Tagged: Rob Halford
AMAZING PERFORMERS – the best of the best
The times they are certainly a changin’.
The record industry is struggling with poor record sales and illegal downloads, but there is one thing that they can still cash in on, something that will never go out of style: The magic of LIVE SHOWS.
There are people in less famous bands and in local bands that “have IT” : that spark, that natural ability to work a stage and a crowd, that makes you come back for more time and time again. It’s not a competition and you can’t really compare musicians because they are all so different – it’s not the Olympics of Rock – but these are some of my personal favorites. Note that this is 100% a list of people who I think are outstanding LIVE PERFORMERS (which is not necessarily the same as favorite musicians or bands)
When this man walks out on a stage – he OWNS every single person in the crowd.
He has a unique quality of making every individual feel noticed and a part of the show. Although he is a larger-than-life rock star who works best on the biggest stages of the world, he always makes it feel like he’s playing just for YOU.
He mixes a sense of humor and self-distance with sex, confidence, authority and pure professionalism. Not to mention the way he moves on a stage like a rock’n’roll-emperor, using the micstand as his #1 tool. There is only one David – Coverdale be thy name. :)
When he’s about to hit the stage, he’s like a missile! The man oozes of pure, raw energy and rock’n’roll, nothing and nobody comes even close…! I’m not the biggest Twisted Sister-fan in the world, I don’t even have all their records, but watching this man on stage is a kick beyond belief! He is genuine and a real punch in your face.
If you could take everything that rock’n’roll is all about, and transform it into human shape – Dee Snider would be IT!
The ULTIMATE frontman. The one and only King of the Stage. The energy and the raw frenzy is beyond what I’ve seen ANY other artist produce on a stage – ever! He is the only frontman I can think of that was truly BORN to do this. If you took it away from him, he would languish, stop breathing, cease to exist. In 23 years I’ve only seen him suck ONCE. Don’t even ask how many shows I’ve seen with either Skid Row or Baz solo, but it’s more than enough to state that this guy is very unlikely to let you down if you’re looking for an action-packed show.
Entertainment personified. It’s enough to just mention the name David Lee Roth and people will immediately start thinking of a rock’n’roll strutter with his body as his main tool. He was THE sex-symbol back in the day, moving in a way that would make the ladies blush.
He would impress us all with the martial-arts high kicks while at the same time looking like a kid in a candy store who LOVES what he does. His sense of humor is contageous, and even to this day he hasn’t lost much of all that. He’s never been the world’s greatest singer, but it’s safe to say that he’s most definitely one of the world’s greatest entertainers!
Yngwie Malmsteen
The one and only ULTIMATE guitar hero – and probably the only one who turns a prolonged guitargasm into a show unlike anyone else! He was (and still is) WILD on stage!
Like a super-model, he will strike 30 different poses in one minute, yet continue playing that guitar like nobody’s business. How can you do all that running and posing and headbanging and still play making it look like a piece of cake??? The man is a guitar god and a top notch live performer in every sense of the word!
Those are my Top 5 live performers, but the list goes on – and on…
Joe Elliot of Def Leppard had an amazing charisma on stage, he just caught your attention from the word go and kept it there for as long as it took. I was mesmerized the first time I saw Def Leppard. Fantastic frontman. I don’t know what happened though, because the last few times I’ve seen Def Leppard, the magic wasn’t there. I guess there’s a peak in every band’s career and a fall – sooner or later. After 30 years of kicking ass on stage, I guess they are entitled to lose the spark.Same goes for my #1 hero Rob Halford (Judas Priest). He was never a “run-around-the-stage-like-a-marathoner” type of singer, but he had “IT”. All he had to do was stop and LOOK at his crowd and they would go freaking CRAZY! He just had what most entertainers don’t, it’s within your personality and he would make me forget that there was even a world outside whichever arena Judas Priest would be playing….
However, just like Joe Elliot, Rob Halford has lost some of his magic. I can still see it when he’s with his own band Halford, but it’s like he’s a parody of himself when he’s with Priest nowadays.There is a reason why this man has been on the top for more than 4 decades! It’s not because he’s Pavarotti, but because he has this wonderful way of truly loving what he does, just being OZZY.
