'American Idol' Apologizes for Steven Tyler and I Get Pissed

As you well know by now, Steven Tyler is a judge for American Idol this season. As I predicted weeks ago, he's actually pretty darn good at being a judge. After all, he's been a performer for decades - and he sure can sing. He doesn't cut down hopefuls - even when they are clearly horrid and have no business auditioning for a vocal competition. So, color me stunned when I tuned into Idol last night and found the beginning of the show start with the words “Mr. Tyler has been warned and assures us it will never happen again.”

Okay then. I started thinking really hard. I've seen every episode of Idol so far this season. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened. It's the same as it always is in this part of the show: audition after audition. Some good, some bad and Ryan Seacrest giggles. So why are the producing making a scapegoat out of Steven?

The show wore on and I got more and more angry. For years, I watched Simon Cowell cut down hopeful after hopeful and many of his comments were plain mean - and everyone loved it! Now, Steven makes reported "facial expressions" and odd comments and he gets a reprimand? Please. It's a double standard of rock n' roll proportions.

I'm all for apologies when someone is in the wrong. Since it was a public apology, issued by the American Idol producers, this means the "offensive act" must have happened on the show. And yet, I reiterate, I saw nothing.

The only reason I'm watching Idol this season is for Steven. If the produces try to shut him up and minimize his role, I'll stop watching. I suspect I won't be the only one. The show has falling ratings so the last thing the producers need is a viewer boycott.

I maintain the hope that Aerosmith will perform live on the show this season.

Lights Out, Lights Out...in Kettering, Ohio

I have no power at my house thanks to an ice storm here in Ohio. So, today's update is brought to you by a laptop battery and a Sprint Internet stick. Until I have more juice and more time online...I give you UFO and their song “Lights Out.”

Is winter over yet?

Rock on the Range 2011 Bands Announced

I'm pretty excited about this lineup and I'll once again be attending and reporting from this festival! Here's the announcement (full band list in bottom of release).

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ROCK ON THE RANGE is celebrating its Fifth Anniversary!  America’s premier destination rock festival--May 21-22at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio--will feature a spectacular lineup of rock heavyweights including A Perfect Circle (first performance of 2011), Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Korn, Stone Sour and Staind (first performance in two years).  The unforgettable weekend will also be highlighted by performances from Danzig, Hollywood Undead, Bullet For My Valentine, Black Label Society and Alter Bridge. In addition, Juliya of Fuse TV will return as the Mistress of Ceremonies for the event.

"Three years ago my other band Ashes Divide was fortunate enough to play Rock On The Range as a support act; to return to the same festival and headline this year with A Perfect Circle is truly an honor," says Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle.

“We are honored that Rock On The Range has asked us be one of the headliners,” says M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold. “Not only is it an amazing show to be apart of, but it holds a deep spot in our hearts. Rock On The Range was the last American show we played with our best friend and drummer, The Rev. We are looking forward to continuing his legacy of rock n roll insanity that night! See you all there.” 

"If you suffer from stimulus overload, the fifth anniversary of Rock On The Range may be too much for you,” quips Del Williams, co-executive producer of the event for Right Arm Entertainment.  “Virtually all of the bands that make up the top of the Active Rock charts are performing at America's biggest Rock festival.   When you look at the acts on the bill, and think of the massive list of songs that live in the body of that lineup, it's easy to get overwhelmed with excitement.” 

The ROCK ON THE RANGE celebration will start early on Friday night, May 20 with the nation’s biggest pre-festival Anniversary Party at the venue, featuring performances from two of the world’s craziest throwback rock artists--Steel Panther and Lez Zeppelin.  Best of all, your ticket to the Anniversary Party will be absolutely FREE with every ROCK ON THE RANGE weekend ticket purchase!

“It seems like only yesterday that we created this vision for an active rock festival in the heartland, but it’s actually been five years now.” comments Joe Litvag, co-executive producer of the event for AEG Live.  “If it weren’t for the loyal fan base of active rock fans, the ‘Rangers,’ Rock On The Range would still just be an idea on the back of a napkin!  We can’t think of a better way to say ‘thank you’ then to throw a big FREE party for everyone!  It will be a night of unmatched celebration!”

