Roll the Dice

It's been an interesting ride for original L.A. Guns lead singer Paul Black. Cut from L.A. Guns just before the band landed a recording contract, Paul spent years in and out of courtroom, fighting for his rights. Now, more than 20 years later, Paul is back fronting the band he helped form along with guitarist Tracii Guns. Bring Back Glam! recently chatted with Paul fresh off a major tour stop in Korea. During the chat, Paul talks about his past, the present and the future of L.A. Guns. Transcription follows.

Bring Back Glam!: What was it like, playing in Korea?

Paul Black: It was amazing! The first night we played in Seoul, and it was kind of weird. There was no one in the club – I think it holds 500 people – and, about five minutes before were supposed to go, it was half full, and everyone was sitting Indian style on the floor. By the time we hit the stage, the club was completely packed. It was weird; it seems like everyone waited to the last minute. I guess everyone is really punctual over there. If you go on at 8:30, then everyone shows up at 8:30 to watch you play. The next day we played in Busan (Beach), and when we did sound check it was pouring down rain, and we thought it was really going to hurt the crowd. We went back to the hotel, came back later that night, and when we went on stage, it was a sea of people. I think this was the biggest crowd I’ve ever played to.

BBG: How many people do you think were in the crowd?

Paul: At least 30,000.

BBG: You think Busan Beach was bigger than Rocklahoma?

Paul: Yeah, it was definitely bigger than Rocklahoma. (Editor’s note: 100,000 people attended the four day Rocklahoma music festival last month in Pryor, Oklahoma. Concert organizers estimate at least 30,000 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.) The crowd was completely nuts. When we would play, everyone’s arms would go up in the air at once. Everyone would be jumping up and the down. The whole entire crowd would bounce up and down. When we did ballads, the arms would wave back and forth. They really got into it.  L.A. Guns had never been to Korea before. The reception was really great in Korea. They want us back...We’re trying to take a break, but we keep getting sent back out on the road. We’ve been working a lot this year. We’ve just been all around the world. We’re trying to get a small window of time where we can work on a record. Tracii (Guns, founding guitarist) just presented me with nine songs to work on. Guitar riffs, arrangements that he recorded. I’ve got them on my computer, and I’m listening to them constantly, writing lyrics and melodies for them. Hopefully, we’ll find a break where we can rehearse, record some new songs and put a record out.

BBG: Will you have the new record out by 2008?

Paul: Yes. We’ll be working on it by 2008.

BBG: What do some of the new songs sound like?

Paul: Some songs remind me of Alice Cooper. Some songs remind me of Def Leppard. Some songs remind me of Aerosmith. We’ll have to see what the overall thing looks like after the lyrics and melodies are all picked out. After we get into the rehearsal mode, we’ll get the whole band’s input. It could go any direction. Right now, the songs sound really good. It’s going to be a great album.

BBG: The last L.A. Guns album was released on Black City Records. Is that your label?

Paul: Yes, it’s my label that I started to get the songs out. Sun Down and Yellow Moon is the album that I did with Jo "Dog" Almeida of Dogs D’Amour (released under the band name Jo Dog and Paul Black’s Sonic Boom). It’s a bunch of songs we did, kind of in the vein of Rolling Stones, Tom Waite. Very blues rock. My publishing company has always been Black City Music, and we just made it (Sun Down and Yellow Moon) ourselves and it got some really good reviews. Later, Tracii and I talked about putting out all the old demos from when I was in L.A. Guns. Originally we were going to do it with Cleopatra Records, but the offer wasn’t good enough. A bunch of other labels were interested, but they were dragging their feet and taking a long time to get it out, so finally I got frustrated, and I put it out on Black City. I got a lot of good reviews, and good press and it helped sparked an interest in this (L.A. Guns) band. A lot of people didn’t know about me, or Robert Stoddard (rhythm guitar) or Nickey Alexander (drums). Right about the time we took L.A. Guns to the record label, Robert left the band, and then we were down to a four piece. Then I left the band, and was replaced by Phil Lewis. Shortly after the record was recorded, Nickey Alexander was replaced by Steve Riley. The original band was completely replaced by the time the first record was done. They re-did the bios, and made it sound like the band started in 1988 and kind of wrote everyone out of history. When the Black List record came out, it let everyone know about the original band.

BBG: Why did you leave L.A. Guns when you were about to sign a record deal?

