On Saturday July 30th, Tiger Army performed their 15 year anniversary show, at the O.C. fair. The crowd on hand, was the biggest crowd to ever come out for a headlining Tiger Army performance. The crowd was also the first to hear about the upcoming October Flame IV show announcement.
Many fans were speculating on whether or not Tiger Army would actually be performing this year. Front man Nick 13, had his solo Album released this year, and already had a done 1 tour of the album. With more solo shows planned throughout the fall, it looked to be a Nick 13 solo year.
I was fortunate to attend October Flame II, at the Wiltern. It was my first Tiger Army performance, and I loved it. I also was introduced to Combichrist at that same show! October Flame not only spotlights Tiger Army, it always showcases some of the best Rockabilly/Psychobilly bands out on the scene. I just happened to go the one night an industrial band was on the bill :-)
October Flame IV will be held on October 28th and 29th at the Grove of Anaheim. No band lineups have been announced yet.
As soon as more information is announced, I will edit this post. So keep checking back for more details!
.
Welcome back to Video Music Monday. I am once again blogging from my android phone :-) I've downloaded a different app, so lets see how this works.
As for this weeks video, I have posted a favorite song of mine. To be the honest, the video is nothing great, its the song that I love. It seems as if everyone has heard the song before, but no one knew who sang it.
I know this song has a little different style from what I normally post about, but it is very much of what makes my broad taste of music. I like a lot of different types, but usually the really different is what appeals to me.
How Bizarre has a laid back tone, and easy to sing along with lyrics. It always puts me in a good mood. My cousins laugh every time they hear it. It reminds the three of us, of the summer the song came out. I made sure to tune the TV to MTV when I knew it would be on.(yes MTV played songs on a repeat that could be clocked)
I hope you like this weeks video. Sorry it posted so late in the day. My computer tweaked out this morning, and I couldn't get on to publish with the video embedded.Please check back to the Music Happenings often, you may get a random surprise here and there. Thank you for reading and please pass this blog along to your friends :-)
The annual Rockstar Mayhem Festival is upon us. Every year Rockstar Energy Drink produce a metal filled lineup, and showcase in an all day festival. This years lineup in San Bernardino will be a little different from the rest of the tour. We will not see In Flames or Megadeth. In their place playing only 1 show this year, is Dethklok! I personally was a little let down to not be seeing Megadeth, but to have Dethklok fill their spot, yeah I'm OK with it now.
Every year comes with the announcement of the bands in January. People guess, and make wish lists, but they never seen to come close. I have tried not to do this, and just be surprised when they release the list. When ticket sales began, I was not financially able to purchase tickets. I had other priorities, and decided if I don't win them, then it wasn't meant to be...I kept my ears open for anyone giving away tickets, entering when I could. Revolver magazine seem to have a pretty simple giveaway, find the Mayhem Issue of their magazine and take a picture of yourself and send it in. I sent in my picture 4 days before the show, and WON! I received 2 lawn tickets for the show on July 9th. They over-night mailed the tickets to me from NY....(that cost wayyyy more than the tickets were worth!) but whatever I had 2 free tickets. I asked my sister's fiance if he wanted to go, he said yes, so it was all set.
I take a lot of precautions when going to Mayhem. This being my 6th all day festival (2 Ozzfests and 4th Mayhem Festival) I knew what to expect from the day. I try and drink as much water starting the night before. When I get up the day of the show, I start drinking water and don't stop till I leave my vehicle in the parking lot. There is no way I am paying $4.50 for a 20oz bottle of water! My loving wife, takes care of me as well. She packed me a lunch to eat on the way, and made sure I had a frozen gallon of water for after the show. She helped me sunblock and even sent sunblock for Jerry and 2 more cousins (Stephen and Oscar) who I was meeting at the show.
We all met in the parking lot, and ventured in together. The heat was in the mid 90's already (1:30pm) so we knew it would only be getting worse. We walked right over to the side stages, which are to the south of the main stage. While walking, I ran into a cousin of mine, who happened to be working the concession stands with his wife. He told us to come back and get water and sodas when we needed them. (THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!)
The Jägermeister stage started as scheduled, and thus began a day full of metal mayhem! Weeman from Jackass introduced the opening band. the Jägermeister and Revolver stages run back to back until the main stage begins later towards the evening. We ventured around the crowds, trying to stay close, but away from the mosh pits. (I had my camera and glasses with me...) The Rockstar tent gives out free Rockstar Energy Drinks, so we stopped in there to grab a few. The orange can was the best. Not sure exactly which one that is, but I know for sure it was the ORANGE can. We noticed a small line forming at the Revolver tent, so we headed there, and were able to meet Gene and Dino of Fear Factory! (See even Industrial music has a place in a Metal Festival lol) They signed posters and took a picture with me. Cool guys. Not snobbish at all.
