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Check out the brand new video “We Run” from Outloud!

Ever since I first heard the song, “Lets Rock-N-Roll” on the Cruefest Compilation CD last year, I have been anxious to hear more from the band formerly known as Chosen Son. I recently had the opportunity to talk to Charm City Devils front man, John Allen about their new CD, “Lets Rock-N-Roll’, their up and coming tour with Motley Crue and more.

HRH: When did you start putting together Charm City Devils?  How long have you been together now?

John Allen: This lineup has been together, we just had our two year anniversary.  Prior to that I was playing with my guitar player Nick, playing guitar and signing for about six months, maybe longer than that. I had to put the guitar down and be able to run around the stage like a crazy person and engage the crowd.  Playing the guitar, I could only stand in one spot on stage, and stand in front of the mic stand. That is a drag. I want to rock out.

HRH: Did you play all of the instruments on your new CD?

John Allen: I played a lot of them. The real beginning of this project was me down in my basement studio messing around.   I wrote “Burn Baby Burn”. I played all of the instruments on that one initially.  I had a bass player come in and track an additional bass track on there for me at one point. A lot of the songs evolved that way.  I would lay a drum track down, and then play guitars and stuff.  Prior to this record coming out, I had guitar players go in and recut a lot of my stuff, so they had their flavor in there.  Quite frankly, there stuff was better than mine was (laughs) I started out as a drummer for years.  The whole band is on there in different places.  Our drummer played on the last two tracks on the record.

HRH: The song “Burn Baby Burn” is a really catchy tune, and gets in your head. That is a perfect song for a single.

John Allen: Thank You.  When I wrote that, that is the whole reason for this band.    When I wrote that song, I thought that I might be onto something here. I am not sure what it is. But I think I may be onto something. That is the first song that started the whole ball rolling.

HRH: There is a video on youtube for Burn Baby Burn that has been out there since 2007. Did you did this prior to the band starting out?  How did this video come about?

John Allen: Yeah, my idea originally was to put a video together, before I had a band together really. My hope was I guess to get an indie label to buy the record from me. My plan for world domination was, I was going to sell it off piece mailed to different territories around the world. It never happened.  I would up working out the bugs, and learning how to be a front man, here in the region, beating my head against the wall in the clubs. Finally, once I had this lineup together two years ago. I played this show, and a local radio programmer happened to be out in the audience. He said “Lets Rock-N-Roll” sounds really great tonight.  I am going to try to put this into rotation next week. I have been in the business for a while, and I thought it was really cool, but I never expected it to happen. Sure enough, the next week he called me and said hey man I need you to do me a favor.  I need a copy of Lets Rock -N-Roll, we are going to add it this week.  I said man, you need to learn the definition of a favor.  That is not me doing you a favor, that is you doing me a HUGE favor. He put the song in rotation.  He called me a couple weeks later and said “Hey man, I wanted to give you a heads up, but early indications are that the song is doing really well.  I don’t have the final stuff back yet, but I just wanted to let you know.”   So I was all fired up. I shot off some emails to people I know in the industry, but nobody hit me back.  I sent an email to Eleven Seven, and I didn’t even know anybody.  I sent it to an info@ email address.  The next day I get a phone call back, “Hey we really like what we heard, we want you to come to New York to meet with us.” I thought somebody was punking me, but no one knew I sent this email. Ok, its real.  A couple of weeks later I went to New York and had the meeting, at the end of the meeting, they said “Ok, lets do this.”  I thought “you got to be kidding me, things don’t happen that way”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUB08-RuwdM]

HRH: So, things went really fast once your song hit.

John Allen: They really seemed to, then the lawyers got involved and delayed it a year. (laughs)

HRH: What station was it that broke “Lets Rock-N-Roll” ?

John Allen: 98 Rock here in town.

HRH: So you met with Eleven Seven, how did you meet up with Nikki Sixx?

John Allen: He was on the west coast at the time.  It wasn’t until I talked with him on the phone a while later.  It has been Surreal, a month or so later, I was on the tour bus with him and the Sixx A.M. guys on the first Cruefest. He said, I really dig your record, and maybe next year you will be on Cruefest 2.  I said that would be awesome!

HRH: Are you pretty excited to be playing on Cruefest 2?

John Allen: Oh My God Yeah, to put it mildly. We are jumping out of skin. We can’t wait to play for the crowds and play in the amphitheater and arenas.  I have managed to do it for a little while playing the drums and there is nothing like it. I have been playing in clubs for a long time.  Clubs are fine and good and everything, but when you to an arena it is awesome, and to play with such great bands like Motley Crue, and Godsmack, Theory of A Deadman and Drowning Pool. It is such an honor.

HRH: You have played in front of a couple of large crowds already this year at Rock on the Range and The Preakness.

John Allen: Yeah, those were awesome shows. For me, fronting the band, it is so much easier to play for a large crowd. People are there to rock out. They love live music and are there to party.  It is a great thing. There is nothing like it in the world to play music for people and see their instantaneous response right there.

HRH: I first found out about you guys when you had “Lets Rock’N'Roll on the Cruefest compilation CD. Your song was under the name Chosen Son at the time. You went through a couple of name changes before you settled on Charm City Devils.

John Allen: That name, I am adopted so, Chosen Son, it is kind of like, well my adopted parents picked me. I am forever thankful for that. I am very fortunate that those two adopted me, and have been supportive of me throughout my life and my career.  It is also happens to be a motorcycle gang here when I was kid called the “Chosen Sons”.  I thought they weren’t around anywhere.  Right we we decided to keep that name, there was a news item on the evening. One of the leaders of Chosen Sons was killed by police.  I though aww man, this is bad.  We decided that it wasn’t a good idea to keep the name so similar as a motorcyle gang. They might get offended, and might not look at it as a tribute.  I was on the phone with Nikki Sixx talking about it, and brain storming names.  He called me back a week or two later and said “I got it!”  Charm City because that is the nickname of Baltimore, and Devils, because you guys are a rock and roll band, and are a gang.  I said “done that is perfect”.

HRH: You were recently in Motley Crue’s “White Trash Circus” video.  What was that experience like?

