Win new Herman Rarebell CD, Audio Book and drum gear!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS

Congrats to the following winners! Each one scores a copy of former Scorpions drummer Herman “Ze German” Rarebell’s new audio book, My Life As A Scorpion, plus his new solo CD called Take It As It Comes. Our grand prize winner Ernie Ursomarso can also claim a signed cymbal, drumhead and pair of drumsticks. High fives to all!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Ernie Ursomarso
Atco, NJ
WMMR 93.3

ADDITIONAL WINNERS:

Ramona Dahl
Lampasas, TX – KLTD 101.7 The Eagle

Eddie Dawson
St. Augustine, IL – WLSR 92.7 The Laser

Angela Gaffner
Bon Weir, TX – KDKB online

Roosevelt Gonzalez
Chicago, IL – WXRD X-Rock 103.9

Attila Heitler
Bergenfield, NJ – WRCN 103.9

Curtiss Hensley
Kalamazoo, MI – WZUU 92.5 The Zoo

Joseph Irish
West Bath, ME – WKIT 100.3

Ron Jones
Redford, MI – WRIF 101.1

Wendy Kulpa
Burgess, VA – WXMM 100.5

Josh Littell
Rotterdam Junction, NY – WQBK Q-103.9

Tommy C. Norman, Jr.
Titus, AL – WXFX 95.1 The Fox

Rich Pantoja
Billings, MT – KMHK 95.5 The Hawk

Lori Smith
Jefferson, OR – Online

Pamela White
Marysville, WA – KDUX 104.7

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!

Our good friend Herman Rarebell (ex-Scorpions drummer) has sent us copies of his kick ass new CD “Take It As It Comes” and his new Audio Book “My Life As a Scorpion”.

Few metal drummers have a name as recognizable as Herman Rarebell. And with good reason. After all, it was Rarebell’s drumming that helped propel the SCORPIONS into one of the 1980s’ 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 Herman ze German himself.

The new single from “Take It As it Comes” is the appropriately-titled “Let Me Rock You”.

Commented Herman: “I guess most of you guys know me as the former drummer of the SCORPIONS. Together with my friends Rudolf,Matthias, and Klaus, I enjoyed twenty truly awesome years of exhilarating rock and 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.”

For More Info, visit:

www.hermanrarebell.com

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

More on Herman Ze German

Herman Rarebell began his life on the 18th of November 1949 in Saarbrucken, Germany, his zodiac sign being Scorpio. By the age of 12 his passion for drumming was so extreme that he would practice on anything available, including an old sloped chair. His song writing was influenced by the music of Led Zeppelin, a group which he still loves.

After qualifying in drums and piano at the Music School in Saarbrucken, and after he played with Mastermen (1965) and with Fuggs Blues (1968) he moved on to England from 1971 to 1977 where he was hoping to find the next great Heavy Metal Band and there Michael Schenker introduced him to the Scorpions and began his international career as drummer and songwriter for the Scorpions. He was a driving force for the band, leading it with the full sound of his drums and especially during the live appearances, making the band perform the songs in a spectacular way. He was an important composer in the history of the group, writing classic songs like “Another piece of meat”, “Falling in Love” and the second single from Savage Amusement “Passion rules the game” and writing the lyrics for some of the most classic songs of the band like “Rock You Like a Hurricane”, “Make It Real”, “Dynamite”, “Blackout”, “Arizona”, “Bad Boys Running Wild”, “Don’t Stop At the Top”, “Tease Me Please Me” and other songs. In 1982 he released his first solo album Nip In The Bud (which he re-recorded as Herman ze German & Friends with the help of some friends of his as guest such as members of Dokken, Great White, Ratt etc.) It is worth noting that he is and was the only musician of the Scorpions who did his own solo project while still a full member of the band.

In April of 1996 he left the band following their 1993 album Face the Heat and the third Scorpions’ live album Live Bites. His career with the band has seen his name on an international reputation boasting 32 million album sales. Surely with his absence, the consistency of the group was lost and the change in the sound was obvious to all the fans.

Maybe the fatigue from the non stop touring, maybe the disagreements regarding the recordings and musical directions of the upcoming Scorpions album (Pure Instinct) and making the acquaintance with Prince Albert were some of the reasons he decided to leave the group and to get involved with a new challenge, to become a producer and to co-find the record company Monaco Records. He participated in many of the projects as a drummer and he released a second solo album under the label called Stings Like a Scorpion, while he had already released Nip in the bud and Herman Ze German and Friends while he was still with the Scorpions which were produced by Ric Browde. The two albums are essentially the same but the latter has re-recorded vocals and a re-mix courtesy of Michael Wagener. The track “I’ll Say Goodbye” was co-written with Dokken main man Don Dokken. Artists on the album include bassist Juan Croucier of Ratt, vocalists Don Dokken, Jack Russell of Great White, Charlie Huhn of Victory, Steve Marriott and guitarists Chris Storey and David Cooper. His artistic restlessness lead him to a project with his wife Claudia Raab, former 7 Sins saxophonist and well known actress, and released a debut album The Rhythm of Art. Its musical direction was atmospheric dance music with saxophone, drums and electronic music. Herman also performed with some live appearances under the Art Meets Music project with shows which would become a lot more than regular Rock n’ Roll events, also featuring dancers as well as featuring original paintings by Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and Ronald Muri, founder of the “Pop-Expressionist Movement”. He participated in the Drum Legends project with his friend Pete York (ex Spencer Davis Group) where they released a live CD & DVD with the contribution of Jazz drummer C.Antonini. He also released a great ’soft’ album with the Monte Carlo Pop Orchestra (Let me take you to the moon) as well as a single with the singer of Unlimited Ray Slijngaard (a remake of the song “The Eye of The Tiger”) showing his need to experiment.

Now Herman comes out with a new audiobook called “My Life As A Scorpion” and a CD called “Take It As It Comes”!

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

What do you win?

15 Winners each get:

One (1) signed copy of the new Herman Rarebell CD “Take It As It Comes” and the Audio Book “My Life As A Scorpion”.

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

a signed cymbal, drumhead and pair of sticks from Herman himself!

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 8/11/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.

