I Heard It From a Friend, Who Heard It From a Friend...(Summer 2009 Tour Gossip)

It's not even Halloween yet - and I'm already getting some juicy hot tips on some 2009 summer tour packages. No tip is more juicy that what I am about to tell you.

Sit down.

Take a deep breath.

Ready?

Good.

I've heard through the Glam grapevine that Cinderella may hit the road with RATT...and Kix. The mere mention of Kix playing a couple shows a week in places not mainly on the east coast should make any good Glam fan giddy.

Now, there's a lot of news here to dissect. First, Tom Keifer must be healing nicely if there is even possible "talk" of a Cinderella summer tour. Granted, the "tour" could be a bunch of fly-in dates to major or medium-sized markets over weekends. Second, RATT have supposedly been working on a new album for quite some time. Touring *yet again* makes sense if they have an album to support, so go ahead and look for that disc by next summer. Third, Kix touring is major news in and of itself. Dare I say my dirty boys are in bigger demand in 2008...than they were in 1988? Only time will tell.

You know what this means, right? If this package tour happens, I say you can bet on seeing at least two of the three acts at the many rock festivals popping up all over the country. There's Rocklahoma, Rock the Bayou, South Texas Rock Fest, Rock Gone Wild, Rock Fest, Moondance Jam... the list goes on.

So. What do you think? Do you believe my hot tip? You should know that I vette my tips with a lot of care. When I hear something, I track backward from the source. I ask around. I make phone calls.

Remember, I told you six months ago Poison wouldn't be touring summer of 2009. No one believed me then. Now we know this to be true. I also said there would be no 2009 Motley Cruise.  Just sayin'.

See Queen + Paul Rodgers - For Free?!

Kids, I have two tickets to give away for the new Queen + Paul Rodgers movie
Let the Cosmos Rock.  This  special concert movie is  airing at theatres worldwide  for one night only - November 6, 2008. Get off work early - the film starts at 7:30 p.m.

The film Let the Cosmos Rock features classic hits...and songs from the new album called The Cosmos Rocks. The footage was shot on September 12 in the Ukraine. According to an official press release supporting the film, Queen has sold over 150 million albums worldwide. 

Fans know the name Paul Rodgers from the bands Bad Company and Free. He's sold over 90 million albums with those bands. The Cosmos Rocks is his first studio album with Queen.

So what songs can you expect to hear during your screening of Let the Cosmos Rock? You'll hear "We Will Rock You," "Tie Your Mother Down," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "All Right Now," "I Want It All," and "Bad Company."

Now, I'm sure you'll all agree that Queen are the epitome of a 70s Glam band...later paving the way for our 80s Sunset Strip favorites...and now Sweden's modern rockers. So, if you want to win my pair of tickets to the special one-night-only event - read on.

As you know, I always make my readers work for their winnings. This time, I want you to write a Glam haiku. You can write about any band you wish - but the subject must be tied to Glam.

Remember, a haiku is made up of just three short lines. The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven syllables and the final line is five syllables. Haiku does not rhyme.

I wrote a haiku to help you out:

Motley Crue is Glam
Girls, girls, girls; lots of hairspray;
Sunset Strip legends

Before you get writing, please check this link to see if the movie is showing near you. If not, don't enter because I want the winner to actually attend the screening. Let me be blatantly clear: one winner will garner both tickets.

If you find a theatre near your city and you think you can write a good Glam haiku, get to it, Hemingway! Please email your haiku to allyson@bringbackglam.com. Send me your entries by 11:59 p.m. EST Friday, October 24. I'll post the winning haiku here for all to enjoy. Good luck.

Here's the official movie trailer:

Update on Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 10:47AM by Allyson B. Crawford

Here's our winner:

Cold beer at sixteen
Quiet Riot cranked to ten
High school glam party!

Congats to Bob! He'll be enjoying the Queen movie for free!

Rescue Me - New Video!

Buckcherry have a new video in support of Black Butterfly. The video is for "Rescue Me."

I'm very excited about this clip because "Rescue Me" is my favorite song on the new album. The clip is also cool because there are a lot of live crowd shots from Crue Fest. I'm not sure which venue Buckcherry filmed the clip, but I looked really hard for any signs of me, Heather or Eric. I didn't see us in this video - but you might be there! If you see yourself, let me know. It's my goal to get in a major music video.

Perhaps someday.

If you don't want to watch here, click the banner below to watch over at Yahoo!

Avenged Sevenfold will tour with Buckcherry this fall and early winter. You can click here for those dates.

Will Cinderella Tour in 2009?

We all know Cinderella front man Tom Keifer blew a vocal chord, forcing the band to cancel their summer tour. Tom's been on the mend, but there haven't been many comments from the band - or their musician friends. This leads me to wonder if Cinderella are done - or if they will try to tour again this summer?

