When this album came out I bought it immediately. Well, as soon as it was made available by Columbia House music club, that is. I remember that I described it to a work friend named Mark as “raw bluesy shit”, and I still stand by that three word description. With an emphasis on raw. For 1989, this kind of production was unheard of. You can hear everything on this album, you can hear Jake’s fingers talking. Very little embellishment going on here.
Badlands were almost a supergroup of sorts: Ray Gillen (ex-Black Sabbath), Jake E. Lee (ex Ozzy Osbourne), Eric Singer (also ex-Black Sabbath, now in Kiss) and Greg Chaisson (ex-nobody significant). Jake had always complained he didn’t have an outlet to play the blues in Ozzy’s band, so this is his version of the blues, and it’s hard as hell! The band also had a vision of an album with two sides: a first harder rocking side, and a second bluesier side with longer songs.
“High Wire” kicks Badlands off with Jake’s raw, stripped back guitar sound. Producer Paul O’Neill (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) was also managing Badlands, and his production work here is completely different from the layers that he is better known for. The effects are stipped back, and Jake’s guitar is very different from The Ultimate Sin. A groovy exciting track, “High Wire” is driven by the riff and Gillen’s authoritative Coverdale-esque lead vocals.
The single “Dreams In The Dark” is next, the closest thing to a commercial song that this album gets. It has a strong chorus, instantly memorable, but you’ll be forgiven for thinking this is a Whitesnake outtake at first. A brief instrumental precedes my favourite song, “Winter’s Call”. It is as close is you’ll get to a ballad on this album, and only because its intro is slow and acoustic. However once that first riff kicks in, there’s no looking back. Eric Singer’s drum patterns are complex and hard hitting. The song itself is atmospheric and still kicks my ass all these years later. It’s infectious, like an old Zeppelin number. I hear sitar!
A pair of rockers finish side one, “Dancing On The Edge” (an accelerated raw rocker with a great chorus) and “Streets Cry Freedom” a steamy, slower tune like a classic Coverdale prowl. Both songs are standouts.
Side two starts with a serious rocker, “Hard Driver”, but from there it is on to the long, slower bluesy numbers that the band talked about. “Rumblin’ Train” is the bluesiest number, and “Devil’s Stomp” is as heavy as the title implies. “Seasons” is a slow moody one, brilliantly dramatic thanks to Gillen’s emotive vocal. The cassette/CD bonus track was called “Ball & Chain” and it finishes the album on a another hard bluesy note. (Yes, back then when they couldn’t fit all the songs on an LP, they’d still include it on the cassette version and call it a “bonus track”.)
Badlands made a couple more albums, but this one is my favourite. Martin Popoff himself rates this one a 10/10. I gotta agree with the man on this one. On a 5 scale…
“Mikey,” said Trevor one afternoon, “I’m talking to you as a friend. I know you don’t want to stay single forever. I’m only try to help you out, but…that style you’re rocking just isn’t working man.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. I thought I was actually dressed pretty cool.
shorts n’ docs
“Well,” Trevor continued, “You’re wearing Doc Marten boots with shorts and a Deep Purple T-shirt. It’s like you’re wearing three looks at once. What you need to do is focus on one look and go with it.”
I was shell-shocked. My Doc Marten boots were the bomb! Deep Purple rules!
“But the boots and shorts are kind of grunge, right? And that’s cool.” My counterargument was sound.
“Yeah but the Deep Purple shirt isn’t grunge. You see? Trust me Mikey. I’m just trying to look out for you. I’ll take you shopping, and after that, you re going to get tons of action!”
Tons of action! Right on. I’m in, T-Rev, say no more man!
True to his word, that Saturday, T-Rev picked me up and took me to the mall. And shop we did. Apparently Hawaiian was in. I picked up a Hawiian shirt and this cool burgundy velvety shirt. I also picked up a couple T-shirts to wear underneath, and a beaded necklace which also was apparently in at the time. That night, Trevor’s lovely then-girlfriend now-wife Michelle threw him a birthday party and I was able to give the burgundy shirt a test-run in a social environment. While I did not see any “action”, the feedback was positive. I have to say that I rocked the look really well and received numerous compliments.
