Up All Night...

As I've mentioned in several posts, Heather also attended Rocklahoma. Today, she shares her insights and experiences.

Well, we made it through Rocklahoma, and what an experience it was. Glam fans, if you missed the event this year, next year is a must. Take my advice though... go as a spectator, and let www.bringbackglam.com do all the work. It was an absolutely grueling 3 days... and I hope everyone understands and appreciates how much effort Allyson put into bringing you these postings. We're talking 14 hour days in the 90 degree heat, covered in mud... followed by a 40 minute drive to the hotel, shower, MAYBE 3 hours of sleep... then up to write and start all over again. 

  

Now don't get me wrong... the BBG crew did manage to have some fun along the way. We met so many great bands, and saw some awesome performances. I thought Warrant, Firehouse, Slaughter, Great White and Poison were all amazing. While I'm not a big fan of Dokken or Twisted Sister, both put on really good shows as well.

Here are a few memorable moments from my Rocklahoma experience:

TOP 5 ONSTAGE MOMENTS

5. The first time I saw "Dirty Penny."  Wow... talk about glam!!

4. Twisted Sister's anti-American Idol rant.

3. Jackyl: Chainsaw, naked butt, enough said.

2. Dee Snider breaking out the Santa hat, and getting 60 thousand people to sing along to "Silver Bells." Classic. 

1. Patriotic moments, such as Poison's tribute to the troops. It was very touching. Also, as Greg Leon played the national anthem Friday night and a National Guard chopper buzzed the crowd. Very cool.

TOP 5 CROWD MOMENTS

5. The group of people in section E, rows 17,18 & 19.  They were a lot of fun, and really into the music.

4. Looking at all of the outrageous glam outfits. Sorry folks, it was 112 degrees and muddy. I just couldn't do it. Cheers to those of you who did.

3. The confusion in the crowd during the Vince Neil set. From "Hello Montana!" to the 4 songs where Vince disappeared. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who didn't know what the hell was going on.

2. Watching a guy we nicknamed "Mulletman" who was REALLY getting into the shows. He may have whiplash now.

1. A guy who made his own shirt to show is disappointment after Faster Pussycat didn't play "Bathroom Wall."  On the front, it said "Faster Pussycat Sucks".  The back said "Tamie Downe Blows!"

TOP 5 DISAPPOINTMENTS

5. Eddie Trunk. (Details in backstage moments, #1)

4. Missing performances by Britny Fox, Bang Tango, Quiet Riot, and several bands on the side stages because of media events.

3. Vince Neil not singing "Shout at the Devil" or "Home Sweet Home."

2. Not getting to meet Poison. I love Bret Michaels.

1. The fact that my beloved Bret forgot the words to two of his songs.

And because we spent SO much time behind the scenes...

TOP 10 BACKSTAGE MOMENTS

10. Mike Tramp going off about the situation with Vito Bratta.

  9. Watching some "journalists" pimp their girlfriends in an effort to get in good with the bands.

  8. Listening to rumors about backstage fights, including one between Tracii Gunns and Obi Steinman.

  7. Taking pictures with all of the bands. They were all very friendly and accomodating, despite the heat and their busy schedules. 

  6. The Faster Pussycat press call. Talk about a fun group of guys.  

  5. Steven Adler offering to share his bottle of Boone's Farm with us.

  4. Eddie Ojeda looking for a quiet place to do an interview with BBG. (We ended up in a storage closet.)

3.  A surprise appearance by Jani Lane in the media tent. This was particularly sweet because BBG were among the only journalists there at the time.

  2.  Skid Row talking about their "bag of shame." For those of you that don't know, they are not allowed to "take a dump" on the bus.  Instead, they go in a bag, then throw it out the window. Very rockstar.

