Jackyl Live (and Drunk)

Last night I saw Jackyl with special guests Black Stone Cherry. The free concert was part of the Rumble Rally 2007 at Aces and Eights Harley-Davidson in Mason, Ohio.

I guess I underestimated the draw of the event. There were probably 5,000 people in attendance. 4,500 of those were bikers. It seemed everyone owned a high-end hog...and many were looking to buy another motorcycle to add to their private fleet.

I've never seen Black Stone Cherry perform, and I don't own their self-titled disc, but I'll be ordering a copy today. They were great, and they played an extra long set. Their set included many songs of their debut release, including "Lonely Train." They also played some southern favorites...and showed off with two guitar solos! Black Stone Cherry are from Kentucky and you can tell by the themes of their music...and their southern drawls.

Jackyl are Jackyl -- loud and obnoxiously entertaining. Last night was Jesse James Dupree's birthday, so he celebrated by "pacing" himself on the hard liquor, and inviting dancers on stage. The rowdy crowd loved it.

The set list looked something like this:

Push Comes to Shove
Just Like A Devil
Kill the Sunshine
Locked and Loaded (with Jesse's son Nigel)
Secret of the Bottle
Mental Masturbation
Down on Me
I Stand Alone
When Will It Rain
Dirty Little Mind
Redneck Punk
We're An American Band
She Loves My Cock
The Lumberjack

Jesse's son Nigel Dupree kept coming on stage to sing, dance, clap. While Jackyl were crazy as usual they were not as crazy as their Rocklahoma performance. Perhaps because the stage faced a major intersection in the high-brow town of Mason, Jesse thought it best to not moon the crowd. At any rate The Lumberjack was, as always, the best part of the show. After the concert, the Harley-Davidson dealership gave away two chainsaws. I didn't know there was a contest, or I would have entered. I'm not sure the chainsaws were those used by Jesse, or were just an intelligent marketing ploy.

The weather was perfect for an outdoor show, too. Makes me sad that concert season is effectively over and winter is right around the corner.

These Dreams...

It always baffles me when artists use the same song titles as other bands.

You would think that after Aerosmith released “Dream On” back in 1973, they had the lock on that title. Turns out…not so much.

In addition to Depeche Mode, two glam bands also recorded “Dream On.” In all instances, the songs are stand alone, and not an Aerosmith cover.

Britny Fox recorded “Dream On” for their 1989 album Boys In Heat. The sophomore effort was also the last with singer Dizzy Dean Davidson. He was replaced with Tommy Paris. Britny Fox are doing several club shows around the country next month, and I’ll be in attendance.

In some ways I like Boys In Heat better than Britny Fox. The band is often criticized for being too much like Cinderella, but I think that stigma wore off a little with the second album. It seems like Britny Fox were trying to develop their own sound with Boys In Heat and latter releases.

Here’s the Britny Fox video for “Dream On.”

Canadians Helix recorded their “Dream On” for the 1987 release Wild in the Streets. While the Britny Fox “Dream On” is an upbeat little tune, Helix provides a power ballad of sorts. Their version is a remake of the early 80s Nazareth release.

Here’s the Helix video for “Dream On.”

It would be foolish to not post a clip of Aerosmith performing their best song. Therefore, here is Aerosmith performing “Dream On” live in Las Vegas sometime in 2006.

So, which of these “Dreams” is better? I’ve said before in other posts that Aerosmith’s “Dream On” is my favorite song, so you already know where I stand on the issue. Now I want your thoughts.

Let's Not Be Hasty...

**********The Head of A&R for Universal Music Sweden says Twisted has not left the band. When I asked about the rumors, my contact says "No, the band starts the tour in Copenhagen on Thursday."

--So there.

Blabbermouth.net recently posted that H. Olliver Twisted quit Crashdiet. As soon as a I read this "rumor" I sent an email to my contact at Universal/Stockholm asking for a quote.

As of 10 a.m. I have received no information that will confirm or deny this rumor. Of course, if it is true then Crashdiet is certainly done. It's very unlikely that a new band can suffer the loss of two lead singers in a span of as many years.

