Two on the Floor (Well, Almost)

Well, I did it.

I waited patiently for Van Halen tickets to go on-sale at a concert venue closest to my home. This morning, I purchased two seats to the Indianapolis tour stop.

Eric and I will drive 100 miles each way for the show, and I hope it's worth it. The seats were exceptionally expensive. In fact, if you want to talk straight ticket prices, it's costing Eric and I more to see the reunited VH than it did for four days of Rocklahoma this past July. (Don't worry though, inflation hits everything and when I renewed my Rocklahoma seat license for next year, the price rose three-fold).

I *think* my Van Halen seats are good. We're almost on the floor without buying the (nearly) illegal Live Nation promotion.

I'm very excited. I've been talking about buying my Van Halen tickets all week. I'm sure my coworkers are sick of hearing about it all.

Here's a really cool video I found of Van Halen performing "Hot For Teacher" in the UK on their 1984 tour. At the start you can hear the wind whipping from Diamond Dave swirling his big cape. Plus, there's some nut job that rushes the stage.

Queensryche Giveaway

Want a copy of the new Queensryche greatest hits package?

To celebrate this new release, Bring Back Glam! is giving away two copies of Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensryche. Yes, this is the deluxe edition, two disc set. Disc one is all the famous songs you know and love. Disc two is rare, unreleased material and live cuts.

So, how do you win?

Simply send me an email to allyson@bringbackglam.com telling me in 25 words on less why you want this disc but can't afford the purchase. Money should never be a barrier between fans and good music.

Please submit your entries by 8 p.m. EST tonight (September 7, 2007).

That is all. Good luck.

It's All In Your Head

Bring Back Glam! recently spoke with Jacob and David Lynam of Birmingham, Alabama-based Lynam. The band is hard at work, putting finishing touches on their new album Tragic City Symphony. After three independent releases, Lynam jumped to the major leagues and signed with DRT Entertainment. In 2006, the band released Slave to the Machine, and hit the road with some of the biggest bands touring America today. During the interview, Jacob and David talk about their rock philosophy, their connection to Bon Jovi and joining the Motley Cruise -- just don't call them an 80s band. Transcription follows.

Bring Back Glam! I just recently learned of your band. How are you gaining such a strong following?

Jacob Lynam (vocals and guitar): We released the record (Slave to the Machine) nine or ten months ago on DRT, it came out everywhere, so that was the first time a lot of people had heard of us other than the south east states, then we went on tour with Hinder, and played shows with Cinderella, RATT and Poison. We also went out with Godsmack, Puddle of Mudd and Saliva – and that opened up a lot of people’s eyes to who we are and what we do. It’s definitely been a building process.

BBG!: How long have you had your new album Tragic City Symphony in the can?

David Lynam (drums): Like a week ago, we wrapped production on the last song.

Jacob: We may do some more songs. We’ve had the songs for awhile. It’s one of those things: like a lot of bands will write ten songs when they are making a record, and say that’s enough for a record. Then, if you listen to those ten songs, maybe only two or three of them are worth a shit. Just because you write ten songs doesn’t mean the album is done. We sent them to our manager, and we get together with our diehard fans and we sort out everyone’s favorite songs. Every now and then, there will be a song we fall in love with, but once we play it live and listen to it recorded we’re like “You know what? That’s not a very good song, and we could do better!” There was a couple songs on Slave to the Machine that we felt that way about. We loved them when we wrote them, but when we recorded them, we felt we could do better. It turns out that management and the label and other people liked the songs, so they ended up going on the record anyway. Different strokes for different folks. Everyone has different tastes.

BBG!: So how do you explain the sound of your upcoming album?

Jacob: Our sound has evolved. We personally like big rock n’ roll. That doesn’t necessarily mean Motley Crue and Def Leppard – of course we like Motley Crue and Def Leppard – but when I say big rock n’ roll, I’m also talking about Green Day. Their most recent record American Idiot sounds like one of the biggest arena rock records I’ve ever heard. The reverb on the drums, the songs are so big sounding…it could mean Alice in Chains, Dirt. That’s a big sounding record, thanks to production and reverb. A lot of times when we talk about our sound and we say we like big arena rock, people automatically say “Oh, they’re like an 80s band.” We love 80s music, don’t get me wrong, but we hate when people automatically put that label on us because we like big rock. A good song is a good song. Big rock is what we’re all about. That’s what we strive to achieve. When you listen to our songs…a lot of critics and industry people that don’t know anything about music… they look at the way that we look: we definitely have a rock star image. We don’t want to go out with flannel shirts and jeans on. Critics look at our picture and see that our influences are Motley Crue and Def Leppard, they decide we are an 80s band. Just for the record, we never said we were an 80s band.

BBG!: What’s the first single for your new album?

