February 2008

Marshall 1959RR Signature Amp Announced

From Des Sherwood at randyrhoads.tk -
Yes, the rumors are true! The new Randy Rhoads signature series amp is being unveiled today at the NAMM show in LA.
Marshall have asked us to keep this quiet until the day of the NAMM show, so that's why any posts mentioning the amp recently had to be removed.I was asked by Marshall to make this post to coincide with the NAMM show opening at 10am today.The amp is designed to look and sound exactly like Randy's amp it is sure to knock the socks off any Rhoads fan or any fan of a great sounding rock amp for that matter.I was lucky enough to be invited to the Marshall factory in December and I got to try out the prototype in the Marshall theatre at full gig volume. (By pure coincidence it just happened to be December 6th-Randy's Birthday...)My word it's good! I only had to play ONE note to realise that. I tried out about five different amp heads that day and I liked them all for different reasons but when I plugged into the Rhoads head my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.I had it set to Randy's stage volume which was about 6 or 7 I believe and it was so loud and proud and the tone was pure and 'honest' and so damn BIG sounding. People always said Randy had such a big sound. I can see why after playing through this!An amazing sounding amp indeed. It's not designed to make you sound like Randy Rhoads because you'd also need his pedals, his Altec cabs, his fingers, his brain and his heart to do that but what it does do is to provide an amazing sounding rock amp with the same spec as the one Randy chose from the factory with the same mod that was offered to him when he was there in 1980 in his white suit.Obviously it's approved by Delores and Marshall have taken every care to get all the proper permissions and details right and have crossed all the 't's and dotted all the 'i's.I’ve heard the Handbook will feature some never before published photos and loads of tributes from top players and new quotes from Randy's family.Doug Aldrich will be demonstrating the amp and I hear he'll be using Jackson pinstripes that Fender have loaned for the day.
Delores and Paul Marshall (Jim's son) will be talking about the amp too.Marshall have done it again. Another mind blowing and ear shattering amp. Sure to be a classic and loved by everyone who love amazing sounding rock amps, not just Randy fans.

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Stay Tuned for updated downloads very soon! More bootlegs to come! Also,

Please submit any Randy Rhoads fan art drawings or paintings for a new section a la the Tattoo section for you to get your artwork noticed!

December 2007

2 Quiet Riot Boots + Quiet Riot Vid Added. Tattoo Section Up!

Lets see here. First off I added 2 Quiet Riot Boots up to the download section. I know I said I was going to do it last week, but its there none the less as soon as I could get to it. Also in the Quiet Riot video section I added a download link to the "VH1's Before They Were Rock Stars" video since youtube.com had removed it due to their own reasons. Pretty big file but its a rare cool thing to have I actually ripped from an old VHS tape I recorded back in about '99.

Also got the "Show Us Your RR Tat!" section up under events in the nav bar. Check it out and still send in those submissions because I know there's more out there! Once again a huge thanks to those who are sending in their pictures to be posted. Just another way to show Randy maybe be gone, but not forgotten!

Oh and also, on a personal note, just really wanted to say "Wow" to this here --> (clicky for picture). I grew up worshiping Randy as a guitarist and a role model from the time I was about 11 when I actually learned the name of the guy playing those cool riffs on the radio when Crazy Train and Flyin' high would come on. Finding sites like The Day the Music Died among others on the internet felt like the Holy Grail of information to a fascinating time and place regarding one of what I believed to be one of musical history's most underrated heroes. Now to be ranking that high in the same search engine(s) is pretty darn cool.

-Matt

November 28, 2007

Kelly Garni Speaks...

From the RandyRhoads.tk message boards....

