SEND BRET MICHAELS YOUR GET WELL WISHES!

Bret Michaels is still in the hospital in critical condition recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered on April 23rd . The House of Hair has created this digital card so you can send Bret your good wishes. Bret – GET WELL SOON!

Rock On,
BuzzChic and the House of Hair

Leave your Get Well Wishes in the Comments Below!

THANK YOU HOH HEADBANGERS FOR SENDING BRET YOUR WELL WISHES! Comments are now closed and the card is on it’s way to Bret!

xoxo, BuzzChic

BRET MICHAELS EXPERIENCES A “MINOR” SETBACK

Bret Michaels, recently hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage, is still listed in critical condition, although he is conscious and stable at this time. According to his website, test results indicate a setback in his condition which is a side effect from the brain hemorrhage called hyponatremia. It is a lack of sodium in the body which leads to seizures. “Michaels remains under 24-hour observation in the ICU and is in positive spirits. He is responding well to tests and treatments,” the hospital reps say in a statement. “Even though today was a minor setback, doctors remain hopeful for a full recovery.” The reps didn’t say whether Michaels has actually suffered any seizures. “Coupled with the fact that Michaels is a lifelong Type 1 diabetic and has recently undergone emergency appendectomy surgery while on tour in San Antonio, he will remain monitored closely by his medical team to make sure no complications occur from the diabetes,” the reps say. They add that doctors are “hopeful that Bret will gradually improve as the blood surrounding the brain dissolves and is reabsorbed into his system, which can be a very painful recovery and take several weeks to months.”

Bret Michaels’ condition has been a headline on most entertainment and serious newscasts since he was hospitalized last Thursday. Today, Donald Trump was on NBC’s Today Show and asked to comment on Bret as a competitor on The Apprentice. He said, “Bret is still in the show and he’s doing really really well. We have the finals in four weeks. I can’t imagine that he’s gonna be in the finals, but I hope he makes it. I really hope he makes it.” Could Bret be one of the finalists? How will NBC handle this situation?

Last night, Bret Michaels was also the topic on Larry King Live as Donald Trump, Jr., Darryl Strawberry, Sanjay Gupta and Carlos Diaz discussed concerns, lasting affects, and Michaels as a person. Donald Trump, Jr. stated that “Bret is a very likable guy, down to earth and a solid person.” He stated “out of all the people from ‘Celebrity Apprentice,’ I may have had the best kind of off-camera relationship with him over the three years.” Trump, Jr. also says he is a great father and rocker and concerned for the singer’s health. Strawberry, who starred on Celebrity Apprentice with Michaels, says, “He is a good friend on and off camera. He is a hard worker and is a creative force on the show. Without a doubt he lives a crazy lifestyle. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is CNN’s chief medical correspondent and says, “A subarachnoid hemorrhage is an aneurysm in one of the blood vessels. About 10 percent of people don’t survive. He obviously survived the hemorrhage. About another quarter of people don’t make it through the first couple of days in the hospital and 30 percent make a full recovery.”

Michaels’ medical workup demonstrated findings of a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke that causes bleeding in the fluid-filled spaces around the base of the brain. It presents itself suddenly as the sound of a loud gunshot or thunderclap at the back of the head causing severe cranial pain and muscle spasms. Michaels likened the feeling as “being hit repeatedly in the head with a baseball bat.” Many people are speculating Michaels head injury suffered from a prop striking the singer at the Tony awards last June. Additional studies are planned throughout the week to hopefully detect the exact cause of the rupture.

The most common cause of this condition is a spontaneous rupture of a cerebral aneurysm, however, 15 to 20 percent of spontaneous episodes of this hemorrhage are found to have no cause. Michaels has undergone a continuous series of tests while in the ICU including angiograms, CT scans, MRI’s and transcranial dopplers (TCD’s). Doctors state Michaels is very lucky as his condition could have been fatal. With further testing and rehabilitation, they are hopeful that Bret will gradually improve as the blood surrounding the brain dissolves and is reabsorbed into his system. Doctors plan to release more specific information on Monday.

TRIUMPH’S MAJESTIC ARENA ANTHEMS CELEBRATED ON NEW CD/DVD SET, ‘GREATEST HITS: REMIXED’

Few acts could whip an arena full of rockers into a frenzy as Triumph did throughout the late ‘70s and ‘80s, when the group’s best known line-up – guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett, bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine, and drummer/vocalist Gil Moore – were at the peak of their powers. And it’s this exact time period that is focused on throughout Triumph’s new “best of” set – ‘Greatest Hits: Remixed’ – which will be released on May 18, 2010.

All of the classic tunes that were – and continue to be – in heavy rotation on rock radio (and the early days of MTV) are included here, namely, “Lay it on the Line,” “Hold On,” “Fight the Good Fight,” “Magic Power,” etc.

These fourteen tracks of anthemic metal have never sounded so good, as they were all recently remixed by Rich Chycki (who has previously worked with Aerosmith and Rush). The set also includes a previously unreleased recording – “Love Hurts” – which will be the lead-off single from Triumph’s ‘Greatest Hits: Remixed.’

“We have been planning this release forever,” says Levine. “For years, Triumph fans have been demanding that we give them a fresh greatest hits package and they are going to love this one.”

Also included in the set is a DVD mixed in 5.1 audio, that features eleven promo and live videos in widescreen (plus additional unreleased videos for “Child of the City,” “Blinding Light Show,” and “Love Hurts,” and footage of the group’s 2008 induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame).

The deluxe two-disc package will be housed in a six-panel digipak – including a 20-page color booklet, complete with liner notes, lyrics, and chockfull of vintage photos.

Whether you’re a long-time Triumph fanatic or a new convert, you have never heard the group as crystal clear and loud n’ proud as you will throughout ‘Greatest Hits: Remixed.’ “’Greatest Hits: Remixed’ rocks like no other Triumph set,” declares Moore. “This is the definitive Triumph collector’s edition.”

Track listing for ‘Greatest Hits: Remixed’ CD:

1. Allied Forces
2. Lay it on the Line
3. Follow Your Heart
4. Magic Power
5. I Live For the Weekend
6. Hold On
7. Just One Night
8. Fight the Good Fight
9. Spellbound
10. Never Surrender
11. When the Lights Go Down
12. Somebody’s Out There
13. Rock and Roll Machine
14. Love Hurts

Track listing for ‘Greatest Hits: Remixed’ DVD:

1. Follow Your Heart
2. Lay it on the line
3. Spellbound
4. Magic Power
5. When the Lights Go Down
6. Hold On
7. Just One Night
8. Somebody’s Out There
9. Allied Forces
10. Never Surrender
11. Never Say Never

Bonus Videos
1. Child of the City
2. Blinding Light Show ( Bootleg: Filmed on Fan Cam )
3. Love Hurts

ROB HALFORD CONFIRMS MONTREAL HEAVY MTL FESTIVAL APPEARANCE THIS JULY

ROB HALFORD CONFIRMS MONTREAL HEAVY MTL FESTIVAL APPEARANCE – JULY 24th, 2010!

