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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Meister's Monsters of Rock Cruise 2014 #16-Monster Island Day (Monday to those in the real world)

*****Wow, these daily diaries take a ton of work especially trying to hold down a bill paying job!  I once again apologize for the lateness of this post, the events of which actually occurred on March 31, 2014.*****

After stumbling in and somehow miraculously not awaking my two cabin mates at who knows what time of the morning I awoke feeling surprisingly good....until I stood up that is!  Having that terrible feeling that you've overslept and missed something, I quickly checked the time and did indeed
confirm that the Dio Listening Party was already under way.  The soon to be released (now out) Dio tribute album, This Is Your Life, was being played in it's entirety for cruise goers, something I had marked on my target list to partake in, but now I really needed to eat....(and get another beer to ward off the impending doom of the looming hangover).  Breakfast (food, not beer) went down well, the food (which was not all that terrible on previous cruises) has been vastly improved on this new ship the MSC Divina.  A couple of breakfast beverages (light beer before noon) up on the pool deck chatting with friends and fellow cruisers saw me feeling ten years younger as I headed off to the Pantheon Theatre for the noon performance of my fellow country men, The KiLLeR DWaRfS.

Russ "DWaRf" Graham-photo by Brian Ronald
The schedule was printed a time slot of noon-1:30pm, which would be absolutely fantastic, but I assumed it was a misprint as no other show was scheduled for this long.  The DWaRfS drew a decent crowd considering they were up against being in port for Monster Island (Half Moon Cay) and Ted Poley up on the pool stage and it was great to see the support for these entertaining performers.  Starting out with "Comin' Through" the comical Canucks led the steadily growing/thickening crowd through all the DWaRfS classics including "Hard Luck Town", "Last Laugh", "Driftin' Back", "Union of Pride" (a song which always gets stuck in my head for days!), "Doesn't Matter", "All That We Dream", "Nothing Gets Nothing", "Start @ One", "Stand Tall" and "Keep The Spirit Alive".  The boys always put on an amazing display, are a great band to party with day or night and this afternoon was no
The Headstand-photo by Brain Ronald
exception as Russ' sense of humor shined through.  He regaled the crowd with stories and one-liners that probably have never had me laughing so hard at a concert!  Russ didn't stop there, but continued his trademark stage antics that included randomly falling to the stage as if his marionette strings had been suddenly sliced, crawling on all fours around the stage, thrusting the mike into everyone's face he could reach in the crowd for them to sing along, crowd surfing and headstands.  The only thing missing was the tricycle and the crate from the iconic 80's videos, maybe I can catch up with him over a "Cuddly Cola" later and ask why the trike never made it on board.
MSC Divina on the way to Half Moon Cay-photo by The Meister
Now it was time to catch a tender boat and go check out this Half Moon Cay or Monster Island.  Not being a huge fan of the beach and knowing that this would not be an overly long excursion as I wanted to make sure that I was back aboard in good time for Winger, I set off.  Floating over with a friend and fellow "EH" Teamer on one of the tender boats, my full sleeve tattoo became a topic of conversation and subject of a couple of professional photographers camera lenses.  The Island was
Quireboys-photo by The Meister
beautiful and much preferable to last year's Coco Cay Island I thought.  There seemed to be much more to do here and I wandered a few trails eventually leading to a large pirate ship containing a bar....well it would just be ludicrous not to stop in here!  on the other side of said pirate ship overlooking the beach and the beautiful clear blue water was the stage where The Quireboys were about to begin their set.  The raised stage was far superior to last year's grass hut, ground level stage on Coco Cay and I lingered for the whole set, chatting with friends on the beach before heading off in search of more food.

