"The Tour" rocks Toronto - Wally's Story

All Photos by Wally Norton

It seems like forever and a day ago that I heard wind of "The Tour". I remember my jaw dropping when I learned that Kiss and Motley Crue were going to embark on a summer tour playing together and delivering a rock spectacle like no other. Let's face it both of these bands have forged long lasting careers by creating some of the most visually exciting rock and roll shows for their legions of fans. On September 13th, 2012, Toronto was going to get both bands, playing full shows on the same night.

For the past 29 years, Kiss and Motley Crue have been far and away my 2 favourite bands. Over the years my friends have asked me "if you had to pick just one as your favourite, who would it be?" and I can't answer that question. Then they came up with the worst question of all; that planted a horrifying dilemma that I prayed would never happen, "if Kiss and Motley were to play in town on the same night, who would you choose?" My response to that question is much like the scene in the movie "Home Alone" when Kevin tries some aftershave, claps his hands to his cheeks and screams in horror at the top of his lungs. The thought of having to sacrifice one of these bands for the other is truly that horrifying for me.

Motley Crue was my first ever concert back in June of 1984, Kiss followed in November of that same year and combined I have now been witness to 26 Kiss and or Crue shows. So for me personally, "The Tour" is a "pinch me I must be dreaming" kinda thing, a Christmas and Birthday all rolled into one and definitely something I never thought would happen.

So lets begin, shall we? We headed down to the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre and were greeted by a sea of concert goers. The age range at a Kiss concert these days seems to cover ages 5 to 65 with most wearing the required "heavy metal" uniform, a rock t-shirt. Wait!, make that age range a little wider as I witnessed a father carrying his infant daughter (headphone ear protection in place) wearing Paul Stanley makeup.

I met up with fellow Decibel Geek writer Rich "The Meister" Dillon, grabbed dinner and caught up on his "Accept" concert from the previous evening and headed on inside for the show.

I do have one serious question to ask here, since when does a rock n roll show start EARLY? I don't mean on time, I mean early! The tickets stated a start time of 7:00pm and due to some traffic problems (not uncommon here in Toronto) my friend was running a little behind schedule. He arrived at exactly 6:30 which should have been plenty of time for a bathroom pit stop, a beverage purchase and a few minutes to get to our seats. At exactly 6:40pm, as I was mid-stream at the bathroom pit stop, opening band "The Treatment" kick into their set. WTF?!? So by the time we got out of the bathroom, grabbed a beer and got into our seats we had missed the first song and a half!

With some of the support bands that Kiss have toured with especially during the Reunion Tour, I wouldn't have cared less but the Treatment is a great new band with a rock solid debut album and I was excited to see them.

Finally in our seats with beer in hand The Treatment were rocking it up to a lukewarm audience response. This has always been a thorn in my side here in Canada, it seems we rarely pay much attention to opening bands and instead use the time to grab beers, t-shirts and chat? I don't get it. The Treatment are a great new band from England and they tore it up onstage. It is so refreshing to see young kids (these guys are still in their late teens, early twenties) who have obviously been heavily influenced by all the great "classic rock" bands. Weaned on Aerosmith, AC/DC and Zeppelin these guys rocked through most of their debut album. Working the stage with piss and vinegar they put on a high energy thirty minute set that deserved a much better response than they got. "The Doctor", "Departed" and "Shake the Mountain" were highlights of the set. After which they personally invited everyone over to their merchandise table for a meet and greet after their set. Interacting with the audience certainly earned them some new fans.

After a very brief set change it was time for the "Saints of Los Angeles" to take the stage. Lucky for us too, because earlier in the day, news had hit that Motley's lead singer, Vince Neil had broken two bones in his foot the previous night in Cleveland. In a case of the proverbial "the show must go on" Nikki Sixx assured us via twitter that the Toronto show and the rest of the tour would not be affected. He added that Vince was a trooper.

The houselights went out and the MC clock clicked down as the intro music rang through the P.A. Attention was drawn stage left as a procession of red cloaked "Saints" marched through the crowd carrying red and white MC flags and shooting smoke throughout the crowd. Some have mentioned the walk to the stage took too long but the Crue were onstage at exactly 7:40 so the prolonged intro didn't actually eat any of the allotted stage time.

Opening with the aforementioned "Saints of Los Angeles" the Crue launched into an 85 minute non-stop ride through some of the Crue's biggest hits. Vince did his best to work the stage and although he was obviously limping, he didn't let it affect his performance. In fact, being forced to slow down a bit seemed to have actually improved his vocal performance. I don't remember ever hearing him quite as sharp vocally since the Dr. Feelgood tour. After the opening number he pulled up his pant leg revealing his broken foot encased in a special medical boot. He thanked Kiss for lending him the boot and they soldiered on.

Mick Mars, in my opinion one of the most underrated guitarists, wielded a well worn, beaten to death white Fender Stratocaster. He looks so frail yet continues to play like a possessed beast, truly the soul of Motley Crue's sound. "Shout at the Devil", "Wild Side", "Same Old Situation" and then they brought out the new tune "SEX". A good tune that fits nicely in the catalogue.

The only blip in the road personally was "Don't Go Away Mad". Never one of my favourite tunes, I certainly didn't need it taking up space in a shortened set list.

The piano took center stage as they slowed things right down with the ever popular "Home Sweet Home" and as Tommy tickled the ivories his band mates crowded around for what truly is one of the greatest rock ballads of my generation.

Then it was time for a roller coaster ride, T-Bone treated the fans to an encore of last year's 360 degree thrill ride of a drum solo! Tommy Lee has always been inventing new ways to make his drum solo a thrilling highlight of any Motley show. He is the consummate showman and tonight he brought audience member "Charlene" to take a ride on the "roller coaster of love". A band that has always promoted the notion of "entertainment or death", Tommy's drum solos are always a sight to behold.