Throughout the afternoon, the Metal Mulisha, performed crazy motor cycle stunts along the side of the Revolver stage. The band from "Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory" was there playing while the motorcyclists were performing. They were still in the revamped mobile sound stage Rob had built for them. All we had to do was turn to the right and we could see everything. I like how Mayhem does the location planning. We never really have to move. The only reason we went back up the hill, away from the stages, was to see my cousin Michelle who hooked us up with cups of water.
By 5ish, Jerry was starting to burn. He had sunblock on, but it didn't stop the sun. He was turning red...lol We decided to head back up the hill to see where we could wait for a good spot in the grass. Jerry and I had the free lawn tickets, but Stephen and Oscar had purchased orchestra pit tickets. We were walking through the grass when I had an idea... I can't divulge such said idea, but I can tell you about the outcome of my wonderful scheme... Jerry and I were standing right next to Stephen and Oscar in the orchestra pit! All 4 of us made it to the front rail of the pit, which is only THE BEST PLACE TO SEE A CONCERT! I was excited. Never had I been so close at the San Manuel Amphitheater. I had been in the orchestra before, but in the seats. I was front row...FTW!
We were talking to the security guards, who by the way were really cool! One of them was telling us that we were standing in one of the two loudest spots in the entire amphitheater. The other spot was on the other side of the stage. He pointed up at a stack of speakers, and said, that's why it will be loud here... There were also huge stacks of speakers along the sides of the stage. I was getting really excited at this point.
Machine Head opened the main stage. (2nd time seeing them) They played well. They got the crowd wound up and ready to rock. They play well. I honestly don't know much of their stuff, but it was good metal to bang your head to. Machine Head thanked the crowd for being there early to see them play. I respect a band that respects its fans. They knew most people were there to hold a spot for the headliners later in the evening. I've learned to never underestimate the opening bands. They can put on a hell of a show. And you never know, you may actually like what they play. (for example Combichrist, who is now one of my favorite bands, opened for Tiger Army...)
After Machine Head, came Godsmack....Many fans were on hand today just for Godsmack...I had only seen Godsmack once before, and that was when they opened for Metallica at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Godsmack came out with a fury of fast paced songs. They played all of the fans favorites.starting with newer, and heading back into their past. During their set, the drummer started a mini solo, and then Sully (the lead singer) brought out his own drum set, and soloed with him. They jammed for a while, then started playing classics like Iron Man to get the crowd really into it. The solo lasted about 9 or 10 minutes. It was great. Really something different. ( I have been to a few metal shows where the guitarist likes to solo for a while...It all just kind of seems redundant, and a little boring. I know what your thinking, but I too play guitar! I know what it takes. I just get bored with hearing it) Godsmack played Voodoo during their set ( I had to call my wife so she could hear the song she liked best by them) After their set, the crew dismantled the gear, and the security guard nabbed the stage setlist for me :-) So I now have the set list that was taped to the bottom of the stage for the band to read...
Godsmack was great. I was there for another band though...Disturbed! I had seen Disturbed 3 other times, and knew it should be a great set. Disturbed was the co-headliner for the first Mayhem Festival. The time had arrived, and boy was I blown away....Disturbed rocked on stage that night! They utilized led screens all around the stage to play videos to match each song. They were the only band to use FIRE during their set.We were so close we could feel the heat from the flames. I was hyped. They played everything, and ended their set with Down With the Sickness. Being so close made the set even better. We could feel the energy coming from the band. After their set, the band thanked everyone and threw out guitar picks. All 4 of us, were able to nab a pick.
But the Mayhem continues... because of Megadeth and In Flames playing in Europe, Rockstar was able to ubtain a special fill in. None other than Metalocalypse own Dethklok!! I knew some of their songs, and I knew to prepare for full metal mayhem. The band came out on stage and played with fury. The huge screen in the background played Metalocalypse style videos for every song. The band did very little, but yet played with such feeling and emotion that the crowd was going nuts. Their metal goes back to the fast paced, drum beating, hair thrashing, long evolved songs of metal's past....6, 7 ,even 8 minute songs. None of which were boring. All had the correct song structure, and all were captivating. I was a little puzzled to see the lead singer come out on stage. Not what I had pictured. Maybe I was influenced from the cartoon, but the growling came from a guy whole looked like Adam from Mythbusters lol.He didn't look funny, but I think after years of seeing the band on Metalocalypse, I had a preconceived notion on how he was "supposed" to look.
Now for the after Mayhem...No not the partying or fun times your thinking of...but the recovery process from a long, sun beaten, water deprived day! I needed to eat and drink water. Even with the water during the day, I was dehydrated. The next morning, I woke up sore, and my ears were ringing pretty bad. The 4 of us all posted how it was worth the soreness.
