The Sky - Unadulterated Sonic Bliss

For my latest installment I have chosen one of the few bands of recent times that have really come to the front of the music scene. They are not your average media hype, super-band although some of the members have a pretty illustrious past and resume's to put pretty much all of us to shame. From Journey to Asia to Vinnie Vincent these guys  pack quite a pedigree.

The band are currently in the studio putting the final touches to their second album titled MAJESTIC.

Their first album has many influences that can clearly be heard in the playing and the structure of the songs from the Beatles, to Oasis, to heavy 70's groove riffs to intricate melodies and sometimes a little Black Crowes creeps into the mix also. All in all this is an album that is contemporary, rocking, spaced out and really gels well to many different genres without sounding in the slightest but pretentious. Robert in his interview with us alludes to the organic approach to recording the album and it really shines when you listen to it. The production is not over done and the clarity of each instrument is evident with Robert's vocals having lost nothing of their magic. It's a world away from the past but it really works. This is A BAND. Make no mistakes. There are audio samples of all songs on the website and I strongly recommend you check it out - www.theskyofficial.com

I recently caught up with Robert to get his take on past and present :

Hey Robert - what have you been up to these past few years ?
I'm currently writing the new Sky album, we have recorded 11 new songs so far .And one of the songs has been made into a video called One Day. Which we are in the editing process putting it all together right now. We did the video with our Director friend Jerry Moore. At first we'll have the video up on THE SKY website which is theskyofficial.com then later on YouTube. We're all very excited about this being our first video for THE SKY

In your own words can you summarize THE SKY for those who aren’t familiar with you yet?
THE SKY was put together buy me and Andre LeBelle who played drums on one of Vinnie Vincent albums. I was trying to put the band together in Los Angeles with not much luck. Found a lot of guys who could hold a guitar and look cool but not play. Couple of days after I receive a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame with Journey. Andre called me up and I told him I was interested in putting a band together and he replied that he would love to be in the band I said I'd love to have you in the band but you live in Richmond Virginia and I'm in Los Angeles . He said he knew some great players and I should come out so I did. With my friend Mike Weeks who played guitar for me on my Look at the Dream solo album .We got together at a recording studio, in Richmond for a week and learn 4 songs after the week I went back to Los Angeles. I thought the band was great, now it was how am I gonna put this all together. After a month or so, I got everybody to fly out to Las Vegas and we rehearsed again for another week, again came back home to Los Angeles. Then I decided I was going to move to Richmond. I got there and rented a house and rented a rehearsal space which was 2000 square feet 40 foot ceiling set the band up we started rehearsing wrote 20 songs we recorded 11 for the album it was a great process for me because I could write songs at home bring it to rehearsal, the band would learn them and it was just magical. I would come in with a Black and White picture then it would turned into color because of the band. Andre LaBelle on Drums, Steve Barber on Bass, Brady Cole on Lead Guitar, Stephan Lajaunie on Rhythm Guitar, later replaced by Ryan Lake. For years I have recorded in a studio putting songs together piece by piece. When I did THE SKY it was all live it was so magical I will never record that old sterile way again. This band is the Best Rock and Roll Band I've ever put together.People and critics say it has a Modern Retro British Rock Sound to it, but I think it just sounds like good song writing because that's what's it's all about. You can be the best musician, singer. But if you don't have songs your Shit.

Pick 3 songs of the first album in order to introduce this band to your fans…

All I Want - If you listen to it in your car it will make you get a ticket for speeding. Because of the fast driving tempo and hypnotic rhythm and a great hook. Next thing you know you're going 100 miles per hour and you're seeing red lights and being pulled over.

Boomerang. - It's just One Big Nasty Riff that Smacks you in the face with attitude and a Monster Beat.