Half Moon Cay-photo by The Meister

Skipping Great White's beach concert set, I found myself back on board the Divina and watching KIX's sound check on the pool stage before heading into the bowels of the ship to the Pantheon for Winger's second performance.  Food or drink is not allowed in the theater so it's a finish up before you enter deal, which kind of sucks in some ways, but in others it's probably good to dry out a little!  I chose to sit in one of the seats rather than enter the milling throng down in front of the stage, especially after my exposure to the harsh rays of the sun on the beach earlier.  Winger began with 
Kip Winger & Reb Beach-photo by Brian Ronald
"Blind Revolution Mad" and rolled through a musical selection spanning their career including "Easy Come Easy Go", "Pull Me Under", "Rat Race", "Rainbow in the Rose", "Down Incognito" and "Deal With the Devil".  Before "Deal With the Devil" front man and namesake Kip Winger went off on a pro-pot tangent for several minutes too long that in my opinion killed the momentum they had created with the music.  I was beginning to fade fast, struggling to stay awake, I'd fall asleep for a second and suddenly jump back awake.  Steadily getting worse I had to stop myself from falling over more than once and decided that it was time that I committed blasphemy.  I have to offer my heartfelt apologies to all my cruise friends, friends in general, to anyone who has ever raised a fist for rock or the horns high in the air......as embarrassing as it is to say, I had to take a nap!  I just couldn't do it any longer.

KIX-photo by Brian Ronald
Starting awake suddenly fearing that my "lie down for a minute" had turned into a full on sleep, I sat bolt upright in the bed.  I could hear KIX owning the pool stage and the sail away from Half Moon Cay concert from inside my room.  Shaking away the groggy cobwebs that come from one of those deep sleep naps (or full on "rem" sleeps as the case may be), it was time to get back on the horse so to speak.  While my totally embarrassed inside voice kept screaming "Do not tell anyone you napped....ever!", I flew out of the room on "Cold Blood" and made it up to the pool stage
KIX-Photo by Meister
for the following song choice of "Blow My Fuse".  Steve Whiteman was, as I've come to expect, his usual charismatic self and very entertaining.  Disappointed that I had missed most of the show, especially after becoming such a KIX fan when I saw them for the first time on the inaugural cruise in 2012, at least I had seen them at the pre-party before we set sail.  Knowing that I would see them soon at my first M3 eased the pain as they closed the set with "Midnite Dynamite" and "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah".  As I swilled back my frosty "wake-up" beer and rocked out near the back of the audience for the "Dirty Boys of the Underground" I looked up at the upper railing around the pool deck and noticed none other than KiLLeR DWaRf skin basher Darrell Millar decked out in his "EH" Team shirt taking in the show as well!

Minoru Niihara-photo by Meister
Time now for Loudness in the Pantheon and I raced through the ship, my full sleeve tattoo posing for several more pics along the way!  The shredders from the "Land of the Rising Sun" totally ripped up the theater as I had expected.  Akira Takasaki's blazing guitar work blazed the path for the rest of the band although I found it curious that he was not sporting his dreadlocks wig for this event, which I had never seen him perform without.  While delivering the all-out assault of Loudness classics like "Crazy Nights", "Crazy Doctor", "Heavy Chains", "Never Change Your Mind" and "Let It Go" we also heard the more current material like "The Power of Truth" and even debuts from the forthcoming album with "Immortality" and "The Sun Will Rise Again".  The new songs sounded awesome and I look forward to hearing the full album as soon as it's unleashed.  Vocalist Minoru Niihara called it correctly when he announced to the crowd "We may not speak English too good, but we speak great rock and roll"!

Firehouse-Photo by Meister
Arriving back up at the pool stage, late for Firehouse, I was interested to see more of them after rather enjoying what I had caught at the pre-party.  I had never given much time to their music in the past, mostly only knowing the ballady radio hits, but as I learned at the pre-party there is actually a lot more there than I previously gave credit for.  "You're Too Bad", "Rock on the Radio", "When I Look Into Your Eyes", "Overnight Sensation", "Love of a Lifetime", "Reach for the Sky" and "Don't Treat Me Bad" all sounded great with a little "Free Ride" medley thrown into the mix on "Don't Treat Me Bad".  I will be looking into their catalog a little deeper in the future and definitely plan to catch them again at my next opportunity, which appears to be Firefest in Nottingham England in October!

Continuing the up and down yo-yo trail that I was blazing on the staircases (too impatient to wait for the elevators) between the pool deck and the Pantheon it was back down into the depths for the much anticipated Quiet Riot show, stopping momentarily along the way for a brief chat with Johnny Dee of Doro and some EH Team friends.

