Hell On High Heels

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NIKKI!!!!

2011-12-11T07:21:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's another birthday for my favorite guy, Nikki Sixx. And as always...the offer STILL stands. :) Hope you have a wonderful birthday filled with happiness and love! XOXOXOX

Owl Stretching

2011-07-14T10:57:00.009-04:00

Saigon Kick is one of the most underrated bands of the 90's. I've written about this topic before, so I won't go into depth here. All you need to know is I freaking love Saigon Kick and would've given my first born for a reunion. OK...maybe not my first born because he's super rad and very handsome, but you get the idea.

The closest thing I'm getting to a reunion is Owl Stretching, which consists of Jason Bieler (my personal fave), Chris McLernon and Ricky Sanders. There have been updates on their Facebook page leaving us fans drooling for more info. Something's happening...they're in the studio...there's artwork...I need more now!

And just to tease us a little bit more until their originals are finished, the band posted a newly recorded cover of Saigon Kick's "The Lizard." I wasn't really sure what to expect as far as the sound of the band was concerned, so I was pretty stoked to get a sneak peak on the direction they're headed.

So with great anticipation, I sat on my couch with my laptop and pressed play. Huh...that's weird. I really wasn't expecting that. Yes, I know I said I wasn't sure what to expect, but they totally sucker punched me with that one. Honestly...I could do without all the weird, computer generated, techno, industrial mumbo jumbo that was incorporated. I just wish the entire song sounded more like the chorus. But Jason's voice sounds great and his guitar solo is smokin'.

But do I like the song? I do. I mean...how could I not? The original will always be better to me, but I know that's not what Owl Stretching was going for. What would be the point in that? If they would've recorded "The Lizard" like the original, then the band would've been called Saigon Kick and not Owl Stretching, right?

Rob Zombie and Clean Clothes

2011-06-16T17:08:00.002-04:00

According to Fearnet.com and his official movie production blog, Rob Zombie directed...wait for it...a Woolite commercial. Yup, you read that right. I have no idea which person on Woolite's payroll came up with the brilliant idea of involving Rob Zombie in their ad campaign, but that person deserves a raise.

At first glance, you think it's an odd match up, but once you see it...it totally works. It's not just Rob Zombie's signature horror movie goodness; they've incoorporated a nice dose of humor. I love it.

Check it out and see what you think.

As I'm sure you've noticed, I haven't updated this blog lately. My bad. I had a baby, so I've been a wee bit preoccupied trying to raise a very handsome rock star. And if you care to, you can check out the baby blog.

To Hell With Auto-Tune

2011-02-11T18:04:00.010-05:00

My friend, Meg, and I were having a conversation the other day about the new season of American Idol. She was telling me how thoroughly impressed she was with Steven Tyler, and I don't mean impressed with his persona on the show; she was impressed with his singing. Meg's not a big rock/classic rock fan. She's more of a pop/rap fan. But Steven Tyler was singing back and forth with a contestant, and he blew her socks off, "He sounded just like he does on the radio." My response to her was, "Yeah, that's because he can REALLY sing."

Yes, Steven Tyler can actually sing. Not only can he sing, but he's also one of the most legendary rock singers ever. I guess you already knew that though, huh? But what the younger generation doesn't know is that most of their beloved "singers" can't actually sing. But these young people think Britney Spears and Taylor Swift can actually sing. You want to know why? Auto-Tune.

While watching That Metal Show a few weeks ago, guest Phil Anselmo brought up an amazing point: when they recorded Cowboys From Hell, Auto-Tune didn't exist. Everything you hear on that album was just them. There was no computer generated voice to make the audience believe Phil could sing (or scream). There were no computer generated instruments backing him up. It was all REAL. Pretty neat concept, huh?

What would today's stars do if they didn't have the luxury of Auto-Tune to save their asses? Back in the day, musicians actually had to have talent in order to make it in the music industry. Do you think Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis depended on something or someone else to make it sound like they were talented? I think not! Today, any person off the street who can't carry a tune in a bucket can be the next big star as long as they have "the look" and Auto-Tune in the studio.

So why is it now OK and generally accepted for artists (boy, do I use that term loosely) to use Auto-Tune to do all kinds of fancy computer tricks to cover up the fact that they can't sing to save their lives? Sure, maybe Steven Tyler uses Auto-Tune these days to tweak his voice because it was a little flat/sharp here and there, but I seriously doubt he uses it to fix his voice completely because it wasn't even in the right key. Is it so the music industry can make a few extra million off just about anyone?

And what does that mean for the rest of the real musicians out there? Everywhere you look, there are talented bands who don't stand a chance against this bullshit. So they'll sit here unnoticed and watch all the other craptastic bands/singers get the record deal of the century that they don't deserve.

Isn't there at least one person working at a major label that has a soul left? Just one? Sigh....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI SIXX!!!!!!!!!!

2010-12-11T09:31:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again! It's time to celebrate the birth of my idol and the one guy I'm allowed to cheat on my husband with: Nikki Sixx!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday full of happiness and love! And as always....the offer STILL stands. I may be married and knocked up, but I'd still love to have my way with you.

*Photo courtesy of Nikki Sixx's Facebook.

Pistol Shot Gypsy

2010-10-31T13:35:00.006-04:00

Emails from random PR reps fill my inbox daily. It's always a generic press release letting me know some band I've never heard of are going on tour or are promoting a new album. About 98% of the time, I scan through the email, see if there's anything I like and then I delete it. Most of this information doesn't pertain to any type of music that I'm a fan of or any type of music I tend to write about on my blog. Sure, I'm open to learning about new music, but you've got to make me want to learn about it. And generic emails don't generally do it for me.

So imagine my surprise when I received a personalized email from a stranger named Ian. He read my blog, liked my blog and appreciated my insights and my taste in music. After stroking my ego for a moment, he went on to tell me that he was in a band and he thought I might like them. Since he actually took the time to "get to know me," I thought I'd take the time to check out his band, Pistol Shot Gypsy. For all you people in bands out there trying to promote yourselves, listen up: Doing your research pays off.

Ian was right. I like Pistol Shot Gypsy...a lot. The quintet hail from Rhode Island and are all about good, ol' fashioned, fun rock and roll. You can hear a lot of influences, but they seem to settle in with a good mix of the 80's and 90's without sounding redundant or generic.

They have quite a few tasty tunes in their repertoire, but there are a few songs that I tend to gravitate towards. "Trainwreck" is a fast, get up and kick ass kind of tune. There's "Just My Luck" that starts off with some awesome, dirty, stoner rock guitar that hooked me and never let me go. Anyone who reads my blog knows that I love 80's rock, and "Troy City Blues" gave me a good, much needed 80's fix.

Then these guys had the balls to cover the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider." I wasn't expecting much, but these guys proved me wrong. First of all, smart move adding an organ and/or keyboard for this song; it wouldn't have been the same without it. Pistol Shot Gypsy didn't go too far off the musical path but added just enough of themselves to make it stand out. These guys certainly did the song justice.

Pistol Shot Gypsy are certainly worth checking out. If you like good rock and roll, then this band should be right up your alley.

Website: http://www.pistolshotgypsy.com/psg.cfm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pistolshotgypsy

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/PistolShotGypsy

And thanks for the great email, Ian!

Tesla's Recording Studio Up in Flames

2010-10-01T07:31:00.002-04:00

Around 1:46am last night, a three alarm fire swept through an apartment building in Sacramento, California and also damaged a recording studio used and run by Tesla's Brian Wheat.

Firefighters tried their best to save the equipment by putting covers over it, but some memorbilia was lost.

No one was harmed in the fire, but two cats died. The fire is under investigation. For more info, read this news story.

So sorry to hear about this awful news. I hope all the guys in Tesla are OK and they didn't lose a lot of valuables.

Theme Song

2010-09-02T17:54:00.004-04:00

An interesting email popped up in my inbox the other day. It was someone telling me that they had the perfect theme song for me. Of course, I was curious to hear what someone who's never met me thought should represent me musically.

The song is "Hell on Heels" by up and coming country artist, Jason Sturgeon. Now, let me tell you what I think about current country music: I think it's shit, so I wasn't really expecting a whole lot from this. Besides, my theme song and the name of this blog is in honor of Motley Crue, so nothing can or will replace that.

I went to his site and listened to the song and to my surprise...it was actually pretty decent. It has a bit of a rock edge, but certainly leans more towards the country side of the fence. There was also some great fiddle action, which I loved.

I sampled a few others songs that were are all pretty good. The guy can sing country music well.

The lesson I learned: Don't skip out on something just because it's not usually something you're into. Try it because it might not be too bad. In this case, I lucked out. But I hate to break it to you Jason, as much as I like your song, it won't take the place of Motley Crue's version. ;) And I hope there's whiskey in that glass your holding in that picture. If not, we may need to have a talk.

For more info on Jason Sturgeon, check him out at all the usual social networking sites:

www.myspace.com/jasonsturgeonmusic

www.facebook.com/jasonsturgeonmusic

www.twitter.com/jasonsturgeonmusic

Interview With...A Beard.

2010-08-24T21:48:00.004-04:00

So a wonderful lady whom I respect and adore, Natalie Slater (creator of the coolest baking blog, Bake & Destroy), has a thing for beards. I too, enjoy a good beard. The only difference between our beard love may be that I prefer my beards a little rock & rollier and a little dirter...think Zakk Wylde or Shooter Jennings. Natalie has taken her love for beards to the next level by creating a beard Facebook fan page: Beards We Want to Make Out With.

I submitted a picture of one of my favorite beards, and that beard belongs to Brit Turner from Blackberry Smoke. Brit and his beard were kind enough to take some time out of their very busy schedules to answer a few questions, and Natalie was kind enough to post those questions on the Beards We Want to Make Out With Facebook page. Go read it!!!!! Or if you're too lazy or don't have a Facebook account (who the hell doesn't have a Facebook account?), then the interview is below.

1. How long have you and your beard been together?
10 to 12 Years

2. What/who inspired you to grow a beard?
At first it was depression I believe. Then I realized how easy it was to not shave.

3. At one point or another, everyone in your band, Blackberry Smoke, has had a beard. Is facial hair a requirement to be in your band?
No, they just realized how good I looked and how much attention and approval I got with a beard.

4. Is all of that facial hair the key to your band's musical success?
It is only a minor part of the band's success. The rest is probably my drumming.

5. How is your beard dealing with this recent success?
Pretty good. Sometimes I call Santa Claus if I have any questions like that.

5. Does your beard get lonely when the other guys in the band shave their beards?
No, it gets STRONGER. Very good question.

6. You've toured with a couple of the most famous beards in music, ZZ Top. What was it like to have so much beardiness in one room?
Well, I'll tell you it was great because usually when like minded people pass in a room, they give each other the "bro nod." When beards pass in a room... there is a little man that appears in the oldest person's beard and he gives a quick thumbs up...then disappears! It is fantastic.

7. Are there any beards that you would like to work with but haven't yet?
Rick Rubin & Kimbo Slice

8. On Twitter, @DrukenMartina tweeted, "Pretty sure one of those guys from Blackberry Smoke just tried to squeegee my window at a stoplight." Do you often get mistaken for a homeless man?
I read that and at no point thought she was referring to me. So....No.

9. Do you ever get beard envy?

I don't because I know how many cool things are hiding in my beard. A Swiss Army Knife of a beard, if you will.

10. How do you feel about your cousins, sideburns and mustache?
I RESPECT THEM! They take some time to prepare.

11. Do you have any grooming techniques you'd like to share with us?
Plenty of water and sunlight.

12. Are there any beards you'd like to thank for your success?
Santa and Billy Gibbons.

Picture courtesy of http://www.blackberrysmoke.com/.

Hellyeah Says Hell No to Columbus

2010-08-22T15:26:00.009-04:00

Rockstar Energy Drink's Uproar Festival will be coming to Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, August 24th, but one band will not be there: Hellyeah.

When I heard the lineup a couple of months ago, I was surprised and stoked to hear that Hellyeah would be playing in Columbus. As all of you know, Vinnie's brother, Dimebag Darrell, was shot and killed at a local club here in December of 2004; I never thought that Vinnie would ever set foot in this city again.

I was right.

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Hellyeah would not be appearing at the Columbus date of the Uproar Festival. After checking their website, it was confirmed on their tour page: Hellyeah will be playing a club in Canada on August 24th. Although I don't know the actual reason they backed out of this date, my deductive reasoning leads me to believe that the Dimebag tragedy had a lot, if not everything, to do with it.

Do I blame Vinnie Paul for avoiding this place like the plague? Nope. What happened to Dimebag was a tragedy. We were all affected by it in some way. I can only imagine how difficult it would be for him to return to the place where he lost his brother. Coming back to Columbus would probably almost be like reliving it all over again.

I understand why he won't play in my town; however, I wish he would. It just sucks that because of the actions of some asshole, the rest of us here in Columbus don't get the priviledge of ever seeing any band live that Vinnie Paul will ever be in. I hate it that in a sense, the music has stopped. Sure, I can travel a few hours to see Hellyeah in some other city, but what's better than seeing a band at your favorite local venue?

Hellyeah's decision to skip the Columbus date is a respectable one. No one can be upset over it (and if they do get upset, then they're idiots). There's no doubt Hellyeah fans attending Tuesday's Uproar Fest will be disappointed, but I think everyone understands.

Photo: www.rockstaruproar.com

Nikki Sixx & Kat Von D No More...Take Two

2010-08-22T09:04:00.007-04:00

My friend Charlene sent me a link to some People magazine article last week that indicated that Kat Von D had been seen getting cuddly with Jesse James in Vegas. I didn't really think too much of it since a few months ago, Perez Hilton posted a pic of Kat Von D and Bam Margera walking down the street holding hands. If any of you follow Nikki Sixx or listen to his Sixx Sense radio show, you know Nikki was pretty pissed about Perez inferring that Kat and Bam were together since the two are BFF's.

But to my surprise, Kat Von D announced on Twitter, that she and Nikki were no longer together. And then I almost crapped my pants when she tweeted that she was indeed dating Jesse James. I believe she tried to delete that tweet because none of my friends could find it...but I took a screen print of it and saved it in a very special place.

Now Nikki has come out with his official statement on his Sixx Sense site wishing Kat "the very best." I suppose that's a little more official than the last time when he posted a blog about the break up on his myspace page (I fell for that one hook, line and sinker).

I find the break up news a bit of a surprise since the two of them have been posting vomit inducing tweets about each other for months and they just went to Europe together a few weeks ago. Maybe they had already broken up before they went to Europe and were there as friends? Who knows. We'll never know what actually happened between the two of them, and I suppose that's fine since it is their private lives we're talking about here.

But Jesse James? Really? I guess after hearing about all of his nasty affairs and after he broke the heart of America's sweetheart, he just seems like a real BIG douche bag. And why would any woman go from Nikki Sixx to a douche bag? Granted, I'm sure Nikki Sixx is no angel, but he's Nikki f-ing Sixx for crying out loud.

So here's to hoping that Kat Von D didn't break Nikki's heart because if she did, I'd have to hunt her down and smack her around a little bit.

Saigon Kick Making a Come Back?

2010-08-18T20:12:00.017-04:00

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: technology and social networking are amazing. Recently on Facebook, I found the members of Saigon Kick. The teenager in me was freaking out, and the adult in me was trying to keep her composure. Saigon Kick are one of my all time favorite bands ever, and I believe they are incredibly underrated.

Now, there are rumblings of a Saigon Kick reunion. A new Saigon Kick Facebook fan page has appeared, and there's a Twitter page, too. All of us fans are hanging on EVERY word that is posted and keeping our fingers crossed for that reunion announcement.

If there is a reunion, which line up will reunite? Honestly...I don't care as long as it includes Jason Bieler. For me, Bieler is the key ingredient to that band. His style, his writing, his everything is exactly what made me fall in love with Saigon Kick. I appreciate the fact that after Matt Kramer left the band, he didn't get a new singer; Bieler just took over the vocals and it worked really well. Why? Because he didn't add a different element to the band. That's not to say that I don't really love Matt Kramer era Saigon Kick. Their first, self titled album is pure genius, and The Lizard was the soundtrack to my high school life. But I'm just a Jason Bieler kinda girl, and I always have been.

Lucky for me, I've seen both line ups live. The first time I saw Saigon Kick live was in 1992 (I was 15) when they opened up for Extreme in Dayton, Ohio. My friends and I braved the bitter cold and showed up at the venue many hours early just to try to meet the band...and meet the band we did! When I was standing next to Jason Bieler, it took everything in me not to pounce on him. I was so excited that I forgot to give him the friendship bracelet that I made for him; I ended up giving it to Matt Kramer and he wore it on stage that night (Yeah, yeah, yeah...keep laughing about the friendship bracelet; they were cool back then!). I saw them for a second time during the Water tour at Bogarts in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1993. It was around my birthday, and somehow, I got lucky enough to meet them once again. The third time I saw Saigon Kick live was somewhere around 1997-1998 with Matt Kramer and no Jason Bieler. Although I was stoked to see Kramer back on vocals, it just wasn't the same without Jason.

So this is my pitiful, pathetic plea to Saigon Kick to PLEASE reunite. I don't think I've wanted a band to reunite so badly, and I know I'm not the only one who wants to see this happen. For the love of god...just get back together already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I encourage those of you who aren't familiar with Saigon Kick, or for those of you who don't necessarily like them, to listen to anything by them other than "Love is on the Way." Although it is a fantastic song (and helped me through many a high school heartbreak), it's certainly not the best representation of their musical repertoire. Check out a couple of videos below

Killing Ground

Hostile Youth - This song is so dirty, rough and badass!

Saigon Kick · Hostile Youth
Uploaded by efrarr. - Explore more music videos.

Spanish Rain - A really beautiful ballad.

FREE Download from Blackberry Smoke!

2010-07-28T09:14:00.004-04:00

If you haven't heard about them yet, then now is your chance. Click the link to get a FREE download from kick ass southern rock band, Blackberry Smoke! It is their remake of "Yesterday's Wine," which was recorded with Jamey Johnson and George Jones.

And yes....these guys played at my wedding. I'm just sayin'....

Taddy Porter

2010-06-30T07:27:00.003-04:00

Taddy Porter released their self titled album yesterday. It kicks ass and you should buy it. If you'd like a more thorough review of the album, check out my review at Hard Rock Hideout. But really....knowing that it kicks ass should be enough.

Top 10 War Films According to Oderus Urungus of GWAR

2010-06-25T18:35:00.003-04:00

I mean, who else would you take recommendations from about war movies? A real movie critic? Pffftttt....What do they know about war? According to the email I received, "Being part of GWAR means he is one of the best people to ask to rank the best war films of all time." It does? Yup, because he's aware of and has experienced all things brutal.

Dave Brockie (Oderus Urungus to those of us in the metal world) is a big time movie and war history aficiando and he decided to let the world in on what he feels are the best war movies ever. I checked out the list and saw some movies I knew would be on his list and a few movies I'd never even heard of. Too bad I hate war movies and have never and will never watch any of the movies on his list. But my Dad's a big war movie guy, so I'll be sure to pass this list on to him.

Go to this link to see if your favorite war movie made Oderus Urungus' list. If it didn't, then you can go ahead and argue with him about that.

Ryan Adams - Orion

2010-06-24T21:25:00.009-04:00

Of all of the stuff I've posted on here, my Ryan Adams post gets the most traffic. I often wonder why it's so popular and what people are actually searching for when they stumble upon my little post. In my head, I'm imagining that they're googling "awesome" or "amazing" or "genius" and my Ryan Adams post shows up at the top of the list.

Sometime last year, Ryan Adams asked his fans, via his website, to listen to a song and then asked them to vote if they'd actually buy an album full of songs like this. Intriguied, I gave the tune a listen and was very surprised. Metal? Really? Would I buy it? You bet your ass. Apparently, everyone else felt the same way I did because in May, Ryan released his science fiction, concept metal album, Orion. This certainly isn't the Ryan Adams you know and love.

At first, I couldn't even begin to wrap my mind around the idea. After mulling it over a bit, it started to make sense. Ryan is a huge metal fan. It was just hard for me to envision him screaming or grunting.

