I See Stars released the video for "Filth Friends Unite" yesterday. The song is on the album Digital Renegade, which I already think is the most solid metal album of the year. Now there's no doubt in my mind the band has just released the best metal video of the year as well.
I know a lot of you will freak out and say you hate the music/the band/whatever, and that is fine. If you can't listen to the song (which is great), then mute the music and watch the clip. The story is great and the cinematography is amazing. I love bands that make real music videos. These days, there isn't much incentive to do that, so I give I See Stars and their label Sumerian credit for going the extra mile. Watch.
At the end of this month, I'll finally see KISS live for the first time ever. I don't know why I've never made it to a KISS show... except maybe super high ticket prices or something. I'll be going to the KISS/Motley Crue show at Riverbend in Cincinnati on August 31 with my husband and a friend who is flying in from D.C. I'm pretty pumped!
The other day, KISSONLINE published some exclusive video clips of the band live on The Tour. I'm surprised at just how great KISS looks and sounds. I'm hoping to upgrade my tickets day of show -- we'll see what happens I guess.
Oh, how I love Ohio. Cleveland's Plain Dealer recently ran a feature on Def Leppard on their affiliate website Cleveland.com. Writers of the website have determined that Def Leppard's Hysteria caused a baby boom! Seriously. Here's an official chart to go with their hypothesis. Since I'll use any excuse to talk about Hysteria, I couldn't resist sharing this chart. Happy Friday.
Power Chord: One Man's Ear-Splitting Quest to Find His Guitar Heroes, by Thomas Scott McKenzie came out earlier this week via It Books. The book is all about the bands we love, especially the guitarists! Trust me when I say Scott is one of us -- he loves Glam! I'm excited to start reading the book this weekend... and even better, I'm giving away a copy of the book to one of you!
If you'd like to win a copy of the book, simply send me an email to allyson@bringbackglam.com with "Power Chord" in the subject line. Please include your name and mailing address in your email. This contest is open to everyone regardless of geographic location. The contest ends Sunday, August 5 at 11:59 pm ET. If you fail to fulfill any of these requirements, your entry will be discarded. Winner will be notified via email.
Scott, the author of Power Chord, saw today's contest and he's offered to sweeten the deal! Thanks to Scott, the winner will now receive an autographed copy of the book, some Power Chord guitar picks and a collectible never-worn Queensryche concert T-shirt, proudly proclaiming their long history of "building empires."
Ok, let's do a count here -- how many of you will pick up the new Jackyl record Best In Show? Haven't heard that the band has a new record? Check out the details:
Atlanta, GA -- Jackyl return today with the release of Best In Show via Jesse James Dupree's Mighty Loud label (Fontana). The band has also delivered a deluxe version of the title that has been released as a Best Buy exclusive. This CD + DVD combination features two additional audio tracks on the CD, while the DVD contains a 90 minute retrospective of Jackyl’s twenty year career, interview footage of each band member, as well as a roundtable-style discussion. It also features three music videos that have never been seen before ("Screwdriver,” “Better Than Chicken,” and "It’s Tricky”). The audio tracks added to the single disc release are “What I Do” and “Open Invitation,” which was Jackyl’s response to the attacks on 9/11. The song has never been commercially released due to the band's intention to not profit from the composition. It was given to select radio stations for inclusion on compilation discs to sell in raising funds for the Red Cross. Immediately following the tragedy, it was made available as a free download, which caused Mindspring to fine the band over $10,000 for crashing the company's servers. The song is the only track to chart on Mediabase that was not released as a commercial single. Jesse James Dupree recalls, "That song was written as a stream of consciousness as we were in the studio recording during 9/11. As everyone else did, we were trying put everything in its place and move forward with recording our album. But first we had to vent and this is what came out."
Multi-platinum selling Jackyl has long since validated itself as one of America's most loved rock bands. Specialists in down and dirty blue-collar rock and roll, Jackyl's legacy of its wild, untamed and uncouth approach to rock 'n' roll is well established. The band hit the scene in 1990, and immediately began firing off rock radio hits like "Down On Me," "When Will It Rain," "I Stand Alone," and most notably, "The Lumberjack" during which Dupree performs a chain-saw solo. The introduction of Jackyl's fifth instrument on album and in concert quickly became one of the band's many trademarks as the group blazed a path to infamy, sharing the stage with Aerosmith, Kiss, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent and Damn Yankees and working with industry heavyweights such as John Kalodner. AC/DC's Brian Johnson would go on to lend his vocals to the track "Locked And Loaded" which still stands as his only contribution outside of AC/DC recordings. The band has earned two Guinness Book of World Records citations and the designation "The Hardest working Band in Rock 'N' Roll" for performing 100 shows in 50 days as well as 21 shows in 24 hours. Staying true to their working band roots, Jackyl is a staple on the summer festival circuit and maintains their commitment to every show being the sonic equivalent to a man being shot out of a cannon. Dupree shares, "Time flies when you’re having fun, and in the case of Jackyl, time has flown at mach-speed because we have had a fucking blast. We're as lethal as ever and the party has only gotten bigger. The story continues... Grab the CD, learn all the words, and we’ll see you on the road."
The company will also street the debut today from his son Nigel Dupree titled Up To No Good. In celebration of Father's Day, each issued a single to radio. Both Jackyl's "Screwdriver" and Nigel Dupree's "Tumbleweed," are performing at the rock formats. In front of the single hitting the air, Jesse James Dupree emphasized, "You have to raise them to ROCK."
Jesse James Dupree recently announced the inaugural AMERICA'S ULTIMATE BIKER competition. The event will be staged at Michael Ballard's Full Throttle Saloon during the 2012 Sturgis rally, and filmed for the hit television series on Tru-TV FULL THROTTLE SALOON. Any individual can register on August 3, 4, or 5, between the hours of 1PM and 4PM. Those who qualify will move on to the competition phase that begins on Monday, August 6, with a different event each day of the rally between 1 and 4. Some of these will include riding and agility events, with a focus on mechanical skills. To win, the contestants will need to exemplify in every manner that they display the traits of America's Ultimate Biker. Following familiar biker games that progressively become more difficult, the finale will feature a cannonball run contest. The winner will be crowned at the end of the rally on August 10, and handed the keys to Dupree's custom 2012 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle. To pre-register or request additional information e-mail AUB@mightyloud.com or visit fullthrottlesaloon.com for details on the contest.
Jackyl has announced a tour that will keep the band on the road the majority of 2012, in to 2013. The following appearances are confirmed, with additional shows to be announced shortly:
8/09 Sturgis, SD Full Throttle Saloon
8/18 Connersville, IN Wounded Warrior Project
8/23 Grand Junction, CO Rock Jam
9/01 Freeport, TX Freeport Summertime Blues Festival
Good news for Sebastian Bach fans. AXS TV will broadcast Bach live on Thursday, August 2nd.
Bach will be live from Club Nokia in Los Angeles on AXS TV at 1 a.m. ET. In case you are not familiar with AXS, it used to be HDNET. You'll get to see the whole concert and it really is just like being there. I highly recommend catching these live shows when you can.
Awhile back I put a call out to all of you to submit reviews of the Halfway Jam if you were heading up that way. A couple readers did answer that call, and hopefully we'll have the reviews and photos soon.
Fan-filmed videos of Queensryche with Todd LaTorre on vocals instead of Geoff Tate are popping up all over YouTube. The clip of the band doing "Take Hold of the Flame" is pretty darn impressive.
Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 12:01AM 
