Seriously, I love Steve Stevens. He's best known for playing guitar for Billy Idol, but the man is so underrated. The sounds he can create with his guitar! Plus...have you seen his hair lately? So Glam...
Steve has a new album called Memory Crash. If you don't want to hunt down the physical version, you can download it right off iTunes for under ten bucks. The album is Steve's first in over a decade, featuring many diverse musical influences. You can hear some samples at Steve's website.
I take bass lessons every Saturday morning and this week my teacher passed along a nice magazine article on Steve. The peg was naturally the new album, but it also mentioned Steve's Grammy for the "Top Gun Anthem." Off to YouTube I went...and lo and behold I found the official video for the song. I had no idea such a video existed, but I think it's pretty cool. Watch for yourself.
Here's the video for "Sister of Pain" from the Vince Neil solo album Exposed.
**Why do you think Steve is underrated among other guitarists?
Let it be known here that I don't listen to a ton of new rock bands - the ones that catch my attention have to be damn good to get my business. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I actually like Cinder Road.
The band recently opened for Tesla and is in Europe supporting Kiss right now. Apparently when Kiss tours America in a couple months, Cinder Road will again be in tow.
Cinder Road create arena-style rock, but are not annoying in that Daughtry sort of way. No, they are not "new heavy" like Bullet for My Valentine, but they certainly are "new pretty." I mean, seriously, did you look closely at the adjancent photo? The Glam gods bestowed good genes on every member of this band! So pretty...
There's a video now for the song "Get In, Get Out." No, Cinder Road is not as good as Lynam and their sound is certainly not unique, but it's pleasureable nonetheless. The download of the debt Superhuman is less than eight bucks on iTunes right now. It's the weekend: treat yourself to some new music. You know you want to. In the meantime, watch the video for "Get In, Get Out."
I hate it when people try to be "cool" on the Internet. Every time some writer tries to be ultra chic, a Glam band ends up getting slammed.
About two days ago, Yahoo! released lists of the best and worst hairbands of all time. For starters, we don't say hairbands, and second, I urge you to take both lists with a grain of salt. They are, after all, complete crap. Both were written by some guy named Rob O'Connor. I bet he has an M.A. in English like me. The difference is that my piece of overpriced paper is shoved in the bottom of a plastic tub in one of my over crowded closets and his is probably displayed proudly on his desk so the world knows he's in academic debt up to his eyeballs. Nope, you can't buy credibility - you have to earn it. With lists like these...well, I wonder if Rob ever had aspirations of working for the local Starbucks? That seems hipster enough for him.
25. Winger 24. L.A. Guns 23. Queensryche 22. Enuff Z'Nuff 21. Hanoi Rocks 20. Angel 19. Loverboy 18. Faster Pussycat 17. Bon Jovi 16. RATT 15. Quiet Riot 14. Kix 13. Vixen 12. Scorpions 11. Cinderella 10. Twisted Sister 09. Spinal Tap 08. Motley Crue 07. Ozzy Osbourne 06. Kiss 05. Aerosmith 04. Def Leppard 03. New York Dolls 02. Van Halen 01. Guns n' Roses
Now, regardless of how you feel about either list - it's the commentary that makes this all so priceless. About Motley Crue, Rob writes:
"Mick Mars may be the creepiest looking guy in music--and that's saying something. And Tommy Lee may only be "lovable" to women who regularly appear in centerfolds. But I wasn't planning on inviting these guys to dinner. On some level, you expect to hear that your rock stars do not behave like choir boys or even decent human beings. Whether they drink the blood of goats or indulge in enough recreational narcotics to have a poppy field named after them, it goes with the territory. Their greatest sin isn't heroin, it's their inherent corniness."
Now...his take on Warrant:
"How many forms of wretched can one band deliver? Well, if "Heaven" isn't enough for you, there's always a little "Cherry Pie" to go along with it on the side. Power ballads! Crappy stadium anthems! And guest spots from the guys in Danger Danger and Poison! It's like a recipe straight from Rachael Ray."
I think you and I both agree that these lists are way off - and naming Poison the worst "hairmetal" band is a big joke. Motley Crue is not high enough on the good list. While Motley actually made the good side, all the author did was slag them, so what is the point? Click the links above to read comments. I seriously have nothing more to add about this laughable mess.
I figure today's article will have a lot of people hot and bothered, but a little controversy is good for the first day of May. I have a big statement here: Alice in Chains is not grunge. Nope, they are straight up heavy metal and you can even find some Glam influences if you look hard enough.
It's true!
Fact: Dirt is one of the best rock albums ever recorded.
