The New Izzy Stradlin Record Might Be Great!

This past weekend, some samples of Izzy Stradlin's new record popped up on YouTube. Gotta say, I'm excited. Izzy is a pretty great songwriter and all around cool guitar player. The new album is called Smoke and it will be out later this month. Unfortunately it seems like Smoke will be an iTunes only release which sort of sucks, but at least it's new music.

The sample songs below are called "Breathing" and "Nothing on Me."

This release isn't as high profile as Slash's upcoming solo record, nor does it feature a slew of famous cameo stars. Still, I think Izzy's work is solid and is definitely worth a listen.

I've never seen Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds live, but I hope to someday. I imagine their show has a great, laid-back vibe. If you've seen a JuJu Hounds show, left me know - tell me all about it!

It's Monday and that means a new week - hopefully I'll get caught up on my writing and I can review the 78 CDs on my desk right now. Seriously - 78!

Who Should Play the Next Shiprocked?

It's getting cold in Ohio and it's been snowing in many parts of the country. Quite frankly, I think that sucks. I despise cold weather. Every time winter sets in, I start to daydream of vacations and warmer climates. Since I was just on Shiprocked a scant few weeks ago, the cruise has been at top of mind. It was a great time! I know there will be another one - I just don't know who will play. I thought it would be cool to create a poll based on bands you'd like to see on Shiprocked II. Now, it should be said again, I have no idea who is playing the next Shiprocked and the band choices below are all out of my head. Basically, they are bands I'd like to see, or are acts that have played either Shiprocked or the Motley Cruise - or both. If you don't like my choices here, fair enough. Write your selections in the comments bar. Of course this poll means nothing, but it's fun to dream...and I seriously have nothing better to do today. The poll lets you vote only once. Happy voting!

Who Should Play the Next Shiprocked?

• Kix
• Iron Maiden (might as well dream!)
• Cinderella
• Chickenfoot
• RATT
• Lynam
• Skid Row
• Adam Lambert
• Great White
• Halestorm
• Pop Evil
• Britney Spears (making sure you're paying attention!)
• Shinedown
• Poison

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Heavy Metal Horoscope

I was poking around Yahoo! last night, getting a feel for their writing style and wondering about my qualifications to write about anything other than music (in case you're wondering, I decided I am qualified but it's quite complicated), when I stumbled onto the horoscopes.

Horoscopes are the candy bars of journalism: completely unnecessary deliciousness. So, I stop to read the Leo prediction. It was decent enough so I went on my way. Then I thought - Eureka! - what if there was such a thing as a heavy metal horoscope?!

Then I Googled my idea and got pissed because the guys at Metal Sucks thought of it first. Damn. I give myself a pass, though. There's a team of them at the Metal Sucks Mansion and there's only one Glam Mistress, so what can I say?

Why not just borrow (steal?) a 'scope from another news agency - for our demonstration we'll use Yahoo! - and change it around to make it Metal.

Leo:

It's not all that often that you find yourself cast in the role of mediator, but today your temperament is just right for handling a touchy situation. With careful words and a friendly smile, you can make inroads where others cannot because the combatants appreciate that you are trying to be fair. Keep trying even if you secretly think you're in over your head. Good results will crown your efforts.

Now, the Glam-Metalled Leo version:

It's not all that often that you find yourself listening to Gwar and thinking 'Crap! I could totally be listening to Kix instead. I've just wasted four minutes of my life on Gwar.' Young flower, listen to "Cold Shower" whilst pondering the Moon in the second house. Will Jupiter align with Mars? 

Listening to Kix will make you less bitchy (see how I made "temperament is just right for handling a touchy situation" more Metal by adding a swear word?!) and you'll be able to talk your drunk friend off a ledge. Or at least from spending all her hard earned money on Hinder tickets.

With careful words and a friendly smile, you can make inroads where others cannot, which will usually land you a backstage pass, especially if you're a girl and you happen to be at a Bret Michaels show. Wear something tight and you're golden.

Leos are creative, bossy and enthusiastic. They are usually smart, too. If you're a Leo, be glad. People - especially long haired Glam musician types - are naturally drawn to you.

There!

Wasn't that easy? Now, go ahead and make your own horoscope for your astrological sign. I don't have time or patience to do them all. I am, after all, a Leo. We tend to get bored easy.

Also, to the kind folks at Yahoo! - thanks for letting me borrow your horoscope. Please don't sue me.

Do This Now: Send Your Well Wishes to Ronnie James Dio!

This is very cool. I saw this on Bravewords yesterday - I hate reposting content, but this is worthy. I'll be sending Ronnie James Dio a holiday card. My cards are black, so they are very metal. Ok, they are as metal as you can get from Hallmark!  As you probably know, Dio was just diagnosed with early stage stomach cancer. He's undergoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic.

Here's the repost:

Black-sabbath.com has posted information about where fans can send Heaven and Hell singer Ronnie James Dio their get-well cards and well-wishes.

