Tagged: Ozzy
What a week!
WHAT a week it has been…! I guess it’s safe to say it’s been very – Steel Panterish.
Henrik, the camera guy, finished editing the video interview, and it went live. It was everywhere – again. :-)
Twitter. Facebook. Steel Panther’s own official sites. Blabbermouth. Metalpaths. This blog…
Just a few samples:
MY REVIEW OF THE STEEL PANTHER SHOW IN COPENHAGEN [METALPATHS]
BRING METAL BACK (STEELPANTHER)
I’ve probably bugged the hell out of everybody on the FB-page with Steel Panther-shit, but I’m hooked. Want to go to London on the 31st this month to see their last European show on this round. But my main plan is Las Vegas in July to see their show at the House of Blues. It’s a great excuse to go to Vegas, because I love Vegas!
Last time I was there was for the VH1 Rock Honors (Kiss, Queen, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Foo Fighters and more) in 2006, which feels like ages ago. Can’t wait to go back to the biggest playground in the world!
It’s been a great week for tour announcements as well. BILLY IDOL is coming back to Europe this summer. A bunch of summer festivals. Frankly, I’m not really a big fan of festivals. People are always drunk out of their minds, it’s always in the middle of nowhere, difficult to get to, you’re walking large areas, if it rains you’ve got nowhere to go, if the sun fries you, there’s nowhere to hide. It’s not all bad, I love Sweden Rock and Graspop, but it’s also very challenging.
BILLY IDOL SUMMER 2012 TOUR DATES:
Tue 26th Jun 2012 Arena Moscow Moscow Russian Federation
Fri 29th Jun 2012 Peace And Love Festival Borlange Sweden
Wed 4th Jul 2012 Tollwood Festival Munich Germany
Fri 6th Jul 2012 Moon And Stars Festival Locarno Switzerland
Sat 7th Jul 2012 Villa Contarini Piazzola sul Brenta (Padua) Italy
Sun 8th Jul 2012 Porsche Arena Stuttgart Germany
Tue 10th Jul 2012 Stadpark Hamburg Germany
Fri 13th Jul 2012 Glam Rock Festival Nr Linz. Austria
One of the best live-bands is going on their 30 years of thunder tour – W.A.S.P. I love that band. You can say all sorts of things about Blackie Lawless, and I’ve got a few stories of my own, but one thing is for sure – he is one hell of a songwriter and frontman. I hope I’ll be able to catch the W.A.S.P-gigs. Here are the dates by the way, with the latest additions:
21 – London, UK – The Forum
22 – Edinburgh, UK – HMV Picture House
23 – Newcastle, UK – Academy
24 – Belfast, Ireland – Ulster Hall
25 – Dublin, Ireland – Vicar Street
27 – Manchester, UK – Hmv Ritz
28 – Leeds, UK – Academy
29 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
30 – Norwich, UK – Waterfront October
1 – Wolverhampton, UK – Wolfrun Hall
3 – Cardif, Wales – The Great Hall
4 – Bristol, UK – Academy
10 – Hässleholm, Sweden – Qpoolen
11 – Trollhätan, Sweden – Älvhögsborg
12 – Sundsvall, Sweden – Spegelsalen, Stadshuset
13 – Örebrö, Sweden – Kongress
14 – Eskilstuna, Sweden – Lokomotivet
16 – Tallin, Estonia – Rock Cafe
17 – Helsinki, Finland – The Circus
18 – Tampere, Finland – Tampere Hall
19 – Turku, Finland – Logomo
20 – SeinaJoki, Finland – Rytmikorjaamo
21 – Lulea, Sweden – Kulturenshus
25 – Huskvarna, Sweden – Teaterladan
26 – Stockholm, Sweden – Rockklassiker Krysningen
27 – Karlstad , Sweden – Nojesfabriken November
2 – Tilburg, The Netherlands – 0 13
3 – Antwerp, Belgium -Trix
4 – Lille, France – Le Splendid
5 – Paris, France – Le Bataclan
6 – Toulouse, France – Bikini
10 – Lisbon, Portugal – Campo Pequeno
14 – St. Etienne, France – Le Fil
15 – Strasbourg, France – La Laite
AND – the greatest news of the day for ME at least, was THIS! FIREWIND announced their fall tour earlier today! :-))
The album is coming out soon, then pretty much like the last time they released their album, Gus G went on tour with Ozzy, so his own thing had to be postponed. This time it’ll be almost the same scenario, but maybe this tour saves the whole PR-thing that they must do to support the album-release.