Frankie Banali-photo by Brian Ronald
Having seen Quiet Riot back in June 2013 in Toronto with vocalist Scott Vokoun and being very impressed I was interested to see what Vokoun's successor, Jizzy Pearl would sound like with the material.   They covered everything that you would really want from Metal Health, Condition Critical and even one from QRIII as well.  Jizzy sounded awesome and the band (Chuck Wright, Alex Grossi and of course Frankie Banali) was tight, delighting the packed theater.  Driving force, Frankie Banali, took center stage prior to "Thunderbird" to announce that the movie would finally be premiered on April 29th and to ask for a moment of silence for both Randy Rhoads and Kevin DuBrow.  The minute he did the incredibly respectful crowd went deathly silent and it
Jizzy Pearl-photo by Brian Ronald
would have been easy to hear a pin drop.  I noticed Janis Tanaka, bassist for Femme Fatale in the crowd and wondered if she was stalking me as I seem to have seen her at several shows like Iron Maidens, Charm City Devils, Loudness, Faster Pussycat and now Quiet Riot!  The Quiet Riot set list looked like this: "Run For Cover", "Slick Black Cadillac", "Mama Weer All Crazee Now", "Sign of the Times", "Love's a Bitch", "Condition Critical", "Thunderbird", "The Wild and the Young", "Let's Get Crazy", "Cum On Feel the Noize" and of course "Metal Health (Bang Your Head)".

Randy Rand-photo by Brian Ronald
 Abandoning a little early on Quiet Riot I quickly made my way to the Black & White Lounge, knowing that if I didn't get a spot up front that I would be screwed for Autograph!   I had been waiting a long, long time to see Autograph, Sign in Please being a very early addition to my musical collection and holding a revered position to this day.  Doubtful that I would ever get the chance until they were announced as being in the ship's registry, I was thrilled with their performance at the pre-party making my dreams come true.  Randy Rand and Steve Lynch are the remaining original members and have recruited Marc Weiland behind the kit and Simon Daniels (Danny Simon of Jailhouse) to front the outfit.  This Autograph re-invention is fantastic and I was hoping that it was not a one-off experience, my judgement clouded by my happiness to finally hear
Simon Daniels-photo by Brian Ronald
Autograph material in a live setting the other day.  With a set list spanning all three original albums that saw "Deep End", "All I'm Gonna Take", "Send Her To Me", "Cloud 10", "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me" and of course "Turn Up The Radio" from the debut, Sign In Please.  From the sophomore effort, That's The Stuff, we got "That's The Stuff", "Crazy World" and "Blondes in Black Cars" with "Dance All Night", "Loud & Clear", "Bad Boy", "When the Sun Goes Down" and "She Never Looked That Good For Me" from the final release, Loud & Clear.  Go see the 2014 Autograph as soon as you can and "turn up the I-pod"!

Luca Princiotta-photo by Brian Ronald
Doro's second shipboard gig was up next and I rushed to the Pantheon, downing the remainder of my beverage on the way (no drinks or food allowed in the theater).  I secured a spot up front on the left side for this show, my fourth time seeing Doro overall.  There were no disappointments once again as the incredibly tight band of Johnny Dee (drums), Nick Douglas (bass), Luca Princiotta (guitar) and Bas Maas (guitar) backed up the pint sized "German Metal Queen".  The set again encompassed some awesome songs, heavy on the Warlock days with "I Rule the Ruins", "Burning the Witches", "Fight For Rock", "Metal Racer", "True as Steel", "Fur Immer", "Earthshaker Rock" and of course the anthem "All We Are""Raise Your Fist" served as the lone representative from her post Warlock
Doro Pesch & Ann Boelyn-photo by Brian Ronald
days until the closing song.  Two cover songs were also slipped into the roster with Judas Priest's "Breakin' the Law" and Dio's "Egypt (The Chains Are On)" which featured a guest appearance by Dio/Dio Diciples' guitarist Craig Goldy.  To throw things over the top, Doro was joined on stage by Ann Boelyn of Hellion for "East Meets West" and then by crowd choice closed out with "Hellbound" and "Hero".  It doesn't matter how many times I see Doro, she always impresses and is the one person I'm dying to meet on the cruise.