I will admit I immediately went poking on the official Crashdiet forums for information, and there are zero posts regarding the departure of Twisted. This means either it's true and the moderators are blocking the conversation or none of the fans believe the rumor.

So I am waiting. As soon as I get some definite news I will post here. Remember, the glam mistress is a journalist first: that means reporting truth, not fiction.

Happy Jackyl Day

It's Jackyl day here at Bring Back Glam! I don't mean to ignore Jesse James Dupree and his merry men -- so now I make amends for my grave oversight.

I'll be seeing Jackyl live Saturday night, and I'm pretty excited. The show is free and Black Stone Cherry is the opening act. (If you don't know Black Stone Cherry, check out the review at the Hard Rock Hideout. The link is to the left of this entry).

On Saturday, Jackyl will perform at Aces and Eights Harley Davidson. The concert is part of the 2007 Rumble Rally.

Now, Jackyl isn't necessarily Glam in the traditional sense: yes, they have long hair and catchy riffs, but they don't wear makeup and wear hot pink.

Not that there's anything wrong with hot pink, but I digress.

Jackyl also sounds exactly like AC/DC. Again, I digress.

The first - and only time - I've ever seen Jackyl in concert was at Rocklahoma. Jackyl was one of the handful of bands I wasn't too worried about watching. In fact, I was getting dinner when the band took the stage. Suddenly, the crowd goes bonkers, people are rushing toward the stage and I decided maybe this was something I shouldn't miss.

Turns out, Jackyl put on one of the best performances of the entire festival. Since the schtick was entirely new to me, it was wildly entertaining watching Jesse split a stool in half with a chainsaw. Destruction is key at Metal shows.

The band's self-titled debut was released in 1992. This album features Jackyl's most famous songs including "I Stand Alone," "Down on Me," "When Will It Rain," and of course, "The Lumberjack."

Here's the video for "I Stand Alone." It's classic.

Remembering Pepsi Tate

Tigertailz bassist Pepsi Tate died yesterday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. While Tigertailz never reached major star status in the American Glam Metal community, they were fairly well known in their native U.K. Anyone who is a fan of the band knows that Pepsi Tate was Tigertailz.

They had the biggest hair of any Glam band, this side of Nitro. Crunchy guitars and big vocals are a Tigertailz trademark.

The band just released Thrill Pistol, a comeback of sorts. Their most famous release is Bezerk, which features the song "Love Bomb Baby."

Here's the video for "Love Bomb Baby."

How much longer before we find a cure for cancer?

***Suggested reading: Thrill Pistol (Interview with Tigertailz drummer Matt Blakout, July 2, 2007).

It's Been A Long Time Since I Rock n' Rolled

If I had a time machine, I would witness some of the greatest concerts in music history.

I've already mentioned that I would love to watch the C.C. DeVille, Bret Michaels beat down backstage at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards. I would also love to witness Woodstock, the 1983 U.S. Festival and - perhaps above all else - the Moscow Music Peace Festival of 1989.

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was arranged by music manager Doc McGhee as penance for drug trafficking. It turns out that the American government doesn't take too kindly to massive amounts of cocaine crossing boarders and therefore funding drug cartels. I digress.

Back in the day, McGhee managed the most important bands: Motley Crue, Skid Row, and Bon Jovi among others. Thanks to his powerful connections to the music industry and the strong urging of an angry judge, The Moscow Music Peace Festival was conceived.

The one day event was a big anti-drug show and one of the final events to happen in the former Soviet Union. Just under two years later, communism collapsed. Did Glam Metal help dissolve the USSR? For this, I have no answers.

During the one day festival, nearly 100, 000 people watched killer performances by Ozzy Osbourne, the Scorpions, Motley Crue, Cinderella, Skid Row and Bon Jovi.

While the stage shows were pure electric, the artists battled with each other and McGhee backstage. If you've read The Dirt by Motley Crue then you know what I'm talking about. Every band - especially Motley Crue - was jealous of McGhee's favoritism toward Bon Jovi. The New Jersey natives were allowed to use pyro in their show, and were also allowed a longer set. This enraged everyone...and Tommy Lee actually slugged McGhee backstage.