Mick stretched his fingers with a short, bluesy guitar solo that lead right into "Live Wire" Probably the highlight of the set for me. The "Too Fast For Love" album is still the best and Live Wire always kills in the set.

Nikki Sixx sporting a 1981 t-shirt and I don't know quite how to explain it but he never looked more "Shout at the Devil" than he did on this night. "Primal Scream" (my absolute fav Crue song) had Nikki using a bass guitar equipped with a flame thrower for a little added effect. The tune had 16,000 plus fans primal screaming with the "scream" and "shout" parts. Ahhh that felt good!

They ended their set with a killer 1-2-3 combination punch of "Dr. Feelgood", "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Kickstart My Heart". Just under 90 minutes the Crue delivered everything they promised at the beginning of the tour, enough pyro to level a small country, dancing girls, acrobats, water canons and chaos. In a word "perfect"

My friend leaned over to me and said in a very hoarse voice "Wow, I don't think I have anything left for Kiss"

That's when it sunk in just how special this night really was. I just witnessed an absolute killer Crue concert. Normally I would be heading for home tired and happy but instead, I get to buckle up and see an entire KISS show. Amazing.

"Toronto! You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best, The Hottest Band in the World, KISS!!!"

KISS from above!

Down went the curtain and the opening chords to Detroit Rock City filled my ears, as Paul, Gene and Tommy were lowered from the lights on a smoke shooting lighted platform. Nobody has ever accused Kiss of not making an entrance for sure.

Now I have recently wrote that if I never heard the song Detroit Rock City it wouldn't bother me (due to being an extra in the Kiss movie and being subjected to the song over 100 times that day). That said, it really is the perfect show opener, high energy, explosive and gets everybody "on their feet"!

Firing next with "Shout it Out Loud" the party was in full swing. I love when the guys trade off vocals and "Shout is just one of those perfect party songs. Gene then took the control for "I Love it Loud" from my favourite Kiss album "Cratures of the Night".

At this point I was really blown away with the sound quality of this show. I don't know what it was but for an outdoor show the sound was incredible, crystal clear with all every one's levels just perfect. For that, I tip my hat to the sound crew. It was flawless.

"Firehouse" complete with the Demon blowing fire lead into the brand new track "Hell or Hallelujah" from the upcoming Monster album. Damn this song rocks! High octane, 90 mile and hour KISS with Paul Stanley at his rocking best. I will go on record as placing this tune in my personal top ten Kiss tracks of all time! Absolutely KILLER live, and I can't wait to hear the rest of the new album.

The giant video screen was used in a variety of ways. As an animated KISS logo that could pulse and move and change. It could play a variety of animated graphics such as the robot Gene Army during "War Machine".

Lastly, it was used to broadcast the band members up on the screen with enormous proportions. For those of us up in the cheaper seats, it made it possible to see their expressions and made it more intimate from a few hundred yards away.

The band sounded fantastic, vocally everyone was on their game. I love Paul Stanley's voice and it was quite honestly painful to see him struggling over the last couple tours. It sounded to me that the surgery he underwent last year seemed to be a success. Paul's voice was strong and I think he is finally learning to play within his means. He belted out his songs without straining and he sounded fantastic.

Paul introduced Tommy to come out and sing (ohhh I can hear the tension in the air) "Shock Me". Did he sing it well? Absolutely. Did he play it well? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it? Sure! BUT and this is a big "Spinal Tap" BUTT! I would have enjoyed it just as much if he had of played "When Lightening Strikes". "Shock Me" really is Ace's property and in my opinion should be left alone.

The standard Gene "blood spit/bass solo" always a crowd pleaser, looked amazing on a 200+ foot screen and as is customary he spread his wings to fly high up into the lighting truss for "God of Thunder"

Paul then informed us that he wanted to come out and see us, so for "Love Gun" he flew out over the crowd to his small rotating mini stage. I always love this part of the show but honestly I wish he would mix up the song choice. Sorry Paul, I know its one of your favourite tunes but personally I am little tired Love Gun in the set.

"Lick it Up" the only non-makeup song of the evening was killer. This song has a soft spot for me as it was the first song I ever learned to play and the first song my band ever played live back in 1985. The fact that they worked in a segment of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" made it even cooler.

After an extended guitar solo from Paul they kicked into "Black Diamond" (my brother's favourite Kiss song). Eric's voice was off the charts, this song sounded so good. The drums levitated to reveal the return of the cat tapestry in front of the drums and a great end to the set.

For the encore Kiss treated us to "Doctor Love" and the national anthem of the Kiss Army "Rock n Roll All Nite". With the confetti blowing, Paul in true rock n roll fashion destroyed one of his guitars as the smoke and the pyro exploded everywhere signalling the end of a perfect night.

The exhausted audience shuffled towards the exits, completely spent of energy. My friend commented you know your getting older when the lyrics start to be "I wanna rock and roll all night and sleep in every day!"

As a Kiss geek I could spend a day or two criticizing the never changing set list. The fact that they only played one "non-makeup" tune. I could bitch and moan that they only played 90 minutes. I could whine and complain that Tommy sang Shock Me. I could do that, but I wont. Instead I am going to quote Mr. Tommy Lee.

As Tommy took his place at the piano for Home Sweet Home he stated "I am not sure if it gets better than Motley Crue and Kiss under the same roof!" and with that I couldn't agree more. If you still have a chance to catch "The Tour" don't miss it.

The Metal Heart Beats Once Again

THE METAL HEART BEATS ONCE AGAIN

For anyone that has not yet discovered the “new” Accept you are seriously missing out!!  Maybe you were unaware that they were back or you by-passed the disc thinking it was just another lack-lustre offering from a band struggling to regain their days of glory.  Pay attention!! 

