Mid-Atlantic Rock Reviews

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of the new EP Dawning on the Red Streets from Baltimore’s Roll It Over and were thrilled to have the chance to be at their CD release show at the Otto Bar in Baltimore on January 26, 2013. We cover a fair amount of music in the Baltimore music scene and  Roll It Over is a band we have actually seen perform live more than any other band in this region in recent years. This should give you an idea that we like this quartet who has undergone a number of lineup changes since their formation in April of 2011, but seems to have found their chemistry and sound in the current lineup.

It is always interesting to review an album when we have always heard most of the music performed live. Our experiences are split many times between whether we hear a band live first, or on a studio track. In the case of Roll It Over, we are so familiar with their live act, which we love, that it was fun to finally get to hear what they did in the studio. So how did the band do making the transition?

The band made a great little EP here in this 5 song release which we are giving a very strong MARR thumbs up to. Roll It Over has a straight forward modern rock and roll style that blends well with a ton of other bands which is why they have probably been such a popular selection in the regional scene to support a ton of amazing bands with whom they’ve shared the stage including Saving Abel, 12 Stones, Hurt, Smile Empty Soul, The Dreaming and many others.

The album starts with “Memories” which is a high energy rock tune with a nice vocal performance from Will Sims, who continues that trend throughout the album. “Bullet In My Soul” follows this tune with a slightly heavier style and some very solid and cool guitar riffs from guitar player Joe Ruggiero who has really put his mark on this release as well as the live show as the band transitioned from a five piece to a four piece over the course of their evolution.

The EP ends with a very cool tune that takes you on a six minute musical adventure which includes some straight forward rock, a bit of a progressive style at times and even a hint of some rap-rock at the end. The length of this tune seems to make it the least likely  to receive a lot of radio play, but it is still my favorite track on the release and one you definitely want to check out.

Congratulations to Roll It Over for a very strong release in Dawning on the Red Streets and for being a perennial live presence in the Maryland/Pennsylvania live music scene. They are a band we have been fans of from their very first live performance, which we were lucky enough to catch! Check out their upcoming events on their page as they are a band we highly recommend seeing live. You can find Roll It Over on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Rollitover and Dawning on the Red Streets is available on Itunes for only $4.95.

Roll It Over is:
Will Sims – Vocals
Joe Ruggiero – Guitar
Brian Walton – Bass
Chris Pearson – Drums

 

Review by K-rock

Are the rock? Are they Punk? Are they Soul? Whatever they are, Go For Launch is a band from New York that we were instant fans of the first time we heard their music.

In fact after being steered towards listening to them by our good friends in the band Clear For Takeoff, we thought so much of them that we invited them to play at our first ever MARR Rocks For MDA Benefit Concert in October of 2012. We had never seen them live before but loved what we heard from the studio music and were pretty confident in what we thought we would hear.

Once Go For Launch hit the stage, it was instantly clear that these guys were a band we would continue to follow and be fans of for a very long time. The band formed in 2009 in Westchester, New York and has something that is hard to find these days, which is a unique sound. The band released their second album in 2012 entitled “Frequency Change” which is available on Itunes along with their 2010 self titled album.

Go For Launch has a definite funky and soulful style to them, but just when you think they are settled into a groove, a killer rock or punk riff comes bursting into the song. It makes for a delightfully unique sound that grabs you and makes the albums incredibly interesting. Supported by great vocals from the slightly quirky singer Scott Griffin who takes the stage in his socks, the songs feature some awesome harmonies and great guitar work as well from Nick Bilancia and Anthony Mauriello. Solid musicianship and some very unique and cool song-writing is the key to this band’s success.

We had the chance to chat with the members of Go For Launch which includes:

Drums: Michael Argondizza
Guitar: Nick Bilancia
Vocals: Scott Griffin
Guitar/Vocals: Anthony Mauriello
Bass Guitar: Derek Ortiz

Here is what Go For Launch had to say:

K-rock: GFL has a very unique style. Do the guys consider themselves fitting into any particular genre?

Derek: Without getting lost in a spiral of genres and their seemingly endless sub genres, we’re ultimately a rock band.  We’ve thrown around the term “groove rock” because we can’t really pin a genre for ourselves, but that one makes us giggle.
Mike: We don’t particularly think that there is one genre that we fit into. We like to ask people that know us what they think and we love the stumped look on their faces.
Scott: We just try to make music that we all like.
Tony: Collectively, our style has a foundation in the genres of “Rock”/”Alternative”, but because our individual styles and influences are so diverse, we are always hesitant to put such a vague definition to our sound.

K-rock: I noticed the band just celebrated their third birthday. How is the band different today from when they started?

Mike: Today our music is more defined and elaborate. When we first started we were still getting a feel for the style of playing we each had. Now that we have learned how to work with each other, we put together bigger ideas and better songs. We put ourselves to the test every time we start to write now.
Scott: We have done a lot of growing as a band, and as people in the last 3 years. We’ve been through a lot in that time, as any band or relationship will. With this much time under our belts together, we have learned what each band mate needs to be the best we can be.
Derek: The hardest part about being a band is… being a band.  It’s a marriage among members, managers, girlfriends, and families.  We have learned more about each other’s idiosyncrasies.  Also, having worked on recordings as individual tracks and a full album gets everyone REAL close very quickly.  It’s just growth as people and a collective that has made us different since three years ago.

