Konstantinos Karamitroudis is one of Rock’s hardest working musicians. However, you may not know him by that name. Konstantinos has wisely chosen to operate under the much-easier-to-pronounce stage name of Gus G as he makes his way through the Hard Rock universe. Formerly a member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band and the leader of Greek Power Metal band Firewind, Gus G was inspired to play guitar by listening to the classic live album FRAMPTON COMES ALIVE and the rest, as they say, is history.
I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I believe you should love whatever music you love, and not be ashamed. I love it all equally. I have all of Andy Williams’ albums as well as the entire CAN catalog. And I love Buzzcocks just as much as I love Neil Sedaka. To me, there’s no difference between Van Morrison and Van Halen – they have both made great records. My love for The Carpenters is as strong as my passion for The Beatles. And how could I not love both Elvis Presley AND Elvis Costello? Finally, I sure do love recent Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees Journey! There was a Journey before vocalist Steve Perry joined the band, and there’s been a Journey since he left, but let us focus on the band’s commercial heyday for a few paragraphs, shall we?
When I bring up the name Rex Smith, many people – usually over 40 years of age – instantly remember him as a teen idol, soap actor, balladeer, hard rocker, TV host or stage actor. Oddly enough, they are all absolutely correct! While he may never have achieved ‘household name’ status all over the world, he is still fondly remembered for quite a few things. For the time being, I’m going to set aside his TV, film and stage work (Street Hawk, Grease, Solid Gold, As The World Turns, Pirates Of Penzance, etc) and focus on his Rock/Pop music career in the ‘70s and ‘80s, all of which is included in the six CD box set ROCK AND ROLL DREAM: 1976-1983.
