Erica Banas: Writing Samples

WRIF Rocks Detroit •

Ozzy Osbourne's 'Ordinary Man' Was One Of The Bright Spots Of 2020

Considering everything that happened in 2020, it’s actually quite easy to forget about some of the positive things from this year, especially if they happened pre-coronavirus, which seems like another lifetime ago. However, something rock fans the world over need to be grateful for this year was the release of Ordinary Man, the twelfth studio album from Ozzy Osbourne. Released on February 21, Ordinary Man marked Ozzy’s first new album since 2010’s Scream. Despite being shut out from receiving a
WDHA FM •

Pink Floyd: Looking Back on Their Live 8 Reunion Performance

Pink Floyd and their reunion at Live 8 in 2005 was the band’s first performance with Roger Waters, who celebrates his birthday today (September 6), in 24 years. While held to the tight 20-minute set time that every performer had during the benefit concert, Pink Floyd, without question, owned the event with their setlist of “Breath,” “Money,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb.” While Waters and David Gilmour did butt heads regarding the setlist and took some convincing to agree to the
100.1 WJRZ •

2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees: 9 Women Artists Who Were Snubbed

From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.” From September 2012 to August 2014, the exhibit traveled around to various museums in the United States. It made its final stop at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. where I was given a private tour of the collection from over 70 different performers, from Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to Chrissie Hynde and Stevie Nicks. While the exhibit’s artifacts dated bac
ROCK 92.9 Rocks •

Sarfraz Manzoor Recounts His Most Unique Encounter with Bruce Springsteen

Sarfraz Manzoor delved deep into his Bruce Springsteen fandom in his memoir Greetings from Bury Park, which has been adapted into the film Blinded By The Light that opens tomorrow (August 16.) One of the most interesting facts about his fandom is the fact he’s seen The Boss in concert over 150 times. With that many shows, there’s plenty of different venues where he’s seen Springsteen live, but one of his most memorable experiences took place in a very intimate setting: “This isn’t a venue at a
102.9 WMGK •

'Blinded By The Light: Writer Sarfraz Manzoor Talks About Film Adaptation of His Memoir, Springsteen's Blessing

Growing up, most people have that band or singer that forever changes you, and it’s that moment and mountain-moving feeling that’s at the core of Blinded By The Light. The film is based on Greetings from Bury Park, a memoir by Sarfraz Manzoor that chronicles how the music of Bruce Springsteen impacted his life growing up as a Pakistani teenager in a small English town during the 1980s. Manzoor co-wrote the screenplay with director Gurinder Chadha, best known for 2002’s Bend It Like Beckham, and
ROCK 92.9 Rocks •

REVIEW: 'Rocketman' Touches Down Where 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Should Have Landed

Let’s cut to the chase: With the release of the Elton John film Rocketman, there are undoubtedly going to be a lot of comparisons between this film and the uber-successful Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. That’s unavoidable since two films about two British music icons are being released less than a year apart. What’s also unavoidable is this truth: Rocketman is the far superior film, for many reasons. For starters, Rocketman certainly isn’t your average biopic. For most of the p
102.9 WMGK •

We All Need to Give Up on a Led Zeppelin Reunion

There are many musical moments that are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and among those are the 50th anniversaries of Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II. In recent years, the Zeppelin catalog has received a massive reissue campaign, and in honor of their big 5-0, the band, as a brand, has expanded to include various partnerships from Vans to Burton Snowboards. But if there’s one thing that shouldn’t happen along with Zeppelin’s golden anniversary, it’s a reunion. Robert Plant has
WRIF Rocks Detroit •

Motley Crue: The Trouble With 'The Dirt'

I’m not one for early mornings, but I was finally able to get out of bed around 5:30 AM to watch the highly-anticipated film adaptation of the Motley Crue memoir The Dirt. In hindsight, I should have requested a press screener from Netflix, but sometimes life and never-ending to-do lists distract you from thinking logically. Twenty minutes after finishing the movie, my groggy mind was struggling to figure out what exactly was wrong with The Dirt. Something just didn’t feel right once the 10
102.9 WMGK •

REVIEW: Will ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Rock You or Bite the Dust?

