Read My New Geoff Tate Interview...

Read my new Geoff Tate interview…over on Noisecreep. Tate talks about the band’s new album American Soldier which is out today on Rhino Records. Buy a copy!

Kix Ready to Hit the Road

Kix are finally breaking away from the east coast for a few more live dates. Before the band heads west, they'll play a free show this Friday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

Just like the rest of us, Kix are ready to gear up for festival season. In addition to a few one-off gigs, the band will play many festivals including M3 in Baltimore, Desert Invasion in Phoenix, the Midwest Rockfest in Kansas,  Rocklahoma in Oklahoma and Rock Gone Wild in Iowa.

While I can't confirm the full set, I'll guarantee you'll hear all your Kix favorites like "Same Jane," "Sex" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah." If you've ever seen Kix live, you know they are worth the price of admission alone. Right now, I'm pegging them as the single best band on the Rocklahoma 2009 bill - yeah, I'm putting them above headliners Twisted Sister and about a light year ahead of Anthrax. Since the band is playing in so many states over the next few months, there really isn't an excuse for you to miss them. If money is tight, share the car ride with a friend and go general admission - that's where the party is anyway.

Here are the dates:

4/3/09 Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT
5/8/09 4^th And B Club in San Diego, CA
5/9/09 KDKB Desert Invasion Festival – Phoenix, AZ
5/30/09 M3 Festival - Columbia, MD
6/6/09 Midwest Rock Festival – Wellington, KS
7/11/09 Rocklahoma Festival 2009 – Pryor, OK
8/22/09 Rock Gone Wild Festival – Algona, IA

Here's Kix live at last summer's Rock the Bayou festival.

Thursday Features All Heavy Metal At Rocklahoma

PRYOR, OK—Rocklahoma, the premier eighties music festival in the United States being held July 9-12 in Pryor, Oklahoma announces Thursday as “Heavy Metal Day.”

General Manager of Catch the Fever Music Festivals Mark Nuessle had this to say, “Rocklahoma is a celebration of the eighties music that made rock great!” Our Thursday Lineup consists of a heavier sound as we spotlight the music of Saxon, Overkill, Metal Church, Leatherwolf and of course, recently announced headliner Anthrax!”

Leatherwolf Mike Olivieri, lead vocalist and guitarist had this to say, "It is definitely an honor to bring the Triple Axe Attack to Rocklahoma this year and being part of such a stellar line-up of bands. I'm looking forward to playing a great show and help make this year the best 4 days of classic metal anywhere on the planet. We'll see you there!"

DD Verni of Overkill went on to say, “We're psyched to be part of the Rocklahoma festival! Overkill have been doing the summer festivals in Europe for many years and it's always a great time. So doing one in America with old friends like Anthrax and Metal Church should be a fricken blast.”

The 3rd Annual Rocklahoma will have over ninety bands on four stages. Additional bands will be announced in the upcoming future.

On the three side stages, Rocklahoma has partnered with Retrospect records to showcase additional bands of the eighties.

Signed on to appear at the 3rd Annual Rocklahoma is Twisted Sister, Anthrax, Overkill, Metal Church, Leatherwolf, Great White, Vixen, Saxon, Hurricane Alice, Helix, Danger Danger, Warrant, Night Ranger, Gypsy Pistoleros, Nelson, KEEL, KIX, Bang Tango, Beautiful Creatures, LA Guns, Britny Fox, Faster Pussycat, Lillian Axe, Dirty Penny, Legendary Scorpions Drummer Herman Rarebell and Friends, Bonfire. Also appearing will be Icon, Big Cock, Baton Rouge, Lord Tracy, featuring ex-Pantera vocalist Terry Glaze, Silent Rage, Warrior, Pair-a-Dice, Julliet, Wild Street and Vougan.

A Few Questions of The Answer

Ever wonder how a rock band feels when offered the chance of a lifetime? I was pondering this the other day, thinking about the biggest career advancements in rock. In my mind, nothing is bigger than playing with AC/DC. Irish band The Answer are touring the world with AC/DC right now. Wonder how that happened? I asked.

“We were recording B-sides for the singles in London and our manager took us out for a drink in the middle of the sessions,” explains The Answer guitarist Paul Mahon. “He said he had good news and bad news. We were originally slotted to go on tour with Black Stone Cherry in Europe but we wouldn't be going out with them. Then he slid a sheet of paper over to us. We turned it over and it was all the tour dates for AC/DC in America. We were over the moon – we had no idea that’s what the surprise would be. We had quite a few drinks that day and the recording of the B-sides stopped."

