Tag: Y&T
0 Y&T Takes Over Southern California on the 40th Anniversary Tour
It’s been 40 years strong and Y&T has had their share of trials, but on the 2014 World Tour, Dave Meniketti shows that what started as a ground breaking effort four-decades ago continues to be the leader in what makes American Hard Rock the legendary sound fans clamor to witness live on stage. Y&T has pulled out all the stops and is packing venues across the USA and around the world!
With the scheduled dates shown on the band’s website at www.yandtrocks.com, the band has performed over 600 shows in all the prime locations major market rock bands have performed in the past decade, including the past three Monster’s of Rock Cruises, and they continue to sell albums from their recorded history with 28 releases and nearly half a dozen DVD’s showcasing what makes the band’s music a fan favorite in the hard rock genre. Songs penned by the band have been placed in film; national commercial spots and they continue to play on FM radio and across the Internet on a vast array of rock stations that keep Y&T in rotation year after year. So one may ask, how does a band classified as “hair metal” continue to thrive in today’s pop driven market? The answer is revealed in the band’s 40-year history.
In 1974, an Oakland, California based cover band rearranged their line-up and put pen to paper to write original material that spoke of rock and roll interests and featured hard driving guitar licks, straight forward drum beats and lyrical content that fans could sing along to as the band performed. It’s true, rock and roll existed and the band wasn’t re-inventing the wheel – but Y&T were driving that wheel harder and faster. The result would eventually sign the band to A&M Records where Y&T would produce 8 anthemic hard rock albums that would secure their name as a cornerstone in the market that would later bring out bands including Motley Crue, Cinderella, Skid Row and even Metallica! It’s a proven fact, written in black and white; throngs of successful hard rock artists cite Y&T as an inspiration that led them to write and perform the music they do, offering that Y&T paved the way for the So-Cal hard rock explosion … from far up north in Oakland, CA a decade earlier than bands like Guns n’ Roses, Bon Jovi and Poisonstarted popping up on MTV.
Re-launching the 2014 tour after a two week reprieve, Y&T took the stage at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, CA just before9:00pm announcing to the audience that they were granted a full two hours to perform and would be extending their live set to accommodate the time allotment. Opening the show with a recorded track of ripping guitar leads as the lights went down, the band walked on stage to a thundering applause. Interacting on a personal level from the stage with stories from behind the music and an extreme showing of gratitude to fans that have supported the continued success of the band since their inception, Dave Menikettiand the band even spent well over an hour after the show meeting fans and taking photos, signing albums and CDs and reminiscing with fans that told their favorite stories from seeing the band perform over the years.
The band’s line-up since the untimely passing of founding bassist Phil Kennemore in 2011 has included Dave Meniketti (Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar), John Nymann (Rhythm Guitar and Backing Vocals), Brad Lang (Bass Guitar and Backing Vocals) and Mike Vanderhule (Drums/Percussion and Backing Vocals). On stage during the May 8th show, the band offered a 20-song set that covered their musical history, as follows:
01. Open Fire (1982)
02. Mean Streak (1983)
03. Lipstick And Leather (1984)
04. Don’t Stop Running (1984)
05. Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (1990)
06. Dirty Girl (1981)
07. Midnight In Tokyo (1983)
08. Black Tiger (1982)
09. Winds Of Change (1982)
10. I’m Coming Home (2010)
11. Eyes Of A Stranger (1987)
12. I Want Your Money (2010)
13. Contagious (1987)
14. I’ll Cry For You (1987)
15. Rock & Roll’s Gonna Save The World (1984)
16. Rescue Me (1981)
17. Summertime Girls (1985)
18. I Believe In You (1981)
Encore:
19. Barroom Boogie (1982)
20. Forever (1982)
Upcoming tour dates for Y&T’s 2014 world tour as well as the incredible 2013 Box-Set release titled “Earthquake,” featuring nearly 70 songs from the band’s illustrious career can be found online at www.yandtrocks.com.
Review and Photos courtesy of Joe Dolan.
