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:)

http://video.tvguide.com/Def+Leppard+’Rock+of+Ages’+Live+at+Rock+Honors+2006/Def+Leppard+–22Rock+of+Ages–22+Live+at+Rock+Honors+2006/380245

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.]

Joe1

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.

L_1

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!

 

 

 

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Lita Ford – the first lady of metal

Christmas-party at work had one easy to remember dress-code: There had to be something RED in our outfit. Those who know me also know that when you open my closet, there’s gonna be nothing but BLACK in there. So I started digging through piles of clothes, looking for something red.
Suddenly this old, worn out, washed out, greyish t-shirt from the late 80’s fell out from somewhere. My old LITA FORD t-shirt!

I loved that one back when I found it, because it was so difficult to get hold of certain things back then, before the internet made everything so available… Lita Ford-stuff wasn’t easy to find in Sweden, and this one cost me a fortune to import. So I wore it all the time.

I was a huge fan. Lita was extremely inspiring to a young teenage female rocker. Some people thought I was “wired the wrong way” because I was walking around with a t-shirt that had a half-naked woman on it, not to mention all the posters on my wall in my teenage-room. Lita was never known for wearing a lot of clothes….!

THIS is what Lita looked like in 1983-84 when I first heard of her…. As vulgar as it gets, perfect for a rebelling teenage girl who needed a role model! :)

But I think that maybe even that was a part of my fascination for Lita – she was totally fearless. I remember in one interview she said that if she hadn’t made it in the music business, she would have become a professional callgirl.

I couldn’t believe someone would make that statement, it was so “politically incorrect”. And for me, coming from a pretty strict family, that was unheard of, so it was so damn cool that she was so open and natural, very in-your-face with her sexuality.

What I liked about it was that she was such a badass. Many female artists use sex to get more attention (as well as male artists) but most of them end up looking like bimbos and brainless idiots. Lita was never a weak bimbo. She was cool and confident. and did whatever the hell she felt like doing, and that was inspiring.

Front cover Photo of LITA FORD - Dancin' On The Edge http://www.vinylrecords.ch

I collected everything there was with Lita. Had every expensive hard-to-get picture vinyl single and imported LP I could get my hands on. I’ve followed her career most of my life actually. Always thought she kicked ass.

Maybe I didn’t like the “Black” album that much and I didn’t know what to think about the comeback-CD “Wicked Wonderland“. It was pretty obvious that it had more to do with her husband than with Lita, but at the time I was so happy that she was back after her long isolation on a desert Caribbean island, that I probably loved it just because she had made a new album after all those years of silence.
But honestly, I haven’t listened to it after I reviewed it. However, I did read and watched all the interviews on the web.

When she played Sweden Rock Festival, I was sitting there in Jon Oliva’s dressing room, which was just across from Lita’s, and couldn’t BELIEVE she was there! Kevin, my friend from Oliva’s band, walked in and started laughing:

– Do you realize that you look like a 13-year old fan right now?!

When she played, he got me up on stage to see her, cause I didn’t have the right credentials to be on Lita’s stage, but when escorted by someone who did, it was OK.

So I stood there just going “wow“. Her show, honestly, was a major disappointment and disaster. Probably one of the worst I’ve seen on Sweden Rock. It was embarrassing at times. Later on I was told that her guitarist never made it over to Europe, so everything sounded weird when it had been rehearsed with 2 guitars. I don’t remember if she ever mentioned that when she got on stage, but she should have.

This is from the stage – we stood there drinking wine, listening to Lita, couldn’t have been better! :) 

That year, I got to do an interview with Lita and I was so nervous I could DIE…! She was the LAST of my heroes that I hadn’t met or talked to. So it was a huge deal to finally get her on the phone after all those years, I was freaking out…! But she was so cool about the whole thing, she was laughing, talking like an old friend and just made me relax.

I loved her attitude and her way of thinking. Maybe that’s why I’ve always felt it was easy to relate to her. She does what she wants, she lives the way she think is right, regardless what anyone else thinks. I’m the same. Maybe I’m not as extreme as she is, but somewhere deep inside I kind of wish that I was.

Looking forward to her next album that will FINALLY be all LITA again…!

Two clips from my interview w. Lita back in 2009:

1: Lita talking about abandoning her career to go live on a desert island

2: Lita talking about how she feels about her sons seeing and hearing things she’s done in the past.

