Megadeth Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Landmark ‘Rust In Peace’ Album
June 28, 2010
The final night of Megadeth’s historic month-long Rust In Peace 20th anniversary tour has been captured for the upcoming Rust In Peace Live Blu-ray, DVD and CD, due out September 7 on Shout! Factory. On March 31, 2010, at this incredibly special show at the legendary Hollywood Palladium, not far from where Dave Mustaine formed the band in 1983, Megadeth played their landmark, genre-defining 1990 Rust In Peace album in its entirety, in addition to other Megadeth favorites. Rust In Peace Live also marks the return of original bassist David Ellefson (Megadeth 1983-2002) to the iconic multi-platinum group after eight years. Ellefson (bass), joins Mustaine (lead vocals, guitar), Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar).
Rust In Peace Livefeatures the entire Rust In Peace track listing, including all-time classics “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” and “Hangar 18” along with bonus fan favorites from various other Megadeth releases such as “Symphony For Destruction,” “Peace Sells,” and “Skin O’ My Teeth.”
Megadeth founder/frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine explains, “We are pumped to be able to share the RIP Live concert with you all around the world. The anniversary and David Ellefson coming back was better than a facelift and a bottle of Viagra for old Vic.”
The 80-minute Rust In Peace Live DVD (5.1 Dolby Surround 16:9 Widescreen) and Blu-ray (5.1 DTS Master Audio 1080p High Definition) were directed by Kerry Asmussen (Green Day, Jay-Z, Coachella). The DVD and Blu-ray will also include behind-the-scenes footage, including a rare glimpse of the band rehearsing in their dressing room as they prepare to take the stage.
Rust In Peace is considered one of the best metal albums of all time by fans and critics and debuted at #23 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart in the U.S. and #8 in the U.K. The album showcased a much tighter sound, with Mustaine’s writing style adopting a rhythmically complex progressive edge, prompting All Music Guide to cite Rust In Peace as “Megadeth’s strongest musical effort.” The album received Grammy nominations in 1990 and 1991 for “Best Metal Performance.” Emphasizing the massive impact of Rust In Peace in the July 2010 issue of Guitar World, writer Richard Bienstock calls it “one of the pinnacles of the first wave of thrash metal.” He continues, “A defining quality of Megadeth’s sound—and the one that perhaps most sets them apart from their ‘Big Four’ thrash brethren, Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax—has always been the band’s fiery mix of speed-metal ferocity and progressive instrumental virtuosity…nowhere has this combination been displayed better than on Rust In Peace.”
The full track listing for the Rust In Peace Live CD, DVD and Blu-ray is as follows:
Rest In Peace Live:
Holy Wars…The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
Take No Prisoners
Five Magics
Poison Was The Cure
Lucretia
Tornado Of Souls
Dawn Patrol
Rust In Peace…Polaris
Bonus Content:
Skin O’ My Teeth (Countdown To Extinction)
In My Darkest Hour (So Far, So Good…So What!)
She-Wolf (Cryptic Writings)
Trust (Cryptic Writings)
Symphony Of Destruction (Countdown To Extinction)
Peace Sells (Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?)
Holy Wars – Reprise (Rust In Peace)
For more information, go to www.megadeth.com and www.shoutfactory.com.
PLAYLIST – June 21 – June 27, 2010
June 28, 2010
PLAYLIST June 21, 2010 – June 27, 2010
- WINGER Seventeen
- AEROSMITH The Other Side
- BADLANDS Dreams In The Dark
- BON JOVI Bad Medicine
- VIXEN How Much Love
- BONHAM Wait For You
- WHITE LION Wait
- TORA TORA Walking Shoes
- RARE HAIR
- JUDAS PRIEST Pain And Pleasure
- DEF LEPPARD Animal
- THE 3rd DEE-GREE
- VINCE NEIL You’re Invited But Your Friend Can’t Come
- TESLA EZ Come EZ Go
- CINDERELLA Nobody’s Fool
- KIX Cold Blood
- POISON Something To Believe In
- TWISTED SISTER We’re Not Gonna Take It
- KISS Shout It Out Loud
- GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
- NAZARETH Love Hurts
- KROKUS Screaming In The Night
- TRIXTER Give It To Me Good
- HAIR PAIR & REQUEST OF THE WEEK
- AC/DC Thunderstruck
- AC/DC Heatseeker
- THUNDER Dirty Love
- VAN HALEN Unchained
- WARRANT Cherry Pie
- WHITESNAKE Slide It In
- DOKKEN Lights Out
- GUNS N’ ROSES My Michelle
- UFO Into The Fire
- IRON MAIDEN Where Eagles Dare
- REQUEST OF THE WEEK
-
My wife and I have been married for 16 years. If there is one thing we always agree on it’s that rock and heavy metal is KING! There is one rule in our house and our kids follow it to the letter: Rap is crap and is not allowed! And guess what…our kids love ROCK (thank God). Rap is for the IQ deficient, so EXPAND OUR MINDS and make us more intelligent and GIVE US SOME AC/DC!! Thanks and God bless the House of Hair!
