The White Lion Rumors...

I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors about White Lion getting kicked off the Poison/RATT summer tour. This afternoon I called Sideways Media, the marketing firm handling Poison's tour. I also called ARM Entertainment, the management company that books White Lion.

Sideways Media was much more helpful, and not surprisingly so. While the marketing representative couldn't elaborate on the White Lion situation, she did give me some invaluable information regarding White Lion and Rocklahoma. Apparently, the Rocklahoma shows for Poison, RATT and White Lion were all booked as a tour stop, and therefore inked under the contract deal. If White Lion is, in fact, off the tour, then they will also not play Rocklahoma.

The agent with ARM Entertainment would simply say that a press release on the matter will be released Monday.

Infer what you will.

The controversy stems over the use of the name White Lion, and the band has been down this road before. Singer Mike Tramp and former guitarist Vito Bratta own the name. As such, Tramp formed a new band known as Tramp's White Lion. A couple years ago, Bratta sued over the name before a new version of the band embarked on a club tour. All signs point to the same situation here.

Stand by people. I'm on the press list to get a release when -- and if-- one is issued regarding the matter.

Update on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 03:33PM by Allyson B. Crawford

In response to the recent rumors surrounding White Lion and the Poison / Ratt summer tour - White Lion frontman Mike Tramp responds:

"On behalf of myself and White Lion, I would like to clear up the many misperceptions and rumors that have been created by Live Nation's decision to withdraw White Lion as the opening act of the summer 2007 Poison tour. While we are limited in what we can say about the issue because of pending litigation, we can inform everyone that Live Nation's decision was not based on any controversy over whether Mike Tramp has the legal right to perform as White Lion.
Our information is that Live Nation's decision was based upon a threatened lawsuit by former White Lion guitarist Vito Bratta. Even though Live Nation believed Vito's lawsuit to be frivolous and had confirmed that Mike Tramp has the legal right to perform as White Lion, they did not want to spend '1 dollar' on litigation. Faced with the cancellation of a tour that was to begin within weeks, our attorneys went the extra mile to work out a deal with Vito Bratta to drop his threatened lawsuit but even with the threat of litigation eliminated, Live Nation continued on their ill-informed course of dropping White Lion from the Poison tour.
Like myself, I know that there are many fans across the United States who are extremely disappointed by Live Nation's decision and we intend to use all options to fight this arbitrary and misinformed decision. Hopefully, there will be a day when decisions about staging a rock n' roll tour will be more about pleasing the fans and less about conservative and baseless corporate decisions. Unfortunately, as has been the case far too many times, instead of playing rock n' roll as planned, we are going to end up in court." - Mike Tramp

Dirty Dog Blues

Talk about glam.

In the rough and tumble hip hop hotbed of Detroit, I found a glam thug known in nightclubs across the nation as Vic Wayne. If you’re not familiar with Vic, just imagine a mix of Nikki Sixx and every member of the New York Dolls. Got the image? Now for the history. Vic was the front man for glam outfit Fillmore Slim. The band parted ways and now Vic is starting over with a new group known simply as Vic Wayne.

I chatted with Vic by phone earlier this week. Below are highlights of our very colorful conversation.

BBG: Vic, tell me what you’ve been up to recently.

Vic: Uh, just writing and recording. That’s it.

BBG: Are you still looking for band members?

Vic: No, for the most I have a full backup band and for live, some other guys. I’m recording everything on my own. I’m not, like letting anybody else play anything except live, so, it’s kinda like once I’m done recording and I really start playing then I’m really going to decide on who I need to keep.

BBG: So is the band going to be the Vic Wayne Project then because of this or will you have a different name altogether?

Vic: No! It’s just going to be Vic Wayne.

BBG: Ok then. So it’s you 100%?

Vic: Yeah.

BBG: Is this because you were screwed over by your last band?

Vic: With my last band, yeah but I want nothing – I do not want to speak a word about them in any kind of interview because I don’t want to give them any publicity at all.

BBG: That makes sense. I was just wondering why you choose to do that with your back up members, because that’s not a conventional approach for a musician. So you have your own label?

Vic: Oh, yeah. I have my own music company. My merchandise I sell, taxes are paid. I get a company check every week, you know?

