Jane's Addiction

Technology is a crazy thing. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter...all things I never would have imagined that would connect me to lost friends, family and rock stars. The evolution from one thing to the next has been quite an adventure in itself. First it was Friendster. Then it was the big move to Myspace, and this is when I was introduced to blogs. From there, I discovered Wordpress and then set up shop on Blogger. I heard rumblings about Facebook but was determined not to give into it. But once my friends were on Facebook, I buckled under peer pressure. Then there was all this talk about Twitter, and I said to myself, "That is ridiculous. There is no way I'm going to add another networking site to my list. Nope." But curiosity got the best of me and I had to check it out. I was enthralled by it. I could actually keep up to date on what total and complete strangers were doing. Then I discovered that there were tons of celebrities and rock stars on Twitter and I was hooked. I follow Slash, Sebastian Bach, Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Dave Navarro, Ron Jeremy's penis (who's hysterical by the way), along with other comedians, celebrities and other blog writers.

This past Friday, I was sitting in my cubicle in corporate America full of lack of concentration and an extreme urge to check out for the week. To pass some time, I decided to see what was going on in the world of Twitter. I noticed a tweet from Dave Navarro that said, "Columbus? Anyone? Bueller?" Columbus? I live Columbus. What's he talking about? I scrolled down to see what was up, "Giving 2 tickets for the Columbus Jane's show... NOW, first reply goes + a guest." I replied IMMEDIATELY. His next tweet was a reply to me, "DM me your name and I will put you on the list + 1." HOLY SHIT! Dave Navarro just gave me free tickets to his show! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!! Next...find someone to go with me. My fiance couldn't escort me because he had a gig, so I called on my trusty pal Susan to come along for the ride.

The evening started off with pre-drinks at Susan's house along with Susan serenading me with Be My Plus One by an old Hollywood band, Coyote Shivers. Then it was off to the show! Parking was a disaster since there was an event at the hockey arena, a baseball game at the new stadium and this show. As we were making the trek to the venue from our parking spot about 100 miles away, Susan says to me, "I have a feeling about tonight. We're going to have a Susan moment. I can feel it." If anyone knows Susan, they know that the strangest and most random happenings always befall her. Good or bad, I was ready for the Susan moment and the lovely night of good music that was ahead of us.

As we approached will call, I ran into my good friend Amy, the marketing director at the venue. She hooked us up with VIP wristbands, so we could sit inside and chill before the show. I got up to the will call window and slid my ID under the glass partition to retrieve my tickets given to me by Dave Navarro, thank you very much. The attendant slid two tickets and something else back to me. I grabbed everything up and as I'm walking away I noticed the extra: two backstage passes. Susan's intuition was right! Color this girl stunned because if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all; things like this don't happen to me. We giggled like school girls and skipped off to tell Amy and our friends.

Finally, it was show time! Immediately you could feel the power and the excitement rushing through the crowd. Jane's Addiction hasn't toured in years and I never got a chance to see them live, so I didn't know what we were in store for. Honestly, I was so captivated that I can't even tell you what song they opened with. Perry Farrell busted out on stage in a gold lamé suit with a voice that was so dead on that I could swear he was lip synching to an album. Fear not faithful readers, he was absolutely not lip synching; he just sounded that good. Farrell's stage presence is unstoppable and only comparable to Freddy Mercury or Mick Jagger. He's just got a swagger that can't be touched.

The band pounded through their hits, each one making me reminisce about my high school days. I never realized how many amazing bass lines their songs contained until that night, and Dave Navarro's guitar playing was on fire. The show was incredible and impressive. They ended the set with Jane Says (of course), and as the song was ending, it started to rain, which prompted Perry Farrel to say, "We made it rain!" To wait out the downpour, we rushed to the indoor VIP section.

With backstage passes in hand, Susan and I waited with anticipation to see what would happen next in our concert adventure. Amy hooked us up with Jane's Addiction's tour manager, Pete, who was kind enough to get us drinks to keep us hydrated...or get us drunk; I opted for H20 since I was the designated driver. It wasn't too long before Pete brought back two other girls to wait for the after show festivities. Drummer Stephen Perkins rushed in to greet the other two girls and to freak out about a random guy who happened to be on their bus. Dave Navarro entered and headed straight for the other two girls and they all started walking outside. Pete turned and said to us, "Go with them to the bus." I followed orders and started walking with Susan behind me being the good angel on my shoulder, "Ummm...we can't go on the bus." I assured her that I had the situation handled; we're getting on the bus, getting our shot and we're out.