The worst time to eat is right before sleeping, but it was now nearing 2am and with not having eaten much all day, desperately needing something to soak up the sweet booze, I found myself in the buffet.  While stuffing my face with the required sustenance I ran into John Nyman (guitarist for Y&T) and we had a brief discussion in which I stated how happy I was that Y&T would be in Toronto on my birthday.  Not five minutes later, on my exit from the feeding frenzy, I ran into my friend from Toronto who also shares the very same birthday having basically the same conversation with John Nyman!  He looked shocked to learn that we were friends and promised us Y&T would give us a top notch show for our special day (as they always do!).

Cheers,
The Meister (The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

*****Once again extreme thanks to my friend Brian Ronald for the use of his awesome photography.  From now on Brian you MUST attend only the shows that I do so I don't have to use my own photos which quite obviously pale in comparison to your work, Cheers!***** 

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Albums Unleashed - DaDa w/Dick Wagner (Ep. 134)

This week Aaron and Chris launch the first installment of a brand new series for the Decibel Geek podcast with Albums Unleashed. The stories behind the songs, circumstances, and creative process from a major player in an album's creation. And to start things off, we're covering Alice Cooper's DaDa album with special guest Dick Wagner.

Released in 1983, DaDa was, for all intents and purposes, dead on arrival due to being the final album in Cooper's contract with Warner Brothers as well as the out-of-the-box style of songs. Part art-rock, part esoteric/theatrical concept, DaDa's synthesizer-infused production combined with a healthy amount of humor crossed with dark subject matter left 1983 audiences confused; and they weren't the only ones.

The early 80's were a self-professed "blackout" period for Alice Cooper with the rocker going as far as saying that he barely even remembers the songwriting process or production of this album. Cooper's lack of recollection has led many die-hard Cooper fans to create their own theories as to the concept behind DaDa. Guitarist/composer Dick Wagner, a longtime collaborator of Alice's, was the principal songwriter on this album and was kind enough, while in Nashville in May of 2014, to sit down with Aaron and Chris to discuss the entire album track by track and memory by memory.

In this discussion, Wagner shares his memories of the difficult
that led to getting Alice to come to ESP Studios in Buttonville Ontario from his Pheonix home to join he and producer Bob Ezrin in the making of DaDa. Alice's alcohol abuse hit record highs during this period and Dick shares his recollections of their songwriting and recording process that led to the songs on the album.

From the creepy title track's intro that features producer Ezrin aping a psychiatrist talking to Cooper as DaDa's featured character over a bed of strange reverberating sounds and the voice of a child calling out for its father to the dark tale of self-destructive realization that is album closer 'Pass the Gun Around,' Wagner tells the story of the album's basic concept.
Alice during DaDa Seesions
ESP Studios Buttonville, Ontario
copyright 2007 johnjones.com

During this in-depth discussion of 1983's DaDa, Dick Wagner reveals the inspiration for the man-in-the-attic track 'Former Lee Warmer' and how, while it has horror opera feel, it's true roots lie in a bad business realtionship with Alice's record label.

A fantastic fan-created theory of the albums concept and storyline was written online in 2008 for Ultimate-Guitar.com by a user named madpaperboy89. Aaron and Chris were so intrigued by the review that they read parts of it to Dick to get his take on it. As you'll hear in the discussion, the writer was spot-on in parts.
MCI Console
ESP Studios Buttonville, Ontario
copyright 2007 johnjones.com

As you'll hear in this installment of Albums Unleashed, DaDa still holds a very special place in Dick Wagner's heart and it's finally earning some much-deserved attention after all these years.






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Monday, April 21, 2014

Meister's Monsters of Rock Cruise 2014 #15-Sunday

 Wow, these daily diaries are a ton of work to do!  I've now been off the boat and back in The Great White North for more than two weeks and I'm just now getting around to day #2 aboard ship!  I'm going to try my best to condense my ramblings here in hopes that I can complete this project before 2015's cruise and besides many of you have already "heard" the highlights via the Decibel Geek Podcast episode #132 that Chris and Aaron had me as a guest for, thanks boys that was a lot of fun as well!