Last year was definitely a Gus G-year, saw the dude 19 times, the gig in Athens a few months ago was the 20th, haha! I just think that on stage he is an old-school rockstar. He’s got the looks and the moves of a guitar hero, and he plays like a god. Offstage he is a pretty quiet kind of guy who I really haven’t talked to a whole lot, other than the interview at Sweden Rock last year and occasional e-mails. Compared to most party-animals in the business, he is more interested in working hard and perfecting his craft, than acting like a rockstar once he leaves the stage.
I respect that. And most of all, I love the live-energy and the top-notch musicianship in Firewind, they are damn impressive! Like this one – one of my favorites (funny enough, my favorites tend to be their instrumentals!) SKG:
[Check out bassplayer Petro’s fast fingers…! You’d think I speeded up the video…! So damn cool. Filmed this in Cologne, Germany]
My Firewind-tour from all over Europe, UK and USA last year is in the Firewind blog: www.firewindtour.posterous.com
Tomorrow I get a visitor – Vera from Russian Classic Rock is coming, we’re going to see Electric Boys at KB here in Malmo. Also a kickass live-band!
I think that the summer and the fall is coming together nicely, I can’t wait for all the new adventures 2012 is going to bring! :-)
My Year In Rock – retrospect 2011 (part 2)
CONTINUED from http://lita77777.posterous.com/my-year-in-rock-retrospect-2011
Alright, so the madness really began in June. It kicked off with Sweden Rock Festival, which is my second home. I’ve been to every single festival since 1994, with the exception of 1996 when I lived in the States. Working for the magazine (Sweden Rock Magazine) has made it a natural place to be every summer, doing reviews and interviews.
This year there was ONE main assignment, and it was altogether in my own name, for this blog and for YouTube.
After a few months of contact, I asked Gus G for an interview. I didn’t think he would be able to do it when he was out with Ozzy. I know that time is rarely the musician’s own when he’s a part of a huge machinery like Ozzy’s. However, he assured me that he’d be happy to do the interview and after a few messages back and forth with his manager, it was settled.
THE GUS G EXCLUSIVE SWEDEN ROCK INTERVIEW
That day was crazy. Cellphones never work on the Sweden Rock premises, so when the manager texted me to ask where the cameraman and I were, I couldn’t get my message through to him.
He wanted us to get to the backstage area – and I know what that means. That means breaking into FORT-fuckin’-KNOX…! Are you kidding me?!? All the way back to Ozzy’s own backstage area, without the very exclusive pass that allows you through all the guarded gates to “the holy grail”? Yeah, that would be interesting.But I was not about to let that stop me. After a few stressful minutes, I finally got hold of someone who had the right credentials to escort us all the way back there, so even with the extremely tight time-schedule it could be done.
We set up the cameras and lights while they went to get Gus. The timing was perfect. JUST as I had said the last finishing phrases to wrap up the interview – Thin Lizzy hit the Rock Stage. Some things are just meant to happen. I was very pleased with the interview (eventhough some internet trolls who don’t like Gus (Zakk-fans?), have done their best to “dislike” the video – f**k them, lol!)
WHITESNAKE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS BERNIE MARSDEN & ADRIAN VANDENBERG
The festival was definitely memorable for many reasons. The exclusive Gus G-interview was one of the highlights. Another one was the historic, fantastic performance by Whitesnake (that for some reason did not impress the colleague who reviewed their show, as much as it impressed me).
It was an extremely emotional experience for me. When Bernie Marsden walked up on stage joining David, I couldn’t believe it. It was amazing, could barely believe it was happening. And as if that wasn’t enough – there comes Adrian Vandenberg as well! FOUR Whitesnake-guitarists on stage together at the same time…! How many times will I ever get to see THAT again?!I uploaded a shaky video of it on YouTube that night before I passed out on the couch, and it’s one of the most viewed videos on my channel with its almost 18.000 views. Here’s another, shorter clip of are guys taking a bow:
JUDAS PRIEST – THE PRESS CONFERENCE
My main purpose with attending the Judas Priest press conference this time, was to get a feel of the chemistry between the “older priests” and the “new kid on the block” – Richie Faulkner. I was in the press-tent long before anyone else got there, securing my front row chair. That’s where the Russian girl from Classic Rock Magazine, Vera, found me. She remembered me from a few years before when she had seen me in the exact same place – also waiting for Priest. :-) This year we became friends and she visited me in Malmö a few months later.