Watch this and try NOT to smile! :-))
Speaking of Ozzy automatically leads me to another, fairly new, aquaintance and favorite performer: Gus G (guitarist w. Ozzy & Firewind, in case you’ve managed to miss it)
I was stuck after the first time I saw him with Ozzy. He walks onstage and becomes a true old-school Rock Star!
He owns the stage in a very natural sort of way, with a charisma that few “new” musicians possess. This guitar wiz handles Madison Square Garden just as well as the smallest, tiniest little dark club in the middle of nowhere.
The posing, the hair-fan, the guitar-hero moves all that stuff makes Gus a true arena-entertainer.
Another kick-ass live-performer is Kevin Rothney (Circle II Circle, JOP) who played bass with Jon Oliva’s Pain on the 2006-2010 tours, when I saw the band countless times.
Jon Oliva might be the songwriting genious, but Kevin was the one who brought rock’n’roll to the live performances of JOP.
I’ve always been impressed with Kevin. When you see musicians like that, you realize that the music business is all about being in the right place at the right time, there are amazing showmen (and -women) out there that don’t get the recognition they deserve.
Moving on to a more local level, where singer Andy Pierce (Nasty Idols) without question, makes it to my list of favorite performers. It was his natural talent as a frontman that made me notice the band in the first place – 25 freaking years ago! He was a real rock star before people even knew it and he will be till they have to roll him out on stage in a wheel chair!
PART TWO – THE BEST LIVE BANDS!
Talks with Rob “Metal God” Halford
I wonder how long it would take to actually organize every single interview I’ve ever done since 1988.
Not to mention everything else: Photos, tickets, all kinds of memorabilia…. I’ve tried several times and I’m still nowhere close to getting any kind of overview of all this stuff. My home looks like a messy version of Hard Rock Café, people are joking about how I should start charging visitors and call it a rock-museum. Maybe I will, so I can finance all my trips! :)
I’ll be posting stuff like this from time to time – and it hasn’t been posted anywhere else ever before, so I hope other fans will enjoy these as much as I do. :-)
(I did about three 1-hour long interviews with Rob, and also with Glenn and K.K for this Judas Priest cover-story for Sweden Rock Magazine. I think this one was one of them, but I can’t swear on it. Its just very likely. :) )
Sonisphere report – soon :)
The plan was to give you guys a report from Sonisphere, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
I spent all night on a cold, hard floor at Heathrow, keeping myself awake with caffeine chewing gums (those saved me many times this summer on these rock’n’roll journeys) and friends on MSN who kept me company all night. :-)
WHY did I end up sitting on a floor at Heathrow all night, you ask…? Well, that’ll be in the next blog too…
Needless to say, my brain feels like mashed potatoes right now so the actual Sonisphere blog will hopefully be up some time tomorrow.
In the meantime, a few videos from Thessaloniki – better late than never (I’ll probably upload tons of stuff in November or something when things cool down a little bit and I have time to actually sit and organize all this material).
Rob Halford being attacked by a cuddly fan on stage. I couldn’t believe it when the guy just ran up there! Surprised that security were that quick to get him out of there though…
From one of their best performances in a while… Heading Out To The Highway in Greece…
There will be more. Soon. :)
And of course, Thessaloniki’s pride & joy FIREWIND:
SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL – MEMORIES
Only a few days before the madness begins again: Sweden Rock Festival.
Sweden Rock is HOME to me. I’ve been there every single year for the past 17 years.
[My pass from 1995, can’t find the one from 1994…Note that the festival used to be called “Karlshamn Rock Festival”]
Things have changed since then. They have REALLY changed. In 1994 there was no Sweden Rock Magazine and the festival was called Karlshamn Rock Festival. As far as I remember, it wasn’t a big deal to anyone back then – not like today when you have people from all over the world showing up at the camping days before the festival begins.
