Tag: Joe Leste
0 Two For Tuesday Videos – Bang Tango
Bang Tango has released a new video for for “Suck It Up”, from their Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt album. You can also check out their clip for “I Like It” below. Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt is available for purchase through Amazon.com!
0 Bang Tango At The M3 Rock Festival
Bang Tango’s set at M3 was a short one. They only played six songs, but for having an early time slot, I thought the band did a pretty good job. I thought Bang Tango would play more of their classic material, but they actually played two new songs off of their latest CD, Pistol Whipped In the Bible Belt, “Suck It Up, and “Bring On the World”. Their new album is much better than expected, and definitely worth checking out. (You can read the Hard Rock Hideout Review here!) I am sure that Bang Tango’s set was shortened due to the late start time of the bands on Saturday, but they made the best of it. I enjoyed their set, I just wish it was longer.
Bang Tango’s set list was “Suck It Up”, “Ready To Go”, “Attack of Life”, “Bring On the World”, “Soul to Soul”, and my favorite “Someone Like You”.
You can check out our Photo Gallery below!
0 Bang Tango – Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt (2011)
Although lead singer Joe Leste has put together a whole new incarnation of Bang Tango and remains the only original member of the group, the sound of sleaze rock is still strong on their latest effort, Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt. As an added bonus, the new disc really kicks some hard rock ass! If you like your rock hard, sleazy, and mired in sex, drugs, and rock and roll, then Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt is an album that should be added to your collection.
“Dick In The System” starts the record off. This song is an ode to a cheating girl, and sets the table for the sleazy sex tinged portraits painted on the rest of the record. Crunchy guitar and throaty, raspy vocals dominate, making the song enjoyable from the first note. Leste and company found a groove and used it to their advantage. “Dick In The System” is a great lead track and a perfect re-introduction to those of us who may have almost forgotten about the band, Bang Tango.
The band doesn’t just mire all of their tracks in sleaze and sex (not that there is anything wrong with that). They also show off their softer side on the album’s lone ballad “Have You Seen Her?” This is a solid, 80s style ballad that is bound to have cigarette lighters waving when the song is played in concert. Guitarist Scott LaFlamme handles the guitar work exceptionally well and his solo on this track stands out. I expect a lot of summer compilations to include “Have You Seen Her?” on the track list.
“Boom Box Séance” is without a doubt the best track on the record. Totally cool, unique title notwithstanding, this song is fantastic. Combining fresh, tongue-in-cheek lyrics with the best guitar work of the record, “Boom Box Séance” is invigorating in its ability to maintain originality. The underlying theme of sleaze is still present and accounted for, but the entire vibe of the song has a fresh feel not present on the other tracks. That does not mean the other tracks are bad, it just solidifies why “Boom Box Séance” is the best song on the record. If you like a foot stomping, funk and groove rock song, “Boom Box Séance” will be your choice for song of the record as well.
It’s been a while since Bang Tango was a common household name (okay, it’s been a while since some people might have heard of the band), but that doesn’t mean that they have been stale or disappeared. Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt is a strong effort and hopefully Bang Tango will be on the road this summer so that fans can hear the great music Bang Tango recorded. Chock of full of sharp, hard hitting, rock and roll, Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt is rock music for the sleaze enthusiast. Bring on the strippers and booze!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Dick In The System
- Suck It Up
- Our Way
- Bring On The World
- Have You Seen Her
- Live Life
- I Like It
- Boom Box Séance
- Drivin’
- Pistol Whipped In The Bible Belt
Bang Tango Is:
Joe Leste – Vocals
Scott LaFlamme – Guitars
Lance Eric – Bass
Trent Anderson – Drums
0 New Video – Bang Tango – Live Life
Bang Tango’s new CD, Pistol Whipped in the Bible Belt is now available via the band’s website. Check out their new video clip,”Live Life” below!
0 Bang Tango – Love After Death (1994)
It is a crying shame that Bang Tango’s third effort, Love After Death has not had a proper release in the United States. This disc is the last to feature the band’s original recording lineup of Joe LeSté, Mark Knight, Tigg Ketler, Kyle Kyle, and Kyle Stevens. This was released after the grunge scene hit it big, and was released in Europe under the Music For Nations label.
