Showing posts with label Skid Row. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skid Row. Show all posts

Tesla's 'Simplicity' to hit the streets June 10

Tesla in 2014 will release Simplicity
New album from '80s rockers on the way, with touring to follow

(NEW YORK, NY) – Sacramento rock band Tesla have announced an all new LP titled Simplicty due out June 10, 2014 via Tesla Electric Company Recording's arrangement with Entertainment One Music and Distribution.

Simplicity will be the band's seventh studio full length LP and 15th release overall. The new effort will be the followup to Forever More, which was released in October 2008 and featured the single "I Wanna Live."

Tesla locked themselves away for weeks writing the new material that would become Simplicity with longtime A&R man Tom Zutaut. Fourteen solid tracks later the band sank their teeth in while recording began at bassist Brian Wheat's very own J Street Recorders. Legendary engineer Michael Wagener (Metallica, Skid Row, Motley Crue) was then tapped to put the final touches in place. 

Fresh off the Monsters of Rock Cruise, the band has quite the itinerary of tour dates throughout the rest of 2014. Click here for all tour dates. 

Formed in 1981, Tesla have firmly carved out their own space in rock and roll history. The band saw great success with their own rendition of the 1971 classic "Signs" and their own hit single "Love Song" from the The Great Radio Controversy, released in 1989.

Tesla includes the members Frank Hannon, Wheat, Jeff Keith, Troy Luccketta and Dave Rude.

CD Review: Sebastian Bach – Give 'Em Hell

CD Review: Sebastian Bach – Give 'Em Hell
Frontiers Records
All Access Rating: A-

Sebastian Bach - Give 'Em Hell 2014
Sebastian Bach just can't help himself, especially when it comes to the lovely Minnie Gupta. A slave to his appetites, and not just ... The Grind, the former Skid Row screamer, now sober, reveals how susceptible he is to "Temptation" on the irresistibly wicked, melodically heavy tour de force Give 'Em Hell, his upcoming solo album on Frontiers Records.

Never apologetic for his advocacy of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll as a lifestyle choice, the roguish Bach carries on with a wink and a smile. The steamy video for his new song "Temptation" features Gupta, Bach's off-and-on love interest, in all sorts of seductive poses, with Bach trying not very hard to resist her not-so-subtle charms. Giving in to the ocean-wide melodies, swarming guitars, thick metal grooves and luxurious modern sound, enhanced by revered hard-rock producer Bob Marlette, of Give 'Em Hell feels just as sinful.

Mighty, churning riff machinery operated by guitarists John 5, Devin Bronson and Steve Stevens – given added heft from Duff McKagen's hydraulic bass lines and the powerhouse drumming of Bobby Jarzombek  – drive movable walls of sound like "Hell Inside My Head," "All My Friends are Dead" and "Harmony," as well as the aforementioned "Temptation," before giving way to lush, spacious choruses that take advantage of Bach's expansive vocal range. Thinking outside the box and shredding with feverish dexterity and diabolical imagination, Stevens, Bronson and John 5 unleash torrential solos throughout Give 'Em Hell, getting their aggression out in the sexually charged "Dominator."

While Bach does, indeed, Give 'Em Hell here, especially when his singing turns raw and confrontational in the angry, complex maze of riffs that is "Gun to a Knife Fight," there is a gentle weariness to his phrasing on the alluring power ballad "Had Enough" and he expresses a healthy combination of music-business cynicism and heartfelt empathy for screwed-over artists that's all caught up in the rolling piano and acoustic ramble of "Rock 'N' Roll is a Vicious Game." Still wild and untamed, though less assertive than on past efforts, Bach is playing it pretty well these days.
– Peter Lindblad

CD/DVD Review: Sebastian Bach – ABachalypse Now


CD/DVD Review: Sebastian Bach – ABachalypse Now
Frontiers Records
All Access Review: B+

Sebastian Bach - ABachalypse Now
Twice, Sebastian Bach brings the proceedings to a halt, waving his arms and yelling, “Stop the show.” As only he could, the hyperactive former Skid Row front man admonishes the crowd at Hellfest in France on this warm, sunny summer day in June 2012 for not being as lively or making as much noise as he wants. 

They respond with feverish enthusiasm, and Bach gets his band to again rev their engines. And the caution flag drops, signaling a jailbreak restart.

To Bach, this is church, and the congregation has to be frothing at the mouth to receive communion in the form of screaming vocals, snarling riffs, searing guitar solos and thick, muscular grooves – except for the sweet power-ballad nectar of “I Remember You,” that is. No Sebastian Bach show would be complete without that Skid Row love potion of tangled acoustic strum, big swells of amplified chords and Bach’s surprising vulnerability. That goes double for the riotous “Youth Gone Wild,” which sends the Hellfest crowd into complete hysterics.