Rob Halford has confirmed his solo band ‘Halford’ will perform July 24, 2010 at Montreal, Canada’s 2nd Annual Heavy MTL Festival. Tickets and additional details available soon at www.heavymtl.com and www.RobHalford.com

“I am excited to re-introduce the Halford band: Mike Chlasciak and Roy Z. on guitars, Mike Davis on bass and Bobby Jarzombek on drums to the Metal fans in Canada this summer,” explains Rob Halford. “We are looking forward to performing a strong set and unveiling a new track for the Montreal Heavy MTL Festival.”

Metal God Records and Rob Halford are pleased to release ‘Halford – Live In Anaheim’ Original 2CD Soundtrack (6/21), ‘Halford Crucible – Remixed & Remastered’ (7/12) and ‘Halford – Live In Anaheim DVD’ (8/3) a 5.1, 23-Song, 2+hour film documenting Rob Halford’s 2002 – 2003 solo release (Crucible) and tour.

Armed with Metal’s most diverse band of the decade, Halford – Live In Anaheim is an intimate, in-your-face, solo performance featuring Halford, Fight and Judas Priest classics: Golgotha, The Heretic, Sun, Into The Pit, Light Comes Out Of Black, Painkiller, Rapid Fire, Never Satisfied, and more. Also featured are Bonus LIVE tracks from Halford’s Tokyo, Japan performances February 2003.

Stay in touch with Rob Halford and his Halford band members at www.RobHalford.com throughout 2010 for NEW Halford music, digital releases and Metal God Apparel, limited concert ticket giveaways, limited meet-and-greets, tour dates, news and more!!

www.MetalGodShop.com

www.HalfordMusic.com

www.RobHalford.com

www.MetalGodApparel.com

Rob Halford Announces HALFORD 2010 Summer/Fall Concert Tour AND New Releases

Metal God Records and Rob Halford are pleased to release ‘Halford – Live In Anaheim’ Original 2CD Soundtrack (6/21), ‘Halford Crucible – Remixed & Remastered’ (7/12) and ‘Halford – Live In Anaheim DVD’ (8/3) a 5.1, 23-Song, 2+hour film documenting Rob Halford’s 2002 – 2003 solo release (Crucible) and tour.

Armed with Metal’s most diverse band of the decade, Halford – Live In Anaheim is an intimate, in-your-face, solo performance featuring Halford, Fight and Judas Priest classics: Golgotha, The Heretic, Sun, Into The Pit, Light Comes Out Of Black, Painkiller, Rapid Fire, Never Satisfied, and more. Also featured are Bonus LIVE tracks from Halford’s Tokyo, Japan performances February 2003.

Captured months prior to reuniting with Judas Priest (2003), The Metal God debuts new Halford guitarist Roy Z. and bassist Mike Davis along with original Halford members Metal Mike Chlasciak (guitars) and Bobby Jarzombek (drums) in rare performances from Anaheim, California and Tokyo, Japan.

Pre-Order and Release Details Available at: www.MetalGodShop.com and www.RobHalford.com

The Metal God will also hit the road this Summer and Fall 2010, for his first solo tour in more than seven (7) years; supporting Halford – Live In Anaheim, Crucible – Remixed & Remastered and his entire Halford, Fight and Judas Priest catalog.

Halford 2010 Summer / Fall Touring details available soon at: www.RobHalford.com

‘I am pleased to be releasing Crucible – Remixed & Remastered; along with Halford – Live In Anaheim DVD and CDs this year,’ adds Rob Halford. ‘The Halford band have not toured for more than seven years, and everyone knows how important my solo work is to me. While the other members of Judas Priest enjoy a well-deserved break for the remainder of 2010, I am very excited about getting Halford onto as many stages as we can before year’s end.’

Stay in touch with Rob Halford and his Halford band members at www.RobHalford.com throughout 2010 for NEW Halford music, digital releases and Metal God Apparel, limited concert ticket giveaways, limited meet-and-greets, tour dates, news and more!!

The Ultimate Judas Priest giveaway! Win “British Steel: Legacy Edition” CD/DVDs and more!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!

Congrats to the following winners, each of whom scooped up a newly remastered anniversary CD/DVD edition of Judas Priest’s British Steel. Our grand prize winner also scores the entire Judas Priest catalog from Sony, plus a signed and framed print of British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition.

Grand Prize Winner:

Mary Reisinger
Lancaster, PA – WTPA 93.5

Additional Winners:

Doug Anderson – Des Moines, IA – KAZR 103.3 The Lazer
Jack Biesty – North Babylon, NY – WRCN 103.9
Wayne Culligan – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – CJXY Y-108
Susy Kirksey – Chandler, AZ – KDKB 93.3
Curtis LeBlanc – Tilbury, Ontario, Canada – WRIF 101.1
Linda Parsons – Neenah, WI – WAPL 105.7 Rockin’ Apple
Mike Totten – Fremont, NE – KEZO Z-92
Keith Vela – Gurnee, IL – WHQG 102.9 The Hog
Daniel Watts – London, OH – WBWR 105.7 The Brew

Prizes should arrive within 3 weeks of posted winner names.

Thanks to ALL the HOH and Metal Fans who entered the contest!
- Dee and the House of Hair Team!

The HOH has joined forces with Judas Priest to bring you the ultimate fan package and celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal CD “British Steel”. The HOH has secured 10 copies of “BRITISH STEEL: LEGACY EDITION” featuring the 2001 remaster of the original 36-minute, nine-song album (plus two bonus tracks). Also included is a DVD which combines a live 16-song concert filmed in August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida (the album sequence plus seven more cuts), with a 30-minute “Making of British Steel” interview that includes all four original band members.

In addition, one very lucky grand prize winner will receive an incredible collection of the Sony Judas Priest catalogue, and a signed and framed print of the “British Steel: 30th Anniversary Edition” cover.

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

JUDAS PRIEST’S BRITISH STEEL CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY

The album that introduced “Breaking The Law” and “Living After Midnight”

Judas Priest – Winners of the 2010 Grammy Award for “Best Metal Performance”

BRITISH STEEL: LEGACY EDITION CD + DVD package:
• CD features 2001 remaster of original 9-song album with two bonus tracks
• DVD features live 16-song set from the 2009 tour (the album sequence
plus seven more tunes) plus new “Making of British Steel” interview

Hit up the Judas Priest Store to preview and purchase the CD/DVD Editions!