John Allen: That whole week was so surreal. It was crazy.  I got the call on Monday around 10:00 A.M. from management saying congratulations you got the Motley Crue tour, Cruefest.  We need you to cut the vocals for the chorus for White Trash Circus and have it back to us by 9:00 P.M. tonight or something crazy like that.  That was fine I could go into the studio in my basement and cut the vocals real fast. You have to be on a plane to L.A. on Wednesday to shoot the video on Thursday. The whole week was an incredible trip.

HRH: You and Nick Kay were both in a really cool band called “Child’s Play”. Any chance you will work some Child’s Play music into your live set?

John Allen: Not right now, there is not a plan to do that.  We were talking about dusting off “My Bottle” the other night. What would you like to hear?

HRH: The one song I like a lot is “Wind”.

John Allen: Yeah, that is a great tune our bass player Idzi wrote that tune.  We only have a half hour to play on Cruefest. We will probably stick with the first record.  If we have shows that we can break out to an hour or an hour fifteen, who knows what we will play.

HRH:  Do you still keep in touch with Brian Jack (former singer from Child’s Play)?

John Allen: Yeah, he was just at our CD release party on the 29th. The night before M3.

HRH: Is there any chance you will re-release the Child’s Play CD’s Rat Race or Long Way?

John Allen: I doubt it.  Rat Race was on Chrysalis Records.  I am not sure of the legalities of the whole thing.  I think the catalog is owned by EMI or Capital EMI.  I don’t know what it would take to get that back out.  I don’t know how much it would take to get that back out. Every once in a while I have people hitting me up to see if I have an extra CD, but I only have one.

HRH: You were a big part of SR-71’s CD “Tomorrow” as well as their Japanese disc “Here We Go Again”. You were the drummer, as well as the song writer and producer.  How did you get involved with SR-71?

John Allen: It is a long convoluted story.  I have known Mitch forever.  I showcased with the band with their drummer was having some health issues, before they got a record deal. I appeared on the first album singing back up vocals on the song “Paul McCartney”, and then during the first tour, their drummer got sick again. He had mono or whatever. He couldn’t do two weeks worth of Christmas shows.  I wound up filling in for him again. After that, they wanted to make a change.  I joined the band right before they opened for Bon Jovi for the last couple of months.  That is what I alluding to earlier, as far as getting  to the arena level. Aw man, finally this is awesome!

HRH: Is SR-71 done now?

John Allen: Yeah, we never really said hey its done. Mitch came into town for the CD release party. I pulled him in to produce two cuts on the “Lets Rock-N-Roll” record, and we co-wrote one of those songs together.  His song writing and producing career is really taking off and doing well. My time is pretty eaten up by this.  We tried to get SR-71 a new U.S. deal. We thought after the success of the song “1985″ that would be forthcoming, but that didn’t happen.

HRH: One of the songs that Mitch Allan produced, “Almost Home” really hit home with me.  What inspired the lyrics for that song?

John Allen: My mother is a breast cancer survivor. So, the song, we don’t really let you know that. The song is about when we found out that she had a lump. She didn’t want to get a mammogram.  She put it off forever. My old girlfriend really, really hammered her, you really need to do this.  Your cousin died from breast cancer, and your aunt had to have a mastectomy.  It runs in your family, you need to do this. When she finally did, my dad got the phone call from a doctor saying hey there is something here.  My father didn’t know how to tell her. I wasn’t living at home at the time. That is what the song is about.  Getting that phone call and having to break the news to your mom, its pretty heavy. The rest of the record, there is a lot of fun stuff on there, but that is a pretty heavy subject on that song. It is real. When I wrote it, I played it for my girl. We just sat there. Every time we would play it back we would cry. We were real fortunate.  This was in 96 or 97. She is doing real well, getting check ups and stuff.  She has a great doctor. I definitely advocate mammograms for early detection, I guess that is the key.

HRH: There was talk that Mitch was going to release a singer song writer album, called “Clawing My Way To My Middle”. Is that something you were involved with?

John Allen: Yeah, most of the tracks were stuff that were cut in my basement studio.  I think his song writing and producing career in Los Angeles has slowed that down quite a bit. That has made this take a back seat.  He is working with Kara Dioguardia. The last track for the two co-finalists on American Idol, he wrote that with Kara. He has some really great things going. Any help he needs with that, I would be glad to do.  He has been so good to me over the years. I know a lot of fans would like to hear it.

HRH: With Charm City Devils it seems like you are getting back to your hard rock roots.

John Allen: Yeah, I think you are right.  With SR-71 I was trying to fit in as my role as a drummer, and then trying to help out as much as I could on the song writing end. I wasn’t the main song writer in the band, Mitch was. There was only so far I could put my imprint on what we were doing musically.  I think you are right. I think I have come full circle and I am back to the blues based hard rock where I got my start. I still think there is some raw elements and energy, and a little bit of the punk energy that gives it a little bit of a different flavor, but yeah, I would have to agree with you.

HRH: How big of an influence were AC/DC and Aerosmith on you?

John Allen: HUGE. Two incredible bands, both heavily blues based. Both bands have a lot of groove elements albeit both of them have a different take on groove and how they approach it. They are both two incredible bands that I have loved for most of my life from the point when I discovered them. I wear my influences on my sleeve I guess.

HRH: I think your CD is a good mix of classic and modern hard rock.  It ought to appeal to a large group of rock fans.

John Allen: I appreciate that.  There are a lot of modern guys that I like a lot too.  The Hives have that high kinetic energy, punk, raw stripped down ethic. Jack White, White Stripes, he really plays a huge nod towards early blues men, Delta Blues.  I really love that stuff too. I dig where he comes from. That stripped down garagey version of that stuff. Hopefully like you said, we can appeal to a wide range of listeners of rock music.

HRH: So what is next for you guys, Cruefest doesn’t start up until late July right?

John Allen: July 19th.  We are going to head down south, and do some regional one off shows here and there.  We are going to do some shows with Red and Framing Hanley just prior to Cruefest.  We are trying to keep busy, and meet as many people as we can.

HRH: Is there anything you would like to tell your fans out there?