–Jesse and Susie in Laredo, TX, listening to 94.9 The Works
What’s New – Week of June 28, 2010
June 28, 2010
Ready to fire things up, North America?!
The House of Hair is coming to celebrate life, liberty and the pursuit of old school metal! And how do I do it? By cramming Ratt, Ozzy, Pantera and a whole lot more into several freaked-out hours of metal madness and shaking it up with some pure rock rebellion. Add in a free giveaway on this year’s ShipRocked cruise, some kick ass Lillian Axe gear (say that 3 times fast!) and you’ve got a killer week! The party starts when the House of Hair takes over the airwaves…you don’t wanna miss it!
New Halford Single “The Mower” Available June 25th
June 24, 2010
New Halford Single “The Mower” Available June 25th, 7:00pm PDT at HalfordMusic.com
Twisted Sister Guitarist Covers Spinal Tap on Fat Chick Tribute
June 23, 2010
Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda has joined the roster of the upcoming tribute album “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks.” Eddie appears in conjunction with his solo project Eddie Ojeda’s Band of Steel, featuring vocalist Andre Vanchot (X Factor X, Joe Stump), bassist Chris McCarvill (Dokken, House of Lords, Jeff Scott Soto) and drummer B.J. Zampa (Dokken, House of Lords, Yngwie Malmsteen). Eddie and company contribute a new incarnation of the Spinal Tap favorite “Big Bottom,” a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the well-padded posterior. “Big Bottom” is infamous for featuring three separate bass parts (bass, lead bass, rhythm bass) with no guitars whatsoever. A bass-centric tune with a lot of low end, it’s a bottom-heavy ode to the bottom-heavy girl. A sample of the song is now available at the official “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/WholeLottaLoveTribute
“When I was first asked if I wanted to cover ‘Big Bottom,’ I thought it was a joke! I mean, why would you ask a guitarist to play on a song with no guitars?” commented a bewildered Eddie Ojeda. “That’s like hiring Dee Snider to record a song and then telling him not to sing on it! I just figured I’d stumbled into an easy gig, since my band would end up doing all the work. In the end, I did find a way of adding my own personal touch to the song, while also being respectful to the bass-heavy sound of the original.”
“It wasn’t hard playing all three bass parts,” added Chris McCarvill, “but it was hard playing them all at the same time. There has to be an easier way to do this!” The exhausted McCarvill then passed out from his exertions and declined to comment further.
“Remember, you can’t spell BASS without ASS!” remarked singer Andre Vanchot, moments before dropping trou and mooning hapless bandmate B.J. Zampa.
Summing up the band’s collective pride in the finished product, Ojeda beamed, “I think our version is absolutely killer. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it an 11!”
As previously reported, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks” is a musical homage to the big, beautiful women who make the rockin’ world go ’round. The tribute will feature all-new recordings of popular songs praising the fuller female figure, originally made famous by some of the biggest names in rock and pop music. These anthems to abundance will be performed by renowned rock & rollers from yesterday and today, along with a select few rising stars. In direct opposition to the “no fat chicks” mantra espoused by some, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” will be a star-studded celebration of large and lovely ladies. Songs confirmed so far include Queen’s arena rock classic “Fat Bottomed Girls” by L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis, with guitarist Paul LaPlaca and drummer John Macaluso. Also on tap is a high-octane version of the AC/DC concert staple “Whole Lotta Rosie” by Rufus Fontain, featuring Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar and original Jackyl vocalist Ronnie Honeycutt. The Poison chart-topper “Unskinny Bop” is ably recreated by party rock outfit Evick, featuring members of the Bret Michaels Band. Additional artists and track listings will be announced as they are confirmed. Samples of all tracks are available at the official “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” MySpace page.
“WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks” is scheduled for an August 31, 2010 release and is now available for pre-order directly from SplitScreen Entertainment. The first 500 pre-orders will receive a free instant digital download of “Fat Bottomed Girls” and a surprise bonus item upon delivery of the album. Further details can be found at the SplitScreen Entertainment website.
PLAYLIST – June 14 – June 20, 2010 – Dio Tribute Show
June 21, 2010
PLAYLIST June 14, 2010 – June 20, 2010
- DIO Rainbow In The Dark
- BLACK SABBATH Neon Nights
- SKID ROW I Remember You
- SCORPIONS Rock You Like A Hurricane
- RAINBOW Long Live Rock N Roll
- DIO Hungry For Heaven
- METALLICA Fade To Black
- DIO Straight Through The Heart
- QUEENSRYCHE The Chase (Live)
- HEAVEN & HELL Children Of The Sea
- BLACK SABBATH Heaven And Hell
- DIO Rock N Roll Children
- DIO Mystery
- MOTORHEAD Ace Of Spades
- EDDIE OJEDA + DIO Tonight
- ELF I’m Coming Back For You
- IRON MAIDEN Hallowed Be Thy Name
- DIO The Last In Line
- TWISTED SISTER Stay Hungry
- HEAVEN & HELL The Mob Rules (Live)
- RAINBOW Catch The Rainbow
- HEAR ‘N AID Stars
- RAINBOW Man On The Silver Mountain
- DIO Holy Diver
What’s New – Week of June 21, 2010
June 21, 2010
Summer is officially here! You know what that means? Parties. And what do you need to fuel your hot weather get togethers? Alcohol…I mean, old school, heavy metal! And who serves it up week after week? Me and the House of Hair!
Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dokken and a whole bunch more are set to turn up the heat, plus I’ll have one of my world-famous weekly contests! You could be off to the Bahamas on a ShipRocked cruise, or you could get a Triumph platinum record to hang on your wall. Are you with me? Then make sure you’re tuned in when the House of Hair comes your way!
HERMAN ZE GERMAN RAREBELL RETURNS WITH NEW CD – TAKE IT AS IT COMES
June 17, 2010
Few metal drummers have a name as recognizable as Herman ze German Rarebell.
And with good reason – after all, it was Rarebell’s drumming that helped propel the Scorpions into one of the 1980’s most successful rock bands (as well as co-penning the all-time classic, “Rock You Like A Hurricane”). And Herman is back once more with his latest album, ‘Take It As it Comes,’ which was recently released via Dark Star Records.
A kick-ass, rockin’ good time, the album is available as a standard version, as well as a limited edition box set, which comes with two discs and a card autographed by ze German himself.
The album can also be purchased via the Amazon.com site by following this link:
http://www.amazon.com/Take-As-Comes-Herman-German/dp/B003HGK8EC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273512724&sr=1-1
The new single from ‘Take It As it Comes,’ is the appropriately-titled “Let Me Rock You,” which has an add date at radio of June 3rd. Herman will also be in the U.S. starting July 12th in NYC, until July 30th ending in L.A., visiting radio and press nationwide supporting the new radio single. This will also tie in with a July 24th special appearance with the Michael Schenker Group, at this years Rock N’ America Festival, at the Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre (in Oklahoma City, OK).
Herman enthuses, “I guess most of you guys know me as the former drummer of the SCORPIONS – ‘Herman Rarebell.’ Together with my friends RUDOLF, MATTHIAS, and KLAUS, I enjoyed twenty truly awesome years of exhilarating rock n’ roll. We went through thick and thin, toured the world a couple times, and were awarded over 70 gold and 30 platinum records in addition to a bunch of other awards and prizes. It is my pleasure to tell you that my new solo CD, ‘Take It As It Comes,’ is now available on DARK STAR RECORDS.”
Get ready to be pounded into submission once more by one of rock’s greatest drummers…Herman ze German Rarebell!
For more information visit:
www.hermanrarebell.com
www.myspace.com/hermanrarebell
www.myspace.com/hermanzegerman
www.darkstarrecords.com
Ozzy Osbourne Leads New Guinness World Record Longest Scream
June 17, 2010
It was the Scream heard throughout Los Angeles when Grammy Award-winning rock legend OZZY OSBOURNE led a Dodger Stadium crowd of over 52,000 in setting a new Guinness World Records achievement for the longest scream by a crowd. The Friday night (June 11) scream–during the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim–was recorded and verified by Stuart Claxton of Guinness World Records**. The “Scream for a Cure” was part of the third annual ThinkCure! Weekend and the stadium-wide scream was also in celebration of Osbourne’s upcoming Epic Records album SCREAM, due out June 22.
ThinkCure! is an innovative, community-based non-profit that accelerates collaborative research to cure cancers. It was launched in July 2007 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the McCourt family, City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Sharon Osbourne, a colon cancer survivor, was on hand at Dodger Stadium to lend her support.
SCREAM–OZZY’s first album in three years and 10th studio album overall–is fueled by the red hot first single, the Top Active Rock track “Let Me Hear You Scream.” Notably, the album marks the first appearance of OZZY’s new guitar player, Gus G. OZZY’s band also features bassist Blasko, drummer Tommy Clufetos and keyboardist Adam Wakeman. Later this summer, OZZY will embark on an 18-month world tour (dates TBA) in support of SCREAM. First up is this summer’s six-city OZZFest, co-headlined by OZZY and Mötley Crüe, that runs August 14-24.
**At the event, OZZY received a certificate that read: “The Guinness World Record led by Ozzy Osbourne for the longest scream by a crowd was broken at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, USA on June 11, 2010.”
Bret Michaels Band Members Cover Poison on Fat Chick Tribute
June 17, 2010
Three additional musicians have been confirmed for the upcoming tribute album “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks.” Guitarist/vocalist Pete Evick, bassist Ray Scheuring and drummer Chuck Fanslau (collectively known as Evick) have submitted a new recording of the chart-topping Poison hit “Unskinny Bop.” Despite the fact that the song is not actually about fat girls, its title has led many to presume otherwise. Now 20 years after reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Unskinny Bop” at last lives up to its name by appearing on a tribute to larger ladies. A sample of the song is now available at the official “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/WholeLottaLoveTribute
Evick, Scheuring and Fanslau also form the core of the Bret Michaels Band, touring the country as Bret’s handpicked team of backing musicians. They appear in his music videos and on his solo albums, as well as being featured in all three seasons of the runaway hit VH1 reality series “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels.” Naturally, their primary responsibility is ably recreating the many Bret Michaels and Poison classics live on a nightly basis.
