Fire Damages Tesla's Recording Studio

Early Thursday, a massive fire damaged the Sacramento, California recording studio owned by Brian Wheat, bass player of Tesla. The fire also caused a ton of damage to an adjacent home.

The good news, of course, is that no one was hurt. The fire happened overnight and no one was in the recording studio at the time. There were residents in the neighboring property that caught fire, but they escaped without injury.

Firefighters worked hard to salvage a lot of Tesla's memorabilia from the studio. Brian was in New York at the time, working on a record. Right now, no word on damage estimates. Here's a news report showing the flames.

Tesla will play on Shiprocked next month. I know we all wish the band well.

Shiprocked is Next Month...

I can't believe it, but now it is October and that means Shiprocked is next month. The cruise ports from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on November 11. The cruise returns November 14. I'm glad the cruise is soon because I'm ready for a vacation. Plus, I really want to see Lynam again. If you're booked on the cruise, you might be interested to know that you can get a VIP package starting Monday. Basically that gets you into the shows early and you get a private meet and greet and some other goodies. Of course, every passenger is guaranteed a seat to every concert. 

Beyond Lynam, I'm really looking forward to Cinderella and Sevendust. Maybe most of all, I'm excited to see my friends. This isn't to say I'm not keen on Vince Neil, Tesla, Drowning Pool, 10 Years or Black Stone Cherry, because I am. It will be cool to see The Niki Barr Band again. I saw Aranda once at Rocklahoma, and they were good. Broken Teeth are always good (as you well know) and last year, they got the cruise off to a rockin' start. I've never seen The Letter Black or Pianotarium, so I guess that will be good too.

If you want to come on Shiprocked with me and a slew of other Bring Back Glam! readers, there is still time because a few cabins are left. If you book, send me an email so we can make plans to meet up.

Speaking of Lynam...did you know the band has a live album coming out? It's tentatively due next month. The tentative title is Thank You Good Night and it was recorded at a slew of shows all over. I'll exclusively reveal the track listing soon on Noisecreep.

NASCAR Goes Glam...Sort Of

This is insanity.

SPEED network created some crazy video with NASCAR drivers...set to Mr. Big's "To Be With You." The drivers look, well, uncomfortable. Or maybe they just look stupid. At any rate, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch have no rhythm. Also, I'm pretty sure that none of the drivers has ever heard of Mr. Big, let alone this particular song. At any rate, watch this. It's definitely cringe-worthy.

Finally, a Glam Nod from the Rock Hall

Finally, Alice Cooper and Bon Jovi receive official nods from the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. Both are nominated for induction. Also nominated are the Beastie Boys, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Donna Summer and Tom Waits.

The Rock Hall committee always baffles me, but judging from the nominee list, I'd say both Jovi and Cooper should get in without any hassle. Oh, and the Beastie Boys will probably get in this time too (they were originally nominated in 2008).

To be truthful, I didn't even want to write about this topic today...but since Bon Jovi and Alice Cooper are in the list, I had no choice. Bon Jovi is a legitimate Glam band – and Alice just rules.

I suspect Bon Jovi will be the only Glam band we see in the Hall – at least for a very, very long time. I also think Motley Crue will get nominated and, much like Kiss, be passed over. Thing is, the Rock Hall is a joke. The Alice Cooper Band deserved to be in long ago – same for Kiss. Rush, once again, was unfairly passed over...and really, you're telling me LL Cool J has done more for music than Rush?

The good news is that if Alice and Jovi do make the cut, the induction ceremony might be less of a giant bore than usual. I'm not sure who would pay homage to Bon Jovi...Nickelback maybe? I wonder if Slipknot would induct Alice? Or maybe Rob Zombie?

I hope that – if Jovi does get in – the artist display inside the Rock Hall in Cleveland pays homage to the band's 1980s heyday. Sure, Jovi has beat the odds and stayed relevant...but their party began in the 80s...and they, along with the Rock Hall board, must always remember that.

New Live Alice Cooper DVD Recorded at London’s Hammersmith Apollo Out Today!

