S T E V E B A B B
AND
H A N N A H P R Y O R
OF
PROGRESSIVE ROCK GROUP
G L A S S H A M M E R
ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT
ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS
WITH RAY SHASHO
Glass Hammer is an American progressive rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee. They formed in 1992 when multi-instrumentalists Steve Babb and Fred Schendel began to write and record “Journey of the Dunadan”, a concept album based on the story of Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Glass Hammer is Progressive rock at its finest! First came
Dreaming City (2021), followed by Skallagrim – Into the Breach (2022). Now
Glass Hammer returns to the cursed realm of Andorath with Part III of their Skallagrim
trilogy, AT THE GATE their most recent release. The album’s narrative concludes
the sword and sorcery-inspired tale of the thief with the screaming sword, a
“desperate man” who lost his lover and his memory. Lead vocalist, Hannah Pryor,
joins Steve Babb, Fred Schendel, and Aaron Raulston. Singer John Beagley and
former Glass Hammer vocalist Jon Davison (now of YES) make guest appearances.
Musically Glass Hammer’s most apparent influences are Yes,
Kansas, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and to a less noticeable extent, Genesis.
While Glass Hammer has, for the most part, combined those influences into a
characteristic style of their own.
THE
LATEST RELEASE
BY
GLASS
HAMMER
Entitled
AT THE
GATE
available at
https://glasshammer.com/official-store/
and
amazon.com
Progressive rock at its finest! First came Dreaming City (2021), followed by Skallagrim – Into the Breach (2022). Now Glass Hammer returns to the cursed realm of Andorath with Part III of their Skallagrim trilogy, AT THE GATE. The album’s narrative concludes the sword and sorcery-inspired tale of the thief with the screaming sword, a “desperate man” who lost his lover and his memory. Lead vocalist, Hannah Pryor, joins Steve Babb, Fred Schendel, and Aaron Raulston.
Singer John Beagley and former Glass Hammer vocalist Jon Davison (now of YES) make guest appearances. “At this point in the tale, our protagonist has searched a thousand years to find his lost love,” comments Glass Hammer’s Steve Babb. “The album’s lyrics and text address not only the story,” he continues, “but what the characters represent to me. At The Gate is an album about hard choices, the pursuit of lost joy, and the hope of a brighter day.” “The trilogy’s music was always meant to have an arc,” he explains. “And while there’s an abundance of metal on this album, you’ll also hear our symphonic side reasserting itself. It’s been part of the plan all along, and I think our fans will love how we’ve wrapped up the trilogy.” Like its predecessors, the digipack insert has the look and feel of a vintage fantasy novel, complete with excerpts from the story and illustrations.
PURCHASE
STEVE BABB’S BOOK
SKALLAGRIM
IN THE
VALUES OF PAGARNA
BOOK ONE
At
amazon.com
“And
those monsters saw not a young man with a sword but a scarred and screaming
horror with the rising red doom of the sun at his back and a hellishly
shrieking, flashing, living sword in his hands.”
Skallagrim
wakes in the middle of a fight for his life with only the vaguest idea of who
he is. Facing an angry mob of murderous cutthroats, he watches helplessly while
the love of his life is abducted before his eyes. Finally, with a crushing
sense of despair, he realizes he’s going to die without even knowing her name.
But he
doesn’t die.
To find
the girl and take his revenge upon the fiend who took her, Skallagrim, wounded
and exhausted, must endure a journey like no other. He’ll face madmen, ghouls,
tentacled horrors, and witches, both foul and fair, as he races toward a final
showdown that will have readers on the edge of their seats.
An
awe-inspiring tale of adventure, triumph, and tragedy, set in a brutal,
unforgiving wilderness and packed with heart-stopping action, Skallagrim – In
The Vales Of Pagarna marks the first installment of an outstanding new series.
ABOUT
GLASS HAMMER
VISIT
Official
website
https://twitter.com/GlassHammerProg
Twitter
www.facebook.com/glasshammerband
Facebook
YouTube
https://stephenrbabb.com/about/
Steve
Babb author website
Discography
Studio
albums
Journey
of the Dunadan (1993)
Perelandra
(1995)
On to
Evermore (1998)
Chronometree
(2000)
The
Middle-Earth Album (2001)
Lex Rex
(2002)
Shadowlands
(2004)
The
Inconsolable Secret (2005, re-recorded in 2013)
Culture
of Ascent (2007)
Three
Cheers for the Broken-Hearted (2009)
If (2010)
Cor
Cordium (2011)
Perilous
(2012)
Ode to Echo
(2014)
The
Breaking of the World (2015)
Valkyrie
(2016)
Chronomonaut
(2018)
Dreaming
City (2020)
Skallagrim
- Into the Breach (2021)
"At
the Gate" (2022)
Live
albums
Live and
Revived (1997; also a compilation of previously unreleased tracks)
Live at
Nearfest (2004)
Double
Live (2015)
Mostly
Live (2018)
Live DVDs
Lex Live
(2004)
Live at
Belmont (2006)
Live at
the Tivoli (2008)
Double
Live (2015)
STEVE BABB
ENTITLED
THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES
SERIES ONE
CHRONICLES,TRUTHS
CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM
FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS
THAT SET US FREE!
BY MUSIC JOURNALIST ...TALK SHOW HOST...
AUTHOR RAY SHASHO
…Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover or E-book at bookbaby.com and amazon.com
Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.
CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA… JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER... RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER... ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST
THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES
BOOK TRAILER
BOOK REVIEW
-By Literary Titan (5) STARS
The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show.
The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan.
Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives.
The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music. The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.
I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.
https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/
Gold Award Winner
