PiercingMetal Musings

2008 began the fourth year of website life for PiercingMetal.com, and when the year began we made some modifications that took the “Other” sub-section that fell under the main heading “Reviews” and changed the way it delivered its content to readers. When the site launched “Other” was for those reviews that were outside of your conventional CD or DVD item and as result was where the reader could find Event coverage, Book Reviews and Demo Release reviews. However as time went on the need for expansion led me to move any demo or unsigned review into the main CD or DVD section but something still needed to be done for Books and Events. Those who read the Editorial for 2007 know already that individual headings are now available for those items and the response has been wonderful and it makes things a little easier when it comes down to it. This blog posting is not about those sections but instead about a redelivery of that which you have already seen along with a little explanation about it.

Many who have read my work since the beginning or even had the chance to meet and talk with me know that I began this little adventure as a Concert Reporter for The Metal Circus out of Barcelona, Spain. With that I also I began taking photos of the bands that I was reviewing in order to have something that accompanies the article and brings it to larger than life feel for those who are sitting on the couch or surfing their MySpace accounts. When the reader checks out the concert review for the main artist they can also see the Gallery of images that we loaded up for the performance and while we aimed larger attention to the headliners, we would also offer up some photos of the opening bands as well. We did this because you never really know who you are catching at these shows sometimes or just how fast their own climb to the top of the musical heap is coming along. The downside of this was the fact that all of these galleries would only be seen if the reader was looking at that particular headliners concert review and after some hard thought I realized that this was a problem - until now….

Presenting the PiercingMetal.com Gallery section which now sits comfortably on the main menu of options snugly between Concerts and News. Let me explain how we have set it up and how you can best enjoy it. Clicking the Gallery menu item brings you to a new page where you will see the last twenty band photo gallery pages that have been loaded into the database. We’ve added them into the system in a “from the beginning” chronological order so the reader will take a little bit of a time travel trip with me and see those first times out shooting the bands and watch as it slowly progresses closer to where we are today. At present only the last twenty records are visible on the page but the great thing is that you can search for Artist, Label, Venue and Photographer if you like and the query result will launch a seperate page for you to browse through. This is great if you are a fan of Behemoth or Into Eternity and want to see all of the galleries that are related to them. It even allows you to search your favorite provider of the photos since there are some folks who help me out in this, or have in the past. As this area gains a little more life in terms of site time I will probably add the means to click through the pages of them but I first need to determine how best to code that before I do it.

Looking back on this when it was ready to be presented to the web visitors I had to admit that it took me back a little bit as well because some of my earliest shots are rather primitive and not the best that there is. However, this was also my own beginning in this role and I was not only learning how to do this properly but I was also learning how to follow the processes and channels in order to deliver to you some really crushing Heavy Metal entertainment. I’m excited about this new development in the site as it allows us to revisit stuff that you knew was in there but couldn’t find as easily as you might like to. Take a look when time allows and as I mentioned keep on watching for new additions of our past work. Thanks for the support as always, we raise the horns to you.

If you have been following any of the notable Heavy Metal sites that are currently online then you are probably already aware of one called “Talking Metal”, but if you are not let’s get a little introduction going. Talking Metal is a podcast site and its hosted by Jon Ostronomy and Mark Strigl who do interviews with some of the big guns in the Metal music world and with them try to provide an interesting outlet for those who like to hear those kinds of things. Over the last year, podcasts such as theirs have been taking off pretty rapidly in the online world and with the continuing dominance of digital music players like the Ipod, are something that people are really getting into. If you doubt me, just login to your I-Tunes or your Zune Marketplace and browse for them because I am sure you will find a podcast related to any number of topics that you find of interest. Once you sign up for them, you download it to your player and you can continue on in your day and listen to the show at your leisure. The Talking Metal podcast is also available on their website and can be enjoyed that way, but I like using the player myself since I am still learning about all its features. I’ve been happy to meet with the guys during my own Metal travels as I adventure out into the Concert scene of the Big Apple and I have to say that I really admire their dedication to it as well as the strides they have made in getting the Metal word around. As a provider of Internet Metal media content myself I know full well just how much work something like this requires. We had discussed and planned my appearance on one of their podcasts in the future but the scheduling was not really open for us to do it and that whole thing leads me to the subject of this little blog tale. Since its launch the Talking Metal guys have been able to generate some super high visibility with it and its impact did not go unnoticed for it all led to the fine folks at The Fuse Network giving them their own program that will air every week and let them expand upon the ideas and topics normally covered during the podcast.

