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Tag: L.A. Guns
0 FAVORED NATIONS ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE ACOUSTIC GYPSY LIVE ON CD BY L.A. GUNS
Favored Nations Entertainment is proud to announce the September 27th CD release of Acoustic Gypsy Live by L.A. Guns (Tracii Guns, guitar; Danny Nordahl, bass; Chad Steward, drums; Jizzy Pearl, vocals, Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis, keyboards, Muddy Stardust; guitar and back-up vocals; Doni Gray, percussion). Produced, mixed and mastered by Grammy winner Neil Citron, this is the first acoustic album by the acclaimed Los Angeles band in their 29-year history, recorded at The Hotel Café in Hollywood. L.A. Guns will embark on a national tour in September to support the CD.
The band who lit up Hollywood like a surprise M-80 in a garbage can with their raw radical rowdy ways earned themselves legendary status on the Sunset Strip. When Jason Kramer and Jason Rothberg suggested they do an acoustic record, Tracii was “terrified, as I hadn’t played live acoustically for more than an hour since my Bancroft Junior High School guitar ensemble when I was 13 years old. I gathered up the guys I trust the most musically to help make this as great as possible. After listening back to this performance, I am not so scared to perform acoustically anymore.”
What makes Acoustic Gypsy Live so startling is its nuanced attention-to-detail – a musical awareness that L.A. Guns, who never diluted the manic hysteria of their songs one iota in their previous records, relishes in on Acoustic Gypsy Live. With a gorgeous lead guitar solo by Tracii, the CD’s opener, “Crystal Eyes,” hits a bulls-eye with its beauty and clarity-of-vision. Stark, dramatic, simplistically pristine, the inherent harmonic structure of the song itself reaches that part of the soul where honesty is a given, not a constructed artifice. The song cruises to completion to set the scene for the kind of album that no one—including the band itself—even knew was in them. VocalistJizzy still works up the growl, as evidenced on “One Way Ticket.”
Tracii started L.A. Guns while still in high school in 1982. The original singer, Michael Jagosz, was replaced by Axl Rose. Signed to PolyGram in ’87, their self-titled debut, with Phil Lewis replacing Rose, sold over a million copies, as did Cocked and Loaded (1989) andHollywood Vampires (1991).
With 14 tracks—including not only their hits, but covers of Boudleaux Bryant’s “Love Hurts” and Otis Redding’s “These Arms Of Mine”—Acoustic Gypsy Live proves these longtime latenight denizens of the Sunset Strip need no electricity to kick ass.
Track Listing: 1) “Crystal Eyes,” 2) “One Way Ticket,” 3) “Decide,” 4) “Dreamtime,” 5) “Electric Gypsy,” 6) “It’s Over Now,” 7) “Never Enough,” 8) “Over The Edge,” 9) “Little Soldier,” 10) “Sex Action,” 11) “These Arms Of Mine,” 12) “Love Hurts,” 13) “The Ballad Of Jayne,” 14) “Rip And Tear”
0 Jackyl, L.A. Guns & More at the Blast From the Past Music Festival
The Blast From The Past Festival will be held on Friday, August 19th till August 21st in North Lawrence, OH.
Friday, August 19th: GOD Z, COLD TRUTH, JACKYL, and L.A. GUNS.
Saturday, August 20th: CRACK IN THE SKY, PAT TRAVERS BAND, MICHAEL STANLEY & THE RESONATORS, RICK RAY BAND, and THE ERIC CALES BAND.
Sunday, August 21st: STARZ, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, and ex-THREE DOG NIGHT vocalist Chuck Negron.
Retospect Records/ Sweet Sounds Music stage will be included to accommodate bands interested in playing the festival.
For more info visit this location.
0 M3 Day 1 Review – L.A. Guns
I have probably seen the Phil Lewis version of L.A. Guns more than any other band over the last four years. L.A. Guns is on the short list of bands (with Jetboy and Kix) that have played in every M3 Rock Festival. While their lineup has changed over the last couple of years, the one constant in L.A. Guns performance is that they always sound great. L.A. Guns set on Friday night was a short one. It was only 30 minutes long or so. It was not nearly enough tunes for my taste, but the band sounded great, and they blasted out a cool set list which featured the songs, “Slap In the Face”, “Sex Action”, “Never Enough”, “My Koo Ka Choo”, “Wheels of Fire”, “Electric Gypsy”, and “The Ballad of Jayne”.
Scotty Griffin who rejoined the band earlier this year rounded out the L.A. Guns lineup which featured Phil Lewis on vocals, Steve Riley on Drums, and Stacey Blades on Guitar.
I am sure many will argue, L.A. Guns isn’t L.A. Guns without Tracii, and quite frankly it is an old argument that Stacey Blades puts to rest every time I see L.A. Guns play live. He does a great job on lead guitar, and the band sounds great live. That is all that matters to my ears.
The only thing I would have changed about this set was its length, and maybe the fishnet shirt that Phill Lewis performed in. That shirt isn’t really working for you anymore Phil! Just Sayin!
Check out the L.A. Guns Photo Gallery at this link.
1 L.A. Guns M3 2011 Photo Gallery
These are just a few of the photo we took of L.A. Guns at M3. Enjoy!!
0 L.A. Guns at Rhino’s in Cincinnati, Ohio
September was a pretty grueling month at my day job, so I was quite happy to have a rock show to unwind on Friday Night. Tracii Guns brought his version of L.A. Guns to Rhino’s in Cincinnati last Friday. If you haven’t heard, Tracii has reunited with his Shrinking Violet L.A. Guns band mate Jizzy Pearl (Love/Hate, RATT).
I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect with Jizzy Pearl singing those classic L.A. Guns tunes. I have a copy of Shrinking Violet, and I thought the CD was good, but nothing earth shattering. Tracii Guns always kicks every time I see him live, but Jizzy Pearl singing with him was still new to me in a live setting.
Much to my surprise and liking, this version of L.A. Guns kicks ass! I thought Jizzy Pearl sounded great singing these songs. The band performed most of the L.A. 
Guns classics including in no special order: “Electric Gypsy”, “Bitch is Back”, “Never Enough” “Over the Edge”, “Sex Action”, “The Ballad of Jayne”, “One More Reason”, “No Mercy”, “Rip and Tear”plus two tracks off of Shrinking Violet including “Dreamtime” and “Decide”. I also got a charge out of them doing Love/Hate’s “Black Out in The Red Room”. I never got to see Love/Hate perform it live, so I loved hearing Jizzy & Company do this song. It was also the first time I have seen “Dreamtime” and “Decide” performed live. Both songs were very cool to see performed in a live setting.
The bottom line: Tracii Guns rocked, Jizzy Pearl sang great, Chad Stewart was kicking ass on the drums, and Danny Nordahl was getting it done on the bass.
I am sure the debate will continue on as far as which version of L.A. Guns is the Real or Best L.A. Guns. Both variations of the band rock in my opinion. L.A. Guns with Tracii Guns’ L.A. Guns never sounded better than they do right now!
The band will be on tour throughout the United States until the end of October. Don’t miss them if they hit your town. The remaining dates are listed below.
