The second part of the Vinnie Vincent Invasion interview by Erica Ehm, from MuchMusic’s Pepsi Power Hour, September 1987. Dana, Vinnie and Bobby speak. Mark makes faces.
“Why is there so much heavy metal in L.A.?” is the question.
VHS Archives #2: Hear N’ Aid Special – Pepsi Power Hour (1986)
The one VHS tape I’m working on currently spans a period of recordings from about July 1986 to September 1987. This Hear N’ Aid special features a MuchMusic interview conducted by J.D. (John) Roberts. There’s lots of exclusive information in this valuable video, including a tidbit on bands who refused to be in the same project as Spinal Tap!
VHS Archives #1: Vinnie Vincent Invasion interview (1987)
I have begun converting my video library to digital! The big challenge is finding all the old tapes. I have no idea where I put the most important ones.
In the meantime, enjoy this brief Vinnie Vincent Invasion interview with Erica Ehm, from MuchMusic’s Pepsi Power Hour, September 1987. Bigger and better stuff will follow if/when I find the tapes.
REVIEW: Queensryche – Speaking in Digital: A Conversation with Queensryche (1986 promo)
QUEENSRŸCHE – Speaking in Digital: A Conversation with Queensryche (1986 EMI America promo interview LP)
Here’s a nice little rarity for you, a full-length Queensryche interview disc from the Rage For Order era. Promos are a funny thing for reviewing (and this is our second Queensryche promo review). These records were never made for sale, therefore nobody reviews them. Nobody…but us. Is there any rock knowledge or collector’s value to be gleaned from this disc? Let us find out.
It’s an attractive record, Geoff Tate’s digitally distorted face in black & white. No Try-Ryche, but a neat digital Queensryche logo. The interview is conducted by radio DJ Ralph Tortoro. A very low-key Geoff Tate begins by answering general questions about the beginning of the band and their independent EP. Chris DeGarmo is a bit more engaged and adds the details. Shy Michael Wilton speaks up only on occasion.
You’ll also get bits and pieces of music: Snippets of “Queen of the Reich”, “Warning”, and “Gonna Get Close to You”. There are four full songs too: a massive “Screaming in Digital” (so hot on vinyl!), “I Dream in Infrared”, “Chemical Youth” and “The Whisper”.
Interesting things I noted while listening:
- They hadn’t settled on the name Queensryche for the band until they had to print up the first EP, forced to make a decision.
- Maiden was one of their favourite bands to cover according to Chris.
- Tate clearly didn’t like being called “metal” even back in 1986.
- “NM 156” from The Warning is hailed as the track that showed the way of the future of Queensryche.
- Steve Harris loved The Warning and asked for Queensryche to open for Iron Maiden.
- Rage for Order is a “loose concept” album, examining order over three levels: order in relationships, political order, and technological order.
- Other questions remain unasked.
The new digitally enhanced Queensryche of 1986 was destined to confuse people in the short term, gradually winning over fans as time went on and people “got” the album. If you want to deepen your understanding of its themes, this record will help. There’s more too; we won’t tell you everything. As a fan, you should be able to decide if Speaking in Digital is the kind of thing you want in your rock and roll reference library. The young, shy Queensryche interviewed on this LP are as cold as the machines that are striving for order in the lyrics. It’s a dry but interesting listen.
3/5 stars
Sunday Chuckle: A Tribute to LeBrain’s Dad
You’ve read the story, now you can hear the song! Getting More Tale #488: Almost Cut My Hair described a song that my dad likes to sing, called “Shittily Shittily La La La”. Have a listen to my dad’s biggest hit.
Just Listening to…Whitesnake – Unzipped (Deluxe)
Just Listening to…Whitesnake – Unzipped
Acoustic Adventures – Unplugged in the Studio and Live on Stage 1997-2015
I thought this was going to be a boring listen. 5 CDs and a DVD of acoustic Whitesnake? The same songs over and over? It sounds pretty dull on paper, but in practice it’s another story. So far, Unzipped has been a blast!
It turns out, a lot of my favourite Whitesnake songs are acoustic. “Sailing Ships” is a fine example. When David Coverdale is in a philosophical mood and busts out the acoustic guitar, he has the ability to make magic happen. (But damn, he sure does like to re-use lyrics and imagery. “Circle ’round the sun” again!) Other tunes, such as and “Summer Rain” are less intellectual, but still leave a lasting impression. Then you have acoustic arrangements of old familiar songs. Whitesnake, Deep Purple, and even Coverdale-Page are revisited, and not just the hits. These are songs to warmly enjoy when in a laid back mood.