As we entered the world of the Jane's Addiction tour bus, Dave headed directly to the back of the bus with one of the girls. Girl #2 was M.I.A. Meanwhile, Susan and I were left in the front of the bus with Stephen Perkins. We ended up chatting for a while, but things felt a bit awkward, perhaps because we were totally out of place and I couldn't get Dave's attention to save my life. Eventually, Stephen left to get beer and Susan and I were left by ourselves to contemplate how to get the shot and leave the bus.

Dave walked up and entered the bathroom. He came out and went to his bunk and then the girl went into the bathroom. Susan and I locked eyes in a non verbal exchange of words and we both knew what had to be done. I stood up and walked to Dave to introduce myself. Apparently he was trying to change, so I went up front to wait out his wardrobe change. He asked me my name and as I turned around and looked at him, he was standing in his underwear (they were black bikinis if you're wondering) waiting for my answer, "Uhhhh...Christine. Christine Sixx. I won the tickets on Twitter." He finally recalled his little contest from earlier in the day and proceeded to ask me a couple of other questions that I promised to keep between the three of us: me, Susan and Dave. By this time, Dave had made his way over to us to take a picture with me but suddenly, the girl stumbled out of the bathroom. Dave walked over to help her and while his back was turned, Susan snapped a shot that only tabloid paparazzi dream of. I'm frozen in terror that the two may have noticed the flash but they were too busy to care. Dave got her back into the bathroom and walked over to us. Susan took the picture of us and Dave grabbed the camera for approval. As he's telling me that we look great, the girl pops out of the bathroom and starts pulling Dave away to the back of the bus. He waved and told me that he was glad I won the tickets. I pointed to him and told him thanks and have a good time. Then, they disappeared.

Susan and I just stood there and stared at each other in complete and total disbelief. What the hell just happened? What was that whirlwind of insanity? Susan said, "We got the shot." I nodded and said, "Let's get the hell off of this bus." And wouldn't you know it, we couldn't get the damn door open. As we struggled in desperation, Susan found the lights to the driver's area of the bus and at that exact moment I figured out how to unlock the door and we were out like a fat kid in dodge ball. I immediately texted Amy to come get us. On my drive home at 1AM, I got a text. It was from Twitter letting me know that I received a direct message from Dave Navarro, "Good to meet you hun! Glad you made it. XOXO." Needless to say, I almost crapped my pants that I actually got a message from Dave. I responded with, "Thanks SO much. Had a blast. Hope you had a good time. You guys kicked ass!" And Dave replied, "Great to meet you and glad you had fun." Yeah, Dave Navarro sent me messages. How f-ing crazy is that?

That night was probably one of the most exciting and most bizarre rock and roll nights of my entire life. I cannot divulge everything from the evening because I would not want to destroy the journalistic code of ethics...if there even is such a thing. Dave Navarro will surely never read my blog, but I'd hate for him to read it and see his laundry, dirty or clean, posted up all over it. The events of the evening aren't nearly as bad as you're envisioning in your dirty little heads, but they were very interesting to say the least.

Thank you Twitter for a most unusual and eventful evening full of good friends, good music, hot rock stars and interesting stories. Whoever said Twitter was stupid never won free tickets and backstage passes from Dave Navarro. And thanks @DaveNavaroo6767 for hooking this girl up with a night of fun!

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

Thanks to MetalInjection.net, you can now watch The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years for FREE. That's right...I said FREE. If you haven't seen this movie you MUST watch it now. It's a 80's rock documentary from 1988 by Penelope Spheeris with interviews from Ozzy, Chris Holmes (one of my most favorite parts), Lemmy and MANY others. If you love 80's rock as much as I do, then you must watch this movie. It's f-ing amazing. I only wish I owned a copy.

Black Water Rising

It's not very often that I even bother listening to any of the bands that request to be my "friend" on myspace. However, I decided to take a chance the other day since I'm doing my best to listen to and discover new, good rock & roll. With a name like Black Water Rising, I thought my chances were good for hearing something pretty decent. But before I made any commitment to being their friend, I had to give them a listen. A girl can't just walk into a relationship blind, can she? The moment the music loaded on their page, I was hooked. I spent the next half hour listening to as much from this band as I could and checking everything out. I knew I had to get my grubby, little hands on more info about this band. Lucky for me their drummer, Mike, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

This fierce foursome hails from Brooklyn, NY but from the sounds of their music, you'd think their stomping grounds were somewhere between hell and the dirtiest, toughest rock club you've ever been to, and I mean that in the best way possible. The guys all have a rich history of playing in bands but eventually came together two years ago when the singer, Rob, asked friend and drummer, Mike, if he would be interested in doing something new. Once Mike took a listen, he couldn't resist, "I was totally psyched to do it. We looked for a second guitar player and found Johnny who I knew from Stereomud and he brought in Oddie the bass player. The rest they say is 'history'."

