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And again
White cranberry mocha frappucino at Starbucks. And on my way to Manchester.:-)
Facebook blocked my page
Well… You won’t be getting updates through my Facebook-account for In A Rearview Mirror for a while I guess.
When I went to login earlier today I got a “security message” (security – from who, what, why??) that said I had to provide my cellphone number to “prove I’m a real person“. Uh, are there UNREAL people with accounts? WTF? Ghosts? Trolls? Wizards? Aliens??
And “secure”… from what?? If ANYTHING makes me feel very uncomfortable, it’s handing out my phonenumber left and right, especially to a website that don’t even give you the OPTION to choose NOT to give them that kind of info. Is it just me that finds that very disturbing?
When I registrered my Facebook-page I used a phone number that is not my regular number. They don’t specify that it needs to be a number that’s actually in USE. They just want “a number”. Fine. It was MINE alright, but I never used it. Maybe they figured it out – they couldn’t get more info out of me by adding THAT number so… now I have to “prove” it’s me. And that old number that I used back then, is not in use at all anymore.
So…. For NO reason whatsoever, I can’t login to my Facebook account and god knows when or IF I ever will – it all depends on whether or not I hear from their “support team”….
This is why I hate Facebook. The whole idea of ONE organization having so much personal information about millions of people spooks me out.
They know more about you and your habits than you do yourself. They know your friends, they know where you’ve been and with whom, they know where you work, who your family is, your aquaintances, your numbers, e-mails, hobbies, political standpoints, taste in music, what you buy, what you like, dislike… Hell, they even know when you went to the toilet if you chose to use that info on your last status update! And people are okay with that? I don’t get it.
The place sucks horseballs. I always hated it. I never wanted to join that “Gestapo”-site but felt that I had to because the whole world seemed perfectly okay with giving out everything about themselves to Facebook. If I wanted to reach anyone at all out there, I had to create a page. But it’s like selling your soul to the devil. At this point I just don’t know what it is we get in return?
Right now I’m just hoping that the place dies as fast as MySpace vanished over night. I miss MySpace. It was so much more music-oriented, I could spend hours browsing for music on there. There were music players and videos, bios and everything in one place. Perfect for a music fan. Facebook? Just a bunch of clutter – and try finding actual music by the bands on there, good luck with that…
Anyhoooooo…. Motley Crue, Def Lep this weekend. If you’re subscribing you will get the news, videos, pics. The rest, that are on Facebook won’t know anything about it because Facebook decided that they want to get more INFO about me before they “allow” me to enter their precious site. I think I need to find my old t-shirt:
So right now I’m anything but pleased about the situation. We’ll see how it goes. Sucks if I’ll end up having to start all over again just because my old cellphone number doesn’t work anymore. What’s with Facebook’s obsession with PHONE NUMBERS anyway???
Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Steel Panther – let’s get ROCKED! :)
Just a few more days until the Steel Panther, Def Leppard and Motley Crue show in Manchester. Going with my friends “Catz” and “Sleazee” and a friend of theirs. Will be a fun trip with good friends. :)
I have to admit that for some reason, I haven’t cared to listen to Steel Panther much. A friend of mine is a huge fan, and he’s sent me links to some of their videos on Youtube but I never took time to really get into them. Guess I took them for another Spinal Tap sort of band but I guess they’re not..really.
So – it will be a nice surprise I’m sure. After all – with Russ Parrish, an ex-Fight member, in the band, it can’t be bad…!
Def Leppard – oh boy. An amazing live band. Probably one of the best live acts ever. First time I saw them was actually pretty late – it was back in 2006 when I flew to Las Vegas for just a few days to attend VH1 Rock Honors at Mandalay Bay. I was one of the chosen for a TV-audience, which means we were not a “regular” crowd per se, we got our tickets for free because we were being directed how to act, what to wear, where to be, by the TV-producers.
The “tryouts” took all day and I remember how surprised I was to learn how it all worked with these TV-galas. The “Black carpet”-thing wasn’t what you would think. It was filmed in the back yard of Mandalay Bay, we were placed where the TV-team wanted us to be and the bands “drove in” from around the corner in the same limo that just went for the next band over and over again. Actually it was a van and a limo and there was no real crowd, just us who were told when to scream and clap our hands, and when to shut up. That’s show business!