Captured on video and audio in a new Frontiers Records live two CD/DVD package – of varying, but mostly outstanding, quality – titled “ABachalypse Now,” the Hellfest performance is part of a trio of 2012 live Bach meltdowns crammed into one 160-minute DVD of what is being hailed as the ultimate Sebastian Bach experience. And it is wall-to-wall Bach up in here, his infectious exuberance impossible to ignore – and there are bonus music videos of “Tunnelvision,” “I’m Alive” and “Kicking & Screaming” to boot. Strong, but rough, sounding audio CDs of the Hellfest and Live at Graspop, Belgium, gigs are here as well, capturing the dynamic interplay of Bach and his band of heavy metal outlaws with full, hard-hitting sonic force.

Whether it was the heat in France or the slipshod camera work, the Hellfest performance is the weakest document of the three. Despite Bach’s efforts to rally the troops, the band lacks personality and energy, and Bach himself seems completely bored having to play “18 & Life” for the millionth time. Harder, edgier stuff like the bottom-heavy “American Metalhead” and “Monkey Business,” not to mention the combustible opener “Slave to the Grind,” saves the day, however, as Bach’s band thrashes, growls and salivates while gnawing on the bones and sucking out the marrow of these meaty songs.

In sharp contrast, the Live at Nokia show, filmed in colorful high-definition on Aug. 2, 2012, is absolutely riveting. Professionally shot and edited to thrill, this is worth the price of admission alone, ending with a savage rendering of “Youth Gone Wild” – enflamed by Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack joining his strong bellow with Bach’s wildcat howl. Lesser vocalists would leave the stage with collapsed lungs while delivering such a challenging performance, but the charismatic Bach is made of stronger stuff, prowling about like a dangerous animal being poked at by a trainer who’s about to be mauled. And he hits every seemingly unreachable note with gusto. With help from several guest guitarists, his band sounds sharp and vicious, attacking “Big Guns,” “(Love is) a Bitchslap,” “Piece of Me” and the heavy stomp of “Tunnelvision” with raging intensity, as drummer Bobby Jarzombek, of Iced Earth and Riot fame, hits everything in sight with bad intentions and guitarist Johnny Chromatic emits clear, rich tonality on every precise solo. Almost always in motion and supremely confident, they affect rock poses that are totally unscripted and completely born of the moment.

And “ABachalypse Now” isn’t finished, as Bach and crew battle the elements at Graspop. In a steady downpour, they forge onward, laying siege to an audience that deserves a powerhouse performance for getting soaked to the skin. And they get it. Splashing around in puddles onstage, Bach’s outfit guts it out, hammering their way through “Kicking & Screaming,” “Dirty Power” and the aforementioned “Big Guns.” And Bach invests himself fully in the proceedings, tearing his larynx to shreds in the name of rock ‘n’ roll and taking time out to laugh at the weather and kvetch about Mother Nature’s timing. Things go wrong, with false starts and the like, and that’s all right. The imperfections make it memorable and exceedingly likeable. So is “ABachalypse Now.” (http://www.frontiers.it/home/
– Peter Lindblad

Sebastian Bach televises live show Aug. 2


Sebastian Bach - Kicking & Screaming 2012
Always and forever a slave to the grind, Sebastian Bach hasn’t stopped Kicking & Screaming – which also happens to be the title of his raucous, hook-heavy new solo LP – since the halcyon days in Skid Row. And now, Bach is toasting the blazing, gutsy release and its high-flying initial chart success – it did surprisingly well in its first week, landing at #73 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart – with a special live television extravaganza on AXS TV next month.
Out barnstorming the planet on the “Sebastian Bach: Kicking & Screaming & Touring” tour, Bach will bring his electric circus to Club Nokia in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 2 for a performance that will be broadcast live at 10 p.m. Pacific Time – that’s 1 a.m. Eastern Time – exclusively on AXS TV. Tickets for the show are available at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/2C0048DDD2E65225.
Fans can share the experience of what promises to be a wild rock and roll free-for-all on twitter at www.twitter.com/AXSTVConcerts and Facebook at www.facebook.com/AXSTVConcerts. For more information on AXS TV concerts and events, visit www.axs.tv.

Powerline: The Resurrection


Founded in 1985, Powerline began as an undergound hard rock/heavy metal mag, distributed mostly in record stores worldwide. As it evolved a few years later, it embraced more commercial hard rock
 (the popular genre at the time was classified as “hair bands”) and the mag was distributed as a high-gloss publication on American newsstands with a circulation of over 100K.

By 1992 the party was over. The magazine became defunct (for various reasons). The staff went onto other jobs. And the name gathered dust. Until now.

Resurrected online, Powerline covers hard rock/heavy metal music in general (truly From Glam to Slam!), as well as reminisce about the old days in the form of time-capsuled articles and experiences.

Backstage Auctions sat down with Pat Prince to talk about all things hard rock and heavy metal, the new online version of Powerline and the industry in general.

