I Think Steven Tyler Did A Great Job Performing the National Anthem

Steven Tyler performed the National Anthem before yesterday's AFC Championship game featuring the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots. After Steven was done, Twitter went batshit crazy with criticisms and before long, "Steven Tyler" was trending and my timeline was full of lame American Idol jokes. Folks were even saying that Steven doesn't have any vocal abilities at all... and that Aerosmith doesn't deserve their Grammy awards.

Yeah, okay.

I get so sick of negative people and criticisms in general. I swear, it seems like all anyone wants to do anymore is criticize and complain. Here I was excited that a rock singer got the chance to perform the National Anthem at such an important game. Steven was introduced as "lead singer of multi-platinum selling band Aerosmith." NOT as "a judge on American Idol" or even just as "Steven Tyler." Nope. Aerosmith was mentioned for a reason: it's why Steven is famous and the hometown crowd at Foxborough, Mass loves him (and the rest of the band!) So suck it, haters.

Here's the video below if you missed it. I dare anyone on Twitter to do better.

Reckless Love, 'On the Radio' -- New Video

Reckless Love has a new video for the song "On the Radio." Basically, it's awesome: all glam, all the time.

The song is from the album Animal Attraction. There really isn't any excuse for you to not own this record. Click over to Amazon and get a copy.

Heavy Metal Exhibit Coming to Grammy Museum

On April 11, 2012, the Grammy Museum at L.A. LIVE will debut their new exhibit called "Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal." Instead of pointing out the irony or mocking the Grammy awards, I'm going to take the high road and say this is a cool idea.

The exhibit is a collaboration between the Grammy organization and Revolver Magazine. Curators hope to educate visitors on the origins of Metal, including all it's subgenres. (Yes, I would say this means Glam!)

According to the official exhibit website, guests will see instruments, stage props, handwritten lyrics, stage clothes, interviews and more. There will even be a special booth dedicated to the wonders of the metal "scream."

The exhibit runs through February 2013, so you have plenty of time to head to L.A. to check it out. General admission tickets are available through Ticketmaster and hours vary.

Is Queensryche the M3 Headliner?

M3 is May 11 and 12 in Columbia, Maryland. Queensryche is listed as playing on May 12. Does this mean that 'Ryche is the headliner? Perhaps. It's possible they are in the slot right before the headliner, but that's about it. I've seen Queensryche headline lots of festivals, including Rocklahoma and ShipRocked. For that reason, I was hoping for another band, namely Europe.

I already knew the early slots will (likely) be filled with bands I've seen several times, and that is fine. I was just hoping for someone different in the headline slot. As for May 11, I'm assuming Kix gets that headline slot, although you never know I guess.

So, we'll add Queensryche to the bands we already know are playing the festival including Warrant and Quiet Riot.

Here's a cool retro Queensryche clip I found last night. Enjoy.

I Really Dig New Medicine

I was flipping through my XM stations yesterday and landed on Octane. The song that was on was "Laid" by New Medicine. Instead of immediately flipping like I normally would, I paused and found myself enjoying the song and the band! New Medicine remind me of Buckcherry. That means there's some classic Glam vibes mixed in with the new music fun!

New Medicine released the album Race You to the Bottom in 2010. I'd like to see them at Rock on the Range this May. They played the 2010 version of Rocklahoma, but I didn't get to see the band's whole set so I'd like another shot. Check them out.

Bang Tango, 'I Like It' - Song Review

The other day Bang Tango released the video for their song "I Like It" from the album Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt.

The song is really dark and not really what I was expecting, but I think Joe Leste sounds pretty good on this track. The pace makes it an interesting Glam track - there's sort of a mellow groove going on and it is very dark. I think this is good - not every Glam song needs to sound like an over-the-top party anthem. By going dark, Bang Tango shows some depth and I think that's important, even for an established band.

Since Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt just came out in September, I suspect we'll be seeing Bang Tango at M3 this May.

The official video is below. I think the song is much better than the video, but you be the judge.

Black Robot Has a New Singer

Remember Black Robot? It's been awhile since we talked about them. The band is made up of a couple former Buckcherry musicians and I wrote about them a couple years ago for Noisecreep. Now, Black Robot has a new singer and is working on a record for release this year. The band has a definite 80s vibe and in some ways sounds a lot like AC/DC. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a band like Black Robot on the M3 bill.

Here's info on the new singer:

Los Angeles based hard rock band Black Robot welcome new singer Jeremy Aric to the line-up.   Jeremy joins the band after the acrimonious departure of former singer Huck Johns.  “We’re very excited about moving forward with Jeremy.” Brightman states “He’s a powerful vocalist with range and style that reminds me of the great British hard rock/heavy metal singers of the past.  He was able to deliver great performances on the record that will take Black Robot to the next level.”

Black Robot which also features lead guitarist Andy Andersson, has been in the studio finishing their sophomore release set for 2012.  The new album sees the return of Grammy nominated producer Dave Cobb (Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson) and Grammy nominated album mixer Mark Needham (The Killers).  Also returning for an appearance is former Alice Cooper & Queen keyboardist Fred Mandel.  The band posted the first glimpse of the new album on their Facebook and YouTube pages which feature guitarist Andersson and bassist Brightman tracking guitar and bass respectively.  A heavy, Black Sabbath sounding tune Staring at the Sun can be heard.  This is the first sign of new music the band has released since their debut.

Black Robot is a Los Angeles based rock band formed in 2008 by bassist Jonathan “JB” Brightman.  Their debut album was released June 8, 2010 on Formosa Records/Rocket Science Ventures.  It was praised by critics and received a Top 15 Rock Albums of 2010 nod from Apple’s iTunes and the #5 Song of the Year (Baddass) by Classic Rock Magazine.  Brightman is a founding member of the Grammy nominated band Buckcherry, co-writing and performing on their self-titled debut album, as well as their follow-up Time Bomb.  Black Robot is managed exclusively by Ron Rainey and Greg Lewerke for Ron Rainey Management, Inc.  For further information about Black Robot visit www.blackrobotmusic.com.