Contest Start Date: Monday, July 26, 2010

Contest End Date: Wednesday, August 11, 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 – July 19 – July 25, 2010

PLAYLISTJuly 19, 2010 – July 25, 2010

• QUEENSRYCHE   Gonna Get Close To You
• SLAUGHTER   Spend My Life
• TWISTED SISTER   Shoot ‘Em Down
• OZZY OSBOURNE   Close My Eyes Forever
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• KISS   Heaven’s On Fire
•  
• METAL CHURCH   Highway Star
• GUNS N’ ROSES   Yesterdays
• LOVE/HATE    Blackout In The Red Room
• CINDERELLA   Gypsy Road
• IRON MAIDEN   Die With Your Boots On
• EUROPE   Cherokee
•  
• THE 3rd DEE-GREE
• DAVID LEE ROTH   Just Like Paradise
• SAMMY HAGAR   Trans Am
• EXTREME   Kid Ego
•  
• DANGER DANGER   Naughty Naughty
• DEF LEPPARD   Let’s Get Rocked
• DIO   Why Are They Watching Me
• JUDAS PRIEST   Devil’s Child
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• DIAMOND HEAD   Dead Reckoning
•  
• ALICE COOPER   Elected
• DOKKEN   Breaking The Chains
•  
• HAIR PAIR
• POISON   Ride The Wind (live)
• POISON   Look What The Cat Dragged In
•  
• AC/DC    Back In Black
• YNGWIE MALMSTEEN   I’ll See The Light Tonight
• WHITESNAKE   Here I Go Again
• SKID ROW   18 And Life
• AXE   Rock And Roll Party
• MOTORHEAD   Eat The Rich
• BANG TANGO   Someone Like You
• BRITNY FOX   Long Way To Love
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  

• Dee, I’m trapped in a college of wannabe rappers and “good ol’ boys!” You’ve gotta help me out. These people need a good old fashioned heavy metal wake up call, and Kiss are the guys to deliver. BRING THE PAIN!
  PS: You’re pretty much the man, by the way!
  –Fred in Marquette, MI, listening to 101.1 WRIF/Detroit

What’s New – Week of July 26, 2010

Rampaging through the airwaves and leaving empty cans of hairspray, used up mascara tubes and ringing eardrums in its wake…it can only be the House of Hair!

The HOH is headed your way this week with Metallica, Dio, Alice Cooper and more. Oh my God! The leather! The spandex! The eyeliner! Macho men in makeup, hair sprayed higher than the heavens with pants so tight you cannot only tell who’s circumsized…you can tell who did the work! It’s my 666th House of Hair show this week — a truly metal number! You can bet I’ll be having some fun with that. This week’s House of Hair is a can’t-miss event!

Win the new Slash CD and an Autographed Gibson Guitar!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS

Congratulations to the winners of our recent Slash giveway! Everybody below scored an autographed CD copy of Slash’s new solo album. Extra high fives go to Donald Miller, who scored the grand prize: a guitar autographed by Slash!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Donald Miller
Saint Thomas, PA
WQCM 94.3

24 ADDITIONAL WINNERS:

Nicole Acuna
Williston, FL – WRUF Rock-104

Michael Adams
Mesa, AZ – KDKB 93.3

Margaret Albertson
Warren, MI – WRIF 101.1

Dave Berg
Wauwatosa, WI – WHQG 102.9 The Hog

Scott Brutger
St. Cloud, MN – WHMH Rockin’ 101

Shawn Clark
Klamath Falls, OR – KAGO 99.5 The Rock

Lori Cochran
Warwick, RI – WHJY 94-HJY

Ryan Deady
Belcamp, MD – WIYY 98-Rock

Cecilia Finkenhagen
Pulaski, TN – WTAK 106.1

Glenna Forbes
Port Orchard, WA – Online

Joseph Frost
Monroe, LA – KXRR Rock-106

Dawn Grinnell
Monroe, WI – WIBA 101.5

Kristen Hendricks
Milltown, NJ – WRCN 103.9

Jack Johnson
Philadelphia, PA – WMMR 93.3

Donna Meadows
Mesa, AZ – KDKB 93.3

David Mednick
Suffern, NY – WPDH 101.5

Erik Nelson
Dudley, MA – WHJY 94-HJY

James Paar
Hazel Green, WI – KXGE 102.3 The Eagle

Timmy Riggs
Las Vegas, NV – KTHO 590 AM

Nancy Rounds
Williamstown, NJ – WMMR 93.3

Sandra Solla
Terryville, CT – WRKI I-95

Lacy Taylor
Pico Rivera, CA – Online

Gary Warren
Quitman, GA – WWRQ Rock-108

Kathleen Waterbury
Chico, CA – KFMF 93.9-KFM Solid Rock

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!

We’ve scored a pile of Slash’s new solo CD “Slash”, to throw your way. It’s a cool album packed with special appearances ranging from all of his former bandmates in Guns N’ Roses (except Axl, of course), The Cult’s Ian Astbury, Ozzy, Motorhead’s Lemmy and a whole bunch more. PLUS one Grand prize winner will also get a special autographed Slash Gibson Guitar! So what are you waiting for? Enter to win right now!

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. He has received countless accolades and awards including a 2007 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. An original member of iconic rock band Guns N’ Roses, Slash helped the band create signature sounds like the guitar riff of #1 hit “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” The band dominated the 1980’s and 90’s music scene selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and ushered in a decade of hard charging rock music. After the band’s break-up, Slash went on to critical acclaim in his personal project Slash’s Snakepit, and global success with supergroup Velvet Revolver. He has been widely sought after by the biggest musicians of all time, performing with everyone from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles. Slash is one of the marquee playable characters in Guitar Hero III, has two signature Gibson guitars in his name, and authored his own top-selling biography Slash in 2007. His latest solo album, SLASH, will release this April and features guest performances by Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Adam Levine, Iggy Pop, Kid Rock, Dave Grohl, and many more.

Track List:

1. “Ghost” (feat. Ian Astbury)
2. “Beautiful Dangerous” (feat. Fergie)
3. “Crucify the Dead” (feat. Ozzy Osbourne)
4. “Back from Cali” (feat. Myles Kennedy)
5. “Promise” (feat. Chris Cornell)
6. “By the Sword” (feat. Andrew Stockdale)
7. “Gotten” (feat. Adam Levine)
8. “Doctor Alibi” (feat. Lemmy)
9. “Watch This” (feat. Dave Grohl/Duff McKagan)
10. “I Hold On” (feat. Kid Rock)
11. “Nothing to Say” (feat. M. Shadows)
12. “Starlight” (feat. Myles Kennedy)
13. “Saint is a Sinner Too” (feat. Rocco DeLuca)
14. “We’re All Gonna Die” (feat. Iggy Pop)

For More Info, visit:

Official Slash Site
Official Slash new CD and Guitar Site

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

What do you win?

25 Winners each get:

One (1) signed copy of the new Slash CD.

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

A personally autographed Gibson Guitar!

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 8/11/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.