“If anyone has earned the right to cover a Poison song, it’s us!” states Evick founder Pete Evick. “We play this one year-round as the Bret Michaels Band, so we know it inside and out. Even though ‘Unskinny Bop’ has nothing to do with unskinny girls, most people seem to think it does. As such, all it took was a few tweaks to the lyrics to make this song fit the album concept (without changing the heart and soul of the Poison original).”
Earlier this year, Pete appeared along with Bret Michaels on the NBC television program “The Celebrity Apprentice,” a competition that Bret ultimately won. Evick also co-wrote the first single from Michaels’ new solo album (”Nothing To Lose” featuring Miley Cyrus). Most recently, he was a featured guest on CNN’s “Larry King Live” alongside Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, discussing the life-threatening brain hemorrhage suffered by Bret Michaels in April.
___________________________
As previously reported, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks” is a musical homage to the big, beautiful women who make the rockin’ world go ’round. The tribute will feature all-new recordings of popular songs praising the fuller female figure, originally made famous by some of the biggest names in rock and pop music. These anthems to abundance will be performed by renowned rock & rollers from yesterday and today, along with a select few rising stars. In direct opposition to the “no fat chicks” mantra espoused by some, “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” will be a star-studded celebration of large and lovely ladies. Songs confirmed so far include Queen’s arena rock classic “Fat Bottomed Girls” by L.A. Guns singer Phil Lewis, with guitarist Paul LaPlaca and drummer John Macaluso. Also on tap is a high-octane version of the AC/DC concert staple “Whole Lotta Rosie” by Rufus Fontain, featuring Cinderella guitarist Jeff LaBar and original Jackyl vocalist Ronnie Honeycutt. Additional artists and track listings will be announced as they are confirmed. Samples of all tracks are available at the official “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE” MySpace page.
“WHOLE LOTTA LOVE: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks” is scheduled for an August 31, 2010 release and is now available for pre-order directly from SplitScreen Entertainment. The first 500 pre-orders will receive a free instant digital download of “Fat Bottomed Girls” and a surprise bonus item upon delivery of the album. Further details can be found at the SplitScreen Entertainment website, SplitScreenEntertainment.com.
PLAYLIST – June 7 – June 13, 2010
June 14, 2010
PLAYLIST June 7, 2010 – June 13, 2010
- REQUEST OF THE WEEK
- MEGADETH Symphony of Destruction
- QUEENSRYCHE I Don’t Need Love
- OZZY OSBOURNE Crazy Train
- KISS Tears Are Falling
- CINDERELLA Somebody Save Me
- BULLETBOYS For The Love Of Money
- RARE HAIR
- AC/DC Let Me Put My Love Into You
- GUNS N’ ROSES Paradise City
- KINGDOM COME Get It On
- POISON Cry Tough
- THE 3rd DEE-GREE
- LOVE/HATE Wasted In America
- KISS Young And Wasted
- IRON MAIDEN Wasted Years
- WHITE LION Radar Love
- W.A.S.P. L.O.V.E. Machine
- TWISTED SISTER I Wanna Rock
- WARRANT Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
- RAINBOW Stargazer
- SAIGON KICK Love Is On The Way
- HAIR PAIR
- MOTLEY CRUE Wild Side
- MOTLEY CRUE Shout At The Devil
- EUROPE The Final Countdown
- LYNCH MOB Wicked Sensation
- DEF LEPPARD Gods of War
- VAN HALEN Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
- TRIUMPH Lay It On The Line
- SCORPIONS Loving You Sunday Morning
- QUIET RIOT Metal Health (Bang Your Head)
- REQUEST OF THE WEEK
-
Dear Dee,
I just wanna say this: I love what you’re doing here on the House Of Hair. I just love metal of all forms and this show pretty much covers my favorites. But I never really hear much of Megadeth on the air..anywhere! Shocking, I know, but I want some people to hear their music and I wanna hear them on radio more often. As you say, “It’s time to make the metal!”
–Jorge in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, listening to Y108
What’s New – Week of June 14, 2010
June 14, 2010
This weekend, the House of Hair is honored to present our Ronnie James Dio tribute show.
We were all deeply affected when we got the news that Ronnie had passed, and we’ve caught up with fans and stars alike to hear their requests and stories about this metal icon. From little known songs, to the songs that were most requested by HOH fans – this is a show that you don’t want to miss! It’s only on the House of Hair!
Win TRIUMPH’S NEW CD/DVD Set Greatest Hits: Remixed !!
June 10, 2010
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!
Kudos to the following winners of our recent Triumph giveaway! All 10 scored a two-disc CD/DVD set of Triumph: Greatest Hits Remixed. Our lucky grand prize winner, Roger, also won the entire Triumph catalog on CD plus a personalized platinum record of Allied Forces. Congrats!
