Tuesday
Oct182011
Warrant, 'Home' -- New Video
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 12:02AM
Warrant has just released a video for the song "Home," the latest single from Rockaholic. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.
Reader Comments (12)
Their karma is damaged forever unless they make it right. Yeah, he drove 'em crazy but they always treated him like an employee even though he saved 'em from obscurity when he came in with those great songs.
Until they can put aside their resentment toward the man who helped them and is now dead by giving him a proper tribute concert, they are damned to live in his shadow for eternity!
On his own, Lane was trainwrecking everywhere he went due to his alcoholism. His addiction was his downfall obviously. It also stymied and fogged his ability to write GOOD songs.
Lane AND Warrant needed each other. Lane was approached by certain band members to sign off on "merchandise" that was to be released of retro "Warrant" shirts, etc. They couldn't LEGALLY put out anything retro themselves without Lane's consent. At the time Lane was getting his demons under control, but keep in mind an addiction NEVER goes away. Addiction is a battle every day, every hour, every minute, it just doesn't disappear no matter how much you "wish" it away.
Lane and the band had "discussions" concerning merchandising with a certain "goth" retailer (that went wayside) and soon "reunion" talk was being discussed. Lane wanted to write NEW Warrant music and tour, the band wanted Lane to rehab and tour with a "see how it goes" before recording. Sounds pretty fair? Sure, for Warrant. Why?
They USED Lane and his addiction for their own advancement. On the surface everyone was getting what they wanted. For the years since Sweet and Allen rejoined the band, they used a "click" in shows with Jani's backing vocals. When it was brought to the band, i.e. Allen and Sweet didn't want Lane back. They wanted to keep control of the Warrant machine and were actually going to quit the band. They were assured it would be in their best interest to stay with the band, things would work in their favor eventually. With an addict you can pretty much map out a text book course of history...
The band got back together and the music magic started to happen. Everyone knew their role and the machine was in motion. Should have been a happy ending for them and the fans, right? Wrong.
Lane began asking financial questions. He was being kept out of the "business" end even though they told him otherwise. He got to know what they wanted him to know. They manipulated him just like the labels manipulated them all years ago. When Jani started asking questions, the band started the Lane party machine up. Certain "members" began drinking and partying with Lane. The addictions took care of the rest. A tour with Cinderella was announced, even though everyone knew Tom was never going to be able to pull it off, especially with a renewed and healthier Lane fronted Warrant. Cancellation was announced and it was "don't worry Jani, have a drink" mentallity. A new reunion circuit tour was being mapped out and eventually signed off on. Jani started asking more finance questions. It was answered with "dude, don't worry. We're all back togethter and its gonna be great, have a drink," mentality. The more Jani questioned, the more they turned to his addiction to keep him quiet.
A "counselor" was hired to watch over Jani and that was the BIGGEST sham going. This counselor had zero success in the past and Lane was going to be no different in changing that. The counselor was a sham, admitted by Eric AND Joey in recent interviews; without saying it was a sham. They stated that the counselor did NOTHING to prevent or even TRY to stop Lane from going off on his own and sneaking some "harmless" partying in. I'm not saying ALL the band members knew this whole thing was nothing more than a publicity stunt to advance Warrant, but some definitely were and even pulling a few of the strings.
No more than TWO shows were done sober by Lane on that aborted "reunion" tour. It worked in Warrant's favor tenfold. Jani signed off on things that he thought helped everyone, it actually only helped the band. Warrant showed they "TRIED" to pull this together, but Jani just couldn't be helped. Poor Warrant, that Jani Lane is a fucking jerk was the chant.
It's the music BUSINESS folks...by any means necessary. No way should Lane have toured so close to being released from rehab. It was failure from the start, he was on meds to control his alcoholism and his mental stability. As much as you want to think 28 days in rehab cures they addict, the follow up and learning to LIVE before you leap is needed. Lane didn't get that. The only thing he knew was he was a song-man, an artist and that's what he was going to do or at least try. He tried cleaning up several times, but as addicts will do, he blamed everyone but himself on the surface. Inside he took FULL responsibility and drowned his disappointments in a bottle. There were serious health problems that was kept from the public, his liver, his bi-polar, etc. This was a death waiting to happen. Sadly it wasn't long before it occured.