"No need to state the obvious. First off I want to thank all of you who either called or emailed me. Im sorry I can't respond to them individually as it would be a huge endeavor. I also want to thank everyone who refrained from jumping to conclusions and starting rumors. This has been a very tramatic tradegy to me and because of the fireworks usually associated with Kevin, I was expecting an avalance of negativity that both me and Frankie usually have to deal with. And I'm happy to say that for the most part, everyone did nothing but express good feelings. Unfortunatley what negativity that did occur was internal and while inconviniate, I was able to handle.
On Sunday, while I was working I got a phone call from Kevin's home security company. It was at about 3:15 in the afternoon. I am the only one who gets a call when ever his alarm goes off and usually I go to his house and let the guards in to check things out. However, Kevin had had his front doors replaced a few weeks ago and I did not yet have a key so I told them to send the guards and if there was a problem I would go there and take care of it. They also told me that Kevins voice mail was full. That was the first sign of trouble to me. I got on the phone to frankie in LA and asked if Kevin was with him. He said no and that he hadn't talked to Kevin in about 10 days. He said he thought Kevin was with one of his girlfriends. From there, I started to track her down. I have never met her and only after Frankie gave me her name was I able to find her which was relativity easy. By now about 10 minutes had passed. She said that Kevin had missed Thanksgiving with her (one of 2 girls he was supposed to have thanksging with. Well, he IS Kevin) She said she had gone to his house and left him many messages without response and that she had a very bad feeling about this. Right then, my other phone rang. I have 3 phones in my house and little did I know soon all 3 would be ringing nonstop. I put the phone down on the table with girlfriend #2 still on the line and it was Frankie on the phone. He told me what had happened. I lost all composure at that point and told FB I would call him back. Now to the other phone where I had the unpleasnt task of telling #2 the news. Needless to say she freaked. GF#1 was Lark Williams who was in San Fran at the time. She was worried about Kevin as well and she had called a paramedic friend of hers to go check on Kevin. The guy happened to be very close to his house. With Lark on the phone, the guy went to Kevins and was looking into windows and told Lark he could see his keys on the counter. Lark told him to break in immediately. It was a very ballsy and good thing she did. The guy broke in (hence the call from the alarm co.) and found Kev. This all happened in about 20 minutes time. From there, police, fire, everybody was called. He was found in bed. I talked with a Detective who was there and they hadn't even removed Kevin yet. He said "We have found no signs of foul play and are ruling this an accidental death". Last I heard from Kevin's brother, there was going to be a service this Sunday in Corona del Mar, Ca. Kevin will be buried next to his father. But then I was told that the coroner was still not done so that was kind of up in the air. I have not heard from them since. Peter Margolis was one of the first people I called. I had had to tell the news to Kevins brother as well and I really didn't want to go through that again with others who are important in our lives. He was very kind was imediately saddened and said right off he wouldn't wish this on anybody. I read his statement and can say that he did in fact want to work out the differences between Kevin and himself. From here, I am not going to point out all the other things to you that people say when an icon dies. Kevin was what he was and he lived his life as such. To me, Kevin was my brother for 35 years. And like brothers, we had our diferences. But many many times over dinner, we discussed how great it was to be able to sit across from each and laugh about all the terrible things we said and did to each other. He was always there for me, and I was always there for him. The last time I saw him was on our mutually shared birthday, Oct 29, He gave me a big hug and a really great present. The best present though was the hug. I will miss him terribly. I pray that those who had issues with him don't take this opportunity to celebrate this. If you knew Kevin well enough to have a beef with him, then you knew him well enough to know he had a very good side to him as well. Thank you all for all your kindness. Please remember him for the one thing he wanted to be since he was born. A ROCKSTAR."

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As a tribute I plan to put up some of the old Randy era Quiet Riot bootlegs up tomorrow as soon as I can.
-Matt

November 26, 2007

From MTV News

Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow died Sunday, drummer Frankie Banali confirmed in a post on his Web site. DuBrow was 52 years old and the official cause of his death has yet to be determined.

"I can't even find words to say," Banali wrote. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

DuBrow's body was discovered on Sunday inside the rocker's Las Vegas home. According to those close to the singer, DuBrow celebrated his birthday last month in New Orleans and seemed to be in good health. Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni has asked fans to be patient for details on the singer's death.

