Brooklyn’s Creek and Kills will put out their new EP “Unstitching” on Friday, August 20, 2021. Recorded in their homes from May 2020 to April 2021, with mixing and mastering from Danielle DePalma, “Unstitching” includes remixed, rerecorded, and/or remastered versions of the band’s pandemic singles plus three new tracks. These are wild siren songs from far reaches of an urban estuary. Creek and Kills rock out like a mermaid party in a Superfund site…a little dirty, a little dangerous, a little sexy, luring you to sink in the dark water.
The band’s first full-length eponymous album (released 2019) was praised for its “unadulterated filthy Rock rhythms,” “artful alchemy,” and the “striking strength” of vocals from singer-bassist, Kate Bell (A&R Factory). Bell comes from a background in jazz. Her octet, the Poma-swank, was hailed as “one of the best offerings from the New York jazz underground” by music writer Mark Kirby, and All About Jazz described Bell as “oozing sass . . . her instrument is not only her voice, but her total self . . . and the person who is singing is someone you’d most definitely want to meet.” Since Bell’s switch to rock, she’s worked on projects with members of the Julie Ruin, Bush Tetras, and Groovy Ghoulies. Guitarist Marc Montgomery began collaborating with Bell in late 2017, and “Unstitching” features his heartbreaking song, “Sunshine Hotel.” Drummer and vocalist Erin Harney joined Creek in Kills in late 2019, previously of the bands The Shook Ones and Femmepire.
Creek and Kills’s music has been heard on the “I Art NY” podcast, in the short film Skin the Wire (NY Shorts Festival), on WPRB (Princeton, NJ), BVEW (Brattleboro, VT), and on the greatest freeform radio station in the world, Jersey City’s WFMU. Creek and Kills will celebrate the release of the “Unstitching” EP with special guests, Groupie and Rest Ashore, at 18th Ward in Brooklyn on Friday, August 20, 2021, open to all, music starting at 8 p.m.
Twenty-seven years ago this weekend, Woodstock 94 took place on Winston Farm just north of Saugerties, New York. Woodstock 94, or “Woodstock II” was the next generation’s attempt to rekindle the same “Summer of Love” spirit their parent’s experienced at the original 1969 fest. This was the first shot at doing so, and many future attempts will completely flop, like Woodstock 50, or will end in fire-burning riots, like Woodstock 99. 1994’s rendition isn’t as shockingly awful, but some believe it’s still incomparable to ’69. This is Woodstock 94.
Woodstock ’94 poster, a playoff of the iconic Woodstock ’69 poster art.
Saugerties‘ Winston Farm is approximately 100 miles away from Bethel Woods and Yasgur’s Farm – the birthplace of “Woodstock.” But, Winston Farm was supposed to be the original location for the ’69 fest until the owners got cold feet. This change in location was a way of improving the flaws of the previous festival for the second time around, while still holding true to Woodstock roots.
The 1994 concert was scheduled for August 13–14, and Friday, August 12 was added after first-pool tickets sold out under 12 hours. Ticket prices hiked to $135, plus a three-day pass to the beer tent was $250 – a huge jump from 69’s $18 three-day pass. Tickets were only sold in sets of four, and one parking pass was provided per set.
A snippet of Billboard Magazine’s coverage
The star-studded lineup included ’69 alum mixed in with up-and-coming ’90s bands. Plus, the extra day allowed for many more artists to join the setlist.
Friday, August 12, 1994
Aphex Twin
Blues Traveler
Candlebox
Collective Soul
Deee‐Lite
Del Amitri
Jackyl
James
King’s X
Līve
Orbital
Orleans
Peace Bomb
Sheryl Crow
The Orb
Todd Rundgren
Violent Femmes
Huffamoose
Abba Rage
Lunchmeat
Saturday, August 13, 1994
Aerosmith
Blind Melon
Candlebox
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Cypress Hill
Fight
Hot Tuna
Joe Cocker
Melissa Etheridge
Metallica
Nine Inch Nails
Primus
Rollins Band
Salt‐n‐Pepa
Suicidal Tendencies
The Band
The Cranberries
Crosby, Stills & Nash
Youssou N’Dour
Zucchero
Sunday, August 14, 1994
Cypress Hill
Fight
Hot Tuna
Rollins Band
Salt‐n‐Pepa
Suicidal Tendencies
The Band
The Cranberries
The Roots
Weir & Wasserman
Green Day
Country Joe McDonald
Porno For Pyros
Sisters of Glory
Allman Brothers Band
Santana
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Spin Doctors
Traffic
Bob Dylan
There was no Youtube back then. If you wanted your band to get big, you had to hope it came on the radio. We hadn’t heard of bands like Blind Melon and Collective Soul yet, and a lot of these people (festival-goers) had never been to a concert before.