October 6, 2010 Columbus, Ohio Slapsy Maxie’s
October 7, 2010 Westland, Michigan The Token Lounge
October 8, 2010 Baltimore, Maryland Bourbon Street
October 9, 2010 New York, New York The Studio at Brewster Hall
October 10, 2010 Albany, New York Bogie’s
October 11, 2010 Winston-Salem, North Carolina Platinum Nightlife 
October 13, 2010 Pensacola, Florida Vinyl Music Hall
October 14, 2010 Jacksonville, Florida Brewster’s Pit
October 15, 2010 Sarasota, Florida Pastimes Pub
October 16, 2010 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Culture Room
October 20, 2010 Dardanelle, Arkansas Front Street Grill
October 21, 2010 Owensboro, Kentuky Frankie’s Sports Bar & Games
October 22, 2010 Lee’s Summit, Missouri Jerry’s Bait Shop
October 23, 2010 Wichita, Kansas Oz Cafe Concert Venue
October 27, 2010 Orangevale, California The Broadwalk
October 28, 2010 Santa Clara, California The Avalon
1 L.A Guns at the M3 Rock Festival
It is hard to believe that the M3 festival was over a week ago already. This week went so fast. One of the bands that I haven’t seen many folks talk about at M3 is L.A. Guns. L.A. Guns was the third band on the main stage at the M3 Rock Festival last weekend. I was looking forward to seeing them again. I knew that the band probably wouldn’t have any new tunes to offer live (they didn’t), but they always put on a pretty good set, and their M3 appearance was no exception. I have seen L.A. Guns at least once a year for the last four years, and they haven’t ever disappointed me. This is the band’s second appearance at M3, and first with new member, Kenny Kweens.
Kenny Kweens (ex. Beautiful Creatures) is the new bass player for L.A. Guns. I knew this guy was good, but was surprised to find that he actually added something to L.A Guns live show. Kweens is a talented player, and has a lot of energy on stage. He also has a very cool glam look that is a nice addition to the band.
It was extremely hot at the M3 Festival, and in the Pavillion area under the roof, it was even hotter. Phil Lewis came out with a long sleeve shirt and leather vest. Did someone not tell Phil it was hotter than hell in Maryland? He looked great, but I can’t even image how hot he had to be.
L.A. Guns set offered no real surprises in their set list, but they did put on a good show. I know the band gets a lot of crap with the constant feud with Tracii Guns, but honestly, I still believe that this is the one, and only version of L.A. Guns that you need to see live. Stacey Blades may not be as good as Tracii, but he does do a good job with the songs. Ironically, a tweet came over on Twitter from Tracii Guns, when L.A. Guns was on stage. Coincidence? I think not.
You can check out a couple of clips and pictures from the show below.
0 L.A Guns – Wasted (1998)
During the late 90’s, the L.A. Guns were in a constant state of change. When Phil Lewis refused to reunite with L.A. Guns, the band employed the help of current Steel Panther front man Ralph Saenz (aka Michael Starr). This little known EP features four new songs, a redo of the L.A. Guns hit, “Ballad of Jayne”, and a cover of the KISS classic, “Cold Gin”.
I have mixed feelings about this EP. For me, Phil Lewis is THE VOICE of L.A. Guns. End of story. In the years when Phil wasn’t singing in the band, L.A. Guns tried several singers, but none ever really lived up to Phil Lewis. With that being said, Ralph Saenz sounds pretty good on this EP. None of the songs on this CD are earth shattering, but it is still interesting to hear Tracii Guns play with Saenz on vocals. Tracii’s guitar work is great as always. He especially shines on the song, “Forgiving Eyes”.
The band’s redone version of “Ballad of Jayne” is a lot better than I expected it to be. It sounds like Tracii tuned his
guitar down a little for this version of song. This version is slightly different, but cool nonetheless. Saenz does a pretty good job on the vocals on this L.A. Guns classic.
The cover of the Kiss song “Cold Gin” is better than I expected it to be. Saenz cuts loose with some 80’s hard rock screams on this song. Instead of trying to do a Gene Simmons impersonation, he adds his own flair to this cover.
This CD is out of print and very hard to find. I wouldn’t consider Wasted essential, but it is an in interesting glimpse into the history of L.A. Guns. This CD is probably for Die hard L.A. Guns fans only!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Wasted
2. Well Spent
3. Heavy Head
4. Forgiving Eyes
5. Jayne 98
6. Cold Gin
L.A. Guns is:
Ralph Saenz – vocals
Tracii Guns – guitars and vocals
Johnny Crypt – bass and vocals
Steve Riley – drums
1 Classic Video – L.A. Guns – Electric Gypsy
L.A. Guns is one of the many bands that will be playing in the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, MD. Although the band’s lmembers have changed many times, the band this year features one of the stronger lineups in recent years. Long time members, Phil Lewis, Steve Riley and Stacey Blades are now joined by former Beautiful Creatures bass player Kenny Kweens.
Check out the classic L.A. Guns video “Electric Gypsy” below.
0 An Update From Phil Lewis
L.A. Guns Front man Phil Lewis posted the following update on the L.A. Guns blog:
First night we played Springfield Mo with our friends Warrant who we haven seen in ages, It was so good to see them all Jerry Joey Eric and Robert who sounds amazing and fits the band perfectly. They watched most of our set we watched all of there’s, They look happy and sounded tight. We saw the Doken guys too but they were tired and were going to be on the next two shows so we ended up partying with our pals from Warrant and what drunken food fighting fun we had. Robert had me in stitches of laughter with his Ozzy stories, Turns out he was the singer behind the curtain backstage doing all the parts that Ozzy couldn’t reach basically the whole thing, The only “Live” parts Ozzy does are the ‘Lets go crazy” and bits in between songs. His Sharon impersonation was superb. It was a fun night and I’m looking forward to seeing them all later this Summer.
Next day was St Louis with Dokken and Bret Michele’s outside in the park we went on at 4pm and the sun was beating down on us hard, Maybe the hottest show we’ve ever played, We were soaked in sweat after the first song and it just kept getting hotter, the stage was so hot that out boots were sticky and walking was like moving through molasses, We played an hour without passing out and got a great response from the huge crown looked like about eight thousand but got much bigger as the day went along. We did an amazing meet and greet after the show that lasted for hours we signed everything put in front of us and took hundreds of pictures.
Our old friend Tiny was working security for Bret, Tiny is an ex Hells angel that used to look after Stepnwolf back when Steve Riley played drums for them in the late 70s, He’s Huge with flaming red hair and a booming voice but is a total gentle giant if he likes you, He’s been a friend of the band ever since we first started touring the mid west in the 80s. Tiny told me a great story, Turns out Tiny was working security at the Rocklahoma show last year and popped into Traci and the dreadfuls dressing room to say ‘hi’ only to be rudely told to get out because he was a friend of Phil and Steves so a little hurt Tiny leaves and goes about his business, later that same afternoon he said he ran into Tracii again at the media tent where upon TG starts yelling all kinds of abuse at our old friend. Big mistake. Tiny said he got him pretty good with a backhand that sent TG flying like a rag doll across the tent, Tracii did not come back for more in fact he ran like a schoolgirl to the event security and came back two mins later with half a dozen and pointed to Tiny and sniveled thats him he’s the one that assaulted me, Second mistake. Security dude say’s hi to Tiny and informs TG that he’s part of the team! and to stop acting like a little bitch. Priceless. Unfortunately there were tons of witnesses and TG is going through with an assault legal claim that is going to cause tiny some problems due to his less that perfect record. Great Story and I would defiantly play a benefit to raise money to help with his legal cost.
Dokken went onstage after us and it was still unbearably hot but to there credit Don and the boys put on a great show and even played in there leathers, John Levin is on fire! Without doubt the flashiest guitar player out there so fast and yet soulful and interesting and Sean Mc Nab is also a world class heavyweight musician in my book , As Stacey said later those guys send us to rock school there so good. Didn’t stick around for Brets set I was exhausted and we had to be up at 4am! the next morning to fly to Cleveland
Hello Cleveland how I love to say that,even when I’m not in Cleveland! We’ve been going back there for decades now and have lots of friends there and about four of five thousand showed up to greet us at the outdoor theatre on the Flats downtown. We went on at eight, It was much cooler than the day before and coz Dokken are so cool they let us use full production and lights and let us play a 90 min set. Amazing.