K-rock: Scott does not seem to be the “stereotypical” rock singer. Can you share a little about his roots/influences?

Scott: As a kid, my family travelled a lot due to the fact my father works NASA and we were transferred several times. Music and my family were the only constant factors in my life. I listened to any kind of music that made want to sing, which was mainly: Soul, Motown, and “oldies”. I was never really one of the cool kids. I didn’t “fit in”, and really didn’t want to. I’m a geek, and refuse to be anyone but myself. I take not being “stereotypical” as a compliment. It’s not easy being yourself, but it beats the hell out of trying to be what/who you are not. The hardest person to be honest with is oneself.
Derek: Scott’s tastes spread the gamut of genres like ska, punk, soul, rap, rock and Motown.  He, like some of us, grew up listening to our parents’ oldies station on the radio during car rides or at home.  Those are his roots.  He’s not the stereotypical rock singer, but I think that image is fading into old memory with the artists of today from YouTube and other Internet mediums.  Anybody with a computer, a camera, an idea, and the Internet has the chance to be a “rock star”.

K-rock: Does Scott always perform in socks?

Scott I always perform in socks. It started at our first or second show. It is part of my pre- performance ritual. When the shoes come off, it’s go time.
Derek: I’d be very frightened if he didn’t. 

K-Rock: Name drop a few of the big acts you have been performing with recently.

Scott: We have performed with some amazing bands in our life as a band. Ballyhoo!, Badfish, The Pietasters, The Ataris, The Toasters, Fear Nuttin’ Band and The Slackers were some of our biggest shows.

K-Rock:Are there any big shows/news events coming up you want to highlight?

Scott: We will be back in New York City at Sullivan Hall on Saturday March 23rd with Clear For Takeoff. We have a few other interesting projects coming up that we can’t wait to share with you all soon.

We are looking forward to a big year in 2013 from Go For Launch and can tell you that if you are looking for a good-time rock band who can bring the musical party to you at  live show, Go For Launch is a band you definitely want to keep an eye on for when they come to your town.

Here is a live performance of one of my favorite GFL tunes “Judgement Day”

You can find out more about Go For Launch on their Facebook page at : http://www.facebook.com/GoForLaunchMusic

K-rock

 

By Greg Hamil:

The District Bar & Grill in Rockford, IL has been bringing in some incredible bands recently, but when they announced that Pop Evil was coming, I knew that I would have to get there to see the show. These guys have become one of my favorite live acts in a long time.

Before I move on to the show, I have to send a big thank you out to Chachi Riot and the rest of the band for helping a young man out. This boy was supposed to shadow a career path as class project a couple weeks earlier.  Since he wants to be a guitarist, he was going to shadow a band. Unfortunately, the singer was injured and the opportunity was lost. But, Pop Evil is a band that believes strongly in people chasing their dreams, so Chachi agreed to let this boy shadow him for the day. Upon arriving at the bar that night, Chachi and Leigh told me that he had been respectful and very inquisitive. Because it was a 21 and over show, he wasn’t allowed to stay, but the band will be back around for a festival or arena and they promised that they would see him again. It is refreshing to see a band such as Pop Evil that is about more than their own agenda. They prove again and again that it is as much about the fans as it is them. Way to go guys!

The opening band was a local act named “My God, The Heat” featuring former members of “The Pimps”. This band has an unusual but entertaining style. They combine hard rock with comedy. Sounds like an odd combination that couldn’t possibly work, right? These guys bring it off without a hitch. The musicianship is amazing and the comedy just keeps the mood high which is really the point of a rock show. What better way to set up the band you are opening for than to put the entire room in a great mood?
Pop Evil hit the stage around 9:00 p.m. and boy did they hit hard! I have seen just about all the different line-ups this band has put on stage, but the current members are by far the most energetic. Nick Fueling, the band’s newest member gels with the rest of the band like he has been there since day one.

As always Chachi just amazes me with the energy and emotion he puts into a show. You can see that it isn’t just getting on stage and playing songs to him. Playing drums and performing these songs comes straight from his heart and he puts his all into playing them to perfection night after night. Leigh brings the crowd in and makes them feel like they are part of the Pop Evil family whether it is a small club crowd or large arena or festival show. Matt’s intensity keeps the crowd alive with his hair flying everywhere as plays to the audience on all sides of the stage. Dave may not be all over the stage, but when you watch him play it is pure emotion. You can see that the songs are a part of him and that he is putting everything into making the crowd feel them the same way he does.

From the ballads like Monster You Made Me, Purple, and 100 In A 55; to in-your-face songs like, Boss’s Daughter, Last Man Standing, and Hero, Pop Evil puts you on a roller coaster ride you never want to get off of. You will want to see them again as soon as you can.

This was likely the last Pop Evil show for me before they come out of the studio. But rest assured, they will be back with some of their best music yet. Looking forward to seeing them again hopefully this summer! Until then keep cranking those Pop Evil classics.

