Rock & Roll PSYCHO CIRCUS

744 - FANTASY

 
 
 
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HEAVEN, ERIKA, DELAIN, THE SUMMIT, LONERIDER, COREY MARKS, MARK FARNER, MASSIVE WAGONS, HELLECOPTERS, JESTERS GRACE, VOODOO CIRCLE, CYANIDE SUNDAE, THUNDERMOTHER, ROCKETS, BETH HART
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"FLY"
HEAVEN, ERIKA, DELAIN, THE SUMMIT, LONERIDER, COREY MARKS, MARK FARNER, MASSIVE WAGONS, HELLECOPTERS, JESTERS GRACE, VOODOO CIRCLE, CYANIDE SUNDAE, THUNDERMOTHER, ROCKETS, BETH HART
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"FLY"
ROCKSTORY
"(HEAVEN)"
"“Heaven is an Australian heavy metal band from Sydney, Australia, that formed in 1980. The group's original style was similar to that of AC/DC but in later years went in a more commercial heavy metal direction along the lines of Judas Priest. The band was originally formed in Adelaide under the name Fat Lip, which featured Scottish-born Allan Fryer, bassist Laurie Marlow, and drummer Joe Turtur. Fat Lip came to the attention of a Sydney music industry figure who had managed AC/DC in the 1970s and had just started a new record label called DeLuxe, to which he had signed INXS. Fat Lip began recording an album for DeLuxe, but changed its name to Heaven during the sessions. The album, Twilight of Mischief, was preceded in late 1981 by a single, "Fantasy". A second single, "In the Beginning" became the album's title track . John Haese left Heaven after the album was released and was replaced by Mick Cocks, formerly of Rose Tattoo. After a successful Australian tour supporting Iron Maiden, the band then went to the United States and also found some success there, particularly on the West Coast and toured with Judas Priest, Mötley Crüe, Black Sabbath and Kiss. They recorded a second album during 1983 called Where Angels Fear to Tread. The album was supported by a single, "Rock School" that received heavy airplay on MTV and featured guest contributions from Ronnie James Dio, Lita Ford and Glenn Hughes. After this, Cocks and Turtur left Heaven. Former AC/DC bass player Mark Evans and John Lalor were brought in as replacements but Unfortunatly the relationship ended directly after a successful headlining tour of Australia. Heaven disbanded due to conflicts with Fryer. In 1984, Fryer recruited drummer Tommy Dimitroff and returned to America to reform Heaven, this time with ex-Talas guitarist Mitch Perry and Mark Cunningham, who had most recently been in a band called Cathedral. Dennis Feldman, formerly of Ram-Jam and The Michael Schenker group also joined the new Heaven line-up on bass and the group recorded the album. Columbia A&R man, Mason Munoz, signed the band to release the album Knocking on Heaven's Door. The album's title track was a heavy metal cover of the Bob Dylan song. After this, Fryer moved to Texas and forged ahead keeping the Heaven name alive with local talent. In 1985, Heaven opened for Christian metal band Stryper in Corpus Christi, Texas. Kelly, Marlow, Fryer and Haese reformed Heaven in Sydney in 1998 to play two shows. After this, Kats and Marlow started working on new material with guitarist Kevin Pratt. The collaboration was designed as a new Heaven album but the project ran out of money. Yet another reformation happened in 2001 however, when Fryer, Marlow, Kats and Pratt recruited guitarist Ross Flynn and toured as Heaven in support of Judas Priest's Australian tour. Immediately after these shows, Fryer again returned to America. On 4 June 2015 it was announced that Heaven's vocalist, Allan Fryer, had died after a long battle with cancer. Heaven have recently reformed with original members Laurie Marlow and John Haese, performing in Sydney in November 2022. "

743 - HEAT

 
 
 
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CODY PARKS, SERIOUS BLACK, RICHIE KOTZEN, SEETHER, NO FAVOURS, GIUFFRIA, SKILLET, ERIKA, DAYLIGHT ROBBERY, CHERRY BOMB, MAD DILLANS DEPUTIES, DELAIN, CORY MARKS, GUNSLINGER, STEVE MARINNOS, THE SUMMIT
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"HAND"
CODY PARKS, SERIOUS BLACK, RICHIE KOTZEN, SEETHER, NO FAVOURS, GIUFFRIA, SKILLET, ERIKA, DAYLIGHT ROBBERY, CHERRY BOMB, MAD DILLANS DEPUTIES, DELAIN, CORY MARKS, GUNSLINGER, STEVE MARINNOS, THE SUMMIT
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"HAND"
ROCKSTORY
"(CODY PARKS & the DIRTY SOUTH)"
"“Not much to tell you about Cody Parks and The Dirty South but one thing is for sure is they aren't your typical Nashville country act. Singer/songwriter Cody Parks always knew his vision could become a reality with the right players who shared his passion. In 2019, Cody Parks and The Dirty South came together to blend the heart and soul of country music with the gritty, rebellious spirit of ’80s and ’90s metal. Their fusion of country roots with influences like Mötley Crüe, Ratt, and Pantera gives birth to a sound that’s as wild as a rodeo, as relentless as a freight train, and as unforgettable as a southern summer. There first singles released in 2019 continuing through to the release of the EP Smothered and Covered in 2023, Cody Parks and The Dirty South unleashed a storm that’s destined to leave a trail of awe in its wake. This EP is a testament to their audacious approach to music – a collection of tracks that seamlessly melds the heart-wrenching narratives of country with the thunderous riffs and bone-rattling breakdowns of metal. Tracks like “Thundercash 69” and “Grundy County Cowboys” capture the essence of this musical alchemy. As we look ahead to 2025, Cody Parks and The Dirty South are on a mission. They’re plowing through cities, tearing down the walls of genre conformity, and challenging the status quo of modern country music. With Smothered and Covered as their battle cry, they’re leading the charge in redefining what country music can be. Their latest EP, “Country Metal, Vol. 1”, was set for release on November 1st 2024 "

742 - THE REAPER (BOB KULICK)

 
 
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KISS, BOB KULICK, ALCATRAZZ, TIM RIPPER OWENS, MEAT LOAF, BRUCE KULICK, BLACKTHORNE, WASP, KISS, MURDERERS ROW, SKULL, ROCKSTAR SUPERSTAR PROJECT, PAUL STANLEY, DORO, JACK RUSSEL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"AMERICA"
 
KISS, BOB KULICK, ALCATRAZZ, TIM RIPPER OWENS, MEAT LOAF, BRUCE KULICK, BLACKTHORNE, WASP, KISS, MURDERERS ROW, SKULL, ROCKSTAR SUPERSTAR PROJECT, PAUL STANLEY, DORO, JACK RUSSEL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"AMERICA"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - BOB KULICK)"
"“Robert Joel Kulick AKA Bob Kulick was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 16, 1950 and was the elder brother of former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick In late 1972 Bob Kulick auditioned for the lead guitar spot in a then-new band called Kiss. The band, with Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, and Peter Criss, was very impressed by his performance, however the glitzier Ace Frehley (who auditioned immediately after him) was chosen to fill the spot. Kulick later played (uncredited) on three Kiss albums: Alive II (three of the five studio tracks), Killers (all four new studio tracks), and some minimal work on Creatures of the Night. He also played on Paul Stanley's 1978 solo album and on his 1989 solo tour. So although never officially being a member of the band he is regarded as the secret guitarist of Kiss and likened to THE REAPER persona. Early in his session career, Bob Kulick played lead guitar for Lou Reed on his Coney Island Baby record. Kulick and brother Bruce both played in singer Michael Bolton's band at this time. Kulick then began a long-running stint in the Neverland Express, Meat Loaf's touring band, on and off for years, which led to appearances on several Meat Loaf albums, most notably on 1984's Bad Attitude. He also formed a band called Balance, which had modest chart success in the early 1980s, followed up by playing rhythm and lead guitar on Michael Bolton's 1983 self-titled album. Bob Kulick was involved with a project called Skull, releasing one album, No Bones About It, in 1991. . In addition, Kulick played on the W.A.S.P. albums The Crimson Idol and Still Not Black Enough. He was only involved with the studio work and never toured with W.A.S.P. or became a member of the band. In 1996 he released Murderer's Row with his band of the same name. This group included David Glen Eisley on vocals. Thereafter, Kulick served in various side projects such as Blackthorne and Observation Balloon. He also produced Motörhead's "Whiplash", produced and played guitar on the theme for WWE wrestler Triple H, and earned 11 platinum or gold records working with Kiss and Diana Ross. Kulick also composed, produced, and performed "Sweet Victory" with Eisley in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Band Geeks" on Nickelodeon. The song further appears on SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Album. In 1983, Kulick began a long-term relationship with actress Stella Stevens. Skeletons in the Closet was Bobs first and only solo album released in 2017. He also played Guitar on Doro Pesch album Calling the Wild in late 2000. Kulick's death on May 28, 2020, was confirmed by his brother Bruce. On October 2, 2020, Bruce stated that his brother had died of heart disease, with the pandemic possibly having delayed treatment. "

741 - THE ARACHNID (ANTON FIG)

 
 
