On the Road to Judgement Day

Today is the four year anniversary of the Station Nightclub fire. The tragic fire claimed the lives of 100 people and injured more than 200.

The fire started just seconds after Great White took the stage the night of February 20, 2003. Like most 1980s bands, Great White used pyrotechnics and fog as part of their act.

Among the casualties of the night was Great White guitarist Ty Longley. Even with their personal loss, Great White has been continually criticized for not doing enough to raise money for victims and their surviving family members.

Sunday, family members of the victims gathered at the former site of The Station. They laid wreaths and other mementos in honor of their lost loved ones.

At just after 10 this morning, the band's official website, www.mistabone.com, made no reference to the tragedy. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm a big believer in picking up the pieces and moving on. After all, the world still turns. Still, I feel if you have the ability to raise money through celebrity, you should do your part to help. I think the surviving members of Great White should have done more in the immediate weeks following the tragedy. I think they should have called upon their other musician friends and held one big benefit concert. (To be fair, they did continue their 2003 tour dedicating each show to the victims of the nightclub fire. Some of the proceeds went to the families).

The tragedy brings back questions of fairness in the legal system. In 2006, three men (the club owners and Great White's tour manager) were charged, and two reached plea agreements. Two are serving time behind bars for their involvement in the blaze.

So, were the members of Great White negligent? Surely, they knew there would be pyro in their show, just like every night before. (After the tragedy, the band vowed to never again use pyro or other dangerous effects in their stage shows). I don't know the answer to the question, nor is it my place to judge. I suppose condemning Great White would be a little like forever judging The Who for the 1979 concert stampede that killed 11 innocent fans.

For what it's worth, Great White is in the studio working on a new album.

Turn the Page

While watching Metal Mania over the weekend, I came across a very obscure video. The band was Heavy Bones and the song "4 A.M. T.M."

I would say it was a fairly low-budget affair, just four guys performing on an empty stage. The first time I watched, I dismissed the quartet as less than impressive. One day later I re-watched the video through the power of TiVo. On second glance, I decided the band was pretty talented and probably went by the wayside as depressing dirge-like music became the order of the day in the early 1990s.

Heavy Bones was vocalist Joel Ellis and guitarist Gary Hoey. Bassist Rex Tennyson and Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali rounded out the lineup, producing a very mature metal sound.

Banali's physical appearance in the video baffles me. Actually, his metamorphosis as a whole amazes me. His facial features seemed to change with every album and every band. It's my humble opinion that he looks better today than he did two decades ago, but I digress.

Now, Quiet Riot is coming to my neck of the woods soon. They are booked to perform at Rhinos Live on March 9. This is the sister club to the Rhinos I wrote about yesterday. I can only assume the same policies exist for this club, but it will be interesting to see if the mayhem that is Quiet Riot is reigned in by all-too conservative ownership.

If you own a rock club, are you conservative? I'm pretty sure the dichotomies don't mesh. Maybe it's the geographical climate? Cincinnati - Ohio's Queen City - is one of the most conservative in the immensely important political bellwether state.

I hope to attend the Quiet Riot show, and I want to meet Frankie Banali in person.  For whatever reason, he's always fascinated me and I think he might be a genius. Hopefully, I'll get a quote to post with my review of the show.

A Town Called Hypocrisy

Through a snowstorm and ice covered roads, I set off on a search of glam. Last night, my husband and Heather (remember, she's my co-conspirator in bringing back glam) headed south to Cincinnati to scope out a new club and enjoy some good music.

As always, things fall apart.

Rhinos East is a pretty nice club, and we were all pleased to find they served a full menu. The music started 2 hours later than advertised and Vains of Jenna performed first.

There were literally eight people on the dance floor watching my Swedish rockers and that included me and Heather. After one song, the manager went on stage and told Lizzy Devine to put his shirt on and stop cursing.

Things pretty much went downhill from there.

As you can imagine, old Lizzy was mad  and the band  played an abbreviated set. They said they felt "misplaced" and to go to another club to see a real VOJ show. The songs they did play were very good, but once again I didn't hear "Lit Up/Let Down." 

Will I ever hear this song live?   

My boys tried to rally the small crowd, but they were sad and you could tell. No matter what, they were still my favorite band of the night and I still think they have major potential to become  famously huge. Once again, they looked too thin and exhausted. Lizzy apologized for his cold and tried to get everyone on their feet. They plugged their merchandise and said they were broke.

A small bevy of fans gathered to peruse the VOJ merchandise. Heather and I helped out the broke boys and each purchased an autographed CD. While waiting for our signatures, Heather and I talked to guitarist Nicki Kin. We told him were sorry the band was mistreated and censored. He laughed and made  a comment I won't repeat.