John Allen: Hit us up on myspace or facebook or whatever.  Come up and say hello to us at the shows.  We are very approachable, and we like to meet as many people as possible.  Check out the record. We are getting a lot of positive feedback from people who have bought the record. Please pass the message along to others!

The Phil Lewis-fronted version of L.A. GUNS has parted ways with bassist Scotty Griffin and has replaced him with Kenny Kweens (BEAUTIFUL CREATURES).

Commented Lewis: “One of [Scotty's] side projects has hit the jackpot. THE KING MIXERS have been offered a residency at the Sunset Station Casino in Vegas where he’ll be playing every Saturday night for at least a year. Naturally, we’re sorry to see him go; it’s been a true pleasure having him with us for over two hundred shows over the last couple of years. He’s a great musician and a very fun guy to have out on the road. He will be sincerely missed.”
Regarding Griffin’s relacement, Lewis said, “We’ve been friends with Kenny for a long time and have tried to get him in the band several times and now it seems the stars are aligned and the timing’s right, so he’ll be picking up the slack from Scotty. His first show with us will be opening for WHITESNAKE at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa on July 18 and all the rest of the shows we have booked until the end of the year, including three weeks in Europe in September.

He added, “We’ve been working songs from the set in the studio with [Kenny] and he sounds amazing. Him and Steve [Riley, drums] have great chemistry and the music sounds very solid. Both Stacey [Blades, guitar] and I are delighted to have such a gentleman in the band.

“It’s our first change in lineup since Adam [Hamilton, bass] left almost three years ago, so we all feel very fortunate to have such a good player join us for a very busy summer and hopefully some recording when things quieten down at the end of the year.”

L.A. GUNS‘ latest album, “Tales from the Strip”, was released in August 2005 in the U.S. via Shrapnel Records. The CD, which was produced by Andy Johns (LED ZEPPELIN, THE ROLLING STONES), was lyrically inspired by a historically significant rock scene that L.A. GUNS had a strong hand in creating.

Phil Lewis‘ L.A. GUNS is not to be confused with the Tracii Guns-led version of the group, which is also continuing to record and perform under the L.A. GUNS moniker.

Friday night Adler’s Appetite came to Cincinnati’s Riverstar Entertainment Complex to unleash their renditions of Guns N’ Roses awesome tunes.  The band features former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler, Chip Z’nuff (Enuff Z’nuff) on bass, Rick Stitch (Ladyjack) on vocals, Michael Thomas (Faster Pussycat) and Alex Grossi (Quiet Riot) on guitar.

Local bands The Mighty Swine, and A Nervous Wreck opened the show. The Mighty Swine played a cool set of original tunes.  A Nervous Wreck did a good job getting the crowd revved up with a bunch of cover tunes from the bands Poison, Ratt, L.A. Guns and more.

Adler’s Appetite hit the stage about 11:oo P.M. and played a great set of tunes covering the Guns N’ Roses albums, “Appetite for Destruction”, as well as the “Use Your Illusion” albums.

Rick Stitch may not be Axl Rose, but he did a good job signing these songs.  I was pretty impressed with the guitar tandem of Alex Grossi and Michael Thomas as well.  Adler’s Appetite may not be anything more than a glorified cover band, but at least Steven Adler is trying to keep the Guns N’ Roses music alive and well.  Until Axl Rose gets his head out of his ass and reunites the class G N’ R linuep, this is as good as it gets!

This time around I wanted to share a couple of my favorite European bands that get almost no attention here in the U.S. First off, from their ‘05 album “Lipservice” comes Switzerland’s Gotthard with “Lift U Up”. These guys have been releasing albums for 17 years and are considered one of the biggest bands in Europe.

Next comes the Poodles, who just released their third album “Clash of the Elements” which is absolutely amazing. “Streets of Fire” comes from their second album “Sweet Trade”. While they haven’t been around as long as Gotthard, these Swedes could be huge if given the chance.

One year ago, the Motor City Madman performed his 6000th concert, and as a result is celebrating this mind boggling accomplishment with a double live CD that is sure to please the huge legion of Ted Nugent and hard rock fans out there.

Nugent has been performing live since 1967. That is over 146 shows per year for 41 years. No artist has been delivering as much rock over the years at Ted Nugent.

The band backing up Ted in this live show is Greg Smith on bass, and “Wild” Mick Brown (from Dokken) on the drums. Uncle Ted showcases his incredible guitar work. He still delivers the goods at the ripe young age of 59 (now 60).

For this 6000th live celebration of music, Ted brought along some pretty cool guest starts that were quite important to his career including Derek St. Holmes (the original singer of the Nugent classics “Stranglehold,” “Hey Baby,” and “Dog Eat Dog”), Johnny Bee Badanjek (drummer for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels).  All of the Nugent classic hits are accounted for on this CD, as well as some new tunes from Ted’s most recent CD, “Love Grendade”.

The energy of this live show carries over onto the CD well.  The sound quality and the music are great. This show sounds like it was a lot of fun.  It makes me wish I would have made the trip to Detroit to see this concert.  If anything, this CD made me realize what I have been missing out on when Ted Nugent plays live. I will definitely catch Ted the next time he comes around to Cincinnati.

Don’t miss out on a CD that captures one of the top live events of 2008! This disc is essential for all Ted Nugent fans!

You can purchase your copy of Motor City Mayhem at this link.

Rating:Out of 10

Track Listing:

Disc One
1. Ted Nugent Intro
2. Star Spangled Banner
3. Motor City Madhouse
4. Wango Tango
5. Free For All
6. Stormtroopin’
7. Dog Eat Dog
8. Need You Bad
9. Weekend Warrior
10. Love Grenade
11. Honky Tonk

Disc Two
1. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
2. Bo Diddley/Lay With Me
3. Baby Please Don’t Go
4. Geronimo And Me
5. Jenny Take A Ride
6. Soul Man
7. Hey Baby
8. Cat Scratch Fever
9. Strangehold
10. Great White Buffalo
11. Fred Bear
12. Outro

I stumbled upon this trash metal band, Turbulence by accident, but immediately took a liking too them after listen to a couple of their songs on myspace.

Check out their video clip, “Weakest Link” below.