As for the press conference, I got a very positive impression of Richie and it helped me to shake that frustration of K.K being out of the band. And although I, quite honestly, wasn’t that impressed by Judas Priest’s show at Sweden Rock, Richie did a great job. I hadn’t expected that – but he turned out to be a valuable addition to Priest with his youthful energy.
http://lita77777.posterous.com/judas-priest-press-conference-sweden-rock-day
SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL 2011
There is a whole blog about that (to be found HERE and HERE) so there’s no point repeating it all, I’ll just mention some of the highlights in addition to the ones mentioned above:
ROB ZOMBIE: The most pleasant surprise. I’ve never been a big fan of his “industrial metal”-style before, but he blew me away! I loved it! I hope he comes back, that kicked major butt!JOAN JETT: The press conference was one of the best not only this year, but the past few years. I always imagined Joan being this moody badass “whattafuck”-kind of chick. But she was very warm and intelligent, and most of all the had a refreshing self-distance and sense of humor.
Once she got onstage, she showed why she has been on the top since the 70’s. She’s genuine and 100% rock’n’roll, there’s no question about it. The lady is impressive in every single way, all I can say is…RESPECT!
LEE AARON: Couldn’t believe how great she looked and the energy she had after all these years. Maybe I didn’t expect the “poppy” outfit, but she still had her powerhouse-voice and she definitely worked the stage when she entered it around noon, the last day of the festival. The biggest disappointment was that I LOST the video of her press conference!! I asked her a few questions that she really took time to answer, and then something went wrong during the transfer from the SD-card to the computer and it just disappeared. :-(( Gah!
MR BIG: I’ve always loved Mr Big. Call them whimpy or whatever, I don’t care. Paul Gilbert is a genious, Eric Martin is one of the most gifted singers in the business, Pat Torpey is a great but very underestimated drummer and Billy Sheehan – hey… There’s only one Bassplayer DeLuxe, and that’s Billy. Everybody knew their songs, they played like gods, and basically – my face ached afterwards cause I had been smiling way too much and too long!
Queensrÿche sounded terrible. I’ve never in my life heard them sounding so bad. Or maybe I should just say that Geoff Tate didn’t have a good day… Zakk Wylde left a very good impression at his press conference. He was cool, yet respectful and I think he handled the press very well. :-)
ROADTRIP TO OZZY – Germany & Luxembourg
After Sweden Rock Festival, I had a few days to prepare for my next trip – down to Munich in Germany to see Ozzy. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Munich, that I had a chance to drive around in, as I rented a car at the airport because I was going to continue down to Luxembourg as well two days later.
Anett (Jon Oliva’s European tour manager) and her husband Marcus, had invited me to come and stay with them on my way to Luxembourg, so after the Munich-gig I drove down there. It has its advantages to get a rental car, you get to see beautiful sceneries, so the drive to the little village was definitely worth the trip. :-)
After a really nice stay, catching up with Anett and Marcus (and meeting their rock’n’roll Dobermann-dog Slash! :-)) I continued on my way and drove down to Luxembourg. I stood in line outside Rockhal for several hours, cause I had nothing better to do, and when you travel like that to see a show, you don’t want to risk not seeing anything, so…
I stood there pretty much all day – then when the doors opened somebody told me that my “kind” of ticket had to be picked up somewhere else (WTF!!!) so I lost my place in line and was so pissed off, that people just moved out of my way when I walked back into the arena with black smoke coming out of my ears.
I made it all the way to the front row, much with the help of a really nice girl who let me have her spot, because she thought I “should” have it as I had travelled that far. That’s the kind of people you remember with thankfulness when you go on these road trips. :-)
Blogs from the Germany/Luxemburg roadtrips:
http://lita77777.posterous.com/?sort=&search=luxemburg
GRASPOP METAL MEETING in Belgium
The week after Munich and Luxembourg, I took off to Belgium with my friend Bianca, to my other favorite festival: GRASPOP Metal Meeting.
Bianca wanted to see Ozzy, because she’s never seen him before, and for me it would also mean a double-dose of Gus G because Firewind were also playing. Well… Ozzy got sick and the show was cancelled. As if that wasn’t enough, the rain was pissing down.