The Fuse Network is pretty much an MTV for the new generation because they show videos and concerts and band interviews about the most current and relevant acts in today’s music scene. MTV started this way before they launched a couple of hundred inane “reality” shows. Fuse was once also the home for the lovely Mistress Juliya, but she has since moved on to other adventures of her own. Anyway, I digress about my original point. One day while coming home from the day job I received a phone call from Mark about my potentially taking part in one of the episodes that was being filmed the following day and of course barring a hurricane I knew I would be there. One doesn’t always get the chance to do something cool like that so how could I resist. I arrived at the Fuse TV studios and was instantly awed by the visual of the place because its loaded with neon and flashing lights. It sure does get a lot of the tourists attention and makes their arrival into the city from Penn Station something they will not soon forget. When I got inside I really didn’t know what to expect but I was sent down to the “Green Room”, which amused me greatly since the room was painted red. Mark and Jon came in to say hello and told me briefly about the bands that would be discussed for the show. My particular episode would feature Killswitch Engage and the might Lamb Of God so I felt that was kind of cool. “Metal” Mike Chlasiak from Halford and Sebastian Bach’s band was their musical director and I would also meet their comic relief Bud Friendly. While enjoying a beverage and some wonderful Famous Amos cookies in the red green room I was joined by a lovely young lady who worked at the Coyote Ugly bar. Apparently she would be participating in the show as well, and hey the more the merrier and of course I was now super curious as to how it would all work out. After a short time the producer came down and brought us up to the studio room and it was a cool little stage with the desk for the guys to sit at and behind them it looked like a wall of amplifiers. The other cast members sit right next to them so there was a chair for Bud and Mike and then a couch for the guests which were in this case Julianna, a Metal dude who’s name I believe was Adam and me. There was not much direction to be given from the production team, and it was essentially that you would know when they wanted you to speak up about something so you just had to pay a little more attention to the conversation. With my being so fascinated by the cameras and overall mechanics behind the whole thing I knew my paying attention would not be an issue this afternoon.

The way the show runs for a taping is rather interesting because the show is not done with a true live audience like the David Letterman or Conan O’Brien show and instead focuses on footage of the hosts that get worked together with pre-recorded clips of the interviews and activities with the band. Periodically the guys would direct their attention over to us folks on the couch and it was fun because you never really knew when they were going to toss an inquiry over to you. While the show was taping there was a lot of couch folk banter with the hosts but since it is only a 30 minute program that needs to fit everything into the time there was a considerable amount of editing done. I spoke to the guys about a number of different things that were directed to me such as Metallica, Stryper, Dio and even Probot of all things but in the final cut only the topics about Dio and Probot made it on. I admit that it really cool to see it when it aired as beneath my image was the text of “Ken Pierce, PiercingMetal.com”. If only television offered hyper linking to websites, we could have garnered some additional traffic straight away. Perhaps in the future this will be an option and wouldn’t that be cool. Julianna spoke a couple of times and so did the young lad of Metal who was on the couch with us, but in the end only one comment of hers made the cut while none of his input was included. I think he was a last minute addition to the mix since there was a different guest mentioned to me when I arrived but I guess they ended up not being able to make it. Either way, it was pretty cool to have PiercingMetal.com’s name up in the lights and also being able to offer some input on the topics that were being discussed. It was also fun to joke with Metal Mike who was playing guitar right next to my spot on the couch. He is a really solid player and has a lot of interesting stories to tell and while it would have been a lot more fun if the random chit chat we all were doing was part of the show, alas this was not to be the case since there was a format to follow. Jon does a moment in “KISStory” which is always cool with me as I am a super huge KISS fan for three decades now (yikes) and Mark briefly mentions a couple of the new hot releases on the market. The show I was part of found the recent releases by Airbourne and Black Tide being presented. Having heard these albums myself I can attest to their being necessary music for your collection. They will of course be reviewed on the site, or are already there based on the time frame that you are reading this blog item.

