Category Archives: Unsung Heroes

Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

For The Love Of Metal

It’s basically metal music the way I know it, which is very different to how metal music is known these days with hard-core growls and scream vocals added to the mix. Hell, I even remember when AC/DC was found in metal sections of record shops, whereas now if you do find a record shop, AC/DC is in the rock section. Even Bon Jovi was classed as “metal” once upon a time. It was a broad classification, that’s for sure.

When it comes to Dee Snider and Twisted Sister, I blame my cousin Mega. Mega had two bands he worshiped. Twisted Sister first and then Megadeth. The messages and viewpoints of both Dee Snider and Dave Mustaine connected. So it’s no surprise that both bands and lead singers/main songwriters are also influences to me. Dee’s message of the outcasts standing together against oppression and censorship and authority resonated big time with me.

The area I grew up in had a lot of migration from Europe. Young families with young kids moved in to established neighbourhoods, invading the peace and quiet the current residents had. And the current residents didn’t like it. Nor did they like the different languages the new migrants spoke. But somehow, we got along in suburbia. But in the schools’ it was a different story. In the nightlife, it was even more different. There was a constant division between races and there was no “cool” teacher like there is nowadays.

Actually, all of the teachers I had were oppressive and they hated rock music.

If they saw a kid listening to music on their Walkman, they took the Walkman off them. It used to be just for the day, then it morphed for the week, then for the month, then for the school term, then for the whole year.

If a kid wore a hat from a rock band, they took it off them. If a kid wore a button or anything else that wasn’t school uniform, they took it off them. They just made up their own rules and the school’s Principal did nothing. Even when the kids parents came to the school and complained, these dudes wouldn’t give in. They enjoyed being in authority.

So you can see how “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “You Can’t Stop Rock N Roll”, “Come Out And Play” and “Wake Up (The Sleeping Giant)” resonate.

Anyway, when Twisted disbanded in 87, Dee wasn’t in the news a lot, except for a few little paragraphs here and there in a magazine about his upcoming Desperado project. Then that project got killed by record label bosses, then Widowmaker got up and running, however Grunge came and suddenly it felt like the biggest voice in my life was missing during the “golden commercial years” of metal and rock music.

But Dee is a lifer. He battled tooth and nail to make it, so there was no way he was going to lay dormant. And like it was written in some holy book, Dee came back, more diverse than ever. He became a movie maker, a radio show host, a solo artist, an author and when TS reformed, he led them up front all the way to the last show.

And his solo music probably doesn’t have the same public acceptance as the Twisted music, but it doesn’t mean it’s not important or influential. As I’ve said before, a million sales of an album doesn’t mean you have 1 million fans. You just have a million people who purchased the album.

The question any artist should be asking is, how many people actually listened to the album from start to finish?

In a sale, this will never be known.

How many people listened to the album, more than a hundred times is never known in a sale.

The difference between now and 1984 is not piracy or streaming or YouTube. It’s obscurity.

With hundreds of releases coming out each day, compared to the 50 odd each month in 1984, each artist is fighting against the same tide. Fans can spread the word and make the new release rise above the waters.

Furthermore, back in 1984, people didn’t have the history of music at their fingertips. So the albums we purchased, we played em, because we spent money on em and we didn’t have any more funds for a few weeks, so we played it a little bit more. But today, any new release is competing against the history of music. And that’s huge competition for a person’s time.

In saying all that, “For The Love Of Metal” deserves to be in the public conversation and credit Jamey Jasta in challenging Dee to make this record, as well as produce it with Nick Bellmore and write music/lyrics for it.

Lies Are A Business

As soon as the up tempo and energetic double kick drums kick off the song, I was hooked. It reminds me of “Overkill” from Motorhead, crossed with “Painkiller” by Judas Priest. But god damn, I can’t shake the powerful feeling of “Emaheevul” from the Widowmaker album “Blood and Bullets”. It’s the same power.

And that solo section is brilliant. It starts off as a single lead and then it becomes a harmony lead, before it breaks out into a triplet pull off lick.

Then the breakdown section at the end.

They won’t say it, lies are a business too.

Fake news is huge. People cannot tell the difference anymore. Hence the reason to read far and wide. Find stories that support your viewpoints and find stories that don’t. Somewhere in between, is the truth you are looking for. Make your own decisions, instead of other people making them for you.

Tomorrow’s No Concern

The first pre-release single for the album.

I gave you yesterday, tomorrows no concern
I gave you yesterday, you can keep it, because today is mine.

Be proud of your past people, but remember that today is still a day to be lived and for glory to be attained.

And that galloping verse riff, is brilliant.

I Am The Hurricane
Roll Over You
Running Mazes

All of these are the middle finger salute, “I will win, you cannot stop me, you cannot oppress me or defeat me” type of songs.

I am a force of nature
Destroy your great design
I am a warning
You will never heed in time….

From “I Am The Hurricane”

Change happens from places and people you least expect it from. It relation to technology, if Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Reed Hastings, Daniel Ek, Steve Jobs and others listened and allowed people to suppress them or stop them, the world wouldn’t have Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, Spotify and iPhones.

You got no heart and were not the same
You got so far but you never came
No heart, there’s no one you can blame
You tried to slow me down but ill roll over you….

From “Roll Over You”

It’s a brutal middle finger to people who try to control you. Some of those people come across as friends, but are really locusts, sucking the essence of what is you, before moving on to another person to destroy.

Not today I still got fighting left….

From “Running Mazes”

It’s simple and brilliant. While you breathe, while you stand, keep pushing forward.

American Made

This could be called <<insert country name>> made. Because regardless of the divisions within, when it comes to sticking together in the face of adversity, we seem to unite.

That opening foot stomping riff with the drums is a call to arms.

No talk just action now
Push forward don’t care how
Fight til the end that’s how I’m made
American Made

Everyone can relate.