Sunshine - A dreamy whimsical song with a beautiful melody and message

You were working on solo releases, now you have the band. What are your goals with THE SKY and why the change of direction? How do you differentiate being in a band and being a solo artist?
 Like anything you do you want it to be successful. You open up a Store or a Restaurant a Business or started a Band that's the goal to be successful. I plan on recording SKY records until we become successful. But I can only do so much that's where people like you, who do interview come into the game. You let people know about Bands and get your readers curious about them. So they go out of their way to find and listen to an artists music. And for being a solo artist you don't have anyone to ask permission for using a certain color its your choice less weight less problems. A band is a different story I've been in some high drama bands and it can drain your soul. But if you're lucky and you find the right people and your all on the same page through time it turns into a family. And that's what makes a band successful that family feeling to it. And that's why I like being in THE SKY

Ever had a regular day job?
I had a after school job bagging groceries for my uncle. Every Christmas I worked at my uncles Christmas tree lot. I worked in a real estate office filing papers doing errands. I did all that between the age of fifteen and seventeen. After that it was pretty much all music I played in some bar bands then later started my own bands. So I've been pretty blessed and lucky not having to do the 9 to 5.

Before Vinnie Vincent you had a band called Channel. What’s the story behind that one?
Channel was put together buying me and Tony Berg he was a session guitarist and producer in Hollywood who played with Bette Midler and Cher not much of a real rock and roll background but we both love the same bands and we talked about art we were just good friends. He was a great guitarist with a lot of style.

I learned a lot from him, like a song is not a song unless it has a bridge in it. And that's true I never write a song without a bridge in it never. Tray Thompson was the bass player who also played with Cher on a few tours. One of the most melodic bass players I ever played with later became a teacher. Gary Ferguson one of my favorite drummers he played with Gary Moore, Eddie Money, Ray Charles, all kinds of sessions throughout Hollywood and England. And still playing to this day. So you can say Channel was a band of the studio musicians. We got signed to Epic Records, by Larry Hamby who happened to be a good friend of Trays, so that was are in. Tony and I cowrote all the songs on the album. We were getting set to go in and record the record in Hollywood. When the record label wanted us to go in the studio with a producer, so they introduce us to.. John: (Let's keep his last name out of it) that's when thing started going downhill. He smoked big fat cigars dressed in army combat fatigues with a green army hat he was like Fidel Castro he was fat and had a big beard. I asked him not to smoke cigars in the studio because it affected my voice plus I didn't like the smell, but he continued didn't care. And later we find out he's a Scientologist, and started leaving Scientologist literature all over the studio which I threw out. Then the cherry on the cake is, he's married to the daughter of L Ron Hubbard ,the father of Scientology. She was actually nice played classical piano beautifully. Later found out the reason we went to England was because John wanted to take his wife on a vacation to England.She was English and they had business to do there, Dealing with Scientology. So they got a free vacation on Channels money. Somehow he talked the record company into having us go to England to do the record. which I never wanted to do because I knew it was going to cost so much money and stress on the band but it happened .So we're there. at a studio called Brittannia Row Studios in Islington. Which was Pink Floyd's recording studio. Where they recorded The Wall. On our first day there we were starting to setup to record and at the studio they have this big room where they had a snooker table. I asked if anyone had ever recorded drums in this room they said no, but we can give it a try. I said let's go for it so we set the drums up. The drums sounded great after hours of setting up the equipment and microphones we started to record. About 20 minutes later the Bobby's come knocking on the studio door. Telling us they can hear the drums all the way down the row. And that we would have to stop so now everything is on the back burner and the studio tells us to come back in a day or two and that they would take care of the situation. They called us up 2 days later we came down to the studio and they had built a wall against the existing wall for us so the sound would not escape out into the streets. So you could say Pink Floyd built The Wall for us basically. We did our basic tracks there's which were sounding terrific. The in house engineers we're doing all the work basically. John sat around smoking cigars. Then John tells us we're leaving the studio to go to Surrey to continue recording I wanted to stay where we were. We we're getting great sounds. So we go to the studio call Jacobs Farm Studios out in the country 12 room English manor with a recording studio in it. Where YES recorded owner of a broken heart .With a Chef 24 hour food and drink breakfast lunch and dinner. And John eaten away like there's no tomorrow. We continued working on the record doing guitar over dubs and then I started doing my vocals. After finishing lead vocals I was to start doing the background vocals John suggested that we have background girl singers. I said no it will make the record sound stupid. So the next thing you know he's got these chicks in there singing away the day before we leave to go back to the States. And I just can't believe it I wanted to set his ass on fire. We never mixed the album. We came back to LA and we had spent a shitload of money. Now we have to find an engineer to mix the album and we didn't have very much money to offer, so then the record company eventually gets us an engineer. And the last project he had done was Frank Sinatra and Steely Dan. And I just can't believe it. What the fuck does this guy know about rock and roll absolutely nothing. So I'm told they're going to mix the record in New York. I call Tony and his wife answers the phone and I ask is he there and she says no he went to New York to mix the record. So I hang up call the label they say Tony said he knew were all the tracks were on the session and he could help the engineer. Here Tony and I wrote all the songs together. You think he would have called me or tell me is going to New York but it was all done secretly. So I just said screw this project, and basically wash my hands of it. The record came out I heard the mixes and they sounded Wimpy. My grandmother in pink underwear could mix better than they did. If I had mixed it, It would have Rocked Hard..