In 1995 I was there to talk to Black Sabbath, and had a great talk with Cozy Powell and Tony Martin at the hotel in Karlshamn (the audio file from that interview has already been published in this blog). Cozy was great, he was joking all the time and when I think about Cozy I just see a man with a big smile.
[Just my luck! The ONE photo I’ve got of Cozy and me, and of course I had to blink!]
There was always a good vibe at the hotel those first few years. All the artists were staying there and fans usually knew about it, but it was still a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
[Tony Martin (Black Sabbath) in hotel lobby 1995]
Well, years went by and the festival just grew. I have great memories from every single year, I could probably write a book – but this is as close as it gets to being a book. :)
It went from being over just a weekend to being 3 days…to 4 days… Of course it moved from Karlshamn to “the middle of nowhere” a field in Norje Boke – Solvesborg, Blekinge, Sweden.Nowadays it’s the biggest festival (or one of them) in Sweden, bands from all over the world know about it, fans from all over the world are coming to attend the 4 days of metal madness.
And me, well… it feels like coming home. I love Sweden Rock Festival, it’s just everything that I love:I get to see my favorite bands over a few days, I meet friends, bands, colleagues – people I don’t usually see unless it’s Sweden Rock (photographers, record company people, management people, people working for the festival…). It’s metal in its most compact form, everything in one place. Music 24/7 – I’m in heaven. Sure, you get tired, your feet are aching, you don’t get enough sleep, food is freaking expensive, and there are drunk assholes every here and there… but even with all that, it’s still worth it. :)
Partying with Dio’s band at Karlshamn hotel…. not sure what year it was, but they were truly having a good time!
I could probably pick at least one band or artist from every year 1994-2010 that I have some kind of memories from. So, there would be a lot.
One of the first things that comes to mind was the year when Rob Halford and his own band Halford headlined the festival. I had been at the hotel hanging with the band the night before. Well, I had actually been hanging in the bar alone, thinking that I couldn’t/wouldn’t disturb the guys who were sitting at a table pretty much right behind me.
But one of them recognized me from a few months back when I had been at a meet-and-greet thing and invited me to come and sit at their table. They were wild, the manager left his credit card and asked them to pay for his drink because he needed to get some sleep. Needless to say, that credit card ended up being used for more than just ONE drink…! :)
In the morning, I saw said manager in the lobby, upset because he had missed the shuttle that drives artists and crew to the festival site. The next shuttle was due in about an hour and he needed to get to the festival area asap. I just told him that I was driving down there anyway so he was welcome to join me if he didn’t mind riding in the small Renault that I had back then. He had no problem with that, so off we went.
Man, that man could TALK! He went on and on about everything that had to do with Rob and I thought to myself that if I had been one of those sensation-seeking journalists, that would have been perfect! However, what’s off the record IS off the record as far as I’m concerned. I guess my morals won’t get me far in this business. Others are willing to cash in on anything, as long as they are exposing others.
[Rob Halford, backstage about an hour before he hit the stage with HALFORD, 2002]
When we got to the festival, he wanted me to take him all the way to Rob’s dressing-room. I told him I couldn’t go there because I didn’t have a car pass. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this!” he said.
Sure enough, when we got to the first gate, the security guy stopped the car and I opened the window. Halford’s manager leaned over me and looked at the guy going: “Do you know who I am? I am Rob Halford’s manager. She is taking me to the dressing rooms, okay?”
The guy didn’t question anything – he just nodded and opened the gate. It was like Open Sesame all the way through, and next thing I know, I’m parked right outside Rob’s dressing room…
Manager walks off, comes back with a laminate that he gives me. I was welcome to walk around freely. When I checked, I saw that he gave me the best pass you can get – the artist pass. Works everywhere. I could have walked up on stage if I wanted to.
Then there was the year that Sebastian Bach was supposed to play. Those of you who know me, also know that Sebastian is an old friend. That year, I had Kevin from Jon Oliva’s Pain visiting me and since he and Baz are both from Canada, pretty much from around the same area, I figured they would probably hit it off. Either they would become great friends or they would hate eachother’s guts. I wasn’t sure which, but we drove to the festival early that morning to make it on time.
