#Phil Chen

[thecollectibles]

Dragon’s Rise: The Forgotten Realms by Phil Chen

[alanangels]

Brian May with Phil Chen at Brian's home (Star Fleet Project sessions,1983)

Thanks @rushingheadlong for the info(I'm still pretty new to Queen!)

[myvinylplaylist]

Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project (1983)

2023 Vinyl Reissue

Universal Music

[longliverockback]

Brian May + Friends Starfleet Sessions [Box Set] 2023 Virgin ————————————————— Tracks EP: 2023 Mix 01. Star Fleet 02. Let Me Out 03. Blues Breaker

Tracks CD One: 2023 Mix 01. Star Fleet [single edit] 02. Let Me Out 03. Blues Breaker 04. Cynthia Fox release day interview 1983 05. Bob Coburn Rockline interview 1984 Live at the Palace Theater, LA, 1993 06. Let Me Out 07. We Will Rock You 08. We Will Rock You - Fast  09. Star Fleet

Tracks CD Two: 01. Star Fleet [take 1] 02. Star Fleet [take 2] 03. Star Fleet [take 3] 04. Star Fleet [take 4] 05. Star Fleet [take 5] 06. Solo jam 07. Star Fleet [take 7] 08. Star Fleet [take 8] 09. Star Fleet [take 10] 10. Star Fleet [take 11] 11. Star Fleet [alternate overdub EVH solo] 12. Jam 13. Let Me Out [rehearsal 1] 14. Let Me Out [rehearsal 2] 15. Boogie Woogie jam 16. Let Me Out [take 1] 17. Jazz Police 18. Let Me Out [take 3] 19. Let Me Out [take 4] 20. Jam (Let's Do the Show Right Here) 21. Let Me Out [take 6] 22. Funky jam 23. Let Me Out [take 7]

Tracks Single: 01. Star Fleet 02. Son of Star Fleet —————————————————

Phil Chen

Alan Gratzer

Eddie van Halen

Fred Mandel

Brian May

* Long Live Rock Archive

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

Brian May says he wouldn't have released the upcoming Star Fleet Project reissue featuring Eddie Van Halen without Alex Van Halen's support.

In a new interview with Cleveland.com, May said he thought about releasing the newly expanded and remastered box set shortly after Eddie's passing in October 2020 but decided the time wasn't right. Here's an excerpt from Gary Graff's interview:

DO YOU VIEW THE BOX SET AS ALSO A TRIBUTE TO EDDIE IN A WAY?

MAY: “Yes, it is but I did hesitate. At the time when I was starting to think about it, it was just about the time Ed passed away and I just couldn't do it. I just didn't feel right about it. Then a few years passed and I got to talking to Alex Van Halen, who's a great inspiration and also a wonderful musician. Alex has become a trusted friend and I have enormous admiration for him. He's been through such a terrible time because, of course, the two brothers were completely inseparable. For Alex, it's like losing half of himself. So, I wanted Alex's blessing to do this 'cause I didn't want to do anything that felt distasteful.”

Earlier, May explained how Eddie became a part of the project:

IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HEAR MORE EDDIE VAN HALEN PLAYING. HOW DID HE BECOME PART OF THIS?

MAY: “Ed I knew as a friend but l'd very seldom had a chance to hang out with him; l got very drunk with him one night, very ill-advisedy...but that's another story. (laughs) With Ed, I set him up. I wanted to hear what happened when you put Ed as a firework on a stage and lit the blue-touch paper and stood back to see what happens. I gave him that stage in the middle of the ("Star Fleet") song; that to me was the climax of the whole song, the bit where Ed steps forward and does his own thing, unfettered by anything. He steps in and it comes out completely out of his head—that's not an overdub, he just does it. Every time he does it, it's different, 'cause his brain's constantly creating new stuff, which to me is one of the great joys of the (box set). love to hear the different version of what he came up with. What an extraordinary, extraordinary player he was, just incredible.”

Brian May and Eddie Van Halen's Legendary 1983 SUPER SESSIONS are IN STOCK and shipping now at VanHalenStore.com! (Release date is July 14th)

ALL NEW MIXES of the ENTIRE 2-Day SESSIONS from the original multi-track recordings are now available in the COMPLETE BOXED SET of EVERYTHING RECORDED!

Star Fleet Project, the near-mythical, long-out-of-print mini- album recorded by Brian May and Eddie Van Halen, is finally reissued!

Recorded in 1983 with an all-star band that included session bass guitar ace Phil Chen, keyboardist Fred Mandel and then-REO Speedwagon drummer Alan Gratzer, the set has been fully remastered by Brian May, and will be reissued in full July 14th with a multitude of previously unreleased jams and outtakes. NOW SHIPPING!