But this album isn't full of screaming and grunting. There are definitely thrashy metal guitars and screaming (which Ryan is surprisingly good at), but he works his way all over the place. It's rock. It's metal. It's punk. It's hardcore. It's awesome. "Electro Snake" and "Victims of the Ice Brigade" both have that Ryan Adams flavor that I love. And "By Force" sounds like Black Sabbath and the Rolling Stones had a space baby.

Metal purists will probably hate this album...although they do enjoy songs about vikings and dragons, so they could possibly appreciate songs about space. I certainly know people who don't appreciate Ryan Adams the way I do, and I'm convinced it's because they don't "get" him. If you don't get him, then you won't get this album. You can't take it seriously; he's trying to have some fun and incorporate some music that he loves but doesn't necessarily get a chance to play very often. I mean, he's got a song called "Ghorgon Master of War" for crying out loud and he screams, "Ghorgon!!!" a couple times on the album. How can you not get a chuckle out of that?

If you're predisposed to hating Ryan Adams, then skip Orion. It'll probably just piss you off and make you want to punch babies. If you're open to a musical experient from a musical genius, then give Orion a try. I personally think this alt country crooner did a damn fine job of executing some metal mayhem.

Free Down From Papa Roach

2010-06-18T07:23:00.004-04:00

Papa Roach is offering a FREE download of their new song, "Kick in the Teeth." It's free, so why wouldn't you download it? I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't the biggest Papa Roach fan in the world...until I saw them live. They are by far the best, modern band I've ever seen live. These guys are full throttle and balls out througout their entire show. Trust me, if you get a chance to see them live, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Check out some live footage of Papa Roach from Rock on the Range. This live footage doesn't do them justice, but it's still pretty kick ass.

RIP Ronnie James Dio

2010-05-17T07:28:00.002-04:00

Legendary metal vocalist, Ronnie James Dio, lost his battle to stomach cancer yesterday. The music world is devastated and in mouring.

His memory and music will live on forever. So sad.

My Husband vs. Nikki Sixx

2010-05-13T19:57:00.019-04:00

If you know me or follow my blog, you know that I love Nikki Sixx. Hopefully, you also know that I love my husband. That being said, just because I'm happily married and love my husband doesn't mean I would ever pass up an opportunity to be with Nikki Sixx (please feel free to read into the meaning of "be with" if you'd like). But never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would actually have to choose between the two loves of my life.

For weeks now, I have been unbelievably excited about attending Rock on the Range. Aside from the fact that I would get to hang out with my lovely friends, Dee and Sarge, and see some fantastic bands (Limp Bizkit...that does not include you), I was also going to be within feet, maybe even inches of my one and only Nikki Sixx. I would dare to say that there would have been about a 97% chance of me meeting him. We would exchange glances as we extended our hands, and our palms would touch and squeeze each other in sheer delight as his breath would fall upon my skin while he introduced himself to me...ummm...I digress.

Then my dreams were shattered last Saturday night. My husband's band, Snowblynd, got their first gig in Nashville, and this gig isn't at some hole in the wall bar. The Snowblynd boys will be performing at Manuel's shop for a sale/benefit event. Who is Manuel, you ask? He's responsible for making Elvis' gold lame suit. He's responsible for creating the beautifully embroidered and rhinestoned suits for everyone from Johnny Cash to Porter Wagoner to Kid Rock to Gram Parsons. He's responsible for creating the Rolling Stones logo. And he's responsible for crafting my husband's wedding jacket. Yup, that's a pretty rad first gig in Nashville. The only problem? It's on the same day as Rock on the Range.

Oh shit. Now what do I do? Do I stay in Columbus to meet Nikki Sixx? Or do I support my husband and go to Nashville? Decision, decisions.

As my husband and I stared blankly into each other's faces over this dilemma, he said to me, "Baby, just stay here and meet Nikki Sixx. You've seen me play a million times. You may never get another opportunity like this to meet Nikki Sixx." This statement coming from the man who is well aware of the fact that if Nikki asked me to run away from him, I would go. So I ask you loyal readers...How f-ing amazing is my husband?

Of course, way down deep in my heart, I knew there was no way I could miss watching my wonderful husband mesmerize the people of Nashville. It may not be a big stadium show or the opening slot for some big time band, but it's a pretty big show to me.

So instead of going to Rock on the Range and making Nikki Sixx fall madly in love with me, I'll be in my favorite city, Nashville, Tennessee, watching my husband's band kick ass in a legendary clothier's showroom, and it's going to be incredible.

You've eluded me once again my lovely Nikki. I suppose it just wasn't meant to be...yet.

Skid Row Gets New Drummer

2010-05-12T19:42:00.005-04:00

Wow. I was stunned by this news. And no, that's not sarcasm.

Skid Row announced on their website that they parted ways with Davee G in April and have replaced him with Atlanta native, Rob Hammersmith. Rob's got some experience under his belt with Rockets to Ruin and Gunfire 76, so I'm sure he'll do just fine behind the drums with Skid Row.

My favorite Skid Row drummer will always be Rob Affuso because I'm a purist at heart, but I haven't disliked any of their drummers. I fell in love with Phil Varone in Saigon Kick, so I was stoked when he landed in Skid Row. The last time I saw Skid Row live was when Davee G was still behind the drums. I also had the pleasure of meeting him, and he was super nice. Hopefully, Rob Hammersmith will keep this good streak going.

Good luck to Davee G! Hope he continues to kick ass!

Photo courtesy of www.SkidRow.com.

Black Robot Release Video for "Cocaine"

2010-05-04T19:52:00.006-04:00

The minute I heard Black Robot for the first time, I immediately took to my Twitter account and issued an apology to the band for not listening to them sooner. Why? Because they f-ing rock. Their debut album is set to be released on June 8th (I don't know if I can wait that long) with a supporting tour starting this month (Hey, what about a stop in the Midwest, please?).

The first single, "Cocaine" is getting radio airplay across the country and the video will be released tomorrow via IGN Entertainment's site and its sister site. The video is an homage to the good ol' days of rock & roll with lots of hot ass and partying. Now if we only had a some sort of music television channel dedicated to showing music videos...yeah, that'll never happen.

If you know what's good for you, you'll check out Black Robot NOW. And while you're at it, follow them on Twitter.

Photo by Jeff Forney

John Mayer likes...Saigon Kick?

2010-04-22T21:23:00.007-04:00

Yes, it's true. John Mayer likes Saigon Kick. Via his Facebook page, Chris McLernon, bassist for Saigon Kick, announced to the world that he was, "at the ASCAP Expo, and John Mayer just mentioned Saigon Kick. Really."

First I was stunned. Then I was intrigued. How the hell did that even come up? Luckily, Chris answered this question for us, "He was talking about guitar bands he was well versed in knowing/playing when he was learning. And he mentioned us last." Well, I'll be damned!

So from now on whenever you hear John Mayer, you can thank Saigon Kick for helping to inspire him and to teach him what he knows.

And John Mayer...you're a little less douchy for appreciating Saigon Kick.

Here's a little Saigon Kick for your listening pleasure. And if you thought I'd pick something off The Lizard, then you're dead wrong. Please enjoy "Russian Girl" from their lesser known, yet still kick ass album, Devil in the Details.

And thanks to my friend, Thom Hazaert. Without him, I never would have known about this nugget of information!

Exile on Main Street Re-Released

2010-04-21T21:10:00.003-04:00

Thank you to my husband for making me love the Rolling Stones. Sure, I liked the Stones and appreciated them, but I was only really familiar with the stuff I'd heard on the radio. Then I started dating my husband and all that changed. He's a HUGE Rolling Stones fan and Keith Richards is his god. When he made me listen to Exile on Main Street, my life changed. That album is magic.

On May 18th, Exile on Main Street will be re-released. The deluxe box set will include 10 unreleased songs, a dvd with excerpts from Cocksucker Blues, a book with tons of pictures and a few other tasty treats.

One of the unreleased songs that will be included in the reissue is "Plundered My Soul." Check it out below. I think it's freaking phenomenal and surprised it didn't make the original cut. Thank god they're sharing it with the world now!

Sixx Sense to Broadcast at Rock on the Range

2010-03-10T07:23:00.005-05:00

When I first read those words on Twitter, my heart stopped. When I confirmed those words on Nikki's myspace page, I died. Yes folks, my lovely Nikki Sixx will be in my hometown in May broadcasting his radio show, Sixx Sense, from Rock on the Range. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I immediately called my partner in crime, Dee, to let her know the good news. The chances of us actually running into him or meeting him seem pretty high at the moment. Of course, that's all subject to change but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And if I'm really lucky, I can whisk him away to my house because I only live about 5 minutes from the venue. I kid, I kid! I have already warned my husband about the situation and he is fully aware that this May could be the month I run away with Nikki.

Check out my review of day two of Rock on the Range 2008!

Behind the Scenes Look at Slash's Album

2010-03-02T07:33:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Bring Back Glam for posting this awesome clip. Take a sneak peak behind the scenes look at Slash's new album. LOTS of guests...some that excite me and some that scare me. After watching this, I think the album is going to kick ass regardless.

I Love That Pickle!

2010-02-24T19:00:00.003-05:00

Can a pickle have more Facebook fans than Nickelback? The answer is a resounding yes.

As many may know, I am not a fan of Nickelback, so when I saw this pickle fan page, I immediately added myself to the list. I was proud to help this pickle out to reach its goal. Honestly, I didn't think it would be that difficult, and it wasn't. In just a couple of weeks, this pickle has surpassed Nickelback in fan status in Facebook land. At this time, the pickle has 1,492,405 fans. Nickelback....1,423,329.

But this pickle hasn't made it this far without some hurdles. First, Nickelback is actually misspelled on the Facebook page due to copyright laws. Second, some lame-o fake Chad Kroeger actually sent the fan page creator, Coral Ann, a message letting her know that her fan page would be removed in two weeks. Lucky for us, the page is still up.

What's very interesting is how much buzz this little fan page is creating. You know you've "made it" when Perez Hilton is gossiping about you. And this pickle even made it on Yahoo Entertainment.

What started out as a little joke has turned into a quite a phenomenon. Although Coral Anne fully admits that she bit this idea from a similar fan page, "Can this onion ring get more fans than Justin Bieber?", many other "Can this (insert ridiculous noun here) get more fans than (insert crappy band/singer name here)" fan pages have sprouted all over the place.

This whole situation makes me giggle. Coral Anne says the page is all in fun and she means no ill will towards the band. I think it speaks volumes that there are so many people who are willing to choose a pickle over Nickelback. Do I think this is a true representation of the general population? Probably not. But it's still funny.

VOTE FOR SNOWBLYND!

2010-02-22T18:48:00.006-05:00

Yes, this is me shamelessly plugging my husband's band, Snowblynd. They are a kick ass rock/southern rock band. Some have said they're a good mix of the Black Crowes and Tesla. Others have said that if Guns N Roses and Waylon Jennings had a baby, Snowblynd would be the spawn from that glorious union.

Guitar Center is sponsoring a contest called Your Next Record with Slash. The grand prize winner will get to record three songs that will be produced by legendary producer, Mike Clink, and Slash will write, record and perform on one song. Of course, there are plenty of other goodies that go along with that, but recording with Slash is by far one of the coolest prizes ever given away.

So please go to this link and vote for Snowblynd EVERY DAY. Why? Because they are the best band you've never heard of and they deserve it. Need another reason? I'm tired of working for corporate America and I need to be a rock star's wife. Just kidding...not really.

Sebastian Bach - Super Hero!

2010-02-16T12:43:00.003-05:00

Here he comes to save the day!

Thanks to the swift actions of Sebastian Bach, a drunk, knife wielding man was taken down by the singer at Sunday's private Guns 'N Roses performance in NYC at the Rose Bar at the Gramercy Park Hotel. According to witness reports on Page Six of the New York Post, "The man walked in while Guns N' Roses was onstage and pulled out a knife and flicked the blade out. Sebastian, who was standing on a banquette said: 'Nobody is getting anywhere near my man Axl Rose with a knife,' and went after him. Security then immediately threw him out."

This just goes to show that no matter how much security is around, anything can happen. Thank god Sebastian was paying attention and was able to avert the situation and have the guy thrown out. Something horrible could have happened to any of the people in attendance, but they have Sebastian Bach to thank that they're safe.

The Page Six article goes on to discuss who was in attendance (lots of Hollywood stars) and that the party didn't stop until 6am. But my favorite part of the article is Sebastian's quote at the end when asked if "long, metal hair will come back in fashion": "If it does, people better start now because it takes seven [bleep]ing years to get it this length." Flaunting his golden locks, Bach added, "And this isn't some Jessica [bleep]ing Simpson hair extensions -- this is the real deal."

I'm not really sure what that question had to do with anything that went down on Sunday night, but I'm sure glad it was asked because Sebastian's answer is priceless. Oh Sebastian Bach....how I love you!

Photo courtesy of CMT.com

Rock on the Range

2010-02-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

Every year, I'm lucky enough to have a pretty kick ass musical festival about 5 minutes from my house. Rock on the Range is a two day rock fest at Crew Stadium here in Columbus, Ohio. This year's fest will be May 22nd and 23rd. I know the lineup was announced a few days ago, but it's never late than never! So check it out:

Godsmack
Rob Zombie
Three Days Grace
Limp Bizkit
Rise Against
Seether
Slash
Deftones
Papa Roach
5 Finger Death Punch
Coheed and Cambira
Bullet for My Valentine
Mastodon
Killswitch Engage
Theory of a Deadman
Puddle of Mudd
Sevendust
Drowning Pool
Skillet
Apocalyptica
Halestorm
Airbourne
Mushroomhead
Adelitas Way
Helmet
Escape the Fate
Cold
Anberlin
Nonpoint
2Cents
Violent Soho
Janus
Shaman’s Harvest
Year Long Disaster
Taddy Porter
Like a Storm
Noise Auction

Rob Zombie will be headlining one day, which is pretty freaking kick ass. Limp Bizkit will be headlining the other day, which pretty much blows ass. Limp Bizkit? Really? Oh well. At least there are plenty of other bands to make up for that mistake.

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. The only thing that sucks...you can't get one day passes. You have to purchase two day passes.

I'll see you there.

Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record with Slash

2010-02-03T20:18:00.006-05:00

Here is an opportunity for unknown bands to sky rocket to stardom! Guitar Center partnered with Slash to create a competition to give unsigned bands a chance of a lifetime. Starting February 1, 2010 to April 30, 2010, bands can submit their music at YourNextRecord.com to win a chance to record a 3 song EP with producer Mike Clink (Guns 'N Roses, Motley Crue, Megadeth) and to have Slash perform on one of their songs.

The winning band will also win: A management development deal with "The Collective" (Linkin Park, Slash, Avenged Sevenfold), feature of winning artists' single on iTunes, worldwide distribution of winning artists' music through Tunecore, $10,000 Guitar Center Shopping Spree, new gear and endorsement deals from Ernie Ball Music Man, an opening slot on Slash's Monster Energy Bash, and an editorial feature on the winning band in Guitar World Magazine.

"The formula that used to work for discovering new artists has been decimated and the opportunities for really talented bands to be heard is extremely limited," said Slash. "That's why it's so important to me and Guitar Center to provide a situation where new talent can be discovered. This is an incredibly interesting way to find and help launch a really great band that hasn't been able to get their foot in the door otherwise."

This contest coincides with the April release of Slash's first solo album, SLASH, that features all kinds of phenomenal guests including Lemmy, Duff McKagan, Kid Rock, Dave Grohl and many others.

So if you think you're band's got what it takes to shred with Slash, go to YourNextRecord.com and enter!

Sixx Sense

2010-01-28T20:51:00.005-05:00

Yup, more Nikki Sixx news. I'm sure you've probably already heard about Sixx Sense (thanks Allyson), Nikki Sixx's new radio show with co-host Kerri Kasem. It will air five nights a week, Monday through Friday, from 7pm to midnight starting February 8th. It's supopsed to have lots of good rock talk and special guests sprinkled with typical radio music. And on either Saturday or Sunday, there will be The Side Show, a two hour radio show hosted by Nikki and Kerri featuring music from the knowns and unknowns.

I'm sure it's no surprise that I'm STOKED to check out this radio show. I'll be able to listen to Nikki Sixx almost every day! It'll almost be like I'm living with him...almost. Let's just hope my local rock station picks it up. If they don't, I may lose my mind.

Nikki Sixx & Kat Von D No More

2010-01-24T21:13:00.007-05:00

So it's official: Nikki Sixx announced on his myspace page that he and Kat Von D have broken up.

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry. I didn't mean to sound so insensitive.

As terrible and as heart breaking as break ups are, I can't help but be elated at the news. I don't wish either of them unhappiness, but a girl who's obsessed with Nikki Sixx can't help but be excited about the news.

Although I reminded you in December, let me remind you one more time:

My dearest Nikki,
Once you have recuperated from your loss and you're ready for a rebound girl, I am here for you.

Love always,
Christine

EDITOR'S NOTE 3/30/10: It looks like this is no longer true...or never was. Nikki Sixx and Kat Von D are still happily together. If you follow them on Twitter, you'd know this since they tweet about each other all the time. I guess you can't believe everything you read on Myspace. Lesson learned. Glad the two love birds are still happy!

Rockin' in 2010 with Lita Ford

2010-01-01T20:44:00.005-05:00

What better way to start a new decade than with boobs in my face and Lita Ford and Jim Gillette? When I found out that Lita was going to be the hostess with the mostess at my local gentlemen's club for New Year's Eve, I was STOKED. It didn't take much convincing to get my husband to go (go figure) and our best friends ended up coming along. It was going to be a GREAT night with the people I love!

My excitement for New Year's Eve started on Twitter. I tweeted that I was going to spend my NYE with Lita Ford. To my surprise, Ms. Lita responded, "Sounds like I'll be seeing you!" I let her know that I was hoping for a lap dance with which she replied, "Sorry - only hubby gets those!" Damn it! Oh well, I knew I would get a lap dance that evening, but I was just hoping it would come from her.

We arrived at the club late, around 11pm, and posted up right next to the stage. Unfortunately, we missed Lita playing a few tasty licks but she was signing autographs about 5ft from our table.

At this time, I would like to personally apologize to Lita and Jim for the HORRIBLE f-ing band the club booked to play. Holy hell...they were embarassing. They were off key, off beat and just...off. Apparently, the drummer and bass player were brought in to play last minute, which may explain their awfulness. However, that's still no excuse for sounding so bad; they should have excused themselves from this gig. The Queen of Metal deserved MUCH better musical entertainment, that's for sure. And my husband's band, Snowblynd, was supposed to replace that band at the last minute but the other band refused to bail even when asked nicely. Oh well.

The line to talk to Lita was long, so I waited for it to die down. Right before the New Year was upon us, it was my turn. I told her that I had tweeted her that day and she remembered me. She told Jim who I was and he looked at me and said, "You wanted the lap dance!" Busted! Yep, that was me! We chatted for a little bit and I let her know that I was good friends with her old bass player, Tommy Caradonna. She was stoked to hear about him and find out he lived in town. Too bad we couldn't get him to come out and join us! Then through earlier conversations, it was discovered that my husband's father's band, The Godz, actually opened for Jim's band, Nitro, back in the day! How f-ing cool is that? Yeah! And Jim still remembered their song, "Criminal Mind." Lita and Jim were both super cool and took their time with each person and didn't rush anyone. They were great hosts!

Later in the evening, there was a raffle to win an autographed B.C. Rich guitar (that was won by one of our friends!) and Jim and some lovely dancers handed out autographed copies of Lita's latest CD, Wicked Wonderland. Then...it was time for lap dances and shoving dollar bills in panties! Woohoo!

Thanks to Lita and Jim for helping us bring in the New Year and the New Decade in pure rock and roll style! We had a freaking blast and hope you guys did too! And to all of you who didn't or couldn't make it to Lita's Rockin' New Year's Eve...you missed out!