GRAND PRIZE WINNER:
Roger Matulevicz
Chatham, MI
WHQG 102.9 The Hog in Wisconsin
CD/DVD Winners:
Andrew Babcock
North Muskegon, MI
WMRR Total Rock 101.7
Larry Cerra
Newark, DE
WMMR 93.3
Mayes Foster
Seeley’s Cove, NB, Canada
CJYC C-98 Big John
Frank Kostlevy
Caroline, WI
WAPL 105.7 The Rockin’ Apple
Tammy Labs
Omaha, NE
KEZO Z-92
Jeffrey Morisse
South Milwaukee, WI
WHQG 102.9 The Hog
Darren Ogles
Blackfalds, Alberta, Canada
CIZZ Zed-99
Adriana Reyna
Laredo, TX
KQUR 94.9 The Works
Doug Wauneka
Tempe, AZ
KDKB 93.3
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!
WIN TRIUMPH’S MAJESTIC ARENA ANTHEMS CELEBRATED ON THEIR 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”.
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.”
ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form
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
For More Info, visit:
ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form
What do you win?
10 Winners each get:
One (1) autographed copy of Triumph’s “Greatest Hits: Remixed” CD-DVD 2 disc set
AND… 1 Grand Prize Winner from those qualifiers also gets:
the Triumph CD catalogue and a personalized Platinum Record of “Allied Forces”
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 6/30/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.
Contest Start Date: Monday, June 7, 2010
Contest End Date: Wednesday, June 30, 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
Interview with Bobby Blotzer of RATT
June 10, 2010
Bobby Blotzer of RATT Interview for House of Hair Online
By Ray Van Horn, Jr.
HOUSE OF HAIR ONLINE: You have your son Michael out on the road teching for you. You’ve been on the scene for quite some time and now your boy’s following in your footsteps. What a thrill, huh?
BOBBY BLOTZER: Yeah, he’s been around the scene too. He’s been out touring with me since he was four years old. He’s been coming out on the road and climbing all over the tour bus, that kind of stuff, so it’s really like home to him. It always has been and he loves being on the bus. Michael’s a drummer as well; he’s been playing since he was ten and of course he’s looking for his break. He’s a great player. It’s a tough business and world out there, you know? I’d love to see him make his way, but in the meantime he comes out and techs for me on the road and he gets to play, do sound checks, play Ratt stuff, cruise the bus and be on the road. I love having him here.
HOH: One of the things that’s always been with me since the early eighties is how my stepfather hated heavy metal and hard rock, but he got interested in Ratt because of the Milton Berle connection. I was raised on ‘50s t.v. shows through him so I understood his excitement. What are some of your favorite memories with Uncle Miltie?
BB: Well, first of all, I’m going to touch on when you talked about your Pop. Funny story…my real dad died when I was six, but my mom remarried to this guy named Pete who was my stepdad. He bought me my first guitar since I started out as a guitarist. I remember sitting and looking at him watching The Midnight Special and Foghat was on one night. We were watching Foghat and he had a few beers in him and he let me drink a few beers; I was only 14 then and he was like, ‘You really like this shit, huh?’ (laughs) I go, ‘They’re great, yeah! It’s Foghat!’ So he says, ‘I don’t get it. Elvis, man, The Beatles bow to Elvis Presley!’ Jump a few years ahead and it’s 1985, we’re headlining in Pittsburgh where he used to live and he comes out to the show and he says, ‘You know, I’ll tell ya, I’m really proud of you. I can’t believe you’re making money with that noise!’ (laughs)
HOH: (laughs)
BB: I love it when the old school dads are like that! They’re set in their ways in the rock shit and they really don’t care. Now Milton, he used to invite the band to The Friar’s Club. He was the president in Beverly Hills and we used to go with him. First it was at the actual Friar’s Club; they did the roasts every couple months on somebody famous and they’d have a whole panel of famous people, guys who were Friar members who’d get up there and be involved. Milton always had cue cards, so we used to do these on tour with our manager who was his nephew, Marshall. He would put together cue cards for all of us to get up at the end of a tour and we’d roast each other. We were using the same kind of jokes they were using, but then they moved to the Beverly Hilton Hotel into the ballroom, which was just huge. We would always get the table right in front of the podium. We’d be sitting there watching all these guys you’d seen as a kid, actors and such all smoking. It reminded me of when you’d walk by the teachers’ lounge and you’d glimpse in there and see them all smoking; you could do that when I was a kid! I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re eating and smoking? They’re humans!’ So it was always a trip to be that close to Milton and that movie star crowd he ran around with, watching them talk about the dirtiest shit! It was really entertaining. He was an interesting guy. He was a legend and I always felt honored to be in his presence. We all did.
HOH: Well, that was some kind of special having Milton sponsor Ratt, much less appear in your videos.
