Avery 584 pp., $29.99, Fantagraphics Books ​It was a scene like out of the hardboiled detective novels that Paul Ne More >>

• Charlie Benante Keeps The Beat Steady For Anthrax

  published Oct 28, 2011

  ​After a tumultuous few years both musically and memberwise, New York thrash metal pioneers Anthrax will be able to close out 2011 on a pretty high note. In addition to releasing the critically More >>

• Baron Wolman: A Bounty Of Iconic Rock Photography

  published Oct 25, 2011

  ​Every Picture Tells a Story - Baron Wolman: The Rolling Stone Years Omnibus Press, 176 pp., $37.50 If you could point to one thing that makes today's music journalists most jealous, it would p More >>

• Tony Iommi: Music's Other Man In Black Proves His Heavy Mettle

  published Oct 20, 2011

  ​Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath By Toni Iommi with T.J. Lammers Da Capo Press, 416 pp., $26. Imagine this passage being read in your best "Behind the Music" nar More >>

• Last Night: Peter Frampton At House Of Blues

  published Oct 17, 2011

  ​Peter Frampton House of Blues October 16, 2011 If you own one Peter Frampton album, chances are it's Frampton Comes Alive!, the 1976 effort which sent the former Herd/Humble Pie singer and gui More >>

• Last Night: Joe Walsh at the Verizon Wireless Theatre

  published Oct 13, 2011

  ​Like an eccentric, loopy uncle freed from the shackles of his now-stifling longtime marriage (in this case, the recent Eagles), it was a jaunty and loose Joe Walsh who charmed the Houston crowd More >>

• Peter Frampton's Bassist "Comes Alive" Again

  published Oct 13, 2011

  ​Classic Rock Corner was emailing recently with Andy Sharp (aka "Buffalo Speedway"), guitarist for the Austin-based Thin Lizzy tribute band Think Lizzy. He told us a story about talking music wi More >>

• Get Lit: Had Me a Real Good Time - Faces: Before, During & After

  published Oct 10, 2011

  ​Had Me a Real Good Time - Faces: Before, During & After By Andy Neill 456 pp., $29.95, Omnibus Press A band that was actually more popular in the U.S. than their English homeland -- based on t More >>

• Dio Disciples Keep Ronnie James' Metal Flame Alive

  published Oct 07, 2011

  ​When Ronnie James Dio succumbed to stomach cancer in May 2010 (some reports say it occurred here at M.D. Anderson), heavy metal lost its arguably greatest voice. And with a career spanning deca More >>

• Saxon: "Denim And Leather" Never Goes Out Of Style

  published Oct 05, 2011

  ​While they did not achieve the level of success in America as Iron Maiden, Motorhead, or Judas Priest, Yorkshire-based Saxon was an early battalion on the front lines for the invasion of the Ne More >>

• Saturday Night: Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald At Verizon

  published Oct 03, 2011

  ​Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald Verizon Wireless Theater October 1, 2011 Now, Classic Rock Bob doesn't want to come off as some sort of out-of-touch curmudgeon ("What do you mean you don't sell More >>

• Boz Scaggs & Michael McDonald: Smoothest Of The Smooth

  published Sep 30, 2011

  ​For fans of '70s classic rock, it was the equivalent of three comic book heroes coming together in one Super Smooth Team when Boz Scaggs, ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald, and Steely Dan's Do More >>

• Jimi Hendrix's Fire Burns Bright On New Legacy Releases

  published Sep 15, 2011

  ​For a guy who died at 27, Jimi Hendrix left behind a massive body of work, from finished studio efforts and live recordings to experimental noodlings and jams. Since taking over the estate's More >>

• Succinct Stooges Bio Looks Beyond Iggy Pop

  published Sep 13, 2011

  ​The Stooges: Head On By Brett Callwood Wayne State University Press, 176 pp., $19.95. While there have been a number of books written about the Stooges and Iggy Pop, this slim but substantive More >>

• Friday Night: Hippiefest At Arena Theatre

  published Sep 06, 2011

  ​Hippiefest feat. Dave Mason, Mark Farner, Gary Wright, Rick Derringer & Felix Cavaliere's Rascals Arena Theatre september 2, 2011 The title of this annual touring package show was something of More >>

• "Rock Patriot" Mark Farner Can't Fake The Funk

  published Sep 01, 2011

  ​As the lead singer and guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad, Mark Farner has powered songs like "I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home," "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "The Loco-Motion" into the Classic R More >>