Print-friendly Version
Deep Purple frontman Gillan launches tour, contest
Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan will launch a tour this fall behind his latest solo album, the dual-disc "Gillan's Inn," which features Gillan's retooling of his hits from the past with a little help from his heavy-metal friends.
Gillan and his record label, Immergent, are encouraging fans to tape, photograph and film selected concerts on the tour, which kicks off Aug. 19 in Buffalo, NY, and requesting that they upload the result to Gillan's website, so that "the tour can be accessible to all his fans around the world," according to a press release.
Additionally, Gillan and his label are staging a contest where fans can submit their own versions of Deep Purple's signature musical moment, "Smoke on the Water." Winners from two categories, Best Vocal and Best Guitar, will compete to win the grand prize, a trip to the singer's Sept. 17 show in Las Vegas, where the winner will perform the song on stage with Gillan.
A separate category for bands will offer $2,500 worth of music gear to the group that scores the highest rating for its cover of the song.
Gillan enlisted a slew of friends and past and present bandmates for the recording of "Gillan's Inn," which hit stores in April. Several members of Deep Purple appear on the disc, along with guitarists Joe Satriani, Jeff Healey and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi. The dual-disc set features Gillan covering his old songs on the audio side, and a DVD side loaded with interviews and video clips from the recording sessions.
