Three Festivals, One Weekend

So, by now you should know that Rocklahoma 2008 is set for July 10-13 in Pryor, Oklahoma. The South Texas Rock Fest is set for July 11-13 in San Antonio, Texas. Plus, there's the Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota. That festival runs from July 9 - 12.

The latest "reliable" rumor is that Motley Crue will take their Cru Fest right to the Moondance Jam. This isn't such a far fetched idea considering the Saturday line-up currently says "Thundherstruck, plus four national bands."

Four national bands, eh? As in: Motley Crue, SIXX: AM, Buckcherry and Papa Roach? If this is the case, those people going to the Moondance Jam will have a great time. Also on the Moondance line-up: Sammy Hagar, Poison, Great White and many more. Moondance Jam tickets are currently $400 for V.I.P. but prices will rise.

Read more about Moondance Jam here.

The promoters of Rocklahoma have one TBA left to announce. At this point, your guess is as good as mine because most "A" level bands are already inked for other festivals - and most of those gigs are in Europe. I've posted the entire Rocklahoma lineup here in the past, so I'm not beating that dead horse again. There are still plenty of Rocklahoma V.I.P. tickets available. For more information, click here.

South Texas Rock Fest has a lot of the bands that played Rocklahoma 2007. Expect to see bands like Queensryche, Skid Row and Faster Pussycat in Texas. According to the official website, more bands will be added. All the very close V.I.P. seats are sold out, but you can still get tickets by clicking here.

As you know, I'll be going to Rocklahoma but I really wish I could clone myself because I'd love to go to Moondance and South Texas. It kills me that all three festivals are the same weekend, but what can you do? Festivals are a great idea: they bring a big crowd of music fans together for some fun in the sun. Bands get to play for larger than normal audiences and festivals are typically over a weekend so they provide a nice excuse for a long weekend away from work. I have to be honest: if I wasn't committed to Rocklahoma, I'm not sure which festival I'd be attending. All three options look good, but Rocklahoma is clearly the biggest and I have great memories from last year. South Texas is a great value and if Motley really are added to Moondance...well, clearly, it would be a toss-up.

Remember...

You'll be able to watch Motley Crue's big tour announcement right here on Tuesday, April 15th at 7pm EST. I would appreciate the support.

Current Playlist?

It's Sunday - a day for relaxation and reflection. Music is perfect for relaxation - so I plan on listening to quite a few albums throughout the day.

Right now, I'm listening to:

Attitude for Destruction (review forthcoming to BBG!) - Tracii Guns, Slash, Axl Rose, Stevie Rachelle, Matt Sorum, et al.
Twentyfive - George Michael
Scream, Aim, Fire - Bullet for My Valentine
Midnite Dynamite - Kix
Exposed - Vince Neil

According to my iPod, these are the albums with the most play over the past week. Do you ever check your iPod stats? I always like to see my "most played" track. In case you are wondering, "Waking the Demon" by Bullet for My Valentine is my current most played song.  

***What are you listening to these days?

Tour Alert: Blackrain and Sister

Attention: you need to introduce yourself to Blackrain. The European band is currently on tour with Sister. Both bands are basically awesome and definitely Glam.

Blackrain sound like a cross between Judas Priest and Motley Crue - and no, I'm not making that up. So, who are Blackrain? The Frenchman (yes! French) are: Swan (vocals), Max 2 (guitar), Heinrich (bass), and Iann Lewis (drums). I'm going to guess those stage names are close to the band members actual monikers. At any rate, it's pretty cool to say your name is Max 2 instead of just Max. Of course, I can't help but wonder "who is Max 1?" I digress.

Check out audio clips here.

Blackrain and Sister are touring Europe right now. Here is the routing:

April 12, 2008 – Wild at Heart :: Berlin
April 13, 2008 – Ballroom :: Hamburg
April 16, 2008 – Blueshell :: Cologne
April 17, 2008 – Zwölfzehn :: Stuttgart
April 18, 2008 – LVC :: Leiden
April 19, 2008 – Babylon ::   Woerden

I know a lot of my European friends like to click on this website from time to time - if you are in one of the above cities, I suggest checking out Blackrain and Sister. 

I've mentioned Sister before, but they deserve another plug.  My friends Sister are from the promised land known as Sweden. Home to all things modern Glam and IKEA, I feel a special connection to Sweden. Perhaps someday soon I shall get to visit the motherland. Again I digress.

Sister has some great tunes that feature driving bass lines and catchy lyrics.These boys more than look the part and yes, three of the band members have names that end in "i." Sister is Jamie (vocals), Rikki (bass), Dani (guitar), and Cari (drums).

