I was in the car with the Glam husband last night and we were listening to Hair Nation on the satellite as per usual. Well, “32 Pennies” came on and I wasn't paying much attention...
“This is the worst song ever,” says the Glam husband.
My reply was “Huh? Oh, '32 Pennies.'”
From that moment on I've had the damn chorus “Ooo ooo!” going through my head.
Walking around Lowes, “Ooo ooo!” to taking a shower “Ooo ooo!” to cleaning “Ooo ooo!”
I finally had to sit down and just listen to the song a few times to get over it. I disagree with the Glam husband. I certainly don't think “32 Pennies” is the worst song ever. Of course, I'm pretty sure he meant “'32 Pennies' is Warrant's worst song.” And, maybe it is. After all, it's no “Uncle Tom's Cabin.”
Have a Happy Fourth of July, dear readers. “Ooo ooo!”
Have you heard Shinedown's new tune, "Diamond Eyes (boom-lay boom-lay boom)?" I love it. The song was written and recorded for the movie The Expendables due in theaters next month. You can buy the track now through Shinedown's iTunes page. Check out the song:
Here's the theatrical trailer for The Expendables. I know nothing about films as I rarely go to the movies, but I am guessing this will be a summer blockbuster.
The Rock N America festival has announced its full lineup. Rock N America is being held on July 23-25 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma at the Zoo Amphitheatre. Tickets for the event can be pruchased at www.rocknamerica.com. $5 from every Single Day Friday ticket sold will go to benefit Cancer Research in the name of Ronnie James Dio.
Friday's Lineup consists of the following bands in no particular order: Twisted Sister, Great White, Faster Pussycat, Bullet Boys, Trixter, Axe and Toxin. On the Festival Stage see Dirty Penny, The Glitter Boys, Gods of Pain, Bad Things, Pretty Little Suicide and more.
Saturday's Lineup consists of the following bands: Scorpions, Cinderella, Michael Schenker Group, Firehouse, Steelheart, L.A. Guns featuring Tracii Guns, Pretty Boy Floyd, John Corabi and Baton Rouge. Bands on the Festival Stage consists of Better than Ever, Down N Dirty, Dagger, Axeticy, Rising Wind and Gods of Pain.
Sunday's Lineup consists of RATT, Dokken, Lita Ford, Lizzy Borden, Warrant, Slaughter, Lynch Mob, Enuff Z' Nuff, Dirty Penny, Texas Hippie Coalition and Lillian Axe. Bands on the Festival Stage is Bad Things, Pretty Little Suicide, Moto Christ, Star City Meltdown and Better than Ever.
[Set times announced soon. When those are released, I will post an update].
Sometimes, you hear or read stories that just seem a little to absurd to be true. You hear the same tale told time and time again, and it seems as if it is more folklore than fact.
For years, I have read various people online state that "Poison stole their stage show from Kix." To be honest, I never quite believed it, but the story was that Poison used to open for Kix before relocating to Los Angeles, and that when they moved, they essentially incorporated the Kix stage show into their own. It seemed a little bit too much of a stretch for me. I mean, a stage show is a stage show, as far as I was concerned, and I just thought that some bands put more energy into their shows than others. But then something happened last month...I saw Kix live.
I had never seen Kix live before, but they were on the M3 bill, and based upon all the hype I had heard about their live performances, I made sure I was in my seat when they started. I was amazed at what I saw! From the choreographed moves placed perfectly into the songs, to the funky walk that Steve Whiteman does across the stage, to the confetti-filled balloons at the end of the show... I felt like I was watching the "I Want Action" video, but with a different song playing! The resemblance was uncanny and it really made me wonder if the stories I have read over the past few years were just stories... or if there was some fact behind them.
I cannot expressly say this is true, but would it shock anyone to think that the guys in Poison are not 100% creative geniuses? I do give Poison credit, as they are (and were) extremely hard workers and they do put on a great show. Poison made it big and they continue to force some form of relevance in today's changed music scene. That said, I cannot get the recurring thought out of my head, "Did Poison become successful musicians based upon someone else's tried and tested stage show?"
Do any readers know more about this, or have I just been too influenced on random online posts by misinformed people? Help a brother out and leave a comment.