BBG: Very cool, so you run your business right out of your home?

Vic: Yeah. I got a home studio. I do it all. That’s how I make a living. (Laughs).

BBG: Do you record for other people?

Vic: No, just me.

BBG: You’ve got some really good songs on your Myspace page right now. Are these all recent recordings?

Vic: No, those are from my last band. They are songs I wrote. That’s mainly me doing all the guitar work. The drums and the bass are the other two guys.

BBG: Ok then. When do you hope to have some new stuff up?

Vic: I’m hoping to have at least one new song up in a few weeks.

BBG: Do you have any names for these new songs?

Vic: Well…yeah!

BBG: Tell me about your new work.

Vic: Uh, I have one I’m working on called “Dirty Livin’” and another called “Eyes are Never Satisfied.” Like I want to put out a CD where everything is two different extremes. There will be really sweet songs and just really dirty f----ng songs and no in between (laughs).

BBG: All on one pressed disc, or a two disc set?

Vic: No, on one CD. So, kind of like a shock to the system. Like, what you hear on my Myspace profile now is a sample of what I’m working on now but I’m going to take it further.

BBG: How do you take it further? You call yourself the “glam thug.” How can you go further than that?

Vic: Yeah. Well, I mean lyric wise, you know, the music is better the songwriting is definitely better you know, it’s just another step ahead. Like raunchiness (laughs).

BBG: Well, then, how has your songwriting progressed? You say it is better than before but the songs on your Myspace are pretty good.

Vic: I don’t know. Just…time, I guess. Looking back on the past stuff and seeing things that I didn’t like and just, you know, making it better. That’s what I’ve always done. You know, I’ll do something and the next time, it’s better. I just constantly progress.

BBG: Talk about some of your influences.

Vic: The Rolling Stones are a huge influence, Guns n’ Roses, you know, I always liked L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat. A lot of punk stuff I like, I love Joan Jett. You know, Sex Pistols, Misfits I can get into that. I even like some country shit and rap, I like a lot of different stuff. Glam to me is just a look. That’s all.

BBG: Really?

Vic: Yeah.

BBG: See, I don’t agree with that. For 80s glam, there’s a certain sound, especially with the guitar solos –

Vic: See, that’s another thing. I’m trying to escape the 80s thing. I want to, definitely, draw on that influence, but not sound like 1983. You know, I want it to still be modern.

BBG: Well, along that same vein, what year did you first start recording music?

Vic: Oh, 1993, 1994 maybe.

BBG: Right, so you’re stuff would never sound 80s dated.

Vic: Yeah, I guess so. I have a major problem with people, they think – let’s take L.A. in general. They think they’re going to go out and it’s going to be 1983, and there’s going to be a bunch of dudes walking around like they’re in Motley Crue, and it’s not. And I’ve been there plenty times and I know, it’s not. And all of these glam people on Myspace allegedly live in L.A.? Every time I’ve been there, I’ve seen none of these glam people. None. Last time I was there, I was the VIP list, upstairs for an L.A. Guns show, and I was like hanging out with everyone: Taime, Pretty Boy Floyd all those guys were there, John Corabi. You know, but, the audience, it looked like I was in...Detroit or Ohio.

BBG: That’s kind of sad.

Vic: It is sad. You go to the Rainbow and it’s the same thing. Baseball caps, you’ve got your occasional long haired dude, un-styled. You know, wearing a Metallica T-shirt. I don’t know where the hell as these glam people are because I’ve never seen them.

BBG: Fair enough. The scene is completely different, so is the music business. How hard is it for you to get your music out there?

Vic: Yeah. Well, everything is Myspace, as sad as that sounds. If you don’t have a Myspace profile, you have nothing. Like every thing it seems I’ve gotten…I have a song in a porno movie. That came from Myspace. You know I did a tour with L.A. Guns last year. That came from Myspace. I did an interview for a major Italian magazine. That came from Myspace. I’m talking to you because of Myspace.

BBG: Very true.

Vic: It’s so sad. Every day, I’m on there and I’m like “What’s wrong with me?” The days of going out and passing out flyers, that’s done. You know. Now it’s just send out invites. The days of packing up, moving to the happening spot, over. No need to. Now, with the click of a mouse, anyone can hear you and know who you are.