A huge highlight for us at the Decibel Geek Podcast is your work with Vinnie Vincent’s Invasion. You have done a spectacular interview already for the show but for the readers out there, care to share the story and put the monster to bed?  

I met Vinnie through a mutual friend Adam Mitchell who wrote songs with Paul Stanley plus he wrote some hits for Linda Ronstadt. Vinnie asked Adam if he knew any lead singers and he gave him my number. One day Vinnie called and told me what he wanted to do. I invited him over to my house in Hollywood. Next day or so the doorbell rang. I answered the door and there was Vinnie looking like any other guy in a T-shirt jeans and sneakers and a smile on his face. I made him a cup of tea and we sat in my living room. I popped in the cassette that he gave me, and out of the speakers came out the riff for, Shoot You Full Of Love, Substitute, Back on the Streets. I thought he was a great songwriter and a incredible guitarist also, so I thought --why not, this could be an incredibly good team. A couple of days later he invited me to S.I.R, which is a rehearsal studio on Sunset boulevard in Hollywood. I walked into the sound stage and there was Vinnie with a group of guys. Apparently they had been in a band with Vinnie at one time called New England. We started jamming, but we had to stop a lot because Vinnie kept breaking strings; it kinda worried me a bit while I was driving back home that night. During the week we got back together and we did some Demos at my house on my 4 Track. We wrote Invasion and Do You Wanna Make Love. Those were the first songs we wrote together; he did the music I wrote the lyrics for Do you Wanna Make Love and we share the lyrics on Invasion.

We were both happy about the collaboration. Some time later he called me and told me that KISS had asked him to join the band. I told him you should definitely do it, it will change your life. He had twins on the way he and Ann Marie were in a tiny apartment. I told him to go for it. Some time flew by and then I got a phone call. It was Vinnie on the line. He said "Robbie let's get the band together" and I said okay. So apparently he had been in the studio recording; he told me to come down to Sandcastle Studios where he and Andy Johns producer / engineer were working. I went to the studio and did the vocals for Shoot you full Love, No Substitute, Back on the Streets. We had a lot of fun and it was great to work with Andy. He worked with The Rolling Stones on Exile on Main Street and did the second and third Led Zeppelin albums. He mixed the 3 songs and they sounded great. Some time went by and I hadn't heard from Vinnie. Somehow I heard that he went to New York and Chrysalis Records offered him a deal--a deal without me. I didn't work with him to push his solo career. I didn’t even hear from him; no phone call no nothing. More time went by; it was phone call from Dana Strum telling me he's the producer for Vinnie's new album. I told him basically to fuck off. He kept calling me and calling me, and I never did get a call from Vinnie. This is where Vinnie went wrong. I would have preferred if Vinnie had called me and we would have settled things between us instead. He should have handled his own business instead of Dana Strum handling his business. After I heard they were auditioning other singers. Chrysalis told them to get me involved in the project. Eventually we came to some sort of agreement. When it came time came to do my vocals, most all of the music was done. The first day I came in to do my vocals there was a room with I think 8 stacks of Marshalls in a circle, it looked like Stonehenge I found it a bit hilarious. It was a scene out of Spinal Tap; but that was Vinnie. My vocal booth was in the middle of the studio. I walked into it and was surprised to see that Vinnie had wallpapered the inside with Playboy centerfolds floor to ceiling . He said I thought it would get you off while you're doing your vocals . I told him it would take a lot more then that to get me off. But thanks for breaking up your Playboy collection for me . He was very nice to me I think he was embarrassed for what he did to me. And I just played it cool. The basic tracks were done with a drum machine. We needed to find a drummer so we held an addition at S.I.R. The drummers that showed up had a half an hour I think we had close to 10 people at the audition. At the very end. Bobby Rock had come in, after his van had overheated. He had been driving through the desert and his van was on its last leg; he literally rolled into the parking lot. After which he emptied out his drums, set up, and played unbelievably. I told Vinnie "this is the guy". Bobby went into the studio and recorded the drums. Then it was time to mix with George Tutko; who was a terrific person, very kind & easy going, as well as a great audio engineer.