The discs also include a remixed and expanded version of the first acoustic live Whitesnake album, Starkers in Tokyo. The differences are audible; the album finally comes alive. As a bonus, there is a off the cuff version of David’s solo song “Only My Soul” done a-cappella. There is also a disc of “unreleased acoustic demo ideas”. They are very raw — one track even begins with David calling it a “very rough idea”. Some are written on the piano. It’s hard to say if any of these ideas could have been made into hits, but they’re not bad. Points must be awarded for the best song title: “Another Lick While the Missus is Busy in the Kitchen”, a swampy blues riff.
Man, this one’s gonna take a long time to review!
For a fully detailed review, check out this one by John Snow!
REVIEW: Devilsradio – The EP (2019)
DEVILSRADIO – The EP (2019)
Here’s a new Canadian three-piece with some hard rock for your ears! Their new three track EP has potential. They’ve kept the songwriting short and to the point. There’s a distinct 90s groove to the EP, without resorting to direct references or ripoffs. When we say “90s groove” we’re referring to rhythm front-and-center, and a singer who does it from the guts.
Opener “Fear the Monster” has a pretty immediate chug, perhaps from the Stone Temple Playbook. This track is the clear winner of the three. As soon as it hit, my right hand started doing the air guitar motion. Chug chug — the riff is the key. Good song, and probably really good live.
“Lost in the Dark” and “Great Day” make up the rest of the EP, good songs both. The edge is on the dark side, these are not party songs but good ones for those angsty days. They could use some guitar embellishment, but the grooves crush. Get your headbangin’ on.
The EP sounds like a good first outing for DevilsRadio. There’s room to grow but they have a solid foundation from which to build. I’d like to hear them write more songs and add more to their sound, be it backing vocals or instrumental flourishes. There is good material here and “Fear the Monster” should get you movin’.
3.25/5 stars
1. “Fear the Monster” 2:57
2. “Lost in the Dark” 4:43
3. “Great Day” 3:37
#734: The Spaceman’s Wife and the Demon Sex Addict
GETTING MORE TALE #734: The Spaceman’s Wife and the Demon Sex Addict
“Guitars, Makeup and Murder”
Today, another in a long string of sad days in KISStory, we will dissect Ace Frehley’s incendiary statement to his ex-bandmate Gene Simmons. (If it was written by Ace at all. The statement appeared on Ace’s wife’s Facebook 22 minutes before it appeared on his.) He was responding to a recent Gene Simmons quote:
Gene – “They [Peter Criss and Ace Frehley] were in and out of the band — fired — three times. For drugs, alcohol, bad behavior, being unprofessional…they weren’t carrying their load. So the short answer to your question is we’d love to have Ace and Peter join us here and there. And if they don’t, it’s not going to be because of us. But they’re never going to be in Kiss again.”
Ace has been quite clear in recent months – he wants to be back in Kiss for their End of the Road tour. The fans would be on board for that. Kiss, meanwhile, continually shoot down these hopes, while proclaiming their show to be the best live performance ever. They have questioned Ace’s ability to do a gruelling tour like this. It seems Frehley has had enough of Gene’s trash talk. Perhaps on his next covers album, Ace should tackle “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, because it sure sounds like he ain’t gonna take it anymore!
Let’s look at Ace’s statement piece by piece.
“Gene, your memory is really incorrect!”
Gene forgets the words to his own songs, and often inflates his own history. At this point I think Gene simply “remembers” what he wants to.
“…I was NEVER FIRED from KISS, I quit twice (not 3-times) of my own free will, because you and Paul are control freaks, untrustworthy and were too difficult to work with!”
Gene was clearly talking about both Ace and Peter in that sentence about being fired “three times”. Peter was indeed in and out three times. But Ace is right, he was never fired from Kiss. He quit both times. The reasons he quit are not as clear as he’s making it sound. He had severe substance abuse problems at the time and probably wasn’t thinking clearly or even functioning normally. Yes, Paul and Gene are control freaks when it comes to their brand, but I’m sure they have a different perspective on who was difficult to work with. Ace’s statement could very well be the pot calling the demon-kettle black.
“…Your slanderous remarks about my bad habits over the years has cost me millions of dollars and now that I’m over 12-years sober you’re still saying I can’t be trusted to play a whole nights show! Well that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the last 12-years with different configurations of ‘The Ace Frehley Band’ to you and Paul’s dismay!”
Slander is only slander when it’s not true. Ace’s “bad habits” are well documented. Being sober for 12 years is an achievement to be proud of, but I don’t think that is what Gene and Paul are talking about. Once bitten, twice shy. They’re very wary of working with Ace under those high-pressure situations. A tour that like can cause a relapse in anyone. It is not going to be an easy tour for those guys at that age. It really helps to have younger guys like Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer behind them on tour.