 

Article by MARR Rock Army Contributor: Greg Hamil
 

Pop Evil Set List: from December 6, 2012
Somebody Like You
Daisy Chain
Shinedown
Breathe
Unstoppable
100 In A 55
Purple
Good With The Bad
Stepping Stone
Save The World
Broken
Hero
Monster You Made Me
Boss’s Daughter
Last Man Standing

The recording season is here for 2013, and there are tons of bands working on their new music for a brand new year. Baltimore band “The Chance” is among those bands working on new music as they look to follow up a strong EP the band released in 2011 entitled “No Big Deal” The Chance has a pop/rock style that fans of bands like Parachute and Safety Suit will find appealing.

The band’s first EP was characterized by quality songwriting, and lyrics that tell stories about what seem to be heartfelt relationships. The album features a strong vocal effort by lead singer Collin Athas, supported by a solid effort musically from all band members.

We had the opportunity to catch up with drummer Jack O’Connell of The Chance to learn a little more about their history, their songs and what they have in store for us in the future. Here is that interview:

K-rock: Have you guys been a band for long? I read something about you being kindergarten friends.

Jack: The Chance has been a band since July of 2010, but we’ve had this line-up since about October of 2012.  I’ve known Chaz (lead guitar) and Tucker (bass) from playing in various bands with them since meeting in 2006.  They met Collin (vocals/guitar) in high school and started playing with him shortly after he started the band with a now ex-member.  I joined in August of 2012.

K-rock: I really like the first EP. What are you guys working on right now?

Jack: Thanks!  We recorded that over the course of a year between when we formed and October of 2011 with producers Dan Book and Alexei Misoul (Hot Chelle Rae, All Time Low) at Misty Hill (East) Studios in Baltimore, MD.  We are currently in the process of recording 3 new songs to put some new music out since it’s been over a year since we’ve recorded anything.  We’re trying to get our name out to people as much as possible so they can hear us.  The response so far has been great of those who have.

K-rock: You seem to have a sort of pop-rock crossover style. What kinds of bands do you typically play with live?

Jack: Yeah, we all like different styles of music, but we all enjoy a blend of pop/rock.  We take our interests in pop, classic rock, indie pop/rock, and pop-punk and try to gel that into something unique.  We most notably have shared the stage with indie pop/rockers Kingsfoil from York, PA, which have a similar style to us, while at the same time we’ve have played with bands have been either much poppier or heavier than us.  We don’t care for the most part as long as we get our name out there and people enjoy watching and listening to us play.  We’re hoping to play with some bigger names, since we’ve mostly played with locals.

K-rock: Most of the songs on the EP seem to be about relationships. Are the songs personal?

Jack: Yeah, they are relatively personal.  Most of the songs are about relationships we were in or that had recently ended since Collin wrote them, that he thought that people could relate to.  Some songs are more personal then others, but each one definitely means something to each of us, however we interpret it.  ”Hey Katie” is about a girl Collin liked that was much older than him, and “Kiss Me Lindsay” is about a particular girl he was interested in during high school.  Collin finds relationships to be something particularly easy to write songs about.

K-rock: What has been the high point for The Chance so far?
Jack: For me, playing Rams Head Live in Baltimore was definitely a high point, since I’ve seen huge bands play that stage since I was a kid and I’ve always dreamed of playing there.  The fact that The Chance has gotten this far with a professionally recorded album and have played practically every venue in Baltimore also makes them the most successful band I’ve played with, especially since I’ve been playing in bands since I was in middle school.

K-rock: Do you have any music videos from the album?

Jack: We don’t, but we’ve talked about making a low-budget one of “Kiss Me Lindsay” at a party in Tucker’s apartment.  In the future if we have the budget, we’d definitely be into doing something professional.

 

The Chance has a great pop/rock  and sometimes slightly punk sound that just makes you want to roll the top back on the car and head to the beach. We were impressed with their first EP “No Big Deal”. The band is currently not signed, but if they keep putting out efforts like their first EP, the future looks bright for this band.

While the band does not have any shows listed on their site at this time, you can learn more about them and look for their upcoming shows at www.thechanceband.com or you can LIKE them on Facebook at facebook.com/thechanceband and FOLLOW them on Twitter at @TheChanceMusic!

K-rock

As veterans of every M3 Festival to date, we were excited to see the band lineup announced today. The lineup has been getting some pretty mixed reactions from fans on their website and Facebook Pages.

When I posted the lineup on our wall people reacted immediately. Some asked me my immediate opinion, but I resisted answering at first because I wanted a chance to really think it through before I jumped to a reaction since the lineup does indeed feature some new bands this year. Many are reacting to the absence of a few of the classic Hairmetal bands who have been a regular presence at the festival to date. Before I share my thoughts, I must disclose that I am viewing this lineup from the perspective of someone who is sailing on the Monsters of Rock Cruise in March and will have a chance to see many of the bands folks are clamoring for on the M3 page, so my perspective may be a bit different.