UNITED STATES OUT NOW ON MASCOT RECORDS U.S.A.

UNITED STATES is the first collaboration of Paul Gilbert and Freddie Nelson. The album features 10 new songs which they wrote, performed, and produced together in the summer of 2008. As the new album gets rave reviews UNITED STATES takes a hold of the airwaves this week nation-wide!

Week 1 on the radio and Gilberts ad’s and spins are coming in strong:

CMJ Loud Rock
18 total adds

FMQB Metal Detector
#7 Most Added w/26 adds
Debut #67 on the charts w/30 spins!

Commercial Specialty
KFLY Eugene, OR
KFTE Lafayette, LA
KMKF Manhattan, KS
KZZE Medford, OR
Rebel Radio Northbrook, IL
WBYR Ft. Wayne, IN
WCHZ Augusta, GA
WEDG Buffalo, NY
WHEB Portsmouth, NH
WKGB Binghamton, NY
WKLL/WKRL Waterville, NY
WOBX Nags Head, NC
WPUP Bethlehem, GA
WVBR Interlaken, NY

College / Community
KNON Dallas, TX
KSJS San Jose, CA
KZSC Santa Cruz, CA
WBGU Bowling Green, OH
WEOS Waterloo, NY
WMPG Portland, ME
WNHU West Haven, CT
WXOU Rochester Hills, MI

Paul Gilbert began his career with the legendary shred-metal band RACER X in 1986. Since then, his guitar playing has brought him number one hits with the band MR. BIG, and a devoted following of guitar and music lovers all over the world. Gilbert’s recent foray into instrumental guitar music brought him even more attention, and has resulted in extensive touring with Joe Satriani’s “G3″ tour in North America and over 100 shows as a headliner in Europe, Japan, and South America.

UNITED STATES is one Paul Gilbert album you must add to your collection.

Tracklisting:

1.The Last Rock’n Roll Star

2. Hideway

3. Waste of Time

4. Bad Times Good

5. Paris Hilton Look-alike

6. The Answer

7. I’m Free

8. Pulsar

9. Girl from Omaha

10. I’m Not Addicted

For more information go to www.paulgilbert.com or www.mascotrecordsusa.com

Awesome collection! (Vol. 1 is actually a 2 cd set!) Includes approx. 35 songs taken from all of Ted’s work outside of Danger Danger, and includes re-masters of some of Ted’s most popular songs from his 2 recent Solo CD’s, Bonemachine, Melodica, Prophet, and songs done with other artists such as JK Northrup, Jack Frost, Jun Senoue, Vic Rivera, and rare unreleased stuff like original song demos, hard to find rare tracks including the impossible to find Xmas Song, the Japan exclusive Takoyaki Rock, and NEW STUFF too. This cd includes 2 BRAND NEW song demos which will give a glimpse into the future, from his next forthcoming solo cd for 2010. THIS IS A MUST HAVE DOUBLE CD FOR ALL FANS OF TED. THE “BOOBS” COVER WILL BE REPRINTED AND THE TITLE CHANGED TO “GREATEST HITS” AFTER THE FIRST 1000 COPIES ARE SOLD OUT.

TED WILL BE HAPPY TO PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPH YOUR “BOOBS”(CD Cover) ON REQUEST!

Release date is July 14th, but all pre-orders will ship as soon as we get them in stock, maybe even a couple of weeks before the official release date.

Go to this link to preorder!

Tequila Rockin’Bird have released three new songs on their myspace page.  Check them out at this link.

Motorhead will team up with Reverend Horton Heat and Nashbille Pussy for the following North American shows:

Aug. 28 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Aug. 29 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
Aug. 30 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Sep. 01 – Detroit, MI – Motor City Casino
Sep. 02 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
Sep. 03 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
Sep. 05 – Atlantic City, NJ – House of Blues
Sep. 06 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
Sep. 08 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

Sep. 09 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom

Sep. 11 – Charlotte, NC – Fillmore
Sep. 12 – Cherokee, NC – Cherokee Motorcycle Rally
Sep. 15 – Tampa, FL – Jannus Landing
Sep. 16 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues
Sep. 18 – Houston, Texas – Warehouse Live -
Sep. 19 – Dallas, TX – Palladium
Sep. 20 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s
Sep. 23 – St. Louis, MO – Pageant
Sep. 24 – Kansas City, MO – Midland Theater
Sep. 26 – Denver, CO – Fillmore
Sep. 28 – Calgary, AB – Flames Central
Sep. 29 – Edmonton, AB – Events Center
Oct. 01 – Vancouver, BC – Vogue
Oct. 02 – Seattle, WA – Showbox Sodo
Oct. 03 – Portland, OR – Roseland
Oct. 05 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield
Oct. 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Nokia Live
Oct. 10 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues

“Motörizer”, the new album from MOTÖRHEAD, sold a little more than 6,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart. The follow-up to 2006’s “Kiss of Death” was recorded in part (drums only) at FOO FIGHTERS frontman/ex-NIRVANA drummer Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Northridge, California with producer Cameron Webb, who also worked on “Kiss of Death” and 2004’s “Inferno”.

Whatever happened to rock’s royalty? …they are back with a vengeance!

Bands of the 70s and 80s became part of a lifestyle, adding to the defining moments of youth, a soundtrack to our memories, and are still held close in the hearts of fans.

Now, from the ashes of some of Canada’s most loved and influential rocks acts of the 80s – Moxy, Santers, Killer Dwarfs and Lee Aaron – comes Hard Road, Canada’s supergroup. Capitalizing on the signature styles and diverse background of each of its members, Hard Road combines the eclectic and ripping guitar riffs of Earl Johnson of Moxy, the unmistakable vocal prowess and stage antics of Russ Graham of Killer Dwarfs, the driving backbone of Santer’s bassist Rick Lazaroff and the powerhouse drumming of Morgan Evans.

Cyclone Records’ Brad Trew says “music has evolved since the early days of these icons, shaping and molding a new, fresh sound and approach. Consider that Killer Dwarfs’ last studio album was 16 years ago, Santers’ last release was 23 years ago and Moxy’s was 31 years ago! As a fan myself, I believe other fans will be more than satisfied to hear their idols back with a vengeance and an enthusiasm that rivals their earlier works.”