Unfortunately, this kicked off a shirt addiction. Yes, you read that correctly. I had a flirtation with shirt addiction that lasted a couple years. Next I bought an expensive black shirt with cool ridges at a place called Caesar’s Closet in Cambridge. Then another burgundy shirt, even more velvety. Then a black one with sparkles in it. (That was my favourite, it later got recycled into my Paul Stanley Halloween costume.) Two with flames. One with guitars. One with dice. One that was shiny like a foil-wrapped baked potato, and many many more. My bosses may have thought I’d lost my mind, as I showed up at the record store in more and more outlandish shirts. I ended up with at least two dozen in my collection.
When I wore the silver baked potato shirt to work one day, one of my bosses was nearly blinded by it. “Mike! That’s a shirt for clubbing!” Well, probably, but working in a record store gave me a certain amount of leeway that other jobs didn’t have. I guess I wanted to have fun while I was young!
My “shirts phase” lasted a couple years before it finally faded away. The obsession was excessive though. One cottage weekend I packed 7 shirts for a 2 day stay. By the end of it, I had even written a movie outline for a horror comedy film titled “The Shirt”. The premise:
A cursed Hawaiian shirt finds its way into a clueless vacationer’s luggage. The shirt kills those who wear it by strangulation; it can also possess the minds of those it has an affinity for. Putting on the shirt could get you killed, or possessed — or both! The evil shirt’s only weakness is bleach.
I’m hoping to get James Franco interested in playing the main character, the guy who makes it to the end of the movie.
Surprisingly few photos remain of my expansive shirt collection. Perhaps that is a good thing.
MoreSHIRTS at mikeladano.com:
Record Store Tales Part 86: Captain Gold Shirt
Here’s a leftover fromTHE WEEK OF SINGLES!Each day from November 18-22 we looked at recent single acquisitions. This review didn’t make the series as intended, but it’s still pretty rare with cool exclusives!
TESLA – “Edison’s Medicine” (1991 Geffen CD single)
It wasn’t that long ago that we had a look at Tesla’s damn good Psychotic Supper CD. We also reviewed the CD single for “Call It What You Want” and its non-album B-sides. I recently acquired the first single from Psychotic Supper, “Edison’s Medicine”. This one has two album tracks and two non-album covers. What makes this single a little more special than “Call It What You Want” is that these two B-sides have never been re-released on anything else, to my knowledge.
The A-side itself is one of the best tunes Tesla’s recorded to date. In my own review for the album, I stated that Tesla were “taking their love of Nikola Tesla to the Nth degree…What an incredible song. I still remember seeing the music video, and being blown away by the solos. Not only are there guitar solos, but Frank Hannon torments the theremin, before he slips on a bass and plays a bass solo too!”
“Had Enough”, the other album track on this single is equally heavy to “Edison’s Medicine”. It’s not as riveting melodically, but it burns rubber pretty hot. I’m quite fond of the song myself, even though in the grand scheme of things it wouldn’t make my own Tesla road CD. It’s just bubbling under, but it does cook!
Covers are always a tricky thing. You have to pick the right song, and you have to pull it off. Tesla chose the Montrose classic “Rock the Nation”. They definitely picked an appropriate song, as it fits in with the overall Tesla sound. They did a solid, workmanlike version of “Rock the Nation”, but it lacks the piercing, instantaneous charisma of the original. The drums are a tad too thuddy for my tastes, and as good a singer as Jeff Keith is, Sammy Hagar owns this one. Still, there’s nothing really wrong with it, it’s just not as special as it could have been. It sounds like it was knocked off as a quick B-side to record, and I’m sure that was the case.
I won’t act all cool as if I knew who Jo Jo Gunne are. I have never heard of Jo Jo Gunne. Apparently they were ex-members of Spirit, which also spawned Randy California. “Run Run Run” was a hit for them in 1972. I gave the original song a listen, and I can say that Tesla’s version is pretty authentic if a little bit harder. Who doesn’t love some great “Oooh, oooh, oooh” vocals? I sure do. That, and the catchy dual guitar melody (straight out of the Lizzy cookbook) make this one a keeper.
I paid £2.00 for this on Discogs. I consider that a good buy.
NINE INCH NAILS – broken (1992 Interscope EP) / halo five
I remember seeing this in my local HMV store in 1992. I thought, “Nine Inch Nails have cool packaging,” because you didn’t see too many digipacks back then. It’s cooler than just that though, with three panels unfolding in a “T” shape each with a letter on it. “n”…”i”…”n”…
Gotta give Trent Reznor credit for packaging, he usually has very striking and original concepts for his discs. Also cool how the packaging for broken nicely complements the remix album fixed once both are bought. broken technically qualifies as an EP I guess, or a mini-album maybe, even though it is longer than most classic Van Halen albums.