Dan Lane, Woodstock 94 attendee
The fest can be credited for the growth of many young millennial bands. Even Green Day was just finding their fame as their second album Dookie, released six months prior to Woodstock 94, would hit #4 on the charts only weeks after the festival weekend.
Snap of the Woodstock ’94 stage art
Promoters ensured the event would be secure with drug dogs, security brigade nicknamed the “peace patrol,” hundreds of port-o-johns, and chain-link fence. Re-entry was not allowed, but festival-goers smuggled food and drink over fences and through bushes. There were no reports of excessive force or need for riot control like there was in 1999.
From the looks of it we thought we were gonna get strip-searched at entry, (with the dogs and officers) but it was pretty mellow, actually. I think the light security is what they tried to fix in ’99 but that all went wrong.
Dan Lane
500,000 young-adults flocked from around the country in fear they were going to miss out on something great. Woodstock ’69 attendees even paid a visit to see how they compared. Festival-goers did seem to enjoy the excitement of making history and there was a notable peaceful vibe across the farm. People were just happy to be there and enjoying music.
People are understanding that Woodstock 94 is a seminal gathering and a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Promoter John Scher for Billboard Magazine
This fest was rumored to be even bigger than 1969, with two stages and constant MTV coverage. Unlike the first festival, ’94 hosted two large stages with constant live music on each. There were a mix of bands playing each stage, for example, while Green Day was playing on the South Stage, Weir & Wasserman were on the North. This helped spread audiences evenly and highlighted the divide of subcultures. DJ rave sets continued the party late into the night.
Don’t worry: The two stages, facing opposite directions, are about a third of a mile apart, so there’ll be little chance the sound from one will interfere with the other.
A rainstorm passed over the festival grounds, on top of the cooling sprinklers, leading to the notorious moniker of “Mudstock.” Described by the New York Times as “a sea of mud and trash and amid evidence of anarchy,” festival-goers took this opportunity to roll around, dance, and sling the wet dirt onto the stage – it did not help that Primus had their song called “My Name is Mud” on the setlist.
Aug. 14, 1994 — A couple dances in the mud to Traffic in the North Stage area (Credit: Times Union Staff Photo by Steve Jacobs ATU112)
There were mile-long conga lines with half-naked people running around. You could feel them coming – they wouldn’t stop either. If you were in the way, you were getting trampled by a train of muddy kids chanting “Primus Sucks.”
Dan Lane
Credit: Michael Greenlar
Was the hype just too much? Anything with the “Woodstock” name attached is bound to have some high expectations. At the time, some attendees complained the event was too saturated in over-commercialized gimmicks. Looking back 27 years later, It is difficult to compare Woodstock 94 to the pedestal Woodstock ’69 is on. After all, even ’69 was a commercialized event too, inviting the biggest names of the time to help put a spotlight on the era’s changing times. Even Led Zeppelin historically turned down Woodstock ’69 to make more money playing in Asbury Park on the same weekend.
All expectations aside, Woodstock 94 was just as good as fests like Lollapalooza were at the time. It’s the music and the people that make it a memorable experience, not the gimmicks.
Dan Lane
The mid-90s were a very different time compared to the late 60s as well, not everyone was in the same ex-Vietnam hippie-free-spirit in the 90s. There were people holding on to that Summer of Love spirit, but others were clad in platform boots, grungy flannels and buzzcuts.
Subcultures were everywhere. You’d be walking around thinking “wow that guy has a lot of facial piercings” and the same guy will be looking at you like “wow that guy has way too much tie dye on.” Like, immediately after Joe Cocker’s set you had people barricading the stage for Blind Melon. It was wild.
Dan Lane
(Image credit: Getty Images/John Atashian)
A commemorative double live CD set was released on November 8, 1994, nearly three months after the festival weekend. Titled “Woodstock 94,” the two-disc set documents the best song of each of the 27 performing artists. Check out our Woodstock 94 Spotify playlist based on the album, as well as a playlist with some live footage on Youtube.
After 27 years, it seems 1994’s rendition of Woodstock was, generally, pretty nice. Positive memories, crazy rumors and great music came out of it. The fest served as a cohabitation of multiple generations of music, so maybe, more peace and love came out of it than expected. Plus, Woodstock’s reputation was about to get much worse in the years to come. Enjoy ’94 while it lasted!