I’m Ready

Jamey Jasta penned this for Dee’s mum, who got hit by a car, suffered brain damage, and after 2 months of fighting for life, she passed away.

Death leaves a sorrow no one can heal
Love leaves a memory no one can steal

It’s a great lyric, with so much truth.

And that lead break just kills it. It starts off with a harmony lead that for some reason reminds me of Y&T and then it starts to burn as it goes into a thrash like lead break.

Mask

That intro riff hooks me in right away.

The face you see is not our own
It hides our tears and shades our eyes
The heart you touched has since grown cold
We wear the mask that grins and lies

We live in a world of suppression. We suppress our true feelings, our emotions because of a fear of rejection or embarrassment. And for a lot of us, this is okay. And for some, it’s much deeper and it leads to depression.

Become The Storm

It’s just knockout punch combinations all the way. Dee took a stance against bullies on Twitter and it continues in his music. And the song is not using words to stop bullies, it’s saying you need to show force and a lot of it. Basically, become the storm and destroy all the others that get in your way.

We are not here to suffer
What we get through makes us tougher

Life is tough, but navigating society and suburbia and relationships is even tougher. As much as  you want everyone to like you, it’s impossible. There will always be haters. And these haters will try their best to get you down, so they feel powerful. Remember, experiences makes the person.

And those lead breaks by Charlie Bellmore deserve attention from the guitar community.

The Hardest Way

Howard Jones does some vocals on the Chorus.

Some people do things easy and some people do it hard. I know in my life, I’ve gotten this far, the hard way. I’ve made more dumb decisions than smart decisions, but somehow I find ways to correct them and move on. And the smart decisions have been perfect so far.

With courage taking the first step

It’s what’s lacking today. People have grown up in comfortable environments, where servitude to a system of work, pay taxes, pay loans is taught from when the kids start school. All of this conditioning, takes away our courage to try new things out, because it could lead to disappointment, a drop in income and a change in comfort levels.

Dead Hearts (Love Thy Enemy)

Another anti-bully song, but with the bullied person’s final note showing empathy towards the bully, while the bully showed no empathy to their victim. Alissa Gluz-White from Arch Enemy does guest vocals on this one.

We all hear what they say
Heavy has the weight
Like words filled with hate
We all hear what they say
As hard as it could be
Love thy enemy

Another great lead break in this song.

For The Love Of Metal

The title came first and then the song was built.

If you want to know how many metal song titles can fit into a song, check out, “For The Love Of Metal”.

I once was under the blade
I once was the last in line
I was a victim of changes
You can stop rock and roll

And we do it for metal, the community and the togetherness.

If you like remember how metal music was in the 80’s, the you will like this album. If you like the way modern metal sounds today, you will like this album.

As Dee screams at the end, We are All Fucking metal.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Anew Revolution

I was clearing out my C Drive on my work computer and I came across my tunes folder. It was 30 gigs worth of music I had on my work PC and in the mix was the two albums from Anew Revolution, “Rise” and “iMerica”. So I called em up on Spotify and started to click save all over again with each song.

Whatever happened to em?

I was a fan back then and I’m still a fan today. The lyrics resonated with me. I could relate.

The following tracks are from “Rise” released in 2008.

Done

You wanna try me you might be the one who goes down
I’ve had it up to here with your rule
You’re such a two face it’s too late to take back those words

We have all dealt with people like this. One thing life has taught me is nothing is forever, and that means relationships.

Nme

I can’t believe I finally see the enemy in you

Yes, that best friend, might scheme and lie. Yes, that great love, might scheme and lie. Eventually all the lies come down like a house of cards and those people you trusted suddenly become untrustworthy. And it’s hard to take when it first happens. There is anger, a feeling of being wronged and disbelief that it’s happened for so long.

But, humans are resilient and we rise again, better and stronger than before.

Generation

We are the voice of our lives,
But no one’s listening.

Eventually people will listen. It just takes time, effort and commitment. We give up too easily.

And how long, how long,
Can I fake this?

How long can we really fake our lives?

We have so many tools at our disposal to connect with people and we remain even more isolated.

Rise

Hey you
Stand the truck up and rise
I’m not afraid

It’s pretty simple. Stand up, don’t be afraid. Easier said than done, because of what could come after. Life is always a struggle. People in power versus the ones who work for them. Some abuse the power they have and others are more utopian.

I can’t fake the way I feel inside
Every one of those eyes judging me
It’s funny how things change
I redefine how messed up this life can really be

There was a time when every action and every word that came from me was so thought out because I didn’t want to be judged or questioned for my actions/words. As I got older, I ceased to care about those kind of social arrangements. Life is too short for me to care and there are too many other things I care more about now.

Saddest Song

And all you are, are to me.
The saddest song that I’ll ever sing.

It’s over. Gone. Never coming back. It hurts, but you move on. It takes time, but you get back into the game again.

Let Go

And if I let go,
Will you let go of me?
Cause I can’t keep holding on.
I’ve given everything
And if I let go
Know that you can’t hold on
You can’t hold on to me

There’s history there and no one wants to let go, even though it’s over. The thought of starting over again is too frightening. So you hold on to each other, playing games, blaming each other even more and eventually you both stop trying to save what can’t be saved anymore.

The next songs are from “iMerica” released in 2010. This album is like Slipknot on melodic steroids.

Broken Bones

The way it starts, it’s heavy metal as prescribed by Lemmy himself.

You live, you learn, but all your left with is broken bones

I can relate. Once upon a time, big life events for me ended with fists. It felt like it was the only way, like there had to be a winner and a loser.

Head Against The Wall

It’s a great song, reminds me of Slipknot and it’s the one that has over a million streams on Spotify.

