GB26 (Michael Des Barres interview, Plastic Fantastic)

We all know the start of the 90’s was in a terrible state of style.  It’s no wonder really that 6 years into the decade we would see bands longing to bring back a sense of flash and excitement.  Usually it’s a 15 year cycle before what’s old is new again.  But in a pool of flanel and matted down unwashed hair, sprouted young twenty-somethings to study the sound and design of Roxy Music, Adam Ant, & Japan records.

Plastic Fantastic (pictured above) were among a group of a handful of bands leading the way in this movement labeled ‘romo.’  Which was a hybrid of taking “new romantics” and merging it with “modernists.”  As the music also suggested, it was not just a rehash of 80’s, no no, that would come later in 2004 with some very lame bands that deliberately set out to be retro while forgetting to put their own spin on it.

The romo bands had personality.  Plastic Fantastic’s singer, Stuart, with his golden glam charisma, hell, he could be the mascot for Glambone!

“Complementary Electron” shows a tip of the hat to Roxy Music, while

injecting their own character in to it.

You’ve probably heard enough about SXSW right now, but let it be said again that Jimmy (Thrill) Quill’s end of bash at his Red Horse ranch was a blast.  Moments upon arriving, I was unexpectedly whisked away to the house to talk privately with rock legend, singer/actor Michael Des Barres.  For being in his young 60’s, the man looks and sounds great.  Exuding class, coolness, sex appeal, and hunger for rock ‘n roll.  Listen as he recounts the time when pal Don Johnson of Miami Vice fame patched up a few loose ends when the Powerstation suddenly decided Michael wasn’t going to be the singer, only to rehire him immediately after Don’s intervening.  He also tells us about coming to the States for the first time.  “I came to America in ’72 with Silverhead, this glam rock band which was a classic case of a band that collectively weighed 150lbs and was addicted to every drug known to man, every sexual experience possible, and completely oblivious to anything other than three chords and velvet.”

The ‘cast closes with a guy outta Vegas by the name of Gigli.  His EP was produced by Ron Mancuso of Bang Bang/Beggars & Theives noteriety.  No clue what he’s done since this 2000 release, but the track featured “Katherine Miller Seriel Killer” is one of those gems that

should’ve garnered him lots of attention, maybe the fact that his image was too Bob Mould-like had something to do with him going unnoticed, now had he thrown a feather boa around his head and applied heavy eyeshadow to his mug like Angie Aparo, then maybe his chances at that point in time would’ve served him well.

Download GB26 (here)

Glambone!

GB25 (Jaime St. James interview, Agent X)

Ready for the world, or R U just ready to gitcha Bone on?!  Let me love you till the morning comes.  Alright, nevahmind the urban spoon... GB25 opens up and says ahh with a rare treat from Billy D’Vette and his old posse’ once upon a time known as Agent X (pictured right with Mayor of the Sunset Strip, Rodney Bingenheimer w/the penis-head hair-do).  The band also featured Danny Simon (aka Simon Daniels, aka “Brazilian Recording Star”) on vocals.  GB6 showcased their gem “Rock & Roll Angels,” but what we didn’t tell you then is the roots of how that song came about.

Started out being called “Sheila.”  It was under the advice of the Runaways brainchild Kim “I wrote King Of The Nightime World” Fowley,

that suggested the later title of what the song became.  With recording engineering twiddling of the knobs from Candy’s Jonathan Daniel, who happened to be chumming it up with Fowley at the time, as evident on the god-awful songs he contributed to on the Runaways “Young And Fast” slab of shite, Jonathan recorded “Sheila” on his 4-track in his bedroom.  Billy tells us a small label known for releasing CD’s of L.A. band demos is currently discussing the possibilities of releasing all the Agent X recordings sometime in the near future.  We’ll keep you posted, in the meantime, fix your ears on this.

Summer of ’11 hard rockers can expect the long awaited return of Black N Blue with their first studio record in 20 years.  Jaime St. James phones in for cool convo as we ask him about the new release, the early days of Movie Star featuring Julian Raymond (Dear Mr. President), and the story behind being part of one of the first Kiss tribute bands (Cold Gin) that really ignited the fire in loads of bands to follow, all paying homage to the masked 4-some.