0 Y&T Announces 2014 Tour Dates
Details for each of the shows below are on the Tour Dates page of the Y & T web site.
http://www.meniketti.com/tourdates.html
2014
January 4 ~ Lahaina, Maui, HI – Hard Rock Café Maui
January 10 ~ Tokyo, Japan – Kawasaki Rock City 2014 @ Club Citta’…..Y&T 40th Anniversary Special Show
January 11 ~ Tokyo, Japan – Kawasaki Rock City 2014 @ Club Citta’ + Winger & Firehouse
January 12 ~ Tokyo, Japan – Kawasaki Rock City 2014 @ Club Citta’ + Winger & Firehouse
January 13 ~ Osaka, Japan – Namba Rock City 2014 @ Namba Hatch + Winger
January 31 ~ Modesto – Fat Cat Music House
February 1 ~ Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
February 28 ~ Fresno, CA – Tower Theatre
March 1 ~ San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brewing Co
March 8 ~ San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
March 14 ~ Las Vegas, NV – Vamp’d
March 15 ~ Tempe, AZ – 93.3 KDKB’s Mike Gaube’s HEADBANGERS 3-Year Anniversary Show outside @ 910 Live
March 20 ~ Dallas, TX – Trees
March 21~ San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
March 22 ~ Houston, TX – Concert Pub North
March 29 – April 2 ~ Monsters of Rock Cruise
April 4 ~ Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
April 5 ~ New York, NY – Stage 48
April 6 ~ Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall–Sold Out
April 7 ~ Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
April 8 ~ Cranston, RI – 1150 Oak Bar & Grill
April 11 ~ Etobicoke, Canada – The Rockpile West
April 12 ~ Toronto, Canada – The Rockpile East
April 13 ~ Akron, NY – Braun’s Concert Cove
April 16 ~ Pittsburgh, PA – Deadhorse Cantina & Music Hall
April 17 ~ Akron, OH – The Rock Factory
April 18 ~ Flint, MI – The Machine Shop
April 19 ~ Bolingbrook, IL – Tailgaters
April 21 ~ Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon
June 4-7 ~ Solvesborg, Sweden – Sweden Rock Festival….actual show date to come
Schedule subject to change. Be sure to verify with each venue.
Check the web site Tour Dates page for the most up-to-date concert information.
2 NEW Y&T Live CD “Live At the Mystic” Available Now!
Y&T’s new Live at the Mystic CD is now available. This very special direct-to-the-fans 2-disc set was recorded at one of the most popular venues that Y&T play every year–The Mystic Theatre–and it marks the very first release with Brad. This 2-CD set includes 22 songs recorded over 2 nights in November of 2011, including many songs never before released on any other live Y&T CD. The amazing heat to the tracks showcases the power of the band as it currently sounds. This screams out to be a classic Y&T CD to have in your collection. Available direct-to-the-fans, exclusively on the Y&T web site (available on iTunes, etc, soon).
http://store.meniketti.com/
0 Y&T’s Black Tiger Album Remembered in New iPad/iPhone App
Y&T’s Black Tiger album remembered in new iPad/iPhone app
Finally on the map with their scorching first album for A&M (Earthshaker was their third overall), California’s Y&T were ready to strike with their classic fourth record, 1982’s Black Tiger.
Thirty years on, a new app for iPad and iPhone tells the story of how Black Tiger was made – in singer and lead guitarist Dave Meniketti’s own words. The app is available now in the iTunes store:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app//id517634433?mt=8
The app includes extensive audio of Meniketti describing how Black Tiger was recorded (at Ridge Farm studio in England) – including his comments on the album’s tracks and on touring with AC/DC in 1982.
The app has lots of images from 1982 – including photos of the Black Tiger recording sessions from Meniketti’s personal collection.
The app’s author is Canadian rock and metal writer Martin Popoff, who draws on three recorded interviews he did with Meniketti. Popoff also penned a new review of Black Tiger for the app, and an essay in which he argues that Y&T were a kick-ass NWOBHM band who, through no fault of their own, happened to be from San Francisco.