A highlight on the evening was the great picture Heather and I had taken with the very friendly Jacki Stone. He really pounds on the drums and he has a lot of heart and talent. I figure him to be a driving force behind the band.

Now comes the hypocrisy part:

After VOJ left the stage, not allowed to curse or take off their shirts, the DJ threw on some rap music filled with slanderous vocabulary. During the canned commercial garbage, all the people who were too good to watch a real rock band up close and personal flooded the dance floor, gyrating and doing other inappropriate moves.

Why is it ok for men and women to literally be on top of another in public, but Lizzy Devine can't perform without a shirt?

After a painful while of watching the college-age club scene shake their moneymakers, Pennsylvania based Wicked Sins took over the stage.

As soon as they started, the dance floor emptied save for one, half dressed inebriated woman.

Wicked Sins were ok, and they looked very glam. They too had to check their language but looked grateful for the gig so they didn't complain.

Their set was short, and during the interim while waiting for Hookers n' Blow we had to endure more canned rap music and watch people attempt to dance.

Hookers n' Blow took the stage way after midnight, and by this time most of the crowd was good and drunk. See, when Americans get drunk, they get both rude and stupid. One woman sat on my husband's coat and refused to move. Another kept bumping into Heather. Since I gave everyone a death glare, people left me alone.

Finally, my boy Dizzy Reed got behind the keyboard and started to sing. Hookers n' Blow played a lot of Guns n' Roses standards like "Don't Cry," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Sympathy for the Devil."

Hookers n' Blow were very good and also censored.  They were hot and sweaty and complained about the shirt rule. They also laughed and used words like "malarkey" and "gosh darn" instead of the more vitriolic "BLEEP!" that Lizzy Devine had shouted just a few hours earlier.

It was fun watching a current member of GnR perform and I wish now I would have grabbed him and asked about the fate of the much anticipated Chinese Democracy.

Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi is very talented and it was fun to watch him perform. W.A.S.P. bassist Mike Duda seemed happy to be along for the ride, but no one was more jolly than White Lion drummer Troy Patrick Farrell.

A few notes of absurdity:

The lead singer of Drugstore Valentine surfaced at the show. You might remember I reviewed them after last month's VOJ Sudsy Malones show. His look was more reserved, but his eyeliner still thick and his hair still dirty. When VOJ were reprimanded while on stage, he screamed "this place is lame!" He also smiled at me and Heather all evening.

A member of the Vladimirs hovered near the stage all night, looking at the gyrating rap dancers in disgust. I have a new found respect for the members of the band  but I still don't like their music.

Finally at her wits end, Heather approached the manager about the hypocrisy of censoring the rock bands. He trembled in fear, apologized, swore he would call VOJ to apologize and then bought her a drink.

I hope they rethink censoring live acts in the future.

Retro Active

Once again, it's time to find glam in the Midwest. For my search, I'll head south to Cincinnati where Vains of Jenna are slated to perform with Hookers n' Blow.

You might recall that it was just a few weeks ago that I saw VOJ in the Queen City. Tonight, my Swedish rockers are playing at a more upscale venue for which I am very grateful.

An all-star cast of characters came together to form Hookers n' Blow. At the band's core is Dizzy Reed (Guns n' Roses, Alex Grossi (Quiet Riot), Mike Duda (W.A.S.P.), and Troy Patrick Farrell (White Lion). Sometimes, other famous musicians like John Corabi join the fold when the other stars are touring with their "real" bands.

Hookers n' Blow play a lot of Guns n' Roses, which should be interesting. They also play covers from Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, KISS...and Elton John. I'm not sure how old Elton fits into the mix, but somehow I think it probably works.

Don't worry, glam fans. I'll have a complete review tomorrow.

But We Finally Made the News

You ever have one of those moments when you come across a rare artifact of pop culture that intersects your own life? This happened to me last night.

I recently purchased Mötley Crüe - Greatest Video Hits off Ebay for a little bit of nothing. I was scrolling through the  menu, picking and choosing the clips I wanted to see most.

"You're All I Need" is not one of my favorite Motley songs but I appreciate it nonetheless. After watching the music video, I have a whole new respect for the song.

You see, the clip begins with a billboard that warns about its graphic content. Quickly, the viewer learns that MTV banned the video. The second billboard reads "But then, who ever said the six o'clock news was pretty?" This struck a chord with me like you wouldn't imagine.

You see, I pay my bills by producing the six o'clock news.

It's not lost on me, or any of my colleagues, that we make our living profiting off the heartache and loss of others.  The old adage "if it bleeds, it leads" is true, at least at my station. As long as the story is graphic, the image clear, the report concise, you've got a winner.