The show was apparently set for seven episodes, which included the pilot and the episode that I taped was the second of them. If you’ve missed it there is no need to worry since the whole series is currently in re-runs so you can get those DVR’s recording them all, or checking that the VCR still works and taping them for posterity. I hope it gets picked up again because it was such a fun show on the whole and even more of an honor to be a part of one of the episodes. I have to admit my doing this did set off some bright lights about how to possibly make PiercingMetal.com a little more interesting so lets see what I can come up with in the future. During the breaks in the shows taping I had a couple of moments to snap some candids of the guys and the set along with some of the cast and these photos can be viewed by clicking on the graphic below.

If you have been able to check out the Fuse TV and you really liked what you saw, you can help by offering up your voice to the proper Public Relations channels that are featured on the link below. Remember that the viewer always has a voice about programming and when we want something to come back we CAN make it happen.

Fuse TV Contact:
http://press.fuse.tv/Contact/

In the meanwhile you can also check out their podcast site and download a bunch of them to your music player of choice via this link below. Since the time of the show taping I was also one of their guests during a podcast and while it was unexpected for me to actually participate, I gladly will raise the horns for the Metal in whatever fashion I may.

Talking Metal Podcast: http://www.talkingmetal.com

Looks like it’s time for me to get back to the review process. Keep on reading Legions, and we shall keep it all coming to amuse and entertain. Thanks as always for your support.

Don’t be alarmed dear readers for I have not chosen to wander upon the snowy paths of addiction in any fashion but I can honestly say that this article is really about my evening with Cocaine. For those who are still somewhat confused let me clear it up by stressing that this is a band who sports the tricky narcotic as their name. According to legend and their press bio of course, the group had been in a deep freeze for sometime (2 decades give or take a year) and when I heard about their coming back I chose to seek them out and present the details in one of our concert review articles. Regular readers of the site will appreciate our using the existing format for the manner in which it flows. Just click the logo below to be brought to the coverage as well as a few dozen photos of the band in action. We hope you enjoy it.

Let’s face it – when you are a photographer or even just someone who likes to take pictures, you often need to carry around a whole bunch of stuff to do it properly. The amount of said gear is generally based on the level of professional that you actually are in the larger scheme of things. However, whether you are working for Rolling Stone, The Daily News or just capturing the family memories there is something that we all have in common - our carry cases often scream very loudly “hello everyone, please be aware that there is expensive equipment in here”. Having to worry about your gear’s safety while you travel should not be something that risks you carrying it around or even worse something that gets in the way of a perfect shot because you are all stressed out.

With this in mind the talented folks over at Think Tank Photo have fashioned a clandestine carry all that goes by the name “Urban Disguise” and I was able to get my hands on one of these bags so I could determine just how good it would be for the tasks at hand. The Urban Disguise comes in a number of different sizes which is a very good thing based on the fact that different photogs have many different needs. There are those who might have a lot of stuff to lug around like some of the super powered paparazzi that I see on a regular basis while others have only one or two things to bring along with them when they hit the Field. For a regular guy like me who currently only sports a camera body, a couple of different sized lenses and some accessories it seemed that the Urban Disguise 30 was going to do the trick just fine for my purposes. Here is a photo of the bag we are speaking of, so please absorb its sleek look and design before reading on.

As you can see the bag itself is rather stylish in terms of the overall “look meets design” and it comes in the “goes with everything” color of black. While the color might not appeal to those who like hot pinks or electric blues with their carry alls one needs to remember that the idea is to disguise rather than to broadcast. While carrying it the other night a friend saw me with it and commented on how much they liked my new work bag so I am pretty sure it will be doing what its supposed to since its already fooling those I interact with. On the top are study handles and they are made of a thick fabric that is protected by hard plastic and it really seems sturdy. The shoulder strap is of similar strength and material and to be sure that it doesn’t come off the main bag all that easily there are solid metal clasps as opposed to cheap plastic clip on pieces that I have seen on many bags today.

