Fastway Friday

I really like the band Fastway. I'm pretty sure "Say What You Will" is one of the single best rock songs ever recorded. Fastway's history is long and complicated and intertwines with some of the biggest bands in Metal including Motorhead and UFO. There is no point in my going over that winding history - just click here to read and learn.

*Note: many of you probably know the band Flogging Molly. They are not really my cup of tea, buy former Fastway singer Dave King handles the vocal duties for Flogging Molly now - and they are enjoying quite a bit of success in the punk arena. Good for them I say!

Now, for the videos. Of course I've included "Say What You Will." While Fastway are more of a traditional Metal band, there are some clear Glam elements in this clip, especially Dave King's hair and the super skin-tight pants on the video vixens. Watch and enjoy.

Even more entertaining is the video for "All Fired Up." Yes, there are race suits. Yes, there are (more) skin-tight white pants. Yes, this clip rocks. Watch for yourself.

Finally, I have to include the clip "The World Waits for You." We'll call this a "semi" power ballad. I'm pretty sure Bonham "borrowed" the video concept - or at least the staging - a few years later to support the similarly titled song "Wait for You." Coincidence? I guess the world may never know.

***Of the three videos posted, which is your favorite and why? I am still sticking with "Say What You Will" as my favorite because - at least for me - that song sums up classic Fastway. I can't wait to hear your responses.

In a perfect world, Fastway would be the last TBA added to the Rocklahoma line-up. I am not holding my breath.

Guitar Great Giveaway

Do you like Led Zeppelin? There's a new instrumental tribute album honoring one of the world's greatest rock bands. It's called Get the Led Out: Led Zeppelin Salute and even features tracks performed by Jimmy Page. Here's the entire track list:

01. Whole Lotta Love - Chris  Mahoney
02. Moby Dick - Randy Coven featuring Leslie West
03. Four Sticks - Howard Hart
04. Dazed & Confused - Brian Tarquin
05. Immigrant Song - Greg Rapaport
06. Kashmir - Martin Winch
07. The Battle Of Evermore - Steve Bingham
08. Black Dog - James Ryan
09. D'yer Mak'er - Larry Van Fleet
10. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Hal Lindes
11. Friends - Steve Booke
12. All My Love - Doug Doppler
13. Thumping Beat - Jimmy Page
14. 'Cause I Love You - Jimmy Page
15. Wailing Sounds - Jimmy Page
16. Burn Up - Jimmy Page
 

Need more guitar rock? You need to pick up Guitar Masters Volume 1. This instrumental disc features performances by Zakk Wylde, John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan and Joe Satriani. If you are impressed by amazing axe work, I suggest either disc. Great for music fans and those who actually play guitar.

Here's the track listing: 

01. B Fingers - John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) featuring Trey Gunn
02. 54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals featuring Jeff Beck
03. I Wish - Zakk Wylde & Randy Coven
04. Unleash the Beast - Billy Sheehan
05. Hair - Stanley Clarke featuring Joe Satriani
06. Minute Mouse – Steve Morse & Randy Coven
07. Skippy - Allan Holdsworth & David Hines
08. Rumba - Marcus Nand
09. Shenandoah - Will Ray
10. Picture of a Purple Sky - Steve Booke
11. Frankenstein - Doug Stapp
12. The Nag - John Scofield
13. Jack Hammer - Brian Tarquin
14. What Can I Say - Carl Tosten
15. Space Talk - James Ryan
16. Stay With Me - Martin Winch
17. Kruununvuori - Jason Carter
18. Zero Gravity - Doug Doppler

***Now for the giveaway. I've scored three copies of each disc so I'll bundle them together and ship them right on out to your home. You need to tell me - in 100 words or less - how the economy is killing your music habit. Be creative. Extra points if you mention the importance of the upcoming presidential election. To recap, three of you will win the two CDs I mention above. Send submissions to allyson@bringbackglam.com. I need the entries by Friday, April 25th at 11:59 p.m. E.S.T. Good luck.

Rocklahoma Tickets...

Queensryche was just added as the Sunday night headliner for Rocklahoma 2008. They will be performing Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety. I've always wanted to see Mindcrime, but I think it's a slightly odd choice for a festival closer.

At any rate, if you still don't have your Rocklahoma tickets and want a close V.I.P. seat on the concrete - you might be in luck. My friend Christian has an extra pair of tickets he needs to sell. The seats are in V.I.P. section E, row 14 seats 15/16. He renewed early and paid full price. Right now, tickets on the Rocklahoma website are selling for $350 a pop, but you can't get on the concrete at this point. Section E is on the far right side of the stage - unobstructed view and closest to the beer and food tent. With your V.I.P. ticket you get all you can eat food and beer for Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival. You are also invited to Thursday's pre-show party, but food is not included. If you are interested in these seats, send your best offer to christian.graus@gmail.com. Do not email me - Christian will determine the buyer of his seats!