George would be mixing and Vinnie would say the guitars are not loud enough. George would take a break and Vinnie would sneak the guitars up. George would come back, listen to the mix, and wondered what the hell happened. This happened with every song practically. I personally couldn't believe what I was seeing. It drove me crazy because a lot of time and money was wasted--but it wasn't my dime so I let it be. It was now is time to do photos for the album. I came in and was shocked that Bobby was in body paint, and Vinnie was all painted up and had on that giant wig. Then he told the stylist to do something with my hair. I ended up looking like some fucking poodle; my hair was one length before they messed with it. During the Photo Session, Vinnie's manager came to me with a contact, as big as a phone book. He told me to sign it, but I told him I wanted to take it to my lawyer. He told me not to worry and just sign it-- everything's okay. That's when I told him to piss off. Apparently Vinnie's manager told the record company that I was signed to his management company which was a lie. Chrysalis found out and got really pissed at him for lying. Chrysalis wanted me to sign a contract with them without any compensation. They wanted me to absorb the debt of the making the record--who knows how much they would have to recoup. I told them "no way". I was getting calls from the record company telling me if I didn't sign, they would take my voice off the album. I told them to do what they had to do...I knew that they would have to spend more money re-recording the new vocalist plus the cost of re-mixing the record over again. Things were so messed up I walked away. After that I received a phone call from a friend telling me that they're going to show the new Vinnie Vincent Invasion video on MTV. I saw the video and there was this guy lip sinking to my voice. He was also wearing the coat that I wore on the album cover plus he was wearing girls underwear over his leather pants. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing . And for the record this is the first time anyone has ever lip sync to someone's voice before Milli Vanilli. So I sued Chrysalis and I won. It was too bad it never worked out.

How do you feel about the music you released with Vinnie Vincent?
I thought it (VVI debut album) was great album, and at that time nothing like it, and to this day. My favorite song is No Substitute.

I've never heard (Euphoria / Guitarmageddon) the album I do remember doing the songs. Those vocal tracks are scratch tracks they aren't my finished vocal tracks. Things happen so I never got to finish or fix them.

·         Listen to DBG Podcast VVI specials for much more detail on these latter recordings *

When was the last time you heard from Vinnie?
I haven't talk to Vinnie in over 20 years.

You were briefly a member of Asia. What are your memories of that time?
The way I became involved with Asia was when I was with Journey and we toured opening up for Emerson Lake and Palmer in Canada . I became friends with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, little did I know that years later I would be in a possible band setting with Carl. In the later part of 1980, Geffen Records A&R man John Kalodner, called me to tell me about his super band that he was working on with John Wetton, Carl Palmer,Steve Howe and Geoff Downes. He wondered if I would be interested in going to England to check it out. The next day I received a cassette of the demoed songs that I would need to learn; with John Wetton's voice on it. I thought--wow sounds really great ! I was familiar with Johns voice from King Crimson and I always thought he was a brilliant singer. The more I listened to the to the cassette, I thought that it the songs were tailor made for John and I just couldn't really see myself doing them better . But the time came to go off to England. From Los Angeles I had a long grueling flight and a bunch of stops before I arrived in England at my hotel room. I laid down for an hour and a half; I was exhausted when someone started banging on the door. It was one of the roadies.

He said "come on let's get going we're off to rehearsal". Next thing I knew I was standing in the rehearsal room with some of the greatest musicians in rock n roll. We started to work on the song Heat of the Moment. It sounded good, but in my head I could only hear John voice. We rehearsed for a week. Toward the end of that week I had to say something. I told their manager Peter that I thought John was perfect for it and they didn't need me. The record company wanted that visual front man for the band to give it a more commercial rock n roll image, but I believe the band was strong enough just the way they had it.