Dave Navarro Reads My Blog

2009-12-30T21:41:00.005-05:00

Or at least he read my blog once, and I'm milking it for everything that it's worth.

Once again, Twitter surprised me with its tweet magic. I noticed that someone I didn't recognize tweeted my name. It was DavesBadBarbie and her tweet said, "#17 Read a cute blog by @ChristineSixx that detailed the "meet Dave" experience." Interesting. So I checked her out and realized that DavesBadBarbie was actually Dave Navarro's Barbie that tours with him. Basically, it's life on the road with Dave Navarro through the eyes of his Barbie. If you follow Dave on Twitter at all, he will randomly post pictures of this Barbie in random places while he's out on the road.

Well, DavesBadBarbie decided to post a Top 20 of 2009 list on Twitter yesterday, and yours truly was number 17! My post about seeing Dave Navarro in his black bikini briefs was so fantastic that even Dave's Barbie knows about me!

Let's be honest. I think we all know that a Barbie isn't acutally capable of posting Tweets. So who does that leave? Dave Navarro. Yes, that's right. Dave Navarro read my blog once and tweeted about it. My little story made such an impression on him that he felt it was worthy enough to include on his (or her) Top 20 list of 2009. Wow. Just wow.

This little nobody is walking around with a very enlarged head that's in the clouds and a chest that's pushed out proudly. Hey...my boobs look a lot bigger when I do that! Ha!

Thanks again Dave Navarro!!!! Meeting you was certainly one of the highlights of my year. And what a year it's been!

Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for all of us!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I was informed by DavesBadBarbie that she is NOT Dave Navarro. She hated to burst my bubble and "reduce [my] boob size" but she felt I should know the truth. Regardless, I'm still pretty stoked that Dave's special lady knows who I am and was kind enough to think my story was special enough to include in her top 20 list. Thank you my dear! It's greatly appreciated! :)

Drummer for Avenged Sevenfold Found Dead

2009-12-29T07:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, the Orange County Register and Blabbermouth reported that Avenged Sevenfold drummer, "The Rev", was found dead in his home in Hungtington Beach, California. He was 28.

Currently, reports are that he died of natural causes. Unfortunately, everyone will speculate on how he really died since it is highly unlikely a 28 year old just died from natural causes. What a bummer that a young, talented musician has been taken from us, regardless of how he died.

Spend New Year's Eve With Lita Ford!

2009-12-27T08:10:00.002-05:00

That's right! You can rock into the New Year with the Queen of Metal herself! If you're idea of a good time consists of rock & roll, booze, Lita Ford and naked chicks, then this party is for you!

Lita Ford's New Year's Eve Rockfest will be at Columbus Gold Gentlemen's Club with special guests, Vinyl. Lita will play hostess for the evening and everyone will be encouraged to help Lita celebrate all of her great accomplishments for the past year, including releasing her comeback album, Wicked Wonderland, partnering with fetish retailer, Stockroom.com, and being named FMBQ's 2009 Best Female Rock Artist!

I'm just hoping Lita will be giving out lap dances!

Columbus Gold
5411 Bethel Sawmill Ctr
Columbus, OH 43235
(614) 764-0500

Tickets available at Ticketmaster for $15.

Last Vegas Makes iTunes "Rock Singles of the Year List"

2009-12-17T20:22:00.007-05:00

Congrats to The Last Vegas! Here's the official press release:

December 14, 2009 - Guitar Center, the world's largest music retailer, announced that its On-Stage winner, The Last Vegas, topped iTunes critics' 2009 "Rock Singles of the Year List" with their hit single "I'm Bad" (Eleven Seven Music). Recently, Guitar Center partnered with Mötley Crüe, the world's most notorious rock band, on its undiscovered music program Guitar Center On-Stage through which one band, The Last Vegas, received an opening slot on Mötley's Crüe's 2009 U.S. tour, $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth Street Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Mötley's Crüe's management and record label. Due in part to Guitar Center's commitment to the support of aspiring artists, the band has risen to the top of the most popular digital music store in the world's annual "best-of" list in just one year. The chart topping single can be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/ImBadiTunes and its music video can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ImBadYouTube.

"We cannot thank Guitar Center enough for kick-starting our careers with its On-Stage program," said Chad Cherry, lead singer of The Last Vegas. "From the moment we won their extremely generous prize and were hand-selected by Mötley Crüe to open for them on tour, our lives have been sent into a whirlwind of rock and roll. Look at us now; we're sitting on top of the iTunes charts and it all started with Guitar Center."

The Last Vegas has been dubbed "Best Discovery" by SPIN and, since winning Guitar Center On-Stage, has built an impressive touring history throughout arenas, clubs and theaters in 2009, side-by-side with renowned acts like Buckcherry, Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and Papa Roach.

Guitar Center On-Stage is just one of many Guitar Center initiatives created to foster growth and success within the music community, including its annual King of the Blues and Drum-Off competitions, among others. Guitar Center's King of the Blues is a nationwide amateur guitar skills competition with the goal of finding the next great undiscovered blues guitar player. Drum-Off is an annual drumming competition that, now in its 21st year, has been a launching pad for many drummers, including Cora Coleman-Dunham and Tony Royster Jr, two Drum-Off winners who have gone on to become highly acclaimed professional drummers (with Prince and Jay Z respectively).

"Guitar Center prides itself on helping musicians pursue and accomplish their dreams and The Last Vegas are the perfect Cinderella story," said Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center. "The Last Vegas has gone above and beyond the achievements we had hoped for when we started the Guitar Center On-Stage program and we can't wait to see where they're headed."

Photo courtesy of http://www.thelastvegas.com/. And yes, I totally selected that picture because Nikki Sixx is in it, and as you may or may not know, I love Nikki Sixx.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI SIXX

2009-12-11T07:18:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year again!!!!! No, not Christmas! Nikki Sixx's birthday!!! He's my God, my idol, my obsession and I LOVE him. Happy birthday my sweet! I hope you have a wonderful birthday!!!! And as always, the offer still stands. :)

Ronnie James Dio Diagnosed With Stomach Cancer

2009-11-23T18:38:00.005-05:00

The legendary voice of metal, Ronnie James Dio, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer. We metal fans know that he is tougher than nails and will most certainly defeat this awful disease. According to a statement from his wife on his website, treatment will begin immediately at the Mayo Clinic.

Please send all positive thoughts Ronnie's way. We all wish him a speedy recovery, so he can get back to rocking our faces off!

Photo: www.the-isb.com

I Love Barbie

2009-11-13T15:08:00.003-05:00

It's an obsession I've had since childhood: Barbies. I'm a girl, so it's only natural. Barbie dolls were a major part of my life growing up. I didn't have the Barbie Dream House, but I did get a rad, purple Corvette. I had all kinds of Barbies and I still collect them to this day. As a matter of fact, I get a Barbie every year for Christmas. No joke.

Today, I found out that Mattel has created a "Ladies from the 80's" Barbie collection, which includes Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry and...drum roll please...Joan Jett! Although I hope to own all three of these Barbies, the Joan Jett Barbie is numero uno on my Christmas Barbie wish list. This lovely collection is due out in December just in time for the holidays. No doubt Mattel also decided to release the Joan Jett Barbie since the Runaways movie is coming to a theater near you very soon.

How badass is this Barbie? I love it!

Country Music Awards?

2009-11-12T19:06:00.007-05:00

OK, I'll admit right off the bat that I didn't watch the 2009 CMA Awards. Why? Mostly because my husband refused to watch it. I would have been open to watching it, but the hubby can't stand the current state of country music and would have just screamed at the television all night long. So to avoid a shoe through our TV, we just skipped it. Unfortunately, my true love wasn't able to hide from it for long.

The next morning he said, "Baby, do you know who won Entertainer of the Year on the CMA's? Taylor f-ing Swift! What the f*ck! She doesn't even sing country music!" That was promptly followed by, "And do you know who won Best New Artist? Darius Rucker! Are you kidding me? Not only is he not new, he's NOT country! What the hell is going on?" Good question. What the hell is going on, Country Music?

Taylor Swift is cute and sweet and innocent, and we all feel sorry for her because Kanye West was a douchebag and ruined her moment in the spotlight, but her Entertainer of the Year award would have made a lot more sense if the win was at the Pop Music Awards. Can someone please tell me exactly what about her music makes it country? It doesn't even resemble country music. There's no twang. There's no pedal steel. There's no fiddle. Being a pretty girl with blond, curly hair and an acoustic guitar shouldn't automatically put you in the country music slot (although most of the time it does). I don't think she can sing to save her life (just from the live performances I've seen), and I can't quite figure out how she became the country music phenomenon that she did. Perhaps I could wrap my mind around it if she was this big in the pop music scene. Oh no wait....she is.

You know it's bad when a country music legend is ripping you apart. George Jones made it known in an interview with the Associated Press that he wasn't too happy with the likes of Taylor Swift and her blond peers, "They've stolen our identity. They had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they really need to do, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music." Ouch! When George Jones doesn't like you, what do you do?

And then there's Darius Rucker. He made the ol' switcheroo to country music and won that crowd over because the pop music world was done with him. I didn't like him in Hootie and the Blowfish, and surprise, surprise...I don't like him now. Perhaps his music has a little more twang than Ms. Swift's, but I don't think he's quite as impressive as everyone seems to think he is.

It just floors me that there were other, more talented people who were nominated that were passed up so these two could go home with awards. Even if you don't like country music, you would have been impressed with the performance from the Zac Brown Band. They did a rendition of the Devil Went Down to Georgia that could rip your face off. Anyone could appreciate the pure musicianship of these guys. They can sing, play amazingly well and put on one hell of a show. Now there's a band that deserves to win New Artist of the Year! But did they even win one award? Nope. At least they were nominated. Sigh.

The only highlights from this award show? Jamey Johnson won, and deserved to win, Song of the Year and Kenny Chesney didn't win anything.

Look, if you like Taylor Swift and thinks she's super duper talented and think she's the greatest singer in the world, then great. All I'm saying is that title would work better over there with the pop singers, not mingled in with real, great country singers like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn or Patsy Cline. Taylor Swift couldn't even come close to those ladies on her very best day.

Queensryche/Lita Ford - Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH

2009-11-02T19:43:00.006-05:00

When I was in middle school, I can remember my brother and I bugging the crap out of our parents to get us the Operation LiveCrime box set for Christmas. Lucky for us, Santa was good to us that Christmas. My brother actually got to see Queensryche live back in the day, but since I was younger and a girl, I never got the opportunity. So last week was finally my time to see Queensryche live. I can't tell you how excited I was to finally hear Operation Mindcrime live. I was almost giddy with anticipation!

We got to the venue as Queensryche started playing. The first thing that I noticed was Geoff Tate's voice. It is still incredible; he sounded fantastic. I wish I could have said the same for the sound in general, which was kinda crappy (but not the fault of the band). Then I got my grimy little hands on the set list (thanks Amy). I kept looking at it over and over and over again. I turned it over and looked on the back of the piece of paper and I still couldn't find it. There was a set for Rage for Order, American Soldier, and Empire...but I couldn't find Operation Mindcrime. That's because they weren't performing Operation Mindcrime! Pissed couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling at that moment. How could they not perform Operation Mindcrime? Seriously? That just irritated me for the rest of the night.

I tried to enjoy the rest of the show, but it was hard. I know I shouldn't have let the lack of Operation Mindcrime piss me off so much, but it really did. Then a great moment happened that made me forget about that crap for just a few minutes: Geoff Tate's duet with his daughter on "Home Again." It was absolutely beautiful and heartfelt. He looked so enamored with her, and she looked like she was scared to death. She was cute and sounded great.

I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the songs from American Soldier. Not sure what I was really expecting, but it sounded like the Queensryche I grew up loving. I'm glad they didn't stray from their standard sound on this new album.

Then it was time for Lita Ford. This transition was a bit awkward. It kind of threw me off when I found out she wasn't opening but instead doing a little set in the middle of Queensryche's set. She looked as hot as ever and sounded really good. Her hubby, Jim Gillette, came out and sang along to "Crave." It was so fun to watch the two of them interact with each other and grope each other non-stop. Then she performed "Patriotic SOB." Of course she ended her tiny set with "Close My Eyes Forever" with Geoff Tate filling in on Ozzy's part, and Geoff did a pretty fine job. And that was it for Lita, which I thought was pretty lame. She should have had way more time to perform. And I can't even lie...I was sad that she didn't play Kiss Me Deadly.

Queensryche ended their set with a few songs from Empire. Surely they didn't leave out "Silent Lucidity" but they did leave off "Jet City Woman" even though it was on their set list.

Needless to say, I was a little disappointed. I was heartbroken that Queensryche didn't play Operation Mindcrime. Sure, they sounded pretty good and Geoff still sounds amazing, but it wasn't enough to make up for them totally blowing off their best album. I think they should have had Lita open, cut a few songs from the American Soldier set and added songs from Operation Mindcrime. Is that too much to ask?

I Suck

2009-10-20T07:22:00.003-04:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah...it's been a while. I'm a slacker. I apologize to all of my loyal readers (like...all 2 or 3 of you). Sometimes, life just gets in the way. New stuff is coming, I promise. In the mean time, listen to Blackberry Smoke. Why? Because they kick ass. Go buy their CD at Best Buy or Walmart.

Lita Ford Interview

2009-09-28T18:04:00.008-04:00

She took a long hiatus from rock, but Lita Ford is back on the scene with a vengeance. The mistress of rock has a new album coming out, Wicked Wonderland, on October 6th and it's heavier than anything you've heard from her yet. Lita was kind enough to answer some questions and talk very frankly about sex, music, her family and...well...sex.

It's great to have you back! What have you been doing these past few years? Why the long hiatus? And Why the Caribbean (aside from the fact that it's amazing)?

Just wanted to concentrate on my family. Jim and I are extremely close and our boys are our life! Living on a deserted island is not for everyone! It works for us though - we love it. Our boys catch fish and lobster. They grab conch right off the beach. It's an amazing environment. It's also wonderful for your sex life - there's nothing to do but have sex!!!!

How did Wicked Wonderland come about? Have you been working on it for a long period of time, or did it just come to you?

We started writing it a year ago and now it's coming out! We had a lot to say after such a long break! We wrote this album from our hearts. Jim and I don't have to do this. We did it because we wanted to and it's very pure. It's a lot more fun not having to listen to a bunch of suits from the label trying to tell you what's cool when they wouldn't know cool if it bit them on the ass!

What I've heard so far is really heavy. To me, it's feels more dominatrix as opposed to seductress. Do you feel more in control with this album?

Jim and I controlled every single aspect of this album! We hire who we want and fire who we want. It's the most control I've ever had and I must say that I love it! This is what I sound like not what someone else thinks i should sound like! And by the way - we are endorsed by the coolest bondage shop on the planet - http://www.stockroom.com/. We have quite a few of their toys and use them regularly! So you were pretty spot on with the dominatrix referral....

The songs on Wicked Wonderland are super sexual. A lot of women are afraid to be so open about their sexuality. Was it easy for you to be so open and free with your sexuality on this album?

When Jim and I started writing the songs they just kept coming back to our sex life. We have an incredible love life. Jim is the first man that has been able to satisfy me sexually. Our marriage is wonderful and sacred and our sex is a huge part of that. We just wrote what came naturally and I guess when you have a relationship like we do you tend to think about sex a lot! We talked about being so open and decided to just go for it. If more people had great sex the world would be a better place!

How has it been working with your husband?

Incredible! He's the best singer I've ever known. He does things vocally that still blow me away after 15 years! We're soul mates - it's kind of like twins... You know how sometimes twins will finish each others sentences and stuff like that? Well that's how me and Big Daddy (that's one of my nicknames for him - the other is Meat Whistle) are. We really freak a lot of people out that way. We're very connected and it was a blast writing and recording with him. We have a home studio and Jim would engineer so it was just us while we'd record... I bet you can guess what that was like!!!! No clothes and lots of sex!!! Definitely gave the album some intense energy!

Have your children influenced your music in any way?

Our children have influenced every aspect of our lives. - They've made everything better! We love our kids with all our hearts. They're such cool kids! They box, teach Gracie Jiu Jitsu, hunt, fish.... They kick ass!
Do you see your kids following in your footsteps?

They sure are starting to that's for sure! They've been training to fight in the UFC since they were 2 years old! Now they are starting to jam. James is really getting good on guitar and Rocco is picking up the drums. It would be so cool if they walked out to the octagon in the UFC to one of their own songs!

How did it feel returning to the stage at Rocklahoma last year? Did it get you more motivated?

It was amazing. Such an awesome experience. Then the damn tornados decided to mess around! I was amazed that so many people stayed through that mess. It was pouring and all I could see was a sea of umbrellas. It was an honor to play for the diehards that braved the storm!

Now you're going out on tour with Queensryche. Rumor has it that they will be backing you up. How did that come about?

We're very excited about this. Queensryche is such an awesome band. Can't wait to get out there and rock!

What are your feelings on the The Runaways movie?

We have nothing to do with it.

What bands are you listening to these days?

The classics! Metallica, The Ramones, Def Lep, stuff like that. That's what my kids like so they control the stereo!

You are legendary in rock for helping put women on the map and letting everyone know that we women can rock just as hard, if not harder, than men can (all while looking smokin' hot). Do you see any female rockers today who are carrying that rock torch?

I'm very grateful for everything Rock n Roll has given me. I'm very happy that I've helped so many women. Sometimes the response I get is overwhelming. To tell you the truth - I have no idea about today's artists! We've been on a deserted island so long that I have no clue who any of the new bands are. I do think PINK kicks ass though! She rocks.

Thanks for the support and for helping to keep metal alive! God bless....

Thanks SO much to Lita for taking the time to answer the questions! :)

You're So Funny Ryan!

2009-09-19T16:01:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Ms. Allyson at Bring Back Glam, it was brought to my attention that one of my favorites, Ryan Adams, is now a columnist for a new website called The Awl. In honor of the new site and his new job, Ryan decided to create a "hair metal parody" theme song for The Awl. Although Allyson didn't find it humorous, I thought it was hysterical. Take a listen for yourself: The Awl: Hair Metal Version.

Now, I know that not everyone loves Ryan Adams as much as I do. That's totally understandable. He's not for everyone. I just happen to think he's a freaking genius. And I think that in order to find this parody funny, you have to like and understand Ryan's sense of humor.

The few times that I've seen Ryan live, he likes to talk about silly things like eating dinner with Alanis Morissette or how much he likes metal...as in the element, not the music (although he likes the music too). And he made up a song about a remote control and it was stupid and funny. That's just how he is, and that's exactly what he was going for on this song. It's awful and funny. Or at least I thought it was funny. He's a quirky, arsty kinda guy and he's got a quirky sense of humor.

And don't forget to check out Ryan's column while you're at The Awl. That's hysterical too. The last paragraph and the P.S. made me laugh out loud.

PS - Check out Bring Back Glam. Allyson is great and she has great taste in music!

Photo credit: ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com

Smooth Up

2009-09-15T21:58:00.004-04:00

There's seems to be a lot going on in the world of the Bulletboys. They have a new album out, 10c Billionaire, that actually sounds pretty decent and has received some good reviews. They just finished up their summer tour with Faster Pussycat, Bang Tango and Sister Sin. Their drummer, Ryche Green, was just released from the hospital and is doing well. And they are slated to play a John Bonham tribute show, presented by Frankie Banali, on Friday, September 25th at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA.

Lita Ford FREE Download

2009-09-07T10:50:00.004-04:00

Lita Ford is back and she's as hot and as bad ass as ever. Go to her site to check out the new track, "Crave", and get a FREE download. Her new album, Wicked Wonderland, is due out October 9th. Check back for more info and a review.

FREE Strung Out Download!!!!

2009-09-01T18:27:00.007-04:00

Although it's rare for me to mention punk rock, I thought this was well worth recognition. The punk rock band, Strung Out, is offering a FREE download of their new song, Black Crosses from their new album, Agents of the Underground.

If you're not familiar with Strung Out, you may want to be. They have a very unique punk sound that's blended ever so well with metal/hardcore. Their music is hard, fast, dynamic and melodic. Even if you've never really been interested in punk rock, this band might just make you give it a shot.

