Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:01AM Steel Panther recently covered "I Want It That Way" from the Backstreet Boys. You can buy it on iTunes now or just check out the entire track here. I don't have much to say about it except I think it's funny and pretty much rocks.
Since it's a new single, Steel Panther has been playing the song live quite frequently. Here's a live clip.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 12:01AM 
It’s time to resume my account of Rock n’ America. The memories might be hazy. I ended up with a sinus infection. I’m pretty sure my Ohio sinus system doesn’t agree with Oklahoma red dirt. Anyway…
Saturday featured the Scorpions, Cinderella, Michael Schenker Group, Firehouse, Steelheart, LA Guns, Pretty Boy Floyd, John Corabi and Motochrist. This was, clearly, the strongest day of the festival and I’m guessing between 6500-8000 people turned out for the fun.
I arrived early with my group and we saw every band from every angle. My main reason for trekking to Oklahoma again in July was Michael Schenker and he didn’t disappoint. His solo set was cool – he did stuff from throughout his career, including “Armed and Ready,” “Lights Out” and “Doctor Doctor.” I loved seeing Michael play his legendary Flying-V. He didn’t say much – actually I don’t recall if he ever uttered a word – but he’s a legend and he can do what he wants. A lot of people moved down closer for MSG because it’s so rare to see him play in America. His set was a highlight for me. Carmine Appice played drums for him and Herman Rarebell popped out on stage for awhile too. Oh, and Herman was staying at my hotel and that was a funny encounter too. But that’s another story for another day…
Schenker rocked it later too when the Scorpions played. He came out with the band and did “Another Piece of Meat.” The Scorpions were better at Rock n’ America than M3. While singer Klaus Meine was still a little sick, he sounded better. Still, the band looked tired…but man, when Michael came out and all those guitars were on stage at one time – that was special. Herman came out at a different point with the Scorps too and Carmine played a little cow bell. Fun times. I like the videos for the Scorpions stage. James Kottak’s drum solo videos sort of scare me, but I guess that’s entertainment.
Cinderella changed their set opener for Rock n’ America and opened with “Somebody Save Me.” They usually open with “Push, Push” but moved that to the second song. Tom Keifer sounded great so it does seem like his voice is holding steady. There was a lot of dancing during Cinderella’s set which is always fun to watch.
But who was my favorite of the entire weekend? John Corabi. Yep, a side stage act beat ‘em all in my book. John sounded amazing – his backing band is rocking, too. Seems like he had a lot of last minute band changes, but no matter – drummer Troy Patrick Farrell did a good job and it was fun. “Uncle Jack” and “Hooligans Holiday” were awesome and I was sad when the set was over. John deserved more time. He doesn’t get to play much and he’s very underrated.
Sunday featured RATT, Dokken, Lita Ford, Slaughter, Warrant, Lynch Mob, Gilby Clarke, Lillian Axe, Texas Hippie Coalition and Dirty Penny.
Like Saturday, my group and I were in place for every band. It started raining right when it was time for Warrant. This meant Kari and I wore ponchos and headed down close to watch Robert Mason sing. The set was good because Robert’s voice is amazing but it wasn’t all that different from M3. I wonder what would happen if Warrant ever dropped “Cherry Pie” from the set? I should thank Warrant. When they did “I Saw Red” I was reminded to put on sunblock. True story.
So Vince Neil showed up with Slaughter and did some gang vocals on “Up All Night.” Poor Mark Slaughter. I love Slaughter’s music – I really do. But Mark’s voice is rough these days. “Fly to the Angels” is one of my favorite songs but it’s got a lot of high notes and it just wasn’t happening. The band did drop the tuning, but that didn’t even help. People were eating it up though and Mark crowd surfed so no one seemed to care much. Odd sound issues didn’t help, either. There was a lot of feedback during Slaughter’s set. I know this because my left ear is currently aching like no one’s business and the feedback was killing me.
Lillian Axe only got 25 minutes and they sounded good. They sort of played an odd mix of songs like “Jesus Wept” and I’m not sure the crowd knew what to make of them. Guitarist Steve Blaze is a nice guy and he was very happy to play. He stuck around and watched the rest of the bands on the bill.
