Happy Holidays from Isorski!

Hey everyone.

I have been slightly derelict on the blog postings the last couple of weeks. Anyone in the States following the news probably knows that many areas have been socked in by unusually snowy, cold weather. Portland was no exception, as we broke a 50 year old record for snow and consecutive cold days (in the 20s) over the last two weeks.

You would think that being trapped indoors would lead to lots of time for blogging but when you are also trapped with 3 very active boys aged 2, 9 and 11 during the holidays, you can do the math and see that it equals NO free time for blogging. Ha ha ha.

My Pink Floyd tribute band The Floydian Slips plays on New Years Eve in Eugene and we had our first practice snowed out, so it's a set of marathon sessions starting tomorrow. We are doing Echoes for the first time, and I am very excited about that.

In fact, the set list consists of mainly old school Floyd - Set The Controls, Echoes, One of These Days, etc - and not as much from The Wall. That is a first for us and I am also pretty fired up for that as well.

So that will keep me busy through the New Year. But fear not - Santa was very good to me and I have a number of DVDs to review here. The first two I have started to check out are Rush Snakes and Arrows live and The Who Live in Kilburn 1977, which is unreal. Stay tuned for full reviews shortly!

And of course, happy holidays to all!

Isorski

Shocking KISS History Revealed

I thought I knew all there was to know about KISS but I was shocked at this news report. I have been totally schooled on my KISStory.

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Happy Friday - The Mob Rules!

Could not resist posting this. Happy Friday! FIRE!

Fish Takes A Break

Former Marillion lead singer Fish needs to rest his voice for at least six months and will not be doing any full touring until 2010, according to a story on Classic Rock today.

Fish's report of the news, emailed to fans, is pretty amusing:

“It started off pleasantly enough and my speaking voice was deemed to be not too bad considering I’d just completed a tour.

“She [the specialist] took internal photos of my throat and vocal chords with an endoscope and pronounced that I didn’t have nodules.

“I thought everything was going to be diagnosed as down to heavy usage and prescribed a rest from singing for a while.

“Just as I thought I had an all clear she pointed out a white area on one of my chords and said: ‘But this is worrying!’

“As soon as I heard the phrase ‘irregular cell growth’ my mind went cold and focused. I knew what it meant.

“In all honesty I am 50 years old, I smoke(d), drink, have a ‘colourful’ history, have sung nearly 1,700 gigs in 27 years and have conducted probably three times as many interviews. It’s like standing on the M1 and expecting not to be hit by a car.

“I am taking at least six months off from singing. I’d like to think that I can play some festivals in the summer of 2009 but there will be no arranged tours until 2010.”

Get well soon, Derek Dick, and stay off the M1!

12/19/2008 Update - After reading Fish's MySpace blog, Fish fears that this might be throat cancer. I did not realize that when I posted yesterday. Clearly it's more a serious topic than my blog post alludes to. Get well soon, Fish.

Ace Frehley Launches Web Site - Awk!

If you can believe it, there has never been an official Ace Frehley Web site. Fan sites have done their best to pay tribute to ole Ace, but he has not had his own vehicle for communication with his fan base - until today.

Buzz was high in KISS-land that the site was coming and it was being designed by Ace himself - the same graphic arts whiz that designed the KISS logo and the very cool solo album morphing faces animation that ran on the back screen prior to the encore on the reunion tour.

But oh my, Ace must have been looking at circa 1995 sites for inspiration. His site breaks about every design rule imaginable. Too many flashing, power sucking animated doo-dahs, unclear navigation design, and man is it slooooooow.

I expected some Flash-based awesome space trip rocket ride but what I got is a page right out of Web Pages That Suck.

Check it out for yourself here. Shock Me!

Alex Lifeson Talks About the Past and Future of Rush In Upcoming Interview

As I mentioned in a previous posting, Rush has been all over the news lately. The last couple of weeks has seen a number of Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee interviews to promote the DVD Snakes and Arrows Live, which I believe I have sitting under the Christmas tree as we speak. (Oh please, Santa).

I bought the live CD of the same tour and ran a long review here. It was a great tour and the band kicked serious ass, doling out the tried and true songs as well as rarely heard gems like Digital Man, Entre Nous, Passage to Bangkok and Circumstances. Even 80s fare like Mission benefit ted from the new energy and heaviness that the band put forth live on that tour.

Word is that this DVD focuses on the musicianship of the band, with many close ups of blazing fretboards and flying drumsticks. That is my flipping dream come true!