Long time band members, Wolf Hoffmann and Peter Baltes along with Herman Frank and Stefan Schwarzmann have recruited the talents of Mark Tornillo (formerly of T.T. Quick) to step into vocal duties left vacant by Udo Dirkschneider.  They unleashed Blood of the Nations in 2010, their first recording of new material in fourteen years, to an incredibly positive reception from critics and fans the world over.  Andy Sneap (having worked previously with bands like Megadeth, Arch Enemy, Testament and Onslaught) was at the helm for this reformed incarnation’s premiere work of art, steering them to their highest charting album to date.  In Canada Blood of the Nations debuted at #53 on the Nielsen Soundscan Top Hard Albums chart.

Stalingrad, again with Andy Sneap, dropped in April 2012 and is not so much of a new album, but more of a direct continuation of Blood of the Nations and certainly a worthy follow-up. Stalingrad debuted at #81 on the US Billboard Top 200.  The much anticipated North American Teutonic Terror Attack Tour with fellow German metalheads, Kreator sees the iconic Germans on the continent for 23 dates between September 5^th and October 4^th!!  And then two weeks later they return to Europe for another 18 shows in 27 days and then to Japan for three straight nights!

I was able to catch their performance at The Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto (one of only three Canadian dates on the roster) on September 12^th, 2012.  As the tour is entitled "Teutonic Terror Attack 2012" and Accept has a tune from the Blood of the Nations CD called Teutonic Terror anyone would think and expect that they would be the headliner on this show.  As a rabid Accept fan, mere words cannot begin to express my disappointment when I strolled into the club and as I surrendered my ticket I could hear Accept's Hellfire playing.  "Don't worry," I said to my buddys, "it must be a recording of pre-show tunes.  There's no way they'd be on stage at 8:30pm!"  How wrong I was!  It was indeed my German heroes on stage so early!  Holy crap, as the headliner they shouldn't be on stage until at least 10pm, are they on German time here?  I left my buddys in the crowd, forewent the beer purchase and wormed my way to within one person away from Wolf Hoffman's side of the stage.  In talking to the guy next to me I was able to determine that I had not missed much as Hellfire from the Stalingrad CD was the second tune.  We had only missed Hung, Drawn & Quartered!  The classic Restless and Wild was next up to the delight of the crowd, the sweat already beginning to roll off Hoffman's shaven head.  "Write a letter, you'll feel better" claims Losers and Winners from the iconic Balls to the Wall record.  Mark announced that they'd like to do a couple from the latest CD as the opening notes of Stalingrad rang out, followed by Shadow Soldiers.   They sounded tight and you could tell that Peter (Baltes), Mark (Tornillo) and Wolf were having a great time as they pounded through my personal favourite track off of the Blood of the Nations CD in Pandemic.  A deep cut from 1981's Breaker found them launching into the title track from that record and then into another newer song with Bucket Full of Hate. The boys looked happy to be on stage, especially guitarist Wolf Hoffman.  His broad smiles and facial expressions enticed everyone in the crowd into loud cheers as he started the familiar opening riff to Princess of the Dawn.  From some angles he even resembled Bruce Willis as the familiar blue glow from dozens of cameras and cell phones spotted the audience.  Up To the Limit off the Metal Heart CD was a bit of a pleasant surprise.  Teutonic Terror brought a surge from the crowd as they chanted along, making axe chopping motions to coincide with the line from the chorus.  The Metal Heart pounded in next and during the guitar solo, in the bask of the greenish stage lighting, Wolf almost looked a little like Golum from Lord of the Rings as he bent low to the stage, staring out into the audience.  The "Hidey-hi-ho" intro warned that the almost thrash number Fast as a Shark would be next.  Perhaps their best known song, Balls to the Wall brought cheers and a sing-along from the Phoenix Concert Theatre attendees, but alas it would signify the end of Accept's set as they thanked the crowd and moved off the stage without returning for an encore.


Although new singer Mark Tornillo's raspy tones easily handle the classic Accept compositions and he does not sound all that far removed from Udo Dirkschneider, I was extremely disappointed in the misleading tour name and still long to see my German heroes in the full on headlining concert that they deserve.

Accept has managed to stay true to their roots while at the same time re-inventing themselves with these two newest releases and I highly recommend you give them a listen, especially Blood of the Nations!

While Accept is rejuvenated and soldiering forward, having some of the best success of their career, former front man Udo Dirkschneider, co-incidentally born on the same day as the release of Stalingrad, April 6^th, is continuing to enjoy a productive solo career.

Udo is fresh off a headlining performance at Wacken Music Fest in Germany (which was broadcast as a livestream on Thursday August 2nd) and has recently released his fourteenth CD entitled Celebrator on May 4^th, 2012 with DVD/CD package Live in Sofia due out September 28^th, 2012.

           

Cheers,
The Meister

unbelievably good albums with unbelievably bad album covers: KISS - Carnival Of Souls

Andrew Jacobs here,

If this were ANY other band, I would have no problem at all with this album cover.  However, because this is KISS, the fact that this looks way too much like a bootleg is simply unacceptable to me.

I know full well that the extremely successful reunion tour with Ace and Peter was in full swing in 1997 when this album was released and being as how the Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer KISS was a dead issue at this point, it made absolutely perfect sense for them to spend as little money as possible on the packaging of Carnival Of Souls.  However, it's still a KISS album, so some weird painting of some sort for the cover (as was originally planned) would've been a HELLUVA lot better than the stock bootleg-looking cover that we wound up with.

Musically, however, I absolutely love Carnival Of Souls from start to finish.  Yes, they jumped on the massively popular grunge/alternative rock bandwagon of the '90s and rode it to the last stop but the KISS that we all know and love can still be heard throughout, particularly on Paul's songs.  Bruce, in particular, really shines on this album (and I really and truly hope that he takes me up on my request for him to do a track-by-track feature on it for it's 15th anniversary this year).