In looking at the way the UD30 is configured for your stuff, it appears that the lenses and accessories are best stored in the main compartment in the center of the bag. I was able to fit both of my lenses and flash accesory in the space and there was still a good bit of room left. The documentation about it suggests that you store the SLR body in the front pouch, and while there is a sizable space there along with a fold over clasping flap; I felt that I was better served and protected by making sure it rested in the main portion of the bag with the lenses. This was more a matter of choice for me as not only am I a klutz in the pitch dark sometimes, but I do attend a lot of Metal shows and at times find myself wandering precariously close to the mosh pit action and one needs to have their gear secured big time in that sort of scenario. The fold over flap has a zipper compartment which is perfect for pens and perhaps some documentation booklets while the area just above the front pocket offers you another space to do some organizing. It’s made of what is called “nylon ballistics material” and this seems rather good at protecting everything from the elements. To be on the safe side there is even a seam sealed raincover included for you to use if you need to shoot and the weather is nastier than you expected. Another thing that appealed to me was the strength of the pulls on the zippers as they were much sturdier than many others I have found on carry cases. The sides have expanding pockets which are perfect spaces for your musical player of choice or your cell phone. This professional looking bag even gives you a place to keep a couple of business cards for that added touch of class.

The bag can be purchased directly from the manufacturer and I must inform you that it’s a little more expensive than something like a Case Logic bag, but in the end you get what you pay for. The Urban Disguise bags are really something to look at and should you get too much gear for the size you own you can always use it for your digital cameras or video camcorders. To be honest with you, I have plans to store my little point and shoot in that front pocket since it will slide in nice and easy down there and be at the ready for those quick blasts of Rock and Roll whenever I need to call on it. Should you laptop computer users be reading this and mumbling about how you wish that they made a bag for your needs well I can ease your troubled mind by telling you that they do, but the information about that will have to be saved for a blog in the future. Protect your gear and travel in style with the Urban Disguise and tell them that PiercingMetal.com sent you.

Click the logo below to be brought to the company’s official site.

Hey Legions and those who are aimlessly wandering around the Internet and decided to spend a little time here. This is a quick post to informatize you about the posting (finally) of my Editorial View of 2007. Yes I know its a couple of months after I wanted to feature it on the site, but with the amount of work to do and concerts to see there was just insufficient time to do it. In any event the link is below so I ask that you take a moment and check it out. There is so much coming that your head will spin so I thank you all for your continued interest in the site. Keep the horns raised high and the volume up high.

http://www.piercingmetal.com/editorial_kenpierce_2007.htm

Yes its true, I don’t only do things that are associated with the Heavy Metal music scene and sometimes I like to venture out to other events and affairs that I am asked to join in on. I felt that when something is on the interesting side that I would line it out in the Musings Blog for you all to enjoy and well if I am wrong here just hang around idle until I muse about something a little more Metal. One such adventure was my invitation to the Ron English art exhibit which was held at The Opera Gallery in Soho, NYC. Ron’s publicist is someone I deal with very often in the way of reviews for her client rosters CD’s and DVD’s so when I get a personal invite to something a little off my beaten path I like to see what the skinny is going to be. So after a nice Vietnamese dinner at my favorite place for the stuff down in China Town my friend and I headed over to Soho to find the Opera Gallery. For those curious diners reading the blog, I went to Nha Trang and you can read more about adventures there in my blog called “My Dinner (or Lunch) With Sonata Arctica”. It’s a restaurant that I highly recommend and so far everyone who has joined me there has agreed that its awesome.

We were among the first to arrive at the gallery which was nice since it allowed us to get better situated and enjoy all of the art that Ron was showing tonight in relative peace. If you have not recognized his name for some reason that surprises me a little since he is rather famous and of course his images are very distinguishable since they are often loaded with Pop Culture icons that we have all grown up with. He had art featuring super-heroes and cartoon characters around tonight but none of his musical icon representations. Since I am hardly the biographer, you can click this WIKIPEDIA Entry and be brought to a page which will allow you the chance to familiarize yourself with the man and his work a little better before we continue. Read on MacDuff….