USA – Shop here: http://www.sonymusicdigital.com/judas-priest/pages/5473900

Outside USA – Shop here: http://feature.legacyrecordings.com/britishsteel/

In the summer and fall of 2009, while on tour throughout North America and Japan, Judas Priest celebrated the 30th anniversary of the album British Steel at each of their concert stops. Each night featured a complete performance of their breakthrough album – source of “Breaking The Law,” “Living After Midnight,” “Metal Gods,” “Grinder,” and more. Released in April 1980, British Steel became Priest’s first RIAA platinum Top 40 album in the U.S., their first Top 10 studio album in the UK.

Judas Priest is comprised of lead vocalist Rob Halford, dueling lead guitarists Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing, bassist Ian Hill, and (since 1989) drummer Scott Travis.

Now British Steel’s 30th anniversary moment officially arrives, commemorating one of the most influential albums in heavy metal, a record that fellow musicians and disciples credit for unleashing metal from its blues origins. BRITISH STEEL: LEGACY EDITION will be available starting May 11, 2010, on Columbia/Legacy, a division of SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.

BRITISH STEEL: LEGACY EDITION features the 2001 remaster of the original 36-minute, nine-song album (plus two bonus tracks). Also included is a DVD which combines a live 16-song concert filmed in August 2009 at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena in Hollywood, Florida (the album sequence plus seven more cuts), with a 30-minute “Making of British Steel” interview that includes all four original band members.

There is no overstating Judas Priest’s position at the very top of heavy metal’s Mount Olympus, and the critical importance of their deep album catalog on Columbia Records in the U.S., from 1977’s Sin After Sin to 1990’s Painkiller. In 2004, Halford reunited with Judas Priest and the band returned to Sony Music Entertainment. The appropriately leather-bound and metal-spiked five-disc retrospective boxed set Metalogy was followed in 2005 by Angel of Retribution (#13 on the Billboard 200 albums chart) and in 2008 by Nostradamus (#11).

In 2009, A Touch of Evil: Live recapped Judas Priest’s world tours of the previous four years. One of its tracks, “Dissident Aggressor” earned Judas Priest their first Grammy Award this year, for Best Metal Performance.

Indeed, Judas Priest is celebrated as progenitors of metal’s defining sound. The upgraded version of Behind The Music – Judas Priest (Re-Mastered) continues in circulation on VH1, and the band’s influence spreads far beyond the 30 million albums, singles and videos they have sold worldwide in their career.

British Steel

The long-term association (eight consecutive live and studio albums) between Judas Priest and producer Tom Allom includes this classic, their second LP together. It was recorded in four weeks at Tittenhurst Park, previously owned by John Lennon, and the home of Ringo Starr at the time. Radio airplay on AOR (album-oriented rock) stations for “Living After Midnight” and “Breaking the Law” (with its early promo video clip by Julien Temple) propelled the LP to #34 in Billboard and an 18-week stay on the chart.

When the Judas Priest album catalog on Columbia was restored for the first time starting in 2001, the band members offered their own recollections (in lieu of a liner notes essay) on each individual CD. They recalled the clanging sounds of “trays of cutlery” and “billiard cues” heard in “Metal Gods,” which became a concert favorite along with “The Rage.” Of the bonus tracks, “Grinder” is a live version recorded in 1984; and “Red, White & Blue,” written as a sing-along for the Turbo album sessions in 1985, never quite made the cut. “A little tongue in cheek,” the 2001 notes declared, “it is also very patriotic and may bring a tear to your eye!”

When British Steel was issued in 1980, a Columbia Records promotion involved a giveaway contest for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle (signed by the band members) that Rob had taken to riding onstage at shows each night. Three decades later, the 2009 tour resurrected the contest with another ‘autographed’ Harley.

The British Steel 2009 Live Tour

As planned, Judas Priest hit the stage running every night of their summer tour, crashing into “Rapid Fire,” the opening track of British Steel, and reclaiming the other eight songs on the record in grand style. Of course, the concerts did not end there. The band tore through another program-length of songs from the four corners of their history, starting with “The Ripper,” from their first Columbia LP, 1977’s Sin After Sin.

“Prophecy” dated from their most recent studio album of 2008, Nostradamus; “Hell Patrol” was from the Columbia album of 1990, Painkiller; “Victim Of Changes” is one of the staples from their 1976 album Sad Wings of Destiny; “Freewheel Burning” was one of the stellar tracks (along with “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll”) that sent their 1984 album Defenders of the Faith to RIAA platinum; “Diamonds & Rust” is their jaw-dropping treatment of a Joan Baez song from Sin After Sin; and the show closed with “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” Judas Priest’s singular appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, from 1982’s Screaming for Vengeance.

Tom Allom and Judas Priest were reunited again (having worked together not so long ago on the audio for the DVD ‘Rising In The East’) for the live recordings that comprised 2009’s A Touch of Evil. Allom is responsible for the stereo and 5.1 SurroundSound mixes of the live recording from the Seminole Hard Rock Arena concert that appears in this Legacy Edition. The DVD will include bonus content as well, “The Making Of British Steel,” a 30-minute interview featuring the four original band members.

Disc One: CD – BRITISH STEEL (remastered in 2001)

1. Breaking the Law
2. Rapid Fire
3. Metal Gods
4. Grinder
5. United
6. Living After Midnight
7. You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
8. The Rage
9. Steeler
Bonus tracks:
10. Red, White & Blue (studio track)
11. Grinder (live version)

Disc Two: DVD – THE BRITISH STEEL 2009 TOUR

(Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Arena, Hollywood, Florida, August 17, 2009)

1. Breaking the Law
2. Rapid Fire
3. Metal Gods
4. Grinder
5. United
6. Living After Midnight
7. You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
8. The Rage
9. Steeler
10. The Ripper
11. Prophecy
12. Hell Patrol
13. Victim Of Changes
14. Freewheel Burning
15. Diamonds And Rust
16. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming.

For More Info:

legacyrecordings.com
judaspriest.com

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

What do you win?

10 Winners each get:

One (1) copy of Judas Priest’s BRITISH STEEL: LEGACY EDITION CD + DVD package.

AND… 1 Grand Prize Winner from those qualifiers also gets:

the entire Sony Judas Priest CD catalogue  and a signed and framed print of the “British Steel: Legacy Edition” cover.

