My beloved Kix played the Los Angeles House of Blues Friday night. I was pretty salty I couldn't go...I've got bills like everyone else and traveling all the time just ain't happening. Lucky for me (and you!) clips of the show are now popping up online. Watch and love.
Have you heard the new Bon Jovi song "What Do You Got?" The song will be included on Bon Jovi Greatest Hits - The Ultimate Collection.The album will hit stores November 9. In total, Bon Jovi will include four new tracks among their most famous tunes.
Now, I'll be honest. I don't really like "What Do You Got?" It is too country for my taste and the guitar solo is basically non-existent, but hey, maybe you disagree. Push play, give it a go and provide your thoughts in the comments section. I wish Bon Jovi would record some new, harder edge songs. I feel like it's all too "Top 40 radio" these days.
Editor’s note: Holy Glam! Anso DF of MetalSucks.net fame is a visiting columnist today. He’s giving it to us good and presenting the awesome band T-Ride. Read on, comment and be nice. He likes us here.
Back in July, I was able to rope Allyson into a thankless and work-intensive project for MetalSucks.net, the home of my column Hipsters Out Of Metal! The reason was simple: I needed an outside voice, an expert, to bolster my claim that most if not all glam metal is perfectly legitimate, often transcendent, and way more fun than all the bummer shit that took its place on our radios and TVs. After a few calls and emails, we decided to co-author a guide to the essential glam metal library. Its readers would be equipped to get a start in the genre; old hands could reminisce with two party-metal loonies.
Our little project was big neon fun to write, and ended up running over four freaking days. It was super-gratifying to have Allyson’s totally sane-sounding points of view and non-creepy band devotion to balance my own paranoid, stalker-ish shrieking. We’re like fire and ice, Ritchie and Ronnie, chocolate and peanut butter. And we listen to all the same records!
But with one exception! One album under discussion was Crashdiet’s debut, Rest In Sleaze, aka the album that my neighbors are hating of after four weeks of semi-daily blastings. I love that record and I heard about it from Allyson, so it represents a glistening cherry atop the sundae of our collaboration for MetalSucks. That’s what friends do!
It’s to return that favor that I write about T-Ride’s self-titled debut album here today. It’s a weird little record released by a young label at the end of glam’s heyday. The trio featured oddball guitar virtuoso Geoff Tyson (a proto-Buckethead shredder and chord wiz) and drummer/producer Eric Valentine, who’d go on to shepherd acts like Good Charlotte and Lostprophets to their biggest successes. These guys were pros looking to make a distinctive entry to the hair rock canon; as such, their only album is packed with ambitious backing vocals (a la Boston, Def Leppard) throughout brief, bursting songs that play like roller coaster rides. Just as exhilarating, too!
All three T-Riders could sing and play, but lead vocals were handled by bassist and songwriter Dan Arlie, an unusually mealy enunciator and deft lyricist. His best couplets are the stuff of bumper stickers for the badassed, like “Don’t give me that righteous rap/And all that ‘live and let live’ crap” (from “Ride”) or “I don't ever have a problem getting my army going/All I have to do is play that marching beat” (from “Hit Squad”).
Though T-Ride poked its nose into the mainstream via soundtrack spots (lost amid heavy hitters on The Last Action Hero, damned to universal indifference on Encino Man) and an opening slot for Tyson’s teacher, Joe Satriani. But in 1992, hot-wired hair metal rivaled Whoopi Goldberg nudes for commercial non-acceptance; sadly, T-Ride’s classic disappeared. But it’s a singular masterpiece that scratches your itch for big hooks and musicianship -- and, at 35 minutes, it might shock you with its Reader’s Digest-style brevity. One description calls T-Ride a jam war among Eddie Van Halen, Queen and Prince. Yeah, that’s worth a half-hour to check out! Happy glamming!
Tuesday night I was lucky enough to attend the Rockstar Uproar Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Nothing is ever easy and I attended this festival with a raging ear ache. Yeah. But now I’ve got antibiotics and I’m on the mend. I digress. At any rate, the band I really went to see was Avenged Sevenfold. I caught a little of Stone Sour and Disturbed and they sounded great…but the night belonged to A7X.
