dangerous being a singer in Mexico!

Singer murdered after denying he was dead
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Rollin’ and Tumblin’, The Postwar Blues Guitarists

This book is a cool compilation of articles on some of the giants of the blues, mostly taken from the pages of Guitar Player magazine. Some of the stories attempt to cover the artists’ careers, while others highlight a current event, such as Muddy Waters’ “comeback” albums from the 70’s (and even that one still talks about his earlier days). Included are big names such as Waters, John Lee Hooker, the three Kings – BB, Albert and Freddie – Buddy Guy, Elmore James, etc. But, there are many interviews with somewhat lesser-knowns, such as Jimmy Rogers, Saunders King, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Lightin’ Hopkins, Gatemouth Brown and more.

Especially interesting are the combined interviews at the end of the book, where the authors managed to corral BB & John Lee, Muddy and Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy & John Lee and Otis Rush and Buddy and had each couple reminisce about their times together, their love for the blues and each others’ work.

Very enlightening and entertaining and a great place to learn about many of the most important names in electric blues!

he stole his schtick and now doesn't want anyone else to steal it

NYC Naked Cowboy to Naked Cowgirl: Stop copying me

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City's famous Naked Cowboy wants a bikini-clad woman who calls herself The Naked Cowgirl to stop ripping off his trademark.

The Times Square cowboy, whose real name is Robert Burck, is known for strumming his guitar wearing only briefs and a cowboy hat. He has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sandy Kane, who wears a red, white and blue cowboy hat and matching bikini.

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This guys stole his schtick from Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys and now he has the gall to ask someone not to steal from him?

just for fun...

Melanie & I were talking about the number of releases that we have been on, so I decided to try to come up with my complete discography. I think there might be other things besides these, but this is what I came up so far.

Discography

Gizmos –

Gizmos EP

Amerika First EP

Gizmos World Tour EP

Re-issue CD

Unclaimed –

Primordial Ooze Flavored – Mini LP

The Rebel Kind Comp – "No Apology"

Thee Fourgiven –

It Ain’t Pretty Down Here LP

Voila! LP

Testify! LP

Salvation Guaranteed LP/CD

Rock & Hard Rolls Live in Europe LP

20^th Anniversary CD re-issue of It Ain’t Pretty Down Here with bonus tracks and video