Ron English on Wikipedia

Now that you know more of the important details on Ron English we can get on to the business at hand - looking at the art and absorbing its uniqueness. With the place and the event just beginning and having limited people milling about I started to take photos in order to let you readers feel as though you were with us at the gala affair. I made sure to get to every piece that was hanging up for good measure as there are more than a good number of you who did not get to attend this thing with me after all. When I began to do this I was told that I should not be doing so by one of the security folks on duty. I stopped of course, but as I walked around some more the gallery chief asked me why I was NOT taking pictures and when I told him the previous chiding I had received he told me that this why I had come in the first place and to proceed as planned. Given that gallery owner trumps security detail I chose to click away while I could do so and did it quick just in case this became some sort of Abbott & Costello routine. Our link to the Gallery is below for your viewing pleasure to please click and enjoy all of Ron’s artwork from the New York show. Of course, you may not reproduce these in any fashion.

http://www.piercingmetal.com/gallery/gallery_ronenglish_112907.htm

The event was full of Ron’s admirers and friends and with his publicist being someone who I deal with in music journalism very much, there were also some music people milling about as well. We found Cy Currin (lead singer from The Fixx) and Ricky Byrd (former guitarist of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts) and even MTV’s Alex Colletti enjoying Ron’s work and talking with everyone around them. Here’s a photo of me and the guys. True rockers all huh? It was definitely cool to joke with Cy (who I found never tires of people finding ways to fit “One Thing Leads To Another” in conversation) and to speak with Alex about the forthcoming “KISSology” DVD. Alex is the producer on that release and has also been involved with the hit series “Unplugged”. He is also a super KISS fan so we had a lot to discuss.

Pictured (Left to Right): Ricky Byrd, Ken Pierce, Alex Colletti, Cy Currin

After the event was in full swing I managed to catch a moment with the man himself, so of course being one who is always about the moment I asked him if we could take a photograph together. He was really a nice guy, and he also had his kids along with him. You see Ron has recently released an art book called “Son Of Pop”, and this particular book features a number of paintings that have his children as their subject matter. As you brief through the pages you find images of the kids as members of the rock band KISS and various Super Heroes and cartoon characters. As a long time fan boy I particularly enjoyed any of the comic book character and KISS representations in the book. Here is a photo of me and Ron English, sadly I didn’t seem at my best Metal Media Dude best.

The rest of the night was a blur of networking, red wine, laughs and bad jokes every so often because even though this was a classy affair there is no need to be stuffy. It seemed as though all of Ron’s art was available for sale and while I liked a lot of it, I held back on purchasing for a few reasons. The first was because he didn’t have any of his KISS paintings there for me to choose from and the second was well, I really don’t have that kind of cash to play with. Readers are welcome to donate any painting that they would like us to have in the PiercingMetal.com Editorial Sanctuary should the mood strike them. I took a bunch of candids for people that I will most likely never see again in my life, but of course all of them were left with a PM.com business card. I like to think of it as my Heavy Metal mark of Zorro. One can only hope that many are among the curious and come to visit us over there on the site to see the articles and photographs. Here is a photo of myself and the gallery dude getting our best Metal face on. I admit mine was a little wine induced by this time or maybe it was because I had listened to a lot of Behemoth earlier that day.

So while this was a great time and a whole lot of fun I have to say that it did not come without a little bit of a bummer for me. You see somewhere between the gallery viewing and my travels home my Creative Zen Vision M MP3 player “walked away” from the bag that I was carrying and at times had left down unattended. A stupid move but I was positive it was in a safe spot, alas I was incorrect in that assumption. I had hoped that it fell out of my bag somewhere at the event and that someone would leave it with the staff because people return lost music players all the time right? I know, I’m insane for thinking that. So out there somewhere in the mean streets of NYC is someone who has a fully loaded to the hilt with Black and Death Metal, Progressive and Power Metal and a whole lot of Gothic stuff. Did I mention it was cursed in case you are reading this and feel like returning it? Oh well, you cant fault a guy for trying. I guess the main thing learned is that you never leave anything important unattended no matter where you are going or what you are doing. It could hold some F’d up circumstances for you if you do. While it will be fun spending money on a new device, I mourn my old one and dread re-loading the hundred or so albums that had been on there. Sigh.

Official Ron English Website: http://www.popaganda.com

Anyways, the link above makes for some interesting surfing and if you are curious about the book that I spoke of earlier, the “Son Of Pop” one, you can order a copy via this Amazon.com code which I’ve provided for you below. I really enjoyed it and found it pretty neat that it was presented as one of those Golden Books that we all used to read as kids.

