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September 29 - Disposable filler First, a few links. I meant to plug this site and add it to the permanent links a long time ago... So rather than sneak it in I figure I'll atone and give a front page endorsement to CC Banana. There aren't too many people who can successfully combine quality humor, metal, and produce into one website. Definititely worth checking out. I'm also gonna go out on a limb and endorse a new website. It was conceived while Metal Sludge was down, and just launched within the past few weeks. It's not quite as unique as Sludge was, and it'll probably take a while to develop a tone of it's own. But like most potentially good websites, it's best to get in early. So go check out BandHammer, especially if you long for the days when Sludge's creators were a mystery, and it's subversive humor was funny because you knew it was written by fans even though people stayed awake all night speculating about who might be behind the site. Also picked up a TON of cds while I was in LA, many of which I'd been seeking for years... Some of the picks: Shooting Gallery - s/t: This was the band formed by Andy McCoy in the wake of Hanoi Rocks... I've always been a pretty big Hanoi Rocks fan, so of course, I have to check out everything Hanoi-related I can find. To be honest, this cd sounds like drugs. Imagine an unfocused Aerosmith at their highest, recorded in 1991. I'm pretty certain that the band's name wasn't meant to be a reference to guns or target practice, which would also explain why they didn't last very long... Hanoi Rocks - Self Destruction Blues: Been looking for this for YEARS. Listening to it will definitely give you some perspective - you can hear the roots of nearly every 80s glam/punk band on this record. Had it not been made, you'd have never heard of Guns N Roses, Poison, Faster Pussycat, or any of 'em. Michael Monroe should send royalty checks to Steven Tyler and David Johansen, but everyone since owes him big time. Krokus - Fire & Gasoline: This is a live cd recorded on a European tour just last year. And they should be given credit - they still sound like a flashy AC/DC. Only two members from the classic lineup remain, but at least they're the most important ones - Fernando von Arb and Marc Storace. Marc's voice hasn't changed a bit, and he still has as much vocal muscle as he did on Metal Rendezvous. This is one of my current favorite cds - it features enough classics to keep you familiar with the band, and enough new/obscure material to make you curious about the albums you might have missed. Go get this one. Girl - Live at the Exposition Hall, Osaka, Japan: Let me first state that I really like Phil Lewis. I love L.A. Guns, and as a kid I played their first record constantly. There was a song on it I especially enjoyed called "Hollywood Tease", which was a song from a band Phil Lewis played in with Phil Collen, who left to join Def Leppard. Anyhow, I was excited to finally find a copy of a cd by the original band with that song on it, but my joy quickly turned to major disappointment. This cd sounds like it was recorded underwater, and it's a live cd with no studio help. Essentially, it's pretty tough to listen to. But for collection purposes, I'm very happy with it. Plus, now I have one more thing to hunt down next time I'm in a cool record store... |September 28 - Mecca. I also had a few shots to kill and some useless knowledge in my head, so I walked around the neighborhood and snagged a few locales that fans of 80s metal might want to see. I might have to run back down there again and do that some more when I have more time and disposable income. Maybe next time they'll actually come out... then I'll send the pics to Metal Sludge and supplement their L.A. tour! That could actually be pretty cool... Anyhow, click here for Metal Skool pics and click here for the first installment of LA Metal History 101. Or just click here for the Concert Gallery in case you've missed any other updates. A trip to Metal Mecca would be incomplete without a visit to search for holy texts at Amoeba, so I've also updated the Playlist. Let's just say that I should not be allowed in that place with any more than $50 next time. Notes and reviews forthcoming... Gotta save something for tomorrow! |September 26 - Concert & Photo Galleries Updated! Anyhow, last night I took in a show by The Iron Maidens, the world's only female tribute to Iron Maiden. I was impressed - they played pretty faithful versions (yes, even the bass lines, for those wondering...) of the classics, and even did some obscure numbers. The drummer (Nikki McBurrain) was phenomenal, and the singer (Bruce Lee Chickinson) had a scream that matched up quite nicely to the real thing! I remember thinking that if they would have hired her instead of Blaze to replace Bruce back in the 90s, maybe those "forgotten" Maiden albums wouldn't have sucked so much. The guitarwork was also really solid - I was thoroughly impressed, and the crowd was pretty wild for 'em too. They're absolutely for real, so if you get a chance, I strongly recommend checking them out. Hell, it's probably just about the only time you'll ever see chicks at a Maiden show, so I for one, welcome them into the metal family. Go check out the Concert Gallery for a photo recap of the night. Also added a few shots to the Photo Gallery. Essentially, it's just me with a few folks I've had the privilege of meeting. So even if you skip it, you're not missing much. But I wanted an excuse to claim that I'm actually doing work around here. I didn't want to let *all* of the features here pass their expiration dates and pollute the internet. It's bad enough that just about everything else here at FJ.com gets ignored... *Something* around here has to be fresh once in a while. |September 25 - Here we go again... On the bad side, they're really not done cleaning up from the last one. Or two. Or three... All of the piles of debris are about to get stirred up again. But back to the good side... Florida's surely bought itself another 100 years before karma owes it another one... But for those who want a glimpse of life in Florida right now, here's another live update from my brother:
