When I read this article, I couldn't believe my eyes:
http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/new-guitar-hero-game-misspells-quot-lynyrd-skynyrd-quot-/1289712
How in the hell did the people at Guitar Hero manage to spell Lynyrd Skynyrd incorrectly? And how many eyes looked at that and let it slide? They are only the most influential southern rock band to ever exist! Blasphemers!!!! Perhaps we should add this band name to Webster's Dictionary and Microsoft's spell check to avoid all future misspellings.
Holy geez...I realize that I'm not perfect; there are typos all over this blog. However, I'm not making millions, and I don't have 100 people proofing my stuff before I post it. Sure, I run spell check on it, but it NEVER guarantees correct spelling, so I rarely, if ever, depend on it. And one certainly can't depend on it for the correct spelling of band names.
I'm sure the people Guitar Hero are incredibly embarrassed, as they should be. They should put out a public apology to the band for their idiocy.
I suppose I shouldn't be so harsh, but it's just irks me that they let that misspelling run through their grubby little fingers.
For the record, it's spelled LYNYRD SKYNYRD.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Motley Crue - Grand Rapids, MI 2/13/09
There are very few bands I'll travel five hours to see. Motley Crue is one of those bands, even though I've seen them plenty of times. They weren't coming to Ohio on this leg of the tour (didn't know they were coming to Rock on the Range in May until the day of the show), so I was willing to do a little traveling to see my boys. Luckily, my travel/concert buddy, Dee lives in Kalamazoo, MI and was willing to make the trek to Grand Rapids with me to go to the show. Was it worth the drive? Yes.
We went for some pre-concert cocktails at a bar across the street from the venue and ended up missing The Last Vegas. Upon our arrival, Theory of A Deadman was on stage. Our seats were on the floor, right in front of house, so the sound was fantastic. I wasn't all that impressed with Theory of A Deadman. They were just another band that sounded like the rest of those bands you hear on the radio. The crowd seemed to enjoy them and went crazy for their hit "Bad Girlfriend."
While waiting for Hinder to come on, a guy in the row behind us showed me his balls. Don't ask me why.
I don't like Hinder, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to see them live. There's a lot of hype with that band and I was interested to see what it was all about. After watching their set...I'm still wondering what all the hype was about. They sounded great. Austin Winkler's voice was superb. However, I just can't get past their douchiness. Honestly, I had more fun contemplating their hair do's (they ranged from the Flock of Seagulls to a mohawk to an afro) than I did listening to them or watching them. Sure, the crowd loved them, but it certainly didn't make me like them any better. Everyone pulled out their lighters and cell phones when they played "Lips of an Angel" and I sang it under my breath and cursed them for ever releasing that song. I won't deny that there's a certain 80's cock rock influence that pulled me in with that song and made me buy the CD...only to be let down completely by their piece of crap first album. Their current hits definitely have a hook that make you nod your head to the beat, but it's not that impressive to me. Overall, Hinder was mediocre. I'm pissed that they'll be getting a cut of my ticket sale.
Finally! It's time for the Crue!!!!!!!!!!!!
After seeing Cruefest last summer, I wasn't expecting a lot this time around. That show was OK, but Vince's voice was awful, so I prepared myself for disappointment. There was a fun group of people sitting next to us during the show who were very obviously drunk and having a good time. One guy's drunk fun turned into drunk obnoxiousness and ruined the first songs of the show. He stood directly in front of me, facing me, dancing and making stupid faces. I asked him politely to move out of my way and he just stood there dancing. After about 15-20 mintues of this and me yelling at him, I was ready to punch this mother f-er in the face. Luckily, his friend FINALLY pulled him away from me.
OK, back to the show.
I have to say that Vince surprised the shit out of me. Don't get me wrong, he still mumbled and skipped words, but overall his voice was pretty strong. The one thing about Vince that irritated me was that he was wearing a SOLA shirt. There's nothing more annoying than an artist wearing his own shirt. It's just silly. We know who you are. We know what band you're in.
The boys really looked stellar on stage. Nikki Sixx looked smokin' hot, as usual. I didn't get to see a lot of Tommy since I had floor seats, but it was a relief that he skipped the titty cam this time around (not that girls weren't pulling them out to show him anyway). And Mick looked even more brittle than he did over the summer. I swear...I was just waiting for him to crumble into a million pieces.
