Alice in Wonderland

Let's have fun.

Listening to music of the past - and writing about it -  is fun. The way I see it, we all need an escape from everyday life.

Watch the evening news and count the many crimes against humanity. Go fill up your car and seethe at the easy profits of big oil. Sit idly by as the current administration mismanages more of our hard earned money while many fine young men and women die in an illegal war about a million miles away.

See? We need fun.

I like to keep things light and airy here at Bring Back Glam! I like to focus on the positives, which are old bands releasing new music and new bands carrying the torch of the glam movement.

I love talking to like-minded music fans, especially on forums. If you haven't visited the forums on Hair Bangers Radio or Hard Rock Hideout, click the links to the right and sign up.

Speaking of fun, do you remember Hericane Alice? The band was formed in Minnesota fairly late in the glam game, and featured singer Bruce Naumann, guitarist Leni Dimancari, bassist Scott Werner and drummer Rusty Miller. The band released Tear the House Down in 1990, which featured the single "Wild, Young and Crazy."

Here's the video for that track. Have a glammy Sunday dear readers!

Soup with a Side of Motley

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Derby Day, glam fans!

Yesterday while scanning Blabbermouth, I came across a tid-bit about Vince Neil's new venture in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Motley Crue singer is currently building Dr. Feelgood's Rock Bar which will feature loud music, motorcycles and women dressed as nurses.

I think this sounds like a very fun place to drink.

Sadly, nursing veterans disagree and many women in the medical field are planning to boycott the new bar. Career nurses say it's degrading for waitresses to wear sexy costumes while serving beer to patrons. Clearly, I can see their side of the argument. After all, sexy costumes have really hurt Hooter's bottom line.

Oh, wait...

Rebecca Pleasant is a registered nurse, and associate professor at Palm Beach Community College.  She says, "Anytime someone smuts the image of the profession, it's demoralizing. There is a huge nursing shortage in the county, and being looked at as mindless sex objects won't help us recruit students."

Mindless sex objects? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the shorter the skirt, the bigger the tip? People  remember, the glam mistress is also a radical feminist. If there is a case of women being objectified based on their constructed gender, I will jump to the attack. Vince Neil creating a themed bar where the waitresses wear nursing uniforms is not demoralizing to the gender or the profession. The women who wish to work at Dr. Feelgood's will apply of their own free will. They will be told about the uniforms. They will be told of their salary. They will be told of the theme and management's expectations to fulfill that theme. These applicants will have the chance to decide if the job is a right fight, personally. The only offense I take to the whole thing is why the women have to dress up as nurses. Some of the barmaids should be doctors. After all, more women than men earn advanced degrees in a wide spectrum of fields, including medicine.

If you want to read a full article on the matter, check out PalmBeachPost.com.

In other Motley news  Nikki Sixx has finally released the first single from his upcoming Heroin Diaries book project. "Life is Beautiful" has a modern Motley sound  and features the guitar work of DJ Ashba (ex-Beautiful Creatures). Producer James Michael also lent his talents to the track. Give a listen at www.myspace.com/heroindiaries. To me, the track is a hybrid of "Primal Scream" and "Sick Love Song." The song seems commercial enough to get modern radio play and I think that's a good thing. Maybe success will give Sixx the kick in the pants he needs to write another Motley record.

Life on Mars

It's Mick Mars day here at Bring Back Glam! Today is Mick's birthday, so we should go back in time for a little Motley history.

Mick Mars was born Bob Alan Deal in Terre Haute, Indiana. A high school dropout, Mick played guitar in several blues bands before making it big with Motley Crue. While Motley Crue is largely the brainchild of bassist Nikki Sixx, Mars was largely instrumental in convincing Vince Neil to sing lead in the band. Mick also dreamed up the name Motley Crue.

A vastly underrated player, Mars continually fights his body during studio and live performances. He suffers from the degenerative Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Mick's portions of The Dirt were very interesting to me. While the other members of Motley are brash and over-the-top, Mick keeps to himself. While Nikki, Vince, and Tommy Lee are always in the media spotlight, Mick keeps his mouth shut. As such, his unique perspective offers a fresh glance into the background of Motley Crue.

Here's a pretty cool solo from Mick during the Dr. Feelgood tour. It starts out slide blues and goes straight Metal. Enjoy!

This Left Feels Right (The Finale)

So, Bon Jovi appeared on ratings powerhouse American Idol last night.

The New Jersey boys performed the first single from their upcoming album Lost Highway. Sadly, "(You Want to) Make a Memory" didn't do much for me. In fact, I found the song to be a major letdown. Bon Jovi has always produced quality ballads but this one was just a little soft, a little too slow for an arena rock band. I hope the rest of Lost Highway is more upbeat, a throwback to classic Bon Jovi.

As for the American Idol contestants, Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson got the big boot. My husband and I both agreed that Phil sang "Blaze of Glory" better last night than competition night, so maybe this contributed to his exit. For Chris, I simply believe it was his time to go. When it was time to announce who was leaving for the second time in the broadcast, it came down to Blake Lewis and Chris. The two told host Ryan Seacrest they didn't care who left because of their friendship. After a three minute love fest, Chris was finally booted and he sang "Wanted Dead or Alive" on the Idol stage for a final time.

Each season, the top 12 American Idol contestants release a CD. The songs are usually from their best performance, so I'm going to assume Blake Lewis' version of "You Give Love a Bad Name" will be included on the disc.

On a related Bon Jovi note, I must say Jon looked especially pretty last night. After staring at the screen in awe of Jon's beauty, I checked www.amazon.com for Bon Jovi sales. Not surprising Cross Road (a greatest hits compilation) is a top seller. As of 10 this morning, the album is #23 in sales. It seems Bon Jovi earned immediate success from their American Idol appearance.