I want to say thank you to my cousins Leonard and Michelle for the water and sodas. Without them we would have passed out early in the afternoon. I want to thank, the security guards in the pit. Without the water refills they gave us, we may not have survived the 5 hours in the pit! I want to thank Jerry, Stephen and Oscar. They hung out and made the day a pleasant day of metal! Most importantly, I want to thank my wife Jenny! without her, I would be sun burnt, with no food in my system, and without cold water for the ride home! I appreciate how you look out for me on my metal mayhem journeys. I love you babe!
For more pictures or videos, click the links at the top of this blog. My Youtube channel and Photobucket have all the pics and videos I shot at Mayhem Festival. Feel free to comment here and make sure to tell your friends about my blog. Thank you for reading!
Welcome to Music Video Monday! On Monday I showcase a different music video that is in someway memorable to me. Each video will have a different reason, and I will try to explain each.
This weeks video is, Stingwray by Static-X. This video was released early spring of 2009. This video serves as a reminder of a couple of memories for me, I was able to meet Wayne Static and Tony Campos at Hottopic in San Bernardino on St. Patrick's Day, and that same year I was able to see Static-X perform live at the Anaheim House of Blues (great venue btw!)
For my wife and I, we differ when it comes to certain types of music. I try to find the happy mediums, so we can both be happy. As for Static-X, she likes them as well! The concert was a fun time. She even survived the pit during Bury Your Dead's set :-) She was able to take pics and videos for me from the upstairs balcony, while I moshed with the crazy crowd downstairs. Out of all the songs they performed that night, she liked this one the best.
I hope you enjoy this part of my blog. I like perusing Youtube, and figured why not just post some of my faves with everyone....
This summer the industrial / ebm / dark noise fans will rejoice in the new album releases from Imperative Reaction (Imperative Reaction 09/2011), God Module (Seance 09/2011), and System Syn (All Seasons Pass 10/2011)!
Each band has been leaking samples and singles from the album. I have yet to hear a song that I didn't instantly consider a hit! I am usually not a fan of remixes, but there are some damn good ones being released. Imperative Reaction has released 4 versions of their first single, Surface. (I am listening to them as I write this blog)
If you find all of these bands on Facebook, you can click on their bandpage tab and preview some of the tracks, or even watch the Surface music video.On their Facebook page, you can also find the links to purchase the albums. All three bands are releasing their CDs with special limited edition box sets. God Module is releasing Seance with a specially created Ouija boards. All three bands have also loaded the limited edition boxes with lots of special add-ons. Posters, buttons, stickers, postcards, books, wristbands, and special limited box set only T-shirts!
When a band releases a CD, I can only think of one thing.... When will they tour??? I have never seen System Syn or Imperative Reaction perform, and now I can finally get that chance! The Triptych tour was just announced, and all three bands are on the bill. This tour will end its US rounds in LA, at the wonderful Das Bunker, on Halloween weekend!! Although System Syn will not be performing on this date, I can't imagine a better way to start the best holiday of the year :-D
Clint Carney and I April 2011 at Das Bunker
This is going to be an interesting set of bands performing...Clint Carney is a member of all 3 bands!Adam Vex is also going to be doing double stage duty, as a member of both Imperative Reaction and System Syn. Both Adam and Clint have messaged me on Facebook, and confirmed performing with each group.
Tickets are on sale for the Das Bunker show in L.A. I would not sit on this... We should be buying tickets in the near future. (the last show we went to at Das Bunker sold out...)
Recently announced, you can purchase VIP package tickets for all shows, including the LA show at Das Bunker. Ticket will include VIP meet and greet, Limited Edition Shirt, show Laminate and a few other goodies. VIP tickets are extremely limited (only 20 per show) so get yours soon!
**Announced today, DJ Joe Letz of Combichrist will be joining the tour, after the Gothic cruise as a special guest DJ between sets. Joe will also be hosting the VIP meet and greets **
To pre-order singles and albums, go to the bands web page. I have provided a link to all three...
Welcome to Music Video Monday. Every Monday I will showcase a different music video. This week is no different...
Happy 4th of July everyone! Happy Independance day, America's Birthday, and the day the World defeated the aliens (Independance Day the movie)
More importantly, its my wife's birthday! The wonderful and loving wife, and mother of both my boys! I love you babe, and enjoy your day :-)
This week I am showcasing Kid Rock's American Bad Ass. I am not a huge Kid Rock fan, but when you add a sample (borrowed not sampled) of Metallica's Sad But True, you get a great song! The official video is not on Youtube, but this will do.
Enjoy the holiday everyone. Light some good fireworks!
