Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City

Last night, despite a raging headache and total exhaustion from my first day back to work after vacation, I finished Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story Of Faking It In Hair Metal L.A. by Anne Thomas Soffee (Chicago Review Press 2005).

For some reason I wanted to hate this book. I can't really explain it, but maybe it was an overwhelming sense of jealousy that another girl, very similar to me in so many ways, had the experiences I dreamed of (alcohol abuse notwithstanding).

So, Anne makes her way from her childhood home in Richmond, Virginia to Los Angeles all the while clutching an English degree from the College of William and Mary. Yes, punk rock Anne sticks out like a sore thumb at the college of presidents, but never strays from her ultimate goal of becoming the next Lester Bangs.

Perhaps the best part of the book is the snarky asides and impromptu Q&A sessions Anne has with her readers. Her authorial voice is so clear, it's like listening to a friend recount a wild night of debauchery. Despite my best attempts at hate, I found myself laughing out loud at this book and at Anne and her wild attempts at making it as a rock journalist.

Yes, Anne talked her way backstage. Yes, she wrote for weekly papers without pay. Yes, she took crap jobs as a "publicist" and no, she never single-handedly resurrected CREEM. Anne embarked on her journey at the end of the 1980s, while there were still plenty of "hair gods" on the Sunset Strip, even with the horrors of grunge threatening the never-ending party.

Eventually, our heroine grows disheartened with her lack of writing success and becomes more enamored with drinking and after parties. Anne has a string of wild romances, too wild to be fictional. I can only imagine how she felt. Every day that passes, I grow a little more hurt and a little more frustrated with my stalled writing career. I feel like Anne. She felt she could take the world by storm and change the face of rock journalism. I think I can do the same. Is this logical? Probably not. Dreams never are logical.

As grunge and riots literally changed the landscape of rock L.A., Anne packed up and headed for graduate school. Been there, done that. I need to hunt down Anne Thomas Soffee and compare notes. We really are kindred spirits.

Home Sweet Home

It's Tuesday and I'm finally home and back at work. Eric and I had a nice trip and I'm proud of keeping up this website while on my voyage.

I have a lot of things planned for this week, including a classic album review of Faster Pussycat's Wake Me When It's Over, a book reviews of Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City by Anne Thomas Soffee, my opinion of the SIXX: AM disc, plus I need to write articles and review for both Hairball John and Metal Express Radio.

Today, I plan on easing my way back into work, trying to capitalize on my vacation relaxation. For now, watch this video: Motley Crue "Home Sweet Home."

Almost Like Being There...

I'm going to watch L.A. Guns live (on the Internet!).

This morning, Tracii Guns, Paul Black, Jeremy Guns and Chad Stewart announced that their upcoming performance at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, California will be streamed live. The show is set for August 31st.

Now, here's the catch (there's always a catch): the event is pay-per-view. The company, known as Webcastia, specializes in live concerts and sporting events.

Leatherwolf is also on the bill for the show. Webcastia is charging $11.95 for the privilege of watching.

For more information on Webcastia, go to www.webcastia.com.

Kindred Spirits

Glam fans, if you've been keeping up then you know that I've read both books I purchased for vacation. Last night, I bought another book to read in the airport for my long wait tomorrow. While weeding through the massive Virgin store at Downtown Disney, I decided on Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: A True Story of Faking It In Hair Metal L.A. I wasn't too sure about the book, but I thought it might be at least a little amusing, so I went ahead and plunked down cash for a paperback copy.

Apparently, the book is based around the of aspiring music critic "Soffee." Along the way she falls into the trap of thinking she is in the same league as her subjects and succumbs to alcoholism. According to Booklist she finds her way to sobriety and clarity -- to the point of penning her memoirs. I'll post a review when I'm done.

Eric and I ate dinner at Downtown Disney last night, too. During our meal a DJ keep spinning some records with videos projected on a giant screen. This man must be a kindred spirit because he played a whole lotta glam, including Poison and Def Leppard.

Here's one of those videos: Poison performing "We're An American Band."

The Life and Times of Gene Simmons

At the turn of the millennium shock-rocker, turned movie star, turned mogul Gene Simmons set out to write his autobiography. Though KISS and Make-Up (Three Rivers Press 2001) isn’t a groundbreaking work of literature, it does provide the reader with a better understanding of what makes the demon tick.

The best portion of the book is the beginning. Learning about the poor boy with the given name of Chaim Witz and how he began to form a very pragmatic world view. After Gene’s father left his family, it was just the boy and his mother alone in Israel. While telling of his boyhood, Gene paints a fairly rosy picture of life in poor Israel. While he and his mother were broke and alone, he said they were happy. An overprotective mother, Gene tells some pretty funny stories of the lengths his mother would go to keep her little boy safe.

Assimilation into American life is also a major part of the book. Gene moved to America at a fairly young age, but still had trouble communicating with other children. He couldn’t speak English and he felt like an outcast. This is when he became obsessed with television and comic books -- two forces that would prove instrumental in making KISS an international marketing phenomenon. It was during the assimilation process that Gene Witz became Gene Klein. When it was time to get serious about music, Klein became Simmons – simple as that. KISS and Make-Up has a very matter-of-fact voice, capturing Gene’s true business personality.

Readers must wade through pages of early sexual experiences and exploits before the story of KISS really begins. Finally, Gene introduces his readers to the original members of the band. Gene speaks fondly of Paul Stanley throughout the book and less so of guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss. In fact, Gene’s tone toward Ace is one of general disgust. Both Frehley and Criss had drug problems, which eventually separated the original version of the band. Still, Gene’s tone makes it pretty clear he’s not an easy man to work with, especially when (at the beginning, anyway) KISS was an equal partnership.