How did you start Powerline? And why?
I grew up reading magazines like CREEM and Kerrang! But I then became obsessed with seeking out and collecting metal fanzines – I loved Bob Muldowney's Kick Ass monthly and Metal Rendezvous — and the pure excitement of discovering new metal bands. Powerline was really born out of my love for fanzines and the metal underground but also my frustration of not being able to get enough of my photographs published in the metal press. I'd been sneaking my 35mm camera into metal clubs like L'amour in Brooklyn for years and taking photos of all the latest bands. Finally, in 1985, I figured I'd take my photographs and put them next to my ramblings about the bands I loved, so I started Powerline with a typewriter, pasteboards, and veloxes from my photographs. And, at first, I dropped off copies to sell in all the record stores in the tri-state area that carried metal. It progressed from there.

Since Powerline started as a fanzine. How much did the editorial content change upon hitting the newsstand?
After I teamed up with my friend Mike Smith in 1988, we merged the essence of the fanzine with the more popular hard rock/ metal acts of the time like Ozzy, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, etc. It was really a great combination because it covered everything. Soon we were able to hire renowned metal journalists like Mick Wall (a favorite of mine from Kerrang!). And the graphics and quality became really fantastic. Some might of seen it as a sell out. But it was really an evolution.

What was your favorite issue to put together?
Each issue had its own great experience. But I would have to say the Metallica issue, September 1989. I was into Metallica from the very beginning of their existence but by the time I started Powerline in 1985, Metallica became too big to get access to. Finally, we were able to get an exclusive interview and make it a cover story, with great color live shots.

What was the strangest interview you've done?
L.A. Guns. It was in a hotel room in New York City and the band had their rock star hats on. They were rude and seemingly drunk out of their minds. My questions were repeated back at me and answered in a nonsensical manner. Steve Riley was laying on the bed and bouncing a rubber ball off the walls and giving me a juvenile play-by-play of it. I had brought Powerline t-shirts to give the band and Phil Lewis stood up and said sarcastically, 'Oh, great, t-shirts.' He picked one up and rubbed his crotch with it and then threw it across the room. Up to that moment Powerline had been a big promoter of LA Guns — not that that demanded my respect, but it certainly hurt witnessing this kind of behavior. I walked out of the room with Riley, Lewis, and Kelly Nickels in a laughing/giggling fit. I had loved Lewis' singing since he was in the UK band Girl, but I thought 'F*ck you. I don't care who you are.' The PR woman finally directed me to Tracii Guns' room. And walking in, you can clearly tell Tracii was in the middle of getting hardcore stoned. It was like walking into a hash den. But, completely opposite of his bandmates, Guns was one of the coolest musicians I've had the pleasure to meet. That's why when people ask me nowadays which faction of LA Guns I support — Tracii Guns' L.A. Guns or Phil Lewis' L.A. Guns — it becomes quite an easy question to answer.

How is the metal genre different than it was when you started Powerline?
Today's metal now has standardized extremities — it seems too forced at times. I like all kinds of metal for its musical value but I don't agree with this way of thinking. You don't have to be extreme to be intense.

Is it harder for a metal band to be recognized nowadays?
Metal seems to be making a comeback. Genres can be cyclical as far as popularity. But hard rock and heavy metal will always be there. It was very hard for metal bands to get recognized in the early - to mid-'80s— which made it seem more exciting, actually.

How are Metal fans/collectors unique? Do you collect metal memorabilia?
When you listen to a genre exclusively, you like to think that your music is the most unique, and its followers are the most enthusiastic. And there are some aspects of it that are unique. But, basically, fans and collectors are the same all over, no matter the genre. After being the editor of Goldmine I certainly realized that!
A lot of my favorite memorabilia, unfortunately, has been lost over the years. I had almost all the metal demos from the '80s, including Metallica's. And the heavy metal demos of the '80s were the most fun to collect and trade. It was a world onto itself — almost a secret society. And, unlike today's MP3s, bands wanted you to trade demos -- get the music out there. I'm glad I experienced it. The demos from bands like Malice and Mercyful Fate were better than a lot of the stuff that made it onto their studio albums. Brilliant stuff that you'd could only hear if you were part of that scene. And then you had bands like Surgical Steel that you can only hear on demo tape. It's a moment in time that you really can't recapture.

Why did you resurrect Powerline as a Web site?
I listen to all kinds of music now, but I had missed Powerline and the music it cherished being an important part of my life. Plus I got kind of sick of bands like Korn being seen as the face of heavy music. What about bands like Saxon, Riot, Accept, Raven and the hundreds of other great bands from the '80s — the ones that started it all?! They deserve the most respect!

What are Powerline's future plans?
To have Powerline conitnue to represent vintage Hard Rock/Heavy Metal bands. I love the idea of turning kids onto all that old school stuff for the first time. Kind of like how Kerrang! turned me onto it in the early '80s.

Powerline Social Media: