By Metal Dave New blood is pulsing through Vains of Jenna as the Swedish sleaze-rockers return to America this weekend for the official unveiling of new music, a new lineup and a string of tour dates. With a five-song EP as a teaser, the Vains (yes, intentionally misspelled) are introducing new American singer Jesse Forte…
By Metal Dave It’s tough to get noticed in a world of rock’n’roll loudmouths, but calling your band the Toilet Boys will surely arch some eyebrows. Firm believers that no publicity is bad publicity (the name says it all, right?), New York’s Toilet Boys were a sleazy blend of transvestite vampire bikers meets KISS and…
By Metal Dave This pic was taken in 1991 at the Cameo Theater in San Antonio during the same week that my lifelong buddy Al and I saw Infectious Grooves at the same venue. We always laugh about this week, because we were toast from all the late nights, gigs and various other “shenanigans.” For…
So much time had lapsed that I had no idea why this letter from San Francisco was waiting for me. I opened it, unfolded it and began reading a hand-written, thank-you from Cliff’s Mom. Whoa! That’s heavy!
By Metal Dave I love rock-n-roll, but as a teenager I also had a huge crush on Joan Jett (although, now that I think about it, I also had a poster of Nancy Wilson in my school locker). Dressed in skintight leather and sporting some of the coolest hair ever, Joan was knock-down sexy in…
“Metal wasn’t the only thing I grew up with,” said Tom Araya. “I grew up listening to folk-type songs and tango-type songs and bossa nova-type stuff.”
By Metal Dave It was hotter than hell at the Woodlands Pavilion in Houston last Friday when KISS brought the blood, sweat and 35 years of rock to the sweltering, face-painted masses. For reasons that are painfully obvious, $10 beers did nothing to beat the heat. Playing in front of a Vegas-worthy kaleidoscope of flames,…
By Metal Dave I first met Natchet Taylor nearly 10 years ago at my favorite Austin dive bar, Headhunters, where his self-named, three-piece punk-n-roll band used to encore with Danzig and Rancid covers. Just as the Natchet Taylor band was gaining momentum on the strength of an electric live show and a hard-earned 2005 debut…
Onboard the bus during our interview, Udo displayed a copious thirst for whiskey (and generous hospitality).
Anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of interviewing Motorhead frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister will tell you he is hands-down one of the best interviews on the planet. Why? Because he basically doesn’t give two flips what anyone thinks of him!
By Metal Dave Jimmy Duff is my new hero. Not only does the guy own a self-named, award-winning Brooklyn, NY dive bar plastered with heavy metal memorabilia, he also gets to party with the fiercest names in thrash. When’s the last time you pounded beers with Kerry King and got invited to tag along on…
By Metal Dave Dave Grohl is one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. Period. He’s also one of the nicest guys in rock. Period. Add the fact that he’s a multi-talented metalhead (Probot, anyone?) and you’d have to be a sack of dirt to deny Grohl his props (which he would politely decline).…