BB: Yeah, he was in “Back for More” and “Round and Round.” The funny thing was, he was doing Marshall a favor by doing this, and that’s what really launched this band. The people at MTV at the time were my age—I’m 51 now—they were around my age or older, and to them it was like a big thing Milton Berle was in a heavy metal band’s video! So they cranked “Round and Round” every half hour, man. That’s what really broke this band, that song. Another thing funny about him doing us that favor, we paid him to do it. He used to like to go to the horse track. He wanted to be paid in cash, so I think we gave him $20-25,000 and he’d just use it for his track money! (laughs) I thought that was pretty funny.
HOH: (laughs) I want go back to the original Ratt EP from ’83 a minute. I can let that one play five or six times in a row, not just because of the time duration, but to me it still has an urgent sound like Motley Crue’s Too Fast for Love and all of the early-eighties L.A. stuff. You guys and Motley put out these edgy albums before the whole scene broke. What was it like back then? Did you guys actually have a vision of how it was all going to happen?
BB: Sure, it was a dream, but the key word that you hit was it sounded “urgent.” It really was. We were in the studio on a shoestring budget, no time to fuck around. We were hungry, broke, visions of stars in our eyes, you know? We were trying to keep up with the Motleys and trying to keep up with each other and make our own way. I just think the thing that’s great about the EP and Too Fast for Love is certain records like those, you sense the hunger. You sense the hostility we put into the tunes. We meant business and that EP was done in a five day period: done, recorded, overdubbed. We walked out of the studio on Thanksgiving Day in 1982 and I remember we mixed all night long and when I walked out it was just light out. We’d been up all night and drinking beer the whole time between ourselves, the producers and the engineers, and I had to go to my mother-in-law’s for Thanksgiving. I remember being so tired. I just got in the car, stuck my feet up and went to sleep! (laughs) Then I played everybody the tape and I was all proud of it.
HOH: Were you guys ever involved in the notorious flyer wars on Sunset?
BB: I don’t think it was really a war. (Stephen) Pearcy was like that. He was the master of self-promotion. I never did it. I lived in Redondo and I just wasn’t the flyer-putter-up kind of guy. I’d been in a lot of bands before and that just wasn’t my thing, personally, but Stephen was always promoting Ratt. He was putting up flyers everywhere for our gigs and then we started getting chicks and some other band hanger-on people who were friends and could help out with that. I don’t remember anything like having a war with other bands like, ‘What the fuck, they covered our flyer with their name!’ I don’t remember any of that, but I’m sure it went on!
HOH: L.A. today has to feel different to you. I’ve talked to some other bands in the area, many of them younger groups coming up, and they tell me the L.A. rock scene has a dead feel to it unlike the golden years. How do you feel about it?
BB: I think it’s faceless. I don’t go out anymore to clubs, because I don’t know any bands, not one. I don’t know any of them other than my son’s band he plays with. In those days, there were so many of our bands that we all knew each other and we all hung out. If one band was playing, the rest of them were hanging out, getting drunk, rocking and carousing. You knew all the bands, you knew their songs and it was scene. Now you have the pay-to-play thing, they do these Key Club and Club Vodka shows and shit where literally 30 bands will play in a night! That’s a fucking joke! They charge them all, these guys who promote and I can respect that, but it’s rough on an artist or musician who’s trying to make his bones and get a following. How do you get a following, you know what I mean?
Even the Rainbow, man, we’ve gotten older, and it just doesn’t have the star power that it did then. I started going to the Rainbow when I was 17 and I was seeing Deep Purple, The Who, Alice Cooper and Zeppelin. Hanging out there as a kid, it was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is amazing!’ So when we started getting famous and stuff, there were a lot of other bands who were famous and they’d be there any given night. We’d all be there and it would be the same thing we saw in ’81 and ’82, but then we were multi-platinum, we had lots of money, and we’re in there sniffing coke off the tables! (laughs) I still occasionally go to the Rainbow to eat and see Tony and Michael, who are the two managers and door guys along with Mario, the owner. They’re really like father figures for a lot of us.
HOH: Getting into Ratt’s latest album, Infestation, to my ears, this is the first album since Detonator where it has a real band of brothers feel to it. I don’t know if it’s the presence of Carlos (Cavazo) or whatever, but this album has that old kick to it. How does this album and lineup feel to you?
BB: I think having Carlos brings it back to a dual guitar-driven band and that’s a good thing. I love Carlos and he’s always been a good friend. I was not, however, one of the supporters of him joining the band because I was used to John Corabi and his rhythm and him not having a lead player type of approach. When we first started playing with Carlos we no longer had a rhythm player, we now had two lead players. He adapted quickly, though, we got along, and he started picking up right where Warren (DiMartini) and Robbin Crosby) left off. So it guided the sound back to a grass roots level, I think.
