Thank You (For Letting Us Be Ourselves)

First, let me extend happy birthday wishes to my mom. She's a big music fan, and bought me a lot of glam records when I was younger. She's especially fond of Poison's "Fallen Angel" from their most successful release Open Up and Say...Ahh!. For a news update, the band's upcoming release POISON'D! is already listed on Amazon for pre-sale. Click the link and add to your basket. It's been my experience that ordering pre-sale means you receive an album on the day of release, delivered to your door without fighting traffic.

Here's the video of "Fallen Angel"  for all you Poison fans:

In other glam news, my Swedish boys Hardcore Superstar have posted a new single on their MySpace page. The song is called "Bastards" and will be featured on their new album. The new CD is due sometime in the fall, and will be the band's first release since 1995. Hardcore Superstar is one of the headliners at the upcoming Sweden Rock Festival. This, glam fans, is one festival I would love to attend. Other bands set to perform include Aerosmith (!), Heaven and Hell, Quiet Riot, Skid Row, White Lion, Fastway, CrashDiet, and a crap load of other really awesome bands. Sadly, Vains of Jenna didn't make the cut, but they are still trying to make a go of it here in the states. If you can get to Sweden, the festival runs through June 6,7,8 and 9 in Solvesborg.

Keep In Touch with MamaKin

Aeromsith's "Mama Kin" is one of my all time favorite songs. The lyrics are haunting, and resonate with our modern, career driven lives:

"Said, you're bald as an egg when you're eighteen
Workin for your dad is just a drag
You still stuff your mouth with your dreams
You better check it out
cause someday soon you'll have to
Climb back on the wagon.

Keep in touch with mama kin
Tell her were you've gone and been
Livin out your fantasy
Sleepin late and smokin tea."

Legendary Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler has the phrase "Ma' Kin" tattooed on his arm. It was one of the first songs Tyler wrote, and it appears on the band's self titled debut release.

Several glam bands have covered the iconic tune, most notably Guns n' Roses. The cover is included on G N' R Lies.

Glam fans, the video below is a rare performance of Aerosmith and Guns n' Roses sharing the stage, singing "Mama Kin." Bask in the rare glory of two of America's greatest rock bands performing as one. 

Now, to the future and a great Swedish (naturally) glam band that goes by the name MamaKin. The modern band features vocalist Chris, bassist Rixie, guitarist Vinnie and drummer Eddie. For some sham of a reason, MamaKin remains unsigned, and that's a real shame. As a first cut, head to myspace.com/mamakinswe and download "Higher n Higher." The boys also have a pretty elaborate web-site www.mamakin.se, and there's a news section with updates on the new EP. The first demo includes: "Higher n Higher," "Show You Sumthin" and "Sunday Morning." You can purchase through the website above. Give them a listen, glam fans!

Update on Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 11:32PM by Allyson B. Crawford

Video link updated to include full performance.

Reach for the Sky

So far, the glam mistress is feeling anything but glam today. I was sick all night and this morning, I had to get a tetanus shot but I'll spare you the gory details of both painful situations. You may have noticed that this website was down for several hours and that made me mad too.

Since I was up sick all night, I didn't get much sleep and that means I can't think of many pithy topics to write about today.

If you check the Internet home of the Hairball John Radio Show (link to the right of this page), you probably noticed I recently posted an article about deserted island albums. Of my three choices, I selected Motley Crue's Shout at the Devil, Def Leppard's Hysteria and RATT's Reach for the Sky.

In my ever humble opinion, Reach for the Sky is a greatly underrated album, containing my all-time favorite RATT song "I Want a Woman."

I think I like "I Want a Woman" so much because I love the video. It begins with a female producer, cueing cameras before a RATT concert. Being a producer myself, I get this.

Here's the video for "I Want a Woman." Enjoy and I hope your day is better than mine!

Sign of the Times

A band that just doesn't get enough attention around here is Queensryche.

While watching Metal Mania (VH1 Classic over the weekend) I caught the video for "Jet City Woman." This is, by far, my favorite Queensryche song.

While I wouldn't say the progressive band is 100% glam, some of their 80s hits teetered on the spandex wave of success. Queensryche was formed in Washington State  in 1981. The band started as The Mob, but changed to Queensryche early on and eventually landed a deal with EMI. The band first released the self-titled Queensrÿche in 1983, but didn't hit it big until Operation: Mindcrime in 1988. This was followed by Empire, which features the hit "Silent Ludicity." After this success,  the band went through some line-up changes and released several more albums.

The current Queensryche line-up features singer Geoff Tate, guitarists Michael Wilton and Mike Stone, bassist Eddie Stone and drummer Scott Rockenfield.

 Here's the video for "Jet City Woman" from the hit Empire. The track is our official song obsession of the week.

One Hot Mama

Happy Mother's Day, dear readers.

In honor of the holiday, a look at the career of one of the hottest moms in glam rock: Lita Ford.

Born in the U.K. as Carmelita Rosanna Ford, "Lita" started playing guitar young and was a teenage member of the all-girl group, The Runaways (Joan Jett was also a member).

