Next Week: MetalSucks Goes Glam

If you like irreverence and metal, then you likely already read MetalSucks. If you don't - then shame on you. Next week, MetalSucks goes Glam and the guys in the mansion invited me along for the ride. I'll be weighing in with my worthless opinions on the Ten Most Essential Glam Metal Records of all time. Yeah. So you're gonna want to read and leave comments. A lot of the regular MS readers are gonna be hatin' on our fun - so be sure to hold your own.

The list will be revealed over a few days and there will be special commentary between me and MS writer Anso DF. I can't wait.

MSG 'Live In Tokyo: 30th Anniversary Japan Tour' Coming to DVD, Blu-ray, CD October 19

Everyone knows I'm excited to see Michael Schenker Group at Rock n' America. Actually, MSG is the number 1 band for me to watch...and now maybe you can catch them too! MSG has just added a few more American dates (below). Also, a new DVD/CD package is coming in the fall, so that's definitely something to look forward to - here's all the details:

Michael Schenker Group has 28 US tour dates scheduled for this July and August.

The "Live In Tokyo: 30th Anniversary Japan Tour," to be released on October 19,  was recorded in January 2010 during the 30th Anniversary Japan Tour. On this tour, the Michael Schenker Group consisted of Michael Schenker, Gary Barden, Simon Phillips, Wayne Findlay, and Neil Murray. The band, in impeccable form, blasts through a track list highlighting all stages of Schenker's career: from UFO and Scorpions hits, through MSG classic tracks, to his solo compositions.

MSG 30th Anniversary World Tour - North American Dates:

JUL 17 2010 - Angel's Roadhouse - Yucaipa, CA
JUL 18 2010 - Brick By Brick - San Diego, CA
JUL 21 2010 - Back Stage Live SA - San Antonio, TX
JUL 22 2010 - 18th Bar & Grill - San Leon, TX
JUL 23 2010 - Trees - Dallas, TX
JUL 24 2010 - Zoo Amphitheatre (Rock N America Festival) - Oklahoma City, OK
JUL 27 2010 - Showcase Live - Foxborough, MA
JUL 28 2010 - Altar Bar - Pittsburgh, PA
JUL 29 2010 - Starland Ballroom - Sayerville, NJ
JUL 30 2010 - Jaxx - Springfield, VA
JUL 31 2010 - The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza - New York, NY
AUG 01 2010 - The Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
AUG 02 2010 - Eleanor Rigby's (NEW) - Jermyn, PA
AUG 03 2010 - The House Of Blues (NEW) - Cleveland, OH
AUG 04 2010 - Scatz Nightclub - Middleton, WI
AUG 06 2010 - Club Vegas - Salt Lake City, UT
AUG 07 2010 - Xclamation Festival - Modesto, CA
AUG 08 2010  - Tower Theatre - Fresno, CA
AUG 11 2010  - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
AUG 12 2010 - Dante's - Portland, OR
AUG 13 2010 - The Last Day Saloon - Santa Rosa, CA
AUG 14 2010 - Pepperbelly's - Fairfield, CA
AUG 15 2010 - The Avalon - Santa Clara, CA
AUG 17 2010 - The Boardwalk (DATE CHANGE) - Orangevale, CA
AUG 18 2010 - Coach House - San Juan Capistrano, CA
AUG 19 2010 - Key Club West - Hollywood, CA
AUG 21 2010 - Rosemont Theatre (NEW) - Rosemont, IL

For more information, check out the official MSG website.

The Sweet Added to Rock n' America

Check another band off my "need to see list!" The Sweet will now play Rock n' America next Friday, July 23. This pleases me much. Check out the band times below.

Black Veil Brides - Not So Glam

Ok, I don't get it. Why are people calling Black Veil Brides Glam? They're not Glam. They're emo. Which is fine - I've got nothing against them or emo bands really - I just don't get all the Glam press. Just because the band's singer Andy Six happens to be obsessed with Kiss and Motley Crue doesn't mean much - in sound anyway. In image...well, that's something else. In reality, I think Black Veil Brides is basically screamo with some Bullet for My Valentine/Avenged Sevenfold influence.

