Lightning Strikes Again

Dear 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.

Set the Night on Fire

I'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?

Rewritten History

It'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?

Fashion En Vogue

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."

News Roundup

It'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."

In 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.

Cat Scratch Fever

Here's one for the "why weren't they famous?" file.

Alleycat Scratch is one of the best bands I've ever heard. Their album, Deadboys in Trash City, was originally released in 1993 and re-released in 2006.

While no longer together, Deadboys in Trash City remains a testament to the band's musical ability.

So just who was this mystical band?

Singer Eddie Robison, guitarist Devin Lovelace, bassist Bobby Dias and drummer Robbi Black eventually joined forces in California as grunge was threatening. Their late entry to the glam scene likely sealed their fate and this is such a shame. While trying to get a record deal, they boys in Alleycat Scratch had lots of fun on the Sunset Strip, but failed to land a label deal. Band members self-produced Deadboys in Trash City and released the album on their self-created Kick Your Cat records. Quite frankly, Deadboys in Trash City features tracks just as strong as anything released by (gasp!) Motley Crue.

Now you know I'm serious.

Here's the weird thing. When I played some Alleycat Scratch for my husband last night, he thought I was listening to Vains of Jenna. Admittedly some of the guitars sound the same, but I still think the band is closer to punk Poison than my Swedish VOJ.

So what are some of the strongest tracks on Deadboys in Trash City? Just about every track is worth multiple listens, but "Stilleto Strutter," "Cat's Got Your Tongue" and "Roses on My Grave" are the best. A power ballad of sorts "Roses on My Grave" sounds like a Poison/Tesla hybrid.

"Stilleto Strutter" features some phenomenal bass work, which makes me want to get up and dance. I guess that's the point.  

Maybe Alleycat Scratch sound like Poison and Motley Crue because they came on the scene so late and were obviously influenced by these glam masterminds. Whatever the case, you must buy this album if you don't already own a copy.

Here's the full track listing of Deadboys in Trash City:

 Stilletto Strut
Take A Bite (Outta Me)
Cats Got Your Tongue
Soul Survivor
Sexual Addiction
Love Sick Junkie
Cheap City Thrills
Roses On My Grave
Trash City
Plastic Dolls
Love Song
I Don't Like Mondays

Here's the good news: you can buy Deadboys in Trash City on iTunes, or used from Amazon.com or eBay. The bad news is that I couldn't find one YouTube video to share with you, dear glam readers.

If you'd like to hear some great music, listen to samples at http://www.myspace.com/alleycatscratchmusic. Also, the official Myspace home of Bring Back Glam is featuring "Stilleto Strut." It's our official song obsession of the week.

(Back) Out of the Cellar

The countdown to Rocklahoma continues and just yesterday the members of RATT announced their "reunion" line-up via the band's Myspace page (www.myspace.com/therattpack).

The new and improved RATT features original frontman Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini on lead guitar, and Bobby Blotzer on drums. Newer members included guitarist John Corabi (!) and Robbie Crane on bass. Right now, no word on why original RATT bassist Juan Croucier decided to set out the summer reunion shows.

Of all the bands at Rocklahoma - save Vince Neil - I'm most excited about seeing RATT with Pearcy and John Corabi.
As many of you know, I love John Corabi and I think his work with Motley Crue is vastly underrated. One of my goals is to interview John Corabi. I'd love to ask him about his early days on the Sunset Strip with Angora and naturally how Motley Crue changed his life, either for the good or the bad. Of course, John has his hands in many pies including work with ESP, Union and glam band The Scream.

I think it would be great if this new RATT released an album of originals, but I doubt that will happen.

Here's a video with John in The Scream.