It took months for me to track down a reasonably priced copy of this out of print CD. As they say, good things come to those who wait. Bang Tango’s Love After Death is another good release indeed. Does it stand up to Psycho Cafe or Dancin’ on Coals? Probably not, but there are some pretty good songs worth checking out on this CD.
The opening track “New Generation” is full of the all the fire & energy that made me love this band in the first place. “My Favourite 9” is another cool tune that is filled with that funky bass from Kyle Kyle that gave Bang Tango their semi-unique sound in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
“Crazy” starts off slow and finishes big. Joe LeSté and company takes the listener on a fun ride. If this would have been released earlier in Bang Tango’s career, it could have been a huge hit.
The only song that really doesn’t seem to work on Love After Death is the ballad “A Thousand Goodbyes”. The rest of the CD is pretty good, but this song I could have lived without. Nonetheless, Love After Death is a pretty good effort from Bang Tango, and seems like a natural bridge for Joe LeSté’s jump over to Beautiful Creatures in the mid nineties.
I can’t understand why this CD didn’t get a proper release in the United States. Bang Tango fans will without question love this disc. Sadly, it is a hard disc to track down, and it out of print. It often sells for over 25 bucks on eBay regularly. It is a cool CD, and one worth tracking down if you can find it at the right price. Happy Hunting!
(I found a couple of song clips on Youtube, you can check them out below.)
Rating: Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. New Generation
2. My Favourite 9
3. Feelin’ Nothin’
4. Don’t Count Me Out
5. Live On The Moon
6. Crazy
7. The Hell I Gave
8. Conversation
9. So Obsessed
10. Gonna Make You Feel Like
11. A Thousand Goodbyes
Bang Tango is:
Joe LeSté – Vocals
Mark Knight – Guitars, Electric & Acoustic, Slide, Sitar
Kyle Stevens – Guitars, Electric & Acoustic, Mandolin
Kyle Kyle – Bass
Tigg Ketler – Drums
5 Bang Tango, L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat Concert Review, Part 1
Bang Tango, L.A. Guns (featuring Tracii Guns) and Faster Pussycat, played live, at Lousiville, KY’s Expo Five.
This is the first time that I have attended a show at this venue, and I must say, it is kind of cool. The building itself must have been used for a hangar or some other type of use, before it was converted into a concert hall/ bar. I don’t know if it had to do with the curved shape of the building, but this is the first concert in a long time, that I have not experienced the two day ear ringing after the show. It has nothing to do with the three bands that played. All of them were quite loud, and very rocking.
Bang Tango took the stage first at about 8:30 or so. The band started off with a cool cover of the T.Rex tune, 20th Century Boy. The rest of the set, in no certain order, had the following songs:
Attack of Life, Dancing on Coals, Someone Like You, Highway to Hell (AC/DC cover), Wrap My WIngs, and a few others that
I don’t recall.
It has been over fifteen years since I last saw Bang Tango. Joe Leste’ may be the only remaining original Bang Tango member, but the band still sounds damn good in 2008. Joe’s voice still sounds the same after all of these years. His trademark screechy vocals were damn near perfect last night.
His band is rounded out by Michael Thomas (Beautiful Creatures) and Ryan Seelbach on guitar, Lance Eric on Bass, and Timmy Russell (Beautiful Creatures) on drums. Michael Thomas proved to be a pretty solid axeman. Little did I realize that when Bang Tango was done, we would see him play again. More on that later. As a whole, Bang Tango was a lot better than I remembered them to be. I enjoyed their set, but the best music of the night was yet to come.
Check out the videos from the Bang Tango portion of the show below.
Stop back tomorrow for Part 2 of this concert review, featuring L.A. Guns.
1 Bang Tango, L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat Tour Dates!
Bang Tango, L.A. Guns (with Tracii Guns and Marty Casey) and Faster Pussycat are currently on the road on their Summer Blackout tour.
