Episode 10 - Nashville X-tra 2

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We’ve got a brand spankin’ new Nashville Xtra episode for ya jam-packed with some old interviews!  Really, it’s more exciting than we make it sound.  We start the show with Chris Czynszak & Aaron Camaro welcoming you back into the fold; the local rock & metal fold! The Decibel Geek Podcast is growing by leaps and bounds and is getting new listeners from around the globe but as some chick wearing red shoes once said “There’s no place like home” and we try to show that with these Nashville Xtra episodes.

We start things off with the premiere of Camaro’s Cut Out Bin; random ruminations on assorted albums, tapes, and demos that Aaron Camaro has recently checked out. Aaron reviews past cd’s by local acts of days gone by Lenny & Commander. By the way, if you are interested in owning the CD’s reviewed on today’s show, get in touch with us by leaving a comment or e-mail us and tell us you want it. We need to save the shelf space anyway. First come, first served.

Next we have a pair of interviews with two important cogs in the local music machine. We begin with a discussion with Andy Aquino of the Rutledge. Andy has quite a history in this town; performing in local bands over the years and booking bands in every nook and cranny in town before settling in at the Rutledge. He also doesn’t pull punches. In this candid discussion, you’ll hear Andy’s thoughts on topics such as what he looks for in bands that are trying to book a show as well as why the 16 different versions of L.A. Guns never seem to come here.

We finish things up with a quick talk with local concert promoter Jenny Jem George of Outrageous Productions. Jenny is constantly putting shows together in Nashville and works with a variety of rock groups. In this hard-hitting interview you’ll hear Jenny’s thoughts on why Skyline Chili sucks, why Nashville is a big step-up in comparison to the Cincinnati music scene, and why Chris should stick to sobriety. We also talk a little about music.

Before we go, we would like to get the word out about a very important charity to us at the Decibel Geek Podcast. Vince Liveri, a vocalist that was a well-loved veteran of the local rock and metal scene passed away recently. He was loved and admired by many in the local music community.  It would mean a great deal to me if any of our listeners could find it in their hearts to make a small donation to a fund that’s been set up to help Vince’s family stay afloat and pay off the funeral expenses. If interested in helping out, please check out www.nashvillemetalbands.bigcartel.com to make your donation. We wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important to us. Hell, we don’t even ask for donations for ourselves so you know it’s important. So, just buy a 12 pack instead of a keg and give up some of that beer money to help out a family in need.

That’ll do it for this time. Until next time, we’re out like the Titans 53 million dollar running game.

Featured Music:
Theme Song: Manic Bloom
First Break: fORMER
Second Break: 3 Minutes to Live
Third Break: Oblivion Myth
Fourth Break: Hello Kelly
Outro Music: Mindset Defect

St. WTF?...LOUTALLICA Trailer Posted

I remember a few years back when Metallica released the virus known as St. Anger unto the world. I remember writhing in pain while trying to stomach half-baked song ideas, drums that sounded like they were played by Oscar the Grouch, and James Hetfield's horribly off-key vocals. I remember thinking that there's no way Metallica could possibly put out an inferior product.....I was wrong.

St. Anger now sounds like an absolute masterpiece in comparison to this new "project" that 'Tallica (as James always so cornily puts it) is working on with Lou Reed, known as Lulu.

I have to wonder if this is just a big work that these guys are trying to pull over on the general music-listening public. But then, I remember what all of Lou Reed's material sounds like. This album sounds exactly like what I expected and it still blows me away how horrible it is.

I know there's a lot of musical know-it-alls that think that Lou Reed is a musical genius. While I'll give the man credit for some of his lyrics and some inventive songwriting back in the Velvet Underground days, I think Lou Reed is about as talentless as they come when it comes to singing. Maybe that's the secret. Maybe James, realizing how bad his voice has deteriorated over the years, thought that bringing in Lou Reed to sing on part of this album would make him sound better. Either way, it still sucks.

We're Coming for Your Eardrums

You can stream this entire album on the official website that they set up for it but I'm not about to post the link for you. I don't believe in abusing people. I've suffered through the whole thing for you and can sum it up in one word......shit.

It's quite possibly the worst commercial album ever released (which fits right in to the rest of Lou Reed's catalog).

Don't buy it for your collection. It might rub off on your other CD's and make them sound worse.

Don't bother downloading it for free either. It would probably give your computer a virus that constantly plays a loop through your speakers of a voice saying "What were you thinking? What were you thinking?."

The only purpose for purchasing this album would be to play it for a friend or family member that's in a coma. They would probably run screaming out of the hospital.

Lars Ulrich has finally found a way to beat those pesky downloaders. Create an album that no one in their right mind would even consider downloading. Congrats!

Episode 9 - Top 5 Non-Makeup Era KISS Songs

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Another show centered around KISS? I know, you’re shocked. We’re fans. We love KISS. Deal with it. There will be lots of opportunity to discuss the merits of new, fresh bands like Britny Fox and Pretty Boy Floyd in later shows.

