GTR (band)

GTR was a short-lived rock band founded in 1985 by former Yes and Asia guitarist Steve Howe and former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. In comparison to the two leaders' earlier work within progressive rock, GTR appealed to album-oriented rock radio stations. The band was short-lived, lasting for two years and one album. Hackett has subsequently been strongly critical of the project, though not necessarily of the other musicians involved in it.

The band's name came from an abbreviation of "guitar" as used for track labelling in multi-track recording studios.

History

GTR was formed following Steve Howe's departure from Asia in 1985, after which he and former Yes manager Brian Lane discussed plans for a new group. Howe expressed an interest in working with Hackett, who was then approached by Lane. Hackett proved amenable, despite some doubts as to the project setup: his last few solo albums (including the atypical all-classical-guitar project Bay of Kings) had sold disappointingly and despite his interest in continuing his acoustic work, he saw GTR as an option for sustaining his career at a prominent level and also financing future solo work. Once the two guitarists were in place, the group was completed with the recruitment of American drummer Jonathan Mover (ex-Marillion, and later to work with Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Alice Cooper), bass guitarist Phil Spalding (ex-Bernie Torme, Toyah, Mike Oldfield and Original Mirrors) and singer Max Bacon (ex-Moby Dick, Nightwing and Bronz).

GTR-18 Smokey Sam

The GTR-18A, commonly known as the Smokey Sam, is a small unguided rocket developed by Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in China Lake, California as a threat simulator for use during military exercises. Widely used in training, the Smokey Sam remains in operational service with the United States military.

Design and development

The GTR-18 was conceived in the late 1970s by Robert A. McLellan, a Weapons Range Scientist working with RED FLAG at Nellis AFB. He first searched for a commercially available system that would perform as he envisioned. It quickly became apparent that no commercial product would perform adequately, so the development of the GTR-18 was undertaken by the Naval Weapons Center (NWC) during the early 1980s, with the intent of developing Mr. McLellan's idea of a simple and inexpensive rocket for visually simulating the launch of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) during training exercises.

Constructed from phenolic paper and styrofoam, the Smokey Sam is designed for minimal cost and, in the event of accidentally striking low-flying aircraft, to cause minimal damage.

Ramp

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Variety (Tokyo Jihen album)

Variety (娯楽 (バラエティ)), a.k.a. Goraku is the third studio album by Japanese band Tokyo Jihen, released on September 26, 2007 in Japan through EMI Music Japan and Virgin Music. The album was produced by the band and Japanese recording engineer Uni Inoue. The album contains thirteen tracks and has spawned two singles. The lead single, "O.S.C.A.", was released in July 11, 2007. "Killer-tune" followed as the second single in August 22, 2007.

Background

Its thirteen tracks were carefully selected from a vast number of demos created by the band, with all tracks featuring music written by members other than lead vocalist Ringo Sheena. This was a different direction for the band, most of whose previous material had been composed by Ringo Sheena. The record includes seven tracks from guitarist Ukigumo, five tracks from keyboard player Ichiyo Izawa and one composed by bassist Seiji Kameda. Drummer Toshiki Hata was also asked to contribute, but he declined.

After the album's release, the song "Kingyo no Hako" was picked to be the film Mōryō no Hako's theme song.

Ramp (band)

Ramp is a Portuguese heavy metal band. They began their career in 1989. Their heavy metal is more similar to that which is played in America, rather than its European counterpart. They are often called the "Portuguese Metallica". One feature they were always capable of maintaining throughout their albums is originality. The peak of their career was undeniably in 1998/99, with the album "EDR" and the following promotional tour. In 2003, they released their first self-produced record, entitled "Nude". Ramp is one of the most influential metal bands in Portugal. They have played on (nearly) all main rock events in Portugal, namely 3 appearances on the summer rock festival Super Bock Super Rock, in Lisbon. Also played Ozzfest 2002, T99, Optimus Alive 2009, Rock In Rio 2010/2012, Vilar de Mouros 1996.

Band members

Discography

Studio Albums

Cato

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Cato, a Tragedy

Cato, a Tragedy is a play written by Joseph Addison in 1712, and first performed on 14 April 1713. Based on the events of the last days of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis (95–46 B.C.), a Stoic whose deeds, rhetoric and resistance to the tyranny of Julius Caesar made him an icon of republicanism, virtue, and liberty. Addison's play deals with, among other things, such themes as individual liberty versus government tyranny, Republicanism versus Monarchism, logic versus emotion, and Cato's personal struggle to hold to his beliefs in the face of death. It has a prologue written by Alexander Pope, and an epilogue by Samuel Garth.

The play was a success throughout England and her possessions in the New World, as well as Ireland. It continued to grow in popularity, especially in the American colonies, for several generations. Indeed, it was almost certainly a literary inspiration for the American Revolution, being well known to many of the Founding Fathers. In fact, George Washington had it performed for the Continental Army while they were encamped at Valley Forge.