But… I got to see Firewind at least, and also discovered a freaking great band from Belgium, Channel Zero, that normally wouldn’t be the kind of band I’d listen to, but their energy was hard to miss…! Especially their front man Franky was impressive, his aggressive confidence fit the music perfectly and the crowd went wild!
THE CHANNEL ZERO BLOG HERE.
[This is what I tried to film during their set – as you can see, it was pretty wild, lol…!]
Dispite the mud and the very drunk rockers that we had to zig-zag to avoid stepping on, it was a great festival.
http://lita77777.posterous.com/graspop-2011-reviews-part-1
http://lita77777.posterous.com/graspop-2011-reviews-part-2
http://lita77777.posterous.com/ozzy-cancelled-and-its-pissing-down
[Bianca and me being super-sexy in our blue rain ponchos, lol! ;P]
THESSALONIKI (GREECE) – Stop That Sound-festival
I went back to Sweden for a short break, before heading out on my next trip – all the way down to sunny Greece. Stop That Sound-festival in Thessaloniki, with headliners Judas Priest and Whitesnake, and of course home-boys Firewind. THAT story is way too long to even attempt summarizing, so I’ll just direct you straight to the blogs from that visit:
http://lita77777.posterous.com/rockin-thessaloniki-day-1
http://lita77777.posterous.com/magic-and-nightmare-in-greece
http://lita77777.posterous.com/current-destination-london-sonisphere
SONISPHERE FESTIVAL – England
Straight after that, I headed from Thessaloniki airport, to London – for the SONISPHERE festival.
Metallica headlined it, and I bet I must have been the only one who didn’t give a shit about Metallica. I never have, I never will. Never understood their greatness. However, I wanted to see Firewind and MEGADETH, most of all. I wasn’t disappointed by any of those bands. Megadeth always delivers. So did Anthrax by the way. :-)
JUDAS PRIEST in Manchester, UK and OZZY in Gdansk, Poland & Smukfest, Denmark
The weekend after Sonisphere, I took off back to England again. This time to Manchester to see Judas Priest. I loved the city, so much that I decided to choose Manchester in favor of London for concerts in the future. The show at Manchester Apollo was the best I’ve seen Priest do in a long time. Also met up with Ronnie, an internet friend that has been reading my diaries and blogs online since the very early days of Internet. Always nice to meet people in person too.
Next stop was Ozzy in Gdansk, Poland. I was really sick and should have been in bed, but there was no way I was going to cancel the trip. I slept everywhere I could. Spent the first day in bed at the super-cool designer hotel La-La-La, and most of the day of the show. It was raining anyway and of course I had forgotten to bring a rain-poncho, which I normally ALWAYS bring with me.
No matter how sick I was, it was worth it. Ozzy rules. And the Polish fans were definitely hardcore. I’m glad I went, eventhougI got lost and all that, but it goes with the territory. :-)
[OZZY played Ergo Arena in Sopot/Gdansk, Poland]
I only had one day to recover before I drove to Smukfest in Denmark to see the last Ozzy-show of the European tour. It was PISSING down all day, I had mud up to my knees! Crazy! The stage and the festival itself was kind of…different, and I suppose I expected something extraordinary because it was the last gig of the tour. But when Ozzy walks offstage – he’s done. So, no encores, no fireworks, no nothing. Yet, that was worth it too, I had fun!
[Ozzy finished his European tour on the left stage at Smukfest, Skanderborg, Denmark]
FIREWIND, FIREWIND AND MORE FIREWIND
Most of September was commited for Firewind. I spent most of that month on trains, buses, in taxis and on planes. Three gigs in England (and Scotland) – Manchester, Glasgow, Reading. Reading was Gus G’s birthday and he was celebrated with a cake onstage. Video was, of course, posted. This was also the tour where they had a “stand in”-singer, Mats Levén (who’s also fronted Yngwie’s band, almong others)
Then I took a break for a short while, before continuing down to the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany with yet another rental car (that I got at the airport – that roadtrip was described in the Firewind-blog, too much to tell for a short summary – check it out HERE).
You would have thought I would get sick of seeing the same band, travelling to some godforsaken places and sleeping in a car to save money, but no – I loved it! They are brilliant, I would do it all over again!