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. 

Chainssrfeng

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.

Fool_For_Love.mp3
Listen on Posterous

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.

Chainsrec

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. 

Chainscartoon

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}

Chains_20

[Sound check, Gothenburg]

[Opening for Gotthard at the Brewhouse in Gothenburg]

 

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The last Whitesnake….for a while

There’s been a lot of Whitesnake here lately, so this will be the last WS-post for a while (to spare the non-Whitesnake-fans – if there even ARE any! :P Doesn’t everyone love Whitesnake?)

Here are the last video clips:

I went to Vega Tuesday afternoon and found the ladies from the Kristianstad-show standing outside again. But this time they weren’t the “craziest” fans, there was another girl there who had flown in from England and had been there waiting since noon…!

It was really nice talking to them all, because they were true, dedicated fans, there for all the right reasons. They are traveling all over the world to see bands they like, just like me. I don’t meet people like that often actually, so it’s cool hearing other people’s experiences for a change. :-)

I missed the front row-middle-spot because a security guy took what felt like ages, to “examine” my bag, so in the meantime people just ran straight in. Shit happens. And more shit happened once inside, cause it’s the ONLY place I’ve been to in six months that had a security guy who was very eager to “do his job”.

One of those who had been practicing his “serious intimidating expression” in front of his mirror, and was now trying to make sure nobody was filming. And with him right in front of me, constantly staring, it was hard to be a criminal.

Well…. I’ve been a criminal most of my life when it comes to concerts, it kind of goes with the territory. You learn how… I managed to film most of the show without him noticing that I wasn’t just taking pictures. :-) Just don’t get me started on that whole thing. I have my own theories on the “illegal recordings of live concerts”, might make a whole new blog someday.

As for the show, it was as entertaining and fun as always. Most of all, I think that David is finally 100% cool with who he is and where he is at this point in time.
I remember the interview I did with him back in 2001 when he said that he wasn’t necessarily being himself during the heydays of Whitesnake when he looked like a Christmas-tree. 

Then he had that period when he thought he was retiring, cut his hair, went back to the dark color (which I actually think suits him better than the blonde…) and wrote very….easy listening sort of songs. He was being a respectable solo artist, but I’m not sure he was completely satisfied with his career back then either.

Eventhough he’s a professional who always gives his audience what they want, I felt that he was holding back and his performances weren’t quite as energetic as they could have been. It was a temporary identity crisis or whatever you choose to call it.

What I see on the stage now, 2011, is a man who has been through everything, he’s done everything, seen everything, experienced everything…. He can finally relax and just enjoy life and what he’s rightfully earned.

When I see him on stage now, I see a man who’s not pretending anymore. He doesn’t have to prove that he’s worthy fronting Deep Purple, he doesn’t have to prove that he can make it on his own fronting his own band, he doesn’t have to be the “christmas tree”, he doesn’t have to prove that he can do “respectable” singer-songrwiter music and he doesn’t need to prove that he can do a successful comeback…. He doesn’t have to do anything other than just…BE.

He has earned his position in the music business once and for all. He is having fun on stage, cracking jokes, sharing laughs with not only the crowd but also the guys in the band. It’s a very down to earth atmosphere and it’s very sincere. I think we can all feel it.

It’s as if he’s finally “home”. David has always been cracking jokes, he’s a funny man, it’s not that it’s anything new, but something is different and it’s different in a very positive way. I’m happy for him and I’m happy to see that Whitesnake is still attracting such a wide audience.

There are all kinds of people there: Really old dudes who have probably been around since the Deep Purple-days, and little kids who are there with their parents. All ages, styles…. Very few bands today have such a wide audience.

Most of all, they have some really cool fans. It was very evident at Sweden Rock Festival. When Judas Priest played, their fans were acting like assholes, being very selfish, ready to hurt other people to get in the front row or just “enjoy the show” at the expense of others.

When Whitesnake played, people were talking, getting to know eachother, offering to help. One guy said he would “protect” me if anyone was giving me a hard time, another one said I could stand next to him, there was room for one more, yet another one offered to hold my camera if I wanted to just enjoy the show and have someone else take over the filming for a while.

Very cool and helpful people that tend to be friendly and respectful most of the time. I’m proud to be a part of that.

Looking forward to Whitesnake’s next visit, whenever that may be!

 

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