Hard Rock Hideout caught the Louisville, KY stop on the tour last night. A full review is on the way soon. Be sure to catch this show at one of the remaining tour dates this summer!
Tue 07/22/08 Fort Wayne, IN Piere’s Entertainment Center
Wed 07/23/08 Schaumburg, IL Chicago City Limits
Thu 07/24/08 Green Bay, WI Doubles
Fri 07/25/08 Saint Paul, MN Station 4
Sat 07/26/08 Sioux Falls, SD Festival Grounds
Sun 07/27/08 Dubuque, IA Farley City Park
Mon 07/28/08 Warren, MI The Ritz
Tue 07/29/08 Camp Hill, PA TBA
Wed 07/30/08 Southbridge, MA Artist Development Complex
Thu 07/31/08 Farmingdale, NY The Crazy Donkey
Fri 08/01/08 Yonkers, NY The Haunt
Sat 08/02/08 Factoryville, PA Trailside Inn
Sun 08/03/08 Bridgeville, PA RPM’s
Wed 08/06/08 Clifton, NJ Dingbatz
Fri 08/08/08 Toronto, ON Reverb
Sat 08/09/08 Pottsville, PA Goodfella’s
Mon 08/11/08 Chillicothe, OH Cardo’s
Fri 08/15/08 Aurora, CO Illiff Park Saloon
Sat 08/16/08 Pueblo Of Acoma, NM Sky City Casino
Sun 08/17/08 Salt Lake City, UT Bar Deluxe
Mon 08/18/08 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
Tue 08/19/08 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Wed 08/20/08 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Thu 08/21/08 Redding, CA Redding Convention Center
Fri 08/22/08 Hermosa Beach, CA Saint Rocke
Sat 08/23/08 Henderson, NV Sunset Station Hotel & Casino
Sun 08/24/08 West Hollywood, CA Key Club
0 Beautiful Creatures – S/T (Release Year – 2001)
Today marks the return of the Rocklahoma Review Series (2008 Edition). For the next 17 Saturdays, I will be reviewing CD’s by some of the bands that are on the Rocklahoma 2008 roster. There are over 84 bands this year, so their are plenty to choose from. Hopefully this experience will be as eye opening for everyone as it was for me this week. You see, I have not played the debut CD by Beautiful Creatures in two or three years. This band fell off of my radar for a while until the recent Rocklahoma announcement. I decided to give this CD a spin, and was pleasantly surprised with what I found here.
Beautiful Creatures is the band led by Bang Tango singer Joe Leste and Sixx A.M. guitar player DJ Ashba. I guess with Joe Leste as the front man for Beautiful Creatures, I expected this band to be some kind of a Bang Tango clone. I do here some small similarites to Bang Tango, but this CD reminds me a whole lot of the 1994 Motley Crue CD with John Corabi. Quite a few of the songs on this disc, would not have sounded out of place on that record.
The tunes on this record, probably have more in common with 90’s grunge, than they do with 80’s glam, but the hard rocking guitar solos are unmistakably 80’s.
My favorite cuts on this disc are Wasted, Ride, Kick Out, and Kickin’ For Days. This is an album that doesn’t really have any filler cuts, although some songs are stronger than others. Most importanly, this disc rocks hard and does it well. After hearing these songs again for the first time in years, I would bet that they would translate well live. This should be a treat to hear for those that will be in attendance for the Sunday afternoon show at Rocklahoma. If you aren’t familiar with Beautiful Creatures music, be sure to watch their videos below, and check out their myspace page!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. 1 A.M.
2. Wasted
3. Step Back
4. Ride
5. Wish
6. Kick Out
7. Blacklist
8. Kickin For Days
9. Time And Time Again
10. Goin Off
11. New Orleans
12. I Got It All
Beautiful Creatures are:
Joe LeSte – vocals;
Dj Ashba – guitar, background vocals
Anthony Focx – guitar, background vocals
Kenny Kweens bass, background vocals
Glen Sobel – drums, background vocals
Hard Rock Hideout 