BBG: You said you have a song in a porn movie, what film is that?

Vic: It’s called If It Ain’t Black, Take It Back 3.

BBG: (Laughs) Which song is featured?

Vic: Laughs. “Dirty Dog Blues.”

BBG: Nice.

Vic: Yeah. I mean, the biggest thing is, the kick I get out of showing it to people. I thought they were just going to use a clip of the song. They send me copies of the DVD. I put it in and it comes on and there’s features, right? Play, Special Features, and there’s a loop of the song and I think “Oh, that’s it.” No! I hit play and the song comes on and there’s all these big black dudes banging little white chicks and, you know, it’s saying “Starring Sledgehammer” and the whole song plays!

BBG: Laughs. So are you going to Rocklahoma in July?

Vic: Doubtful.

BBG: Really? That seems like something you would enjoy.

Vic: Yeah, but I’m so caught up in my own thing. I haven’t been to a concert in so long. I mean, the last concert I was at was Joan Jett in New York and that was like a year ago.

BBG: When you do go to shows, who is your favorite act to see?

Vic: Oh, definitely Joan Jett. Most definitely. I mean, I’ve hung out with Steven Adler, and it’s like cool. But when I met her, she was like the only person that I was star struck by. I almost cried. (Laughs).

BBG: Because of her talent?

Vic: Oh yeah and I love all of her stuff and I just have so much respect for her because, you know, every day all I get is “Hey Hot Thing!” “Blah, Blah, Blah!” I’m like “Why don’t you download my songs?” “No, how about I download you.” I get that. What about my music? I can’t imagine what she has went through, being a woman doing that, you know?

BBG: Other future plans?

Vic: Like I said, I’m working on something that is completely two different extremes. It’s definitely so far better than the last stuff I put out. I hope to have the stuff done by the end of the summer. Hopefully, be able to tour by the end of the summer.

BBG: I’m assuming a club tour?

Vic: Hopefully I can get on something like LA Guns again. Otherwise, I’ll just do dates here and there in different cities. I’m not going to just go on a balls out tour by myself.

BBG: Do you have a name for the CD yet?

Vic: No, I was thinking about calling it Suck It! Volume 1 but I don’t know. (Laughs!) Also, did you know I spent 10 months in jail?

BBG: Yes. Why did you go to jail exactly?

Vic: I was accused of burning down my kitchen and dining room.

BBG: For the insurance money?

Vic: Yes.

BBG: Did you do it?

Vic: No, I did not do it. My ex-wife did it! A week later took off to L.A. and collected the insurance money. Then I took the wrap for it.

BBG: Oh dear.

Vic: So I signed up for the ten months in the county jail, which was cool! I mean, I wound up in like the celebrity jail. I was in there with a famous rapper! Royce Da 5’9” and I’m this guy is like down with Eminem! There was a boxer in there [jail] and he’s like the only guy to go 12 rounds with Oscar De La Hoya. So I mean, really, it was a nice little vacation and a break from everything.

BBG: I don’t know. I couldn’t take jail.

Vic: That’s where I got all my song writing done. Obviously I had time to go over and over and over lyrics. To rewrite them. So, it kind of was a good experience. I had time to think about the people around me, who my real friends were.

BBG: You feel like that experience straightened you out in some way?

Vic: In some ways, yeah. It made me more appreciative of what I have. When you go there, you’re stripped of everything. You’re not even allowed to have headphones to listen to the radio- nothing. You have nothing but your friends around you. That’s it. If I could take it back, I don’t know if I would. That may sound crazy.

BBG: And you’re innocent?

Vic: Completely, yeah. Completely. Yeah.

BBG: Ok

Vic: It completely changed my way of thinking. I feel like before I went in there, I was blind. I came out being able to see. I see things completely different than before.

www.myspace.com/thevicwayneproject

New Series, Glam Fans!

I've started a special Rocklahoma countdown feature over at www.hairballjohnradioshow.com.

The first band featured is Tramp's White Lion. Check it out!

Meanwhile, in Finland...

