Road Crew Magazine
Music Magazine with News, Reviews, Photos and Video

By   Sun, Jan 18, 2009

Can you possibly fit more people into the Anaheim Convention Center? YES! Saturday was the biggest day yet for NAMM. It brought out more stars and just trying to walk from one place to the next proved to be a challenge.

We hung out with Gibson guitars and interviewed one of their reps about their newest robot technology in their baby, the Dark Fire.

We will be back for the final day. Hopefully with  more photos and more great interviews.....

By  

Today was even more crazy then yesterday. We don't often get to hand out with the other journalists of Road Crew as we are all spread out over the world. However, Val is right here in California and she came down to run the ratt race with us on day two of NAMM.

We had a great chat with Vinnie Moore of UFO, a jam session with Zoltan Bathory of Five Finger Death Punch, and an interview with DJ Ashba of Sixx AM about his new line of Ovation Guitars.

You can't have a day of all work and no play so we did manage to go to an after party concert by Winbash..simply incredible.

Hang on tight as day three is the largest day of the NAMM convention and look for all of our interviews and photos in the coming days and weeks!

By   Fri, Jan 16, 2009

Day one in Anaheim California for the 2009 NAMM Show. As the rest of the country is gripped in freezing temperatures we are greeted with sunny skies and beautiful unusually high temperatures....in the high 80's. But, we aren't complaining! If fact we hope this is a sign of what the new year will bring for the music industry...pleasant surprises.

Stay tuned for our interviews with Dean Zelinsky, Engl Amps, Diamond Amps, and Washburn Guitars.

Our brains are on overload and our feet are on fire but we are having the time of our lives! More too come on Day two!

By   Sat, Jan 03, 2009

Angela:  What was it like touring with Seether, Staind and Papa Roach? 

Cameron:  Incredible.  Anytime you get an opportunity to play with professionals who’ve been on stages in the size of arenas and stuff we were playing in all you can do is take anything you can learn and steal from it and use it for your own show or kind of modify it.  Just learn from the pros always cause those guys have been doing it for awhile and they’re the best people to learn from.  And its also we’re fans of music and all of those bands that we played with, Seether, Staind and Papa Roach especially. We’ve watched their shows a dozen times and stand in line up for tickets to watch those guys and all of a sudden you’re playing with them and watching them from the side of the stage, it was remarkable.  It was kinda like a dream come true for all of us. 

Angela:  If you could work with any other artist, who would it be and why? 

Cameron:  Dead or alive? (laughs) I’d work with anybody I could.  We’ve always taken that road where no one’s better than us and there’s enough room for everybody so we just want to work with as many musicians from any genre you know country to rock to pop to hip hop, why not you know, to anybody.  So I can’t really name you one.  I’d love to work with Chris Robinson or someone from the Black Crowes.  Or I wouldn’t want to work with Axl cause he’d fire me. I don’t know, anybody, shit a lot of singers, I’d work with a ton of singers. 

Angela: You’ve recently been touring in the US.  Do you notice any differences between the Canadian and US music scenes? 

Cameron:  The crowds, they’re all there right at the start of the show ready to go.  Everyone wants to see the opening band to the last band on the ticket, on the bill, so everyone’s there.  It was such a great reception that we received, everyone was very welcoming.  We were a little petrified cause our songs weren’t on the radio totally out there yet; you know the single is just going to creep out in January here.  The record’s not coming out yet til March but its online now.  So there’s a bit of a difference but not really.  I mean you’re just playing the crowds; you’re trying to work your ass off to win them over.  Pretty much the same work ethic we’ve had from Canada, we just took it to the States. 

Angela:  When Money Honey was first released did you have any idea it would be such a huge hit?  How have things changed since then? 

Cameron:  Absolutely not, more people are looking for money from us, they want their cut.  No, Money Honey was one of the last; I think it was the second last song that we all wrote for the record.  It came out of a trip to the strip club I think one night with a couple of the guys, heard it from a stripper off the stage and kinda took it and probably put it in their blackberry’s or something and wrote a song about it the next day.  Came across very quickly in the studio.  It was a song that was catchy, came to us quickly like I said.  But no we didn’t have a clue it that would be as popular as it has been and that’s due to the support of all the fans and stuff seeking it out online.  Same thing that kinda happened in the States, is a listener wanted to hear it on Sirius Satellite Radio and then it just kinda of organically grew in the States through them playing it on the radio.  It was nothing to do with our label or management or anything.  It also helped us get signed to Universal Republic so it was huge.  And how have things changed?  Not much.  Still working our butts off, we’re still touring through the Canadian winter.  We had one show in Grande Prairie for New Years and we said why don’t we just do like a week in western Canada cause we love playing out in Alberta plus some of us are born, like I was born here in Edmonton, Alberta so its pretty cool. 

Angela:  Are you working on any new projects or are you concentrating on the US release? 

Cameron:  We are, we’re always writing.  We’re always in the van or the truck or the bus writing songs in the hotel room.  There’s a lot of time sometimes to kill so while can we try to write as much as we can.  We’re not totally focused on completing a second album just yet.  We’re going to work the shit out of this record in the States for the next year, do a little tour here in Canada and then obviously throw out a new record.  That’s mostly in the bag but we’re not going to share or tell anybody anything yet. 

Angela:  Do you have a favorite song to play live & why? 

Jesse:  That’s a hard question.  I like them all. 

Cameron:  Yeah it’s kinda cool whenever the crowd reacts to your music and you see them singing your songs it’s always a very cool experience, it’s very warming. 

Jesse:  Very great, good feeling watching people sing your music back. 

Cameron:  So anytime someone’s singing your song back or even throwing something at you during a song, you’re kinda like it’s always an experience every different night it’s a different little story. 

Kadooh:  I’m a big fan of Honeymoon, Honeymoon’s Over.  I really enjoy playing that.  The riff at the start is kick ass.  And Day After Day.   

Cameron:  Day After Day, I like Different Day. 

Kadooh:  I like the rockers cause you get to just lose your mind, its kinda fun; it’s the best part about rock n roll. 

Jesse:  I thought that was after the show. 

Cameron:  And of course Money Honey cause the whole crowd just screams that song, just goes crazy during it.  The whole show. 

Angela:  You quite often meet with your fans after shows, are there any memorable moments from those fan meetings? 

Cameron:  (laughs) Not much we can talk about. 

Jesse:  I have an actually very touching story.   A guy came up to us, we were in Brandon.  We were probably out for an hour and a half meeting people, we were playing an arena there was thousands of people and this guy was standing over off to the side crying and we had gone through the whole line up and we're what's going on?  He was like that was amazing, you know what, I just got diagnosed with cancer I skipped my chemo treatment to come see you guys.  And first of all don’t ever do that but thank you.  I had goose bumps for a few days.                                                                                                                            

Cameron:  Yeah, those are the things that really get us and that really hits home.  We know we’re touching people with what were doing as much as we’ve been touched by listening to bands that we’ve loved our whole life.  There was a time in Halifax too that we spent after playing with Nickelback were outside in the rain for about three hours, three and a half hours just working the crowd as much as we could and somebody brought a eulogy card for us to sign cause it was their favorite band, the person that had passed away their sibling or whoever it was.  So those moments are touching, they’re sad obviously.  There’s a lot of great moments. 

Kadooh:   Someone that finds support in our music is, you couldn’t ask for anything better than that.  Somebody that’s getting, if it helps them get through a tough time like it’s us writing them, letting out our experiences. 

Cameron:  It’s great to hear how people have interpreted our songs.  Best I Ever Had for one, if you go to You Tube and you see the video on You Tube and then you see the comments and it’s like people counseling each other and just complete strangers helping each other through.  But there’s people on there just like counseling each other and they’re complete strangers so it’s neat to see how people connect and interpret, develop the song into their own life. 

Angela:  What is the one thing you can’t live without on the road? 

Cameron:  (laughs) Again probably can’t answer this one truthfully. 

Kadooh:  Sex, drugs and rock n roll.               

Jesse:  I can’t live without each and every one of you. 

Cameron:  I guess each other cause we wouldn’t be here.  And our credit cards and our phones.  Yeah, we’re pretty simple.  We stay at Holiday Inn Express across the States. 

Jesse:  We only eat red M & M’s though. 

Kadooh:  If there’s a blue one Johnny usually cries and Jesse wrecks the dressing room. (laughs) 

Life, Love & Lies is currently available in stores across Canada and available online in the US.  And if you ever have the chance to see this band live, go see them!  They put on an amazing show.

www.stateofshockband.com

www.myspace.com/stateofshock

By   Sun, Dec 28, 2008

The economy seems to be on the forefront of everyone's mind these days. With 2009 now here and a new President about to take office we are hopefully moving forward. So where does this leave the music industry? 2008 was difficult for many and the music industry was no different. I know it is hard to believe. Wipe the scowl off your face. It is hard to believe that your Rock idols are suffering the pains of the economic downturn...but hear me out...

CD sales are down...way down... thanks to the shift to digital format. OH and the ILLEGAL downloading that is so prevalent these day. Free is definitely smacking down paid. Well, of course you say! I'm not going to pay $15.00- $20.00 for a CD when I can download it onto my I-pod for free on the Internet. Those rock stars make a ton of money anyway.

Well, it doesn't just effect them. It effects the record companies, the kids who work at the record stores, the neighborhood the stores are in...the economy. Many Indie labels have claimed bankruptcy in 2008. 2009 may be the breaking point year for many other labels as well. Many of the big labels had major lay offs during 2008, including EMI Music. Stocks for Warner Music Group and Live Nation had all time lows. Wide spread layoffs continued. Do you still think those downloads don't effect you? Those laid off could have been your neighbor, your family member...

The music industry is fighting back. They won a major battle in the United Kingdom and are hoping to convince the USA to follow suit. Soon they will be sending out letters to copyright violators. That's right. They can track your ISP. They catch you downloading their music off the Internet illegally and you get busted. It is illegal. Don't let anyone or any website tell you otherwise.

Some artists have also tried to take their music back from the record companies. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails tried the straight to the fan approach. He pocketed 1.6 million in just a week. With the growing popularity of sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Reverbnation, artists are questioning the need for major label involvement at all.

So what now? My personal opinion is you will see more tours. Bands need more fan interaction. They need more one on one to sell not just their music, but themselves and the whole rock and roll experience. We have already seen the merchandising trend and it will continue to grow. If they can't sell as many CD's then they will sell their image on anything they can. They own the right to it and they will use it! This is good for die hard fans. Big Brother will step in if the industry has their say and if more labels go bankrupt...they might. So, you might be looking at a lawsuit in the mail the next time you download that song illegally.

I can only hope they make more strides on the photography front. I have a special kinship with my musical counterparts. People have been stealing my photos illegally for years. My income isn't taken into consideration either. We artists have to stick together..I got your back. Oh, and check out what Kid Rock has to say about stealing music....

By   Thu, Dec 18, 2008

   

Phil has since changed career paths and now enjoys making a dream come true in stand up comedy. He is succeeding with a show every Saturday night in the Los Angeles area...(the) "Sex, Stand Up and Rock and Roll Show". Like Varone, the show is very unquie providing the audience with a night full of entertainment of just what the title conjurges up. In fact there are raffles with a chance to win 1 of 4 gift bags chock full of products from the sponsors of his show. (Sextoy.com, I Love Vagina.com, Rudechix.Com, Junker clothing, hustler video, etc).  A Rockstar, Porn Stars, Comedians and gift bags.... what more could you possibly need for a night that promises fun? Still clean, he has also had a few acting jobs and his scorecard includes: CBS' Numbers, NBC's Indentity, Showtime's Californication, as well as TLC's Miami Ink.

  

By   Thu, Jan 15, 2009

If you're ready for some face melting, heart pounding, yet melodious and chill giving music, then I have one name for you.  Carbon 9.

