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Aldon Smith, Former 49ers Pass-Rushing Star, Dies at 36

Eric Alper
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Aldon Smith, Former 49ers Pass-Rushing Star, Dies at 36

Aldon Smith, the explosive pass rusher who burst onto the NFL scene as one of the most dominant young defenders in football before his career was derailed by years of personal struggles, has died at the age of 36. He passed away on June 13, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California.

Born Aldon Jacarus Smith in Kansas City, Missouri on September 25, 1989, he starred at Raytown High School before playing college football at the University of Missouri. With the Tigers, he made an immediate impact, earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2009 and recording 11 sacks. After two seasons, he declared for the NFL draft, where the San Francisco 49ers selected him seventh overall in 2011.

What followed was one of the most electrifying starts to a defensive career the league had seen in years. As a rookie, Smith recorded 14 sacks despite not starting a single game, finishing half a sack shy of the all-time rookie record and earning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors from the Pro Football Writers of America. His second season was even better. In 2012, he piled up 19.5 sacks, breaking a 49ers single-season franchise record that had stood since 1971, and earned First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl recognition. Along the way he became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 30 career sacks, doing it in just 27 games, and set a record for the most sacks in a player’s first two seasons with 33.5. He helped lead San Francisco to Super Bowl XLVII and was voted the team’s MVP, ranking among the very best defensive players in the entire league.

The remainder of his career was shadowed by a long and public battle with addiction and repeated legal trouble, which led to suspensions and lengthy absences from the game. He made determined efforts to return, signing with the Oakland Raiders and later mounting a notable comeback with the Dallas Cowboys in 2020, when he posted five sacks and scored the first touchdown of his career on a 78-yard fumble return. He had a brief stint with the Seattle Seahawks before stepping away from football for good.

Across six NFL seasons, Smith recorded 52.5 sacks, 228 tackles, six forced fumbles, and a defensive touchdown, numbers that hint at the towering talent that, at its peak, placed him among the most feared pass rushers in the sport.

Aldon Smith was 36.

Dee Palmer, Jethro Tull Arranger and Composer, Dies at 88

Eric Alper
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Dee Palmer, Jethro Tull Arranger and Composer, Dies at 88

Dee Palmer, the classically trained composer and arranger whose lush orchestrations helped define the sound of Jethro Tull across more than a decade of the band’s most celebrated work, has died at the age of 88. Her death at her home in Shropshire, after a period of illness, was announced on June 13, 2026.

Born in Hendon, London on July 2, 1937, Palmer trained at the highest level of British classical music, studying composition at the Royal Academy of Music under Richard Rodney Bennett. A gifted student, she won both the Eric Coates Prize and the Boosey and Hawkes Prize, and taught clarinet to other students during her studies. Decades later, in 1994, the Academy honored her as a Fellow.

Her path into rock came through session work. After arranging and conducting recording sessions and cutting her first album project, ‘Nicola,’ with folk guitarist Bert Jansch in 1967, she was introduced to the management of a young band recording their debut in Chelsea. On short notice, she crafted the horn and string arrangements for “Move on Alone” on Jethro Tull’s first album, ‘This Was.’ The work impressed the band, and so began one of progressive rock’s most enduring and fruitful collaborations.

For nearly a decade, Palmer served as Tull’s arranger, lending her orchestral touch to string, brass, and woodwind parts across a remarkable run of albums including ‘Stand Up,’ ‘Benefit,’ ‘Aqualung,’ ‘Thick as a Brick,’ and ‘Minstrel in the Gallery.’ In 1976 she formally joined the group as a full member, playing keyboards on ‘Songs from the Wood,’ ‘Heavy Horses,’ and ‘Stormwatch.’ Her tenure ended in 1980 when, after the album ‘A’ was released under the Tull name, nearly the entire lineup departed apart from Ian Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre. Palmer went on to form the group Tallis with former bandmate John Evan before returning to film scoring and session work.

From the 1980s onward, she carved out a distinctive niche producing symphonic arrangements of rock music, bringing orchestral grandeur to the catalogs of Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, Queen, and the Beatles, including an orchestral reimagining of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ In 2018 she released her first solo album, ‘Through Darkened Glass,’ which featured a guest appearance by Martin Barre, and the following year the two performed together at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention.

In 1998, Palmer came out as transgender and intersex, taking the name Dee. She spoke openly in later years about her life and identity, including the loss of her wife, Maggie, in 1995. In doing so, she became a quietly trailblazing figure, a celebrated classical and rock musician living openly as her true self.

