Heavy metal memories
I'm feeling very nostalgic tonight for the "metal years" of the 1980's (when I was in high school and college) and early 1990's when hair bands reigned musically. I think what brought this on is I have "Metal Mania" playing in the background on the VH-1 Classic cable TV channel as I am playing and working on the computer. After being inspired, I thought I'd take a break and write this entry.
I'm a big fan of 80's hair bands. Back then I had all the requisite trappings: bad 80's hair- o.k. I admit it was a mullet but a tasteful version if that's possible- think Joe Eliott from Def Leppard's hair at the time of the album "Hysteria" (1987) -- The "Pour Some Sugar On Me" video in particular. Fortunately, I had thick hair so I never needed Aquanet, which by the way, is one of those scents that I always remembered (I remember both the regular and grape scented versions. Isn't interesting how scent memories always stay with you?) I also had the standard gear: a leather jacket, the snakeskin & leather cowboy boots, a spiked wristband, jewelry in the form of a choker that had a dagger on it, and lastly the requisite tiger striped bandanna which when not worn at a concert (tied around my wrist or my upper leg) hung from my car rear view mirror. I didn't have a single ear piercing with dangling earring- I'm too much of a pain wimp. I did consider getting an earclip with a dangling metal feather instead but I never got it for some reason. Where did I get the gear? I bought the jacket from Wilson's Suede and Leather, the boots from The Wild Pair (those who recognize the boots and the store name will probably be smiling and nodding knowingly or bowing their head and shaking it in knowing shame), and the choker from Stairway to Heaven (A great but no longer open rock-n-roll shop in Boston. If you remember the store, you're probably smiling and nodding knowingly right now.)
Every Week I went to a local club called Axis for their heavy metal nights that were on Wednesday. I also went to a now defunct place called the Channel every once in a while (if you're of a certain age and were into the music scene back then, you'll know the place). On metal nights local and/or national acts played- See the list of the club shows I've seen further in this entry. On nights national acts played, a local radio station WAAF 107.3 FM would send their street team out to the club. I saw these guys so often I was on a first name basis with the head of the team (I think his name was Rick). At Axis, I met Eric Martin lead singer of the band Mr. Big- he came out and was hanging out with the crowd as we waited to be let into the club on the night the band was performing. I also met Paul Geary one of the founders and the drummer for the band Extreme. He was hanging out that night with Pat Badger, another founder and the bassist for Extreme. When I was talking to Paul he told me what the next release from their current album at the time (Extreme II: Pornograffitti) would be- it was the song "Hole Hearted." I also got know socially some of the people in local bands.
My personal preference in heavy metal music is pop/glam metal from artists like Bon Jovi, Poison, Def Leppard, and similar groups. I also prefer melodic hard rock from groups where the lead singer has a "big and operatic voice," such as: Yngwie Malmsteen's various line-ups, Queensryche, Dio, and Iron Maiden to name a few. A sub-preference to the melodic hard rock type of song are those songs whose lyrics are darkly mythic, such as those from Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore's various groups, and Dio. Generally, I enjoy all types of heavy metal with the exception of thrash/speed metal such as that by Megadeath or Anthrax- I can't live on a steady diet of it but can enjoy it in small doses -- However, I can find at least one song by speed/thrash groups that I do like, for example: "I'm The Man" and "Bring The Noise" by Anthrax. And, since Metallica sold out and went commercial with the song "Enter Sandman" from the self-titled album "Metallica."
