Tag Archives: concert

Music, Pop Culture

Quiet Riot Singer Kevin Dubrow, Dead at 52

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Kevin, Gail Franky, Donnie
Another One Bites The Dust: Me with Kevin Dubrow, Frankie Banali and Donnie Vie, Summer 2001

Okay, seriously, I’m wondering if it is some kind of cosmic ’80s Metal joke that both Ricky Parent of ENuff Z’Nuff and Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot have passed away within one month of each other. As a tribute to Kevin, who died on November 25th, 2007 of a drug overdose, I’ve decided to re-run my review of the re-release of Quiet Riot’s immortal, genre-defining 1983 album, Metal Health. Read on and be enlightened.

“Bang Your Head…”

(Originally published on Ink19.com, Fall 2001)

Quiet Riot
Metal Health (Portrait/Epic/Legacy)

I’ve got a story for you about Quiet Riot.

On a gorgeous summer day this past July, I spent about eight hours hanging out at this big outdoor 80’s metal revival arena rock concert where Poison, Warrant, Quiet Riot and Enuff Z’Nuff were the featured bands. Now, everybody knows I’m a total idiot for that kind of music and, being a journalist, I’ve become pretty good pals with Poison’s drummer Rikki Rockett, and Warrant’s drummer, Mike Fasano. Thus I found myself, Ms. Headbanger’s Ball of 2001, back stage with an All Access Pass. There was no question that having the run of an arena’s back stage area would prove to be a curious thing, but I digress. When I was walking around unsupervised, I met Quiet Riot’s front man, the infamous Kevin Dubrow, when he accidentally caught me checking out his ass. Kevin is amazing-looking up close and has transformed himself from the scrawny, balding speed freak you remember from those 80s Quiet Riot videos into this full-on rock Adonis with a killer six pack and arms to die for. He smells really good too. I felt a little giddy meeting him because – I mean, I’m a fan and everything – but I didn’t expect him to be so handsome. Hair weave or no hair weave, the guy looks 100% better than he did when he was in his 20’s. I’d do it.

Anyway, Portrait Records re-released Quiet Riot’s best album, the multi-platinum selling Metal Health, last fall, but it took me awhile to get around to reviewing it. Sorry.

When I think of Quiet Riot, their venerated cover of Slade’s “Cum On Feel the Noize” leaps to mind immediately. I just can’t help but sing along.

“Cum on feel the noize/Girls rock your boys/We’ll get wild wild wild/Wild wild wild…” lather, rinse, repeat.

Talk about inspired lyrics! How can anyone who was ever young and in love not worship that song? Carlos Cavazo’s guitar solo on the bridge has got to be right up there with anything Eddie Van Halen ever laid down on tape and I’d even put it up against the solo from “Wait” by White Lion!

But Quiet Riot was always about so much more than just big guitar noise and epic macho posturing. I mean, Metal Health, was the first metal album to reach #1 on the Billboard charts! And this was back in the 80’s when the charts were actually an indication of music being any good. Quiet Riot rocked, and they still do.

My favorite Quiet Riot song is “Slick Black Cadillac,” which is from way back when Randy Rhodes (RIP) was in the band. This song was originally recorded for an album that was only released in Japan, but the band loved it so much that they re-recorded it for Metal Health – and thank God for that, because the song just rocks hard enough to crack skulls wide open. I love the lyrics, which are so simple, but paint such a rich picture: “Driving in a slick, black Cadillac/It’s got solid gold hubcaps/It makes me feel like a King/I only need one thing/and that’s a Slick Black Cadillac.” It’s great use of language, where Kevin is as involved in the physical sound of the words as he is in telling the story. No shit — here’s a song about a big black car that sticks with you. A live version of “Slick Black Cadillac” is included here as a bonus track. I could listen to it again and again.

Hearing Quiet Riot’s hard-driving, melodic, anthemic, life-affirming, joyous, crazy party rock amid all the shitty false metal and mind-numbing idiot rock that passes for pop music these days is like oxygen in a vacuum. Metal Health is a sentimental journey connecting the attributes of commercial rock with the sonic muscle of heavy metal, which is what catapulted LA Sunset Strip glam metal to the top of the charts in the first place. This album is perfect. Go out and buy a copy right now.

— Gail Worley

Music, Pop Culture

Hang The DJ! Morrissey Live at the Hammerstein Ballroom!

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His Name In Lights

Morrissey Rocks the Hammerstein Ballroom

Back in nineteen eighty blah blah, I can remember being the most obsessed, fanatically nerdy of Smiths fan: scouring the tiny “import” record stores of south Orange County for ridiculously expensive Japanese copies of Hatful of Hollow and shrieking hysterically at Smiths concerts like a pre-teen Beatles fan at the Fab Four’s 1965 Dodger Stadium performance. Good times. Even during an era when really great bands were getting played on the radio at a pretty steady clip, as far as I was concerned – aside from never actually being able to make it all the way through “Meat Is Murder” without hitting the “Skip” button –The Smiths were the shit.

