A mash-up is the artful and creative method for weaving of songs on top of each other. Artists have been doing this for years such as, Harry Nilsson “mashing up” more than a dozen Beatles’ songs in one song on his 1967 album, Pandemonium or U2 singing the choruses of Rolling Stones songs over their own hit songs in tribute.
The song, “Sweet Home Alabama” by southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd was meant as a response to Neil Young’s controversial anthems, “Southern Man” and “Alabama” back in 1974.
During the original recording sessions at the legendary Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama, the crafty members of Skynyrd originally meant to mash-up the two songs so that the lines of “Southern Man” would answer the lines of “Sweet Home Alabama” and in fact, if you listen closely you are able to hear the faint beginning of “Southern Man” after Ronnie Van Zant sings the first line of the song. That plan was ultimately scrapped however, that wasn’t the first or the last time songs were superimposed onto each other for effect.
Rockphoria uses the “mash-up” throughout the show in artful and creative ways. In fact, if you listen carefully you will hear over 60 classic rock song references weaving in and out of each other throughout the performance.
There’s really no way to take everything in the first time around so we recommend that you don’t try and analyze too much…just sit back and enjoy the show. The show tends to change from night to night as the band and the videographer are able to improvise as they feel their way around the jagged edges and the soft careening corners of the songs and clever narrations.
Why not? The video incorporated into the show is not meant to overwhelm or distract from the music but more to provide a nostalgic place marker for those that lived through those classic rock days and a point of reference for those who didn’t.
There are sections where the video will guide you and the music will accompany the video and other sections where it is just a friendly companion to the musical journey that you are going on.
The Rockphoria DJ’s are a conglomeration of many DJ’s/ VJ’s throughout the years…men and women alike who cut their teeth on spinning records and carts all day and all night for the love of rock and roll. The original disc jockeys were the ones who introduced us to the sounds that would forever color our worlds and become the fabric which tied our thoughts, feelings, and memories to the important events in our lives.
They were the ones who gave our classic rock heroes life and created the legends and myths that live deep in our hearts even to this day. The style of our Rockphoria DJ’s may at times remind you of the classic rock pioneers such as Wolfman Jack, Casey Kasem, Nina Blackwood, or even Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati…or maybe even the local DJ that accompanied you on those late-night drives, romantic evenings parked by the lake, or provided the soundtrack to your daily life.
The Rockphoria DJ’s weave facts, fiction, rumors, and speculation into a comprehensive narration of the history of classic rock while tying together the dreams, adversities, and aspirations of pioneers such as John Lennon and George Mallory.
The songs really just fell into place. Much like a conversation with an old friend where you pick up exactly where you left off years ago, the songs, segues, and mash-ups just flowed naturally.
The show changes from night to night and new sections are added or edited on the fly depending on the flow of the show. Some nights the show broadly follows a clear and well-worn familiar path of classics and other nights the show may meander and slither around unexpected corners popping in obscure classics only heard in the wee hours of the morning on your local classic rock radio station. Those were the days when you waited hours to hear your song and then frantically dialed the station phone number to request the song again. Those were the days when your albums were your best friends and the wallpaper at the party or your only friends to help you through the tough times. Those were the days when you would sit with an album and get lost in the cover art while following the lyrics on the dust cover. Those were the days before downloadable singles when we listened to every song front to back…even when the 8-track flipped sides halfway through “Free Bird” or “In a Gadda da Vida.”
This next song goes out to…!!! Let us know what you want to hear and who you want to dedicate it to…you may just hear your dedication at an upcoming show!
The band is constantly adding new songs and dropping in ideas. There are spots in the show where the band and the DJ are improvising so it’s not uncommon for a band member to drop in a request. You can send the band an email or even try yelling it out at the show…you just never know!