MEETING UP WITH CROATIAN TALENT – Vili Kovac in Split
The day after I came home from the Benelux/Germany-Firewind-tour, I only had time to re-pack my suitcase and head down to see my dad in Croatia for a REAL vacation. It was a vacation so much that I got restless, I’m not used to doing nothing.
But the vacation was saved by a meeting with a great, talented young Croatian singer, who I had first discovered the year before when I was on vacation, as he was competing in the Croatian version of American Idol. I thought he was great, one of those that stands out – not only with his voice but also with his personality.
He came to Split just for one day, so I got to meet the guy. Really nice dude, he played some of his own unreleased stuff for me and also some Croatian and Bosnian bands that I hadn’t heard before that were actually worth checking out.
Most of all I was a bit frustrated to learn that he might not be able to record something in English and reach a wider audience outside of Croatia – which I think he should. But – the modern world is shrinking so you never know. Maybe one day. Even on vacation I managed to squeeze in something music-related, thank god! :-)
BLOGS: http://lita77777.posterous.com/?sort=&search=vilibald&x=7&y=8
[Ripper Owens and Vili Kovac]
And then when I came back to Sweden – there was reuniting with old friend SEBASTIAN BACH (video) and some other stuff… In part three which is coming up!
PART 3: http://lita77777.posterous.com/my-year-in-rock-retrospect-2011-part-3
My Year in Rock – retrospect 2011 (part 1)
I sat down last night to write a summary of my year 2011. I was amazed to find how just one year, can feel like ten. 2011 has been a fantastic and memorable year for me.
I have travelled all over Europe, squeezing in a short visit to the States as well. I took the interviewing to a new level, by introducing video-interviews for this blog.
Speaking of the blog – it’s hard to believe that I launched it in February 2011, less than a year ago. Since then, it has established itself faster than I thought was possible.
Maybe because some readers who have followed me online since 1996 continued to follow my scribblings here, and it kind of went from there.
The past few months, I’ve ended up on Blabbermouth several times, which automatically drew a few thousand readers more than usual.
But, here’s how I remember my rockin’ year of 2011:
New Years Day 2011. I was browsing the web for info on gigs w. Gus G, who I had seen with Ozzy at Madison Square Garden in NYC a few weeks earlier. He totally blew me away. I found his MySpace-page and saw that Firewind had a gig in London only 7 days later.
FIREWIND in London – first gig of 2011
I found myself taking off to a rainy London a few days later, for the first gig of 2011. It was great, and also what started the Gus G/Ozzy/Firewind-galore of 2011, where I deliberately, and undeliberately, ended up seeing mentioned super-guitarist no less than 19 times… All of which could be followed in the separate blog Setting The World On Fire.
[Front row, Relentless Garage, London, UK – some blonde girl (=me), and a bunch of dark-haired guys…!]
TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra) & JON OLIVA – no go
March included a few concerts, but also a planned but missed one. I was supposed to go to Zurich to see the TSO (Trans Siberian Orchestra)-gig because Jon Oliva was going to be a part of that tour, and as JOP (Jon Oliva’s Pain) hadn’t toured since the fall 2010, I wanted to see him. Was curious to see the US-phenomenon TSO at the same time, on their first tour to Europe. Due to personal issues, Jon couldn’t make it and I decided not to go either – money spent on the flight ticket went down the drain, but shit happens.BAD HABIT – the first video interview for In The Rearview Mirror
One of the best classic AOR-bands in Sweden, Bad Habit, announced a release-party and gig at Club Stairway To Heaven in Malmö. I’ve been a big fan of these guys since 1987, so I called the “band boss” Hal Marabel to set up a time for a video interview.
I’ve done TV-hosting, but video-interviews for the web was completely new to me.
My friend Henrik Hansson, former bassplayer of the band Hollywood, is good at filming and editing, so I asked him if he was in. He took it as a new challenge that he was happy to take on. Since this first “test-round” with Bad Habit, we have continued doing more and better video interviews throughout 2011.
Bad Habit kicked it all off, and they played a great gig that night, on the 11th of March 2011.
INTERVIEW HERE.