Flash to last week, when Alex Lifeson sat down for a long interview with Modern Guitars magazine. RushIsABand.com posted numerous sneak preview excerpts this week but pulled them all down until the full interview runs on the MG site.

I was lucky enough to read the excerpts while they were up and the interviewer did an fantastic job, asking all sorts of questions I would want to ask, like which songs have they tried to bring back from the past but for whatever reason didn't (A Farewell to Kings and Camera Eye), are there any pre-1974 tapes of the band (there are), including Neil's first audition with the band (probably not).

They also discuss how the band was bummed about how Vapor Trails was mixed (the levels are too hot, so the overall sounds is compressed and distorted, kind of like the complaints about the new Metallica album), and they might remix the whole thing as a one-off project, to make themselves feel better about it.

It goes on and on. I will be sure to post the link when the whole interview runs. The pieces I saw make me pretty stoked to read the whole thing.

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Gene Simmons Actually Makes Some Sense

Now that Gene is talking about the music business and not about leading the last remaining superpower on the planet, I will give him some props! Check out this video of Gene being interviewed by Billboard (rated R for language). I fully agree with his take on the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame.

I Never Get Out Anymore!

...Not really.

But I hear on the grapevine that I blew it by not going to see Nine Inch Nails last weekend in Portland. Apparently one of the most mind blowing stage sets ever created by mankind. Whatever.

And of course I miss out on a lot by not living in Southern California where in addition to fires, earthquakes and military jets taking out neighborhoods, I miss a lot of one-off gigs with stars and luminaries.

Behold these two edited posts, sent by my friend Tai, outlining what looks like a great club gig in Malibu last weekend, with the band Chevy Metal, a side band led by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. When you get near the end of the second post, dig the set list. Very cool. The Wizard? Get outa here!

Originally Posted by Johnny Bravo84
I went to the show tonight. it was awesome. 15 dollar cover (yuck) but it was well worth it. I don't know who the other guys in Chevy are, but they're awesome. the guitarist was dead-on for most of the songs they did. Nate came up to play bass on one of the songs, and Stuart Copeland played drums during 'Substitute' by the Who. they played a bunch of cool songs.

then, during the Johnny Cash/Tom Petty cover band, Butch Walker and Pink came up and sang 'Free Fallin' at the end of the set. I was NOT expecting to see her there haha. she seemed to be Taylor's friend, they were chatting for a while during the show. random haha.

if this really is the last show at the Malibu Inn, I'm sad. first time I'd been there, and it was a really cool venue, with a great sound system.

Originally Posted by Cosmo
Yeah.. I was deep down in the O.C., down Lake Forrest way and gave myself plenty of time to make the drive up the 405. Fortunately, there wasn't any traffic, so I got there with plenty of time to spare. Bad thing, The Malibu Inn has already shut down their kitchen, so I had to eat at the Jack In the Box next door.
I met Wiley, Taylor and Dange out front and helped them in with the load in and stringing the cable for the video (yes, the entire night was taped by Taylor's friends). I scored a band/crew wristband, but paid the entry fee as usual because I thought Cassandra might show up and she'd be able to get in through the backstage door and hide out backstage til the band went on (as long as she promised to stay out of the beer tub and the bottles of VO). Plus... I love supporting the local bands anyway.
As previously stated, the setlist (this is slightly altered):
Black Sabbath- The Wizard
ZZ Top - Beer Drinkers, Hell Raisers
The Rolling Stones - Can't You Hear Me Knockin'?
Deep Purple- Highway Star
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
The Who - Bargain
Faces (Rod Stewart) - Stay With Me
Wings (Paul McCartney) - Jet
Mississippi Queen - (Nate Mendel on bass, Wiley as frontman)
The Who - Substitute (Stewart Copeland on drums, Taylor on backing vocals)
The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash
Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf
Queen/David Bowie - Under Pressure
(Not played from the setlist was Ted Nugent's 'Stranglehold', Queen's 'Dragon Attack' and Sabbath's 'Fairies Were Boots')
...
It was clear to see that Taylor was very happy to have Stewart play in their little band. And Nate is... well... Nate.
And yes, Rod Stewart was great at one time... most likely because he had Ron Wood, Ronnie Lane, Kenny Jones and Ian McLagen as his band. His suckiness began at 'Alantic Crossing' in 1975 and 'Do You Think I'm Sexy' was the death blow... in my opinion.
Also... Paul McCartney was a legend... but, 'Silly Love Songs' began a downturn and that 'Freedom' song and his pettiness to have some Beatles songs re-printed to say 'McCartney/Lennon' year's after John's murder sealed it.
(Foos... model your long range career following the 'Neil Young Model'... not the McCartney model).
...
And say what you will about Alicia Moore (a.k.a. Pink)... the gal has a voice that is pretty fucking incredible. Plus, the girl has a rockin' body and in person... SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. The 'Gospel Church' ending of 'Free Falling' almost made me want to go back to church today... but... I slept in, instead.
Regarding the video... I asked if it would be posted online... but, the answer was, 'Maybe... enventually'. Which I took as meaning, 'Nope'. I think it was made specifically for Taylor. Let's hope it gets posted because these guys had 2 fixed (one pointed at the drum kit from the back) and 2 roaming with an audio feed from the mixing board.
It is a shame that the Malibu Inn will be bulldozed because the land it sits on is so valuable as fucking unaffordale condos that none of us can afford or more bullshit shopping shit. It's like we have no value in heritage, historical value or tradition... only fucking money. The doors close next weekend... Malibu doesn't understand what they are losing.

