Hi Everyone.

Our radio show is this coming Saturday, December 16th. My trip to the U.K., for the most part was very enjoyable. I particularly liked the cold rain, gales, and below freezing temps. Upon my arrival back in the States, my gusto, energy and determination to get back on track soared then fizzled. I am, as I write this, floundering in the mire, hating the Christmas show I put together and searching for a new show – brought to my knees by the California sunshine, winds and allergies. Between body aches, I argue in my mind – Slipknot here or Dylan? – such dilemmas I can afford every day.

Bottom line, whatever the show will be musically, it will be a show dedicated to all – rich or poor, with or without, for those in love, for those suffering, for all people everywhere. Expect some Slipknot, Type O, Lennon, Flaming Lips, U2, older songs and classics – I guess, a mixed bag of artists, every one of them great in what they do.

Check us out. It’ll be a surprise for me and hopefully for you.

Stay Strong,
Bill

Hi! Everybody. It’s Bill.

The hardcore show for November falls on 11/11, Armistice Day/Veterans Day this year. The host of Rock 50, Mike Stark will be running this show. I’ll be back in December for the Christmas Show, December 16th.

The 11/11 show will be a Best of Hardcore ’06 and some ’05. All the Greatest of the Great: Slipknot, In Flames, Lamb of God, Dimmu, Strapping Young Lad, Shadows Fall, Arch Enemy, The Haunted, Exodus, Ministry. It’s endless, and it’ll rock from top to bottom. However, one exception; there will be a tribute to those in harm’s way, a reminder of those lost but not forgotten, in fitting with 11/11. Tracks in the tribute so far, Gung Ho/Anthrax and Recruit/Waterdown; possibly Pavarotti, I don’t know yet.

Hey, Stay Strong. “And if it’s in the dark, put it in the light.” © Bill Ward.

Later.

From Joe Siegler, Bill’s Web guy.. “Additionally, the song lists have been posted for the October shows. Please visit the Rock 50 page for a listing of all of them.”

H! Everyone.

It’s Bill. October 28th is our Hardcore show. This month, I’ve thrown in a few Halloween surprises. We have some new releases, or relatively new. Strapping Young Lad, good stuff. Sikth, a new band – to me, they sound great. More Lamb of God from their Sacrament album; Arch Enemy; In Flames; new to me, Psychocharger; Zombie1s Death of it All – just right for Halloween; the Murder Dolls – mmm, I wonder what they1ll be playing; Exodus; new Mastodon – great album: Type O Negative – one of my favorite bands, quite brilliant, I think. The show, I hope, will get you moving. There are many more bands, and I hope you1ll like it.

Stay Strong,
Bill

H! Everybody.

Just a reminder that on 10/14/06 “ROCK 50” at 11:00 AM Pacific goes on the air and over the internet (for details, check out the Rock 50 Radio page.)

The Classic Rock/Metal show is usually a wider variation of music, if compared to our Hardcore show. It’s a combination of music starting from the 60’s, sometimes earlier, right up to the late 80’s, and sometimes beyond that decade. We try to make a good show, playing the heavy-hitting bands – AC/DC, Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Priest, Sabbath – all of whom appear 10/14, as well as the Rock bands of the 60’s – Cream, Yardbirds, The Who. Also on this show, we’ll shake it up a little and play some old and new Blues to pay homage to those who’ve made a path for many of us to walk down.

Later.

Stay Strong,
Bill

OK, we have a lot of stuff going on for our August 12th radio show. We’re playing some of the bands from the “Sounds of The Underground” tour, playing here on August 12th in Southern California at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City. Cannibal Corpse, Gwar, Through The Eyes of the Dead, Trivium, and of course, In Flames will be featured.

The “Gigantour” kicks off September 6th at the Idaho Center in Nampa, ID, so we’re playing bands from that upcoming tour also. Megadeth, Lamb of God, Arch Enemy, Overkill and more. All the bands mentioned so far from both tours are balls out, extreme rock – very incredible.

Other bands on the radio show will be Scar Symmetry, Stone Sour, A Life Once Lost and Unearth. Check us out if your taste is Metal and radical Hardcore.