Jacob: We’re not sure.

BBG!: Do you know the street date?

Jacob: We don’t know. We’re still listening and making sure we are completely happy with everything. We’re thinking it will be out early 2008.

BBG!: Is “Tragic City Symphony” a song on the album, or is that just a random title?

Jacob: Birmingham is known as the Magic City. It’s always been the slogan. We just changed it kind of because the new record is wide open with song matters. The topics of the songs are all over the place. The songs tell a lot of stories, kind of like a symphony or opera would. We’ve got a lot of strings on the new stuff.

BBG!: How did you hook up with Tom Keifer of Cinderella?

Jacob: Our manager also manages Cinderella and Nickelback. There’s always been an awareness of Lynam in the Cinderella camp because of our manager. When we actually played with them, we gave Tom our Slave to the Machine CD and he called and said it hadn’t been out of his player in like a month. He loved it so much, (and) he said our songs sounded so good that he wanted the guy who mixed our record to mix some songs for his solo album. I just told him how big of fans that we are, and always been…He told us he lived in Nashville, and we live in Birmingham which is only a three hour drive, so we asked him if he would play on our record. Literally, the next week he called and we got together and hung out. He’s an awesome human being.

BBG!: What is the name of the song he is on?

Jacob: He did one song, called “Enemy.”

David: Anytime you hear slide guitar in that song, it’s him.

BBG!: Does he provide any vocals?

Jacob: No.

BBG!: Your video for “Tanis” (from Slave to the Machine) is so good. Why did you remix that song?

Jacob: The record company made us. We liked the original version just fine, but hey, they are the ones spending all the money on a video and sending it to radio, so if it makes them feel better for the remix, so be it.

BBG!: Do you recall the video getting much airplay?

Jacob: I saw it on Vh1 twice, but it wasn’t the actual video. More like the commercial for the album twice. I know we were the download of the day on Fuse. On the Indie charts, we hit number one on both mainstream and active rock. It’s pretty cool to have a number one song on both charts in the country.

BBG!: Jacob, did you win an award for writing a Christian song?

Jacob: Um, yes.

David: (Laughs). I don’t even know about that!

Jacob: Last year I actually won - from Billboard magazine - I won first place in the Christian music category...

BBG!: “Song For Our Life”

Jacob: Yep, “Song For Our Life” but that wasn’t for Lynam, that was for an artist named Mike Shaw. They (Billboard) got in touch with me, and I got an award and money and it was real cool. Then, the same thing happened with another one of those contests. I won first place in the Christian category – and this year, I won first place again. It hasn’t been announced yet and it’s not on the website, but I won first place in the Christian category. One of our biggest fans on the planet is Catholic priest. The person that runs Jon Bon Jovi’s fan club – backstage with Jon Bon Jovi – was Jon’s mom. She ran it for years with their priest, a guy named Father Bob. Father Bob and her ran the fan club since 1988. Just recently, Jon’s mom retired and Father Bob retired, and the fan club got turned over to Matt Bon Jovi, which is Jon’s brother. Father Bob, he is one of the biggest Lynam fans in the world, to the point that he flew all of us – he paid for it – to New York so we could watch Bon Jovi play at Madison Square Garden. He gave us fourth row tickets, total V.I.P. treatment, so it’s crazy how diverse our fan base is. It’s insane.

BBG!: How did you get hooked up with the Motley Cruise?

David: Myspace has lead so many people of the era to our music, from Jani Lane to producer Beau Hill. Vince Neil’s manager found us through Myspace.

Jacob: Yeah. What happened is that Vince Neil’s manger said he heard about us through the guy that does Motley Crue’s website. The web guy told him that he had to “check out this new band Lynam, they’re totally rock.” Well, he went and bought the CD and emailed me and said that he is a huge fan. We hear this all the time, but this guy really was. He knew deep cuts on the album, like names of the songs and what the songs are about, and he asked us if we would join the cruise on behalf of Vince.

David: Anytime you offer us a free vacation, we’re there!

BBG!: Ok, what’s the deal with your band name. Are you brothers or not?

Jacob: Meh, it’s like the Ramones or the Donnas. All our names really aren’t Lynam. It’s just one of those things that we did.

BBG!: Ok then, is it true that two of your band members have the same last name but are not related?

Jacob: Nope, that’s not true either. Everything that you read about us is always full of shit, 100%.

BBG!: Well, how much have you been lying to me during this interview?

David: We’ve been very forthright during this interview!

Jacob: We are actually telling 100% truth during this interview. We’re talking about bios and stuff.

BBG!: Well, I read the bits about your names from another interview.

David: I told them they wouldn’t be in my damn band unless they changed their names to my last name!