I feel the weight of all the world across my chest.
Like a cigarette it burns and stings with every breathe
I grind my teeth to stone I bite my tongue to hold every word that I’m thinking.
I lost my head in a hole I lost my heart and my soul with every word that I’m bleeding

It’s the antithesis of social media and all the likes and happy pics. Pressure is real. Financial pressure, work pressure, family pressure, health pressure and relationship pressure.

I keep banging my
I keep banging my head against this wall

But we persist, we go on, banging our head against the same wall, every single different day, until those small one percenter changes we made weeks ago start to compound and things change.

Social Suicide

Broken in pieces and sold off today
This American dream has been rigged

The GFC hurt a lot of vulnerable people, while the people who caused it, got away with college speaking tours, a government bailout and jobs with the firms who caused it.

Ashes From Stone

All I can see is ashes falling from the stone

It’s a fiery song. There are a lot of wrongs in life, and when things don’t go to plan, we seem to blame others for our own failures. We don’t take responsibility for our decisions. It’s always someone else’s fault. I used to be like that. Once I took ownership of my choices, man, what a difference. It really is like seeing the light. But until then, all I was seeing was ashes falling.

Take Me Over

I’m waiting for the sun to rise
But darkness is the only light
I’m waiting for the dark to
Take me over, take me over

It’s dark and life is dark sometimes. It’s hard to even talk about darkness in life, because of people’s reaction towards you. Some want to avoid you and some want to help and others want to help you too much that it gets bothersome. One thing is certain. We only have one life. It’s precious. Don’t throw it away. There is always a better way.

Life

I see the bottom of the bottle everyday
I keep on crawling for another inch, but an inch still seems so far away
All I can do is pretend

I don’t drink as much as I used to, but I still enjoy my vino and beers, especially in social gatherings. I do know people who cope with life in the bottom of the bottle. It’s not easy and all of us look for something to dull the pain or the fear.

Why does life keep getting harder
Constantly pushing me under

It’s our choices and our relationships that keep us from excelling. A toxic choice in a toxic relationship leads to more toxicity. A positive choice in a positive relationship leads to some more goodwill and different paths, with more choice.

I need Anew Revolution to make more music. They have fans. We probably won’t make em millions, but we will listen.

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The Night Flight Orchestra

I’m suffering from World Cup fatigue and the typical Australian problem of watching games held in Europe between midnight and 7am. Add to this fatigue, another weeks worth of football in the Australian Capital for the Kanga Cup for my U13 boys and I’m ready for a holiday.

Being a coach is not easy and on occasions I just need to make time for some feel good music, which is fun and so departed from the tense societies we live in.

What can I say, there is something about TNFO and the music they produce that hits a nostalgic spot for me. And I’m digging it.

Album number 4, “Sometimes The World Aint Enough” came out a few weeks ago and it’s full of massive sing-along choruses and derivative versions of some of the best pop songs ever written.

Actually each album has usually 4 to 6 songs that stand out and when the mood is right, they get cranked on repeat.

This Time

It was the first single dropped in the promotion run to release day and it was actually written for the “Amber Galactic” album. Somehow it didn’t fit the flow of the album. Maybe because it sounded too similar to “Midnight Flyer”.

Regardless it made this one. If you like Deep Purple, Supertramp and Rainbow, then you will like this song. And it’s been on repeat since it came out.

Turn To Miami

This is one of those songs that will also get cranked on repeat. The track by track review on YouTube from the band, mentions a Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac influence.

Also with its “Flashdance” film clip and arena rock chorus, how can you not like it. The other thing I like about TNFO is they write about places that have affected them. The city of Miami pops up on the first album via “West Ruth Ave” and “Miami 501”.

Paralyzed

This is another song to be cranked on repeat. The groovy and melodic intro riff does enough to hook me in while the disco beats and silky bass lines get the feet tapping and the body moving.

Sometimes The World Aint Enough

Yep, add this one to the list of repeats. The keyboard riff in the intro sets up the melody, and when one of one of the most simplest drum beats (yes, it reminds me of Kiss “Deuce”) starts grooving in the Chorus, the song is elevated. As the band has mentioned in interviews, the song is about escapism.

Moments Of Thunder

The track by track YouTube videos has the TNFO guys talking about the song reminding them of Yes and how 44 different snare drums got used. Yep, it’s moments of thunder.

Speedwagon

I think the title gives away it’s influence. REO Speedwagon anyone. Maybe, but not according to Bjorn Strid, as it was just a working title which stuck to the end. According to Bjorn, the song reminds him of Swedish pop bands from the 80’s and 90’s.

Lovers In The Rain

The second singled dropped in the promotion run. It reminds me of Survivor and Def Leppard, however the track by track breakdown mentions it’s like a rock version of Ultravox. Regardless, it’s pretty cool.

Can’t Be That Bad

Seriously the riff to kick it off is so addictive, I am hooked and when the Kiss “Deuce” style drumming comes in, it’s perfect.  And that Chorus reminds me of those Desmond Child choruses from Alice Cooper’s “Trash” album crossed with Belinda Carlisle “Heaven Is A Place On Earth”.

The beauty of these tracks is hearing or reading what the TNFO guys think of it. In the track by track breakdown, it’s mentioned that the song is the output if Alan Parsons hooked up with Kiss for a song writing session.

Pretty Thing Closing In

It’s got this disco drum groove that reminds me of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall”. TNFO reckon it’s a great song to listen to when you are driving in Italy.

Barcelona

Man, the riffs are addictive.

“How I need you Barcelona”

Having been to Barcelona and being really taken by the beauty of the city I can easily relate. And like “Turn To Miami”, this is TNFO writing about cities which have had an impact on them.

Winged and Serpentine

Rick Springfield influence according to the track by track breakdown as the guys watched all of his videos before they entered the studio.

The Last Of Independent Romantics

With album number 2, TNFO started to have a longer and progressive track as the closer. “The Heather Reports” appeared on “Skyline Whispers” and “Saturn In Velvet” appeared on “Amber Galactic”.