One of the great things I have always taken away from M3 is that despite being essentially an 80s metal genre festival, there are always bands I get to see for the very first time. It is in fact one of my favorite parts of M3.  Getting to see bands I always wanted to see back in the day but missed for some reason is a blast. The lineup this year features 7 bands I will see for the first time in Love/Hate, Steelheart, Jackyl, Kings X, Tuff, Streetlight Circus and In The Pink (I missed their set last time). We have not seen JSRG, but by the time of the festival, we will have seen them on the Monsters of Rock Cruise.

I am looking forward to seeing WASP as I have not seen them since the 1980s! I know it is only Blackie, but I haven’t heard their tunes live in so long, I welcome the chance. We are big Kix fans and see them probably more than any other band live and we’re fine with them on the bill, especially in a Baltimore venue. Brett Michaels Band seems to be getting some hate as well, but I can say that we had the pleasure of seeing Brett’s band in New York a year or so ago and they were absolutely awesome so another winning pick. It is also good to see Danger Danger on the bill. The last time Danger Danger was at M3 my comments in my review were “What a pleasant surprise, one of the better acts of the day”.

As far as Twisted Sister, we admittedly thought they had a bad set at the first M3,but we are willing to give them another chance. We love A.J. Pero and are willing to see what the guys bring this time. Firehouse is another band we see regularly and they are a rock solid live act. Loudness blew away the side stage last year and it is little surprise they were invited back. They were incredible last year. Steel Panther is always fun to watch and always entertaining (leave the kiddies at home though). We just recently saw Jack Russell and Great White and again, they were solid live.

There are two bands that fans not from the region may not be aware of. Korupt is an absolutely awesome band who has been playing killer rock and roll music in Baltimore for more than 30 Years. We are thrilled to see them on this lineup and they definitely fit the genre perfectly. The band has a new album in the works and are a good choice. Bad Seed Rising is a new band out of Baltimore that features an amazing group of kids that we have become big fans of. In fact we just interviewed Bad Seed Rising at a sold out Rams Head Live in Baltimore as they opened for Black Veil Brides. Bad Seed Rising is the real deal and have recorded at Dave Grohls studio in L.A. and opened for the likes of Halestorm, Motley Crue, Skid Row , Warrant and more. Give them a chance. We are big supporters of both Korupt and Bad Seed Rising.

After all is said and done, Trixter is really the only band I am not pleased to see on the bill, as I was never really a fan to begin with and having seen them live, am less of a fan. I am excited about the lineup and am looking forward to yet another incredible M3 Festival! I recognize that my opportunity to see many of these bands in March makes my take on it potentially different that some other readers, but my excitement is genuine. Now all that is left is getting through the nightmare of Ticketfly and then praying for good weather.

K-rock

 

New York rockers Sweet Cyanide released their third album back in August entitled “III”. While it has been a few months since the release of the band’s cd, I recently took the time to really take a closer look at this band and to ask bass player and vocalist Angelo Fariello a few questions about the release. Our original exposure to the band was some time ago when we had the pleasure of seeing them back in 2011. We were thoroughly impressed with the band’s style and when I discovered their new album “III”, I went form being impressed to being a serious fan of this band.

The band has a style that is in some ways like taking a bit of a step into the wayback machine to visit the great music of Queen and the later Beatles music, but with flashes of hard rock mixed in. It is almost like members of these vintage bands formed together and decided to release a modern record.

K-rock: “There is such a refreshing style reminiscent of the 70′s rock sort of vibe, with such a unique style for todays scene, what kind of bands do you tour with and get the best reception from?”

Angelo- We actually get great reception from every type of audience we’ve played for, and i think that’s because there is a little something for everyone with us. We’ve played with bands such as Extreme, Bullet for my Valentine, and Charm City Devils, all of which, very different “genres” of rock, yet were able to hook the crowd. I’d say the best reception was from playing with bands like Buckcherry, CCD, Slash and Def Leppard.

There is so much to like in this release. The album has the kind of feel that could almost lend itself to being a concept album that you could make a cool movie to. The tunes are not all “vintage” in their style. The tune “Heavy” is indeed heavier than most on the first few songs on the album, and as you work you way through the album, you’ll discover a killer tune “In My World”, which takes the music to a heavier style that still has a slightly vintage style, but is more reminiscent of Black Sabbath than the aforementioned comparisons.

K-rock: – The album has an almost “Concept Album” feel to it. Is there any relationship of the themes of the songs?”

Angelo- Absolutely. The album tells a story from start to finish. It’s kind of like jumping on a roller coaster and taking a crazy ride through the mind of Sal while he laments over a really bad time in our lives…particularly, his own”

The songs on this album are contagious tunes that fans of classic rock will find taking them on a very pleasant journey into a style of music that isn’t heard from too many bands these days. Despite the many styles on the release, I find myself drawn back to those 70’s sounding rock tunes that I find myself repeating over and over. In particular, the tunes “The Eye of the Storm”, and “Soul Searcher”.

K-rock- “What what is coming up next for Sweet Cyanide?”