Agents of the Underground will be released on September 29th on Fat Wreck Chords. It is the bands' seventh album on the independent label. This is also the boys' 20th anniversary release.

So give them a try and download Black Crosses. What have you got to lose? It's free!

Get Better Soon Zakk Wylde!

2009-08-26T08:17:00.005-04:00

According to his latest tweets on Twitter (using the word "tweet" in reference to a burly, bad ass guy like Zakk just doesn't feel right...), he is currently dealing with two blood clots in his lungs and one in his leg. Due to these damned clots, he's unable to sing because any pushing would cause an embolism. "Every 48 hours in the ER to check my blood," he informs us from Twitter. This has caused BLS to drop out of their tour, Pedal to the Metal. The rest of the bands on the tour will keep on keepin' on without the bearded madman and his band, but there's no doubt Zakk and the rest of BLS will be sorely missed.

In other super hot, bearded guys named Zakk news...

I'm sure almost all of you already know that Ozzy has decided to replace Zakk Wylde in his band with Greek guitarist, Gus G. And apparently, Ozzy didn't even bother telling Zakk he was planning on replacing him. Real nice. What the hell is wrong with the Osbournes?

Zakk, please know that Ozzy won't be the same without you; he's now missing an integral part of his sound. Sure, that other guy is a good guitarist, but he'll never be as good as you. And your beard alone could kick that kid's ass in a heart beat. I'm just sayin'.

Now hurry up and get better damn it!

Photo courtesy of Metal Sucks because that website is hysterical.

Hate Mail

2009-08-22T12:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I received my first ever piece of hate mail. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't come sooner. I opened my myspace inbox and was greeted with adjectives like juvenile, ignorant and biased. Basically, JB was pissed off that I gave Cincinnati based Calloused a shit review. And when I say shit review...I mean shit.

Let me give you a couple of highlights from JB's hate mail:

"...try seeming a little less biased when a front man pays a little attention to you. Relax, he wants to have sex with you. It happens. When you edify glam rock and trash on other local bands that are innovative and not afraid to go against the same old Buckcherry"ish" cookie cutter sound, you appear ignorant. Open your ears and shut your cake-hole. "

"On behalf of Calloused and Cincinnati, go hug a root, get bent, and kiss our Hillbilly asses."

He also called me "quasi-attractive." Does that mean he thinks that I'm kind of attractive since he couldn't come right out and call me ugly? But my favorite one liner of the entire email was when he said I was a "Glorified Groupie in Standard Issue Stripper Gear." That's just fucking awesome!

As I was reading this hate mail, I couldn't help but laugh. This dude was REALLY angry over some stupid words that I wrote on a blog that no one really reads. Wow. My first instinct was to respond to him with an uber smart ass email, but my gut told me that was the wrong thing to do. On my myspace profile, I specifically state, "I'm not interested in petty arguments about how you think I'm an idiot for not liking Rush. I'm interested in well thought out debates about how I should reconsider my hatred for Rush because they really are talented musicians. You get the idea." I knew this guy wrote this email to me at the height of the emotional roller coaster that my words just took him on, so I decided to give him a break. You can't fight fire with fire. Instead, I fought it with kindness.

I simply explained to JB that we're each allowed to have our own opinions. And attacking someone's personal integrity when you don't know them is more juvenile and ignorant than me writing a shitty review. I make no apologies for what or how I write. I'm not making nice just to kiss ass or avoid hurting feelings; that's not who I am. My response to JB wasn't mean or hateful because in general, I'm not a mean or hateful person. Besides, I knew that being shitty right back to him would just cause more problems.

In the end, JB responded and sent me a very nice apology. His brother and best friends are in the band, so he was very legitimately hurt and pissed off by what I said and he had every right to be. He retracted his juvenile statement because I didn't get angry right back at him and because of that, I have gained another reader. Nice! JB made me realize that I'm totally unaware of how many people read my blog and that I may entertain or incite more people than I thought. And maybe "All the people who voted for that band should be shot" was a little bit harsh. Perhaps all of those people should just get a good punch in the mouth. I kid, I kid...

The moral of the story, kids, is that kindness goes a LONG way. JB saw the error of his ways because I extended some kindness his way. In return, he extended some kindness right back to me and now we can laugh at this entire situation. Look, I may be a sassy, opinionated bitch, but I'm still a super nice gal at heart. I know that not everyone who reads my blog is going to agree with what I have to say; I don't expect them to. What is life without a little dissonance? It makes things interesting. Please dear readers, feel free to contact me if you like or loathe any ideas or opinions I put on my blog. I'll post all comments (unless they're REALLY foul). Good or bad, I learn from what you have to say.

And go check out Calloused for yourself. After receiving this hate mail from JB, I went to their myspace page and gave them a second chance. It certainly sounded better than what I heard on the day of Crue Fest.

PS - JB, I'm STOKED that you're still reading my blog. :)

Photo from http://www.bilerico.com/

Crue Fest 2 - Cincinnati, Ohio 8/14/09

2009-08-16T18:23:00.023-04:00

When I first heard the line up for Crue Fest 2, I was less than excited. Actually, I was pissed. There wasn't one band on the line up, aside from Motley Crue themselves, that I wanted to see or hear. Once I heard Motley was planning on playing Dr. Feelgood from start to finish...I was stoked and a little more accepting about what was in store for me at the show.

My concert buddy, Dee, and I arrived at the venue at 4pm only to be bombarded with the shittiest music I'd ever heard. There was a band playing on the second stage who were absolutely offensive to my ears. Then the band decided to do a horrendous rendition of Pantera's Walk and that was it for me. I later found out that it was local band, Calloused, who won some contest to play at Crue Fest. All the people who voted for that band should be shot.

Lucky for us, Charm City Devils were about to make up for all of the crap that just mutilated our hearing. All I can say about this band is WOW. They really blew me away. CCD are just straight up rock & roll and they were a very pleasant surprise. I only wish that there would have been more people there to appreciate them and that they had a longer set. This band really kicks ass and are better than almost all bands that are on the radio today. And while Dee and I were on a beverage run to try to keep hydrated in the oppressive heat, we happened to run into John and Jason from CCD. Both were super nice and friendly...and Jason made it a point to tell me my lips were orange from my Powerade. Just great.

Next up was Theory of A Deadman. I'm still trying to figure out why they were brought out on Crue Fest since they just did the Saints of Los Angeles tour. If you read my review on the SOLA tour, you'll know that I didn't really like Theory of a Deadman. After seeing them at Crue Fest 2...I REALLY don't like them. Holy hell...I was stunned at how terrible they were. Tyler Connolly was singing so out of tune it was ridiculous, and that was on the first song! Dee and I lasted three songs and then immediately walked out because we just couldn't take it anymore. This band is mediocre at best. They're just Nickelback with a WAY hotter lead singer.

My next surprise for the evening was Drowning Pool. Although I missed most of their set, I caught the last few songs and these guys put on one hell of a live show. Drowning Pool is another band that I'm not a huge fan of and had no interest in seeing at Crue Fest. After watching a little bit of their set, I'm now more interested in them. They really got the crowd going and sounded freaking fantastic. I have to say that I was impressed with them and glad that I caught what little of their set that I did.

I missed Godsmack because I was too busy meeting Rob Rockitt from Hard Rock Hideout and JT from Hard Rock Nights! We played a little text tag for the first couple of hours (because we were both busy either watching shows or talking to CCD), but finally ran into each other. What great guys! Make sure you check out their sites (especially since I write for Hard Rock Hideout)! And if I'm being honest...I missed Godsmack because I really, really don't like them. We made our way back to our seats in time to catch Godsmack's last song, and the crowd really seemed to love them. Wish I felt the same way.

Now time for Motley Crue!

I was forewarned on my way down to Cincinnati about Tommy Lee not playing drums and I was thoroughly disappointed. Tommy burned the shit out of his left hand while playing with fireworks. And he wasn't playing with sparklers or bottle rockets; he was playing around with some really big fireworks. Due to Tommy's "bonehead" move, the band was forced to find a last minute replacement, Morgan Rose from Sevendust. This bonehead move also caused a catastrophe for me, but we'll get to that later.

As the lights went down and the crowd went wild, a very sexy nurse came out on stage pushing a very creepy, old, gigantic wheel chair. When she reached the middle, she opened two doors on the seat of the wheel chair and hot, sexy lunatic jumped out. Some creepy orderlies ran out with a gigantic syringe and jammed it into the lunatic. Then the curtains dropped and Motley Crue played Dr. Feelgood in a padded cell. The whole set up was very Alice Cooper and it kicked ass! After they finished Dr. Feelgood, the padded cell was pulled away and all that was left was an old, decrepit hospital set in the same sea foam green as the Dr. Feelgood album.

Of course they went through Dr. Feelgood in its entirety and it was so nostalgic for me. It totally made me feel like I was in the 6th grade again. Morgan really held his own on drums and I was really impressed with him, especially since he learned the entire set on the plane ride in. Yes, Vince sang every third word; I've certainly heard him sound worse. And yes, Mick messed up in parts; I've heard him play better. Tommy came out to apologize for being an idiot; it was nice that he was still a part of the show. And Nikki was perfect, as usual. But it was honestly the best I've seen these guys perform in years. It was a combination of the set, the album and the chemistry that made this show so spectacular for me.

After they finished Dr. Feelgood, there was a quick set change to a very industrial, dark, dirty, steam punk set with big gears and sparks flying everywhere. Tommy came out and played Home Sweet Home on the piano because...well...it just wouldn't have been Home Sweet Home without him. And then there was Wildside. I don't know what to say about that except that it was a cluster fuck. There was about 30-45 seconds of complete chaos where no one was playing the right thing and had no idea what was going on. I'm not sure if it was Morgan or Mick that caused it, but it was the most uncomfortable 30 seconds of my life. My heart hurt for them. But being the professionals that they are, they eventually pulled it all together and finished the song. And they certainly didn't let this debacle get them down or ruin the rest of the show.

It was really kind of weird to have to watch Motley Crue struggle, and I don't mean struggle in a bad way. It's just interesting to see them work through last minute issues on stage and in front of your face, especially when they are usually a tight, well oiled machine. With Morgan filling in at the last minute, Nikki had to give him cues constantly throughout each song. It made me respect Nikki more than I already do (surprising, I know). Watching him wrangle his troops and give them orders showed what a strong leader his is and that Motley Crue really is his baby. And watching the rest of the band follow his cues was quite impressive. Maybe there were mistakes here and there, but the show was really spectacular.

Now on to my catastrophe...

I am lucky enough to know Tommy Lee's drum tech, who happens to be a very good friend of mine. We were supposed to meet up with him and hang out backstage before the show. The plan was to go to catering and eat dinner with him. Since Tommy burned his hand, the whole day was totally chaotic and my friend was way too busy to entertain friends, which is totally and completely understandable. But do you know who happens to hang out in catering quite often? Nikki Sixx. Do you know what that means? That means I missed seeing Nikki Sixx. Yes, it's Tommy Lee's fault that I didn't get to meet Nikki Sixx. Jerk.

No worries. We hung out with my friend backstage after the show and had a wonderful time. I got to meet Tommy's right hand man/Protools genius and Tommy's assistant. While I was sitting next to Tommy's assistant, he actually called Tommy to check up on him to make sure he was OK. I could hear Tommy's voice on the phone. Weird. And then I got meet Nikki Sixx's tech. Do you know what that means? That means I'm only one person away from Nikki Sixx. Yes! I'm now one person closer to meeting you Nikki! Watch out!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll get you next time my love...

Alice Cooper - Ohio State Fair 8/1/09

2009-08-12T22:10:00.008-04:00

When my friend Amy told me that she had an extra ticket for me to go see Alice Cooper at the state fair, I was pretty stoked. When she told me they were third row seats, I was really stoked. When she emailed me a couple of weeks later and told me they were front row seats, I lost my mind.

Alice Cooper is a legend. He was doing shock rock before Marilyn Manson knew how to put on make up. And this show was proof that Alice is still the originator, grandfather and king of this art form.

Unfortunately, I'm not up to par on my Alice Cooper repertoire like I should be. Thankfully, I have a husband who is and a best friend, Amy, who most certainly is (this was her 11th time seeing Alice). But even though I didn't know every song he performed, I still had a kick ass time and Coop put on a kick ass show.

I had no idea what kind of theatrical show I was in for (and apparently, it wasn't as theatrical as past shows). All the props and characters were SUPER cheesy and over the top ridiculous, which is exactly what made the show. Had everything been more realistic, it wouldn't have been nearly as good. His daughter was one of his many cast of characters. How cool is it that his daughter gets to be a part of her father's show and follow in her mother's footsteps? Alice's wife was standing at the side of the stage like a proud Mama and wife. It was amazing to finally see the whole guillotine act and watch the evil nurse decapitate Alice! Woohoo! It was like seeing a little part of musical history.

The band was spot on and I was surprised to see Keri Kelly on guitar. If I kept up to date on my music news, I probably would have known he was on guitar. He sweat more than anyone I've ever seen, but he certainly kicked ass. It was quite a pleasant surprise for me to get to watch him.

Being in the front row definitely has its perks. There's no one standing in front of you and getting in your way. You have a perfect view of just about everything. And it's much easier to catch things that the band throws out to the audience, like the Alice Cooper hundred dollar bills. But the COOLEST thing that happened to me in the front row that night was when I caught Alice's cane. That's right! Your girl caught Alice's cane! It was almost like he just tossed it right to me. It was freaking awesome!

Whether you like Alice Cooper or not, you must go see him live. It's a fantastic show. I'm only sad that I never went to go see him sooner.

Rock & Roll Wedding!

2009-08-01T16:28:00.010-04:00

Now that the greatest, most kick ass wedding ever is over, life as I know it can return to normal. I won't bore you with the details (you can go to my wedding blog for all of that), but I will give you a few of the musical details.

Music was obviously the main and most important theme throughout the wedding. We had real concert tickets made for our invites. Our RSVP's were made using an AC/DC font. Instead of a wedding program, we had a "set list." Everyone in our bridal party had a VIP laminate. Our cake topper was a replica of Waylon Jenning's guitar. Bob Segar's guitarist was one of the groomsmen and our officiant was in McGuffy Lane and is currently touring the country with Jonalee White; both of these guys are two of the most badass guitarists I've ever heard. And of course my groom had a one of a kind, custom made jacket created by the legendary Manuel of Nashville, Tennessee (he's made suits for everyone from Johnny Cash to Kid Rock).

The musical selection for the wedding was the ONLY thing that my new hubby and I argued over. The only song I was not willing to compromise on was what I was going to walk down the aisle to: Love Song by Tesla. My brother played it perfectly (like he did so many times before when we were kids). The mothers and grandparents walked to Love Me Tender by Elvis (my man is a HUGE Elvis fan). The bridal party got to rock down the aisle to Loving Cup by the Rolling Stones, and the recessional was Thank You by Led Zeppelin.

The reception had a few choice musical selections as well. The bridal party was introduced to Electric Rodeo by Shooter Jennings. And of course my new hubby and I walked into Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue while our good friend, Rick Catuela (the Rock & Roll Reverend from the Alrosa Villa) introduced us. Our first dance was Rose of My Heart by Johnny Cash and the Mother/Son dance was Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man performed by Blackberry Smoke.

Yeah, that's right. I said it. Blackberry Smoke played at my freaking wedding! YES! They rocked so hard that they blew a fuse! After a few songs from Blackberry Smoke, a legendary, local band, Rosie, got up for an impromptu set. A couple of the groomsmen were in the band and the entire band flew in from all over the U.S. to join in the celebration. Then the Blackberry Smoke boys got back up on stage and closed out the night. It was seriously the most kick ass rock & roll wedding ever. Well...at least it rocked harder than any other wedding I've ever been to!

And to continue on with our musical theme, we honeymooned in Nashville, Tennessee. Our good friends hooked us up with the trip and tickets to go see Chris Isaak at the Ryman (and it was another excuse for my hubby to wear his Manuel jacket). I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Ryman Auditorium is magical. There is something about that venue that just gets in your soul. Every artist truly admires that place, and Chris Isaak was no exception. He and his band were in Manuels as well and were absolutely spectacular. Chris Isaak sounded AMAZING and he put on one hell of a show. In case you don't know, he's freaking hysterical and cracked jokes the whole night. After the show, we met up with our good friend (drummer for Rosie), Bobby, for a late dinner. Little did we know that we would later be joined by Kelly Keagy, drummer for Night Ranger, and his wife. Whitesnake's keyboard player,Timothy Drury, also made a brief appearance that night.

It was an amazing time and we enjoyed every second of it. For more pics of the wedding, go to my wedding blog: My Wedding Rocks.

All photos courtesy of the INCREDIBLE Sharon Elaine Photography.

My Wedding is in the Local Paper!

2009-07-16T10:11:00.004-04:00

That's right! Our wedding is SO kick ass that the local, alternative paper in Columbus, The Other Paper, wrote an article about it. Check it out here! The only fact they forgot...Bob Segar's guitarist is a groomsman.

Congrats Rikki Rockett & Melanie Martel!

2009-07-14T18:05:00.002-04:00

Poison drummer, Rikki Rockett, and musician wife, Melanie Martel, welcomed their son, Jude Aaron Rockett into the world at 4:30am this morning. He is 7lbs 4ozs and 21 inches long.

Congrats to the new parents! No doubt he'll be a kick ass rocker just like the two of them.

Heather Luttrell

2009-06-30T21:05:00.003-04:00

I first heard her voice on the Lynyrd Skynyrd cruise in 2008 and she floored me. She is by far one of the most talented, amazing female singers I've ever heard and she is completely underrated. I'm thankful I didn't see her on Rock Star INXS; that wasn't her true self and if you see her live today, you'd know it instantly.

Heather is venturing out to my town of Columbus, Ohio on July 10th & 11th to perform in a local bar, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. And by the way, she is super sweet, kind and free spirited; there's no doubt you're going to have a good time when this sweet pea is around.

What were the early stages of your musical development like and how did your father and his music influence you?

Well, I was raised in a Bluegrass band called Possumtrot, so there was definitely a large influence from that. My Dad also makes resonator guitars so I grew up with him playing those which is a very distinct sound that in turn I try to work into all of my songs. I learned to harmonize when I worked at Dante’s Down the Hatch as a busser and server. My father and a few of my uncles (from Possumtrot) performed in the solo acoustic section of the restaurant and I would sing along with them as I worked and got better and better at it. Eventually that establishment would be my first gig! My mother raised me on all kinds of music. Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, the Beatles… all types of seventies music. One of my favorite things was to look through all my parents albums at the artwork… oh how I miss vinyl 78s!

What was Heathergrrrl and the Hungover like? What type of music? Anything similar to what you're playing now?

That was my first band. They were terribly talented and totally spoiled me as far as having a back up band. Sean Mcmorris on bass and Mike Roberts on drums. We drank way too much, thus the name. We were a little more rock back then than I am now. Funny thing is I just started working with my first drummer again, Mike Roberts, and he is now my drummer once again!

Who's currently in your band now?

Ralph Luttrell – Resonator Guitar aka Dobro
Walter Hinton – Mandolin, Violin, Viola
Charlie Wooton - Bass
Mike Roberts – Drums

What's it like to be in a band with your father?

It is amazing! We have a genetic harmony that cannot be duplicated. I know whatever I play he is going to completely bring it to another level with what he does. I never have to worry about my Dad because he is simply that good! We do great traveling together. It is so special to have the bond of music that we do! I am the luckiest daughter in the world!

What made you decide to do Rock Star INXS? Was it worth it and did you learn anything?

Um, it was more that I couldn’t believe they wanted me. I think I was one of the few musicians that had a clean background check. It really changed so much; I had to drop of out music for a while to make people forget that I was on it because it made me famous for something I don’t do! I am just now rebuilding. I did learn that music and television don’t mix very well, and what I thought I wanted…I didn’t. I now seek a level of fame that is more comfortable for me. I don’t necessarily want to be some HUGE star. I am just like every other American in that I just want to pay my bills, live humbly and reasonably well by doing what I love and am good at!