Dee Palmer was 88.

How to Use LinkedIn as a Musician (and Why It Might Be Your Most Underrated Tool)

Eric Alper
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How to Use LinkedIn as a Musician (and Why It Might Be Your Most Underrated Tool)

When musicians think about where to build an audience, LinkedIn rarely makes the list. It feels like the place for résumés, corporate updates, and people humblebragging about promotions. But here’s a friendly reinvention worth considering: for a working musician, especially one interested in sync licensing, brand work, or session gigs, LinkedIn can quietly become one of the most valuable rooms you walk into. Let’s talk about how to use it well, without ever feeling like you’ve sold out or turned into a spreadsheet.

Start by Rethinking What LinkedIn Is For

The first shift is mental. Most of the people who actually pay for music live and work on LinkedIn. Music supervisors, brand managers, ad agency creatives, and licensing reps are active there, and LinkedIn is widely considered the best professional network for pitching music directly to supervisors. These are the folks deciding what song goes in the next streaming series, the next national ad, the next indie film. They generally aren’t scrolling Instagram hoping to discover you. They’re in a professional space, looking for professional collaborators. So showing up there isn’t about chasing fans. It’s about being visible to the people who hire.

Build a Profile That Speaks to Value, Not Just Job Titles

Your headline is prime real estate, and “musician” alone undersells you. Think instead about what you make and who it helps. Something like “I write cinematic, sync-ready music for film, TV, and brands” tells a supervisor in one glance exactly why they’d want to talk to you. The same goes for your About section: a short, warm story of what you create and who you create it for, two paragraphs at most. And do use a banner image that reflects your sound, a studio shot or something evocative of your world, rather than leaving it blank.

Connect With the Right People Before You Post Anything

Here’s a gentle truth about LinkedIn: your reach grows from your network first and the algorithm second. So it pays to build relationships before you start broadcasting. A good approach is to connect with a handful of music supervisors or sync reps with a simple, genuine note appreciating their recent work, no sales pitch attached. Roles worth searching for include music supervisor, sync licensing coordinator, brand partnerships manager, advertising creative director, and independent film producer. The aim is simply to be a friendly, familiar presence in the space, so that when you do share something, you’re talking to a room that already knows you.

Share Content That Only You Could Make

Once you’re connected, the question becomes what to post. The happiest answer is: things drawn from your real working life. A short note about a decision you made in a session, a reflection on the independent path, a milestone like a placement or a collaboration. Sharing updates, commenting thoughtfully on others’ posts, and consistently offering value is exactly how musicians turn LinkedIn connections into meaningful professional relationships. You don’t need to post daily. A single thoughtful post a week, rotating between how you work, what you think, and what you’ve accomplished, is plenty to stay credible and present.

Keep Posts Easy to Read

A small practical tip that makes a big difference: write for the scroll. Short sentences, generous white space, one idea at a time. Lead with a line that earns the click, expand briefly, then offer something useful, an observation, a lesson, a result. Close with a soft, human invitation to respond rather than a hard sell. People engage with warmth and curiosity far more than with pitches.

Play the Long, Relationship-First Game

The thing that makes LinkedIn work for musicians is the same thing that makes the whole sync world work: relationships, nurtured patiently. This industry runs on relationships, and when someone licenses your track, the smart move is to stay in touch, send them new music before it’s public, and build a genuine connection, because supervisors who love your sound will come back to you again and again. There’s a lovely international upside here too. Many independent artists were surprised in 2025 by how much of their income came from outside the US, with international royalties becoming more consistent and sometimes more meaningful than domestic ones. A global, professional network like LinkedIn is a natural place to nurture exactly those far-flung connections.

The Takeaway

LinkedIn won’t replace your streaming numbers or your live following, and it isn’t meant to. Think of it instead as the room where the buyers of music gather, a place where showing up consistently, generously, and as your professional self can open doors the other platforms simply can’t. Build a profile that speaks to your value, connect before you broadcast, share from your real creative life, and treat every connection as a relationship rather than a transaction. Do that, and you may find that the least “musical” platform out there becomes one of the most rewarding parts of your career.

Recording in Belfast: The Studios Worth Knowing

Eric Alper
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Recording in Belfast: The Studios Worth Knowing

For a city of its size, Belfast packs an outsized musical punch, and a big part of that story happens behind studio glass. From the country and trad recordings of the 1970s to the post-hardcore, indie, and electronic acts filling rooms today, this is a place where records get made and careers get launched. And with Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann coming home to Belfast this August, there’s never been a better moment to celebrate the rooms where the UNESCO City of Music actually makes its music. If you’re an artist thinking about where to track your next project, here are the studios worth knowing.

