The Rim Of Hell

This past weekend, I headed back up to North Lawrence, Ohio for the 7th Annual Rock N’ Resort Music Festival at Clays Park Resort. If you’ve been a long-time reader, you know I’ve attended before (this was my fourth time, actually).

The missus and I went up Thursday night with the Mobile Mortuary (our camper) and attended the Thursday night pre-festival kick-off party which included local fav’s The Overtones, who did some decent covers including “What’s Going On” excellently sung by vocalist Cassandra Rose.

The next three days were hot, sweaty, loud, drunken mayhem that had us up until 6am on at least two occasions thanks to some overzealous neighbors in the primitive camping area. Lots of swimming, eating, DRINKING yadda yadda but let’s talk about the bands.

First off, I’m only going to elaborate on the acts that I liked. My momma always said that if “you ain’t got nuthin’ nice to say about someone, don’t say nuthin’”. In that spirit, there are several cover bands that I . . . ahem, endured & won’t go into any further details. On the other hand, here are some of the more positive moments;

Blues Traveler, Hoobastank & Theory of A Dead Man all did excellent shows which were generally crowd pleasers. Not a huge fan of any of these bands but found myself entertained & would go see them again. Especially if the tickets were free.

Cleveland Ohio’s own Jackie , who with a kind of bland band name (say that five times real fast) do NOT play blandly on stage, thankfully.  Hottie vocalist Jackie LaPonza [pictured] belted out originals that were worthy of a big stage performance.  The band is trying to win a slot opening for KISS when they come to Cleveland – consider Jackie as Rim Of Hell endorsed, mmk?

Bad Company Former Lead Singer Brian Howe – the man best known as Paul Rodgers’ replacement, Brian was hilariously entertaining and timelessly professional.  His voice is as strong as ever & he gets my respect for refusing to leave the stage during a thunderstorm.  As the few of us who were brave enough to stand in the downpour found out, Brian “didn’t want you to think we were a bunch of pussies”.   Get that man another Tequila shot!   Will never forget hearing him sing “Bad Company” under a strangely appropriate blackened sky.

Starship Featuring Mickey Thomas – I know what you’re thinking, I was skeptical too. Honestly, they do the name proud even though none are original Jefferson Airplane members. Mickey Thomas (the closest thing to a founding member) still has a great vocal style and smoothly prowls the stage while crooning songs I’d almost forgotten like “Sarah”, “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” & “Jane”. Accompanied by firecracker vocalist Stephanie Calvert, we were also treated to excellent renditions of Jefferson Airplane classics “White Rabbit” and “Somebody To Love” as well as the syrupy 80′s hits “We Built This City (On Rock N’ Roll)” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”.  Despite what you may or may not think of that repertoire, the band was tight & sounded great.

Overall, another crazy year spent with perennial friends we only know from this event, to new acquaintances who we’ll probably meet with again in that same campground years from now.

Went on a short trip to Put In Bay this past weekend, and had an amazing time (as always).  Sampled the relatively new Put-In-Bay Winery, took a tour of the associated Dollar (pronounced DOH-lar) house, tooled around on a golf cart, and ate too much seafood.  YUM!  Also caught one of the best cover bands I’ve ever heard at Mr. Ed’s – yeah really, they were that good!

Splendid Chaos did outstanding renditions of a lot of popular rock artists including Nickleback, Puddle of Mudd, Eve 6, Bush, Sublime, Rage Against The Machine, Saliva,  Zeppelin, even some decent originals as well. Very polished & tight performance had the crowd going, especially with the versatile vocalizations of singer Mike Hall, who had an almost chameleon-like ability to adapt to the artists they covered.   Folks, I’ve probably heard hundreds of bar bands in my day – these guys are easily in the upper echelon.  Check’em out at the link above.

Sadly, I could only stay on the island a very short time but it was still good to bask in the sunshine a little.  I’ll be very busy over the next couple of days but know that I am working on CD reviews of some bands you may not have heard yet (Kopek & Locusta for example) as well as one that I’m sure you have (Iron Maiden!).   I’ll also be reporting back from the 7th annual Rock N’ Resort Music Festival so stay tuned, mmmk?