If you would have won, do you think it would have been right career move for you?
NO!!!!

Do you keep in contact with any of the contestants?

Yes I went out to visit Ty and Jordis last year in L.A. and I still talk to Suzie now and then. We became a strange little family. Branden and I did some shows together and Mig came to visit me down here in Atlanta.

What other people/muscians/things influence your music?

I am influenced by everthing, from the sound of a ceiling fan to a night out drinkin in a blues bar. I love sounds from nature and situations I tend to get myself into. Life is an amzing thing and you can always find something to draw from.

You've played on the Skynyrd Cruise and the Rock Boat. How did you get hooked up with these gigs? Is there one you prefer? And what do you like most about performing on the cruises?

Well they called me… it was right after Rock Star and might be the only good thing I ever got out of it! I am in love with the Skynyrd Cruise! It is something I look forward to all year long! I love the cruises because you get to be so personal with the fans, and the music is wonderful! Plus, it is a huge party on a boat full of music fans! What could be better! I also have performed on the Cayamo Singer-songwriter cruise.

Any new projects on the horizon?

Always. I am working on the new album, Possumdiva, which should be ready by January 2010!
I am working with some really talented people right now that are bringing out the best in me. And of course I am working hard on my paintings as well!
Work Work Work - that’s me!

Heather will be performing at the High Beck Tavern in Columbus, Ohio on July 10th & 11th from 9pm-11pm both nights. There's no cover! So come on out and come listen to Heather do what she does best! You most certainly won't be disappointed. For more information on Heather or to check out her music, go to http://www.heatherluttrell.com/ or www.myspace.com/heatherluttrell.

Eddie Van Halen Marries

2009-06-29T21:11:00.002-04:00

In a ceremony in his backyard on Saturday night, Eddie Van Halen married his long time girlfriend, Janie Liszewski. She walked down the aisle to a string quartet version of Van Halen's "When It's Love." Big Bro, Alex Van Halen, officiated (he's an ordained minister) and son Wolfgang was the best man. Even Valerie Bertinelli was in attendance.

Eddie had a pretty long run the first time around. Here's hoping the second time is even longer.

Congrats!

Don't Hit Your Head on A Ferrari

2009-06-24T13:05:00.002-04:00

Although it's old news by now, I still think it's interesting nonetheless. I recently found out that Brad Whitford, guitarist for Aerosmith, was going to miss the first few dates on the Aerosmith tour due to surgery. With the band having a string of bad luck as far as illnesses are concerned, I was saddened to hear this...until I heard why he was having surgery: He hit his head getting out of his Ferrari.

Who knew Ferrari's were made well enough to cause internal bleeding in someone's head? I suppose for the money your paying, it damn well better be made well! Although I'm sad that Whitford was hurt, it kind of made me giggle a little that it was a Ferrari (of all things) that caused his injury. Luckily, the bump didn't knock any sense out of him because he knew to get his head checked once he started having severe headaches. I feel awful that he was hurt so badly from this and I hope Mr. Whitford's surgery went well and hope that he has a speedy recovery so he can get back on tour.

Speaking of Aerosmith, I heard a rumor that they'll be playing all of Toys in the Attic...except for You See Me Crying. Why? Because Steven Tyler can't hit all those notes anymore. Boo. I suppose I respect that decision, if it's true. At least he's not trying to do something he can't. Steven Tyler still kicks ass no matter what.

I'm A Turd

2009-06-17T12:43:00.004-04:00

Sorry folks. I'm a turd. I haven't been writing and I apologize. This wedding is consuming every moment of my life right now. The closer it gets...the less time I have to do anything. It's insanity. But it is going to be the biggest, baddest most rock & roll wedding you've ever seen, so I'll have much to report when it's over. You can always check out my rock wedding updates at My Wedding Rocks (not that it's been updated recently, but I'm working on it!).

Also, check out my new post at Hard Rock Hideout about Gene Simmons' stupid urinal cakes. I've lost almost all respect for him after this marketing scheme.

I'm REALLY going to try to update this soon. Until then, enjoy a couple of pics from my 80's rock themed bachelorette party. And yes, I'm wearing a Trixter shirt and I know they're not from the 80's. It was the only concert shirt that I owned that matched my hot pink 4" heels, so shut up. And I love Trixter.

Aerosmith...Phony?

2009-06-05T08:18:00.000-04:00

Check out my new post at HardRockHideout!

Jane's Addiction

2009-05-31T09:34:00.014-04:00

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

2009-05-24T11:07:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-14T17:34:00.024-04:00

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

2009-05-14T12:40:00.007-04:00

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

2009-05-07T19:19:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-01T13:44:00.012-04:00

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

2009-05-01T13:41:00.001-04:00

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

Band of Skulls

2009-04-16T10:25:00.019-04:00

I finally joined the ranks of the technologically advanced and got an iPod (thanks Meg). The next step was to download my CD collection to my new fangled toy. As I started this task, I realized that I wanted some new tunes to listen to. After a couple of days rummaging through iTunes, I happened upon the free Single of the Week from Band of Skulls. Now with that name, I didn't think I could go wrong.

This trio hails from Southampton, London and met while in college. They were initially known as Fleeing New York, but eventually switched to Band of Skulls (which I have to admit was a wise move). One of the things that makes them unique is that they have two lead singers: Russell Marsden and Emma Richardson who play guitar and bass respectively. Matt Hayward plays drums and lends his hand, along with Marsden and Richardson, at songwriting. The key to this band may be the fact that there are three contributing songwriters, and I believe their individuality comes out in their songs. They started working on demos in late 2008, and then one thing led to another...and here they are.

Each band member has quite the interesting past. Richardson is an artist and her paintings were the inspiration for the artwork for the album. She also used to work at butcher shop where she recently held an exhibition. Marsden survived a hell of a car crash that was all caused due to him rocking out to Ace of Spades by Motorhead. Seriously, that's awesome...not the car crash part but the Ace of Spades part. Hayward's father was in a band who opened for the Rolling Stones, and Hayward himself has actually played tennis with John McEnroe. Their entertaining histories may have played a part in helping them produce some very artistic rock.

The only way I can describe Band of Skulls is classic rock with a touch of the White Stripes. The recordings sound raw, like they should only be listened to on vinyl. Their harmonies are beautiful and Richardson's vocals are a nice touch against the band's rock edge. There's enough newness to their classic sound to make it relevant today and not sound totally trendy. Marsden's guitar solos (and let's thank him for including them since music seems to be lacking them) are different enough to stand out from the crowd but not enough to totally lose me or confuse me. I won't say that their entire album sticks with the classic rock template, but it's quite refreshing and a nice change of pace from normal rock that's shoved down our throats.

My favorites on the album definitely lean more toward the heavier, rock fueled tunes. Light of the Morning, Diamond and Pearls, and I Know What I Am, the first three tracks, set the tone with driving guitar and fierce drums that aren't overzealous. Fire starts hard and dirty and shifts nicely into sweetness, which is caressed with Richardson's harmonies. Band of Skulls show their softer side with Honest and Impossible. Cold Fame closes out the album and won me over with its emotion; it reminds me of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals minus the country overtones.

One thing I truly appreciate thus far in the band's very young marketing career is that there is little to no emphasis on how these three look. Sure, there are some super killer shots of them looking very stylish, but you can't tell who's who. There isn't more focus on one person over another or more focus on Richardson just because she's a lady. It allows everyone to focus more on the music and less on some facade played up by the record company to divert our attention from the fact that the musicians have no talent. On the contrary, these three are very talented and they use it to their advantage.

It looks as though Band of Skulls is only making stops in London at the moment. There is a U.S. tour in the works but nothing has been confirmed yet. Hopefully, it will happen soon because if they're as good live as they sound on their CD, they might be unstoppable.

If you missed their free Single of the Week on iTunes, I Know What I Am, then go to their website and listen to the album for free. Then go buy it like I did. What have you got to lose? This trio might actually surprise you. I know they surprised me, and there's nothing I love better than a good surprise.

Check out the video below of Band of Skulls performing I Know What I Am.

2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction

2009-04-04T08:51:00.004-04:00

In case you can't make it to Cleveland tonight for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, then you can watch it on Fuse TV starting at 9p.m. EST. This year's inductee performances include Metallica, Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Run-D.M.C, and Bobby Womack. Also getting inducted this year are Bill Black (Elvis Presley's bassist), D.J. Fontana (Elvis Presley's drummer), Wanda Jackson (rockabilly/country star), Spooner Oldham (keyboardist, songwriter, session musician), Bobby Womack (singer/songwriter).

If you'd like to send your favorite inductee some love but can't do it in person, then check out http://www.rockimmortal.com/. It's a site created by the Rock Hall of Fame for fans to upload images, video, and stories of this year's inductees to create a digital monument to commemorate them. You can also get the latest news and event info for the ceremony here as well.

Even though Cleveland is only a couple hours away, I still can't make it to witness this historic moment (or to stalk Lonn Friend...I know you're there!). Looks like I'll be watching it on the boob tube, which is probably better anyway since the crowds will be overwhelming. If anyone is able to go and check it out, let me know; I'd like to hear about it.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I stand corrected. Run-D.M.C. will NOT be performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this evening as previously reported. According to RollingStone.com, Rev. Run and Daryl "DMC" McDaniels swore never to perform again after the shooting death of their DJ, Jam-Master Jay, in 2002. Instead, a video tribute will be presented. Although it's sad that the legendary group will not be performing, I find it highly respectable that they will stick to their promise and not perform.

10 Hottest Rock Stars

2009-04-01T19:39:00.021-04:00

There's nothing more alluring, appealing or more sexually attractive than a rock star. Try as you might, you cannot resist their sexual power. Sure, there are movie stars who are smokin' hot, but it's a different kind of hot. Most movie stars are lovey dovey, sweet romantic hot. Rock stars are dirty bathroom, pull your hair, love you and leave you, 10 seconds to love in the elevator hot. It's that bad boy aura that you just can't resist. Plus, watching a hot guy rock out on stage will make your panties melt right off. It's why so many guys aspire to be a rock star and why so many women aspire to sleep with them.

So I present to you my list of the 10 hottest rock stars. These are the men I would have my way with, let walk all over me and would have supported back in the day. They are in no particular order, well...except for number one, and I'm sure you all know who's at the top of my list.

10. Chris Cornell - It's those eyes. They're piercing against all that long, black hair. I have to say that I prefer him in the Soundgarden days, but he's just as hot today. His voice is just as much of a turn on as his eyes. Listen to Jesus Christ Pose and tell me that it doesn't send chills down your spine.

9. Rob Zombie - I have no doubts that most of you won't get this one at all. I'm not sure I do either. There's just something about that man does it for me. Maybe it's all those dreads or just the fact that he's so dark and mysterious. I've had a crush on him that hasn't gone away since 9th grade.

8. Joe Perry - I'm pretty sure that it was Love in an Elevator that did it for me. I always wished I was the girl in the elevator that he was making out with him. Those lips, those tossled, curly locks...wow. And watching his nimble fingers work their magic on a guitar kinda makes you wonder what his fingers could do to you. And the fact that he's in one of the greatest rock bands ever doesn't hurt either.

7. Duff Mckagan - I didn't think it was possible for him to be any hotter than he was in the Guns 'N Roses days...but he is. Time has been great to Duff (sobriety probably helped too). Let's face it, watching him play with that bass slung extra low is hot.

6. Sebastian Bach - One of the greatest voices of rock with one of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. Sebastian Bach back in the day was drop dead freaking gorgeous. Over six feet tall with long locks and a voice that'll punch you in the gut...does it get any hotter? He was even more beautiful than most women.

5. Tommy Lee - None of you can say that you didn't at least want to watch the Pamela & Tommy Lee video to see what all the hype was about (and I'm sure some of you did). He is the Greek god of drums and it's no wonder he gets so much ass with the way he pounds on those things. Oh yeah...and he's freaking hot.

4. Robert Plant - He may be the grandfather of rock star hotness. He is legendary. His band is legendary. His hotness is legendary.

3. Josh Todd - He's one of those guys that if you saw on the street, you might not give him a second glance. But since he's a tattooed rock star, he grabs your attention immediately. Watching him live is mesmerizing. He's all over the stage and likes to wear pants that reveal almost everything. You keep hoping that he'll have a wardrobe malfunction and you'll get a catch a glimpse of his goods. But even if you don't, he's real nice to look at.

2. Mike Ness - The hottest man in punk rock. Period. His voice is gruff and rough and it's super hot to listen to him sing about hotrods and motorcycles. He is so hot he makes me weak in the knees. Mr. Ness also happens to have my name tattooed on his throat. Awww...isn't he so sweet?

1. Nikki Sixx - Are you surprised? I don't really think I need to explain myself here. He's the hottest man alive.

Honorable Mentions

1. James Michael - Leave it to the hottest man on the planet to join forces with another hot guy.

2. Tommy T-Bone Caradonna - You've probably never heard of him, which is really unfortunate. He played with Lita Ford, Alice Cooper, and White Lion and he's beautiful. Lucky for me, I know him and he lives in my town. These days, Tommy is rockin' out with his band Razorbliss. Check them out. 3. Nuno Bettencourt - One of the greatest guitarists to come out of the 80's/90's. Nuno Bettencourt is exotic and amazing.
4. G. Wyld - I can't have a list of the hottest rock stars and not include my own, can I? Although he's mine and I don't have to dream about being with him, he's still super hot to me. Check out his kick ass band, Snowblynd.

Never Thought They Could Disappoint Me

2009-03-17T20:50:00.008-04:00

This could possibly be one of the worst days I've had in a really, really, really long time.

First, I got bitch slapped in the face with the Crue Fest line up: Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool, and Charm City Devils. Are you f-ing kidding me? That's the worst line up I've ever heard. What the hell were they thinking? With the kick ass line up they had last summer, they try to top it with this pile of shit? Good god...I threw up a little in my mouth after I read the press release.

After making me suffer through Hinder and Theory of Deadman on this last tour, they're going to make me suffer through some more crap? And now I'm going to have to sit through Theory of a Deadman again? No thank you. I've had enough thanks. Not even Dr. Feelgood in its entirety can make me pay $80+ to sit through those bands.

Of all the bands in the world, Motley Crue couldn't come up with anyone better to share the bill with? Come on. I'm so pissed off I could scream. This was one tour I was REALLY looking forward to; it was going to be part of my honeymoon.

After I started to calm down from that bad news, I checked Twitter to find a post from MTV that read, "Motley Crue And Carrie Underwood To Team Up In The Future? http://is.gd/nKlI." Oh for f*ck's sake. Someone shoot me right now and put me out of my misery. As if it wasn't bad enough that American Idol used Carrie Underwood's cover of Home Sweet Home, now there are rumors of Motley Crue and Carrie Underwood joining forces? It's the end of the world for sure.

Look, I like Carrie Underwood. I think she has a freaking incredible voice. I'm sure that the general public and most of Carrie's country fans have no idea that she's a closet 80's rock fan. She listens to Motley Crue before she goes on stage to channel good vibes and energy. I love that about her. She's even covered I Remember You and Paradise City live.

Unfortunately, her covers of these 80's rock songs aren't great. Her voice sounds amazing, but this genre is just out of her wheel house. It's exactly like Celine Dion covering AC/DC and Sheryl Crow covering Sweet Child O' Mine. Sure those ladies are talented but covering rock icons was embarrassing for them and their fans. I can certainly appreciate Carrie's love for 80's rock and her need to perform it, but I wish she wouldn't.

I was highly offended that American Idol didn't just use Motley's version of Home Sweet Home on the show. Why wouldn't they? They always use current rock songs for the vote offs, so why use a cover this time? Is it because Home Sweet Home isn't current, so they used Carrie Underwood to update it? What a rip off. The original is kick ass and timeless, and American Idol should have just used it.

And according to the MTV article, Nikki Sixx was almost featured on Carrie Underwood's version. I hope to god that Nikki had enough sense to pass this up because he knew it would royally piss off all of his fans. However, he also stated in that article that he would love to work with her sometime. Maybe he was just trying to be nice.

The icing on the cake for this day would be if I found out Nikki Sixx and Kat Von D got married. Ugh....I'd jump out a window.

*Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

GNR With Special Guests....Van Halen?

2009-03-09T08:44:00.005-04:00

Of course there have been a million rumors about Guns N Roses going on tour this year. Who knows if they're true, but I'm certainly not getting my hopes up. Even if they do go on tour, I wouldn't pay the money to see Axl Rose with his Guns N Roses cover band.

Now the most recent rumor floating around on the internet is that GNR and Van Halen will tour together this summer. To me, this is a very odd combo. I honestly can't see it happening because I think Axl and Van Halen are too full of themselves to put up with each other. I think this double bill is a bunch of bullshit, internet hoopla to get people talking, and it worked.

If the original line up of both bands were touring together, it might be one of the greatest tours ever, but we all know that will never happen. And I'd like to know who thought to even put these two bands together on the same bill. I bet you it was someone looking to make A LOT of money.

If this supposed tour rumor is true, it would be interesting to see how it all works out. Personally, I think it's a recipe for disaster. All those egos won't last on tour.

My Wedding Rocks

2009-03-04T13:32:00.002-05:00

In all the spare time I have, I started another blog about my wedding:

http://myweddingrocks.blogspot.com/

Simply put, my wedding WILL rock, figuratively and literally. The theme is rock & roll, so everything has to do with our love of music, from the invitations to the amazing band that we have booked to play at the reception.

I'm sure most of you guys out there won't give a crap about a wedding, especially mine, but check it out from time to time. It might surprise you. :)

Spinal Tap Tours This Summer...but Not Really

2009-03-04T13:01:00.011-05:00

As I was browsing through http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/, I found a news story that almost made me jump out of my seat: Spinal Tap Announce Tour.

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I immediately told my fiance the good news and it was decided that we would go. Lucky for us, the boys were making a stop right here in Columbus, OH so we wouldn't have to travel far.

Not paying much attention to the name of the tour, "Unwigged & Unplugged" I spent the rest of my evening on cloud nine daydreaming about seeing Spinal Tap live. When I got to work this morning, I did a little more research and found the disheartening news.

Yes, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer will be performing my favorite Spinal Tap tunes...but acoustic and without costumes. What??!?!?!?!?!?!!! They'll also be performing songs from A Mighty Wind.

Sigh...How much more black can my heart get right now? The answer is none. None more black.

Don't get me wrong, I'd still love to see this show, but what I was really looking forward to was the costumes and the mini Stonehenge and Derek Smalls in all his mustached glory. Regardless, I have no doubts this show will be incredibly entertaining. I'll just keep my fingers crossed for a full on Spinal Tap tour after the release of their new album in May. I suppose Spinal Tap unplugged could be pretty interesting....

Freeeburd!!!!!!!

2009-02-23T17:44:00.002-05:00

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.

Motley Crue - Grand Rapids, MI 2/13/09

2009-02-17T13:37:00.007-05:00

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.

Stop With the Crap

2009-02-04T21:07:00.009-05:00

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.

RIP Billy Powell

2009-01-28T13:28:00.014-05:00

Good news travel fast. Bad news travels even faster. I just found out about the death of Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist via text message. He was only 56.

Powell was the only keyboardist Skynyrd ever had and has been a member since 1973. He lived through the infamous plane crash and is credited for the intro to Freebird.

It's a real tragedy for the band, their fans, and for the music industry. Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of the most legendary, influential bands in rock. They are certainly one of the pioneers of southern rock, no doubt about it. To lose one of the last, original members is devastating.

The question is now: What becomes of Lynyrd Skynyrd? According to an agreement made shortly after the 1977 plane crash, Skynyrd can only continue to play if they have two original members from the pre-plane crash line up. That leaves Gary Rossington as the only original member of Lynyrd Skynrd, and may mark the end of Lynyrd Skynyrd as we know it.

Out of respect for the band and everything it stands for, I think letting go of Skynyrd now is a good thing. Would I like for the band to continue on? Absolutely. Is it really worth it now that there's only one original member? Probably not. And let's not forget that bass player Ean Evans is in failing health as well, so the future of Skynyrd continuing on without Powell is really not looking so great (even if it were an option).