0 Stampede to support Y&T on upcoming 2011 UK tour
Cult NWOBHM legends STAMPEDE have announced that they are to support Californian rockers Y&T this autumn on the UK leg of their ‘On With the Show’ tour, as part of their 2011 schedule.
The announcement comes after what has already been a busy comeback year for the British hard rockers whose lineup still boasts original songwriting duo Reuben and Laurence Archer and bassist Colin Bond. The band will be touring in support of their new studio album ‘A Sudden Impulse’ which was released in May on Rock Candy Records to critical acclaim, having already played a successful comeback show at The Peel in Kingston and supported legendary metallers Anvil in London earlier this summer.
Stampede are set to kick off their tour in Newcastle on 30th September, and have confirmed they will play 5 dates across the UK with Y&T before finishing with an appearance at the Hard Rock Hell IV Festival in Prestatyn, Wales.
They are also in the process of writing new material for another new studio album scheduled for 2012.
Tour dates are as follows:
- September 30 – o2 Academy, Newcastle (w/ Y&T)
- October 2 – Academy 3, Manchester (w/Y&T)
- October 11 – The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton (w/ Y&T)
- October 12 – The Brook, Southampton (w/ Y&T)
- October 14 – The Garage, London (w/Y&T)
- December 3 – Hard Rock Hell V, Prestatyn, Wales
For more news head to www.facebook.com/stampederock or www.stampederock.com
0 UFO Lands on Monsters of Rock Cruise
The Monsters of Rock Cruise announced the addition of UFO to their star studded lineup which includes Cinderella, Tesla, Kix, Keel, Stryper, Lynch Mob, Y&T, Firehouse, Faster Pussycat, XYZ, Bang Tango, Black N’ Blue, Eric Martin and Jon Corabi.
The Monsters of Rock departs Fort Lauderdale on February 25th, 2012. For more info, please visit, MonstersofRockCruise.com
0 A Y&T Update; New Bass Player Announced
Y&T officially announces Brad Lang joining the band on bass guitar. Those who have witnessed Brad’s infectious energy on stages around the world during last year’s Facemelter tour–as he so graciously subbed for Phil–know how much he brings to the band. Thank you all for so warmly welcoming Brad.
Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 7 at 11PM, as that’s the airdate of Dave Meniketti”s episode on Season 7 of That Metal Show on VH1-Classic. Set your DVR, and then come out to Y&T’s Fillmore show that night.
0 Dave Meniketti to Appear on THAT METAL SHOW, New Y&T Dates!
Since the TV show’s inception, Eddie Trunk has been lobbying VH1 to have Dave Meniketti on as a guest. Eddie’s years of efforts have paid off, as Dave will be on Season 7 of That Metal Show on VH1-Classic. Dave’s episode tapes early March and airs on Saturday, April 9th.
Y&T has also announced a few new tour dates. Check below for more info:
US
March 31 ~ Agoura Hills, CA – Canyon Club
April 1 ~ Redondo Beach, CA – Brixton
April 2 ~ Santa Ana, CA – Galaxy Theatre (all ages show)
May 7 ~ San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore . . . plus special guest Kip Winger (all ages show)
August 27 ~ Fresno, CA – Tower Theatre (all ages show)
Details for each of the shows below are on the TOUR DATES page of the Y&T web site.
http://www.meniketti.com/tourdates.html
4 Phil Kennemore Tribute Video
Frontiers Records have put together a very cool tribute video to Y&T’s Phil Kennemore. This song is “I’m Coming Home” from Y & T’s latest album, Facemelter.
Check it out!
9 Rest in Peace Phil Kennemore (October 20, 1953 – January 7th, 2011)
Y&T guitarist/vocalist Dave Meniketti has released the following message:
“It is with profound sadness and disbelief that I tell you that my best buddy for 37 years passed away this morning, January 7th, 2011 at 1 AM at Stanford Hospital. Bravely and steadfastly battling the horrible spectacle of lung cancer, at the end he was surrounded by his family members, and the Y&T family up until his final breath.
