I Love Laminates!

There is nothing like a backstage pass.

From the first concert I ever went to, I coveted a backstage pass. I used to watch the people wandering around with laminates around their necks and desperately wished it was me. I thought it would be the height of cool to have one.

As I got older, I began to see bands play in clubs and bars. I was able to go backstage at a lot of these places, but it didn't seem like it was really "backstage." Most of those places only required a sticker for entry, if anything, or you had to pass through on your way to the bathroom. I wanted to be backstage in an arena. Wearing that coveted laminate.

It finally happened for me in May, 2001. All access at a Bon Jovi show. The photo of me holding out the laminate with my big cheesy grin says it all.

It felt, and still feels to this day, as good as I always thought it would. And walking around backstage at Madison Square Garden was an incredible experience. Definitely the height of cool.

Just A Small Town Boy...

I admit to having a soft spot for Bret Michaels and Poison. Why? Two words.

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Bret and drummer Rikki Rocket hail from this small town outside of Harrisburg. I had family there and spent a lot of time running around the town as a little kid. It's a small community that, years ago, was dominated by a large dairy farm and nursery called Ashcombs, and a small amusement park and racetrack called William's Grove. Every summer when I would visit my family we would go to William's Grove and ride the rides all day, and at night watch the fireworks set off at the park from my aunt's front yard. Later at night you could always here the roar of the engines from the racetrack. My aunt lived very close to the dairy farm and nursery, so we could walk to get homemade ice cream in the nursery's store. The air had that cow manure smell, and we didn't worry about getting dirty running in the fields. It was a good place to be a kid.

I gravitated to Poison in the mid 80s because their music was pure fun, and they looked good. Yes, I'm a sucker for the glam rock look. And when I found out the band originated in Mechanicsburg, I was thrilled. It was an easy place to miss on the map, yet here was a major rock band calling it home! And I had a tie to it! Surely, if I ever met the band, I was in.

My aunt used to tell me about seeing Rikki around the store where she worked, shopping with his mom. She always knew it was him because, as she said, he was the only kid in Mechanicsburg with purple hair. She also knew a girl who used to date him, and this girl loaded my aunt up with tons of old flyers for me to have. They featured the band's original name, Spectres, and the pictures of teenage Bret and Rikki were cute. I saved them for posterity, in the hopes of being able to have them sign one when I finally met them.

Well, I'm still waiting. Not that I haven't tried. Poison opened for David Lee Roth when he played our local arena, Nassau Coliseum, in 1987, and my friends and I went to the hotel near the arena to try and find them. Now, I realize that because we're so close to Manhattan, most bands commute in to the shows, but then I really thought they'd be there. Instead, we got propositioned by one of Roth's roadies. Um, no thank you.

In the summer of 1999, I got the closest I'd ever been, at the PNC Bank Arts Center. I was there with my friends to see Great White, Ratt and Poison. Thanks to my best friend working in the industry, we had backstage passes. I got an autograph from CC Deville, but no Rikki or Bret. I saw Rikki's family in the catering area, but I was too shy to go up and start a conversation. The closest I got to Bret was when I literally almost bumped into him as he was heading for the stage with security while I was hurrying out front to see the start of the show. Afterwards, he was surrounded.

Now, with the success of Rock of Love, Bret Michaels is more famous than he's ever been. I watched every episode of all three seasons, fascinated and horrified at the same time. Where do they find these women? I've watched his True Hollywood Story and Behind the Music episodes, and can practically recite verbatim the story about writing "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" in a laundromat. I think Riki Rachtman had the best line on Behind the Music - Bret walks the fine line between slutty dirtbag and really nice guy. And even though I'm a bit perturbed that he hasn't accepted my Facebook friend request yet, I'll still keep coming back to him and Poison.

Small town ties are hard to break.

Coincidences?

Yesterday I wrote about the movie Anvil! The Story of Anvil. It was a really good movie, but I couldn't help but notice some references to another one of my favorite rock and roll movies, This Is Spinal Tap, spread throughout. Now, I'm certainly not comparing the documentary to the mockumentary. I'm just sayin', is all.

1. The drummer in Anvil is named Robb Reiner. The director of This Is Spinal Tap is Rob Reiner. Weird.
2. While on tour in Europe, one of the members yells out "Hello, Cleveland!" on the way to the stage. The members of Spinal Tap yell this out as they try to find the stage and get lost backstage, one of my favorite scenes. Sadly, Anvil and Spinal Tap play shows in front of about the same amount of people.
3. During the recording of their new CD, there's a shot of one of Anvil's amps set at 11. Nigel's go to 11, too.
4. Anvil record their new CD in England, and on a day off visit historic Stonehenge. Historic Stonehenge visits Spinal Tap in their film, albeit in miniature.