Cards and items can be sent through the official fan club address here:

Dio Fan Club
12400 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 624
Studio City, CA
91604

Additionally, if you'd like to shoot an email to him, send to getwellronnie@black-sabbath.com.

Bring Back Glam! Turns 3

Can you dig it? Bring Back Glam! is three years old today. Quite frankly, I can't believe it. The last three years have flown by and a ton of things have changed in my life and the world since I started this site. The best result is all the cool friends I've made. Going to a lot of shows and special events has meant meeting some cool people and having new like-minded friends all over the world! This site also landed me my AOL job, for which I am thankful. That job allows me to talk with metal musicians outside of the Glam realm which has been very cool.

I don't know if Glam is more prevalent in society than it was three years ago, but I do think more shows are available to fans. Tonight, for example, I'm seeing John Corabi play a club gig here in Dayton. I graduated college in 2001 and I don't really remember as many package tours then, either. I know Poison really helped bring back the package tour and it's been a staple of the American summer concert scene for the past few years. Then there's the festival circuit. Europe obviously has America beat - they've been doing summer metal fests for decades across the pond. There were a few in America before Rocklahoma, especially Moondance Jam, but Rocklahoma really did seem to start the "copy cat" trend of 80s events. There was Rock the Bayou (which no longer exists), South Texas Rock Fest, Dakota Rock Fest and now Thunder Mountain Rock Fest among others. It will be interesting to see how long the 80s festival trend lasts here in the states. 

We've had some good discussions here over the past three years. I'm hoping that will continue in the months and years ahead.

Hullabalou Festival Announced, Bon Jovi to Headline

Right on the heels of news that AEG in coming in to change Rocklahoma, a new festival emerges on the American scene. The Hullabalou Festival is set for July 23-25 in Louisville, Kentucky at the Churchill Downs racetrack. Bon Jovi is one of the event's headliners. Other headliners include Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews Band.

Last night, I bought a one day pass for the Bon Jovi show. This will be my first time seeing them live! This Hullabalou date is part of The Circle world tour which - as of right now - wasn't coming to Ohio anyway. This event gives me a chance to catch Bon Jovi and some other (admittedly) random bands on the festival's opening day. Other acts on the Bon Jovi day include The Doobie Brothers, the B52s and Gladys Knight.

The tickets for this festival are expensive. The three-day VIP are $975...each! I bought a regular reserved seat for $95. The festival website says advance ticketing begins Friday, but when I checked on Ticketmaster, the site was already up and selling seats, so I went ahead and got a pair for me and my husband.

I know some people like to camp at festivals, but you can't do that at Hullabalou - at least not on-site. The fest website has some links to offsite camping, but I don't really see the point in that.

Apparently, the entire lineup isn't yet announced. Promoters promised more than 65 bands over three days on five stages. I'm curious to see who is added. Five stages is a lot - so that will be interesting to see how it works. Churchill Downs is *massive* so trudging along in July heat from stage to stage will be a test of endurance!

All in all, I'm pretty happy. I just hope my seats are good once the time comes for the show. I need to zero in on Jon Bon Jovi for "Bad Medicine!"

Here's Bon Jovi performing my beloved "Bad Medicine" way back in 1988

Joey Tempest on Coming to America and Loving Vinyl

“MP3 is today’s world and we’re all getting used to it and we’ll have to live with and it’s OK as a medium but it’s a bit compressed,” says Europe vocalist Joey Tempest. “Me being a musician, I hear the difference. I like better quality stuff. Vinyl? I don’t know if it will find its way back, but it’s a wonderful piece of medium. It’s lovely to hold and to try on your player. It’s a special sound, isn’t it?”

I recently interviewed Joey Tempest for Noisecreep and I thought I’d share some of that with you. Europe’s new album Last Look at Eden is phenomenal and the band is on tour right now in Germany and Asia.

While I was preparing for the interview, I checked out Europe’s official message board and there were many fans asking for a vinyl release of the new album.

“We did a vinyl of Almost Unplugged,” says Tempest. “That was a show we did that was covers.  And we did some Led Zep covers. Last Look at Eden…I don’t know if it’s in the pipeline right now. Some of us in the band really like that (format) so it’s not impossible.”

Naturally I asked Joey when Europe would be coming to America to do some shows. I’m hoping the band will be here in the summer for a festival or two, but it’s highly likely the band won’t come to the states until autumn 2010.

“We have so many good things going on over here in Scandinavia and Europe right now…I want to do the best job possible in America,” explains Tempest. “We’re going to try and build it up slowly and come there in the autumn of 2010, which means we’re starting right now. We have meetings very soon and are starting to form a relationship with people we want to work with. We don’t want to just rush and you know, do a tour that maybe won’t help…it needs to build up slowly. It’s a big place and there’s a lot of rock fans there and we need to reach them somehow. America would be fantastic to do some stuff there. It’s a young country, made for rock n’ roll and it’s so nice to go there. As you know, we have a strong following in Europe and Scandinavia and Asia, so we have to take care of that as well.”

Read my extended chat with Joey Tempest soon on Noiscreep.  Last Look at Eden is available as a physical import or MP3 download.