The crowd at Nationwide Arena was pretty excitable. I’m used to people jumping and screaming around me – that’s a rock show – but I wasn’t prepared for what happened just one song into Avenged Sevenfold’s set.
A7X is touring behind Nightmare and the stage is sort of modeled after a gothic castle, complete with fire, smoke and the occasional firework pot. There are skulls, a gate and I think the apron of the stage is supposed to be a moat (or maybe not. I just think that sounds cool). Right at the beginning of the show, a man hangs himself from what looks like a steel bed. “Nightmare,” get it? I thought it was a dummy hanging over the crowd – until I looked a little harder and realized that it was, in fact, a real person strapped in by a harness. Obviously the noose was fake, just like a page from the Alice Cooper play book.
Here’s the setlist:
Nightmare Critical Acclaim Welcome to the Family Beast and the Harlot Buried Alive So Far Away Afterlife God Hates Us Unholy Confessions Almost Easy
So after the initial shock of watching a guy fake hang himself, the guys in A7X sort of sauntered on stage and began ripping into their songs. I had a pretty close view and was watching drummer Mike Portnoy closely. It was cool to see him with Avenged Sevenfold. Singer M. Shadows was wearing a classic Guns n’ Roses shirt, and I felt a little pride. So as “Nightmare” continued on, the floor crowd started getting more and more rowdy. I was elevated enough to see it all – and I was watching my husband take pictures of the band down in the pit. Actually, by the middle of "Nightmare," the crowd is so distracting, I’m watching the idiots more than I am the band. It wasn’t long before the barrier buckled, I saw the security manager start grabbing media and pulling the photogs away. So, as I watch my husband nearly die, I see a couple thousand kids surge forward and get very near the stage. About 15 security guards are literally holding the barrier back. When “Nightmare” ended, the house lights came up and Shadows said the show had to stop and everyone had to take a couple steps backward. Of course, no one complied so there was a good five minutes of wasted time while the guards battled the floor crowd back. Eventually, the barrier was fixed, photogs were allowed back down front and the show resumed. I’ve never been to a concert that was interrupted thanks to morons. Like, what do you think you’re going to do if everyone rushes forward and the barrier does break all the way? Get on stage? Kiss the band? Um, no.
Again, I digress.
So A7X is just wailing through their show. Around the end of “Welcome to the Family” a nutcase crowd-surfed to the front, got pulled to safety by security, wriggled free of the big guard and jumped half on stage. Guitarist Zacky Vengeance sort of just stepped backward, security grabbed the guy and he fought the entire way out of the venue. I have no idea what happens if you rush a stage at a show. Do you go to jail? Get a fine? Would it be worth it?
The only time A7X sort of hit a little snag was at the beginning of “Buried Alive.” The harmonics sounded off but maybe it was my ear. After all, it’s pretty screwed up right now. As the song progressed, things smoothed out and sounded awesome again. Oh, and "God Hates Us" was a highlight.
There was a nice tribute to The Rev during “So Far Away” and “Afterlife.” The backing banner changed to the same photo of The Rev that is included inside the CD tray of Nightmare.
It’s not an A7X show without “Unholy Confessions.” The song is my favorite from the Avenged Sevenfold catalog – I love it live!
After the show, I got an awesome Avenged Sevenfold shirt. It’s probably my favorite concert tee of my whole collection – it’s purple, even. For those that panic when reading about bands like Avenged Sevenfold on this website, take note: this band is the real deal. Give them a chance. Seriously.
Here’s a video of “Nightmare” from the show I attended.
I think Eric Clapton is a genius and I am totally getting this new album. Here's a press release:
"Guitar icon and three time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Eric Clapton announced today that he will release his 19th solo studio album on September 28, 2010 simply titled CLAPTON.
Co-produced by guitarist and long-time collaborator Doyle Bramhall II, the album features an all star cast of musical collaborations starting with the legendary JJ Cale, drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Willie Weeks, and keyboardist Walt Richmond—and the sessions later added guests including Steve Winwood, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Allen Toussaint, and Derek Trucks.