Going a little off the beaten path for this one, I want to talk to you about a demo disc I picked up at Comfest; Dexter Wesley & The New Experience. If you read my review of that event, you’ll recall that this band does a soulful Jimi Hendrix tribute that was a real crowd pleaser. I was thrilled when they let me take a listen to their new CD (recorded in just 6 hours, or so I was told).

First off, this band is old-school all the way; no slick marketing gimmicks, no glossy pamphlets with scantily clad women (aw, damn it!).  This disc is a plain ole’ CDR burned by hand from the guys who recorded it. Reminds me of the tape trading days of the 80′s. Not fancy, but shows that you’re dealing with musicians, not salesman. Fair enough.

The disc in question is comprised of 7 tracks, no playlist. I was able to piece together most titles from their Myspace page for all but 2 tracks; 4) is possibly called Captain Corruption and 6) well, you got me there.

The intro piece (aptly called ‘My Guitar’) sets the tone for the entire release; VERY Hendrix-like, but raw,  bluesy and feeling like a genuine 60′s vibe. I have a collection of Hendrix bootlegs and studio outtakes – this CD could easily fit amongst them. And like those rarities, this doesn’t quite have the sound of a mainstream Hendrix release, but it is most definitely in the same vein.

My favorite track is probably ‘I’m Tired of Being Your Fool’, which you can hear for yourself on Dexter’s Myspace page. Unlike most of the other songs, this one is all Stevie Ray. Damn good drinkin’ music, too. Also really liked ‘Blues (booze) in my head’ and ”Hold My Head Up”.

In fact, the whole disc is good down-to-earth, roughly produced, sweaty Blues-ified rock n’ roll. My only concern is that like their live performances, the sound is so very much Jimi it will be difficult for them to be appreciated on their own terms. Which honestly, they deserve to be.

So pour yourself a drink, take a listen on Myspace and see what you think. Maybe even catch them live if you happen to be in Columbus, Ohio -  I guarantee you won’t regret it.  But don’t hold your breath waiting for them to email bomb your inbox selling t-shirts or adding you on Twitter so you’ll know every time they take a crap.

These are musicians, folks.  Real ones.  Even in 2010, Old-school lives.   And thank God for that!

It was SUPPOSED to be The Scorpions Farewell Tour, with Cinderella as opening act. That was what everyone bought tickets to see – The Scorpions Farewell Tour. Except Scorps’ vocalist Klaus Meine was ordered by doctors not to perform for 48 hours, or some such number, due to a serious chest infection that if left untreated & without rest, would literally threaten to end the tour early. For Klaus – no performing, no if’s, no and’s, no but’s. That’s the official story.

Now the cool part; rather than just drive up to Detroit (the next show on the tour), Tom Kiefer and Co. of Cinderella decided they’d perform anyhow – for free. Tickets were refunded, announcements broadcast all over the radio & amazingly, in that short of time frame (about 48 hours again) the powers that be found a new opening act – local boys gone to hell, the shit-kicking party band American Dog. And there was much rejoicing!

So yeah, the whole thing was free. Other than beer costs. Not free at all for me really, but I digress. American Dog – despite a plethora of sound issues during the first 3 songs, came prepared to entertain – and they did. As comfortable on stage as they are with a bottle in their hands, the bastard sons of C-bus laid it down nicely. A lot of new stuff was presented, not all of it as instantly memorable as some of their classics, but thankfully they did pull out their self-proclaimed anthem (and my personal fav) “Drank Too Much”. And yes we all did. Great show boys – as always.

Cinderella was a refreshing step back into my college days – the 80′s. Tom’s voice seems fully recovered from his own health issues and as a band they were in full form. After all this time, I kinda forgot just how many hits these guys have – and they played them all. Among them were “Heartbreak Station”, “Bad Seamstress Blues/Falling Apart At The Seams”, “The Last Mile”, “Somebody Save Me”, “Nobody’s Fool”, “Night Songs”, “Coming Home”, “Gypsy Road”, “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone) and “Shake Me”.

I was impressed, and absolutely thrilled that I had joined the nearly capacity crowd to see this show. We all hear about the egos of the bands from the Glam era, I’m here to vouch for a band representing pure & honest rock n’ roll that saved a show instead & turned it into something memorable.

Cinderella, hopefully we don’t have to say farewell anytime soon.