The processed electronic drums at the start underpin the “You Give Love A Bad Name” vocal melody in the verses. Yes, you read that right. They took one of Jovi’s biggest choruses and used it for a verse.

Then the riff from 2 minutes, that’s the power of music and the power of this project known as The Night Flight Orchestra.

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Across The Years In May

I knew that Cinderella’s “Long Cold Winter” had its 30th Anniversary on May 21, 1988. So I went to Spotify to give it a listen and it’s no longer there. But it was there before. I can’t understand why artists withdraw their albums and then bring them back when they feel like it. Go on YouTube, and the whole album is there, and it pays less. Talk about leaving money on the table. I guess it’s Cinderella’s loss.

Anyway, I also knew that on May 23, 1979, Kiss released “Dynasty”. It was my first Kiss album on LP and of course, due to having so little product to listen to, it became a favourite. However, my brothers friends who had the earlier Kiss albums up to “Love Gun” hated this album. And the good thing is, when I went to Spotify, it was there, available, to be listened too. Gene and Paul are very critical of the current business models, but they are also business minded people who don’t want to leave any source of income unattended.

It’s like going back in my room, dropping the needle and being greeted with the fast picked E note that is “I Was Made For Loving You”. While “Loving” is modern and of the times, “2,000 Man” is a rock and roll relic out of place on this glitzy melodic rock disco album. And back then, the year 2000 seemed so far away and now we are 18 years past it.

“Sure Know Something” has that groovy sleazy bass line in the verses and when the guitars start crunching in the Chorus the song moves from a disco R&B feel to Hard Rock. And when “Dirty Livin’” starts up, I am floored by the diversity of the album. It’s covered a lot of ground musically. Actually, when I heard “The Night Flight Orchestra’s” debut album back in 2012, I was immediately reminded of “Dynasty”.

“Charisma” and “Magic Touch” keep the momentum going. “Hard Times”, “X-Ray Eyes” and “Save Your Love” bookend the album, but I would have been happy if the album finished at “Hard Times”, with one of my favourite lyrical lines in “the hard times are dead and gone, but the hard times have made me strong”. Damn right they did.

Continuing with May releases over different timespans, on May 24, 1988, Van Halen released “OU812”.

The piece d’resistance is “Mine All Mine”.  It wasn’t just competing with the singles from this album for attention, it was competing with “Jump”, “Panama”, “Dreams”, “Summer Nights” and “Why Cant This be Love” for attention. Because in the MTV era, songs had some legs.

The drumming is frantic, making a clichéd keyboard riff sound heavy as hell.

Oh, you’ve got Allah in the east
You’ve got Jesus in the west
Christ, what’s a man to do?

Exactly, what is a man to do when belief systems go to war. Sort of like Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s famous film clip “Two Tribes” when Reagan and Gorbachev went at it.

And how good is the guitar solo from EVH?

Then the single “When It’s Love” keeps the pop metal momentum going, but “AFU(Naturally Wired)” is vintage EVH. Its chaotic and yet so focused. And how cool is that bridge riff just before the crazy solo. I know Sammy loves “Cabo Wabo” and I love the solo section of the song and I dig the music, but man, I don’t like the lyrics.

“Source Of Infection” is wild abandonment on the steroid level scales of “Hot For Teacher”.  “Feels So Good” is a favourite of mine and “Finish What Ya Started” is groovy and sleazy. To be honest, I’ve overdosed on these songs as the clips always appeared on the TV shows, but man, those verses on “Feels So Good” just get me all the time.

“Black and Blue”, “Sucker In A 3 Piece” and “A Apolitical Blues” close out the album, and the star here is “Sucker In A 3 Piece”. It should have come after “Finish What Ya Started”.

And everything these bands represent is opposite to what is adored today by the masses. Today it’s all about the beat and it doesn’t feel personal which is opposite of what music should be. Music is personal. So while some people go to the show to have a good time, the majority of people still go to connect with the band on the stage.

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Girls, Girls, Girls

There is a scene in the “Uncensored” video with Vince Neil cruising down Sunset in a limo with a spa pool and he’s talking about the name of the next album, called “Girls, Girls, Girls”.

On May 15, 1987, “Girls Girls Girls” comes out and the world was treated to two video clips. The censored “Girls” clip and the “Uncensored” one. MTV has a ball with it.

While it looks like the guys are having a ball, attending strip clubs and dropping bills into knickers, Nikki Sixx was in the spiralling grip of a heroin addiction, Mick Mars was blacking out from alcoholism, Tommy Lee was coking it up, screwing anything that moved and somehow he got married, while Vince Neil was still on probation and pretending to be sober. In other words, it’s chaos with a capital MC and they still managed to get together and crack out a decent album.

The best track on the album is the opener, Nikki’s religious sermon to the street life of L.A. “Wild Side” is perfect, from the riffs, the drum groove, the vocal melodies and of course, the lyrics.

Kneel down ya sinners to streetwise religion
Greed has been crowned the new king

Greed has become the new king. Not just in the streets, but in all walks of life. There is so much betrayal and broken dreams in our quest for millions.

Take a ride on the wild side

Only if you dare. You might not come out of it alive. For some it’s the thrill. It’s the metal lifestyle. All aboard. Hahahaha…

I carry my crucifix under my death list

Every single dealer believes in God, wears crucifixes and then breaks God’s rules in killing someone. Every single wronged person, while a good citizen with family values, carries a revenge list of people who wronged them. Humans are born aggressive.

Papa won’t be home tonight
Found dead with his best friends wife

There was a time when crimes of passion dominated. Now, crimes of insanity dominate.

A baby cries, a cop dies
A day’s pay on the wild side

Doing the beat, could mean a gun fight and death. I guess, it is really all in a day’s pay on the wild side.