Clapton created a collection that touches on everything from century-old traditional brass bands to little-known country blues to brand-new originals. The result is both relaxed and revelatory, and unlike anything the guitarist has done in his legendary career.
'This album wasn’t what it was intended to be at all,' says Eric Clapton. 'It’s actually better than it was meant to be because, in a way, I just let it happen. It’s an eclectic collection of songs that weren’t really on the map—and I like it so much because if it’s a surprise to the fans, that’s only because it’s a surprise to me, as well.'
For more on Eric Clapton and the release of Clapton please visit www.ericclapton.com.
I've been thinking about retirement a lot lately. I just turned 31 and with each passing birthday, I reflect on my past and future. My husband and I have some very aggressive, concrete goals for our future. Here's a hint: we don't plan on working until we're 80! In fact, we'd like to be done "working for the man" by 50 and if I can swing 45, great. This will take a lot of discipline on our part, but we're giving it a shot. All that said, I wonder if musicians ever really create a retirement plan?
This thought comes into my mind after watching the slow death of one of my favorite bands. Great White is a group of great musicians but singer Jack Russell is very ill and he just can't perform at the same level anymore. Lately, the band has been using guest vocalists to fulfill contract duties. Why not cancel the dates and reschedule when Jack is better? Obviously that's a short term solution - but what about the long-term?
The sad fact is that our favorites won't be able to tour endlessly for the next 20 or 30 years. At what point do bands hang it up? That's a hard thought for someone like me to handle. I find it comforting to know that Poison will be out on the road next year. That another Crue Fest is in the works. That Van Halen will likely tour again soon. But these bands are on a different level than the likes of Great White or Dokken.
How does a band like Great White bow out? There's a fan base there for sure. There's also the lasting stigma of the Station Nightclub fire. There's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and then there's painful YouTube clips of Jack clearly in agony at Rocklahoma '09, trying his hardest to perform. He gets my respect for fulfilling his duties and doing his job but it can't go on. At some point, it's degrading the legacy of the music.
Or maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe the band can keep on as they are, grabbing guest vocalists and waiting for Jack to heal. I really don't think so, though. I have to believe the other guys in the band want to retire like "normal" people someday. Sure, musicians choose a different path and generally shudder at desk jobs...but at some point, even performing for crowds of people night after night becomes work and the road wears even the most grisled guy down. Rest is rest.
Do I think Great White will hang it up anytime soon? No. But I do think we need to brace ourselves for a long list of retirements within the next five to ten years. As it should be.
So in every store in any mall across America it's easy to find clothes festooned with skulls and rhinestones. This is true of clothes for both men and women. Anything with the word "rock" is hot. Add "rock" and rhinestones and suddenly the shirt costs an astronomical hundred bucks and people have to have it! Stores like Metropark cater to rock fans with the tag line "Fashion. Music. Art."
I don't remember seeing skull belts in Macy's five years ago. Granted, maybe I wasn't as aware but I swear - within the last year or so - anything rock related is hot, hot, hot.
Why is this? Is metal finally mainstream again - but only in concept? By this I mean the idea of black leather clothes and studs are hot but the music is largely secondary? Sure, our favorite Glam bands have enjoyed a renaissance the last few years thanks to nonstop touring by Bon Jovi, Motley Crue and Def Leppard. But most new bands are having a hard time gaining a massive following and I highly doubt if random people on the street know anything about Opeth or Soilwork let alone a band as niche as Hardcore Superstar. So what gives? Are designers really showing their love of metal through their clothes - or is metal more trendy than I thought? While I'd rather see 50,000 people at a Sevendust show versus Celine Dion I'm realistic to the popularity of certain genres of music. That said, I've never seen a random person in a Celine Dion T-shirt. I see people in metal band tees every day. Odd.
Maybe music and fashion really do coexist and metal just happens to rule when it comes to the hot style of the day? I still refuse to pay a hundred bucks for a T-shirt - even if a skull is involved.
Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 12:01AM 