I think a big part of the reason why it was so easy for me (as opposed to many KISS fans) to accept Carnival Of Souls is because at the time of it's release, I was 27 years old and had only been a KISS fan for 4 years at that point, so the whole larger than life super hero image of KISS that had been indelibly burned into so many of their fans' brains as children never was a factor for me.  As much as I love the makeup and the spectacle of KISS, their music has always been and will always be my main area of interest in the band.  And on that note, Carnival Of Souls is another KISS klassic as far as I'm concerned.

Bruce Kulick to post Crazy Nights track-by-track feature all next week on Kulick.net

From the official Bruce Kulick Facebook page:

"I have something special lined up for all of you next week. My recent track-by-track feature celebrating the 20th anniversary of REVENGE (http://kulick.net/revenge) was so incredibly well received I've decided to do the same thing to celebrate the 25th anniversary of CRAZY NIGHTS, which was released in September of 1987. So all next week I'll be doing a track-by-track look back at the album that really defined the mid to late 80s period of KISS. Stay tuned!"

Episode 50 - Bruce Kulick

This week, the Decibel Geek podcast hits a milestone with Episode 50 and we are thrilled to celebrate it by sharing a recent in-person conversation we had with former KISS and current Grand Funk Railroad guitarist Bruce Kulick.

When Chris was a 12 year old kid, he ventured to a record & comic shop in Nashville to purchase his first KISS albums. Leaving the store that day with cassette copies of Ace Frehley (1978), Dynasty (1979), and Crazy Nights (1987), he began a journey into the world of the Hottest Band in the Land. With Crazy Nights being the then-current release, he was immediately drawn to the fleet-fingered antics of lead guitarist Bruce Kulick. If you had told him back then that he would wind up interviewing Kulick years later, he would have never believed you.

Bruce was in Nashville recently to play a festival show with his current band, the legendary Grand Funk Railroad, and was nice enough to let Aaron and Chris set up shop at his hotel for an in-depth discussion of his entire career. Providing the room to record was Bruce's friend and owner of Rebel Guitars; a custom, hand-crafted guitar company. Bruce was trying out his newest purchase at the interview, a sweet looking red-white-and-blue TeeVee that would be featured onstage later that night for the Grand Funk classic, 'We're an American Band.'

We go all the way back to the mid-70's to discuss Bruce's time as the lead guitarist for the Andre True Connection. If you're not a connoisseur of vintage porn or disco music, then you probably aren't familiar with her but if you connect the dots, you'll see that she's an important part of 70's pop culture. Plus, this video of Bruce performing with Andrea is truly must-see TV.

Bruce also shares some memories of touring the "chitlin circuit" with George McCrae as well as his time as the lead guitarist in the stage production for Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album of which is brother, Bob, was also a member.

In a recent appearance on Decibel Geek friend and fellow podcaster Matt Porter's KISS Room show, Kulick made mention to interviewer Frank Hagan of KISS Mask that he had heard about Ace Frehley making inquiries about a possible return to KISS and that his interest was rebuffed by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. This, in turn, set KISS message boards alight with speculation and accusations. We ask Bruce to clarify his remarks.

Also included in this discussion are Bruce's thoughts on the circumstances that lead to the reunion, rumors about a reunion years prior that included Ace Frehley and Eric Carr, and his impressions of a recent KISS show that he attended in Irvine, CA.

Midway through the show, we have a brief 4 minute segment to promote the upcoming Decibel Geek podcast live appearance at the Nashville Comic & Horror Festival on October 6th. Included in this segment are comments from festival organizer Marc Ballard with a listing of some of the special guests (including Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters II, Airheads, and The Crow fame.) This will be the Decibel Geek Podcast's first remote recording appearance and we'd love to meet everyone that comes out. Don't miss it! (shilling....done).

Back to the discussion, we get Bruce's recollections of KISS playing a Nashville show in 1994 to help celebrate Gibson Guitars 100th Anniversary and how the show different from many others.

Other topics in the second half of the discussion include Kulick's take on why KISS is charging so much money for the upcoming Monster book and why it appears to completely ignore his era of the band as well as his memories of the awkward transition from Mark St. John to Bruce as permanent lead guitarist in the band.

We play Name Association with Bruce and he shares initial impressions on Tommy Thayer, Eric Carr, Michael Bolton, Don Johnson, and many more and we also find out if he planned to visit Vinnie Vincent while he was in town.

We close things out with some questions about the possibility of a Bruce Kulick autobiography, new Grand Funk Railroad recordings, and his memories of Union.

Of the utmost importance though, we grill Bruce in this interview with the question many KISS die-hards have always wondered, 'Just what was going on with that strange looking KISS stage logo from the early 90's?' His answer may surprise you. It did us.

The Collage

Thanks again to Bruce Kulick for his time and for the many years of wonderful music. Be sure to visit his official site for upcoming news, articles, and tour dates.

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Go See The Doctor-An Interview with The Treatment

Go See The Doctor

Many of you have probably not heard of The Treatment before unless you’ve seen the The Tour 2012: Kiss and Motley Crue this summer.  The Treatment is the opening act for the rock giants and I was excited to hear that they were on the bill.  I discovered the CD through a review on another website and always searching for new bands and music, I purchased their debut album This Might Hurt without hearing a track.  Holy crap, I was not the least bit disappointed and the more I listen to the album the more I enjoy it. Just when I have my favourite track decided, one of the other ones gets stuck in my head and just like that it’s changed…..a perpetual state of confusion as every track is a standout rocker through and through.  Do check out Shake the Mountain or Lady of the Night, wait Departed is good too……..and I Fear Nothing…….dammit listen to the whole album.