Paul: I was the main songwriter, along with Tracii, and I started the band but right about the time we were about to get signed –Guns n’ Roses had just gotten signed – and we all kind of continued to be the bad boys of rock n’ roll. We did a lot of partying, me and Izzy (Stradlin, Guns n’ Roses rhythm guitarist) we’re doing a lot of heroin together. Right before we were getting ready to be signed to Polygram; me and Izzy had gotten busted copping dope. We spent some time in jail. Really, just overnight in jail but we were facing charges and that sparked a lot of rumors that Guns n’ Roses would lose their deal with Geffen over the drug and heroin use. It was very apparent that I was very strung out on drugs and partying a little too much, and it scared our label. Basically our management, a guy named Alan Jones, was friends with Phil Lewis. Alan said that L.A. Guns could have record deal, but "you need to let us put our singer in there." So our management bought a ticket for Phil Lewis to fly over (from England) so he could replace me. Tracii always said that he felt really bad that he didn’t stick up for me, and I guess he felt Phil was filling the job good enough. That happened 20 years ago and its all water under the bridge now. Tracii and I have buried the hatchet and become friends again. It caused a lot of bitterness, because not only was I replaced, but they also used my songs for the first two records, which were really successful. Phil Lewis got the credit for my songs. To this day, he’s still taking credit for my songs. I sued them and got my credit back, but the lawsuit dragged out for three years and I couldn’t sign my new band when I was in a lawsuit with a major label, and it caused bad feelings all around. I think it probably held L.A. Guns back a little too. We don’t know what the future holds for L.A. Guns and this lineup, but we have a tight unit right now. Tracii’s son (Jeremy) is doing a great job on bass. He’s 24 years old. Full of energy, looks great, he’s just like we were back in the day.

BBG: How did you kick your drug habit?

Paul: Right after L.A. Guns, I went through some stuff: losing my band, losing a record deal. Some things happened, and I got arrested. I got sick and wore out and I realized I had to do something. It was within about six month of being out of L.A. Guns I went into rehab, and I managed to stay clean for about a five year period. I was sober pretty much the entire time I had Black Cherry together. The band was really strong, but I ran into political battles because I was suing Polygram Records and my former band. I had a lot of major labels contacting me directly because Black Cherry was selling out clubs and they wanted to sign the band. The labels liked the demos, liked the songs. No one wanted to get involved with Black Cherry while I was suing a major label. The lawsuit took three years. Black Cherry was at a club level, but I couldn’t get past that point because I couldn’t get a record done with them. The band fell apart and I settled the lawsuit in 1990. That’s when labels started calling again. While I was trying to put the band back together, it was a time when grunge was coming in, and glam Metal bands were not getting signed anymore. I think I forgot why I was staying sober, so I started drinking again. I went through a two year period where I didn’t do anything but drink and toward the end I was strung out on drugs again. That was in 1995. There was only one thing left to do: if I wanted to live and have a happy life, I had to get off drugs. So I went into rehab again on April 17, 1995. I quit drugs completely and I haven’t had a drink, done drugs or smoked a cigarette since 1995.

BBG: You say Phil Lewis gets the credit for songs you wrote. What are those songs?

Paul: The very first single from the first record, a song called “Sex Action.” Polygram Records was coming to our shows, and were not committed to signing us. They were looking for a single. I wrote the song “Love and Hate” before L.A. Guns and later Mick (Cripps, former L.A. Guns bassist) rejected it (Editor's Note: an A&R rep for Polygram liked the song and it helped pave the way for a record deal). After I left the band, I think they brought in an outside songwriter, or they gave Phil Lewis permission to mess with my songs, and the lyrics got rewritten and the song became “Sex Action.” The music is the same and the guitar riffs are the same. I wrote all the music. They revamped the lyrics. Other than that, “One More Reason to Die” I wrote. “Show No Mercy” was one I wrote with the band. “One Way Ticket to Love” is a ballad I wrote with Tracii. “Never Enough” was originally a song called “Looking Over My Shoulder.” These songs are all in their original form on our Black List record. When the band got signed to Polygram and they hired a different singer, they (label management) confiscated all the demos and wouldn’t allow them to be released for all these years. We just did it anyway. Me, Nickey and Tracii kind of went through all our cassettes to find the best versions, took them to the studio to have them restored, and that’s what got released on the Black List record.

BBG: So, what’s the deal with the L.A.Guns name?