A big part of your history is your connection with Journey, your first real break as we know it. How did it go for you?
I learned a lot being in Journey, definitely the first band that I ever was in with such incredible musicianship. Before I entered the picture the band was a rock jazz fusion band. A very free form style of writing music; pretty much jamming and then organizing it into a song. So when I joined the band I came in as a Pop Rock singer songwriter--which was very far from what they were. But it worked. And on the business side of the band it was very well organized, road crew, travel agent, road manager, manager and a record label to make it all work. For me it was like opening up a watch and seeing all the parts move and work.

Would you change anything with Journey?
No there is nothing I would do different. I wrote some great songs with them. As a band we all got along with each other. And still do

What were the real reasons for you parting with Journey?
The main reason I was pulled out of the band was pretty much because of management. I had a manager before I came into the band that had ties to CBS Records; it was because of him I got the gig. So later Journey's manager ask me to leave my manager. And I found that to be a very difficult thing to do because I really liked my manager Barry Fey a lot. I couldn't stab him in the back. So Journey's management got pretty mad. The whole time I was with the band they had a A&R man at CBS Records telling Journey's manager about Steve Perry and financing his demos; he told the management if they took Steve on they would give them more money for recording, radio airplay, tour support and a producer. So that's what basically happened. It was an offer they couldn't refuse.

You co-wrote some prominent songs with Journey: Any fond memories?

Winds of March

Neal and his father wrote the music at one time. Then Neal brought it to rehearsal where the musical structure came together. Then I wrote the lyrics and melody over it. When I left the band I hadn't completely finished the song. There were two lines in the second verse that need to be completed. Perry wrote those 2 lines that's why he gets credit on that song.

Wheel in the Sky
Neal came up with the music in the back of a station wagon with an acoustic guitar while on the road. It came together during rehearsals in San Francisco. Neal played the opening line. And I started to add lib words and melody over the music. Later wrote all the lyrics at Rolie's house.

Journey released another song co-written with you called For You.
Another song that was written during rehearsal. We jammed a lot during rehearsals and that's how lot of the songs came about. When I left the band I gave 3 songs to Journey and I kept.. FOR YOU...for my solo album which Neal played on.

You were there as a guest when Journey received their Star at the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. How was that for you?
Receiving the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star was one of the biggest events in my life. Because for me growing up in Los Angeles, As a kid I would watch on the news celebrities receiving the Star all the time. I never would had thought, I would be receiving such an honor in my life. Like the celebrities I once watched on TV. That day thousands of people, screaming and cheering. Spilled into the street of Hollywood Boulevard stopping traffic to see the ceremony. We were so excited, all the members of the band we're together except Gregg Rolie I wish he had made it. We were on the news that night. It was a dream come true. A great memorable day for all of us.

I was the bands first front man lead singer songwriter. I help right there first songs to reach the Billboard charts. And gave them a new direction.

Are you still friends with the guys from Journey? What do you think of their last releases with Arnel Pineda?
I've always gotten along with them through all the years. I see them pretty much every time they come into town. Ross and I talk and text each other from time to time, matter fact I'm going to see them tomorrow night in Norfork Virginia. I've met Arnel a couple times he's a really super nice guy. So we're all family.

As a parting thought – hit us with the top 5 albums of all time according to Robert Fleishman
1.. Beatles.. Revolver 2.. Radiohead.. OK Computer 3.. T Rex.. Electric Warrior 4.. Muddy Waters.. His best 1947 to 1955 5.. David Bowie.. Scary Monsters

A recent release with accompanying video is the teaser from the new album MAJESTIC released March this year. The song is titled One Day and starts off with a a tub thumping, melodic guitar riff that instantly grabs the attention. Roberts vocals are clear and vibrant as always. Their signature sound is there but this song doesn't stop there. It builds and builds and with the help of some spectacular backing vocals transcends into the realms of Floyd and just takes you away on a musical journey of epic proportions. 