American Idol is over for the season with Jordin Sparks well on her way to super-stardom. While AI prides itself on bubble gum pop, this season did feature one half-rock week of  Bon Jovi tunes. Halfway around the world, the Finnish version of the show featured decidedly more hard rock hits. In fact, rocker Ari Koivunen actually won the competition and now he's just released his debut album called Fuel for the Fire.

Some famous Metal  musicians lend their support on the debut effort, including Tomi Putaansuu of LORDI and Marco Hietala of Nightwish.

 Koivunen is about to embark on a Finnish tour in support of Fuel for the Fire. Learn more about Koivunen's  music at www.myspace.com/arikoivunen.

Meanwhile, if for some reason you haven't seen at least one of  Koivunen's  Idol performances via YouTube, here's a clip of him singing Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again."

Breaking Rocklahoma News

This morning, I chatted with Lee Pistolero of the glam/flamenco outfit Gypsy Pistoleros. During our interview, I asked him about Rocklahoma and the unique frontman confirmed that his band will perform the main stage during the 80s hair fest. The Gypsy Pistoleros will perform for 10 minutes during the L.A. Guns set on July 15.

Today, travel website www.easier.com reports that Rocklahoma has become a worldwide phenomenon. Here is an excerpt of the article:

"Ticket sales around the world are making the Rocklahoma music festival one of the most successful events of Oklahoma’s Centennial Celebration as ‘80’s rock fans will converge on the state from locations as far away as Japan, Australia and South Africa.

'The eyes of the world are on Rocklahoma,' said Mark Nuessle, General Manager of Catch the Fever Music Festivals. 'Rocklahoma has struck a chord that has reverberated around the globe. We have sold tickets to ‘80’s rock fans in all 50 states and across six continents. Rocklahoma has literally become one of the largest music festivals in the world.'

Twenty-three bands are scheduled to play during the three-day festival, making Rocklahoma the largest ‘80’s rock festival of its kind to be organized. Two weeks ago, when Twisted Sister was announced as Rocklahoma’s headliner, word spread like wildfire via satellite radio and the World Wide Web. Rocklahoma’s draw is most likely a combination of the bands’ talents and the sheer number of bands playing at the event, said Dave Giencke, Director of Operations for Catch the Fever Music Festivals."

Glam fans, if you haven't bought your tickets for Rocklahoma yet, what are you waiting for?!? There are still seats available, but the entire front section of V.I.P. is sold out. Buy tickets at www.shopfeverfest.com.

Here is a video of the Gypsy Pistoleros performing in Madrid, supporting Tyla's Dogs D'amour. Check back soon for my full conversation with Lee Pistolero!

Welcome to the Show

I recently interviewed Kenny Ozz, lead singer of Cincinnati-based Drugstore Valentine. We met last Thursday at a small bar just off a freeway exit within walking distance of Hustler Hollywood. Talk about glam! Kenny spoke about the slow process of recording a debut CD and the talents of his bandmates. Exact transcription follows.

BBG: Tell me about the CD your band is recording

Kenny: Well, it’s coming along very slowly. We started it two months ago, and, we laid down all the scratch tracks in two or three days, and then drummer went back and laid all the drum tracks. Now we’re having scheduling conflicts, because the guy who is recording our band is in another Cincinnati band, Deadly Seven, and we weren’t going to take any shows until the CD was done, or at least for awhile, but when you get called to do C.C. DeVille, Britny Fox and Hookers n’ Blow, you’ve got to those shows, you know? It’s just a long process, we hope it will be good, but we’re really taking our time on it.

BBG: Why don’t you put up some of your new songs on your Myspace page?

Kenny: That’s a very good question. Because I don’t have a copy of the scratch tracks yet.

BBG: Where are you recording your album?

Kenny: It’s just like the mobile studio of the band Deadly Seven, that’s the band recording us. They have like a practice space where we set up, it’s not a studio per se.

BBG: So you’re just using your computer with ProTools?

Kenny: Yeah, because nowadays you can record a professional CD in your living room, but the drums we had to take a basement, and hang up blankets and stuff to get a better sound. Now it’s easy, because with the guitars we can plug right into the computer, but for me we have to create some sort of vocal booth. You know a small room somewhere, it will be easy.

BBG: How many tracks will be on this CD?