Jacob: What you read…When we signed with DRT, they got a guy that writes bios for everybody. There are only about six guys that write bios in the entire industry for all the major labels, and that’s why all the bios sound the same. Our official bio at www.drt-entertainment.com, it talks about name. The guy got it all wrong –

BBG!: He got it wrong, or you told him wrong?

Jacob: Well, see DRT wanted us to have a true bio…they wanted the whole story. I gave him the whole story, and he got everything mixed up. As far as the bios on our Myspace page, anything that we’ve done, that's for fun. Band bios are just boring.

David: All of them. Wait until you read our next band bio!

Photo courtesy: Allison White Studios for Lynam, via www.myspace.com/lynam

Go Ahead, Point and Laugh

Um, if you like exercises in painful experiences you might want to listen to Metal Express Radio this Friday at either 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. Apparently, I'm going to be a guest DJ, and I'll be spinning for you my top 10 favorite glam songs.

To listen, visit www.metalexpressradio.com

Tim Skold: Then and Now

Before there was Crashdiet...

Before there was Vains of Jenna...
Before there was Hardcore Superstar...

There was Shotgun Messiah. Formally Kingpin, the band moved from Sweden to Los Angeles in the early 1980s and changed their name to Shotgun Messiah. From the beginning, bassist Tim Skold was the star of the band, but he wasn't the original singer -- that was reserved for Zinny J. Zan.

After the debut, Zinny J. Zan left the band and Tim Skold took over singing duties. It was during this era that the band released the album Second Coming. After this album, the band -- and especially Tim Skold -- moved in a more industrial direction. A handful of years later, Skold found himself working with Taime Downe of The Newlydeads, and later in his current gig with Marilyn Manson.

Here's the most successful single from Second Coming: "Heartbreak Blvd."

Now, I ask you: how does such a beautiful, blonde man chop his hair and decide to go goth? Is Skold chasing trends, or is this another example of true musical evolution?

Tim Skold never had a glam voice in the vein of Sebastian Bach or even Bret Michaels. Rather, he was always more closely aligned with Taime Downe. Perhaps the gritty voice opened the doors for a successful industrial - and later - goth career?

For my money, Tim Skold did his best work with Shotgun Messiah, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's a talented musician. In fact, he's a great producer and he can play multiple instruments. Plus, there are some good qualities to Marilyn Manson, but it's just not my cup of tea.

Here's Tim Skold with Marilyn Manson:"This is The New Shit" from the album The Golden Age of Grotesque.

So, do you prefer Tim Skold with Shotgun Messiah or Marilyn Manson?

Only the Good Die Young

Researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University have released findings of the most worthless study of all time. Yes, it seems rock stars really do die young. Who would have thought?

Here's a newswire from Reuters:

LONDON - Rock stars -notorious for their "crash and burn" lifestyles - really are more likely than other people to die before reaching old age.

A study of more than 1,000 mainly British and North American artists, spanning the era from Elvis Presley to rapper Eminem, found they were two to three times more likely to suffer a premature death than the general population.

Between 1956 and 2005 there were 100 deaths among the 1,064 musicians examined by researchers at the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University.

As well as Presley, the toll of those dying before their time included Doors singer Jim Morrison, guitar hero Jimi Hendrix, T Rex star Marc Bolan and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

More than a quarter of all the deaths were related to drugs or alcohol abuse, said the study in the Journal of Epidemial Community Health.

"The paper clearly describes a population of rock and pop stars who are at a disproportionate risk of alcohol and drug related deaths," said Mark Bellis, lead author of the study.

He said the study raised questions about the suitability of using rock stars for public health messages such as anti-drug campaigns when their own lifestyle was so dangerous.

"In the music industry, factors such as stress, changes from popularity to obscurity, and exposure to environments where alcohol and drugs are easily available, can all contribute to substance use as well as other self-destructive behaviors," the report said.

Highest risk:

It found that musicians were most at risk in the first five years after achieving fame, with death rates more than three times higher than normal.

Hendrix, Bon Scott of AC/DC and punk rocker Sid Vicious all died within five years of hitting the big time, said Bellis.

Among British artists the risk of dying remains high until around 25 years after their first success, when they return to near normal life expectancy.

That bodes well for rock survivors like The Who's 63-year-old Roger Daltrey, who famously first sang "I hope I die before I get old" in the song "My Generation" back in 1965.

But this trend was not found in North America, where aging rockers remain almost twice as likely to suffer a premature demise, particularly from heart attack or stroke.

American stars Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and Johnny Ramone of the Ramones all died in their 50s.

Bellis suggested that the high death rate among older American musicians could be related to the continent's greater appetite for reunion tours, exposing the artists for more years to an unhealthy "rock'n'roll" lifestyle.

It could also be due to the poor medical outlook for impoverished American ex-pop stars who have no health insurance, he said.