There is a version of broken out there that was once considered one of the Holy Grails of Nine Inch Nails collectibles. I guess the advent of eBay made it much easier to get, because eBay has one as of this writing for $12, free shipping, VG condition. It is a 2 CD version, with the two “hidden” tracks on a separate 3″ CD enclosed within the digipack. This was supposedly discontinued because unscrupulous store owners were taking out the bonus CD and selling it separately. Or so goes the legend. I think cost would also have been a factor in discontinuing the bonus CD. On re-releases like I own, the bonus tracks are included as #98 and #99, with 91 tracks of 1 second silences preceding them.
“Pinion” serves as a brief intro to “Wish” and they are always presented together. This serves to intensify the mighty “Wish”, the heaviest song released by Nine Inch Nails up to the time. What sounds like a blowtorch punctuates a frantic drum rhythm. This progresses into a mélange of bizarre sounds, shredding guitars and a sledgehammer riff. “Last” follows, a slower more relentless riff. At times its the industrial version of “Sad But True”, but with a synthpop style chorus. Reznor maintains his angry snarl throughout, bitching about whatever he’s bitching about. “Pigs” are referenced, he sounds upset, angry, sad…aww!
“Help Me I Am In Hell” is one of the coolest tracks, a quiet two-minute guitar n’ noise respite. It sounds a lot like some of the quieter moments that would later come on The Downward Spiral (a genius album if there ever was one). Then, “Happiness in Slavery” serves as a barrage to the noggin’, Trent yelling stuff about slaves screaming in a distorted voice. There are some cool, ascending metal-y guitar licks and another synthpop chorus. If I had to guess, I’d say the lyrics are a thinly veiled discourse on getting screwed by your record label, as Trent was at the time.
The final song of this batch of tracks is “Gave Up”, another fast metallic song. It’s hard to discern the melodies from it, such is the distortion of the track. It does have a bad-ass keyboard solo though. Trent sounds like he’s singing on a broken tape deck and the guitars sound like they’re on the same cassette too. It’s my least favourite song on the EP, although I remember it had a cool “live” style music video with Marilyn Manson on guitar.
After 91 tracks of silence (a quaint-oh-so 90’s gimmick that I sidestepped by not ripping them) are the bonus cover songs. “Physical (You’re So)” is an Adam and the Ants tune, morphed into something that sounds like a cross between Nine Inch Nails and Motley Crue. This is a great track. Among the best on the album. There are jackhammer sounds, plenty of distortion and unidentifiable but cool sounds. “Suck” is a Pigface cover (from Gub) that Trent originally sang and co-wrote anyway. It has a powerful chorus and riff much like the rest of broken, but the verses (pun intended) kind of suck. That funky bassline…it’s not my thing, I guess.
One weird thing. I don’t know where it came from, but I somehow got a booklet for a Japanese version of broken. I found it inside my copy…I must have found it laying around at the store. Kinda neat to have, I can’t read a word of it, but cool. My CD appears to just be the regular single disc US release otherwise.
There’s been some Van Hagar bashing recently here at mikeladano.com. First there was this, and then this…some strong language here and there as well. Seems that “Hagar Bashing” has been a hobby for me for a long time. Witness this nearly decade old record store journal entry that I found.
Date: 2004/08/26 10:03
Someone should pass a law preventing Sammy Hagar from singing any old classic DLR tunes. “I got my ass against the record machine”??? Fuck you Sammy, go drink your tequila.
I kind of like that, I wish I’d worked that into my Best of Both Worlds review. “Fuck you Sammy, go drink your tequila!” I’m sure that would be considered a very professional review! Speaking of which, apparently I wasn’t too impressed with a review that I read in Bass Guitar magazine, judging by the journal entry below.
Date: 2004/08/25 00:25
I hate reading an article in a magazine, and realizing I could have done a better job than the guy who gets paid all that cash for being in a big glossy. I am reading a bass magazine, and there’s an article on Van Halen. They’re talking about how consistent Michael Anthony’s sound and style has been, and continues to be on the three new songs.
Well, if the writer had bothered doing any checking, he would have seen that Anthony doesn’t play bass on the three new songs. He in fact has nothing to do with the new album whatsoever. I would have known that, not made a mistake in the article, and in addition asked Anthony about it in the interview! I could have done a better job than this pro…and I wouldn’t even ask for a dime!
And I still haven’t made a dime! Goal achieved.
Legend has it that Sammy Hagar liked this song even though Thelonious Monster meant it to be insulting.