This record, man, it’s come out to be something that wasn’t derived. We didn’t contrive it and try to make it like we needed to write “Round and Round” again. It was more like, ‘Hey, we’re doing this record, everybody write your shit,’ and everyone went and wrote their songs keeping in mind we wanted to make it more aggressive and a little more up-tempo. You know, back to the hungrier side. That was the only thing that was contrived. We wanted to get back to a younger, rowdier, less-polished thing. To me it came out like a record which would’ve been a great predecessor to Out of the Cellar. It somehow fits between the EP, Out of the Cellar and Invasion of Your Privacy. It fits in there snugly, you know? The songs are very catchy. I think people have resoundingly said they don’t have one song they skip through, which is always a good thing to hear. We all know what that’s about, when you’re on a record and you’re like, ‘Ehh,’ then stop on one that’s good, then you skip again, ‘Ehh,’ move past three or four songs. But gosh, everybody’s just digging this record. I think if this record would’ve come out in ’85—not that Invasion wasn’t a good record—maybe even ’87 or ’89, it would’ve been our Dr. Feelgood. So right now it’s been hopping up the charts around the world. In Japan it entered number five, Canada at number six, here in the United States it was number 30. I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist, so in my mind if we can hit 150,000, you know? Right now we’re over 85,000 in the first month, so it’s really amazing. The label’s doing backflips! They’re like, ‘Start writing some checks!’ (laughs) They’re talking about writing the next record already.
HH: I enjoy a good rapport with Roadrunner Records and I was stoked to learn they’d signed Ratt. What’s the vibe like working with Roadrunner, who is one of today’s metal industry leaders, versus the Atlantic days?
BB: It’s funny, because I haven’t had daily updates and of course they weren’t done email-wise back then, but it’s still the same words, whether you get an email or phone call from the label, and you’re seeing the excitement of them pushing us to do this and that, keeping the machine going to promote. I’m completely all about that, so it’s exciting to have that feeling again. We didn’t have that with John Koladner and with the label when we did the self-titled Sony record that came out in ’99. It was like reporting to the fucking principal with John Koladner. We went every two weeks with a batch of songs and sit in the office with him in that raised chair and he had this big giant panel of all this electronic shit. He would sit there and put the CD in and listen. Sometimes he’d stop 30 seconds in of the song and go ‘I don’t like it.’ It was like, ‘Can you fucking listen to the rest of the song, John, please?’ I agreed with him on some of the stuff, but nonetheless we busted ass on that thing. We worked for over a year on that record. Stephen wasn’t into it and it just didn’t have that vibe. This album, everybody’s excited, the label, the band, the family, the fans, and it’s a pretty good feeling. I’ll be 28 years in this band, now, and nothing would be sweeter than a gold record or a platinum record right now. I’d just love it, but I totally appreciate what we’ve sold even compared to 18 million records. It’s sort of like The Wrestler, when Mickey Rourke couldn’t get arrested. Now he’s resurging in the movies and anytime you see people like that where you get popular again…you know what I mean.
It’s not like we were down and kicked to the curb since we’re making a good living touring, but I think there’s been some tarnish on the name thanks to Stephen and myself. You know, Stephen quitting, myself bickering with him in the internet press and the public forum, which I was not in a good state of mind at that time. I regret we did that. I think it kind of hurt the integrity of the band from both of us doing that and the lawsuit and all that. So getting him back in the band and taking these steps towards where we’re at now is great. Even though this particular show we’re doing tonight isn’t a great big venue, we have a long list of stuff we’re playing this year with the Scorps. We have two weeks playing with Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, .38 Special, Starship and Edgar Winter, which should be interesting. I’m really looking forward to that. We have a few shows in Europe too. Right now we have this two-week CD release smaller room set-up for the rest of the tour. I’m glad to be working anywhere, man! (laughs)
HH: Let me ask you this; when I hear Infestation, I think it could’ve come between Invasion and Dancing Undercover, actually. Do you think the critics tomahawked Dancing Undercover a little too much back then?
BB: I agree with them. While there’s some songs I really like on that record, there’s stuff on there I can’t even listen to. We weren’t prepared for that record, and it’s common knowledge. Our manager put a $50,000 deposit on a studio and it wasn’t refundable, which is what he told us. We didn’t have shit written at all! We weren’t ready. We were in a very costly recording studio writing songs and working them out. I just think there’s stuff on there that’s really sub-par, but then again, that record sold $1.8 million, so I can’t snub my nose at it. I just think we could’ve done better, obviously.
HH: But then there’s redemption all over with Reach for the Sky thereafter. You guys tore it up sales-wise and so did MTV with loads of airplay.
BB: I like Reach for the Sky a lot. Mike Stone did a really good job engineering that, God rest his soul. It was a costly record and we ended up going in and redoing just about all the lyrics, melodies and lead vocal tracks. There was a problem with the bass track where it was out of tune and I was like, ‘You’re just figuring this out now? How is that?’ That cost us another two or three weeks and in those days, I don’t know if we didn’t care, but you’d spend fortunes on the records and videos, God, man. This record here, I did my drum tracks in four days. For how good it sounds and how good it is, it’s less than a third of what we spent on the other records.
HH: That’s a good stat and I’ll add to it by mentioning you guys sound relaxed on Infestation.