Other notable moments:
* A “protest concert” was rumored to go on at Yasgur’s Farm frontlined by ’69 alum, though many of the claimed attendees were playing at Winston Farm the same weekend. It is unclear if this rumor is true due to lack of media coverage.
*RHCP wore their iconic light bulb costumes for the first half of their Day 3 set, then changed into Jimi Hendrix costumes to pay homage to Woodstock ’69.
* Green Day engaged in a mud slinging fight with the audience.
* Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt was accidentally punched in the face by a security guard, knocking out some of his teeth.
* Rumors circulated that The Rolling Stones were to make a surprise appearance because they were scheduled to play a concert in New York that weekend.
* Johnny Cash was invited to perform on the last day, but after learning that he would not be performing on the main stage, declined to appear.
* Most of the ’90s-era bands (and their instruments) were completely caked in mud by the end of their performances, audiences were more respectful towards ’60s-era musicians.
Here’s some news sure to excite New York metalheads! Infected Rain are just three weeks away from kicking off their extensive fall tour around the country. The tour features over 30 dates, including stops across the Empire State in Buffalo, NYC, and Poughkeepsie. Infected Rain will be performing alongside headliners Butcher Babies on their “Butcher Babies vs. Goliath” tour. Other supporting bands include Stitched Up Heart and Kaleido.
Infected Rain’s newest album is expected soon. The five piece band from Moldova most recently dropped their full length album Endorphins in 2019. Endorphins brought fans favorite tracks like “The Earth Mantra”, “Passerby”, “Lure”, “Storm”, and “Black Gold” and definitely brought a head banging energy with booming instrumentation, heavy riffs and intense vocals.
Formed back in 2008, Infected Rain have established themselves as one of modern metal’s most iconic acts. Over the years, they’ve toured extensively around Europe and signed a deal with Napalm Records. The band is thrilled to be back on the road, especially with some of their contemporaries. Their three New York stops include Buffalo Iron Works in Buffalo, the Gramercy Theatre in NYC, and the Chance Theatre in Poughkeepsie.
Here we come America – to all of you that have been patiently waiting, we are coming for you with the amazing Butcher Babies, Stitched Up Heart and Kaleido.
Lena Scissorhands, vocalist, Infected Rain
All tour dates are listed below. Connect with Infected Rain on their website, Instagram, and Facebook for updates.
INFECTED RAIN U.S. Tour Dateswith Butcher Babies, Stitched Up Heart and Kaleido:
Aug 29 – Jacksonville, FL @ Hooligans Music Hall
Aug 30 – Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre
Aug 31 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Sept 1 – New Orleans, LA @ Southport Hall
Sept 3 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
Sept 5 – Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
Sept 6 – Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
Sept 7 – Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater
Sept 9 – Chippewa Falls, WI @ Every Buddy’s Bar^+
Sept 10 – Ashwaubenon, WI @ Epic Event Center^+
Sept 11 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
Sept 12 – Flint, MI @ The Machine Shop^+
Sept 14 – Lakewood, OH @ Winchester Music Tavern
Sept 15 – Warrendale, PA @ Jergels
Sept 17 – Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo Iron Works
Sept 18 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East (Downstairs)
Wednesday, July 28th brought the 2021 season of Albany’s Alive at Five to a close. The weather was perfect, and for the first time this season, the concert was held at its usual location, Jennings Landing. Albany’s own Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band opened for 80s hair metal band Warrant who celebrated the 30th anniversary of their second and most successful studio album Cherry Pie. Check out the set list and photo gallery below.
Setlists
Warrant: Sure Feels Good To Me, Love in Stereo, Bed Of Roses, Your The Only Hell Your Mama Ever Raised, I saw Red, Song And Dance Man, Mr. Rainmaker, Blind Faith, Train, Train, Down Boys, D.R.F.S.R, Sometimes She Cries, Louder Harder Faster/Machine Gun, Heaven, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Cherry Pie
Joe Mansman & The Midnight Revival Band: Moon Vixen, Sellout, Live For Thrills, Renegade Love, Cut Out My Tongue, Below or Above, Wild Woman, Take It Easy, Lips On Fire, Dead As It Gets, Reap and Sow, Blood Grain Cocaine, Cheap Looks, Revels, Dagger
It makes perfect sense that the irrepressible Ronnie James Dio would be the one to tell his life story in a book completed and released 11 years after his death! If there’s one thing this book demonstrates, it’s that the tiny but mighty Dio had the gumption to power through obstacle after obstacle in the pursuit of his many dreams. It was that tenacity married with a singular talent that has made him the most iconic and imitated voice in heavy metal – an indispensable ingredient in the mega-success of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Black Sabbath and, finally, his globe-conquering namesake band, DIO.