 This LA band caught my attention when I received a friend request for the band's page on myspace.  Now, before I add any band that I don't know, I do a quick sound bite review of what they have on their playlist.  And as I was busy, I did a very quick listen, not enough to get immersed, but enough to know that I was going to like them.  So, I added them without hesitation.  When I got around to having more time on my hands, I went back to their profile and kicked on their playlist.  And I was amazed at what I was hearing.

Carbon 9 is made up of a stellar group of musicians, including:  Stacey Quinealty on vocals that are haunting,to say the least, Darwin DeVitis on guitars that are a driving force, Danny Cistone on amazing backing vocals, Omar D Brancato on bass and Matti Milani on drums providing a combination that lays a heart pounding foundation.

Recently signed with WorldSound Music, they are taking the US by storm, having sold over 5000 copies of their albums and can be heard on XM Satellite Radio.  They've played some of LA's top venues, received numerous awards and have even recorded for companies such as:  McDonalds, Radio Shack and Warner Bros.  They are also big internationally in Germany and Russia and will soon be released in Japan.

What I would call the band's mission statement sums up this intense quintet.  "Know who you are, know who you are not and while doing so, do not lose sight of humanity. Beware of the advancements in technology splitting apart the human psyche".  Their new CD entitled The Bull, which hits stores on February 24th, drives forth the message, "You are not alone."

Now that we broken down the band, or I should say have been broken down by the band, let me turn your attention to the music.  The first song I want to hit on is their take on Danzig's Mother.  When I first started listening to it, I thought, Naaahhhhhh.  The opening arrangement is so unique and amazing.... I was hearing words that I knew to a mind blowing new take on the song.  As the song broke out of the intro into the first verse, I had goosebumps on goosebumps and had to stop multitasking and just absorbe the music and give it my undivided attention.  Very rarely will I say that a remake of a song is ever better than the original, however, this is one time that I will go on record saying that Carbon 9's version of Mother puts it's original counterpart to shame, and I say this with no disrespect towards Danzig.

The scorching track My Friend starts out with guitar that's like a punch to the gut, with vocals that make you feel you've stepped into the presence of the likes of the Vampire Lestat, holding you captive.  It's a hard hitting song you feel to your bones, with lyrics that say, "I'm ripping out my hair and tearing off my skin,  while watching you call everyone, my friend, my friend."   Back stabbers and betrayers beware, this song will shake you to your core as it will call you out, but then, maybe that's just what you need.

For a fuller sampling of this groundbreaking, innovative band that truly stands with a sound all their own, you can visit their myspace page or their official web site at:
www.myspace.com/carbon9
www.carbon9.com

BUT, be sure to don that fire proof gear if you don't want your face melted off!

By   Tue, Jan 13, 2009

Think back to the eighties metal bands, now combine that with the music of today, what do you get? Freakshow! The band itself is new but you may recognize the all star members;

Markus Allen Christopher - Guitar/Lead Vocals (Miss Crazy)
Jeff LaBar - Lead Guitar/Vocals (Cinderella)
Frankie Banali - Drums(Quiet Riot)
Tony Franklin - Bass Guitar (The Firm & Blue Murder)

The amount of sheer talent in this band alone should blow you away. Each member brings their own special sound into this band creating a sound you won't soon forget. It's impossible to sit still.  If these two songs are a taste of what's to come, I can't wait for the whole CD! Currently the band is in the studio putting together their first album set for release soon. Go over to their My Space page and be prepared to jump out of your seat and don't forget to add them. Once you have been added let them know what you think.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=33554109

By Ryan   Wed, Dec 24, 2008

This is where I would have reviewed and posted photos from covering the headliner of the Blackest of the Black Tour, Danziz.  (For those of you scratching your heads saying, "who the f*ck is Danzig?", you'll need to google back to 1994 and the single 'Mother'.)  Except Glen Danzig (according to all of the run-around I received) refused to grant photography or media coverage to anyone (specifically to 'online' publications).  So, since I haven't actually seen any photos or coverage of Danzig performing on the tour, I have to assume that it didn't actually happen.. at least no one I know stuck around to see them.  Fortunately for the rest of us though, there were bands on the ticket that were eager to get the word out about their kickass goods.

While we also suffered a still yet-to-be explained snafu with the Dimmu Borgir camp and the mysterious disappearance of our credentials for their coverage, we did get the green light for Skeleton Witch, Winds of Plague, and Moonspell.  You know, it's standard operating procedure for fellow live music journalists to wear hearing protection for shows like this, but I swear to god, next time I'm wearing a ski mask;  This shit nearly melted my face off!!!  I'll give Glen credit *cringe* - he knows how to lay down a gauntlet of supporting acts. 

I'd be grotesquely abandoning my duties here if I didn't give a shout out to Mike Gaspar from Moonspell.  Not only does this Portuguese metal band deliver the goods...  (that had me driving around Denver at midnight in my RAV4 looking for a holy water car wash) But Mike made a point to find both Becca and I before the show to introduce himself, make sure we were taken care of and to give us a little insight as to his history with the band.  A genuine class act in an industry teeming with.. ummm.. Glen Danzigs.. 

p.s. I did manage to find one entertaining Danzig related video, so I hope you'll enjoy it.  -Ryan

By   Tue, Dec 23, 2008

Oklahoma rockers Hinder are back with their second album, "Take it to the Limit." The 11-track CD was released Nov. 4, and debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Yes, I know, I'm a bit late on this CD review, but, better late then never! Besides, Hinder is about to embark on tour with Motley Crue and what a better time to get you pumped up for them!

Hinder will fit in well with Motley. They know how to mix head banging, screaming guitars along with the heart wrenching power ballad. Not to mention they aren't to bad to look at either. Their best known hit to date is "Lips of an Angel" ( sigh with me ladies) off their first CD "Extreme Behavior" They know what works so they carried that over to the newest CD "Take it to the Limit" If you loved "Lips of an Angel" your heart will keep doing cartwheels for "Without You." Lead singer Austin Winkler knows how to get the gals hearts a pumping.

Love ballads aside there are hard and heavy, raunchy guitar styling, screaming down and dirty rock songs on this CD. Put it in, crank it up and get that party started songs like "Up all Night" and "Use Me." Hinder's appeal is definitely towards the young, in love, or in lust crowd. Those who want to stay up all night and sleep all day. They are reminiscent of the days of Ratt, Poison, Slaughter and the like. So, if you are a child of the 80's they should appeal to you also. However, I believe many who go to see Motley Crue will leave being Hinder fans also.

Visit them at: www.hindermusic.com or www.myspace.com/hindermusic

By   Sun, Jan 18, 2009

We live in a non stop high tech world that seems to be only speeding up.  We have our music on iPods so that we can fit all our favorite songs in one place rather than have to shuffle through CD's to find the song we're looking for.  We sift through videos on YouTube.com instead of waiting for them to come on VH1. And of course if we do watch them on TV, we can't do so on MTV which ironically stands for Music Television, when most of their programming is reality TV and has very little to do with music anymore.  We're moving so fast, that most of the time we can't hear the music for the CD's. (A little twist on can't see the forest for the trees if you will).  We hear, but do we listen?  Really listen.  The opening phrase from the movie August Rush was the first thing that came to my mind when I even contemplated doing this article, which says:

Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind... in the air... in the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen.

So, you may be wondering where I am going with this.  It started when I saw a myspace bulletin a friend had reposted and I listened.  I listened, and heard the music radiating from a little boy.  Music that is in his smile, music that comes from his heart, and from his dad as well.  And so, it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to a little boy named James.  Now, before you get all tense thinking, "This is a Rock and Roll mag, why is she talking about a little boy?", let me put your mind at ease when I tell you that it is about music, you'll just have to take the journey and listen.

James is a little boy who lives in the UK and will turn 6 this year.  Like most boys, he's a huge Star Wars fan, but unlike the majority of 6 year old boys, he suffers from Childhood Leukemia.  In his brave fight against this terrible disease, he has set an incredible goal, that started upon building his myspace page.  A goal that started out to add 100 friends.  When that goal was achieved, the number went 1000, and then 10,000.  When they reached 10,000 James wanted to shoot for 1 MILLION friends.  As of right now, the count is 320,278 and I am honored to be counted in that number.  So, what does he get out of this goal?  Well, nothing financially or monetary, just the friendship gained from the people he adds and with each friend added that assurance that he can reach his goal.

James captured my heart and as I stopped to hear the music, I thought of how amazing it would be to step aside from focusing on pounding out articles about what happened this day in rock, or highlighting new bands or cd reviews as fast as we can get them published and focus on taking a short break from my busy life to help James and his dad.  My goal for this article is 3 fold.  That 1.  this article will help gain awareness for Childhood Leukemia.  2.  That you, the reader will go add James as a friend on myspace and help him achieve his goal of 1 Million friends.  and 3.  That you will stop and hear the music in your daily life.  I asked James' dad if I could do an interview with him about his musical interests and was thrilled when he agreed.  His answers are not deep or philosophical, they are direct, to the point, you asked and here's my answer type responses. And most important, they made me smile when I read them.


Lis: Who is your favorite band/musician?

James:  The Hoosiers

Lis:  What is your favorite song?

James:  Head High and Smile by Daniel de Bourg (which can be found on James myspace page)

Lis:  If you could meet any musician, who would it be?

James:  Kanye West

Lis:  What is your favorite Weird Al song?

James:  Yoda

Lis:  When you're feeling down, what songs help cheer you up?

James:  Happy Ending by Mika

Lis:  Sports Teams have a fight song to get them pumped up. What song would you pick to be YOUR fight song?

James:  When the Saints Go Marching In

Lis:  Which Star Wars movie to you think has the best soundtrack? (my personal fav is Episode IV: A New Hope)

James:  Return of the Jedi

Lis:  If you could pick 1 celebrity to help get the word out about childhood leukemia, who would it be and what would you want them to say?

James:  Kanye West. Make the children better.

Make the children better.  An impacting statement from a little boy, but one that drives the point home.  There are far too many children suffering from diseases like Childhood Leukemia and it's easy to not stop and listen when it doesn't affect your personal life.  So here's your chance to listen and to help this brave little boy, who has a smile that outshines the sun reach his goal of 1 Million friends on myspace by going to:  www. myspace. com/bizwiz68

Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind... in the air... in the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen.

By   Fri, Jan 09, 2009

Print vs. online. It is a debate we ourselves are having. The debate over the future of print media and in our case magazines has generated some interesting and heated discussions. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is quoted as saying that the ink-on-paper is dead in ten years. He is not alone in his thoughts. It is ominously clear with the web and in the world of e-commerce have had a dramatic effect on the media landscape. If you don't have a website, you better get one...quickly. All publications are coming to this realization. With sales dropping they are turning to the Internet to keep their readers.

So, who are the first in line for extinction? Daily newspapers. Sorry guys. Not only are you wasteful. We are in the age of the "green movement." Everyone can and does access their news via the Internet and with such devices as Blackberries..they can do it on the subway or bus on the way to work and they do it all for FREE. That is a huge incentive. Especially in today's economy.

So what of their glossy counterparts? In many ways a good magazine is a piece of art. Journalism and photojournalism are considered an art form. It still can be on the Internet. Don't underestimate the power of a well put together website. 

The cost of print vs. online is dramatic. Therefore so is the difference in what you can charge for advertising. Think for a second if you saw an ad in a magazine. Would you run out to a store and buy that product? Or would you go to that product's website and learn more about it? Check its cost, where you could purchase it, if it was available online? etc. So, why not cut out the middle man altogether?

Again, let me point out the some of the other more obvious points. My children have had computer class since kindergarden. Where as some of us in other generations are hard pressed to let go of our old ways, our kids no nothing but the internet super highway. This IS where they get their information.