(Find the Def Leppard Rock Honors video here:)
Get More: Def Leppard, TV Shows, Full Episode Video, Reality TV Shows
Once we got in, I was actually told to stand somewhere that I didn’t think was close enough to the stage, so when the security guy looked elsewhere, I just sneaked in behind his back and blended with the front-row crowd! I hadn’t come all the way to Vegas to be standing somewhere way in the back like a moron.
[Joe Elliot, Def Leppard – VH 1 Rock Honors, Las Vegas 2006. And me – somewhere uh…Yeah.]
And when PRIEST played…. There was no happier fan anywhere in Vegas! It’s been caught on camera, I remember the camera-guy came running with this huge camera that he pointed straight in my face when I was going crazy over Priest…! :-) It’s out on Youtube somewhere, I’ll see if I can find it.
As for Motley Crue – that’s a band I’ve seen a bunch of times through the years. And some funny memories too. I remember the Dr Feelgood tour in 1989 – Copenhagen, Denmark. They were having a meet and greet-thing organized by the record company at the KB-Hall (which burned down recently…) and they put all of us journalists in one room with the free snacks and drinks.
I think most of the people there were there for the free food more than for the band, because when Nikki, Vince, Tommy and Mick walked in, one of the reporters had the nerve to ask for more peanuts….!
The one detail I remember the most was Mick Mars – cause he had makeup on, some sort of foundation and powder, and when he was that close, you could see how it was all stuck in his bristles…! :-) Not too classy.
The record company representative came over with Nikki and Vince and introduced them to me. “This is Daniela, she came over here from Malmo, Sweden…” and they both went: “Ooooh, wow, all the way from SWEDEN??” It’s like they had no clue it was only 45 minutes away by airboat (this was before the bridge was built).
The meet and greet was a pretty meaningless event actually. They shook hands with people who didn’t really give a shit about them, and then they left. They signed a few things for those who wanted something autographed, but that was about it.
The show that night rocked. But funny enough, the opening act, Skid Row, a new up-and-coming band in 1989, gave them a good run for the money!
It was fun – Motley Crue is always about party, having a good time, over-the-top stage effects…! In Washington, 1998 I think, they shared the bill with Scorpions and a lot of families had shown up to see the outdoor concert. What they didn’t realize was that Motley had some pretty….explicit parts of the show. Two strippers not only getting almost totally naked, but also doing a….ehm, show with eachother. Not sure how to describe it without getting too visual. ;) Use your imagination. I saw mothers dragging their kids out of there covering their eyes with their palms. :)
Many were pissed off, but what the hell, if you don’t know what Motley Crue is about by now, don’t take your KIDS to their gigs! Five-six year olds are not supposed to be at Motley-shows, period.
Vince is not the greatest singer and he never will be. But he’s a great entertainer, the perfect frontman. Nikki used to be hot. He’s not anymore. But it’s still a band that knows how to entertain. And with Def Leppard setting the bar high, there is some healthy competition going on which will most likely bring out the best in both bands!
Looking forward to getting ROCKED on Sunday!
http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror
Does integrity exist in rock’n’roll?
AC/DC and Walmart…. A match made in heaven? I think not.
AC/DC and wallets, backpacks, t-shirts, mugs, baseball-caps, stickers and so on – better? Maybe not, but somehow more accepted because it’s still kept “within the family” so to speak.
I guess in the word integrity in rock’n’roll means “staying away from whatever is mainstream”.
Fans upset signature song used in Walmart commercial
We all know how pissed off fans get whenever their favorite metal band decides to experiement with something new.Van Halen doing “Jump” in 1984 caused a MAJOR protests. Oh-my-god. Blasphemy! KEYBOARDS in metal? What the f***. People back then could maybe stretch their tolerance to hammond-organs but no way in hell synthesizers had any business in metal.
When Judas Priest attempted it two years later with Turbo, they got the same reception. To this day, people feel like their heroes let them down.
