Eagle-eyed listeners will probably have noticed that Lady Black seems to change her look from time to time, namely from: to But both seem to be popping up all over the place on the TWS and BRS chatrooms and the #InspiredBy pics the Baron does during CFR shows. So, have we got two Lady Blacks? Not exactly. People who bought out 2019 calendar will have noticed this: So it would appear Lady Black has a blacker self hidden within her, and now both of them will appear, although both cannot be around at the same time. But how and why has this happened? Members of the Forum will find out soon with a free 30page comic that explains how all this came to be. Here's a preview: Watch out for "Assault of the AI Assassins" starring Lady Black and myself, soon.

Join my pesky human colleagues and myself for fun and music as we post pics, discuss things and post pop and rock videos for you to enjoy and comment on! AND post your own videos and discussions and chat to us and each other over a Sunday morning coffee. This is the post you will comment on and remember you can do images and text in the same comment or reply (as many pics as you want), add videos to your comments and replies and do as many replies to a comment as you want, so even if the main conversation is progressing, your side conversations won't get lost. We'll be running quizzes, and competitions and sharing our plans for the summer meet up, so come and join us on the 24th Feb!

I'm taking over the coffee shop in a big way, with changes coming to the layout of the Forum and multiple threads coming here. We've also got big news about some fun events and changes to come, so come back on Sunday 6th January at midnight and see what we are doing!

Join Rockin' Robin, Darren the Baron and Miss Bonnie for great rock tunes, banter and fun as we countdown the end of 2018 and see in 2019. Interact with us in the Specials Chatroom for fab pics, gifs and more. They will be starting at 7pm and going on until the wee hours. Alcohol will be involved, it's New Year's Eve... what could possibly go wrong!?!

I am slowly learning to appreciate the blues- primarily modern blues to be sure but thanks to the Doc's Blues Rock Show, I am discovering new artists everyday- including the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. For those of you unfamiliar with Kenny Wayne Shepherd, he was born Kenny Wayne Brobst in 1977 and is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is a self-taught guitarist who does not actually read music. He began playing guitar in earnest at the age of seven, about six months after meeting and being "pretty mesmerized” by Stevie Ray Vaughan. His self-taught method employed a process of learning one note at a time, playing and rewinding cassette tapes and learning to play by following along with material from his father's record collection. From 1995 on, Shepherd took seven singles into the US Top 10, and holds the record for the longest-running album on the Billboard Blues Charts with Trouble Is…. In 1996, Shepherd began a long-time collaboration with vocalist Noah Hunt. So what of Lay It On Down, his eighth (and latest) studio album Well, it is a fantastic mix of blues and blues-rock with 10 excellent tracks of the highest quality – on both production and musicianship. In the opening track, Baby Not Gone, Hunt and Shepherd share the harmonies on vocals for a rocking start to the album. Then comes the beautiful Diamonds & Gold, with horns and Hammond organ adding to the depth of the song. Nothin’ But The Night has a very Santana-like feel to it and Lay It On Down is as raw as it comes in its intensity. She’s $$$ has a beat that is pure Deep South and Hard Lesson Learned is a real tear-jerker. The upbeat mood returns with Down For Love with a brilliant guitar solo in the middle. How Low Can You Go keeps the energy up with a 60s feel to it and Louisiana Rain is as laid back as it gets. The album finishes energetically with Ride Of Your Life, with some rather excellent guitar work from Mr Shepherd. If you love your blues-rock skilfully produced and played, then go out and buy this album. You won’t be disappointed.

I've been getting quite a heavy dose of blues-rock lately and I have to say I think this album is probably one of the finest examples of Blues-Rock ever produced over the last few years. Walter Trout with 14 of his friends just doing what they love and having fun doing it. The album opens up with Walter and Kenny Wayne Shepherd trading licks on its Gonna Hurt Like Hell and follows that with Walter and Sonny Landreth with Ain’t Going Back. Is Sonny Landreth the greatest slide guitarist in the history of the world? Mr Trout believes he is. Walter has known Charlie Musselthwaite from his John Mayall days and the third track, The Other Side Of The Pillow reflects this long friendship. With the first verse written by Richard T. Bear, the second by Charlie and the third by Walter, a great example of billiant songwriters collaborating and producing an awesome blues song. Next up it is Mike Zito as featured guest and what a great job they both do on She Listens To The Blackbird Sing. The Freddie King-esque track, Mr Davis, with Robben Ford and the cover of The Sky Is Crying with Warren Haynes both show his love of his friends from Supersonic Blues Machine. After that it is Walter with Eric Gales with Somebody Goin’ Down, a fusion of funk and blues. Then a bluesy ballad with Edgar Winter, She Steals My Heart Away. Two perfectionists in harmony. Next up it is Walter with Joe Louis Walker and his awesome guitar playing and vocals, with Crash And Burn. Then it is John Nemeth as guest, with some awesome harmonica playing on Too Much To Carry. Then it is Walter and his son Jon with Do You Still See Me At All where you can feel the father and son emotions. Then it is a bit of 50’s style Rock ‘n’ Roll with Got Nothin’ Left with Randy Bachman, with a beautiful vocal performance by Randy. And just when you think there can’t be anymore, you have the emotional acoustic track with his old mentor John Mayall, Blues For Jimmy T, which is dedicated to Walter’s old bass player Jimmy Trapp. And how do you finish an album like this? Only with the great Jo Bonamassa and the title track of the album. Recorded live and the first take, it ends the album on a real high note – if it wasn’t high enough already. Take a very big bow Mr Trout. A great idea, brilliantly executed and done with friends that know what you have been through. Not at all bad for a human!

