Slushko Palace
Slushko Palace in Vilnius, Lithuania is a Baroque palace situated on the left bank of Neris River in the Old Town elderate, former Antakalnis suburb of the city.
The palace was erected in 1690 – 1700 by voivode of Polock Dominik Słuszko of the Clan of Ostoja, who ordered creating an artificial peninsula on Neris for the purpose of building the palace there.
The peninsula was formed from the soil of the leveled down hill separating Antakalnis from the Vilnius Castles.
Initially the façades of the palace were unified by a giant order of Ionic pilasters framing huge windows.
It is believed that the decoration works of the palace were performed by Michelangelo Palloni and Giovanni Pietro Perti who was the architect of the palace.
The Polish – Lithuanian rulers used to stay in the palace during their visits in the city after the Royal Palace was damaged.
The Russian tsar Peter the Great stayed and had his headquarters established here in 1705 and 1709.
After Słuszko's death the palace was owned by the Puzyna princely family( of Rurikid stock) since 1727 and by the Potocki family since 1745.
The Piarist monks bought the palace in 1756 and established a collegiate and a printing house.
Later it was bought by Michał Kazimierz Ogiński in 1766 and reconstructed by Pietro Rossi.
The palace was confiscated by the tsarist government in 1794 and transformed into an apartment house.
It housed a brewery of Dominik Zajkowski from 1803 until 1831 when the palace was taken by tsarist military.
The building was rearranged, the floors were redivided into four, and the palace served as a military prison since 1872.
The rich original interior and exterior of the palace have not survived.
Nowadays the palace houses the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
In the meantime the outhouses are undergoing the restoration and the main palace is planned to come next.
The palace is planned to regain its original two main floors layout and original Baroque style windows.
Vital Information
Steve Smith and Vital Information is an American jazz fusion group led by drummer Steve Smith.
The first line- up of Vital Information — Steve Smith( drums), Tim Landers( bass), and Dave Wilczewski( sax) — met in 1971 during their high school years while playing together in the Bridgewater State College Big Band, a Boston area college band under the direction of Vincent Gannon.
By 1977 Smith was touring with Jean- Luc Ponty, Landers with Al Di Meola, and Wilczewski with Freddie Hubbard.
They reunited annually in Boston with guitarists such as Dean Brown, Daryl Stuermer, or Barry Finnerty to complete the band.
From 1977 – 1982 the three man band members wrote many compositions, played a number of gigs, and developed the sound and concept that became the first edition of Vital Information.
After Smith was in the band Journey for a few years, he signed a contract with Columbia to make his first solo album.
The group recorded" Vital Information"( 1983), consisting of Landers, Wilczewski, and guitarists Dean Brown and Mike Stern.
The album was recorded in Warren, Rhode Island in January 1983 and released that summer.
In September 1983 the band toured the U.S with Dutch guitarist Eef Albers Stern, who was on tour with Miles Davis and Jaco Pastorius.
At the end of the tour the group returned to Rhode Island and recorded" Orion"( 1984).
After leaving Journey in 1985, Smith continued as bandleader of Vital Information.
Tim Landers and Dave Wilczewski eventually left the group to pursue their own careers.
Landers became a studio musician in Los Angeles while Wilczewski moved to Stockholm, Sweden.
He died on August 22, 2009.
Tom Coster( keyboards), formerly of Santana, joined Vital Information in 1986 and appeared on" Global Beat"( 1987), which integrated hand percussion and steel drums.
Kai Eckhardt( bass) joined Vital Information in 1986 and 1987 for tours in the U.S. and Europe.
He appeared on the album" Fiafiaga"( 1988), which continued with the" Global Beat" direction with computer- based and funkier sounds.
A jazzier version of the band consisting of Smith, Coster, Larry Schneider( saxophone), Frank Gambale( guitar), and Larry Grenadier( double bass) recorded" Vitalive!"( 1990).
Jeff Andrews( bass) joined the band in the early 1990s, recording" Easier Done Than Said"( 1992) and" Ray of Hope"( 1996).
Vital Information became more groove- oriented on" Where We Come From"( 1998).
Baron Browne( bass) joined the band in 1998, which continued their funk- oriented approach.
Smith, Coster, Gambale, and Browne recorded" Live Around the World"( 2000)," Show' Em Where You Live"( 2001), and" Live from Mars"( 2002).
On" Come on In"( 2004) Smith introduced Indian rhythms to the band's music.
Vinny Valentino joined on" Vitalization"( 2007).
Smith continued his interest in Indian rhythm by adding konnakol, a form of vocal percussion.
Smith toured with a version of the band called" Vital Information NYC Edition" that included Valentino, Browne, Mark Soskin on keyboards, and Andy Fusco on alto saxophone.
Fusco and Soskin are from Smith's other bands, Buddy's Buddies and Jazz Legacy.
Mandaturtukhutsesi
Mandaturtukhutsesi was the Chief overseer of the court, in charge of the palace guard and matters of protocol.
The Mandaturtukhutsesi was aided by an" Amirejibi" and a" Mandatur" and as a symbol of his office, he carried an" Arghani"( sceptre) presented by the monarch.
City Hall of Tilburg
The City Hall of Tilburg or Palace- Council House( Dutch:" Paleis- Raadhuis") is a former royal palace and presently a part of Tilburg city hall in the Netherlands.