Americans have a penchant for reunion tours, eh? So be it. Here's a Van Halen video: "Dance the Night Away"

;

Should we take bets on how long it takes for the rock n' roll life on the road to tear the mighty Van Halen apart?

Ian Christe Talks Van Halen

Bring Back Glam! recently spoke with rock writer Ian Christe about his new book Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga. During the Interview, Christe explains his love for Van Halen, his opinion of the upcoming reunion tour and future book projects. Transcription follows.

Bring Back Glam!: What sparked your interest in telling the history of Van Halen?

Ian Christe: That's easy -- Van Halen is just plain interesting. Not a lot of rock bands span so many decades, cover so much geography, and reinvent the wheel so many times. I liked the challenge of turning that excitement into something portable and readable. The inspiration probably goes back about six years. When I was interviewing the great death metal guitarist Trey Azagthoth of Morbid Angel for my last book, Sound of the Beast, he raved about Eddie Van Halen for hours. Plus it's a thrill to unleash a biography of a band that, in it's heyday, never got the book it deserved because its fans were probably considered illiterate boobs.

BBG: Were the ladies of Van Halen (wives, ex-wives, mothers) especially helpful in your research?  

Ian:You mean why did I dedicate the book to our mothers? Valerie Bertinelli was a last-minute addition, by virtue of being Wolfgang's mom. Come on, these are the first women in Van Halen's lives, the ones who unleashed all this heathen male aggression on the world!

BBG: How long did it take for you to complete the project?

Ian: I spent about a year gathering newspapers, DVDs, live bootlegs, videotapes, interviews of all types, court records, and contacts with people who knew how everything went down. Then I sat down and wrote everything down from start to finish several times until it made my captive audience of close personal mental cases laugh aloud all the way through. I could have finished sooner, but by the end I was playing guitar at least four hours a day and drinking too much.  

BBG: Did you try to make contact with the Van Halen brothers? Did they give you the brush-off, or were they supportive?

Ian: Good question. I did not ultimately interview Eddie or Alex, but I didn't start the book until I had about 1,000 interviews on hand ranging from 1976 to 2006. Navigating the politics and handlers of the dysfunctional Van Halen machine did not turn out to be a productive way to spend time. I mean, I wanted Eddie, Alex, Michael, Dave, Sammy, and Gary all or nothing. And while I was working they were in no shape to give a clear picture of recent events, let along the distant past. I hope they're supportive of Everybody Wants Some -- I think they'll be more surprised than anyone, reading the story of their own band thus far. 

BBG: What is your opinion of the upcoming "reunion" tour?

Ian: Well, this is giving away the last part of the book, but I think the original four-man Van Halen is what the world wants. It would be great if Wolfie were part of that, or part of a future Van Halen, but everybody wants a little piece of 1977 first. And Wolfgang could learn a lot from watching the team in action. Of course it's Eddie's decision, and this is a great gift he's giving his son. We will all know before the end of the year whether father knows best. I'll be there watching, early and often.

BBG: What was the most interesting thing you learned about the band through your research?

Ian: Damn, it's too tough to call after filling hundreds of pages with good stories. I think the Van Halen brothers' struggle to adjust to life in America after leaving Holland, Roth's different lifelong attempts to jump outside his public onstage persona, and Hagar's harrowing childhood are all pretty fascinating. It adds a lot when you see these guys on stage to know what they went through.

BBG: Did you find yourself having to edit for space, or did you tell the whole story as you dreamed?

Ian: Nah, I didn't edit for space, but I left out stories that were too raw to print without absolute proof, and overall I tried to keep the book light-spirited and fast-paced like a prime Van Halen song. It's jam-packed with emotion and information, but you can take a sick day and read it with a six-pack if the spirit moves you.

BBG: Will you be doing a book tour?

Ian: If Barnes and Noble agrees to let me travel from town to town playing "Eruption" in the music section through a Marshall practice amp, I'll let you know!

BBG: Are you currently working on another book?

Ian: Yep, I'm writing a novel about some heavy metal kids who are caught up in a suburban devil worship scare during the 80s. I also just started a publishing company, and I'll be releasing a couple books in 2008 by other authors. First is the autobiography of guitarist Andy McCoy of Hanoi Rocks, the band that inspired Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, and half the hair bands on Sunset Strip during the 80s. The second will be a total scouring history of Swedish Death Metal by the bassist of Insision. Both are great, so better add some bolts to your bookshelf.

BBG: Hagar or Roth?

Ian: Aw, what about Cherone? I'd probably rather be stranded in Tahiti with an all-girl marching band and Hagar, because he's a good bro and at least he knows how to cook. But Roth started it all, and those first six Van Halen albums are just untouchable. I couldn't have asked for a better bunch of characters than this band.

For a review of the book, please click "Everybody (Still) Wants Some" to the left of this page.