If you're looking for radio rock, then you best move on and look somewhere else. These guys have a very distinct dirty, heavy rock and roll sound that can't be found anywhere in popular music. Although they didn't set out to stand out from the crowd, they ended up separating themselves from the pack in a good way. Their roots are in classic rock, which reflects in their sound and where they draw some of their inspiration from. Most of their lyrical inspiration “comes from the world around us including but not limited to politics, religion, art and war.”

This year, these gentlemen made their way to Austin, TX for South by Southwest. According to Mike, “It’s hectic and exhausting but exhilarating and awesome at the same time.” They played the High Times Doobie Awards in the afternoon and an industry showcase that night. Why the High Times Doobie Awards you ask? Because they won an award for Best Rock/Alternative Artist of course! Mike assures me that the “trophy,” which is a very snazzy bong, is displayed proudly in their studio “for inspiration” and has been “put to good use!”

There's a record deal on the horizon but the details are all very hush hush. Mike says that it "is a good fit for BWR and [they're] psyched to partner up with a company that gets what [they] do and really believes in this band." Along with that comes the release of their self-titled debut album, which should be released by late summer, and a tour. I'm not so sure I can wait that long. Seriously.

In the midst of SXSW, making an album, impressing record companies and playing shows, these guys found time to make a video. To the glee of this muscle car loving fan, the band incorporated an old Firebird into their video for Brother Go On. Set against the backdrop of some desolate woods, this video fits the band perfectly with a raw, gritty, bad ass feel that marries perfectly with their sound. The director, Noah Shulman, and the band conceived the idea and Shulman brought it to life and added the perfect finishing touch with the vintage effect.

I take my music very seriously, and although I usually spend my time ranting about things that piss me off, I really felt compelled to tell everyone I know about this band. The bottom line is this band kicks ass. Their sound and feel is more original and tough than anything out there. Black Water Rising is in your face, kick ass, genuine rock and roll. Check them out on myspace , request them on Octane on Sirius Satellite radio, and be sure to support these guys when their CD comes out and when they go out on the road.

A BIG thanks to Mike for helping this girl out!

Black Water Rising "Brother Go On"

Reminders

Just wanted to give you folks a few quick and important reminders!

Make sure you watch Motley Crue make an appearance on Fox TV's Bones this evening. They will be performing Dr. Feelgood, and I'm assuming they're doing this to pump up tickets sales for their tour this summer. Regardless, I'm watching it or DVR-ing it. Even though I think it's kinda weird that they're going to be on the show, I want to see my Nikki.

If you feel like a road trip this weekend and you want to see a good show, make the drive to my city, Columbus, OH, for Rock on the Range. It's a two day music fest full of metal and rock.

Saturday features Slipknot as the headliner on the main stage. Call me crazy but Alice in Chains is also playing and should be headlining, not opening for Slipknot. Blasphemy! Don't miss Duff McKagan's Loaded on Stage 2 and Columbus' own X Factor 1 on the Jagermeister Music Stage.

Headlining on Sunday is Motley Crue. Stage 2 features Pop Evil, and Clutch will kick some teeth in at the Jagermeister Music Stage.

Tickets are $54.50 or $64.50 for one day or $99.50 or $114.50 for both. Hotel and camping packages are sold out. For more info on Rock on the Range, go to http://www.rockontherange.com/.

COMING SOON!!!!
My interview with Mike from Black Water Rising!!!!!!!! Until then, check out my latest post at Hard Rock Hideout!

RIP Ean Evans

Ean Evans, bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd since 2001, lost his battle with cancer yesterday. He was only 48 years old.

A benefit concert was held for him last month in Mississippi. Fellow band mates attended, along with all of his fans, family and friends. Evans even made it up on stage to perform a few songs.

A memorial service will be held at the First Assembly of God Church in Columbus, MS on Saturday, May 9th at 11:00a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Good Samaritan Clinic, 520 College Street, Columbus, Ms 39701.

Best Concert

Listening to your favorite band on your iPod (or record player for you old schoolers out there) is one thing. Seeing your favorite band live can be a life altering event and a few certainly have been for me. From the moment you buy the new album, you already know a tour is imminent. The anticipation builds up days before the show only to explode once you reach the venue. The concert experience is like no other. To be able to see your icons in the flesh and blood and breathe the same air as them (no matter how far up in the nose bleed section you are) is exciting. Watching them in action performing your favorite tunes create memories that you will tell your grandkids about.

Concerts are a production for me. Perhaps it's because I'm a girl, but a lot goes into preparing for my concert experience. Do I need to take time off? Who I will go with? What will I wear? How much am I willing to shell out for good seats? Will I get there in time for the opener? These are all things that need to be figured out weeks in advance before I can even consider buying a ticket.