Both bands were accused of being sellouts – because they were trying to cater to a wider audience. So they were treated like traitors. Being a metalhead means “keeping it in the family”.
I guess that’s why “real” rockers generally don’t like anything that has to do with stepping outside that frame.
Ozzy doing a reality-show, Judas Priest performing with James Durbin on American Idol, AC/DC selling their music to WALMART?!?! Where does it end, how much can metalheads accept?
We all know that it’s tough to be a musician these days. Nobody buys records anymore. Oh come on – honestly. When was the last time YOU actually BOUGHT a record? Possibly a collector’s item, but mostly, we all download or send mp3’s back and forth via e-mails or chats…. Artists can’t live on pure love and air only. :-) They need to survive.
I guess that’s why we’re seeing more of this now. KISS has always been a money machine. Funny enough, most of us have been perfectly okay with assisting them with that, by buying all kinds of “fun stuff” with the KISS-logo on it. But we did NOT like it when they did “I Was Made For Loving You“, because THAT was a HIT that NON-METALHEADS bought and liked. God forbid! Sellouts!
I guess that’s also why “real” rockers dislike bands like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard or Europe – because those bands actually appealed to everything and anything from kids to teenage girlies to actual music lovers. The reason why people think that Motörhead is a REAL metal band, is because generally, non-metalheads don’t like them.
You won’t see Lemmy in a reality show, he wouldn’t be caught dead doing anything like that. I guess out of most musicians today, he would be the ONLY musician I would say has true integrity that is solid as a rock. He is cool that way, I admire his attitude. It’s brave. I mean, alright, he let “Ace Of Spades” be used for a beer commercial, but that is somehow still rock’n’roll and very Lemmy. Its not WalMart!
Most bands nowadays are acting like whores. They would do anything for money.
One of the worst ways of moneymaking, is the “VIP packages” that are so big in America. Where they CHARGE fans to meet their idols. That is one of those things that I just have a hard time accepting.
What the fuck – I bought the records and the merch, I “liked” them on Facebook and added them on MySpace and Twitter, I’m wearing their freaking t-shirts and I’ve been crushed in the front row at their shows. And they can’t meet their fans for FREE? What’s wrong with that picture?
I realize that you can’t meet everybody, but usually, there are only a few people hanging around before and after the shows. Would it hurt inviting them in to listen to the sound check or have a beer on the bus? Providing they seem fairly normal of course…. I would never, EVER degrade myself to the point where I had to PAY a band to say hello to me, like some beggar. Fuck that.
I remember a girl from New Zealand who was a HUGE Billy Idol-fan that we met in Copenhagen years ago. She was traveling all around the world to see him. God knows how much she spent on tickets, hotels and all that. I should know – I did the same this year going everywhere to see guitar-hero Gus G play with Ozzy and Firewind. It’s not exactly cheap. But you do it for the love of rock’n’roll.
She had bought the most expensive “VIP-package” in several cities, Copenhagen being one of those cities,
I couldn’t believe it when she said how much she had paid, but I forget now the exact amount… Well – they let her in – ten minutes later she was out in the cold again! They “let” her take a photo with Billy and she wasn’t even allowed to use her OWN camera, she got an autograph and a poster and some other junk and after ten minutes it was BYE BYE BABY BYE BYE………..
I’ll never forget that. A die-hard fan like that should be invited in for FREE, get the red carpet for supporting Billy in every possible way. Not be treated like crap – because that was really shitty. I don’t blame Billy for that, he was super cool after the show.
“His people” told fans that Billy would not sign anything because he would risk getting a cold if he stayed outdoors. Billy didn’t give a fuck, he talked to everybody and signed anything people put in front of him.
The VIP-shit is some management’s idea – I would assume…..
But fans generally don’t complain about the “VIP”-bullshit. Cause it’s still “in the family”…
So I guess it’s cool to make money as long as you make sure it’s for the right people. Making money is okay when you’re a rocker, you just need to make sure you do it the right way. Cause integrity for metal-fans is about staying true to yourself, keeping it METAL.
Many people have taken on the heavy metal lifestyle because it’s always been an alternative to whatever is normal and mainstream. It’s a form of escapism, a full-time escapism where you just refuse to be a part of whatever society tries to sell as normal.