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KISS, ANTON FIG, EUROPE, KARLA DEVITO, GARY MOORE, SPIDER, WARREN ZEVON, MICK JAGGER, JOE COCKER, JOE BONAMASSA, SHANGAI,BILLY SQUIRE, MARTIN BAILY, BETH HEART, PETER FRAMPTON, GARLAND JEFFERY, JOAN ARMATRADING, ACE FREHLEY
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"MADE"
KISS, ANTON FIG, EUROPE, KARLA DEVITO, GARY MOORE, SPIDER, WARREN ZEVON, MICK JAGGER, JOE COCKER, JOE BONAMASSA, SHANGAI,BILLY SQUIRE, MARTIN BAILY, BETH HEART, PETER FRAMPTON, GARLAND JEFFERY, JOAN ARMATRADING, ACE FREHLEY
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"MADE"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - ANTON FIG)"
"“Anton Fig AKA "Anton Zip" AKA "Buddy Rich Jr." was born on 8 August 1952 in Cape Town, South Africa and referred to as THE THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER. He began playing drums at the age of four. After performing in numerous successful local rock bands in Cape Town, he moved to Boston to further pursue his musical interests and later to New York City. Fig was a member of the band Spider during both their album releases in 1980 and 1981 as well as on their 1982 album as a newly renamed band Shanghai . Fig was the drummer on Ace Frehley's 1978 eponymous solo album and subsequently became a member of the solo project Frehley's Comet from 1984 to 1987. Fig also played drums on all but one song namely Criss' song "Dirty Livin'" on the Kiss' 1979 album Dynasty and every song on their 1980 album Unmasked. The use of Fig to replace usual drummer Peter Criss who had a drug problem and had seen a deterioration of his skills upset Criss, to the point where, after appearing in promotional videos and tours through Unmasked, he left the band. According to Ace Frehley Fig was an official member of Kiss for one day and as the 11th member fans likened him to the ARACHNID or SPIDER persona. Due to Kiss' management attempting to cover up any personnel problems within the band, Fig would not be credited until years later. Fig was the drummer for the Paul Shaffer-led house band of David Letterman's late night television shows since 1986, when he debuted with "The World's Most Dangerous Band" on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. When Letterman's show moved to CBS in 1993 and became Late Show with David Letterman, the band (and Fig) moved as well, adding a horn section and becoming known as the "CBS Orchestra". During this tenure, Fig and the rest of the band have played with scores of artists including Miles Davis, James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, and Tony Bennett. The CBS Orchestra has also backed up a host of artists in other venues, such as Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Little Richard, and also B. B. King at the closing ceremonies of the summer 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. They also backed Al Green, Gloria Estefan, 'N Sync, and Eric Clapton for VH1's Save the Music concert at the White House. The World's Most Dangerous Band is also the house band for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, they were the backup band for The Concert for New York City where they performed with David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, Macy Gray, and James Taylor. Some of the many recordings Fig has made include selections with Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Gary Moore, Shanghai, Ace Frehley, Joan Armatrading, Rosanne Cash, Joe Cocker, John Phillips, Warren Zevon, Sebastian Bach, Oz Noy, Jed Davis, Joe Satriani, Paul Butterfield, Link Wray and Chris Spedding. As a freelance drummer, Fig has also played live with Paul Simon, Booker T and the MG's, The Thompson Twins at Live Aid, and Jim Keltner for Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary concert celebration. In 1996, Fig released a drum instructional video and book titled In the Groove and Late Night Drumming, respectively. In 2002, Fig completed his first solo record, Figments. Produced and co-written by Fig, the record represents three years of work and includes - among others singers and musicians - Richie Havens, Brian Wilson, Ivan Neville, Sebastian Bach, Ace Frehley, Al Kooper, Chris Spedding, Donald "Duck" Dunn, Blondie Chaplin, Paul Shaffer, Chris Botti, Randy Brecker, and Richard Bona. In 2006, Fig worked with Blackmore's Night on The Village Lanterne. In 2007, Fig worked with Joe Bonamassa on his Sloe Gin album, in 2009 on his Ballad of John Henry album, and in 2014 on Different Shades of Blue. On 4 May 2009, Fig joined Joe Bonamassa's band for their debut appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where Eric Clapton made a guest appearance. Fig was featured on Ace Frehley's album Anomaly, 2009,Spaceman ,2018 and 10,000 Volts in 2024. "

740 - THE NORDIC WARRIOR (TOMMY THAYER)

 
 
 
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KISS, TOMMY THAYER, MARK FERRARI, MEDICINE WHEEL, JIMMY WALDO, JIMMY BARNES, CARMINE APPICE, ERIK TURNER, SHAKE THE FAITH,THAYER ST. JAMES, JEFF SCOTT SOTO, HARLOW, DORO, MARK FERRARI, BLACK N BLUE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"COLD"
KISS, TOMMY THAYER, MARK FERRARI, MEDICINE WHEEL, JIMMY WALDO, JIMMY BARNES, CARMINE APPICE, ERIK TURNER, SHAKE THE FAITH,THAYER ST. JAMES, JEFF SCOTT SOTO, HARLOW, DORO, MARK FERRARI, BLACK N BLUE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"COLD"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - TOMMY THAYER)"
"“Thomas Cunningham Thayer AKA Tommy Thayer, was born on November 7, 1960, in Portland, Oregon. Thayer was raised in a musical family, exposed to genres that ranged from classical to the Beatles. Thayer's affinity for early 1970s hard rock bands led him to pick up electric guitar at age 13. Thayer played in local garage and club bands, eventually forming his own group with singer Jaime St. James, which eventually took the name Black 'n Blue in November 1981. The band traveled to Germany in early 1984 releasing Black 'n Blue in August 1984, featuring the songs "Hold on to 18" and "School of Hard Knocks", both co-written by Thayer and St. James. The follow-up Without Love, was released in 1985. After touring for two months as opening act for Kiss in fall 1985, Black 'n Blue hired Kiss bassist Gene Simmons to produce the band's next studio album Nasty Nasty, released in 1986 and In Heat in 1988. The band subsequently broke up in late 1988. In October 2010, the band was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in Portland. John Kalodner from Geffen Records invited Thayer to play on Jimmy Barnes' Australian album For The Working Class Man. When interviewed some years later he recalled that the two sessions he played on included Mick Fleetwood on drums, and Billy Burnette on guitar. In 1989, Thayer co-wrote songs with Gene Simmons and played session guitar on song demos for Kiss' 1989 release, Hot in the Shade, which includes the Simmons and Thayer songs "Betrayed" and "The Street Giveth, The Street Taketh Away". Thayer co-produced and played guitar on Doro Pesch's 1991 Polygram Records release, Doro. In 1992, Thayer joined Los Angeles rock band Shake the Faith and recorded the album America the Violent, which was released in Japan in 1994. Thayer and other members of Shake the Faith continued in the band No. 9, which recorded an album for Elektra Records that was never released. In 1994, Kiss' Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley hired Thayer to work part-time on their forthcoming book Kisstory, which led to other projects and eventually a full-time role with Kiss. Thayer's work for Stanley and Simmons began by performing such tasks as painting Stanley's house and cleaning out Simmons' gutters. Thayer managed the 1995 Worldwide Kiss Convention tour and the Kiss MTV Unplugged concert. In preparation for 1996's Kiss Alive/Worldwide Tour, Thayer worked with guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss, to help them relearn their original guitar and drum parts from the 1970s. Thayer worked as producer and editor of Kiss' long form video and film releases including: Kiss, The Second Coming in 1998, New Line Cinema's feature Detroit Rock City in 1998, and Showtime Television's pay-per-view, The Last Kiss in 2000. By 2002 and with the growing uncertainty of Ace Frehley's involvement in the band, Thayer stood by for a Kiss performance at the 2002 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony in Salt Lake City to fill-in on lead guitar if necessary. One month later, Thayer got the call and donned the Spaceman makeup for the first time, filling in and performing onstage with Kiss at a private concert in Jamaica. As with Eric Singer who debuted as the "Catman" this caused some controversy as the persona had previously been used only by Frehley. Some fans preferred to liken him to the unique persona of the "Nordic Warrior" After this performance Thayer officially became the lead guitarist for Kiss. In 2003, Thayer with Kiss joined forces with the 70-piece Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (all in Kiss makeup) for a concert at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne Australia. Recorded and filmed in front of 40,000 fans, a pay-per-view, Kiss Symphony: Alive IV CD and DVD were released worldwide later that year. Sonic Boom, the first Kiss studio album in 11 years, was released worldwide in October 2009, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. Thayer co-wrote three songs on the record, including his own lead vocal debut on "When Lightning Strikes." A new Kiss studio album, titled Monster, was released in October 2012; Thayer co-wrote 10 songs and sang lead vocals on "Outta This World". When reminded that he was the youngest member of Kiss, Thayer spoke on his plans post-Kiss, revealing, "I’m not completely ready to retire yet; I have ideas and certainly options on the table. I'm not thinking of continuing to play in another band or that sort of thing – that doesn't appeal to me. But I look forward to an exciting future, working hard and being a part of good things going forward. "

739 - THE PREDATOR (ERIC SINGER)

 
 
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KISS, ERIC SINGER, BADLANDS, BOB KULICK, GREG CHAISON, MONTROSE, DRIVE, GENE SIMMONS, GILBEY CLARKE, AVANTASIA, DORO, VOODOOLAND, THE CULT, BONES, KUNI
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"YEAR"
KISS, ERIC SINGER, BADLANDS, BOB KULICK, GREG CHAISON, MONTROSE, DRIVE, GENE SIMMONS, GILBEY CLARKE, AVANTASIA, DORO, VOODOOLAND, THE CULT, BONES, KUNI
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"YEAR"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - ERIC SINGER)"
"“Eric Doyle Mensinger AKA Eric Singer was born May 12, 1958, in Cleveland, Ohio. Young Eric began playing drums from an early age, and was inspired by drummers such as John Bonham, Keith Moon, Cozy Powell, Roger Taylor and Bill Ward. Singer's first professional drumming job was in the Cleveland band Beau Coup. He then became Lita Ford's touring drummer in 1984. In 1985 he joined Black Sabbath and recorded and toured to support the Seventh Star album. In 1987, during the recordings of The Eternal Idol he left the band to tour with Gary Moore band in support of his album Wild Frontier. After the tour, he was invited by his Black Sabbath colleague Ray Gillen to join Badlands. Singer accepted and played on the band's self-titled debut album. Singer left the group in 1989 as he would join Paul Stanley as his touring drummer on his solo tour of the United States and Canada. In December 1991, Singer officially became the drummer for Kiss after the death of Eric Carr. Singer, debuted with the band on the album Revenge, on which he was originally slated to fill in on some tracks while Eric Carr recuperated from heart cancer. Singer played on Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions and toured with Kiss until 1996, when the band reunited with original drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley for the Alive/Worldwide Tour. After five relatively quiet years, during which Singer toured with Queen guitarist Brian May as he was brought in as a replacement for Cozy Powell who had died earlier that year, Eric was asked to rejoin Kiss in 2001 after Criss' departure shortly before the Australian and Japanese leg of Kiss' Farewell tour. Singer debuted in full "Catman" makeup and costume for the first time on the tour, which caused some controversy as the persona had previously been used only by Criss. Some fans preferred to liken him to the unique persona of the "Predator" . Singer was replaced again by Criss in late 2002 but returned to the band in early 2004 after Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley opted not to renew Criss' contract. Since then, Singer has been playing drums in Kiss as their permanent drummer. Credited as Eric Mensinger on the DVD, Singer was the drummer in the house band for The 46664 concert on November 29, 2003 at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, which was hosted by Nelson Mandela, and aimed to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as funds for South Africa. In 2009, Singer, along with lead guitarist Tommy Thayer, played and sang on the Kiss album Sonic Boom, the first studio album to feature the new line-up. It included the track "All for the Glory" with vocals by Singer. In October 2012, Kiss released their 20th studio album Monster which includes a track called "All for the Love of Rock & Roll" sung by Singer. When not touring with Kiss, Singer performed with Alice Cooper as he had been a member of Cooper's band since the release of the album Brutal Planet in 2000. Singer has been featured on three Alice Cooper albums to date, namely, Brutal Planet, The Eyes of Alice Cooper, and Along Came a Spider. In 2008, Eric Singer left Cooper's band instead to focus on his growing commitments with Kiss as well as with the Eric Singer Project (ESP). He performed and recorded with his band ESP, featuring, among others, his former Kiss bandmate Bruce Kulick and former Mötley Crüe lead singer John Corabi. Singer has also played in the band Avantasia, replacing drummer Alex Holzwarth after a guest performance in the song "Into the Unknown" from the album The Metal Opera Part II (2002). Two EPs and one full album have been released with Singer's performance on the drums: Lost in Space Part I and Part II (2007), and The Scarecrow (2008), as well several songs from The Wicked Symphony and Angel of Babylon. In 2004 Singer was featured on Italian rock singer Chris Catena's debut album, Freak Out. He recorded drums for two tracks, "Sweet Talker" (a Whitesnake cover) and "The Stronger You Are, The Harder You Fall". Eric is also the drummer for Paul Stanley's side project Soul Station, showcasing the best Motown and Soul hits and recently played drums on the latest The Bones album Circle released August 2024. "