Fact: Alice in Chains Unplugged is the best of the entire MTV series.
Fact: Bassist Mike Inez had (has?) his feet on solid Glam ground.
Fact: Alice in Chains STARTED as the Glam band Diamond Lie. Ha!
As a matter of fact, here's a quote from a press kit I found online pimping Diamond Lie:
"Taking center stage for DIAMOND LIE is the energetic and electrifying [vocalist] Layne. Layne's experience with various groups of various styles has given him quite a range of vocal capabilities; from the speed metal group SLEZE, to the punchy glam rock of ALICE 'N CHAINS. Layne's versatility and uninhibited stage performance prove him to be a valuable frontman."
Doesn't that make you giggle just a little?
While Nirvana whined and produced monotone choruses, Alice in Chains were creating stadium rock. While Pearl Jam were trying to take down Ticketmaster, Alice in Chains were performing their hits all over the world.
Sure, AIC have their grunge moments - then again, so do Motley Crue. Remember Generation Swine? While Alice in Chains might not sing about chicks and parties, they do more than enough talking about drugs. Sounds like basic rock to me. Yes, Alice gets too sludgy at times...but there are times when this band owns you. My Glam goodness, the beginning of "Would?" is a bass player's fantasy - and Alice in Chains has some damn great guitar solos peppered throughout all their albums.
Do I think Alice in Chains are close to Poison? In a word, no. I do, however, think they share some things in common with Use Your Illusion era Guns n' Roses. Of course, Axl and company apparently hate Glam and want nothing to do with the genre. I'm sure Layne Staley would also say he hates Glam...except, you know, he's dead. Still, Alice in Chains live on and their catalog of work is damn impressive.
Let's talk about "Would?" a little more. Yeah, the song is dark. It's also hauntingly beautiful and deliciously heavy. Moreover, it's an anthem-like song you'd expect to hear at every AIC concert much like you know Aerosmith will play "Janie's Got a Gun." Just a few lines ago I mentioned guitar solos: "Would?" has a great guitar part -- sounds Glam to me!
Now, to Mike Inez. He played with Ozzy! He was also a member of Slash's Snakepit. Gee - isn't it ironic that I mentioned AIC were a lot like GnR? Interesting...incidentally, I remember reading about all of this in Metal Edge. That was before the record labels drew a line in the sand and decided fans had to choose which form of Metal they preferred. I still maintain that if the labels had just kept supporting both Glam and Grunge, the music industry today would be a lot different...but that's another article entirely.
I didn't know this, but apparently Inez formed a band with Chris DeGarmo. Yes, that DeGarmo, formally of Queensryche. Me thinks Mike Inez loves the bands we talk about here every day on Bring Back Glam!
Here's the video for "Would?" Guitarist Jerry Cantrell is wearing a grunge cap...but again I remind you that Trixter dressed the same way in their video for "Give it to Me Good." Comment me, people!
As many of you know, I've been doing this website for awhile now - well over a year and a half. You are currently looking at the second site design of Bring Back Glam! - but I want to add more features and content.
I am not a web designer, but in my dreams I know what I would like this website too look like: something very slick, with multiple pages of content, a store, an actual dedicated message board...you get the idea.
I also think it would be cool if I had some sort of podcast plug-in so you could hear my interviews instead of just reading the transcription. Some of my banter with musicians is quite amusing and I'm sure you'd be interested.
At any rate, please list suggestions/improvements you'd like to see here at BBG! I promise to take all ideas into consideration.
Props to my friend Todd for tipping me to this better than great video of Kix performing "Hot Wire." He believes the footage was shot for an official video that was never released. Trust me when I say you absolutely MUST watch this clip!
Joe Leste was all set to bring his Beautiful Creatures to Rocklahoma on Sunday, July 13...but now, something has gone awry.
Just hours ago, Beautiful Creatures left this simple bulletin on their Myspace page:
"BEAUTIFUL CREATURES WILL NOT BE PLAYING ROCKLAHOMA 2008."
It couldn't get any more cut and dry than that except that the band still has the Rocklahoma gig listed in their upcoming shows - but all other performances are now deleted. I should note that at the time of this writing, Beautiful Creatures are still listed on the official band roster and Pollstar.
I guess this means there are now two TBAs for Sunday. I must admit I am a little sad about losing Beautiful Creatures from the Rocklahoma lineup. I like Joe Leste and I was looking forward to some more modern music on the last day of the festival.
Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 12:30AM 
Seriously, I love Steve Stevens. He's best known for playing guitar for Billy Idol, but the man is so underrated. The sounds he can create with his guitar! Plus...have you seen his hair lately? So Glam... 