The Treatment originates from the Cambridge area of the United Kingdom and got together in 2008, founded by drummer Dhani Mansworth when he was just 15 years old.  Mansworth recruited Matt Jones to hold the microphone, Ben Brookland and Tagore Grey ripping the dual guitars and Swoggle (also known as Rick Newman) to plunk the bass.  This five man outfit recorded their CD at Barnyard Studios owned by Steve Harris of Iron Maiden fame.

Even the CD cover screams rock depicting a kind of sexy nurse holding a chainsaw as opposed to the flimsy designs, artwork and band pics that seem to adorn todays CD’s.  The only thing that gives away their young age of 18 is the energy, antics and stage presence.  The song writing here is clear and concise.

Drummer and founding member, Dhani, had grown up with the likes of AC/DC, Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin and he had the idea of the kind of band that he wanted to form.  He found his fellow members from areas outside of Cambridge.  Ben came from Tadley and Rick and Tag from Petersfield.  Packing their bags the boys all moved in to Mansworth’s house with his parents so that they could rehearse every day.  In Norwich they found Matt six months later and within a week he had also moved to Cambridge.

Look and listen to The Doctor here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaBe2hcZDdw&feature=player_detailpage

and Nothing to Lose But Our Minds here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CavppF7iRFQ&feature=player_detailpage

I was able to catch up with vocalist, Matt, via email a few days before the curtain goes up on the show in Toronto.

I’m sure that you guys have been asked these same questions about a hundred times now, but hopefully we can help introduce you to some new fans.

The Meister: Where did the band’s name come from and who came up with it?

Matt: The band name came from a love from a mid 70's band from england called Dr. Feelgood. Dhani suggested it and it just stuck from then on.

The Meister: Now, you guys are only 18 years old, is that correct?  Maybe you could introduce us to The Treatment and everyone’s role?

Matt: Some are we age from 18-21. Dhani Mansworth is the founding member and Drummer, Rick "Swoggle" Newman plays Bass, Tagore Grey plays guitar, Ben Brookland plays guitar and I sing.

The Meister: I’ve heard comparisons to Def Leppard, UFO, Aerosmith and Guns n’ Roses, all great bands.  How would you guys describe yourselves?

Matt: They are all great bands! We have grown up listening to all of these bands. I would describe us as a classic rock band but with a modern edge. We also listen to current rock music and pop so there is a youthfulness to our sound too. But we don't shy away from our AC/DC Judas Priest roots.

The Meister: I read that you all moved in with Dhani Mansworth in the beginning.  That must have been a bit of a madhouse? 

Matt: It still is! But we love living together. Its a hub of activity. As Laurie is the producer of the records it makes recording in his studio really easy. as soon as an idea is formulated, we get straight into the studio and start working. the best thing though is that we are a bunch of friends, so who wouldn't want to live with their mates? We are constantly having fun.

The Meister: How did that help or contribute to the writing, recording and playing process?

Matt: We all write the tunes together so we can get the bare bones of a song and present it to Laurie straight away and he can go and work his magic on it there and then. Its perfect! It helped us massively. As we all moved down as ammeters it meant we could all learn our craft together and learn as a group. we are all in one place to help each other out which is great.

The Meister: You guys have accomplished quite a lot in the few short years that you’ve been together, what do you attribute that success to?

Matt: Its down to hard work. From everyone. From day one we have always said this is our dream and we would not stop until we get there so all of us work at what we do and are never satisfied. But also its hard work from our management Laurie who never stops and evryone else who is behind us.

The Meister: This tour is a great opportunity for a new band, how’d you get on tour with these heavy hitters? 

Matt: It started with Nikki Sixx tweeting about us and sharing our video. Then it was a case of our management getting in touch with their people and it was all worked out. Its amazing to here with these bands that we have all grown up being fans of!

The Meister: I understand that this is the first time any of you have been in North America.  How’s the feeling playing these huge stadiums and the crowd reaction?

Matt: Its a dream come true just to be here let alone playing these shows. This country is fantastic and as a kid growing up it is where you want to come and play so we are very privileged. These are the biggest shows we have done so its brilliant exposure. 

The Meister: Has KISS/Crue given you any words of wisdom or advice?  Have you had the opportunity to hang out with them at all?  Any good road stories to share?

Matt: Yeah we have met them all loads of times now. Everyone is really friendly and have made us feel very welcome. On my 21st birthday I was lucky enough to have two strippers in Tommy Lee's dressing room and while they were doing their thing Tommy and Nikki made sure I was drenched in Vodka. It was surreal but very fun!

The Meister: Are you playing any off date shows while you are here, or is the schedule too gruelling already?

Matt: Yes we are! we hate the days off so we would rather play shows. We have done a couple already and we have been surprised by the reaction we have got from the new fans. Loads of people coming to see us and even knowing the words to our songs!

The Meister: After watching your Tour Diaries Part 1 & 2, it looks like you guys are having a blast aside from the heat that you’re not used to!  How are you guys managing in the close quarters of the tour bus?

Matt: Yeah the heat on the first part of the tour was unreal! being from england we aren't used to much sun haha! but new experiences are what it is all about. as for the close quarters its no different than being at home so we aren't struggling with that.

The Meister: I’ve seen the videos for Nothing to Lose and The Doctor on you-tube, both great videos.  What was it like filming them and are either videos getting airplay here in the US or Canada?

Matt: Videos are great fun to film. Its just messing around all day! Nothing to Lose was especially fun as we filled the room with all our friends and started drinking early. By the end of the day everyone was looking a little worse for where.

The Meister: I noticed someone on Facebook asking where to get the CD after seeing you perform at a KISS/Crue show.  I recommended Amazon to them as that’s where I got my copy, is that the best place?

Matt: Yeah I believe so. Or there is always iTunes. The best place to get one is at a show though!

The Meister: What are your thoughts on the digital age of music with downloading and releasing an album now?  Do you think that hard copy and liner notes will become a thing of the past?