Just had to put that out there.

Never Was

I think how you view life says a lot about you as a person. Are you a glass half empty or a glass half full kind of person? I like to think of myself as a glass half full person myself. I prefer to think things are going to work out, good things happen to good people and life in general is good. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt and try and maintain a positive attitude.

That's how I viewed the movie Anvil! The Story of Anvil.

Back in 1985, Anvil were poised for success. But a combination of shoddy production values, nonexistant management and no label support kept them from achieving the level of success they thought they were destined to have. They never made it anywhere close to the type of fame the big four in thrash metal (their genre) did - Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Pantera. More than twenty years later, and into their 50s, singer Lips and drummer Robb Reiner were still trying to make it. The movie follows their journey as they tour Europe, record a new CD and try to get signed to a major label.

I watched the movie and kept hoping for the band to get a break. It seemed as if they took one step forward and two steps back the whole way through. They booked a European tour, great. But they had a tough time making it to gigs, getting paid by club owners and playing to mostly empty houses. One heartbreaking scene showed the band playing an arena with a 10,000 person capacity, with the actual head count being 174. They got in touch with a reputable producer who liked the new material, great. But they went into debt to pay for the recording and got turned down by every major label they approached. Finally, they played a festival in Japan to a capacity crowd who really appreciated the music and made them feel like it was worth it.

As that glass half full person, I was inspired by Steve "Lips" Kudlow. Throughout all the years, all the heartache that he has surely endured, he never lost hope. He never wavered in his belief in himself, his music and his band. In his dream. To me, that's admirable.

Obviously there are those out there who no doubt think, enough already. Just give it up. It hasn't happened by now, it's not going to happen. I can't be that kind of cynic. I still believe in dreams.

It's fitting that Anvil are now achieving success for a film about them not achieving success. The film has won many documentary film awards and the band is still recording and touring. As a glass half full person, I wish them all the luck in the world.

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll

I am an equal opportunity music lover. I really don't care what kind of genre a particular song is, if it speaks to me, I like it. So, I was really attracted to the TV program Crossroads, on CMT. Crossroads pairs a country artist and a rock artist, and they team up and sing each other's songs. I think it's a great concept, and I particularly love the slogan of the show - great music knows no boundaries. I couldn't agree more.

I've seen a few episodes of the show, but I kept missing one in particular, and I was finally able to catch it the other day. It featured a longtime favorite of mine, Def Leppard, who were paired with up and comer Taylor Swift.

In my eyes, Def Leppard can do no wrong, but I didn't know much about Taylor Swift's music. But after watching this show, I went running to my iTunes to download her stuff. There's nothing I appreciate more than a good, hooky pop song, and to quote Joe Elliott, take out the banjo and fiddle and that's what you've got. The songs were really infectious, and Ms. Swift has a new admirer on her hands.

Next on my must-watch list for this program is Heart and Wynonna. These ladies can all sing their asses off, and I can't wait to hear how they handle each other's material.

What Happens in Vegas...

Will be rockin'!

Tonight, Slash will host a concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mirage Resort and Casino. Billed as Slash & Friends, the lineup includes guests such as Joe Perry, Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander, Matt Sorum and members of Rob Zombie's band.

I have no doubt they will tear it up.

Feeling a bit Urgent...

Actually, I'm feeling a bit bummed, but Foreigner doesn't have a song with that title. I'll be missing their show tonight, and I'm sad about it.

I just have to say it. Foreigner is a great rock and roll band. I think the "corporate rock" label for them and other bands like Journey and Styx is just plain stupid. They play good, solid, hook filled rock and roll, and what's wrong with that? Being commercial isn't the equivalent of being bad.

Some may say Foreigner isn't the same since Lou Gramm left. After all, he was "the voice." I can see both sides of this. Lou Gramm had an amazing voice, but his age, his illness, and the fact that he'd performed for so many years was working against him. I saw him with the band a few years ago, and I found it hard to watch and listen to a singer who can't hit the notes he was famous for. It's heartbreaking. But I admit to being biased about the new singer Kelly Hansen. I was a fan of his band Hurricane in the 80s, and I always thought he was an underrated singer back then. Listening to him perform songs I love pumps me up and I think he really does them justice. And Mick Jones is simply Mick Jones, still awesome after all this time.

So this evening as I go about my regular life, I'll be humming Foreigner songs to myself and wishing I was rocking out. Maybe next tour...