This past weekend we celebrated the Columbus Community Festival (affectionately known as Comfest) once again.  3 days of music, food, merchandise, crafts & workshops and political/environmental discussion.  Plus the only time the statue of Lincoln Goodale, for whom the host park was named, sports a more ‘casual’ look (picture borrowed from ‘Chrisrockshard’ on Flickr is from 2009 but it was the same this year).

In addition to seeing tons of friends, volunteering my services in security (THAT’S a whole story unto itself) and just soaking up the vibe that is Comfest, I saw some tremendous talent – reminding me that despite what the rest of the world may think, Columbus truly is brimming with excellent bands from various styles of music.  I will review several of these in separate posts, but here’s a thumbnail overview;

Josh Krajcik – multi-talented vocalist/instrumentalist is one of the most natural performers you’ll ever see.  A voice that crosses Michael Bolton with Joe Cocker accompanied by guitar work reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan.  I can’t say enough about him or his band except that the record industry needs to wake up & promote this guy.

Dexter Wesley & The New Experience – One of the best Jimi Hendrix tribute bands I’ve ever seen (ok, I’ve only really seen like 3, but he was better than the other two).  Looked like Jimi, sounded like Jimi, played enough like Jimi to pass my muster.  Dexter hooked me up with a demo disc after-wards which I’ll review in it’s own post.  What an entertaining & talented band!

Locusta – The ONLY metal band this year but that’s ok – they represented!  Bludgeoning death metal, technically perfected and assaulting the senses like a rapid-fire sonic machine gun.  Yeah, their CD will be getting it’s own post here as well.  Paraphrasing the emcee who came onstage after the band was finished says it all – “I’ve seen Celtic Frost, I’ve seen Venom, I’ve seen Morbid Angel.  Ladies & Gentleman – what you just witnessed was right up there with those bands.  You’re privileged to have seen this one”.   Standing in the crowd, I can vouch that we were ALL blown away.  Truly Epic.

Willie Phoenix – Headlining Sunday night was legendary Columbus rocker (and someone of whom I’m a big fan) Willie Phoenix.  You’ve heard me rave about him before, but Willie KNOWS how to put on a show.  Mesmerizing the crowd with his soulful vocals, his blues-driven fretmanship and his totally off the wall stage antics.  No wonder one local paper ran an article a few weeks ago imploring the Comfest committee to return Willie to his former glory of headlining Saturday night’s main stage.  Hey, from what I saw – it might as well have been Saturday.

So many other acts I could rave about; Phantods, Lydia Loveless, The Floorwalkers, The Spikedrivers, Andy Shaw band, the list just goes on and on.  If you live near Columbus, please support these bands!  If you don’t, find them on Myspace, on Facebook, on Youtube WHEREVER.

Like Brigadoon, Comfest is just a vanished village now.  But as in every year, I’m glad I spent a hazy, crazy weekend in Goodale park – with the statue of the good doctor and 70,000 of his closest friends.

The first new Ozzy in 3 years comes out tomorrow (June 22) so thought I’d weigh in on ‘Scream’. Let me start with a little background. . .

This is the first album since 1988′s “No Rest For The Wicked” that doesn’t have Zakk Wylde on guitar & there was plenty of conjecture in the media on how this would impact the Ozzman’s future sound. Wylde’s replacement is one Gus G. (Dream Evil, Firewind) who unfortunately came in AFTER the songwriting process so we still don’t really get a feel for what kind of chemistry he & Ozzy will have.

Also missing is former Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin, who’s been replaced by veteran stickmeister Tommy Clufetos (Alice Cooper, Ted Nugent, Rob Zombie).  Think Rob Zombie’s getting tired of Ozzy hijacking his band members yet?  Zombie lost bassist Blasko to Ozzy for ‘Black Rain’ and was rumored to be in danger of losing guitarist John 5 before it was announced that Gus got the job.   C’mon Ozzy, recruit your own guys – mmmk?

Anyhow, like ‘Black Rain’,  music writing duties were shared with producer Kevin Churko and on occasion keyboardist Adam Wakeman.  Churko’s son Kane even gets into the act for one song – ‘Crucify’, which unfortunately is one of the weakest on the disc, in my opinion.