[greensparty]

Album Review: Brian May and Friends “Star Fleet Sessions”

As the guitarist for Queen, Brian May gets loads of respect. It’s hard to be noticed in a band where the singer is Freddie Mercury, one of the greatest singers ever. I got into Queen as a teen. The band’s albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races are classics. The band went beyond genres and labels. They were bigger than the sum of their parts, each member being a virtuoso musician,even if it was Freddie Mercury’s voice in the spotlight on some songs! But just listen to the guitar solo on “Bohemian Rhapsody” or “Tie Your Mother Down” and you can hear the musical genius in May. But May’s solo work is highly underrated. He released some solo albums in the 90s after Mercury’s death. But prior to that in 1983, he recorded a solo EP Star Fleet Project that is getting the 40th anniversary treatment this week.

album cover

In 1983, during some down time with Queen, May brought in various friends to record a new solo project: drummer Alan Grantzer (of REO Speedwagon at the time), bassist Phil Chen (1946-2021, known for his work with Jeff Beck), keyboardist Fred Mandel (Alice Cooper) and of course guitarist Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020, the guitar legend of Van Halen). I can not overstate how exciting it is to unearth a long lost album where two guitar virtuosos played together. EVH and Brian May - WOW! The original EP was a 3-track EP released in October 1983. The new anniversary edition is a 2-CD set that also includes some live tracks May did at a concert in 1993, some radio interviews, and various takes and versions of the songs.

May and friends in 1983

The original EP is an absolute buried treasure. So cool to hear May and his friends rock out to these sci-fi laced rockers. But the alternate takes become For Fans Only after a while. When you hear alternate takes on, say for example, anniversary sets by The Beatles or Jimi Hendrix - the listener knows the iconic songs and hearing the alternate take is shedding new light on the songs. Here - it’s alternate takes of songs I (and many more) are just hearing for the first time now. So it’s a different experience. Some of this is cool and guitar geeks are going to eat this up. But I think it might’ve been a stronger album if they had combined the EP with another May solo album. But EVH fans are sure to devour this album. Glad to see it’s being brought back!

For info on Brian May: https://brianmay.com/

Original EP: 4 out of 5 stars

40th Anniversary Edition: 3 out of 5 stars

[xinyuehui]

So they go on movie dates in their free time? 👀

[21stcenturyschizoidcat]

One album wonders

Skip Spence

Blind Faith

Derek and the Dominos

The Rockets

Flaming Youth

Food Brain

Shinki Chen

Fotheringay

Gandalf

Giles, Giles, and Fripp

McDonald and Giles

The Young Veins

[evilhorse]

The Valiant Era Cards 42

[gffa]

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the film’s debut on May 25, 1983, 40 storytellers explore the story of Return of the Jedi through the eyes of supporting characters, including heroes, villains, droids, aliens, and creatures.

From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors:

Olivie Blake gives us a chilling glimpse into the mind of Emperor Palpatine.

Saladin Ahmed recounts the tragic history of the rancor keeper.

Charlie Jane Anders explores the life and times of the Sarlacc.

Fran Wilde reveals Mon Mothma’s secret mission to save the Rebel Alliance.

Mary Kenney chronicles Wicket the Ewok’s quest for one quiet day on the forest moon of Endor.

And Anakin Skywalker becomes one with the Force in a gripping tale by Mike Chen.

Plus, more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from Tom Angleberger, Kristin Baver, Akemi Dawn Bowman, Emma Mieko Candon, Olivia Chadha, Gloria Chao, Adam Christopher, Paul Crilley, Amal El-Mohtar, M. K. England, Jason Fry, Adam Lance Garcia, Lamar Giles, Max Gladstone, Thea Guanzon, Ali Hazelwood, Patricia A. Jackson, Alex Jennings, Jarrett Krosoczka, Sarah Kuhn, Danny Lore, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Kwame Mbalia, Marieke Nijkamp, Danielle Paige, Laura Pohl, K. Arsenault Rivera, Dana Schwartz, Tara Sim, Phil Szostak, Suzanne Walker, Hannah Whitten, Sean Williams, and Alyssa Wong.

[mossdontknowwhattheydoin]

'Tallulah chen'

'AWEEE I'm gonna throw up'

Same Phil same

[meowunmeow]

Undead Unluck Characters and Their Puns

This is gonna be a very long post so please bear with me, guys. I love languages and this is my domain so.

I will only add the appropriate information for the puns depending on how simple or complex it is.

List will be based on their negation ability reveals (or introductions, I'm inconsistent) up until the latest chapter so anime-onlys be warned!

Fūko Izumo (出雲風子, Izu-mo Fuu-ko)

Unluck (不運, fu-un)

Her pun is rather simple. The kanji 雲, meaning cloud, can be read as "un", while 風, meaning wind, is straightforward in the fact that it sounds similar to "fu" as in 不.

