_{A few days ago Nikki Sixx published a photo on Instagram of his old band,  London, playing at the Starwood Club in L.A. in the late 70’s and mentioned watching a band called Snow there. To be honest the name of the band means very little to me, though I’m fairly sure they’re mentioned in “The Dirt” (it’s been a while since I read it). The band did however have a cult following in L.A. in the late 70’s / early 80’s and their self-titled EP was well received. Co-incidentally, Escape Music released an album called “At Last” by Snow on 21st July and I’ve included a track from it called “Oh Baby” on the NI Rocks A-Z Show this week.}

_{There are two NI Rocks Shows each week on Rock Radio NI. These are the playlists for those shows for the month of July – all of which are still available from the On Demand Player. There are tracks by over 100 different artists on the Shows this month. Playlists for June were published previously and these Shows are also available via the On Demand Player – http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/news/rrni-updates/3165-ni-rocks-playlists-for-june-2017.html}

_{On the Friday NI Rocks Shows in July there was an interview with Vixen front-woman Janet Gardner talking about her new solo album. There was also an e-mail interview with Brazilian band Owl Company - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews.html}

_{Rock legends Magnum have announced that they will be releasing their next album called “Lost on the Road to Eternity” in January and that it will be followed by a European tour from February through to April. That tour will include a show in The Limelight in Belfast on 1st March 2018. Tickets go on sale on Monday 7th August at 9am. The band had made their first visit to Belfast in over 20 years in 2016 and singer Bob Catley had been my guest on the Friday NI Rocks Show ahead of that gig - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/2621-ni-rocks-interview-with-bob-catley-from-magnum.html}

_{I’ve been a big fan of Canadian band Kobra and the Lotus for about five years and they have featured regularly on the NI Rocks Shows over those years. I’d posted an e-mail interview with front-woman Kobra Paige back in January 2013, but with the recent release of their latest album “Prevail I” and the announcement of the band’s first Belfast gig on 26th November I thought we needed to get Kobra onto the Friday NI Rocks Show for a chat. We spoke via Skype on 1st August as the band prepared to kick off a tour with Steve Harris and British Lion. That interview and 4 tracks from “Prevail I” can be heard on the Friday NI Rocks Show uploaded on 2nd August - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/hosts/ni-rocks-friday-rock-show.html}

_{British rockers Absolva released a double album called “Defiance” through Rocksector Records on 28th July. The album features 12 new tracks on one disc and a bonus disc that has a mix of live tracks and acoustic versions of older tracks as well as the recent single “Harsh Reality”. Absolva released their first album in 2012 and “Defiance” is their fourth studio album – you’ll find recommendations for all four on the Rock Radio NI website. I played the track “Life on the Edge” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 16th June and “Defiance” on 28th July.}

_{Legendary rock band Mr Big released their ninth studio album via Frontiers Music on 21st July. The album entitled “Defying Gravity” is the third from Mr Big since they reformed in 2009 and features all four original members of the band that formed almost 30 years ago. A number of tracks were released ahead of the album coming out on the 21st July. “1992” featured on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 26th May and again on 7th July whilst the title track “Defying Gravity” was on the Show on 21st July.}

_{Nancy Wilson, guitar goddess and one of the founding members of the legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Heart, has teamed up with former Prince’s New Power Generation band member and R&B singer Liv Warfield to form the soulful, rock super group, Roadcase Royale. The band releases the album “First Things First” through Loud & Proud Records on 22nd September.}

_{This week two of our favourite bands announced that they’d be releasing covers of some classic Blues tracks. The Quireboys release of an EP and album was detailed in an earlier article. The other release comes from regular Belfast visitors and one of Kentucky’s best exports – Black Stone Cherry. The 6-track EP “Black to Blues” will be released on 29th September 29 and be available on CD or blue vinyl.}

_{This week has seen press releases from two of our favourite bands announcing the release of records featuring covers of some Blues classics. The second announcement came from Blackstone Cherry and is featured on a separate article. The first announcement came from the Quireboys; who revealed the release of the 3-track EP “Leaving Trunk” on 1st August, followed by the album “White Trash Blues” on 5th September.}

_{I recently posted an album recommendation for “Horizon”, the debut release from Brazilian band Owl Company. The album was released on 14th July via One RPM. As I didn’t know much about the band I arranged to do an interview by e-mail with lead singer Enrico Minelli.  The other members of the band are Felipe Ruiz on guitars, Fabio Yamamoto on bass and Thiago Biasoli on drums.}