Construction of the palace was commissioned by King William II of the Netherlands, who placed the cornerstone on 13 August 1847.
The king wanted to have a country residence in Tilburg.
He never lived in the palace as he died on 17 March 1849, just 22 days before completion of the palace.
The palace was built by contractor and carpenter from Tilburg.
On 7 July 1847 Goijaerts accepted the commission from William II of the Netherlands for the sum of ƒ 57,000.
Goijaerts completed the palace on 7 April 1849.
The palace has been rebuilt thoroughly twice, in 1865 and from 1934 to 1936, to give the palace a different purpose.
The palace has been used as a school and as city hall of the municipality Tilburg.
The school offered secular tuition on high school level.
Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh was the school ’s most famous student.
In 1931 the palace was donated to Tilburg municipality by the Dutch royal family.
During World
War II the palace was used as an observation post for detecting allied aeroplanes.
The palace lost its main function in 1971 when a much larger and more modern building was completed.
This building is connected to the palace through a sky bridge at the north side of the palace.
Since then the Palace is mostly used as a location for wedding ceremonies, lectures, oath- takings and symposia.
Emitt Rhodes
Emitt Lynn Rhodes( born February 25, 1950) is an American singer- songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer.
Rhodes began his career in musical ensembles
The Palace Guard as the group's drummer before joining The Merry- Go- Round as a multi-instrumentalist.
Anglo-Zanzibar War
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was a military conflict fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896.
The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history.
The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash.
The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan.
In accordance with a treaty signed in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultanate was that the candidate obtain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement.
The British considered this a "casus belli" and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace.
In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.
The ultimatum expired at 09:00 East Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area.
The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson and the pro-Anglo Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar).
Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guard and several hundred of his servants and slaves.
The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns, which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships.
A bombardment, opened at 09:02, set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery.
A small naval action took place, with the British sinking the Zanzibari royal yacht and two smaller vessels, and some shots were fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops as they approached the palace.
The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09:40.
The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured.
Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland part of present Tanzania).
The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government.
The war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence.
The Palace Guard
The Palace Guard was an American garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964.
Though the band never obtained national success, they made a huge splash in Southern California with their song" Falling Sugar".
The group is also notable for featuring the first commercial appearance of Emitt Rhodes, later a member of the Merry- Go- Round.
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames.
Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII.
In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the King to check his disgrace; Henry VIII later enlarged it.
Along with St James' Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many the King owned.
The palace is currently in the possession of Queen Elizabeth II and the Crown.
In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding and expansion work, which was intended to rival the Palace of Versailles, destroyed much of the Tudor palace.
His work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque.
While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings.
King George II was the last monarch to reside in the palace.
Today, the palace is open to the public and a major tourist attraction, easily reached by train from Waterloo station in central London and served by Hampton Court railway station in East Molesey, in Transport for London's Zone 6.
In addition, London Buses routes 111, 216, 411 and R68 stop outside the palace gates.
The structure and grounds are cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
In addition, the palace displays many works of art from the Royal Collection.
Apart from the Palace itself and its gardens, other points of interest for visitors include the celebrated maze, the historic royal tennis court (see below), and the huge grape vine, the largest in the world .
The palace's Home Park is the site of the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival and Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
Palazzo Hercolani
Palazzo Hercolani is a palace in Forlì, Emilia- Romagna, Italy.
There is also a Palazzo Hercolani in Bologna.
Until 1844 it belonged to the ancient Hercolani Family of Forlì.
The last Hercolani heir living in the palace was Fabrizio Gaddi Hercolani, son of Cesarina Hercolani and Lepido Gaddi Hercolani.
In 1844 Fabrizio sold the palace to Count Sesto Matteucci, who engaged in a great number of renovations, although the palace plan was still left unchanged.
The palace was the product of the unification of three different buildings.
Sesto Matteucci gave the palace front a more homogeneous look and improved the palace facilities and decorum.
In 1866 the palace became a possession of the Guarini family, when Vittoria Matteucci marries Count Filippo Guarini.
In 1946 the palace was sold by last Guarini heirs to the cooperative society Carlo Marx.
The palace houses a work of the Italian painter Pompeo Randi named" La Beata Vergine del Fuoco con i Santi Mercuriale, Pellegrino, Marcolino e Valeriano", showing the Sesto Matteucci coat of arms and a landscape of Forlì on the background.
On the whole the palace houses six frescoed roofs and two more wall frescoes.
All decorations go back to the 19th century.
During the 1980s the palace was renovated by Assicoop Romagna, which has currently its seat in the palace.
For its unique elegance and facilities, the palace often hosts important events occurring in the town.
Across the Great Divide tour
The Across the Great Divide tour was a concert tour by Australian alternative rock bands Powderfinger and Silverchair in 2007.
The tour featured concerts in 26 towns across Australia and multiple shows in New Zealand.
According to Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning, the aim of the tour was to" show[ that] both bands are behind the idea of reconciliation."
Both bands aimed to increase awareness of the efforts of Reconciliation Australia to reduce the current 17- year gap in life expectancy between the average Australian life and that of Indigenous Australians.
A triple DVD set was released with the same title as the tour on 1 December 2007 with the Melbourne performances for both bands and backstage occurrences from the tour.

Question: Are both bands, The Palace Guard and Vital Information, from the same country?
Answer: yes