Here's the line-up:

BRET MICHAELS
SEBASTIAN BACH
DOKKEN
L.A. GUNS (Tracii Guns version)
ENUFF Z'NUFF
VAIN
HOUSE OF LORDS
JETBOY

Friday, July 11:

TRIUMPH
EXTREME
LITA FORD
NIGHT RANGER
LIVING COLOUR
KINGDOM COME
ARMORED SAINT
XYZ

Saturday, July 12:

CINDERELLA
WARRANT
KIX
LYNCH MOB
TRIXTER
BLACK 'N BLUE
TORA TORA
EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE
PRETTY BOY FLOYD

Sunday, July 13:

QUEENSRŸCHE
TESLA
UFO
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
ZEBRA
AXE

Van Halen Live in Cincinnati

Van Halen is back on the tour trail. Last night the legendary band stopped in Cincinnati and I attended the show with Eric and Heather. You might recall I saw the band around seven months ago in Indianapolis. This time I had "cheap" seats, but the view wasn't bad and the sound was awesome. The show was not sold-out and I would say U.S. Bank Arena was about 80% full. The crowd was also quite different from the October Indianapolis show. While the Indianapolis crowd was immediately rowdy, it took a few songs for the Cincinnati fans to warm-up. After "Runnin' with the Devil"  the crowd  was ready to rock. Van Halen with David Lee Roth performed their classic tunes, including:

You Really Got Me
Runnin' With the Devil
Somebody Get Me a Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Dance the Night Away
Atomic Punk
Everybody Wants Some
Oh, Pretty Woman
Drum Solo
Unchained
I'll Wait
And the Cradle Will Rock
Hot for Teacher
Little Dreamer
Little Guitars
Jamie's Cryin'
Ice Cream Man (both acoustic and electric)
Panama
Guitar Solo
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
1984
Jump

I have to say this show was more sonically pleasing than my first go-around in Indianapolis. The acoustics are better inside U.S. Bank Arena, so that was a major plus. I did notice, however, that the band didn't seem as tight as before. Perhaps the wear of the road is making them tired or maybe they are just going through the motions at this point. It wasn't more than a month ago the remaining Van Halen tour dates were cancelled - then rescheduled - because Eddie had a mystery illness (rehab?) that needed immediate attention. Even if Eddie, Alex, Wolfgang and Diamond Dave were a little sluggish, there was still a general note of camaraderie.

I must admit Eddie sounded good on the guitar. That might seem like a gross understatement, but there were dates on this reunion tour where he completely fell apart. Sure there were missteps and miscues all night by just about everyone - save Wolfgang - but Eddie seemed ready to perform. That's a good thing since that's what the paying crowd came to see.

My favorite parts of the show were "Runnin' with the Devil" and "Unchained." I've always thought these are two of the best songs of the entire, extensive Van Halen catalog. Hearing them performed live is an extra treat. It was also cool to learn Valerie Bertinelli was in attendance. I saw her sitting at the sound-board with binoculars.

I'm going to count my night with Van Halen as the official start of the concert season. Hooray!

Kermit is so Glam

Man, oh man. I love ridiculous videos celebrating my favorite Glam tunes. I also love Muppets. You already know I love Motley Crue - now mix all these elements and you get a video of Kermit the Frog singing "Wildside" by Motley Crue.

Props to my friend Kenny Ozz - of Cincinnati-based Drugstore Valentine - for tipping me to the great video of my green friend lip-synching along with Vince Neil.

It's the little things in life that make me happy. If everything works out, I'll be seeing Kenny tonight at the Van Halen show in Cincinnati.

Here's Kermit Glamming it up Crue-style. Be jealous of his grooves.  

Expect a review of the Van Halen show tomorrow on Bring Back Glam!

You Can Still Order the Rocklahoma Coffee Table Book

There is still time for you to get your copy of the Rocklahoma 2007 coffee table book.

By all accounts, Rocklahoma 2007 was a great success. If you went to the inaugural festival, you probably had a great time and have a lot of fond memories of the event.

Now you can relive those memories in vivid color. The Rocklahoma 2007 coffee table book is now available for pre order by clicking HERE.

Let me tell you about the book. The hardback work has 132 pages of color photos. Each band is represented and provides a special quote. Oh yeah, yours truly wrote the narrative, explaining the entire Rocklahoma 2007 experience! 

The Rocklahoma 2007 book is $42 bucks. Go ahead and reserve a copy (and no, I am not making money off this venture. I hope you don't mind this advertisement).

Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Have you seen Heavy Metal Parking Lot? The 16 minute documentary by Jeff Krulik and John Heyn is a hoot! The entire documentary is staged around a 1986 Judas Priest concert - except you never see the band! As the title suggests, the entire movie is just interviews with a bunch of stoners - er, fans - before the big show.

1986 must have been a magical time to be an adult. I was less than seven when the documentary was made, so I didn't know anything about Judas Priest. Still, I sort of envy the people featured in the clip. All the rock fans are having an absolutely great time and really proves that the concert experience these days is completely different. I'm pretty sure the people interviewed for the documentary either camped or stood on-line for tickets. These days, you just grab a credit card and hope you don't get screwed by Ticketmaster.  You put some $4 gas in the tank and fly to the stadium right after work - taking an entire day off to hang out in a parking lot with other rock fans before a big show just really isn't practical these days. Sort of makes me sad I missed so many cool things in the 1980s.

There are so many great parts of Heavy Metal Parking Lot, but I really like when the fans kept throwing back beer - and got noticeably more drunk - right as the cameras rolled!

In addition to the regular documentary, the special DVD package also features a replay with director commentary - very funny!

If you are wondering, my favorite part of the documentary is when one woman says she "wants to jump Rob Halford's bones." Oh, I think she was misguided! Here's a clip - watch, then buy the DVD. Well worth $15 bucks!