738 - THE MAGE (BRUCE KULICK)

 
 
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KISS, BRUCE KULICK, CHRIS MANNING, LITA FORD, BOB KULICK, GOOD RATS, BILLY SQUIRE, UNION, SKULL, JOHN CORABI, KUARANTINE, CARMINE APPICE, LORDI, NICK SIMMONS, ERIC CARR, GENE SIMMONS, PAUL STANLY, ACE FREHLEY, TOBIAS SAMMET, ESP
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GIVE"
KISS, BRUCE KULICK, CHRIS MANNING, LITA FORD, BOB KULICK, GOOD RATS, BILLY SQUIRE, UNION, SKULL, JOHN CORABI, KUARANTINE, CARMINE APPICE, LORDI, NICK SIMMONS, ERIC CARR, GENE SIMMONS, PAUL STANLY, ACE FREHLEY, TOBIAS SAMMET, ESP
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GIVE"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - BRUCE KULICK)"
"“Bruce Howard Kulick was born December 12, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York City . Bruce's first band KKB, was formed in 1974. Kulick found the master tape from those sessions in 2008 and issued it via limited edition CD. He first began touring professionally with George McCrae and Andrea True. In 1977, following the release of Meat Loaf's first album Bat Out of Hell, Kulick played rhythm guitar/lead guitar on tour with Meat Loaf's band alongside his brother Bob on lead guitar/rhythm guitar. Kulick was a member of the band Blackjack, with Michael Bolton, during the band's short existence from 1979 to 1980. He also played on several Bolton solo albums. (Bolton later co-wrote the Kiss song "Forever", from Hot in the Shade). Kulick joined the Long Island-based band the Good Rats in 1981, and is on their album, Great American Music. In 1983, Bruce was asked to join Michael Bolton as his guitarist for his debut album release tour, after Bolton anglicizing his family name from Bolotin. Kulick joined the rock band Kiss in September 1984 as the lead guitarist, replacing Mark St. John, who left the band after being diagnosed with reactive arthritis. Kulick, who remained with Kiss until 1996, and St. John are the only two members of Kiss never to have worn makeup or costumes in the band, although Kulick chose the MAGE persona in an online competition. Kulick played on five Kiss studio albums: Asylum (1985), Crazy Nights (1987), Hot in the Shade (1989), Revenge (1992) and Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (1997); he also appeared on Alive III and MTV Unplugged. The song "I Walk Alone", from Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions, is the only Kiss track to feature Kulick as lead vocalist. Kulick is featured on more than twenty Kiss releases. When the original members of the band regrouped, starting in 1995 with the MTV Unplugged special that carried over into re-adopting their make-up and costuming for the Alive/Worldwide Tour in 1996, Kulick and Eric Singer were paid weekly during the tour; while "sidelined" from Kiss, both were allowed to do other projects as long as Simmons and Stanley okayed them. Kulick officially left Kiss in December 1996. When Ace Frehley again left Kiss (in 2002, after the Kiss Farewell Tour), Kulick was not asked to rejoin, as Simmons and Stanley thought that Tommy Thayer (former Black 'n Blue guitarist and Kiss tour manager) could capture/copy Frehley's persona better than Kulick; however, Kulick continued to work with Kiss after his departure, contributing work to the Psycho Circus album. Kulick briefly rejoined the band on Kiss Kruise 2021 and played on 2 songs, Tears Are Falling and Heaven's on Fire. Soon after leaving Kiss, Kulick formed the band Union with John Corabi, Brent Fitz, and Jamie Hunting in 1996. Corabi and Kulick wrote what would become the first album, the self-titled Union, which was released in 1998. Their second album 1999's Live in the Galaxy, was a live recording with two acoustic tracks recorded in a mobile studio. The third Union album was The Blue Room (2000). Kulick was the lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad from 2000–2023. Kulick has released three solo albums: Audiodog in 2001, Transformer in 2003, and most recently BK3, which was released on February 2, 2010. Kulick has also appeared on all album releases by Eric Singer's solo project ESP (Eric Singer Project): Lost and Spaced (1998), ESP (1999), and Eric Singer Project: Live in Tokyo (2006). Bruce has worked with the likes of Lordi appearing on The Arockalypse, playing lead guitar on the song "It Snows in Hell", Paul Stanley's 2006 album Live to Win, and the list goes on and on with many impressive collaborations in fact too many to mention here. "

737 - THE SPECTER (MARK ST. JOHN)

 
 
 
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KISS, MARK ST JOHN, DANGER ZONE, ECLIPSE, SWEET, JAMIE FRESH, KORTINI, NO FAVORS, SERIOUS BLACK, KEN TAMPLIN, COMPANY OF SNAKES, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, RICHIE KOTZEN, JOEY C JONES, VOLTAGE ARC, ELECTRIC HIGH, SEETHER, THE KEEP, WHITE TIGER
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"DIAMONDS"
KISS, MARK ST JOHN, DANGER ZONE, ECLIPSE, SWEET, JAMIE FRESH, KORTINI, NO FAVORS, SERIOUS BLACK, KEN TAMPLIN, COMPANY OF SNAKES, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, RICHIE KOTZEN, JOEY C JONES, VOLTAGE ARC, ELECTRIC HIGH, SEETHER, THE KEEP, WHITE TIGER
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"DIAMONDS"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - MARK ST. JOHN)"
"“Mark Leslie Norton AKA Mark St. John, was born February 7, 1956. Prior to joining Kiss in 1984, St. John worked as a teacher and played guitar in a Southern California cover band called Front Page. Guitar maker Grover Jackson helped St. John get in touch with Paul Stanley in early 1984. He was selected as Kiss' new lead guitarist after an audition, and he subsequently signed a five-year contract with the band, replacing Vinnie Vincent. During the mid-1984 recording sessions for Animalize, St. John clashed with his new band-mates frequently. Drummer Eric Carr said later that "as soon as he joined the band we knew that there was a problem", even before he had played his first live show with Kiss. The guitarist was "over-qualified" according to Carr, and his talent caused him to behave arrogantly in the studio. Stanley said , they had tremendous difficulty writing and recording guitar solos for Animalize, with St. John often being unable to play the same thing twice if a second take was required. Kiss issued a press release stating that St. John had developed severe reactive arthritis and was unable to play guitar. Bruce Kulick would serve as his temporary replacement for the opening European leg of the Animalize World Tour. St. John rejoined Kiss shortly after the band returned to America. St. John made his live debut with Kiss on November 27, 1984, in Baltimore, Maryland. Kulick played the first five songs of the show, with St. John later taking the stage to play five songs, with Kulick then returning to finish the show. The following day, St. John played his first full show with the band on November 28, 1984, in Poughkeepsie, New York. This show was later released as a KISS: Off the Soundboard live album in April 2023. Finally, on November 29, 1984, St. John played his final full concert with Kiss, in Binghamton, New York. Following these shows, it quickly became apparent that Kulick was a more natural fit for Kiss than was St. John. As a result, he was let go on December 7, 1984, after a Kiss concert in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Kulick was announced as Kiss' new permanent lead guitarist the next day. St. John later confessed that his medical condition had been a cover story, saying "The arthritis thing was really a cover up for the other reasons, you know what I'm trying to say?" St. John is the only member of Kiss not to appear on any album front cover, as the Animalize cover features only a tapestry of animal prints. However, he is posing with the rest of the band on the album's back cover. He was also the first member not to adopt a character but has been likened to "THE SPECTER" persona by fans. In January 1985 St. John teamed up with vocalist David Donato and drummer Barry Brandt of Angel and soon formed White Tiger. They had written most of the material for the album by mid-1985. The band also included St. John's younger brother, Michael, on bass, but was completed with the addition of Brian James Fox on drums. While the independent release did well on that level selling some 50,000 copies. The band split while working on demos for a second album in 1988. St. John teamed up with Jeff Scott Soto in 1988 to make a demo and also did some session work performing lead guitar on "Livin' for My Lord" on Ken Tamplin's 1990 album, Axe to Grind. St. John made a demo in 1990 with fellow former Kiss member Peter Criss. This band, known as the Keep, became what was essentially White Tiger, with Criss replacing Brian Fox on drums, and David Donato replacing original vocalist David MacDonald. When the band started shopping their demo around the response was universally negative. By early 1991 St. John's need to get on with making a living, led to friction between Criss and him, and he left the band (which eventually became Criss). He was in a short-lived band with Phil Naro called the Mark St. John Project that released a limited edition EP in 1999, and he also made an appearance at a Kiss expo in New Jersey. He later released an all-instrumental CD in 2003 called Magic Bullet Theory, which would be his final recorded material released in his lifetime. In later years, St. John did not make many public appearances. Beginning on September 14, 2006, St. John was incarcerated for several days at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange County, California, after being charged with possession of unspecified drug paraphernalia, attempted destruction of evidence, and resisting arrest. A guard allegedly conspired with a group of inmates to have St. John assaulted for steeling crackers from another inmate, and subsequently St. John was brutally beaten and stabbed with pencils by a group of up to 20 inmates. His girlfriend, who said he was unrecognizable after the vicious beating, believed the incident was directly responsible for his untimely death several months later. A couple of days before the beating, St. John told her that he had "snitched" on a drug dealer several years earlier, and he believed he was certain to be attacked if this became known by the other inmates. For the next several months after leaving Theo Lacy Jail, St. John suffered severe headaches and body aches and many times he refused to see a doctor due to having no medical insurance, and thus his health deteriorated. St. John died on April 5, 2007, due to what the coroner described as a brain hemorrhage brought on by an accidental overdose of methamphetamine. "