Each member has spent decades devoted to their love of music and have each followed their own hard roads to reach this point in their careers. Having been rehearsing and writing material since its inception in April 2008, Hard Road is currently recording new, unreleased material as well as performing reworks of hits from their past. Watch for a new album coming in 2009!

The line up consists of:
Russ Graham (Killer Dwarfs, Moxy): Lead Vocals, Guitar
Earl Johnson (Moxy, King Biscuit Boy): Guitar, Vocals
Rick Lazaroff (Santers): Bass
Morgan Evans (Lee Aaron, Julliet, Killer B): Drums

To keep up to date on the band, visit www.cyclonerecords.ca.

What do Judas Priest, Kiss, Motorhead, AC/DC, & Hanoi Rocks have in common? Yes they are all some of the biggest bands in the world, but besides the obvious they are also all influences for L.A.’s Cockpit and boy did these ladies learn their lessons from the best, taking a piece from each band and putting it all together to make their own brand of in your face rock n’ roll.

Yes I said ladies, this four piece is made up of Linda Lou (vocals & guitar), Terrii Kiing (bass), Alicia Blu (guitar), and Rachel Rine (drums) and they are turning heads in more ways than one. But I can almost bet if you called them a girl band one of them would punch you in the face and keep on walking.

Cockpit came together at the end of 2003 and built their reputation and support from their raucous live shows, that eventually landed the band opening slots for a number of nationally known acts, along with a slot at Rocklahoma 2008 and a spot onstage for all four days of the inaugural Bayou Festival in Houston.

On their debut 5 track e.p. appropriately titled “Mission To Rock” Cockpit is taking no prisoners with such tracks as “Guns For Hire”, “White Flag”, “At A Loose End”. There are no sappy power ballads, no Richard Marx penned tunes but there are plenty of loud smoking guitars, powerhouse drums, and dirty, filthy bass lines not to mention Linda Lou’s arena ready vocals.

If you are ready for a wild ride jump on board and let Cockpit give you the ride of your life at www.myspace.com/cockpit or www.ilovecockpit.com. “Mission To Rock” is also available on I-Tunes.

You can also check out Cockpit’s video, “Gun For Hire” at this link.

Swedish metal band, Lion’s Share has released a new video in support of their album, “Dark Hours”.

Check it out!

Aerosmith’s next album might be “on the bench, in pieces,” waiting for the group to resume recording after it finishes touring in mid-September, but guitarist Joe Perry’s next solo album is just about ready to go.

Perry tells Billboard.com that he’s finishing mixing the follow-up to 2005’s Grammy-nominated “Joe Perry.” He plans to release a single in late July or early August, and the album will come out in the fall.

The one thing Perry doesn’t have yet is a title; for that he’s holding a contest via Twitter, asking fans for suggestions. If he chooses a fan’s idea, the winner will receive a guitar.

“It’s tough, obviously, without having heard the record for people to name it,” he notes, “but we may find something really good. There’ve already been a bunch that are possibilities.”

Perry says the set is a departure from his previous solo outing. “The last one was a straight-ahead rocker. This one’s got some different things on it.”

The album was recorded in about seven weeks at Perry’s home studio,The Boneyard; he shares lead vocal duties with a German singer who his wife, Billie, discovered on the Internet, and there’s one instrumental track. David Hull from the Joe Perry Project and Ben Tileston, who plays with two of Perry’s sons in TAB The Band, were also involved.

“We were working around the clock, through weekends and everything, and it was all live,” Perry says. “In fact, a lot of the vocals are live along with the rest of the band. (Sound) was bleeding from one track to another; if somebody had a bad take everybody had a bad take, and we played it ’til we got a good one. Of course we went in and overdubbed a lot of the other stuff, but the energy is there. You can feel it.”

Once the album is released, Perry hopes to hit the road with his own band for “a short, fast, hard tour. That’s what I’m really looking forward to … getting back out there with some old friends and some other musicians and doing it like the old days.”

The Aerosmith album, its first since 2004’s “Honkin’ on Bobo,” will also be a consideration at that point as the group — which wraps its current tour with ZZ Top on September 16 — hits the studio again with producer Brendan O’Brien.

“That is the next project right after we get off the road,” Perry says. “We’ll take a little break and then put it together. I’m hoping it will come together pretty fast, but I’ve been saying that for five years.”

Source: Billboard & Reuters

Jackyl has been signed on to bring their “Wild and Untamed” brand of Rock to Pryor, Oklahoma Saturday Night at Rocklahoma.

Director of Operations Dave Giencke said, “After Thin Lizzy’s cancellation, we wanted to bring in a band that has consistently been one of the fan favorites!” “Jackyl’s energy and stage presence is like no other band who has ever performed at Rocklahoma and they promise to step up even more!”

Front Man Jessie James Dupree added, “I was equally disappointed that Thin Lizzy cancelled their tour.  I am a huge fan of theirs and wanted to make it down to Rocklahoma see them perform.  Since I was going to be there anyway and there’s an open slot, it made sense to have Jackyl perform.”   “Jackyl Stock 09, let’s get it on!”

Jackyl who had huge rock radio hits like “Down On Me,” “When Will It Rain,” “I Stand Alone” and “The Lumberjack,”

Rocklahoma takes place July 9-12 in Pryor, Oklahoma has been called by many throughout the world as the “Woodstock” of Eighties Rock Music

The lineup on each of the four days is as follows:

Thursday: Anthrax, Saxon, Overkill, Anvil, Metal Church and Leatherwolf.

Friday:  RATT, Night Ranger, Warrant, Danger Danger, Helix and Hurricane Alice

Saturday: Stryper, Jackyl, KIX, KEEL, Lizzy Borden and Gypsy Pistoleros

Sunday:  Twisted Sister, Skid Row, Great White, Nelson, Bonfire and Vixen

Rocklahoma features attendance from all over the world, already selling tickets throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and throughout North America including every state in the United States!

The Third Annual Rocklahoma will have over ninety bands on four stages, including favorites from previous Rocklahoma festivals, Beautiful Creatures, LA Guns featuring Tracii Gun, Britney Fox, Bang Tango, Lillian Axe and Faster Pussycat.  Included on the side stages are bands from all over Europe.