Hands up, who is getting this? Alice Cooper is a BBG! favorite and today he's got a new DVD. I'm awful about my music DVDs. I get them...and then watch once and put away. I know people who watch the same concert DVD over and over again. I just don't have the patience. Still, I'd like to add this to my collection. Here's a release:

The godfather of shock rock captures the gore, the grit and the grand spectacle of his Theatre of Death Tour on a new live DVD filmed at the tour's stop at London’s legendary Hammersmith Apollo last year. The concert features all of the massive hits from "The Coop" including "School’s Out," "I’m Eighteen" and "Poison" in a no-holds barred performance the slogan for which is "They Keep Killing Him, He Keeps Coming Back." During the course of the performance Alice is "killed" no fewer than four times. Guillotine, gallows and other diabolical implements of death plus a cast of unique performers and henchman shock, terrify, amaze and, most importantly, entertain through the 90 minute concert. The Theatre of Death Tour has been lauded by fans and media alike. "As visually stunning and entertaining as the show is to look at, the real attraction is the music," noted Creative Loafing. In its Theatre of Death review, The Adelaide (Australia) Advertiser called Alice "one of modern music’s most timeless and consistent showmen." "Everyone’s favorite make-upped rock star is known for the elaborate ways in which he is killed at the end of his shows. So what could be better than a show where this happens not once, but four times?" queried The Schenectady Gazette. The Times of London characterized the Theatre of Death show as having "all the subtlety of a Boeing 747 loaded with nuclear weapons crashing into the Moon." It is estimated that the show has played to audiences worldwide totaling over one million since it was launched thirteen months ago.

Theatre of Death will be released through Bigger Picture Group on September 28, 2010 just in time for Halloween. It's Alice Cooper's seventh long-form video release, three of which have been Gold certified, joining seven Platinum albums, nine gold albums and two Gold singles over the course of a career that has spanned forty years. The Theater of Death DVD is packaged with a companion audio CD offering the consumer yet another way another way to make a killing, so to speak. Of special note is the fact that the audio was mixed Bob Ezrin, the legendary producer of such Alice Cooper album classics as Billion Dollar Babies, Welcome To My Nightmare, School’s Out and Love It To Death. The two recently joined forces again and are working together on an album of new material to be released next year.

Alice is currently reuniting with Rob Zombie for the Halloween Hootenanny Tour, building on the success of this year’s Gruesome Twosome Tour.

The Van Beckons

If you watch NFL football, then you probably saw the new Honda Odyssey commercial yesterday. The Odyssey is a seemingly un-metal mini-van (shudder) but the ad concept is smart: a family man, checking out a hot looking van, while Judas Priest plays in the background. There's a Marshall amp and "guitar hero" on the van monitor, too.

Heavy metal music is increasingly used in ad campaigns. Target is running one right now with a woman making pancakes while AC/DC blares in the background. I assume ad execs think the use of classic metal bands adds an element of "danger" to otherwise banal products geared toward a post-Boomer generation. If my thesis is true, what does this say about Metal overall? Perhaps Metal isn't underground at all anymore. Sort of takes all the danger out of the genre, eh?

Trixter Talk

Were the guys in Trixter victims of grunge...or a confused Glam image?

I don't talk about Trixter much. I actually quite like them – and they are awesome live. But when their name pops up on festival rosters, people always laugh. And by people, I mean Glam fans...basically you.

Why is that?

You guys are loyal to the death over the bands we love here. If a classic Glam band releases a song that I don't like and I give it a bad review, there is usually hell to pay.

But not so with Trixter.

I've written that Trixter were awesome at both Rocklahoma and M3. The running joke, then, is that God hates Trixter and that's why He (She?) tried to kill us with a massive storm at Rocklahoma 2008. So what did Trixter do that upset so many of you? Was it the flannel? I'll agree, the flannel wasn't a great idea – but they tried! I remember watching old school MTV and seeing Trixter vids mixed in with the other metal bands and they definitely stood out...because their look didn't match their sound.

Was it that Trixter was just not Glam enough? Just because you have long hair doesn't make you a Glam band, yes? You need a little crunch to the guitars...oh and the guitarist better be amazing, too.

Was it that “Give It To Me Good” was just too pop? Honestly, when I heard the song on the radio back when it was new, I just figured it was a pop band...until I saw the video.

So what is it? What hurt Trixter? What should the band members have done differently to cement their rock – Glam – cred?