736 - THE ANKH WARRIOR (VINNIE VINCENT)

 
 
 
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KISS, VINNIE VINCENT, STRYPER, THE NAIL, VICTORY, NEPTUNE, LYIN RAMPART, DANGER ZONE, WENDY O WILLIAMS, SKOR, KING OF NONE, ECLIPSE, WARRIOR, KENNY WAYNE SHEPARD, CAM COLE, SWEET
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"UP"
KISS, VINNIE VINCENT, STRYPER, THE NAIL, VICTORY, NEPTUNE, LYIN RAMPART, DANGER ZONE, WENDY O WILLIAMS, SKOR, KING OF NONE, ECLIPSE, WARRIOR, KENNY WAYNE SHEPARD, CAM COLE, SWEET
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"UP"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - VINNIE VINCENT)"
"“Vincent John Cusano was born August 6, 1952 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent. He picked up the guitar at an early age and was inspired by bluegrass and rock and roll. Cusano's first introduction to working with internationally renowned artists was working with Felix Cavaliere. This resulted in an album of the same name being released in 1977. In 1980, Vincent moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a staff songwriter for the television series Happy Days and Joanie Loves Chachi. According to the site "Kiss Related Recordings", Vincent has played with Dan Hartman as well as the bands Treasure, Laura Nyro, Hunter, Warrior, Hitchhikers and Heat going as far back as 1970. Back at the KISS camp Frehley's participation in the recording of 1981's Music from "The Elder" was far more limited than with previous albums. This was in large part due to his unhappiness with the band's decision to create a concept album rather than a straightforward rock album, and, by Frehley's own admission, his "not relating all that well" to producer Bob Ezrin, who cut many of Frehley's solos from the recorded tracks. Although Frehley appeared on the covers for the 1982 releases Killers and Creatures of the Night, he had no involvement with Killers, and minimal input on Creatures of the Night. In December 1982, Kiss began the Creatures of the Night tour without Frehley: he was replaced by Vinnie Vincent. After being introduced to the band by songwriter Adam Mitchell, Vincent was brought in as the replacement for guitarist Ace Frehley. Vincent's personality meshed well with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, thus enabling him to play lead guitar on six of the nine tracks on the Creatures of the Night album as well as co-writing three. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, and took on the persona of The Ankh Warrior , until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on MTV in September 1983. After a commercially disappointing Creatures of the Night/Tenth Anniversary tour, that finished on a high at what ended up being the "last" makeup show (and Kiss' largest crowd attendance) at Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Vincent returned to the studio with Kiss to record the Lick It Up album. His work was productive, yielding eight co-writes out of the ten songs on the album. Though contributing to Creatures of the Night as a session player before being named as Frehley's replacement in December 1982, Vincent, for all the public knew, was the official guitarist in Kiss and played all the lead guitar tracks on Lick it Up. Though Vincent performed well live with Kiss, he refused to sign an employment contract which strained the relationship with Simmons/Stanley. This arose because of disputes over his role in the band and pay (some reports indicated that Vincent had asked for, and was flatly denied, a percentage of the band's gross profits). Consequently, Vincent never formally became a member of the band. This ultimately led to him leaving after the North American leg of the "Lick It Up" tour. He was replaced by Mark St. John. Despite parting on bad terms, Vincent reconnected with Kiss years later as a songwriter on the 1992 album Revenge, contributing to the songs "Unholy", "Heart Of Chrome" and "I Just Wanna". Vincent again fell out of favor with Simmons and Stanley, as they claimed that Vincent again began "making all kinds of crazy demands and pulling the same kind of crazy stuff all over again". Following his departure from Kiss in mid-1984, he formed the band Vinnie Vincent Invasion with, among others, former Journey singer Robert Fleischman in the mid-1980s and released two studio albums: Vinnie Vincent Invasion in 1986 and All Systems Go in 1988. The band broke up in 1989. After that, the band's singer Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum formed Slaughter. In 1996, Vincent released a solo EP from the studio sessions he did in 1990, called Euphoria, once again with Robert Fleischman on vocals. Vincent, as well as playing all the guitars, played bass and did the drum programming. After 22 years of being off the radar, Vinnie Vincent agreed to appear at the 2018 Atlanta Kiss Expo with Simmons on stage which was the first time they have met in person in over two decades. On May 22, 2022, Vinnie played for the first time live together with his lead guitar colleagues from Kiss, Ace Frehley and Bruce Kulick, performing a 4-song all Kiss set at Creatures Fest in Nashville. In May 2023, Vincent held an album listening party, at Starstruck Studios. The upcoming album was well received; several bands opened for Vincent, and he played with backing band Leo Roriz of Sleeper Signal and Ben Hanz of Trixter. "

735 - THE FOX (ERIC CARR)

 
 
 
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KISS, ERIC CARR, FOXX, PHIL MOGG, DEF LEPPARD,GARBO TALKS, WAKE THE NATIONS, LINKIN PARK, STRYPER, DEBBIE PANTERA SAINT, THE EYES, TEDDY SWIMS, VICTORY, WENDY O WILLIAMS, THE NAIL, LILIAC, DAVID GILMORE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"MACHINE"
KISS, ERIC CARR, FOXX, PHIL MOGG, DEF LEPPARD,GARBO TALKS, WAKE THE NATIONS, LINKIN PARK, STRYPER, DEBBIE PANTERA SAINT, THE EYES, TEDDY SWIMS, VICTORY, WENDY O WILLIAMS, THE NAIL, LILIAC, DAVID GILMORE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"MACHINE"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - ERIC CARR)"
"“ Born as Paul Charles Caravello on July 12, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York City. In February 1964, Caravello watched the Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show and was immediately captivated by the group, particularly Ringo Starr. He collected several books and pots from the kitchen to create a makeshift drum kit and began teaching himself how to play drums, later purchasing a small drum kit and in 1965 joined his first band, The Allures which only lasted a few months. Caravello then asked his friend in junior high school, Thomas, to join him on bass and shortly after starting high school he met John, who was learning to play the guitar. The three young musicians called the group The Cellarmen because they practiced in Caravello's cellar. However, the band broke up in late 1965. In March 1966, Caravello gathered keyboardist Victor Cohen, bassist Dave Bartky and Guitarist Bob Pryor to reform The Cellarmen which lasted till late 1968. During the last few months with The Cellarmen, Caravello added a second kick drum to his kit. He began exploring heavier music, such as Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Caravello formed a new band called Things That Go Bump In The Night. This band played heavy music, but failed to gain traction in the clubs and soon disbanded. In the spring of 1969, Caravello joined his three former bandmates from The Cellarmen and vocalist Gary Fray in their band, Smack. In the fall of 1969, Caravello left Smack and joined a band called Salt & Pepper. In 1973 the band changed their name to Creation, now performing disco music as well as Top 40, Motown, and funk. In 1975, Creation changed its to Mother Nature/Father Time. In 1979, Caravello sang background vocals and played drums on the record titled Lightning . The Lightning album and their latest album Tiger both failed to chart. Mother Nature-Father Time broke up in October 1979. In December 1979, Caravello successfully auditioned for a four-piece rock 'n' roll cover band called Flasher. Caravello applied for Kiss, submitting a cassette tape of Kiss' current single "Shandi" but with his vocals over the music instead of Paul Stanley's vocals. " Time was short and the band had some trouble coming up with a character persona and a stage name for him before his debut concert. "Paul Stanley alleged that Caravello wanted to use the stage name "Rusty Blade" until Stanley dissuaded him. Caravello decided on "Eric Carr" For his Kiss persona, Carr initially tried "The Hawk"; this concept was apparently very difficult to realize in greasepaint – a suitable make-up design was never created, and the "Hawk" costume was a "bright orange yellow!" The idea was dropped after Paul Stanley mentioned that it looked like Big Bird. Carr came up with the make-up design for the persona of "The Fox Carr's first public performance was with the band in New York City's Palladium on July 25, 1980. On July 30, Carr was introduced to the public on an episode of the syndicated television youth show Kids Are People Too!, which aired in September 1980. This was the first time he wore the makeup that most fans identity him with. His persona remained consistent for three years until the band's well-publicized removal of their stage makeup in September 1983, live on MTV. . Despite replacing an original member, he gained popularity among fans based on his personality and percussion skills. On August 29, 1980, KISS began a European tour to support the Unmasked album. This was Carr's introduction to playing to large audiences, such as the 30,000 fans in Milan, Italy on September 2. Carr's first tour with KISS saw the band play 41 shows in 13 countries. Carr's first album with Kiss was 1981's (Music from) The Elder, which marked a departure for the band toward a mystical art-rock direction. One of Carr's contributions to the album, "Under the Rose". Creatures of the Night was released on October 25, 1982. The heavy reverb on Carr's drums was a unique sound not previously heard on a Kiss album. Besides drumming, Carr also played guitar, bass guitar and piano, and also sang background vocals. His first lead vocal in the studio was a re-recording of "Beth" (a song originally sung by Peter Criss) for the 1988 compilation album Smashes, Thrashes & Hits. In 1989, he recorded a demo with Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick. The song was released as "Little Caesar". . Carr's last live performance with Kiss was November 9, 1990, in New York City, at Madison Square Garden. In his 2014 Kiss frontman Paul Stanley described Carr as a kind and talented, but troubled, soul. Carr was a powerful hard-hitting drummer and one of the first drummers to adopt the classic 1980s snare drum sound: a highly reverberated and low-tuned sound. Simmons has stated that Carr's harder drumming style pushed Kiss into becoming a heavier band than it had been when jazz-inspired Criss was the band's drummer. In February 1991, Carr began feeling ill and was diagnosed with heart cancer. Soon after Carr's diagnosis, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons replaced him with session drummer Eric Singer to commence new recordings for the band's upcoming album Revenge. After recovering from the multiple surgeries, Carr pressed Stanley and Simmons to let him back in the band. Stanley and Simmons refused; both have stated they repeatedly told Carr to focus on his cancer treatments and they would allow him to return to Kiss once he regained his health. Carr's last public appearance with Kiss was at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1991. Not long afterwards, he suffered an aneurysm and was rushed to the hospital. Several days later, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. On November 24, 1991, Carr died at the age of 41. He died on the same day as Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the British rock band Queen. "

