For Those About to Rock... Good Luck...

This summer I'll be embarking on a grand journey to the mid-west state of Oklahoma in hopes to rock harder than I ever have in all my years of existence. Along with my noble sidekick (read: boyfriend) we shall have an adventure that far surpasses the magnitude of any other adventure that precedes it. One festival. Three days. Thirty bands. 9,998 people with enough Aquanet in their hair to last a century. More cut-off-acid-washed shorts in one area than in the rest of the world! More neon colors and bandannas than humanly possible! Crazy? No way, man! It's rock and roll, 80's style! Quite possibly the most fun time for music in the short history of the subject. So far, the anticipation for this festival is absolutely killing me.... that, and they haven't announced all the bands yet so I'm biting my fingernails in hopes they don't book bands like Dangerous Toys or Jackyl.... it's bad enough Pretty Boy Floyd and the Bullet Boys are going to be there. Kind of a hit and miss with some of these bands, but the bonus in this equation of awesomeness is that I've got a golden ticket. The key to the emerald city. The magical VIP pass that means I don't have to share my experience with peons who couldn't shell out the extra couple bucks to be swanky. Drew and I will be perusing in and out of air conditioned tents, hobnobbing with rockstars and their friends and family and groupies who follow them around adoringly. It won't matter if we leave during Toxin's set, we'll be guaranteed a spot at most 13 rows back! I don't think I've been more stoked for anything ever! (Am I rambling on? You're darn right I am!) Here are the bands that have already been announced, then you can get excited for me too! :: Twisted Sister, Scorpions, Ratt, Dokken, Warrant, Great White, Lita Ford, Slaughter, Michael Schenker Group, L.A. Guns featuring Tracii Guns, Firehouse, John Corabi, Enuff Z'nuff, Faster Pussycat..... and from there it goes downhill pretty quick: Pretty Boy Floyd, Bullet Boys, Steelheart, Lynch Mob, and Toxin. For the most part you can tell why I'm stoked...

Anyhoo, what was I saying? Oh. A tricycle.... because a vest has no arms....

No, no. It's not for another three months so I'll be forced to deal with my antsiness. I'm sure I'll post more about it as we get closer to D-day.... but in the meantime, here are some songs I do indeed recommend for your own personal rock concert:

Warrant- 32 Pennies not only is it one of their best songs, but.... no, it's their best song.... Good lyrics as far as the 80's go, and it's not too hokey on guitars.

Ratt- Lovin' You's A Dirty Job is the truth....

Twisted Sister- You Can't Stop rock and Roll I hear it every week at RocknRoll trivia at the Haunt in Ithaca, but there is a certain staying power behind the song that makes it enjoyable to listen to over and over again.

Scorpions- The Zoo it's not one they play on the radio all the time so it get's bonus points for that. Also there is something about not understanding half of the words Klaus says that makes the song great.

Dokken- It's Not Love good groove to the song, and Don Dokken's voice is so smooth no matter what song he sings. Lyrics aren't cheesy like some other glam band's tunage.

Great White- Rock Me they are soooo not a hair metal band! They are rock and roll... if they came out in the 70's that's what they'd be labeled as. This song proves their rock-bluesness.

That's really all the time I have today kiddies. Stay tuned for your local programming.....

Just When You Think Things Are Going Great.....

Two things are certain in life. Death and taxes... right? What about making mistakes? What about forgiveness? These are two things I've noticed happens a heck of a lot in life. I don't care how young or old you are, everybody makes mistakes. SO when people make mistakes you usually forgive them, unless it's something that is unforgivable (i.e. cheating on someone). I've made my fair share of mistakes in life... some of which I can't believe I've been forgiven for. Most recently I've made one of my cousins extremely mad because I couldn't go to one of her Dr.'s appointments. Maybe I've understated it. Maybe I'm not seeing the bigger picture here. Maybe I'm insensitive, but I don't understand my mistake. I apologized for not being there, and I thought that should have been alright. Again, maybe I'm not seeing the big picture. I've always been there when she needed me... for 22, almost 23 years of her life I've been there for her... and now, because I missed one single Dr.'s appointment, she's ready to cast me out of her life. Am I shocked? No. I got to say I saw this coming. Everyone has to have one person in life they can blame things on... it's human nature not to take responsibility for your actions. No one wants to be blamed for things. If she wants to make me out to be this horrible person because of one little mistake, then I'm flattered she would pick me to be the bad guy. At least she was thinking of me. That in itself is sweet. With all of the hormones going haywire in a pregnant person's body, it's nice to be thought of for 2 seconds of the day.... even if it's a loathing hatred she has of me. However, I'm still confused on the why..... another diagnosis mystery i suppose. I hoped all the apologizing I did would've been enough to wayside this mistake. I mean, one can only apologize soooo much for one tiny mistake before it's just ludicrous... right? Well, I'm Sorry!! Again.... hopefully you can forgive this one little action and know that I've done so much else in your life that should make up for this. Especially when there was no one there for you and I was.... that should count for something.... right?
oh well. Check me off for my mistakes made this year.... I think I'm done.... no, wait... people make mistakes all the time! THAT'S RIGHT! hmmmm...... what will I do tomorrow to screw things up for myself? Tune in next week as the plot thickens for our heroine......