Once I'm in the venue, I soak every little thing in from the people to the band to the music playing in the background in between sets. When I was in high school, I would come home from a concert and immediately write down everything that happened and everything that was said. I'd also cut out my horoscope for that day too. And yes, I still have all that crap in a scrap book somewhere. I'm not nearly as insane about it now, but I like to be able to recall these special moments of my life, so I try my best to remember it all.

I have so many great concert memories...

The first concert I remember missing is Motley Crue's Theater of Pain tour and Autograph opened. The tickets were $13.50 and my older brother still has his ticket stub. I was too young to go and cried ALL the way to the venue where my parents dropped my brother and his best friend off.

My first rock concert was Scorpions and Trixter. I was obsessed with Trixter. My two BFF's and I got dropped off at the venue. We had terrible seats but I screamed and did some head banging anyway. After the show, we walked around back to try to meet the band to no avail. But the Scorpions tour bus did drive by and Rudolph Schenker waved to us.

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've seen Pantera live. I went to see them at least twice a year for three or four years in a row. I even saw them open for Skid Row. Pantera popped my mosh pit cherry. Being part of the thousands of fans on the general admission floor was insane. We were all so squished together that I wasn't even standing on the ground anymore. Luckily, some guy saw the frantic look in my eyes and was somehow able to usher me off to safety.

Off all the concerts that we've witnessed in our lives, there has to be one that rises above all the rest, one that is supreme, one that tops all others. What is the best concert you've ever been to?

My answer may come as a bit of a shock to you: Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives. Yup, that's right. It's not a rock show that tops my list; it's a country show. My fiance and I decided to take a little vacation to Nashville a couple of years ago. He's a huge Marty Stuart fan and has known him for quite a few years, so we made sure our visit coincided with one of Marty's show. It was Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman Auditorium, the Mother Church of Country Music. For those of you who don't know, the Ryman is historical and legendary in country music land. It was the original Opry where Hank Williams played and Johnny Cash kicked out the stage lights.

Marty has been a part of country music since he was a kid and is probably the most underrated country star of our time. His story telling abilities are unparalleled and his genuine passion and love for all things country is unrivaled.

We arrived at the Ryman just in time for sound check. Marty's guitar player, Kenny Vaughn, led us across the stage and into the dressing room. I'll be honest. As Kenny was walking across the stage at the Ryman, I didn't even know if I was allowed to step on this sacred stage. It was a bit intimidating. Eventually, we were led out to sit in the church like pews and listen to Marty fine tune his mandolin to sound just perfect.

When it was time for the show, we took our seats among the Nashville natives. The simplicity of the production is one of the things that blew me away. There was very little on the stage. There were no fancy lights or pyro, not even a drum set. The band came out all acoustic with "Handsome" Harry Stinson carrying a single snare around his neck.

The sound was so raw and clean and untouched. This was country music at its finest. The audience was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Marty would take time to tell stories and chat with audience members. He had a few special guests perform along with them. There is nothing better than country harmonies,and Marty Stuart and His Superlatives have some of the best harmonies I've ever heard. Believe that. And in honor of one of the Bee Gees buying Johnny Cash's house and becoming Marty's new neighbor, he and his Superlatives performed a kick ass bluegrass version of Stayin' Alive.

Aside from hearing some of the most amazing musicians and some of the most amazing music, it was the unembellished, pure feel of the entire show that really did it for me. The key was breaking the music down to its most simple elements. There were no fancy intrusions to shift our focus away from the music; all the focus was on the music.

Honorable Mentions
1. Motley Crue - Carnival of Sins Tour: By far Motley Crue's best show that I've ever seen. My fiance surprised me with tickets the day before the show and the Crue sounded absolutely amazing.

2. Guns 'N Roses/Skid Row - Use Your Illusion Tour: Use Your Illusion wasn't even out yet. My best friend's parents drove us three hours to Louisville, KY for the show. GNR played a three hour set of songs that no one knew and everyone loved it. Skid Row opened and that was the same week Slave to the Grind was released and became the first metal album to enter the Billboard charts at number one.

Worst Concerts
1. Motley Crue/Aerosmith: With the good comes the bad. Columbus was the first stop on this tour, and I hope that the rest of the shows weren't as horrible. Motley Crue was AWFUL. They sounded like total and complete shit. Vince was so terrible that I couldn't even watch the show anymore. I almost cried. Thank god Aerosmith saved the evening.

2. No Doubt/311: Gwen Stefani sounded like a sick parrot and 311 was so unimpressive that I don't even remember the show.

What are your best/worst concerts?

No Need for A Creed Reunion

Check out my new post at Hard Rock Hideout and find out why this Creed reunion is pointless. http://hardrockhideout.com/2009/04/30/rock-whiplash-creed-reunite-why/

Christine Sixx