Whoever is doing the mixing and production of this music really has a talent - the guitar tones are sublime, the vocals are crystal clear and each instrument has it's own tonal value and voice. This is easily my song of the last age and as you can tell I simply adore it. If this is a taste of the album to come, remember where you read of this band because great things are right around the corner. The next mega-band? I bloody well hope so!

http://www.theskyofficial.com/videos.php

Donington 1994 - I was there man

So my first ever visit to Castle Donington - Monsters of Rock - came about in 1994. Up until this point I'd been far more into going to see a single band than a mixed bag which inevitably would mean some I liked and some time queuing at the beer tents littered around the venue. This was the year for change however. After bagging a ticket for me and my then girlfriend, we also booked a seat on the 'happy' bus from Glasgow and waited for the big day.

We left Glasgow around midnight after trying to inebriate ourselves into a catatonic state for the endurance 11 hr trip there through the night. Turns out that we were not alone on this approach and as the bus filled (or more appropriately poured ) up and left a full blown party was being had aboard. Being troopers, we indulged as only one can on such occasions but it fizzled out into a pall of smoke and empty beer cans after a few hours as we all hit our limit and hammered, we passed out on our microscopic bus seats.

Several light-years later we awoke at our destination, each with our own personal dead cat in our mouths and staggered off the bus at about 11am. Rather disheveled and crumpled  we made a mental note as to the bus's location. Easy, we thought in our naivety, until we noticed the hundreds and hundreds of similar buses line astern and many many crumpled bodies emerging into the dark and grey daylight. The hell with it I thought, we'll find it later no problem, how hard can it be?

Donington Park is a pretty big place as you can imagine although in the middle of the English countryside, with many many stalls, curiosities, roadkill food 'options', beer tents, and what only a festival goer can know as the cesspit from hell ( known officially as a chemical toilet ). Great - lets go grab something to eat and a breakfast beer and all will be well in the world. We sauntered over to a likely looking area near the Dunlop bridge ( more on that later ), money in hand and ready to start the day but I had been foiled! Nothing was open and apart from the bus-going zombies infiltrating the park everything was closed and empty. Bugger.

With nothing else to do we promptly sat down on the damp grass and I mulled on my spectacular clothing choice of a suede tassly jacket as the rain started to fall.

Fast forward a few hours of boredom and dampness and things started to open and I could see more human-like forms milling around. Things were happening - Yay! Cue a few beers and I don't honestly remember what I ate but it cost a gazillion pounds and I have secured the remembrance of taste to a long lost storage area of my brain.

The line-up was pretty varied and there seemed alot for everyone :


Main Stage :
Aerosmith / Extreme / Sepultura / Pantera / Therapy? / Pride & Glory                          
                             
Kerrang Stage :
The Wildhearts / Terrorvision / Skin / Biohazzard / Cry of Love / Headswim
                          
I have no idea what time Zakk and Co hit the main stage ( 4pm maybe? ) but although Pride and Glory were a short lived band, they opened up well and were pretty entertaining. My friend I was due to meet later had the CD and it wasn't bad. They held up well live and having quaffed plenty of liquid inspiration I thought them pretty good. Nothing as heavy as BLS but rocky in a Southern American kinda vibe. They ended on War Pigs and I'd say a good effort and loads of support from the crowd. Youtube link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hezKrB29GpM&list=UUE2UOW7LoX-RNjkrkRKinqA

( Headswim opened the 2nd stage. For the life of me I can't be sure I saw them but something tells me I did - I liked what I'd heard on rock radio on a Sunday morning still battered from the Saturday night before, however I suspect no amount of hypnotherapy would bring up a clear memory. Answers on a postcard ).

Cry of Love were second up on the small stage and I did see a little of them - I have no idea who they were to this day but I do remember watching them dodge many many missiles and batting bottles of piss with their guitars. They took it in good humor and no I was not the one throwing them. I was too busy making my way down the hill to see Therapy?

Therapy? To those unfamiliar are a poppy / punky band from Ireland, and although I only really know one album, pictured above, I loved it at the time and was really looking forward to seeing them. They didn't disappoint and the crowd really were behind them. A very different approach to Pride and Glory but bouncy punchy songs and although they are far from virtuoso's it went down a storm and I do remember the lead singer did not want to leave the stage at the end and as much as I enjoyed it I had to run hell ( no pun intended ) to the bog-of-eternal-stench to relieve myself. Happily there was a beer tent en route back to the seething masses. Youtube link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXGFojSuqAA

Back up to the 2nd stage we caught some Skin - literally. I quite liked them at the time and as I remember they did a decent job but it must have been pretty unmemorable - I think the girlfriend at the time was more into them then me. I decided it was a good time to attempt to try and find my friends who arrived by some route other than the zombie express and shambled off to the Dunlop bridge. Now this is a pretty obvious landmark and it sticks out a mile thus making it's-self an ideal spot to find the lost, stolen or wasted.

