MAY 2011 Recently, Robert Mackey and Steve Birkett from AVM made a trip to Atlanta to take care of some business.  They spent a few days in meetings but managed to find time to spend with friends Joe South, Mengo, Mike and Atlanta Falcons coach Alvin Reynolds!  It was great catching up and dinner was excellent!  More news about this amazing trip is on the horizon.  Be sure to catch up on the website to stay informed on current events with…

There are musicians and bands that leave an indelible mark on us as fans. They take us on a journey, impress us with their insane talent, and give us goals to strive for. Certain drummers just have the magic touch, or have that special something that just takes their band to another level. Take Ringo for instance. If you’ve ever heard a pre-Ringo Beatles song, it sounds like any other basic sixties song. But put Ringo into the mix, and…

Hey guys! Over the weekend, Robert went down with his family to the University of Illinois in Springfield to see the WORLD CLASS dance troupe, the Paul Taylor Dance Company – featuring Michael Novak, Robert’s nephew! Michael started his dance training at age two at the Bonnie Lindholm School of the Dance. He continued his training on scholarship at the University of the Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet, and Springboard Danse Montreal, and, in 2009, graduated magna cum laude…

Nothing like a short trip to Las Vegas to lift one’s spirits…starting with a room with a view on the 27th floor (see photo) plus Las Vegas spectacular night life on the streets complete with an occasional “angel” and “demon” (see photo). The highlight of the trip was going to the BEATLES “LOVE” show by Cirque du Soleil at the MIRAGE. This amazing multi-media show is like nothing that I had ever seen before. I found myself completely mesmerized by…

Ernie Ball Super Slinky Electric Strings are played by Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Angus Young. , and these do well for me too! . Gauges .009 .011 .016 .024w .032 .042   this gauge variety gives me a very heavy sound but gives a nice clean tone as well. Blues metal rock or modern symphonic like AVM, they cover whatever genre I want to mimic. Stretching strings or bending, these strings tend to give me plenty of absorbancy.  They don’t break like most, and when you have…

Anyone that knows me knows I love drums!  Vintage, custom, domestic or import.  I love the sound they make and the power they possess. My kits include vintage Slingerland stuff and a vintage ’68 Ludwig kit.  The Slingerland kit is actually a conglomeration of several different kits and pieces spanning the 60’s to the 80’s, all in Silver Sparkle.  My bass drums range in size from 22” to 26”, with my main man being the 24” kick.  The 26” kicks…

The Music Business Is Fuc’#ed Up!!! That’s the theme of the TOUR SMART seminar that your’s truly attended last night! No, I am not making this up.The music industry veteran MARTIN ATKINS (Atkins was a member of Johnny Rotten’s Public Image Ltd and Killing Joke. He founded industrial supergroup Pigface, The Damage Manual, and Murder Inc., and has contributed to the bands Nine Inch Nails and Ministry) stirred up some hysterically funny truths about the music business. From passing out…

I was recently asked what type of speakers I like to use for my bass rig. Well, after many years of trying different amps and speaker configurations, I prefer the Ampeg SVT 410 HLF. I’ve tried cabinets in the past that used 15” or 18” speakers and they were all too muddy sounding for me. One of the first rigs I ever used was the Classic Ampeg with two cabinets that had eight 10” speakers in each enclosure. That offered…

This week I wanted to follow up last weeks post and give you guys a run down of my guitars that I use on stage. For electric guitars, my primary electric is a Fender Big Apple, otherwise known as a Double Fat Strat, because it features dual humbucker pickups as opposed to the traditional single coil pickups. I made some custom changes to the instrument for it now features an Ash body with a Birds Eye Maple neck and Ebony…

As a musician, I’m always curious as to what equipment others use to get their signature sound. As a result, others are just as curious about the equipment AVM band members use, so I thought I’d share my live rig setup with you. For this post I will share my amp setup as well as my effects. Next week I will go through my guitars. For amplification I use either a 100 watt Rivera Quianan head, or a 100 watt…