  1. Several bands having to do their own interviews or ask other journalists to do them, because esteemed host Eddie Trunk didn't show up.  As a side note to this, Trunk also asked Lee Pistolero who he was, and if his band played on a side stage.  Eddie, some advice for next year (if you're invited back): do some research.  At the very least, show up on time and be able to identify the musicians! Ok folks, that's it. I'm sure those of you who were there have some memories of your own to share.

Those of you who weren't... stay tuned for more interviews with the bands and photos.

   

Comments

[Metal Mark]

My guess about Vince Neil vanishing for several songs was that he was on a donut and whiskey break.
"Not a big fan of Twisted Sister"? Well, each to their own. From what I have heard it certainly sounds like they were the right choice to headline the event because you just knew Dee would eat that stuff up and talk everyone's ears off. I am surprised someone like Bret Michaels would forget lyrics particularly since they have been touring for several weeks. Maybe he was just tired.

[Rob Rockitt, Hard Rock Hideout]

Vince Neil did that in Cincinnati too. He took a short break. Strum and Blando did some Zeppelin songs. It was a short 3 song set and Vince came up to finish the show.

I have mixed feelings regarding Eddie Trunk. He has been in the business so long, he can bring in all of the top names for interview. I envy him in that respect. I listen to his radio show weekly, but one thing that I have gathered, he prefers 70's era hard rock to the 80's glam era hard rock. He is not knowledgeable regarding the new bands at all. I know more about the newer bands, and a lot of the 80's based bands than he does. His limited knowledge drives me nuts sometimes.

It is a shame that he didn't show up for interviews. It does not surprise me at all that he didn't know Lee Pistolero, however, they are an unsigned band, so it is hard to know them all.

Rob Rockitt
Hard Rock Hideout
www.hardrockhideout.com

[Vince Neilstein]

Steven Adler drinks Boone's Farm!!! PRICELESS!!!

Also, I gotta say that I love Eddie Trunk. He's the nicest guy and super-knowledgable about metal. He soldiered on with his radio show during the '90s when metal was about the least cool thing imaginable. He also does a lot with the local scene here, appearing at shows (both national and local acts), chatting with fans, etc. And he always gets great guests on his show, like Zakk Wylde and Mike Piazza. You can't blame him for not knowing the Pistoleros (come on.. pretty obscure!). I'm sure the guy does his best.

-VN

[Allyson]

Guys--

The Pistoleros are not unsigned. They are on Evil Boy Records. I think Heather meant that Trunk should know all the bands on the Rocklahoma roster, and I agree.

Allyson

[aXe mAn]

Very nice job with this! I enjoyed reading it.
Great job covering Rocklahoma!

[bob_vinyl]

I have always found Eddie Trunk to be an idiot. I once saw him suggest that Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum was among the all time great songwriters. Moron. he may have been around for awhile, but he's not too sharp. I can't figure out why he's in the business to be honest.

[MetalMama]

Did no one tell Eddie Trunk that it had turned into a 4-day event? He constantly mentioned 3 days of rock. It started to get on my nerves when I was there on the 4th day!

[Rachel]

MetalMama, it got on my nerves, too! & I thought I was the only one lol.
I like Eddie Trunk, but I agree that he should have known about all the bands, including the Pistoleros (who totally rocked!). It really annoyed me when I think it was when he came out to introduce White Lion Eddie said something like "This is the first big band" or "major band" or something like that. I thought it was really rude for him to say that. I wonder what it would have been like if Riki Rachtman had been the host? It would make sense, since he was the host of Headbanger's Ball back when all the bands who played at Rocklahoma were on the show. Just a thought.
I liked Vince's performance, except for the 30-minute guitar solo. I heard Vince was having sound problems is why his guitarist took over for a while. But I don't know.
I'm not a huge fan of Twisted Sister either, but I loved their performance, too. Dee really likes to talk, doesn't he? lol.

[James]

Tamie downe is a washed up cokehead.

On a postive note fans of Skid Row (slave to the grind era) Go to www.myspace.com/socialdiseaseband you won't regret it! unlike watching "faternazicat" struggle thru a 15min set