Which One Of You Did This? (Birthday Edition)

These are freaking great, my glam! I want a Maiden cake for my next birthday (it's in August, hint!)

Currently discovering the wonderful yet completely awful world of heavy metal birthday cakes pic.twitter.com/K0TdmU8UDR

— энхэ-туяа (@heckhammer) March 26, 2018

Finally Friday

I am so glad it's Friday. I don't know if the weeks are getting longer or what, but this one has dragged big time.

I'm in a busy period at work right now. The past couple of weeks I haven't even been able to tell which end is up, let alone seek out new music or anything fun like that. Heck I haven't even listened to music at all this week, save when I was able to get in a run Monday night. During that glorious 40 minutes I ended up on my old standby of blasting I See Stars into my ears so I could run as fast as possible. I'm not a fast runner by other people's standards, but Monday was a fast run for me and I felt good afterward.

Hopefully I'll be able to dig around and find some new music this weekend. I'm sick of listening to the same old stuff. I can't deal with Hair Nation anymore. I basically just listen to NPR in my car now. My husband has taken to listening to Lithium on Sirius which is driving me crazy, but whatever. He's "reliving his high school days" he tells me. True, we didn't grow up during glam. We grew up during grunge. But still. Come on.

I leave you with this: is Dr. Pepper's Lil' Sweet supposed to be a Prince knock off or a hair metal god?

I'm Watching AXS TV This Weekend!

Eric and I love Eddie Money in a weird, comedic sort of way. Of course we heart Sammy Hagar. I'm totally watching AXS TV this weekend - Sammy Hagar and Eddie Money, all in one place! Thank goodness for my DirectTV Now streaming account!

Interview With Chris Jericho of Fozzy

This story originally appeared in the Dayton City Paper. Fozzy will play Dayton, Ohio this weekend. 

What started as a lark and a cover band has evolved into a rock and roll money-making machine. The guys in Fozzy now find themselves at the top of the rock heap, playing shows all over the world and enjoying some hard-earned success after years in the studio and on the road. The band released “Judas” last year and the song of the same name quickly became a bona fide Billboard hit.

“It’s been a lot of fun ever since ‘Judas’ came out. Our show attendance has gone through the roof with a lot of sell outs, packed houses. It’s great to see so many people getting into the band and seeing us for the first time now that we have this elusive hit single,” says Fozzy frontman, Chris Jericho.

Fozzy will play Rockstar Pro Arena in Dayton (1106 East Third Street) on Saturday, Mar. 31. While officially sold out, sometimes extra tickets do become available closer to show time.

“That was a kind of cool way to introduce the tour,” Jericho says of the Dayton show response. “Dayton is my favorite city in the world right now because it was our first sellout of this tour! To have a sellout and to know you don’t have to worry about it: the people show up and we’ll do the rest. We’ll drive the car and you can sit back and relax and have a good time.”

Sellout shows and hit singles are nice but Jericho is a businessman and he knows you have to keep your hustle game strong if you want to stay at the top. Perhaps best known for his still strong career in WWE, Jericho is a natural showman who fits right in on any metal stage. Even better, Jericho and the rest of Fozzy are keen to play along, using all the trappings of rock clichés to their advantage.

“Our guitarist and bassist have ‘kick offs’ each night. Who does kicks on stage anymore and makes it look cool? I think Fozzy is about the only candidate. We use all the rock and roll clichés in a good way and we use them at the right times and people like it. It’s okay to have fun at a rock show.”

While it might look effortless, the band puts a lot of work into their shows, night after night. From working the business side of music, to finding the correct tour routing to get the best crowds possible, to consistently writing and working on new music, Fozzy likes to keep it fresh while providing a fun and safe environment for rock fans. And they leave it all on stage too. In fact, Jericho says he and each member of the band lose up to 20 pounds while touring, thanks to the sheer intensity of their 90-minute stage show. There are no holograms or pillars of fire at a Fozzy show, just old-fashioned rock and roll at a high intensity. Jericho likes to compare his band to 1979-era Van Halen. Rare air to be sure but an apropos comparison of a band built on the back of guitar genius and high stage energy.

From the stage to the next interview to the studio to social media, Jericho is always closing. He calls himself a showman first, but he’s really selling Brand Jericho to any disciple who will listen. Case in point, Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Rager at Sea. Rock and metal cruises are petty commonplace now, and Jericho got the idea for his sailing after doing the 2015 KISS Kruise with Fozzy. Jericho’s “Rager” will take place at the end of October.

“As soon as I got off the boat I thought, I can do my own cruise. Rock and wrestling is what I’m known for and we’ll actually have matches on the ship live and have rock n’ roll bands and comedians and podcasters and paranormal stuff. Everything you want on a cruise and everything I’m into. It took me two years but I finally got it up and running. Slowly but surely we’re going to sell it out. My goal is to sell out and make it an annual thing. It wasn’t easy to do but anytime you want to do something worthwhile
it isn’t easy.”

Back in the Miami Valley, Fozzy’s Mar. 31 show is the hardest ticket in town. Through Fire, and Dark Sky Choir will provide support.

Rockstar Pro Arena is located at 1106 E. 3rd St. The show begins at 7 p.m. For more information, visit FozzyRock.com or ChrisJerichoCruise.com  or visitRockstarProWrestling.com.

Tuesday Two-Fer, II, Motley Crue

By our friend HIM.

As readers of this site know, my relationship with the Crue is complicated. I am a devout fan. I just think they lingered too long, that their output is uneven, even as their legacy is well-established. I suspect these choices are going to generate some amount of controversy, as they are not from their classic period. No, they suggest a trend that was developing, that was delivered, and that was then briskly displaced by a need to return to form(at).

First Pick: “Primal Scream,” Decade of Decadence 81-91 (1991)

At this point, the Crue were growing a bit repetitive for me. That might sound strange, given that they are a band known for changing up their look, their logo font, and a bit of their sound from album to album. Still, I wasn’t expect this and certainly not on what was to become a tradition for the band: a greatest hits package. The song slams along with an energy I hadn’t heard since Shout. And it also pointed towards a slightly harder, almost grungy, sound. Was I ready to ‘crash and burn’ with the Crue again? Damn right!

Second Pick: “Uncle Jack,” Motley Crue (1994)

Dark, disturbing, and sludgy. What the hell is going on here?!?! A truly tragic tale and a mighty jolt of something different. I know. That didn’t translate into sales. And it didn’t launch Corabi into the stratosphere. I also know this is a retrospectively respected album for a lot of us. Does that make it any less heavy and awesome? I don’t think so.

Honorable Mention: “Starry Eyes,” Too Fast For Love (1981). Sometimes different works.

Metal Monday Memories

I was cleaning out my basement yesterday and I came across some of my record collection. I flipped through it briefly, because I didn't want to slow my momentum of decluttering. I did, however, stop to look at the Roxx Gang album I came across. We never talk about them much here so I thought today was a good day to do so.

The album I came across was the 1988 debut Things You've Never Done Before. I never had this album when it was new (I was 8 or so when it came out). I picked up the Roxx Gang vinyl about a decade ago I'd say. I didn't listen to it much. A few times, my record player broke and so the albums went into storage. But today, here's some Roxx Gang:

Gene Simmons and Peter Criss Reunite (Sorta)

Peter Criss and Gene Simmons reunited in New York City this weekend. The appearance was in support of Gene's Vault Experience.

Gene apparently invited Peter to the event. It is good to see the two together... and Gene looks honestly happy to be within earshot of Peter again. It's good when old friends make up. At least, I think that's what has happened here...