734 - THE CATMAN (PETER CRISS)

 
 
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KISS, PETER CRISS, TIMELESS FAIRYTALE, GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, LILIAC, ROCK CRIMINALS, SERIOUS BLACK, FOXX, CRISS PENRAGE ALLIANCE, BONSAI KITTEN, D.A.D, PHIL MOG, RICHIE SCARLET, DEAD DAISIES, FOREIGNER, DEF LEPPARD & TOM MORRELLO
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GOD"
KISS, PETER CRISS, TIMELESS FAIRYTALE, GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, LILIAC, ROCK CRIMINALS, SERIOUS BLACK, FOXX, CRISS PENRAGE ALLIANCE, BONSAI KITTEN, D.A.D, PHIL MOG, RICHIE SCARLET, DEAD DAISIES, FOREIGNER, DEF LEPPARD & TOM MORRELLO
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GOD"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - PETER CRISS)"
"“ George Peter John Criscuola was born December 20, 1945 in Brooklyn, New York, better known by his stage name Peter Criss, and is best known as a co-founder, original drummer, and an occasional vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. Criss established the Catman character for his Kiss persona. Peter was involved with several bands through the mid- to late 1960s, including Chelsea who later changed their name to Lips, releasing a self-titled album in 1970. After the demise of his band Lips, Criss placed an advertisement in Rolling Stone Magazine, answered by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. Ace Frehley was added to the lineup in December 1972, and the band was named Kiss. Criss had collaborated while in Chelsea on a demo originally titled "Beck", a song that was eventually reworked to become the ballad "Beth", a Top 10 hit for Kiss on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 7 in 1976. The song remains the highest-charting song for Kiss in the United States and it earned them a People's Choice Award for "Young People's Favorite New Song" in 1977, On the 1979 release Dynasty, he played only on his own composition, "Dirty Livin'", and did not play at all on Unmasked (1980) although credited on those albums. Anton Fig, who also played on Ace Frehley's 1978 solo album, was hired as session drummer for Dynasty and Unmasked but did not tour. Criss officially left Kiss on May 18, 1980 and was replaced with Brooklyn-born Eric Carr. In March 1980, Criss began recording his second solo album, Out of Control. . The follow-up album, 1982's Let Me Rock You, which contained one song written by Gene Simmons, was a similar failure. For the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s, Criss was involved with a number of bands, each usually lasting less than a year. One of them was The Keep, which featured ex-Kiss guitarist Mark St. John. Criss also played with Balls of Fire from the spring of 1986 to December 1986, Another relatively short-lived band was the Criss Penridge Alliance. In the early 1990s, Peter assembled a band named "Criss", featuring among others future Queensrÿche guitarist Mike Stone. This band released the Criss EP in December 1993 and the Cat #1 album in August 1994. In 1995, Criss appeared at the official Kiss Konvention in Los Angeles that led to the Kiss live performance that was recorded for MTV Unplugged. In April 1996, Kiss announced a reunion tour with all four original members. The 1996–97 Alive/Worldwide Tour was an enormous success, and the reunited Kiss released a studio album, 1998's Psycho Circus. Criss played drums on only one track on the album ("Into the Void") and a co-vocal taking turns in the verses with the rest of the band for the song "You Wanted the Best". Criss left over a contract dispute and was replaced by Eric Singer in 2001. He rejoined the band in late 2002 and appeared on the Kiss Symphony: Alive IV before departing from Kiss again in March 2004. He was once again replaced by Singer, who assumed the "Catman" persona. He said of Kiss performing with replacements for Ace Frehley and himself: You can take the mask off the Lone Ranger and put it on someone else, but it ain't the Lone Ranger. Since 2004, Criss has kept his public appearances to a minimum. He now resides in Wall Township, New Jersey. He released a solo album, titled One for All, in July 2007. In 2014, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss Criss performed his last solo show on June 17, 2017, in New York City at the Cutting Room. 2020 Peter Criss has come out of retirement to play drums on a new song by his former bandmate Richie Scarlet, "The Catman & the Emperor.""

733 - THE SPACEMAN (ACE FREHLEY)

 
 
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KISS, ACE FREHLEY, ZERO ONE ZERO, WAR BABIES, BRIAN ADAMS, CHRIS CASSONE, INVASION, HOUSE OF LORDS, TIMELESS FAIRYTALE, ANTON FIG, NEVER NEVER, AD INFINITY, GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, POISON, DARE FORCE, STONE FREE, LILIAC
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"SHE"
KISS, ACE FREHLEY, ZERO ONE ZERO, WAR BABIES, BRIAN ADAMS, CHRIS CASSONE, INVASION, HOUSE OF LORDS, TIMELESS FAIRYTALE, ANTON FIG, NEVER NEVER, AD INFINITY, GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, POISON, DARE FORCE, STONE FREE, LILIAC
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"SHE"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - ACE FREHLEY)"
"“ Born Paul Daniel Frehley on April 27, 1951, in the Bronx, New York, Frehley began playing guitar when he received an electric six-string for his 14th birthday in 1965. Frehley began playing in local bands soon after and adopted the nickname "Ace." He answered an ad in a local paper for a new hard rock, theatrically based group in early 1973. A few weeks after his initial tryout, Frehley was hired as the lead guitarist for the new quartet, joining bassist/singer Gene Simmons, rhythm guitarist/singer Paul Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss to form the band Kiss. He took on the persona of The Spaceman (a.k.a. Space Ace) A string of platinum albums and sold-out tours lasted from 1975 until 1979, until the trappings of fame threatened to break up the band. Frehley's best friend in the band, Criss, left Kiss in 1980, as the group unsuccessfully experimented with non-metal styles. Ace Frehley's use of alcohol and drugs increased due to his ever-increasing unhappiness in the band, and, by 1982, he'd exited Kiss. Within a year after his split from Kiss, Ace began putting his own solo band together, Frehley's Comet. The band failed to issue a record until 1987's self-titled debut. Issuing two other albums by 1989. Despite mudslinging in the press between Simmons/Stanley and Frehley in the early '90s, all four original Kiss members made up in time to reunite for a 1995 taping of MTV Unplugged. The taping was such a success that it led to a full-blown reunion of the original lineup, resulting in the massively successful 1996-1997 Alive Worldwide Tour. Frehley continued as a member of Kiss until the end of their Farewell Tour (lasting longer than fellow original member Peter Criss, who dropped out in 2001). In 2009 he released the album Anomaly . In 2013 he celebrated seven years of sobriety . The following April, Kiss was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, before August brought the release of Space Invader, a solo album that took a heavier approach than Anomaly. Released in 2016, Origins, Vol. 1 was an all-covers album featuring songs from Ace's favorite bands. In 2018 Frehley issued his eighth solo long payer, Spaceman, He released a second covers album, Origins, Vol. 2, in September 2020. 10,000 Volts was released in 2024, debuting at #72 on the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 13,000 units. Frehley's next album, Origins Vol. 3, is tentatively due in 2025 Along with Eddie Van Halen, Kiss' Ace Frehley inspired numerous up-and-coming rockers to pick up the guitar in the 1970s, and by the next century he was listed by just about every contemporary rock guitarist as an important influence. Guitar World magazine ranked him as the 14th Greatest Metal Guitarist of All Time. "

732 - THE DEMON (GENE SIMMONS)

 
 
 
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KISS, GENE SIMMONS, MARTINA EDOFF, ELK WITCH, HAMMERFALL, TUK SMITH. BIG MOUTHERS, DAVE & THE DUDES, ZERO ONE ZERO, RIO, JOHNNY, TANIA KIKIOLI, WAR BABIES, NIGHTHAWK, LITA FORD, JIM ANDERSON, BRIAN ADAMS
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"ROCK + ROLL"
KISS, GENE SIMMONS, MARTINA EDOFF, ELK WITCH, HAMMERFALL, TUK SMITH. BIG MOUTHERS, DAVE & THE DUDES, ZERO ONE ZERO, RIO, JOHNNY, TANIA KIKIOLI, WAR BABIES, NIGHTHAWK, LITA FORD, JIM ANDERSON, BRIAN ADAMS
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GUN"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - GENE SIMMONS)"
"“ Gene Simmons was born Chaim Witz on August 25, 1949 in Haifa, Israel and is an American musician who was the co-founder, Bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retirement in 2023. Simmons established "The Demon" character for his Kiss persona. Gene became involved with his first band, Lynx, then renamed the Missing Links, when he was a teenager. He disbanded the band to form the Long Island Sounds, later joining a new band, Bullfrog Bheer, with the band recording a demo, Leeta which was later included on the Kiss box set. Simmons formed the rock band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s with Paul Stanley and recorded one album, which was never released. Dissatisfied with Wicked Lester's sound and look they decided to form the "ultimate rock band" in its place. Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974. Stanley took on the role of lead performer on stage, while Simmons became the driving force behind what became an extensive Kiss merchandising franchise. Besides music Gene has been involved with such projects as: His own magazine, Gene Simmons Tongue Magazine, his own label, Simmons Records, and animated series, My Dad the Rock Star. Simmons Records has released albums by such bands as Kobra and the Lotus, Silent Rage, Gypsy Rose and House of Lords as well as Gene's own solo releases. In 1976, Simmons signed a management and production contract with the band Van Halen. Two years later Simmons appeared in Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park, a made-for-television movie released in 1978. In 2004 Simmons released his first Solo album Asshole or second if you count the Kiss Solo set. In 2012, Simmons partnered with Paul Stanley and three other investors to form the restaurant franchise Rock & Brews. On December 15, 2014, Simmons was awarded the Golden Medal by Royal Artistic Circle of Barcelona and later that year was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Kiss. In 2017, Simmons launched "The Vault" which is a compilation of all of his major works selling for $2,000. In 2020, Simmons won two Guinness World Records for "highest flame projection in a music concert" and "most flame projections launched simultaneously in a music concert. Both of the records were established at the KISS 2020 Goodbye concert Kiss performed their final show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on December 2, 2023, which was streamed via Pay-per-view Gene continues to tour with his group The Gene Simmons Band "

731 - THE STARCHILD (PAUL STANLEY)