Powell's death comes as a shock to everyone, but it really comes as a shock to me since I was just on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Simple Man cruise with him a couple of weeks ago. Granted, it's not like I was hanging out with the guy or anything, but he was there playing music and making his legions of fans happy on the high seas. I met him a few years ago when Skynyrd played here in Columbus, and I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to be on the Skynyrd cruise and experience the band in that way for two years in a row.

Billy Powell was an amazing musician. His talents and contributions will not be forgotten.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Maybe someone out there can school me on some Lynyrd Skynyrd history. I knew there was some sort of agreement made about Lynyrd Skynyrd carrying on with a certain number of original members. Was it the "Rule of 3" and not the "Rule of 2"? Damn Wikipedia. I should have known better than to believe that as actual fact. My fiance says there has to be 3 original members, and I've seen a few other fans state the same thing on various internet sites.

If it is the rule of 2, can Skynyrd continue since Ricky Medlocke was technically an original member in 1970? I don't think Artimus Pyle counts since he won't have anything to do with the band.

Somebody straighten my ass out please. I hate not having correct info. I truly do try to research my facts before I post anything; this time it totally backfired on me. My apologies.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man Cruise 2009

2009-01-18T21:23:00.017-05:00

The ocean breeze blowing through your hair. The warm sun beating down on your tan skin. The scent of the fresh salt water filling your nostrils. Standing on a boat, looking out and seeing nothing but blue sea. What could be better than that? Being stuck on that boat with Lynyrd Skynyrd and 3000 rednecks, that's what.

Trust me, this is no ordinary cruise; if you've ever been on a normal cruise, the Simple Man Cruise will blow that experience to pieces. Put on by Sixthman, this four day cruise sailed to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Normal cruise rules do not apply. There's no formal dinner. Yup, that's right. No wearing a silly tux and a fancy dress just to go to dinner. You can wear whatever you want to dinner...as long as you have pants and a shirt on. Some of the waiters even let lose this year and danced on the tables and sang, "What's Your Name." Ha!

Some of you may be a little curious or put off by cruises like I was. I couldn't imagine being on a boat for days or only being able to go on land for a few short hours or having to get a ball gown just to go to dinner. Let me tell you folks, cruises are a lot better than I had expected. Granted, I had the privilege of going on a themed cruise, and that's what I would recommend to you.

Being stuck on a boat with legendary southern rock act, Lynyrd Skynyrd, certainly doesn't suck. But there were also plenty of other amazing bands booked to play like .38 Special, Molly Hatchet, and Marshall Tucker just a name a few. But Sixthman didn't just book big time acts; they also booked some lesser known bands that totally stood their ground along next to the big boys. And since all of you know how amazing the big acts are, I'm going to focus on the lesser known bands.

One of those bands is Blackberry Smoke. These southern rocks boys from Atlanta, GA are one of the main reasons my fiance and I decided to go on this cruise in the first place. They are by far one of the greatest bands I've heard in a long time, and they are some of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. They're a great blend of country and rock and know exactly when to bring out the most of each genre in their tunes to make it work perfectly. Blackberry Smoke has been busy touring with ZZ Top for the last few months and have had a few scattered dates with Cross Canadian Ragweed (and Slash has even gotten on stage to jam with them!). They're also booked to play at my wedding (Be jealous. Be VERY jealous). Blackberry Smoke was actually the first band to play on the first day of the cruise, and they got the party started off right!

One of the biggest and most pleasant surprises was a band called Leslie. Hailing from South Carolina, this trio returned to the Simple Man cruise this year with their dirty, classic rock. I have no f-ing idea how I missed Leslie last year (I totally remember seeing them running around the boat, but I never got a chance to see them live), but boy am I glad I saw them this year! There was quite a buzz about them from the moment I stepped on the boat and got my fruity drink with the umbrella. Everyone was telling me how great they were. These boys also did a fine job of promoting themselves; I'm pretty sure they put flyers on just about every other cabin door on every floor. This year, there was no way anyone was stepping off that boat without knowing who they were. And everyone should know who they are because they are THAT good.

I wasn't sure what to expect from three long haired, skinny white boys, but what I got was a slap in the face. It's very rare that I go see a band I've never heard of and am actually impressed. Leslie impressed the pants right off of me. They attacked their instruments like freaks and made some glorious music. I don't know how else to describe their music to you except to tell you that it sounds like they took the basic elements of everything you love about classic rock as you know it and made it dirrrrrty. It doesn't really sound like anything you've heard on the radio, and that's another thing I love about them. Leslie is fresh but dirty at the same time.
Go check out some of their stuff: www.myspace.com/leslierock. If you're not impressed, then you should probably get your hearing checked. Seriously. (I apologize to all of you who may have read this excerpt at Hard Rock Hideout. I just couldn't think of something new to write because Leslie leaves me speechless.)

The cruise wasn't just a sausage fest. There was a stunning red head on board who crooned like a reborn Janis Joplin. Her name is Heather Luttrell. You may have seen her on Rock Star: INXS. She didn't win, and it's a good thing; she's much better on her own. Her music is country, folky, rock. Listening to Heather sing gives me goosebumps. She's so incredibly soulful and powerful. Although she's a lady, she sings about things that most ladies don't dare admit to: drinking, breakin' hearts and bein' bad. It's quite a breath of fresh air to hear a lady spill her guts about these things.

The most overrated band on the cruise was Bang Camaro. This band takes gang vocals to a whole new level. According to their myspace page, there are 13 lead singers (I only saw seven on the cruise). Yeah, you read that right: 13 lead singers. Although I do like their music, the vocals kinda killed it for me. It's just hard for me to wrap my mind around SO many lead singers. And from what I could hear, all those vocals don't really serve a purpose other than being a really great gimmick. There were no harmonies; every one sang the same thing at the same time. On the last night of the cruise, there was an "All Star Jam" where each band got up and performed three songs and invited whoever they wanted on stage to jam with them. Bang Camaro got on stage and sounded like a total train wreck, mostly due to the fact (I'm assuming) that they were f-ing hammered. One of the singers got kicked off stage because he was so drunk he fell and almost knocked a stack of Marshalls off the stage and into the pool. For all the hype that I heard about them, they didn't live up to it. But they just appeared on Conan O'Brien and graced the latest cover of Billboard Magazine, so what the hell do I know.

I could swear that there were musicians playing in almost every space imaginable on this cruise ship. That's what so great about this cruise: no matter where you go, there is always great music to listen to. It was awesome to see musicians just getting together and jamming. Bands who were booked to play on the cruise even let some people who weren't booked get up and jam with them during their sets. And some people who weren't even booked to begin with lucked out and actually got a few time slots to play. It's a wonderful feeling to know that no matter where you go or who you go see, you're going to see incredible musicians playing incredible music.

(L-R:Trey & Scott - Scott Little Band, G. Wyld - Snowblynd, Charlie Starr - Blackberry Smoke)

There were only a couple of disappointments this year, and it's not even anything worthy of bitching about because they were circumstances beyond any one's control. Ean Evans, bass player for Lynyrd Skynyrd, was diagnosed with cancer shortly before the cruise, so he was unable to attend. I have no doubts that his illness was on the minds of everyone and certainly put a damper on the emotions of everyone in Skynyrd. On the last day of the cruise, Skynyrd usually does an acoustic set out on the main deck. This year, their acoustic set was cut short to 20 minutes due to Rickey Medlocke having an ear infection (which also explains why he wasn't out and about all over the boat this year).

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man Cruise is one the best vacations this girl has ever taken. Everyone on the cruise is incredibly nice, and you meet a ton of really great people. Plus, you get to rock the F out on the high seas with some really fantastic bands! If you are interested in going on next year's Simple Man Cruise (which I highly encourage you to do), go to http://www.simplemancruise.com/ for updates or to sign up for the mailing list. Also, be sure to check out http://www.sixthman.net/ for other cruises that Sixthman puts on.

FREEBIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

America is Stupid & Deaf

2009-01-05T21:56:00.006-05:00

For real. You want proof? Just watch VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.

VH1 asked the American public to vote on what they thought were the 100 greatest hard rock of songs all time. Apparently, I missed the damn memo because I didn't get to make my voice heard. So instead, a bunch of really stupid people voted and most of them had incredibly bad taste. Let me apologize if you are reading my blog and you voted; I'm guessing you were probably in the 1% who voted for all the shit I would have voted for.

Although I've only watched parts 3-5, it was enough to make my insides combust into flames of pure disgust. I'm not even sure if I can sit through the first two parts. And to add insult to injury, VH1 gets Bret Michaels to host. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Poison fan, but after Rock of Love, I'm no longer a very big fan of Bret. And Bret...in case you're reading this, it is NOT cool to wear your own f-ing shirts; it only makes you look like an even bigger douchebag.

My biggest gripe about this list has to do with only one, single song: Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. How this song ended up so low on the countdown is beyond me. And how in the hell did Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name beat it out? Seriously? I love Bon Jovi and all, but there is NO WAY that song is better than Kashmir. I don't think there's any song that placed above Kashmir that is actually better.

Don't get me wrong, the top five songs are actually pretty strong and I'm completely at peace with those. That may be the only thing I agree with on this entire countdown. The top five consists of great songs and legendary bands. Even though I was surprised that Welcome to the Jungle snagged the top honors, I don't think it's too far off. That song and that band defined a very important moment in rock history, no doubt about it. But is Welcome to the Jungle better than Kashmir...I don't know.

Kashmir is just magnificent. It may be one of the greatest rock songs ever written, hands down. That song is big, full, and majestic. Listening to it makes my heart flutter and my hair stand on end. Hell, it's so bad ass even P. Diddy sampled it. There is just no denying its brilliance or the importance of Led Zeppelin.

And that is exactly why it boggles my mind that Kashmir wasn't in the top 5. Sure, Whole Lotta Love made the top 5 so I shouldn't bitch, but for me, rock doesn't get much better than Kashmir.

NOTE: I will be out for a week rockin' out on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Simple Man cruise! Nothing better than being stuck on a boat with Skynyrd and a bunch of red necks in the Bahamas! A full report when I return!

And check out the first of my bi-weekly column on Hard Rock Hideout on 1/7/09. Rock Whiplash by Christine Sixx!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

2009-01-01T08:48:00.005-05:00

Time to forget about whatever happened in 2008 and start fresh. It's a new year with new hopes, promises, and potential. But before we shove 2008 back on our shelf of memories, let's have a little review. Since all the other blogs have posted a "best/worst" for 2008, I decided to create my own short list.

Best Album of 2008
AC/DC - Black Ice - I don't know how anyone can not like this album. It's got that classic AC/DC sound. It just kicks ass and that's all I have to say about that.

Worst Album of 2008
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy - Biggest build up...biggest let down.

Best Concert of 2008
Papa Roach - I don't care what tour they were on, they were incredible each and every single time I saw them. I've never seen a band carry so much energy throughout an entire set.

Worst Concert of 2008
3 Doors Down - BORING. I think this band is really mediocre anyway, but seeing them live made me really dislike them.

Yeah, I know. It's a short list. I didn't feel like reliving every moment in 2008, just review a few things.

So do any of you have any New Year's resolutions? Aside from the normal eat healthier and lose weight, a couple of my resolutions are to read more music related books and listen to more music.

2009 has already started out on the right foot. I was flattered to be asked to contribute to Hard Rock Hideout! They have given me my own little column! So be on the look out! Also, I will be leaving next week to go on the Lynyrd Skynyrd Simple Man cruise! This is my second year on the cruise, and I know it will be a blast. Last year, I got engaged on the cruise. Who knows what this year's cruise will hold! And of course, 2009 is the year for my awesome rock 'n' roll wedding!

Lots and lots of good things to come in 2009. Hope all of you have a wonderful 2009 full of happiness and luck!

Holiday Gift Guide

2008-12-14T09:29:00.004-05:00

Bad ties. Polyester sweaters. Underwear. Socks. The latest New Kids on the Block CD. You don't want to get any of these gifts, do you? Fear not! Make sure you tell your loved ones about my blog, so they can check out my holiday gift guide. Whether you're celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Festivus, there's something for everyone on this list.

1. Ted, White and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto - OK, OK...so my idea for Ted running for President of our great country didn't go over too well with you guys. Just hear me out. Ted, White and Blue is Uncle Ted's latest book on how he feels about today's politics. Whether you agree with him or he pisses you off, I have no doubts this book is a great read. I've read Gods, Guns, and Rock 'N' Roll and loved it. He's a smart man and makes interesting points. Just give ol' Uncle Ted a chance, will ya?

2. AC/DC - Black Ice - If you don't own this CD yet, then you're dumb. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your brother or sister. Buy it for your cousin. Buy it for your aunts and uncles. Buy it for your grandparents. Buy it for your friends. Buy it for the janitor at your work. Just buy it. It f-ing rocks. There are three different covers to choose from. And in case you didn't know, it's only sold at Walmart.

3. Concert Tickets - With the crappy economy and the sky rocketing ticket prices, why not have someone else blow their cash on some concert tickets to a kick ass show for you? There are plenty of great tours coming up in the next couple of months, so make sure you tell you're sweetie, so he/she can foot the bill and take you.

Motley Crue with Hinder & Theory of a Deadman

Nickelback with Seether and Saving Abel

Buckcherry with Avenge Sevenfold and Papa Roach

Elton John & Billy Joel

Eagles

Black Label Society

Fleetwood Mac

3. Lifestyles of the Glam and Fabulous - If you're looking for one of a kind, hand made, really cool items, then look no further. Etsy is the place for you. Etsy.com is one of my all time favorite websites. It is a site for super crafty peeps to sell their super crafty, hand made goods. Anything from ties to furniture can be found here. I've purchased several items from Etsy and have always been more than satisfied. But there are two "stores" that really caught my eye.

First there's Toxic Vision. This hells' belle hails from Toronto and makes one of a kind threads that will make you feel like you are in a Motley Crue video from back in the day. You'll fit in perfectly on the Sunset Strip! Super hot mini dresses, jackets, and even spandex pants that will all make you wish we were still living in the 80's. There's not a piece of clothing that I don't like. I just wish I had the balls and enough coolness factor to pull it off.

The second player in this power duo of glam goodness is H eavy Metal Laundry. When you need the accessories to go along with the kick ass clothes that you just purchased from Toxic Vision, this is THE place to go. Cuffs for your wrists. Covers for your boots. Belts. All made from leather and all made to kick ass. The best part is...he names some of his lines after 80's hair bands. My favorite? The Shout at the Devil line of course! There is no better place than Toxic Vision and Heavy Metal Laundry to get all of your rockin' gear. You're not going to find stuff like this in the mall; Hot Topic doesn't carry anything nearly this cool.

4. Life on Planet Rock - Some of you may remember Lonn Friend. He was the editor of RIP magazine and had a segment, Friend at Large, on Headbanger's Ball (when Headbanger's Ball was still cool). In 2006, he published his memoirs, Life on Planet Rock. He tells his tales of life back in the decadent 80's and early 90's when rock was really still all about sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Starting with page one, jealousy grows in the veins of the reader while you read every juicy, delectable detail of musically historic moments that he was able to experience...and you weren't. His kindness and honesty opened the gates and let him into the very coveted lives of some of the industry's greatest rock stars. If you are a fan of rock 'n' roll, then you need to read this book. You won't be able to put it down.

6. Running Wild in the Night - If the spirit of giving has taken over you, then consider giving to Running Wild in the Night, the fundraising project started by Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx to raise funds for Covenant House. Covenant House raises money to help support homeless and runaway teens by providing drug treatment and prevention, education, health care, transitional living programs and many other important things. The holiday season is a great time to help those less fortunate than us, so consider donating to Running Wild in the Night. You'll help teens who need it and you'll make one my favorite rock stars very happy in the process.

So if someone you know doesn't have a clue what to get you for Christmas, then hopefully my little gift guide will help steer them in the right direction. Whatever you get, I hope you all have a wonderful, happy holiday season full of gifts that don't suck!

PS - And if you're wondering what Hell on High Heels wants for the holidays, anything on this list will work, except for #2 and #4 because I already have them. :)

HAPPY BELATED 50th BDAY NIKKI SIXX!!!!!

2008-12-12T08:25:00.004-05:00

My dearest Nikki Sixx,
I apologize for forgetting your birthday. Being an adult and having the responsibility of a real, corporate job, is a real pain in my ass and sometimes gets in the way and makes me forget important days like the celebration of the day of your birth. I promise that it will NEVER happen again. Please remember that I worship you and that you are the hottest man on the face of the earth. That will never, ever change. Also, just in case you ever read this, you are also my one "freebie" so if you ever want take me up on that offer, then holla at your girl.

Happy Birthday my sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sadness

2008-12-08T08:09:00.004-05:00

R.I.P. DIMEBAG

I've already written about this in a previous blog and how close this tragedy was to me (literally and figuratively). Pantera was and will always be one of my favorite bands. Dimebag was AMAZING. Don't ever forget that. Please take a moment to remember all of those who were lost in this tragedy.

DARRELL ABBOTT
JEFF THOMPSON
NATHAN BRAY
ERIN HALK

Chinese Democracy

2008-11-23T08:40:00.016-05:00

WARNING: If you are coming here to read a happy, fantastic review of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, you may want to leave now. What I'm about to write is not for the faint of heart.

The bar wasn't set too high for this album. Well, at least my bar wasn't set too high. The anticipation of waiting well over a decade for the new Guns N' Roses album was enough to give this album legendary status before it even hit the masses. But I wasn't ready to give in to all the hype just yet...and thank god I didn't because I would have faced some severe disappointment.

To describe this album as tragic is the understatement of the century. After only hearing the first three songs on my way home from Best Buy, I was screaming at my stereo at the top of my lungs...literally. I was screaming out of shear horror and anger. Could this album be this bad? Really? I thought my initial reaction might be a little harsh, so I wasn't going to let my first taste determine the entire outcome of my opinion.

Upon my second,third, and fourth listen, I still wasn't that impressed, but I was a little less angry...just a little.

My first big beef, like I stated in a previous blog, is that this should NEVER have been labeled a Guns N' Roses album. It's the Axl Rose Project, and that's all there is to it. I wanted to give Axl the benefit of the doubt. He worked long and hard for this, so I hoped that he would stick to the original Guns N' Roses recipe at least a little bit. Sure, he was going to change up the ingredients a little, but I thought the flavor would remain the same or even similar. Not so much. He threw out most of the old ingredients and came up with some concoction of experimental, electronic, pop rock. There are trace amounts of Use Your Illusion era GnR here and there, but not enough to make me feel like this is a Guns N' Roses album. All the electronic bullshit effects, the drum machines, the weird Casio keyboard sounds, and the effects on Axl's voice are completely distracting. It almost sent me into convulsions because it was so damn irritating.

The second major complaint I have with this album is Buckethead. The whole "I'm going to be mysterious and wear a bucket on my head" gimmick annoys me enough, but his guitar playing sends me over the edge and is enough to make me slit my wrists. There are a couple songs on the album that might have potential, and then Buckethead comes in and ruins everything. As if it wasn't obvious, I'm not a fan of his weird, offbeat, new wave guitar playing. It's just not my bag baby. Thank god for Robin Finck. His guitar playing may be the only saving grace for this album.

Listen, if you're looking for a Guns N' Roses album, this is not it. Everything you have grown to love about Guns N' Roses as a band is nowhere to be found on this album. If Slash, Duff, and Steven Adler/Matt Sorum were playing on this album, it might actually work. But since there are a myriad of players, there is no consistency and no flow and it just doesn't work for me. With every listen, it just left me with my head cocked and with a quizical look on my face because I just couldn't wrap my mind around what was going on.

However, if you look at this album in a different light, like it's Axl Rose's new project, it all tends to work a little better. Why? Because you're not walking into it expecting to hear classic Guns N' Roses. That's why. It's definitely something a little different, something you might not expect from Axl, but it's interesting. It's the Axl of the new millenium, and he's trying something new. That being said, I still wish he would have let his legendary voice shine through a little more instead of singing weird or using effects.