MEGADETH & SLAYER – Aarhus, Denmark
I took the day off to go to Aarhus, Denmark, a three hour long train-ride, to see Megadeth on March 21. Oh, headliners were Slayer, but I must be the only person on the planet who isn’t a huge fan of Slayer. I LOVED Megadeth’s performance, they kicked ass, had so much energy, it was just top notch. When Slayer went onstage I stayed for one song, then I had more than enough and went down to the train station to catch the night train back to work…
REVIEW HERE.
MIKE TRAMP – I remember you (interview and release party at The Rock, Copenhagen)
Only a few days after the Megadeth-gig, it was time to head back to Denmark to meet Mike Tramp, former singer of White Lion. Before the interview, I had e-mailed a photo taken at the last interview I had done with him in The tivoli in Helsingborg, Sweden, a few years before.
Funny enough, he remembered me. So, he took time to do the video interview during sound check the day of his release party for his new album “Stand Your Ground” on the 24th of March.
He is a very easy guy to interview, talks a lot, is very open and easygoing, every journalist’s dream. He is also a skilled artist and frontman, definitely enjoyed the gig later that evening.
Funny enough, I enjoyed the slightly “different” in-store gig that he did in a record store in central Copenhagen two days later, even more. More about that in the blog from that day: http://lita77777.posterous.com/in-store-gig-the-way-music-is-supposed-to-be
DORO – The Metal Queen visited Malmö
April was a pretty slow month by my standards. One of the highlights was Doro visiting Malmö on April 9, for an acclaimed concert at KB (Kulturbolaget).
Was also glad to see Chris, the merch guy, there. I first met him on tour with Jon Oliva, then with W.A.S.P and now with Doro. He was going out on the road with Arch Enemy as well but I never met him on that tour. Always nice to meet people you know, he’s a really cool guy.
There wasn’t enough time to set up an interview with Doro, but her record company and management were nice to deal with, so hopefully it can be arranged next time she comes to this part of the world. :-)
REVIEW & VIDEO HERE.
K.K Downing left Judas Priest
April was the month when one of the legends in the world of metal, announced that he was calling it quits. K.K Downing left Judas Priest under the most strange excuses and curcumstances. I got the news on Facebook April 20th… It was just two months before their Farewell tour was supposed to start, and I for one was shocked and pissed off all at the same time. The frustration didn’t go away until I actually saw Richie Faulkner on stage with Priest, and got a chance to ask him a thing or two at the press conference at Sweden Rock. But more about that later….
Matt LaPorte – guitarist of JOP, R.I.P……
Terrible news reached me on April 21st. A friend from the band (JOP) sent me a message so that I wouldn’t have to hear about it online. Matt LaPorte, guitarist with Jon Oliva’s Pain, and an important part of the “JOP-family” that I have so often described, had passed away in his sleep.
Nobody knew at that point what had happened, his room-mate found him when he came home, nothing more was ever mentioned. It suppose that the details didn’t really matter, it was sad news. He was my age, a life ahead of him and a very talented musician.But, something positive comes out of even the most tragic situations. A tribute-concert was held for him in July, which gave his friends and bandmates a chance to get together and remember…. R.I.P Matt.
Blogs about Matt: Matt 1 — Matt 2 — Matt 3
AMARANTHE – best debut of 2011
I was sent to interview this band in Gothenburg for Sweden Rock Magazine, but the article ended up being so short and isignificant in the mag, that I decided to give them the exposure they deserved elsewhere – on YouTube.
The first time I saw them was when I went to meet up with my friend Hanneke, light tech for JOP who was out with Kamelot (or possibly with the other act on the tour, Leave’s eyes) in Gothenburg. (Mentioned HERE)
They played Trädgår’n and it’s one of the few times that an unknown opening act gets my attention. Amaranthe were amazing. I’ve never seen such perfectionism on a stage by a “debut band”. I didn’t know at the time that the members were anything but new in the business.Henrik and I drove to Copenhagen and Amager Bio on May 15th, to talk to this kick-ass band (whose debut album had pretty much just been released. I wrote a very positive review in SRM, which guitarist Olof later on mentioned had helped a lot in the initial stage of promoting the band).
I predicted a very bright future for this band, and it turns out that I was right. In a very short time, they have definitely gotten a LOT of exposure for their deathmetal pop. 2011 was Amaranthe’s year and I’m really happy to see that they have done so well. Not only are they talented, they are also damn nice people, so – thumbs up and the best of luck in 2012 too guys!
ARTICLE AND VIDEO INTERVIEW HERE.