Paul: The L.A. Guns name is owned by all of us (original members). The guy who actually owned and trademarked the name was a guy named Razz. He was friend of Tracii’s from high school. He had a bunch of money because he was in an accident and in a wheelchair. He actually talked us into using the name L.A. Guns. Originally, we were going to use the name Faster Pussycat. We dropped that name because Razz asked us to use his name. He actually had van that said “L.A. Guns” on the side. We had backdrops and leftover promotional materials from Tracii’s old band that he left a year prior so he could form Guns n’ Roses. Razz wanted to keep the name L.A. Guns. Later, Razz got busy doing other things, so he gave me the paperwork for the name. When I did the settlement agreement with the band and Polygram, I didn’t release my rights to use the name L.A. Guns. All I did was give them permission to go ahead and use the name. When I put the Black List record out I still called it L.A. Guns. Well, “Paul Black’s L.A. Guns” so people would know that this was the original version of the band. Steve Riley and Phil Lewis feel like they’ve put so much of their time into L.A. Guns, they feel like they have a right to use the name as well. I don’t blame them. When you put so much of your life into something, you feel like you have a certain claim to it. Legally, the only people that have a claim to the name are me, Tracii, Mick (Cripps) and Nickey (Alexander). In my opinion, Tracii is the one that’s kept it going all these years. I don’t really participate in the drama…I’m more concerned with playing rock n’ roll and I try to ignore petty attacks.

BBG: So you don’t feel any animosity toward Phil Lewis?

Paul: Well, yeah, he’s said a lot of really crappy things about me. He’s been lying a lot. He’s still taking credit for my work. As a matter of fact, I’ve been giving him the benefit of the doubt. Like maybe he just didn’t know that they were my songs. Now I realize that’s not true. To this day, he’s trying to convince people he wrote those songs. I deserve that credit, and I should have gotten credit for my work. To my face he’ll be nice but since I rejoined the band, he’s been fully attacking me, kind of putting me down, and criticizing my voice and everything else. I don’t feel any need to retaliate. I think it’s real immature and I don’t think it’s a good thing to do. Out of respect for the name L.A. Guns, it’s really wrong for Phil Lewis to be putting down the original members of the band. He’s putting down the people that started the foundation for him. It doesn’t make any sense. I think he’s alienating a lot of L.A. Guns fans… and I don’t feel any need to retaliate.

www.lagunslive.com
www.myspace.com/paulmarsblack

The Best of Queensryche

Queensryche knocked my socks off at Rocklahoma. The Seattle band is proving they are back for the attack. Earlier this summer, they released Mindcrime at the Moore which is a live recording of the theatrical production of both Mindcrime and Operation Mindcrime II. Later this month the band will release Sign of the Times - The Best Of Queensryche (Deluxe Edition). Both summer releases are available on Capitol Records.

The greatest hits package is comprised of 17 of the band’s best known tracks. There is a special deluxe collector’s edition which features 15 rare and previously unreleased tracks. The special edition disc also features television performance audio and a brand new song.

The track listing looks like this:

Queen of the Reich
Warning
Walk in the Shadows
Take Hold of the Flame
The Lady Wore Black
I Don’t Believe in Love
Eyes of a Stranger
Silent Lucidity
Bridge
Jet City Woman
Another Rainy Night
Sign of the Times
I Am I
Real World
Some People Fly
Until There Was You
All The Promises

A quick glance at the track list gives you an idea of the quality of this disc. No, Queensryche isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but they were smart enough to put all their “hits” in one easy to digest package. Still, there is at least one glaring exception: “Empire” isn’t on the greatest hits disc. It’s possible this song is included on the collector’s edition disc, but my advance copy only included the hits package, so I’m not sure. I think it is ironic “Empire” isn’t included here. After all, it’s the title track from Queensryche’s most successful release.

Geoff Tate’s voice sounds just fantastic on Sign of the Times. For my ear, it seems that many of the tracks are remastered. The entire CD provides the listener with a phenomenal sonic experience. This disc reminds me why I love “Eyes of a Stranger,” “Jet City Woman” and “Another Rainy Night.”

You can pre-order the collector’s edition (packaged in a double-disc digipack) via www.amazon.com for less than 25 bucks. The CD hits store shelves on August 28, 2007.

Here's the video from "Silent Lucidity" originally released on the Empire album.