The next day I’m walking thru the airport when a captain in uniform comes over and say’s Hi and goes on to tell me that he loved the show and him and his kids had a great time watching us. Amazing! The Pilot of our jet came over to ME! WOW Anyone who know me knows what respect I have for those guys so it really made my already amazing weekend even better. Next Stop Texas and then the main stage at M3. Bring it on!
Massive.
1 Hard Rock Hideout Radio Play List for 6/2/10
Do you want to hear the best new hard rock on the radio? The best new rock is at Hard Rock Hideout Radio first! Tune in to Hard Rock Hideout Radio every Wednesday night at 9 P.M. CST online at www.kacvfm.org on in Amarillo, Texas at FM 90. This week’s show featured new music from Suburban Tribe, Hellyeah, H.I.M. , Negative, Kissin’ Dynamite, Sister Sin, Jackyl, Grand Design, Pretty Maids, Rush, Raven, Masterplan, Broken Teeth, SNEW, Taddy Porter, Chris Laney, RATT and a whole lot more. Check below for the complete play list!
Hard Rock Hideout Radio Play List for 6/2/10
While The World Awaits – Suburban Tribe
Dirty Little Rock Star – The Cult
Hell of A Time – Hellyeah
Kiss Me Undead – 69 Eyes
Heartkiller – H.I.M.
The End of the Line – Negative
Midnight Mover – Accept
Addicted To Metal – Kissin’ Dynamite
Outrage – Sister Sin
Scream (Until You Like It) – W.A.S.P.
Action – Sweet
Little Willy – Sweet
Fox On The Run – Sweet
She’s Not A Drug – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
Bring You Down – Riot Brides
Air It Out – Grand Design
Little Drops of Heaven – Pretty Maids
Heat of Emotion – Zeno
Gutters of Gold – Sunstorm
Man Against The World – Eden’s Curse
Caravans – Rush
Trainwreck – Raven
Far From The End of the World – Masterplan
Viva La Rock Fantastico – Broken Teeth
Cocaine – Black Robot
Bad Lovin’ Never Felt So Good – Stonerider
Feedback & Distortion – Snew
My Moonshine – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
Deep Inside My Heart – Rock City Angels
Excitable – Def Leppard
Love So Bad – Chris Laney
Dirty Dream – Thunder
Take A Big Bite – Ratt
Never Enough – Kiss
The Wild Life – Slaughter
Ride – Dirty Skirty
Shake Me – Taddy Porter
Dirty Water – Snowblynd
Overnight Superstar – The Glitterati
Sometimes – Middle Finger Mob
Can’t Get Enough – Miss Crazy
Don’t Blame Me – Soulshake
Tattoos & Dirty Girls – Million Dollar Reload
Deeper In Darkness – Jackyl (Pick of the Week)
I Love Rock N’ Roll – L.A. Guns
0 Classic Video – L.A. Guns – Electric Gypsy
Check out the clip below of L.A. Guns performing “Electric Gypsy” Live in Philadephia, PA in 1988.
0 Frankie Banali Presents L.A. Guns and the Bulletboys / Frankie Banali & Friends
Frankie Banali Presents L.A. Guns and the Bulletboys along with a special performance by Frankie Banali & Friends – The Led Zep Set paying tribute to legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham at the Canyon Club on September 25th, 2009!
I am happy to be able to present L.A. Guns and Bulletboys for a night of “old school” rock and roll at the Canyon Club. I’ve been friends with Steve Riley and Phil Lewis of L.A. Guns and Marq Torien of Bulletboys for more years than I can remember.
I am particularly excited about performing a set of Led Zeppelin music with a group of musicians that know how to deliver this music. Joining me for the set will be Chas West (The Jason Bonham Band) on vocals, Mitch Perry (Edgar Winter Group) on guitar, Sean McNabb (Great White) on bass and Edward Harris Roth (Glenn Hughes) on keyboards.
September 25, 2009 will be the 29th Anniversary of the passing of Led Zeppelin’s mighty John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) and the Led Zep Set will be performed in his memory and dedicated in his honor.
Please come by and enjoy a great evening of music with L.A. Guns, the Bulletboys and Frankie Banali & Friends!
The Canyon Club
28912 Roadside Dr
Agoura Hills, CA 91301-3304
(818) 879-5016
1 L.A. Guns – Cocked & Loaded (Release Year – 1989)
Today (August 4th, 2009) marks the 20th anniversary of the release of L.A. Guns superb sophomore effort, Cocked & Loaded. To this listener Cocked & Loaded is easily the best release of L.A. Guns storied but troubled career.
I have listened to this CD countless times over the years, and it remains my defacto favorite from the L.A. Guns camp. Quite a bit of L.A. Guns live set comes from this disc including: “Rip & Tear”, “Sleazy Come Easy Go”, “Never Enough”, “Malaria”, and “The Ballad of Jayne”.
The great songs don’t end there. Cocked & Loaded dishes up a bunch of 
cool rockers including the kick ass opener, “Letting Go”, “17 Crash”,”Wheels of Fire” and “I Wanna Be Your Man”.
Phil Lewis has never sounded better than he did on Cocked & Loaded (although he still sings these song remarkably well today). Tracii Guns guitar work on this disc is just stupid good.
It is crazy to see what this band could do in their peak lineup. I doubt we will ever see the classic lineup of the band back together ever again. They are too busy squabbling over the L.A. Guns name instead of trying to show folks why they were one of the best bands on Sunset Strip, when they all played together.
At least we have Cocked & Loaded to keep the memories alive. This is as close to perfection as 80’s sleaze metal ever got to. A worth pick up for any hard rock fan! Highly Recommended!
You can grab dirt cheap copies of this CD at this link. It is worth every penny!
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. Letting Go
2. Slap In The Face
3. Rip And Tear
4. Sleazy Come Easy Go
5. Never Enough
6. Malaria
7. The Ballad Of Jayne
8. Magdalaine
9. Give A Little
10. I’m Addicted
11. 17 Crash
12. Showdown (Riot On Sunset)
13. Wheels Of Fire
14. I Wanna Be Your Man
L.A. Guns are:
Phil Lewis – lead vocals
Tracii Guns – lead guitar
Mick Cripps – rhythm guitar
Kelly Nickels – bass
Steve Riley – drums
0 Kenny Kweens Joins L.A. Guns
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.
6 M3 Festival Review
I must admit that I was pretty excited when I first read about the lineup for the M3 festival in Columbia, Maryland. Unlike Rock Gone Wild, and Rocklahoma, this is a one day festival, cram packed with more classic hard rock acts that you can handle in one day. There was several bands on this festival’s roster that I have not seen before, so it was a complete no-brainer. I made the trek to Columbia, MD Friday night. Sure it took roughly 8 hours each way by car, but it was well worth it, in my opinion.
The weather was perfect for the event. It was hot and sunny all day, and the crowd for M3 filled up the stands pretty quick.
Before most folks made into the festival, they were greeted by the heavy beats of Carmine Appice’s SLAMM. I only caught the tail end of their performance, but it seemed pretty cool for the most part. This wasn’t SLAMM’s scheduled set time, as they played later on in the festival. Their early performance helped to generate excitement amongst the large crowd filing into the venue.
