I'm currently writing the Rocklahoma 2008 coffee table book. By currently, I mean this entire weekend. This level of writing means I don't have time for a big article here today. Instead, I thought it would be fun to post some videos of bands that performed during Rocklahoma 2008. When I have more details (such as price and where to purchase) about the coffee table book, I'll post here. For now, enjoy these clips and your Sunday.
Each year around this time I list my predictions for Rocklahoma. If you're not familiar, Rocklahoma is the largest Glam festival in America. It's held each July in Pryor, Oklahoma and produced by Catch the Fever. Tickets have been on sale for months - I haven't bought mine yet. This is the first year I've let my seat license lapse. I'm going to ROK 09 - I just decided I wanted to move to a different location and sit with more friends.
Here are my Rocklahoma 2009 predictions:
Whitesnake Alice Cooper Saxon Mr. Big Damn Yankees Shark Island LA Guns Enuff Z' Nuff Scrap Metal Winger Sammy Hagar Lynam Gypsy Pistoleros Dirty Penny Stephen Pearcy Twisted Sister Kix Keel Lynch Mob Little Caesar TUFF
There you go. These bands made the list thanks to some inside information, best guesses, common sense and tour routing.
I have no idea when Rocklahoma will make their line-up announcement - I assume within the next three weeks, although last year we didn't know until early March. Time will tell.
I was listening to Guns n' Roses over and over yesterday. Correction: I was listening to two Guns n' Roses songs on repeat, chiefly "Patience" and "Yesterdays." I find both tracks comforting in a familiar way. As I was listening - and I mean literally dissecting the songs with every bit of my being - I started thinking about Guns n' Roses and their place in history. That's right history - not just the musical landscape of the late 1980s. The band really did capture the venom of a generation, tackling tough issues of the day while rising up from the gutter to become a worldwide phenomenon. All along the way there were amazing songs to chronicle a very important time in America.
As I was pondering all this and listening to "Yesterdays" while working in my little corporate cubicle, I became a somewhat emotional. There are great bands today - but it seems none have been able to grip so many, so fast - and for so long. For that reason, Guns n' Roses will always be legendary.
After the endless repeats, I decided to go back through and listen to Guns n' Roses Greatest Hits. Released just a few years ago, Greatest Hits proved wildly successful for both the Gunners and Geffen Records. Something that literally dawned on me for the first time ever, though, was the omission of "Estranged."
The final piece of the wildly popular (and expensive) Guns n' Roses trilogy, the video for "Estranged" takes viewers through a bipolar world - complete with a giant tanker and dolphins. For some, the imagery was just too over the top. For students of the human condition, every part of the "Estranged" video makes perfect sense. After all, water symbolizes rebirth and therefore is a constant theme through the entire production. If you think back to the video for "Don't Cry" the very last scene is a baby, emerging from water. Obviously, water marks a turning point during "November Rain" when Axl's "character" loses his wife - and sanity. It stands to reason, then, that "Estranged" would come completely full circle, depicting a bad breakup, loneliness and a juxtaposition when Guns perform a concert as one of the biggest bands in the world - while the lead singer is in complete isolation.
Symbolism aside, the nagging question regarding the omission of "Estranged" remains. I've heard theories that Geffen just didn't want the song on the album. Considering the album was created against the wishes of Axl Rose, I'd say this is a good answer to the question, but I don't understand the reasoning. After all, "Estranged" was a single. I considered the songs length, but decided this wasn't a good enough reason to leave off a compilation disc. So, what is the answer?
The other day I interviewed Chad Cherry of The Last Vegas. The transcript will be up soon. Anyway, I was extremely struck by Chad's genuine humility and sense of purpose regarding his band and music. It's been a very long time since I spoke to a musician that seemed as excited as Chad.
If you're not familiar, The Last Vegas won the recent Motley Crue/Guitar Center "Make Rock History" contest. The band won a recording contract, management deal, a ton of Gibson gear and an opening spot on Motley's winter tour that starts next month.
After talking with Chad I immediately went to the band's website to get more familiar with their music.
Here's a clip of "All the Way." I think you'll agree the song is basically awesome. I can't wait for the new album - and to see the band in just a couple weeks!
So the hot rumor on the street right now is that Mr. Big is getting ready to reunite. That reunion will happen in tour form...with a few stops at festivals along the way.
The big question is, of course, do you care?
The biggest quandary facing Mr. Big is that the band was always grossly underrated. The fact of the matter is that Mr. Big was comprised of great musicians - but horribly branded by one hit song. "To Be With You" isn't necessarily everything that Mr. Big stands for - but is all anyone seems to remember. Sad.
The fact that Billy Sheehan was a member should at least count for something. The man is a machine on the bass! This isn't to say that Eric Martin, Pat Torpey and Paul Gilbert didn't pull their weight - because they did. Mr. Big created a lot of very moving, spiritual hard rock songs - yet no one really gives the band their due props.
I can see this reunion working if Mr. Big latches on to a shed tour over the summer. I don't anticipate the band going out on their own and enjoying a very successful run but the right package just might make for a fun evening of summer music and drinking under the stars.
I'll admit that if Mr. Big plays an event like Rocklahoma, I'll be all over it. Festivals are great for seeing newly reunited bands or lesser known acts. I can't think of a better excuse to scream the lyrics of "To Be With You" and "Just Take My Heart" in the blazing heat in the middle of Oklahoma.
So, what do you think? Are you excited for a Mr. Big reunion?
Recently, I’ve read a lot of different quotes by a lot of bands saying “…I put my hair up.”
How, exactly, do you put your hair up? (And no, I don't mean in a French twist!)
A few months ago, People magazine created a special 80s issue. The project was bigger than a normal magazine and had a semi-permanent cover, printed on glossy card stock. The magazine featured all the biggest stars of the 80s – and yes – there was a section dedicated to Glam.
In the magazine was a few quotes from the members of Cinderella. I was surprised when Eric Brittingham said he used pump hairspray back in the day. See, I always thought the best way to make hair really big...was aerosol. My bad.
So, how do you really put your hair up big? I can only make my hair so big - and then it just sort of wants to fall back to modern, straight levels. I think "putting hair up" involves a teasing and hairspray combination - but I could be wrong. Even to this day, I am stunned at how big some musicians got their hair in the 80s. I suppose having a perm helped - but come on. Guys like Nitro had hair so big it seemed unnatural - but the locks were definitely real and not wigs. Now I just want to put my hair up - not let it down!
So, ladies and gentlemen, tell me exactly how to make it big!
I just spent an hour trying to find a particular Cinderella video I wanted to post for you. I couldn't, because it seemed that every single Cinderella clip now says "embedding disabled by request."
Give me a break.
I'm against illegal downloading. You all know this. I'm also all about supporting bands. You also know this. For a label to shut down sharing of video clips seems pretty counterproductive to me. I mean, to my knowledge, there's no way you can steal music via YouTube. If there is a way to steal the music then I get why labels are blocking the ability for web owners to embed tracks.
So, assuming there's no way to really strip the songs to create a high quality torrent of music, what is the harm in passing around video clips? Why wouldn't Universal Music want me to embed a clip of their artist on this highly trafficked website? I don't get it.
Word of mouth is the most basic way any musician, writer, artist or actor gains fans - and fame. That fame translates to money. That money makes labels very happy.
I get that YouTube has had its share of copyright battles. I am 100% in agreement that it's not ok to post videos that are violent or graphic in nature. Still, if we're just talking about a video clip that is more than 25 years old - what's the harm? Some new, younger fans? Some older fans reliving the past?
What are your thoughts on labels that don't allow users to embed video clips?
Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 12:01AM 