BB: We were recording in Virginia Beach and in the tracking room, I’d look to my right and there was sliding glass and windows. It was all blue ocean and white sand. I was very relaxed. On a break you could just go out and kick it on the beach. It was a really pleasant setting. I loved it.
HH: You just wrote a Ratt memoir. Tell us about it.
BB: Yeah, I started this book, Tales of a Ratt: Things You Shouldn’t Know in January of 2008. I wanted to tell my story and to tell an honest story, to bring people on the ride that I’ve had through my life with Ratt. I’ve had the urging of friends over the years saying how they love to hear the old stories. You get a few beers in me I can just start rambling off stories and people love to hear them. I’ve heard so many times, ‘Bro, you should do a book!’ In my mind I was thinking, ‘Who’s going to care? I’m not a writer.’ But after some time I decided it was something I wanted to do and I started it. I got a guy involved with me, his name is Jim Clayton. He’s a screenwriter and I wrote a couple chapters, he helped assemble them not to make sense, but to read better and he added a few accents here and there. He was very instrumental in making this book.
It has a lot of stories about my famous counterpart buddies in different bands like Def Leppard, Motley, on-and-on-and-on. There are stories of us boating on my boat, drinking, hanging out at clubs, hanging out with Keith Richards at his listening party, a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. There’s a lot of good, fun stuff, but of course there’s highs and lows everybody has and I had in my life, but generally there’s nothing that’s going to embarrass anybody, I don’t think. Maybe one or two people. I had to be honest in certain stories that involve people where this was the reality of what we were doing in this band together. I wasn’t going to be telling any stories that would embarrass anyone’s family. It wasn’t going to be one of those tabloid tell-all books.
HH: That’s good, because a lot of people automatically assume you have to live up to The Dirt if you want to write a rock bio these days.
BB: I enjoyed The Dirt. I read that and I read Nikki’s (Sixx) book (The Heroin Diaries) and I only got through three chapters because it was so dark. Cold, brutal. Just brutal. I was around those guys when all that shit was happening. He was telling the story and it was taking me back to a dark time, not that all the time in Motley was dark, but his trip and what he and Robbin used to do, I don’t want to really conjure that up in my brain. All the stuff about me and Tommy Lee…at one time we were dirtbike riding buddies, golfing buddies, we did all kinds of boating. We did the fun shit. We had our share of getting drunk and stuff, but the dark heroin thing, that wasn’t my thing. I’ve never seen it, never tried it.
My book has a lot of fun stories. It’s available at bobbyblotzer.com and through Amazon.com. It’s a good book and I’m getting rave reviews. I’ve sold hundreds of them just on my own. Everybody digs reading it. It definitely tells the Ratt story.
PLAYLIST – May 31 – June 6, 2010
June 7, 2010
PLAYLIST May 31, 2010 – June 6, 2010
- JUDAS PRIEST The Hellion-Electric Eye
- DOKKEN Paris Is Burning
- DANZIG Dirty Black Summer
- YNGWIE MALMSTEEN Heaven Tonight
- TESLA Rock Me To The Top
- DAMN YANKEES Come Again
- ALICE COOPER School’s Out
- ACE FREHLEY Rock Soldiers
- RARE HAIR
- BRITNY FOX Hair of the Dog
- IRON MAIDEN Flight of Icarus
- THE 3rd DEE-GREE
- MOTLEY CRUE Kickstart My Heart
- DAVID LEE ROTH A Lil’ Ain’t Enough
- THE CULT Fire Woman
- RATT Shame Shame Shame
- EXTREME Get The Funk Out
- METALLICA Master of Puppets
- TED NUGENT Free For All
- GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
- DAVID BOWIE Suffragette City
- DIO Mystery
- HAIR PAIR
- CINDERELLA Shake Me
- CINDERELLA Long Cold Winter
- DEEP PURPLE King of Dreams
- AEROSMITH Draw The Line
- BABYLON A.D. Bang Go The Bells
- LITA FORD Only Women Bleed
- REQUEST OF THE WEEK
- SKID ROW Wasted Time
- L.A. GUNS Never Enough
- BLACK SABBATH Lady Evil
- REQUEST OF THE WEEK
- In metal, Skid Row is a hidden gem. On their second album, “Slave To The Grind,” they have one of the most underrated power ballads in metal. That song is, of course, is “Wasted Time.” It’s a very powerful song and everyone knows it, so could you please play it, Dee?
–Steve in Attleboro, MA, listening to 94 WHJY
What’s New – Week of June 7, 2010
June 7, 2010
Get it all out of your systems now because there will be no dial flipping, bathroom breaks, texting or sexting during this week’s House of Hair…you’ll be way too busy banging your head!
On the way are a few hours of old school heavy metal madness, hard-as-hell hair bands and party-till-you-puke rock n’ roll…yummy. Who’s comin’ up? Try Queensyche, Megadeth, Motley Crue and a whole bunch more. I’ve also got a four-day metal cruise on ShipRocked and a Triumph CD/DVD to give away..it don’t mean nothin’! Ohhh! So keep it tuned! The House of Hair is steam rolling your way!