Recently Rolling Stone called Rocklahoma one of the top festivals that should not be missed.

Catch The Fever Festival Grounds is located four miles north of Pryor, Oklahoma and has 6,200 assigned and numbered seats, as well as general admission on the lawn for over 50,000 people.  The grounds also feature over 4,000 campsites, on-site parking, bathroom facilities and a convenience store.  Rocklahoma also has a Picture Alley that allows anyone in attendance to approach the stage during any performance and take photographs of a favorite artist at close range.

Rocklahoma offers a one-day and four-day general admission passes, along with V.I.P. Passes that includes all the food and drink, including Free Miller Lite for all four days.

The public can also order tickets online at www.feverfest.com, charge by phone at 1-866-310-2288, or any of the 3,200 O’Reilly Auto Part Stores across the United States.

In all honesty my draw to Outloud! was lead singer Chandler Mogel, I was blown away by his work on the last Talon album “Fallen Angels”. I wasn’t familiar with the other members of Outloud! at all, but after hearing their debut that is all going to change very fast.

In addition to Mogel, Outloud! is made up of  Tony Kash (Guitar), Bob Katsionis (Guitar/Keyboards), Jason Mercury (Bass), and Mark Cross (Drums). This international line-up is ready to take the world by storm with their 80’s inspired brand of melodic rock. The band’s sound has been called a conglomeration of Riot, Skid Row, TNT, and a bit of Foreigner thrown in and I couldn’t agree more.

“What I Need” is a straight up in your face rocker that kicks the album off that has everyone going at a 100 mph with the duo of Kash and Katsionis stealing the show. “We Run” leans more to the melodic side of the spectrum I expected and it turns out to be one of the catchiest songs on the album with Mercury laying down some great bass lines and Mogel sounds great as always. Katsionis’s keyboard skills are on show for the melodic rocker “Tonight” another great sing along chorus and a great groove. “Search For Truth” gets my vote as the best track on this album with an outstanding performance by all five members of Outloud! but Mark Cross is awesome on this track. “This Broken Heart” is a nice mid tempo ballad that starts out acoustic before kicking in at the chorus.

With the exception of the ballad “Lovesigh” the rest of “Outloud!” is filled with straight up rockers guaranteed to please the masses.

Check out the band’s myspace at www.myspace.com/outloudtheband. Outloud! are definitely a band worth checking out and keeping an eye on for 2009 and beyond, you will not be disappointed.

Rating: Out of 10

Track Listing:
01. What I Need
02. We Run
03. Tonight
04. Search For Truth
05. This Broken Heart
06. Breathing The Fire
07. Wild Life
08. Broken Sleep
09. Out In The Night
10. Lovesigh
11. Out Loud

OUTLOUD is:
Jason Mercury – Bass
Bob Katsionis – Guitar & Keyboards
Mark Cross – Drums
Chandler Mogel – Vocals
Tony Kash – Guitar

Check out Steadlur’s new video “Bumpin”. Watch the video and decide if “Bumpin” should SINK or SWIM with your vote below.

This video is too funny.  Enjoy!

North Carolina rock band The Fifth has signed with EMG/Universal and will release their debut album Confessions of Man on July 28, 2009. The band has also signed an exclusive long-term management agreement with partners Ricky B. Rogers & Ray Ware of Nashville-based Fused Management, home to all-girl rock band Atomic Blonde, multi-platinum singer-songwriter Bob Carlisle and more.

“I am impressed with this band’s commitment to their fans,” states Ware. “They instinctively understand how to give their audience what they want.” Rogers adds, “This band is poised to erupt nationally because they understand that rock n roll should remain first and foremost about fun.”

The Fifth may be new to the national scene, but since 2001, the full-throttled foursome has tore up the North Carolina club circuit in support of two full-length independent CDs, plus a pair of EPs. And it was no surprise to their loyal fans when they started to appear in the national spotlight.

Despite the larger than life personas, the guys’ first priority when they hang up their instruments for the night is to meet their fans. Not only is The Fifth comprised of the most approachable guys in the music business, but they’re committed to providing a sense of enjoyment and empowerment to everyone along the way. “Everybody loves a good rock show,” affirms Roy. “We write songs people identity with and that can help put a smile on someone’s face, plus we throw a little sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and any other bit of debauchery in for some extra fun.”

HardRockHouse is proud to announce the release of “The Road Less Travelled”, the new live album from Danny Vaughn.

With a career stretching back over twenty years to when he first hit the limelight fronting Waysted on their “Save Your Prayers” album Vaughn is no stranger to the big stages of the world. With Waysted, Tyketto and more latterly as a solo artist as well as fronting one of the UK’s most successful tribute acts, the Illegal Eagles, Vaughn has shared stages with some of the biggest names in the rock world, Iron Maiden, Journey, White Lion and many more beside. But contrary to what you might expect given such a history “The Road Less Travelled” is not an all out electric assault but rather a more thoughtful, soulful and reflective set of songs, unplugged yes, but most definitely unforgettable.

Recorded live in Newcastle on December 13th 2008 “The Road Less Travelled” marks a first for Vaughn, a vocalist recently described by Classic Rock magazine as “one of the top voices of the melodic hard rock genre”, in that it sees Vaughn & his band performing a full set of unplugged classics. Although no stranger to acoustic shows, most notably touring the UK alongside Journey in support of his Traveller album, the Newcastle show is one of only two that Danny has played acoustically with his full band and, judging from the ecstatic reaction of the crowd on the album, it was something that was long overdue.

Mixed by Pete Coleman, the man behind the desk for the Traveller album “The Road Less Travelled” is the perfect snapshot of what was a perfect gig. From the Tyketto classic Lay Your Body Down to newer numbers Visions & Making Waves, “The Road Less Travelled” truly evokes the spirit & atmosphere of what was a remarkable live performance & showcases Danny Vaughn at his very best.