Angelo- “We are kicking our fall/winter tour with a show at Arlene’s Grocery…where it pretty much all got started for us. A small, intimate gathering of our closest fans and friends in a REAL NYC rock n’ roll club. The date is Friday, Nov 9th.”

This is an album I have grown so fond of that I am willing to give it the coveted MARR must own status. Not only do I love the album, but I am absolutely ready to find a live show and catch this band again live. Check out Sweet Cyanide’s release “III”. It is a super release. You can find the band at their website at http://sweetcyanide.com/music/ and you can find them on Facebook as well.

We wanted to do justice to our review of the performances on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, so we decided to break them up into separate reviews for each day. So in this article we focus on the Friday Night Pre-Party on February 24, 2012.

Friday Night Pre-party:

The Friday Pre-party was held at Exit 66 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The club itself was a very good venue for this sort of party. We have never been to this venue before and despite some shaky reviews of the place from a lot of travelers on line, it was perfect in size and sound to host this event. The bar service concerned me a little as I witnessed some interesting colored juices coming out of the taps that looked neither orange, nor yellow in the case of pineapple juice in color (apple cider in color is a better description). I overhead the bartender comment that they had not been used in a while.

The first band on the bill was the Van Halen Tribute Band The Atomic Punks. While these guys cruised with us on the ship they did not play on board. Musically this band did a phenomenal job of capturing the sounds of Van Halen. Vocally, I was a little disappointed in lead singer Brian Geller’s resemblance to the legendary David Lee Roth. These guys have a very good reputation as a tribute band and I am wondering if maybe it was an off night for Geller, but my opinion was it just didn’t sound all that much like Roth. I will acknowledge that not all in the crowd shared my thoughts, so maybe it was my ears that night.

Next up was one of my favorite live acts, Kix. Kix is among the top three bands that we see play live the most frequently (and one of my personal favorites overall). We were definitely not alone in the crowd of folks at this party who also see the band play regularly. Kix has always had an almost cult-like following in the Baltimore metropolitan area and there were a lot of these folks in the crowd. I grew up in Baltimore and Kix was on the radio as frequently as any of the “big-time” hair metal bands of the 80’s.

Kix played a classic Kix set featuring the always entertaining antics of front man Steve Whiteman on vocals. Steve has a few standard jokes he does and they were present, but you can never tell what the guy is going to come up with at a live show. He is one of the few 80s metal singers who has somehow managed to maintain his voice and his ability to belt out the original Kix tunes from the 80’s with the original challenging octaves. Steve is well known in the industry as a vocal coach and many credit him with sharpening their abilities and in some cases prolonging their careers through his coaching.

Kix played a nice variety of their tunes and mixed in “Same Jane” which to the best of my memory hasn’t been in the last few set I can remember them performing. I was hoping to hear the acoustic “For Shame” but it didn’t make the cut. We were pleased to hear “Cold Shower” in the set, because it must mean that the nodes that Steve Whiteman was suffering from on his vocal chords have cleared up (we hope). Steve had mentioned struggling with them at a recent show and we were hoping for the best. I say that “Cold Shower” is an indication that he must be doing better because it has got to be one of the most challenging vocal songs for a rock singer to do I can think of. Kudos to Steve for keeping it alive for all these years.

The Monsters of Rock Cruise organizers did a very good job with this event and I would rate is as a success overall. A few cameo appearances from some of the band members might have been a nice touch. I was almost expecting for Kix to invite a few of the others on stage when I saw Ron Keel walking around, but in the end it was a standard Kix show. In fairness to the MOR folks, a lot of the bands were still making their way to Ft. Lauderdale, so it may have been tricky to pull off, but still would have been a nice touch. In the end, we had a great time and were properly warmed up for the cruise.

K-rock

Monsters of Rock Cruise Day 1 Saturday, February 25, 2012

One of the challenges of this cruise was that there were often several bands playing at the same time. We are not necessarily complaining about this as it is an indication of having more bands to begin with and it gave us choices. We will take this problem happily over having the schedule we experienced on Shiprocked at times where there were too many times when no bands were playing. We understand the scheduling challenges something like this presents and suggest that if possible the organizers had plan one performance from each band on each day, and spread them out a little more on days two and three of the cruise. We understood why they were compressed on day 1, because of the late departure. In some cases bands are touring various places and may arrive late to the ship or have to leave early as well, so we get it. Many fans have suggested adding an additional day to the cruise to make time to see all of the bands.

We will naturally only be reviewing the bands we actually saw on night 1. So here’s what we took in:

Flametal:
Flametal is a trio who also goes by the name Heavy Mellow. We really didn’t know what to expect from these guys. They are a trio that does heavy metal tunes Flamenco Style. I must say that I was quite impressed by them. I always like a unique performance and hearing them do Iron Maiden’s “Aces High” Flamenco style was quite a treat. We didn’t stay for their entire set because we wanted to catch all of the next band’s set, but we stayed for enough to realize how talented these guys are and they were very cool. We also were at their set long enough to hear cool covers of an Ozzy and a Pantera tune. The band does have an album available on I-Tunes, which is pretty cool.