Start Together Studio

If Belfast has a flagship modern studio, this is it. Founded in 2007 as a collective of musicians and engineers who wanted to make great records without leaving their hometown, Start Together has grown over the years into three facilities with a huge collection of vintage and modern instruments and recording gear, hosting thousands of sessions for artists, writers, and labels from across the world. The client list speaks volumes about its reach. Co-founder and producer Rocky O’Reilly has worked with And So I Watch You From Afar, General Fiasco, TOUTS, ROE, Wheatus, and Nathan Connolly of Snow Patrol, among many others. Whether you’re cutting your debut EP or a full album, it caters to a range of budgets and needs.

Oh Yeah Music Centre

More than a studio, Oh Yeah is the beating heart of the Belfast scene, and it sits on genuinely historic ground. The building previously housed the Outlet Recording and Distribution Company, which in the 1970s helped nurture Ireland’s country and traditional music scene and was the birthplace of recordings by acts ranging from Hugo Duncan to Horslips, with the shell of that original studio still sitting in the middle floor. Its rebirth came from real pedigree. In 2005, former NME assistant editor Stuart Bailie, backed by local luminaries including Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody and Ash’s Tim Wheeler, set out to turn the building into a hub for Belfast’s growing musical community. Today it offers rehearsal and recording space alongside mentoring, a live venue, and a permanent music exhibition, making it the natural first stop for any artist plugging into the city.

Stoney Road Studios

If you want to disappear into your record without watching the clock, this is your spot. Stoney Road is the only residential studio in Belfast with full live tracking and drum rooms, a pro-level facility kitted out with Pro Tools, top-tier mic preamps, Neumann, AKG and Shure microphones, vintage Gibson and Fender guitars, a Bechstein upright piano, and a complete service package including engineer, all at a competitive price. Ideal for live band tracking where you want everyone in the room together.

AMPS Studio and Training Centre

Housed in the historic Conway Mill, AMPS is a great choice for artists who want to learn as they record. It offers sound recording, overdubbing, multi-track editing and mixing, analogue-to-digital transfer, rehearsal rooms and PA hire, alongside a training centre running courses in live sound, music production, mixing, and songwriting. A welcoming environment for newer artists finding their feet.

Redbox Studios

Tucked into the University Quarter, Redbox is the classic story of musicians building the room they wished they’d had. It was created when three local musicians decided to start their own studio, and now offers high-quality recording at affordable prices at 173 University Street. A solid, budget-friendly option right in the heart of student Belfast.

Belfast Underground / Cloud 9 Studios

For electronic, dance, hip hop, and pop producers, this is the room with the track record. Belfast Underground and Cloud 9 are among Ireland’s most successful studios, with more than 3,000 record-label-released productions to date, producing and remixing for major record companies and DJs while making production accessible to artists at every stage. If beats and toplines are your world, start here.

One More for the List: Blackstaff Mill

Worth knowing for the wider workflow too. Blackstaff Mill on Springfield Road is a constant hive of musical activity, home to Attic Studios and a great mix of independent rehearsal and recording spaces favoured by many of Belfast’s top artists. A good reminder that great records start long before the red light comes on.

Whether you’re chasing the polished sheen of a pop record, the live energy of a band in one room, or the raw honesty Belfast is famous for, the city has a studio to match. And if all this talk of Belfast music has you wanting to experience it in person, you couldn’t pick a better week.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (fleadhcheoil.ie), the world’s largest celebration of Irish traditional music, song, and dance, takes place in Belfast, August 2–9, 2026, the first time the festival has been hosted in Ireland’s only UNESCO City of Music. Expect a week of pub sessions, street performances, céilís, and concerts spilling out across the whole city. For more information visit fleadhcheoil.ie, visitbelfast.com, and discovernorthernireland.com.

My SiriusXM Show This Week

Eric Alper
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My SiriusXM Show This Week

My SiriusXM show this week: Music legends Los Lobos; Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon, author, ‘Ways of Listening’; David Vila Diéguez, author of ‘Spanish Punk’; Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie on the SkyDog Music Festival. Sat 8am & 2pm, Sun 12pm & 8pm, Wed 6pm ET, Channel 167 + anytime on the SiriusXM app.