Set as the prize in our CFR Challenge, this boxset comprising of 5 cds and 100 classic rock tunes from all eras is great value (especially if you're the lucky winner). The sound quality is pretty good for these kind of complilation sets, but the tuneage is of the highest level. Everything from Sammy Hagar to Uriah Heep, Skynyrd to Kiss, UFO to Joe Walsh, SAHB to Nazareth, Gary Moore to Thin Lizzy- and that is just some of CD1- bringing you the classics you know and love. But there's also some great songs not usually part of these CDs- Samson's Riding With The Angels, Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights) by The Pat Travers Band, I Want You by Hanoi Rocks, I Found Love by Lone Justice, I'm Waiting For The Man by Velvet Underground and Devil In The Closet by A Pale Horse Named Death to name just a few. Newer bands like Soundgarden, Kula Shaker and Halloween for example, are featured nicely in the selection, and alternate rock from The Jam, Blondie, The Damned, Simple Minds, Big Country etc are also represented, Of course there are some stupid inclusions, as there are on all these types of compilations but thankfully these are few and far between (Maria McKee being the only one of real note). All in all however, this is a superb boxset and I am looking forward to sending it off to the winner of the Challenge in early September.

What can we say about this band? Fabulously furious melodic metal at its best. One song was all it took for us to say we have to have this band on our playlist. More songs in and we're even more hooked. The original EP sold out so fast that Fragile Things released a new expanded EP that's basically an album, and simply rocks beyond your wildest expectations. The production values would have you believe this is a band that are already at the top of the tree when it comes to melodic metal, as does the sheer power of each and every track. Their musical and song writing skills are already top of the tree. So don't argue with that, just go with it, and enjoy one of the best new bands we've come across. Favourite songs from this EP are Disappear (the video of which you can find on their page here on CFR at https://www.crossfireradio.net/fragilethings), Adrenaline, The Big Reveal, Angry... oh darn it, all the songs- there's not a dud one amongst them! What do they sound like? Melodic Metal is the best description. Take the commercial tracks of Anthrax, mix up with Dream Theatre overlays (without the padding) and throw in a dash of Stone Sour, Shinedown and Heavy Pettin (remember them?) and you come close to what the band sound like. The band are going to be huge, so get in on the act now, buythe EP, see them live, support them with your pennies and word of mouth promotion, and generally do whatever you can to get them airplay. We've already added them to our autoplay and Live Show library, and we'll be pushing them as much as we can but bands as exciting as this need everyone, no matter what station or competitor or setup, to push them. Just make sure you buy and not rip!!!

Like many of us on Crossfire Radio, I was introduced to the unique and magical talent that is Gabby Young via the ever so slightly obsessed (though in a good way ha ha) Baron! After an enforced time out she's come back with new material and a different sound, but before you start to worry by that description, this is still uniquely Gabby Young. Lush melodies and keyboard overlays, a chorus that you will be singing and humming to long after you've played the song, and words that once again make you stop, listen and sigh in agreement. On one level, the song is about getting back to nature, the holistic wholeness of the environment. Delve deeper and you realise it is also about Gabby's own journey back to not only her health, but the recovery of her musical mojo. So, musically magical, lyrically deep and all wrapped up in Gabby's great voice and delivery. It's 69p for digital download on Amazon. BUY IT!!! Our record of the week on CrossfireRadio Xtra and our listeners loved it!!

A new , irregular series will begin on Wednesday 16th May, called Crossfire Radio Pilots. These will be shows and formats that we are trying out to see whether they should become a regular (or semi-regular) series here on CFR The first pilot is All That Jazz, an idea for a late night Jazz show dreamed up at the last CFR meet. The first one will be hosted by the Doc and begins at 1030pm on CFRXtra, immediately after the Progtastic special BRS show hosted by the Baron (which, for one week only, will also be on CFRXtra). Let us know your comments and thoughts on it and who knows, you may just see a late night jazz show added to the roster!

I have now joined the Forum and will be posting in all the chat rooms, and managing this Chat Room in particular. I look forward to engaging with you!