In other news... Hope local readers are planning on heading to The Roadhouse tonight for the show by The Iron Maidens. Should be a good time. If you can't be there, you'd at least better be doing something cool between 8pm and midnight PST, and listening live to Chicks Who Rock. And in still other news... I'm making a pilgrimage. I'll be heading to L.A. to attend a METAL SKOOL show at The Roxy. The club is in the area housing the holiest shrines to 80s metal - the Sunset strip in West Hollywood. It's right next door to the Rainbow Bar & Grill, and walking distance from many other historically relevant, spiritual sites of rock worship. Hopefully while there, I will achieve complete and total anti-Nirvana. Or at least get a pic or two of something enlightening. Oh hell, let's just be realistic and hope I don't get mugged. |September 23 - Tough love. I'm also gonna make a challenge to any Muslim readers I may have... In all seriousness... What the fuck is wrong with you people? Where are the moderate, peaceful practitioners of Islam, and why aren't they out in the public eye right now? If some renegade asshole walked into a coffee shop in Boston strapped to a giant firecracker, suddenly recited "I do this in the name of Catholicism and in honor of Jesus Christ" before blowing himself (and everyone else in the building) to smithereens, you KNOW the Pope would be in every goddamn tv station on the air in a hot fucking second condemning it. NO WAY would Billy Graham ever fail to notice a beheading of "an infidel" as the sick, twisted technique of a fucking savage unworthy of breath. I want to see some moderate Muslims publicly outraged at the conduct of people pulling chickenshit like this "on their behalf". Since our current leadership is afraid to say it, and there are no candidates on the ballot with the testicular fortitude to do so either, I'm gonna set forth some new American policies:
You know, I don't care whether or not the rest of world loves us or hates us. But dammit, they'd better respect us. |September 20 - It's gonna be a long season. Enough sports talk for now. I updated the Playlist, and my Photo Album. But I learned a valuable lesson... Taking a weekend off to watch football is a good thing. I really should do that more often. I'm definitely gonna need more salsa... |September 17 - Must... look... away... Also picked up one of the craziest cds ever... I thought it would be a joke, and in all honesty it probably is... But it was actually really enjoyable! It was a string quartet tribute to KISS! Imagine KISS symphony without KISS, and you'll get a pretty good idea of it. I'm telling you, you can't call yourself a KISS fan until you've hummed along with an Ace Frehley solo played on a violin. Very cool. One of these days, I'll get around to updating the Playlist. I really should. I've picked up a lot of stuff since the last update. Oh well. Found a site that struck me as pretty funny... Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am NOT a Clinton fan... But reading Bill Clinton's Daily Diary*, I've just gotta laugh. He complains about his wife, and Republicans, and Chelsea's boyfriend. You've gotta love it. NOt much else to report... The summer's almost over, which means it's almost time for a new look around here. Or not. Personally, I like the thought of this website being my own personal escapist Shangri-James tiki bar, but a little change once in a while isn't a bad thing. And believe me, there are some changes in store for the future. We'll see which ones stick. I'm betting they won't be the ones you think they'll be... * Yes, I know it isn't really him writing it.. Even though he really isn't doing much else these days... |September 15 - Everyone's a critic, but only I'm right. Please heavenly father... let a giant meteor strike the set of Reno 911 during a taping, destroying all evidence of the show's existence. The actors must not be allowed to live, and the writers need to be punished as well. This is important. If you can't pull this one off, I'll have to turn it over to Satan. Or the Buddha. Whoever can kill everyone associated with this show will win my eternal worship. Nothing personal, God... But it's just far too important to funniness everywhere to remove this show from comedy's gene pool. If it doesn't happen soon, there'll be Reno 911 conventions that'll make Star Trek gatherings look like Playboy Mansion soirees. |September 12 - This'll get me some hate mail...  