As Danny says

“This album was made by and for my friends – the friends that were behind the scenes encouraging me to do it, the friends on the stage that worked so hard to make it happen and the friends in the audience that came to celebrate and have fun along with us. Even if you weren’t there, you’re a part of it too. Singing is the best way I know to express myself. It s the skill I use for digging deep. Thank you for listening. Thank you for cheering. Thank you for coming along for the ride”.

The Road Less Travelled Track Listing:

Traveller; Making Waves; Soldiers & Sailors On Riverside; Restless Blood; Damn; Jenny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore; Visions; Nothing At All; Lifted; A Million Miles Of Road; When You Walk Away and Lay Your Body Down.

The Road Less Travelled is available now exclusively from www.hardrockhouse.com. For more information, to hear samples from the album or to order please visit www.hardrockhouse.com/TheRoadLessTravelled.htm

Irish Rock Band Thin Lizzy, known for hits “Jailbreak” and “The Boys Are Back In Town” cancelled their entire 2009 tour including Rocklahoma.

Thin Lizzy guitarist and main stay, Scott Gorham had this to say, “It’s been a very tough time of late for myself and the band, firstly with drummer Tommy Aldridge’s injury and now the subsequent decision for John and the rest of the group to go their separate ways. I can only apologize to everyone who has supported us over the years, but we will be back up to full speed soon!”

General Manager of Catch the Fever Music Festival’s Mark Nuessle reiterated “We respect the decisions of Thin Lizzy and will surely miss them this year.  We will announce a replacement in the upcoming days.  Thank you for your understanding.”

Rocklahoma July 9-12 in Pryor, Oklahoma has been called by many throughout the world as the “Woodstock” of Eighties Rock Music

The lineup on each of the four days is as follows:

Thursday: Anthrax, Saxon, Overkill, Anvil, Metal Church and Leatherwolf.

Friday:  RATT, Night Ranger, Warrant, Danger Danger, Helix and Hurricane Alice

Saturday: Stryper, KIX, KEEL, Lizzy Borden and Gypsy Pistoleros

Sunday:  Twisted Sister, Skid Row, Great White, Nelson, Bonfire and Vixen

Rocklahoma features attendance from all over the world, already selling tickets throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, South America and throughout North America including every state in the United States!

The Third Annual Rocklahoma will have over ninety bands on four stages, including favorites from previous Rocklahoma festivals, Beautiful Creatures, LA Guns featuring Tracii Gun, Britney Fox, Bang Tango, Lillian Axe and Faster Pussycat.  Included on the side stages are bands from all over Europe.

Recently Rolling Stone called Rocklahoma one of the top festivals that should not be missed.

Catch The Fever Festival Grounds is located four miles north of Pryor, Oklahoma and has 6,200 assigned and numbered seats, as well as general admission on the lawn for over 50,000 people.  The grounds also feature over 4,000 campsites, on-site parking, bathroom facilities and a convenience store.  Rocklahoma also has a Picture Alley that allows anyone in attendance to approach the stage during any performance and take photographs of a favorite artist at close range.

Rocklahoma offers a one-day and four-day general admission passes, along with V.I.P. Passes that includes all the food and drink, including Free Miller Lite for all four days.

The public can also order tickets online at www.feverfest.com, charge by phone at 1-866-310-2288, or any of the 3,200 O’Reilly Auto Part Stores across the United States.

To break up the monotony of my work day, I like to listen to talk radio. Sure, I listen to music too, but there’s something about talk radio that I thoroughly enjoy. No, I don’t listen to Air America or Rush Limbaugh or NPR. I listen to podcasts that I download for free from iTunes. There’s a great variety of stuff to choose from, including podcasts about metal and rock. One of the podcasts that I listen to daily is the Radio Chick with host Leslie Gold (she dates Carmine Appice, drummer for Vanilla Fudge, brother of Vinny Appice and creator of the drum show SLAMM!). She’s witty, funny, smart and often talks about music and life with Carmine.

In one of her latest podcasts, Leslie raised a very intriguing question: If you could bring back dead rock stars to form a super group to play for you for two hours, who would you bring back? Sound easy? Well, there are rules you must follow. 1. You can only pick one singer, one lead guitarist, one rhythm guitarist, one bass player and one drummer. 2. Whoever you bring back will be brought back at their time of death (ex: If you bring back Elvis, you get fat Elvis, not cool, young Elvis).

There is no rhyme or reason to my choices. I didn’t choose people who would work well together (although they just might). I chose the people I never got to see live and wanted to see.

Drummer – This one is a given…John Bonham. If you don’t pick John Bonham, you may need to get your head checked. He is one of the greatest rock drummers to ever exist. I’d give my first born to see this man play live. OK, maybe not my first born, you get the idea.

Singer – I’m picking Freddy Mercury for the job. What an amazing voice this man had, and I’d be stoked to finally hear it live and in person.

Lead Guitar – Jimi Hendrix is the man. Is there anyone else? He helped change the face of guitar playing as we know it today and he’s a freaking badass.

Rhythm Guitar – Backing up Jimi will be Randy Rhoads. He died way too early. God only knows what potential he had hiding in him.

Bass – On bass will be Cliff Burton, another one who died before he should have.

Honorable Mentions:
Keith Moon
Phil Lynott
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Dimebag (I’ve seen him a million times live, but I’d love to see him again)
Jim Morrison

So who would you choose for your super dead group?

Be sure to check out my blog for my interview with Heather Luttrell who was a contestant on Rock Star INXS. She’s one of the most talented female vocalists I’ve ever heard and her voice reminds me of a dead rock star I’d bring back for a super group…Janis Joplin.

A band that was recently added to the Friday lineup of Rock Gone Wild, is Attention from Minneapolis, MN. Check out the band’s video, “Everything I See You” below.

For more information on Attention, check out their myspace page.

ALICE IN CHAINS are giving fans a sneak preview of their highly anticipated upcoming album BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE (Virgin/EMI) by posting a brand-new song online. The seven-minute-long track, titled “A Looking In View,” is currently available for free download on www.aliceinchains.com or for pure listening enjoyment on www.myspace.com/aliceinchains. A companion video for the song is forthcoming and its trailer is available on the band’s official website. “A Looking In View” will appear on BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE, in stores September 29^th.