(She's) Malaria

Time for an update on my mission to get an interview with Paul Mars Black of L.A. Guns.

I sent dear Paul a Myspace message, but received no response. This didn't phase me and I went about my business. Earlier today, I emailed L.A. Guns management. Also, no response.

Tomorrow is a new day and I'll work on more connections in my "downtime" at work. The glam mistress will not fail!

In the meantime, watch this video: L.A. Guns "Malaria." Yes, I know it features Phil Lewis on lead vocals and not Paul Black, but that's not my fault. Plus, "Malaria" may be one of the BEST glam songs ever recorded. I can listen to it on repeat for hours.

No lie.

Update on Monday, August 6, 2007 at 10:46PM by Allyson B. Crawford

Ok, so I might be a little nuts. Or a lot crazy. Life is bizarre, because as I was typing this note, Paul Black was typing ME a message, agreeing to the interview. Success!

That is all.

Fear Thy Name

In the past I've written about great glam band names (see "What's in a Name?"). In general, I think glam Metal bands have some of the best names in rock. Just consider Faster Pussycat, Motley Crue and Hanoi Rocks.

With the good comes the bad, and it seems alternative or emo bands have some of the worst names in rock.

While doing a little research for this post, I came across a website with a list of horrible band names. You may view that list at www.sam.hochberg.com/bandname.html.

I thought my friend Bob_Vinyl of Rock and Roll Meandering Nonsense found the worst band name of all time with the "Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start."

I was wrong.

On the list I mentioned above, some of the bad band names are "Baby Shit Brown," "Big Fat Pet Clams from Outerspace," "Crappy the Clown and the Punch Drunk Monkeys," and "Go Nad Go."

My favorite bad name on the entire list is (drum roll, please) "Gee That's a Large Beetle I Wonder If It's Poisonous."

I don't think my beetle band (not your mother's Beatles!) have a Myspace page. I would totally put them in my top friends list.

Do you have a favorite bad band name?

In the meantime, here's a video from Twisted Sister. They knew how to pick a great name!

One More Reason

It's nice and overcast here in Ohio and the thunder is rolling, and that means nap potential is at a premium. I slept in longer than normal today, but I've been flat exhausted and I never catch much rest during the week.

I have big plans to clean my house today and Eric will continue to work on our (never-ending!) basement renovation. The renovation is getting close...the paint is on the walls, but the carpet needs ordered. Speaking of paint, I selected some bold colors, as the theme of the basement is a glam nightclub. Accent walls are Poison green, with the other walls a lighter shade of lime. The bathroom is deep purple (get it?) with the green accents, and the bar is also Poison green. We have big support beams and those are black. When I picked the colors at the store, Eric balked but it looks awesome. I know you probably don't believe me. Trust me, it works.

I have a lot coming up this week, including more interviews. One from the lead singer of Hericane Alice and another from a band manager and rock journalist who has some crazy stories!

I've decided it is now my personal mission to land an interview with Paul Black of L.A. Guns. As most of you know, there are two versions of the band, and Black fronts the version with Tracii Guns on guitar. This version also played Rocklahoma.

I'll admit I like both versions of the band, but I think Tracii = L.A. Guns. Plus, I might be a little in love with Paul Black. I was too busy covering Rocklahoma for this website and the Hairball John Radio Show to even catch a few seconds of L.A. Guns during Rocklahoma. My husband watched the entire set and he loved them. He's been to their Myspace a few times, looking for tour dates near Ohio. Sadly, there are none. So now, I want to talk to Paul Black. I want to ask him what it's like, constantly being compared to Phil Lewis. It's not like Tracii found Paul along the side of the road. Nope, Paul recorded demos for the band and helped them land a deal with Vertigo Records. Today, I will begin working on that interview quest. For some reason, I'm terrified of contacting anyone in the L.A. Guns camp. Probably because things have been so nasty between the two bands for so long. Wish me luck, dear readers. I don't want to end up on some glam blacklist.

Watch this video: L.A. Guns with Gilby Clarke performing "You Can't Always Get What You Want"

www.myspace.com/losangelesguns

Untamed Spirit

Back in the late 1980s, Blue Tiger made a name for themselves touring the eastern seaboard. They opened for national acts and were offered recording contracts. Then the bottom fell out of the music industry, and Blue Tiger disbanded. Almost two decades later, the power of the Internet has helped Blue Tiger land a record deal. Bring Back Glam! recently spoke with Blue Tiger guitarist Vince Ciampi about the band's new CD Untamed Spirit and the glam hey-day of the 1980s. Transcription follows.