How to Enter:

Fill in the Entry Form. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY, please. Incomplete entries will be tossed out – all address fields, station (or how you heard about the contest) field, and name fields must be 100% complete!

How we choose the winner:

Only entries received by 5/12/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.

Contest Start Date: Monday, April 26, 2010

Contest End Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at midnight

Did I win? Winners will be announced FIRST in the HOH newsletter and then on the website.

The contest is open to residents of the USA and CANADA only.
Register for our weekly spam-free HOH Newsletter

Questions? Email us at info@houseofhaironline.com

Read ALL the Contest Rules

PLAYLIST – April 19 – April 25, 2010

PLAYLIST April 19, 2010 – April 25, 2010

• JACKYL   I Stand Alone
• BON JOVI   Wanted Dead Or Alive
• MOTORHEAD   Ace of Spades
• WHITE LION   Little Fighter
• SKID ROW   Little Wing
• RAINBOW   Stone Cold
• SAMMY HAGAR   High Hopes
• L.A. GUNS   The Ballad of Jayne
• IRON MAIDEN   Aces High
• TED NUGENT   Paralyzed
•  
• 3rd DEE-GREE
• HEADPINS   Don’t It Make You Feel
• TRIUMPH   Fight The Good Fight
• KILLER DWARFS   Dirty Weapons
•  
• DEF LEPPARD   Rock Rock (Til You Drop)
• ALICE COOPER   Billion Dollar Babies
• PRETTY MAIDS   Future World
• DIO   Stand Up And Shout
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• ANVIL   Metal On Metal
•  
• EXTREME   Decadence Dance
• JUDAS PRIEST   Breaking The Law
•  
• HAIR PAIR
• DOKKEN   Just Got Lucky
• DOKKEN   Burning Like A Flame
•  
• NIGHT RANGER   (You Can Still) Rock In America
• TESLA   Call It What You Want
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• MEGADETH   Peace Sells
•  
• WARRANT   Sometimes She Cries
•  
• RARE HAIR
• IMPELLITTERI   Since You’ve Been Gone
•  
• CINDERELLA   Shelter Me
• Y + T   Summertime Girls
• BULLETBOYS   Smooth Up In Ya
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  

• Because it’s Megadeth … any questions?
  
  –Joe in Anderson, IN, listening to Q95

What’s New – Week of April 26, 2010

Amped up on hairspray fumes and addicted to decibels…it doesn’t get any better than the House of Hair!

Motley Crue, Lita Ford, and my band Twisted Sister are just a taste of the old school heavy metal that’s heading your way. I’ll also be jumping on your requests and handing out some remastered copies of Judas Priest’s metal classic, British Steel! You heard me! I told you it doesn’t get any better than the House of Hair! This week’s show will once again be the proof! Don’t miss it!

BRET MICHAELS – AWAKE, SPEAKING AND IN GOOD SPIRITS

Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, current contestant on The Apprentice, and host of MTV’s Rock of Love is still hospitalized at an undisclosed location in Arizona, but he is awake and talking after being admitted Thursday night for a brain bleed. Ambre Lake, Rock of Love season 2 winner and former Michaels paramour, confirmed to TMZ that she had been informed of Michaels condition. His father has also confirmed that he is under the care of neurosurgeons. On his own website, BretMichaels.com, is the following statement:

“Everyone at Michaels Entertainment would like to thank all fans and friends for their continued thoughts and prayers through this difficult time.

At this point Bret remains in ICU in critical condition. He is under 24 hour doctors care and supervision. We are hopeful that further tests will locate the source of the bleeding, which has still not been located. As we all know Bret is a fighter and we are hopeful that once all is complete the slurred speech, blurred vision and dizziness, etc. will be eliminated and all functions will return to normal.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.”

Michaels had been recovering from an emergency appendectomy on April 12th, and is also a diabetic.

Bret Michaels Hospitalized with Brain Hemorrhage

BREAKING NEWS – APRIL 23, 2010

The House of Hair has just learned that Bret Michaels has suffered a huge brain hemorrhage. Michaels had been complaining of a horrible headache last night. When rushed to the hospital, it was discovered that he had experienced a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding at the base of his brain stem). Michaels is in the ICU at an undiscolosed hospital, listed in critical condition. It is unknown if the brain hemorhage is related to his diabetes or to his emergency appendectomy on April 12. We’ll post more when we have confirmed information.

Lillian Axe Elected To The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

From their humble beginnings in New Orleans, Lillian Axe rose above the
cream of the bands of the hard rock genre of their era and had built a
reputation that could not be denied and were becoming legendary throughout
the United States. While performing an opening stint with Ratt, Poison and
Queensryche, Lillian Axe caught the eye of record executive Irving Azoff
who signed Lillian Axe to their first professional recording contract and the rest is history.

Often regarded as an underrrated metal gem, Lillian Axe are consummate
professionals, balancing song structure and melody with a heavy edge. The
most impressive aspect of this enduring group might just be their innate
ability to remain relevant while never shunning their vibrant and vintage
heritage. With big shot producers, major and independent records deals,
videos for MTV, quarter of a million records sales in the United States alone, New
Orleans survivors, Lillian Axe, have perservered through the years and still to this day, record new music and tour.

2010 will be the year of Lillian Axe. A fresh outlook, but the same
approach and hard work will take Steve Blaze, Derrick LeFevre, Sam
Poitevent, Eric Morris and Ken Koudelka to the next level. Lillian Axe will be
releasing their tenth album, Deep Red Shadows, on July 20 on Love & War
Records distributed by Sony Music Distribution (RED).

On May 16, 2010, Lillian Axe will be the first hard rock band ever
enshrined in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Lillian Axe will forever
be remembered along side such greats as Fats Domino, Buddy Guy, Louis
Armstrong, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Allen Toussaint to name a few.
Lillian Axe will be performing and headlining the “First Annual Louisiana
Music Homecoming Concert” in celebration of their induction at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.

“Highway To Hell” Video Premiere AC/DC: Iron Man 2

Visit Amazon.com to watch the exclusive video premiere of “Highway to Hell” from the AC/DC: Iron Man 2 album, available in stores now.

COLLECTOR’S EDITION
-15 Classic AC/DC songs plus over 50 minutes of video including the brand new clip for “Shoot To Thrill” featuring Iron Man 2 footage.
-7 7/8″ x 10 3/4″ foil-stamped 32 page hardcover book featuring liner notes from David Fricke, a foldout AC/DC poster and AC/DC stickers.
-Limited edition reprint of “The Invincible Iron Man” #1 comic book with variant cover by John Romita Jr., and back cover cartoon by Angus Young.