When The Smiths broke up over irreconcilable artistic differences and various assorted heroin addictions, I was devastated and inconsolable. I’ve read The Severed Alliance about fifty times trying to make sense of it all, but sometimes good things just come to an end and all that we have left are the memories and some really excellent bootlegs. Last night I was able to relive the happy, carefree days of my youth to a completely transcendent degree when I attended one of five performances by Morrissey happening this week at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Fucking A, what a great show that guy puts on! Honestly, I was blown away! To my surprise I really loved all of the Mozz’s solo material, old and new (some songs yet to be recorded) but I’d be a big fat liar if I didn’t admit that my very favorite parts of the show were his amazing renditions of Smith songs, as follows:

“Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before” (Opening song)

“The Boy With The Thorn In His Side”

“Stretch Out And Wait” (“Stretch Out And Motherfucking Wait” – are you kidding me? Squeal!)

“Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”

“Death of a Disco Dancer” (Which was absolutely mind blowing)

and

“How Soon Is Now?”

Morrissey!

Looks Like Your Dad: Rocks Like Elvis

Jesus God, it was the best concert I’ve seen all year. Massive thanks go out to Matt Walker, Morrissey’s drummer extraordinaire, for getting me, Tracy and Geoffrey VIP seating upstairs.

Music, Pop Culture

Tenacious D Sell Out Madison Square Garden!

Tenacious D In The Pick Of DestinySoundtrack
My Favorite Part of the Show was the Dancing Mushroom. Don’t Ask.

Last night Tracy and I went to see Tenacious D play at Madison Square Garden. I got on the list through drummer Brooks Wackerman, whom I recently interviewed for Modern Drummer Magazine. Brooks is also the drummer for punk rock legends Bad Religion and he played drums on the soundtrack to the wildly successful film, Team America, World Police. Brooks told me that if the Team America gig was the only thing on his resume, he would die a happy man. Because, can you imagine being able to lay claim to having played drums on songs like “Everyone Has AIDS” and “America, Fuck Yeah!”? That’s just crazy.

TD VIP PASS
Front of My VIP Pass for the Show

Anyway, my point is, it was a really good show! I would never have come close to guessing that Tenacious D could sell out a massive venue like MSG, but the place was packed. I haven’t seen the D’s new film, The Pick of Destiny yet, but most of the songs in their set are from the movie, mixed in with some of their classics like “Tribute” (my favorite) and some song about a Sasquatch. I recommend checking out Tenacious D live in concert if they come through your town.

Back Of VIP PASS
Back of My VIP Pass for the Show: Like Me and Tracy, BFF!

Music, Pop Culture

I Like To Rock (Part 1, The Metal Years)

cmi music mararthon 2005 graphic

It’s CMJ week here in New York City and that means…well not much to me, actually. I’m bypassing the convention/ panels/ parties/ endless-showcases-of-lame-bands -enjoying-their-five-seconds-of pre-fame this year in favor of attending just a few choice shows. Last night was my designated “Night of Rock,” despite the fact that my Quest for Rock Action meant I would miss the debut of Survivor: Guatemala. Sometimes we must make sacrifices in order to rock.

The first event on my evening’s agenda involved a pitstop at downtown hard rock landmark, Don Hill’s, where Munsey from Skateboard Marketing was holding his own version of a Metal Mania Party, featuring a performance by my favorite band of scary guys with facial hair, Fear Factory.

Burton Bell Fear Factory
Burton Bell of Fear Factory

This is a picture of Fear Factory singer Burton Bell. He is my very favorite heavy metal front man at the moment. Though Burton is not traditionally “hot” in the pop star sense — being kind of scary looking on stage — he is nevertheless unbelievable sexy, outrageously charismatic and has the best voice for the kind of somewhat melodic aggro metal Fear Factory does. I also love his tattoos. Burt, like me, is an Aquarius and that is probably why we get along. We had Mexican food together once, but that is another story.

It was so crazy to see Fear Factory in a teeny tiny club like Don Hill’s because they play huge venues like Roseland these days, and that ‘s part of the reason their set was so mind blowing. They were so tight and so loud and so fucking metal. My ears still hurt. Have you heard their new CD, Transgression? It just rules; a perfect mix of eat-your-face-off aggressive metal and heavy melodic rock. They remind me what Nine Inch Nails could be if Trent had any balls and wasn’t completely self-absorbed. Before their set, I had the chance to talk to Raymond Herrera, FF’s drummer, who I’ve interviewed a couple of times for Modern Drummer Magazine. He is amazing and completely hilarious to talk to.

Munsey’s party was a total blast because I also met up with some of my metal scene friends who I had not seen since winter, or in some cases over year or more, such as Jon Paris, Liz Ciavarella, Felix Sebacious, Rachel Martinez and Steve Prue. It was rad.

Next I jetted over to the Continental for the Liquor and Poker label showcase featuring two of my favorite bands in the Universe:

Crash Kelly Band
Crash Kelly

Black Halos Band

and The Black Halos

And I will get to that part the evening soon, but now I have to catch a train . . .more later involving much rocking, very cute rocker boys and lots of hugging and sweatiness.