Contest Start Date: Monday, July 19, 2010

Contest End Date: Wednesday, August 11, 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 – July 12 – July 18, 2010

PLAYLIST July 12, 2010 – July 18, 2010

• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• RATT   Round And Round
•  
• LYNCH MOB   Dream Until Tomorrow
• L.A. GUNS   One More Reason
• TED NUGENT   Wango Tango
• JUDAS PRIEST   Turbo Lover
• SAM KINISON   Wild Thing
• JACKYL   I Stand Alone
• MEGADETH   Holy Wars
• NIGHT RANGER   Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
•  
• THE 3rd DEE-GREE
• SARAYA   Love Has Taken Its Toll
• LITA FORD   Gotta Let Go
• VIXEN   Edge of a Broken Heart
•  
• METALLICA   Ride The Lightning
• TESLA   Hang Tough
• LOUDNESS   Crazy Nights
• MR. BIG   30 Days In The Hole
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• FREE   All Right Now
•  
• WHITE LION   Tell Me
•  
• HAIR PAIR
• BON JOVI   Let It Rock
• BON JOVI   In And Out of Love
•  
• KIX   Don’t Close Your Eyes
• KILLER DWARFS   Dirty Weapons
•  
• KILLER CLONE
• GUNS N’ ROSES   Live And Let Die
•  
• MSG   On And On
• MOTLEY CRUE   Looks That Kill
• QUIET RIOT   Cum On Feel The Noize
• SAVATAGE   Gutter Ballet
• SCORPIONS   Can’t Get Enough
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  
• When I was a kid, I used to tell people you were my cousin, Dee. Same sounding last name….seemed believable!! It’s amazing what kind of trouble that got me into!! Anyways, I’ve always loved metal. Grew up with the hairbands and turned “old” with the hairbands, but we still know how to rock! One of my favorites of all time (besides “We’re Not Gonna Take It”) is Ratt’s “Round and Round.” Could you play that for all your loyal fans up in frosty Canada so we can CRANK IT UP? Thanks, Dee!!
  

  –John Snyder in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, listening to K-97 CIRK-FM

What’s New – July 19, 2010

It’s hot out there, headbangers! That’s why I’m free ballin’! DOH!

Time to pull on those cutoff spandex shorts and whip out the extra hold hair spray cuz the House of Hair is heading your way! I’ll be burning a hole in your radios with Queensryche, Twisted Sister, Metal Church and…hey! I’m not giving it all away just yet! But I am giving away Slash’s new solo CD and a chance to win his autographed guitar — say what?! It’s all coming your way on this week’s House of Hair! Be there!

Win new Machines of Grace CD and autographed custom Jackson guitar

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS

Congrats to the following HOH listeners who each take home a CD and t-shirt from up n’ coming Boston metal band, Machines of Grace. High fives to Ben in Athens, AL, who is our grand prize winner and scores an autographed custom Jackson JS23 Dinky guitar. Coolness!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

Ben Barron
Athens, AL
WTAK 106.1

Additional Winners (CD and T-shirt):

Kurt Anderson
Marlborough, MA, WHJY 94-HJY

Seth Bate
Winfield, KS, KICT T-95

Chad Boyd
Rocky Mount, VA, Online

Dave Bruce
Peshtigo, WI, WAPL 105.7 The Rockin’ Apple

Mark Carroll
Myrtle Beach, SC, WYAV 104.1 The Wave

Peggy Dingle
Frederick, MD, WIYY 98-Rock

Felicia Fahnhorst
St. Cloud, MN, WHMH Rockin’ 101

Michael Gillum
Topeka, KS, KQRC 98.9 The Rock

Shirley Holm
Thief River Falls, MN, KRWK Rock-102

John Koerth
Casa Granda, AZ, KDKB 93.3

Maribeth Luedtke
Germantown, WI, WHQG 102.9 The Hog

Kevin Marquis
Waterloo, IA, KCRR 97.7

Cheryl McCollum
Cherry Hill, NJ, WMMR 93.3

Clark Mike
Interlochen, MI, WGFN 98.1 The Bear

Mike Miller
Walled Lake, MI, WRIF 101.1

Robert Mushet
Los Angeles, CA, Online

Brad Parmerter
Albany, NY, Online

Alex Rubin
Round Lake, IL, WBZG 100.9

Sagrario Vigil
Los Angeles, CA, Online

Julie Waldron
Crystal, MI, WKQZ Z-93 Rock

Shaun Wallner
Lawrenceburg, TN, Online

Janice Whitaker
Mocksville, NC, Online

Alexa Whitehead
Birmingham, AL, Online

Terry Wieser
Columbus, NE, KNEN 94-Rock

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!

Want to keep up with some of the best new fresh metal? Then the HOH is the place to score the new Machines of Grace CD!

They are the latest among the gifted hard rock/heavy metal bands born from Boston’s thriving music scene. As with their Beantown bred forefathers, (Aerosmith, Extreme, Godsmack, Dropkick Murphys) Zak Stevens (lead vocals), Jeff Plate (drums), Matt Leff (guitar) and Chris Rapoza (bass) have concocted their own proprietary formula for whiplash on a disc.

Top shelf status comes from the experience of successfully headlining major tours and support from a monumental fan base. Drummer Jeff (Trans Siberian Orchestra, Savatage, Metal Church) Plate and lead singer Zak (Circle II Circle, Savatage) Stevens have the resume to help catapult Machines of Grace into the monsters of rock realm. The divine mix of such magnanimous talent can convert even the most stubborn music critic. Why? The method to their madness is embedded in the music… “It’s just a pure, solid melodic rock sound,” offers Stevens. “It has infectious grooves and its own brand of outright power. To me, it’s got great songwriting with a hard rock edge and strong commercial appeal.”

Live, this band brings new meaning to the term full throttle. The killer studio version of the music not withstanding, Machines of Grace takes a live performance experience to a whole new level. Fans will really enjoy the dueling guitar and vocal arrangements, while the second-to-none rhythm section welds them together perfectly. Zak promises, “You’ll hear the emphasis on the album, the way the mix very closely depicts how this band actually sounds when we plug in.” How many bands these days can do that?

For More Info, visit:

www.machinesofgrace.net

www.myspace.com/machinesofgrace

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

What do you win?

25 Winners each get:

One (1)  signed copy of the new Machines of Grace CD and a MOG t-shirt.

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

A signed, custom, factory fresh, Jackson JS23 Dinky Guitar featuring:

• Bolt-on maple neck

• 24 jumbo frets

• Jackson JE10 humbucking bridge pup

• Single coil neck and mid pups

• Chrome hardware

• 5-position blade switch

• 2-point fulcrum tremolo

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 7/28/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.

Contest Start Date: Monday, July 12, 2010

Contest End Date: Wednesday, July 28, 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

ROCK THIS SUMMER WITH DEE SNIDER AND HIS FAMILY IN NEW SERIES GROWING UP TWISTED

THE NEW REAL LIFE SERIES “GROWING UP TWISTED” PREMIERES TUESDAY, JULY 27 AT 10 & 10:30 PM ET/PT

What happens when Dee Snider, the legendary front man of heavy metal group “Twisted Sister,” is the “quiet one” in the family? “Growing Up Twisted” follows the outrageous
and oddball daily pursuits of the Sniders, who think their zany world is just real life, perfectly normal… only it’s not. The seven episode series premieres with two back-to-back half hour episodes on Tuesday, July 27 at 10 PM and 10:30 PM ET/PT.

“Growing Up Twisted” explores suburban life in Long Island through the
eyes of an off-beat but tight-knit family of six who are fiercely
independent, strong willed and unafraid to speak their minds. There is
Dee, a loving husband, father and newly minted grandfather who is the
legendary front man of heavy metal group “Twisted Sister,” the host of
the “House of Hair” radio show and the national spokesperson for the
March of Dimes Bikers for Babies; his hot and feisty wife Suzette, a
clothing designer and makeup artist and the glue that holds the family
together, and their children: Jesse, 27, an aspiring rock musician,
husband and new father; Shane, 22, the resident comic; Cody, 20, a
budding filmmaker; and Cheyenne, 13, daddy’s little girl, who is
making the tough transition to teenager.