“Basically, Tommy said (to the other guys) well you know Jaime can play drums, he knows all this stuff, and he would be perfect.  So they called me and I said ok I’ll come in and I’ll sit in with you guys. But there has to be one thing understood, I’m not playing in a Kiss tribute band unless we put the make-up on and get full costumes, otherwise it doesn’t make any sense...just gonna walk up there in jeans and a t-shirt that would be stupid.  And I said, let me tell you something guys, we’re either gonna be the heros of L.A. or we’re gonna be the goats, and I aint no god damned goat.”  Jaime goes on to say “not only did it start the tribute thing, it also I think influenced Kiss to put the make-up back on, to be honest with you.”

The packed half-hour show closes with one of the last of the good ones  that Jonathan Daniel penned.  “Lies My Father Told Me” surfaced as a tune on The Loveless cd.  The version here actually sounds closest to what we would expect, a song that could easily have been from the end of the Candy/Gilby days.  With Ryan Roxie’s guitar playing, you can not go wrong.  The band re-recorded the track with guitarist John Ceparano on “A Tale Of Gin & Salvation,” who’s style would’ve much better paired up with a jazz trio.  Way too much over usage of the Roland JC120, but thankfully this version exists.  

to the Bone!

(download)

SXSW 2011

SXSW belonged to the Biters this year.  An early eve gig at the Aquarium on 6th St kicked it off with guns blazing.  The stage was no more than 4x4, how they managed not to take each others eyes out with the guitar’s headstock is sheer amazement.  Let me just say the band killed it.  Leashing into “Hang Around,” it was nonstop energy from the start of the set to the end of the set.  With the stage positioned right at the club’s entrance and about 2 feet from the bar, Biters had a room full of rock hungry maniacs squished together like sardines, all clamoring to witness what we’ve known for almost a year now...that this band could very well be the saving grace for real rock ‘n roll, how it was meant to be done.  No artsy BS, no hipster attitude, just loud, catchy, dirty, anthemic goodness from skinny tatted up dudes that makes you remember how rock ‘n roll was very much like being in a gang.  The band’s vocalist - Tuk, has the gift.  Girls wanna bed him, boys wanna be him.  I literally witnessed girls handing them their phone numbers afterwards and offering them a place to stay during their visit.  The excitement Biters generate

is undeniable.

Later that night, Biters were off to do their second show, a mere  2 and a half hours after the Aquarium.  This time at Scoot Inn, on the further east side outskirts of the city.  With an outdoor full size stage and Marshall amps behind ‘em...the band attacked with high intensity once again, and kept the momentum fueled up right to the end, closing with a cover of “Strutter.”  With their influences firmly planted in 70’s glam rock, we knew they had to have some love for Kiss, and they sure showed it, with a true to original version that sounded tailor made for the band.

Saturday, the boys did an afternoon show at Jackalope on 6th St.  Highlight’s of this set was during “Melody For Lovers” when the band segwayed directly into the chorus of The Cars “Just What I Needed.”  Serving as a morsel of fun, but also as a mindfuck to let you know where “Melody For Lovers” took a nice nick off of.

Off stage, the boys make no bones about how they’re working their asses off.  With four SX shows, that is proof right there that indeed they are... not to mention 3 ep’s, including the newly released 7 song

“All Chewed Up.”  If the big labels, or industry honchos aren’t sniffing

around this band yet, then you guys must be smelling your own stench.  Biters RULE!

Sunday was a well needed decompressor.  Jimmy Quill (aka Jimmy Thrill) threw his annual “end of SXSW bash” at his Austin ranch, Red Horse.  The lovely picturesque peaceful backdrop of his ranch served as a welcoming retreat for friends, to gather for drink, eats and RnR provided by none other than the legend, Michael Des Barres who performed a no frills good-time set, and later was joined by Keaton Simons for a lil bluesy shuffle.  The night was later turned over to a new all-girl band called Vanity Theft.  Stay tuned, you’ll be seeing ‘em pop up on Glambone real soon.  Many thanks to Jimmy for his great hospitality and South By send off.

Ride On!

GB24 (Vicky Hamilton interview, The New Torpedos, The Art)

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more...With a rebel yell she cried twenty four, GB24!  Phil Lewis leads us into this month’s podcast with the band he formed right after his days in Girl with Phil Collen.  The band was known as The New Torpedos.  It was short lived, and all over by 1984 when Phil jumped ship to front the UK group Torme’ before crossing shores to Cali where he would replace Paul Black and get a second lease on his career with LA Guns.  The track spotlighted here is “Midnight Alibi.”