Matt: I hope not as you cant beat getting a CD and looking through the cover at all the art work and so on. Its nice to have the music in your hands. But we will see. The music business is a funny thing and you can never predict what will happen.

The Meister: When I get home from work I like to open a beer and put on my favourite CD to unwind.  Do you guys ever listen to your own CD?

Matt: Occasionally if i have my iPod on shuffle a song of our will pop up and I listen to it. I have no problem listening to our tunes. It's good as you can go "well thats great, but I want to do this next time" its always good to critic yourself.

The Meister: So, what’s the future hold for The Treatment after this tour?  Is it back home or more touring?  Are there any plans or material written for a new album?

Matt: We go home and have a tour with Thin Lizzy in November/December in the UK. we will rest up and work on new songs in the time off. We actually have a few songs ready for the next album so we will be building on that.

I look forward to getting the treatment September 13^th in Toronto!!  Fellow Decibel Geek, Wallygator and I will be attending the performance and will tell you all about The Tour 2012: KISS and Motley Crue featuring The Treatment next week, stay tuned!

Until then,

Shake the Mountain!
The Meister

separated at birth?

Of course all or almost all of you are familiar with Pantera's 1992 metal masterpiece Vulgar Display Of Power but probably very few of you are familiar with The Professionals' 1981 I Didn't See It Coming album.  This was a band that Steve Jones and Paul Cook, guitarist and drummer respectively of the Sex Pistols, did after the Pistols imploded in 1978.  While The Professionals' songs definitely have a nice punk edge, they also have an early '80s new wave tinge to them.  Needless to say, I highly recommend it.  The album is currently not available digitally (natch) but thankfully, the CD is still in print and very reasonably priced to boot.  Click here to purchase.

Witness to Tragedy - 9/11 Remembered

Editor's Note:

Our good friend Victor Ruiz of the Mars Attacks Podcast has a very vivid memory of 9-11-2001 as he was a first-hand witness to this terrible attack. As we honor those we lost and the many that worked to help out that day 11 years ago, Victor gives us a glimpse of what he went through that day to help us never forget. We thank Victor for sharing his story with us. You can check out the Mars Attacks Podcast HERE. - Chris Czynszak

My 9/11 story actually starts on 9/10.  I worked for a computer refurbishing company in western New Jersey, and one of my tasks was to pick up off lease computer equipment from American Express.  The routine used to be picking up equipment at three locations, 200 Vesey St. and 19 Pine St. in New York City, and one location across the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J.  J

Just to give you a feel for where the two locations are in NYC, Vesey is the building with the Pyramid on top next to where the towers where located, Pine St. is right behind Wall St.

So the night before I’m waiting to leave work early, and go pick up the rental truck I would be using to make that following day’s pick up.  Initially I was supposed to be going to Vesey St., but as I was about to walk out of the door I was told by my co-worker that the pickup would only be scheduled for Pine St.  Looking back, someone was definitely looking out for me, and my brother who would be helping me complete the pickup.   So our usual routine entailed leaving home at 5:45AM to make sure we were able to beat traffic, and have a dock space at the Vesey St. dock.  Mind you, my contact at AMEX didn’t arrive till about 9AM, and the pickup wasn’t scheduled till about a half hour after.   Factoring in the traffic, and the line at the docks to get in, the security check, etc. you usually only had an hour and a half wait.  So we’d usually walk back outside, and wait underneath the towers, chit chat, stare at the passing boats, etc. just to pass the time.  Had this last minute switch not taken place, who knows what would have happened?

Pine St. was a mess as well; it was a narrow street that was often shut down to parking.  Most of the times this was due to movies being shot in the area, for example Die Hard With A Vengence was shot almost exclusively in that area.   The dock was also on the street, you had no place to park, like at the Vesey St dock, which was actually under the building.  So if you could get there early enough you could park, do the pickup, and get back to the office earlier, and thus heading home earlier.

So we’re driving in, and nothing seems out of the ordinary till we see some camera crews in front of the stock exchange on Wall St.  Again, no big deal, they film things here all of the time.  We hook around back, park, and listen to Howard Stern until we hear this loud noise followed by an even louder noise that made all of the windows on the buildings around us look like rubber.  We saw this woman on a cell phone crying, and we were thinking, that was probably just some sort of special effect, so my brother heads out to survey the area.  He comes back with two airline tickets that were slightly charred.  And mentions something to the effect that they aren’t filming anything and that there is a lot of brunt debris falling from the sky.  One quick note there was a travel agency at the twin towers which is where we suspect these tickets came from; the names did not belong to any of the passengers.  So we turn on the local news station and they mentioned that a plane had crashed into the north tower.  My brother and I aren’t the type of people to slow down and stare at an accident; we don’t get a kick out of seeing other’s misfortune.  But after hearing what had happened, what instantly came to mind was a bomber that had crashed into the Empire State Building during World War II.  So we figured, this is going to be part of history, a once and a lifetime experience.

So we started to walk over, and you could see debris flying everywhere, and hundreds if not thousands of people walking towards the towers like we were.  There were people pouring into the plaza around the World Trade Center, so much so that we were overflowing into the streets.  People parted as fire engines came by, and an empty bus that was for emergency purposes came through.  The driver was calling people crazy, and telling us all to move, and leave the area.  My brother told me to look at the tower, he mentioned it’s bending.  I looked in disbelief, as flames shot out the top, and the metal that made of the outside of the tower was indeed slowly bending out of shape.

