_{If you ever hear someone whinging about how rock is dead and there are no good new bands anymore, please feel free to lean over and give them a slap! Or alternatively point them in the direction of Northern Ireland. Maybe it’s something in the water, or maybe in the beer and whiskey, but we do produce some great rock n roll bands! The latest album that you should add to your collection is the second release from the Screaming Eagles. “Stand Up and Be Counted” was released through Off Yer Rocka Records on 13th July. Add that to other releases, in just the first six months of this year, by The Answer, Trucker Diablo, Gasoline Outlaws, Sinocence and Midnight Transmission (to name a few) plus upcoming releases from Stormzone and “Million Dollar Reload” (presuming that a new band emerges and releases the album that was recorded) and I reckon there’s no arguing that rock is alive and living very happily in our wee country. Rock bands these days may not be making millions, or even thousands (unfortunately for them), but they do make great music!}