Kenny: 11.

BBG: All originals?

Kenny: Yes.

BBG: Can you name them?

Kenny: Uh, oh my god. I’d have to write them down.

BBG: Let me guess, “Lies” and Backstage Bombshells” –

Kenny: Right. I don’t know I’d have to write them down, but if I did I’m sure I could name them.

BBG: Ok then.

Kenny: We have 12 original songs, but only 11 will be on the album. The newest one we are not going to use.

BBG: Maybe you could embed it as a hidden track?

Kenny: We could. What we might do is a cover. I don’t know if you know about the legality of putting a cover song on a CD, but it you list the track, you have to pay for it. If it’s a hidden track that you didn’t list, you don’t have to pay royalties. It would just be like a live thing. We do a lot of really funky covers. Drugstore Valentine started as a cover band. We played nothing but covers for like a year and half and it got really boring. So then we started writing stuff.

BBG: So you’re the main songwriter?

Kenny: Yeah. I wrote…let’s see, we’ve got 12 originals and I wrote ten of them myself. I wrote one with another guy who used to be in the band and the newest one, the one that won’t be on the CD, me and my guitar player wrote that. He actually wrote most of it.

BBG: Tell me about the other members of your band.

Kenny: Well, Lee Pierce Johnson, the drummer, he’s actually been a really good friend of mine for like, seven or eight years now. It’s kind of interesting, because for like years and years I’d wanted to start a band and get rolling, because everywhere I’d go people would ask, “Are you in a band?” and I’d get that a lot, so I was always like “No, I’m not in a band” so finally I started a band, but I couldn’t play drums or guitar or anything. So, long story short, I started the band, I found a couple guys, and we needed a drummer. It just so happened that I was sitting around with Lee at his house and we were getting ready to go to a club or something, and I just happened to be bitching on the phone, talking to one of the guys in the band, like “yeah, we need a drummer bad” and Lee looks at me and says “I’ve been playing drums since I was like, five.” I thought he was messing with me, and I almost dropped the phone! So we went to storage and got out all of his drums. He’s been playing drums forever, so, I mean, it was a natural fit. My guitar player, Mike, he, actually went to high school with Lee. So me and Lee were with these other two guys and we never really played much, and then that kind of fell apart because they lived in Akron. I mean, we were driving like four hours just for band practice, and that’s ridiculous you know? So, we needed a guitar player and Lee said “I know this guy I went to high school with.” So we invited him over and we tried him out and he’s unbelievable. He’s one of those guys – I can play him a song he’s never heard before, and he’ll listen to it, and he’ll be fiddling with it, and then he’ll listen to it again, and then he breaks it down. By the third time, he’s still messing with it, but after that we can play the song. Unbelievable. Like the C.C. Deville song we do, “I Hate Every Bone In Your Body (But Mine),” he’d never heard that before, we listened to it three times, and he started playing it. Then Curly, he’s the bass player, he’s like our fifth bass player. It’s unbelievable, like a Spinal Tap thing. He’s actually been with us for about two years now. He’s just a guy that I’ve actually known for like ten to twelve years. I’ve known him from the club scene, rock concerts, stuff like that. I know he doesn’t, compared to the rest of us, look the part of the band, but he’s a good kid, he’s got a real rock n’ roll heart, he’s a really good bass player, too.

BBG: You called Curly a kid, how old is here?

Kenny: 24

BBG: So he’s younger than you?

Kenny: Oh, yeah, other than him I’m the baby of the band! How about that?

BBG: You’re 29?

Kenny: Yeah. Lee and Mike are both 30.

BBG: That’s old! (Sarcasm folks).

Kenny: Laughs.

BBG: Who is your favorite band?

Kenny: Man, that’s tough.

BBG: Tuff is your favorite band?

Kenny: No, I mean it’s a tough question. Like, all time favorite band? I’d probably have to go with Poison. That was the first band, even when I was younger, that I ever really grasped onto. The first time I saw their video, I thought they were girls. I remember being real young, and they looked like girls, and I thought the drummer looked like my aunt Lisa. So I thought they were cool. Now, things are full circle, when fans tell me I look like Rikki Rockett, I wonder if that means I look like my aunt Lisa?

