Go ‘Bezerk’ at the Borderline!

My friends in the fabulous Glam band Tigertailz sent me this release and asked if I would post it up so you all can catch them live if you happen to be in the U.K. If I was across the pond, I'd totally be at the show!

If you went ‘Bezerk’ in 1990 and there’s still a few pints of glam metal blood coursing through your veins, then whatever you do, get yourself down to the Borderline, London W1 on Saturday the 10^th of October, 2009 and go ‘Bezerk’ all over again!

For the first time ever, Tigertailz will perform the whole of their colossal Glam metal masterpiece, ‘Bezerk’, live and in sequence!

Upon its release, ‘Bezerk’ entered the UK top 40, spawning the MTV hits, ‘Noise Level Critical’ and ‘Heaven’ as well as featuring the daddy of all glam-metal anthems, ‘Love Bomb Baby.’

Front man Kim Hooker says, "With it being nearly 20 years since its release, and the inevitable question of celebrating this fact coming up, it occurred to us that there were songs on there that we hadn’t played in years, so it’s really interesting going back and re-visiting that lesser played stuff.

From the hook-laden vibe of the songs, the big gang backing vocals, right down to the artwork, everything on that album was specifically created to be the most extreme, over the top, glam metal experience anyone had ever heard or seen…You either loved it or hated it – no one was in the middle. ‘Bezerk’ clearly defined what we were about at that time."

So, come October the 10^th, the set will be

Sick Sex
Love Bomb Baby
I Can Fight Dirty Too 

Noise Level Critical
Heaven

Love Overload
Action City
Twist & Shake

Squeeze It Dry
Call Of The Wild

 …And there’ll be no let up after that. Also on the cards are some ‘Bezerk’ – era b-sides, the odd favourite and even a reactivated ‘Bezerk’ tour ‘Robocop’ guitar shred!

Tigertailz -‘Bezerk at the Borderline’, Saturday 10^th of October, 2009

Purchase tickets here. 

'Home Again'

Queensryche just released their video for "Home Again," a track from their newest release American Soldier. It's fitting that the clip debuted on Military.com and features themes common to our fine enlisted men and women.

On "Home Again," Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate enlisted the help of his young daughter Emily. She's featured in the video for the song as well.

"My daughter Emily on Wednesdays attends class in the same building as my studio. I'd just finished writing the song 'Home Again,'" Tate tells Bring Back Glam! "Emily says to me 'What are you working on?' and I replied 'I just finished another song. Want to hear it?' I'm playing the song for her and she's reading the lyrics. I look up, she's got tears running down her cheeks. She thought I'd written the song about her. I asked if she'd like to sing on it, she said "yes" and threw the headphones on. I had to quickly scramble to get the microphone set-up for her and she threw down. We recorded it and it just had a magic to it... just an innocence that really struck me as being honest. I played it for my wife and the band they all went crazy over it."

You can download American Solider on iTunes. Queensryche will headline Shiprocked this November.

'Dust In the Wind' vs. 'Dust In the Wind'

Perusing my music news, I discovered Kerry Livgren, a founding member of Kansas, suffered a stroke yesterday. He's in serious condition. Reading about him made me think about Kansas.

Kansas recorded "Dust in the Wind" way back in 1977 (about a year after "Carry On Wayward Son"). It became the band's signature song and is still played in heavy rotation on classic rock radio today. "Dust In the Wind" is both melancholy and fabulous. When played live, the song always evokes a positive emotion from the audience. With such a famous song, covers are inevitable. But what happens when the cover is better than the original?

The mighty Scorpions covered the song and included the track on Acoustica.

Todd Rundgren also wrote a song called "Dust in the Wind" for his 1972 solo album Something/Anything? People often confuse the Rundgren and Kansas version as one in the same, and that's a shame. Guns n' Roses performed the Rundgren track fairly often in the early 90s. Slash's solo is awesome here.

So which "Dust In the Wind" is better? Kansas or Rundgren? Scorpions or GnR?

Definitely Maybe

A couple of you have asked me to mention the demise of Oasis. As you may (or may not know, or care) guitarist Noel Gallagher left Oasis a few days ago. Noel, along with his brother Liam, were the backbone of Oasis. On Friday night, Noel announced his plans to leave the band, saying he was "forced to leave" the band and that was he was verbally and violently intimidated.

Now here's my problem with Oasis and the main reason why I never mentioned this split to begin with. 1) Oasis isn't a Glam band. 2) Oasis are awesome, but they are not the biggest band of the past 20 years. 3) Oasis could have been the biggest band since the Beatles, but the constant feuds between the Gallagher brothers got in the way of the music.

I think "Wonderwall" is a brilliant song. I remember watching the video with my mom when Oasis was new on the scene. She was really excited - I guess because she saw a lot of the Beatles in Oasis and was looking to relive that genius. It's sad when any band breaks up or changes members. Is this the end of the world? No. Will Oasis go forward? Perhaps. Will Noel have a successful solo career? Probably.

So, are you sad about Noel's departure from Oasis or do you even care?

Concert Season is Over - How Did You Do?

It's the last day of August, which makes me so sad. The end of August basically means the end of concert season. Sure, I have a few shows in September (American Idols Live, Pop Evil, UFO, Kix) and Shiprocked in November, but the majority of my 2009 concert calendar is behind me.

I don't know about you, but I think I had a pretty strong 2009 season. Sure there were festivals (Rocklahoma, Rock on the Range, M3), one-off shows by bands I've wanted to see for more than a decade (Whitesnake) and a big 'ol flop (Aerosmith).

What was my best festival? That's a tie for Rock on the Range and M3. Two different genres, two different groups of friends! Both blasts and I'm going to each again in 2010.

What was my best "solo" stop show? Probably Britney Spears. Don't hate: Circus is an over-the-top tour. That show officially kicked off concert season for me - no indoor show this year has been able to beat it in my mind.

My biggest bummer? Aerosmtih's tour falling apart, of course. I'm also sad KISS isn't coming anywhere near me. I've never seen them and thought for sure this would be the year - but I don't have money for another concert trip, so I guess it's a no go.

What am I most looking forward to? Shiprocked, of course. The Caribbean when it's cold in Ohio is uber awesome.

So, how did you do, concert-season wise? What was your best show? Your biggest disappointment?

The Rock Life?

I'm doing a little informal research for another article I'm writing and I thought perhaps all of you could help. Tell me, what does it mean to "live the rock life?"

Does it mean dressing a certain way, living in a certain manner, believing certain things? All answers are correct and I suspect we'll get an interesting cross current of information here. Please, feel free to write as much or as little in the comments section. I do thank you for the help.

'10C Billionaire' Is a Great Album!

The Bulletboys just released 10c Billionaire (Chavis). The album is packed with really strong tracks. Gotta admit, I was skeptical that the new album would be this strong - but seriously, you should check it out. The Bulletboys put out a press release earlier this week claiming 10c Billionaire was #6 on the Billboard "Top Internet" chart. I personally can't find the Billboard chart history for this album, but hey, what would it prove for the Bulletboys or Chavis Records to lie? Click here to see the Billboard pop out. Is it a Photoshop job?

Check out one of the album's tracks below. "Girls Kissin' Girls."