Gene Simmons Lays Down The Law

At the end of the interview, Simmons says, "You guys are good. I never talk about politics."

Probably a good idea, because if Gene were President, here is what you can expect:

--Flat tax of 20 percent
--Public executions for drug dealers
--Gang control via sniper

These and other groovy gems can be found in this recent interview with the Edmonton Sun.

Knowing Gene, what other things could we expect under a Simmons Administration? KISS Koffins for all US military burials? Playmate interns? Family Jewels White House episodes? What do you think?

Queen to Split With Paul Rodgers?

The rumor mill is starting to heat up that Queen and Paul Rodgers are parting ways after the new Queen album only sold 12,000 copies in the States. The rumor has the band scrapping all of its 2009 dates.

This is only a rumor at this point, reported oddly enough on various KISS related sites.

Only last week Gene Simmons reported that KISS and Queen might tour on the same bill next year. That would have been bombastic to say the least. As for the split rumor, Simmons is reported to have said, "Oh, I've heard that, but we don't know until it's real. I would be happy to step up on that stage. I'd (also) love to step up on a stage with the Stones."

I always thought the Paul Rodgers/Queen thing was weird but it for sure didn't suck. It just didn't seem like the best of ideas. Hey, maybe Brian May is trolling YouTube for Queen tribute band singers as we speak! Ugh.

Excellent Rush Interview on The Hour

Rush is on a roll right now, what with decades-overdue positive coverage in Rolling Stone and appearances like the Colbert Report a few months ago. The latest is not as high profile but is a great 13-minute interview with Geddy and Alex on CBC's The Hour from last week.

I really like this interviewer's style. He is very engaging and his questions are solid. he is able to draw some stories out of the guys that I had not heard before. Check it out:

Test Your Prog Rock Trivia Skills Against Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree

Even if you don't know or like prog rock, it's fun to watch Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson decimate Mikael Åkerfeldt from prog rock death metal band Opeth in this prog rock trivia video.

I got about 7 of these right. Thanks to Bassbudd for the tip on this one.

KISS Shreds

Needs no explanation at all. Thanks, Chris, for the link.

Interview With Yes Replacement Singer Benoit David

Notes from the Edge has posted an interview with Benoit David, the Yes tribute band singer who is taking Jon Anderson's place on the upcoming 40th Anniversary tour. It's an interesting read, and the main impression I get is that he is not a big Yes fan but rather looks at this opportunity as a job and is going to do his best to sing the songs for as long as they need him, after which time he'll return to his normal life.

A coupla quotes:

NFTE: Let's go into how you got this offer to sing with Yes. How did that come about?

BD: Oh well, that's an amazing story. Here's the whole story. It all started when Richard, our bass player for the tribute band Close to the Edge, he's our manager and bass player in the band, and he had ordered a re-release of an album that Chris [Squire] made. I don't have the details from that, but you probably know about that.

NFTE: Fish out of Water?

BD: Yeah, I guess; I don't even know the name. Though he had ordered that, and the thing said well, be patient, because Scottie and me are taking care of this in our own kitchen, and it might take a while before we get back at you, but it doesn't mean that we're not taking care of you. And I think it was like in June of this year, Richard got a call from Scottie at his place here in the Laurentians, and as he was talking with Scottie on the phone, going over the order and so forth, well, Richard mentioned, "By the way, maybe you guys would like to know that we have a tribute band, a pretty good one too, and we're having a ball playing that music." So Scottie put Chris on the phone, and they had a bit of conversation together, and a couple of days after, we got an email from Chris on our website saying I watched this, and you guys are great, and this is really good, and I'm telling the other guys about it. It happened that a couple of weeks later the news came out that Jon had health problems, so another week later Chris called Richard, saying, "Would it be ok if we borrowed your singer," (laughs). Richard gave Chris my phone number, and Chris called me as I was working, and there you go. That's how it happened.