Here is a link to a video of “Aces High”

 

Black n Blue:
This is one of two sets I was the most eager to see of all of the scheduled bands (the other was Keel who we saw twice). Black n Blue hardly ever plays live, and going back to May of 2011, they have only played live twice (this show and the M3 festival). We were fortunate enough to be at both shows. I am such a big fan of Black n Blue and listened to them to the point of wearing out cassettes more than once in the 1980s.

The guys still knock it out of the park in a live set. Lead singer Jaime St. James may have lost a half a step vocally, but he more than makes up for it in enthusiasm and energy and you can just tell the guys still love to play live. The band played all the favorite tunes from the classic years and mixed in a few tunes from the 2010 release “Hellyeah”, which is a great album in the classic 80’s hair metal style.

The band played in “The Zebra Lounge” on the ship which became one of our favored venues on the cruise. It was such an intimate setting and it was like being in a small rock bar. If forced to pick, this was my second favorite set of the entire cruise. I cannot suggest that musically this was because it was the most tight set of all of the bands, but these guys played the soundtrack of my teen years for me almost 30 years later an it was such a great trip down memory lane that I absolutely loved it. I hope Black n Blue starts playing a little more regularly live. You can be sure if they do that I will be there.

Here is their performance of Does She or Doesn’t She from this set.

 

John Corabi:
John played an acoustic set which he is doing a lot of these days in another very intimate setting on the ship called “The Bar Dei Poeti”, to a packed house. We saw John play a pretty similar set back in August 2011 at The House of Blues. John does a nice job as a solo acoustic artist. I was still coming down from my “Black n Blue” high when we saw John so it was a little tough getting into an acoustic set, but John was rock solid. We once again, could not stay for the entire set as we wanted to catch Firehouse as well who was playing simultaneously.

Here is John playing Father, Mother, Son at this set.

Firehouse:
We arrived late to a SERIOUSLY packed house at the “Pigalle Lounge”. This was our least favorite venue on the ship, because the stage was so short and the ceiling so low that unless you were in the first three rows, it was really hard to see the bands. The singers could actually touch the ceiling.

That being said, we hung in there for a few songs. Since we got there late it was hard to see the guys but they sounded incredible. We saw Firehouse last year at M3 and I was thoroughly impressed, and this show was no different. We only stayed for a few tunes because we couldn’t see very well, but they were seriously rockin this room which was rocking literally itself from the waves. Knowing we would see Firehouse’s entire set later in the cruise, we elected to head off to catch XYZ’s set. Make no mistake, we didn’t  leave because Firehouse wasn’t playing a solid set because they sounded amazing.

Here is “There Ought to be a Law” from the set. Notice the crowd and the low stage!

XYZ:
In case you are noticing a theme here, we did not catch their entire set. This was a real problem the first night as there was so much overlap. XYZ played the main stage on the pool deck outside. I must openly admit that I had sort of forgotten about XYZ. Well that changed immediately for me once I heard them playing. To use an somewhat unprofessional statement: Holy Crap these guys were good!

Wow, was I ever surprised by how good they sounded and it was onne of those situations where you found yourself saying “oh yeah I remember that tune’ to all of the songs. There was only one album I bought right after the cruise, and that album was XYZ’s debut album, which I bought simply because I remembered how much I liked their set and how much I liked the long lost cassette I once owned.

The pool stage was subject to some sound cut-outs, which was no fault of the band’s. These were brief and while annoying did not ruin the experience. I asked one of the musicians from one of the other bands who indicated that the intermittent problem had something to do with the significant rocking of the ship that was taking place. While I did not see the whole set, I will definitely see these guys again at any opportunity.

Here is “What Keeps Me Loving You: from the pool stage.

Keel:
Earlier, I mentioned how rarely we were able to see Black n Blue. Keel falls into this same camp. While they play more often, they really don’t play in this area much. I must admit that I was a somewhat fair-weather Keel fan in the 1980’s, but never saw them live. We had the pleasure of seeing them at the 2010 M3 festival and my impression of them changed instantly from a band I “knew of” to a band I need to see every chance I get. These guys are phenomenal live performers.

One of the things you notice about Keel is how much fun they seem to be having on stage. We knew we liked Keel’s live act so much that we actually skipped seeing Cinderella in favor of getting a front row spot for Keel and we were not disappointed. This show took place in the previously mentioned “Pigalle” lounge, so we knew we needed to be first three rows to really see and I wasn’t missing this for anything.

The band did not disappoint and played a mixture of Keel classics along with a few tunes from their most recent 2010 release “The Streets of Rock and Roll”. Now often when an 80’s band says “this is from our new album” it is time to cringe or get a drink etc. Not so with Keel. Their latest album is fantastic and one that I listen to regularly. I was actually eager to hear the new Keel tunes as well. We had a chance to see Keel a second time on the ship, which we will comment on in the article about day three. For now, let me just tell 80’s music fans to GO SEE KEEL if you get the chance. They are a superb live act.

Here is “Back to the Streets of Rock and Roll” from this set, from the new album (The vocals are slightly quieter that the guitar on this as we were standing directly in front of Marc Ferrari’s monitor and picking up more of that than the mix of sound, but pretty cool if you are a Marc Ferrari fan!)