Was it worth 14 years (or 15 years or 17 years or however long it took) of hype and anticipation? Absolutely not. Am I disappointed? That's an understatement. Do I regret buying it? No way. It's Axl Rose and I will always love him. I'd probably buy a turd if he wrapped it up and packaged it. Oh wait...I did.

So much for keeping my opinions to myself! ;)

Deep Thoughts...

2008-11-19T08:20:00.020-05:00

Normally, I would get on here to write about a select musician or band who has done this, that or the other to piss me off for the day. That's just the eternal pessimist in me. On a very rare occasion, I'll actually scribble down something happy or slightly positive. Or maybe I'll attempt to keep you, my very special readers, in the know about the latest breaking music news. There are no doubts in my mind that you don't come to this blog first for that news because there are a couple blogs that I read on a daily (and that you can find listed to the right) that do a much better job at that. Regardless of why you have found yourself here or why you keep returning to read my rants (a very big, deep, heartfelt thank you for that), I hope at the very least that my blog keeps you mildly entertained.

For me, this blog is all about venting about one of the longest, most emotional, most fulfilling relationships I've ever had. My better half in this relationship is music. Whether it was sifting through my father's hundreds of vinyl records or running home from school every day to see the video for Home Sweet Home or playing the violin for the first time or knowing instantly that my fiance was "the one" because he knew who Badlands was, music has always played an essential role in my life. It is always there when I need it the most. It picks me up when I'm down. It sits there with me patiently as I wallow in my own misery. It puts a smile on my face when nothing else can. It understands me completely for who I am. It is one of the very few constant positives in my life.

Sometimes I add writing to my musical relationship for a menage a trois, just to spice things up a little bit. Even though writing is one of my greatest passions in life, my relationship with it is a little more volatile. Writing is definitely there in my time of need when I'm so angry, hurt, frustrated or happy that I must get the emotion out of my body and onto paper, but sometimes it falls short and doesn't deliver. That damn writer's block is like a chastity belt sometimes; it keeps all the goods locked up tight so my desire can't come to fruition. And sometimes my lust for writing comes and goes only because I've got so much going on in my life that it's difficult to get a moment to sit down and make it happen (or my brain just feels empty and there's nothing coming out of it). Regardless of how long I stray from my writing, I can always pick it back up and it feels like no time has passed between us.

Recently, I was incredibly frustrated with my life and my writing and the direction it was going...or not going. It's been a struggle from the beginning to get to where I want to go in my journalistic career (no thanks to you Wright State University for NEVER offering the media writing classes I needed!). I lucked out here and there and actually got my writing published, but it never developed into anything else. Eventually, I just sort of gave up on journalism as a whole and moved on with trying to find some way to support myself, and then my writing turned into a hobby, and eventually I ended up here with a blog.

After religiously reading a certain blog, I finally got fed up with myself. Said blog is fantastic, well written, humorous, read by many, and has actually been nominated for awards. The writer is adorable, married, tattooed, a mom to a toddler and still manages to work, go to school (recently graduated), and keep up her kick ass blog. She has a pretty stellar resume to boot. So I stopped and asked myself, "Christine, what the hell is wrong with you? You can do this. You can really do this. You can be successful at writing. Don't be scared anymore." So I gave myself a pep talk, and hopped onto myspace to add as many people to my blog profile friend list as possible.

While I was cyber stalking on myspace, I happened to run into the profile of someone I never thought I'd run into. A hero. My hero. One of my journalistic heroes. Let's just say that my hero, who will be referred to as Hero from here on out, has spent a ridiculous amount of time in the music industry, is a legendary music journalist, and has such a knack with the written word that reading his work makes me want to break keyboards and break my fingers so I can write ever again. So of course I send him a friend request with a little note that says something like, "I'm an aspiring journalist. You're my idol." Never expecting to get a response from him in my life, I clicked the "Add to Friends" button and moved on to the next sucker I was going to add.

But to my surprise, Hero responded. I didn't even know what to do with myself. I was stunned. It was a simple, inquisitive response, but I was honored that he actually wanted to know more about me. And from there, we had a few email converstations back and forth. What he wrote to me were probably the most genuine, inspirational, motivational words I have ever read. To have your hero give you the pep talk to end all pep talks is flattering to say the least. Sure, my friends and family have said kind words to boost my ego and have said some pretty inspirational things to me, but it's not the same. Not that their words don't mean as much, but it's almost as if they are required to feed my self esteem because they love me. Hero doesn't know me from the next guy and still felt the need to try to give me a back bone.

Thanks to Hero, I have a new found faith in myself and in my writing. There's more determination flowing through my veins than ever before. I have a fire to perfect my craft, to drive it in a new direction, to turn it into a less volatile relationship.

There are new plans brewing in this brain of mine. For my blog, I want to expand my readership somehow,some way. And as hard as it's going to be for me, I'm going to try my best to put out more substance and less opionion. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know. It's easier said than done, but I'll take baby steps and still put in my two cents when I deem necessary.

My ultimate goal is to write a book. That's right. I said it. I'm going to write a book. It's a lofty goal, I know, but one I'm sure I can accomplish one day. I've been trying for years to write a book but have never been able to come up with a worthwhile idea or worthwhile content. But now, I've got it. There's an idea, an outline, a plan, and eventually the content will come. Researching for the book, writing random articles, and writing in my blog will prepare me and train me to fulfill my dream. And yes folks, my book idea definitely revolves around music. It may never get to Barnes & Noble or Amazon. It may never leave the city I live in. Hell, it may never get published, but as long as I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write it out for myself, my mission will be accomplished. And that my friends is fulfillment.

So thank you Hero. Thanks for lighting the fire under my ass. Although you typed only a few chosen words to me, they opened my eyes.

Are You Ready for Chinese Democracy?

2008-11-13T13:16:00.004-05:00

Can you believe it? Finally after what feels like an eternity, there is finally an actual release date for Chinese Democracy: Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Don't get me wrong, I won't be surprised if there's some huge catasrophe that blows up the warehouse holding all of the millions of CDs, which will in turn delay the release of this album again. But at least there is a glimmer of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, and a chance for free Dr. Pepper in my future.

The title track was released a few weeks ago, and I have to say that it wasn't too bad. I'm not saying it's great, but it doesn't suck nearly as much as I had expected it to. After 17 years in the making, there's A LOT of hype to live up to. Although I know that nothing will ever compare to Appetite, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Axl's sake that this album is as good as he has made it out to be.

It's hard for me to rally around this album and say it's the newest Guns N' Roses album because for me, it's not Guns N' Roses at all; it's Axl with a bunch of random dudes playing back up. There's no Slash. There's no Duff. There's no Steven Adler, or Matt Sorum for that matter. Even though this situation is grim for me, I'll still support it because it's Axl Rose's new album. And no matter what anyone says, he's legendary.

Ted Nugent for President!!!!!!

2008-11-03T13:14:00.002-05:00

On the eve of one of the biggest presidential elections we may ever see in our lifetime, I would like to encourage all of you to get out and vote tomorrow (if you haven't already)! I don't care who you vote for, just do it!!!

Ted Nugent is the man I would truly like to cast my vote for this election but unfortunately, that won't be happening. Why Ted Nugent you ask? Let me tell you (in case I haven't mentioned it in a previous blog).

Although he may seem like a bizarre and unlikely choice, I truly believe that he would do this country more good than either of the two men who will fill the position come January 2009. He's brutally honest, and I think we as a country need that more than anything right now. Uncle Ted won't feed me lies or tell me what I want to hear. He'll shove the truth down my throat whether I like it or not. He's incredibly stubborn, determined, and passionate. He won't take any shit from anyone, and he'll be the first to tell you he's an asshole. That's exactly what we need in office! A no nonsense, no bullshit kind of guy!

There are a million other reasons why I love and respect the man, but overall, I really believe he'd make a great president. And although I tend to be a little liberal at times and I know that Ted and I would disagree on a few things, I'd still vote for him!

Nugent 2012!!!!!

Thanks Hard Rock Hideout!!!!!!

2008-10-27T13:00:00.002-04:00

A BIG thank you to Rob Rockitt from Hardrockhideout.com for the free tickets to go see the Queen & Paul Rodgers movie Let the Cosmos Rock! He had a contest on his site to win free tickets to the ONE night showing of this movie, and I won! Woohoo!!!! Like I told him...I never win anything, so I'm pretty stoked.

Go here to find out which local theater near you will be showing this film.

And make sure you stop by Rob's site too. I'm a daily reader, and it's fantastic. My only problem is...he makes me feel like a slacker because he updates his site constantly. I wish I knew where he got a fraction of his information! He's always on top of things! Whether he posts info on bands I've never heard of or some of my all time favorites, I always learn something new.

Thanks again!!!! :)

Dirty Deeds...Not So Cheap

2008-10-07T13:07:00.003-04:00

Everyone has a list of bands that they must see in concert before they die. Most of the bands who are on my list I can't afford to go see, which is precisely why I haven't seen them. One of those bands is AC/DC.

When I heard that they were going on tour to support their new album, Black Ice, I was more than stoked. I knew tickets would probably be a little pricey, but I figured I could at least swing for the cheap seats. Then I went to Ticketmaster to find out how much it was going to break me: $89.95, and that doesn't even include all the surcharges.

Are you f-ing kidding me? Just one flat rate for all seats? Even the assholes in Metallica have the option to pay $55 for some shitty seats. Needless to say, I was stunned, pissed, and disappointed all rolled into one.

Look, I totally believe that AC/DC is completely worth every penny of $89.95, and perhaps even more. But the fact of the matter is, in these trying economic times, not everyone can afford to throw down $90+ to go to a concert. Yes, concerts are a luxury and not a necessity, but some of us work really hard and would like to spend one night listening to one of our favorite bands live in concert (and we deserve it too!). But if it's between a tank of gas and some groceries or AC/DC tickets, I'm unfortunately going to have to use my money for gas and groceries. I hate being a responsible adult!

I guess I'm just bitching because I can't afford to go, and I was really looking forward to seeing them live. I can bitch all I want because even if I had the money, it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Tickets sold out in 15 minutes.

RYAN Adams, Not Bryan Adams!

2008-09-30T12:47:00.006-04:00

"You're going to see Bryan Adams?" That's usually the response I get when I tell someone that I'm absolutely ecstatic that I'm going to see Ryan Adams in concert. It "cuts like a knife" when people get the two confused (you know I just had to throw that in there). No offense to the Candian rocker, but Ryan Adams could kick Bryan Adams' ass up and down the streets of Ontario even on his most drug induced day.

If you're not hip to the ever so quirky crooner whose voice makes me swoon, then let me be the first to introduce you. Ryan Adams is an underrated, no longer under the influence alt country/rock super genius. He started out in a band called Whiskeytown and eventually ended up going solo. There were lots of drugs and alcohol spotted in-between and deeply woven throughout both the band and his solo career, but he has recently emerged sober and has remained that way.

His music is simple, clean, emotional, painful, dramatic, haunting and honest. It's moves you to the core and settles in your soul never wanting to leave you. The mere sound of his voice gives me goosebumps. I never thought I would fall in love with him like I did, but there's something about that man and his music that I simply cannot resist. It's a little bit country, and it's a little bit rock and roll. His recent stuff definitely has a more rock flavor, but there's no escaping his country roots. He has a loyal, die hard following with little to no radio play, and he certainly can't be found on MTV or VH1.

He played at the Palace Theater in Columbus last night. I attended the show with my trusty sidekick, Jessica, who also happens to be an uber Ryan Adams fan. I believe the show was sold out (like the last one we attended). As we made ourselves cozy in the velvet theater seating, he finally took the stage about 10 minutes late. I'm not holding that against him; I'm just trying to set the mood. He walked out in a Whitesnake T-shirt (Yes!) and later in the evening even made a reference to Britney Fox (YES!). The third song in, he busted out with his cover of Oasis' Wonderwall. In my personal opinion, Ryan's cover may be better than the original. That's saying a lot because I never think cover songs are better than the originals. He also played my all time favorite song, Come Pick Me Up, which he refused to do at the last show (no thanks to the two stupid bitches who kept screaming at him to play it). This my friends, was a real treat and may be one of the greatest concert highlights of my life. His voice was hauntingly beautiful and the band sounded amazing. To me, there were some sound issues at the beginning of the show (it sounded a little too tinny for my taste), and Ryan was very obviously making adjustments all night, but it all eventually came together very harmoniously.

Ryan's stage show is not what you'd normally expect from a rock show. You can hear the light murmur of the crowd, but there certainly isn't very much shouting (except for in-between songs or when he plays a crowd pleaser). There aren't a lot of fancy lights or pyro, just a couple of props, some instruments, and some incredibly talented musicians. This time, he talked to the crowd a lot in-between songs. I'm pretty sure he put his sassy pants on because he was telling jokes and silly stories, making up songs about a remote control, talking about his obession with metal, talking about going to dinner with Alanis Morrisette and getting her hair caught in his jacket zipper...the man was all over the place. It made for a very entertaining evening. It was nice to listen to his banter and experience his personality.

The one thing you don't want to do when you see Ryan live is yell out songs that you want him to play. He doesn't appreciate it at all, and it will cause him not to play whatever song it is that you want to hear. Although this time he was a lot nicer about it (ask the two girls at the last show how nice he was to them), he simply asks the audience to enjoy the show that he is presenting to them. It's not a lot to ask for.

His stage prescence is like that of a 12 year old boy standing in front of his entire class getting ready to play the talent show. He actually reminds me a little bit of Waldo from Hot for Teacher, only grown up: skinny, awkward, and wearing black rimmed glasses. It's not that he's inexperienced or even awkward. It's not like that at all. He's just incredibly artsy and deep with an almost child like innocence (even though we know he is SO not innocent). Does that make sense? Probably not. You just have to see him live to understand. There's just a lot of lunging, crouching, and adjusting of the micorphone.

He's very aware that people are there to see him, and it he makes it very clear how uncomfortable that makes him. I think he's just spent so many years building himself up and becoming an incredible performer, that now he just wants to shift the focus on the band. He's in a band. They're called The Cardinals. It's not Ryan Adams & The Cardinals. It's just The Cardinals, and he just happens to be a member of that band. No big deal. Let's move on...

If this little blog isn't enough to make you want to go out and listen to some Ryan Adams, then there may be no hope for you. He's certainly different, a variant to my normal musical selection, but he's so worth a listen. He won't disappoint you. You may not like his music, but you should at least be able to appreciate his genius. And if you listen to him and hate him...well...maybe your musical taste just sucks. ;)

Fun Fact: Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams were both born on the same day: November 5th, which also happens to be my birthday. And Gram Parsons shares this birthday too! Hot damn!

What?!?!? Could It Be? Really????

2008-09-25T16:17:00.008-04:00

As I was watching TV this morning, Good Morning America had a teaser with Clay Aiken purporting that he was finally going to open up and confess something really personal. I sat back and thought to myself, "Golly gee...I wonder what he's going to talk about?" Maybe that he's a man whore and has actually slept with more women than Gene Simmons? Did he sleep with some girl and get her pregnant? Did he actually have sexual intercourse with his baby's mama? Of course, I had to go to work, so I never got to see what the fuss over Clay Aiken was all about.

Then I saw the cover of People in the check out line of the grocery store during my lunch break: Clay Aiken is gay! What? Are you for real? This can't be! Clay Aiken gay? Who woulda thunk it?

Come on people! Really? You needed People magazine to make you realize that Clay Aiken was gay? I knew he played for the pink team from the very second I saw his geeky ass on American Idol. How could the American public not know? It's SO freaking obvious! From his feminine voice and demeanor to his gay male following...it was like he was already the gay men's embassador before he came out.

Or perhaps People was just reporting what we already knew, like they were breathing a sigh of relief, "Whew! We can finally report that Clay Aiken likes men! We've been waiting for this moment since he lost Idol! Can you hear the hearts of little girls everywhere breaking? Can you?" Now can you hear the roar of the gay men's choir? Oh yeah...

The kind of disturbing part of this for me is that Clay Aiken's homosexuality took precidence on People's cover over the unfortunate accident of Travis Barker, DJ AM, and the lost lives of their friends. What kind of f-ed up society have we become when coming out of the closet becomes more important than the tragedy of others (regardless of who they are)? Sad. And I'm not even a big Travis Barker fan, and I only know DJ AM because he dated Nicole Ritchie, but I understand as a human being that their suffering should be the big news, not Mr. Aiken's love for men.

And another disturbing factor is that Clay's gayness was front page news, and there wasn't even a whisper about the death of Richard Wright, the keyboardist for Pink Floyd. Granted, he died a couple weeks ago, but his death is important nonetheless. It's bad enough that the media shunned the death of Jerry Reed but Richard Wright too? If Kenny Chesney or one of the Pussycat Dolls died, you bet your sweet ass that their "tragic" deaths would be all over your TV screens and gossip rags. Again, I'm not the world's biggest Pink Floyd fan, but no one can deny the importance or impact of their music. Therefore, the death of one of the founding members of such an influencial band should be all over the news.

Now that Clay Aiken has confirmed what all of us have already known, perhaps the world can move on to pondering bigger and better things like when Britney Spears' next breakdown will be or if Hugh Hefner can actually get it up.

Editor's Note: I apologize for my absence on this blog, and I apologize that my first blog back is about Clay Aiken. First it started with a crazy storm that knocked out power for a day (a week for some of my friends) and cable and internet for a week. Then I had to go out of town to the Dirty South, Atalnta to be exact. Now I'm back to harass you with my opinions. Did you miss me?

Also, please don't think for one second that I'm a homophobe. I'm not. I have a gay friend and a lesbian friend. That sounded a bit cliche, didn't it? Ha! But it's true! I do have gay friends. I love the gays! :)

Don't Call It A Comeback

2008-09-09T18:24:00.003-04:00

Did anyone hear anything about Britney Spears opening the MTV VMAs this year? Anyone? Oh yeah...how could you miss it. Any time I tuned into MTV there was a commercial for the VMAs featuring Ms. Spears. It was all over the gossip shows: Britney Spears to open VMAs and make her big comeback!

Are you serious?

She did some not funny, not convincing comedy skit with Jonah Hill. Then the cameras watched her walk from her dressing room to the stage to...

To perform? Nope. Just to say about 10 words and introduce the 25th anniversary of the VMAs. And she was holding the microphone so high, you couldn't even see her mouth moving.

Why all the hype if she wasn't even going to perform? I was looking forward to a train wreck or at least a half ass performance to prove she's still got it. Not a chance! I didn't get any of that.

You want to know what the icing on the cake was? It was the next morning when all the news shows were commenting on how great she was and how this stint on the VMAs was really going to boost her career. They can't be serious. Oh...but they were. Totally serious.

She read a teleprompter, won some awards and acted like a normal person and not a complete lunatic. Big deal. Can she still sing and dance? Does she have any "talent" left in her? I didn't get one grunt, one booty shake...nothing!

She didn't really prove anything to me with that appearance except that she's taking really good meds to keep her craziness to a minimum.

NOTE: The next time I talk about Britney Spears, it will be to explain the Britney 3000. It's the top secret machine that gives the illusion that Britney (and many other pop stars) can actually sing. I swear to god it exists. I can't prove it, like I can't prove that Elvis is still alive, but I know it exists!

East Bound & Down

2008-09-04T10:47:00.004-04:00

It was probably overshadowed by the hurricanes or the Republican National Convention...or because no one cares, but The Guitar Man, Jerry Reed, died on Sunday, August 31 from emphysema.

It may be strange to see me writing about him since you're probably used to me ranting about rock & roll, but I think it's only right to pay homage to this country music legend.

My first introduction to him was as the Snowman on Smoky & the Bandit. And let's be honest here folks...that movie kicks ass and you know it! My brother and I watched that movie all the time as a kid. Now I'm marrying someone who quotes the movie on a daily basis (that's no lie).

As I grew older, I learned about his music. I don't own any of his cd's, but I have definitely heard and listened to his music more than once. As a matter of fact, I just listened to one of his songs just a couple of weeks ago.

