Some might want to put sole blame on the economy for the shape Guitar Center is in but a recent article has plenty of blame to go around to account GC's alleged $1.6billion (yes BILLION!) debt.
From The Tone King:On June 27, 2007 GC was bought out by Bain Capital for $1.9 billion plus assumed debt. With the debt, Bain had written a $2.1 billion dollar check for Guitar Center and all of its subsidiaries.
For those who don’t know, Bain Capital is a private equity and venture capital group that was founded in 1984 by current presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Basically, Bain buys companies, restructures them, and then sells them off at a profit. There are some success stories, and some no-so-success stories.
Unfortunately, when it came to Guitar Center, Bain hasn’t had much luck. One of the common complaints among GC employees after the restructuring involves their compensation. It’s hard to believe, but Guitar Center used to offer comprehensive pension and benefit plans. It’s the usual story. Outsource IT to India, freeze raises for years, increase management but cutting back on sales personnel by making them part-time, making it difficult to keep the floor covered.
And being hit by a recession right after the buy out didn’t help matters any.
It's an interesting read. Check out the whole article at The Tone King.
As a young kid and a fan of rock music, I fell in love with the sound of Jon Lord's keyboard playing. The Hammond organ which could sound corny and elevator in the wrong hands would growl and scream with the great Jon Lord pounding the keys. Lord who suffered with pancreatic cancer passed away from a pulmonary embolism. He was and is one of my favorite keyboard players and he'll be missed.
Big Wreck first caught my ear with their debut CD but after they parted ways with lead singer, Ian Thornley, I never thought they would reunite. I was so happy to hear that their new CD will be released in just over a week! Here's the video for their new single, "Albatross". If the rest of the CD is as good as the single, it might be my CD of the year.
Adam Lambert and Kris Allen singing with Queen on American Idol
At first I was appalled at the news that an American Idol kid would get a chance to front one of classic Rock's greatest bands but after thinking about it for a while, it's not that bad. If I could think of one single other person that would be better than Lambert it might be different but what the heck, the guys in Queen are bordering on fossils so Adam Lambert with Queen is better than no Queen at all. Of course Adam is denying these rumors. Could he be covering for a big press release?
So at this time the answer is no. No Adam Lambert with Queen. But I wouldn't be surprised if the tour started before the end of this year.
Now this is what rock used to be about, great vocals, great songs, harmony guitar solos and a ton of attitude. This still holds up for me today even though Phil Lynott and Gary Moore have since passed on.
Dang, I knew that Lady Antebellum song sounded familiar but when I heard the Alan Parsons Project's "Eye In The Sky" I knew that they were a little too close. Thankfully someone on YouTube already did my work for me and made this video.