If you have been a fan of Heavy Metal for any number of years then it is without question that you already know about Rob Halford, the legendary lead singer for the equally legendary Judas Priest. Their music has defined a generation of Metal music and formed its fanbase to record proportions. As a member of The Priest, Halford has recorded some of the genres most popular anthems and off the top of my head the ones that everyone seems to key into are “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’”, “Breaking The Law”, “Living After Midnight” and “Hell Bent For Leather”. There’s a ton more and I know that I am annoying my fellow Judas Priest acolytes by leaving some “signature” tunes out, but this is just a musing and not a complete recap of the band’s history or their overall discography. After almost two decades with the group Halford decided to move on and front a band of his own design. The parting from Priest found him forming the band Fight, who were a brutalizing quintet when it came down to it. With Fight the singer would record two albums War Of Words and A Small Deadly Space. From Fight he would record with Trent Reznor under the moniker Two but this effort was very ill-recieved since it was not what the larger fan base had expected to come from The Metal God. When he had finished his plans with Two he jumped right back into the fray of Metal by forming and fronting a band very aptly labeled - HALFORD. These albums kicked new levels of ass for the singer and we would get two studio releases and a live album (Resurrection, Crucible, & Live Insurrection). The reception to Rob Halford’s revisit to Metal was met with great response and while we all anxiously awaited another studio album the news came in that he had reunited with his former band Judas Priest and a tour would be among the first things planned. The rest is pretty much recent music history with the exception of the fact that in late 2007 he would launch his own label imprint “Metal God Entertainment” and with this we would see a lot of great surprises released.

The first release would be Metal God Essentials Vol. 1 and its a combination Greatest Hits and DVD preview. We reviewed this on PiercingMetal.com when it came out so please check the link below to see what we thought of the album:

PiercingMetal.com review of “Metal God Essentials Vol. 1

He would also release the never before seen documentary film “Fight: War Of Words - The Film”, which would be the story of how he built the band after he came to the decision to leave a band like Priest. Each of these three releases would come in a standard and a special edition. I had to say if this was how this enterprise was beginning I could hardly wait to see what would come from them over the months to come. As part of the promotion of these releases, Halford would be making appearances at some of the major retailers so he could meet his fans and sign their purchases. One of the stops was J&R Music World in NYC and with this store in my immediate area I just couldn’t resist the chance to go to take some photos and to meet the man himself if I was lucky enough to get the opportunity. I got there just before it began on purpose since tonight was a COLD night with a capital “C” to say the least. When I arrived there were already faithful Metal heads on the line and all were holding several different items each. There were records, CD’s, posters and photos that they had owned for years as well as the new CD’s and DVD’s that had just been released that day. Suddenly, the man himself was here and the place roared as he walked by and went up to the dais to sit down. The surprise was that he was also with two members of the band Fight (guitarists Russ Parrish and Brian Tilse), so they would also be able to sign the new CD/DVD set for the fans. There were posters from the film all around and enough extra for the crowd to take one home with them after they met the singer and his former band. I snapped a couple of dozen shots and have a link for you to follow should you like to see them, click away…..

PiercingMetal.com Gallery of Halford Signing

As you can see Mr. Halford seemed in good form and the other guys in the group were not too shy about mugging for my camera while Rob talked to his fans. You will also notice that they were joined by none other than Metal Mike Chlasiak (Halford, PainMuseum, Testament, Sebastian Bach). There were a few hundred people in attendance by my count and while I would have liked to see some more tonight, this number kept the appearance short and allowed every fan who braved the cold to get their stuff signed and offered them all a chance to speak to the singer and pose for photos with him as well. I was happy to snap a couple of shots for some of the die hards that I often see in the front row at the shows I am shooting/reviewing. Dedication like this is what the genre needs my friends, so keep that in mind. The guys in the band were just as accomodating and seemed to be enjoying the chance to sign this newly issued Fight stuff. The K5 Demos are actually recordings taken from the bands first go round on their material before their debut album even came out, so it was a cool chance to hear how this stuff was being fleshed out.