Check out audio clips here.  

For some unknown reason, Sister remains unsigned. Someone give them a recording deal! 

So We Took Our Dreams, Ran Like Hell...

We are just a handful of days away from the big Motley Crue tour announcement.

Notice in the picture that the announcement is set for Tuesday, April 15 at 7pm EST. Bring Back Glam! will provide a live stream of the press conference so you can enjoy all the action.

At this point rumors are swirling about the big announcement. Many (myself included) think Motley will announce a touring festival of sorts featuring bands from the Eleven Seven roster.

This announcement will be big, people: mark my words. Expect The Dirt soundtrack in June, a tour in July and world domination by October. Count on it.

Listen to "Danger," my favorite Motley Crue song. Get ready for summer. Horns Up.

Here's the full clip of "Saints of Los Angeles" for those having streaming/download issues.

Web Watch Alert...

I wonder what Metal Mutiny is all about? Me thinks it is the new name of Vince Neil's Motley Cruise. Hmmm... time will tell I suppose.

As you were.

Money is Tight, Music is Expensive

I don't care what Ben Bernanke says: America is in a recession. Anyone who works a real job bringing home an average wage can tell you that. Is the economy in trouble? Yes. Are times terrible? No, but they could get worse. Clearly the first things that go during an economic downturn are luxury items like new cars, vacations...and music. I don't just mean the physical purchase of recorded music either. I am talking about fans going to concerts and buying merchandise. When you have to choose between  some groceries or a new Motley Crue shirt, I'm pretty sure you're going to go with milk and eggs. That being said - ticket prices continue to skyrocket to record levels. Yes, I'll be the first to lay down big bucks for an artist I've never seen before, but the show better be damn good. I refuse to pay top dollar for bands I can see every few years. When a diehard fan like me says "enough!" the music industry better realize it needs to brace for bad weather ahead.

The thing is, the recording industry has been in crisis for over a decade now. After the Metallica/Napster debacle, the major labels missed a real chance to investigate ways to make money off electronic music. People inherently know how to steal.  MP3 players and iTunes helped curb some illegal downloading, but I know that as the recession gets worse music theft will rise. All that will do is hurt people like you and me who pay for music.

What else happens when people steal music? Musicians obviously lose money and then rely more on touring to survive. Ticket prices go up for all sorts of reasons: the artists need more money. The venues need more money to pay for events and staffing. Merch prices go up too. It's all a vicious circle.

I wonder if the music instrument industry is suffering? I don't consider instruments a luxury item - more of an educational necessity. Sure, instruments of all kinds are expensive, but learning music is an important part of a child's development. Studying music is just as important for adults.

Many of you know I am taking bass lessons. I like to think things are progressing nicely. Am I good? Not yet. Will I be? Perhaps with time. I know one thing: taking lessons and unlocking some of the mystery surrounding how to actually play a bass is fascinating. I love going to Guitar Center now and looking at the expensive guitars. There are so many different shapes and styles to choose from - with varying price ranges.

Guitar Center just introduced the Slash Les Paul.  From what I gather there are four options, ranging from a signed, custom aged model to an Epiphone signature. The signed one costs 10 thousand bucks - the Epiphone is a thousand. Being of average income, I can't imagine ever dropping 10 thousand on a guitar - but this one does come with a certificate of authenticity signed by Slash himself. I can only imagine what such a quality instrument would sound like...

Back here on planet reality, there are a lot of guitar manufacturers spreading their wings and adding innovative style to traditional instruments. I am a big fan of Daisy Rock. Better known as the guitar company for girls, Daisy Rock makes quality instruments at the right weight and proportions for a woman's body. It doesn't hurt that most are also pink with sparkles. While browsing online I also found a Traben Bootsy in the shape of a star! Two grand is out of my league plus I think it would be hard to play an odd shaped instrument. Still, if you've got the chops I bet you'd look pretty cool on stage.

I always like when Glam musicians play odd shaped instruments. Blackie Lawless and Bobby Dall both play big basses with harsh edges. In fact, Bobby's pointy green bass is his trademark. He's been playing that bass for twenty years now -so I guess instruments in odd shapes isn't a new thing, maybe just more common. Definitely more expensive.

Recently, I've come across quite a few message board posts about ticket prices "back in the day." These musical soothsayers speak of the days gone by when you could catch a concert - featuring a band like Van Halen - for under ten bucks. Tell me: what's the cheapest you ever paid to see an arena band?