The sounds of a Harley, a G5 power chord and one of the grooviest riffs ever. That my friends is “Girls, Girls, Girls”. And it’s part of MTV lore with its two video clips.

“Dancing On Glass” has a riff from Mick Mars, which is sleazy and dangerous and Nikki fires out some of the best lines about being an addict.  “Valentines in London, found me in the trash” covers his first overdose. “One extra push, last trip to the top” covers the addict need to get high. “Silver Spoon and needle, witchy tombstone smile” covers the process and when you are user, “I’m no puppet, I engrave my veins in style” sums up the toll on the body.

As far as I’m concerned the first three tracks are a triple knockout, but “Wild Side” and “Girls” survive to this day.

“Bad Boy Boogie” is exactly that, a 12 bar blues boogie that compared to some of the other tracks on the album is considered a decent cut, plus it’s got the iconic line, “you better lock up your daughter when the Motley’s hit the road.”

“Five Years Dead” has some wicked riffs and a lyrical theme from a book Nikki picked up in a second hand shop.  “All In the Name Of ….” is another song with killer riffs and a lyrical theme about “legal never being their scene”.

“Your All I Need” was more popular for its controversial film clip, but then again, whoever said the six o-clock news was pretty.

“Rodeo” was a bonus track on the re-released edition of the album. I guess they already had the ultimate road song in “Home Sweet Home”. Regardless, “Rodeo” is one hell of a song and you can hear that Mick Mars is all over this one.

Laughing like gypsies, from show to show, living my life like a rolling stone
Travelling man, never at home, can’t find love so I sleep alone, this whisky river has a long way to flow

It sure sums up the excess of the 80’s.

From a commercial perspective, “Girls” was competing against “Slippery When Wet” from Bon Jovi, “The Final Countdown” from Europe and Whitesnake’s 1987 self-titled album for listeners attention. “Look What the Cat Dragged In” from Poison was also rising. But it not only competed, it went toe to toe with all of those releases and Motley came out on top in the live box office. Hell, even Whitesnake was opening up for them.

And who can forget the words from management, that if the band went to Europe to tour, they will come home in body bags. “Girls” would be the end of the Motley band as we knew it. A snapshot of how a band can take alcohol and drugs to the limits.

If you end up alive, there is always a change. “Dr Feelgood” would be the result of the change, and the pinnacle for a briefly sober band. Of course with sobriety, an artist gets clarity and with clarity people start to realise the dysfunction within. And with more years under their belt, their life choices start to become different. And Motley was different.

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Mirror – Tygers of Pan Tang

It’s a forgotten Sykes cut, released in 1981 on the “Spellbound” album from Tygers Of Pan Tang. Even though I’ve listened to the song for a long time, I’ve never sat down to learn it so, I thought it was time to get this little Sykes gem down.

With all the guitar tabs and YouTube videos available online, it’s very easy to go straight to Google, but no-one has transcribed it.

Funny that.

With all of the advancements made in technology, there still is no AI application which can transcribe all the instruments in a song just by listening to it. But AI can create music, can recognise our faces, plot our journeys and a million other things.

So I had to rely on the good old trusty ear. I haven’t practiced learning a song by ear for a long time. But it’s a forgotten art form. And the saying goes, if you don’t practice using your ear, you will forget how to use it.

I swear that my ear is better at figuring out songs now, then what it was in the 80’s/90’s. Maybe it’s because of the knowledge I have accumulated over the years which makes it easy. Maybe my brain has finally put some super highways between the cells to make learning a song by ear, easier. The faster stuff I still need to slow down to hear each note.

Anyway, the guitar is tuned to standard, EADGBE. The Intro from up to 0.44 is made up from a simple Emadd9 to Cadd9 chord progression arpeggiated on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings.

The first verse kicks in from 0.27 to 0.45. The arpeggios outline the chords, Em, C, D and back to Em.

From 0.46 to 1.06, the Chorus kicks in and the chords are C, D, C, Am, C, D, Em, Em.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
You stare at me and share my thoughts
Mirror, mirror I hear your call,
You have my soul and body caught

The fairy tale familiarity. In “The Crimson Idol” from WASP, Jonathon spoke to the mirror and the mirror spoke back to him.

There are so many magic moments in “Mirror”, but what seals the deal is when the Bridge section comes in from 2.30 to 2.54 and it then transitions into another lead break. The unique style of Sykes is here, in it’s embryonic stages.

Deception you have learnt

Deception is what our social media world thrives on.

What is fake, what is real, no one knows anymore?

Everyone has a responsibility to research far and wide and make up their own views. The mainstream press outlets are all beholden to their corporate employers who have their own agendas to push.

No wonder so many are dissatisfied. But we pretend the situation doesn’t exist. So how can we improve things tomorrow.

There is a saying in marketing that if companies frequently run last-minute sales, customers would stop buying things in advance because the company is training the customer to wait. And the way organisations should engage with people is drip by drip. Keep releasing.

It’s been a long time since John Sykes released any new music.

Has the well gone dry?

There is no more drip. The recording business has changed, there is no doubt about that. However if the artist is chained to their past ways, then they will never survive in the new world.

How Grammy Nominee Brent Faiyaz Built His Music Career Off Streaming (HBO) – YouTube

Check out the video. If you don’t here it is a nutshell. You have an independent artist using streaming data to decide which cities to hit. The data gives him the number of monthly/weekly listens in a city and the number of super fans in each city.

And for those who say streaming doesn’t pay, it does, if your fan base is using the platform to access music.

Sykes should get a team together to work in the new music world instead of the old.

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A to Z of Making It, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Musical Conversations

Sykes first official band was an outfit called “Streetfighter”. They played mainly cover songs and an original song called “She’s No Angel” appeared on a compilation album called “New Electric Warrior”.