And let's not forget his fantastic role as Coach Red Beaulieu in the Waterboy!

I think it's sad that his passing didn't get the pomp and circumstance that it deserved. Like I said before, there may have been some bigger world issues that dominated the headlines at the time, but I still don't think he would have received the respect he should have gotten anyway.

So in honor of the talented musician and actor, go and watch Smoky & the Bandit (we have it on DVD...of course) or Waterboy or at least listen to East Bound & Down.

Over and out.

Crue Fest 8/20/08 Blossom Center - Cleveland

2008-08-21T16:25:00.009-04:00

To say I was excited about this show is an understatement. If you haven't figured it out by now, Motley Crue is my all time, most favorite band ever. As much as I love them, I am also overly critical of them. And since all of them have disappointed me at one point in time, either separately or collectively, I was praying to the powers that be that they wouldn't disappointment me during this show.

Trapt got the evening started...slowly. I'll admit, I'm not a Trapt fan, so I wasn't really expecting much from them, and they certainly didn't deliver much. Sure, they sounded good and looked good, but the crowd didn't seem into them at all. Maybe it was because they went on so early? They only had a half hour to fill, so maybe it's just hard to get the crowd pumped in such a short amount of time. Their performance didn't capture me or keep my attention at all.

Next up was Sixx AM. I am a huge Sixx AM fan, so I was super excited to finally get to see them live. For a band who hasn't really been together all that long, they performed really well together and sounded great. They opened the set with Pray for Me, which finally got the audience off their asses and rockin'. During the second song, James Michael's mic cut out and you couldn't hear him for at least a good minute. The problem was fixed quickly, and there were no other problems for the rest of the set. James' voice sounded great, although he did sing some parts lower, and DJ Ashba really worked the crowd. The drummer, Tony,who also plays for Papa Roach, is phenomenal. I could have sat there all night and watched him work those drums, but I had bigger and better people to watch...specifically Nikki Sixx, who looked smokin' hot. He wasn't as active as I was hoping and mostly just stayed on his side of the stage (which sucked for me because my seats weren't on his side), but I suppose he was probably just saving up his energy for the Crue set. Did I mention how amazingly f-ing hot Nikki Sixx is? Geezus! After their set, James Michael and DJ Ashba actually went out and faced the crowds. They talked, signed autographs and took pictures with just about everyone. Lucky for us, my friend Dee and I decided to take a potty brake at the same time and were able to squeeze our way through the crowd for some face time with these two gentleman.

Papa Roach was third in line. I've never been a super huge fan of Papa Roach. I dig some of their songs, but I don't own any of their albums. However, once I saw them live, I was hooked. I know I've said it in a previous post, but these guys put on one hell of a live show. Jacoby is full throttle throughout the entire set, and has been for every Papa Roach show I've ever seen. It makes me respect them that much more because I've seen them when they first started out up until now, and they've never slowed down. Papa Roach is a huge crowd favorite, and I totally understand why: they're f-ing great.

After watching Papa Roach, Buckcherry had some pretty big shoes to fill. This was my first experience seeing Buckcherry live, and I was definitely excited about the opportunity. Although I thought the overall sound was questionable at times, Buckcherry themselves put on a good f-ing show. Like Papa Roach, they were 110% throughout their entire performance and really got the crowd going. The only real problem I had, if you could call it that, was being distracted by how low Josh Todd's pants were hanging on him. Dear god! He's smokin' hot as it is, and then he wears some super low rider pants...swoon. At times, it made it difficult to concentrate on the music. Sorry folks, I'm a girl and hot, tattooed rock stars turn me on. Did I happen to tell you that Nikki Sixx is f-ing beautiful?

Finally...Motley Crue stormed the stage. My heart was racing because I was so freaking happy to finally see them again. They started the show off with Kickstart My Heart, and from his very first note, Vince Neil sounded like complete horse shit. There was lots of mumbling and skipping of words, but I didn't let it get me down. The rest of the band sounded great, so I just tried to stay positive. There were lots of lights and pyro, and the Los Angeles backdrop was a nice touch. The video screens showed random shots of the band performing...and some random porn. It's certainly not a kid friendly show, but when has a Motley Crue show ever been kid friendly?

One of the first things to catch my eye, aside from the hotness that is Nikki Sixx, was Tommy Lee's enormous...drums. I suppose that man doesn't have anything that's small, does he?

I was happy to see that Mick Mars was actually moving around a little bit. When I saw him on the Carnival of Sins tour, I was convinced that he was attached to strings and being moved by a puppeteer. Not the case last night. Although he's restricted to movement for obvious reasons, he did still manage to rock like the Mick Mars I know and love. However, I did hear one mistake during Dr. Feelgood. When I heard it, I was wondering if it was just me, but after the show, it was confirmed that Mick did indeed mess up.

My hopes began to falter when Motley Crue started Shout at the Devil. Of course when I heard the opening chords, I went ape shit...until Vince started singing. He was so bad, I honestly began to wonder if they were actually playing Shout at the Devil at all. Then the chorus came in, and I was reassured that they were indeed playing Shout at the Devil. Let me tell you, it was a frightening couple of minutes of self doubt. Then I just looked at Nikki Sixx and a calm fell over me. Nikki also did a lot more running around on the stage, which made this girl very happy.

There were a couple of parts of the show that I honestly could have done without. First is the angel who comes out to give Vince his guitar before they play Don't Go Away Mad. Is it really necessary for her to make out with Vince when she gives him his guitar? Yeah, she was hot and the crowd went crazy, and I suppose that's why they did it, but for me it was a little much. The second part that I could do without is Tommy's infamous titty cam. Yeah, I know. Men love titties, and what's a Motley Crue show without titties? But I guess I'm just over it. My friend Amy made a good point about the titty cam: In the time that Tommy wastes with the titty cam, they could have played one or two more songs. I'll take a couple extra Crue songs over some saggy titties any day.

They played 13 songs during their hour and a half set, but it just wasn't enough for me. I can never get enough of them. But with Vince's stamina becoming shittier and shittier and Mick Mars not being able to tolerate much more than an hour and a half of standing and moving, I really can't complain. I will complain that they only played one song for their encore: Home Sweet Home. Now, this is one of my all time favorite songs of ever and hearing it live last night gave me chills and watery eyes, but I would have liked to have heard at least one more song for the encore.

This Motley Crue performance was definitely 200% better than the last time I saw them with Aerosmith, but for me it wasn't their best performance. So far, nothing has been able to top the Carnival of Sins tour. It was fantastic to see my boys live though. They did rock my ass off, and I had a freaking blast. There is nothing better than a Motley Crue show. For me, it brings back SO many memories and really makes me feel like a kid again. It's a great feeling, and Motley Crue is one of the very few bands that can do that for me.

NOTE: Thanks to my friends Dee & Sarge. After the show, we were hanging out with everyone by the buses, and I did actually see Nikki Sixx walk off his tour bus. Seriously, I have some of the best Nikki Sixx radar in the world. I spotted him almost immediately, and the whole world stopped around me. People were talking to me, and I wasn't even paying attention because I was so zoned in on Nikki. It was pretty funny. Anyway, if it wasn't for Dee, I would have had to go to the show by myself. And if it wasn't for Sarge, I wouldn't have been backstage at all. Thanks! :)

PS - Nikki Sixx is the finest specimen of a human being to ever exist.

Ratt & Roll: August 6th - Columbus, OH

2008-08-07T12:49:00.010-04:00

It's no surprise that no one would go see Ratt and Great White with me. My friend Charlene would have gone, but she went to Tesla with me on Sunday and had to stay home yesterday to take care of her daughter (the world's cutest baby). My friend Susan chose to see the Supersuckers over this show. My friend Dee couldn't go because she lives in Michigan. None of my other friends had any interest in going, and my fiance certainly didn't have any interest in going, so I was left to attend the show by myself. No biggie. I'm not ashamed. I'm not going to miss a good show because I have no one to go with me (I went to Tesla by myself 4 or 5yrs ago). Lucky for me, my lovely friend Amy works at the venue, so she was able to hang out with me for a little bit here and there (and her wonderful step daughter kept me company too).

First up for the night were the Naked Beggars. I'd never seen the band (or heard them for that matter), but I knew Eric Brittingham of Cinderella was in the band. I looked long and hard and couldn't find him. I even had to ask Amy, "Which guy from Cinderella is in this band?" She reassured me it was Eric. After about 15min, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Eric Brittingham lost the long, blonde locks and is now rocking a short, black hairdo. Wow. I felt like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. The band sounded good. They didn't blow me away or anything, but they were pretty decent. Their lead singer, Inga Brittingham (Eric's better half), has a fantastic rock voice on her.

Next on stage was Great White. I wasn't really sure what to expect from them. I never had the pleasure of seeing them live and I always considered them to be one of best bands of the era, so I was pretty excited to see them. I didn't jump out of my seat for them, but I did really enjoy listening to them. I thought there were some sound issues during their set, but I could be wrong. I couldn't tell if it was the fault of a bad sound man, or if it was the band just messing up.

Regardless, the mistakes were few and far between. Jack Russell's voice sounded pretty good, a lot better than I thought it would, but certainly not as great as it was. He did make a funny comment during the show, "I bet you're all wondering how I look so good after all these years. Lots of plastic surgery." Well, he should have stuck with mother nature instead of going under the knife. I prefer my aging rockers to age gracefully...but to each his own. Looks don't matter anyway, right? As long as he rocks, that's all that matters. Great White certainly rocked. They put on a really great show.

My friend Amy was able to get me into the Great White meet & greet (she's the best thing in the whole world. Seriously). All the guys were very nice and very accomodating for everyone.

Unfortunately, since I was busy meeting Great White, I missed Ratt. I know, I know! Shame! Shame! Shame! I should've known better! No worries. I was able to watch part of Ratt's set from one of the venue's office windows. From what I could see and hear, they were great! I can't say that Stephen Pearcy's voice was up to par, but it was good; there were definitely a couple shaky moments for him though. The crowd was really going crazy for them, as well they should have been.

Once again, Amy came through like the rock super hero that she is and got me back into the Ratt meet & greet. At first, Stephen Pearcy was the only one out signing autographs. Then I saw this guy walk by me and once I realized who it was, I almost had an accident in my pants: it was John Corabi. Warren DeMartini came out for a little while, but not long enough for me to get a picture taken with him unfortunately.

Then Amy dragged me back to Ratt's dressing room to see if we could get a picture with Eric Brittingham. While I was standing in that dressing room, I almost had a heart attack. NEVER in a million years, in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be in a room surrounded by these 80's rock stars. Eric Brittingham was in front of me talking to Bobby Blotzer. Stephen Pearcy and Audie Desbrow were to the right of me (Audie was flat ironing his hair). I think Robbie Crane was in there somewhere too...and the guitarist from Danger Danger was sitting in a chair behind me (he's the new guitarist, Rob Marcello). It was fucking surreal. I just kept turning my head and looking and freaking out in my mind. I just kept thinking, "Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god..." I kept my cool though. I wasn't able to get my picture taken with Eric, but I wasn't disappointed. Just standing in that room with all those people was enough for me.

After we left, I saw John Corabi just sitting with some girl. Amy of course took the initiative to introduce herself, and he was nice enough to take some pictures. I was a little giggly, being the idiot that I am, and John totally giggled at me...not with me. I apologized for being an idiot, and he reassured me that I was not. Yeah, right. You know what the really surprising thing was? NO ONE paid any attention to John Corabi. It's like they didn't even know who he was. I was stunned. He was just sitting off to the side talking to some girl, while all the lemmings threw themselves at Stephen Pearcy. It was crazy.

It was truly one of the most memorable evenings I've had in a really long time. It's funny to think back to when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade and wrote Ratt all over my notebooks and had posters of these people up on my wall...and there I was last night, like 20yrs later, meeting all of them. Amazing. Simply amazing.

A BIG thank you to Amy because she fucking rocks!

Tesla: August 3rd - Columbus, OH

2008-08-04T12:57:00.007-04:00

It was a long, busy weekend for me. Setting up for a wedding, drinking at the rehearsal dinner, being in a wedding, drinking at the reception, going out after the wedding...it was exhausting. My prize for working so hard: Going to see Tesla.

Opening the show for Tesla was Columbus local band, Snowblynd. Years ago, my best friend Charlene described Snowblynd's sound as a good mix between Tesla and the Black Crowes, so who better to open for Tesla? Now I have to be honest here...I'm a little partial to this band since I am going to be marrying the guitarist, but I'll try to be as fair and open minded as possible. They kicked ass! Seriously, I've seen these boys play a million times, and this was by far their best performance to date. There's no doubt that the crowd, the venue, and the opportunity to open for Tesla got them really in the groove, and groove they did. Snowblynd really pumped up the crowd with their genuine, outlaw country infused rock 'n roll, and the crowd seemed very responsive to them. It was a great start to a great evening.

I've seen Tesla live three times. Not once have they ever sucked. Last night was no exception.

It always amazes me how well Jeff Keith's voice has held up after all these years. He certainly has one of the more distintive voices from the 80's and has taken good care of those pipes of his because he still sounds like he did back then.

This was my first introduction to Tesla's new guitarist, Dave Rude. Although I have to say that I do miss Tommy Skeoch, Dave fit in with the band very nicely. He complimented Frank Hannon very well and can certainly hold his own on the guitar.

The set started off with Comin' Atcha Live, which was no real surprise, as this is the usual protocol for a Tesla show. The boys played for almost 2hrs, running through all of the songs you expected to hear (Signs & Love Song) to songs that I was pleasantly surprised to hear (Goodbye Paradise). Every song was fantastic, and Jeff Keith was super friendly and enaging with the crowd.

Age hasn't slowed these boys down one bit (not like some other rock stars I've seen recently...not mentioning any names, but he sings for a band that rhymes with Rokken...). They kept the momentum rolling throughout the entire set. Even though I was tired as hell and my feet were killing me from standing for so long, I didn't care because I was too busy rocking out to some of the greatest songs from back in the day (and coming up with a million dollar idea with my friend Charlene, but that's a different story for another blog...). It was just one great song after another. I always forget how many freaking great songs Tesla has.

My only complaint for the night was that they didn't play What You Give. Other than that...and the vomit behind me and the lady who vomited to the left of me and the lady who thought it'd be a great idea to bring her baby and stand in the front row, the show was f-ing fantastic.

PS - Thanks to my BFF Amy, I was able to get into the Tesla meet and greet. All of the guys were incredibly nice and friendly.

Please Make It Stop

2008-07-23T20:12:00.003-04:00

Right after my high from the Poison concert, I read a press release that totally ruined my buzz: Rock of Love 3...on a tour bus.

You know, after the first Rock of Love, I thought he was a douche. Sure, he came off a little better than I thought he would, but the whole show was ridiculous. Then he had to come back and make it worse with Rock of Love 2. After that season, I was truly convinced that he was a total douchebag.

Then I saw Bret at his finest, on stage with Poison, and all seemed right with the world. I began to think to myself, "Maybe he's not that big of a douchebag..." He just had to prove me wrong, didn't he?

Apparently, he and Ambre didn't work out. Big surprise. Having a relationship while touring was just too freaking difficult, so they ended it.

From that break up came the birth of Rock of Love Bus. All those girls and Bret will be touring the country on a tour bus. Someone shoot me now.

Will I watch it? Of course. Although it gets harder to watch with every new season, I will just suck it up and force myself to stay tuned. Do I think he's out of his mind and getting greedy? Absolutely.

I can't take anymore of his douchebaggery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please stop Bret Michaels. Please.

Poison, Sebastian Bach, and...Dokken?

2008-07-14T11:15:00.005-04:00

The annual summer party concert of the year arrived yesterday night in Columbus. Normally, Poison rocks out at our local outdoor venue, but this year they stepped it up and moved into a huge ass arena. Was it nescessary? No. The entire top section of the arena was closed because they didn't sell enough seats. Perhaps that had something to do with the $200 -$500 seats Poison was trying to sell. Doesn't look like that went over too well. I digress...

Sebastian Bach stormed onto the stage and took the audiance by the balls. After seeing him on Super Group and listening to his voice fall flat, I was really worried that his voice wasn't going to be up to par. Boy, did he prove me wrong. His voice floored me. He sounded like he did back in the Skid Row days. He hit all the high notes and didn't even seem to struggle. His energy was sky high, and he reminded everyone that he is one of the greatest rock singers ever. Like my friend Charlene said after he belted out I Remember You, "He has the voice of an angel." He did a nice mixture of solo tunes and Skid Row tunes, and everyone went crazy for him. From the moment he stepped out on stage until the time he walked off, he made me feel like I was a teenager again. His performance was the one I was really excited to see, and he didn't disappoint.

I wish I could say the same about Dokken...or should I say Don Dokken. Please don't promote that Dokken will be performing when Don Dokken is the only original member in the band. I suppose I should stay more up to date on my band gossip, and then maybe I would have known that George Lynch, Jeff Pilson, and Mick Brown (or if it was Mick Brown, it sure as hell didn't look like him) weren't going to be in attendance. So the show started out disappointing because I was expecting the original line up and didn't get them. Unfortunately, it didn't get much better after that. Don Dokken was just a big lug on stage. He walked around slowly and totally brought the energy level down. I understand that he's much older now, but he should still be able to keep the crowd going. It probably didn't help that a majority of the crowd didn't recognize a lot the Dokken songs he performed. His voice sounded good, but he didn't hit any of the high notes; he left that responsibility to the bass guitarist and drummer.

And finally there was Poison. They never disappoint. As much of a douchebag as Bret Michaels is these days, I cannot, and never will, deny the fact that he is an amazing entertainer. He was running all over the place and getting the crowd pumped. They played all their great hits from Cry Tough to Ride the Wind, and they sounded fantastic.

A couple of songs in, they let CC have the stage to do his guitar solo. Can I tell you how much I miss guitar solos? Damn...someone seriously needs to bring those back. CC did a damn fine job. Although I never thought of him as one of the greatest guitarists from that era, he certainly doesn't suck, and he proved that last night. This has nothing to do with guitar solos, but...CC had a mirror on the side of the stage, and in between songs, he would run back and check out and fix his hair. It was pretty funny.

The newly exonerated Rikki Rockett had his own solo during the show. He had a moving drum kit a la Tommy Lee. It raised him up and then back down and then out towards the front of the stage. Then he got off his kit, and started banging away on some bongo like drums (sorry I don't know the technical term for these) that were set up on the front of the stage. It was pretty entertaining and a nice change of pace from the normal drum solo.

One of the highlights of the show was when some random fan actually made it up on stage. He ran up there and no one knew it. He just danced around on stage for about 15 seconds until one of the roadies ran after to him from one side, and Big John ran after him from the other side. Bret told the boys to take it easy on him because he was just trying to party. Who knows if they listened.

At the end of the show, Bret brought out three Ohio State football players. The only one I remember is AJ Hawk. Now, this may not be a big deal for you guys, but here in Columbus, OH...it's a HUGE deal. OSU football rules this city. The crowd went nuts and Rikki came back out wearing an OSU jersey. Although this wasn't exciting for me at all because I hate sports, the crowed went crazy.

The tour as a whole was a freaking blast. My friend and I danced our asses off and sang every word to every song like our lives depended on it (I recorded I Remember You, but all you can hear is us singing...not very well either). I'll always see Poison when they come to town because they always put on such a great show.

Editor's Note:

Here is the other highlight of my evening. This drunk idiot was sitting in front of us and dancing with his shirt off. Of course everyone around us kept egging him on, so he kept dancing and flexing his muscles. It was freaking hysterical. Not so hysterical was when this guy started throwing the "Hail Hitler" out with his arm. Not cool, so not cool.

I'm A Giggly Girl

2008-07-14T09:50:00.004-04:00

Steve West actually read my blog.

Not that any of you care, but that's a big deal for me. I didn't think anyone read this blog, let alone him.

He sent me a myspace message telling me that I made him blush. Heehee... :) That makes me feel like a giggly school girl.

Read my original post about Danger Danger here.