Cue the picture I had envisioned versus the actual image I was presented with in real life. No words are required here.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. My seemingly flawless plan for becoming reunited with my long lost friends was clearly also shared with the other 70 000 strong crowd full of idiots like me with the same plan and not a hope in hell's chance of finding anything other than the queue for the beer tent again, let alone any shred of sanity.



Miraculously I found them and we staggered off to go see these new punks Pantera I'd heard about.


We sat up on the hill to catch up, quaff beer and get loaded while we waited. The crowd seemed pretty expectant and I will confess I didn't know one song by them. Heard of them, heard the odd thing on Headbangers Ball but was willing to give them a shot. Many people drool when I say I saw them live and that I'm the luckiest bastard alive to have been there. Shortly afterwards they want to stave my head in with a blunt instrument when I tell them what I thought of their beloved band. Donington is not a quiet venue to have an outdoor festival, sure it's can be windy and the sound gets carried about a bit, but it's never quiet when I have been there. Pantera bounced onstage and it was to be the heaviest band on the billing so far. They erupted in a sound that was thin and weak. I can't quote any of the songs they played but they in my opinion were not good for such a hyped up band, I am sure the word shit has entered into the conversation a few times. Now before you all start loading up your guns and blunt instruments to come and hunt me down, let me point out - you weren't there ( man ). They have a huge following, but I just wasn't impressed or entertained. I amused myself quite happily during their set - I could hardly hear much from Dimebag, and Alsemo's 'vocals' were weak. I've met some people who were there over the years who totally disagree with me - go figure. Youtube link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MTMTu-GSo


I wasn't really a fan of Terrorvision so I skipped that one on the small stage and probably mooched in a vague manner in ever decreasing circles toward the beer tent again while waiting for Sepultura who I again, knew very little about other than what Wally has recently described to me are officially known as 'Cookie Monster' vocals and seriously heavy guitars.

Once again we remained up on the hill for Sepultura's set. Far too much fun to be had getting seriously debauched on all levels - my legs were only a necessity to keep me secured to land, replenish beer, or descend into the 7th level of hell to pee. I am not a fan of theirs and never was but I am here to tell you Sepultura wiped the floor with Pantera. ( Put down the pick-axe - it's only an opinion people ). They were powerful, loud, and really intense. The Latino drumming they all got up to do was really impressive and to this day I still remember sitting there hearing the vocals to 'Territory' (the only song I know they actually played) reverberating and echoing around the arena with real menacing force. Not something to forget. It's something you don't get from a soundboard recording and it wasn't what I was expecting for sure but man, they kicked serious ass. Youtube link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrvptdcEPnY

One band I definitely wanted to see headline the Kerrang stage was the Wildhearts. A blend of pop, punk, and rock they were very high on my to do list. At this point you'r probably wondering what happened to the friends and the girlfriend? My friends and I had said our farewells earlier to to a conflict of interests in bands so I dragged the girlfriend over to the small stage amid whimpering's of 'Extreme will be on soon you know' .. and 'they were really good supporting Brian Adams when I saw them' etc etc etc. I feigned deafness and continued oblivious to my destination. They opened their set with Suckerpunch and as much energy as I'd seen a band hit the stage in a very long time. Ginger the singer was clearly pretty out of it ( like I was one to talk at this point in the day ) but gave a sensational performance. I was having a great time marred only by the constant buzzing in my ear about bloody Extreme. Don't get me wrong I liked Pornographiti alt the time, hell I even bought it but I really hated 3 Sides to Every Story. Eventually as all boys do I relented and allowed myself to be dragged back down the hill and for the first time had a bash at getting down the front. It was surprisingly easy ( remember that hindsight thing I mentioned earlier? ) so we were about 3 from the front and waited not too long for them to come on. Wildhearts youtube link -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f1rdRTnKl0

