Tag Archives: Ben Gillies

Gail’s Top Ten Favorite CDs of 2012

Tame Impala Lonerism CD Cover

Tame Impala, Lonerism

People who’ve taken a lot of psychedelics (raises hand) and listened to way too much music while lounging in a room lit only by a black light bulb will often talk about how certain albums sound like they were made while the band was on drugs. Tame Impala’s sophomore album, Lonerism, is drugs.

Read my awesome review of Lonerism at This Link.

Darkness Hot Cakes CD Cover

The Darkness, Hot Cakes

Hot Cakes is my favorite Queen album since A Night at the Opera.

Read my amazing review of Hot Cakes at This Link.

Little Barrie King of the Waves CD Cover

Little Barrie, King of the Waves

Little Barrie’s King of the Waves was Number One on the list for most of the year until The Darkness nudged it from the top spot, only to be further nudged by Tame Impala. This only means it was a pretty fucking great year for Rock & Roll.

Read more of my opinion on how Little Barrie Saved Rock in 2012 at This Link.

Sheepdogs CD Cover

The SheepDogs

It is my belief that The SheepDogs operate in this realty via adept use of a well-oiled Time Machine.  Read more about my hypothesis at This Link.

Matt Boroff's Filling In The Cracks CD Cover

Mott Boroff, Filling In The Cracks EP

My mind was blown away last year by the discovery of Matt Boroff, an artist who refers to himself as a “Gold Medalist in the Best Kept Secret Olympics.” Read more at This Link.

Killers Battle Born CD Cover

The Killers, Battle Born

I like This Album.

Bento Diamond Days CD Cover

Bento, Diamond Days

I was in the process of reviewing Diamond Days when I was unexpectedly evacuated from my apartment due to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy. Drama! Bento is the solo project by Ben Gillies, former drummer for Silverchair. I interviewed Ben once and he was hilarious. If you enjoyed Siverchair’s artsy fartsy 2007 Swan Song, Young Modern, you will probably dig this album.

Vaccines Come of Age CD Cover

The Vaccines, Come of Age

The first time I played this CD each song managed to distinguish itself from the next, so it gets to be on this list.

Lita Ford Living Like a Runaway CD Cover

Lita Ford, Living like a Runaway

No pain, no gain. Guitarist and Rock Godess Lita Ford bounces back from a messy divorce to make the album of her career. My indepth review of Living Like a Runaway can be found at This Link.

Mike Viola Acousto de Perfecto CD Cover

Mike Viola, Acousto De Perfecto

If real musical talent – quality songwriting, musicianship, charisma – were still rewarded with popularity and financial success in the way they were back in the ‘70s, Mike Viola would be as revered as Elton John and sell out bigger concert tours than Lady Gaga.

Read more from me about Mike Viola and Acousto De Perfecto by clicking Here.

Gail In Print: Modern Drummer, May issue and Metal Edge, April Issue

Tomas Haake: Math Rocker!

Check out the May issue of Modern Drummer, with Mesuggah’s Tomas Haake on the cover, for my Rad updates on Ben Gillies of Silverchair and Sean O’Shea of Orgone.

Also, look for my retro-reviews of classic albums by Warrant and Quiet Riot in the article “25 Essential Hair Metal Albums,” found in April’s edition of Metal Edge.

Ozzy Is Still Alive

Rock Star Quote of the Week: Ben Gillies of Silverchair!

Silverchair

Ben, Dan, Chris = Silverchair

“I guess I’ve become more aware of dynamics and having a bit more of a deft touch, though it’s nice to lay into them on occasion as well. In my early days I was a bit of a basher. I hit them really hard all the time and had really big drums and big sticks and everything was big. As I grew up I got much lighter sticks and the drums remained kind of big. I used to use Sabian AA cymbals and if I heard an AA cymbal now I’m sure it would just rip my head apart. I’ve become a lot gayer, I guess you could say. No, I’m just joking. But you can say that I’ve become much gayer.”

– Silverchair Drummer Ben Gillies, on how his approach to the kit has evolved from album to album