In 1980, Sykes saw an ad for a lead guitar position. He auditioned and ended up joining Tygers Of Pan Tang for two albums, “Spellbound” and “Crazy Nights”. Although good albums, they didn’t sell like the record label wanted them to sell.

Meanwhile, Sykes was getting some recognition and was even asked to audition for Ozzy Osbourne’s band.

In the book “Thin Lizzy” by Alan Byrne, its mentioned how Sykes was brought into Thin Lizzy on the suggestion of producer Chris Tsangarides.

“It was on my suggestion that Sykes was brought in. I was after sorting out some stuff for Sykes and eventually I secured a deal with MCA to release a song that he had written. We were in Dublin when he asked me if Phil might be interested in recording and contributing to it. So I got in touch and Phil decided he was up for it and we recorded the track with Brian Downey on drums and I think Darren Wharton played keyboards on it.”

It wasn’t long after, that Sykes was offered the Thin Lizzy gig.

This is the way Scott Gorham recalls Sykes impact on the band in the same book.

“After Snowy left, John came on board for the “Thunder and Lightning” album. To me, John was great because he had a real hard rock edge to him, he had a great attitude and was a very funny guy, though most importantly, he was a great player.”

“Thunder and Lightning” comes out and it started to re-establish Thin Lizzy in the 80’s. At the same time, David Coverdale tried to hire Adrian Vandenberg and Mama’s Boys Pat McManus on guitar however they both rejected the offer. John Sykes was then offered a million dollars advance payment to join Whitesnake.

Sykes introduced a new technical level to Whitesnake, fresh ideas and a polished image.

For the US version of “Slide It In”, Sykes and bassist Neil Murray re-recorded the guitar and bass parts. I have both versions, the Moody/Hodgkinson European release and the Sykes/Murray release.

Of course, having producer Keith Olsen remixing the album, gave it a more radio friendly sound for the US market.

Mel Galley eventually left the band during the tour and Sykes went on to handle the guitar parts himself. Jon Lord also left to reunite with Deep Purple, thus making Whitesnake a four-piece of Coverdale, Sykes, Murray and Powell.

Money plays a part in every band and Whitesnake was no different. Cozy Powell didn’t like what he was offered to continue with the band and left. Aynsley Dunbar got his chance and ended up being the drummer for Whitesnake’s most successful album.

The 1987 Whitesnake sessions had delays, illnesses and personality issues. Murray didn’t know if he was in the band or out of the band, however he kept on turning up to the studio and completing his bass parts.

Sykes heard stories that he was out, but until Coverdale told him personally he was still in. Meanwhile, Coverdale did tell them all to pick up or explore other projects if they got a chance as the money from Geffen was running out, so Coverdale couldn’t keep them on the payroll.

In the end, the Whitesnake album was reported via “Chinese Whispers” to have cost 3 million dollars to write and record. It also cost the song writing partnership called Coverdale/Sykes. It could have been one of the best song writing partnerships in hard rock music for many years after, but we’ll never know. David Coverdale called it a “musical conversation” between themselves. Well the conversation ended as quickly as it began because Whitesnake is David Coverdale and David Coverdale is Whitesnake. It was David Coverdale that John Kalodner signed to Geffen, not John Sykes. It was David Coverdale that John Kalodner supported all the way through.

And from David Coverdale, the world got to hear John Sykes.

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Copyright, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Unsung Heroes

Release Day

Spotify has a playlist ready every Friday for me in relation to bands I follow or bands who might be similar to bands I follow. Sometimes there is fluff in those playlists and sometimes it’s like the good old days of being in a record shop and deciding which album to purchase from the many on offer. In this case, I can listen to everything.

And there is a lot of music out there to digest. The enemy to global stardom is not illegal downloading, it’s obscurity.

How are people going to find out who the hell you are?

You are not just battling for listeners attention from the artists who have new music, you are battling for listeners attention from the history of music. Yes, that’s right. We have “almost” the whole history of music at our fingertips. And even though the odds are really stacked against artists from making a living from music, people are still out there creating and releasing. Some artists are ahead of their time, so it might take a while for the audience to catch up. But one thing is certain, creativity is at an all time high.

Which is a good thing, because the recording industry and the copyright monopoly tried their best to convince everyone that creativity would die due to illegal downloading all in their push for government intervention to protect their profits.

And truth be told, while the internet might have given people access to play in the recording industry arena, it didn’t kill the labels. Because the labels consolidated into three majors. And they amassed a lot of power through a little law called copyright. And with this power, they had a monopolistic bargaining position at the table when it came to licensing deals with the techies.

Anyway here are few releases from the most recent release day Friday.

Fake
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

Let’s promote the new album with a song that sounds similar in groove and feel to every other song we have written. Maybe some lawyer will sue the band for plagiarising their own sound and feel.

You talk a great game, trying to make a big name, soon you’re gonna run out of time

I’m a fan. Hell my six year old is a fan.

The song has a head banging riff (who cares if it sounds similar to other songs), underpinned by a drum groove that gets the foot stomping and a vocal line full of vengeance about a fake person.

Over It
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

I’m still waiting for BFMV to decide what kind of album they want to make. A bone crushing “Heaven And Hell”, a sonic sounding “Dr Feelgood”, a metal sounding “Powerslave” or their own “The Blackening”. While I wait, they still release cool tunes like “Over It”, a product of where the band is right now, with only two original members left.

I can’t take this anymore, I’m over it

Trying to save someone who doesn’t want to be saved or can’t be reached is a difficult process to deal with.

Save Yourself
BREAKING BENJAMIN

So much gloom in the lyrics. For one thing, I’m happy Benjamin Burnley is making music and has kept the band name going after the various lawsuits and what not. And like AC/DC, Disturbed and FFDP, Breaking Benjamin is churning out consistent same music, album after album to great success and platinum awards.