Starting an unsuccessful solo career at the dawn of the 80s, Lita bopped around the Sunset Strip and was involved with many other glam musicians, including Nikki Sixx. [For eight degrees of separation, future Motley Crue drummer Randy Castillo actually introduced Nikki to Lita]. She also dated Joe Lynn Turner and Tony Iommi and married crazy Chris Holmes. She's currently married to Jim Gillette of Nitro, and they have two kids together.

Her most successful album is the 1988 self-titled release on the RCA label. That album featured "Kiss Me Deadly."

Most recently, Lita lent her voice to "I'll Be Home for Christmas" on the Twisted Sister Christmas album.

The Hollywood Glambangers

Have you read Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe yet?

I picked up a first edition hardback at a second-hand store. So far, I've found the book an invaluable resource for all things Metal.

First, it's important to note the book is 399 pages long (including an excellent index). The book is sectioned off into historical chapters, meaning you won't lose knowledge if you don't read chronologically.

Not surprisingly, I read chapter ten "The Hollywood Glambangers" before anything else. This chapter didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, still, it's good to see glam history in print. As godfathers of the Sunset Strip hysteria, Christe dedicates a large portion of this chapter to Van Halen and Motley Crue. Naturally, bands like Poison and even Danger Danger get their due. Christe also looks at how MTV spawned this glam music of a generation, and how labels were quick to jump on the Metal bandwagon. Sadly, there is a hint of sarcasm throughout this chapter which undermines Christe's ethos. An established journalist, Christe knows the importance of leaving opinion at the door but in some phrasing, his thoughts on glam are pretty evident. While I appreciate that Christe prefer Slayer to Slaughter, I don't understand the negativity launched toward glam that -quite honestly - put Metal on the map.

That noted, I must admit Sound of the Beast is still an excellent read. Other subjects which earned their own chapter include the P.M.R.C., The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, The Teen Terrorists of Norwegian Black Metal and an extensive chapter on the 90s and the "Black" album. I must say that for all the cynicism in the glam chapter, Christe gives Metallica their due for selling out and commercializing their sound. While the "Black" album helped make Metallica household names a lot fans hated the new, slick sound. Fans hated even more that the band started churning out music videos left and right, appeared at every awards show imaginable, toured with Veruca Salt and tried to take down Napster.

At the very beginning of Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal, there is a flow chart, explaining the most important historical moments in Metal history. Not surprising, the chart begins at February 13, 1970 and the day Black Sabbath hit the market. It chronicles the formation of Judas Priest and Motorhead, the death of guitarist Randy Rhodes, Quiet Riot's triumphant rise to the top of the Billboard charts, the debut of Headbanger's Ball on MTV and the day Motley Crue released Girls, Girls, Girls. As the chart whips through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, you notice a decline in the popularity of Metal as music magazines fold, MTV stops playing videos and the members of Metallica cut their hair. Coming full circle, the chart ends with The Osbournes on MTV.

While researching the book, I found www.soundofthebeast.com. Yes, the book is truly interactive as Christe has a nice website, featuring text excerpts and even a corrections page. When I first opened the book to a random page I spotted a grammar error. Sure enough, that error is listed on the corrections page. Apparently, Christe employed the help of every day readers to find mistakes before the first edition paperbacks were printed. Even more exciting, is that Christe has a radio show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio called "Hard Attack." I don't subscribe to the service, or I'd definitely check it out.

Christe makes music, too. Give a listen at www.myspace.com/ianchriste.

Countdown to Infinity

Editor's Note: This review was originally written for Metal Express Radio. Since Chastain is in the same vein as Yngwie Malmsteen, I thought you glam readers might be interested. Enjoy!

A talented musician, David T. Chastain uses his decades of experience playing guitar to produce a quality, instrumental album. No virgin to the recording industry, Chastain develops new talent through his Leviathan Records label in addition to his own discography, now more than 50 titles long. As such, Countdown To Infinity features Chastain on guitar and bass, plus the work of Mike Haid on the drum kit.

Opening with the appropriately titled “Rambuntious Delicacy,” the fast-paced guitar work is a throwback to classic Rock influences. More Neoclassical than Traditional Metal, Chastain is able to bridge a gap between genres and appeal to fans of quality guitar work. “Attack of the Mechonrites” is more of the same with a faster tempo. Here, Chastain really shreds and exhibits his years of dedication to the guitar.

Perhaps the highlight of Countdown To Infinity is the near epic “Demonic Harmonic Justice Lullaby.” With a beginning close to Melodic Metal of the 1980s and bridge work rivaling Carlos Santana on a good day, music fans will appreciate the speed and agility of Chastain’s solo work and song writing ability.

The album's title track, “Countdown to Infinity,” clocks in at less than four minutes, earning the distinction of shortest song on the album. It features a catchy hook and solid rhythmic bass thanks to Haid’s consistent stick skills. The liner notes for Countdown To Infinity feature gems of knowledge and increase the listener’s appreciation for each track. “The Sky Is Melting” features an introduction written more than three decades ago. With this album, a great musical interlude finds a home.

The most Metal track on Countdown To Infinity is “Temptress of Illusions.” Featuring licks and grooves you might hear on an AC/DC album, “Temptress of Illusions” is likely to earn substantial airplay on Metal radio stations.

All in all, Chastain does a good job of keeping Countdown to Infinity diverse and interesting. Instead of falling into the trap of repetition like many instrumental albums, Chastain creates enough interest in his scores to keep even the biggest Metalhead satisfied.