CD/DVD
-15 Classic AC/DC songs in a hardcover package with a 32 page booklet featuring liner notes by David Fricke plus 50 minutes of videos.

Double LP
-15 Classic AC/DC songs pressed in 180 gram vinyl.
-Available 5.25

Special Bonus: All orders from the AC/DC store will include a numbered AC/DC: Iron Man 2 lithograph, pictured here. This custom 18″ x 24″ print is only available with purchase from the AC/DC: Iron Man 2 store.

International fans:
Visit acdcrocks.com for more video premiere info.

PLAYLIST – April 12 – April 18, 2010

PLAYLIST April 12, 2010 – April 18, 2010

• BLACK SABBATH   The Mob Rules
• TRIUMPH   Never Surrender
• SLAUGHTER   Fly To The Angels
• SAVATAGE   Gutter Ballet
• DANGER DANGER   Naughty Naughty
• QUIET RIOT   Welcome To The Jungle
• SCORPIONS   Rock You Like A Hurricane
• UFO   Too Hot To Handle
• ENUFF Z’NUFF   New Thing
•  
• 3rd DEE-GREE
• GUNS N’ ROSES   Civil War
• POISON   Unskinny Bop
• DAMN YANKEES   Coming of Age
•  
• MOTLEY CRUE   Too Young To Fall In Love
• WINGER   Miles Away
• CINDERELLA   Coming Home
• THE CULT   Fire Woman
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• KISS   Strutter
•  
• METALLICA   Blackened
•  
• HAIR PAIR & REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• QUEENSRYCHE   Operation: Mindcrime
• QUEENSRYCHE   The Lady Wore Black
•  
• TWISTED SISTER   You Can’t Stop Rock N’ Roll
• AEROSMITH   Come Together
• VAN HALEN   Panama
• SHOOTING STAR   Breakout
•  
• RARE HAIR
• RATT   Lack of Communication
•  
• VANDENBURG   Burning Heart
• OZZY OSBOURNE   Mama, I’m Coming Home
• AC/DC    Sin City
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  
• Hey Dee,
  “Operation: Mindcrime” is my favorite Queensryche song of all time! I think I’ve lost most of my hearing because I have been blasting this song in my car stereo for the past two months. Love the show and I listen every week! Keep up the great work!
  Doug in Middleboro, MA, listening to 94.1 WHJY

What’s New – Week of April 19, 2010

Ask any headbanger you see: It doesn’t get harder — and it certainly doesn’t get any better — than the House of Hair!

This week on the HOH I’ll be fueling your sweaty heavy metal dreams with Motorhead, Dokken, Iron Maiden and more. I’ve got a mess of your requests, so get ready for a heavy metal blowout and a shoppin’ trip to the store, ‘cause you’re going to need a new set of speakers! The House of Hair is heading your way!

PLAYLIST – April 5, 2010 – April 11, 2010

PLAYLIST April 05, 2010 – April 11, 2010

• BON JOVI   You Give Love A Bad Name
• BONHAM   Wait For You
• BRITNY FOX   Long Way To Love
• W.A.S.P.   Blind In Texas
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• RARE HAIR
• SLEEZE BEEZ   Screwed Blued ‘N Tattooed
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• MSG   On And On
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• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• SARAYA   Love Has Taken Its Toll
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• WARRANT   Down Boys
• RATT   Lay It Down
• WHITESNAKE   Slide It In
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• 3RD DEE-GREE
• SKID ROW   I Remember You
• DAVID LEE ROTH   Yankee Rose
• AC/DC   Girls Got Rhythm
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• DANZIG   Twist of Cain
• SAXON   Rock The Nations
• DIO   I Could Have Been A Dreamer
• JUDAS PRIEST   Screaming For Vengeance
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• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• MONTROSE   Rock Candy
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• JUNKYARD   Hollywood
• KIX   Cold Blood
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• HAIR PAIR
• KISS   Let’s Put The X In Sex
• KISS   Christine Sixteen
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• TRIXTER   Give It To Me Good
• TESLA   Hang Tough
• PANTERA   Cemetery Gates
• DEF LEPPARD   Die Hard The Hunter
• DOKKEN   It’s Not Love
• MR. BIG   30 Days In The Hole
• IRON MAIDEN   22 Acacia Avenue
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• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• I love hearing some of the classics from the “Women of Hair,” like “Love Has Taken Its Toll” by Saraya. That’s the real reason we watched the videos, RIGHT!? We listen to the HOH every Sunday at work. Retail sucks, but three hours of HOH makes it enjoyable!

  –Gregg in Big Lake, MN, listening to WHMH 101.7 in Sauk Rapids/St.Cloud

Interview with Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P.

Interview With Blackie Lawless for House of Hair Online

By Ray Van Horn, Jr.

HOUSE OF HAIR: I’d like to start by talking about you growing up on Staten Island. There are so many notable musicians from the area I feel like there ought to a book written on it! Maybe it’s the across-the-pond element from Manhattan…

BLACKIE LAWLESS: That’s exactly what it is. It’s the redheaded stepchild of New York City. When you talk to people there and ask where they’re from, you hear ‘Oh, I’m from Staten Island…’ Well, it’s almost New York City! (laughs) I mean, it’s all so biased, man! The folks in New York City are far more provincial than they even realize! I didn’t realize that until I moved away. They’ve got their own ideas.

HOH: I’m sure you get this asked this frequently, but how many scars do you have from those sawblades in the old days? I’m happy your identity today is more about being a respected metal songwriter, but how intense was it trying to make a mark with WASP in the eighties? Did you reach a point where you might’ve been thinking along the way, ‘Man, I can’t wait until we make it so I don’t have to bleed to death onstage?’

BL: You know, the old joke was when I had the exploding codpiece. It blew up on me on opening night in Dublin, Ireland in ’86. We had tested that thing for months and it came off without a hitch. What happened was the explosives were flown over for the show and they became compressed because of the altitude. All this we figured out later once we pieced it back together like an air disaster, trying to figure out what went wrong! When it went off that night, it literally picked me up about 4 to 6 inches. I was airborne and it burned all the hair off my legs! The hair never grew back to this day! I remember being in the dressing room—and you’ve got to remember, this was opening night—and everybody’s thinking the tour’s all over. I was in pretty bad shape; I was burned pretty bad. I had to do something to break the tension, and that’s when I made the famous statement, ‘If we wrote better songs, I wouldn’t have to do stuff like this!’ (laughs) And everybody realized by me cracking a joke like that, I was okay and everything was going to be alright. It was one of those kinds of things where the whole room erupted with laughter, but it was nervous laughter! Plus I’ve got a couple of gouges on me from the subways!