Despite this description of a very full night of music, believe it or not, we did not see the following bands on night #1: Cinderella, Tesla, Eric Martin, Lynch Mob, Bang Tango or Faster Pussycat.

K-rock

The Monsters of Rock Cruise sailed from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West and The Bahamas on February 25-28, 2012.We will be taking on the task of reviewing the inaugural Monsters of Rock Cruise in a series of articles covering the event. This article will focus on the actual cruise itself and subsequent articles will focus on coverage of the bands and their shows.

Pre-party
Like any great event, before the party, there was the pre-party. The pre-party kicked off on the 24th and featured Kix and Van Halen tribute band The Atomic Punks. The event was held at Exit 66 and was a cool venue for a kickoff party. This was a very nice event to get everyone in the mood and the organizers picked the right band in Kix to kick off a four day party.

Embarkation
I am not sure if the organizers of the event or the cruise line were responsible for the embarkation process, but it was horrible. The process was extremely slow and once on-board the ship, there were literally no directions, staff from MOR or the cruise line greeting us, nor were there any indications of what was to go on. It was pretty much every man for himself. It would have been nice to have MOR staff on board right at the entrance handing out some directions.

The Lineup
I was pleased with the choices of the bands selected for the cruise and thought MOR did a nice job putting a little diversity into the mix within the 80s genre. I was satisfied with the number of bands on the ship. Sure there were lots of other bands I would like to see on the ship, but you can’t take them all. The lineup and selection of bands was well planned. The scheduling of those bands on the cruise is a different story.

Scheduling
This is where I have to be a bit critical of the organizers. There were six separate venues on this ship that could accommodate performances, yet seemingly only one or two were ever being used at a time. I think the right strategy here would have been to have each band play one show a day including an acoustic set and not to worry about overlap. If the bands played every day, fans could decide who to see when and on which day and each fan would get to see each band. We saw this strategy work very well on the VH1 Cruise. Yes there were times when two bands we wanted to see were playing at the same time, but we knew there was another show coming up of the one we missed.

The other problem was that shows were VERY late in some cases with no updates as to how long you would be standing in line. For example we stood in line for a show that was well over an hour late. The whole time while we waited in line doing nothing, there was another show going on. There is absolutely no reason that there cannot be a sign posted if a show is delayed. Other shows were canceled without simple loudspeaker announcements being made. We understand the weather problems that delayed some bands, but tell the cruisers what is going on. When we originally posted this article we were reminded by the organizers that they had left a notification sheet in our rooms. However, we were almost never in our room and thus did not see the adjustments until returning home late in the evening after it was too late. Leaving a note in the cabin does no good. We chartered the whole ship, so I am certain loudspeaker announcements would not be a problem.  Our opinion was that there was too much time on this cruise where nothing was going on and they really need to fix this. There should be constant music. Spread it out and start the acts earlier in the day.

Media Friendliness
We weren’t expecting any sort of red carpet treatment or anything and the organizers made it clear up front that this was a “fans cruise”. That being said, while the staff in the production room was very friendly, they did not have much information for us. The first scheduled press conference never took place and I didn’t waste my time going to the second one. There was no one who knew how we could reserve the media room for interviews as was communicated to us prior to the cruise.

Food and Bar Service
This was a disaster. There was complete confusion in trying to figure out our drink package the first day and none of the bar staff seemed to know anything. I must give a solid kudos to the organizers for trying to make it right, and to my shock, our drinks were essentially free the first day as a result of the organizers trying to make right on a bad situation. The bars were incredibly understaffed and slow. I offer a few suggestions to fix this. The bars should pre-mix large amounts of the “drink of the day” and have them in pitchers ready to go instead of making them individually. Second, a number of “push carts” stocked with beer and water would expedite bar service immensely. This would take the beer customers away from the bar and would make things go much faster. Cruisers at an event like this want to “grab and go”. Monsters of Rock should consider hiring additional bartenders for the cruise. We saw the exact same problem on Shiprocked Cruise, which sails aboard the same ship.

The food was not at all up to the standards of what we have found on other cruises. There were very limited offerings and essentially only the formal dining room and the buffet were available for dining unless you wanted to pay additional fees for the Sushi bar. This complaint has been registered on this same ship by many “Shiprocked” cruisers as well. This really needs some work.

Ship Staff
While the bar staff was slow, the problem was mostly the system, not the people. I found all of the staff including the bar staff to be friendly. The ship staff I interacted with were helpful and friendly throughout. There were a large number of them who did not speak English, but I am not as immensely bothered by that as some seem to be, as long as they give it the old college try. After all, it is not an American ship. Our porter was helpful as were any staff I interacted with from the MSC cruise line.

Fan Friendliness
Shows were extremely fan friendly and a big salute to MOR for this. At every single show, there were no barriers and you could walk right up front. Every show was very “camera friendly” and the bands and the staff were fantastic about allowing all manner of photography, autographs etc. In addition, I have to commend the cruisers themselves for being well behaved, enthusiastic and respectful of one another. With very few exceptions, the fans on the ship took great care of each other and shared the experience with each other in a manner that we can all be proud of. We met so many wonderful people on this cruise and in fact, meeting the people was for me, the best part of this event. We all shared a common love of this genre of music and it showed. I sincerely feel a bond with you folks. A special shout out to all the folks I met from “across the pond”. There were lots of British cruisers and they rock the Hair Metal bands with the best of us. People from many other countries were on board as well. It was a very cool “Metal Melting Pot”.