The morning started with some breakfast and a morning beer, of course only light beers before noon for me, not sure what time Kate started the Patron Parade!  The idea of gathering the "EH" Team was to congregate for a huge Canadian Contingent photo aboard ship and the plan was to do it at the
Some of the "EH" Team
KiLLeR DWaRfS show at noon in the Pantheon Theatre.  That show time was changed after we had set the time and place and without the ability (wifi very expensive aboard ship) to contact the group I decided to hope for the best.  We had a turn out of about 25 of the 60 person Canuck team, which is not too bad considering the time changes confusion, the ship being in the port of Nassau Bahamas, and general drunken forgetfulness!  The photo was later submitted as a countdown shot, one of the first ones counting down until we do it all again in 2015.

Janet Gardner-photo by Brian Ronald
The first live event of the day for me was Vixen in the Pantheon Theater, rescheduled from the rain cancellation the previous night.  Vixen took over the noon time slot from Loudness, who had originally taken the slot from the KiLLeR DWaRfS.  The ladies led the charge with "Rev It Up!" featuring Michael Lardie on the keys and followed up with "How Much Love".  By the time they began their third song selection of "Bad Reputation" it was apparent that the ladies were not easing up and planned to rock the theater as if it was a night show instead of the first of the day.  The memories of last year came rushing back as I recalled just how much they had impressed me on the previous cruise and obvious that they were setting out to do the very same again!  I can't wait to see Share, Roxy, Janet and Gina on two back to back nights in May when they visit The Rockpile in Toronto.  All the usual set list suspects came out
Roxy Petrucci-photo by Brian Ronald
 to play including "Cryin'", "I Want You to Rock Me" (which showcased a medley of covers in the middle like "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Kiss Me Deadly", "I Love Rock n Roll", "Here I Go Again" and "Paradise City"), "Streets In Paradise", "Love Is a Killer", "Never Say Never", "Hell Raisers", "Wrecking Ball" and "Edge of a Broken Heart" wrapping up the set.  We were also treated to bassist Share Ross' vocal stylings on a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" that helped round out an excellent start to the day.

Having been to Nassau a few times previously and quite frankly not being impressed I chose to remain on the ship and finally take in some of the other events aside from the rock shows that are offered on the MOR Cruise.  "Cooking with Rockstars" and "So You Think You Can Shred" both took place in the afternoon, but once again I succeeded in missing the non-concert events as I enjoyed an afternoon with some newly made "EH" Team friends and of course ice cold adult beverages.  Maybe next year I'll finally get to some of these other events!

Akira Takasaki-photo by Brian Ronald
Loudness, after several ugly rumors were circulating prior to embarkation that they would not be aboard the vessel, were indeed present and accounted for, handling the sail away concert as we headed away from Nassau and back out into open waters.  A fitting song as I'm sure it's what was in store for this evening, "Crazy Nights" led the way, blazing a trail that saw tracks from early albums to recent recordings and even from the forthcoming release.  The newer material sounds a little more melodic than the past few albums and I eagerly await the new effort from "The Land of the Rising Sun".  I was able to catch the lovely Roxy Petrucci (Vixen drummer) for a quick photo as I was leaving the Loudness show early on my way to support fellow countrymen, the KiLLeR DWaRfS in their acoustic show in the Golden Lounge.

photo by Meister
The Golden Lounge was absolutely more than packed for the charismatic DWaRfS and I was ecstatic to see the turnout for the boys.  With DWaRf skin basher, the pirate himself Darrell Millar (who by the way is no dwarf standing over six feet tall) watching from the sidelines the remaining DWaRfS, Russ, Gerry and Johnny treated the crowd to "Doesn't Matter".  Asking the crowd if we needed drums, Darrell took his position behind the kit for "Comin' 
Meister supporting the DWaRfS
Through" followed by "Driftin' Back".  At the conclusion of "Dirty Weapons", which included a sing-along-for all the Canadians, Darrell exasperated "Do you know how hard it is to play that song quietly?"  "Stand Tall" and "Keep the Spirit Alive" took us to the end of a very entertaining, as always, set from the guys peppered with Russ hilarious monologues.  With the reactions, response and turnout from the audience I can't help but believe that The KiLLeR DWaRfS will be back on board next year as well......at least I can hope until we get the full roster announcements!