By this time we were about 100 yards away from the Twin Towers.  While standing there for a few minutes all of a sudden you can hear what sounded like jet engines at full speed and then all of a sudden I witnessed United Airlines Flight 175 crash right into the South Tower.  I stood there like a deer in headlights, it was so surreal, all I could think of was the first Die Hard movie.  When out of the corner of my eye I see my brother start to run in the other direction, and scream, RUN, RUN, RUN!  I looked down and saw a stampede of thousands of people running towards me.  People were grabbing onto me trying to not fall down, as I turned, and stated running in the opposite direction.  I saw my brother ahead of me, so I ran towards him.  When I caught up to him we noticed that our cell phones did not work, most if not all cell communication came from the North Tower.  So we headed towards AMEX, used our security passes to get in, and call my mother to tell her everything was ok.  My brother also called my sister-in-law who worked uptown, and told her the same, and mentioned we were coming to get her.  On a side note the security guard at AMEX argued with me that it had to of been a small Cessna.  I had flown enough as a kid to know what I had seen.  Another antidote is my brother says, so should we do the pick up?  I looked at him and said, we’re getting the f**k out of here!

So we get in the truck, and start figuring out how we’re getting uptown to pick up my sister-in-law.  During our next call with her she notified us that my cousin’s husband was in the next building over from her on business.  My cousin, his wife, had given birth to a daughter the day before.  Needless to say, he would be coming along as well, that is if we could make it up to them.

By this time the police were closing down streets, and funneling traffic away from certain points of interest.  We were listening to the news the entire time, when we heard that the South Tower had fallen.  I was thinking, no way, what are they talking about?  While in the truck we had also heard about the attack on The Pentagon, and Untied Flight 93.  Mind you all of this time we’re stuck in traffic, and you’re still hearing plains overhead.  The entire time we were thinking is this one coming for us?  There was so much chaos, who knew what was next?  We found our way next to the Brooklyn Bridge; droves of people were walking over, again another surreal moment.  Someone on a Harley pulls up next to us, and the echo between the bike, our truck and the bridge sounded just like a jet.  My brother and I looked at each other, and nearly crapped our pants thinking this once again was it.  We both busted up laughing, I guess we were just trying to break the tension, but we both thought the same thing, that a jet was heading for the bridge.  We were hearing that a fourth plane had gone missing, not sure if this was a mistake, but we never heard anything else about it.  The radio started to mention that the North Tower was now coming down.  I could see it from the driver side mirror.  It seemed as if it took forever to come down, I could clearly see the communications tower come off as the building came down.  When I looked towards street level I could see a man running, who was then consumed by an enormous dust cloud that came from the fall of the tower.  Later on we’d see more people being helped by passersby that were covered in dust.  Coincidentally we had a fine coat of dust on the truck that stayed on and did not come off even after I dropped the truck off.

By this time the news reported that all of the bridges and tunnels were being closed.  I was prepared to drive north to hop on route 84, drive west over to Port Jervis, and down into New Jersey.  Wouldn’t have been the quickest way home, but in the pre-GPS boom, I was trying to shoot for things that I could put my finger on, that I recognized, and knew that I could get us home.

After about three hours we made it uptown.  There was a lot of sitting in traffic, seeing thousands of people walk by, and there was something I had never seen, long lines at pay phones.  This was due to something I mentioned previously, the fact that the attacks knocked out cell coverage, and as a result pay phones could be used for free.  We were trying to make our way north, I hopped on a road that said no trucks allowed, panicked at first but then figuring we were the least of the traffic police’s worry that day.  I honestly didn’t do it on purpose, and the thing is, once we were on the road, we couldn’t get off.  We were seeing fighter jets fly overhead, and continued to drive for a bit when we were stuck in another traffic jam.  I thought, here goes another three hours, but luckily it was just fifteen minutes.  The news reported that they were opening up the George Washington Bridge, and the jam we were in was fairly close to the bridge.  By the time we got to the bridge there were soldiers and hummers waiting to stop anyone that looked suspicious.  Thankfully a truck cabin that was jammed with four people looked harmless to them.  It was so odd to see them there, it seemed as if we were in some action movie, unfortunately we weren’t.  This was all very much real.

The drive over the bridge was one of the longest and most surreal moments I have ever experienced.  I kept thinking what next?  What will they take out next?  The bridge had to be a strategic point that I would guess was on their list of targets.  It felt like it took a year to make it across, halfway across the bridge I looked to my left and saw smoke billowing out from where the towers once stood.  Just a very surreal moment, you grow up used to seeing something there, a landmark in the skyline no less, and it’s gone.  I dropped everyone off, headed back to work, told them I was splitting, and would be back tomorrow.  That night I couldn’t sleep, hearing things about people jumping (which I thankfully didn’t see) and decided not to go into work the following day.  The only thing on tv was the terrorist attacks, this started something that I would have to live with for the next few years, which was replaying the events in my head on a daily basis.  Sirens, loud noises, people discussing what took place, etc. were among the things that would trigger all of the images of the events I experienced that day.  Initially it was almost continuous, and little by little over the years it started to go away.  It still happens from time to time, but nowhere near as bad as it did before.

Aside from reliving the events over and over again, I started to have survivor’s guilt.  Please understand I feel a lot of guilt for saying that I have survivor’s guilt, and let me explain why.  We were about 100 yards away, I did not make it into any of the buildings, nor did I know anyone that did, or anyone that died.  The contact I had at AMEX disappeared and we thought the worst, but it turns out he went into a deli to grab an extra breakfast sandwich, and didn’t make his train so nothing happened to him.  That was as close as I got to losing someone that I actually knew.  Having said this, I saw firefighters rushing into the towers, how many of them made it out?  Why did they have to die, and I get to live?  I saw the impact of United Flight 175 into the South Tower, how many people died on impact alone?  Again, why them and not me?  I was just some lowly computer tech/music geek who surely had done less with my life than a lot of the people that died so why them and not me?  This really weighed heavily on my mind for the longest time.  If all of this wasn’t enough, we had a break in while my folks and I were home a month later on October 11th!  So I was in pretty bad shape for a long time, I did what I’ve always done when faced with adversity, bury myself in music.