The series looks at the unpredictable daily life of the Snider clan
including: a baptism where a song opens up wounds between father and
son; a playful sparring match that has devastating consequences; the
inappropriate behavior of a local store clerk that brings the Snider
men together in a show of solidarity; and a concert where Dee performs
with his offspring. Throughout it all, despite their craziness, the
Sniders prove the love that binds them, no matter how twisted, is
undeniable.

Join Dee on his March of Dimes charity ride to Snidersville!!

On Saturday August 21st, Dee Snider will represent the March of Dimes in the Allen County Fair Parade in Lima, Ohio. After the parade, Dee will lead all registered bikers (starting at 11am) from Lima, Ohio on a 50 mile escorted ride to Cridersville, Ohio. We’ll have a special presentation in Cridersville at 1PM where Dee will sign the proclamation making Cridersville into Snidersville. It’s followed with live music, food, games for the kids, and autographs with Dee and possibly his family — the stars of “Growing Up Twisted” on A&E.

Registration is $25 per rider, $10 per passenger. Raise $250 and ride in the parade with Dee Snider (limit of 104 riders). Be the top fundraiser and “lead the pack” with Dee Snider! First 100 registered riders receive a t-shirt, and all riders will receive “Limited Edition Snidersville Memorabilia” on site.

Interview with Bill Aucoin – Rock ‘n Roll Manager

Interview with Bill Aucoin from 2003 for House of Hair Online

By Ray Van Horn, Jr.

Writer’s Note: In 2003 I was working on a personal project related to the music industry when I was graciously steered towards former Kiss, Billy Idol and Billy Squier manager Bill Aucoin. As a young fan of Kiss in the seventies, the recurring name of Bill Aucoin rang to my eyes on the album credits as an orchestrator of the magic in league with Gene, Paul, Peter and Ace. Little did I know back then Bill was THE orchestrator. Having the opportunity to speak with Bill was a milestone in my journalism career. His gentle candor reminded me of Mr. True Believer himself, Stan Lee, yet in the case of Bill Aucoin, no truer believer existed in his time ushering the hottest band in the world to the masses.

Upon receiving the news of Bill Aucoin’s recent passing, I was initially mortified. During the same interview sessions for this 2003 venture, I’d spoken with Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin Dubrow and Enuff Z’nuff drummer Ricky Parent, both of whom have likewise passed on. This interview with Mr. Aucoin was conducted at the height of a business day. Bill was multitasking with a headset on as we spoke and I was in awe he conveyed such a detailed and poignant interview. Given recent anecdotes by those close to him, we can assume Bill Aucoin’s principles in the music industry are unparalleled. Proof positive given in the interview you’re about to read, presented for the first time as a House of Hair Online exclusive.

I’d like to thank both Lisa Walker and Carol Kaye for their roles in making this fabulous event in my writing life happen.

RAY VAN HORN, JR.: Easily the story that fascinates me the most about you in relation to Kiss is how you financed the Dressed to Kill tour on an American Express card!

BILL AUCOIN: (laughs)

RVH: It seems like you went on a leap of faith with Kiss that you would use a credit card like AMEX, which usually demands payment in full of the balance at the end of the month. Were you sweating any bullets at the time?

BA: Well, at that time we were kind of in an awkward situation, though. The record company was going independent. Initially Casablanca Records was being financed by Warner Brothers, and there’s an interesting story there where Warners didn’t believe in Kiss and they didn’t think a band in makeup would make it at all. So they sent a private memo around saying that “Although we believe in Neil Bogart and we back Casablanca, our feelings are that we won’t back the Kiss group.” So basically they were saying “Let it come out and die and let’s go to the next artist.” Neil got a hold of the memo and of course it was one of his first acts out, and he just felt it was horrible. First of all, this was a private internal memo that he didn’t know about and they went against him on a group that he wanted to try to make happen. It got to be such uproar that he went in to talk to the co-presidents of Warners. Neil had decided he didn’t want to work that way and was going to leave Warners. So that was at the same time we were getting ready to do a tour, so effectively what happened was the money stopped and Neil had to mortgage his house just to keep the record label going; it certainly wasn’t money for touring.

RVH: Amazing.

BA: At that point, I was totally committed to Kiss. I just said I was going to put it on my American Express card thinking somehow a miracle would happen. To be honest with you, I don’t think I had put any more than $150 on my American Express card before that, and this month it was going to be $25,000 with all the bills that were coming in and bills we were trying to take care of so we could continue touring. In any case, I went and did it and of course at the end of the month, American Express called me and said “Mr. Aucoin, what do you think you’re going to do? Do you believe you’re going to pay this bill? After all, you haven’t ever spent this kind of money before!” I said “Oh, yes, I definitely think I’m going to pay the bill,” and they really let me get away with it effectively for another week or two. They called back and I said, “Unfortunately, the money we expected to come in didn’t come in.” In those days, which it wouldn’t be the same today, American Express allowed me to keep the card. I said to them I wouldn’t spend any more money until I paid it off, and I think it took me another couple of months. Today they just cancel the card and your credit goes right down the tubes. In those days it wasn’t quite as bad as it is today, and they actually allowed me to spend a couple of months paying it off and in due enough time, we finally got more money than we didn’t, but it was really just one of those situations where you hope somehow you would make it happen.

RVH: So in those early days, it was more about breaking even.

BA: If you’re lucky, yeah. Most of the time we didn’t break even because we put a pretty good-sized stage show together even at the beginning of their career, and with the road crew, the effects and everything else, it was a little tortuous for everyone involved. Like anything else, when you have a lot of people working together that really believe, that makes it a lot easier and a lot more exciting.

RVH: The big money started coming in for Kiss around ’77, ’78…

BA: Right.

RVH: How did you overcome those dry years as a manager?

BA: Well, it’s funny, your determination and belief carries you through an awful lot. I’ll tell you a couple of stories. One, a lot of my friends thought that because I came out of television and film that I had just gone off-the-wall, and this group with makeup was a little foolish. They knew I had spent all the money from my production company on the group and they started to be concerned that maybe I wasn’t even eating because there wasn’t enough money and they had secretly talked to each other and said “Look at him, we’d better take him out to dinner and at least make sure he’s eating because he’s so involved with this Kiss group.” So they would plan to take me out two or three times a week. Some would take me out on Tuesdays, some would take me out on Thursdays and some would take me out over the weekend to make sure I would get a complete meal! I had some good friends (laughs), even though they had doubts about the whole Kiss thing.