The month of Movember is upon us again, men allowing fur to gather on their upper lips. Some say it is to raise money for testicular cancer research. Some say it is a rite of passage. One way or another, Movember is now intertwined with rock and roll. Long gone faces such as Frank Zappa, John Bonham, and Phil Lynott are remembered fondly. The Guys want us all to remember together.
It’s not the first time. A couple years ago, The Guys brought out the excellent “Man With A Moustache”. It’s a catchy 80’s sounding synthpop-rock tune. It’s hard not to smile at its catchy chorus and wired guitars. It’s irresistible actually. Having sampled their tunage extensively on their website, I can’t say it’s indicative of their sound in general, which varies wildly all over the 1980’s. But you have to be the judge yourself of this talented creative force.
But ya know…The Guys have something new out this Movember. This kind of thing is categorized as a “parody”; I don’t consider it a parody. I consider it a tribute. I consider it a testament to Phil Lynott and moustaches everywhere from coast to coast of this glorious nation and beyond. That song is “The Stache Is Back In Town”. I hope I don’t need to explain this to you, but it’s a cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town” off Jailbreak, by Thin Lizzy.
You can hear it for yourselves, but I think The Guys did a damn fine job of this song. They even call out one of the greatest ‘staches of all television history: Thomas Magnum. That’s right. Thomas Magnus aka Magnum P.I. aka Tom Selleck! Lead vocalist Thomas Love (known to his friends as Marko Fox) explained it to me: “Grooming is essential for success…as a moustache can make anything better. It is not a coincidence that both Thomas Magnum and Jonathan Higgins both had killer staches.”
You can’t argue with that.
I hope “The Stache Is Back In Town” remains a Movember classic for years to come. While I did not participate in Movember this year, you can support the cause here: http://ca.movember.com/ Men’s health is an important issue, but Movember lets us take it a little more lightly. The Guys have the Movember spirit, and I applaud them.
6/5 stars
The Guys: THOMAS LOVE – Vocals, Drums, Percussion & Keys JOHNNY KIKX – Vocals, Guitars & Keys BARRY FUSE – Guitars, Bass, Keys & Vocals RICK DANIELS – Bass, Keys & Vocals
Guess What Just Grew Back Again A Hairy Lip That’s Made To Win Went From Being A 2 To A 10 Just Because It’s Movember
Thomas Magnum Posters On Every Girl’s Wall All You Babyfaced Boys Get Ready To Fall I Hear The Rock That Is Our Party Call So Let The Mo’ Ruckus Begin
THE STACHE IS BACK IN TOWN
Spread The Aftershave Around Turn Up That Hairy Sound
No Shaving Cream To Be Found…
You Know That Chick That Turned You Down A Lot? Every Night She Be Laughing, Blowing You Off But Now Man She Be Staring, She Be Red Hot The Hairy Lip’s Got Her Steaming
The Radio’s Playing Our Favourite Song Called “Man With A Moustache” And It Won’t Be Long Till All The Ladies Will Want Me To Take Them Home They Want To Watch Me Shave It In
I was watching the Pepsi Power Hour one afternoon in the 10th grade when they debuted the first video from Quebec metallers Sword — a song called “F.T.W.” My best friend Bob and I were both watching that day, and we got into the song big time. I was recording and we went back and played the video two or three more times. Later on, lead throat Rick Hughes was in the MuchMusic studio live, and explained that some people thought that “F.T.W.” stood for something else; the chorus of of the song goes “Follow the Wheels”. The song is about bikers, but some assumed the song “F.T.W.” stood for “Fuck the World”. I discovered this first hand when I scrawled the Sword logo on my Math notebook, along with the initials F.T.W. The kid behind me didn’t believe me when I told him I meant it as “Follow the Wheels”.
We were blown away by “F.T.W.”, a galloping metal song with gritty vocals. Bob and I agreed that Rick Hughes had the power and grit of a guy like Dee Snider, but the music was borderline thrash metal. A couple years later, when I signed up for Columbia House music club, I ordered the album Metalized on cassette. It was every bit as heavy as “F.T.W.” and then some. It seemed to lie somewhere between W.A.S.P. or Anvil and Megadeth. It was on the heavier side of music that appealed to me but I gave the album a shot. (That is, until the cassette got eaten. Capitol Records were issuing some of the worst quality cassette tapes in Canada in the 1980’s and Metalized was one more victim.)