All the beautiful things that I could say about my buddy Phil could never be summed up in a short sentence or two, and I promise that I will be back to say so much more about how I feel about him and his talents in due time. But for now, at 3 AM, after just having returned home from his passing, let me at least put this out there.
Phil Kennemore was not only a sweet and passionate man with his life, friends and family, but as an artist, he also had that rare ability to say what was on his mind with the most eloquent, clever, and to-the-point lyrics, yet could turn it on it’s head in a second with some other viewpoint on reality and nail the point dead center. He was able to do what very few can – say the things that others have been thinking, but could never quite seem to put into words. He has always had a keen knack for doing that.
As a musician, with those huge fingers, his bass playing was always loud, strong, and deep, filling the largest or smallest of stages equally.
He had an amazingly strong life force that has influenced everyone who ever had the opportunity to be called a friend of his. I am forever grateful for our lifelong friendship, that was always in place throughout the worst and best of times. I will miss his sense of humor, his amazing wit, but most of all I will always miss not seeing him to my left on the stages I will play from this moment forward.
Yes, he was one of the class guys on this planet, and in this business, and I will always do what I can to spread the legacy of Phil Kennemore across the globe on every stage that I land on.
You know how much I love you Phil, and you knew how much your fans and fellow musicians loved and respected you. There was nothing left unsaid. You had a rich and wonderful life and I can only tell you that I was happy to have been alongside you every step of the glorious way.
Cheers to you, Phil.
Your friend forever, Dave.”
Phil Kennemore – October 20, 1953 – January 7th, 2011
Hard Rock Hideout would like to offer our condolences to the Kennemore Family and Friends. Rock on Phil! You will be missed!
1 Rock Stars Unite for New Year’s Eve Cancer Benefit Concert In Benefit For Bassist PHIL KENNEMORE Of Y&T
NEW YEAR’S EVE @ THE AVALON in SANTA CLARA, CA
GEOFF TATE, DON DOKKEN, CHUCK BILLY, JIMMY DEGRASSO, RON KEEL AND MANY MORE!
A parade of Rockstars are coming together to support beloved bassist, Phil Kennemore, founding member of Northern California’s legendary rockers Y&T,
Kennemore was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer while on tour this last summer. Having recorded and toured the world relentlessly since 1974, Kennemore has dedicated his life to making millions of people happy with his music. Now, he needs your help.
Due to the overwhelming medical bills, Y&T’s lead singer and best mate, Dave Meniketti, started the “Phil Kennemore Fund” to help Phil with his bills. This New Year’s concert is the ultimate fund-raiser for a friend who has made such a positive impact on the music scene.
This concert is an allstar line up of many of Kennemore’s friends from bands such as Queensryche, Dokken, RATT, Black Sabbath, DIO, Alice Cooper, Testament, and Y&T all donating their time to perform on New Year’s Eve. This is a must-see concert and is going to rock!
The lineup for the all star extravaganza is as follows:
- · Geoff Tate (Queensryche)
- · Don Dokken (Dokken)
- · Bobby Blotzer (RATT)
- · Vinny Appice (DIO, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell)
- · Sean McNabb (Dokken, Montrose)
- · Loren Gold (Roger Daltrey)
- · Chuck Billy (Testament)
- · Paul Bostaph (Testament, Slayer)
- · Jimmy DeGrasso (Alice Cooper)
- · Joey Alves
- · Leonard Haze
- · Ron Keel
- · Greg Kihn
- · …and more (see www.YandTRocks.com for updates)
The show will take place at the Avalon (777 Lawrence Expressway. Santa Clara, CA), a 1000+ capacity venue which Y&T has performed at several times on New Year’s Eve over the past five years. The club, like the performers, has generously volunteered to donate 100% of the ticket proceeds directly to Phil.
The doors open at 8:00PM. Tickets are $75. For further information, call the Avalon at 408.241.0777 or visit www.YandTRocks.com.
2 Y&T – Facemelter (2010)
The return of 80s metal icons Y&T with a brand new album is something that had most fans salivating. After not releasing a new record since the 1990s, everyone was curious to see what the band could do in the studio. Their brand new record, Facemelter, is up for a tough test. Can a hard rock band that’s been silent from new material for more than a decade still deliver the goods? Dave Meniketti and company went into the studio to find out.