I think there is a good chance the band will hit the road for select dates this summer - festivals probably - but I doubt a full fledged tour is in the works. I just don't think it makes sense for Tom to risk his voice for any sum of money. 

I love Cinderella. I think they are one of the strongest Glam bands of the genre. Their albums are among the best of the best - unique musicianship and strong lyrics.

Picking a favorite Cinderella song is hard. I love "The Last Mile" and "Nobody's Fool." I will say emphatically that "Don't Know What You Got ('Till It's Gone)" is my least favorite of all the Cinderella singles. It drives me crazy that Cinderella had to wait until they released a power ballad as a single to get some respect. Same for Kix, but I digress.

I found a cool clip of "The Last Mile" from Japanese television. The band was the 1989 "Star of the Week" on the particular Japanese show. I love the juxtaposition of the band against the conservatively dressed host. It's a great clip and really represents a moment in time, proving that culture permeates oceans and language barriers. Enjoy.

Defend to the Death?

Let's say you're at a party. Not just a typical party with all your friends. This party is maybe full of...coworkers. You have zero in common with those coworkers. Not only do you share a different worldview on just about every subject imaginable...you also like Glam. Your coworkers don't even know the word Glam. They like classical and country. They think anything associated with rock immediately means Goth...and have no idea what that means either. They think heavy Metal = death. You know, burning churches, killing your parents. That sort of thing. Do you explain Glam? Do you defend your music? Do you care what other people think?

Now, I work with a lot of conserative folk. I'm using the word conversative word here in its truest sense. I don't just mean politically - but that is also true. I mean, the people I work with are buttoned-up, suit and tie, country music and America loving, red meat eaters. Moreover, this is a great group of people. Everyone I work with is basically two decades older than me, but you'll have that I guess. So, I'm the young one that likes Metal. Who votes liberal. Who doesn't eat meat. Who didn't change her last name when she married. You know. I'm the rebel.

These country music loving coworkers of mine are actually interested in the music I love. They get quite a kick of hearing my stories of meeting musicians and going to festivals. They think it's cool I'm actually friends with some pretty famous people (but I would never name drop here). The bottom line: they are open minded to hear about what I like. And what I don't.

Some people will immediately shut down when you say you like Metal. I think that comes from a lack of understanding - and a whole lot of stereotypes. I really don't like country music, but I'm opened minded enough to hear why someone else loves the genre and I do know a thing or two about the artists. I mean, there was a six month period in my life where I was a country music disc jockey, but that is a story for another place and time.

So, we're back at our party and the group of people very unlike you (and me) are having a conversation about music. Do you jump in or keep your mouth shut? Do you talk Glam? Do you defend the genre or teach the ways of Poison and Quiet Riot? In short, do you defend to the death?

The Hellcity Punks Have Some Real Glam Potential

Props to Bring Back Glam! reader Slade for directing me to the Finnish band Hellcity Punks. Slade thinks the band sounds like Hanoi Rocks, but I don't agree. Hellcity Punks are definitely modern Glam...but they sound heavier than Hanoi Rocks.

Right now the Finnish band doesn't have a label, but they do have several songs posted on their Myspace page - all the songs have some real potential. For the most part the production is decent, even if the bass sounds a little thin. I especially like the songs "My Show" and "White Trash Gone Wild."

Judging by their Myspace, the Hellcity Punks already have quite a fan following. There are a lot of street teams for the band and the members invested cash into professional photos.

Photo credit: Hellcity Punks Myspace. No copyright assumed.

The Coupon Game

I've been spewing my marketing ideas all week. I guess it's because I've become basically obsessed with finance and the stock market since the "Big Crash of October 2008."

Glam save me, I'm addicted to CNBC. I'm also addicted to trading. I love buying things on sale. The way I see it, stocks are on sale - and I might as well stock up.

What does this have to do with Glam?

Well, the best way to find strong stocks in this market is to go commodities and industries that are recession proof. The best way to sell basic commodities is to reduce cost  - and offer incentives.

What if bands offered coupons to fans to redeem for music?

Let's say you belong to the fan club of band X. Band X wants to release a new album. They also want to tour. To entice fans, they send a coupon for a free download. Now, this download doesn't have to be on iTunes. It can be hosted on a special website. Fans can unlock their download via a special code. The free song just might be enough to whet a fans appetite - to actually pay for new music.

Now I know this has been done before, but the practice isn't widespread  - especially among  less famous bands.  I don't really see a band losing a lot of money on this and the promotion itself is quite cheap. Considering most fan clubs are pay to join anyway, the band can use the free song as one of the "reasons to join." Moreover, the song codes would be deployed via email - and that means a massive marketing database for the bands to use for all future promotions.

The idea isn't revolutionary - but I think it would help. Hell, if it curbs illegal downloading by 1% - it helps. I only wonder why I don't get more free songs from bands.