HOH: I’ll tell you what; I used to have WASP: Live at the Lyceum on VHS back in the day and I spotted some of that footage on YouTube recently. As a teenager watching that video, you just got sucked into it and you don’t realize the full impact of performers dicing themselves up to entertain their audiences!

BL: Yeah, somebody asked me what I thought about Mark McGwire and I said, ‘Well, you’ve also got to understand that we’ve got a pretty good basis of knowledge of that type of medication!’ (laughs) There’s more rock bands using that stuff than you might think. We’ve definitely used it over the years. It’s not like you’re trying to get bigger or anything, it’s just the road will kick your butt over a period of time. You go out on tour for a year, year-and-a-half and the only way you can keep going sometimes is through some help! People don’t understand, when you’re doing a tour that lasts a year-and-a-half and people find out months ago that you’re coming into their area and they’ve got it circled on the calendar waiting day after day after day, they don’t understand that’s just one show of what may be 150 to 200 shows on that tour. To continue on night after night like that, sometimes you need a little bit of help!

HOH: That’s a good point, and after reading Nikki Sixx’s Heroin Diaries, which presents a crash ‘n burn aspect from the other end of the spectrum, I can imagine the physical hell you all collectively went through given metal became such an in-demand commodity.

BL: Yeah, but even now people walk in to one of the dressing rooms, you see guys taping themselves up. You smell liniment (laughs), you see guys injecting themselves with B12 or other stuff. It’s a part of being out there and it’s a side of rock ‘n roll nobody ever talks about.

HOH: What’s your ritual these days to get prepped for a live gig?

BL: It depends on how long you’ve been out. The best form of maintenance is to take care of yourself in the first place. Don’t let yourself get too far down. People ask me ‘How do you keep your voice in shape for so long a period of time?’ Well, you’ve got to maintenance it. It’s a muscle like anything else. You take care of it, it’ll take care of you, so you’ve got to really pay attention to what you’re doing. There’s a big myth about the whole sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll thing. Bands who are doing it, a lot of them don’t last very long. The object of having a long career is kind of looking at a circle; everything starts at zero and the object is to get back around a full 360 to go again. In the middle of it is a big swamp. The problem is, a lot of guys go down that swamp and never come out again. You’ve got to really pay attention to what’s going on. Rock ‘n roll is full of casualties.

HOH: Some of the younger bands I’ve interviewed, if a lot of them aren’t sick in the regular sense from colds or stomach flus, they’re not talking about what’s making them sick. I haven’t seen a more tight-lipped bunch in a long time. They keep most of it behind closed doors, but what I think you’re pointing out is accurate. They’re all just trying to keep themselves psyched to go—whatever it takes—before they burn out.

BL: We just did three months in Europe and we were doing six nights a week. Occasionally you’ll get into a stint where you’ll do 20, maybe 25 in a row. Those are long hauls. Doing a show’s kind of like running a basketball game. You’re out there for an hour-and-a-half and you’re really humping it while you’re there, but it’s not so much the shows; it’s the travel. Ray Charles used to say ‘I don’t get paid for performing, I get paid for traveling.’ If you’re going to do 25 shows, you’re not doing them all in the same place. That represents 25 different towns, and so you’re going to do that in a three-to-four week period. By the time you get from Point A to Point B, your brains are like scrambled eggs! Then you realize why bands get punchy and singers walk out onstage and say ‘Hello, Idaho!’ when they’re in Baltimore. It happens man.

HOH: What’s your rogue’s gallery pestering you to play live lately? If I was there, I’d be yelling for “Chainsaw Charlie” or “The Titanic Overture.”

BL: Well, “Charlie’s” part of the set, because what we’ve been doing on this tour is a combination of the old promo videos. We have a giant movie screen and it creates kind of a 3-D effect which is pretty cool, because we’re playing in-sync to those films. So what you see is me singing in the video, but you also see me standing in front of you singing. It’s pretty neat to watch the audience while the show’s going on because they’ll watch the video for a few seconds then they’ll look at me, then look up at the video screen then back at me. It kind of turns them into the RCA dog, you know? (laughs) There’s a look on their faces saying something like, ‘How are they doing this?’ It really does create a cool effect.

Somebody says ‘You’re doing 150 shows on this tour; how do you go out and do that night after night, doing the same old show?’ I’ll tell them it’s never the same! The object is to get your head and your butt wired together at the same time to make that the best show it can be. If you’re singing live and you’re playing, the object is to try to be perfect. There’s only been twice in my life where I was actually perfect. The rest of the time is that constant quest to get it perfect, to be the best you can be. To me, that’s the challenge.

HOH: Are there still any moments for you during a set where you’re thinking ‘Crap, man, I tanked that one!’?

BL: Oh yeah, everybody does, but here’s the thing: you know what I was talking about trying to be perfect? You can actually achieve that and nobody knows it. In a professional forum of anybody that’s doing this, if they’ve been doing it for awhile and they’re actually professionals, they’re going to average through 100 percent of what they’re capable of doing on any given night maybe 92 or 93 percent. On a really good night, they’re going to get maybe 95, 96 percent and on a really horrible night, they’re going to hit maybe 88 or 89, where they’ll just want to quit and walk away. Because that little 5 or 6 percent is so minute, the average person will never notice the difference! So that’s the reason you can have a really horrible show and you come off with people patting you on the back telling you how great it was, and you’re thinking to yourself ‘What show were you watching?’ All performers will tell you that. They can’t understand why people are doing that. The differential of that point spread is so minute that you can think you’re great but nobody sees the difference, because you’re going to be consistent. I don’t care how bad or how good you feel you are, it’s going to be consistent.

HOH: Instead of asking the tried and true question of how you perceive today’s metal scene, I’m more curious to know how you view today’s scene’s appreciation of you and WASP. These kids are really starting to get what’s going on, the old school bands are rising up together. For me, I’m loving the hell out of getting to see all the bands I grew up with coming out with strong albums and better yet, today’s kids getting it.

BL: Well, I think just by virtue of attrition of sustaining yourself, lasting as long as you have, a newer generation of fans come along and go, ‘Hmm, where’s the roots of this stuff?’ They look at it and it’s pretty easy to decipher after awhile. If you’re one of those 20 bands who’ve sustained themselves for 25 years, you start becoming an endangered species. It’s also because the industry has changed so much—the record companies have imploded. Those things we referred to as ‘evil empires,’ they’re all gone, man. But the one thing they did really, really well was delivering new music to the people and in the process gave bands a chance to develop. They gave frontmen a chance to develop. I had someone ask me in an interview, ‘Where are all the great new frontmen coming from?’ I said, ‘There ain’t no more, man! There ain’t going to be no more!’ What you’re seeing right now is what it is. You want to see Lemmy, you’ve got to buy a ticket to Motorhead. You want to see Geoff Tate, you’ve got to buy a ticket to Queensryche. When those bands are gone, they’re not coming back! There is no delivery method out there anymore that was like the major record companies who gave their bands the chance to develop. These frontmen or any of these bands who are capable of headlining festivals or filling up stadiums, you’d better go see them now, man, because then you won’t see that again! It’ll all be over and it’s sad to say that, but it’s a fact. I’m not making this up. It is what it is and I wish it wasn’t that way! Unfortunately that’s the nature of what this business is.