Much like the making of this film and Freddie Mercury himself, the reactions and impressions of Bohemian Rhapsody are complicated. The highly anticipated biopic has been years in the making and went through some major ups-and-downs in order to become a reality. (The Wrap summarizes all of the drama rather succinctly, from multiple director changes, to Sacha Baron Cohen originally being tapped to portray Mercury, to credited director Bryan Singer’s firing weeks before the end of production.)
93.3 WMMR •

4 Moments We Hope Aren’t Cut/Edited From The Rock Hall Broadcast

Tomorrow night (May 5) will see the premiere of the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on HBO at 8 PM ET/PT. The broadcast will run about three hours long, which is significantly less than the ceremonies actual runtime of five hours. Like most pre-taped events, some moments will end up on the cutting room floor, and in this case, viewers will not see a significant portion of the evening’s events. If we had our way, here are the four moments we wouldn’t cut/edit from the Rock
93.3 WMMR •

Tributes Add To Rock Hall's Emotional Night

As expected, the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony had its poignant moments, but there were two surprise performances that took an already special night to another level. The evening kicked off with The Killers paying tribute to Tom Petty with an exuberant performance of “American Girl.” After The Cars‘ Rock Hall performance, Ann Wilson took to the stage with Jerry Cantrell and performed Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun” in honor of Chris Cornell. Wilson reflected on Cornell and
93.3 WMMR •

Bon Jovi Enters The Rock Hall With A Lot of Love and Laughs

It’s been awhile since Bon Jovi was an opening act, but it was their induction that kicked off the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. Of course, that also means the first presenter speech belonged to Howard Stern, who certainly didn’t mince words when it came to Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone and one of the forces behind the Rock Hall. “Another sign of the zombie apocalypse: Jann Wenner finally let Bon Jovi into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! What the fuck is wrong wit
Billboard •

12 Behind-the-Scenes Moments From 2018 Rock Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Also getting a big welcome was New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft, whose appearance inspired pleas to “Buy the Browns!,” Cleveland’s long-beleaguered football team. The Moody Blues’ John Lodge embraced former member Mike Pinder in a faux reunion for the benefit of the cameras, while bandmate Graeme Edge pumped his arms in the air to the crowd, shouting “It’s about time!” Howard Stern, Robert Kraft, and More Red Carpet Arrivals A couple of hundred hearty souls braved an early evening downp
93.3 WMMR •

Highlights From Dire Straits’ Rock Hall Induction

Dire Straits may have pulled off a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction first: They inducted themselves. With the absence of Mark and David Knopfler, Dire Straits didn’t perform at their Rock Hall induction, and they also didn’t have a presenter either. Enter John Illsley who did the induction honors for the band he co-founded. As for how that moment came about, Illsley had this to say in the press room afterward: “I decided it this morning. I was talking to Alex, who’s running the show here
93.3 WMMR •

The Cars Rock Hall Induction Serves As Tribute To Benjamin Orr

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony returns to Cleveland every three years, so it was very appropriate that The Cars were inducted this year and in the hometown of the late Benjamin Orr. Doing the honors of inducting The Cars was The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers, who touched on the band’s influence on him while growing up. “It was 1994, and I was a 13-year-old misfit kid living in a small town smack-dab in the middle of Utah. We’re talking no stop light small. We’re talking
93.3 WMMR •

The Moody Blues Headline 2018 Rock Hall Induction Ceremony

Out of all of the omissions from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, few were quite as glaring as The Moody Blues. Eligible since 1990, fans have been clamoring for the prog icons induction for years, and last night (April 14), they finally got their due and closed out the induction ceremony. Ann Wilson did the honors in presenting The Moody Blues, and it was a task that she campaigned for to the Rock Hall brass: “I wrote a letter asking if I could induct them, because they were…When I was 16 and
The Oakland Press •

Review: Slipknot, Marilyn Manson prove ornery crowd-pleasers at DTE

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP -- Hours before Slipknot took the stage Friday night, July 29, at DTE Energy Music Theatre, frontman Corey Taylor tweeted out that he was “in a particularly ornery mood.” Taylor is still recovering from an unexpected spinal surgery that delayed the original tour start date, so while that could have contributed to his less-than-stellar pre-show state, that mood clearly subsided during the interim, because Taylor’s rapport with the crowd and the sensory-overload show his fellow masked bandmates delivered proved otherwise.
The Oakland Press •

Review: Frampton comes alive yet again at DTE

INDEPENDENCE TOWNSHIP -- It was two shows in one from Peter Frampton on Thursday night, July 28, at DTE Energy Music Theater. And it wasn’t just because he was pulling double-duty due to Lynyrd Skynyrd’s absence. The guitar legend’s two-and-a-half hour show shoehorned a four-song mini-acoustic set in between eclectic, electric bookends with plenty of anecdotes sprinkled in for good measure. Frampton, of course, addressed Skynyrd’s absence due to founding member/guitarist Gary Rossington’s rece
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