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Entries by Allyson B. Crawford (6982)

Friday
Apr272007

I'm In Love with My Car

Porsche_logo.pngI want a Porsche.

Not just any Porsche, but Paul Stanley's Porsche. This morning, Blabbermouth ran an alert about a Sioux Falls auto dealer that is selling Stanley's 1988 Porsche 928 S4 for under $20,000.

This, dear readers, would be one glam ride. The auto dealer has proof of Stanley's former ownership, including a document that shows the car was registered under Paul Stanley (real name Stanley Eisen) and insured by the KISS company. Plus, this smart dealer is pairing the title with a Paul Stanley trading card.

According to the dealer Stanley "ditched" the car in Iowa, was traded to Billion Automotive and sold to the present dealer.
Quite frankly I don't care how the car made its way to Sioux Falls. As long as there's a certificate of authenticity (COA), I'm good.

Now, I just need to find 20 grand and convince the glam rock husband how hot I'll look while driving down the road in Paul Stanley's Porsche.
Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps.


 
Thursday
Apr262007

Jaded and Louder

babylon_bombs_press2.jpg


Did you know that Sweden is 4,254 miles or 3,697 nautical miles from Ohio? So many great glam bands are popping up all over Sweden.

One of those bands is Babylon Bombs. The band is based in Stockholm and is signed to the Smilodon Records label.

Babylon Bombs formed back in 2001. For some reason, band members only go by first names. As such, Dani sings and plays guitar, Jon also plays guitar and Marty plays bass. The creature known as Swaint plays drums.

Their debut album, Cracked Wide Open & Bruised features tracks like "Let's Roll" and "Superstar." Their next album, Doin' You Nasty features the tracks "Jaded" and "Louder." Both are singles, and the band has produced videos in support of these tracks. I highly recommend this new glam band. They've got a great, sleazy sound and the looks to boot. Hear music samples at www.babylonbombs.net or www.myspace.com/babylonbombs.

Here's a video for "Hometown Hero" from the album Doin' You Nasty:

 

In other Swedish glam news, Vains of Jenna frontman Lizzy DeVine has issued a Myspace alert, asking for cash. Here's the note:

"I'm sick and tired of asking my parents and my girlfriend for money all the time. 'Cause they always help me out.
So if you have some extra dollars on your credit card and you want to get rid of it. Give it to me!
This is not a joke, do not reply! Rock on. Thank you, Lizzy."

Under this note is a Visa icon to donate. I am assuming the donation goes through PayPal. I found this both amusing and sad. Vains of Jenna perform club shows nearly every night. This is their job as professional musicians. Someday they might be rich, or they might never hit it big. Do I suggest you send Lizzy a "charitable" donation? No, absolutely not. Instead I suggest you buy a copy of Lit Up/Let Down. Just click on the link and add to your Amazon cart. Even better, see Vains of Jenna live. Tickets are usually around ten bucks and well worth the cash. The band is playing two shows this weekend in southern California, including the Cat Club in Hollywood. Check them out!

Wednesday
Apr252007

Lightning Strikes Again

dokken.jpgDear glam readers, I had several nightmares last night. I won't go into the gory details, but let's just say my job was a common theme.

This, naturally, left me thinking about Dokken's "Dream Warriors" from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors. For some reason, the song is not featured on the movie soundtrack but it was released as a single featuring the B-side "Back for the Attack."

Did you know that Dokken is working on a new album? The disc is tentatively titled Lightning Strikes Again. Frontman Don Dokken says the album is going to "be better than ever." He also acknowledges the struggle glam artists face when trying to garner promotion. Dokken also says the new disc will feature a heavier, more progressive sound with dark songs. In a recent interview, Dokken also addressed the seemingly never-ending feud with guitarist George Lynch. Says Don "I could never play with George. We don't get along and we never did get along. So what is the point? I don't have to tour for money. We have made our careers and our money. Now we do it for fun and if it's not fun then I don't want to do it."

Lightning Strikes Again should be released in September.

Do you know the history of Dokken? Formed back in 1977, the first incarnation of the band featured Don Dokken on vocals, plus guitarist George Lynch, drummer Mick Brown and bassist Juan Croucier.

Of course, Juan left Dokken in 1982 to make his name with RATT. He was replaced with Jeff Pilson. In 1984, Dokken released Tooth and Nail. By 1986, Dokken was touring with the Scorpions and had recorded another album. Of course, things fell apart in 1988 as the fighting between Don and George boiled over. The band officially broke up, but later reformed. Wash, rinse, repeat and now it's been a decade since George Lynch officially left Dokken.

The current incarnation of Dokken features Don on vocals, guitarist Jon Levin, bassist Barry Sparks, and drummer Mick Brown.

Personally, I'm looking forward to the new album. Dokken gets a bad rap and I'm willing to give new material a fair shot. So sue me.

Tuesday
Apr242007

Set the Night on Fire

PrettyBoyFloydband.jpgI'm in the mood for some Pretty Boy Floyd.

The band formed in Hollywood back in 1987, featuring an assorted mix of characters such as Steve "Sex" Summers and Kristy "Krash" Majors. Those, dear readers, are some glam names!

PBF is best known for their album Leather Boyz with Electric Toyz, which featured the singles "Rock n' Roll (Set the Night on Fire)" and "I Wanna Be With You." Originally signed to MCA, PBF has also released albums on Cleopatra and Deadline Records. Pretty Boy Floyd also contributed to movie soundtracks including The Karate Kid, Part III.