After some mingling with friends I was led against my will down to the Black & White Lounge to catch a little of Tuff's performance.  I'm not a big Tuff supporter, but certainly not offended by them
Tuff-photo by Meister
either I just wanted to make sure that I had a good spot for Doro's upcoming set on the pool stage.  None the less I ended up at Tuff's set entering on "I Hate Kissing You Goodbye""So Many Seasons" was the next selection and Stevie Rachelle regaled us with a short story of the "Dumb and Dumber" rhythm section who succeeded in losing their drink tickets the first night after only spending a few of them.  Rachelle was quite funny in his berating of his band mates and I realized that he possessed a lot of charisma as a front man, at least way more that I had expected.  "The All New Generation" and "American Hair Band" shut things down and I made a mental note to spend more time with Tuff's catalog, Aaron Camaro was right they are really good!

Doro Pesch-photo by Brian Ronald
For those of you that don't know, I have a full sleeve tattoo that depicts a guitar case "stickered" with the logos of some of the bands that have affected me throughout my life.  Doro appears in that tattoo as does Warlock (her former band) and this was certainly one of the most anticipated events of this 2014 cruise for me.  In fact it's almost as if my tattoo has predictive powers.  You see on the very first MOR Cruise the "European act" was UFO, who appears in my tattoo.  Voyage #2 saw Saxon on board, who also appears in my tattoo.  This year it's Doro and if we follow the tattoo that means that next year we would see Accept cruising with us!  And that would be an excellent choice and make me very happy as well......let's see what happens.  The German Metal Queen and her incredibly tight band ripped
Nick Douglas of Doro-photo by Brian Ronald
through a Warlock heavy set list that looked like this: "Earthshaker Rock", "I Rule the Ruins", "Burning the Witches", "East Meets West", "Raise Your Fist In the Air", "Metal Racer", "Fur Immer", "Revenge", "Breaking the Law", "All We Are", "Without You" and "Burn It Up".  In my third time seeing the pint sized beauty rock the crowd the whole band put on an excellent show and I was lucky to have been able to secure a spot right up front for the event.  If there's one person I want to meet more than any other aboard ship this year it would be Doro.  I remember back in school I took a German language class and the teacher had said that if we bring something German into class that we would spend that period discussing the item.  I brought Warlock's Triumph & Agony album in and we listened to it the whole class, even doing some translations, which did not make me overly popular with my classmates.
Doro Pesch on the pool stage-photo by Brian Ronald
Lorraine Lewis-photo by Brian Ronald
After whipping into the buffet for some much needed sustenance it was a rush back down to Black & White, arriving late for Femme Fatale's set there.  I came in on "Fortune & Fame" one of my favorite songs from the Femme Fatale record.  With regular drummer Athena being injured and unable to make the cruise Iron Maidens drummer Linda (Nikki McBURRain)
Nita Strauss-by Brian Ronald
 McDonald joined her Maidens band mates Courtney (Adrianna Smith) Cox and Nita (Mega Murray) Strauss to help out Lorraine Lewis and Femme Fatale for the cruise.  "Waiting For the Big One" brought us to the show closer of a cover of KISS' "Lick It Up" which saw Nita switch places with the audience, abandoning the stage to play on the couch out in the lounge as some crowd members were invited on stage to assist with the song.  Sad to have missed the whole set, it seemed that the ladies were on fire just like last year's impressive shows where they won me over as a fan.  Femme Fatale is certainly an awesome and fun party band.......it doesn't hurt that they're all gorgeous too!