The environment. Yes, I am one of THOSE people and so are a lot of others. The younger generation especially. You read a daily newspaper once and (gulp) throw it away..but hopefully recycle it. Magazines, well you may save them but, most likely you don't. Again, hopefully they get recycled but, maybe they end up in a landfill. With online media you have clear consciences.

Access. With many online periodicals they keep their articles and issues up for extended periods of time. You get much more exposure this way. A lot more them a monthly or weekly print magazine will give you.

Outgoing links. If you understand web ranking and you want a higher placement on Google and Yahoo, then you want some more links to your site. Anytime a website links to yours this helps your webpage's ranking. Only an online magazine can do that for you.

Community. Many of the media sites also have online communities where you can chat with like minded people....can't find that in your print magazine.

Finally cost. For now, many online newspapers and magazines are free. I personally believe when the print industry changes, so will this. People need to make a living. For now though it remains free.

So, where is all of this coming from? We are tossing around the idea of doing a print version of our magazine. From the research we gathered it doesn't seem like the best idea and yet we have had some ( well only one actually) of our "clients" say we will only grant press passes to print magazines. Really? After all of our research, we are completely baffled by this. I think I'm going to stand with Microsoft on this one. After all, Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world. You don't get there by being stuck behind the times. So, get in the ring.

By   Thu, Jan 08, 2009

At Winter NAMM, world-renowned guitar designer, craftsman and industry icon Dean 
Zelinsky will be making history…again. Zelinsky, along with DBZ 
Guitars co-founder Jeff Diamant, will debut his never-before-seen DBZ 
Guitars in Booth #3290, Hall D starting on Thursday, January 15, 2009. 
Zelinsky’s legendary design aesthetic – tasteful sophisticate-meets-
sexy, edgy mashup – is reflected in his premiere of more than 60 
models of electric and acoustic import and U.S.-made guitars (crafted 
in his Chicago area manufacturing facility) with street prices ranging 
from $500 to $6000.

  Fans and industry followers of Dean Zelinsky will appreciate the new 
Cavallo V guitar, with lines and carves clearly inspired by Ferrari, 
and the DBZ Croc Skin Bolero, the first guitar ever to obtain the look 
and feel of crocodile skin.  The new Imperial is notable for its super-
thin body design, which Zelinsky claims to be an “acoustically 
perfect” solid body electric guitar.

“I will let my designs speak for themselves,” Zelinsky stated. 
Diamant, also founder and CEO of Diamond Amplification, will host the 
DBZ/Diamond NAMM booth and also showcase his Diamond Amps product line 
for 2009. The beloved, super model-like “Diamond Girls” (now the 
“DBZ Diamond Girls”) will be appearing again this year, adding eye 
candy to the already visually dynamic DBZ Guitars and Diamond Amps.

  About Dean B. Zelinsky:
Since 1976, Dean B. Zelinsky has been legendary for pioneering the 
custom high-end guitar market, and creating stage-worthy electric 
instruments exceeding professional players’ expectations.  His 
innovative designs have been embraced by rock and roll's top artists 
spanning three decades. The spinning fur ZZ Top guitars made music 
video history in the ’80s along with the "ML" design, which became as 
much of a part of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott as his crushing riffs and 
gregarious persona, and remain a heavy metal standard today.

The roster of world-class guitarists who have relied on Dean’s 
craftsmanship and creativity include the following: "Dimebag" Darrell 
Abbott (Pantera, DamagePlan), Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Leslie West 
(Mountain), Michael Schenker, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill (ZZ Top), 
Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Jerry Cantrell, Elliot Easton and Ric 
Ocasek (The Cars), Rik Emmett (Triumph), Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, 
Sammy Hagar, Kerry Livgren (Kansas), the Doobie Brothers, Nancy Wilson 
(Heart) and many more.

About Diamond Amplification: Led by President/CEO Jeff Diamant and co-
designer/engineer Martin Golub (formerly of Bob Bradshaw’s Custom 
Audio Electronics), Diamond Amplification focuses on a minimal number 
of lines, ensuring the highest quality for each of its products. The 
Texas-based company has five products on the market: Spec Op, Nitrox, 
Phantom, Spitfire (I and II) and The MAC-2. Diamond Amps’ roster of 
endorsees includes Clint Lowery (Sevendust), Al Anderson and Junior 
Marvin (The Wailers), Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper), Jason Krause (Kid 
Rock), Wayne Swinny (Saliva), Jonathan Montoya (Saliva), Virus (Dope), 
Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol), John Corabi and many more.

By   Tue, Jan 06, 2009

New, hailing from Ashba Media Inc and Ovation Guitars are products that any musician or fan with a "demented mind" should be aware of.

DJ Ashba has recently announced his new line of signature guitars from Ovation, as well as all new Ashba swag, just in time for this year's NAMM Show, taking place in Los Angeles a little later this month.

Ashba will be making appearances at NAMM on  January 16th and 17th at the Ovation booth to promote his new line of limited edition guitars, so for more information about the Demented Collection, be sure to stop by.

The new signature swag is available for purchase through Swagrox.com and is sure to blow any demented mind.

ASHBA™SWAG - Dj ASHBA Signature Series Clothing **BRAND NEW**

www.ovationguitars.com
www.djashba.com
www.ashbaland.com
www.ashbamedia.com
www.swagrox.com
http://www.myspace.com/djashba 

photos used with permission

By   Sat, Jan 03, 2009

Well kids, it will soon be that time again.  Time when the gods from 80's hair metal descend down upon the green country of Oklahoma.

This years festival will be held July 9-13.  And although the dates are set, the artists will be announced in the upcoming months.  Be sure to check back to find out who will be playing at this year's original Oklahoma party that's stage is set in Pryor, Oklahoma.

VIP tickets are already available for purchase for $400.  These tickets give you all it's perks for all 4 days instead of just 3.  Get yours at:  www.feverfest.com or by calling toll free 866-310-2288.  You can also keep up to date at the offical Rocklahoma Myspace page at myspace.com/rocklahoma

By   Fri, Jan 02, 2009

That morning, listening to Lex and Terry on lexandterry.com, I was not expecting what I was fixing to hear come out of my computer speakers.  When they announced that the band Crooked X was going to be playing live in just a few minutes, I thought cool, a new band I can check out.  Then they said something that REALLY caught my attention.  That the oldest member of this band was only 15.  Now, if you listen to Lex and Terry, and have heard their music meeting, you know they have a very high standard when it comes to music.  So, I refilled my coffee, and waited for them to get the band set up to play live on the air.

Crooked X is a hard rock band out of Coweta, Oklahoma featuring: Forest French on lead vocals and guitar, Jesse Cooper, lead guitar and backing vocals, Josh McDowell on bass and Boomer Simpson on drums.  And if you were to listen to them without knowing anything about them, I can assure you that you would have no idea that the band was made up of teenagers.  Teenagers that in my opinion can out rock bands with members twice their age.  Not only do they have some of their songs featured on the video game Rock Band with Nightmare, Rock and Roll Dream, and Gone, they have opened shows for the legendary band Kiss.

They will also be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel on January 15th and attending NAMM, appearing on the Fender Stage, on January 16th in Los Angeles.

With their first EP already available for download on iTunes, be on the lookout for their self titled album that is set to be released on January 27th, which features the songs:

Gone
Adrenaline
Time is Now
Rock N Roll Dream
Fade
You Gotta Bleed
Nail in the Coffin
Nightmare
Death of Me
Control

Now, going back to the opening of this story.  I'm going to treat you to the performance that blew me away when the band performed live on Lex and Terry.

For more information on Crooked X, check out on their myspace page, website and youtube channels at:

http://www.myspace.com/crookedx 

http://crookedx.com/home

http://www.youtube.com/user/CrookedXband

By   Wed, Jun 03, 2009

By   Thu, May 21, 2009

By   Sat, Apr 04, 2009

By   Mon, Mar 09, 2009

By   Mon, Mar 09, 2009

By  

Fri, Jan 30, 2009

When taking a look at today, I see names in each and every fact.  I know, I know, there are names in EVERY fact on this day in rock, but today is a special case.  Let me show you what I mean.

In 1965, Shirley Ellis had a #3 hit in the US with the song The Name Game.  Now, I tried to find to find a video for this song done by 3 of my favorite cartoon characters named:  Yakko, Wakko and Dot, BUT sadly was unable to and found I would have to settle for Tiny Toon Adventures instead.  Why?  Because I thought if you're going to have a song such as this featured in your column, you have to make it look as fun as possible....and cartoons are fun, well some of them are anyway.  I really do think that Animaniacs would have made for a better version of the song, BUT we have to settle for what we're given.



Name:  Wicked Lester...but not for long.  That name was changed to KISS and not long after changing that name, KISS in their original lineup would play their first appearance in Queens, New York at the Popcorn Club in 1973.

Name:  The International Artists Award.  This award, presented at the 1995 American Music Awards was presented on this day in rock to legendary band Led Zeppelin.  Only two other names had previously recieved the award,  Rod Stewart and Michael Jackson.

Name:  Baldemar Huerta, but you will know him as Freddy Fender.  In 2002, the 64 year old singer/songwriter, also a two time Grammy Award winner, after undergoing a kidney transplant a week earlier, was released from a San Antonio hospital on this day in rock.

Name:  Melisa aka Lis, you're daily deliverer of factorial information that happened on.....

Name:  THIS DAY IN ROCK

Thu, Jan 29, 2009

Wow, it's Thursday January 29th.  This week itself has been a long one for me.  If you read a couple of days ago, you know that it is somewhat frigid here.  My house has FINALLY made it just over 70 degrees and it's 3:20 pm on the 28th as I type this.  Mix in 4 screaming heathens and it makes for a very cabin feverish 2 days since they didn't have to go to school due to all the ice. But in the midst of it, I collected todays facts and sat and stared at them for a long time to try to figure out where to go with them.  My mind said, "Chocolate, you need chocolate."  Which I bypassed and had something more healthy instead. :(  But as I look over them as I type this intro that has a lot to do about nothing, I see that there are 2 song releases, 2 who sang the national anthem, a band formed and a musician departed and 2 birthdays.  So, it really has it's own theme of things that happened in 2's.  That's something I can work with.

Let's just go in the order that I listed them, shall we?  In 1958 the song Tequila was released by The Champs in 1958.  This instrumental classic is played by high school marching bands across the nation and the first thing that really comes to my mind is the unforgettable "Big Shoe Dance" in Pee Wee's Big Adventure.  



The other song, released in 1966 was I Fought the Law by The Bobby Fuller Four and would eventually top out at #9 on Billboard's Hot 100.

I wish I were in Tampa.  I think my wishing star is broken or hiding, because I'm still in the frigid wasteland of Oklahoma and NOT enjoying the Super Bowl festivities this week.  I just read that Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson are to sing the nation anthem at this year's event.  But in looking back at Super Bowls XXIII (23) and XXVIII (28) our nation's anthem was sung in 1989 by Billy Joel and in 1994 by Natalie Cole.  And as I only have today and tomorrow to say it.....GO STEELERS!!

In looking at the next twosome, the band formed and a musician departed, these events took place several years apart and involved 2 different bands, however they are both from the "hair metal" genre.  In 1978 the band Whitesnake was formed by lead singer David Coverdale, and in 2000 Poison guitarist C.C. Deville announce he would be leaving the band.  The band did convince him to return to the band.

And finally, let's take a look at those birthdays.  Tommy Ramone of the Ramones was born today in 1949 and in 1961, Eddie Jackson of Queensryche was born.  So happy, happy birthday to them!  Well, I think I will go hunt down that chocolate about now.  Have a great one!