The festival kicked off with former Guns N’ Roses and Kill for Thrills Guitarist, Gilby Clarke. Gilby’s set was short, but he fired off some of my favorite songs of his including “Tijiuana Jail“ and “Cure Me or Kill Me“. He even threw in “Be Yourself” from the Rockstar: Supernova CD. Imagine That! I never expected to hear a song from this CD again. I think Gilby handled it better than Lukas Rossi.
After Clarke’s set, I had to pick and choose which bands I wanted to see play live because several of the set times over lapped. I HATED this part of the festival. I genuinely like every band on the bill, and wanted the chance to see every band perform. This was not possible, so I had to sacrifice one band over another several times throughout the day. I don’t think this was fair to the bands, or to the fans who paid to see them.
The first choice was Y&T vs. XYZ. Y&T beat out XYZ in the battle of the alphabet bands,and rightly so. Y&T is celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2009, and I wasn’t budging from my seat. This band doesn’t know where Cincinnati, Ohio is on the map (they never play in my hometown), so I couldn’t wait to see them play. Dave Meniketti and company blasted out a rocking set of tunes that spanned over their vast career including, “Dirty Girl”, “Black Tiger”, “Mean Streak”, and “Summertime Girls”. My only complaint is that their set was too short. I would have loved to have heard some more Y&T songs. Some friends of mine were at the XYZ stage, and said XYZ put on a hell of a show as well. I guess you win some and you lose some. I enjoyed Y&T and I hope the rock gods will be kind enough to offer me another chance to see this band, when they can play a full show.
The next band dilemna after Y&T was Slaughter vs. Jetboy. I like Slaughter, but this was no competition for me at all. I immediately ran over to the second stage to check out Jetboy’s set. I got there early, and was front and center for the show.
Jetboy guitarist Billy Rowe was having some sound issues to start the show, but the crew got him fixed up pretty quickly. Jetboy rocked the crowd hard, and put on an extremely tight set of tunes. Out of all of the bands at M3, I would say Jetboy was in the top 2 as far as the performance they gave. These guys should have played on the main stage for sure. Mickey Finn’s vocals were great, and his bright green Mohawk made him one of the most photogenic rockers of the day. The whole band was on fire during this set. Fernie Rod and Billy Rowe’s playing was great. I didn’t know who to keep an eye on. Billy was blasting away on the slide guitar, and Fernie was adding in his awesome licks. Michael Butler is a pretty fun bass player to watch as well. This guy knows how to get a crowd going. New drummer Doug Hovan didn’t miss a beat. Those that hung out for Jetboy’s set got treated to some classic Jetboy tunes including “Feel The Shake”, and “Heavy Chevy”. They also a played a few new unreleased songs that were nothing short of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!. I can’t wait to see what fans reactions are when they hear these songs. Prepare to be blown away!!
Next up on the main stage was Jani Lane and his new solo band featuring Kerri Kelli from Alice Cooper on Guitar. Jani’s set consisted primarily of Warrant tunes (no surprise there), and a brand new unreleased track. Jani’s voice sounded good, as did his band. Jani has always managed to attract some pretty good guitar players, and Kerri Kelli is definitely one of the better ones. I like Jani Lane and I wanted to stay for more songs, but he is coming to my hometown in a couple of months, and I will definitely be going to see him then. I hung out for 3 or 4 songs, and ran back to stage two for the Bulletboys.
Marq Torien might be the only original member left of the Bulletboys, but this band does not rock any less. I didn’t make it over for the start of their set, but I did catch three or four of their songs before I had to depart for my Jetboy interview. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to hear “Smooth Up In Ya”, but I will definitely catch the Bulletboys on their tour with Faster Pussycat later this year.
I met up with Fernie Rod and Billy Rowe, for a really cool sit down interview, which I will post at HRH later this week. By the time our interview was done, Dokken was finishing up their set. They sounded ok from where I was standing, and I was able to catch Jon Levin wailing away on those infamous George Lynch solos.
I quickly ran back up to stage two to catch Steel Panther perform. I didn’t expect much from these guys, but you know what…. I loved their set. Their songs are a really good hair metal parody, but they are so good at what they do, you can’t help but like them. I must admit that the only songs that I knew were “Death To All But Metal” and “Fat Girl”, but I liked all of the tunes they performed. I will certainly pick up their CD when it becomes available. I couldn’t stay for Steel Panther’s entire set either, as I didn’t want to miss one minute of Kix’s set. I ran back down the hill to stage one and got there right before Kix took the Stage.
The best performance of the day, easily goes to Kix. They were absolutely fantastic. Maryland obviously has a strong appreciation for their band, and rightfully so. Kix’s excellent set included the following songs (in no certain order): “Midnight Dynamite”, “Itch”, “Get It White It’s Hot”, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” , “Cold Blood”, “Blow My Fuse”, “Girl Money” and a bunch more. Singer Steve Whiteman is every bit as good as the day he started this band. Ronnie Younkins and Brian Forsythe have to be one of the most under appreciated guitar tandems in rock today. Kix’s set was so good, they could have closed this show, and everyone would have been happy. Luckily, there was plenty of rock left on this day. I ran back up the hill to stage two to catch L.A. Guns.
This L.A. Guns is the version with Phil Lewis, Steve Riley, Scotty Griffin and Stacey Blades. The same lineup has been together for quite a few years now and sound great. Stacey Blades might not be Tracii Guns, but he is a damn good guitarist, and does a great job on these classic L.A. Guns tunes. Phil Lewis made this rock fan feel old by mentioning that 2009 was the 20th anniversary of the Cocked & Loaded CD. Good Grief…has it been 20 years already? I enjoyed their short set.
Extreme’s set over lapped with L.A. Guns so I missed the beginning of their show. I really wanted to stay for the whole Extreme set too, but the end of their set overlapped with KEEL’s. From what I could tell, Gary Cherone sounded exactly the same, and Nuno Bettencourt was amazing as always. I enjoyed the few songs that I got to hear.
I quickly ran back up the hill (are you seeing a pattern here) to catch the start of KEEL’s set. Judging from what I could tell from KEEL, I should have stayed to watch Extreme. I don’t know what the deal was, but something was missing in KEEL’s performance. I think Ron Keel may have been having some sound issues as his voice did not seem very loud in a few songs. He was using a wireless microphone, and this could have been oen of the problems. I thought his voice was a lot smoother, and no where near as coarse as it was back in the 80’s. It was this coarseness that gave KEEL such a cool metal sound, and I didn’t hear it during their set. They played songs from all of their albums which was cool, but I kept feeling like this was a phone in perfomance. Some of the songs from the KEEL set list was (in no order): “Cherry Lane”, “The Right to Rock”, “Speed Demon”, “Because The Night” and a few more. I hope I get the chance to see KEEL again. I love their music, and they definitely deserve a second chance. I had high expectations for KEEL at M3, and the band didn’t meet them.
I headed back down the hill one final time for RATT & Twisted Sister. I wanted to see Carmine Appice’s SLAMM, but I was ready to see two full sets of music before I called it a day.
RATT was up next, and they did not disappoint me. Pearcy’s voice sounded pretty good for the most part, and Warren DeMartini was awesome. He has been one of my favorite guitarists for a long time, and he did not disappoint. My seat for the main stage event was on the far right hand side of the stage, and the sight line wasn’t the greatest. I immediately realised that the rhythm guitarist was not Carlos Cavazo, but appeared to be John Corabi. His hair was a little different since the last time I saw him, and I almost didn’t recognize him. The one thing I have noticed the last couple of times that I have seen RATT is that Corabi kind of stands off to the side and lets the rest of the band do their thing. I don’t know if there is bad blood there, or what the deal is. Corabi is a terrific musician and singer, but I wonder how happy he is in RATT. Aside from that, I enjoyed RATT’s set. Their set list included: “Lay It Down”, “You’re In Love”, “Back For More”, “Wanted Man” and much to my surprise and enjoyment, “Nobody Rides For Free’ (From the Point Break Movie soundtrack).