Co-written with British music journalist Mick Wall and Dio’s widow and longtime manager Wendy, Rainbow In the Dark: The Autobiography follows the metal maven from his childhood in a close knit Italian-American family in upstate New York to the pinnacle of his solo band’s success, their Madison Square Garden debut in June 1986.
For me, the most interesting chapters in most musician biographies come from their striving days, and Dio has a tale of failures, tragedies and restarts that is hard to match.
His musical life began with the trumpet, inspired by big band icon Harry James. It was an instrument his father made him practice four hours a day starting at age 6, the axe with which he would soon begin his non-stop gigging lifestyle playing at school and social events. His love of popular music then led him to forsake the brass for the bass, then vocals, in his pursuit of a professional career. Talk about failure? His first serious band, Ronnie and the Prophets, scored 10 flop singles between 1962 and 1965. A later band, the Electric Elves, hatched three more duds. An overnight sensation, he was not.
The road has taken the life of many musicians and Dio had his share of close calls. In his pre-fame days, there were three crashes he recounts in dramatic detail. The first was when his band’s car was totaled in a collision with a mule! Far worse was the second which took the life of his guitarist Nick Pantas, his closest friend and musical partner in several early bands. A third destroyed his band’s equipment. This was when a just-hired roadie named Igor was trusted with and promptly crashed their new truck on its inaugural run.
Things finally started to turn up in 1972 when Dio’s band Elf was signed by Purple Records, a label headed by Deep Purple’s Ian Paice and Roger Glover. This led to opening slots on huge tours for the likes of Alice Cooper and Deep Purple. When the latter band’s masterful and mercurial guitarist Ritchie Blackmore decided to go solo, it was with most of Elf’s members, including Ronnie on vocals and as co-songwriter/lyricist. Together, Blackmore and Dio would pioneer a fusion of hard rock, heavy classical and fantasy lyricism that would define a most popular style of metal.
Some of the more entertaining parts of the book are Dio’s memories of the prickly Mr. Blackmore. This includes him ordering the diminutive Dio to “sit on a pillow” as he is meeting, for the first time, his wife- and manager-to-be Wendy at The Rainbow, the L.A. rocker haunt from which the band would take its name. Also detailed are some spooky seances led by Blackmore when the band was recording in France at Château d’Hérouville. At these, he reportedly summoned the spirit of Mozart (who appeared in a mirror), Thor (who made it thunder) and the pagan god Baal (who wiped some sessions from their 24-track tapes). For all their success in recording, co-composing and sell-out touring, Dio’s time with Blackmore ends badly – with him broke, without his due royalties and stranded in L.A.
It is through Wendy’s friendship with Sharon Osborne that Dio came to the attention of Black Sabbath leader/guitarist Tony Iommi. With Ozzy out of Sabbath and the band in limbo, Iommi was considering a solo project. He met with Dio for a jam which morphed into a miraculously writing session that produced the iconic “Children of the Sea.” Together, Iommi and Dio would go on to write much of what would become Black Sabbath’s career-revitalizing album, 1980’s Heaven and Hell. It was a platinum-seller that triggered a rebirth of not only the band but the heavy metal genre as a whole.
In the book, we also learn how Ronnie’s Sicilian grandmother helped give birth to “the Devil’s Horns,” the now ubiquitous hand signal of heavy metal brotherhood, one usually deployed along with a firm headbang! His grandmother called this ancient Sicilian symbol “the Maloik” and said it would protect young Dio from “the Evil Eye” and other ill omens. Dio started flashing it at Black Sabbath shows, as his answer to the peace symbol former front man Ozzy waved. It caught on not only at Sabbath shows but across and beyond the world of heavy metal fandom.
Dio goes on to describe the highs and lows of his time with Sabbath and in working with Iommi, another genius but often intractable guitar god. This portion provides the most VH-1 Behind the Music-styled dish on drugs and egos and how it finally led Dio to take the plunge and start his own band, in partnership with his wife/manager Wendy and Sabbath drummer Vinnie Appice. Once again, Dio shows how his singular commitment and personal sacrifice, now aided by his wife’s business smarts, created one of the most loved and enduring marquee acts of 1980s. Dio then goes on to the many peaks and valleys of his own namesake band, from its debut album featuring the classic “Rainbow in the Dark” through various personnel changes, breakups, reformations to their 10th and final album, 2004’s Master of the Moon.