Wed, Jan 28, 2009

What you are about to read is real.  So real that in fact you may think that it's not real.  But there is documented proof to prove it's realness.  So rest assured you're getting the real deal and not just a cheap imitation.  Some of what you will read, you have no trouble believing that it's real, but then there are things that you will not want to believe are real, but trust me....they are.

In 1968, after harassing a Las Vegas adult movie theater security guard, Jim Morrison was arrested and charged with public drunkenness.  They really have security guards at adult movie theaters?  I guess I've lived a very sheltered life because I would have never thought that one.  I mean, some very off colored jokes just "came" to my mind about what they would be securing...tee hee

I have heard of fans wanting autograph's in all sorts of places, but this is just unreal.  In 1978 a fan asked Ted Nugent to autograph his arm with a BOWIE KNIFE.  Did he...of course he did, it is Ted Nugent we're talking about after all.

This next fact just kills me.  It is one of those if I could wipe it off the face of history I would.  Not only did the face of Heavy Metal become altered in a way that should never have been, TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) a Christian network canceled this artists show Gospel America.  Heavy Metal and Christian programming having the same mind frame?  It does happen and here is proof.  Pat Boon released an album of Heavy Metal covers in 1997 entitled In A Metal Mood:  No More Mr. Nice Guy.  On the album were very horrific versions of songs such as Smoke on the Water, Stairway to Heaven, Panama, and for you viewing and listening displeasure, IF you are brave enough to click the play button, You've Got Another Thing Comin by Judas Priest.



And finally, a fact with a little normalcy to it, in 1997, MCA Records made an announcement that they had come to an agreement with the family of the late, great Jimi Hendrix to acquire rights to the entire Hendrix catalog.

Well, I know it doesn't seem real, but we've come to the end of our Twilight Zone edition of This Day In Rock.  Keep it Real! *wink*

Tue, Jan 27, 2009

If you haven't figured out how I work this column, I type up today's events yesterday, if that makes any sense.  Or, you could look at it this way....I'm typing tomorrow's events today.  AND with as freezing cold as it is here I'm going to make it quick, and I'll tell you why.

Back in October, the second weekend of October to be exact, we have a nice rain storm, that caused my ceiling in my living room to leak.  While trying to contain the dripping, I noticed that the ceiling was bulging and that bulge eventually split.  SO, I was sitting there with a split in my ceiling and rain leaking in which would in turn, after having contacted my landlord who contacted a contractor, cause my ceiling to fall in because the contractor stomped around on my roof.  Now, keep in mind this was OCTOBER...well, I am still sitting here with a piece of plywood screwed into my ceiling since he has NEVER COME BACK to fix it, even after several complaints to my landlord.  What this means, is that we are in the middle of an winter storm filled with ICE and the heat is going right out my ceiling.  Needless to say, to sit in one place to long is a chilling experience, SO, I will make today's this day in rock quick and hope that Mr. Sun decides to come back and visit me really soon because I hate winter.  I hate ice.  I hate snow.  I want summer and I want it now.

In 1967, a new option was offered in General Motors Buick line.  That option?  An eight-track player.

As Super Bowl XLIII is on the horizon, this day in rock takes a look back at Super Bowl XXV in 1991.  Oh, that's Super Bowl 25 for those who don't like to read in Roman Numerals.  The big game taking place in Miami that year, opened with Whitney Houston singing the National Anthem.  I am looking forward to this year to see who sings The Star Spangled Banner, as well as see if Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rock it....or not so much during the half time show.

I have heard several different excuses as to why someone has marijuana when they've been caught with it, but this one is a new on on me. In 1998,  James Brown claimed that when charged with possession of mary jane and unlawful use of a firearm that the drugs were used to help his eyesight.

Ok, I'm cold, time to go do something to warm up a little, so I hope that you are having a warm January 27th, because I'm not.  Think warm thoughts, think warm thoughts...I wish I were in TAMPA!

Mon, Jan 26, 2009

To start today's this day in rock, I set out looking for a video clip of the 1987 Howie Mandel movie Walk Like A Man, but was unable to find a site with an embedded link so I could share it.  I couldn't even find clips from youtube, which is sad, because they have clips for EVERYTHING!  Well, to be fair and honest there were like 3, but they were all grainy and you could see the outline of the tv and it wasn't scenes I wanted so I left them there.  Have I lost you yet?  Are you wondering why I'm talking about wanting a movie trailer for a music column, OR have you put it together?  The first fact is in fact about the title Walk Like A Man, but for the song, not the movie.  In 1963, this hit by the Four Seasons was released and within 5 weeks would hit #1 on the Billboard charts.  Now see, a movie video w/ the song would have raised this fact on the giggle meter, not to mention it would have tied all the craziness together.

Ok, your accountant comes to visit you.  And the news is great, in fact $30,000 dollars in check form type of great.  How do you respond?

A.  Jump up and down with joy

B.  Plan to throw a big party

C.  Get you air rilfe and attack your accountant because you don't want the check

If you answered C then you are correct.  One of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac, Peter Green did just this when his accountant delivered him a royalty check, and on this day in 1977, he was committed to a mental institution for the deed.



Our final fact is not a funny crazy fact, but an OMG crazy fact.  On in this day in 2001, Limp Bizkit's Big Day Out tour took them to Sydney Australia.  And when the band took the stage, 55,000 surging fans went nuts, and in the process, a 15 year old girl attending the show suffered a fatal heart attack after being caught in the crowd's surge.

Crazy things happen in the rock world, and when you bring them together in one day, it makes for a crazy day in rock.  Have a crazy day, my friends...and I'll keep the straight jacket warm for ya.

Fri, Jan 23, 2009

They say that things happen in threes.  Well, we have some facts that will follow that theme throughout today's day in rock.  But we'll get to that as they come along, and I'm sure that you will be able to put it together.

When the movie Footloose came out, there were people who thought that the concept of a town not allowing dancing was a far fetched notion.  Not as much as you would think.  The town that I grew up in had such an ordinance and any "dance" that was held was done at the County Fair Grounds, and even though it was in the city limits, it was county property thus not having to hold to the "no dance" rule.  Cleveland, Ohio had such a law stating that people under 18 were not allowed to dance in public, unless they were escorted by an adult.  Police started enforcing the law that dated back to 1931 on this day in rock in 1956.

To promote their album Crime of the Century, British band Supertramp started British tour on this day in rock,  that would span 13 days in 1975.  From the album came the single Dreamer that would reach #13 in the UK and would make it to #15 in the US.

This next fact from this day in rock took place in 1978.  Now, in doing a bit of research on this one, I've run across the same general fact, but with enough difference in the telling to make you notice.  What we do know is that Terry Kath, guitarist for the band Chicago accidentally shot himself, believing the gun to be unloaded.  On account says that he was cleaning the gun, while another says he playing around with it at a party.  Both accounts do say that his last words were "Don't worry, it's not loaded".  He died instantly from the wound. (1)

Now, it's time to take a look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for the year 1986.  Inducted were, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Check Berry, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Everly Brothers, Little Richard and Fats Domino.

After surviving the plan crash in 1977 that would kill two band members, 37 year old former Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Allen Collins, who had been ill for several months died from pneumonia. (2)

And finally, Richard Berry, writer of Louie Louie by The Kingsmen died from an aneurysm while asleep.  He was at his Los Angeles home and was 63 years old.  (3)

There's a saying in one of my favorite book series that says "Life is a dream from which we all must wake".  And we find 3 cases of rockers waking from the dream on this day in rock.  I hope that your dream, and in saying that I mean your life is pleasant and prosperous this January 23rd.

Thu, Jan 22, 2009

Ok Folks Its Jenny Today for this day in Rock! I hope you enjoy! Lis will be back again tomorrow!

On this day in the year 1966 the song “These Boots Are Made for Walkin” entered the Billboard charts. It would end up being one of Nancy Sinatra's biggest hits by going to number one and staying in the top 100 for three months!!

Then on this year in 1984 Barry Manilow Sang the National Anthem for Superbowl XVIII. He had released a disc in 1983 Titled “Greatest Hits Vol. II” And I am sure this appearance helped boost sales for it!

Then in the year 1989 Nicholas Adam Simmons was born. He is the son of Gene Simmons of Kiss. Twenty years ago! Seems like yesterday! They do grow fast!

 That’s all for today folks! Tune in tomorrow for another edition of This day in Rock!

Wed, Jan 21, 2009

When I think of the Animals, the first song that comes to my mind is of course, House of the Rising Sun. It's one of those songs that is classic and you can't help but love. You were thinking that I was thinking of Animal from the Muppets weren't you??   Ah-ha!!  Not that particular animal my friends...  In 1965, the BAND the Animals sadly were forced to cancel their show at the Apollo Theater in New York when the US Immigration Department made them leave the venue.  The Ed Sullivan Show would be their only appearance in New York.



In 1984, the number one song on Blillboard's Hot 100 that would reach #28 in the UK was Owner of A Lonely Heart by Yes.  This would be the bands only Top Ten hit.  One of my childhood memeories involving this song was when we were in Denver, CO and went to a laser light show where they used this song in the show.  It was amazing and I can still in my minds eye see the broken heart done in laser...it was pretty darn cool.



And finally, our look at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continues with the inductees from 1987.  The Coasters, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley, B.B. King, Clyde McPhatter, Ricky Nelson (father of Gunner and Matthew of the Band Nelson), Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Smokey Robison, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams and Jackie Wilson were inducted into the Hall.

Tue, Jan 20, 2009

Well, here we are finding ourselves at January 20th.  The month is just half over, can you believe it?  It seems that time tends to just go faster and faster.  Yesterday there were 4 teams left standing in the NFL, now we're down to 2 and in just 2 weeks a Champion will be crowned. And trust me, I have no problem letting you know I'm hoping my mighty Steelers bring home a 6th Lombardi Trophy, becoming the ONLY team in the NFL to have 6.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is shaping up, and the United States prepares for change as today is President Obama's inauguration.  To use a phrase from one of my favorite authors, Robert Jordan, and his amazing book series, The Wheel of Time just continues to spin faster and faster and I just hope we're all ready for the ride.

In hitting the reverse button on the wheel, we can look back on the events and happenings for January 20th on This Day In Rock.

In 1958, St Louis radio station KWK decided to change their formant and removed all Rock n Roll music from their play list.  The entire library got a farewell from the disc jockeys before every rock album was smashed into pieces.  Robert T Convey, the station's manager felt that Rock n Roll had reigned the airwaves for long enough and said the removal was "a simple weeding out of undesirable music."

Moving around to 1973, The Grand Ole Opry book Jerry Lee Lewis but told him that he had to agree to play only Country and Western tunes.  Well, he did.....for awhile, but wasn't able to make it through the whole set before going into his rockin hits from the 50's and leaving a trail of profanity yelling, "I amt he rock and rollin' country and western, rhythm and blues singin' motherf***er."  I'd be money that he was never invited back to the Grand Ole Opry after that.

In 1982, Ozzy Osbourne was one the big name shock rockers out.  And where I'm from, parents tried very hard to keep their kids from listening to any of his music, as he would lead you on a path straight to hell.  And on this day in that year, Ozzy ended up having to go through a series of rabies shots after biting the head off of a live bat that was thrown at him during a concert in Des Moines Iowa.  My source claims that he thought the bat was plastic, but as Ozzy was willing to just about anything, you never know.......

And finally, we zero in on the year 1998 when starting at New York University, a multimedia exhibit that would continue on in a free tour of US colleges, that featured more than 250 of Rolling Stone covers and memorabilia from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Well, I hope that the wheel didn't spin you into dizziness and that your day rocks!

Mon, Jan 19, 2009

This Day in Rock is full of historical happenings.  As the rock and roll world looks at it's hall of famers our nation prepares for Tuesday and the inauguration of our new president.  Toady, we will look back at former Hall of Fame inductees as well as former inauguration performances. We also have a birthday today as well as an interesting decision from the Liverpool tourism officials.