Twisted Sister took the stage around 9:30, and immediately was experiencing sound issues. JJ French did not have any sound to start the show, and it took quite a while for the Twisted Sister crew to get him fixed up. After the inital snafu’s at the beginning of their set. Twister Sister kicked some major ass to close out the M3 festival. This was my first experience seeing Twisted Sister and a couple of things surprised me. These guys talk a lot during their shows. Dee Snider was pretty funny, but did he really need to continue to advertise his House of Hair Radio show during Twisted Sister’s set? Was JJ French’s rant about American Idol really necessary? Twisted Sister needs to play more and talk less during their shows, in my opinion. Aside from too much talking, I loved Twisted Sister. Their set was high energy, hair flinging fun, and the band really does try to put on the best show possible. Their set list included the following songs: “Under the Blade”, ‘Horror-teria”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “Burn in Hell”, “The Price”, and I Wanna Rock”. Twisted Sister’s set was a great ending to an amazing day at Merriweather Post Pavillion. I hope they make this an annual event. If they do, I will be back!!
0 Rock Gone Wild Adds Dokken, Armored Saint, L.A. Guns (with Phil Lewis), Black N Blue, Jackyl and Saving Abel!!
Rock Gone Wild, Americas newest and most diverse rock festival, announces seven new additions to its already impressive line-up. Modern rockers Saving Abel will share the stage with 80’s rock legends Dokken, LA Guns (featuring Phil Lewis), Black N Blue and the chainsaw wielding, whiskey soaked rockers from Jackyl. Sinners Sunday wouldnt be complete without an appearance from California based metal gods Armored Saint and the bad boys of the South, Texas Hippie Coalition. Rock Gone Wild is scheduled to take place August 20-23 at the Freedom Park Festival Grounds in Algona, Iowa. Tickets are available now at http://www.rockgonewild.com or by calling 1-888-677-8877. If you want to go wild this summer, Rock Gone Wild is the place to be.
With over 40 bands on two stages and campground parties going all night long, even the most insatiable rock appetite will be satisfied. Festival organizers are very excited about bringing Rock Gone Wild to the state of Iowa, and making Algona the vacation destination for rock fans across the country. Rock Gone Wild fans are able to purchase tickets at all three price levels: Platinum, VIP and General Admission. Platinum ticket holders are allowed exclusive access to the Sinners Lounge. The Sinners Lounge features buffet style lunch, dinner and nightly snacks, liquor and beer, soft drinks and water – all to enjoy in an air-conditioned tent. The Sinners Lounge is the perfect all-inclusive nightclub setting for all rock fans. Platinum ticket holders sit in the first ten rows. Only a few tickets remain at this price level. VIP ticket holders also get special Rock Gone Wild privileges.
These ticket holders will sit in rows 11-30; enjoy buffet style lunch, dinner and late night snacks, plus beer, soft drinks and water. VIP fans will enjoy their food and drink in air-conditioned tents. General Admission tickets are also available for open festival seating. For a limited time purchase three 4-day General Admission tickets and get three additional General Admission tickets free. To purchase tickets, please visit tickets.rockgonewild.com. Some of the previously announced bands performing at Rock Gone Wild 2009 include: Puddle of Mudd, Lita Ford, Saliva , Saxon, Candlebox, Warrant, Skid Row , Great White, Kix , Eve 6, Saigon Kick, Tantric, Tyketto, Hardcore Superstar, Dangerous Toys and Helix. Please check http://www.rockgonewild.com for a complete list of bands. Rock Gone Wild will be announcing more bands in the upcoming weeks. Visit http://www.rockgonewild.com for future band announcements.
Rock Gone Wild will take place at the Freedom Park festival grounds, located at 2507- 160th Avenue in Algona, Iowa.
******* IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL ROCK. *******
0 The End of the L.A. Guns War?
Blabbermouth.net is reporting the following:
A television show based on the Tracii Guns-led version of L.A. GUNS is currently being shopped to different networks. The guitarist stated in an online posting, “Our label paid to have the show made. I saw the first six episodes… fucking hilarious! Once the show is sold, then we find out the air dates, then we start marketing dollars for the release of the [group’s new studio] record, so as of now it’s a waiting game.” He added, “The name of the band will not be L.A. GUNS for this TV show and album, but we will do some nostalgia shows and festivals as L.A. GUNS… basically just having fun and playing tunes.”
Tracii Guns’ L.A. GUNS is not to be confused with the Phil Lewis-fronted group, which is also continuing to record and perform under the L.A. GUNS moniker.
The band’s new album featuring new singer Marty Casey will be released next year via Alexus Records.
Marty Casey is the former contestant on the hit CBS-TV “reality” show “Rock Star: INXS”.
1 L.A. Guns Announces 20th Anniversary Cocked & Loaded Celebration Shows
L.A. GUNS (featuring Phil Lewis, Steve Riley, Stacey Blades and Scotty Griffin) are pleased to announce the 20th anniversary celebration of their platinum record Cocked & Loaded. The band will be playing the entire record from beginning to end at selected venues starting in Tokyo, Japan on January 12, 2009, with US dates to follow.
Lead vocalist, Phil Lewis, says “It’s a great way for our younger fans to get a taste of what the sex, booze and tattoos sound
track of the late eighties was all about. We’ll be playing songs that haven’t been heard live in over a decade. I expect our older fans that were around when the record was released in the summer of ’89 will be delighted to dust off the spandex and eyeliner.”
The 65 minute set will start off with the signature opening song ‘Letting Go’ and then faithfully follow the track list of Cocked & Loaded: ‘Letting Go’, ‘Slap In The Face’, ‘Rip & Tear’, ‘Sleazy Come Easy Go’, ‘Never Enough’, ‘Malaria’, ‘The Ballad Of Jayne’, ‘Magdalaine’, ‘Give A Little’, ‘I’m Addicted’, ’17 Crash’, ‘Showdown (Riot On The Sunset)’, ‘Wheels Of Fire’, ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’.
1 Rockin’ the Waves With Warrant, Skid Row and More!
The Motley Cruise might be a thing of history, but the new Rocking the Waves Cruise, is starting to look like a mini Rocklahoma lineup. This Cruise has Skid Row, Firehouse, Trixter, L.A. Guns (Phil Lewis) and now Warrant lined up to hit the waves next March. Go to BestMusicCruises.com for more info.
0 The Classic Metal Show Interviews Tracii Guns & Faster Pussycat
The Classic Metal Show Interviewed L.A. Guns guitarist, Tracii Guns & Faster Pussycat in the same interview.
Tracii Guns offers his view on the “other” L.A. Guns, the demise of Paul Black, and what the future holds for L.A. Guns.
Check it out in the youtube clip below.
0 Rock the Bayou Update!!
Today is the last day for early bird ticket prices $99 for general admission.
After today the price for general admissions jumps to $125. Rock the Bayou will take place August 29th – September 1st in Houston, Texas
The following bands are now on the bill for Rock the Bayou:
Bud Light Stage Bands:
Alice Cooper
Bang Tango
Black ‘N Blue
Bret Michaels
Britny Fox
Broken Teeth
BulletBoys
Dangerous Toys
Dokken
Enuff Z’nuff
Faster Pussycat
FireHouse
Gilby Clarke
Great White
Jackyl
Jetboy
KIX
L.A. Guns
Lillian Axe
Lita Ford
Little Caesar
Lynch Mob
Pretty Boy Floyd
Queensryche
RATT
Sammy Hagar
Skid Row
Slaughter
Twisted Sister
Warrant
Y&T
Yngwie Malmsteen
There are also two additional stages with local and national bands;
Check out RocktheBayou.com for more information.
