'Miracles Out Of Nowhere'

Documentaries about rock bands are big right now. The documentary of Kansas comes out March 24. It is called Miracles Out of Nowhereand a preview is below. I've been a fan of Kansas for a long time - WEBN in Cincinnati played them constantly when I was a kid and I bet they still do. "Carry On Wayward Son!"

Chip Z'nuff Releases New Video

Straight from my email inbox - an interesting bit of PR today. 

Chip Z'nuff released a video for "Rockstar" on YouTube as his for solo album, STRANGE TIME, drops via Deadline Music. The video is a scenery-filled, dreamy trip around Amsterdam.

The 10-track record marks a departure from the trademark Enuff Z’nuff trip-pop sound, with heavier guitars and more psychedelic elements.  In addition to special guest appearances, the album includes a bonus 5-track EP collaboration with Steven Adler (Guns ‘n Roses).

Having played bass for both Dale Bozzio (Missing Persons) and Adler (Adler’s Appetite), Z’nuff knew they’d contribute something truly unique (Z’nuff calls Adler’s drumming “incendiary”). Home state  legend Robin Zander lends his pipes to “All Day and All of the Night.”  Geezer Butler’s son, Biff, sings on “Rockstar.”

STRANGE TIME TRACK LISTING:                                                   

1. Sunshine
2. Rockstar
3. Strange Time  (written by Chip Z’nuff and Trent Reznor)
4. Dragonfly
5. Still Love Your Face (written by Chip Z’nuff and Wendel Rey)
6. F..Mary..Kill (written by Chip Z’nuff, Howard Stern, and Steve Miller)
7. Anna Nichole (written by Chip Z’nuff and Syklopps)
8. Strike Three
9. Hello To The Drugs
10. All Day And All Of The Night -  featuring Robin Zander & Steven Adler (written by Ray Davies)

BONUS EP: STEVEN ADLER & CHIP Z’NUFF

1. My Town
2. Yesterday (Another Wasted Day)
3. The Game
4. Tonight We Met (And Now We’re Going To Fuck) -  featuring Slash & Dale Bozzio
5. The Pain Is All On You (written by Chip Z’nuff, Steven Adler, Paul McCartney)

So This Happened

We've arrived, ya'll. Our fave bands made it to Jeopardy!

Jack Russell's Great White Releases New Single

Jack Russell's Great White has released a new single called "Hard Habit" from the forthcoming album, The Gauntlet. I don't know what I was expecting... but I was expecting more. What do you think?

Aerosmith Announces Some Live Shows

I'd actually like to go to the show in Durant, Oklahoma. Not sure I can convince my husband - but Aerosmith is playing the grand opening celebration of the Choctaw Event Center. I bet it would be a fun time!

Steeldeth Or Megapanther

Today's post is by our friend HIM.

I’d like to blend two good bands together for a moment, if only to hopefully prognosticate about the future. When Steel Panther and a portion of the second best lineup of Megadeth share the stage, that is something. So let me focus on the latter.

Mustaine is an acquired taste. He has his religion and his political opinions. He is the leader of Megadeth. He has released some great material and some not so great stuff. I love the first two albums.  But, you know what? I also like Risk and Super Collider. In a head to head comparison, Megadeth’s output over the past decades is more consistently engaging than his former band. True, he still swats at Metallica even as he suggests he won’t. But I get it.  After reading Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, I more fully understand what drives him . . . and drives fans and foes alike crazy. Like all of us, he is contradictory and compassionate. Unlike all of us, the guy can do things to a guitar that make lesser mortals weep. When he wants to do so. Which, depending on your point of view, is not since the 80s or every now and again.

So imagine my surprise when the guitarist that most late adopting Deth fans enjoy (Poland deserves pride of place), Marty Friedman, showed up to play along with Steel Panther on “Asian Hooker.”

The mind reels. First, Friedman is a devout lover of all things Japanese (having lived in Japan and found a robust career that he really wanted when he finally left after Risk). This song is a tribute to that part of the world so long as you love parody. Second, he doesn’t look uncomfortable or bored doing the metal thing. And he does it well. That is important. Many a scribe (and Mustaine himself), attributed Friedman’s exit to his lack of love for metal, attributed Risk’s failure to his influence and the tauts of Lars/John Lithgow.

So is it possible that Megadeth, the only-Daves band at the moment, will bring him back into the fold? I hope so. Yes, Menza--the stick playing and substance abusing hanger-on who is now on a clean[er] path and all but shouting “I’m in” or “I should be in”--has been messing about with Poland. And I don’t for a second argue that either of them back in the fold wouldn’t be the boost that Megadeth needs. Still, Friedman brought something to the band after the initial spark faded and a new “something” was needed. Which isn’t to say that I hate the input of Broderick (or Drover) in recent years. And none of this denies an essential fact: Megadeth will do as Mustaine says. Period. And yet, wouldn’t a bit of competition and virtuosity on the frets, a glimmer of the past, nudge ‘Staine in the right direction?

Call me crazy.  But “Asian Hooker” suggests that is all still possible. Parody and promise, all in one package.

Would You Pay For This?

We're all super fans here. We love music, still pay for songs instead of stealing, go to shows, and fly around the world to attend festivals. In March, a bunch of musicians we idolize will join forces at Mandaly Bay in Las Vegas for Masters of Metal. It costs up to $6,500 a person. That doesn't include your hotel stay, either. So admit it: would you do this? It's cool as can be and equals bragging rights forever, but man, what an expense.