Today would have marked the 66th birthday of legendary female vocalist Janis Joplin, who was born in Port Arthur, Texas.  She is remembered for her hits Me and Bobby McGee, Piece of My Heart, and my favorite, Mercedes Benz, which was one of the last recordings she completed.



Performing at  Jimmy Carter's inaugural ball in 1977,  were Aretha Franklin who preformed God Bless America and The Charlie Daniels Band.  In 1993, the performers for the inaugural concert for Bill Clinton included:  Aretha Franklin performing I Have A Dream, Fleetwood Mac with Don't Stop, which was used by the Clinton campaign as their unofficial theme song.  Michael Jackson, Judy Collins, Chuck Berry, Michael Bolton and Little Richard performed as well.

1994's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees included:  Elton John, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Duane Eddy, Willie Dixon, Bob Marley, Johnny Otis, Rod Stewart and John Lennon.  Stewart, who was supposed to receive his award from Jeff Beck was unable to attend the ceremony due to being detained in Los Angeles after the infamous earthquake of 1994 which happened two days before the induction.  Lennon was induced by Paul McCartney, who was quoted saying,  "The thing you must remember is, that I'm the number one John Lennon fan. I love him to this day and I always did love him."

And to finish up our historical trip down memory lane, our last stop takes place in Liverpool, England, where tourist officials prohibited signs that read, "Liverpool, the birthplace of the Beatles" to be erected because the Highway Agency felt they would be a distraction to drivers.

Well, that's all I have for you on this Monday, January 19th.  Hope yours is historic!

Mon, Jan 19, 2009

     Ok, here it is for this week.  I've heard about it on several different occasions but I'm just now getting around to checking it out.  What's with the deal with Brett Michaels Rock of Love?  I mean come on Brett don't you have anything better to do with your time?  Now don't get me wrong I can understand the that you are a guy and what real guy would not want a bunch of women fighting over him, but I just think that you could find something more productive to do with your time.  And who does your casting for the girls, I mean I'm all for fairness and everything but I'm sure your glad when some of them are finally cut.

     And this is not just for Brett ladies, but do you really want to give up your pride to be on this type of reality show.  Yes it would be really great if you won but look at the odds, not so good are they?  And seriously what's with all the getting hurt and upset when you don't win?  Why all the tears?  You know that "There can be only one" winner (excuse the quote from The Highlander movie please).  It's just like the Bachelor, Flavor of Love, and all the rest.  You know going into it that you will probably get your heart broken, so why bother? 

     O'yea I forgot you get 15 minutes of fame and of course there is the money issue.  But is it truly worth it?  After it's all said and done and you go back to real life, what have you actually accomplished?  I've seen other shows where the contestants tell the judges or whoever that they quit their job or gave up this thing or that only to still lose?  So what's the point....when it all comes together their isn't is there.  I mean if Brett really wanted a true girlfriend or companion or whatever do you really think that he would need a contest for it? I don't think so.

     So there it is in a nutshell my opinion for the week.  Until next time....thanks and keep checking us out here at RoadCrewMag.com

Fri, Jan 16, 2009

When I was a kid, like most I was fearless.  Well, that is until I was around six years old when, thinking I was all that, I said, "I can watch that movie, it won't scare me".  Famous last words.  The movie?  Kingdom of the Spiders and to this day, I'm beyond HIGHLY arachnophobic.  I can't to see or hear anything about spiders without getting freaked out.  Snakes?  Nahhh, I'm ok w/ snakes, so it is in half fear and half bravery that I offer up this happy birthday to you.  Does anyone out there remember the song Spiders & Snakes?  It's filed in the same music file as the song Sneaky Snake in my memory bank of music.  Jim Stafford, who is famous for the creepy crawly song turns 65 today.



As I was older, I used the same phrase about another movie that should have probably scared me, as it stared the Bee Gees, George Burns and the singer/songwriter that this fact is actually going to be about.  Any guesses as to what movie I'm talking about? If you hven't guessed, it was Sergeant Pepper, starring Peter Frampton.  An on this day in rock, in 1976, he released Frampton Comes Alive.  It went to gold within 5 weeks and went to platinum in fewer than 3 months.  In the first year the album sold 19 million copies.  With that success, I guess the answer to that question is, "No, I don't feel like you do".  (OH, and for the record I LOVED the movie.)

How would you like to be flying your seaplane, minding your own business, when all of a sudden Jamaican authorities open fire on your plane?  In 1996, this very thing happened to Jimmy Buffett and his passenger Bono of U2.  The authorities mistook Buffett's plane for a drug trafficker's plane.  Neither Buffett nor Bono were injured.  Do you think that one of the guys on the ground pointed at the sky and said, "Boss, the plane, the plane"?  Ok, I know, bad joke, but as I loved Fantasy Island I had to throw a small tidbit out there in honor of Ricardo Montalban who passed away at the age of 88 on Wednesday.

And fianlly, on this day in 1999 famous Los Angeles night club the Whiskey A Go-Go celebrated their 35th anniversary and had a week long celebration of concerts featuring artists who had previously performed there, including:  Grass Roots, the Robby Krieger Band, Johnny Rivers, Nancy Sinatra, Randy Bachman, Jan & Dean, and Martha Reeves.  When I think of the Whiskey, I think of Motley Crue.  Maybe they'll get invited to play at the next celebration.

Well, this brings another edition of This Day In Rock to a close for this week.  Be sure to check back on Monday, as it will be a new day, a new week, with new (well, really, old since we're looking into the past) facts.  Have a great weekend!!!

Thu, Jan 15, 2009

Today's issue of This Day in Rock is a bit of a quickie.  Short, sweet and to the point.

In 1966, The Rolling Stones received their third Gold record for their album December's Children, which included the tracks, Get Off My Cloud,  As Tears Go By and I'm Free.

In 1972,  The number one song on Billboard's Hot 100 was Don McLean's American Pie.  Many assume that Buddy Holly's death represented "the day the music died", however McLean has never confirmed the assumption.  The record went on to reach #2 on the UK chart. 

I love this song of course, I mean come on, it's a classic, BUT I have to say just as much as enjoy listening to the original, I love listening to Weird Al's parody of the song too.

And finally, in our short and sweet, rolled up and condensed version, on this day in rock, The Eagles album Hotel California toped the Billboard album chart.  It's tracks Hotel California and New Kid In Town, both topped out at #1 on the Hot 100 chart.

And there it is.  The snack pack, quick munch version.  I hope that it'll hold you over until dinner time and that you didn't spoil your supper!!

Wed, Jan 14, 2009

Let's waste no time today and get right to it, shall we?  And what better place to start than with a couple of birthdays?  Denmark singer Mike Tramp of White Lion was born turns 48 today and Dave Grohl first of Nirvana and now of the Foo Fighters turns 40.  A very big rockin happy birthday to them!!

Have you ever thought about why musician's chose the stage names they did?  I love finding out the stories behind them, and I have one to share with you today.  In 1966, David Bowie, whose birth name is David Jones changes his so that he would now be confused with the Monkees singer Davy Jones.  He did so just in time for the release of his single, Can't Help Thinking About Me.  He said that he chose "Bowie" because he liked that "big American bear-killing knife."

This next fact I had to throw in, because as soon as I read it all the different Swiffer commercials came to my mind.  In 1978 the song Baby Come Back by Player was the #1 song in the US.  It was written by Peter Beckett and John Crowley of the band after they had both broken up with their respective girl friends.  The single went on to reach #32 in the UK.

And finally, don't you just love hearing about different lawsuits that get tossed around in the music industry?  In 1999, Victoria's Secret was on the receiving end of a lawsuit by metal rockers Metallica, who claimed that the lingerie company infringed on their trademark when they marketed a line of "Metallica" lip pencils.

Well, I don't know about you, but now that I've gone through these, Baby Come Back is running through my head, SO on that note, I'm going to go put on something with a bit more of a metallica....I mean metal feel to it.  *wink*  Later....

Tue, Jan 13, 2009

January 13th was another busy day in the rock world with arrests, prisons, lawsuits and TV appearances.  With rockers from across the different rock genres, there was a whole lot of shaking going on.

In 1967, The Rolling Stones appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and like The Doors the were forced to change lyrics to the song they were going to perform.  Instead of Let's Spend the Night Together, their performance for the show was to be changed to Let's Spend Some Time Together.  In his disapproval of the censorship, singer Mick Jagger made sure that he called attention to it by rolling his eyes when he sang the changed lyrics.

In 1968, Johnny Cash went to Folsom State Prison in California and recorded a live album entitled Live At Folsom Prison, going against advice given to him by Columbia Record executives.  The Album would become one of his biggest selling records, going all the way to #1 on the Country album chart and to #13 on the Hot 200.  The album became certified triple platinum in 2003 and made #88 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

In a lawsuit that would eventually be dropped, the Y.M.C.A. filed a lawsuit against the Village People for their song of the same title in 1979.  In doing further research about this, I have run across reports claiming this to be rumor and not fact.

In 2003, Pete Townshend, guitarist for The Who was arrested on suspicions of child porn.  From his South West London home, seven computers were impounded by police.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can almost taste the Super Bowl!  My team the mighty, mighty Steelers are one game away....one dangerous game away.  Just as big as the game, is the half time show.  And for the most part, I'm always disappointed in the performance.  There's always the hype and no substance, such as when the Stones played at Super Bowl XL, and as Mick said, they "twied, and they twied" and I couldn't wait for the 3rd quarter to start.  They need to have a good ol' heavy metal monster band have at it.  Have Kiss, or the Crue or Metallica take on the half time show, and you'll get a SHOW.

I wonder for how many bands or artists playing the halftime show is one of their goals.  In 2004, U2 singer Bono, in his hopes to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa requested to perform the song An American Prayer with Jennifer Lopez, only to be turned down by the NFL, who stated "We don't believe it's appropriate to focus on a single issue."

Well, it's time for me to move on and take care of other adventures that need to be sought after.  May your January 13th be awesome!!

Update:  In doing research for this column, my system is far from perfect and at times, I find out things after the fact, such as with this.  Today would have marked the 46th birthday of the late Tim Kelly, guitarist for Slaughter who was killed in a car accident in 1998.

Sun, Jan 11, 2009

Topic, topic, topic, where is my topic.  O there it is wildly chasing after all the people that we love. 

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that there is a huge difference between a fan and a fanatic.  A fan is one who has a love and respect for the people that they admire.  They read the articles, listen to the interviews, go to the concerts with open minds to see the artist perform.   The fan is one who you don’t have to be afraid of meeting in a dark alley.  A fan does not put  their name in with the artist like they are or are ever going to be together except of course in their wild fantasies (Look boss de plane, de plane). 

    On the other hand you have those who I have dubbed as a fanatic.  They have a love for those that they admire, I don’t deny that.  But it’s the extent to which they take that admiration that I have a problem with.  They plaster their house with the articles, they have the interviews committed to memory word for word, they go to every concert on the ticket regardless of the cost to themselves or their family.  The fanatic is not one you would want to meet in a well lit alley, let alone a  dark one.  A fanatic takes Mr. or Mrs. and then inserts the name of the artist and tends to honestly believe it.  And what’s with the all the glittery comments on the different chat sites, give it a rest already.

    So I ask you are a fan or a fanatic?  Do you hang out in chat rooms in the hopes that the artist will show up just to talk to you.  Would we be able to trust  you with our idols in a closed private room or not?  Well perhaps that’s not a fair question, because depending on the individual…..we’ll just leave that one alone.

    Anyway like I said a fan or fanatic I personally don’t really mind either way however the thing that gets to me is the way you bring it across.  Don’t try to pass yourself as something your not.   But also have the decency to respect the other people that you are speaking to, if they don’t want to hear about your fetish then don’t keep talking about it.  