BBG: Back to the CD. Do you have a name for the disc?

Kenny: I think it’s just going to be self titled, since it’s the first disc. We’ve talked about, you know, we might call it The Island of Misfit Toys because when people look at our band they see me, I’m the glam rock guy and Curly looks like the punk rock guy, and Mike looks like the southern rock guitarist, and Lee looks like he just stepped out of a Marilyn Manson video, so it’s like weird. We’ve been called the rock n’ roll U.N. We’re representing every nation of rock n’ roll!

BBG: That would be a good name for a CD!

Kenny: So, we’ve thought about calling it The Island of Misfit Toys, but we don’t know if that is trademarked or anything.

BBG: So, it’s a slow process. Are you hoping to sign with a label after the CD is finished?

Kenny: A lot of people have been chomping at the bit to get it. Our demos on Myspace just are not very good. The drums are really hollow, and I was sick when we recorded those songs. It was just something. If you are a band you have to have something to stick up there or you can’t get shows. At least with the demos up, we can prove that we’re actually a band but now I think the demos might be so bad, maybe they are hurting us, but it’s better than nothing. I do need to get those scratch tracks, and get a new track up. Everyone is always asking about “Backstage Bombshells,” it’s probably our best song. I have been in contact with a few Indie labels, but it’s tough. You don’t want to sign anything because they might want us to make a CD and they sell it. I don’t know. You just never know. I’m going to have to…when the CD actually comes out, if we get more interest than we’ve already had, I’ll have to look into some legal stuff. Maybe a lawyer to look over a contract. I remember I got a packet, just as an example, from a little Indie label out of Chicago, saying they were interested and they wanted to hear our stuff. They sent me this packet, and it had this contract, and I swear it was 45 pages long. I’m not going to sit there and read 45 pages over a distribution deal for a CD that – at the time – wasn’t even started yet. You just don’t know, and you don’t want to get screwed. I hope the CD comes out good. It’s already been three months now, you know what I mean?

BBG: Are you planning on doing a mini-tour to support the album?

Kenny: Well, that’s tough too. We really hope to. I travel a lot and I go to a lot of shows, and I have some connections with bands and stuff. I really think I could put something together. Even if it was just a week, and played, you know, say, for example Dayton on a Monday, Columbus on a Tuesday, Toledo on a Wednesday, Detroit on a Thursday. I mean, I’ve got connections in all these towns where I can do a run. I’ve also got decent connections with bands that are like, not big, but bands that tour. Like, well like I had a good talk with Joe Leste of Cockfight and Bang Tango. I know him and I know Troy Patrick Farrell of White Lion. Anyway, Joe said honestly - I’m not bragging or anything - but I could make a few phone calls and, probably get on a run with them guys for like 20 dates or so. I mean that would be really cool as long as more people showed up than showed up for the Ohio shows. Ohio is just really lame. You know you put a band like L.A. Guns or Faster Pussycat in Cincinnati. If it’s not on a Friday or Saturday night, people won’t go. Cincinnati’s really conservative that way.

BBG: So, you want to become a rock star and quit your job? Laughs.

Kenny: Laughs. That would be the end goal. We’re a band that, always, you know, sets the bar low. I get a lot of flack for this, especially from other musicians. We like to keep our goals low so we’re not disappointed if we fail. Every time we reach a goal it seems like, wow, look what we’ve done! It seems like a lot of bands come out and say “We’re going to be bigger than KISS!” Well, no you’re probably not going to be. So, from that they’re going to be bitter in their basement when they’re 40 years old. When we first started, we just wanted to get out and play some shows. That happened. Then, a few months later, we wanted to do some originals. That happened. Then, we had enough originals, and we wanted to record a CD. That happened. You just keep taking steps. We want to be big, but we want to keep it realistic too.

BBG: So you don’t have a manger?

Kenny: No, we’ve had several offers from booking agents and managers, but right now, I mean, I’m lucky enough to have some good connections, just from being around the scene so long now. Look at some of the shows we’ve played: C.C. DeVille, L.A. Guns, we can play really cool shows without me having to pay a manager 15.%

BBG: Do you see the same faces at all your shows?