Songs of Ordinary Madness – German Mini-LP

"She Shines"/"Be My Lover" single

"Wrong Side of My Mind" – The Deadly Spawn Comp

"Spiders in My Sink" – Garage Sale Comp

"Hang Up" – Sounds of Now! Dionysus Comp

"Love Is Fading" – Dimensions of Sound Comp

"Yeah!" – Battle of the Garages Vol 3

"Anything" – Ansia de Color comp

"The Reason Why" & "Sorry for You" – Raw Cuts Vol 6 Comp

Zebra Stripes

"You Don’t Love Me" – Dimensions of Sound Comp

Zebra Is Her Name LP

Untold Fables

Organ on "It's a Cryin' Shame" on Every Mother’s Nightmare LP

Yard Trauma

Face To Face LP

Must’ve Been Something I Took Last Night LP

No Conclusions LP

Music LP

Takes Off… LP

Retro-Spex LP

"You Don’t Tell Me", "Black & White" – Raw Cuts Vol 6 Comp

The Tommyknockers

Caught Dead Inside – mini-LP

Perception is Reality LP/CD

The Clarity is So Clear LP/CD

"Noisy Beast"/"More to Come" 45

"Have Faith"/"One Too Many" 45

"The End of My Mind"/"Haircut & Attitude" 45

"Snake Lightning"/"Old Enough to Know Better"/"You’ll Find Out" 45

"I Want You" – Abus 16 Comp

"Kill City" – What Wave Comp

"Hot" - Comp

"We Want the Airwaves" - Gabba Gabba Hey – Tribute to the Ramones Compilation

Lots of unreleased tracks

Alter Egos

Egomania! CD

"Why Don’t You Give It" 45

"She Can’t Be Stopped" – Trash on Demand Comp

"(Gimme Gimme) I’ve Been Good" – A Vital Gesture Xmas Comp

The Egomaniacs

Beat Party Comp

"Gonna Rock Tonight" - Flamin’ Groovies Tribute Comp

The Excessories

Pure Pop for Punk People LP/CD

"In the Flesh" – How Many Bands Does it Take to Screw Up a Blondie Tribute Comp

"Lost and Found" – RAFR Vol 3 Comp

"Punk Rock Boy" – Muga 16 Anos Comp

The Black Widows

Arocknaphobia CD

A Vital Gesture Xmas Comp

Doorslammer

Doorslammer CD

"On With the Show" – Indulgence, Inc Comp

"Shake Some Action" – Flamin’ Groovies Tribute Comp

The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs

Vital Gesture Xmas Album

Guitars, Guns, Gold CD

The Cheeks

"Little Girl in the Snow" – Weird, Waxes and Wired Comp

Elvis Tribute Comp

The Vital Gesture Xmas All-Stars

"Christmastime Again" – A Vital Gesture Xmas

Lisa Lombardo

Lisa and Her Slaves CD

Unreleased:
Beltane

Kings of Oblivion

If anyone can think of anything else, lemme know!

Miracle Workers – Overdose

I have written of my love for the MW’s several times already and just pulled out this record (as far as I know it has not been reissued on CD yet, which is a crime) again. This was their first full-length release after the Bomp garage masterpiece, Inside Out, and they had already moved into a much harder, stripped-down sound, with the loss of Joel & Danny (bass and organ respectively) and the addition of new bassist Rob Butler (ex-Untold Fables).

This record is raw as hell (their later records have more professional production), and is just bursting with high-energy madness. Right from the top they have a couple of their best tunes ever, “R’n’R Revolution in the Streets Pt 2” (part one is fantastic, as well, but came later!) and “Lights, Camera, Action”. These highlight their Stooges/MC5 and even Motorhead influences to great effect while still retaining their originality. Super songwriting and amazing playing all around, especially by guitar hero Matt Rogers!

Lessening the intensity just a bit is the lengthyly titled “Just Can’t Find A Better Way to Waste My Time”, with nice use of dynamics showcasing Gerry’s vocals. As I recall, “No Use” was an older song that was given the heavy treatment and made into a rockin’ head-banger! “Without Her Around” follows and is another updated garage rocker with some nice dual guitar/feedback work.

Another lesson in songwriting is “When a Woman Calls My Name”, which shows that you can use the same chords throughout a song, but with the use of good lyrics & melody and clever dynamics, you can create a terrific tune and keep it interesting throughout. The closest thing that these cats got to a ballad at this time was “She’s Got a Patron Saint”, a slower (though certainly not wimpy) tune with more cool words from Gerry and a catchy call and answer ending chorus.

Taking one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, The Flamin’ Groovies’ “Teenage Head”, they made me jealous by recording this before I got a chance to even cover any of their tunes, other than in my teenage bands. They took another garage rocker, “When Are You Gonna Care”, and made it into yet another blazingly fast blitzkrieg of r’n’r. The record closed with a ploddingly intense take on the Stooges’ “Little Doll”, complete with an extended psychedelic freak-out at the end!

As with all of the MW’s albums, this one is a must for lovers of raw, high-energy, Detroit-styled, updated garage rock!

Union Carbide Productions – Swing

While I don’t know the chronology of UCP very well, I do know that this 1992 release came a few years after the maniacal brain-twisting majesty of In the Air Tonight and Financially Dissatisfied, Philosophically Trying, my two favorite albums by these wonderful psychopaths.

This album is not nearly as noisily beautiful as the previous records, but still has terrific moments. It is much closer to Ebbot’s later group, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, but still shows why this band heavily influenced such later local groups as Turbonegro and the Hellacopters.

I do think this is another terrific psychedelic trip, with plenty of edge on it to keep it interesting, even while exploring acoustic guitars and other, somewhat more mellow sounds. There is much less cacophony here, though, which is missed, and not as much high energy, but the songwriting and playing is solid.

I know that I still have at least a couple more UCP records to go to fill our my collection, but while the other two records are essential for lovers of over-the-top Motor-City inspired madness, this one is for more open-minded psych-heads, who can still appreciate a little dissonance and sharp, angular guitars thrown in the mix. I don’t listen to this one as much as the others, but still well worth it!

