Category: videos

Video: Santa Cruz – “Anthem for the Young N’ Restless”

I need to move to Finland … or Sweden … or Norway. They still get it over there – it’s as if grunge never wiped out hair metal. These countries are churning out bands with big blond hair and leather pants as quickly as the Sunset Strip in LA did in the late ’80s and early ’90s. And I couldn’t be happier.

Santa Cruz wouldn’t have been a huge band in the U.S. in 1989 – most likely they would have been a B- or C-list band headlining 500 seat clubs – but they’ve got the sound and the look that would have earned plenty of full-color pin-ups in Metal Edge.

You can hear a bunch of Santa Cruz’s cock rock songs here.

Video: Jane’s Addiction – “Irresistible Force”

New Jane’s Addiction coming in October. The last album, 2003’s Strays, didn’t exactly bring the band back to their glory days (it wasn’t that bad, just maybe a little too modern) but the second single off The Great Escape Artist, “Irresistible Force”, is both amazing and nostalgic sounding.

Here’s hoping this is a sign of things to come.

Need a post-hardcore fix? Check out Title Fight

With Walter Schreifels continuously looking forward (with Rival Schools and other solo projects) rather than revisiting the past (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand), I’m always on the lookout for post-hardcore bands that sound like 1994.

While Schreifels might not be interested in making that kind of music anymore, it’s not stopping him from working with bands that do. The singer recently worked with Pennsylvania’s Title Fight and produced their debut album, Shed, which is a great slice of aggressive guitar work and nearly barked vocals that still maintain a sense of melody.

Title Fight is part of the AP Tour, presented by Alternative Press, kicking off in October where they’ll be playing alongside Four Year Strong, Gallows, The Swellers and Sharks. Pre-sale tickets are available from August 1-5 at http://theaptour.ducatking.com/, and on sale on August 6.

THE AP TOUR FALL 2011
10-13 Allentown, PA (Crocodile Rock Café)
10-14 Baltimore, MD (Rams Head Live)
10-15 Philadelphia, PA (The Trocadero)
10-16 Boston, MA (House Of Blues)
10-18 Clifton Park, NY (Northern Lights)
10-19 New Haven, CT (Toad’s Place)
10-20 Montreal, QC (La Tulipe)
10-21 Toronto, ON (Phoenix Concert Theatre)
10-22 Columbus, OH (Newport Music Hall)
10-23 Pontiac, MI (The Crofoot)
10-25 Milwaukee, WI (Eagles Ballroom)
10-26 Chicago, IL (Metro)
10-27 St. Paul, MN (Station 4)
10-28 Kansas City, MO (The Beaumont Club)
10-29 Denver, CO (The Summit Music Hall)
10-31 Boise, ID (Knitting Factory)
11-01 Seattle, WA (El Corazon)
11-02 Portland, OR (Hawthorne Theater)
11-04 San Francisco, CA (The Regency Ballroom)
11-05 West Hollywood, CA (House Of Blues)
11-06 San Diego, CA (Soma)
11-08 Pomona, CA (The Glass House)
11-09 Mesa, AZ (The Nile Theater)
11-11 San Antonio, TX (White Rabbit)
11-12 Dallas, TX (House Of Blues)
11-13 Houston, TX (Warehouse Live)
11-15 Orlando, FL (Beacham Theater)
11-16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Culture Room)
11-17 St. Petersburg, FL (State Theater)
11-18 Atlanta, GA (The Masquerade)
11-19 Charlotte, NC (Amos’ Southend Music Hall)
11-20 Norfolk, VA (The NorVa)
11-22 New York, NY (Irving Plaza)
11-23 Sayreville, NJ (Starland Ballroom)
11-25 Pittsburgh, PA (Altar Bar)
11-26 Cleveland, OH (House Of Blues)

Evolution of “Boyz Are Gonna Rock” by Vinnie Vincent

Falling down the wormhole that is YouTube, I was revisiting some Vinnie Vincent Invasion songs after hearing of the former Kiss guitarist’s legal troubles. I’m not sure of the time period of the band Warrior, of which Vincent was a member (founder?) of, but I stumbled across a demo for the songs “Boyz Are Gonna Rock” which would later appear on the Vinnie Vincent Invasion debut album.

While there are very similar guitar intros and solos in both versions of the songs – and the chorus is nearly identical – the verses (both lyrically and structurally) are completely different.

Here’s the Warrior demo version.

Here’s the version that appears on the Vinnie Vincent Invasion album.

It got me to wondering why there was such a dramatic change between the original and the officially released version. Did Vincent decide the first version wasn’t something he wanted to release? Did the other members of the Vinnie Vincent Invasion bring their own thoughts and ideas to the songs? Did somebody at a label tell Vincent that he’d need to update the song to make it more marketable?
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