Axl Rose Declines Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame Induction

So Axl Rose refuses to attend or be inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. I honestly don't have much to say here, except I'm glad I sold my tickets to the Rock Hall induction ceremony a couple weeks ago. When it became apparent the Guns n' Roses reunion wasn't going to happen, I decided to let capitalism take its course. Anyway, Axl penned an open letter to the Rock Hall yesterday. It was originally posted on the L.A. Times music blog. I won't post the whole thing here - you'll need to go to the L.A. Times blog to check out the full letter. Here's the gist though:

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

Axl can do as he wishes, he has free will. While not wanting to attend the induction ceremony is one thing, I do think it is tacky that he is declining his induction award. Besides the Sex Pistols already did the bold "decline a Rock Hall nod via website thing" a few years ago. So whatever. I sort of feel bad for the rest of the Gunners, but I'm sure they expected Axl to have an outburst of some kind. My friend Johnnie wrote about Glam bands and the Rock Hall a few months ago. He wanted your opinion, so here's the article:

Guns N' Roses was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. This comes three years after Metallica, who kicked off their recording career with 'Kill 'Em All' in 1983. G N' R's classic Appetite For Destruction hit in 1987. This is devastatingly bad news for Glam, Hair Metal, Guitar Rock - call it what you will. Just don't call it Hall Of Fame worthy, apparently.

We already know that the Hall Of Shame has ignored nearly all of the original theatrical guitar-slinging bands that came before Metallica - Rush, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Scorpions and Kiss to name a few. At this point, as the likes of Madonna, Abba and The Beastie Boys get in, these truly deserving providers of rock history may never get in.

All that aside, by admitting only Metallica from the early 80's and jumping to the late 80's to give Guns the nod, the Hall has effectively lip-glossed over an entire genre of music. They have completely ignored not only the biggest names in Glam, but some of the top selling artists overall from the decade of decadence. Have they ever heard of a band called Bon Jovi? Does 'Living On A Prayer' ring a bell? Because that is what this joke of an institution is currently doing to itself when it continues to ignore the "Fame" in it's very name. In fact, they give Halls a Bad Name.

Did Def Leppard not sell a bajillion albums world-wide, making fans of everyone along the way? Is Motley Crue not the most infamous band in American history, now in its 4th decade of controversy and great songs? Is Poison really nothing more than a good time, easily forgotten and cast aside? Has Twisted Sister not done enough with their life, creating anthems that hold up to this day? If these huge acts are not worthy, then bands such as Dokken, Ratt, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Queensryche, Cinderella, Tesla and Skid Row will be nothing more than surgeon general's warnings on the empty Aqua-Net hairspray cans of yore.

So, what do we have to look forward to from this increasingly irrelevant institution? Waiting around a few years until they decide that Nirvana represents an entire generation, while completely ignoring their closest (and superior) neighbors such as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains? Honestly, I don't know why I even care anymore. The people know what is important, and who is legendary, and isn't that what really matters?

'Cry Little Sister' -- Which Version?

Ok, I'll admit it: I had no idea that "Cry Little Sister" was a cover song. I honestly thought it was an original Season's After tune. I've even interviewed the band about the song and they never mentioned it was a cover! So, the song was written by Gerard McMahon (under his pseudonym Gerard McMann) for the soundtrack to the 1987 horror flick The Lost Boys. Well, I've never seen the movie... so how would I know the song was a cover, right?

Last night, I went out to YouTube looking for some really random L.A. Guns song... and ended up seeing their version of "Cry Little Sister." I was intrigued, clicked and then realized that Season's After song I love so much was a cover! Let's just say I was excited, embarrassed and all annoyed all at the same time.

So, turns out, everyone and their mother has covered "Cry Little Sister." And you know what that means! It's time to pick your favorite version of the Gerard McMahon song "Cry Little Sister."

Here's the original:

Here's my fave, Season's After:

Here's the L.A. Guns version:

Here's the famous Aiden version:

Here's the Ventana version (for fans of Mushroomhead):

Which Version of 'Cry Little Sister' Rocks Hardest?

• Gerard McMahon (original)
• Season's After
• L.A. Guns
• Aiden
• Ventana

Book Wars: Ace Frehley Falls Flat, Duff McKagan Crushes Expectations

I decided to take advantage of some quiet time Easter afternoon and get back to reading Ace Frehley's No Regrets autobiography, and quite honestly, I felt compelled to write this post based on complete and total disappointment with his book. According to my Kindle, I'm 67% through the book, and it has yet to even get...good. His revisionist history is absurd and delusional. Throughout the book, Ace is basically praising Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, when for years he has been bashing them publicly. Then, there are the segments upon segments about how he plays music for the sake of making music and it isn't about the money with him (yet he charges fans for pictures and autographs at least two times per year at conventions) and that the show was too grand for his tastes (but yet he did it for years and years and helped create what the show was). Worst of all is how he describes the recording the Alive album, and how his live parts were too sloppy to be used on the record so they had to be redone in the studio. He justifies this by saying that he is a performer who is playing based on the feel he is getting from the audience, and he isn't a "studio performer." The simple fact of the matter is maybe Ace is just not as talented as he likes to envision himself. I once heard a friend say to someone else, "You can lie to me, but don't lie to yourself." I think Ace should maybe take that lesson to heart. Finally, the reason we all buy these books are for the behind the scenes "dirt" that we are not privy to.