I’m pretty sure it was around this time that it started raining good and hard and then some lovely lightning moved in. It poured buckets during Gilby Clarke and therefore I have no recollection of what he played. It rained a lot during Lita Ford too. I didn’t pay much attention to that set either but I know she was having keyboard issues. She did do Sammy Hagar’s “One Way to Rock” and “Close My Eyes Forever.” She closed with “Kiss Me Deadly.”
So the big hope was that George Lynch would play a song with Dokken. It didn’t happen. Dokken did "Dream Warriors,” "Into The Fire," "Alone Again" and more. Don Dokken is sort of in Mark Slaughter’s club these days – “Dream Warriors” wasn’t in the original tuning, but he admitted he has trouble singing it, so there you go. The crowd helped him along and there were a ton of Dokken shirts in the crowd. Even rhinestone Dokken shirts which I’ve never seen before. I tend to gravitate toward anything with rhinestones.
I was surprised RATT moved “Round and Round” up in the set and closed off with “Eat Me Up Alive” and “Walkin’ the Dog.” I thought that was a nice change. They did my favorite “I Want a Woman” and “Best of Me.” Stephen Pearcy’s daughter was celebrating a birthday so he brought her out on stage. Toward the end of the set Warren DeMartini fell. It was so fast, I missed it but I did see him switch out his guitar.
I’d say attendance on Sunday was right around 3000-5000, sort of in line with Friday’s numbers. Of course, those are my guesses so there you go.
Here’s a Spinal Tap moment. Remember in the Day 1 review when I said the walk from the parking lot to the venue was brutal? So on Sunday my group of rock warriors decided to try the shuttle. It was a giant limo. You know, the SUV kind. Anyway, we left our cars in the lot, climbed in this SUV…and went around the block. I’m not kidding. So, the shuttle took people 50 yards (give or take). Everyone just sort of looked at each other. All in all, I had a great time except for the heat and the sinus infection. I loved seeing old friends and meeting new ones and hanging out in the Shiprocked tent. We went to the after party on Saturday night when Dirty Penny played and that was entertaining – lots of people watching and musicians trying to pick up women. That’s all I better say about that!
I heard the promoters want to do it again next year. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 02:44PM New York, NY - Welsh rock sensations Bullet For My Valentine return to North America in September. In support of their latest album Fever, the four-man band will kick-off a 32-date tour on September 16 in Wichita, KS at The Cotillion. Escape the Fate, Black Tide and Drive A will open all shows.
Their third major label release, Fever, debuted at No. 1 on the Rock, Alternative and iTunes Rock charts and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart and marking Bullet For My Valentine’s highest American debut to date. Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Good Charlotte) produced Fever at studios in Los Angeles and Wales.
“USA Today called Fever “The hot-zone of 2010 rock-metal discs,” The Associated Press praised the album’s “blistering drum attack, tight power chords and…old school-styled, soaring guitar solos” and the BBC trumpeted that “BFMV are aiming for world domination, and with Fever they may well achieve it.”
The first single and video from Fever, “Your Betrayal” hit the Top five at Active Rock radio and was featured on Fuse’s Rock Countdown show.
A special presale will start this Tuesday, July 27th - July 29th, and fans can log onto to www.bulletformyvalentine.com - to obtain the special code needed for the presale. General on-line sales begin July 30th.
Since BFMV emerged from Bridgend, Wales in 2005 with their first album The Poison, Bullet For My Valentine have spread their music through near-constant touring, including 2009’s Mayhem Festival in the States. The band spent most of the summer of 2010 playing European festivals and before they hit the U.S. in September they’ll head off to Australia for a national tour. Bullet For My Valentine are comprised of Matt Tuck (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Padge (lead guitar), Jason James (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Michael Thomas (drums).