“…I’m also the most successful solo artist to come out of the original KISS lineup, and proud of it!…You and Paul have tried to derail my solo career multiple times over the years unsuccessfully.”
True, Ace has had the most successful solo career, but there’s not much competition. Saying that Paul and Gene have tried to derail it? Multiple times? That could indeed be slander. Where’s your proof, Ace? Did Gene go to Megaforce and say “Don’t promote Ace’s records”? Of course he didn’t. Innuendo like this just comes across as someone making excuses for their own perceived lack of success. Gene was probably not all that helpful in the 80s, but shouldn’t that be water under the bridge this many years later? Gene wrote songs for your new album, Ace! Frehley was invited to be the opening act for Gene’s solo tour. It went so well that Ace hired Gene’s solo band. The point is, Gene’s been doing a lot lately that should have benefited both of you. That’s not derailing anything. Anything else should be ancient history now.
Of course, maybe by “derailing”, Ace’s wife refers to the time in the 70’s that Gene and Paul “tried to have Ace killed“.
“…I’ve tried to be nice and friendly by inviting you and Paul to perform on my past albums for eOne Music, give each of you guys one of my prized Gibson Les Paul 59’ models, but today’s comments have made me realize you’re just an asshole and a sex addict who’s being sued by multiple Women, and you’re just trying to sweep it all under the carpet!
“…The icing on the cake was when you groped my wife and propositioned her in Los Angeles at the Capitol Records building behind my back, when I was trying to help you out at one of your ‘Vault Experiences’ which I only found out about several weeks later…she was planning on pursuing a suit against you, but I told her to call it off!!!”
Woah! Heavy shots fired!
Having Paul and Gene performing on Ace’s solo albums was a dream come true for the fans. This is the kind of thing they have always wanted. Kiss heroes working together! United front! The cooperation between members over the last few years has been an unexpected treat. Now suddenly Ace is bringing up Gene’s womanizing. Whether the event Ace’s wife is alleging ever happened as stated, we don’t know. Gene is a flirt and may have been making inappropriate jokes. But if it did happen, airing it in public isn’t helping anyone. Deal with this stuff privately! If Ace wants back in Kiss, how the hell does he expect that to happen now?
“…Well now the gloves are off after your terrible comments today and I’m thinking that this really may be ‘The End Of The Road Tour’ for you guys!!!”
Hopefully it’s the end of the road for real, because listening to Paul singing is painful. He was one of the true greats. Now he’s the worst singer in Kiss, but I digress. “Gloves are off”? What does that even mean? Are we about to witness a geriatric street brawl? That outta be amusing.
Now, here’s the real kicker below:
“….Without a complete and heartfelt apology, an offer to give me my old job back, and removing Tommy from the Throne that I created… THE SHIT WILL HIT THE FAN AND THEY’LL BE NO STOPPING IT – IT’S ON!!!”
(Oooft, grammar. “THERE’ll be no stopping it”.)
Hahah! Hah. You’re joking, right Ace? When does Gene Simmons offer complete and heartfelt apologies? Very rarely, and not after being attacked by ex-bandmates. To demand his old job back in this way is not only ridiculous, but a flight of pure fancy. This will only put Kiss’ backs up to the wall.
If Ace had any chance of joining Kiss on tour this year, I’d say he has blown it completely. I will say it: Ace Frehley will never be on the same stage as Kiss on the End of the Road tour. That door has closed.
Let me put what Ace is asking in my own words. Tell me how it sounds to you.
“Gene, you better stop talking shit about me, and you better apologise to me and my wife for what I’m alleging without proof! After that, I want you to fire Tommy Thayer regardless of whatever contracts you have in place or what your relationship is. Even though I haven’t played stadiums in almost two decades, your only option now is to welcome me back with open arms! If you don’t…empty threat! Empty threat! Empty threat!”
I am in no way defending Gene Simmons or Kiss. Gene could have spoken far more kindly of both Ace and Peter over the years. Kind words are free to offer, and solidarity does a lot for a band’s image. Ace’s statement simply escalates this in a childish, juvenile way.
We are now in the Twilight Zone with a group of bickering children. Rock and roll, baby?
#733: Joy In Blue
GETTING MORE TALE #733: Joy In Blue
I was never going to be a rock star. I knew that. I couldn’t play a song all the way through. A fella could dream, though. I carefully plotted out my super-stardom.
First I needed a name for a band. In highschool, my best friend Bob wanted to call our band Paragon. “Not Paradox,” he stressed, “but Paragon. It means we’re among the best.” We used Paragon as the name for our non-extistant band until Bob graduated highschool, at which time a real band used the name. When Bob and I went our separate ways (he sold his guitar), I settled on the name Godspeed. I wasn’t interested in doing anything “wimpy” and I wanted a name that got that across.