A week after the attacks I went to visit someone I was dating at the time, she lived in Weehawken, NJ, right across the river from NYC.  Smoke was still billowing out of the WTC, by this time there were a bunch of candle vigils on the NJ side.  The smell from that night was like nothing I had ever experienced before, a mix of charred plastic, flesh, and hair.  It is a smell that will stick with me forever.

In November of that year I went to a benefit show called NY Steel organized by Eddie Trunk and Mike Piazza.  I had grown up idolizing Eddie, and I can honestly say that thanks to him, I have become the music geek I am today.  A shame I can’t get him on my show, but that’s beside the point.   NY Steel was a benefit for the families and widows of the Firefighters, Police Officers, and Port Authority workers that were killed by the attacks.  The show included Sebastian Bach, Overkill, Anthrax, Ace Frehley, and the reunited Twisted Sister.  It was a very emotional night, and I make it a point to thank any one that I interview that played that show.  By the time Twisted Sister played The Price, I started crying, and knew that it was time to heal, time to try and move on.  Although it took me some time to do so, that was the kick in the ass that I needed.

 I’ve told this story countless times, as a result I volunteered to tell my story on a local Spanish station for the fifth year anniversary of the attacks.  I can honestly say that 9/11 was one of the reasons why I moved over here,.  I made it a point, as I always do when I discuss what I experienced that day that we not forget the people that died on that day.  If nothing else, I lived so that I could help others not forget the victims, of all races, colors or creeds that were indiscriminately killed on that day over someone’s agenda.  I also don’t subscribe to any of the conspiracy theories that have come about since then.  It is easy to sit at home, and concoct something, but I know what I and thousands, if not millions, saw with their own eyes live and in person.  I would also hope that our government wouldn’t knowingly allow something like this to happen, but our track record isn’t the greatest when it comes to motives to start or take part in a war (e.g. the Maine and the Lusitania).  Again, I want to believe that our government did not knowingly look away, and would not allow thousands to die in such a senseless fashion.

Please keep the memory of the close to 3,000 people that died that day alive, always remember them not only on September 11th of every year, but any day you can.  They were working class people like you and me, some that worked multiple jobs just to feed their family.  They did not deserve to die in that fashion, no one does.  Don’t let their memories die.

I am not 100% heeled, and never will be.  I have learned to live with what I experienced on that day, and all of the things that still affected me to a certain extent mentally.  My world changed that day, everyone’s world changed that day.  9/11 marked a before and after for almost everyone that was alive that day.  My niece was born on 9/11, she does not know what it is like to live in a pre-9/11 maybe it is for the best.  The attacks have become fodder of so many political agendas, broken promises, fear tactics, etc. that it is almost impossible not to get upset when thinking about what the world was like before the attacks.  What the world was like before the thousands of people that died that day, and have died as a result of helping with the rescue attempts.  Please don’t let any of their memories die.

-Victor M. Ruiz

Load The Shotgun

Shotgun Messiah started out in life known as Kingpin in their Swedish homeland and their CD Welcome To Bop City from 1988 gained them a great following and fanbase there.  They opted to shift their operations to the late 80’s glam scene of Los Angeles in search of fortune and fame that never came.  Upon their arrival the Kingpin moniker was abandoned and the Welcome to Bop City recording re-worked and re-released under the new heading of Shotgun Messiah.

 

Comprising of members Zimmy J. San on vocal, Tim Tim Skold handling bass guitar, the aptly named Stixx Galore drumming and the guitar stylings of Harry K. Cody the band pushed out three CD’s in their career, all with distinctly different musical styles.  Their recordings were met with varying receptions by fans and critics and I have seen them referred to as “Bandwagon Messiah” as they changed their sound to follow the musical trends.

The self titled debut was the most successful, placing at #99 on the Bilboard Chart and hit in 1989.  The pop flavoured Bop City is the lead off track and sets the tone for the album.  There are some stand-out rockers on here though and all in all it is a light, but enjoyable listen.  Check out the heavily glam video for Shout It Out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y70fTOQrDxU&feature=player_detailpage

Does anyone else hear The Beastie Boys here?

Vocalist Zimmy J. San parted company allowing Tim Tim Skold to lay aside the bass and step into the front man role, leaving newcomer Bobby Lycon to fill in the void bass shoes.  The next release, Second Coming, had a more sleaze rock sound and reached a commercially disappointing #199 according to Bilboard even though it spawned the rock radio hit and arguably best known tune Heartbreak Blvd.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXgeGlMGxTA&feature=player_detailpage  Second Coming, released in 1991, is widely considered to be the peak of their creativity and has a ton of high points to it.  Once you get beyond the clichéd album opener of Sex Drugs & Rock & Roll, some of the best songs on the disc are offered in Trouble, Heartbreak Blvd. and Can’t Fool Me.  I Want More is a gem clocking in at over six minutes long, carrying only Harry Cody for a writing credit and is also featured on the punk covers EP of the same title released in 1992.

1993 saw the final output from Shotgun, Violent New Breed.  Only Skold and Cody remained in the band by this point.  They completed this record using synthesisers and it has a distinct industrial metal sound ala Ministry.  Good driving tunes or break stuff music, this album moves along well, but it was largely ignored by the record buying public.  The opener I'm A Gun sets the tone and doesn't let up from start to finish showing how far ahead of it's time this album was.  For me Jihad is the stand-out or best track on the disc.  This industrial style is a prelude to the next few years of Tim Skold's career as showcased in fellow Decibel Geek Cameron Cooper's article:

http://www.dbgeekshow.blogspot.ca/2012/09/musicians-you-should-be-listening-to.html

All three Shotgun Messiah albums are worthy listens for any metal-head.  The different styles employed on each recording show the diversity of the musicians and there's more than enough great tunes in the repertoire to satisfy all rock tastes!

See you on Heartbreak Blvd.

Cheers,

The Meister