They plowed through all the classics from "Looks That Kill" to "On With the Show" to "Dr. Feelgood" to "Girls, Girls, Girls," along with a couple of new songs like "SOLA" and "Mother Fucker of the Year." It was all the shit you wanted to hear and it all sounded great and tight. It really felt like each of them was having a good time right along with the crowd. Mick f-ed up the intro to "Too Fast for Love," but I'll let that slide. At one point during the show, I kept looking around on the stage trying to find the back up singers only to find...none. It was a recording and that was a little disappointing.
Of course the encore was "Home Sweet Home." I'm not going to lie, I got a little verklempt listening to that song. If any of you read my post on Hard Rock Hideout, you'll know that I listed Theater of Pain as one of the albums that changed my life. Motley Crue is probably the most influential band in my life and listening to them triggers special memories. Hearing "Home Sweet Home" brought all of that back to me at that exact moment. I've heard that song live a few times, but this time really moved me. Don't know why. It just did.
The show was fantastic. It was nice to get lost in the music, which was something I was not able to do the last couple of times I've seen Motley Crue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to see them at Rock on the Range.
We went for some pre-concert cocktails at a bar across the street from the venue and ended up missing The Last Vegas. Upon our arrival, Theory of A Deadman was on stage. Our seats were on the floor, right in front of house, so the sound was fantastic. I wasn't all that impressed with Theory of A Deadman. They were just another band that sounded like the rest of those bands you hear on the radio. The crowd seemed to enjoy them and went crazy for their hit "Bad Girlfriend."
While waiting for Hinder to come on, a guy in the row behind us showed me his balls. Don't ask me why.
I don't like Hinder, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to see them live. There's a lot of hype with that band and I was interested to see what it was all about. After watching their set...I'm still wondering what all the hype was about. They sounded great. Austin Winkler's voice was superb. However, I just can't get past their douchiness. Honestly, I had more fun contemplating their hair do's (they ranged from the Flock of Seagulls to a mohawk to an afro) than I did listening to them or watching them. Sure, the crowd loved them, but it certainly didn't make me like them any better. Everyone pulled out their lighters and cell phones when they played "Lips of an Angel" and I sang it under my breath and cursed them for ever releasing that song. I won't deny that there's a certain 80's cock rock influence that pulled me in with that song and made me buy the CD...only to be let down completely by their piece of crap first album. Their current hits definitely have a hook that make you nod your head to the beat, but it's not that impressive to me. Overall, Hinder was mediocre. I'm pissed that they'll be getting a cut of my ticket sale.
Finally! It's time for the Crue!!!!!!!!!!!!
After seeing Cruefest last summer, I wasn't expecting a lot this time around. That show was OK, but Vince's voice was awful, so I prepared myself for disappointment. There was a fun group of people sitting next to us during the show who were very obviously drunk and having a good time. One guy's drunk fun turned into drunk obnoxiousness and ruined the first songs of the show. He stood directly in front of me, facing me, dancing and making stupid faces. I asked him politely to move out of my way and he just stood there dancing. After about 15-20 mintues of this and me yelling at him, I was ready to punch this mother f-er in the face. Luckily, his friend FINALLY pulled him away from me.
OK, back to the show.
I have to say that Vince surprised the shit out of me. Don't get me wrong, he still mumbled and skipped words, but overall his voice was pretty strong. The one thing about Vince that irritated me was that he was wearing a SOLA shirt. There's nothing more annoying than an artist wearing his own shirt. It's just silly. We know who you are. We know what band you're in.
The boys really looked stellar on stage. Nikki Sixx looked smokin' hot, as usual. I didn't get to see a lot of Tommy since I had floor seats, but it was a relief that he skipped the titty cam this time around (not that girls weren't pulling them out to show him anyway). And Mick looked even more brittle than he did over the summer. I swear...I was just waiting for him to crumble into a million pieces.
They plowed through all the classics from "Looks That Kill" to "On With the Show" to "Dr. Feelgood" to "Girls, Girls, Girls," along with a couple of new songs like "SOLA" and "Mother Fucker of the Year." It was all the shit you wanted to hear and it all sounded great and tight. It really felt like each of them was having a good time right along with the crowd. Mick f-ed up the intro to "Too Fast for Love," but I'll let that slide. At one point during the show, I kept looking around on the stage trying to find the back up singers only to find...none. It was a recording and that was a little disappointing.