    Again this is just MY opinion if you would like to send me a comment please feel free to do so at butch@roadcrewmag.com, and I would be more than happy to respond.  But also remember I might just come back to this topic and use any comments that I receive.

Mon, Jan 12, 2009

Ahhhhhhh January.  The smell of another Super Bowl championship is just on the horizon, along with the inductees for the NFL Hall of Fame.  Well, January is not only the month for just the NFL’s Hall of Fame, but Rock and Roll’s Hall of fame as well, and before we cover our “daily” facts, we’re going to take a look at some Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductees for the years 1993, 1995, and 1998.  And did I mention, the nominees from these years were inducted on This Day In Rock?

1993 saw CCR, The Doors, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, Frankie Lymon, Dinah Washington and Etta James into the Hall, along with Cream, who reunited to perform at the induction ceremony held in Los Angeles. 

1995’s inductees included:  Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brother’s Band, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Al Gree and Frank Zappa.

In 1998, the Hall welcomed The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and The Papas, Santana, Lloyd Price, Gene Vincent, Allen Toussaint and Jelly Roll Morton.

This year’s nominees will be announced this month and will be officially inducted on April 4, 2009.  The list of this year’s nominees include:  Jeff Beck, Chick, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC, The Stooges, War and Bobby Womack.

On this day in 1969, legendary rock band Led Zeppelin released their self titled debut album.  The band’s original name had been, The New Yardbirds, but was changed after  the Who’s drummer, Keith Moon said that their music would go over like a “led zeppelin”.

On this day in 1974, Steve Miller found his single The Joker number one on Billboard’s Top 100 chart.  The song had entered the charts in October of 1973.

On this day, in 1984, the Madison Square Garden hosted the opening show for now legendary (and should be inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame) metal band, Motley Crue’s first US tour. 

In the year 2000, Smashing Pumpkins bad times just got a little worse on this day, when their manager Sharon Osbourne  parted ways with the band.  When speaking about her departure, Osbourne was quoted as saying,  “It was with great pride and enthusiasm that I took on management of the Pumpkins back in October, but unfortunately I must resign today due to medical reasons - [Pumpkins frontman] Billy Corgan was making me sick!”

I hope that your January 12th is a hall of fame day!  Keep rockin, and keep reading!!

Mon, Jan 12, 2009

     Looks like I have to do this all over again because I goofed it up the first time. So here we go again the first installment of The Lords Labyrinth.  Let’s get some things perfect ally clear before we start this whole process.

1.  Anything that I may say in any of my articles, blogs, etc… do not, and I repeat DO NOT represent the views, opinions, or beliefs of anyone else associated with Road Crew Magazine or Road Crew Magazine itself.

2.  Most of what I will be talking about is going to be my own opinion on things.

3.  I may at some point in time offend and/or  disagree with you, if so get over it.  Like I said my views and my opinions.

4.  This is going to start out by being a once or twice a week type of column due to my work but I will try to up it when I can so please check back often.

     There may be more but for now I think that will suffice.  Now on to other things I would like input from all you people out there as you are what makes this whole crazy world go round.  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.  But please remember I may just quote you in my next blog or column so keep that in mind.  Also I would like to make this a kind of audience participation column to some extent.  If you have a topic that you would like to hear my opinion on or would just like to have a discussion on that topic in general,  again please email me and let me know, and I will see what we can do.

My email address is   butch@roadcrewmag.com

Ok that’s all for now folks so until we meet again in cyber-space……..

By   Fri, Jan 09, 2009

Fri, Jan 09, 2009

Ok, I'll be honest.  My mind is not wanting to wrap around what it needs to be.  Nope, it's thinking of other things.  BCS Football with the Oklahoma Sooners playing for the championship, Total Drama Island is going to replay all of their episodes, starting in 38 minutes.  And I missed the first one the last time around....and then there's OTHER things.  Other very distracting things.  And when all of this is going on it once, it makes it hard for the synapses in your brain to synaps.  But even in the midst of distraction, I'll do my best to synap to it and give you what happened on this day in rock.

Let's start today as we have the past couple of days, with a birthday.  Today, we wish a very happy birthday to legendary guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, who was born this day in 1944.


In 1976, Queen held the number one song in the UK with the amazing piece that can only be described as rock meets theater with Bohemian Rhapsody, a song that is now immortalized because of the movie Wayne's World.



In 1984, Van Halen released their album of the same name (1984) on January 9th.  The album would reach #2 on the album charts with the hits:  Jump, Panama, and Hot For Teacher.

In 1997, David Bowie celebrated his 50th birthday.  Nope, today is NOT his birthday, yesterday was, but his birthday celebration took place on January 9th at Madison Square Garden, where he held a benefit concert featuring the Foo Fighters, Lou Reed, Frank Black, Robert Smith, Sonic Youth and Placebo.



There is one thing I don't get.  Crazy stalker fans.  I understand being a huge fan and thinking an artist is hot, BUT I don't get these people who will go out of their way and do anything to get an artists attention.  Such is the case with this next story.

Karen McNeil, had a thing for Axl Rose.  So much of a thing, that she claimed to be married to him and that she even communicated with him telepathically.  On this day in 2001, she was arrested outside of his Malibu home for violating her probation, that I would assume dealt with a restraining order.  See?  I don't get it!

Moving on to 2005, we find a wedding celebration.  Vince Neil of Motley Crue's 4th wedding to be specific.  In a ceremony performed by MC Hammer, who stared with Neil on the reality TV show The Surreal Life, the singer married his girlfriend Lia Gerardini in Las Vegas.

Well, Total Drama Island is over, it's half time in the football game, and I think I've covered the high points for this day in rock.  Hope you have a great weekend!

Note:  My Sooners lost the game. I'm not surprised by this, but still a little disappointed.  Congratulations to Florida for a well deserved title.

By   Fri, Jan 09, 2009

By   Thu, Jan 08, 2009

"An unforeseen future nestled somewhere in time.
Unsuspecting victims no warnings, no signs.
Judgment day the second coming arrives.
Before you see the light you must die."

Would you believe these words came out of Iraq? I bet you are thinking they are words of an extremist group. Well you are right and you are wrong. They are extremists in there country because they choose to play heavy metal. The words are actually lyrics from Slayer's song: South of Heaven and they are sung by a band of Iraqi's called Brutal Impact.

Does this mean that the Middle East is trying to embrace the Western Culture? It seems that at least some of the younger generation is at least curious and possibly open to different ideas.

Music has always been an source of expression, comfort, and a bridge that crosses the boundaries of different cultures and reaches those who otherwise may not have been reached.

So, Slayer has touched the musical soul's of Brutal Impact. Check them out above. Check out the rest of the lyrics below. Kind of ironic. My hope is more young Iraqi's find in themselves this form of self expression. Find a peaceful way to express their emotions through song.

South of Heaven by: Slayer

An unforeseen future nestled somewhere in time.
Unsuspecting victims no warnings, no signs.
Judgment day the second coming arrives.
Before you see the light you must die.

Forgotten children, conform a new faith,
Avidity and lust controlled by hate.
[the] never ending search for your shattered sanity,
Souls of damnation in their own reality.

Chaos rampant,
An age of distrust.
Confrontations.
Impulsive habitat.

Bastard sons beget your cunting daughters,
Promiscuous mothers with your incestuous fathers.
Engreat souls condemned for [all] eternity,
Sustained by immoral observance a domineering deity.

Chaos rampant,
An age of distrust.
Confrontations.
Impulsive sabbath.

On and on, south of heaven

Lead: king

The root of all evil is the heart of a black soul.
A force that has lived all eternity.
A never ending search for a truth never told.
The loss of all hope and your dignity.

Chaos rampant,
An age of distrust.
Confrontations.
Impulsive habitat.

On and on, south of heaven

Thu, Jan 08, 2009

Happy January 8th to you, and to kick it off, we have another Road Crew birthday today.  Hailing all the way from Sweden, our international writing sensation Tess is celebrating one today, so be sure to go by her blog or myspace and leave her some birthday love!!  Tess, hope it's awesome and I know this goes for all of us when I say, I wish we were there to celebrate it with you.!!



I'm so excited about today's column as today’s facts feature some bands with a little more of a bite   to them.  At the same time, it's a day of remembrance for one particular guitarist, but we'll get to that in a few.

Airing on ABC in 1964, Shindig was a rock and roll variety show, featuring everyone from the Rolling Stones, to Jerry Lee Lewis, from Rick Nelson to the Moody Blues.  Appearing and performing on the show's final episode on January 8, 1966 was the Who and The Kinks.



After playing a show with Blue Oyster Cult and Iggy Pop, now legendary rockers KISS was signed by Casablanca Records on this day in 1974.  Their first album, which would reach #87 on the US Album Charts was released only a few weeks after their signing.

 I love Queen.  They were unique and their musicality was brilliant.  Bicycle Race has been one of my favorite songs as far back as I can remember.  Their music has been used in multiple movies and in multiple ways.  When my older brother was in high school, his class used Another One Bites the Dust for the theme song for their homecoming float, which had my cousin dressed up as a cheerleader and my younger brother dressed up as a yellow jacket (the mascot) with a toy Tommy gun.  Of course, if that was tried today, the parade would be shut down due to mass panic because of a psycho mascot with a gun.

On this day, in 1977, the band's album A Day At the Races went to #1 on the UK album chart.  Another little tidbit to throw at you concerning the albums title is this:  The band got the name for the album from a Marx Brother's film of the same name that came out in 1937.

Today's final fact is one that is close to my heart.  In a previous column I had mentioned that when I was a teenager, Def Leppard was my favorite band.  I had followed them from pretty much the beginning, when they released On Through The Night.  I can still see in my mind's eye, the wallpapering job made up from posters and pictures from various metal magazines.  I remember thinking they were one of the greatest bands to ever hit the rock scene, and still do to this day.

I remember when I was a senior and when I got to school that day.  My first hour was band, and one of my friends, who sat close to me who knew how big of a Lep fan I was, told me that Rick  Savage had died the previous day.  Well, I had been at work the afternoon and evening before with no access to rock news, and I was thinking, there's NO way.....NO FREAKING WAY.....I anxiously made it through the first four hours of the day and rushed home at lunch so that I could turn on MTV to see if I could verify what I had been told.  To my dismay, I found out that although Rick Savage was very much alive, it was in fact Def Leppard's Steve Clark that had died on the 8th of January, 1991.  I was horrified, and numb and sat in disbelief.  I honestly don't remember how I made it through the rest of that day.  I didn't talk to anyone, I just kept to myself in a state of shock.

When I got home I remember putting in the video for their concert In The Round, In Your Face and just sat and cried.  Cried for a great loss in music, for a guitarist that I idolized, for a band I lived and breathed, for a family who had lost a son.  The next Sunday, a radio station here in Oklahoma called The Katt played Hysteria on it's 7th Day program.  A program that plays 7 albums in their entirety.

I still to this day mourn his loss, in my opinion a huge loss to the music industry.  Steve was a guitarist that while never seeming to put his thoughts or emotions into words, he would pour them forth through his music.  It was like you could hear the very depth of his soul crying out through each note that he played.  May his memory be forever honored and may the music of a truly amazing musician live on forever.

By   Wed, Jan 07, 2009

Roadrunner Records released their top 10 for 2008. Many of those that posted a list were various people who work for the company and members of various bands. Tyler Connolly from Theory Of A Deadman. Was one of those people and I wanted to share his list.

1. Shinedown - The Sound of Madness

This is their best record to date, great songs, sounds amazing, Rob Cavallo did a great job producing but most of all Brent Smith is the best singer in rock n roll period.

2. The Doors - The Very Best of the Doors

One of my all time favorite bands. 39 tracks with remixes from Paul Oakenfold and Crystal Method. I always tried to sing like Jim and even wore leather pants for a month straight. You won't catch me whipping my dick out on stage any time soon though.

3. Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords

One of the best shows on T.V. so fresh makes me want to be New Zealandish. Or at least be Murray their tour manager from the show.

4. Guns n Roses - Chinese Democracy

This isnt one of the best records of 2008 but i'm just looking to get on axl's good side so we can tour with them.

5. Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

His voice is so full of sadness and yet his hair remains so coiffed. This great man might have copied my hairdo but how could I hold a grudge.

6. Staind - The Illusion of Progress

The illusion of Progress- their latest record isn't much different than the rest in my opinion but still great material. Here's a band where every member brings a style to the songs that is noticeable unlike other bands. That and Aaron smokes enough fuckn dope every night to kill a dog and still sings every note. Bastard!

7. John Mayer - Continuum Special Edition

His idol was Stevie Ray Vaughn and I thought on his first record he sang alot like him. But this record he's come into a more diverse style which I love, and i'm pretty sure he can shred if he really wanted to.

8. Joe Satriani - Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock

i'm pretty sure he still plays dungeons and dragons every friday night with steve vai and yngwie malmsteen but that OK cuz he's in my opinion the best guitar player on the planet.

9. Colbie Caillat

Her father might be able to make her record sound amazing but you can't buy a voice like hers. The first time I heard her voice I got a hard on and had to google her picture right away.

10. AC/DC - Black Ice

same old,same old! but if it aint broke don't fix it right. They were worried a little bout Brian's voice on this record but it turns out he still has the "JACK" (yeah,yeah I know that was bon scott)

There it is folks and if you're really into top ten lists go here:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/wildcard/top2008/

That is where all of Roadrunner Records Top ten Lists are. I think you will have a great time there! Have a great day and don't forget tovisit Theory Of A Deadman at thier My Space Page:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=3834062

Turn it up and Rock on!

Wed, Jan 07, 2009

Today's Day in Rock is a clash of platinum, damages and violence.  What comes to my mind, is while I'm looking at these facts, I am listening to Dead Man's Ballet by Sixx:A.M. and Nikki's life incorporated all 3 of these topics.  Sadly, I don't have a fact for today on Mr. Sixx,  or Mr. Ashba and Mr. Michael, for that matter.  It was just the thought process my mind was taking that I wanted to share.  How, we can make such leaps in our minds, when the right elements are brought together.

So, what did happen on This Day In Rock?  Let's start with the damages.

Woodstock.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been there?  The size of the crowds, the amount of land covered by that many people?  Max Yasgur owned the farm that hosted this monumental festival and on this day in 1970, his area neighbors filed a lawsuit in the amount of $35,000 for property damages sustained over the course of the historic festival.

Where do we go next?  Violence or platinum?  Let's go with violence so that we can end today's column on a happier note.

The music world can end up being an ugly realm.  We've seen this with the needless deaths of John Lennon and INXS singer Michael Hutchence.  We've read about it's horrors in books such as Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries and Motley Crue's The Dirt.  For as much amazing talent and music that is produced, it seems there is just as much tragedy and heartbreak. 

On this day in 1980, we see one of these tragic events with the murder of Larry Williams, who died from a gunshot wound to the head.  He was murdered in his Los Angeles home at the age of 45.  Sadly, this case has never been solved.  He is remembered for his hits Dizzy Miss Lizzy and Bony Maronie.

They say diamonds are a girls best friend....unless you a rocker chick, then I would have to say platinum is that girls best friend....a platinum album that is.  And in back to back years, 2 different bands got their taste of platinum on this day in rock.

Led Zeppelin did, in 1980 when their album In Through The Out Door went platinum.  This would be their last album to be recorded with drummer John Bonham before his death.  The following year, the Eagles took platinum with Eagles Live, which would be the last album the band would record until their reunion in 1994.

Success is most often sought after and fought for, but tragedy does not discriminate and strikes at anyone and everyone.  May success find you and blossom in your midst, and may tragedy be far from you.  May your January 7th bring you happiness!  Later......

By   Tue, Jan 06, 2009

According to local police, Ron Asheton (60) was found dead in his Ann Arbor, Mich. home on January 6, 2009 of an apparent heart attack.

The Stooges were formed in 1967 by brothers Ron and Scott Asheton with Iggy Pop. While clearly predecessors to Punk and Alternative Rock, the Stooges experienced very little commercial success in their original incantation and subsequently parted ways in 1974. From that time to the reformation of the Stooges in 2003, Ron Asheton worked with such acts as The New Order and Destroy All Monsters. Rolling Stone has ranked him number 29 on their 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list.

The Stooges are nominated for induction into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.

Tue, Jan 06, 2009

Talk about an eclectic group of facts.  January 6th hit just about every topic you could imagine in the rock world.  And 3 of our facts have years that end with the number 6....coincidence????

In 1966, after entering the US chart in December of '65, We Can Work It Out by the Beatles not only stayed on the Hot 100 for 12 weeks, on This Day In Rock, the song was awarded a gold record. In the same week, the song would hit the number one spot and hold it for 3 weeks.

1979, aaahhh I remember the year well, I was in the first grade and our field trip to the Little Sahara State Park was canceled due to rain....joyous times....and the song that hit the #1 spot on the charts?  None other than Y.M.C.A. by the Village People.  This would be the bands only #1 hit and at one point in time actually sold 150,000 copies per DAY.  Oh, go on, sing the song and do the dance, you know you wanna.



This next fact is one that when I read it, I jumped on it for 2 reasons, even though a lot of people will have no clue as to the song or the artist.  But, when I was a senior in high school, a friend of mine and I did a routine to this song, where he played a geeky mail man and I was the desperate woman waiting for the letter.  It was rather humorous and I still wonder if Brandon has recovered from the shaking he received.....

In all seriousness though, Georgeanna Tillman of The Marvelettes, had a hit song in 1961 entitled, Please Mr. Postman.  On this day, in 1980, she lost her battle with a terrible disease called sickle cell anemia, passing away at the age of 35.
 
I had never heard of this disease until about the end of 2000, when I found out a friend of mine was suffering from the illness.  It strikes hard and kills young.  And if you want to find out more about this horrible disease and what can and is being done, please visit www.scinfo.org.

How can anyone forget the OJ Simpson drama back in the 90's.  Not to mention the sequel this last year?  Well, on this day in 1996, an LA radio station recieved a song request for the song One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, by none other than OJ, to his murdered wife Nicloe.  Can you say CREEPY????

And in birthday news, Mr. Malcolm Young of AC/DC is celebrating one today.  He was born today, in 1953 and is STILL shaking people all night long!!  

Well, there it is....kind of here there and everywhere, but it all came together for the good of this rock column.  Have a Rockin Tuesday and I'll see you tomorrow!!

Mon, Jan 05, 2009

Today is a happy day.  Why?  Because Christmas break is offically over and my kids went back to school today.  No more rantings of "I'm Bored", "PLEASE MOVE!", "Mom, will you make them stop?" and so on.  When you have 4 boys ranging from, knocking on the door of 16 down to just turned 9, you can imagine what my house is like. Hurricane Cross has left the building .....for now...how long till Spring Break????

Welcome to the first offical week of 2009 and to what This Day In Rock holds.  I'm really excited as sometime between the 9th and the 27th the source I purchased from Amazon.com will hit my mailbox and I'll have an actual hard copy of facts to use as well as cyber.  Yay Me!  But that's not why you're here today, is it?  You're here to find out what happened January 5th on This Day In Rock.

Let's start with birthdays shall we?  We have 3 for today.  The most important?  That of Road Crew Magazine's very own Cinful Cinn.  Be sure to go leave a comment on her blog or her myspace page and let her know how much she ROCKS!!!  Happy Birthday, boyfriend! *wink*

The other two birthdays I mentioned?  Well, Brooklyn native Chris Stein of Blondie was born this day in 1950 and in 1969 shock rocker Marilyn Manson entered this world, I'm sure in a screaming rage.  So happy birthday to them and to all of you rockin a birthday today!

Now, onto our other music tidbits for today's munching pleasure.  In a short nine months after being released, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits went gold.   I have never been a big fan of Bob, although I appreciate what he brought to the realm of Folk Music, but I will say I can not hear the song Everybody Must Get Stoned without singing along.

In 1978, Atlanta got exposed to a heavy dose of Punk, when the Sex Pistols made their US debute at the Great Southeast Music Hall.  And they left their little punk prints all over the country.

And sadly, on this day in 1998, Sunny Bono died from head injuries sustained druing a skiing accident.  After a successful music carreer with Cher, Bono had gone into politics landing a seat in the House of Representatives in 1994 representing Caloifornia.

Happy January 5th to you all...and now, I'm off to go throw cake at Cinn's myspace page!!!

Fri, Jan 02, 2009

I hope you are getting settled into the new year and that all hangovers are gone.  In doing reaserch for today, I discovered that January 2nd was a fairly quiet day in the music world, which kind of struck me as odd.  Also, for you die hard rock historians, I am on the lookout for some new sources for this column that feature more of our metal rockers instead of our classic rockers.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love my classic rock, BUT it seems like everyday I'm typing something about the Beatles (like today) and a heavier grain of metal runs through my vains.  SO, if you run across some metal resources that can be used in this column, hook me up at lis@roadcrewmag.com

And yes, this first fact is a Beatle fact...well, a Geroge Harrison fact, but that is pretty much the same thing.  Lucky George was the first Beatle to go solo that had a number 1 album in the US when on this day in 1971 All Things Must Pass made it to the top of the charts.

I love Meat Loaf...and I'm not talking food.  I loved him in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, does anyone besides me remember his cartoon that aired on CBS back in 1982? (I had to go look that one up to make sure my memory wasn't playing tricks on me).  And of course I LOVE Bat Out of Hell.  In 1994, the bat went back to Hell.  Bat Out Of Hell 2- Back To Hell began a three week journey at the top of the UK Album charts, on this day in rock.



And finally, on this day in 1997, the 45 year old lead singer for the band Spirit, Randy California, while able to save his 12 year old son, lost his life tragically when while swimming off the coast of the Hawaiian island Molokai was caught in an undertow. 

Well, that's all I have for today, have a ROCKIN afternoon!!

Thu, Jan 01, 2009

I hope that everyone is have a wonderful New Year's Day, and I'm not going to get all motherly on you and tell you to be sure to eat your black eyed peas, because I won't eat them myself.  I can bet you that I will get a phone call from my grandmother, asking me if I have eaten them, just like every year, and of course I will have to give her the same answer.  NO, I don't like them.  Then I'll get the "you need to eat just one teaspoon" speech.  Ok, I know that this is neither here nor there, so let's get to the January 1st, 2009 New Years edition of This Day In Rock.

I'm not a big country fan, but I when I saw this fact, I couldn't help but share it.  In 1953, Hank Williams was 29 years old.  On this day in rock, he had the number 1 song on the Country chart with I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive.  Today, in that same year, Hank Williams died from heart failure while on his way to Canton, Ohio for a show.

Now, I understand people can go without getting tired of hearing their favorite songs, or songs by their favorite artists, BUT there are times that it can be taken to the extreme, where even die hard fans will get to the point of not wanting to hear THAT song or THAT band anymore TODAY.  Such is the case with the next to facts.

In 1971 in celebration of being in music for 10 years, Radio Luxembourg played over 7 hours of Beatles music....nonstop.  And in 1980 Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven got aired for 24 long hours on a Florida radio station as an introduction to an all Zeppelin format.  Can you say OVERKILL?

And wrapping up our January 1st, in 2005 Eric Clapton, age 56 married his girlfriend Melia McEnery, age 25 at a private ceremony.  They also celebrated the christening of thier daughter, Julie Rose.

May your New Year rock!  I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for us!

