Master guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, rising superstar Rocky Kramer continues to excite us with his almost weekly cover songs which are produced in ways you can’t even imagine, while his debut concept album “Firestorm” (via Allied Artist Music Group), is steadily advancing in popularity. The Norwegian born rocker, a musical child prodigy was destined to create music being born into a musical family. As a teen, Rocky was already playing in rock bands and performing live, something he loves to do above anything. I traded some intimate questions and answers with Rocky regarding his career and his future desires... Why did you feel like covering a tribute to Phil Collins? Phil Collins is a legend and a musical genius. He’s an incredible singer, musician and songwriter. I’ve been a fan of his from an early age, the music video for “In The Air Tonight” playing on TV was responsible for that. I didn’t discover Genesis until later, but I’m glad I did, because they have so many amazing songs. The obvious choice when doing a tribute to Phil Collins would be “In The Air Tonight,” but I chose the Genesis song “Mama” instead, because on the one hand it’s similar, yet on the other hand, it’s a song with its own distinct identity and feel. For full interview: https://www.thehypemagazine.com/2020/09/rocky-kramer-rock-star-in-the-truest-form/
The Pipeman interviews Rocky Kramer. Listen as they discuss rock and roll history, playing multiple instruments and his debut album, "Firestorm."
The year is 1983. Genesis releases its twelfth album simply named Genesis. The first single is “Mama.” Being born a decade later, I didn’t hear this masterpiece until roughly thirty years after its release.
This song has so much in common with Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight,” that it could almost be considered a sequel. They both feature a three minute build up, orchestrated by a synth, a drum machine and Phil’s vocal, which is interrupted by a massive drum fill that kicks the song into overdrive. To pay homage to Phil, I wanted to make a hybrid of the two songs, focusing on “Mama,” as it’s the lesser known song, but also, a song with more twists and turns. It slowly becomes more and more Mama. I replaced the gritty drum machine with cleaner, more realistic drums, made the guitars more prominent, which is just the way I like it, while maintaining the integrity of the original vocal. “Mama” was written by Genesis. Additional footage by Videezy.com and Videvo. Coming off of his debut concept album, “Firestorm”, via Allied Artists Music Group, the Norwegian/American super metal recording artist Rocky Kramer has just released his new Queen Cover “The Show Must Go On”…..and he nailed it. One of the best guitarists on the planet, Rocky was trained as a very young child as a violinist. His love for playing live performances guides his music and his life. I shared questions and answers with Rocky regarding his career currently with Allied Artists and his musical drive… Louder Than War: How did music shape your life and become so important to you? My parents not only loved music, but they made a living out of it. My mother taught piano and sang in a choir, and my dad was a first violinist in the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. When my mom passed away shortly after my fifth birthday, it wasn’t unusual that my dad would bring me and my older brother to concerts. He also encouraged us to play an instrument, so I ended up taking violin lessons, and my brother took piano lessons. My brother also took an interest in guitar around this time. I wanted to play drums so I made my own drum set out of ice cream boxes and played with pencils. That was my first band, and we would perform little concerts for our babysitter with songs my brother wrote. This ignited my interest in playing guitar and writing music. When I saw smoke coming out of Ace Frehley’s guitar while he was playing an out-of-this-world guitar solo, I knew I wanted to be a lead guitarist in a rock band some day. When I started writing music regularly at the age of twelve, I wanted to start my own band. As a teenager, being a rock guitarist was my identity, which is why it was so important to me. I just couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I still can’t! Click the link below to read the rest of the interview: https://louderthanwar.com/rocky-kramer-firestorm/ Thank you for all the birthday wishes! Amy's Pastries made a delicious iMac chocolate birthday cake with my Twitch show on the screen. I also had my first virtual birthday party on Zoom. What a time to be alive! Special thanks to Kim, Sandra and Yo. Thanks for the gifts! What could be more appropriate than a podcast about bad gifts?
"Musician Rocky Kramer joins to discuss his musical beginnings growing up in Norway, his move to the United States and his latest record Firestorm. As always, he also lets me in on the worst gift he’s ever been given." Website: https://www.badgiftspod.com/podcast Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-15-rocky-kramer/id1512655507?i=1000486934925 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OoKDJN1J42W5QkRtsPirB Rocky Kramer, Viking Guitar Virtuoso, interviewed on the Meet Me For Coffee podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6YFQSRFIQZR8b99hce3uB9?si=2YVU6dWGQBuEpoGfBqRr9g This year, we were faced with one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. It forced us to stop what we were doing and give up on many things we take for granted. Our lives have changed, but no matter what, we have to find a way to carry on with the show. As an entertainer, “the show” has a more literal meaning. I’m naturally eager to get back onstage to perform again, but right now, we have something more important to deal with, so that we all, can go on with the show! The Show Must Go On was originally performed by Queen on the Innuendo album in 1991. The song was written by Brian May, Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Roger Taylor. Click the link below to read the July issue of XS10 Magazine. For the Rocky Kramer interview, go to page 44. https://issuu.com/xs10magazine/docs/xs10magazine_july2020 Last night, I received this plaque, which celebrates Rock Star reaching #1 on the DRT Global Top 150 Independent Airplay chart in October 2019. Huge thanks to everyone that made this possible, and I gotta say, it looks pretty damn good on my wall!
Check out this phone interview I did this morning for the Smoked Meat podcast, hosted by Brad Pittman. We had a great time, talking about my music, my influences, guitars and delicious smoked meat. Enjoy!
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