Bring Back Glam! Blue Tiger has a new album named Untamed Spirit due any second.

Vince Ciampi: Any day now!

BBG: Why a new Blue Tiger album now?

Vince: This is what happened. From 1987 to 1991, Blue Tiger backed up Warrant, Kix and Extreme (before they toured with Aerosmith). We headlined every club in New England from Boston, Massachusetts to New York to Rhode Island, Connecticut, everywhere. We were pretty big. Pretty popular. Great White was trying to get us a record deal through Capitol Records. It was a very bad deal. They wanted to own all our songs! We should have turned them down in a very abrupt manner, but we were coy about and we thanked Great White for all their help. Atlantic Records almost immediately jumped on our bandwagon…but we were recording so much and playing with Warrant and stuff that we never followed through. Then 1991, and we all know what happened in ’91 with the death of Metal as we know it, so it was the death of Blue Tiger too. That was the beginning. Then fast forward to November of last year. Someone decides they want to build a tribute website to Blue Tiger (a Myspace tribute). Then they invite all of us. Next thing you know, we were putting up music. I had thousands of pictures from live shows to put up. Then people started getting interested in us. Next thing, I know friends of ours, MASS, were re-issuing their album New Birth on Retrospect Records. The owner of Retrospect went to the MASS website and he saw Blue Tiger there. He visited the website, and liked the music. Sam McKinney of Retrospect contacted us and asked how many songs we had recorded and ready to go. We had 14. So, Retrospect Records offered us a worldwide record deal to distribute our new CD.

BBG: Why do you think there’s a burgeoning interest in 80s glam rock these days?

Vince: That’s easy. Let’s face it, the 90s were depressing. When you haven’t had any party rock in a long time…people want fun. People of our generation…anyone between the ages of 35 and 50 miss what they had. They had a good time. The younger generation like listening to this music, and enjoying it. They like people having a good time.

BBG: Who are some of your influences?

Vince: The Babys big time. I saw them when I was a little kid and I knew I wanted to be a musician. One of my biggest influences, for real, is like Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow and Alice Cooper for his stage show. All of us come from different influences. If you would ask Sean ( Ciasiera, bassist) his influences are Iron Maiden and stuff like that. If you ask Arthur (Dauwer, vocalist) his influences are punk rock. Pat (Moynihan, original bassist) was more into “glam glam.”

BBG: You are working on new music now. What’s the sound like?

Vince: It’s all based on the past. The 80s sound. Even the record company even said we’re glamish, but we have an individual sound. It’s something that seems like it could be toward today’s music. It’s not really a throwback. It’s just Blue Tiger.

BBG: Are you planning a little tour to support your album?

Vince: Actually, we’ve been invited to tour Italy, Germany, England, Las Vegas…tours except New England. No one offers us to tour our hometown! A tour is secondary to finishing another CD…we want to go back in the studio and finish that first. We also have an animated video where a Hanna Barbera artist and a few other Internet celebrity artists are actually working on a full animation that is supposed to be something like a cross between Cool World and Scooby-Doo and that would be a video for our first song “Stop Playing Games.” It’s supposed to be done soon. We’re going to submit to VH1...and see if they play it on any of their We Are the 80s shows. We’ll see what happens. If the album gets out there, it gets out there. If all those beautiful Metal friends and fans appreciate it and like it…that’s even better.

Listen to Blue Tiger at www.myspace.com/bluetiger1

Rock Me!

It's finally Friday, glam fans. This has been a very long week for a myriad of reasons. So many bad things have happened...from funerals to nasty comments on this website, that I decided what I - what WE - needed was a video of a phenomenal live performance by an awesome glam band.

So far this week, I've been accused of not being a music fan and not knowing anything about glam. That's fine, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Still I beg to differ, and will point to the 40 plus hours each week I spend writing about new (and old) glam bands.

While I was at the Rocklahoma music festival, I was exceptionally lucky to meet the members of Great White. Even more exciting than our meeting was their electric performance on stage. Jack Russell's voice still amazes me, even after all these years.

Late last night I was clicking around YouTube. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I came across a clip of Great White performing live back in 1988. It's an extended version of "Rock Me" and Russell's voice is just as clean as a recording. Watch for yourself. Let me know what you think.