However, once again a real band took the name I wanted for my fake band. I needed to get more original, instead of just picking a word I liked. I came up with Joy in Blue. I liked the name because it summed up what I wanted to do with music. Listening to music is a joyful experience, but you can still get dark when expressing those inner emotions. Hence, Joy in Blue. I still like it.
I drew up some logos. Not the best ones ever, but I wanted something a kid could easily draw in a binder. Like Kiss. I even wrote some music! In 1994 I poured everything I had into a song called “Midnight”. It was roughly 20 minutes long. I had some parts recorded. The rest of it, I was unable to play — all I could do was hum it! It was meant as a Rush-like epic in eight parts. The truth is, it was easier to mash my ideas together into an eight part song than to try and write eight complete songs.
The problem with Joy in Blue was that there was nobody capable of playing the music I was hearing, a minor inconvenience. I had bigger things to plan. Album titles, projected year of releases — I plotted out the next 30 years of Joy in Blue. It was going to start with our demo tape, which would get a commercial CD release. Then three studio albums and a live record. Finally after the live record, I laid it all on the line: a double concept album! To appease the “old” fans, a few records later we’d go back to basics. I called that LP Back to the Garage, and it was to be done with the same spirit as the first demo. I knew when I wanted our box set to come out, and my solo album Sweat.
Jesus Christ…a solo album….
Think that’s all crazy? I even wrote out who I wanted to produce each album. For our early material, I wanted David Bendeth. I really liked the heavy groove he got on the Sven Gali album. I wanted to see if we could get Bob Ezrin for the concept album, and self-produce the Garage album ourselves. As we got into the tail end of our career, I realized Wolfgang Van Halen would be old enough to produce records. Therefore I pencilled in Wolfie for our last three or four albums. I also knew that I wanted us to do a proper farewell, not drag things out forever. Final albums, box sets and live recordings were planned.
All of this without being able to play more than two minutes of a song. It would have been glorious though, had I been able to figure out the music part!
Early Joy in Blue circa 1991 – absolutely awful.
REVIEW: Max the Axe – Trillion Dollar Threats (2010)
MAX THE AXE – Trillion Dollar Threats (2010 Mutant Music)
Max the Axe’s stellar new album Status Electric didn’t pop out of thin air. Before he nailed it with that CD, Max had five prior releases. Status Electric included a couple songs from the previous album Trillion Dollar Threats. “River Grand” was vastly improved with Eric “Uncle Meat” Litwiller’s vocals. Though it’s no Status Electric, Trillion Dollar Threats is still an entertaining slab of rock.
Trillion Dollar Threats features a variety of players. There are several singers: Geoff Dyke, Ted Moore, John Kelly, Mickey Straight, Ted Guirey, and Eric Litwiller. That’s almost enough singers to staff the entire career of Black Sabbath! Over the 16 tracks, there’s not a lot of cohesiveness, but there is a lot of rock.
“Overload” is a heavy-as-fuck opener, 80s thrash metal through and through. It’s all about that chug, but the vocals seem like an afterthought. “Guns to Iran” takes a spoken word approach, over a heavy riff, but when the singer (Geoff Dyke) attempts to sing…it ain’t good. Mickey Straight improves things immediately on “Daddy Was a Murderin’ Man”. There’s some punk rock in Max the Axe and this is where it comes out (guitar solo notwithstanding). Maybe a little Faster Pussycat or LA Guns too.
Max is the master of the chugging heavy metal guitar. “Labyrinth” has that, before meandering around a few different bits. It’s a good groove that could use some editing. “I Don’t Advocate Drugs” has a good riff coupled with entertaining lyrics. For more amusement, there’s “Belljar Party”, the story of stuff going missing after a party. “Whoever it was, they took my Walkman too.” Other cool tracks include the spacey “Mutant Mind”, “Livin’ the Country”, and “Mexican Standoff”.
According to Litwiller, “Uptite Friday Night” is the exact same version as the one on Status Electric. That’s OK because the sloppy drunk vibe is perfect. The original “River Grand” has Terry Guirey singing, but although this is the blueprint the Litwiller version is clearly better. He took it in a more grungy Alice in Chains direction.
Look at Trillion Dollar Threats as a stepping stone to Status Electric. All the band members (Max, Eric, Dave Haslam and Mike Mitchell) are there on one track or another. Status Electric couldn’t be as great as it is without Trillion Dollar Threats laying the groundwork. It needed to be cut down from 16 tracks (way too much for most albums), and some of the tracks need some tightening, but there is some decent rock on Trillion Dollar Threats. If you like metal in the retro style, there will be plenty of riffs here for you to digest.
3/5 stars
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