Chris Czynszak reminds everyone of his discovery of KISS on Dial MTV in 1987 and his brother’s reaction and guidance to the more ‘pure’ era of the band. But Chris still has a soft spot for that non-makeup era of the band. He also makes mention of the recent passing of Eddie Balandas, a close confidant of KISS during their heyday as well as the iconic intro voice on the Alive II album from 1977. He will be missed.

Eddie Balandas & some other guy

Aaron Camaro shares his memories of first listening to Animalize as well as his monthly pilgrimage to the local record store to build build his KISS album collection.

Obviously, we’re not going to reveal what Aaron & Chris’ choices were in these here show notes. That would be anti-climactic and stupid (I know, like this show right? Thought I’d go ahead and pre-insult us).  Every non-makeup era album will be mentioned on the show but not every album will be represented in our Top 5. We aren’t including any of the compilations or live records from that time since Let’s Put the X in Sex is certainly not going to make either of our lists anyway.

A Fantastic Drink Coaster

The non-makeup era of KISS is largely ignored by the general public but is beloved by those of us that discovered the band during this era. The albums they released during those years are snapshots of a simpler time in our lives and the concerts were some of the best nights that we can (barely) remember. This episode of the Decibel Geek Podcast will cover the ever-changing state of KISS through the non-makeup era.

You’ll hear thoughts on Vinnie Vincent’s huge contribution to the Lick It Up album as well as an update on his most recent musical output. Mark St. John gets a quick mention in this episode that probably lasts longer than his actual tenure in the band. Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer are discussed and, of course, no discussion of the non-makeup era is complete without mentioning Eric Carr. By the way, check out the new album released by the estate of Eric Carr titled Unfinished Business that features song very cool Eric-written tunes.

Also included is a snippet of a great cover of the Asylum track Secretly Cruel reinterpreted and performed by Double Virgo. He took a song that was an average 80's KISS tune and turned it into a mid-70's sounding rocker that could have comfortably fit on Rock and Roll Over. Check out the video below to hear it.

Chris & Aaron are both big KISS fans but they definitely have differing opinions on certain aspects of the non-makeup era. You’ll hear them debate what they loved and what they hated. This was a fun episode to put together and think you will enjoy it as well. If you don’t, you’re not out any money so whatever.

If you're super lazy and want a minute-long sneak peek, check out the video below.

Intro Music: Manic Bloom

Break Music: Angel Garden

Outro Music: Mindset Defect

Youtube Video Music: fORMER

Quiet Riot: The Story of Quiet Riot - Movie

Okay, so that's not actually the title of the film and I'm taking a dig. What else is new? In truth, I'll be the last person to ever bitch about a "rock"umentary being made on pretty much any band (except Nickelback, of course). I'd much rather watch a movie about Quiet Riot than the millionth remake of some movie that bombed 20 years ago.

While I enjoyed the Anvil movie, this film has a lot more going for it in the "potential" department. I'm a total geek about this type of stuff but I think it's say to say that even most casual rock fan knows of Quiet Riot. Credited with starting the Sunset Strip/hairband explosion of the 1980's, Quiet Riot scored the first #1 album for a heavy metal band with 1983's Metal Health. This caused record execs to zero in on Hollywood and spawned hundreds of bands with hooks, looks, and enough hairspray to make Al Gore create a crappy movie years later.

This movie seems to be culled from personal home videos of drummer Frankie Banali. Through the magic of torrents, I recently watched the VH1 Behind the Music episode on Quiet Riot that aired many years ago. Their story is intriguing and, whether you liked the band or not, there's plenty of history, drama, and unintentional comedy that has surrounded this band over the years. The VH1 episode was completed well before the death of singer Kevin DuBrow. While Kevin made no excuses for his past behavior and big mouth on that BTM episode, the remainder of his life seems to be a mystery except to those within his inner-circle. It should be interesting to see what he was going through at the end.

The only complaints that I have so far (and you knew I would have some) are as follows. The title of the film is 'Now You're Here, There's No Way Back'. This may have been something that DuBrow uttered on a regular basis leading into one of their shows, but for a movie title, it sucks. Something generic like Bang Your Head: The Quiet Riot story would work better. As Sebastian Bach would say, "It rolls off the tongue." But I digress.

My other complaint is the availability of the trailer as well as the trailer's content. While I suppose this is just a teaser trailer for a film that will be appropriately hyped next year, I gotta ask, why bother hyping it at all if you are only allowing it to be viewed through the Noisecreep site? While I think Noisecreep is a fine site, in this age of instant gratification, you're not going to get many folks wanting to click through on this link to view this trailer that features mostly crowd shots from an arena show in 1983 while DuBrow tries to hype them up with his alligator mouth. I guarantee that a number of you reading this post will not bother clicking through since I can't just feature the video here on my site to help promote the movie. Oh well, maybe there will be more promo for this film the future. Until then, you'll have to feel the noize instead of seeing it.

-Chris Czynszak

Rockstar: LA Guns??

I've been sitting back the last few days taking in the Earth-shattering news of former reality show contestant Dilana joining the Tracii-led version of LA Guns.