Metal-Pop Quartet Offspec Dare You To “Unwind” With Their Genre-Blending Sophomore Single

Eric Alper
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Metal-Pop Quartet Offspec Dare You To “Unwind” With Their Genre-Blending Sophomore Single

Offspec are pushing listeners to look deeper. The metal-pop quartet’s sophomore single “Unwind,” out now, challenges fans to explore sexuality and intimacy on a more meaningful level, telling the story of being trapped within a societal expectation that someone is only worthy for their body and outward appearance.

Vocalist Luisa unpacks the meaning behind it. “Looking deeper into Unwind, you’ll find that there is somebody trapped inside this illusion that they’ve created of themself and they’re pleading for a way out,” she says. The track dares to combine sultry pop melody with hard-hitting metalcore elements, following the band’s well-received debut “Let You Go.”

Already bolstered by a fanbase of 1.4 million followers across three social platforms, the band is captivating an audience worldwide. The quartet consists of Luisa Lyons on vocals, Eric Barrera on drums, Devyn Byrd on bass, and Micheal Luce on guitar. Drawing on Lyons’s Brazilian roots and Barrera’s Peruvian roots, the group weaves their individual musical experiences and cultural backgrounds into a sound built to connect with a diverse international audience and the Latin community.

There’s an artistic layer to everything they do. Lyons is a digital artist herself, hand-drawing each song’s artwork to represent its deeper meaning, and the band encourages fans to step into their world and connect through all forms of expression. With “Unwind,” Offspec signal there’s plenty more to come.

SoCal Indie Rockers Lavalove Bring Sun-Soaked Energy To New Single “Never Better”

Eric Alper
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SoCal Indie Rockers Lavalove Bring Sun-Soaked Energy To New Single “Never Better”

Lavalove are chasing the endless summer. The Southern California indie rock band have released a new song and music video for “Never Better,” taken from their new album ‘TAN LINES,’ out now via Pure Noise Records. It follows lead single “Sniffin’ Around.”

The track is hypnotic and built to be belted. “‘Never Better’ is hypnotic while trying to subconsciously convince your partner you’ll be their favorite ex,” says singer and guitarist Tealarose Coy. “It’s a song you could scream at the top of your lungs in your room for sure. The ending is so amazing as well, my favorite lyrics on the album.”

Lavalove have never been interested in asking for permission, and that spirit of escapism sits at the core of ‘TAN LINES,’ a record rooted in the belief that a brighter, freer life might be just one perfect night away. Produced by Anton DeLost, known for his work with State Champs and The Warning, the album channels the unfiltered thrill of an endless summer into a SoCal surf-meets-indie rock statement. Drawing from the simplicity of ’60s pop and surf and filtering it through modern indie, garage rock, and psych-pop textures, it bursts with effortless melodies, punchy rhythms, and sun-soaked energy.

It’s an album about getting out, of bad jobs, bad relationships, and bad moods, that burn off in late nights with friends and early mornings at the beach. Melding surf rock, garage grit, indie sheen, and psych-pop shimmer, it bridges eras and impulses, from the sunburned swagger of Coy’s all-time favorite band, Red Hot Chili Peppers, to the take-no-prisoners attitude of modern hitmakers like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. Rather than whitewashing life’s heaviness, it meets it head-on, choosing joy, connection, and chosen family. The result is a fearless, forward-looking record built on confidence and community.

Brazilian Thrash Heroines Nervosa Unleash Furious New Single “Ghost Notes” Off Album ‘Slave Machine’

Eric Alper
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Brazilian Thrash Heroines Nervosa Unleash Furious New Single “Ghost Notes” Off Album ‘Slave Machine’

Nervosa are charging into a fierce new era. The Brazilian thrash heroines have unleashed “Ghost Notes,” a new single from their album ‘Slave Machine,’ out now via Napalm Records.

The track lets loose a storm of heavy, easily recognizable riffs, driven by impelling drums and the ever-furious vocals of Prika Amaral, before culminating in a powerful guitar solo. It’s another side of the versatile band. “Strong and heavy riffs with a lot of groove showing deep feelings in a very poetic way, this song is definitely special in many ways,” the band say.