HOH: Absolutely, and what’s sad to me is a lot of bands I may touch base with on one tour and one album cycle, the following year I’ll get press releases indicating they’re on a different label, under different management, the whole nine yards. A lot of today’s bands aren’t given the chance to develop as you’re saying. It’s like they’re rope-skipping to different labels to the point some may burn out altogether, some may keep putting out music and lose members in the process, but none of it is the same.

BL: The industry feeds on itself. You’ve always heard the expression that ‘one in a million get a record deal…’

HOH: Right.

BL: It’s actually about one in twenty million ever did get a record deal. I’ll give you an even more alarming statistic; of all those one in twenty millions that ever got a record deal, less than two percent of all of those will actually make any real money. What I’m talking about is degrees of success now. The things consumers focus on as to what’s really happening out there is such a small amount of the people who are actually trying to do it. It’s staggering! If I would’ve known then what I know now, I probably would’ve done it anyway because I discovered as my life went along that I didn’t choose it; it chose me. I was going to have to do it no matter what. It was just part of my destiny, but I would’ve been a lot more afraid, I’ll put it that way.

If I had a kid now who came to me and said he wanted to be a ballplayer or he wanted to be a musician, I think one of the mistakes people make with young kids is they try to browbeat them down into taking their dream away from them, saying ‘No, you can’t do this’ or ‘The chances of success are so slim,’ or ‘You’re never going to make it.’ I don’t think that’s the way to approach it. What you should do is tell them, ‘You know what? If you want to get out there and work harder than everybody else, you have a chance where you might be able to get your foot in the door.’ But here’s the problem: even though you may be successful, how long then can you sustain yourself in that forum? That’s where the test of attrition comes. If you cannot sustain yourself for 20 or 30 years doing it, you’re not going to make any money! You will eventually be back in the place where you were before you started doing it to begin with. Again, you don’t want to try and strip them of their dream, but you do want to show them the reality of ‘even if you do get there, then what are you going to do?’ That’s where the rubber meets the rug. That’s where the trick lies. It’s a daunting task.

HOH: A lot of WASP’s albums from the late nineties on like The Headless Cross, The Crimson Idol, Unholy Terror, The Neon God couplet and now your latest album Babylon have received good press. I’m sure it’s had to have been a little frustrating trying to maintain an audience in this climate of apathy before metal broke out again in North America.

BL: That goes back to the test of attrition. That’s a lot of it, but you don’t do it because you’re necessarily looking for that pat on the back. You’re doing it because it’s something you have to do. Here’s the thing: when it comes to show business, show business is not looking for people who want to do this; it’s looking for people who must do this. There’s a quantum divide between want and must. Everybody wants, but few are willing to pay that gargantuan price that accompanies must, because must is a monster! If you do this, your life isn’t going to be your own. It will end up belonging to the business and whatever your creative process is. If you’re the kind of person who’s okay with that and you understand to check your soul at the door when you come in, it’s okay. Kids ask me all the time, ‘Hey, man, give me some advice! What do I have to do to get from where I’m at to where you’re at?’ Well, can you live without this? Depending on what their answer is depends on what I tell them. If they tell me that no, they can’t live without it, then I go, ‘Okay, fine, go for it. Give it a shot. Better to try and fail than look at yourself in the mirror at age 40 and say you didn’t have the guts and that’s why you failed.’ But if you have the slightest inkling even for one moment that you can live without this, I strongly encourage you to seek another line of employment, because you will not make it. They look at you like you’re being cruel, but I’m doing it for a reason, to tell them that show business doesn’t want people who want to do it; it’s the people who must do it. That’s how it weeds out what should be there versus what only thinks it wants to be there. So that’s how you answer the question of ‘How do you keep cranking out music?’ It’s because of that. What do you believe in? Are you writing something that you believe in? If you do that and it’s good, then it’ll eventually find an audience.

HOH: I want to touch on The Who for a minute. Obviously you’ve always had an affinity for The Who given WASP’s cover songs over the years, but one thing I always look forward to on your albums is where you’ll have one, maybe two Tommy or Quadrophenia build-up moments. What is your fondest Who experience live?

BL: I was friendly with John Entwhistle when he was alive and I remember one night standing on his side of the stage behind the PA and just watching him. He was probably the best on any instrument I’ve seen from anybody. The guy was unbelievable. He’d get both hands going and it was like typing a letter! I remember standing on the side stage and I just started laughing at him because he was so good I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was comical. You didn’t think anybody could play any instrument like that, he was so good. He was a real treasure to watch. I hate he’s gone.

HOH: I agree, man. Getting into Babylon, this really isn’t so much a concept album as it bonding glue between songs. Is that correct?

BL: I would say, yeah.

HOH: You have the Babylonian times referenced on the project, but I also draw what’s been going on in Iraq on this album. There’s been a lot of damage done over there, like the Ishtar Gate and a lot of archeological digs were messed up through the war. Whether it was intentional or not, it sounds like WASP is taking a swipe at this new-day torching of Babylon…

BL: Well, I’d say really where the idea of “Babylon’s Burning” came from was me watching t.v. at the end of the last year Bush was in office and this whole supposed global financial crisis was going on. You hear that word ‘crisis’ that’s a politician code word for ‘we’re getting ready to take some sort of freedom away from you in some way because we’re going to scare you into allowing us to do whatever we want.’ I was also watching what was going on in Europe at the time. The guys in the EU in Brussels were talking about what they said was this meltdown we were having and they thought, ‘Well, maybe it’s time we thought about a one world system,’ like a one world government. Then another guy says ‘If we’re going to have a one world government, then we should have a one world currency.’ Then the third guy speaks up and he says ‘In addition to all of that, we believe if we had that one world system, we could have the EU and all the people in the European Union microchipped by the year 2017.’ I’m sitting there and I’m listening to this guy and my jaw’s hanging open. I’m thinking to myself, ‘Do these guys understand what they’re saying?’ I mean, this is potential 666 this guy’s talking about, you know?