Things get interesting when former A&R queen Vicky Hamilton phones in for a chat.  If you don’t know who she is, all you need to do is look on the liner notes of some of the biggest records of the 80’s.  She was a star maker, helping to launch the careers of Motley Crue, Poison, Guns ‘N Roses, and loads of others.  Listen as she recounts some great stories of the early days on the Sunset Strip.  “We had a thing called Borrow A Book at Licorice Pizza where you were allowed to take out 5 records a week and when you brought them back you got 5 more.  Nikki (Sixx) was always hitting me up to use the Borrow A Book, but the problem was he never brought back any of the records, so he was a pain in my ass.  That’s how we sorta met, the friendship started there.”

But not all were hits, she sheds light on some of the misses too, and also brings us up to speed with her current projects, including a musical of a “glam rock surfer dude” that she hopes to get on the stage this year called Glitter Beach.  We take a listen to the title song as well.  Visit Vicky’s website for more.

During the 80’s hey day, not all bands had the luxury of moving themselves to L.A.  Some bands just stayed in their small town, yeah, like as if that was gonna do them any good.  Asfalt Jungle, ok, if you’re gonna spell it like that, you’re just leaving yourself open for people to call you ASS FAULT.  These guys were a band from Alabama who’s great big shot came when they opened for Dirty Looks, and (drum roll please) New Haven.  We disect their tune “Here Comes Trouble,” but don’t write ‘em off completely... there’s something to be said about front man Scott Borchetta (who went by the name Scott Rage back then), many years later he would do a Clark Kent and turn into a super hero by discovering a youngin’ named Taylor Swift and heading up his own label, Big Machine Records.  Now why couldn’t Ron Keel have done that?

It’s a Doucheband of the Month no-brainer this time around, with a band called Shock.  Not to be confused with the 80’s L.A. band Shock & The Night And Day Horns, although I’m pretty sure there’s no great difference in just how many degrees of douche separates the two from each other anyway.  Listen closely to the first douchetune, I swear the words the singer is singing are “landlord’s calling, we got the police, now we lost our lease.”  Priceless.  No fucking kidding you guys are homeless.

GB24 closes with the band Vicky Hamilton tells us about called The Art.  Hailing from Australia, they just released a record over there which I’m sure will be no trouble finding on iTunes.  The song “Step Inside” featured here brings to mind hints of Arcade Fire, Kill Hannah, and reminds me of what Babylon Zoo was trying to do 15 years ago with “Spaceman” in the midst of the Britpop explosion.  It’s cool & catchy, and the singer isn’t afraid to shy away from his androgenous glam self.

Strutting like a peacock!

Year in Review

GB18 featured the Biters from Altanta, GA.  The band released 2 worthy EP’s in 2010, or perhaps they are both intended to make for one complete record.  Either way, it was a smart move to get the music out there.  The first half featured the instantly catchy “Hang Around” along with a couple other gems.  Months later came the second half, leading off with “Melody For Lovers,” a tune that sits perfectly in the Biters repertoire of Orange-amped electrifying guitars with punky attitude vocal delivery, wrapping that around radioactive melodies.  Go here for more on this gang.

On GB19 we had an exclusive interview with Keith Varady.  He’s traded in his guitar for a camera, and working steadily on building his resume of own film projects.  Tenderloin, his recent flic has undergone a name change since we last spoke.  Now titled Scabbo.  The movie takes you through the skid row area of San Fran, where Hepburn (played by Michael Quinn ), a transvestite with a love for the drugs

befriends his crack addicted neighbor and murders him.  He is haunted by the ghost, interrogated, but through lies and deceit the crime is thrown out the window.  The DVD will be available for purchase through KV’s website, coming soon.

We turned you on to Kenward Cooper in GB21.  He’s got a project called This Episode, which Rick Parker of Lions & Ghosts fame is producing.  You can be involved in the making of this record by going here.

GB23 (Joe Normal interview, Head On, Precious Metal)

Have you made your New Year’s resolution to wear more eyeliner than the year before?  Glambone has.  We’re kicking off 2011 with GB23, starting it up with Head On.  A band from San Francisco that recently had their 25 year reunion show back in August last summer.  The song

spotlighted is “Heard It On The Radio.”  A tune that brings to mind similarity to Off Broadway.  Hey, maybe Head On was another band Chip & Donnie clusterfucked into lifting a few ideas from as well.