Heavy Meadow...

First and foremost, Happy New Year's!! Two-oh-one-oh! So far so good. Four days in and I'm still sticking to all of my new year's resolutions. That in itself is a record. Resolution #1: Spend more time with friends and family. Sounds like a generic good thing to do, and really it's the best resolution one can have. #2: Don't miss any work. I don't know about you, but I get sick a lot during the winter season so I miss a lot of work. I don't care how sick or dying I am this year, I'm going to work 'cuz I need the money for resolution number 3.... Save money to move! Check. Doing well so far. And last but not least Resolution #4: Work on being a rockstar! Not the easiest thing to strive for, but when one is given the gift of rock n roll one must spread the rock!(ha ha...)
I've been working on this dream for about 4 years now. I have one CD and an Ep out with the band I'm in, SKooBER. (Feel free to check us out myspace.com/Skoober) We've come to a standstill within the past six months or so due to lack of a whole band. However we're working on new music and when we move we'll be looking for a new band.... and a new name for our new band. Shedding the SKooBER name will also allow us to grow and make a different kind of music... Rock n ROLL? HEAVY METAL? Folk?... ehhh, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
In other news,I recently finished reading a book by Chuck Klosterman called Fargo Rock City. In that book he tells about the importance of heavy metal,( glam metal, hair metal) and the effect it had on his life. I grew up with the same music... and though I'm part of a different generation, that music makes me feel the same way. When I listen Poison or Cinderella I get a surge of energy and I feel great, like nothing can get me down because this music is fun and carefree. Lyrically, some of these songs are absolutely ridiculous, but if you can get passed the aqua net then maybe you can listen to the meaning behind some of these fantastic tunes.
My point is simply this..... uhh... I had a point I'm sure.... no. No point... I just like to hear myself think.... It's a cleaver way to waste your time and mine and get you to maybe check out my band if you haven't already..... and I do this so well.... I get rambling in a tangent and it seems like I'm going somewhere with it and then >BAM!< you realize the story has gone nowhere and you are stuck feeling slighted and used...... well in that case I'm sorry. To make this semi-worthwhile, I'll give you a list of 10 songs you should check out from my favorite decade of decadence, the 80's: (in totally random order)
1.Krokus-Midnite Maniac From the killer riff in the beginning to the very end, this is a perfect example of why the 80's was such a great time for music.... ridiculous lyrics about a sex crazed woman with every intent to fill her every desire at midnight.... not to mention a wicked guitar solo by Fernando Von Arb (whom ever he may be....).
2.Alice Cooper- Freedom If I had to choose any Alice song it would be this one for the 80's purely for the fact it embodies what he was about right then and there. After struggling with alcoholism for many a year he overcame the addiction and finally he had the freedom to talk, the freedom to rock with 1987's Raise Your Fist and Yell. Check out the whole album if you want to here some earsplitting guitar noodles by Kane Roberts and lyrics that fit the era of "shoot first ask questions later" heavy metal.
3.Whitesnake- Still of the Night I like David Coverdale's voice.... and this song is bitchin' dude... fer sure.
4.Guns N Roses- Nightrain A big difference from every other song on this list... Guns N Roses rocks harder with more vigor than any other band from the era... go ahead and argue with me if you want, but if you do I'll cut you for one basic reason: Slash! One of the best guitarists in the universe, he really does a bangerang job on this song and the whole album, Appetite for Destruction.... end of story.
5.Poison- Ride the Wind If you like songs about freedom in the summertime, than this is certainly the song for you.
6.Kix- The Itch The little band out of Maryland does a great service to the sex crazed teens of the 80's with this snazzy little ditty. Totally worth a listen.
7.Mötley Crüe-Same Ol' Situation(S.O.S.) It's the Crüe for Pete's sake, picking a song by them is like picking a favorite child.... especially off the phenomenal album Dr. Feelgood. Too many good songs to chose just one, but this song in particular has a great drum beat in the bridge that makes you tap along vivaciously. Also a wonderful little guitar riff delivered by one of the most under rated guitar players ever, Mick Mars.
8.KISS- Hide Your Heart So the 80's wasn't the best decade for KISS, and this is probably not the best song from that decade. BUT I love the video for this song, and the chorus rapes your brain for days.
9.Cinderella- Bad Seamstress Blues/Fallin' Apart at the Seams Another very under rated band from the 80's, clumped in with all the other hair metalists of the time. The lyrics delivered by Tom Keifer are sure to make you think twice about making the mistake of calling Cinderella "just another hair metal band".
and last but not least...
10.Enuff Z'nuff- Fly High Michelle Delivered to us at the end of the 80's, the self titled first album by the group gave us a good look at what songs should sound like by a band who can not spell properly...... all joking aside, Fly High Michelle is only one of the power hits from this band's first album and certainly the only one on it with a girl's name in the title:)

So, there. Now go and Bang your Head..... metal health will drive you mad....