Monolith
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS

It’s an instrumental which keeps on building like the music in a movie preview.

Personally, I dig it, so I went to hear the album. As a fan of the first three albums and playing “Conquistador” to death from the previous album, the “America” album is not what I prefer in the first half and great in the second half, especially from “Great Wide Open” to the end.

Transition
CRASHCARBURN

South African rock band that fell of my radar the last four years, so it’s good to have them back.

GONE (Radio Edit)
RED

This band has changed a lot during the last 6 years, with more and more electronic elements added to their tunes.

The Human Radio
SHINEDOWN

I don’t mind the kind of rock that Shinedown is morphing into because it’s still Shinedown and it’s still Brent Smith on vocals. And come to think of it, all of my favourite bands took styles and sounds from what is current into their mix as their career went along.

Get the money, throw the tantrum
The human radio is playing your anthem

More Beautiful
HOOBASTANK

Don’t ever think your broken and not good enough
Cause all the things you want to fix are things that I love

Magazines in the 90’s did a great job selling beauty and the social media world created by Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram has only added more fuel to the fire.

And people are dying just to look beautiful, starving themselves to feel beautiful and paying stupid amounts to correct their natural beauty in order to look manufactured.

Liberta
MUSTASCH

A bunch of Swedes with moustaches that play some killer groove metal/rock with melodic vocals. If beards and moustaches worked for ZZ Top, why not for a band called Mustasch.

Set Free
JADED HEART

Experienced melodic hard rock from Germany with Michael Bormann on vocals.

For those who don’t know, Bormann handled vocals in another favourite German band called Bonfire, however it was after their US breakthrough albums.

Sacrifice Me
ISSA with DEEN CASTRONOVO

Cool to see Deen redeeming himself with some cool music over the last 12 months. “Freedom” from the last Revolution Saints album is still doing the rounds in my life and this time, he’s doing a duet with Finnish singer Issa which sounds like it’s from an Evanesence album.

Burn
W.E.T

Another Jeff Scott Soto collaboration, this time with Swedish songwriters Erik Martensson from the band “Eclipse” and Robert Sall from the band “Work Of Art”. It’s another great melodic rock song.

Show Me
NEIL YOUNG

Of course Neil Young surprised me with this cut, which takes the “Rocking In A Free World” chord progression and acoustifies it with some soul and blues and calls it “Show Me”.

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Stand Your Ground

For a long time, we had no idea how we looked. Then mirrors came about and then we knew how we looked.

For a long time, we had no idea how we really sounded. Then recording techniques came out and over the last 80 years, cassettes showed us how we really sounded.

Cameras also came about and people could suddenly see how they looked and sounded at the same time.

And right now, we are surrounded by sounds and mirrors. If you have a social media account, you have a mirror looking back at you. If you filmed yourself doing something, you have a mirror looking back at you along with sound.

Our personal lives are out there for the whole world to see, regardless of your social media security settings. Even if your posts are secure and only for friends, other people who are not your friends could still potentially see them, because if your friends don’t have the same security as you and you tag them, then it’s on their wall as well.

And how dumb are we. We gave away our privacy and our lives for free to social media platforms like Facebook, who then went and made billions of dollars from our lives. And when people post something on Facebook, they either get likes or blowback. And no one wants blow back these days. Everyone wants to be liked. Even musicians.

Musicians fall into many categories via their lyrics. Some address social ills, some address loss and grief, some address relationships, some address mythology or history and some address partying and having a good time. And it takes guts to put yourself into a mix where your opinions and viewpoints can be attacked. But real artists will look to find a place that creates the change they seek and they will push boundaries in order to do it.

Freedom. It’s our fundamental right.

So what do we do when the politicians we voted in work for the corporations instead of the people?

What do we do when the politicians pass laws to benefit the corporations instead of the people?

This is a world-wide problem.

Our governments are using private companies to harvest our data from social media, based on our posts, comments, likes and friends, these private companies can determine which way you vote.

Stand your ground, don’t let the bastards grind you down, be bold, be strange, don’t let their fears make you afraid

Bastards from Machine Head

We need to stand our ground. The message is nothing new, but we have forgotten it. Machine Head is dealing with some flack in the U.S about their “Catharsis” album. But it’s only in the U.S as the rest of the world relates to the message that Robb Flynn is saying.

And Robb is sending out his message because he cares.

From birth we are taught to follow instructions, comply, obey and to avoid taking risks. The parental system likes it this way. The schooling system likes it this way. The corporate system likes it this way. The Police system likes it this way. And overall, the Government prefers it this way. But sometimes, a change happens.

And when change happens, someone feels it’s for the better and others feel it’s for the worst. And the people who feel the change is wrong, speak up.

The youth of the world have decided they will not wait anymore for adults to solve problems, so they have taken to the streets to demonstrate against guns and call for gun control.

Imagine when these kids get a chance to vote and a chance to enter politics. Change is a happening. Be prepared to change or move out of the kids ways.

We’ve got the right to choose it, there’s no way we’ll lose it

We’re Not Gonna Take It from Twisted Sister

It’s a simple assertion from Dee Snider that mobilised a generation. It’s Dee’s take on society and it comes with an action. Critics blasted the song because it doesn’t define who the “it” is. But that’s the beautiful part of the song. The “It” can be anyone who seeks to control you and take away your freedom.

But to take a stand isn’t easy. Artists are too afraid to stand up for something.

But hang on a second, that’s what being an artist is all about. However the pushback is so ferocious, especially in a social media world, artists just don’t go there.

Well popular artists don’t.

Stand your ground.

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Twitter Thoughts

As soon as Dee Snider and his Twisted Sister band mates threw the teacher for a three-pointer in the “I Wanna Rock” video, I was hooked. Yeah, he looked all wrong but his attitude and message stuck with me. So it’s no surprise I follow Dee on Twitter and recently a few tweets got some discussions happening.