The band hasn't gone out of their way to acknowledge the contributions made by Jani after his death. They've gone on the "we did everything we could to help." bullshit stories. Don't you think it was odd that Mason was so quick to be dropped in the machine. It was so quick they PHOTOSHOPPED him into the PR photos they to with Lane. They didn't even take the time or energy to do a REAL band photo session.
This is a sad story of EVERYONE to blame, the band, Lane himself, management, the art of war in the music industry. Hit while the poker's hot mentality instead of doing it when it's RIGHT. FUCK that band, FUCK Jani Lane's handlers, and I'd say fuck Jani Lane, but he already had a career of fuckings from himself to everyone that surrounded him in that world. What's really sad is this story will be replayed with more bands to come cuz history will repeat itself.
Here he is, back and wanting to write new tunes -- maybe one of the few cases from the L.A. Scene who, when he applies himself, actually has the talent and devotion to his craft to create new material that can rival his previous hits, or at least try to.
Warrant never got that it was his songwriting that got them there and never realized that he is one of a few who was driven to top himself and who could write from his heart and experience to deliver the goods.
Of those alive today, ya got Sixx, The Ratt Boyz and Lawless --all L.A. Scenesterz who can deliver when they want to (tunes like "Saints Of Los Angeles", "Life Is Beautiful", Ratt's entire 'Infestation' and some of Lawless' stuff proves that) just like
Lane was capable of.
Too bad those Warrant idiots did not realize Lane's talent meant even more money in the bank than whatever their stoopid little pieces were and probably still are. If they had done it right, they would have been making way more with him on stage.
Fact is, though they hired him, he was the band.
p.s.s.t. Thanks, Insider, for your candor and insight. Even if only an 1/8 of it is true, it's more than anything that's been reported. Someone -- maybe you -- should write a book on the whole sordid affair as a manual for how NOT to go about becoming a hit Rock band.
They're damned to Rock'n'Roll Purgatory until they make it right.
p.s. Insider -- You leave Turner out of it. C'mon! He seems like the leader in this whole charade.
I was never a big fan of Mason's, so to know if any of the tunes he wrote with Jerry were songs he had with Big Cock or even Lynch toss outs. Some writers have been known to change a verse, a chours change, something so miniscule, just to get a songwriting credit. As I said previously, its odd that Mason was pulled in so quickly. Not to mention he was a semi close friend of Lane's for years.
I'm not saying things would go differently with Lane had the band slowed their roll and recorded first, but ultimately it would have been in Lane's benefit careerwise if they wrote and recorded first, then toured. The biggest complaint up and above Lane's "partying" was being a control freak in the studio. The band as a whole would have never made it out of the studio and on to the stage without egos getting bruised. Wasn't it Turner and Dixon who STARTED Warrant and ultimately lost control of everyting after Lane was in? This whole shit show came down to grabbing that one last shot at the spotlight and the 32 pennies still in a ragu jar. They NEVER had any intentions of MAKING this work with Lane for the long haul. It was a ploy to get back what they lost and felt they deserved in some sick twisted sad way. His death has left the band in dark light with a lot of fans, at least for now, the backlash is going to affect them for sure. Even die hard fans are taking a second look with disgust.
I named the two that I did because they wanted to leave the band, thus making it a reunion with LANE and NOT actually WARRANT. They were promised the band would be in a better spot if they just stuck it out for the short term. It was win-win for them if the Lane thing moved on outside the tour. If Lane really was 100% healthy upon return the band would make money touring AND recording (they knew he wouldn't) and if Lane fell off the band would be in a better light with Mason who was ready willing and able to go (it was already behind the scenes ready). SO, if Allen and Sweet wanted to leave I think you KNOW who was left to be the backstabbing assholes doing the manipulating. Their true colors came out at Lane's death. It was disgusting in the sense they treated him as if his contributions were that of a session player and gave THE most vanilla press release EVER. They are nothing more than a Robert Mason fronted COVER BAND with a better rhythm section.
It's a shame they (probably Turner more than anyone) couldn't understand Lane's "control freakiness". Sounds like he was a perfectionist and they just lacked the intelligence, talent or even genius anywhere near Lane's to comprehend what he was after and let him have at it.
Amadeus vs. 4 Solieris.