"I ask this to all of you not only for myself but for other friends and family," Garni wrote, in a message posted to a Web site honoring the memory of Quiet Riot founding member Randy Rhoads. "I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative or, and I'm sorry for this, even sympathetic, right at this immediate time. I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that. There is a tendency for the subject of Kevin to incite flames on every board, and now is not the time for that. I will explain to everyone here the facts and the truth in the next 24 to 48 hours as I realize this will affect us all. So please, until then, be patient. All details and other pertinent info will be passed on to you here when it becomes available to me."

Bill Chavis, owner of Chavis Records, the label that issued Quiet Riot's last LP, 2006's Rehab, also confirmed the news.

"DuBrow's body was found by friends on Sunday, November 25, in his Las Vegas home," reads the label's site. "As I mourn his death with a heavy heart, I will remember hearing his voice and the music for the very first time on the radio back in 1983. I will remember all the great music Kevin and Quiet Riot gave to so many of us over the years and I will say, 'Thank you, Kevin. May you rest in peace.' "

Credited with helping to launch the 1980s glam-metal scene, Quiet Riot are perhaps best known for their cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," which appeared on 1983's Metal Health and eventually peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was the first by a metal band to reach the chart's #1 position.

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As soon as Kelli Garni gives us further updates we will let you know but don't forget to check the randyrhoads.tk discussion board for news as soon as it comes in.

Also I know its been a while since updates and I'm getting bad about that again, still working a lot. I'll put up a new batch of downloads to go along with the previous ones soon. I'm also still working on the "Show us your RR Tatts" section but I've only received a few submissions and I know theres more out there!

October '07

4 Ozzy Bootlegs Up + Show Us Your RR Tattoo

Ok, well I know I'm a tad late, but better late than never right? Well it was almost unanimous...Rather than doing the vote for the bi-weekly show thing, I went ahead and put up all 4 that were up for the choosing. Now I'm going to go back from the start and put up about 3 or 4 shows every week and we'll see how we do on bandwidth if I can host them all at the same time. So go check out the downloads section for this week's goodies!

PS I'd Give them about 2 hours because they are still uploading! ;)

Next order of business was inspired by an email I received from a dedicated Randy fan with an image of his Randy tattoo attached to it. The old hamster on its wheel in my head started running full speed and I came up with the idea to put up a section for RR tattoos so email the pictures in to me at [email protected] with your first name, and city/state if you like, and I'll start posting them in the events section in about a week. But don't worry, its not a limited time thing. Feel free to send in the pics whenever you can and I'll constantly update the section.

That's all for now ladies and gents,
Matt

October '07

Next Bootleg download....got a better idea

We can keep doing the vote for a show every week, and I'll keep it up after it wins and do a new poll, or I'll start from the beginning and upload a new show every few days or so. Cast your vote Rhoads Freaks! The choice is yours!

Also, if you cast your attention leftwards...(if thats a word) just under the feeback section, I put up a link to a page I wrote for home recording if any one is interested.

September '07

Bootleg Rotation

Hows it goin out there everyone? Still been working a lot of hours here and got a baby on the way so needless to say I've been busy!

Ok, down to the meat and potatoes. I'm gonna get the bootleg of the month back in rotation again, except this time I'm gonna do it bi-weekly, or every other week. BUT, rather than just randomly choose one, I'm going to start setting up a poll for which one you'd like to see available! Once the winner is selected, I'll drop that one from the poll and add another. I'll run this poll for a few days just to get things started then I'll upload the winner. From then on check back every 2 weeks!

-Matt

Update : And the winner by a landslide... is now up for download in the downloads section!
I'll put up another poll shortly to get this going for the mid october download!

May '07

Cool News and Setting the Record Straight...

I know its been a while since I posted anything new and I apologize, but i'm working about 70 hours a week now so it makes it kinda hard to find time. With that aside...

As many of you have probably heard by now, theres a Randy Rhoads film documentary in the works directed by Peter Margolis. This was announced right around the time of the 25th memorial (Click Here for info). Personally I'm very excited to see what they come up with. As we all know, news on Randy or anything for that matter is like finding the holy grail.

