Published on September 10th, 2018 | by Darren Paltrowitz

6 Great Gift Ideas For A Music Fan

Between holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and general “just because” surprises, there is always a need to have a few gift ideas in the back of your mind. In turn, no matter your preferred genre or form of gift-giving, below are 6 suggestions for relatively-inexpensive gifts for a music fan in your life.

The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra LP

Rock & Roll Hall Fame act The Beach Boys recently released a new album, The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra via Universal Music Enterprises’ Capitol Records. Produced by Nick Patrick and Don Reedman, the album pairs The Beach Boys’ original vocal performances with new symphonic arrangements, as newly-recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. It is available in the digital, CD, and 180-gram 2LP vinyl LP formats, spanning decades of timeless Beach Boys hits and fan favorites across its 17 tracks.

The Band’s Music From Big Pink LP

Another excellent new offering from Universal/Capitol is the 50th anniversary re-issue of the landmark 1968 album Music From Big Pink by The Band. Newly-remixed, the full-length is now available in multiple formats, including a Super Deluxe CD/Blu-ray/2LP/7-inch vinyl box set with a hardbound book, 1CD, digital, 180-gram 2LP black vinyl, and a limited-edition 180-gram 2LP pink vinyl package. Exclusively for the box set, studio guru Bob Clearmountain produced a new 5.1 surround mix for the album and the bonus tracks, presented on Blu-ray with the new stereo mix in high resolution audio at 96kHz/24bit. For the album’s new vinyl editions, Chris Bellman cut the vinyl lacquers for the album’s new stereo mix at 45RPM at Bernie Grundman Mastering, expanding the album’s vinyl footprint from 1 LP to 2. The black and pink vinyl LPs were pressed at GZ Vinyl / Precision.

Us Festival: 1982 The Us Generation DVD

The new Us Festival: 1982 The Us Generation DVD includes an in-depth look at one of the most influential music festivals of all time. Helmed by award-winning filmmaker and rockumentarian Glenn Aveni, who was also the film’s director, The Us Generation blends rare concert footage and insightful interviews with both organizers and performers. Performance highlights include performances by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Police, Fleetwood Mac, Carlos Santana, The B-52s, and The Cars. Archived interview footage subjects include Johnny and Joey Ramone, Carlos Santana, Sting, Ric Ocasek, Danny Elfman, and Fred Schneider, which is in addition to exclusive sit-downs with festival founder Steve Wozniak, Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood, Eddie Money, The Ramones’ Marky Ramone, The B-52s’ Kate Pierson, The Police’s Stewart Copeland, and The Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart.

Volume III DVD by Mushroomhead

Looking for something heavier than the previous gift suggestions? Influential Cleveland, Ohio-based metal pioneers Mushroomhead — who has sold over 2 million units worldwide among its home-video releases and 7 studio albums — released its new DVD, Volume III last month via Megaforce Records. Volume III is the band’s very first release since 2014’s The Righteous And The Butterfly, Mushroomhead’s most successful charting album, which debuted at #20 on the Billboard Top 200, #1 on the Billboard Independent Chart, and #1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Chart. Mushroomhead’s current Summer Of Screams tour, which also includes Powerman 5000, wraps on September 15th in Chicago.

Possum Kingdom Pilsner

If the name of this beer is a head-scratcher, you may want to take into consideration that it is a direct reference to the rock band The Toadies, who collaborated with the Martin House Brewing Company to produce this brew. In fact, it is the fifth collaboration between the Austin group and Martin House, showing how the quartet knows a ton about both pilseners and great songs. This fall The Toadies will also be the first rock band to put out a Live From Billy Bob’s Texas record; previous Live From Billy Bob’s Texas releases have been recorded by such Texas legends as Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

The Chief Herbal Vaporizer by Chuck Billy & Lord Vaper Pens

Are you a fan of the influential metal band Testament? Do you have an interest in vaping? Well, Testament frontman Chuck Billy is here to help you kill 2 birds with 1 stone. In early 2015, iconic Testament vocalist Chuck Billy introduced his Signature Herbal Vaporizer pen, “The Chief,” in collaboration with Lord Vaper Pens. Recently, Billy and Lord Vaper Pens introduced “The Chief” Signature Series, which includes a pipe (“Tomahawk”), an Oil Cartridge Battery (“Dream Catcher”) and a 2-in-1 Vaporizer (“War Drum”). Billy also recently unveiled “The Chief of Thrash!” merchandise line, which includes unique t-shirts, drawstring bags, mousepads, dog tags, phone cases, coasters and more. Swag aside, almost 35 years since forming in the early 1980s, Testament is still going strong, having released Brotherhood Of The Snake in 2016.

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Tags: Chuck Billy, Mushroomhead, Testament, The Band, The Beach Boys, The Toadies, Us Festival, Vaping

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal.Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."