Sep. 16 - Wichita, KS - The Cotillion
Sep. 17 - Oklahoma City, OK - Diamond Ballroom
Sep. 18 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
Sep. 19 - Austin, TX - Stubbs
Sep. 21 - Tampa, FL - The Ritz Ybor
Sep. 23 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues
Sep. 24 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore
Sep. 25 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Sep. 26 - Norfolk, VA - The Norva
Sep. 28 - Scranton, PA - Cultural Center
Sep. 30 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
Oct. 01 - New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
Oct. 02 - Albany, NY - Armory
Oct. 03 - Atlanta, GA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (WKLS radio show)
Oct. 05 - Providence RI - Lupo's
Oct. 06 - Montréal, QC - Metropolis
Oct. 08 - Toronto, ON - Sound Academy
Oct. 09 - Cleveland, OH - Tower City Amphitheatre
Oct. 10 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
Oct. 12 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
Oct. 13 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theatre
Oct. 14 - Fargo, ND - The Venue
Oct. 15 - Winnipeg, MB - The Garrick
Oct. 17 - Edmonton, AB - Edmonton Events Centre
Oct. 18 - Calgary, AB - McEwen Hall @ University Of Calgary
Oct. 20 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom
Oct. 21 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory
Oct. 22 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Sodo
Oct. 23 - Portland, OR - Roseland
Oct. 25 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Oct. 26 - Reno, NV - Knitting Factory
Oct. 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
Escape The Fate will release their major label debut in November. They previously released their first two albums on Epitaph, selling 350K worldwide, and logging tour dates in 12 countries around the globe.
Black Tide broke onto the music scene in 2008 with their fist-pumping, fret-burning, fast-paced metallic anthems on their Interscope Records debut Light From Above. The Florida based quartet are putting the finishing touches on their follow up.
Hailing from Los Angeles, Drive A creates a punk rock sound that pays respect to the past, stands up to the present and will kick down the door to the future.
Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 12:01AM A&E just sent me some cool information about Dee Snider's new show and I wanted to pass along - Allyson
Growing Up Twisted,starring Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider and his family starts this week on A&E. The seven episode series premieres with two back-to-back half hour episodes on Tuesday, July 27 at 10 PM and 10:30 PM ET/PT.
Here’s the synopsis:
An undeniable presence in the 1980s, Dee Snider is instantly recognizable as the front man of heavy metal band Twisted Sister. But really, he’s just one of six – a regular guy navigating life in the suburbs of New York with his powerhouse wife, Suzette, and their four kids. They are an off-beat but tight-knit family with children who are fiercely independent and strong-willed: Jesse is an aspiring rock musician, husband and new father; Shane is the resident comic; Cody’s a budding filmmaker; and Cheyenne is daddy’s little girl, making the tough transition to teenager. They’re a rock-solid family of unique individuals not afraid to speak their minds. Despite their father’s rock star status, they are just like every other family… only not at all.
“Growing Up Twisted” is produced by Evolution Media (“Real Housewives of Orange County”) for A&E. Dee Snider is executive producer and Ron Starrantino is producer. Executive producers for Evolution are Douglas Ross, Greg Stewart, Kathleen French, Alex Baskin and Kevin Lee. Robert Sharenow and Elaine Frontain Bryant are executive producers for A&E.
Here’s some info on the upcoming shows:
Upcoming episodes -
“Carpet And Drapes” - Tuesday, July 27 at 10 PM ET/PT
Dee decides to get his “Suzette Forever” tattoo redone as a surprise on their 34th anniversary, but is floored to find out that Suzette started the process of removing her “Dee Forever” tattoo. After this ruins their anniversary dinner, Suzette is on a mission to fix things with Dee and designs a new tattoo that she later seductively reveals. Throughout the anniversary plans, the kids realize they’ve gotten to learn a little “too much information” about their parent’s sex life, especially when they find a packet of pink hair dye not intended for their mom’s locks.
“Baptism By Snider” - Tuesday, July 27 at 10:30 PM ET/PT
Twisted Sister lead singer, Dee Snider, is the lone voice of reason when his family packs a whirlwind of activity into one week. Their eldest son, Jesse, wants to have a christening for his daughter, but a touching tribute song he writes for the event opens up old wounds between father and son. Then the family heads to the city for son Shane’s stand-up act, but his brother Cody nearly gets into a fight with a comic that disrespects the Snider clan. Finally, the family needs to pull it all together in time to stage a very touching… and very twisted christening.
Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 10:31AM "If you missed the 80s, you missed out!" Great White frontman Jack Russell bellowed from the Rock n' America stage. Rock n' America officially opened Friday with a theme of all 80s metal and old fashioned heat.
Who played the first official day of Rock n' America? Lizzy Borden, The Sweet, Trixter, Great White and Twisted Sister. On the side stage, bands like Toxin, Axe, Bulletboys and Faster Pussycat rocked out.
The Zoo Amphitheater in Oklahoma City is old so the venue isn't necessarily modern but it is nice. The walk from the parking area to the gates is super long which is unfortunate, but it is what it is I guess. The Zoo Amp has good gradation - I think it's hard to find a bad seat in the house. You can see from pretty much everywhere! The side stage is just to the right of the main stage which is okay...except for the fact that the sound is being run through one PA so when the main stage is being swapped and instruments tuned, you can hear it a little.
The standout bands of the day? The Sweet, Faster Pussycat and Twisted Sister. Jack Russell and Great White sounded much better than previous reports and YouTube videos would indicate. Jack continues to mend from two back surgeries so the set is a little more subdued. He was standing on his own just fine but there's no wild jumping around - and that's to be expected. By the time Great White was finishing their set with "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" the crowd was more energized. The sun had finally let up and it wasn't oppressive anymore. People seemed to be dancing and generally the crowd was happy. The main mix for Great White wasn't great - a problem that plagued the entire set.
The Sweet seemed to really surprise people. Yes, there was a red cape and some hits. A lot of people kept walking by saying "I didn't know they played that song!" For many - like me - it was a first time seeing the band live. I was entertained.
Twisted Sister always rocks but the set was a little more subdued than the last time I saw them. I'm not sure why - it just was. But I liked the opening with the cries of "Twisted Sister, come out and play!" over and over. Yes, Twisted changed the order of their set which I like. I just wish they'd drop "The Price" and keep the entire set straight metal - people were into it. Dee Snider also mentioned his upcoming series on A&E that debuts next week and Jay Jay French went on his usual rant about how American Idol sucks. The band's encore included a very nice tribute to Ronnie James Dio.
The thing that is weird about Rock n' America is that there is a “no cursing from the stage” rule...but it's a rock show. So saying there's no cursing is insane. It just happens and must be some crazy rule from Oklahoma City or something. But apparently the bands are getting fined or something every time they drop an F-bomb. Just odd.
What else? Oh yeah, Faster Pussycat ("Goth Cat") was great -- even with Taime Downe's crazy potty mouth. He swore, bless him! "Bathroom Wall" rocks and I swear it had the biggest sing a long chorus of the day. The Bulletboys didn't play "Smooth Up in Ya" which is inexcusable in my book. I'm not sure if they were cut off or what, but the 20 minute long music jam at the beginning should have been shortened to accommodate the band's biggest hit.
I'm guessing attendance on Friday to be somewhere between 3,000 – 5,000.
I've got photos but I haven't had time to edit them - so check back.
Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 12:01AM Have you ever watched the "Making of 'November Rain?'" The clips are awesome to a music geek like me. I really like to know how stuff works - especially when we're talking about television or video production. I worked in television and I'm still amazed at how directors can manipulate technology and staging to create scenes that are out of this world.
As we all know, "November Rain" is an epic song - and so the video had to be just as awesome. The budget was huge - and, in my opinion, totally worth every penny. Not sure if you've ever watched the official 1993 release "The Making of 'November Rain'" but here it is. Well worth your time.
Part 1 & 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Friday, July 23, 2010 at 12:01AM I'll be on site at Rock n' America today, catching bands like The Sweet, Great White and Twisted Sister. If you want immediate updates, follow me on Twitter @bringbackglam. I'll be tweeting fun facts and crazy happenings all weekend long. As always, I'll post reviews and photos of the show, too. Post times will be erratic - so check back frequently.