Cheap Trick – at Budokan, the Complete Concert

The original Live at Budokan album propelled these cats to the top with a hit album and single (the much-improved live version of “I Want You To Want Me”) and cemented their career as the premier hard rock/pop band pretty much of all time!

Their Japanese tour came shortly after the release of In Color and just before Heaven Tonight and caught the band at the height of their power. I had the honor of seeing them about this time (maybe even a little earlier) and can attest that they were one of the best live acts in the 70’s – right after the J. Geils Band and Kiss.

Lead guitarist Rick Nielson was a non-stop entertainer, running, jumping and flailing about the stage, literally throwing his guitars around almost as often and he threw guitar picks to the audience. Robin Zander has a masterful voice – one of the best in the biz, without a doubt – drummer Bun E. Carlos is fantastic and his accountant look played off bassist Tom Peterson’s pretty-boy face and unique 8 string playing.

While most of this concert has been released on various compilations and CDs, it is nice to get the entire concert all in one place. The set included some of the best from their first two albums (concentrating on In Color, since that was the most recent release) as well as a couple from the up-coming Heaven Tonight and even some previously unreleased originals and covers.

There is essentially nothing wrong with this 2-CD set – absolutely everyone should own this, regardless if you already have the original record!

Flop – The Fall of the Mopsqueezer

Before pop-punk became a dirty word, there was Flop – one of the best and most interesting heavy power-pop bands of the 90’s. Led by Rusty Willoughby and produced by the amazing Kurt Bloch, this rocks mightyly and is still clever in all the right ways – lyrically (I’m no dummy and I had to look up some of the words that Rusty effortlessly sings), melodically and musically.

No virtuosos in the bands (there are virtually no solos, though the drummer is a bit of a monster!), but none of them needed to be for this music, even though the progressions can be a bit complicated. Overall, everyone just concentrates on the song and making it as good and strong as possible.

Definitely a highlight of the early 90’s! If you like your pop with huge, heavy guitars, smart lyrics (and sometimes disturbing – one song apparently speaks of sibling incest), excellent vocals and plenty of energy, this is for you! They even cover the Kinks’ “Big Sky”!

wonder which guitar this is and wish I could afford it!

MJ stage clothes, Hendrix guitar up for auction
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this would be fun

Rock and roll all night, putting every day?

Kiss-themed Monster Mini Golf could be coming to the Strip

In a city full of themed attractions, two niches remain unfilled: monsters and Kiss.

Oh, but they're coming, at least if Christina Vitagliano has her way. The founder of Monster Mini Golf — that's monster as in "boo," with no relation to the energy drink — is looking to bring her nationwide mini-golf empire to Las Vegas. She currently is negotiating a price on a Strip location, where she plans to build a 10,000-square-foot indoor, glow-in-the-dark mini-golf park centered on monsters and iconic rock band Kiss, what else?

"We are big on family entertainment. We're freaky but fun. We're all ages," says Vitagliano. "Kiss is kind of like that, too."

To find proof this one-of-a-kind venture can work, Vitagliano says you need look no further than a Kiss concert arena. "Adults are there with their kids. It's the only time I've ever been to a concert where there are two or three generations with the shared music taste."

The venture would be the first mini-golf course for Kiss, which comes as a bit of a surprise considering the hard rockers already have their name emblazed on pinball machines, coffins and almost any other retail product you can think of.

Once the Strip location is secured, it will be about 18 months before Kiss Monster Mini Golf is finished and open. That's one long month for every hole of blacklight-lit ghoulish golfing, but Vitagliano thinks it'll be worth the wait. If completed as planned, the Vegas outpost would be the largest of the chain of 25, as well as the only Kiss-themed one.

"In Vegas you can do more," she says. "We'll be able to have a stage, do live entertainment. We'll have crazy contests, special effects. There's always all-original art sculptures. It'll be Vegas: Bigger, better, weirder."

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best headline ever!

Scientists Study Ozzy's Blood To Understand Why He's Still Alive

(Huffington Post)