 
 
 
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KISS, PAUL STANLEY, RON KEEL, IAN HUNTER, FALLEN ANGEL, PAINTED SCARS, VELVETEEN QUEEN, NAZTY RATZ, SERIOUS BLACK, NO LOVE LOST, MARTINA EDOFF, BHRISS MANNING, JIM PETERICK, THE GEMS, RHINO BUCKET, HAMMERFALL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GUN"
KISS, PAUL STANLEY, RON KEEL, IAN HUNTER, FALLEN ANGEL, PAINTED SCARS, VELVETEEN QUEEN, NAZTY RATZ, SERIOUS BLACK, NO LOVE LOST, MARTINA EDOFF, BHRISS MANNING, JIM PETERICK, THE GEMS, RHINO BUCKET, HAMMERFALL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"GUN"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISS - PAUL STANLEY)"
"“ Paul Stanley was born Stanley Bert Eisen on January 20, 1952 and is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retirement in 2023. He was the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popular songs. Before Kiss, Stanley was in a local band, Rainbow, and was a member of Uncle Joe and Post War Baby Boom. Stanley joined Simmons' band Wicked Lester in the early 1970s. The band recorded an album in 1972, but it was never officially released and \Wicked Lester fell apart. Recruiting Peter Criss, and Ace Frehley Kiss released their self-titled debut album in February 1974. Stanley's persona in Kiss was "the Starchild" displaying one star over his right eye. For a brief time, Stanley tried out a new character "the Bandit", with a "Lone Ranger" style mask design make-up pattern. Stanley released his first solo album Paul Stanley as part of the four simultaneously released Kiss solo albums, but he has rarely recorded or performed outside of Kiss. Twenty-eight years after releasing his first solo album, Stanley released a second album, Live to Win, on October 24, 2006. Its title song "Live to Win" appears in the South Park episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft". In 2008, Stanley sang a duet with Sarah Brightman, "I Will Be with You", on her Symphony album. In 2016, he guested in Ace Frehley's covers album Origins, Vol. 1, singing "Fire and Water" by Free. In 2015, Stanley established Paul Stanley's Soul Station, a tribute band playing a mix of soul oldies from the 1960s and 1970s with original songs in the same style. Paul Stanley's Soul Station released its first album in 2021. In 2006, Hit Parader ranked him 18th on their list of the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time. A Gibson.com readers' poll in 2010 named him 13th on their list of Top 25 Frontmen. Stanley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 as a member of Kiss. "

730 - FREAKSHOW 5 (Dark Country Showdown)

 
 
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Ennio Morricone, Blues Saraceno, Ghost Hounds,Whiskey Myers,Robin Loxley & Jay Hawke, Johnny Nocash, Paul Mark Cauthen, David John Legg,The Jompson Brothers,John R. Cash, Nine One One,Dan Romer,Peter M. Harper,Nick Nolan, Uncle Lucius,Buffalo Fuzz,Tim Montana, Ghoultown, The Builders and The Butchers,Honeyhoney,James Nicholas Commons, Barns Courtney
Ennio Morricone, Blues Saraceno, Ghost Hounds,Whiskey Myers,Robin Loxley & Jay Hawke, Johnny Nocash, Paul Mark Cauthen, David John Legg,The Jompson Brothers,John R. Cash, Nine One One,Dan Romer,Peter M. Harper,Nick Nolan, Uncle Lucius,Buffalo Fuzz,Tim Montana, Ghoultown, The Builders and The Butchers,Honeyhoney,James Nicholas Commons, Barns Courtney
ROCKSTORY
"(DARK COUNTRY SHOWDOWN)"
"“ Dark Country or Gothic country (sometimes referred to as gothic Americana, Southern Gothic, or the Denver sound,) is a genre of country music. The genre has a regional scene in Denver. Dark country is rooted in early jazz, gospel, country, Americana, gothic rock, and post-punk. The genre's lyrics focus on macabre and grim subject matters. J.D. Wilkes, frontman of the band Legendary Shack Shakers, described gothic country as "taking an angle that there's something grotesque and beautiful in the traditions of the South, the backdrop of Southern living." "
"Ennio Morricone good the bad and the ugly Blues Saraceno (born October 17, 1971) is an American rock guitarist, composer and music producer, currently residing in Los Angeles, California. Ghost Hounds are a rock 'n' blues band hailing from Pittsburgh, PA. Whiskey Myers is an American rock and roll band from Palestine, Texas composed of Cody Cannon, John Jeffers, Cody Tate, Jeff Hogg, Tony Kent, and Jamey Gleaves. They have released six albums Robin Loxley & Jay Hawke's first song “Devil Dog” released on June 28, 2012. Johnny Nocash. . Celtic Death Country from Canada. Paul Mark Cauthen is an American singer-songwriter from East Texas. He started his music career in an Americana/indie folk rock duo called Sons of Fathers, before turning solo. He has released three albums and an EP as a solo artist, the most recent being Country Coming Down released in April 2022. David John Legg (8 June 1967 – 8 March 2024), known professionally as Brother Dege and Dege Legg was an American singer, songwriter, and musician of rock and blues. Brother Dege. Born. David John Legg. The Jompson Brothers were an American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2007. John R. Cash was an American singer-songwriter. Most of Cash's music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. Nine One One's first song “Tidal Wave” released on January 1, 2018 Dan Romer is an award-winning composer, songwriter and music producer based in Los Angeles. Peter M. Harper is an American sculptor, musician, and academic. He is best known for his vocals and tenor guitar, especially in France Nick Nolan Artist Austin, TX Uncle Lucius is an American Southern rock/jam band based in Austin, TX. Formed in 2005, Country singer and songwriter Jessta James grew up in Bozeman, Montana. He was exposed to classic outlaw country as a child, added Southern hard rock as an influence while he was in high school Toothy grit, hard lines, and heavy riffs – Buffalo Fuzz is a two-piece heavy blues band from Minneapolis Minnesota USA. Tim Montana (born January 5, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist...Tim was given his first guitar at the age of six. Since his family's trailer had no electricity, Tim taught himself to play by candlelight.[ Ghoultown is an American rock band from Dallas, Texas, formed in 1999. AllMusic describes the group's music as "punk rock, Western stylings, mariachi, and a dose of B-movie trappings." The band has released six studio albums The Builders and The Butchers are a folk rock band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is fronted by singer/guitar player Ryan Sollee. Honeyhoney was an Americana group based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Years active 2006–2017 James Nicholas Commons is a British singer and songwriter, based in New Cross, London. At age six, Commons' family moved to Chicago, which would lead to his appreciation of American blues, folk and swamp rock music the devil makes three, The Old No. 7 Barnaby George "Barns" Courtney[4] (born 17 November 1990)is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. The Ben Miller Band is an American band that was formed in 2005 in Joplin, Missouri. Extreme Music Brown Bird was an American folk music group, originally formed in 2003 in Seattle, Washington as a solo project by David Lamb. Deadwood Ed and the Tombstone Thr3e. Bellevue band. Outlaw Cuntry! Deadwood Ed.guitar/vox. Dirty "Deke" Monroe. Twang Bucket. Hossy "Hoss" Bronson. Drums. Hugo Based in New York City and signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, his musical style has been dubbed as "gangsta-rock" SONGWRITER TJ STAFFORD KANSAS BORN SINGER Michael Whitaker Smith is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. Ryan Daniel Squitieri (born April 23, 1986) is an American recording artist, singer, songwriter, and lead singer of the band Among the Thirsty. Goodnight, Texas is an American folk rock band named after the town of Goodnight, Texas, the geographic midpoint between the working locations of songwriters Avi Vinocur in San Francisco and Patrick Dyer Wolf in Chapel Hill, North Carolina Nik Ammar is an award-winning composer and songwriter hailing from London who began his professional music career as instrumentalist and songwriter Rayland Baxter is an American alternative country musician from Nashville, Tennessee. Dorothy is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2014. Heavy Young Heathens are American film, film trailer, and television composers, consisting of brothers Aron and Robert Mardo. They are known for their work composing and performing music for television series "

729 - SACRED PLACE

 
 
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PAUL SHORTINO, FALCON TRAILS, CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE, POWERWOLF, BLACK VALENTINE, FOXX, FATE, IAN HUNTER, JEFF SCOTT SOTO, MALVADA, VIPER, STRYPER, RON KEEL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"WALL"
PAUL SHORTINO, FALCON TRAILS, CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE, POWERWOLF, BLACK VALENTINE, FOXX, FATE, IAN HUNTER, JEFF SCOTT SOTO, MALVADA, VIPER, STRYPER, RON KEEL
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"WALL"
ROCKSTORY
"(PAUL SHORTINO)"
"“ Paul Shortino was born on May 14, 1953 and is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a solo artist, writing and performing the song "E.G.G.M.A.N." as the theme for Dr. Eggman in Sonic Adventure 2 for Sega, and in Shadow the Hedgehog as "E.G.G.M.A.N. Doc Robeatnix Mix". Shortino recorded lead vocals for the Heavy Metal benefit project Hear 'n Aid in 1985. The single from this project, "Stars", also features lead vocals by heavy metal singers Ronnie James Dio, Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, Don Dokken, Kevin DuBrow, Eric Bloom and Dave Meniketti. Shortino is currently a member of the band King Kobra, and also performs in the cast of Raiding the Rock Vault at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas "

728 - BREAK & BEND

 
 
 
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BENGAL TIGERS, DIANNOS WARHORSE, LILIAC, DEEP PURPLE, DARK HEART, SILENT THEORY,FALCON TRAILS,STARS IN TOLEDO,SEETHER, STEELR, CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE, STEVE PLUNKETT, JACK WHITE, RATCHET DOLLS, POWERWOLF
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"HURT"
BENGAL TIGERS, DIANNOS WARHORSE, LILIAC, DEEP PURPLE, DARK HEART, SILENT THEORY,FALCON TRAILS,STARS IN TOLEDO,SEETHER, STEELR, CHRIS SLADE TIMELINE, STEVE PLUNKETT, JACK WHITE, RATCHET DOLLS, POWERWOLF
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"HURT"
ROCKSTORY
"(BENGAL TIGERS)"
"“ Bengal Tigers formed in Melbourne Australia in 1979 and were quickly signed to the emerging Mushroom label in Australia, and the famous Heavy Metal Records in the UK. In 1983 the band released the EP Metal Fetish with the lineup consisting of Gordon Heald (vocals), Mick Egan (drums), Steve Tyler (bass) and Barney Faroukh (guitar), but split-up later that year, perhaps before their 1984 Cheat On single was released. However, in 1989 the band reformed releasing two albums with Demos. EP Painclinic was released in 1995 followed in 1997 with In One Ear. It was in 1998 that they release their first full length album titled In The Blood followed the same year with the EP Fight for your Right. Bengal Tigers amassed a cult following and were known as Australia's heavy metal kings. The band has done several reunion shows and is sill active today. The current member's consist of Yuri Linzew on guitar, Justin Linkins on drums, Gordon Heald on vocals and Rob Bodger on bass. A new album is being worked on right now. A resurgent Bengal Tigers is imminent! "