So I guess AC/DC stepped WAY out of line in that respect. But as integrity isn’t a big deal in today’s world in general. I guess they are laughing all the way to the bank (and Walmart…)….
Lost talent: Chains
I was on the phone with a friend the other day,talking about the local music scene in our home town. Two years ago there were a bunch of promising bands around here, but god knows what happened to them. Maybe they’re doing something but you never hear from them anymore or see them playing anywhere.
It’s a shame when the only way you get to hear something from local bands is if you’re subscribing to their Facebook-pages, which is pretty stupid as that’s like preaching for the choir.
My friend sighed and went: I miss CHAINS… That was a great band.
Yeah. That really was a great band. Probably one of the best I’ve seen in Malmo in many, many years. They were so young when I first heard them, not sure if they had even hit 18 at that point. I remember their drummer Martin walking over to me at the annual Sin City-party (a music party/event with invited guests and bands, run by Hasty Haze-singer Stellan). He said he was also working in Copenhagen and thought it would be cool to meet up someday.
Said and done. Went to Hard Rock Cafe and talked music for a few hours. Quite honestly, I was convinced that he only wanted to promote his band, so I was waiting for that. Well, you know… The “oh by the way, here’s our demo“-thing. Much to my surprise, he didn’t even mention the band until I brought it up and he hadn’t even brought a demo.
Shortly thereafter, I got their brand new demo-CD and figured I’d give it a listen. My jaw dropped to the floor like a rock. The song “Fool For Love” was this Def Leppard-ballad knockoff, but geeez, it was so well played, nice harmonies, unbelievably well arranged and produced for a local amateur band.
I was used to the crappy home-made demos from bands who had recorded their shit on a home computer (without knowing how to use the “home studio”-equpiment) – godawful, terrible demos where nothing was good, meaningless songs, bad vocals, bad everything. The demo by Chains blew me away.
I asked Sweden Rock if I could review it (cause it hadn’t been sent to the office first, which would be standard procedure…) and got an OK. I wrote it was the demo of the year, cause in my book, it sure as hell was.
The wheels started rolling for the guys after that. They were offered a management deal only two days after the magazine with the review came out and a few months later, they won a slot at Sweden Rock Festival – a contest where people could vote for which unsigned band they would most like to see at the festival.
We’re still laughing at how they had Kip Winger opening for them at The Rock in Copenhagen. The reason being that Kip was doing an acoustic set and it would sound strange if he went on after Chains. But still – he DID “open” for Chains. ;)
They also opened for Gotthard, which was a perfect combination. It was in the middle of the winter and I was a temporary “tour-van-driver” to the first gig in Gothenburg. People loved them. The guys couldn’t even leave after the show cause there were so many people wanting to talk to them and find out about more shows and where they could get the demo. It was a fun road trip.
I was a bummer when I heard that they were going separate ways. Drummer Martin called me before they went public with it to tell me the news. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a shock. The rythm guitarist was the first to leave cause he felt they were rehearsing too often and too long and he wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice. Then the singer left, I think probably for the same reason. A singer is always difficult to replace and so…. one day there was an announcement on MySpace that they had decided to call it a day.
http://www.myspace.com/chainsband/blog
That was a pretty sad day. Such a talented band – they were so young and I could see the enormous potential in them, they could have made it if they had only stuck it through. If they were able to do the things they did before they had even hit 20, just imagine where they could have been at 25 or 30. They already had a talent for songwriting. They just needed more experience.
And apparently I’m not the only one who misses them. They still get mentioned in conversations every now and then, different people who have seen them during the short but intense period that they were around.
The last time I saw them live was at my big birthday-party bash two years ago, and we did “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake together. Not only were they a great band, they are awesome guys as well. Such a waste that a good band like that split up. I guess it happens every day out in the world – lots of talent goes to waste. Guess we all have to enjoy what we’ve got while we’ve still got it.
[Chains and me performing “Here I Go Again” at my birthday party}
[Sound check, Gothenburg]
[Opening for Gotthard at the Brewhouse in Gothenburg]
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 