NFTE: What would you like to say to Yes fans out there through this conversation?

BD: What I would like to say to them is I'm not Jon Anderson. I can't take Jon's place and do that. I'm fortunate enough that the members of the band thought that I could do a good job singing those songs, but I won't be replacing Jon Anderson. I'm just going to do my best to sing those pieces in the best way that I can so the public can have a good time listening to them. That's what I want to say. I go there very simply, because I was asked, and that's it. I don't want to take too much space in that process.

So, sounds like a level headed dude, but I still don't agree with the band's decision on this one. Even if they are going to do Machine Messiah!

Speaking of KISS...

I have seen most of the classic photos of KISS with the same old staged poses etc, so this one really caught my eye. Seems kind of raw and 'behind the scenes.' Make sure to click on it to see the full, large version. Must be from the Love Gun tour in 1977, based on the outfit.

And speaking of Love Gun, dig this hilarious clip from the movie "Role Models." Be warned, it's R rated and not great for listening in a cube environment!

KISS May Record New Studio Album

I kind of ignored these rumblings, as Paul Stanley tends to change his mind and therefore his soundbites, frequently. But Classic Rock Magazine called him out on the carpet so to speak, to see if he is serious about recording a new KISS album. Here is what they got, from the January issue on sale Dec 10:

What does the future hold for Kiss?
It looks like we’ll be touring Europe as well as the States next year. You’ll be getting more of what you saw at the Download festival this past summer – the Kiss Alive! vibe amped up to the max. There might even be a new Kiss album at some point. I have been ambivalent to the idea in the past but I’m much more open to it now.

Why is that?
Well, I thought that I'd be content for Kiss to remain a heritage act, just playing our greatest hits – Detroit Rock City and all that. But the new Kiss line-up with Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums) is proving to be so good, so strong in spirit, it would interesting to see how we perform in the studio. I must stress that no recording time has been booked at this point. But it if we were to go into the studio, the intention would be to make a Kiss album in the style of our 1970s recordings. A classic Kiss album, unmistakably.

While I still firmly disagree with Stanley and Simmons’ decision to put different musicians in the classic Ace and Peter makeup, I have to say that the current lineup does indeed rock pretty hard and is certainly the tightest KISS lineup, musically.

The bummer would be that I always bought KISS albums back in the day primarily for the one or two Ace songs, and obviously that would be absent from any new KISS release...

Yes Members Humiliate Themselves on FOX TV

This is so sad and pathetic. The almighty rhythm section of Yes with an impostor singer and two totally out of tune guitar players hack through Owner of A Lonely Heart on Mike Huckabee’s FOX show. I mean, the audience shots alone speak volumes. What in the hell are these guys thinking to sink the Yes legacy down to such a low status. Please guys, just retire the brand gracefully before it’s too late.

"New" Beatles Song Might See Light of Day

The buzz today in Beatles-land is that an unreleased 1967 song called "Carnival of Light" may be finally released, if McCartney can get Ringo and the Lennon/Harrison widows to buy off on the idea.

But don't expect Penny Lane part two. According to the Associated Press, this is a 14-minute experimental song containing distorted guitar and gargling sounds -- and even includes McCartney and Lennon shouting "Barcelona!" and "Are you all right?"

McCartney says that while recording, he told his bandmates to "just wander round all of the stuff and bang it, shout, play it. It doesn't need to make any sense."

So, fans of What's the New Mary Jane and Revolution 9, you may just get your companion piece!

Floydian Slips Halloween Videos

Two weeks ago, my Pink Floyd tribute band The Floydian Slips played a Halloween gig at the Roseland Theater in Portland. The turnout was pretty good for all the competition we had downtown.

We made a lot of little mistakes first set, although no one really noticed except for the band. But second set ranked up there with one of my all time favorites. We played great and did the 1978 album Animals all the way through.

But I have to say, the real stars of that show were the lighting guys who really did a great job with the stage, lights and lasers. I got my paws on the video this week and here are some of the highlights of that second set:

Sheep


One of These Days


Run Like Hell