Secondly, Kevin Dubrow never "Dissed" Randy as claimed on randyrhoads.tk from "Guitar World Ben" (Wonder who he works for?) sighting this recent article from GuitarWorld.com Kevin gave his full statement here for those who want to hear the truth from the man himself.

From Peter Margolis -

I never used the words “gets the shaft” anywhere in my discussion with Guitar World magazine.
Nor did I mention to them that Kevin provided me with video.
They asked me how the interview process was coming and I told them that everyone was on board except for Kevin and that he declined because he wants to keep his memories of Randy private. The letter that he sent me did look like a form letter but it was not cold or calculating.

And as always, check out the forums www.randyrhoads.tk for the latest info as it comes in.

Peace!
Matt

November '06

It's been a while...

I know its been a while there just hasn't been that much new stuff to post...till now.

Rudy Sarzo's long awaited book is now available via amazon.com!

I'm about half way finished with it and I just can't put it down. Its so great to have new information and new things to learn after all this time. It takes me back to when I was a kid just getting into Randy and how magical the whole time and scene seemed to be. Thanks Rudy!

Also Not sure if everyone was aware but as I hinted around with my last update post, over at randyrhoads.tk there is a bootleg section up with pretty much everything you need now as far as audio goes. Which is why coincidentally I haven't been putting up shows here lately, besides our usual audio downloads available.

-Matt

August '06

Some New Stuff...

Well sorry it took so long for an update. I only recently remembered we never moved over the audio interview section when we revamped the page, so its up and running again..except now its an entire audio section where much awesomeness can be found.

I didn't put up a show this month... I know I'm sorry. But word on the street is.. theres a lot going down at randyrhoads.tk in terms of audio downloads. Ya didn't hear it from me folks!! ;)
-Matt

June '06

Even More New Wallpapers, Another Bootleg Download, Oh My!

We got some new wallpapers up. I think I'm about out of ideas for a while though... hope you guys dig these. :) Should be a new bootleg up shortly. Its great to be able to do monthly boots like we used to way back when now that the bandwidth problems went bye bye.

Also just to clear something up real quick. The videos we link to on youtube.com were uploaded and posted there by myself. Others that I didn't upload I prefer not to link to as they are not mine. I know theres a few others circulating on there that we don't have here. Mainly just a few old QR shows. Check em out there but I probably won't post them here unless I rip them and upload them myself. :)

-Matt

May '06

New Wallpapers, Bootleg Download, Oh My!

Well Hello fellow Rhoads freaks and Randy-holics. I know its been a while. We've got quite a lot of new wallpapers up here at the site. Check 'em out, they're sure to make your wildest dreams come true! Well maybe not that, but they look really nice.

Also, we've got an AUDIO BOOTLEG up for download. We've gotten a lot of bandwidth issues worked out so we'll see how doing full shows every month again works out.

And don't forget, all of the videos are now up and streaming thru this site. Go check it out under each video section!! Last but not least, due to the LARGE amount of spamming, I had to remove the guestbook because we were getting hundreds of fake signings unfortunately. But if you'd like to contact us and let us know what you think, please feel free to shoot an email our way.

April 2nd '06

Photo Gallery

"Diary of an Axeman" finally has a better photo gallery. With full customization on our side, we can offer much more with our photos. While its a project still in the works to bring you all the photos, its up and running. With this new database, you will be able to search through photos using the advanced search feature. We know we have loads of pictures, and if your just looking for a certain one, or a certain era. just type in your request and see what turns up. So please have a look see and let us know how its working for you. click on "images" under your prefered section.

We appreciate and welcome all feedback. This is yet another step in our direction to bring you the best Rhoads site full of all the information you need.

February 2006

All Videos Up and Streaming

Hello everyone. Finally got the videos up! Just check out the respective video sections for Ozzy and Quiet Riot, and you can now stream the videos directly off the site thanks to YouTube.com

With the extra bandwidth we now have, soon we will be hosting full audio boot downloads again.