The second single was a track called “Stoned Again”. Hughes clarified on Much that the lyrics are not meant to promote drug use, which I was relieved to learn. Either way it takes the tempo back from breakneck for a bit, instead throwing in a heavy groove. “Stoned Again” was every bit as great as “F.T.W.,” and perhaps a bit forward thinking. A few years later, Pantera would be eating up and chewing out songs like “Stoned Again” at a furious pace.
The rest of the album stands up. It’s a bit singular in direction, the songs suffering from a certain sameness. The production is echo-y and typical of many albums of this period. The rest of the music is virtually all up-tempo, with vicious vocals and biting riffs. Each song is executed expertly, the guys were not slouches on their instruments, and Hughes could let loose some chandelier-shattering screams. On “Outta Control” he’s Ian Gillan during the Sabbath phase! Another highlight is “Runaway” which features a cool Maiden-esque intro riff and a decent chorus.
“Pee away, buddy!” – Dave Mustaine
Metalized is an enjoyable but non-essential romp through the tundra of heavy Canadian metal. Our winters may be cold but this Sword was clearly forged in fire.
TESTAMENT – Signs of Chaos: The Best of Testament (1997 Mayhem)
I bought this in the winter of 1997. I hadn’t listened to Testament in a few years. I’d bought The Ritual album in 1992, but they kind of lost me post-Skolnick, when they went hell-bent for death metal. Therefore the idea of a good, remastered single disc compilation album covering the entire career was appealing to me. All the key tracks that I wanted were here, including two incredible B-sides!
Shortly after The Ritual came out, singer Chuck Billy denounced it as too soft, too commercial, and not the direction he and Eric Peterson wanted to take the band in the future. Regardless of this, the single “Electric Crown” was chosen to kick off Signs of Chaos (including the brief instrumental intro, “Signs of Chaos”. I’ve always felt it was superior to a couple of its chief rival songs at the time: “Enter Sandman” and “Symphony of Destruction”. You be the judge. I think I have a strong case.
As I delved into the disc I found that I was very hit-and-miss with Testament’s earlier material. For example “The New Order”, the title track from their 1988 album. I find it thin production-wise, and melodically a bit awkward. It’s hard-hitting and thrashy as fuck, but strangely enough I prefer the earlier track “Alone in the Dark” from 1987’s The Legacy. Not only does it boast a stomping riff, but also a chorus that sticks to the head.
“Dog Faced Gods” introduced me to the Testament world of blast-beats and death metal growls. This was from the first post-Skolnick album, Low. Now Peterson and Billy had the chance to indulge their heaviest urges, and they did a fantastic job. Featuring the stellar drum talents of John Tempesta (currently in The Cult), this is Testament brought to a whole new level. While death metal growls are not normally my bag, Billy sings in a “normal” voice during the cool chorus. As for the rest of the song, it is a precise complex of drum fills, lightning-fast guitar licks, time changes and riffs.
If you thought “Dog Faced Gods” was heavy, then “Demonic Refusal” might very well blow you out of your seat. The followup album to Low was called Demonic and it took things further out to the boundaries. Gene Hoglan on drums this time, “Demonic Refusal” is even more evil and scary. It still boasts a head-crushing riff and has a strangely catchy quality to the vocal. Chuck Billy convinced me on these songs that he is a diverse, talented thrash metal singer among the best in the genre.
“The Ballad” from the landmark 1989 album Practice What You Preach was about as close as Testament got to a hit single. The timing was right, seeing as Metallica had success with “One” the year before. Even though it is clearly a ballad (albeit a heavy one), the song has balls and metal fans had no problem embracing it. To me it seems to be based on a prototype of some of Iron Maiden’s softer material. The album Souls of Black, which followed Practice, was considered little more than a rushed carbon copy followup. That may be the case, but either way the song “Souls of Black” is still as catchy as ever. Skolnick’s fluttery licks are a highlight, as is Chuck Billy’s groovy lead vocal.
I find it funny that “Trial By Fire” is listed as a CD-only bonus track. I guess this album must have been released on cassette too in 1997. “Trial By Fire” isn’t one of the best songs in my books, but it does contain more outstanding Skolnick guitar shreddery. A brief word about Alex Skolnick for those who don’t know: He was one of Joe Satriani’s students, and he’s also well known for playing jazz fusion on the side. In fact he left Testament initially to enable him to explore that kind of style. His tone is really warm, and you can feel the vacuum tubes humming in a vintage amp when he plays.