Facemelter starts out with a lot of promise. Although the intro “Prelude, On With The Show”, sounds like a rip off of Motley Crue’s “God Bless The Children Of The Beast”, the song “On With The Show” rocks hard and starts the record off right. Blazing guitar riffs combined with superb vocals by Meniketti solidify “On With The Show” as a spectacular album opener.
Classic 80s metal saturates Facemelter. Every song has either a large helping of 80s metal style, or at least a touch of the classic metal feel. “Shine On” is an example of 80s rock recaptured. This song sounds like it could have (and maybe should have) come out in 1989. Starting with a sweet, slow Meniketti riff, the drums build until Shine On explodes in classic guitar solos, hot vocals, and heavy rock. This is one of the strongest songs on the record, even if it feels a little dated.
Despite stealing Foreigner’s signature riff (RE: “Hot Blooded”), “Hot Shot” is another great Facemelter track. The song opens with the “Hot Blooded” riff (albeit slightly altered) and then bleeds into a more Y&T type of sound. Singing about women, rock and roll, and having a drinking good time, Hot Shot is a classic, sleazy, sexual innuendo that makes older listeners yearn for the glory days of yesteryear.
“Gonna Go Blind” is the most entertaining track on Facemelter. A tongue-in-cheek ode to sexual fantasy and self pleasuring, “Gonna Go Blind” is a humorous track with a hard rock backdrop. Meniketti sings about how a certain leisure activity will make him go blind. He never says what that activity is, but he doesn’t need to. The listener is intelligent enough to figure out by the end of the first verse. He’s gonna go blind because he does it all the time.
Overall, Facemelter fails to live up to the test of being a blistering hard rock record. It’s not that this is a bad album, just not a fantastic one. There are moments of greatness on this album and a couple of the songs will even cause a smile, a fist in the air, and a head bang. Overall though, Facemelter lacks the punch that one would expect from a heavy metal record.
While the stronger songs definitely stand out (“Shine On”, “Gonna Go Blind”), there is also unfortunately too much filler (“I Want Your Money”, “Blind Patriot”) to help set this record apart from the massive amount of music that is currently available. If you are a fan of 80s metal, or Y&T, then you should pick up a copy of Facemelter. If you’re looking for some innovative hard rock to bang your head to for hours at end, don’t bother. Facemelter is an album that may end up collecting dust after a few spins.
Rating: 
Out of 10
Track Listing:
- Prelude, On With The Show
- On With The Show
- How Long
- Shine On
- I Want Your Money
- Wild Child
- I’m Coming Home
- If You Want Me
- Hot Shot
- Blind Patriot
- Don’t Bring Me Down
- Gonna Go Blind
- One Life
- Losing My Mind
Y&T Is:
Dave Meniketti – Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals
Phil Kennemore – Bass Guitar
John Nymann – Guitar
Mike Vanderhule – Drums
0 ICARUS WITCH To Open For Y&T 2010 Summer Tour
Pittsburgh rockers ICARUS WITCH have been confirmed to open for Y&T’s upcoming July/August 2010 tour! Long-time rock icons Y&T will be touring in support of Facemelter, their first studio album in 13 years on Frontiers Records. ICARUS WITCH will continue promoting their recent release, Draw Down The Moon, this time with former Dirty Looks guitarist/backing vocalist, Christopher Shaner as the new frontman and DiAnno guitarist, Ed Skero on 2nd lead guitar.
“It’s a good thing we didn’t unpack out bags from the Paul DiAnno tour yet because we just got word from Brian Perera at Cleopatra Records that ICARUS WITCH is confirmed to tour America once again” states ICARUS WITCH bassist Jason Myers. “This July & August we will be crisscrossing the country opening for one of our all-time favorite bands, Y&T! Their classics like ‘Mean Streak,’ ‘Midnight In Tokyo,’ ‘Forever,’ ‘Don’t Stop Runnin’ and ‘Summertime Girls’ have always been the perfect soundtrack to summer partying. Now we’ll get to hear them played at full volume in a different city every night after warming up the crowds. See you on the road!”