4 Bang Tango, L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat Concert Review, Part 2
Bang Tango, L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat came to Louisville’s Expo Five Sunday Night (7/20/08). To read about Bang Tango’s opening set, click here.
L.A. Guns featuring Tracii Guns and new singer, Marty Casey took the stage, along with new rhythm guitarist, Alec Bauer, bassist Jeremy Guns and drummer Chad Stewart. I must admit that I had low expectations for this version of L.A. Guns. I am a fan of Phil Lewis, and his band with the same name, and quite honestly, I didn’t think Tracii’s group would live up to the name. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The band opened up with the tune, Over the Edge, and played a mix set of L.A. Guns tunes, and a few cover songs. The set list in no particular order was:
Over the Edge, Rip and Tear, No Mercy, One More Reason, I Don’t Care (Brides of
Destruction), Shut the Fuck Up (Brides of Destruction), The Ballad of Jayne, Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) and You Can’t Always Get What You Want (The Rolling Stones).
With Marty Casey as the new singer of L.A. Guns, Tracii Guns has secured a very good front man for his band. Marty Casey put on a very energetic show, and did an admirable job on the L.A. Guns classic tunes. There was a song or two where the rest of the band provided a great deal of vocals, but for the most part, Casey handled the tunes with ease, and sounded pretty good. Casey joined L.A. Guns back in June, and he already seems at home with the band.
It has been a long time since I have seen Tracii Guns play live, and I believe that I have under estimated the amazing talent that he is. His guitar playing was way over the top Sunday night. Check out the solos in the eight minute Rip and Tear video, and you will see what I mean. Total awesome playing! I was very impressed with his guitar work all night.
Jeremy Guns, the bass player for L.A. Guns, took over the vocals for the Brides of Destruction tune, Shut the Fuck Up. He did a pretty good job. I was glad to hear some Brides tunes.
As a whole, Tracii’s L.A. Guns were better than ever. They put on a better show than the Phil Lewis led L.A. Guns did, the last couple of times that I saw them.
I still prefer Phil’s vocals to Marty’s, but I believe Tracii’s L.A. Guns band is a the better of the two now. This show made me a fan of The Tracii Guns faction, and I will certainly give them the support they deserve. I am now looking forward to their new album that is due later this year. I highly recommend checking them out if they come to your town.
Stop back tomorrow, for our part 3 of our review on Faster Pussycat. Until then, I hope you enjoy the videos below.
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
7 L.A. Guns vs. L.A. Guns
Sooner or later, it will be time for one of the two L.A. Guns bands to take a stand, and fight for their name.
As you may or may not know, there are two L.A. Guns. One with Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley.
The second is with guitarist Tracii Guns, and singer Marty Casey (from the CBS show, Rockstar).
Recent footage turned up online with Marty Casey singing the L.A. Guns hit, The Ballad of Jayne.
This version is with Phil Lewis singing from a show I attended in the summer of 2007.
Steve Riley and Tracii Guns have a 50% ownership in the name, but in my opinion, only one band sounds 100% like L.A. Guns.
Which band deserves the name? You decide!
Tell us what you think!
6 The New Voice of L.A. Guns?
Blabbermouth is reporting that the Tracii Guns version of L.A. Guns has a new singer……
The rock ‘n’ roll band L.A. GUNS, featuring guitarist Tracii Guns, has some big news heading into its Summer Blackout Tour 2008.
The band will be hitting the road this month with a couple of new members on board. In addition to Tracii Guns on lead guitar, Jeremy Guns will be on bass along with Chad Stewart on drums, and the group has enlisted new rhythm guitar player Alec “Big Al” Bauer, who has been touring with L.A. GUNS since 2007.
Marty Casey, the “new blonde guy,” as the band has affectionately referred to him on its web site, is the new voice of L.A. GUNS. Casey gained recognition as a vocalist along with millions of fans during his run on the hit CBS show “Rock Star: INXS”. He was also instrumental in writing and creating new material on the upcoming L.A. GUNS album.
The boys of L.A. GUNS have another “big gun” in their pocket. The band is currently in Canada recording its new album with multi-Grammy-Award-winning producer Steve Thompson. Tracii describes the CD by saying, “This definitely will not be your father’s L.A. GUNS.” He adds that and the music is “slightly more advanced” and the lyrics are “more introspective without losing the fun nature of our rock ‘n’ roll.”
L.A. GUNS is currently signed to Alexus Records. Look for these guys on tour this summer with FASTER PUSSYCAT and BANG TANGO as they blaze a trail through a city near you.
Upcoming L.A. GUNS shows:
Jun. 27 – Green Bay, WI @ Club Toxic
Jun. 28 – Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, Canada @ Runway Park
Jul. 03 – San Juan, Puerto Rico @ Hard Rock Live
Jul. 05 – Sarasota, FL @ Muscle Fairgrounds
Jul. 10 – Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma
Jul. 11 – Dallas, TX @ Firewater Outdoors
Jul. 12 – Boerne, TX @ South Texas Rock Fest.
Jul. 13 – Houston, TX @ Meridian
Jul. 14 – Texarkana, AR @ Shooters Sports Bar
Jul. 17 – Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
Jul. 18 – Johnson City, TN @ Nashville Station
Jul. 19 – Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Jul. 23 – Schaumburg, IL @ Chicago City Limits
Jul. 24 – Green Bay, WI @ Club Toxic
Jul. 25 – St. Paul, MN @ Station 4
2 The South Texas Rock Fest is Heating Up!
JETBOY, and ROCKARMA are the lastest acts confirmed for the South Texas Rock Fest, which runs from July 11th – 13th at the Javelina Harley Davidson Festival Grounds in Boerne, TX. They will join Britny Fox, Hellstar and Snakeskin Prison on the second stage.
The running order for the Main Stage is as follows:
Friday, July 11
QUEENSRYCHE – 10:00 PM
DOKKEN – 8:30 PM
SKID ROW – 7:00 PM
BULLET BOYS – 5:30 PM
PRETTY BOY FLOYD – 4:30 PM
HOUSE OF LORDS – 3:15 PM
AXE – 2:15
Saturday, July 12
TESLA – 10:00 PM
Y&T – 8:30 PM
STEPHEN PEARCY OF RATT – 7:00 PM
UFO – 5:30 PM
FASTER PUSSYCAT – 4:15 PM
L.A. GUNS – 3:10 PM
BANG TANGO – 2:05 PM
ZERO HOUR – 1:00 PM
MAD MARGRITT – 11:55 AM
Sunday, July 13
JACKYL – 8:30 PM
FIREHOUSE – 7:00 PM
HELIX – 5:30 PM
THE GODZ – 4:00 PM
OZZ KNOZZ – 2:30 PM
JOKESTER – 1:15 PM
4 Helstar and Snake Skin Prison Join South Texas Rock Fest
South Texas Rock Fest – HELSTAR, SNAKE SKIN PRISON Confirmed For New Second Stage
HELSTAR and SNAKE SKIN PRISON are the lastest acts confirmed for the South Texas Rock Fest, which runs from July 11th – 13th at the Javelina Harley Davidson Festival Grounds in Boerne, TX. Both acts are confirmed for the new Second Stage.
Organizers comment: “Due to the overwhelming response on the South Texas Rock Fest, we have decided to bring in a second stage and give all indie and up and coming bands the opportunity to play!”