About “A Looking In View,” Alice In Chains vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell says, “The song basically speaks to any number of things that keep you balled up inside. A cell of our own making with an unlocked door that we choose to remain in. Focusing our attention inward instead of reaching out to a much larger world. I think this is common to us all. It’s funny how hard we fight to hang on to a bone we can’t pull through a hole in the fence, or how difficult it is to put down the bag of bricks and move on.”

On July 18^th, Alice In Chains will be sharing the stage with Kid Rock at Comerica Park in Detroit, to be followed by festival shows with Metallica overseas, including an August 1 date at Marlay Park in Dublin and an August 2 show at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth. They’ll wrap up the international trip with a string of headlining dates, set to kick off August 4^th with a sold-out performance at London’s Scala. On August 22, they’ll join Tool and Linkin Park for the first-ever Epicenter show at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, to be followed by a headlining tour set to kick off September 4^th at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Tickets for the U.S. shows will be available Friday, July 10^th. For information, please visit www.aliceinchains.com.

BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE is the band’s first new studio release in more than 10 years. The quartet (guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and vocalist/guitarist William DuVall) recorded the album with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and Henson Studios in Hollywood.

Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, wrote and recorded 11 top 10 hit singles and stood atop Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart with two No. 1 records.

Tour dates are as follows (additional shows to be confirmed):

Date                City                             Venue
July 18             Detroit, MI                   Comerica Park (with Kid Rock)
Aug 1               Dublin, IE                    Marlay Park
Aug 2               Stevenage, GB           Knebworth House – Sonisphere
Aug 4               London, GB                 Scala
August 6          Cologne, DE                Essigfabrik
August 8          Berlin, DE                    Columbia Club
August 10        Hamburg, DE              Grunspan
August 12        Amsterdam, NL          Melkweg
August 22        Pomona, CA               Epicenter
Sept. 4             Washington, DC          9:30 Club
Sept. 5             Philadelphia, PA          Theatre of Living Arts
Sept. 7             Boston, MA                 Paradise Rock Club
Sept. 8             New York, NY             The Fillmore
Sept. 15           Toronto, ON                The Opera House
Sept. 16           Cleveland, OH             House of Blues
Sept. 19           Chicago, IL                  House of Blues
Sept. 20           Milwaukee, WI             The Rave
Sept. 21           Minneapolis, MN         First Ave
Sept. 26           Portland, OR               Roseland Grill Sept. 28           San Francisco, CA     The Fillmore

The 69 Eyes are due to release their 9th studio album Back In Blood on September 15th, via The End Records.  The first single is the tongue-in-cheek ‘Dead Girls Are Easy’ – a nasty power anthem for sleazy pin-ups complete with a sing-a-long chorus aimed at those online chicks with the looks that kill! The video will be directed by MTV superstar and close friend Bam Margera, who was also responsible for the Eyes’ rock homage to ‘80s cult movie ‘The Lost Boys’.

A stream of the new song can be found from the link below.   Dead Girls Are Easy

http://www.myspace.com/theofficial69eyes

They’re still hungry. Twenty-five years after the band rocked the world with songs such as “I Wanna Rock” and “We’re Not Going To Take It,” Twisted Sister is back with a 25th Anniversary Edition with the remastered original Stay Hungry album, a bonus disc of unreleased demos and outtakes, and a brand new song recorded especially for the collection. To celebrate the impending release of this collection, vocalist Dee Snider will play Call of Duty®: World at War™ and guitarist Jay Jay French will play Gears of War® 2 with Xbox LIVE® Gold Members July 1.

Band to Perform Songs from The July 14 Release of LEAVE THIS TOWN, the Follow-Up to Its Quintuple-Platinum Debut

Tickets Go on Sale July 11; Daughtry Will Offer a Free Ticket to the First 50 Fans In Each Market Who Pre-Order LEAVE THIS TOWN at www.DaughtryOfficial.com

Daughtry will embark upon a short club tour this August, starting just weeks after the release of LEAVE THIS TOWN (19 Recordings/RCA Music Group), the follow-up to the band’s Grammy-nominated and quintuple-platinum debut.

Singer Chris Daughtry, bassist Josh Paul, drummer Joey Barnes, and guitarists Brian Craddock and Josh Steely will use the intimate shows to perform many of the songs from the new album on stage for the first time. The 13-date tour will kick off August 2 in Orlando, FL and end August 22 in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets go on sale July 11. Daughtry will offer limited VIP packages as a pre-sale July 8th – 10th. Additionally, the band will also give a free ticket to the first 50 fans in each market who pre-order LEAVE THIS TOWN from www.DaughtryOfficial.com.

“This club tour is a thank you to our loyal fans. Its a great way for them to see us up close and, more importantly, at a cheap price,” says singer Chris Daughtry.

More than a month before its official release, LEAVE THIS TOWN is already generating considerable buzz for its musical range.

Rolling Stone: “The surprisingly diverse results include everything from the clubby ‘Supernatural’ to the fiddle-driven Vince Gill duet ‘Tennessee Line.’” … “‘Call Your Name’ [is] an anthem reminiscent of ‘November Rain,’ complete with a stirring key change, falsetto vocal runs and an explosive Slash-style guitar climax.”

Billboard: “And while Daughtry’s voice and rock riffs still play center stage to most of the album’s tracks, several songs take some creative chances. Daughtry wrote ‘You Don’t Belong’ on his own; it’s a hard-driving song that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Alice in Chains album.”

Daughtry will begin an extensive North American tour this fall.

    Tour Dates

    August
    2     Orlando, FL               House of Blues
    4     Boston, MA                Showcase Live
    7     Columbus, OH              LC Pavilion
    8     Chicago, IL               Vic Theatre
    9     Minneapolis, MN           The Cabooze
    11    Nashville, TN             Cannery Ballroom
    12    Memphis, TN               Minglewood Hall
    14    Houston, TX               Warehouse Live
    16    Denver, CO                The Gothic Theatre
    18    Phoenix, AZ               Marquee Theatre
    19    Los Angeles, CA           Henry Fonda Theater
    20    San Francisco, CA         The Fillmore
    22    Las Vegas, NV             Pure

Website: http://www.DaughtryOfficial.com