Having become somewhat of a buzz band on the underground rock circuit for years, ICARUS WITCH have received recent praise from widely recognized music icons such as comedian/actor, Brian Posehn, That Metal Show’s Don Jamieson and more. ICARUS WITCH’s album Draw Down The Moon is now available for a limited time to stream in its entirety at: http://www.myspace.com/icaruswitch.
Upcoming ICARUS WITCH live appearances:
5/28/2010 Hard Rock Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Lizzy Borden
6/16/2010 Fate Lounge – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Winger
6/24/2010 Blondie’s – Detroit, MI
6/26/2010 Warriors of Metal III Open Air Fest – Chillicothe, OH w/ Cage, Omen, Dantesco, Imagika, + more
ICARUS WITCH No Rest For The Witches Tour 2010 w/ Y&T
7/16/2010 Roseland Theater – Portland, OR
7/17/2010 Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
7/21/2010 The Roadhouse – Dacona, CO
7/24/2010 *TBA
7/28/2010 Steel Mill – Martins Ferry, OH
8/04/2010 Hard Rock Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA
8/05/2010 Sterling Rock Room – Allentown, PA
8/06/2010 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
8/07/2010 BB King’s – New York, NY
8/08/2010 Jaxx – Springfield, VA
8/11/2010 Zeros Hard Rock Club – Corpus Christi, TX
8/13/2010 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
8/14/2010 Backstage Live – San Antonio, TX
8/15/2010 Zen-Meister Bar – El Paso, TX
9/21/2010 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH w/ Kamelot, Leaves Eyes
“It will take you back to a time when metal ruled the world” – Music Street Journal
“heavy, mystical, haunting & visceral” – Metal Crypt
“Few do it as well as ICARUS WITCH” – Dangerdog.com
“Raise your metal horns high” – Connections Mag
http://www.icaruswitch.com
http://www.myspace.com/icaruswitch
http://www.cleorecs.com
1 Hard Rock Hideout Radio On The Air Tonight!!
Want to hear the best new rock from RATT, Danko Jones, Broken Teeth, SNEW, Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia, Y&T and Masterplan (featuring the return of Jorn Lande!!!) ? Tune in to the Hard Rock Hideout Radio show tonight at 9 P.M. CST (10 P.M. EST) on KACV’s Cutting Edge, FM 90.
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 New Y&T Album in 2009?!
California rockers Y&T have issued the following:
“Happy holidays to our fans around the world, from all of us in Y&T! We loved spending our busiest year so far this decade with those of you who came to the 2008 shows, talked with us in person, and communicated with us online through our forum. We care what you have to say and love hearing from you. We never forget or take for granted that the success of the shows we do each year are in large part made possible because of the dedication of you great fans who come out to see our shows every year. As long as you keep coming, we’ll keep playing.
We want to give a very special thanks to those who work so hard for us in front of and behind the scenes each and every year. Our great crew – Tom, Chrys, Rolf, and our amazing manager Jill. You keep us moving forward and running smoothly, ensuring we always come across the best we can. We’re blessed with your hard work, dedication, great talents, class, and most of all–your friendship.
And now we look ahead to 2009, which is to be a banner year for Y&T. Not only will it be our 35th year anniversary as a band, but we will be starting the year out by immediately getting into the studio to write for the first new original material Y&T record in over a decade. And depending on our tour schedule, and with any luck, we will be shooting for a late 2009 release.
We look forward to kicking some serious ass and sharing this upcoming monumental year with as many of you as we can, as we head back out to tour around the world again.
Thanks, again, for an amazing year!”
Courtesy of Bravewords.com
0 New Video – F5 – The Reckoning
F5 featuring Jimmy Degrasso (Y&T) on Drums, and Dave Ellefson (Megadeth) on bass, have released a new video, “The Reckoning”. This is the title track on F5’s new CD, The Reckoning, which is in stores now.
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.
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.
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