By   Wed, Dec 31, 2008

VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, CMT, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTV Tr3s, Comedy Central, Logo, Palladia, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick 2, Nicktoons, Spike, The N and TV Land are all channels that will no longer be apart of your tv viewing if you are a customer of Time Warner Cable as of 12:01am January 01, 2009. The states ringing in the new year facing this blackout are New York, the Carolinas, Ohio, Southern California and Texas, if Viacom Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. can not come to some agreement regarding a cost increase.

According to Time Warner, Viacom is demanding $39 million on top of the nearly $300 million already paid to them annually. Time Warner's Chief Executive, Glenn Britt, called the 12% increase "extortion and outrageous given the recession". A spokesman for Time Warner, Alex Dudley, stated "They never had any intention of settling this or negotiating in good faith" in regards to the support Viacom sought through use of the media. There was newspaper ads showing "Dora the Explorer" crying about the removal of her show as well as many other popular kids shows being removed from Time Warner's channel line up. There was also tv ads pointing fingers at Time Warner for the forthcoming blackout. Dudley went on to say "the advertising campaign was a sign that Viacom had been preparing for a damaging shutdown".

Viacom's side of the arguement, according to spokeswoman, Kelly McAndrew, is that one fifth of television viewing time,by Americans, is spent watching Viacom stations, yet only make up less than 2.5% of the Time Warner cable bill fees. Viacom's channels had been "underpriced relative to their peers." says analyst Michael Nathanson with Bernstein Research. Networks like those ran by The Walt Disney Co., News Corp.'s Fox, Discovery Communications Inc. as well as Time Warner's very own Turner Broadcasting System all receive about a 65% higher daily licensing fee, when compared to Viacom despite the rating rankings. McAndrew also disputed the figures claimed by Time Warner, saying that it was really closer to less than a penny a day per subscriber.

Time Warner's answer to the households that will host empty channels come Thursday morning? They will "make available a video teaching people how to hook their computers up to the TV to watch online shows". {As a customer as well as a mother of three, to me that is not a tolerable solution, especially considering how much I pay for my cable bill in the first place. I am much more willing to pay the 23cents a month to get the channels I want, but then again I was never asked for my say on this issue.} 

This would be the second dispute and potential loss of channels for Time Warner in less than 3 months. Back in October there was disagreement with LIN TV Corp which is home to local channels such as CBS, CW, FOX, and NBC. Alot of customers were not happy losing such important channels as those then, even if it was only for a few weeks. This time around if the channels fall into abyss, alot more unhappiness will follow. As of Wednesday morning, Time Warner's stock shares fell 31cents, or 1.4 percent, to $21.45 while Viacom's rose 88cents, or 4.5 percent, to close at $20.12. Time Warner is going up against one if not thee largest cable programmer there is, or otherwise known as a monopoly. 

***update***

It seems some sort of deal has been reached, though the details are still unclear. As the midnight hour passed and Viacom channels were still airing, it seemed that a deal was in the works. I, for one, am very happy I still have my Viacom channels, however what I don't appreciate, as a customer, is that Time Warner waited till just beyond the last minute to finally agree to the demands of Viacom, that in my opinion didnt sound so outrageous in the first place.

 ~jeniPHer

By   Sun, Dec 28, 2008

So he is gorgeous, he can act, he has a hit movie on his hands, and now a music career? Well, not exactly. But, "Twilight Movie" star, Robert Pattinson, does lend his voice to the soundtrack and honestly he sounds good!

"Never Think" is an acoustic track where Pattinson's rough and passionate voice completely lends itself to the scene in which it was included. I won't give anything away for those who haven't read Stephanie Meyer's books nor have seen the movie but, all of you Twilight fans will completely understand when you do see it. It's haunting, its memorizing, and well, it fits perfectly.

Robert has great company of the "Twilight" soundtrack with the likes of  Linkin Park, Paramore, Perry Farrell, Muse, and Iron & Wine, and others.

So, will Robert release an album? So far the rumor mill says no. I think he should though. He has a wonderful voice. Check him out above. If you haven't read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series books, I highly recommend them and the movie though not as in depth as the book ( they rarely are) is well acted, beautifully scored, wonderfully adapted, and as a photographer I can say: the lighting was phenomenal...we notice these things...

By   Wed, Dec 24, 2008

Keeping in line with what seems to be a great year for concert goers. U2 will be back on the road in 2009 to support their new CD "No Line On The Horizon."  This is U2's twelfth studio album and it is expected to be released March 3rd. Never to be out done, U2 plans to release the newest CD in different level packages.  From a box set with a hard cover book to a CD with a fold out poster. So what will their concert bring? Stay tuned as I'm sure Bono and the boys have something special up their sleeves....

Visit them at: www.U2.com

By Ryan   Wed, Dec 24, 2008

This is where I would have reviewed and posted photos from covering the headliner of the Blackest of the Black Tour, Danzig.  (For those of you scratching your heads saying, "who the f*ck is Danzig?", you'll need to google back to 1994 and the single 'Mother'.)  Except Glen Danzig (according to all of the run-around I received) refused to grant photography or media coverage to anyone (specifically to 'online' publications).  So, since I haven't actually seen any photos or coverage of Danzig performing on the tour, I have to assume that it didn't actually happen.. at least no one I know stuck around to see them.  Fortunately for the rest of us though, there were bands on the ticket that were eager to get the word out about their kickass goods.

While we also suffered a still yet-to-be explained snafu with the Dimmu Borgir camp and the mysterious disappearance of our credentials for their coverage, we did get the green light for Skeleton Witch, Winds of Plague, and Moonspell.  You know, it's standard operating procedure for fellow live music journalists to wear hearing protection for shows like this, but I swear to god, next time I'm wearing a ski mask;  This shit nearly melted my face off!!!  I'll give Glen credit *cringe* - he knows how to lay down a gauntlet of supporting acts. 

I'd be grotesquely abandoning my duties here if I didn't give a shout out to Mike Gaspar from Moonspell.  Not only does this Portuguese metal band deliver the goods...  (that had me driving around Denver at midnight in my RAV4 looking for a holy water car wash) But Mike made a point to find both Becca and I before the show to introduce himself, make sure we were taken care of and to give us a little insight as to his history with the band.  A genuine class act in an industry teeming with.. ummm.. Glen Danzigs.. 

p.s. I did manage to find one entertaining Danzig related video, so I hope you'll enjoy it.  -Ryan

By  

To many Vince Neil is the sexy lead singer of Motley Crue. But, behind the glitze and glam is a father who lost his little girl to cancer in 1995. It is something no parent should ever have to face and no child should ever have to endure. Cancer is an evil monster that desperately needs to be eradicated.

Vince Neil has since set up the Skylar Neil Foundation. It is a non-profit foundation whose donations go to medical, research, and educational institutions/groups/individuals who are doing breakthrough work to find cures for cancer, AIDS, and other diseases.

On January 17, 2009 The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will host Vince Neil's 4th Annual "Off The Strip Poker Tournament" benefiting The Skylar Neil Memorial Fund.

Join Vince and some of the hottest celebrities and poker professionals as they raise money for this great cause.

For more information and to get pre-registered, contact the Hard Rock Casino at 702-693-5000 or visit http://poker.skylarneil.org/  Can't make it to Vegas but, you still want to donate to The Skylar Neil Foundation? Visit: http://www.skylarneil.org

By   Tue, Dec 23, 2008

Coming in January 2009 is a must for any Kiss fanatic. A limited edition Eric Carr bobblehead will soon be available, but you might want to pre-order as there are only going to be 250 world wide.  Each order comes with a free Eric Carr trading card.

For more information, or to find any ohter cook Eric Carr Kiss gear, go to:

http://www.ericcarr.com/rockheads/Bounma.html

By   Sat, Dec 20, 2008

So, you thought you got it all when you bought  your kids guitar hero for Christmas. Or if you were like me and had guitar hero you got them Guitar Hero: Aerosmith..oh yeah and Grandma got them Rock Band. But wait! On the heals of one of the most popular items on Santa's list and of course one of the most popular money makers in a time when most aren't making much money....HERE COMES....GUITAR HERO METALLICA!

Tentatively scheduled for release the first half of 2009, Metallica announced on their website: " Yes, we know, it's the worst kept secret in rock but, we're here now to finally confirm that there will indeed be an all-Metallica Guitar Hero game."  Metallica goes on to say that there will be 28 of their songs as well as songs by Queen, Alice in Chains, The Foo Fighters, Slayer as well as other bands.

I'm excited Guitar Hero keeps on cranking out new games. My kids kick all our asses at it. They especially love to rub our noses in the fact they can beat us at Dragonforce...because "Dragonforce shreds!" Anyway, our household is especially looking forward to seeing bands like AC/DC, Motley Crue, and The Scorpions on some of the new Guitar Hero Games. My kids are nine and six...teach them young: For those about to Rock..we salute you!

By   Fri, Dec 19, 2008

Here we sit, nearly 40 yrs after the term "headbanger"  was first christened. It is said to of been coined while witnessing crowd members in the front row of a Led Zeppelin concert at the Boston Tea Party, keeping beat by banging their heads against the stage. Although there is some dispute as to whether or not that was the birth place of the term, it is none the less a phrase we all know, understand and have even used at least once in our lifetime to describe a fan of "heavy metal" music. Most "headbangers" no longer bang their heads against a stage, rather a constant forceful "yes" motion is used. It is this repetitive action that Australian researchers have confirmed can cause serious injuries. Most common complaint is a headache or dizziness, there is also a risk of fractures and brain traumas.

An orthopedic surgeon from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi, said in an interview on the CBS Early Show "I guess if you're not a head-banging purist and you're not banging your head against the stage and you're doing what the guys in 'Wayne's World' are doing, certainly, with those extremes of motions" (it will result in some of the injuries listed above) There is a higher risk of neck injury when tempos reach 130 beats per minute or more. Especially if your head and/or neck range of movement exceeds 75 degrees in either direction from an orthodox upright position of your head. "An extreme in the range of motion," Qureshi went on to say "certainly doing that violently and jerking your head back and forth" could cause serious problems.

There is still very little formal research done on the subject. Which makes for unreliable or unscientific based claims of injuries, such as hearing loss and even stroke.

CBS Early Show hosts and Dr. Sheeraz then suggested perhaps it is a healthier choice to listen to "new age" or "easy listening" over "heavy metal" music. I, personally, don't see many die-hard fans making the "healthy" change, do you?

~jeniPHer

By   Thu, Dec 18, 2008

SUCK- the new movie is in production. Can you guess what its about? Vampires! Well, why is it in a rock magazine? Because it stars  none other then Alice Cooper, Henry Rollins,  and Iggy Pop amoung others. Who can resist Alice Cooper as a vampire?

Rob Stefaniuk writes and directs this movie, which is about a group who want to be ROCK STARS and will do ANYTHING to get it. Well, what better way to get what you want then meeting an immortal? But, you know what they say.....be careful what you wish for...you might just get it. Its funny how things like that just sneak up on you and bite you when you least expect it!

We will keep you updated when we find out the release date for SUCK and we will make sure we have a review for you too!

By   Thu, Dec 18, 2008

From one courtroom to the next Guns N' Roses are in the headlines again for legal matters.  The Defendant this time is Kevin Cogill. Mr. Cogill has admitted to leaking tracks form the Album Chinese Democracy and plead guilty last Monday in a LosAngeles courtroom. Cogill faces some pretty stiff penalties including $100,000 fine 5 years probation and one year in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3rd.

This just goes to show if you are trying to help you are probably hurting the musician by leaking their music. This hurts sales which in turn hurts the musician. It can also hurt you should the Musician pursue it as shown above. So if you are really a band's biggest fan you will pass the next time someone says "hey I got a hold of your favorite band's new single" You my want to reply with "I Think I'll Pass"

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