Overall this is a dark album – yeah, even for Ozzy.  Where his earlier works were almost as satirical as they were macabre,  ‘Scream’ is more like a collaboration between Ozzy & Marilyn Manson; brooding & heavy, touching on cynical religious views instead of ‘save the world’ soliloquies, it pretty much punches you in the face, let’s you catch your breath, then bitch slaps you for good measure.  I read somewhere that Ozzy likens the album to his Black Sabbath days, and really  – I can hear that.  It’s MUCH heavier than Sabbath, but it definitely echos some ‘Children of the Grave’ goodness in songs like ‘Diggin’ Me Down’ or ‘Let It Die’ (both of which could’ve been singles except for their 6 minute run-times).

What I don’t think is that this is as formula Ozzy as perhaps we’ve seen in the past; maybe it’s the world class talent supporting him but the songs aren’t as predictable this go round, you’re never quite sure of where things are headed.   Sure, there’s the obligatory ballads (the mediocre ‘Life Won’t Wait’ and the radio-friendly ‘Time’) but other songs are so bombastic, so full of crunch, you’ll find yourself staring at the speakers with a big ‘WTF’ on your face.  The intro to ‘Fearless’ made me think I’d hit the wrong band in my player, for example!

I’m sure there will be plenty of nay-sayers but honestly, I like the new stuff – better than Black Rain & frankly, better than the last few albums.  While I don’t think there’s another ‘Crazy Train’ or ‘No More Tears’ on this disc, there’s plenty of songs worth listening to more than a few times – songs that will translate well to a live performance even if they’re not as mainstream accessible.

In my opinion, Ozzy’s still going strong, adapting his sound & lyrics to remain relevant without becoming cliche.  I think the new blood is revitalizing his work & I look forward to hearing more ‘true’ collaboration between himself & Gus.

Welcome back, yon Prince of Darkness!  We’ve missed you!!

Whatcha  doin’ Saturday, June 26th?  If you’re me, you’re butt deep in hippies at Columbus’ Comfest, chugging beers and watching local acts on 5 stages.

HOWEVER, if you’re not me (as most of you aren’t) AND you are within driving/flying/teleporting distance of Rutland Ohio (in scenic & fragrant Meigs County), you could catch a show most awesome.  Check it – an assload of bands will be playing at Skatopia including the mighty GWAR – say it with me now – GWAR!, as well as Green JELLO, Psychostick and the legendary Murphy’s Law.  Go HERE for a complete band listing & other sordid details of the affair.  NOTE: Psychostick is playing during the Green Jello set – so if you caught the Parental Advisory tour, this is likely to be a different & instantly memorable event.

And thanks to The J, self proclaimed Guitar Ninja for Psychostick, for letting me know the skinny on the whole deal so I could share it with you meat sacks.  Sadly I’m already committed or I would gladly make the sojourn to see that line-up!  So I leave it up to you, my crazed minions, to infest the event & report back properly on the wanton destruction that ensues.

In that spirit, here’s the karaoke version of ‘Two Ton Paperweight’ by Psychostick.  Enjoy!

After 20 years, the original line-up of Krokus have reunited and brought forth a new release – Hoodoo.  Fans of the world rejoice!

That pretty much sums up the new body of work in my opinion; if you like Krokus & are a fan of classics like “Screaming in the Night” or “Midnight Maniac”, you will be absolutely thrilled to hear fresh material that showcases their somewhat derivative brand of blues-inspired rock n’ roll.  If you found them to be a tad formulaic, then this may not be such a blessing for you.

First, and most amazingly, the band sounds great!  Vocalist Marc Storace has apparently had his vocal chords in cryonics for the past 20 as he sounds identical to how he did in the 80′s.  Guitarists Mark Kohler & Fernando von Arb (LOVE that guy’s name) still have the chops despite a deficiency of fret-burning in this release.  Especially interesting is the band’s cover of the Steppenwolf staple “Born To Be Wild” – still prefer the original, sorry guys.  Other notable tracks are “Hoodoo Woman”, the AC/DC-ish “Rock ‘N’ Roll Handshake” , the very singable “Too Hot” & my fav of the disc – “Ride Into The Sun” (which could almost pass as a sequel of sorts to ‘Screaming in the Night’).

In fact my biggest complaint with ‘Hoodoo’ is just that there’s no new instant classic track to rival some of the band’s earlier works.   Not that this is a terrible thing but it doesn’t help with a reputation as “The World’s Greatest OPENING Act” due to a shortage of headlining gigs in the good ole’ US.  Doubtful this release will remedy that situation but here’s my wish; they get back into the swing of recording/touring together & then release a follow-up that’s more up-tempo, aggressive and lets the six strings run free.

