ABOVE: Houston and I writing songs together in 2004. The longtime Austin punk rocker celebrates his 39th birthday April 3 and continues to fight cancer. Be sure to wish Houston a Happy Birthday this weekend and make plans to attend one of the upcoming benefit gigs being held in his honor. Do it for Huey! Info below.…
By Metal Dave Glessner As someone who remembers buying “Back in Black” as a brand-new vinyl album when it was released in 1980, I can recall the days when rock magazines were as close as you got to meeting your favorite bands. Before MTV, Google and YouTube, there was Creem, Circus and Hit Parader. Naturally,…
By Metal Dave Glessner When Kim and I drove to the hospital to welcome our son into the world three years ago, the soundtrack to our journey was Jesse Malin’s “Glitter in the Gutter.” As Jesse sings in that album’s opening track, it was indeed a “beautiful day.” As a fan of Jesse’s since his…
By Metal Dave Glessner After years of daydreaming and wishful thinking, I finally landed in Hollywood for the first time around 1997. It was a lifelong goal of mine to party on Sunset Strip and visit the clubs that birthed the likes of Van Halen, Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Poison, WASP and all the other…
By Metal Dave When AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young phoned my house in 2000, I was certain a friend was prank calling me. In a cartoon voice that sounded like a chain-smoking Popeye, Malcolm’s Scottish accent wheezed into the phone asking for “Die-vit Guh-lesshneh.” When I told him it was me, he informed me I was talking…
By Metal Dave Before Steven Tyler fell short of offering any sage advice as a judge on “American Idol” (too bad), he spent decades stealing the spotlight as the inimitable singer and showman of Aerosmith — a band that is easily among my Top 3 all-time favorites. Tyler also ranks as my all-time favorite singer.…
As the honorary fifth member of sleaze-metal band, the Crank County Daredevils, I was nicknamed “Cinco” and/or “#5” about six years ago and lived to tell the tale. So how did a nice boy like me fall into trouble like this?
By Metal Dave As much as I’d like to blame a lost wager on this ridiculous headband I wore to a Skid Row concert three years ago, I must confess the frilly malfunction was nobody’s fault but my own. Hell, even the hair-metal Skids knew the ‘80s were dead and gone! What the Bach was…