Planning Information
The cruise organizers need to do a better job getting information to us earlier. We had a very difficult time getting the schedule in advance of the cruise. We like to plan in advance and we really did not get any information about who was playing at what time until the day before the cruise itself. In fact, they could have avoided the whole bar problem by sending a welcome packet in advance of the cruise which included the drink coupons, badges, media credentials etc. I know it was MOR’s first cruise and if we seem to be picking on a lot of things, we don’t want to paint the impression that we didn’t enjoy the trip, because it was absolutely an amazing experience and we will be doing the cruise again. I only offer these suggestions and hope they listen to the many cries for information in advance we saw constantly being posted which were essentially answered with responses indicating that the information was coming. It is impossible to plan excursions on the days at port when you have no idea what the schedule is for that day.

Merchandise
I thought the merchandise was fine and I was very satisfied with the selections. I especially liked having the option to order the merchandise on-line before the event. This was great.  I was able to wear my MOR “work shirt” on the plane there and met a few fellow cruisers by doing so. There were great merchandise selections from all of the bands and everything went very smoothly. My advice to cruisers is to buy early if you see something you like. If it sells out, remember you are at sea and they can’t simply re-stock on the fly. If you want it, but it when you see it.

Meet and Greets
I heard varying opinions about how this went from cruisers, but I am pleased with the way that they chose to hold these (I know not all of you agree). The way this worked was that there were essentially two sessions where there were multiple bands in a room. Fans lined up and were not allowed to take their own photos, but MOR staff shot the photos quickly and kept the crowd moving along. Yes, you had to wait in line for a while, but on the plus side you only had to do it twice to get a picture with almost all of the artists. We were able to retrieve the pictures on-line for free as promised, I have to give MOR thumbs up for doing it this way.

I know it seems like I am complaining a lot, but I must say that these are more suggestions than they are complaints and we think they are important to make the next cruise even better. That being said, I have to rate this cruise as a very successful event which just needs some work in the areas I indicated.

The reason I feel confident calling it a success is that I can tell you that every single member of our group we traveled with plans to go again if possible, and many have already signed up. I think that with a little tweaking (especially in the scheduling and maximizing the number of shows), the organizers can make what was a very good cruise, and incredible, once in a lifetime experience. We look forward to sailing again for year two of the MOR Cruise and look forward to re-uniting with the many friends we made aboard this event. Despite our few suggestions we say kudos to MOR for getting behind this event, which for many is a once in a lifetime experience, and for us..a “twice in a lifetime” experience that we hope becomes an annual tradition.

This review was of the cruise line and the event itself. In subsequent posts I will share my thoughts on the various bands we saw and the music separately from the event review.

K-rock

The Offspring w/Dead Sarah
Review & Photos
On The Waterfront – August 30, 2012
Rockford, IL
 

 

One of my favorite times of the year comes on Labor Day Weekend. This is when the annual On The Waterfront festival takes place in Rockford, IL. A full weekend of carnival rides, balloon flyovers, every kind of food you can think of to buy, and of course multiple stages with every kind of music you can possibly think of.
 

The festival kicks of on Thursday night with special show on the main stage and continues through Sunday night. Several blocks of downtown Rockford are closed off to accommodate all the events. It is a party atmosphere, but still accommodates families as well.
 

Opening night was extra special as WXRX (104.9 FM) presented The Offspring for the first time ever in Rockford! Jim Stone and Double T had just been talking that morning about how despite how often The Offspring had been in the area over the years, no one at the station had ever seen them live. Add to that one concert photographer and this was going to be a first for many people in the area.
 

 
The show opened with a band called Dead Sarah. I wasn’t sure at first what to make of this band. The style at the beginning had a folk music tone to it with a lot of acoustic guitar and light vocals. But as they progressed into their set they rocked harder with every song. What I found especially pleasant was the many different musical styles that I heard. There were songs that reminded me of 90s band 4 Non-Blondes to songs that rocked like Halestorm.
 

 
After a short break, it was time for The Offspring! What an entertaining band they turned out to be too. They played hit after hit after hit, and entertained the audience with witty banter back and forth between Noodles and Dexter between songs.
 

The Offspring is one of those bands that kind of sneak up on you. You don’t really realize their impact on the music world until you see them live. Even I caught myself thinking, “Wow! I never realized they had this many hits”. They played them all too. Self Esteem, Keep ‘em Separated, Why Don’t You Get A Job, Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), Original Prankster, Hit That, their latest hit Days Go By and the list goes on. The only disappointment of the night was that they didn’t play my favorite song, Gone Away.
 

 
If The Offspring is a band you’re not sure you want to see or if you haven’t ever seen them; I would highly recommend attending one of their shows. You won’t regret it.