If that happens – i’ll be a believer that Krokus does in fact still possess the ‘Hoodoo’.  As it is, the potential is there, I just need them to blow the dust off their speakers.  Make it so boys!

Slayer.net – Yep, in case you were not aware – today is the fourth annual International Day Of Slayer.

What does this mean? Well, stuff is on sale at Slayer.net (blah blah text 666 from your cellphone for 10% off etc.) so check that out if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, I suggest blasting a little “South Of Heaven” from the ole’ car stereo.

Attended Day 2 of Rock On The Range last Sunday at Crew stadium here in wonderful Columbus, Ohio. This is the event’s fourth year but only the first time I’ve ever been able to attend. I gotta say – it’s a “must go” from here on out! 2 Days, 38 bands plus a ton of vendors & side attractions to check out (my fave was the Harley Davidson cafe where I had a birds eye view of Coheed & Cambria without having to leave the shade or my frosty cold beer).

So I saw bits & pieces of many bands on Sunday but due to scheduling issues couldn’t see them all – had to pick & choose. The best moments I think came from;

Mistress Juliya – Fuse TV’s hot show host was the official MC for the festival & she must’ve been having a blast because by Day 2, she had almost no voice left. Still, she looked great & I wish I could gotten to see her up close(r). Hope she comes back next year.

Apocalyptica – Is there such thing as ‘Thrash Cello’? If so, these guys invented it. 3 Cellists & a drummer performing originals as well as various cover tunes (most from Metallica) made for an unusual, yet very rocking performance. I never thought I’d see a moshpit to cellos – crazy!

Five Finger Death Punch – Win ‘Most Memorable Performance’ by not only rocking everyone’s asses off & offering a brief homage to the men & women of the Armed Forces, but also by vocalist Ivan Moody’s invitation to the crowd to “come up & shake his hand” – which resulted in the most simultaneous crowd surfers I’d ever seen (nearly 100 in the air at once!). They closed with their awesome single ‘The Bleeding’ which Moody claimed he wrote about a girl “from these parts”. By “these parts”, I’m assuming he meant the midwest but who knows. Very awesome live act.

Slash – The Top Hatted One made us all forget about his former bands with an excellent set fronted by Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy. Man, that guy has some PIPES! It was especially cool that the band flawlessly performed not only some G n’ R goodness (‘Night Train’, ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’) but some Velvet Revolver (‘Slither’) and great new originals as well (love ‘By The Sword’ and ‘Starlight’ but sure can’t sing them . . .waaaaay out of my vocal range). I would definitely go see Slash again – he was amazing to watch & hear once more.

Seether – I’ve seen Seether before and they just are crowd favorites, pure and simple. Great selection of songs – including ‘Remedy’, ‘Gasoline’, ‘Broken’, ‘Fake it & ‘Rise Above This’ which are all excellent to hear live. Vocalist Shaun Morgan called playing before the RotR crowd “humbling” as they easily finished choruses with him. Very cool to witness.

The last act of the evening for me was Rim of Hell favorite Rob Zombie. His setlist was virtually identical to the last time I’d seen him but his stage show was bigger & more elaborate, with all sorts of creatures roaming around, a multi-armed skeleton/mic stand thingy (I WANT ONE!) and TONS of video monitors & flames everywhere. The band was tight as always and during an extended guitar solo by virtuoso John 5, Zombie was escorted into the crowd where he used a flashlight to check everyone out. As with every show, Mr. Zombie fails to disappoint. I’m glad he’s still taking the stage & we haven’t lost him completely to Hollywood.

Left before seeing Limp Bizkit, but a surprising amount of folks stuck it out. One teenager ran through the crowd yelling “I’m staying for Limp Bizkit – the rest of you can go home!” but it would seem that only a few of us actually ducked out early. Hey, I was out of the parking lot in 10 minutes so I ain’t complainin’.

Met many folks from some pretty far off places (Maryland & New Jersey being the farthest I think) & am ultimately very glad I went. If you get the opportunity, I HIGHLY recommend attending next year’s event, or Rock On The Range Canada which is scheduled for August 7th in Winnipeg of this year. Truly awesome concert event!