Another uber-heavy song, “Low” from the album of the same name, is just as good and memorable as “Dog Faced Gods”. The Low album featured one of the most respected guitarists in the death metal genre, James Murphy (Death). Murphy’s chops helped bring Testament closer to that line between thrash and death, while maintaining the virtuosity that the band had with Alex Skolnick.
“Practice What You Preach” and “Over the Wall” provide a double-punch of early Testament heavy metal. To me, “Over the Wall” is not an outstanding song. It’s good for a head-bang and has a killer solo, but it’s not particularly special. “Practice What You Preach” on the other hand nails it. Testament were crossing groove and thrash metal together successfully, before Metallica painted it Black. “Practice” remains one of their highest achievements from the early years.
I mentioned earlier that Souls of Black was considered by many to be little more than a second generation copy of Practice. This extended to putting out another ballad. “The Legacy” was one of their earlier compositions, polished up for Souls of Black. While it’s the lesser known song, I think I prefer it to “The Ballad”. The production seems a little more full, although the two songs are very similar. As far as ballads go, I don’t think either song holds a candle to the next track. “Return to Serenity” from The Ritual is a beautiful song, with gorgeous guitar tones. It’s a less dark than the other two songs, and lyrically discussing those special places that you may have had as a child, and returning to serenity. I would put “Return to Serenity” up against virtually any similar Metallica song, and I believe it would blow them away. While both bands have a lead guitar player that was taught by Joe Satriani, I believe Alex Skolnick to be on a completely different level from other guitar players in this genre.
“Perilous Nation” is a plenty-good thrash party, but again this is listed as a CD only bonus track. I just find that amusing on an album released in 1997. The CD ends with two smoking covers: “The Sails of Charon” (Scorpions) and “Draw the Line” (Aerosmith)! We all know Testament are huge Aerosmith fans, since they covered “Nobody’s Fault” earlier. Both are absolutely incredible covers and alone worth the price of the CD. “Draw the Line”, already a manic-fast song, is give a dose of Liquid Schwartz in the ol’ engine. I defy you to refrain from banging your head. What an awesome song to end the CD on, and this review on!
I never forgot this one, but I’ll let my journal tell the story from the perspective of “then”…
Date: 2004/08/12 21:36
Today sucked ass.
First of all, they installed this router at work, so we can’t use anything but the 10 sites they prescribe. Everything else is off limits. So, no more Google at work. Fuckers.
OH! By the way, I’m in a real bad mood.
This girl comes in. Friend of Matt’s. She’s a totally unpleasant human being. She wanted to exchange a Deftones import she bought a month ago. [The CD was Deftones Live (1998) which was pretty rare.] Our exchange policy is seven days, it says so on the receipt. We’ll stretch it to 14 without a hassle, but not over a month, even if you’re the friggin’ Pope.
She gave me a real hard time about this. I’m thinking, “what, you live in Asia? You can’t get here, or even call here, within seven days? You bought a CD you didn’t like, so suck it up. You even previewed it before you bought it (don’t think I forgot that tried it out, at length, in the store beforehand), and you still bought it. THEN you decided you didn’t like it. Fuck you.” That’s what I’m thinking. What I’m saying is something completely different, about how I can’t really accept a return after this length of time under these circumstances.
She said, “Do you treat everyone this way?”
Yes, I treat everyone the same: by the fucking rules. I don’t give anyone special treatment, especially when they try to push me around, like you are doing.
You know, I’m getting so pissed, I can’t even finish.
I can finish now, though. I remember the very next thing she said was, “When is Matt working?” In other words, I’ll return this CD when my friend is working, not you. I explained to her that Matt wouldn’t exchange the CD, because I was Matt’s boss. She was with her mom, and even her mom told her to drop it and accept the situation.
I also remember that she never came in again, which in my view was a good thing. She rarely bought anything that she didn’t return, and she made us run around like chickens with our heads cut off, serving her Royal Majesty. Yeah, I didn’t miss her at all. In fact I even pre-emptively went to my bosses and said, “If you get a phone call complaining about me, this is what happened.” I explained what I did and why I did it and for once, they actually took my side.
Her Royal Majesty was just reason #10,137 for me to move on from retail.
QUIET RIOT has “amicably” parted ways with singer Scott Vokoun and has replaced him with LOVE/HATE vocalist Jizzy Pearl. Pearl will make his live debut with QUIET RIOT on New Year’s Eve (December 31) in Flagstaff, Arizona. QUIET RIOT is currently in the recording studio with Jizzy in preparation for the release of a new album in early 2014.
mikeladano.com 