Photos: John Corabi (ex-Motley Crue, The Scream, Union) – Columbus, Ohio – 2.13.12

Sometimes it’s sad to see guys who had a fleeting glimpse of glory milk it for all it’s worth. Like, I’m sure there is an ex-member of The Bulletboys or Britny Fox – a member who never appeared on any recorded material, especially not when those bands were signed to major label deals – booking shows at this very moment either as a solo act or with a new band and using their resume to secure a small guarantee from a club owner.

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John Corabi is NOT one of these guys – he’s a got a legitimate resume including fronting The Scream (“Man in the Moon”, “Father Mother Son”), Union (with Kiss’s Bruce Kulick on guitar), ESP, Ratt (he’s toured off-and-on again since 2000 with the band as rhythm guitarist). But what Corabi is best-known for is stepping into Motley Crue as the lead singer after Vince Neil left in ’92. While his tenure was short (he recorded one full length with the Crue in ’94, a self-titled effort), the band produced a few memorable songs (“Hooligan’s Holiday”, “Power to the People”, “Driftaway”). With this extensive resume, Corabi’s got a catalog of hits to perform live and last week he hit Ohio with 4 shows in cities like Wapakoneta, Akron, Martin’s Ferry and Columbus.

I caught the Columbus show, at the Bethel Road Pub, on Monday night. This tour consisted of Corabi touring with just an acoustic guitar so each night was an intimate, storytelling-type affair with a guy who’s not shy. While the songs he performed throughout the night were great – and represented his entire body of work – the stories were just as good, Corabi talking about meeting Aerosmith, about writing songs after his girlfriend left him when he lost his Crue gig, about hearing himself on the radio for the first time.

To get an idea of what Corabi sounded like, check out this live cover of Aerosmith’s “Seasons of Wither” from Route 33 Rhythm and Blues (Wapakoneta, Ohio) as recorded by my buddy Dewey.

Continue on for more photos.

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