I know what a lot of you are thinking. Who is Dilana? I know what others of you are thinking. Who are LA Guns?

For those of us that are a little closer to the geriatric stage of life, we remember LA Guns; a group initially formed by Tracii Guns (we're pretty sure that isn't is real name) and some guy named Axl. Axl eventually went on to form a little band that he's worked hard to sully the name of in recent years and Tracii later went on to hire former Girl frontman Phil Lewis. It was this incarnation of the band that had the most commercial success with a couple of minor hits such as Never Enough and the syrupy-sweet Ballad of Jayne.

LA Guns has gone on to become the crack whore of all rock bands. With the recent addition of Dilana, this marks the 40th lineup of LA Guns. A few of these lineups have been battling head-to-head over the past few years. That's right folks. There's MORE than one lineup of LA Guns rocking out at your local dive bar since neither Tracii nor Phil have enough sense to use a fresh band name to attract fans to their shows and seem content to toss out a medley of their hit for the 50-75 drunks that remember when the band was cool for 5 minutes in the 80's.

Choose Your Weapon

When your band's history is charted on a graph that looks like it was created by Ross Perot, it's not a promising sign for the future. And Dilana? Her name was last relevant about 5 years ago when she was vying to become the singer for the horrifically conceived Rockstar Supernova reality-band project. Her runner-up status combined with the fact that bassist Jason Newsted faked an injury to flee from the epic-fail-of-a-band left the public at large with a "meh" attitude toward the singer.

28 Years & 40 Lineups of Mediocrity

Until recently, LA Guns was fronted by former Love Hate vocalist Jizzy Pearl (what a clever name). I think he's probably happy to be off this trainwreck, especially after hearing the ridiculous audio poison that is LA Guns new acoustic album. The world needed that about as much as the Jonas Brothers releasing a death metal album.

Word has it that Dilana's management is now running the show for LA Guns and are doing a bang-up job of making sure that the group has no shot at success by basically snubbing every media outlet and rock/metal entity that has approached them for interviews. Since common sense is in short supply with the LA Guns camp already, this seems like a match made in bad-publicity hell. And before anyone thinks that I'm spewing this post out due to being turned down for an interview......I wasn't. I haven't bothered asking. Do I think I'm too big for them? Nope. Just too lazy. You're lucky I banged out this post at all so suck it!

-Cocked and Loaded to Fail

Chris Czynszak

Episode 8 - Nashville X-tra

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We begin this week with an explanation of Aaron Camaro’s hobby of hanging out with big, beefy dudes that like to oil themselves up and roll around with each other. In other words, he’s involved in microphone work for professional wrestling in the Nashville area. Aaron gives us the lowdown on all of the relevant info that you need to watch hulking guys beat the snot out of each other and Chris calls him out for trying to turn the show into a roid-themed infomercial. Chris hasn’t been impaled by a turnbuckle….yet.

Aaron Camaro's Baby Picture

Next, we are proud to bring you the first entry of Rage Against the Scene. This segment was a popular written feature that Chris used to write that was enjoyed by the Nashville-area hard rock and metal crowd. We decided to bring this feature back as an audio entity so you can hear Chris bitch all about what he hates about the Nashville Scene (publication) as well as the local rock scene in general. No one is safe from the ranting and Chris lets the bile spew forth with rants about the recent Soundland festival and why he thinks it’s nothing more than a bunch of secret-handshake bullshit that ignores a multitude of talent in the local area. He also tears into the Scene publication in general for swinging from Jack White’s nuts, only promoting one local record store and mentioning Those Darlins & Jeff the Brotherhood for the millionth time as if they are God’s gift to the music industry and should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame immediately. Come to think of it, it would make sense since the Hall of Fame (ala Rolling Stone’s editorial staff) has about as much common sense and taste in music. Chris wraps up the segment by hinting at a future rant against 102.9 the Buzz in the future. Yes, his hate has spread to other avenues and modern rock is starting to fit in the crosshairs.

The Future of Music....So ironically neato! (sarcasm mode off)

Our feature interview for this Nashville X-tra premier is Chris Higgins from Piranah. Higgins had plenty of interesting things to say including his opinion of the local Nashville rock scene vs. playing out of town, some stories from the bands trip to Illinois to open up for Soil and what it felt like to have a room with hundreds of people singing their song back to them.  He also gives his take on whether Nashville has the ability to have a scene comparable to booms previously seen in Los Angeles and Seattle. With a tip of the cap to such local notables such as Ray LeGrand of Nashville Metal Bands, Higgins tells us what he thinks it might take to break Nashville as the next musical boomtown.  We touch on some personal history with Higgins’ recollections of his travels from his move to L.A. in the early 90’s to his time playing R&B music in North Carolina, to his return to metal in Nashville and how he became the skin-basher for Piranah.

 

There’s lots more planned for future Nashville X-tra episodes including interviews with venue managers, promoters, and more local band members. To our Music City rock & metal brethren, keep your horns in the air and your shot glass full!

Music Featured:

Intro: Manic Bloom

All Breaks: Piranah

Outro Commercial: Mindset Defect