Kenny: Yes. After the recent Whiskey Dicks show, on Myspace, we got anywhere from 20 to 30 new friend requests. Say if only five of those 30 come to the next show, still progress. When you just start with your friends out of the basement, you’ve got to play on a Tuesday night in some lame bar, and there are only four people to watch. Hopefully, people keep coming back. We don’t claim to be the best band in Cincinnati by any stretch of the imagination. We’ve had really bad shows. One thing I will say for Drugstore Valentine is that it seems like we always have a good amount of people turnout to see us.

BBG: Heather did you have anything to add?

Heather: No, I’m not even awake yet.

Kenny: Isn’t she the one that was enamored with the drummer?

BBG: Laughs

Heather: He’s very good.

Kenny: For real, he’s very good.

Heather: You can tell by watching him that’s he’s very good, he’s got natural talent regardless of what he’s playing.

Kenny: Well, I think all drummers have a natural talent. It’s either there or it isn’t. I never wanted to be a front man, I wanted to be a drummer. I don’t understand how you get your legs to do one thing and your arms another. So I just had to settle for being a front man.

Brand New Day

Happy Memorial Day, glam fans. I'm working right now, but I hope you're enjoying a day off. Today, a review of a great new glam band known as Generation Beautiful.

Guitarist Anthony Focx is anything but new to the music scene, having performed with both Bang Tango and Beautiful Creatures. With Beautiful Creatures on hiatus, Focx went looking for a new project and eventually formed Alternative outfit Generation Beautiful with singer Shelby Goff. Soon, the duo found themselves joined by guitarist Fred Nilsson, bassist Jamie Zimlin and drummer Jerry Vidal.

Generation Beautiful: Live  is a unique debut effort. This isn’t the first time a band has tried to spark interest with a live release (KISS, anyone?), still, live albums can be hard to push in a fickle music market.

The disc starts off strong enough with the noises of an excited crowd. “This Is Me” is written as a dark song, but the crowd and live energy make the track come off as an upbeat rocker, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Borrowed Time” has a definite melodic hook, and showcases Goff’s vocal range. The tracks also features some great guitar riffs and heavy bass lines. “Borrowed Time” is one of the heaviest songs on  Generation Beautiful: Live.

The band has a relentless attitude when it comes to both practicing and molding a unique sound. This perfectionist mindset has landed Generation Beautiful at several shows across the globe, including performing for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The band wrote “Freedom” for U.S. military personnel stationed abroad. The lyrics are poignant, but not preachy.

After the heavier “Freedom” comes in the punk-inspired “Breathe.” This song serves as a throwback to Focx and his Sunset Strip roots. While the track is definitely current, it also features a melodic hook and sing-a-long chorus. “Breathe” is definitely the stand-out track on  Generation Beautiful: Live  and judging by the enthusiastic response, it’s also a crowd favorite.

The live album ends with the appropriately titled “Rowdy,” a down and dirty rocker with sultry vocals and a unique rhythm section. With the guitars blaring and drums pounding, it’s sometimes a little difficult to understand what Goff is singing, still, “Rowdy” proves to be a fun track and definitely worth multiple listens. While Generation Beautiful: Live  may not be the perfect debut album, it is a strong effort and proves that music is still alive and well on California’s Sunset Strip.

Update on Monday, May 28, 2007 at 10:16AM by Allyson B. Crawford

Well, apparently Anthony Focx is no longer a member of Beautiful Generation. Here's the bulletin I received just two minutes ago:

ANTHONY FOCX FIRED FROM GENERATION BEAUTIFUL!!!
AFTER MONTHS OF ONGOING PROBLEMS BETWEEN GENERATION BEAUTIFUL AND ANTHONY FOCX, GENERATION BEAUTIFUL HAS HAD TO LET HIM GO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ATTENDED THE SAT. NITE SHOW, WE APOLOGIZE FOR HIS EMBARRASSING BEHAVIOR. WE WILL CONTINUE TO ROCK ON WITH OUT HIM. FOR ANY OTHER INFORMATION ON THE BAND PLEASE CONTACT ANY OF THE BAND MEMBERS: SHELBY, JV, JAMIE & FRED
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT WE HAVE A LOT OF EXCITING THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO!
KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR MORE SHOW DATES!