Simply put, her name can be read as "Fu-Un" just like her ability!

There's also the bonus cloud + wind combo.

Andy (アンディ, Andi)

Undead (アンデッド, andeddo)

This one is already explained by Fūko lol.

Void Volks (ボイド・ボルクス, Boido Borukusu)

Unavoidable

Avoid.

Gina Chamber (ジーナ • チェンバー, Jiina Chenbaa)

Unchange (アンチェンジ, anchenji)

Hers is actually a really fun one. It got my head scratching until I read the manga in Japanese lol.

Simply reverse it into "Chamber Gina" then cut out the first syllable of each name. "Chen" and "Ji", which becomes "Chenji" as in "Change"!

Rip Tristan (リップ • トリスタン, Rippu Torisutan)

Unrepair

Rip as in the "rip-air" in "repair".

Top Bull Sparx (トップ • ブル • スパークス, Toppu Buru Supaakusu)

Unstoppable

Stop.

Tatiana (タチアナ, Tachiana)

Untouchable (アンタッチャブル, antacchaburu)

"Tachi" in "Tachiana" is a pun for "Tacchi" as in "Touch"!

Chikara Shigeno (重野力, Shige-no Chikara)

Unmove (不動, fudou )

His is also very fun, I only noticed it during the undercover high school arc where his name was written in Ryo's notebook and Nico held it up.

The kanji for move is 動 which consists of the kanji 重 from his surname and 力 from his first name.

This one is really smart, actually.

Akira Kuno (久能 明, ku-nou akira) / Un Anno (安野雲, an-no un)

Unknown (不明, fumei )

His first name of "Akira"'s kanji (明) can be read as "mei" as in "fumei".

Un Anno has already been explained within the story, it just sounds like "unknown".

Sean Datz (ション • ダッツ, shon dattsu)

Unseen

Sean looks like "seen", that's the whole pun. But the "depre-sean" and "damna-sean" jokes really get me lol.

Lucy (ルーシー, ruushii)

Unhealthy (アンヘルシー, anherushii)

Still debatable if it was a joke or she's an actual negator. But considering how she can astral project and see other's astral projection, and Nico (when his ability hasn't manifested) couldn't, it's more likely she is one.

"Ruushii" from "anherushii".

Nico Vorgeil (ニコ • フォーゲイル, niko fougeiru)

Unforgettable

Vorgeil sounds like Forget.

I honestly thought he was named Nico as in "Nicotine" because he smoked a lot. Turns out he was named after Nikola Tesla. Oops.

Ichico Nemuri (イチコ • ネムリ)

Unsleep

I love hers so much. Her name is written entirely in katakana instead of kanji, which means it can be read in multiple ways.

The "Ichi" in "Ichico" can be read as "one" as a counterpart to the "Ni" in "Nico" which can mean "two". Add them together, and you can get "three", which can be "Mi-tsu" and the "Mi" as in "Mico"!

Nemuri on its own can be read as "眠り", which means "to sleep" but it can also be read as a combination of "nemu" (sleeping) and "muri" (impossible/unreasonable) which means "unable to sleep".

Backs/Bunny (バックス, bakkusu)

Unback

We don't really have much info but it's obvious the "backs" is from "back".

Phil Hawkins (フィル • ホーキンス, firu houkinsu)

Unfeel (アンフィール, anfiiru )

Phil. Feel. Mind blown.

Tella (テラー, teraa )

Untell

Tella.

Characters I haven't figured out the pun yet or unsure about:

• Shen Xiang (シェン • シアン, shen shian) - Untruth

I'd say it's because it sounds similar but not really to "shin" as in 真 meaning truth?

• Mui (ムイ) - Untruth

It could be "mu" as in "none"? Because she's not a negator or... Something else.

• Juiz d'Arc (ジュイズ • ダルク, juizu daruku) - Unjustice (アンジャスティス, anjasutizu)

I guess it's because of anjasutizu?? Not sure.

• Creed Deckard (クリード • デッカード, kuriido dekkaado) - Undecrease (デクリーズ, dekuriizu)

My best bet is "de" from his surname and "kurii" from his first name, but then that makes it "dekurii" instead. So idk.

• Sadako Kurusu (来栖 ��子, Kuru-su Sada-ko) / Kururu (クルル) - Unchaste

I really don't know. Except maybe the "kuru" in her name means "arrive" as in her targets rushing onto her?

• Yusai (友才) - Undraw

Exposing myself as a fake fan because I have no idea.

• Isshin (一心) / Haruka Yamaoka (山岡 春歌, yama-oka haru-ka)

I might be stupid.