If you’ve ever been backstage at a rock show, you know the stereotypes of loud parties are not always true. Oftentimes, it’s just a bunch of people punching their time cards, getting a job done. But what about backstage at AC/DC?

“There’s been a few times when Brian Johnson would come, hang out and chat with us a lot,” says Mahon. “We just had a good conversation with Angus in Frankfurt and he only set down with us one time before. But he pretty much talked to us for an hour, just outside the dressing room. We talked about touring in Europe the first time with Bon (Scott) and how the tour went in America and making Black Ice. It was a very special conversation. He was very shy and kind of stayed to himself...and that was really cool night.”

The Answer have a lot to celebrate in  addition to their tour with AC/DC. The band’s American debut Everyday Demons hits stores tomorrow is already available as a digital download through iTunes.

You can read more of my interview with The Answer very soon over on Noisecreep.

Photo credit: The Answer. No copyright assumed.

Does 'That Metal Show' Suck?

In case you don't have cable That Metal Show airs on Vh1 Classic and is hosted by Eddie Trunk.

I haven't decided if the show is decent...or complete shite. Ok, so I'll be the first one to stand up and support any form of mass media that brings Metal back to the forefront of popular culture. That said, I must admit the production of That Metal Show sort of makes me want to put a pail over my head and bang it with a mallet. We're talking cable access level here. I know Vh1 Classic/Viacom has some money to produce a halfway decent show. After all, someone ponied up money for a dedicated set. The show even has a few live camera operators - a true luxury in the day of automation. The writing is decent - not great. The guests are the real crux of the show. So far, I haven't been all that impressed with the selections. I don't think it's a matter of scheduling, either. Musicians love to talk about their bands.

Eddie has some help with the show. Comedians Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson act as co-hosts.

Last night, Eddie kept saying "hair band" over and over. Bloody hell, it's "Glam." Why mock? Why be derogatory? The opening conversation topic was "Is there still a backlash against hair metal?"

One of the points: "MTV didn't play Motorhead at 2 in the afternoon."

Yeah, there's a reason, but that's a different article all together. (And yeah, I like Motorhead, so save your hate mail. Fact is, they've never been as popular as Def Leppard - and videos were all about advertising revenue).

The topic - which could be debated for days - was given 90 seconds. Sigh.

I dunno. I feel like That Metal Show could be really cool - but the segments are choppy and the guests never get to say much. The interviews are just not great...and the hosts seem to banter with each other more than actually fostering a Metal discussion. As we all know, Eddie Trunk is very well connected. Hopefully this means the show will continue to evolve and be another outlet for our favorite genre of music.

See Avenged Sevenfold in Las Vegas - Free!

ShockHound music and merchandise online is doing a nice contest right now. Avenged Sevenfold are playing a show in Las Vegas on April 18th. ShockHound will fly the winner and a guest out of Vegas, provide tickets for the show and a hotel to crash. Click here to enter. I did. Be sure to hurry. The contest closes on 4/6/09.

Here's Avenged Sevenfold "Afterlife"

More Confirmed Judas Priest/Whitesnake Tour Dates

Judas Priest and Whitesnake are hitting the road this summer. The event will likely be the tour of the summer. This morning, the tour released more dates (and more will be added):

July 1st The Family Arena St. Charles, MO

July 2nd Summerfest (Harley Davidson Stage) Milwaukee, WI

July 3rd Taste of Minnesota at Harriet Island * St. Paul, MN

July 7th Comcast Center * Mansfield, MA

July 8th CMAC * Canadaigua, NY

July 9th Molson Amphitheatre * Toronto, ONT

July 11th PNC Bank Arts Center * Holmdel, NJ

July 12th Nikon at Jones Beach * Wantagh, NY

July 14th Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre * Cleveland, OH

July 15th DTE Energy Music Theatre * Clarkston, MI

July 17th Moondance Jam * Walker, MN

July 18th Rockfest/Cheppewa Valley Music Cadott, WI

July 21st PNC Pavillion @ Riverbend Music * Cincinnati, OH

July 29th California Mid State Fair * Paso Robles, CA

July 31st Sleep Train Pavillion * Concord, CA

August 1st 98 Rock Jamboree @ Sleep Train Amp* Marysville, CA

August 2nd Gibson Amphitheatre * Universal City, CA

August 4th SDSU Open Air Theatre * San Diego, CA

August 5th Pacific Ampitheatre/OC Fair * Costa Mesa, CA

August 7th Dodge Theatre * Phoenix, AZ

August 8th Thomas & Mack Center * Las Vegas, NV

August 10th Sandia Casino Albuquerque, NM

August 11th Red Rocks Ampitheatre * Morrison, CO

* INDICATES PERFORMANCES WITH WHITESNAKE