The entire concert was broadcast on pay-per-view. Even though I was way too young to fly to Moscow to see this concert live, my parents would have never ordered the concert to watch at home. My parents don't spend money on anything frivolous, and they think metal concerts are a definite luxury. Luckily, there's a DVD set of the concert which I will try to buy soon off eBay. That DVD was directed by Wayne Isham, who has also overseen the production on more than one hundred rock videos.

Last night, a fellow Metal Sludger found a great video of the Moscow Music Peace Festival Finale Jam, featuring Jason Bonham on drums. The main performers in this video are Skid Row and Motley Crue. Listen to Vince Neil: I've never heard a better live performance out of the man. Everyone looks so happy on stage, like they might actually be enjoying their fame and fortune.

Watch this video: Jason Bonham, Motley Crue and Skid Row performing the Led Zeppelin classic "Rock n' Roll." It's fantastic!

Update on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 09:47PM by Allyson B. Crawford

This article contains an (unintentional) error. The Moscow Music Peace Festival was, in fact, two days. Instead of simply correcting the error, I want to prove that the glam mistress doesn't lie about mistakes. Thanks to commenter Don for pointing out my blunder.

The Unattractive Revolution

Crashdiet will release their next album The Unattractive Revolution next month on Universal/Stockholm Records.

I have the CD and it is killer.

Only Bring Back Glam! can bring you the track listing, so here it is:

1) In the Raw
2) Like a Sin
3) Falling Rain
4) I Don’t Care (featuring Mick Mars of Motley Crue)
5) Die Another Day
6) Alone (featuring Mick Mars of Motley Crue)
7) Thrill Me
8) Overnight
9) XTC Overdrive
10) Bound to be Enslaved
11) The Buried Song

As many know Crashdiet suffered a major blow after original singer Dave Lepard committed suicide in early 2006. The remaining members opted to disband, but later rejoined forces and invited Finnish vocalist H. Olliver Twisted into the fold.

Twisted has a unique voice and brings a completely different sound to the sleaze genius that is Crashdiet. There’s something about this Swedish band that puts them so far ahead of their contemporaries: the songwriting is better, the musicianship is better, the entire package is just better.

Immediate standout tracks are “Falling Rain” and “Alone.” Both songs use interesting tempo changes providing a nice juxtaposition for the thematic quality of each track. Of course, absolutely blazing guitar solos don’t hurt either.

Mick Mars of Motley Crue lent his guitar prowess to the band, and his playing is top notch on both “I Don’t Care” and “Alone.” If Crashdiet are working to make exquisite glam guitar solos their calling card, then asking Mr. Mars to hop a plane to Sweden was a wise move.

Twisted proves he can harmonize with the rest of the band on “Overnight.” A deep bass line is present here, adding an extra layer of depth to an already gritty song. “Overnight” is a song with a big chorus, but very jarring lyrics. Crashdiet are smart songwriters and understand the importance of wordplay when creating top notch lyrics. Also, the song features an excellent guitar solo by Martin Sweet. He is so good he deserves a spot on the cover of Guitar World. It’s time to invite the lovely Swedes to the U.S. -- I know I would embrace them with open arms.

Finally, I also have a proof of the liner notes. The book is beautifully dark, a perfect match for the music. Crashdiet’s debut Rest in Sleaze is one of the best glam releases ever recorded. For The Unattractive Revolution the band clearly decided to move in a more Metal direction, and it works: the songs are sonically amazing, but downright dirty. Don’t except to hear as many pop-oriented hooks as on Rest in Sleaze; Twisted has a different voice than Lepard and edgier tunes work best with Crashdiet 2.0.

Crashdiet are offering a pre-sale promotion for The Unattractive Revolution. If you order through www.crashdiet.org the band will sign your disc.

Here’s the video for “In the Raw,” the first single from The Unattractive Revolution.

***Suggested reading “Back on Trakk: Interview with Crashdiet drummer Eric Young” (June 27, 2007)