RVH: (laughs)

BA: It got so bad I remember one time when Paul Stanley came into my office and he was coming in to borrow five dollars. He didn’t want to come and ask me right away, so he came in and started talking to me and as he was talking, he noticed that I had a hole in sweater. This was in the winter. So he started to get a little nervous and as he kept talking I couldn’t quite understand what he wanted to talk about, but we were just chatting. So I leaned back in my chair and I put my feet up on the desk and he saw that I had a hole in my shoe! (laughs) When he saw the hole in my shoe, he said he couldn’t ask for the five dollars! (laughs) He made some excuse and left the office. So that’s how bad it got, and we were all in the same boat. Sometimes when you have a team that’s all in the same boat fighting for the same thing, you can get through almost anything.

RVH: You obviously had a lot of faith that Kiss would take over the world as they did!

BA: Yeah, I always had that faith. In fact, I very seldom work with artists that don’t have that determination backing them, whether it was Billy Squier or Billy Idol. The idea is really to make it all work and to think that you’re going to take over the world, because it’s exciting to travel and to meet and play for people around the world. I think any artist should feel that way.

RVH: Like many of us fans, I grew up on Kiss. They were my absolute favorites at the time, and for merchandising, that’s the be all, end all for any band’s success, I think. You yourself had a flair for getting the Kiss marketing machine going with the t.v. specials, the Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park movie, trading cards, action figures, even the Kiss Marvel comic book. Licensing was so important, and I remember there was an episode of the original Incredible Hulk and Scooby Doo with villains wearing something similar to Gene Simmons’ demon makeup.

BA: A little bit, yeah. That was close, but we had a love/hate affair with all of that. It was a big part of the whole Kiss organization and in 1978. We did about 119 million dollars of which 55 million was from merchandising. If you translate that today, that would be like doing half a billion dollars a year. So it was significant in one respect, and we had a lot of breakthroughs that most bands weren’t doing at the time. Everything for stage shows you were using pyrotechnics in different ways that people weren’t. Certainly the blood and the spitting of the fire and everything else, no bands were doing at that point, and along the way we did an incredible amount of merchandising.

When Kiss and I decided to break up, that became a bone of contention, because they felt that it was too kiddie-like and it wasn’t quite what they wanted to do, and they were thinking about taking off the makeup and everything else. Of course, after developing all of this with them for many years, it was really a trauma to me. Significantly trying to protect all of this from people who would use their logo and/or use their merchandising was just as tough. It took me four years to get their faces in the Library of Congress, and they were thinking about taking all of that off, so that became a bone of contention later on, but it was certainly exciting while we were doing it.

RVH: What was it like nurturing a band where Gene and Paul were the general spokespeople, whereas Ace and Peter did their press in increments?

BA: It’s not unusual that one or two people in a band are a little more outspoken than others. That came to a head ironically on the Tom Snyder Show on NBC where Ace and Peter got their just due, and we were all kind of turned around because Tom liked Ace’s sense of humor and so he kind of went to Ace and Peter, but it didn’t always work for Gene. It worked all the time for Paul, but Gene at the beginning we actually forbade him to talk. The reason was he came across way too intelligent, and he came across as a school teacher as opposed to this monster. So we actually forbade Gene to talk to the press for a few years because we didn’t want him to talk like a school teacher. He had to be the monster and fit the image of Kiss, so it didn’t always work out.

RVH: All part of the mystique.

BA: Mmm hmm.

RVH: Let’s talk about later seventies-early eighties era of Kiss: the solo albums, Dynasty, The Elder and Unmasked. They came out in such a blitz like the mid-seventies work, but they weren’t received by listeners in the same light. How did this constant movement play into your role as manager?

BA: It had to do with the fact these guys were working day and night. When we weren’t on the road, we were in the studio. They didn’t have much time. They started making money, they started feeling a little more independent, and we had to give them a break of some sort. The idea then came up that they would love the opportunity to do solo albums—and not necessarily all at once—but solo albums and they loved that idea. They could go off on their own and do what they wanted to do and get away from each other for awhile, then come back and do another Kiss album and tour.

Well, they all started doing it and we came up with the idea of each solo album and they were all going to be ready about the same time…how about putting out four solo albums? That was kind of a bone of contention until Neil had actually gotten some feedback from distributors and the distributors thought “Well, they’re so popular, why not? We’ll just make that much more money.” As the orders started coming in for the potential albums, Neil felt that he could do it and of course we were all excited about it. All of a sudden we get more albums out than we’d ever seen in our lives, and that fell through to everyone else. You could walk into a store and see so many Kiss albums that never looked like anyone was ever buying them and that statement came back. The Kiss solo albums went out gold and they returned platinum, but the truth of the matter is, all of them went multi-platinum, and in due time it was a little much to do it all at once. I’m not sure anyone else is going to try it! (laughs) But that’s what happened.

RVH: (laughs) Do you think there was a control issue on behalf of Casablanca with the handling of the solo albums?

BA: Well, yeah, it was a couple of things. One was they pressed way too many albums, and it happens. The Hamlin Group, which was a major distributor in those days, ordered a million units! Well, God, one distributor ordering a million units! We’d better press up another couple of million! (laughs) So it was kind of one those things, everyone got carried away. Then our advertising agency made a mistake and sent out the wrong ad! We had done three ads: one, the announcement of the solo records, two, going gold and three, going platinum. They sent out the gold ad first, which kind of got everyone nuts. “Oh my God, is it really?” So now people are thinking we should press more! (laughs) It was a mistake that it even went out that way! We were just supposed to have an ad to announce the fact that the albums were coming, so there were little screw-ups along the way, but ultimately they all sold what we thought they would sell. It just got very complicated in-between.

RVH: Kind of an overt sense of giddiness in getting them out.

BA: Yeah, you got it.

RVH: You had some trouble marketing Kiss in Britain for awhile. In your eyes, what is it like marketing a band domestically versus abroad?

BA: Well, it depends. I think the British market felt the same as initially the American market: “What the hell is this band doing with this makeup, and why and how,” and it certainly didn’t fit a lot of the British artists who were making it at the time, so we were kind of out-of-step. It really took us many years for us to keep going back and forth, back and forth between Britain and the States before it all kind of sunk in. But yeah, I don’t think they could see that type of a band working in England, especially when you had a lot of the English groups making it here in the U.S. Kiss certainly didn’t follow that routine at all.

RVH: What I find ironic in today’s market for hard rock and heavy metal is that it’s kind of flip-flopped. It’s like a half and half market in America but it seems to be doing really well in Europe, Japan and South America.

BA: Yeah, it is, but you know, the heavy metal market is a strong market. It always has been. It’s a niche market. The fans are very loyal, and I think certainly for heavy metal it’s getting better and better. If anything, I think it’s probably going to be a little more industrial in the years to come, but it’s still strong, and I think it’s getting stronger every day.

RVH: Eric Carr was my idol when I was learning to play drums. At least in the beginning he appeared to be the odd man out in Kiss though later portrayals show him as one of the family. Happens in transition periods, I’d assume. What are your impressions?