“Here’s a challenge for you (and no using the internet for the answer): Can you name all 7 (unsuccessful) albums I’ve done solo or been a part of with a band since I left Twisted Sister in 1987? You can use initials. Bonus points for naming the 1 live album. Good freakin; luck.”

You struggle your whole life to “make it”. And once you “make it”, you need to struggle to “keep it”.

And then “keeping the fame” ends up “breaking up” the band that “made it”. So you go solo but it’s many years later from your “making it” moment. And there are people who still crave your product but not as many as before.

For a very long time, the record labels convinced everyone that the only way to define success is sales. But people might have purchased an album, heard it once and never heard it again. The record label never considered that statistic because the sale has given them a monetary value, something they can count.

But as Dee said further on;

“While I’m proud of all the work I’ve done, YES success is defined by sales. I’m long past “making music for my own head”. Once you’ve had public acceptance of your art, you yearn for it. You want the world to see and hear “your children””.

The truth is, there is no secret formula for keeping the hits coming.

Artists always had a short life span at the top. Most of the 70’s acts would have been dead and forgotten if there was no MTV television in the 80s.

But the biggest obstacle is obscurity.

Someone tweeted back, “Didn’t know you did one, lol” in response to Dee’s post about the seven unsuccessful albums to which Dee re-tweeted with the following comments;

“This is the #1 response to my name the seven albums I’ve done since leaving Twisted in 1987. Which brings us to the age old question: “If someone puts out an album and nobody hears it…did it make a sound?””

Which someone else replied that Dee’s last album, “We Are The Ones” was excellent with the following questions;

“Do you consider it unsuccessful? Is success only defined by album sales or rather by the quality of the product?”

Another person commented that just because it isn’t popular it doesn’t mean it’s not valid and that music touches people in different ways.

And here we are again wondering what success is.

Is it sales?

Is it streams?

Is it video views?

Is it concert ticket sales?

Is it just people interacting with you on social media?

For Dee, he hit the mainstream with Twisted Sister and for a three year period he was on top. Success is defined as that same public acceptance for his other music.

So let’s talk about “Blood and Bullets” from Widowmaker.

Post Twisted Sister, it was deafening silence. From being everywhere, Dee was nowhere. My cousin Mega, who has the TS logo tattooed on his shoulder told me about his Desperado project. It was mentioned in a shorts column of a U.S magazine. That’s it. One of the biggest voices between 1983 and 85 was reduced to a paragraph.

Then there was silence again. We got nothing Dee Snider related in Australia.

I then read a “Blood And Bullets” review in a magazine, three months after the Widowmaker album was out. It was in a Guitar magazine, because of Al Pitrelli’s involvement. Nothing from the mainstream metal rags.

So I went looking for it in the mainstream record stores and I couldn’t find it. I asked at the counter if they could get it and they could get it as an import and charge me $50.

I went to Utopia in Sydney, the home of heavy metal, who only had a few copies of the album and already sold them. They said they would order it in for me and it would cost me $30. It took another 3 months for it to “arrive” in Australia and into my hands. Imagine that. 3 months to arrive.

So six months after the album was released I had it. And I played it non-stop and I still play it and I told everyone I could about it. It’s angry, it’s hopeful, it’s sombre and it’s tongue’n’cheek.

For me, it’s highly influential. It’s got the kind of music I like making, all over the album.

“Reason To Kill”, “Blue For You”, “Calling On You”, “Snot Nosed Kid” and “Emaheevul” straight away stood out for me. “Blood And Bullets” and “Widowmaker” grew on me with every listen. The cover of “Evil” surprised me with its energy and increased tempo while another pop rock cover called “The Lonely Ones” was a sleeper hit waiting to smack me in the face. “Gone Bad”, “You’re A Heartbreaker” and “We Are The Dead” while sounding clichéd on earlier listens grew into unique contributions to the album.

Dee delivered a stellar vocal performance and Al Pitrelli also produced the goods in the guitar department, while Joey Franco and Marc Russell underpinned it all. Of course, Desperado guitarist Bernie Torme co-wrote 7 of the 12 songs on the album, so he deserves a huge 10 out of 10 for his stellar riffage and songwriting.

If you’ve read Dee’s book, “Shut Up and Give Me The Mic” Dee had to buy back the Desperado songs from Elektra who claimed ownership of them due to the label financing the demo song writing sessions and the failed Desperado album release.

But the problem with the album not setting the sales department on fire was not Grunge. It was obscurity. People didn’t know about it because there wasn’t a source of truth anymore.

Even in 1992 going onto 1993, we had a lot of different sources for information. The magazines were struggling to sell like they did in the 80’s, hence the reason why so many of them finished up.

So in order to stay relevant, the magazines only reported what was popular so they could sell. And no one bought all the magazines but in the 80s if you purchased Faces, Hit Parader or Circus or Metal Edge, you more or less had your rock/metal “source of truth” covered.

And MTV was moving into reality TV and out of music, especially music made by the metal community.

And speaking of the metal community, we had fractured into different styles. Once upon a time we liked metal. We listened to metal bands.

Suddenly metal (courtesy of magazines and record label A&R reps) had different genres like Glam, Pop, Thrash, Heavy, Hard, Death, Black, Industrial, Hardcore, Grindcore, Rap and whatever other term someone could think of like Sludge, Weed, Fart, etc.

So those metal bands in the early 80s got relabeled to something else.

And it shits me because the Widowmaker debut album is not on Spotify (well I don’t know about the rest of the world, but it’s not on Spotify Australia) and people who are fans of the band and who pay for Spotify cannot listen to it.

But it’s on YouTube and I don’t do YouTube. But I have a CD mp3 rip of the album on my devices and I listen to it that way.

The thing is, a lot of the albums which are really influential to people are rarely commercially successful.

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