Ron Keel-photo by Meister
Keeping the rock going full force I bolted off to the Golden Lounge for the second time today to catch Ron Keel's acoustic set.  While I dearly wished that the full electric Keel band had made it aboard this trip, Ron unveiled that they will indeed be rockin' the Divina again next year!  Mr. Keel went through a selection of tracks encompassing his whole career including "Long Gone Bad" and "Just Like Tennessee" from the new Metal Cowboy release, "Serenade" from Steeler, and Keel classics like "Because the Night" and "Tears of Fire""Three Chord Drinkin' Song" included a very very cool thing for Ron Keel to do.  He invited two friends of mine (OK, well their father whose name will not appear here is a friend of mine) on stage to help him sing.  The boys, Zack and Kyle did a great job carrying the chorus of "Three Chord Drinkin' Song" (video with Zack & Kyle) which before long morphed into "The Right to Rock".  Having my own experience singing with Keel last year I can only imagine what must be going through those boys heads!

The Meister with Janis Tanaka & Katt Scarlett
A quick jaunt to the other end of the ship brought me to the Charm City Devils performance.  I was once again able to weasel my way up front for the first half of the set which included "Spite", "Love n War", "Devil Is A Woman", "Burn Baby Burn" and "Karma's A Bitch", a new composition.  The band was sounding good and the material familiar to me as I had searched out, purchased and enjoyed their two album discography prior to cruising.  They are definitely a band to watch out for in the future with their old school style rock and roll.  I retreated to the facilities and the bar before making my way up to the pool stage for L.A. Guns, but not before catching bassist Janis Tanaka and keyboardist Katt Scarlett of Femme Fatale for a photo.

Having been missing their lead guitarist on the previous excursion, due to his  neglecting to bring his passport L.A. Guns were back in full force this time with all current members present and accounted for. The set list included "Sex Action", "Never Enough", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Over the Edge", "Gypsy Soul", "Kiss My Love Goodbye", "You Better Not Love Me", "Sweet Mystery", "Electric Gypsy", "The Ballad of Jayne" and "Rip and Tear".  After L.A. Guns rocked the pool stage with passport references peppered through out the set it was time to head back down into the bowels of the vessel to hit up Faster Pussycat, another cruise staple.
L.A. Guns on the pool stage with all current members-photo by Meister
By the time my friend from Louisiana and I got down there the crowd was sufficiently packed in and both being short of stature we could not see anything.  We made the decision to hang near the back (bar) and take in the audible portion of the presentation as well as some more adult beverages.  We were not alone as several "EH" Teamers were entranced in the same plan and we amalgamated ourselves into the group.  Faster Pussycat, a fan favorite aboard ship are the prefect band to close out the evenings festivities and their set included all the usual suspects such as "Jack the Bastard", "Cathouse", "Slip of the Tongue" "Number One With a Bullet", "Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll", "House of Pain", "Nonstop to Nowhere", "You're So Vain", "Bathroom Wall", "Pretty Fucked Up", "Shut Up and Fuck" and "Babylon".

Sometime after the show while many of our Pussycat Party group headed off to bed, my friend from Louisiana and I in an unwise decision roamed the ship for well over an hour in a drunken search for the next party.....to no avail.  Time for sleep several hours ago methinks!

Cheers,
The Meister (The Meister on Facebook) (Meister on Twitter)

*****Once again extreme thanks to my friend Brian Ronald for the use of his awesome photography.  From now on Brian you MUST attend only the shows that I do so I don't have to use my own photos which quite obviously pale in comparison to your work, Cheers!*****

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Episode 133 - 4:20

For a certain segment of the population, April 20th is a very significant day. If you don't partake of a sticky green plant that has certain psychological stimulating qualities, you don't know what I'm talking about.

This week Aaron and Chris celebrate 420 in the most fitting Decibel Geek way; by spinning some of their favorite rocking songs that pay tribute to the enjoyment of ganja (aka marijuana). Tracks from Bulletboys, Enuff Z'nuff, Ace Frehley, Motley Crue, Black Sabbath and more are included. Light 'em up!

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Motley Crue
Enuff Z'nuff
Steppenwolf
Bulletboys
Ace Frehley
Rush
GWAR
Jimmie's Chicken Shack
Great White
Black Sabbath

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