Black Veil Brides will release their debut We Stitch These Wounds on July 20. The band is on a Hot Topic sponsored tour now. If you think this band is Glam, then tell me why. Obviously I'm missing something but I listened to "Knives and Pens" about six times in a row just to be fair. I'm sorry but I just don't hear the Glam. But yeah, the band has dyed black hair.

Something Different: Kopek

Check out this band, Kopek. The trio is Irish and there's definitely a cool vibe going on here. Their debut, White Collar Lies is available now. Some people are saying this band is alternative - I disagree. They just sound like rock to me. Check out this clip for "Love is Dead."

Third Generation of Classic Rock?

Is Glam the third generation of classic rock?

Let’s think about this for a minute. The Beatles and The Who are classic rock. They formed in the 60s. Aerosmith and AC/DC are classic rock. They formed in the 70s. That’s two generations. Get into the late 70s and early 80s and you’re talking about Def Leppard, Van Halen and Motley Crue.  

I’m torn about all this. I mean, I definitely want my beloved music to be recognized as important – historic even. I’m just not sure I’m ready for it to be blasted on commercial radio under the “classic rock” banner. That just seems to scare kids and immediately turn them off. Not that I was that way. Hell no. I was the opposite. Man, if it was on WEBN when I was a kid, it was probably “classic rock” and I probably loved it. In some cases, the older the better. Too young to have money of my own I would just tape the songs from my little bedside radio cassette player – all of it, from Kansas to Guns n’ Roses. At that time I was so young and stupid I didn’t know critics hacked music apart into genres to make their own lives easier. I just figured that if WEBN thought it was good enough to play, it must rock. (Clearly I was a kid at the time, having no clue how the fickle broadcasting industry worked).

So anyway, I’m driving from work to the gym last night and CNBC goes to commercial. (Yes, I listen to CNBC in the car a lot. A Glam girl needs to watch her finances). Anyway, during the commercial I flipped around and heard a commercial for “classic rewind” radio. That’s all classic rock, all the time. Turns out, the station was pimping U2 and Journey. “That’s not classic rock!” I thought. Then it dawned on me: both those bands formed in the 70s. Just like Aerosmith and Def Leppard.

Shit.

I mean, we’re talking I had a full-on panic moment in the car. First off, this must mean I’m getting very old as I was born in ‘79. I must be classic rock myself! And second…this must mean our Glam beloveds are 1) already in the classic rock category or 2) fast approaching.

Do you think this is a bad thing?

The music industry is such a disjointed mess these days I’m not sure any one thing can hurt an artist these days, especially the label of being “classic rock” but I just don’t know if it helps. I also don’t know what it says about bands singing about teenage love and lust…when the entire act is older than my parents.

Oh my.

Here’s the final scary thought: if Motley Crue and Poison are already classic rock…then who the hell is next? I can’t imagine Creed getting a ton of airplay 15 years from now on Top Tracks or whatever the station is called, but good grief. I guess this is the way of the world.

I’m done freaking out for now.

Mismatched Bills?

Ever see a show and think "Man, this a mismatched bill?"

Consider this: I interviewed both Steve Blaze and Ronny Munroe about the "new" Lillian Axe last week. Toward the end of the conversation, Blaze casually slips in that Lillian will be touring with Enuff Z'nuff this September. I was more than taken aback. I dig both Lillian Axe and Enuff Z'nuff but I would never in a million years have put them together on a bill. Still, I think it could be cool. Plus, the bands have two different fan bases, so the exposure factor could be good. Of course, some pairings might not work. I was trying to think of a historic, mismatched bill, but couldn't. But I know you can. So, share your stories. Ever attend a crazy, mismatched bill? How was the crowd reaction?

By the way, both Lillian Axe and Enuff Z'nuff are playing Rock n' America in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma next weekend but that show isn't part of the tour. Lillian Axe will also still be fronted by Derrick LeFevre at Rock n' America...Ronny Munroe takes over in August. My Lillian Axe interview will post soon on Noisecreep.