As the crowd got down to its last person I asked them if they would mind my doing the same thing as everyone else had done. They kindly obliged me and I made sure to do it as official as everyone else had done and as I approached Rob I couldn’t help but being in a little bit of shock because this is “The Metal God” we are talking about and you don’t get to meet him every day. Since he had been meeting fans for about an hour and a half I kept my talking to him brief and essentially thanked him for all that he has done for the genre. He seemed excited about the new company and the future of his projects as well as Judas Priest and like a typical fan I replied that we could hardly wait for these things to see the light of day. There are a whole bunch of things on the plate for Metal God Entertainment in terms of music and video and I am sure that all of us will dig what they end up releasing. I had to make sure Rob got the PiercingMetal.com card since I was there and he took it graciously and read it aloud. “So this PiercingMetal is your magazine then Ken?” he asked, and I was like a kid as I replied “yes sir, I hope you have time to check it out”. He said that he would and one could only hope that he found a break to do so. I asked the store manager to snap my shot so here I am being all touristy and trying not to make an insane Metal face. It was an honor to meet such a legendary performer and I cannot say this enough.

I was in such a shock after this meeting that I didn’t do anything more than talk to Metal Mike, Russ and JJ while I should have stopped to take an additional photo. I have known Mike from these shows and events for a couple of years now and he told the guys about the site and that I was a writer/photographer. From there I think it was JJ who growled the site name and laughed saying how it liked the play on words as he saw my name. Of course I didn’t think to record these “sound bytes” for some kind of future use but alas hindsight is truly 20/20.

Judas Priest is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their first-ever concept album which will be called “Nostradamus”. It has been said that this will be a double CD release and a tour will be done to support the release. I am interested in seeing how The Priest handles a concept release because these are often either good or bad with limited middle ground. See you at the shows Metal maniacs.

On Monday, November 26th the sad announcement hit the Metal news wires like a rapidly firing machine gun that legendary Heavy Metal singer Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot had been found dead in his home. The initial report was that he had passed away the previous day and the full details were not disclosed but it was only days after the public announcement that we found out that it was determined that Kevin had been dead for at least six days before he was found. The singer was always surrounded by controversy/news/wild stories and with his passing the online mediums were bombarded with music personality recollections about their own experiences with him. As you might expect some of these tales were very interesting and I have yet to read a bad one. I was a fan of Quiet Riot since the beginning, well, I mean since the album Metal Health came out and did its whole blockbuster thing for Hard Rock and Metal music on the nation’s airwaves. I even played a lot of their music in the bands I had in my youth and I even find myself listening to those old records every so often. Based on this I decided to offer up my own recollections as they relate to the band and the singer.

Tale 1: It’s 1983 and the band was coming to New York to perform at the legendary L’Amour’s - The Rock Capitol Of Brooklyn; and if you don’t know the name let me explain that during the eighties this was THE PLACE, the Metal Mecca and every band who was someone would perform here. The club access policy of the day was not as liberal as it is today and in 1983 the legal drinking age was 19, but me and my friends were 18, so gaining access tonight was going to take some work. I remember going in and not really being sure why I was let in because they were giving people shit about it, and my friend Rizzo who I still know some 28 years later, was one of them. He made it in somehow which was a good thing. QR would be supported by a band called Talas that evening and this is the group that gave us the one and only Billy Sheehan, and if you can find any of that old stuff by them I suggest you search for it since it kicked ass. Eventually it was time for Quiet Riot to come on and I remember it being late, being hot, and being super crowded. You see, L’Amour was always known for late headliner start times and was often guilty of packing everyone in like sardines. This practice is not really done anymore to my knowledge based on everyone fearing fire code violations and potential problems. Back in the day it seemed like no one cared much about it. Certainly not the audience who were huddled so close together that you ended up getting to know people a little too good in some cases. I also remember being super excited for while I had enjoyed Metal music for a few years by this time this would be my very first club show ever. I remembered Quiet Riot hitting the stage like a hurricane and of course time has clouded my recollection of the set list but suffice it to say they would focus and play almost all of Metal Health and while it had not yet been released, the band would feature a couple of numbers from their second album Condition Critical. They definitely rocked and left people in awe with the thunderous and very loud presentation. If you were in that audience and didn’t have the record beforehand you were no doubt going to hit the local record store and buy it the following day. As a band they were a tight until with DuBrow’s bluesy rasp over the shredding of Carlos Cavazo while a second to none rhythm section of Frankie Banali (drums) and Rudy Sarzo (bass) provided a crushing combination. At the time I was just learning to play two bass drums so Banali was really impressing me with the apparent ease that he approached this manner of playing. Quiet Riot was one of the original vanguards from the Hollywood Hard Rock scene and through their own success ended up paving the way for the bands that followed. Having lived and purchased music when this was all happening I cannot tell you how much I spent on records and tapes as well as trying to see the shows and purchase equipment as a young musician. The memory of my first club experience with them as the headlining band is still one of my personal highlights that I talk about when everyone compares their own Rock & Roll notes. I didn’t meet the band that night or remain at the club late enough to find them rolling out but that was cool and the night fun-filled enough. The night also started a new practice of hitting the shows at L’Amour like many of the other Metal youth with friends as we supported the heroes of the genre for many years to come. The dream was to play at this venue one day and eventually this would come true but that is for another blog at some future date.