Glambone brings yet another exclusive interview this month, in the form of Joe Normal.  He discusses the fallout that led to The Zeros demise when Danny was kicked out.  “We kinda just realised at that point that the whole chemistry of the band had got fucked up.  It just didn’t feel like it was worth it to go on with the current line up without Danny ‘cause he was such a big part of the chemistry of those four guys known as The Zeros.”  Joe talks about the new band Cold Blue Rebels featuring himself along with Danny Dangerous, Mickey Finn of Jetboy, and ex-Glamour Punks drummer Spaz Draztik.

As a highlight companion to the interview, put on your purple Converse high tops as we flashback to a live Roxy gig of The Zeros in

their prime.  A bootleg that I personally dubbed from the audience.

We also check out a track from Joe's new band Cold Blue Rebels.

It’s a double header Doucheband brawl as Ana Black goes toe to toe with Jim Gillette’s old band Slut.  Michael Angelo is in the corner carrying the spit bucket.

As we enter the new year, keep chasing the stars, as Lizzie Grey once said.  If you’ve checked out Glambone’s YouTube channel then you know the version of the song “Chasing Rainbows” that Blackie

Lawless sang on in one of the early incarnations of the band London.

Lizzie tried to give life to this song a number of times.  It later resurfaced on his debut Ultra Pop record, and then again would find a

home on the 1990 self titled Precious Metal release.  It’s the 3rd one here that we dust off the glitter on.  Singer Leslie Knauer’s addlibbed vocal at the end of the choruses makes me think of Joan Jett’s “Hold Me,” which isn’t a bad thing at all.  One thing for certain is this song has legs.  Lizzie, 4th time’s the charm maybe?

Dream a glitter dream

GB22 (Tommy Gunn interview, Taz, Warrant)

Glitter bells, glitter bells, glitter all the way...oh what fun it is to put on eyeliner today.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Glambone!  Are you ready for it?  Well, someone’s ready for you, as K.K. from Taz anthemized on their very first demo from 1986 when the band wore their glam stylings to the max.  Yes, the band progressed after that, and who could blame them for stretching their creativity.  “Desert Dog Night” from their last recordings is as equally captivating as any of their glam gems.  But enuff about the changes, let’s celebrate the glam that once was and is forever kissed and sealed with lipstick.

We are pleased to bring you another exclusive interview.  This month shines on legendary NYC club promoter Tommy Gunn.  The man behind the metal years of the Cat Club.  He’s full of great stories and recollections of the early days of club culture in New York during the 70’s and 80’s. 

“Max’s (Kansas City) on the other hand was totally different, it was more of a low key rock ‘n roll hang out.  You would hang out at the bar and you’d always have this feeling like something’s about to happen.  Somebody cool’s gonna walk in, or something’s about to break.  People would walk in but at that point it was like oh that’s only Joey Ramone, or that’s only Blondie, or that’s Andy Warhol.  You’re like, okay something’s gonna happen, and you want to be part of it.  But you don’t realise until many years later it was happening around you and you were waiting for something else to happen.”
Tommy tells us briefly about the book he’s writing, his autobiography.
As he’s sent a couple of chapters to Glambone already, I can only tell you that it is one entertaining ride that’s gonna keep you glued to the pages.  And I’ve read tons of these rockstar autobio’s... Tommy’s stories are stuff of rock ‘n roll dreams.  In his own words, Tommy says
“it is about an adventure in life that we all participated in one way or another.  If someone does not tell the story, one day it will not be even a memory, and no one will ever know what fun we had.”

One of the Cat Club regulars is featured on the ‘cast in the form of Roxx.  A personal favorite of Tommy Gunn’s at the time.  “Give Up Your Heart” is straight outta the TNT “Intuition” meet’s Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet” book of rock.  Fit for the arena’s for sure.  It’s a catchy song, with solid production that tips the hat to the aforementioned records.  Gotta smile for the sax solo, a task that only east coast and UK bands seem to properly pull off.

What’s an episode without “Doucheband of the Month?”  Um... we’d rather not know.  Find out who’s crap is served up on a silver platter this time around.

Special shout out to Katja from Norway, for winning the Pharoah “Rocksville Station” contest.  Visor Boy is on his way!

The podcast closes with a 1987 demo track from Warrant.  It’s one of those semi-ballads that Jani did oh so well.  “Only A Man” is the track,
what...was Jani listening to Kiss’ The Elder way too much and thinking how he could put a spin on “Just A Boy?”  Or was he just keeping in line with his “Heaven” and “Sometime She Cries” type numbers?  Either way, two words for you Jani: Plain Jane.  Time to resurrect.

Get your free download of GB22 here


'twas the night before glam...