The running order for the Main Stage is as follows:
Friday, July 11
QUEENSRYCHE – 10:00 PM
DOKKEN – 8:30 PM
SKID ROW – 7:00 PM
BULLET BOYS – 5:30 PM
PRETTY BOY FLOYD – 4:30 PM
HOUSE OF LORDS – 3:15 PM
AXE – 2:15
Saturday, July 12
TESLA – 10:00 PM
Y&T – 8:30 PM
STEPHEN PEARCY OF RATT – 7:00 PM
UFO – 5:30 PM
FASTER PUSSY CAT – 4:15 PM
LA GUNS – 3:10 PM
BANG TANGO – 2:05 PM
ZERO HOUR – 1:00 PM
MAD MARGRITT – 11:55 AM
Sunday, July 13
JACKYL – 8:30 PM
FIREHOUSE – 7:00 PM
HELIX – 5:30 PM
THE GODZ – 4:00 PM
OZZ KNOZZ – 2:30 PM
JOKESTER – 1:15 PM
For more info click here.
0 Dokken returns to Rocklahoma
DOKKEN are confirmed to perform at Rocklahoma 2008 which is taking place July 10th – 13th in Pryor, Oklahoma – they will perform on the 10th.
Rocklahoma’s lineup on the Main Stage is now as follows:
Thursday, July 10th: (Pre Party for those who have bought three day tickets) BRET MICHAELS, SEBASTIAN BACH, DOKKEN, L.A. GUNS featuring Tracii Guns, ENUFF Z’ NUFF, VAIN, HOUSE OF LORDS and JET BOY.
Friday, July 11th: TRIUMPH, EXTREME, LITA FORD, NIGHT RANGER, LIVING COLOUR, KINGDOM COME, ARMORED SAINT, XYZ.
Saturday, July 12th: CINDERELLA, WARRANT, KIX, LYNCH MOB, TRIXTER, BLACK N BLUE, TORA TORA, EVERY MOTHER’S NIGHTMARE, PRETTY BOY FLOYD
Sunday, July 13tth: TESLA, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, ZEBRA, AXE and three more acts tba.
Two side stages adjacent to the main stage feature over twenty-eight regional artists on each stage.
The Retrospect Records stage includes the following bands: JESTER, SIDEKIXX, PAIR-A-DICE, FRONT RUNNER, TOMMY HAD A VISION, VALOR, GYPSY BLUE, WHITEFOXX, BLUE TIGER, WILD AUGUST, MESSANG, PAUL SHORTINO, MARIAH, WARRYOR, BAD CANDY, LORRAINE, NASTY NASTY, REAL STEEL, CUTTLASS, VYPER, MASS, BAD CANDY, ONEY, STRIKEFORCE, HERAZZ, RECKLESS, HEARTLESS, RON KEEL, WARRYOR and ALIBI.
On the Tri-Label Group stage has: ASPHALT VALENTINE, AZRAEL’S BANE, BONESHAKER, COCKPIT, DANGEROUS INC., DEATHRIDERS (NEIL TURBIN), DIRTY PENNY, DRIVE A, EXIT 27, GODS OF KANSAS, GYPSY PISTOLEROS, KARNEVIL (DARIO LORINA), KRUCIBLE (featuring Lance King), LIPSTICK MAGAZINE, MINDFLOW, ODIN, ORDER OF NINE, POWND, SACRED DAWN, SEX DPT., SHADOWSIDE, SWEET F.A., THE JAKALS, TEXAS HIPPIE COALITION, WARMACHINE.
Courtesy of Bravewords.com
18 My Take on Rocklahoma 2008!
Is Rocklahoma 2008 a big music nostalgia fest? Absolutely! Would I want to attend? Yes, without question.
Many of the bands in this 4 day music extravaganza haven’t released any new tunes in years. Would I still want to see them perform? No question about it.
Here is the Thursday Lineup:
LA Guns featuring Tracii Guns
Enuff Z’Nuff
Vain
House of Lords
Jet Boy
Bret Michaels (headliner)
Enuff Z’Nuff
Vain
House of Lords
Jet Boy
Bret Michaels (headliner)
Looking at the list of acts above, this lineup may not excite a lot of people, but I would still like to see it. I love Tracii Guns, but I make no bones about it, that I prefer the Phil Lewis version of this band. I wouldn’t go out of my way to see their set.
Chip Z’Nuff mentioned in the Rocklahoma that a new Enuff Z’nuff album is on the way with Jake E. Lee on guitar. I am not sure if Jake E. Lee will be with them at Rocklahoma, but if so, this is a show not to be missed.
I haven’t ever seen Vain live, but I have heard a lot of good things about them. I would be happy to check them out.
House of Lords is still putting out new music, and has a new CD that will hit stores in a couple of weeks. Their last album, World Upside Down was quite good. James Christian is a very good singer, and the band features the talent of axe slinger Jimi Bell. Count me in!
I had the pleasure of seeing Jetboy live in Columbus (See this article for the concert review with videos). The band was excellent alive. I wouldn’t miss this their set for anything.
Tracii Guns mentioned in the Rocklahoma press conference that he hated opening for these guys, as they used to blow him off the stage. Jetboy was originally signed to MCA, and as with most acts on that label, never got the proper support they deserved. They are going to open up a lot of eyes at Rocklahoma.
Bret Michaels mentioned at the press conference that this will be a big show with pyro etc when he closes out on Thursday night. It sounds as if he wants to make this every bit of fun as a Poison show. He also mentioned that a special area will be set up where you can meet him in person, get an autograph, and a picture, and talk music with him. With Rock of Love being the #1 show on cable televison, there will be a lot of people waiting in line to meet Bret, without question. I don’t know much of his solo music, so I can’t say if his solo set is something I would want to check out. I will likely check out his solo disc that is supposed to hit in June.
Strangely enough, most of the bands on the Friday schedule, I have not seen live. For them to all be on the same bill together is quite cool. I wouldn’t want to miss one band on the Friday night line up.
Friday:
XYZ
Armored Saint
Kingdom Come
Night Ranger
TBA
Triumph
Extreme
XYZ
Armored Saint
Kingdom Come
Night Ranger
TBA
Triumph
Extreme
XYZ was quite similar to Dokken. Terry Ilous said that this will be the first time the band has played together is several years. It should be an interesting set, and it will good to hear some of their tunes again.
Armored Saint is easily the heaviest band on the main stage for the entire 4 day event, and is a no miss act, in my opinion. Their CD, Symbol of Salvation, is still one of my favorites.
Kingdom Come always took a lot of crap for being a Led Zeppelin clone when they first came out. Nonetheless I like their first two CD’s, but I haven’t cared for their more recent material. I am not sure what the lineup will be for this show. I am guessing it will be Lenny Wolf and a bunch of hired hands. I will have to see what I can find out on this one. I have low expectations for this part of the show.
There are plenty of Night Ranger songs that I have enjoyed over the years. They put out a new CD in 2007, which I still haven’t checked out yet. Jack Blades, Brad Gillis and Kelly Keagy are a very talented group. I wouldn’t dare miss this set.
Triumph and Extreme are co-headlining Friday night. This is one of the few appearances that Triumph is making
in 2008. Rik Emmett always puts on a good show. I wouldn’t miss this for anything.
Extreme is back together again with Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt, and Pat Badger. They are working on new
material for a 2008 release. I would be happy to see Nuno play live, in any capacity. I am glad to see him return to the band that made him famous.
There is also one band that has not been announced for Friday. I am not sure who this will be, but the lineup is already a solid one.