BA: Well, he’s terrific. Eric was one of my favorites because he’s a sweetheart. When I tell you he’s a sweetheart, he’s absolutely a sweetheart! He cared so much for the fans. I mean Eric would spend hours with the fans. He just loved it and he was a real precious item, I think, with Kiss when we needed him. Unfortunately he was the odd man out because both Gene and Paul had decided at the time there was not going to be another true member. He really was a true rock ‘n roller and he cared so much about the idea of being that rock ‘n roller. Mostly he cared about the fans. He was just terrific. I mean, did you ever have a chance to meet him?

RVH: Wish I could say yes.

BA: He was just an incredible human being, and there’s a story behind that. When we finally picked Eric out of 70 drummers, we had to come up with new makeup and a new costume and all that stuff. We’re going on a European tour, but we’re going to do one show in New York and announce Eric as the new drummer. We’re rehearsing the show and things aren’t coming together. Paul and Gene got so frustrated because this was the night before we’re going to do the show. The costume isn’t quite ready, we haven’t really decided totally on the makeup although we’re almost there, and Gene and Paul in the dressing room after rehearsal turned around to me and said “You are the manager, you’ve got to get it together!” and they walked out. Literally, man, and it wasn’t because they were mad at me or anything else; they were just so frustrated like, “Oh my God, what are we going to do? Tomorrow we’re going to present Eric as the drummer and we still have all these loose ends!”

RVH: Zero hour.

BA: Eric and I literally stayed up all night, finished everything, got his costume, got his makeup, and when Gene and Paul came in the next day, it was done. But it was really tense because here we are changing a member of the group and no one ever really thought that would happen! And then all these loose little ends that were still loose the night before we’re going to announce and play…but Eric turned out to be just the best. He really was.

RVH: You eventually created Dreamscape Entertainment and as you mentioned, you were managing Billy Idol and Billy Squier for awhile. What was on your mind during this post-Kiss transition? Did you feel it was important for you to put Kiss behind you, at least professionally?

BA: Professionally, yeah, because you had to go on, there’s no question. Actually, we’re doing some work together now again, but it’s a whole different thing. Everything mellows over the years and you get to know each other again on a different level, and so it’s kind of exciting to be working and talking to them again.

I think especially when I asked Billy Idol to come to the States I had actually managed him on the last Generation X album. I had said “Look, if this doesn’t work, would you leave the group and come to the United States?” That was a little more difficult than I had originally thought, because when I brought him over to the United States, the label didn’t want him. They kind of said “Oh boy, I know it’s the sister label and we’re part of Chrysalis, but punk never worked in the United States and his career wasn’t working in the U.S. The company was going to let Generation X go after this album and now you’re forcing him on us!” So we went through all of that, which I never told Billy, but I said “Look, he’s a star in his own right. Let me have a chance to work this out,” and fortunately because the owners of the company had the power to force some issues, it happened.

RVH: Right, right.

BA: But you always run into some sort of roadblock along the way. If you think about whether it’s a heavy metal artist or any other artist, generally speaking, a label comes around with the same thoughts for every artist: “We need a marketing plan,” so they call the marketing guy and say “Come up with a plan!” Well, after you do a few hundred of them, what the hell are you going to come up with? (laughs)

RVH: (laughs)

BA: So it tends to pretty much be the same thing, and okay, you call the p.r. guy and it’s like “Okay, I have to make sure everyone knows this artist,” or “What am I going to say about this artist that I haven’t said before about some other artist?” So I think it really behooves any artist to get together with their own team and management that hopefully has some foresight. One that can work out some ideas that work specifically for them and come up with ideas for the record label along with ideas the label may already have. That makes it more exciting. It focuses on what they need and it also helps the people at the label because they’re so used to “Here’s another act, here’s another, here’s another,” and it all becomes the same thing.

RVH: As far as the day-to-day operations of being a manager is concerned, how would you describe the typical manager’s role in interacting with bands, labels and publicists?

BA: It depends. I love that interaction. I think a manager has to be involved with every part of it, assuming that they understand it and can deal with it without being frustrated. A lot of managers think of their role as more of the business side. If I make the deal and everything at the label works, I kind of sit back and make sure the band’s happy. Well, I think that’s part of it, but the real energy of a manager has got to be that communication between the label and the p.r., the marketing and touring. I mean real communication, even to the point where even if you’re bright enough to understand it, then shut up and listen. Get to know what you should know about it and then be able to communicate with it, because everyone’s doing so much and everyone is expected to do so much.

They’re working with so many artists, and your job really is to not only communicate but to get them excited about your artist, and also come up with ideas to help them. No one’s going to come up with that great idea. You do it so they don’t feel they’re out there by themselves having to show you that they can do everything. They need inspiration and help as well and basically we’re all not only working for the artists, we’re also being inspired by the artists. The artists can’t just sit back and hope that it’s all going to happen. The artists should be giving managers and everybody else their ideas that should really flow through the manager so that the manager is excited and then can go bring that excitement to everyone else. No one should be left out of the creative process, no matter who they are.

RVH: You’ve had so many personalities to deal with as a rock ‘n roll manager that you’ve probably had to act as a mentor or paternal figure. Would that be a safe assumption?

BA: Yeah, I think so. You become the mentor and paternal figure all the time and sometimes it changes minute-to-minute! (laughs) That’s just something I think you have to accept and almost let it roll off your back because it can be frustrating. You can’t let it get to you because it’s just part of the norm of the human way. Everyone has different problems at different times and different personalities. Whether it’s a personal or a band problem or record problem or whatever it is, it might even be a photo problem! How do you tell an artist that the photo session is going the wrong way or they look terrible or they’re wearing the wrong clothes or whatever it is, and get through it? Kiss in particular. I never let anything go out unless I saw it first and they agreed to it and we all knew we had the same approach. You can’t always do that, but if you can, then work it out so everyone’s on the same page.

RVH: How frustrating is it to see so many bands come and go over the years? Tastes and preferences—particularly in America—are so cyclical, and I’m sure it plays havoc on one’s marketing plan especially with changing demographics.

BA: I don’t think that’s so much the case. I think we haven’t had really good artist development, you know? What I mean by that is that someone from a label sees an artist for one purpose or for one idea and they run with it, probably more so in the pop market than anything. It’s like, “Oh my God, they have a hit single we can get played on the radio!” Well, are there any other songs? (laughs)

RVH: (laughs)

BA: We have a generation that’s grown up on one part that, okay, they’ve learned a little more about music and so forth and that’s great. On the other hand, they don’t see a CD as being anything unique because a lot of times if they’ve bought a CD there’s one song that they like and the rest of it doesn’t work! So we have two problems. One is artist development and knowing how to develop an artist and teach them what they need to know musically as much as anything else. The other side is to make sure that they have things together before you just throw them to the wolves and that’s basically it. A lot of artists you see come and go for one album have just been thrown out there. Where is the artist development, along with the A&R? I mean, A&R is damn important and a lot of times that’s not done because everyone just wants to get out that song they can get radio airplay on. The other side of it is how about some artist development so they can actually tour, and they know what to do and how to develop the artist over a period of years? That has kind of gone too, you know? Everyone’s out for the quick buck! Unfortunately that quick buck can go as quickly as it comes.