Whitesnake wine is here, people. I guess it's cool now for our Glam heroes to get into the booze business. After all, both Vince Neil and Sammy Hagar have their tequila interests...so why not Whitesnake?
I'm not a wine drinker. Actually, I can't drink wine because I'm so prone to migraines and wine is a known headache trigger. Still, I will probably buy a bottle of the Whitesnake Zinfandel to place on my kitchen counter because I think it's a conversation piece. By the way, the wine is available today here in America. Other parts of the world will have to wait a little longer. Retail is $24.95 a bottle.
Here's hoping Whitesnake is back on the road next year!
I interview a lot of musicians. The interviews are basically routine, consisting of a few questions surrounding a new album, song or tour and maybe something personal if the interview subject is so inclined.
It’s very rare that something either goes completely wrong or totally hilarious. Last night I was talking to drummer Herman Rarebell. He’s got a new album out and I’m going to feature him on Noisecreep. In the middle of the conversation, he casually mentions that Pete Way is sitting on his couch.
As in, Pete Way of Fastway and UFO and a slew of other bands.
Me: "Excuse me, did you just say Pete Way is on your couch?"
Herman: "Oh yeah, you want to talk to him?"
Um...yeah.
So, for five minutes I chatted up Pete Way. He had a bad case of the hiccups and he has a thick accent, so understanding him was interesting to say the least. He mentioned couch surfing despite owning a couple homes, being separated from his wife and working on new music with Rarebell and a chance meeting with Phil Mogg. It turns out Rarebell and Way saw Phil Mogg walking his dog! Neither Rarebell or Way knew Mogg was around so the meeting was completely chance. Of course, the musicians got together. Perhaps something new will come of that...who knows?
The incidence of Way running into Mogg was serendipitous. Me talking to Rarebell and getting hooked in with Way was also serendipitous.
So,this got me thinking: do you have any serendipitous stories as they relate to music? I’d love to hear them and I know you do. Some of you have amazing stories of meeting your music heroes while simply hanging out, going about your own business.
I admit it! I am tired of the "album of cover songs" trend that bands have established over the past few years. Vince Neil's latest Tattoos & Tequila is just the most recent example of this, but off the top of my head, there is also Poison's Poison'd, Def Leppard's Yeah!, (Phil Lewis') L.A. Guns put out both Rips the Covers Off and Covered in Guns, and Stryper and Pretty Boy Floyd have both announced that their next efforts will be albums of cover songs. However, nothing tops the Kiss My Ass album put out by KISS a few years ago (an album that was simply other bands covering KISS classics...an example of KISS getting paid for doing next to nothing). In my opinion, a cover album is nothing more than a band taking a lazy approach to putting out a new product and it is always done under the guise of "paying tribute to the songs and music that influenced their careers."
Let's be honest...an album of covers is a cop out. The most difficult aspect of creating an album is removed from the equation, as there is no 'writing' involved. Now, this becomes a much more stream-lined approach to putting a product out. The bands simply have to walk into the studio and recreate works that others have already made famous. Sure, some artists will make some creative changes to the songs, but ultimately, the framework already exists. I am not against a band putting one or two cover songs on an album. In small doses, I think that it can definitely enhance an album. But, an entire album's worth of songs (or two in the case of L.A. Guns) not written by the band is just not something I am interested in, and I have to believe that overall, most fans agree with me. Sure, you may buy the album when it is released and you may initially think it is 'cool,' but after a month or so, do you really keep listening to it? How many of you listened to the Poison'd album this week? My guess is not many. Really, would you rather hear Grand Funk Railroad sing "We're An American Band" or Poison? To me the answer is clear, and that is most people want to hear songs performed by the bands that wrote them. In this regard, my hat goes off to RATT, who just put out an album of all original songs that were written in the true spirit of the songs that initially made them famous. They could have taken the easy route and recorded some classic rock songs, but instead they put some time and effort in and made an album that their fans will appreciate and enjoy. I will take Stephen Pearcy's goofy lyrics (i.e. "Rock steady/ your lost weekend/ I'm ready for big fun") over another re-recorded version of "Rock n Roll All Nite" any day.
So, what do you think? Are you sick of the cover album cop-out?
Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 12:01AM