Music can be a contentious business and in-fighting eventually tore Pretty Boy Floyd apart. After Kristy Krash Majors left PBF, he formed the band Beautiful Creatures featuring members of other glam bands and guitarist DJ Ashba, who now collaborates with Nikki Sixx.

Of course, reunions are en vogue and Pretty Boy Floyd reunited in the mid-nineties and released Porn Stars.

Kristy Majors recently released a solo disc Sex, Drugs 'N' Rock N Roll, and you can hear some of those tracks at www.myspace.com/kristymajors. Majors and Summers are fighting again, and that's a shame. They really make a great team.

Check out this video from the band's heyday:

 

Now to the second part of today's blog -- the postmodern part. When I was in graduate school my focus was rhetoric, especially postmodern styles. Last night I was clicking around YouTube and I found, perhaps, the most postmodern video ever made.

The Peppermint Creeps are a modern horror-glam band. You can hear a few samples of their music at www.myspace.com/peppermintcreepsband. Warning! The Peppermint Creeps do not sound like Poison, RATT or Motley Crue. Now, the video below is the Peppermint Creeps performing as Pretty Boy Floyd, singing Motley Crue's "Live Wire."

Still with me?

Joining the Peppermint Creeps on stage is none other than Steve Summers of Pretty Boy Floyd, performing at the legendary Whisky a Go Go. The audio isn't so great, but that's not the point. I think a lot of us forget just how great glam bands are at supporting each other. Back in the day, bands turned out in full force to watch other musicians on the Strip. There was a true sense of camaraderie and it was pretty common for musicians to live together, play together, date the same women and fight for money together.

Ah, where have all the good times gone?

Monday
Apr232007

Rewritten History

toofast.jpgIt's not uncommon for movies these days to have alternate endings, especially for special DVD releases.

What about songs with alternate...beginnings?

Yesterday, I was listening to my re-mastered disc of Motley Crue's Too Fast for Love. Originally, the title track "Too Fast for Love" featured a slow, ballad like beginning with Vince Neil opining about being young and careless. This original version appeared on the Leathur records release of Too Fast for Love, which Motley self-produced and distributed. After the band signed with Elektra, the album was re-mixed and the slow intro dropped.

I like the original version better.

Why is it that labels feel the need to mess with an artist's original vision? I highly doubt leaving the 15 second intro on the Elektra release would have harmed initial sales. Now, Too Fast for Love is regarded as a glam classic, and for good reason.

The boys in Motley Crue were desperate and poor when they landed their Elektra deal. This bare beginning allowed the quartet to produce songs with honest, raw lyrics.

Everything doesn't have to be mixed and over-dubbed to perfection to fuel album sales.

Does your favorite song have an alternate beginning or ending?

 


Sunday
Apr222007

Fashion En Vogue

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Yesterday, I showed you some bad cover art but that's not the case today.

Over the weekend, Hanoi Rocks debuted the cover for their upcoming release Fashion. I think the cover is simply brilliant, and actually looks like a spread in Vogue, Elle or Vanity Fair.

The first single is also called "Fashion" and has a release date of May 16 in the U.K. The entire album has a planned September 2007 release in the U.K. and Japan. I guess this means another expensive import purchase! According to the band's Myspace page, the new album will also feature multimedia content with the videos for "Fashion" and a live performance of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

This latest incarnation of Hanoi Rocks includes original members Michael Monroe (vocals)  and Andy McCoy (guitar), plus  guitarist Conny Bloom, bassit Andy Christell, and drummer Lacu.

Hanoi Rocks never got huge, and that's a shame. According to the band's official website, an American tour is planned for "someday." After all, a world tour is always in Fashion.

Here's the video for the 2002 single  "People Like Me."

Saturday
Apr212007

News Roundup

twistedsister.gifIt's official.

Dee Snider, frontman of Twisted Sister, announced that his band will headline the last night of Rocklahoma. Snider made the announcement on his radio show House of Hair.  Quote Snider:

"It is my distinct pleasure to announce that Twisted Sister will once again be involved with a show that will go down in history. On July 15th, Twisted has just been confirmed as the headliner for the Rocklahoma festival."  "Rocklahoma will go down as one of the most momentous concerts of all time."

The show will feature all original members of TS, including Snider, Jay Jay French, Mark Mendoza, Eddie Ojeda and AJ Pero. For more information on the band, please see the article "Still Hungry."

poisond.jpgIn other glam news, Poison has leaked some tracks off their new cover album, Poison'd. The songs are available on www.myspace.com/poison and feature "What I Like About You" (The Romantics), "Can't You See" (The Marshall Tucker Band) and a couple others. The picture to the left is the proposed cover art for the new album. Sadly, I don't care for it very much. I was hoping for a band shot or something a little more artistic. I know this is a bit of a rush release and the cover reflects that. More importantly, I think the tracks sound pretty good, so I suggest you had to the page and give them a listen. Even though this is a cover album, the tracks actually sound distinctly Poison, especially the guitar work and Bret's voice is very bluesy.  The disc includes eight new covers produced by maverick Don Was, plus other already released covers such as "Your Mama Don't Dance." "We're An American Band," and "Rock n' Roll All Nite."

As I've mentioned in other posts, Poison'd will be in stores June 5, 2007.