There had been a big storm brewing about this whole set-up. How did Extreme feel about playing after 2 seriously heavy bands? From memory they were asked this again and again by different magazines and interviewers till it became a bit of a stigma. How could they follow on from Pantera and the brutality of Sepultura? I must admit I was intrigued how they would react when they came on. Would it be balls out and in your face motherfuckers? It seemed to me to be the only way. It must of been maybe 3 or 4 songs in and they were getting very little response from the crowd. They looked kinda defeated to me although there were plenty of people there watching but Gary Cherone just sat down, shrugged his shoulders and threw his bottle of water into the crowd very close to where I was. Nuno played his heart out but there were too many elements missing from the performance and the heart and soul - rip their heads off attitude was plainly missing. The sound wasn't great either - maybe Sepultura had blown a stack or 20. Even her majesty who adored them thought they were really poor compared to her previous gig in Glasgow. I don't think it went so far as actual guilt for dragging me away from a far superior Wildhearts performance though. Perhaps I'm just bitter. Youtube link -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WobCaPcg3s

Now would be a good time to tell you that my ex girlfriend was a Commonwealth Gymnast when I met her. *Cue tumbleweed* Where the hell am I going with this conversation? Sadly it has nothing to do with how flexible or bendy she was boys, but all will become apparent soon. I don't really recall how we spent the time after Extreme ( disappointment ) and Aerosmith hitting the stage but whatever killed the time ( more beer probably ) worked and by the time they came on we were pretty far down the front again - maybe 6 or 7 deep from the front row. Now, I may be a Neanderthal and descended from the Vikings, but I do have a soft protective side so with said girlie in front of me I was there behind her, arms wrapped round her to keep linked together and look after her in the melee which was getting quite frisky in their wait for the headliners. Bonfires had been lit by my other close relatives, the Trolls, on the left of the site and the party was ready to go big time with tensions soaring and the atmosphere really getting there with darkness brooding.  I had seen Aerosmith once before in 1988 at Wembley Arena in London ( Pump tour ) for my 18th birthday and seated so far back the band looked like little fuzzy balls doing the occasional back-flip.This time it was to be different. Not quite spitting distance ( unless you were particularly talented ) but damn well close enough.

They exploded onto the stage with lights everywhere and opened with 'Eat the rich'. We all went crazy and it was all I could do to hang on to the girlfriend who instantly turned into a pogo-stick as soon as the band kicked off. As with all these big concerts, after several times your own body-weight in alcohol, the crush to get to the front becomes intense.  Next up we had Toys in the Attic and Aerosmith were playing brilliantly in front of us sardines and Tyler was in fine form. At this point things become a blur of enjoyment and losing myself to the music and the experience until all of a sudden I'm holding a dead body in my hands. Not dead as in not breathing but dead as in weight. My ex some years before had crushed her sternum ( pretty serious injury ) while throwing herself about like a rag doll doing gymnastics training. She literally was out cold due to the crush of the crowd and the only thing keeping her vertical was me. An interesting situation I'm sure you'll agree. Deciding my only route was to get the attention of the stewards at the rail in the front I waved frantically at them but none of them seemed interested. Waving at Tyler was the most probable assessment of my behavior. It took what felt like forever to get a reaction from one of the bouncers but finally he triggered what was going down and someone needed out. I had to ask for some assistance to body surf my catatonic friend towards the stage but she got there in one piece. Great, now what? There were 70 000 people behind me and less in front so I got the goon's attention again and self surfed to the front. I've played a few gigs in my time, mostly to sheep and a few lost souls in the wrong bar, but until you ever feel the roar of a crowd of that magnitude you wont understand what I felt before I headed under the stage beneath Mr Tyler to the casualty room to find out what was going down.

It looked a bit like that but darker and louder than you could ever imagine. She was roused by the ambulance people fairly quickly as it turned out she was fine but clearly the 'moshpit' down the front was out of the equation again so we chilled back with the less rabid and enjoyed the rest of the show.

The band were on fire that night and closing with Walk this Way they were followed by the traditional mountain of fireworks. Somehow we found the bus, with seconds to spare before it kindly decided to leave without us. We had probably tried every damn bus we could find prior.

One hell of a day and night. Not something I will ever forget. I do however seem to remember nothing of the trip home. Not surprising really.