The Saturday Lineup has a lot of question marks for me, but could turn out to be a solid day of rock.
Saturday:
Pretty Boy Floyd
Every Mothers Nightmare
Tora Tora
Black N Blue
Trixter
Kix
Warrant featuring Jani Lane
Cinderella
Pretty Boy Floyd
Every Mothers Nightmare
Tora Tora
Black N Blue
Trixter
Kix
Warrant featuring Jani Lane
Cinderella
My understanding is that Pretty Boy Floyd has completely reunited. This isn’t the watered down version of the band that Steve Summers has been on the road with. If so, then this would be kind of cool to see.
Every Mother’s Nightmare is a complete wild card. The singer, Rick Ruhl, and drummer Jim Phipps are the only remaining members. I like their bluesy Memphis rock, and would like to check them out.
Tora Tora on the other hand is a complete band reunion. I love their two CD’s Surprise Attack, and Wild America.
I have seen them live but it has easily been 18 years ago. They were great then, so I would imagine a solid show by this group. Hopefully their unreleased CD will see the light of day after this.
I never had the opportunity to see Black N’ Blue live, but I have all of their CD’s and would certainly want to check them out. Jamie St. James was pretty good on the last Warrant CD. I don’t know what the lineup will be for this show, but I doubt that Tommy Thayer will be part of it. Gene Simmons owns him now.
I have to admit that I have never been a Trixter fan. I always looked at this band as the New Kids on the Block
with guitars. I thought their music was a little thin back in the day, and seeing them live won’t change my opinion.
I have always liked Kix, and I have seen them live a few times. I have also seen Steve Whiteman’s other band,
Funny Money (which sounds exactly like Kix). It would be cool to hear some Kix tunes live again.
I saw Jani Lane solo in 2007, and he sounded great. I am happy that Warrant is back together again in a full reunion. I have seen them live a few times, and they always put on a good show.
Cinderella is also a band that has always put on an excellent show, each and every time I have seen them. Tom Keifer’s voice is the only thing that is a question mark about this show. The band has been off for a couple of years so I am hopeful that Tom’s voice is back to full strength.
The Sunday lineup is interesting, especially with two times slots still opened. One of these slots is heavily rumored to be Motley Crue. I am not sure of the other one, but wouldn’t be shocked to see Danger Danger get the other slot.
Sunday:
Axe
Beautiful Creatures
Zebra
Lynch Mob
TBA
Tesla
TBA
Axe
Beautiful Creatures
Zebra
Lynch Mob
TBA
Tesla
TBA
I doubt a lot of people are going to know Axe. I know the band, but I wouldn’t go out of my to see them play live. I like their tune Rock and Roll Party In the Streets, but that is about it.
Beautiful Creatures have released a couple of CD’s in this decade which is more than a lot of the bands in this music festival can say. Seeing them on the roster has me getting out my CD’s by them again. I would certainly want to check them out.
Zebra is a darkhorse in this lineup. I haven’t seen them live, but I am quite familiar with their music. This could be a good show.
Lynch Mob now features Oni Logan on vocals, Marco Mendoza on bass, Tommy Aldridge on drums, and of course George Lynch on guitar. I saw half of this band perform with Whitesnake, and would love to see this lineup in action. Tommy Aldridge is an animal on the drums, and George Lynch needs no introductions. I am interested in hearing his new Scorpion Tales album, but this is a Scorpions cover album. This is quite odd, considering that he hasn’t ever been in the band.
Tesla is the must see band on the Sunday bill. I have seen Tesla twice in the last year, and they were excellent both times. They will easily be the best band on the Sunday lineup (amongst those that have been announced so far.)
The side stages at Rocklahoma has a bunch of darkhorses, and bands that may surprise you.
The lineups look like this:
The Retrospect Records stage includes the following bands: Jester, Sidekixx, air-A-Dice, Front Runner, Tommy Had a Vision, Valor, Gypsy Blue, Whitefoxx, Blue Tiger, Wild August, Messang, Paul Shortino, Mariah, Warryor, Bad Candy,
Lorraine, Nasty Nasty, Real Steel, Cuttlass, Vyper, Mass, Bad Candy, Oney, Strikeforce, Herazz, Reckless, Heartless, Ron Keel, Warryor and Alibi.
I am not familar with most of the bands on the Retrospect stage, aside from: Mariah, Mass, Paul Shortino, Ron Keel, Nasty Nasty and Strikeforce. I would certainly like to
check out some of these acts, although none of these were bands were ever considered A-Listers.
The other stage has Texas Hippie Coalition, Karnevil featuring Dario Lorina, Dirty Penny, Crooked X, Gypsy Pistoleros, Sweet FA, Banshee, Gods of Kansas, Lipstick Magazine, Pownd, Shadowside, Mindflow, Warmachine, Asphalt Valentine, and Krucible featuring Lance King.
The interesting thing about Stage 3 is most of these are all up and coming bands.18 year old Dario Lorina is an amazing guitar player. Look him up on you tube and watch this kid play. He is very good. Karnevil is his new band. I don’t know much about them, but with Lorina on the six string, they will be interesting.
Dirty Penny is one of the better new glam bands out there. They aren’t very original, but their new CD is pretty good.
The Gypsy Pistoleros close out Friday Night on stage three, and they are the must see band in Rocklahoma. The Flamenco twist on their upbeat glam tunes is certainly one that I would like to see.
Sweet FA is the late 80’s/early 90’s hard rock band that reunited in 2007. Their new CD, The Lost Tapes is quite good. I have seen this band live, and I know they are pretty good.
Banshee is another must see band on stage three. They are one of the heavier acts on this stage. If you haven’t heard any of their music, I recommend checking them out. They will surprise you for sure.
Gods of Kansas is a newer band that is starting to make some waves. They are currently playing a bunch of live shows all over the U.S.
Pownd is a newer heavy metal band that is located 2.5 hours down the road from me in Richmond, Kentucky.
Their newest CD is highly rated across the web. I will be reviewing this one soon.
Shadowside and Asphalt Valentine are two of Chavis Records newer bands. Shadowside has one cd out, and one
on the way. Asphalt Valentine is a hard rocking band from Atlanta, GA. Their debut will be released within
the next couple of months. (I will also be checking them out locally in two weeks).
I don’t know the other acts on this stage (Crooked X, Lipstick Magazine, Mindflow, Warmachine, and Krucible) but I will be exploring these bands in the months to come.
As a whole….Rocklahoma offers plenty of Nostalgia, but also a slew of NEW bands trying to make it in the music world. The addition of two more stages in 2008 greatly improves this event over the 2007 show.
I can only hope that I will be able to make the trek there for this show. I can’t imagine missing this event!
29 South Texas Rock Festival 2008
Can’t make it to Rocklahoma….Do you live in Texas?
Another 80’s Rock Festival is taking place July 11th – 13th, 2008.
Nikita Productions, Miller Lite and Harley-Davidson will presenting the South Texas Rock Fest on July 11-13 at the Javelina Harley-Davidson Festival grounds. The lineup is as follows:
Friday, July 11: QUEENSRŸCHE
Y&T
SKID ROW
PRETTY BOY FLOYD
Y&T
SKID ROW
PRETTY BOY FLOYD
Saturday, July 12:
DOKKEN
FASTER PUSSYCAT
BIG COCK
L.A. GUNS
MAD MARGRITT
FASTER PUSSYCAT
BIG COCK
L.A. GUNS
MAD MARGRITT
Sunday, July 13:
FIREHOUSE
GODZ
HELIX
OZZ KNOZZ
More information as soon as it comes! The website isn’t up and running yet, but the address is www.southerntexasrockfest.com