HELIX – Brian Vollmer talks about the ups and downs of stardom
My Canadian friend Sean e-mailed me one day and asked if I would be interested in doing an interview with Canadian band Helix. They had a few things going on, so I figured why not. Just like most rockers out there, I only associate the band with “Rock You” and “Heavy Metal Love”. As it turned out, there was a lot more than that to this band. It was published in this blog May 14th and can be found HERE.
JUNE was a crazy month. That’s when the ball REALLY started rolling. So, I’ll stop right here and continue this New Year’s blog 2011 with a part 2 – stick around! :-)
PART TWO: http://lita77777.posterous.com/my-year-in-rock-retrospect-2011-part-2
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…)….
Last Ozzy-trips of 2011 – I’m gonna miss it…!
It’s been another busy week. Two more countries visited and the last Ozzy show of 2011 is now done… But let’s go back to last Friday, to somehow recapture the past week that I never quite had time to write about until now.
I had a visitor here, Vera who I met at Sweden Rock Festival, that she was covering for the Russian edition of Classic Rock Magazine. A really cool girl, so it was fun having her here, eventhough it was very improvised.
I got sick, was almost broke, then it was raining most of the day on Sunday so maybe some of the circumstances could have been better but all in all, it was great.
It’s just rare with other girls that are just as passionate for rock’n’roll as myself, who are in the biz and can relate to the same things. It’s also interesting to learn a little about how things are in another country.
Went to the Modern Museum, a small private museum in town, because she wanted to see the Picasso-exhibition. I found a painting by Matisse that I stopped at because I know that it’s David Coverdale’s favorite artist. Or one of them, maybe I should say. :)
Then I thought I’d show her Turning Torso, but instead we ended up in the middle of a dog-exhibition of some sort out there on the beach! I didn’t even know there was an event there, but it couldn’t have been more perfect, we both LOVE dogs!!
In the evening we met up with my friend Henny, went to L’Angelo to “have a beer”, but as we were all either sick or driving, we ended up ordering TEA and JUICE! How very….rock’n’roll ;)
Went to the rock-pub Dead End for a short while but there were only annoying people there so we just decided to leave.
The next day was spent indoors watching videos on Youtube, music-DVD.s or flipping through music magazines. Pretty much like the classic “nerd evenings” here. :) She left in the evening for Gothenburg and her friend there.
I went home to try to get better, because I was coming down with the worst cold ever. But Monday was POLAND-time. One of the last OZZY-shows this year. The flight was an hour delayed due to technical problems, which was ok by me – I was so sick that I just sat there sleeping at the airport. Slept all the way to Gdansk, and then headed straight to the first taxi I saw.
The people in Poland weren’t better at English than the Greeks, so when I asked the cab-driver how much it would cost to the hotel, he drew “80” with his finger on the cab window.
80 zloty. Ah.
I got the absolutely coolest hotel-room ever. I checked into this art hotel called Lalala, every room is different, and mine was designed for a rocker. :) You’ll see pics of it in my previous blog.
I just went to bed early that day. The next day – the day of the show – it was pissing down. The sky was BLACK and I had a fever, could barely breathe, felt like shit.
I stayed in bed all day, until it was time to get going, cause I wasn’t going to miss the concert.
I’ve been sick at shows before, so I was determined to go.
Asked the guy at the reception (which was actually also the hotel BAR…) how to find Ergo Arena, and he immediately said with a big smile: “Ah! OZZY!” He knew what was happening there that day apparently. :)
It wasn’t close, it was a good 30-40 minute walk, but it was easy to find. Just straight, across the railway station, two more right turns then I could see the arena from afar and people with Ozzy t-shirts in a caravan walking across this huge field. I guessed that they knew a shortcut, so I just sort of blended in and followed those people…
Called my friend Mari who was my personal GPS when I got lost in Greece as well and she looked up Google maps once again. I found the way to the arena, but then finding the way to the entrance was a different story. The security guy answered in Polish and that didn’t help me much. I eventually found that too.