‘Slave Machine’ is the band’s sixth album and their second with Amaral, founding guitarist turned frontwoman, established as singer following 2023’s ‘Jailbreak.’ Once again working with producer Martin Furia of German legends Destruction, the women bridge old-school power and critical modernity across 12 crushing tracks. Having performed at the biggest metal festivals worldwide, from Wacken to Hellfest, Nervosa aim to cement their standing as genre frontrunners. “Slave Machine is the most brutal and melodic album of NERVOSA, and we are proud to take this step further, keeping our roots,” they say. From the menacing build of opener “Impending Doom” to the anthemic “You Are Not A Hero” and the sinister closer “Speak In Fire,” it’s a record that comes, sees, and conquers.

Slave Machine Tracklisting:

  1. Impending Doom
  2. Slave Machine
  3. Ghost Notes
  4. Beast Of Burden
  5. You Are Not A Hero
  6. Hate
  7. The New Empire
  8. 30 Seconds
  9. Crawling For Your Pride
  10. Learn Or Repeat
  11. The Call
  12. Speak In Fire

Nervosa Live 2026:

Aug 27-29 – Næstved, DK @ Næstved Metalfest

Former Crystal Viper Frontwoman Marta Gabriel Launches New Speed Metal Project LEATHERWITCH With Debut Single “Beast Inside”

Eric Alper
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Former Crystal Viper Frontwoman Marta Gabriel Launches New Speed Metal Project LEATHERWITCH With Debut Single “Beast Inside”

There’s a new force on the heavy metal map. LEATHERWITCH, the new project formed by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Marta Gabriel, has arrived with debut single “Beast Inside,” out now along with an official music video.

The track wastes no time getting your head moving. Built around classic speed metal riffing, a pounding rhythm section, and shredding guitar solos, it pairs super catchy vocal lines with the spirit of a classic gothic horror werewolf tale, heavy metal meets full moon. “Beast Inside” was mixed by Olof Wikstrand of Enforcer and features special guest guitarist Giuseppe Taormina of Ellende and ex-Crystal Viper. A limited-edition 7″ package is out now via Listenable Records, strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide.

The project marks a fresh start for Gabriel, who disbanded her band Crystal Viper in the fall of 2025. That band toured more than 20 countries, conquered major festival stages including Wacken Open Air, Hellfest, and Keep It True, and left behind a legacy of nine studio albums, capped by the farewell live album ‘The Live Quest’ in June 2025. In spring 2025, Gabriel also toured with Japanese heavy metal act Metalucifer as a bassist and flew to Tokyo for two exclusive solo shows. With “Beast Inside,” she charges into an exciting new chapter, and more news on LEATHERWITCH’s debut full-length is coming shortly.

Rising Pennsylvania Rockers American Vanity Announce Debut Album ’17’ With Confrontational New Single “Poison In Your Cup”

Eric Alper
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Rising Pennsylvania Rockers American Vanity Announce Debut Album ’17’ With Confrontational New Single “Poison In Your Cup”

American Vanity are gearing up for a big moment. The rising Pennsylvania rockers have announced their debut album ’17,’ out everywhere July 17, and shared its confrontational second single “Poison In Your Cup,” out now.

The new track is sonically heavier and more direct, driven by punchy alt-rock energy that pairs soaring, anthemic vocals with explosive drums and driving guitars. As the chorus erupts into a call for awakening, the song becomes a turning point. “This track addresses systems of influence, image, and power that rely on compliance and silence,” the band explain. “The lyrics use theatrical and institutional imagery to reflect how corruption often hides behind performance and tradition. Sonically heavier and more confrontational, it represents the album’s turning point toward awareness.”

The album itself is a cathartic, high-impact body of work, pairing emotionally charged lyricism with sharp, modern production by Matt Squire. Across 10 tracks, the band navigate the fragile space between connection and self-preservation, unpacking the quiet pressures society places on us. “This album explores what happens when connection becomes conditional and self-worth is tied to visibility, loyalty, or approval,” they share. “Rather than opting out, the record confronts how to participate without losing yourself.”

Formerly known as Burn The Jukebox, American Vanity turn modern rock into a mirror, vivid and unfiltered. Led by dual vocalists Virginia Franks on bass and Luke Hoffman on guitar, with Luke Vanchure on lead guitar and Carter Dennis on drums, the four-piece take aim at how image, approval, and identity get tangled in the attention economy. No strangers to the road, they’ve got a busy live year ahead.

17 Tracklisting:

  1. Lifeline
  2. Poison In Your Cup
  3. WHENUFALL
  4. Sabotage Myself
  5. Lost
  6. 17
  7. Undone
  8. Hold On Me
  9. Ignorance Is Confidence
  10. Kill To Feel

American Vanity Live Dates:

June 28 – Oakland, MD @ Honi Honi Bar

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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