So it goes. Gene Simmons recounts his relationships with Cher and Diana Ross, plus countless flings. His authorial voice changes again with the introduction of long-time girlfriend Shannon Tweed. While never married, Simmons and Tweed have been together for more than two decades and have two children together. The demon writing about his children is pretty endearing, if not a little corny. Still, it’s pretty easy to notice priority shifts as the book moves along. Gene also makes the statement that Psycho Circus might be the final KISS record, period. He makes so much money from the KISS brand and his reality show on A&E he doesn’t need to make a new record. Still, die hard fans are clamoring for some music, and Gene guarantees his fans always get their moneys worth.

Somewhere in Music Hell...

The music on cruise ships is really bad.

I mean, bad.

I'm not talking about the hokey Las Vegas style shows. I mean the music that is piped through the corridors, bars, pools...everywhere.

Over the past five days, I've heard more B-52s, Ricky Martin, Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey than I care to remember. I actually own several Mariah Carey albums because I think she has an amazing vocal range, but I can only handle her in small doses.

During the midnight buffet last night (don't judge me!) I finally heard a little rock: Van Hagar and "Dreams." It was over in a flash, and then it was back to boyband hell.

I wonder if the music on the Motley Cruise will be the same Beach Boys flair, or will the crew cater to a harder crowd? I certainly hope so, or I may shake.

Tomorrow, we leave the boat and head for Disney World. That means more bad music but at least there is ice cream in the shape of a mouse head. Ah, small joys.

Everybody (Still) Wants Some

Rock writer Ian Christe broke major ground with his book Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. Now, Christe is back with a shockingly clear view of life behind the iron curtain that is Van Halen. Through Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga (Wiley & Sons 2007), Christe gives his readers a chance to relive the glory days of Sunset Strip glam Metal, while exploring the complex relationships between the brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen.

The book is divided into three sections, appropriate since Van Halen has employed three different frontmen over 30 years of rock. The first section, “Runnin’ With the Devil” chronicles the formative years, and the time with David Lee Roth. The next section, “Top Of the World” chronicles the band’s time with Sammy Hagar and massive album success. The final section “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?” focuses on short-lived singer Gary Cherone, Eddie Van Halen’s ongoing battle with alcoholism, and the band’s uncertain future.

Starting with the history of the Van Halen family, readers learn how music was available at a very young age to Alex and Eddie. Just as gigs with father Jan van Halen were expected at an early age, so were excesses like smoking, drinking and sex. The book chronicles the frustration of Jan and his attempts to become a professional musician, eventually moving his family from Holland to California and Americanizing his surname in the process. Once the van Halen clan, the family was suddenly Van Halen and looking for work as a band of traveling minstrels.

While explaining the early life of the Van Halen brothers; Christe also intertwines the histories of bassist Michael Anthony (originally Sobolewski) and singer David Lee Roth. For both Anthony and Roth, music as a career choice was met with some disdain from their respective families. Only Jan Van Halen gave his sons carte blanche to their future when it came to musical aspirations. One of the most amusing facts in The Van Halen Saga is when Christe recalls that Eddie Van Halen’s mother worried about her son’s future so much she insisted he enroll in computer classes at DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona. He never attended a single class.

Readers gain an understanding and appreciation of the work ethic that the Van Halen brothers, Anthony and Roth all put into making their band the biggest act in the land. Playing nearly every night at any gig available, Van Halen got a great start through word of mouth and a few hundred popular cover tunes. Alex Van Halen ran the business end of things for quite some time while Roth put every ounce of his energy into creating a stage show bigger than any other band on the Sunset Strip. Eddie Van Halen and Michael Anthony practiced their craft and created the music of a generation.

The book takes a painful turn when talking about the initial departure of Diamond David Lee Roth. Recalling the split, Christe shoots down the middle, careful to not take sides in this ongoing turf war. While the Hagar years seemed happy and successful to many on the outside looking in, the Van Halen Saga paints a less-rosy picture. Constant bickering, creative differences and alcoholism eventually tore this version of the band apart. The problems that started with Roth only snowballed with Hagar, pitting the Van Halen brothers against the more docile Hagar and Anthony. While Hagar would fight back, Michael Anthony remained a laid-back diplomat. Eventually, it becomes clear that Alex and Eddie Van Halen were taking Anthony for granted and effectively began to write him out of the band.

Christe recounts with gory details the nasty departure of Sammy Hagar. While Hagar went on to build a tequila empire the Van Halen brothers began bouncing back and forth, looking backward to Roth and forward to a new singer. As Michael Anthony’s role in the band began to constantly diminish, he started performing with Hagar, further incensing the Van Halen brothers.

Throughout the entire history, Christe is exceptionally careful in his word choice. While some would use the words “painful,” “embarrassing” or “disrespectful” to describe the way Eddie and Alex treated David Lee Roth after the Hagar departure, Christe simply recounts the facts and lets readers make their own judgments.

Toward the end of the book, Christe recalls the mistake of hiring Gary Cherone as new lead singer and the recording process of Van Halen III. Here, readers learn that Eddie Van Halen played the bass lines for Michael Anthony, further relegating him to the back of the bus. Christe ends the book with the very embarrassing Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and the surprising absence of David Lee Roth (Anthony and Hagar attended). Only at the very end of the work does Christe inject his opinion, expressing the desire for a reunion tour with David Lee Roth. While we all know the band is planning a massive fall stadium tour, it is without bassist Michael Anthony. Instead, Eddie’s teenage son Wolfgang will fill the role. Like many, Christe sees this as a slap in the face of fans, and an undue pressure on a young boy. Most would vehemently agree.