RVH: You’ve probably had to keep a stiff upper lip as far as promoting new talent, because as you’re mentioning, there’s a lot of potential pitfalls associated with developing an artist. Of course, the scene changes and many record labels expect instant success like people in general today expect instant gratification.

BA: Well, the record labels have really changed. When I first began, record labels used to sign an artist for five albums and you used to feel they’d give them at least three albums maybe four, before they might decide to let them go from the label if it didn’t work. Today, if they don’t see if happen on the first album, there’s a big question mark. They may go to the second album, but their hearts aren’t even into the second album because the first album didn’t do what they expected. A lot of times they may even pay the artist to do the second album knowing they’re not even going to work it, just to kind of fulfill their contract. I still think there’s a way to develop artists that you’ll have a better percentage of artists that’ll last for many years if you know how to handle them. You have to know how to teach them development, or help them through that time where they think “Wow, I got the contract, I’m set now!” because that isn’t the case. I’ve always told every artist that I’ve worked with where I said “Look, at this point, you’re minus something. When we finally get a record deal, we’ve finally made it to zero.” When you start your record deal, you’re trying to work from zero to a hundred, so if you think the record contract is the end-all, it really isn’t. In my mind, you’ve just finally made it to zero.

RVH: What would you consider some of the good things to being a band manager and some of the bad?

BA: Well, there’s two ways of looking at it: I’m going to be a rock ‘n roll manager so I can get rich or I’m going to be a rock n’ roll manager because I love the industry and I love to make something happen that’s creative and exciting. To me, the latter was always my motivation. If there’s a chance to make a lot of money, hey, that’s wonderful, but if that’s the only thing, then my God, you could be just as broke so quickly! It’s unbelievable! (laughs)

RVH: (laughs)

BA: It’s much easier to be broke in this market than it is to make money. I think first of all, you need to have a real positive outlook about wanting to be around the artist, enjoying the artist, enjoying their music, enjoying the concept of what they want to achieve. That’s got to the basis for it all. Then you’ve got to realize you have to take a part in some way, shape or form. You can’t just sit back, hoping everybody else is going to do the job. It just doesn’t work that way, and the communication between the artist and the manager has really got to be true. The minute that’s falling apart, it’s pretty much over. I think one of your jobs is to make sure that communication is there, because if it is, you’re going to find out faster when things are going right or when things are going wrong. Probably the most exciting time in my life has always been the few weeks of a month or so that you know everything is happening before anyone else, where people are still questioning your comments and questioning what you’re doing with this artist or that artist, but you know you’re starting to really sell. The shows are selling out, and so those few weeks before it’s known that you have a hit, before you know that you have a great artist that’s breaking, everyone is still questioning it. You’re like, “I don’t know if I’m going to do it,” those few weeks that the band and the manager have an inside clue. Those are the most exciting times because it’s like you’re grinning inside while people are still telling you it’s not happening and you know it’s happening! It’s really very exciting.

RVH: If a band really wants to catch your attention, what are some of the criteria you’d be looking for?

BA: Obviously there’s a visual content. My background comes from being a film and video cameraman into directing and producing, so I generally want to see some sort of image that I believe in. My next criterion, other than music obviously, is determination. I’ve met many brilliant artists who are so frustrated they give up, even though they may be more talented than a lot of other artists I’ve seen. So determination through the ups and downs is probably the strongest element.

You have to really want to make it so much, and it has to really be a team effort if it’s a band. It can’t be one person who wants to make it and everyone else wants to toddle along. It’s got to be “We’ve got to make it, no matter what!” And it doesn’t just stop when you have a hit record. A lot of times when a band has a hit record, they then wind up competing with themselves, which is even harder, you know? You’ve got a hit record; well, what are you going to do next time? You’re not so much competing against someone else in the industry; you start competing with yourself, which is kind of tough! The thought process is “What am I going to do so I can have another hit album the next time around? And if that CD doesn’t work, what do I do now?” In the heavy metal market, I think you’re a little bit luckier because heavy metal fans are loyal fans in general and they stick by their artists. So if you’re a heavy metal band, I think you’ve got a leg up on a lot of other artists.

PLAYLIST – July 5 – July 11, 2010

PLAYLIST July 05, 2010 – July 11, 2010

• AC/DC    Whole Lotta Rosie (live)
• WINGER   Purple Haze
• W.A.S.P.   I Wanna Be Somebody
• JUNKYARD   Hollywood
• TWISTED SISTER   You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll
• POISON   Nothin’ But A Good Time
• SKID ROW   I Remember You
• VAN HALEN   Black And Blue
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• PRETTY MAIDS   Future World
•  
• ZEBRA   Tell Me What You Want
•  
• THE 3rd DEE-GREE
• HOUSE OF LORDS   Can’t Find My Way Home
• QUEENSRYCHE   Jet City Woman
• KING’S X   It’s Love
•  
• JUDAS PRIEST   Hell Bent For Leather
• SHOOTING STAR   Breakout
• IRON MAIDEN   Two Minutes To Midnight
• DOKKEN   Dream Warriors
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• HUMBLE PIE   Hot ‘N Nasty
•  
• KISS   I Was Made For Loving You
• HONEYMOON SUITE   New Girl Now
•  
• HAIR PAIR
• GUNS N’ ROSES   Think About You
• GUNS N’ ROSES   November Rain
•  
• BULLETBOYS   Smooth Up In Ya
• WHITESNAKE   Fool For Your Loving
• RICHIE SAMBORA   Stranger In This Town
• AEROSMITH   Helter Skelter
• TESTAMENT   Souls of Black
• WARRANT   Down Boys
• DEF LEPPARD   Hello America
• HELIX   R.O.C.K. You
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  

• “Future World” by Pretty Maids accompanied a kick-ass video of a black ‘Cuda tearing across a barren stretch of highway in the desert. The lyrics and setting match perfectly. I was in the U.S. Air Force in 1987 and caught it watching Headbanger’s Ball. It’s a great memory of ‘80s metal for me.

  –Kyle in Duluth, MN, listening to 94.1

What’s New – July 12, 2010

Big, hard, hairy…and loud! Aren’t you glad I said, “loud?” When it comes to old school heavy metal that’s exactly how it should be!

The House of Hair is ready to crank it out again this week with Ratt, Judas Priest, Megadeth and a whole lot more, including your zany requests. Plus, we’ve got your chance to win an autographed Slash guitar and a copy of his new CD…who loves ya?? It’s gonna be an over the top, totally outta control heavy metal blowout and it only happens here on the House of Hair…don’t miss it!