If the story is particularly grisly but you beat the competition, you've got perfect fodder for a promotional commercial.

In the video for "You're All I Need," a couple fight and he kills her. Just like the lyrics:

"Tied up smiling/
I thought you were happy/
Never opened your eyes/
I thought you were napping/
I got so much to learn/
About love in this world/
But we finally made the news."

The knife fight between the man and woman gets way out of hand, and he fatally stabs her. I'm not certain, but the first nine seconds of the video look like raw tape from a television news crew. Of course, the police investigation was probably staged so Motley Crue could make their point, but the clip is so real it reminds me of the crap I watch every day just for the privilege of buying groceries.

Now, the story behind the video gets a little bit more convoluted.  In one interview, Nikki Sixx says the entire video concept was based on a lie, and it was never banned. Whatever the truth, please believe: a lot of what you see on  local news is comprised of lies.

["You're All I Need" lyrics by Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee on the Elektra release Girls, Girls, Girls. Copyright 1987].

Same as it Never Was

It's not uncommon to run across songs with the exact same title, and completely different meaning. Take, for example "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by both Hanoi Rocks and Green Day.

For Hanoi Rocks, the song was a minor hit as the band's career was cut short by the tragic death of their drummer, Razzle. For Green Day, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was a huge hit, catapulting the alternative band to a new level of fame.

Hanoi Rocks was formed in Finland at the dawn of the 1980s. They toured relentlessly, trying to gain fan support when label backing was, well, lacking.

Hanoi Rocks finally landed a major label debut with Two Steps from the Move and they even shot a video for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." It's classic glam, with big hair and eye liner. Michael Monroe's voice reminds me of Mick Jagger.

Lyrics in their version include:

"All these broken dreams/
have made me see.
That I'm strung out somebody rescue me.
Well, do I have to tell you that I love you.
Do I have to tell you that I care.
Do I have to tell you that I need you to be there."

It's a 360 degree turn for Green Day. Lyrics to their version include:

"I walk this empty street/
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams/
Where the city sleeps/
and I'm the only one and I walk alone."

It's interesting that Hanoi Rocks can create semi-hopeful lyrics out of a song with a such a drab title.

Hanoi Rocks broke-up in the mid-1980s. They reformed with various members in 2002.

The band is heading out on tour next month.

[For Hanoi Rocks, lyrics by Ezrin, Hunter, McCoy. Copyright 1984].
[For Green Day, lyrics by Armstrong. Copyright 2005].

Heart Shaped Box

It’s Valentine’s Day, glam fans.

A time for true love. A warm embrace. A great power ballad.

What would the holiday of amore be without a great power ballad? After all, we have glam bands to thank for the melodic music of love and loss.

Even if they didn’t really invent the genre, Motley Crue is credited for popularizing the power ballad with “Home Sweet Home,” off Theatre of Pain.

 Of course, the Crue were met with a lot of flack for their very popular, chart topping tune and die hard metal heads said Theatre of Pain was a little too slick for their liking.

According to VH1 Classic, the number one power ballad of all time is Journey’s Open Arms. I don’t agree with this because I think the honor needs to go to a band more akin to the glam scene.

For me, two songs tie for the best power ballad of all time:

“Love Bites” by Def Leppard and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison. (Both hits come in at number 8 and 7, respectively on the aforementioned VH1 Classic list).

Is it a coincidence that the power ballad was typically a band’s most successful song and the tune that more people identify with, however so unfair?

My two picks for the best power ballad of all time are each band’s only number 1 hit.

In fact, “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” written by Diane Warren and performed by the bad boys from Boston is the only Aerosmith song to ever reach the top spot on the Billboard chart. The single is also the first and only song by a rock band to debut in the pole position.

In the documentary Heavy: The Story of Metal, the success of the power ballad is lampooned by the very artists that profited from their massive popularity. As the story goes, an 80s album had to include a power ballad to ensure a hit. A band would release a heavy track first, followed by the mellow power ballad. Groups like Warrant and Winger had the power ballad rule down cold. Speaking of Warrant, Jani Lane wrote some of the best lyrics of all time, and his song “Heaven” really is miles above the rest. Nearly two decades after its initial release, the track still has transcendental powers allowing the listener to really understand the emotion behind the song. The lyrics are simple, clean and the accompaniment just as pure.

For this reason, "Heaven" is our official Valentine song obsession of the week. For those of you celebrating an anti-Valentine of sorts, www.myspace.com/bringbackglam is featuring “Sick Love Song” by Motley Crue. Nikki Sixx knows a few things about bad relationships!