Also, a short memorial tribute to the legendary Arthur Lee of Love fame will be played after the first hour of the show. Arthur died in Memphis on Thursday, August 3, 2006.

H! Everybody. It’s Bill.

I wanted to check in to make an announcement about a change in the upcoming Hardcore show’s format. As some of you know, Syd Barrett, one of the founding musicians of Pink Floyd, died recently. Towards the last 30 minutes of the show, we’ll be playing some of Syd’s most memorable songs, and possibly “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd.

Regular listeners to Rock 50’s Hardcore show know that we pretty much pound away two hours of very, very heavy metal tracks, however, Syd’s death has to be acknowledged, and a tribute to him is essential.

Other bands appearing on the show this month – new Shadows Fall, Devil Driver, As Hope Dies, Celtic Frost, Ice Pick and many more.

Check out the show if you can this Saturday, July 22nd at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.

Rock always,
Bill

Saturday’s Rock 50 show marks a return to the Classics with the first special edition of Bill’s Rock 50 show. During the first hour, Bill will showcase songs by artists who were influential to him personally, and who, in his opinion, also set the course for this new direction in Rock. This set will include ground-breaking tracks such as “Shapes of Things” by The Yardbirds, The Doors’ “Break on Through,” Cream’s “White Room,” The Pretty Things’ “Defecting Grey” and “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane – songs that broadened the spectrum of Rock with dark, eerie sounds and rough edges. Also listen for key tracks by The Who, Led Zeppelin, and of course, Black Sabbath. In Part 2 of the show, Bill expands on the groundwork laid down in the 60’s with a hard-hitting line-up of artists, including Rainbow, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and Motorhead.

You asked for it, and now the Classics are back. Tune in Saturday and remember to keep checking the Rock 50 page for the next Classic Metal edition.

On Rock 50 this Saturday, April 22, Bill will feature Part 3 in his interview series with In Flames. Also on deck are tracks from Zombie, Dillinger Escape Plan, Immortal, Mastodon, Exodus and 30-Round Clip, a brilliant new band out of LA. Other highlights: the phenomenal live version of “A Bid Farewell” by Killswitch Engage and Korn¹s ³Tearjerker.² Tune in this Saturday!

In addition to Bill’s note posted today about the new “Classic” formatted Rock 50 episodes, we have some ‘backwards’ Rock 50 items, too. Available now on the Rock 50 page are playlist archives. We’ve posted all the songs/bands played on the January & February episodes from 2006.

Going forward we’ll be posting track listings for those episodes shortly after they air as well. Enjoy!

Beginning in April, Bill will co-host two “Rock 50” shows every four months. The additional show will focus on classic metal and hard rock artists, with the first program airing on Saturday, April 29th. Bill’s regular show featuring his favorite hard-core bands will continue to run each month – check the Rock 50 page for upcoming dates.

Bill has passed along a letter about the additional shows for you..

Hi Everyone!

I’m very happy that Mike Stark, our host for the “Rock 50” show, has been able to give me the opportunity to present three classic rock shows per year, along with our hard-core shows. The hard-core shows have been going really well, and I am fully enjoying researching newer bands, as well as playing the established giants of metal today. I’ve been able to build a lot of new relationships with many of the bands we play, and I’ll continue to look forward to meeting and playing the music of the bands to come. As much as I love the newer music, I have been missing playing hard rock and classic metal, and over the past year I’ve phased out mixing new metal with classic metal.

I felt both combinations somehow choked, or diminished the energy during a two-hour period. I feel much more focused when playing hard-core only, and vice versa when playing a total classic rock, metal show. I think by playing separate shows there will be less push and pull, and I think the end product of the shows will be stronger and more definitive.

As I do with the hard-core bands, I want to do more “classic metal” interviews (something I’ve wanted to do for awhile). I like the interviews to be direct from the guts, so I hope for good in-depth interviews.

I guess our first classic metal show is April 29th – check us out. For those of you out there that don1t like the new stuff, but love the older bands, then definitely check out this show, we1ll rock from start to finish.

Finally, calling all hard-core fans, check out the show March 22nd – Dimmu Borgir, the re-released “Stormblast” CD – need I say more.