Security people in Poland were kind of intimidating, and they were shouting out instructions to people that I didn’t understand, so I didn’t dare filming in there at first cause there was a shitload of security guys looking like a freaking army, but then I laughed to myself when I realized that these guys had NO idea what was about to happen to them in a few minutes! :))))
They would all get hosed down with FOAM from head to toe, and lose their faces and image completely, so suddenly they didn’t seem as intimidating anymore. :) My videos could make anyone seasick but I was trying to make it look like I was taking pics, not filming so…. ah well, what can you do. :)
The Polish crowd was WILD! Absolutely crazy! I mean – the NOISE that they made when Ozzy and his guys walked up on stage…!! The energy that they kept throughout the whole show, it was amazing! I was too sick to do anything but just HANG there on the barrier. I felt like a zombie, but at least I was there. It just puts a smile on my face seeing Ozzy and his boys – there is so much LOVE on Ozzy’s stage.
[Video: SOMEONE THREW A PURPLE BRA AT OZZY :-)))]
That whole Prince of Darkness-bullshit is just ridiculous. There is no danger-factor to Ozzy, he is more like Barney than Lucifer. All I see is a man who has come to a point in his career where he doesn’t need to pretend to be someone he’s not. He is OZZY. People love him no matter who or what that is. He has earned the right to just do his thing and be happy! I love the sincerety, the true enthusiasm that he projects, it’s very contageous.
And the guys in the band are like brothers, it’s very obvious that they really enjoy playing together and that there is a wonderful chemistry between them as people, not only as musicians – and all of that is what makes a great concert experience.
You go to a show because you want to feel something. You want that adrenaline-kick or you want aggression, euphoria, sadness, happiness, anger – whatever, it’s just a question of emotions. Ozzy treats “his” guys like they are his beloved sons, and they love the man – we all do.
So, it doesn’t matter if Ozzy loses his voice or fucks up every now and then, he is the REAL DEAL, one of the few in the music business nowadays. And it’s been worth every hard earned buck that I’ve spent on my trips across Europe this summer to see the Ozzy-shows.
Anyhoo…. walked back to the hotel – across that dark field, through the dark streets of Sopot/Gdansk, and slept for 2 hours. Then a cab picked me up at 3.45 in the morning to drive me to the airport. I was totally gone, my head felt like a bowl of Jello.
Changed flights in Warsaw, then back to Copenhagen – straight on the next train to work…. and I had the late “shift” of course. I don’t know how I managed, but I felt like I was going to throw up all day…
Pretty much passed out when I got home that day. I had the next day off, because I was going to the LAST Ozzy show of the season. Smukfest in Skanderborg, Denmark. I had a long drive ahead of me and of course – it was going to be rain. LOTSSSS of rain. It took almost 5 hours instead of 3, because the rain was so bad at times that you had to drive really slow on the motorway.
When I finally got to the festival-parking lot, there was so much mud – I was afraid my car would get stuck in all that goo. The actual festival was far from the parking so I got on one of the shuttle buses and picked up my pass. The festival was actually nicely arranged, right in the middle of the woods, very cool.
When I got there I saw that there were two stages next to eachother, at the foot of a hill, so for once it seemed like a better idea NOT to stand in the front row, but to stand a bit further up the hill as it would be like standing right in front of the band on the same hight. Well… BAD idea.
It seemed like a brilliant idea when some Danish band played earlier in the afternoon that didn’t have that many crazy fans in front of the stage…. BUT – as it was getting time for Ozzy to hit the stage, the situation was TOTALLY different… I had all kinds of annoying, tall assholes in front of me, couldn’t see shit.
I actually asked one of them to pleeease not move another inch, otherwise I wouldn’t see anything. He heard I was Swedish and asked if I was there just for Ozzy. I said yeah – and much to my surprise, he was struggling all evening -with people pushing HIM, not to end up in front of me. That was super cool – so there are nice people everywhere. :-)
It was a great atmosphere at that last gig. The band played so well – it was as if they brought it up a notch because it was the last show, it was just so effing GOOD!!
[Video: GUS & ADAM enjoying the last evening on stage in PARANOID, hugs Ozzy/band]
I left with mixed emotions. On one hand I was buzzing because it had been an excellent gig, and once again, Ozzy’s smiling face is so contageous – same with the big smiles on the guys’ faces – cause Gus, Adam, Tommy and Blasko all seemed to be having a blast that evening.
On the other hand, it felt crappy because it was the last show. It’s easy to get used to this. I’ve had shows to look forward to since June, and now it’s all over.
Well… I’ve got the Firewind-shows to look forward to at last – all 9 of them. And at least 1/5 of Ozzy’s band will be there, so…that’s good enough for me. ;)
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 