PLAYLIST – June 28 – July 4, 2010

PLAYLIST July 5, 2010 – July 11, 2010

• DAVID LEE ROTH   Yankee Rose
• WARLOCK   All We Are
• SCORPIONS   Don’t Believe Her
• BLUE MURDER   Jelly Roll
• Y&T   Summertime Girls
• RATT   The Morning After
• OZZY OSBOURNE   Shot In The Dark
• QUIET RIOT   Mama Weer All Crazee Now
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
• STEELHEART   I’ll Never Let You Go
•  
• TED NUGENT   Cat Scratch Fever
• JUDAS PRIEST   United
•  
• THE 3rd DEE-GREE
• BON JOVI   Miss Fourth of July
• KISS   Rockin’ In The U.S.A.
• SPINAL TAP   America
•  
• JACKYL   Down On Me
• ENUFF Z’NUFF   New Thing
• ACCEPT   Balls To The Wall
• SALTY DOG   Come Along
•  
• GREASY ROOTS OF METAL
• JIMI HENDRIX   Star Spangled Banner (live)
•  
• SAMMY HAGAR   Eagles Fly
• JUNKYARD   Shot In The Dark
•  
• HAIR PAIR
• TESLA   Signs (live)
• TESLA   Modern Day Cowboy
•  
• JOE SATRIANI   Satch Boogie
• NIGHT RANGER   Four In The Morning
• SAXON   Denim and Leather
• SLAUGHTER   Fly To The Angels
• CINDERELLA   Coming Home
• PANTERA   Cemetery Gates
• BRITNY FOX   Girlschool
•  
• REQUEST OF THE WEEK
•  
• Just spent five days with the wife’s family in the house…total CHAOS. Laying in the basement with the stereo cranked to unwind and listening to House of Hair. Playing “I’ll Never Let You Go” by Steelheart might…might get me back upstairs.
  
  –Todd in Fairfax, IA, listening to KRNA 94.1

What’s New – Week of July 5, 2010

The House of Hair is approaching, so get ready to climb aboard!

This week’s show is packed full of old school heavy metal and bound to get totally outta freakin’ control…so, what’s new, right?! I’ll be throwing out the hair bands left, right and center this week with my band, Twisted Sister, plus W.A.S.P., Def Leppard and more, including a handful of your requests. I’m gonna run the mutha off the rails this week…so don’t miss the House of Hair!

Win the new Lillian Axe CD Deep Red Shadows and a Custom Guitar too!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS

Congrats to the following HOH fans, who have all scored Lillian Axe’s brand spankin’ new CD, Deep Red Shadows (official release date is this Tuesday, July 20) in our recent BuzzCut-exclusive giveaway. Our grand prize winner Todd also takes home a Guilford Blaze Redeemer guitar autographed by Lillian Axe axeman Steve Blaze. High fives!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

Todd Skinner
North Port, FL
WRXK 96.1 K-ROCK

CD WINNERS:

Nick Aikin
Red Bluff, CA – KRRX 106-X

Joe Brennan
Butler, IN – Online

Reine Bullard
Macomb, MI – WRIF 101.1

Steve Conrod
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia ,Canada – CHNS 89.9 HAL-FM

Paul Corbin
Bellevue, NE – KEZO Z-92

Bob Crosby
York, PA – KTGL 92.9 The Eagle

Mark Freemyer
San Antonio, TX – Online

Jay French
Lisle, IL – WBZG 100.9

Henry Gardner
Ozark, MO – KXUS US-97

Christina Gould
Frederick, MD – Online

Liz Hedberg
McPherson, KS – KICT T-95

Catherine Horner
Johnson City, TN – WQUT 101.5

Michelle Hudak
Cleveland, OH – WMMS 100.7 The Buzzard

Jeffrey Jones
Clinton, IA – KBOB 104.9

Patric Krueger
Port Saint Lucie, FL – WRXK 96.1 K-Rock

Bill Kwan
Toronto, Ontario, Canada – CJXY Y-108

Forrest Lorenz
Litchfield, IL – WBZG 100.9

Mike Mitchell
Ocala, FL – WRUF Rock 104

Jim Rizzuto
Maple Glen, PA – WMMR 93.3

Dana Stryker
Kalispell, MT – KQRK Power 92 Rocks

Jacob Tillman
Gardendale, AL – Online

Gary Trapp
Phoenix, AZ – KDKB 93.3

Jeff Weaver
Canal Fulton, OH – WRQK Rock 106.9

Shirley Younger
Bala Cynwyd, PA – Online

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!

Our HOH friends Lillian Axe will have a new kick-ass CD out called “Deep Red Shadows” on July 20th, and we’ve scored 25 signed copies! Plus, guitarist Steve Blaze is parting with one of his favorite guitars, the Guilford Blaze Redeemer, which he will autograph for one HOH grand prize winner!

As Steve says, “The Redeemer is no doubt the best feeling, and sounding guitar I have ever played. Even with its unique body shape, it is perfectly weighted and has the most beautiful sustain I have ever heard. The neck feels like silk, due to John Guilford’s secret recipe, and the tone is so amazing thanks to the Seymour Duncan Blackout pickup. The Redeemer has earned its way as my number one guitar in the studio and live!” Thanks for being so generous Steve!!

For More Info: www.lillianaxe.com

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

Lillian Axe is happy to announce that their tenth album, Deep Red Shadows, is finished. Deep Red Shadows was produced by Steve Blaze, mixed by Rob Hovey and mastered by Ty Tabor of King’s X. The song “47 Ways To Die” was mixed by the famous and well respected record producer and engineer, Sylvia Massy. Sylvia Massy is best known for her work with the band Tool (”Undertow went 2x platinum and “Opiate” went platinum). She also has gold and platinum albums with Green Jelly, Powerman 5000 and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to name a few. Sylvia Massy also has worked with Sevendust, Prince, Johnny Cash, Seven Mary Three and The Deftones. Ty Tabor of King’s X is the special guest on the song, “The Quenching Of Human Life,” adding an amazing guitar solo to the track.

Final Track Listing:

(1) Under The Same Moon

(2) 47 Ways To Die

(3) The Quenching Of Human Life

(4) A Minute Of Years

(5) Nobody Knows (acoustic)

(6) The Day I Met You (acoustic)

(7) Sad Day On Planet Earth (acoustic)

(8) Nocturnal Symphony (acoustic)

(9) Deep Red Shadows (instrumental)

The first single off of Deep Red Shadows will be “47 Ways To Die” and the band is planning on filming a video for the song shortly and hitting the road to a city near you.

“I can say that the song “47 Ways To Die” was a big surprise. I had no idea who the artist was when I first heard it. The vocal style is sweet and dark, the harmonies engaging. Blistering guitar solo. I remember Lillian Axe from before, but never knew them to hit a bulls eye like this with their first single off of a new album. I think this album should add a whole new chapter to their colorful story!”
–Sylvia Massy (Platinum Producer & Engineer)

“It was a blast playing on Deep Red Shadows. Lillian Axe have made another great record!”
–Ty Tabor (Guitarist of King’s X)

ENTER TO WIN: Contest Entry Form

What do you win?

25 Winners each get:

One (1) signed copy of the new Lillian Axe CD “Deep Red Shadows”

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

a signed custom Steve Blaze guitar called the “Guilford Blaze Redeemer” model!

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 7/7/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing.

Contest Start Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Contest End Date: Wednesday, July 7, 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