Oh well. I thought it was pretty funny. Not much else to report today. I did a little websurfing and visited some links that I haven't visited in a while. My conclusions? Paul Gilbert is a very strange individual. Go check out out his site, and if you can find it, buy the blues cd he recorded with his uncle. Good stuff. I also recommend a visit to Don Dokken's MySpace page. Might wanna check that one out before it gets pulled down... But only once, 'cause even though it's fine and dandy to make fun of Don Dokken, the new cd does kick a lot of ass. Laugh, then rock. It should also be noted that while I'm writing this and waiting until midnight EST to post it, I'm listening to Staci Anderson's Chicks Who Rock show. And I probably should've mentioned it a long time ago, but now YOU can listen to the show too. If you're in Sacramento, the show airs on Flash 103.9 on Saturdays from 8 to midnight PST. If you live in some podunk town that doesn't get the station, just go to the station's website and click the "Listen Live" button. Even if your silly ass lives in another state, it still works. I'll go out on a limb here and say that this show should be an international phenomenon - all of you overseas FJ.com readers should check it out too. And if you listen carefully, you can even hear my voice in one of the station's little soundbites... That's pretty cool. Of course, my ultimate fantasy would be to hear something like "Hey Sacramento, this is Famous James, the King of 80s Metal, and you're listening to Chicks Who Rock" right before some kickass song. How cool would that be? Now click those links and enjoy the fact that you can tell your metal-detracting friends how cool stuff like Quiet Riot, Judas Priest, Y&T, Danger Danger, and KISS still gets played on a real radio station. |September 11 - Saturday morning quarterback. On the bad side, it's only the first week of the season and I've already trashed my living room. I know that Miami's defense is incredible. I don't expect a dominating performance from FSU against Miami, even if FSU's defense held UM to 10 points in regulation time. But fer cryin' out loud, can't a 5th year senior, who's started for 4 years, lead his offense to score just ONCE? 2 fumbles. 2 interceptions. Countless bad throws off of his weak foot, across the field, that SHOULD have been intercepted. We've got 2 great tailbacks, an army of receivers, and a veteran offensive line. This could be another long year. |September 9 - Ahead of the curve or behind the 8 ball? And that little line about "James has 0 friends" really puts this whole internet thing into perspective... I really ought to start a betting pool to see how long I can remain an electronic outcast over there. Maybe I'll get a livejournal, a site over on angelfire, and a Netflix account next... |September 8 - Getting back to normal... Dave's bacteria is worth more than Sammy's. Although I'd suspect that Sammy's might at least get you a nice buzz... Moving on. Got one last pic from my brother... During one of the feeder bands before the main storm hit, he snapped a shot of his front yard. Note the rain blowing sideways, and the palm trees all leaning. Pretty intense stuff, especially considering that it got much worse. Thank goodness he managed to stay safe. Anyhow, here it is:  And it should also be noted... the house across the street is actually the house I grew up in. I got offered $100 for a cd out of my collection the other day. Of course, it's my only copy, and it has a pretty strong personal connection, so I had to turn it down. Why can't people pony up major cash for cds I'll never listen to again? |September 5 - After the rain. Not just a song by Nelson. Anyways... just got another email from my brother:
Even though it's sad to watch the news and see images of places I've grown to love in ruin, at least it's somewhat comforting to know that my family is safe now... Hope the news for any of my other readers with family/friends in the area is as good. Haven't heard back from the Hempered Chef yet... Also haven't heard from the Happy Hour Chef. But power is pretty spotty in the area, so that's not too surprising. Hope you guys are both ok! But since I always try to temper the good and bad... At least the Miami/FSU game was postponed. Now it's on one of my days off so I can actually watch it... |September 4 - Because some people have asked... Second, the Hempered Chef is riding out the storm from his home, and just sent in these pics:     The worst is yet to come, but at least he's still got power. Let's hope he keeps checking back in and stays safe. Also got another update from my brother:
Noon, PST
I don't have much more to say right now... |September 1 - Careful What You Wish For! Gene may appear on an episode of "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy". You have GOT to be kidding me. At first, I thought, "What exactly is running through this guy's head?" Then, after banging my head against the keyboard repeatedly, I figured that it would be far more beneficial to my readers to once again activate the ace-reporting FJ.com staff to investigate this rumor further. To my surprise, the episode has already been filmed! It's slated to air later this fall, and I've even got some stills from it. Wanna see 'em? Ok, first up, is a pre-makeover Gene:   Then, the Queer Eye team work their magic, and make a few adjustments. Here is Gene post gay-makeover:  But don't worry... KISS isn't giving up! Just because Gene got a new gay makeover, it doesn't mean the end of flaming flashpots and onstage spitting! Here's Gene's new post-gay makeover onstage look:  Long live KITH. They're fabulouth. | |
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