Did you party on Shiprocked 2010? I did (as if you didn't know!) The Captain has just released a video providing a darn good recap of what happened on those three crazy days. The video moves fast - a true whirlwind - just like the cruise itself.
Watch the video below and go ahead and pre-book your cabin for this year. Shiprocked 2011 set sails in November.
(Can you find me? Here's a hint: I'm in briefly at the 17 second mark!)
The dates are listed as May 13, 14 (Friday/Saturday) and the bands listed are Warrant, LA Guns (Phil's version), Faster Pussycat, and Pretty Boy Floyd.
This gels with what I've already heard about the fest. I've got to be honest: I'm hoping for some different bands that haven't played M3 fest before. This will be the third year for M3 and the first that it is apparently slated for two days. Since bands and dates are popping up on Pollstar, I'm thinking an official announcement is imminent.
I guess one of the things on my to-do list today is to go ahead and block vacation time for early May.
Music makes the problems of the world a little easier to digest. Through all the crap that life throws at us, metal - especially Glam metal - has just hung on and remained popular to those that hold the genre dear.
Why is that? What is it about the music we love that makes it so transcendental to other forms of music? Why do the musicians that create these songs keep fighting like scrappy little alley cats?
To that scrappy end, I've discovered a new band for us to love. They are called King Lizard and they are all Glam! Think our new friends Reckless Love and you've got it. King Lizard just released an album called Viva La Decadence(Psycho DeVito). I swear, singer Flash Roxx Sawyer sounds like vintage Vince Neil. (And then there's the Shout era clothing in the video too...) The London rockers created a video for the lead single "Viva Le Decadence." The guitars on this official debut rock (the band self-released an EP in 2007). Chris Tsangarides (Anvil, Judas Priest, Y&T) produced Viva Le Decadence.
Here's the song list:
01. Viva La Decadence 02. Rain On You 03. Rock N' Roll Me 04. Hell Yeah 05. Video Lover 06. Kan't Kill Rock N' Roll 07. Never Be Mine 08. Not For Me 09. Riot 10. Taste The Hate 11. Outrageous 12. Late Nite Dynamite
I could write up a big flowery review but there's no point. Just buy the album. Trust me. You can get it on Amazon.
Want to be on television? Have a cover band? I received the press release below a few hours ago. I guess this means we'll be hearing some good Glam metal on T.V. soon. Or, at least, I hope.
JANUARY 11, 2011 - TriStar Entertainment is conducting an open casting call and looking for twelve enthusiastic cover and tribute bands for a Tribute/Cover Band reality television show. We are scouring the globe in search of the best cover and tribute bands dedicated to the 80's rock/metal scene. To be considered, please email a press kit that includes a bio, band photo, along with links to music and videos.
In addition to bands, we are also casting for three hosts, male and female. We are looking for someone who isn’t shy on camera and can talk about all things 80’s. Please send a bio, photos, videos, portfolio to the email below for consideration.
Dave is the "new" guitarist in Tesla, replacing Tommy Skeoch. I interviewed Dave on Friday night and you'll be reading that soon on Noisecreep. He's a really nice, funny guy and so excited about his band and the new music they continue to release.
The Dave Rude Band is a trio and right now the members are working on new music and releasing a song at a time for free by joining the website email list. Since you all like new music, I thought I'd share. (Dave wants to release the new songs as an album eventually).
If you like what you hear on the video below, you can buy the albums Carry Me Home (2009) or Dave Rude Band (2007) via iTunes.
Everyone and their cousin knows "Don't Stop Believin.'" Journey released the song in 1981 and it is on the album Escape.
I heard the song at least three separate times while I was out and about over the weekend. It dawned on me while eating at O'Charleys (the best rolls ever?) that "Don't Stop Believin'" is probably the world's most perfect rock song.
Not much in life is perfect. But there are pockets of perfection and "Don't Stop Believin'" is one of them. The song features an actual appropriate use of keyboards, there's an awesome chorus, meaningful guitar work - and a theme that touches all listeners. After all, who hasn't felt like a character in "Don't Stop Believin'" at one point or another? (In case you're wondering, I am, of course, the small town girl living in a lonely world).
Perhaps most important is that in "Don't Stop Believin,'"Journey created an approachable rock anthem, right at the dawn of the 80s. Journey is not a Glam band - make no mistake I am not arguing that they are - but they are arena rock and songs like "Don't Stop Believin'" helped make it easier for our Glam faves to hit high positions on the Billboard charts later during the decade of decadence.
I suppose "Don't Stop Believin'" haunts Journey to a degree. While the song made them rich and famous it also created an impossible standard for song writing excellence. "Don't Stop Believin'" is Journey's "November Rain" or "Dream On." You usually only get one of those songs in a career but if you do it right, the song lasts for all time.
And "Don't Stop Believin'" does last. It seems that the tune has gone through some sort of renaissance over the past few years. It was a big finale tune for American Idol when Adam Lambert and Kris Allen battled for the crown. Glee, a popular TV show, recorded the song and therefore introduced the tune to a whole new generation that had possibly never even heard of Journey. The song is, of course, a karaoke staple.
I thought for a long time and I couldn't find an 80s rock song more iconic than "Don't Stop Believin.'" Do you agree?
Phil Kennemore, bassist for Y&T, died Friday from lung cancer. He was 57.
Y&T was is one of those underrated rock acts. Sort of Glam, sort of not, they gained fans from both the straight rock and Glam worlds. The California band formed in 1972 but got hot during the 80s when metal ruled.
After Phil's death, Y&T singer Dave Meniketti issue a statement online:
"As a musician, with those huge fingers, his bass playing was always loud, strong, and deep, filling the largest or smallest of stages equally. I will miss his sense of humor, his amazing wit, but most of all I will always miss not seeing him to my left on the stages I will play from this moment forward."
I saw Y&T live twice: once at Rocklahoma and once at M3. Admittedly I'm not a Y&T die hard but I was immediately sucked in by the excitement when I saw them perform for the first time.
Saturday, January 15, 2011 at 12:01AM 
Did you party on Shiprocked 2010? I did (as if you didn't know!) The Captain has just released a video providing a darn good recap of what happened on those three crazy days. The video moves fast - a true whirlwind - just like the cruise itself.