Tale 2: This one fast forwards us to only a couple of years ago and I would like to think its about early 2003 when it occurred. The band was appearing at a club called Don Hills down in lower Manhattan and my friend Kevin had won tickets on Eddie Trunk’s show to see them and he asked me to join in for the fun. I had not yet begun my US Representative Role for The Metal Circus (this would happen in late 2003) so no back loaded review is present on PiercingMetal.com for me to send you to. I remember that the night was cold but who cared it was the full original lineup of the band that I remembered from years ago and the set was bound to feature more of the hits than less and what better way to spend an evening than with friends, Heavy Metal, and other rockers. It would be the first time I ever went to Don Hills and its a trek to get to since its all the way down on the West Side but once you find it you see that it is a fairly decent place to check out a band. The stage is to the front of the house and roomy yet intimate and there is no real photo pit. At this time such things didn’t matter much to me but now the do based on the writing for the site. Eddie Trunk was walking around and I got to meet him which was cool for he has a great Metal radio show and has been doing the best he could for the genre for years. We need more die hards like him in place to be quite honest.

As expected the show kicked many levels of ass and the guys showed that they still had what it took to be a great Heavy Metal band. They were supporting the release of a live CD and DVD to my knowledge and for the most part played every single song that I wanted to hear during their set. Personal highlights were of course the main hits of “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)”, “Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Slick Black Cadillac”. They were selling shirts and photos and I didn’t jump on purchasing one of the photos since I hadn’t realized that they planned on hanging around after the show to meet and greet the crowd in attendance. So I did the next best thing and made them sign napkins which I one day hope to find again. It was great to talk to them for a few minutes and Kevin especially, since he noticed that I was wearing a Type-O-Negative logo button and asked me if it was in fact the bands pin. I told him yes it was and he said how he didnt know too much about them but had liked what he heard. I then asked if he would like the button since I was sure I could find another one like it and he quickly said yes he would. He then placed it on his shirt, signed the napkin and gave me a hearty handshake and big smile. He seemed quite the humble individual and I guess this comes over time when one experiences the roller coaster lifestyle of the music industry. I also enjoyed talking to Frankie and letting him know how he inspired me to some degree when I first saw him. When he asked what gig it was since he had done so many that he forgot most of them I mentioned that it was the L’Amour show. He then had instant recollection and remembered it like it was yesterday.

Kevin DuBrow’s passing away will clearly leave an irreplaceable void in the lives of those he left behind but luckily we all have our memories and the stories that we have read about online from his dearest friends. I am proud to say that Quiet Riot was a part of my own Rock & Roll beginnings as I think many who are in my age group can say the same thing. They did the job and set the ball moving a little faster than it had been rolling. For that and for his accomplishments as a singer we thank and raise the horns high in his honor. As the representative of a journalistic medium like PiercingMetal.com, I extend the most heartfelt sympathy to his loved ones, and pretty much anyone who was a fan of what he did for music. He left us far too early, and will never be replaced. Thank you Kevin DuBrow for being a one of a kind personality that no one will easily forget.

Update: After all the tributes and accolades that the singer received upon his passing we got the sad news from the medical examiners that DuBrow had overdosed on cocaine and passed away some six days prior to his being found. I wasn’t going to update my views and recollections but then felt I should when it was broadcast that we lost him based on such useless shit as drugs. I’m not a fan nor an advocate of that stuff and cannot stress enough to anyone out there that this is not the road to take. If you indulge, please try to stop and find something less lethal to amuse yourself because the outcomes are far too often fatal. Nobody wants that believe me.