So I went on the internet and I Googled microchipping in humans… Don’t take my word for it; just take five minutes and look this up! You will be astonished at what is actually going on out there right now. It’s more widespread than even I had any idea. It’s really frightening. It’s knocking on our door right now. 20 years ago when I wrote “Headless Children,” there’s a line in the song that says ‘Four Horsemen sit high up in the saddle and waiting and ride the bloody trail of no return.’ I’m listening to these guys in the EU talking and I’m thinking to myself, ‘We’re closer to that Armageddon type of concept now than we were then when I wrote that song.’ So that was really the basis of “Babylon’s Burning.” I went back and did a detailed study of the Book of Revelations in the bible and some other parts of the bible as well. It was astonishingly accurate in describing what these guys were talking about in the EU. That was really the foundation of this.

HOH: Since WASP has always played in a trademark galloping tempo, I think songs like “Babylon’s Burning,” “Live to Die Another Day” and “Into the Fire” roll perfectly as soundtrack to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Do you see this primary tempo roll WASP utilizes perfect for Babylon’s creation from cover to its contents?

BL: You know, I had a guy ask me awhile back, he says ‘Are you Irish?’ I said ‘No, why do you ask?’ So he says, ‘Just by the music that you do. You guys have that gallop too; it’s like an Irish jig on steroids!’

HOH: (laughs)

BL: I thought about it for awhile and I said, ‘Hey, he’s right!’ (laughs) I’d never thought about that, but who knows?

HOH: Babylon is thought to be the biggest city of its time from 1770 to 1670 BC and 612 to 320 BC, I believe. You’ve lived in New York and Los Angeles, so you’re naturally familiar with the big metropolis. Given what Babylon was in its day, do you see a parallel between the mindset of the big cities you’ve lived in and that which is historically reported to be the one-time biggest city in the world? Speaking in terms of this album’s primary inspiration, I mean.

BL: It’s a metaphor. When you look at the original Babylon, it was like you’re saying, the New York City of its time. In biblical reference when it talks about the new Babylon, it talks about what will come out of that whole scenario before an Armageddon type scenario occurs. It talks about the rise of the new Babylon as the city on the Seven Hills, and there’s only one city fitting that description, which is Rome. Take all that and you put it all together, that’s a lot of what went into my thinking, of what the lyrics are.

HOH: Let’s talk about the two cover tunes on Babylon, Deep Purple’s “Burn” and Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land.” I especially thought “Burn” was an interesting choice to cover. You guys nailed it to the sheets, but I’m not sure if it was supposed to intentionally fit in with the underlying themes other songs or if it was a chance cover. What’s the story?

BL: I’d love to take credit and say it was part of the master plan (laughs) but it wasn’t until we got into mastering—which is like a last chance gas station to repair any sonic things you might want to do before it goes to the factory where they make CDs—and I was sitting there. While we were making the record, I hadn’t looked at the album as a whole. I hadn’t thought about all the songs as a complete piece of work because we made the record so fast I basically didn’t have time to do that. It wasn’t until I got to mastering when I started looking at all the titles of the songs. As I looked at the titles I went ‘Wow, there’s a lot of fire on this record!’ (laughs) We had played around with the idea of “Burn” on the Dominator album but didn’t get too serious about it. I thought it would work perfectly on this one, so we went back and finished it off real quick and put it on the record.

HOH: On the other side, you have “Promised Land” following all of this intensity throughout Babylon. For me, the vibe was a light closer, kind of your “Blind in Texas” for this album. I like the duality it presents; you have all of this blazing power and drama, then it’s like, ‘let’s check out with a cool little ditty.’ Was that the intention?

BL: That’s precisely what it was. Again, I would love to take credit to tell you that it was part of this big master plan when we started it, but I’m not that good! (laughs) “Promised Land” was the first song we did for this record and I honestly didn’t even think it would make it on the record, because we hadn’t been in the studio for awhile. For people who don’t know, being in the studio and playing live are two completely different universes. They don’t have anything to do with each other. If you haven’t been in the studio awhile you think, ‘Okay, let’s just do something to ease us back into things. Let’s put on the training wheels and get ourselves acclimated to it. So that was the first song we recorded and I just put it aside and didn’t think much more about it. When we got to the end of the record, I looked at it as a whole and I thought ‘This is taking you to this very dark place. Why don’t we do something at the end that’s got a little glimmer of hope? I know what we’ll do; we’ll take you to the Promised Land!’ Like I said, I would love to tell you that was the master plan from the beginning, but it wasn’t. It ended up being a mistake, but it was perfect. I thought, ‘Man, this is a gift and I’ll take it!’

HOH: I used to play the first two WASP albums on my Walkman on the train tracks home from work. I was the pinhead teenager screaming “Widowmaker” and “Jack Action” to nobody and everybody, but we’re talking cassette version, man! You’ve been around to see all of the different music formats from the eighties-on and Babylon to my ears has that classic analog sound. What’s your take on this digital age of MP3s and downloads?

BL: I couldn’t tell you! I have no clue! I’m one of those guys that is in the stone age when it comes to that kind of stuff. The way I write is extremely primitive. When people see the way I do it, they’re stunned because I still use a mono cassette player. I use it because it’s very fast and the only thing I’m trying to do is to capture ideas. I’m not interested in technology. I have a recording studio for that. So when it comes time to doing things for real, fine, we’ll get into the bigger stuff, but for the moment, when I’m writing, I’m looking for the simplest, the most direct way that I can capture that idea. For me, that’s the way I do it. I have a cassette deck that I bought new for the beginning of The Headless Children record and I’ve used it ever since. All of The Headless Children was written on it, all of The Crimson Idol was written on it and everything thereafter. This thing was a $39.00 cassette deck! It ought to be in the hall of fame.

It’ll be 20 years ago this June when we started building this studio together. We built it right as we were getting ready to doThe Crimson Idol record. When we built it, it was state-of-the-art, but it was a tape-based analog system. As we went through the next ten years, we started getting into digital and things like that. It was only about six or seven years ago I got rid of all the digital stuff and we record in a very old school way now, all on tape. It’s more expensive to work like that but tape gives you a sound and a thump that you just cannot get on digital. If you want to make a really expensive-sounding record, there’s only one way to do it, so when you listen to what we do, you can hear it on those records. When somebody says ‘Oh, that’s a lot of money to do it,’ well you know what? I’m doing these for me, not for anybody else! It sounds good to me and that’s what I want. Everybody says ‘Why don’t you do it on Pro Tools? Kids can’t tell the difference!’ Yeah, well, I can tell the difference. There’s a dimension and a thump that comes out of those records you just don’t get any other way.

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