During the "metal years" I saw many shows in both arena and club venues. Those shows were:
ARENA SHOWS:
• Triumph & Yngwie Malmsteen (1985 - The Sport of Kings tour @ The Meadowlands- Brenden Byrne Area, Rutherford, NJ)
• Poison & Lita Ford and Britny Fox (1988 @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Bon Jovi & Skid Row (1989 - The New Jersey tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Kiss & Little Caesar and Slaughter (1990 - The Hot In the Shade tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Spinal Tap & The Big Nazo Band (1992 - The Break Like the Wind tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Kiss - The original members (1998 - The Psycho Circus tour @ The Fleet Center, Boston, MA)
CLUB SHOWS:
• Hurricane & The Electric Angels (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• The Electric Angels & local bands (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Heaven's Edge (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Mr. Big & The Lost (1991 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Lita Ford & Tuff (1991 @ The Channel, Boston, MA)
• Babylon A.D. & Wild Side and Roxy Blue (1992 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
The hair/hard rock bands in my still incomplete collection include:
Aerosmith, Autograph, Babylon A.D., Badlands, Beau Nasty, Ritchie, Blackmore, Blackmore’s Rainbow, Bon Jovi, Bonham, Britny Fox, Cinderella, Company of Wolves, Contraband, Alice Cooper, Cry Wolf, Damn Yankees, Danger Danger, Dangerous Toys, Def Leppard, Bruce Dickinson (solo), Dio, Diving For Pearls, Dokken, Don Dokken (solo), Electric Angels, Electric Boys, Rik Emmet (solo), Europe, Extreme, Faith No More, Faster Pussycat, Femme Fatale, Firehouse, Lita Ford, Ace Frehley (solo), Frehley's Comet, Giant, Great White, Guns N' Roses, Heaven's Edge, Hericane Alice, House of Lords, Hurricane, Killer Dwarves, Kiss, Kix, Law and Order, Led Zeppelin, Little Casear, London Quireboys, The, Lord Tracy and the Deaf Gods of Babylon, Lynch Mob, Yngwie Malmsteen, Motley Crue, Mr. Big, Night Ranger, Poison, Queensryche, Rainbow, Ratt, David Lee Roth, Rush, Ritchie Sambora, Saraya, Skid Row, Slaughter, Sleeze Beez, Spinal Tap, Steelheart, Stryper, Scorpions, The, Tesla, Thunder, TNT, Tora Tora, Triumph, Trixter, Tyketto, Van Halen, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Vixen, Warrant, Whitesnake, White Lion, Winger, XYZ, and Y&T.
I'm a big fan of 80's hair bands. Back then I had all the requisite trappings: bad 80's hair- o.k. I admit it was a mullet but a tasteful version if that's possible- think Joe Eliott from Def Leppard's hair at the time of the album "Hysteria" (1987) -- The "Pour Some Sugar On Me" video in particular. Fortunately, I had thick hair so I never needed Aquanet, which by the way, is one of those scents that I always remembered (I remember both the regular and grape scented versions. Isn't interesting how scent memories always stay with you?) I also had the standard gear: a leather jacket, the snakeskin & leather cowboy boots, a spiked wristband, jewelry in the form of a choker that had a dagger on it, and lastly the requisite tiger striped bandanna which when not worn at a concert (tied around my wrist or my upper leg) hung from my car rear view mirror. I didn't have a single ear piercing with dangling earring- I'm too much of a pain wimp. I did consider getting an earclip with a dangling metal feather instead but I never got it for some reason. Where did I get the gear? I bought the jacket from Wilson's Suede and Leather, the boots from The Wild Pair (those who recognize the boots and the store name will probably be smiling and nodding knowingly or bowing their head and shaking it in knowing shame), and the choker from Stairway to Heaven (A great but no longer open rock-n-roll shop in Boston. If you remember the store, you're probably smiling and nodding knowingly right now.)
Every Week I went to a local club called Axis for their heavy metal nights that were on Wednesday. I also went to a now defunct place called the Channel every once in a while (if you're of a certain age and were into the music scene back then, you'll know the place). On metal nights local and/or national acts played- See the list of the club shows I've seen further in this entry. On nights national acts played, a local radio station WAAF 107.3 FM would send their street team out to the club. I saw these guys so often I was on a first name basis with the head of the team (I think his name was Rick). At Axis, I met Eric Martin lead singer of the band Mr. Big- he came out and was hanging out with the crowd as we waited to be let into the club on the night the band was performing. I also met Paul Geary one of the founders and the drummer for the band Extreme. He was hanging out that night with Pat Badger, another founder and the bassist for Extreme. When I was talking to Paul he told me what the next release from their current album at the time (Extreme II: Pornograffitti) would be- it was the song "Hole Hearted." I also got know socially some of the people in local bands.