727 - HEAVEN & HELL

 
 
 
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BLACK SABBATH, KISSIN DYNAMITE, THE COMMONORS, MR BIG, RANDOM, NAZTY RATZ, BENNIE & THE JETS, SPEKTRA, WORSHIPPER, VALENTINO, VICTORY, PAUL DIANNOS WARHORSE, LILIAC, DADDY DYNAMITE, TOMMY BOLIN, DEEP PURPLE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"DEMON"
BLACK SABBATH, KISSIN DYNAMITE, THE COMMONORS, MR BIG, RANDOM, NAZTY RATZ, BENNIE & THE JETS, SPEKTRA, WORSHIPPER, VALENTINO, VICTORY, PAUL DIANNOS WARHORSE, LILIAC, DADDY DYNAMITE, TOMMY BOLIN, DEEP PURPLE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"DEMON"
ROCKSTORY
"(BLACK SABBATH - DIO YEARS)"
"“ Ronald James Padavona was born on 10 July 1942 and known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell. Following his departure from Rainbow in 1979, Dio joined Black Sabbath, replacing the fired Ozzy Osbourne. Dio met Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi by chance at the Rainbow on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles in 1979. The two musicians were in similar situations, as Dio was seeking a new project and Iommi needed a vocalist. On the first day, the duo wrote the song "Children of the Sea," which appeared on the Heaven and Hell album being released in 1980 and is now regarded as one of the most iconic rock albums of the 80’s. The follow-up album, Mob Rules (1981), featured new drummer Vinny Appice. Personality conflicts began emerging within the band. In 1982, conflict arose over the mixing of the Live Evil album. Iommi asserted that the album's engineer began complaining to him that he would work all day long on a mix, only to have Dio return to the studio at night to "do his own mix" in which his vocals were more prominent. The conflict led to Dio and Appice ultimately quitting the band later that year. In 1991, Dio returned to Black Sabbath to record the Dehumanizer album. The album was a minor hit, reaching the Top 40 in the United Kingdom and #44 on the US Billboard 200. The single "Time Machine" was featured in the movie Wayne's World, the tenth highest-grossing film of 1992. Close to the end of 1992, Dio and Appice again left the band, citing an inability to work with Iommi and Butler. Ronnie James Dio sadly passed away on May 16, 2010 "

726 - THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN

 
 
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KISSIN DYNAMITE, M3 GROUP, ANVIL, HUMAN ZOO, MYSTERY, LIPZ, TRAMP, THE ANGELS, MAXX & LOVE, DIRTY WHITE BOYS, THE COMMONORS, SLAM, KEEL, DEEP PURPLE, MR BIG
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"WHEEL"
KISSIN DYNAMITE, M3 GROUP, ANVIL, HUMAN ZOO, MYSTERY, LIPZ, TRAMP, THE ANGELS, MAXX & LOVE, DIRTY WHITE BOYS, THE COMMONORS, SLAM, KEEL, DEEP PURPLE, MR BIG
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"WHEEL"
ROCKSTORY
"(KISSIN DYNAMITE)"
"“ Kissin' Dynamite is a German hard rock/heavy metal band that started out as a school band. At the end of 2007, they started sending demos to various music labels, leading to a record contract with Capitol Records / EMI in the same year. They released their debut album Steel of Swabia in 2008, and in that year also started appearing in music festivals. Their second album, was titled Addicted to Metal and had twelve tracks. The title track, "Addicted to Metal" features vocals by Udo Dirkschneider of U.D.O. for whom Kissin' Dynamite frequently opened. In March 2011, Kissin' Dynamite announced that they had started working on their third album. The album was released under the title Money, Sex and Power in March 2012. As part of the launch, the band opened for L.A. glam metal band Steel Panther on their Tour. In 2014 they released the album Megalomania, followed in 2016 by Generation Goodbye, then in 2018 by Ecstacy which broke them into the top ten on the German charts for the first time. 2022 saw the release of “Not the End of the Road” charting #2 on Official German Album Charts. Now these German Stadium Rockers are ”Back With A Bang!”, The band’s eighth studio album which was released July 5th 2024. This album has just recently earned the band the number #1 award on the official German album chart "

725 - FREAKSHOW 4 (Pioneers of South African Rock)

 
 