Of course the encore was "Home Sweet Home." I'm not going to lie, I got a little verklempt listening to that song. If any of you read my post on Hard Rock Hideout, you'll know that I listed Theater of Pain as one of the albums that changed my life. Motley Crue is probably the most influential band in my life and listening to them triggers special memories. Hearing "Home Sweet Home" brought all of that back to me at that exact moment. I've heard that song live a few times, but this time really moved me. Don't know why. It just did.
The show was fantastic. It was nice to get lost in the music, which was something I was not able to do the last couple of times I've seen Motley Crue. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to see them at Rock on the Range.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Stop With the Crap
The roar of the crowd. The anticipation of jumping on stage. Watching thousands of people sing your song. It's what every wanna be rock star dreams of. Who doesn't want to be famous? Money, booze, sex, and the admiration of millions. It's the rock star way of life. Catch it if you can.Problem is...it's not as easy as it looks. Or is it? The music industry would like to make you think it is. With the pile of poop that it's been rugeritating to the impressionable lemmings of America for years, it's quite easy for the douche next door with the shitty garage band to think that he can get signed and be a rock star by tomorrow. And with satires like "The Rocker" being put out, every teenager in America is going to to think that all they have to do is put a stupid video on YouTube and record execs will coming knocking on their door within days. If you suck but you've got a good gimmick, you'll make it; however if you're a truly talented musician wanting to share his/her passion with the world...you don't have a chance in hell.
Re-reading Planet Rock on my trip to and from Vegas this past weekend pinched a very irritated nerve. The particular chapter that hit the raw nerve in question had to do with Sir Lonn Friend's years at Arista Records under Clive Davis. It's not that his words hadn't affected me the first time around, but the second time around was like a punch in the mouth. Being the true music fan that I am, I want to believe that the music industry really does care about the music and not the bottom line. As a fan, it's disheartening to really accept the fact that the music industry could give a shit about the quality of the music they're putting out. It's all about quantity, the quantity of dollars in their pockets and platinum records on their walls.
That's why the music of today is the way it is. The industry is super saturated with the same bullshit bands. Is anyone going to remember Three Doors Down 20 or 30 years from now? Will Katy Perry make an impact on music history like Janis Joplin? Doubtful. These bands and this music are all products of a machine manufacturing cookie cutter shit to make a buck. Whatever happened to being timeless?
Led Zeppelin is timeless. The Beatles are timeless. The Rolling Stones are timeless. Black Sabbath is timeless. Nickelback is not timeless. My kids aren't going to be sitting around with their friends 20 years from now talking about how "I Wanna Be A Rockstar" is one of the greatest songs ever written. Want to know why? Because it's not.
And on the way home today, I heard Nickelback's "Something in Your Mouth" and almost slammed on my brakes to cause an accident to make the shit stop. Really? "You look better with something in your mouth"? That's all they could come up with? That song sounded like they put forth no effort whatsoever and just shit something out. Even "squeeze my lemon til the juice runs down my leg" is more creative than that.
This is the kind of mindless garbage that's infiltrating our airwaves right now and it makes me want to pull all my hair out. I can probably count on one hand the nubmer of current bands that are actually worth a shit today. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of talented, undiscovered bands out there who'll never see the spotlight because they may not be radio worthy for one reason or another. I've watched friends struggle. I'm watching my fiance struggle. Will they ever get the justice they deserve? Probably not. Instead, they'll just watch idiots like Ali Lohan and her big sis Lindsay Lohan put out albums that are SO overdone that the general public will really believe those two can actually sing.
I can't take much more of this radio doo doo in my ears. I keep hoping that the tides will turn and someone...anyone...will realize that it's time for a musical revolution! It's time for change and hope! It's time to stop using computer generated instruments and Casio keyboards and voice modulators! It's time for true, unfiltered, pure, raw rock & roll to make a come back! Stand up everyone and unite! Stop buying all that crap and let the music execs know that you want to hear some real music! Help promote those bands who truly deserve it!
Damn. I wish it were just that easy.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The picture is of me sitting in Axl Rose's voice booth at the Studio at The Palms in Las Vegas, NV while he was recording Chinese Democracy. Had I known then what I know now about the album, I would have destroyed everything in that room and the recordings, so we wouldn't have suffered such disappointment.
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