My personal preference in heavy metal music is pop/glam metal from artists like Bon Jovi, Poison, Def Leppard, and similar groups. I also prefer melodic hard rock from groups where the lead singer has a "big and operatic voice," such as: Yngwie Malmsteen's various line-ups, Queensryche, Dio, and Iron Maiden to name a few. A sub-preference to the melodic hard rock type of song are those songs whose lyrics are darkly mythic, such as those from Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore's various groups, and Dio. Generally, I enjoy all types of heavy metal with the exception of thrash/speed metal such as that by Megadeath or Anthrax- I can't live on a steady diet of it but can enjoy it in small doses -- However, I can find at least one song by speed/thrash groups that I do like, for example: "I'm The Man" and "Bring The Noise" by Anthrax. And, since Metallica sold out and went commercial with the song "Enter Sandman" from the self-titled album "Metallica."
During the "metal years" I saw many shows in both arena and club venues. Those shows were:
ARENA SHOWS:
• Triumph & Yngwie Malmsteen (1985 - The Sport of Kings tour @ The Meadowlands- Brenden Byrne Area, Rutherford, NJ)
• Poison & Lita Ford and Britny Fox (1988 @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Bon Jovi & Skid Row (1989 - The New Jersey tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Kiss & Little Caesar and Slaughter (1990 - The Hot In the Shade tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Spinal Tap & The Big Nazo Band (1992 - The Break Like the Wind tour @ Great Woods, Mansfield, MA)
• Kiss - The original members (1998 - The Psycho Circus tour @ The Fleet Center, Boston, MA)
CLUB SHOWS:
• Hurricane & The Electric Angels (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• The Electric Angels & local bands (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Heaven's Edge (1990 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Mr. Big & The Lost (1991 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
• Lita Ford & Tuff (1991 @ The Channel, Boston, MA)
• Babylon A.D. & Wild Side and Roxy Blue (1992 @ Axis, Boston, MA)
The hair/hard rock bands in my still incomplete collection include:
Aerosmith, Autograph, Babylon A.D., Badlands, Beau Nasty, Ritchie, Blackmore, Blackmore’s Rainbow, Bon Jovi, Bonham, Britny Fox, Cinderella, Company of Wolves, Contraband, Alice Cooper, Cry Wolf, Damn Yankees, Danger Danger, Dangerous Toys, Def Leppard, Bruce Dickinson (solo), Dio, Diving For Pearls, Dokken, Don Dokken (solo), Electric Angels, Electric Boys, Rik Emmet (solo), Europe, Extreme, Faith No More, Faster Pussycat, Femme Fatale, Firehouse, Lita Ford, Ace Frehley (solo), Frehley's Comet, Giant, Great White, Guns N' Roses, Heaven's Edge, Hericane Alice, House of Lords, Hurricane, Killer Dwarves, Kiss, Kix, Law and Order, Led Zeppelin, Little Casear, London Quireboys, The, Lord Tracy and the Deaf Gods of Babylon, Lynch Mob, Yngwie Malmsteen, Motley Crue, Mr. Big, Night Ranger, Poison, Queensryche, Rainbow, Ratt, David Lee Roth, Rush, Ritchie Sambora, Saraya, Skid Row, Slaughter, Sleeze Beez, Spinal Tap, Steelheart, Stryper, Scorpions, The, Tesla, Thunder, TNT, Tora Tora, Triumph, Trixter, Tyketto, Van Halen, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, Vixen, Warrant, Whitesnake, White Lion, Winger, XYZ, and Y&T.