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Circus, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, Clout, The Helicopters, Baxtop, Via Afrika, Tribe After Tribe, Celtic Rumours, Dog Detachment, Ella Mental, Peach, No Friends Of Harry, Lesley Rae Dowling, Little Sister, Freedoms Children, Taipan, Hawk, Falling Mirror, Petit Cheval, Lucky Dube, Pierre De Charmoy, Fat City, Asylum Kids, The Sweatband, McCully Workshop, Suck, Bright Blue, Radio Rats, éVoid, Rabbitt, Crocodile Harris, Ballyhoo, Hotline, Stingray, Juluka
Circus, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, Clout, The Helicopters, Baxtop, Via Afrika, Tribe After Tribe, Celtic Rumours, Dog Detachment, Ella Mental, Peach, No Friends Of Harry, Lesley Rae Dowling, Little Sister, Freedoms Children, Taipan, Hawk, Falling Mirror, Petit Cheval, Lucky Dube, Pierre De Charmoy, Fat City, Asylum Kids, The Sweatband, McCully Workshop, Suck, Bright Blue, Radio Rats, éVoid, Rabbitt, Crocodile Harris, Ballyhoo, Hotline, Stingray, Juluka
ROCKSTORY
"(PIONEERS of SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK)"
"“ Don’t we live in exiting times! Most of us can say "I was there when they were writing the book of Rock" Well, while the rest of the world enjoyed the growing ripple effect of Woodstock during the late 60's and 70's, South Africa was largely cut off due mostly to the apartheid regime. So, although not directly involved with the exploding phenomena of Rock, and unbeknown to the rest of the globe, this country down at the bottom end of Africa was busy adding their chapters to the pages of Rock History. Some of the artists recorded albums and then disappeared into the woodwork, but a lot are still around today in some or other form. One thing though is certain, they will all forever remain in song. Who were these Pioneers fueling the Rock flame in this segregated country in the late 60"s and 70"s? Tonight we explore the PIONEERS OF SOUTH AFRICAN ROCK so lets rewind to the 60s 70s and 80s"
"Circus Bernie Millar on Vocals, Ronald "Bones" Brettell at Keyboards, Gary van Zyl doing Bass, Sandy Robbie on Guitar and Wally Cullis on Drums Circus ruled in South Africa's wildcat club culture of the mid-1970s - an original band, with a theatrical approach to their songwriting. Everything they touched in their glorious 30-month run from 1976-8 set a new level of excitement in the biggest clubs of the Reef and the Coast. They stayed true to themselves, and wound up broken by the SABC's Tannie morality and the profit motive of the record companies. Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse Sipho Cecil Peter Mabuse (born 2 November 1951), known professionally as Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, After dropping out of school in the 1960s, Mabuse got his start in the Afro-soul group the Beaters in the mid-1970s. After a successful tour of Zimbabwe they changed the group's name to Harari, an afrosoul band led by Mabuse. When they returned to their homeland in South Africa they began to draw almost exclusively on American-style funk, soul, and pop music, sung in Zulu and Sotho as well as English. Clout Clout was a South African rock group formed in Johannesburg in 1977, best known for their hit single, "Substitute". Originally all-female, the group later included some male musicians, who had played as session musicians on the recording cindy alter The Helicopters South African pop/rock band formed in Vereeniging in the early 1980s by singer/songwriter Bernard Binns. Two albums ("Love Attack" in 1985, "In The Flesh" in 1987 ) and one EP ("What Affair?" in 1988) were released before calling it quits shortly thereafter. Baxtop Formed in Johannesburg in 1978 by Larry Amos (guitars, vocals), Tim Parr (guitar, vocals), Robbie Whitelaw (bass) and Pierre de Vos (drums). In 1979 they won the SABC’s Battle of the Bands competition and they released their only album Work It Out. Via Afrika Afro-rock band formed in Johannesburg in 1983 Via Afrika (1983) EMI A Scent Of Scandal (1984) Via Afrika Tribe After Tribe Tribe After Tribe was formed in 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa by guitarist Robbi Robb (ex-Asylum Kids). The band released a humdinger of an album ("Power") locally in 1985 before circumstances caused the band to take flight to Los Angeles where Mr. Robb continued to work, still releasing albums under the "Tribe After Tribe" monicker. Celtic Rumours Durban-based band that had the ingredients for major success with lead singer Kevin van Staden, a front man with a great rock voice, matinee idol looks, and an eight-album plan ahead. Despite topping the South African charts and touring incessantly, the band didn't really make the great leap to the next International level and disintegrated in the early '90s after releasing two albums. Sadly, whilst working on his debut solo album, Kevin was tragically killed in a car accident on 26th December 1994. Dog Detachment Hard rocking new wave band formed around the Armstrong brothers in Linden, Johannesburg in 1980 that played a subversive, fanatically independent, high pressure brand of rock that they themselves referred to as "Stormtrooper Pop". Three albums were released between 1983 and 1989. Ella Mental Centering about theatrical vocalist Heather Mac (neé McDermott, later Parr) and guitarist Tim Parr, Ella Mental were formed in South Africa in 1984 and released the single "See Yourself (Clowns)" in 1985, with debut album "Uncomplicated Dreams" following later. The band toured extensively and produced three more singles: "Jenny", "30 Million Lonely People", and "Madmen" (which was banned because it criticised then-president P.W. Botha) Peach Consisting of two pairs of Greek teenage sisters and a Jewish guy, Peach were formed in Durban, South Africa in 1979 and defined the cheeky, trashy, sleazy, post-punk scene of the early 80's.Best remembered for their fired up live shows, they released only one album ("On Loan For Evolution" in 1981) and disbanded shortly afterwards. In 1978, their version reached No. 1 in South Africa, New Zealand, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Belgium. It also reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the UK charts for 15 weeks No Friends Of Harry Formed in Johannesburg in 1986, N.F.O.H. rightly claim the title of South Africa's first and most influential alternative/goth band. The band released three albums ("One Came Running" (1987), "Into The Valley" (1989) on Principal, and "Fifteen Seconds" (1991) on Clear Cut) and finally the "Fly By Night" compilation before calling it quits in September 1998 when their bassist emigrated to Scotland Lesley Rae Dowling Lesley Rae Dowling was discovered in Stellenbosch in 1980 . She released her first single (The Spaniard / Grips of Emotion) and album (Lesley Rae Dowling) in 1981.. Her music has won many South African music awards, including various Sarie (South African Recording Industry) awards, several SAMA awards, 3M Scotty awards, and an FNB SAMA award. She declined the opportunity in the early 1980s to go international, as the cultural boycott of South Africa during the late apartheid era meant she would need to live in Ireland for six months a year, something she was not prepared to do. Little Sister South African pop/rock duo consisting of sisters Debbi Lonmon and Jenni Lonmon. Freedom’s Children The original band included Julian Laxton on lead guitar, Nic Martens on organ, bassist/lyricist Ramsay MacKay, Brian Davidson's vocals, Colin Pratley on drum kit, Harry Poulos on organ/vocals and Gerard Nel's piano. Being very much denied in their part of music history, as they are mostly totally bypassed when it comes prog articles, FREEDOM"S CHILDREN manages to reflect a small but fascinating scene of South African progressive rock. Their 1970 release "Astra" has a very important role that unfortunately often gets overlooked. Taipan back in the 70's & 80's it was first known as" Alcatraz" and then "Taipan" latter when got a record deal in Germany. Hawk The Johannesburg quintet was formed Dave Ornellas (ac guitar, vocals) and Keith Hutchinson (winds & Kb) and comprised also guitarist Mark Khan, bassist Richard Johnson, and drummer Braam Malherbe. Falling Mirror Formed in Cape Town in 1978 by two cousins, guitarist Allan Faull (born 30 January 1949) and vocalist Nielen Mirror (born Nielen Marais 11 June 1951), Falling Mirror remain one of South Africa's greatest and most eclectic alternative bands... ever! In 1978, both were residents of the Valkenberg Mental Institution Petit Cheval Petit Cheval (French for "little horse") were a new romantic band from Pretoria, South Africa (often compared to Spandau Ballet) that released two singles and two albums ("The Voice Of Reason" in 1985, and "The Perfect Gift" in 1986) before disbanding. Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician and Rastafarian. His record sales across the world earned him the Best Selling African Musician prize at the 1996 World Music Awards. In his lyrics, Dube discussed issues affecting South Africans and Africans in general to a global audience. He recorded 22 albums in a 25-year period and was Africa's best-selling reggae artist of all time. Dube was murdered in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on the evening of 18 October 2007 The Julian Laxton Band South African disco / rock band formed mid-1976 led by the late Julian Laxton Pierre De Charmoy Grew up in Durban, started a music career after leaving school. He released his first single “Lonely Heart” in 1982 and his first album, Ovation in 1983. His third single “Live On” in 1983 saw him begin to make a name for himself in South Africa. He released several singles in the early to mid-1980s and seven albums between 1983 and 1990. Fat City Toni Gozza & Fat City... (South African Blues Rock Band 1987-1990) Asylum Kids Punk/rock group formed in Johannesburg in 1980 which disbanded around 1983. Guitarist Robbie Robb went on to form Tribe After Tribe in 1984. The Sweatband 80's rock band from Rondebosch, Cape Town that recorded their first promo, "Partners in Crime" around 1982 It was when the drummer's brother's girlfriend's classmate at the teacher's training college was hired in 1983 that the band really took off. One more promo cassette, "Catch That Sweaty Feeling", was released in 1984 and now with Wendy Oldfield as vocalist, the band's edgy rock sound garnered them a solid following and fan base. The "No Sweat" album (produced by Kevin Shirley) was released in 1986, with three singles lifted off it. One more album (untitled) was recorded in late 1988. It was shelved for the time being and Wendy Oldfield left to go solo in November of that year. McCully Workshop McCully Workshop is arguably one of South Africa's finest pop rock bands. They started way back in the '60s, dominated the South African airwaves in the '70s, continued through the '80s and '90s and in the 21st century are still going strong. Suck Suck were a rock band who were part of South Africa's first wave of hard rock titled "The Big Heavies". The group lasted eight months between 1970 and 1971, during which they recorded their only LP, Time to Suck. It was later released in America in 2009. Suck were also among the earliest groups to cover Black Sabbath. In March 2007, they were featured in an article in Classic Rock magazine titled "The Lost Pioneers of Heavy Metal", where they were referred to as "acidpunk metal" Bright Blue Bright Blue: Formed in Cape Town in 1983 , with its afro-fusion influence played their part in the anti-apartheid movement of the time and had a fair measure of success along the way. Their track "Weeping" is widely regarded as one of the finest songs ever to emerge from South Africa. Radio Rats Formed in Springs in 1977. Jonathan Handley (guitar, vocals), Dave Davies (lead vocals). Were signed by Jo’burg Records and released the album Into the Night We Slide and the single “ZX Dan” in 1978. The band has continued to perform and record intermittently over the years with many changes in their line-up (especially drummers) but with the consistent front duo of Jonathan Handley and Dave Davies. éVoid Originally formed in 1977 around core members and brothers Lucien and Erik Windrich and then known simply as Void, the group won their section of the "East Rand Battle Of The Bands" in 1978. Adopting the name éVoid in 1982, the band would (complete with painted faces, tribal dances and jive rhythms - known as 'ethnotronics') rise in prominence 1983,their eponymous debut album second album "Here Comes the Rot" 1986 Rabbitt With TWO Ts. Rabbitt is a South African pop rock band formed in Johannesburg in 1972, evolving from a band called The Conglomeration, consisting of members Trevor Rabin, Ronnie Robot, and Neil Cloud.[1] Their successes included making it to the top of the South African charts with the hit "Charlie" in 1976. Crocodile Harris Real name Robin Graham began his music career as Crocodile Harris in the 1970s, releasing the single “Miss Eva Goodnight” (1973) and an album You’re A Woman, I’m A Man (1974) as well as follow-up singles before forming the Wright Brothers with Richard Wilson in 1977. In 1983 he released the album Give Me The Good News. His last single release was “The world is an explosion” in 1984. He died in 2015. Ballyhoo Ballyhoo is a South African musical group, who had a charts-topping hit in South Africa in 1981 with "Man on the Moon", which spent 19 weeks in the charts Derrick Dryan - vocals, Attie van Wyk - keyboards, Mick Matthews - guitar and vocals, Fergie Ferguson - bass and vocals, Cedric Samson - drums Hotline Hotline was a meat 'n potatoes rock band that formed in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1980, with the original line-up consisting of PJ Powers (vocals). In 1983 the band changed their style to afro-rock, and that's when success really kicked off - not least of all by being popular with both black and white audiences (something rather unusual in the old days of apartheid, and frowned upon by the corridors of power). The band split in 1987. Stingray Stingray is a hard rock/AOR band from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, that was formed in 1979. The band split up in 1982. Dennis East: vocals Shaun Wright lost his leg in a shark attack in 1980 whilst surfing at Balito Bay. He carried on drumming, but was eventually replaced by Wally Cullis from Circus Juluka Juluka was a South African band formed by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. Juluka means "sweat" in Zulu, and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu. The band was closely associated with the mass movement against apartheid. At the age of 14, Clegg met Zulu street musician Charlie Mzila, who taught him Zulu music and dancing over the following two years. In 1969 Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu met in Johannesburg when young Sipho went there to find work. The 18-year-old Mchunu challenged the 16-year-old Clegg to a guitar contest, and the two became friends. Soon, they were performing together on the streets and in what few other unofficial venues a multi-racial band could safely play in under apartheid. They were forced to keep a low profile and their success came from word of mouth instead of through traditional publicity. Clegg himself was arrested and beaten up by the police on several occasions for his activities, and also for the band's lyrics. "

724 - GUN 4 A WHILE

 
 
 
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HUMAN ZOO, DIRTY HONEY, BAD BONES, THE MERCURY RIOTS, TOMMI GUN, OZZY OSBOURNE, BEAST IN BLACK, M3 GROUP, BIG SUN, MAX & LOVE, DEF LEPPARD, ANVIL, QUIET THE THIEF, THE GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, SUNBOMB, PAUL DIANNOS WARHORSE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"CHILD"
HUMAN ZOO, DIRTY HONEY, BAD BONES, THE MERCURY RIOTS, TOMMI GUN, OZZY OSBOURNE, BEAST IN BLACK, M3 GROUP, BIG SUN, MAX & LOVE, DEF LEPPARD, ANVIL, QUIET THE THIEF, THE GEORGIA THUNDERBOLTS, SUNBOMB, PAUL DIANNOS WARHORSE
"TOP 11 COUNTDOWN WITH "
"CHILD "
ROCKSTORY
"(HUMAN ZOO)"
"“ Human Zoo is a quite unusual hard rock band. The saxophone player in their line-up gives them some sort of extravagance. For 15 years now, the Swabian six-member band combines classical rock elements with modern effects, but without leaving behind the typical unique Human Zoo style. In the year 2004 singer Thomas Seeburger, keyboarder Zarko Mestrovic and guitarist Ingolf Engler got together with only one goal - "Pure Rock". In autumn 2005 Boris Matakovic (Subway) on the saxophone completed the band. The position on the bass was occupied by changing musicians in the following years until Ralf Grespan joined the band in 2012. Also the drum players changed some times until Matthias Amann joined the band in 2022. The highly celebrated debut album ` Precious Time ` (2006), astonished the press as well as the public in many places. Human Zoo was elected as “Newcomer of the year 2006” in German magazine Rock It! . Just 16 months after the release of the debut album, the second, very strong longplayer "Over The Horizon" was released on 28th September 2007. The third album "Eyes Of The Stranger" marks a further milestone in the career for Human Zoo. The songwriting here combines classical rock elements with modern effects, but without leaving behind the typical Human Zoo style. Human Zoo has been awarded the INNOCENT AWARD 2016 by the Cute And Dangerous – magazine for their last album ` My Own God `. The new, fifth album was released just in time for the twentieth anniversary on June 14th, 2024 under the title “ECHOES BEYOND”. "