A special ROCK ON THE RANGE ticket pre-sale will take place from Wednesday, February 9 at 10:00 AM (ET) through Friday, February 11 at 10:00 PM (ET).  For details on pre-sale, go to: www.facebook.com/rockontherange.  Tickets go on sale to the general public Saturday, February 12 at 10:00 AM (ET).  Two-day weekend festival passes start at just $99.50plus service and transaction fees. Layaway ticket purchase options are also still available for a limited time.

"We are extremely excited about the lineup for Rock On The Range’s Fifth Anniversary show at Crew Stadium," said Mark McCullers, President & General Manager of the Columbus Crew, a co-executive Producer of Rock On The Range.  "We are coming off another record year in 2010 and are looking forward to raising the bar again in 2011."

Stay tuned to www.RockOnTheRange.com, www.facebook.com/rockontherange and www.twitter.com/rockontherange for the most up-to-date ROCK ON THE RANGE information. 

The current lineup for ROCK ON THE RANGE 2011 is as follows: A Perfect Circle, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed, Korn, Stone Sour, Staind, Danzig, Hollywood Undead, Bullet For My Valentine, Black Label Society, Alter Bridge, A Day To Remember, Hinder, Escape The Fate, All That Remains, P.O.D., The Damned Things, Fu Manchu, Black Veil Brides, Saving Abel, Sick Puppies, Finger Eleven, My Darkest Days, Cavo, Trapt, Rev Theory and Pop Evil.

Rocklahoma Rumors 2011

It's that time again. February 1st and that means it is time to discuss a few Rocklahoma rumors. For what it is worth, I heard the fest will be a modern/classic mix again. Pollstar has the fest listed as May 28 so I don't know if it will start on Friday like last year or on Saturday and therefore go through the Memorial Day holiday.

So who is rumored to play Rocklahoma 2011? Well, Gypsy Pistoleros, Whitesnake, Motley Crue, Black Label Society, Hinder and Texas Hippie Coalition. Obviously many more bands are needed to round out the lineup. Pollstar also has Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights as playing the fest, so that's a given I guess.

I have no idea when the official announcement will come but I would think soon. Rock on the Range and Rocklahoma are both produced by AEG Live and Rock on the Range is announcing today, so I'd say Rocklahoma news is imminent. Thoughts?

Win Tickets to M3 Rock Festival!

Want to attend this year's M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland on May 13th and May 14th? Want to beat the box office and save your cash for merch during the show? You're in luck. I'm giving away two (2) general admission tickets to the festival before they go on sale later this week!

Want to win? Send an email to allyson@bringbackglam.com with “M3 Tix” as the subject line. In the email, include your legal name, address and phone number. You'll have to present identification at the Merriweather Post Pavilion box office day of show to claim your tickets so your name must match on your I.D. and your entry submission. Please only one entry per person. If your entry does not include full information, it will be discarded. Your information will not be shared with outside companies.

Enter by Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Remember to sign-up with the official M3 Festival website to get a pre-sale code for tickets and other general information.

Anyone Know the Band Trash?

Does anyone know anything about the Swedish band Trash? Their 1985 album Burnin' Rock was recently rereleased on CD. The band made a video for the single “Boogie Woogie Man.” It's not exactly original – there's a big AC/DC sound – but it's not bad and is basically a new discovery for me.

Here's the band performing on the old UK show ECT. Check out the rockers in the front row! ( ECT was apparently a live show that catered to rock/metal acts, with no hosts and no advertising).

Thanks to digging, I found out that Trash performed on the show on June 6, 1985.

Sleeze Beez Return

The Sleeze Beez are back! The Danes have recorded a cover of Journey's power ballad "Faithfully." The band has a big show next Friday night in Amsterdam. I was hoping against hope that the Sleeze Beez would be one of the acts added to M3. Alas, it was not meant to be. Still, we have "Faithfully." What do you think?