This Left Feels Right (Part II)

Ok, so none of my predictions about last night's American Idol were accurate. I’m the glam mistress not a fortune teller.

Anyway, here are my thoughts.

I’ll go out on a limb here and say that Blake Lewis earned the highest number of votes, followed closely by diva-in-training Melinda Doolittle. Blake took “You Give Love a Bad Name” and made it a modern, hip hop track complete with beat boxing. I don’t like people messing with glam standards, but this arrangement was so original, I have to give credit where it’s due. Blake knows his niche, and he bends songs to his formula which is the key to winning America’s largest talent contest. He also dyed his hair black and wore eye liner. I don’t know if this was supposed to be glam or emo, but I’ll go with the first option. Good for him I say.

Melinda Doolittle sang “Have a Nice Day.” She admitted to Jon Bon Jovi that she isn’t a rocker and needed help. He gave her a hug, and this made me very jealous. Melinda has a set of pipes, and she really sang her heart out. Plus, she tried to make the Metal horns, even if her hand was facing the wrong direction. She gets points for trying.

Jordin Sparks tried to sing “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Her rendition wasn’t very good and she knew it. She’s in real danger of going home. On a positive note, she was the most glam of all the contestants, wearing an outfit I’d be very proud to sport, sans cross necklace. Her hair was awesomely huge, a key component to any 80s rock show.

I knew someone would sing “Wanted Dead or Alive,” unfortunately it was Chris Richardson. The kid sings through his nose and he ruined one of my favorite Bon Jovi tunes. He’s also at risk for an exit (two contestants leave this week).

Bald and sort-of beautiful Phil Stacey sang a decent version of “Blaze of Glory.” In his pre-performance set-up piece, Phil admitted to singing the song into a comb in front of his mirror. I guess last night’s performance was the completion of a glam dream for Phil.

Then there was LaKisha. She selected “This Ain’t a Love Song,” a lesser known Bon Jovi track. It was good, but teetered dangerously on the edge of gospel. I don’t care for religious music and sometimes soaring high notes just sound like 10 am and the Sunday church choir.

Tonight, Bon Jovi will perform a song from their upcoming album Lost Highway. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Bon Jovi. The band isn’t one of my favorites; I don’t own all their albums or even t-shirt, but they are special nonetheless. When I was about eight or so, I went to the local pharmacy to buy a new record. I selected the 45 single “Bad Medicine” and paid with my own money. I played that record over and over again. I think my parents still have that 45 somewhere. Every time my friends and I listened to the record, we sang along like we were cool rock stars. In reality, we were just dorky kids.

I’m looking forward to hearing Bon Jovi tonight and I hope Jon and crew stay far away from the country tunes. Tomorrow, a review of their live performance and details on the two booted Idol contestants.

This Left Feels Right

After many weeks of waiting, it's finally time: Jon Bon Jovi will mentor the final six contestants on tonight's live broadcast of American Idol.

This potential glam night excites me much. Tomorrow, Bon Jovi are slated to perform "(You Want to) Make a Memory," the first single from their upcoming album Lost Highway, set to release on June 9.

Yes, the remaining contestants: Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks, LaKisha Jones, Chris Richardson, Melinda Doolittle, and Phil Stacey will sing the songs that made Bon Jovi a worldwide phenomenon.

Jon Bon Jovi spoke with The Journal Gazette out of Fort Wayne, Indiana. “You got to get music out there however you can,” says Jon.  “Radio is getting smaller and smaller; the record business is getting smaller and smaller. There are things that are fantastic, like the Internet, (but) it’s tough because it’s created something none of us knew 10 years ago, and you have to learn to roll with those punches. But it’s not the way it used to be; it’s not the record business that I grew up in.” 

I can't help but wonder which one of these pop panderers will attempt "Dead or Alive" or even "Bad Medicine."

Here are my predictions: Phil Stacey will attempt "Bed of Roses" and Chris Richardson will try to pull off "Always." Blake Lewis will attempt a rocker, perhaps "Livin' on a Prayer." I won't make any predictions for the women because they are 1) better singers and 2) are more creative in their song choices. I'm also not 100% certain the song has be a Bon Jovi recording. It could be a track that a Bon Jovi member has guested or written. Idol always bends the rules on theme night.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: American Idol needs a power ballad night. Songs like "Ballad of Jayne" an "Home Sweet Home" were meant for mass consumption.

Check back tomorrow to see if any (or all!) of my predictions came true.

If you're in the minority and don't watch American Idol, tune into Fox at 8pm E.S.T.

Sister of Pain

Today another great new glam band, naturally from Sweden.

Meet Sister, an unsigned band from Jönköping. These boys have a great down n' dirty,  sleazy sound.

So just who are these talented, yet grossly ignored musicians?

Drummer Cari lists his main influences as Sebastian Bach, Eric Carr, Phil Anselmo and Tommy Lee. Lead singer Jamie says Vince Neil is his guide, but also counts Bret Michaels and Sebastian Bach as major influences. Bassist Al says he's his own biggest influence but his favorite bands are Alleycat Scratch (!) and Pretty Boy Floyd. The very hot guitarist Dani says he's influenced by C.C. DeVille (!) and Kristy Krash Majors and Motley Crue is one of his favorite bands. With musical taste like this, you know these boys know how to rock.

I've been tracking Sister through Myspace for about three months now. I periodically check in to see when and if these boys land a recording deal. I'm baffled that such a talented quartet remains unsigned while countless crap bands crowd the marketplace with drivel.

Sister is a technologically savvy band that illustrate their talents through a nicely constructed web page. Visit them at www.sisteronline.net or www.myspace.com/sisteronline. Listen to a few tracks and add them as friends.