I just finished reading about the infamous Tom Snyder interview where Ace stole the show, much to the dismay of Gene (mostly) and Paul. Ace recounts this fondly, as he should, but then the story just stops. I wanted to know what happened in the limo after the interview. Was there an argument? What was said? Who was angry? As I said in my review of Steven Adler's (awful) autobiography, if you want to sell your story, then you need to give the reader SOMETHING TO READ! You need to dig deep and share the struggles and emotions during the good and the bad times, otherwise your book is nothing more than a 300 page magazine article. Ace's book is just about how great his life and friends were; how it is the producers' fault that he couldn't deliver the goods on Destroyer (so studio musicians were used), and how much of an "artist" he is... and quite frankly, I'm not buying what he is selling.

Mind you, I am a HUGE KISS fan. I love the band, the songs, the live shows and the history. But this is simply too much and clearly not true. I want Ace to be great, and I appreciate his role and contributions to the band, but do not sell the fans a fluff piece and call it your story...otherwise what is the point?

Now, on the other end of the spectrum is Duff McKagan's book, It's So Easy: and Other Lies, which is, in my humble opinion, the single best autobiography written by a current/former rock star (and yes... I have read The Dirt by Motley Crue). Duff has the ability to tell stories, make them interesting to the reader, go in-depth so that you fully understand where he was at any given point in time. And above everything else, you clearly get the sense that he is being honest with both himself and the reader. When reading his book, I actually had trouble putting it down, as it is just that good. So to Duff, I say, as a fan, THANK YOU. Thank you for giving your fans something that is actually worth them spending their money on and worth taking the time to read. Thank you for sharing your story, the good parts and the bad, so that those of us that have only wondered what is like to be a part of a super group understand what it is actually like, including the mental and physical impact.

And to the readers of BBG!, if you want my recommendation, the next time you are browsing the aisles of Barnes & Noble looking for your next autobiography, you should pass on the Ace Frehley book (sadly), and pick up Duff McKagan's book. You will thank me for it when you are done reading.

Electric Boys New Album Released in the U.S.

March 13th was a day I had circled on my calendar for months. Why, you ask? Well, that was the U.S. release date of the latest album by the Electric Boys, ...And Them Boys Done Swang. The album was probably released over a year ago overseas, but there was apparently no U.S. distribution for the album at that time. I watched the album on eBay, but the prices were too high to justify the purchase, and I refuse to illegally download albums off the Internet, so I waited and waited. Finally, they announced the U.S. release date, and I for one, was thrilled.

The album is classic Electric Boys. It just has a groove to it that I love, and the band sounds as good as ever. My personal favorite is "Rollin' Down The Road" which has a great guitar riff, beefed up with some amazing horns. Just love the way it moves. Other great tunes off this one include "Welcome to the High Times," "Angel in a Armoured Suit," "Put Your Arms Around Me" and "Sometimes U Gotta Go Look For The Car." I also like how the average song is probably just about three minutes long...so they hit you hard with a groove, change it up somewhere in the middle, and then they don't overkill it and move on to the next song. Overall, the album is just put together very well.

I have listened to this album on an almost daily basis since the first day I was able to get my grubby little hands on it. The Electric Boys are one of my favorite bands from back in the day, and are also tragically underrated. While I will still holdout hope that I'll get to experience a live Electric Boys show at least one more time (though I doubt they will venture to the states again), I'm at least happy that I can still get amazing new music from these guys.

Happy Easter, Watch Some Old School Stryper

Happy Easter, Glam fans.

Have you seen this awesome throw-back clip of Stryper performing at Tower Records in 1991? The band is doing "My Love I'll Always Show."

I miss Tower Records. To be more accurate, I miss real music stores period. Sure, I buy heaps from Amazon but there was nothing as cool as browsing the racks at a music shop, checking out the cover art and talking to the store employees about the next big thing. I don't see music shops ever making a return and that is a shame. At least we got to have the experience -- kids today only know theft and iTunes.

Adler, 'The One That You Hated'

Drummer Steven Adler's new project is simply called Adler and features Jacob Bunton (of Lynam) on vocals and guitar and Lonnie Paul on guitar. The band released the song "The One That You Hated" yesterday for fans and I gotta say, I love it.

The band has 12 songs done for the upcoming debut album. Jeff Pilson is a producer of the album and he's also doing the bass parts. Steven is apparently still choosing an official bass player for the band. Slash even recorded a guest spot on one of the tracks.

Jacob worked on the record by commuting back and forth between Los Angeles and his home in Alabama. Being a massive Lynam fan, I'm very proud of Jacob and I hope Steven Adler's new band really takes off -- they all deserve success with this project.

The song hits iTunes on April 10.

De La Cruz, 'Back to the 80s'

Holy crap! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just get thee to the De La Cruz website and download the band's self-titled debut album. This is like a modern Def Leppard people - you know, if it was still 1987 or something.

Australia's own  De La Cruz has a ton of potential and could really go a long way in our cause to bring back glam. Seriously. Check them out below. Maybe if enough of us download the EP and create enough buzz, the band will get signed.