• Billy Alfred (ビリー • アルフレッド, birii arufureddo) - Unfair/Unbelievable

The only possibility I could think of is because readers were told that his ability was "unbelievable". I can't really find a connection between his name and "unfair". Unless it's the fact that his name doesn't have a pun, hence breaking the status quo of having name puns, that makes it unfair. But maybe I'm just reaching.

• Feng Kowloon (ファン • クローン, fan kuroon) - Unfade

I keep on accidentally reading his name as "fan clone" and I can't figure out a pun (if that was even one) other than that...

• Latla Mirah (ラトラ • ミラー, ratora miraa) - Untrust (アントラスト, antorasuto)

It could be the "tora" in "ratora" as in "torasuto". But I'm not really sure.

• Enjin (円陣, en-jin) Unburn

Enjin sounds like "engine", yeah, but I can't really see the pun.

• Victor (ヴィクター, vikutaa) - Undead

I'm not even sure if there is a pun here other than "victor" as in "victory" as in "winner".

Bonus:

The logo for "Under" is literally just the 不 kanji flipped upside down.

Idc about Ruin.

•••

If any of y'all know any new info, feel free to add on in the tags!

[longliverockback]

Rod Stewart Foot Loose & Fancy Free 1977 Riva ————————————————— Tracks: 1. Hot Legs 2. You’re Insane 3. You’re in My Heart 4. Born Loose 5. You Keep Me Hangin’ On 6. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right 7. You Really Got a Nerve 8. I Was Only Joking —————————————————

Carmine Appice

John Barlow Jarvis 

Jim Cregan

Phil Chen

Gary Grainger

Billy Peek

Rod Stewart

* Long Live Rock Archive

[plainxte]

✨Happy Briday, again ✨

Quite a lot of talk about the sessions!

Brian & Phil Chen

Emotional, too, at several points 🥲

Brian, Simon Lupton interviewing, Alan Gratzer, and Fred Mandel on the top right

Trouble with the sound - oh Zoom conferences, how I love you and miss you (not)

And then there were some special guests! An early birthday surprise for Bri!

[samcampbellfans]

Sam Campbell's 2016 show 'Zanzoop'.

"Kind of like Dr. Phil but hosted by a funny naked party-alien."

'Zanzoop' was a comedy show in (April-May) 2016 performed around Australia (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney). Created by Sam Campbell, Aaron Chen and Tom Walker in the collective 'Feeble Minds', Tom Walker directed and won Director's Choice Award at Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2016.

Sam plays an alien called Zanzoop, a "semi-naked space alien, hosting a sort of chat show in an attempt to fix humanity’s problems and prove himself a worthy heir to the throne of Zymbalnation. And this is one of the more sober premises of the hour." (Steve Bennett, Chortle).

Craig Anderson, Sean Conway and Cameron Whiteford also made appearances on Zanzoop (the latter two appearing in Perth shows).

The show received 4 and 1/2 stars from Herald Sun. Here are some quotes from the Herald Sun article to get a sense of the show:

'Campbell began the show by saying "there’s a lot of reviewer c--ts in tonight. Oh, Steve from Chortle is here, it’s not as funny as a picture I once saw of Stewart Lee’s elbow!!"'

'“Youth culture baby” (Campbell does the Shaka sign)'

'Autism joke, well handled.'

'King Baby (actually played by a sunscreen-smeared Tom Walker who got a Best Newcomer nomination yesterday for his Beep Bop show, 6pm each night at Tuxedo Cat).' See picture below for King Baby on the far right.

'“I didn’t pay my rent because I bought too many props.” - Campbell breaking the fourth wall for the umpteenth time, he’s the John Conway of this year.'

This show also included the dip and vegetables gag, which Sam has done before: you can watch it in this video: Live at Comedy Central's 'A Night of Stand Up' at the 2016 Sydney Morning Herald Spectrum Now Festival and and on this Instagram post via thecomedyloungesydney.

Reviews of the show, I recommend reading if you want to know what the show was like (there's no videos of the show as far as I know):

The Plus Ones

Steve Bennett, Chortle

Herald Sun (4 and 1/2 stars)

Squirrel Comedy

Photo sources:

1) Herald Sun

2) pappy90 on TWT

3) Sean Conway on FaceBook (this one was at Fringe World)

4) guy_mont on TWT

5) Aaron Chen's tattoo of Zanzoop the alien

6) tomwalkerisgood on TWT, promotional poster.

Additional bits:

The strange promotion video Sam, Tom and Aaron did for Feeble Minds (thank you cowboyacaster on TWT)

Below: Aaron Chen reading the Herald Sun 4 and a 1/2 star review of Zanzoop to Sam Campbell (photo via tomwalkerisgood on TWT).