While we were still on the motorway I get a text from my friend at the production office, who informed me that Sebastian had cancelled. He was stuck at the airport, wouldn’t make it on time. So… this is a pass for a meeting that never happened. I had met Baz a few years before when he played Sweden Rock, but this was such a bummer…. another “classic” Sweden Rock memory.
I guess I could go on and on…. there is a lot more... I’m sure there will be more stories here whenever I take a walk down Memory Lane again.
But for now, all I can say is that I can’t wait to see all those great bands – and meet new and old friends for a Rock’n’roll Extravaganza de Luxe!
Ozzy is still alive
Words seen on Twitter last night: R.I.P Ozzy Osbourne…
I started shaking when I saw that. I could litterally feel the cut to my heart, the shock that felt like it slapped me in the face!
You should never believe shit you read on the internet without questioning it, but even if it hadn’t been true – this time – just seeing the words was horrifying.
It couldn’t be true, but what it if was? When Gary Moore passed recently, I couldn’t believe it either.
First there was only one source sharing the news and I chose to believe that it was just some sort of sick hoax. But it didn’t take long before it was confirmed from other, more trustworthy sources and it dawned on us all that yet another one of our heroes had left us.
This is what’s happening now, and we will see more of it in the years to come.
Our idols, who are like family to those of us who grew up with their music, are leaving this earth one by one. They get older, die of illness, accidents or age.
Ozzy, with his 62 years of age and anything but healthy background, would definitely be one of those who ought to be at risk.
The anxiety that I felt during the thirty minutes that I spent checking Twitter and other sources for possible more info…was ridiculous. I had to get peace of mind, find out for sure what was true and what wasn’t.
Thank god Sharon Osbourne had something to share on Twitter during that time, that had NOTHING to do with the macabre “news”. I could finally relax.
But I was still sick to my stomach. I felt physically upset for the rest of the evening and ended up going to bed early.
Minutes after Sharon’s Twitter-message, I heard back from the person who had gone out with the macabre “news”:
– HAHA! April fools!!
What – the………
I was so PISSED OFF…!!! I have never been angry with this person before, ever. Never thought I’d even have a reason to, but I was so mad that I couldn’t even talk.
If I could have hit something or someone in that very moment….
What the F****!!!!!???
What the hell is wrong with people?! That is just so fucking retarded! Not funny by any means, in any way, for any reason. I had to leave the computer for a few just to try to calm down, cause I was so upset.
Nowadays I realize how precious those “last moments” are with our heroes.
Didn’t we all think that Dio – the Man on the Silver Mountain, the King of Rock’n’Roll, would live forever? Don’t they all feel immortal?
I cried all day when I heard the news that he lost his battle against cancer.I will always remember when I heard it, where I was and how I felt that day. It was such a shock.
I almost started crying on the train the other day when “The Last in Line” started playing in my iPod. We will never hear Ronnie sing for us live again.
The only thing that’s left of him is his legacy, the songs he gave us.
It just breaks my heart.
[Me and Ronnie, Malmo, Radisson Hotel, late 90’s]
The worst thing I can imagine, would be seeing the words “R.I.P Rob Halford” on Twitter, at any time. I can’t even get into it. It’s just so strange how these people are a huge part of your life and your whole identity in a way.
It’s not easy realizing that they are not immortal, they will all die in the coming 20, 30 years…Remember how fast 20 years passed…? It was only 20 years ago that Skid Row released “Slave To The Grind” for instance. I still remember that very clearly.
My point is that eventhough we feel that the legends will go on for all time and eternity – they won’t. This is a time we should treasure and not take for granted.
People are shaking their heads when i say how many shows and festivals I will be going to this summer. But when Judas Priest announced this tour as their “Epitath“-tour (whether or not it’s true…) I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.
And Ozzy is Ozzy. Period.
I love these people and their music, it pisses me off when I see tasteless jokes, I’m still mad, what the f***, I don’t even see the funny part in that “April fools”-crap from yesterday.
Or maybe I’m just too sensitive..??
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 