Late Dec. 2005

COMING JANUARY 17th
Guitar World's Tribute to RANDY RHOADS!

Featuring:
Ozzy and Randy's story told by bassist RUDY SARZO
Randy RUNS RIOT in HOLLYWOOD
His Meeting with VAN HALEN
Randy's PERSONAL PHOTO'S & LETTERS

GW CD-ROM Exclusive!
A Step-By-Step Guide to Playing
"CRAZY TRAIN"

visit GuitarWorld.com for more info and a sample clip of the CD-ROM included with the January edition!

December '05

Hello everyone,

  Sorry for everything taking so long. We've been trying to work out some of the bugs with the site, and things get a little hectic sometimes. You all know how it goes. ;) We are going to experiment with putting up the entire After Hours show up for download. We've gotten a lot of requests for that, and so we've worked on some possible solutions for bandwidth issues and now we're going to see how things work out. Sorry for skipping out in the middle of the Chicago downloads, but don't worry, they'll be back up.

  We apologize for the image sections taking so long to load. We know this is an extensive part of our site, and we wish to bring it to you the best way possible. We are in the works on getting a database so that all our images can be searchable (i.e. by date, place, location.) Due to this extensive database in the works, we are hosting all image files per section on one html page until its completion. Sorry for the load times, will try and have our new database up and running soon.

  Also, yes, we still do have lots more planned for the site. Hang in there, we're going to have it all up and running soon!

-Diary of an Axeman Team

August 2005

Rudy Sarzo's Book "Off The Rails - My Adventures in The Land of Ozz"

has been delayed but as soon as we know when it will be out we will let you guys know. This book will contain detailed accounts of Rudy's time with Ozzy and will include much about Randy.

December 2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KnuckleBonz, Inc. Signs a Licensing Agreement to Create a Randy Rhoads Figure for the Guitar Hero Limited Edition Sculpture Series

Park City, Utah - - June 17, 2004 - - KnuckleBonz, Inc. announced today their plans to create the Randy Rhoads sculpture for the Guitar Hero limited edition collectible figure series. The Rhoads estate has licensed the rights to Randy's image and likeness, which permits the company to create this hi-end, limited edition resin sculpture. The figure is scheduled for release in October of 2004, with pre-ordering available late this summer.

Randy Rhoads is considered to be one of the most talented and influential rock guitarists of all time. His work on the first two platinum selling Ozzy Osbourne solo albums is legendary. Rhoads' combination of metal chops and classical mastery earned him a special place in rock history.

We are honored to be working with the Rhoads family to create a unique piece of artwork that will commemorate Randy's incredible career as one of rock's finest and most talented guitarists, says Tony Simerman, President and Creative Director of KnuckleBonz, Inc. I was lucky enough to see Randy perform just before his passing. I started this company because of my personal desire to collect hi-end, music-based sculpture and have a passion to see that the Randy Rhoads figure is something that will excite his thousands of fans the world over.

The Randy Rhoads collectible will be created using a skilled team of artists to sculpt a remarkable likeness of the guitarist, cast the figure in a polyresin material and then hand-paint each figure in fine detail. All figures in the Guitar Hero series are limited editions and the Randy Rhoads figure will be very exclusive with only 3000 pieces slated for final production.

KnuckleBonz, Inc. also recently announced its licensing agreement with Fender® Musical Instruments Corporation, which permits the company to portray Randy Rhoads with his signature white Jackson® offset-V guitar.

"We are excited about the opportunity to display Randy's image in such an artistic manner," states Ms. Delores Rhoads, mother of the famous guitarist, Randy Rhoads. "We are only interested in projects that will promote Randy's legacy as a musician and artist. This series will do just that."

Pricing and Availability:
The Randy Rhoads Guitar Hero limited edition sculpture will be available in October 2004 for $99 and can be purchased via www.guitarhero.net. Pre-orders will be accepted late summer 2004. See the company's website for further details on pre-ordering, ordering and return policy information.