Ronnie began writing this manuscript several years before being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009. To bring the book to completion, Wendy fleshed out unfinished sections and added some of her own observations, from her decades knowing and working with Ronnie. Journalist Mick Wall had interviewed Dio countless times and was brought in to add more detail and finalize the manuscript. With all that, the book has a casual, conversational tone that is all Ronnie.
Not covered in this book are Dio’s later years and his inspirational battle with cancer. While there are no solid plans for a second installment, Ronnie left Wendy notes for many stories that he wanted to tell about the years beyond where this book leaves off and his final struggle with can.
To celebrate the publication of the book, Wendy Dio will participate in an hour-long LiveSigning.com event produced by Premiere Collectibles on Wednesday, July 28 beginning at 3:00PM (Eastern time). Those who have pre-ordered the book here will have the opportunity to submit questions in advance for Wendy to answer during the event, which will stream live via the Ronnie James Dio Facebook page.
Brooklyn-based band Wild Yaks have shared a blistering live rendition of the fan-favorite track “Strawberry Wolf” from the upcoming Live At Rippers, their fifth LP and first live album, due July 16. Wild Yaks play an ecstatic fusion of punk rock and big-city folk reinforced with passionate vocals (often delivered in unison by the full membership).
Fittingly for a band that played the last show at Rippers before last year’s pandemic-related shutdown (at which this album was recorded), Wild Yaks are proud to be the first band back at the venue in 2021, setting a performance there for July 17th. In addition to this sure-to-be-wild night, the band has announced a record release party at Ridgewood, NY venue TV Eye on July 23rd.
The band was formed in the fall of 2007 in Brooklyn by singer/guitarist Rob Bryn and drummer/vocalist Martin Cartagena. While many players have made their way through the Yaks’ over the years, today’s lineup is Jose Aybar (bass), Patsy Carroll (guitar), Giovanni Kincade (Farfisa), Matt Walsh (guitar), plus Cartagena and Bryn.
The Yaks’ discography also includes the EP 10 Ships (Don’t die yet, 2009), and full-length albums Million Years (2012), Rejoice! God Loves Wild Yaks (2015), and Great Admirer (2019). The band’s music has been featured in numerous television shows and films, most notably their live performance in an episode of Law and Order SVU. They are hard at work writing new songs in Rockaway Beach and preparing for a summer of charged performances and communal magic.
New York avant-garde metal outfit Imperial Triumphant has just announced their Fall 2021 U.S. headline tour. The band will be joined by Pyrrhon starting October 15th in Boston and wrapping up on October 31st in Brooklyn. Imperial Triumphant will be touring in support of their most recent full-length album Alphaville, which came out Summer of 2020.
The album was produced and engineered at New York’s Menegroth Studio by Colin Marston and Trey Spruance (Mr. Bungle). The album also features a number of special guests such as Tomas Haake (Meshuggah) on taiko drums, Phlegeton (Wormed) on guest vocals, Yoshiko Ohara (ex-Bloody Panda) as part of the choirs, RK Halvorson as part of the Barbershop quartet, Sarai Chrzanowski as part of the choirs, Andromeda Anarchia (Folterkammer, Dark Matters) as part of the choirs, J Walter Hawkes on the trombone, and Colin Marston on guitars.
Imperial Triumphant officially began in 2012 with their debut release Abominamentvm. The line-up consisted of Zachary Ilya Ezrin on guitar/vocals and the rhythm section of their NYC contemporaries: Pyrrhon. Soon they met with drummer Kenny Grohowski and began to feature him on their next two releases Goliath (EP) and Abyssal Gods (LP). In 2015, they introduced bassist Steven Blanco to their lineup. In 2016, they released another EP Inceste, which saw them tour heavily that year with temporary second guitarist Max Gorelick. 2018 brought about their magnum statement, Vile Luxury. The full-length album, written collectively by the trio (Ezrin, Grohowski, Blanco), was a homage to their hometown New York City that brought jazz elements to the avant-garde black metal style in a way never achieved before. Imperial Triumphant is looking forward to performing their newest full-length album, Alphaville, which catapulted them to national recognition.
New York based cover song reinventors, TRAGEDY, are to release heavy metal interpretations of disco, soft-rock, and pop favorites on their remastered “best-of” album, Disco Balls To The Wall, including new single “Sweet Caroline”. The album will be out July 30 via Napalm Records.
TRAGEDY’s interpretation of the Neil Diamond anthem includes heavy riffs and organ, but their music video follows the band deep into the woods of horror.
On the video’s meaning, TRAGEDY said, “This is the true story of when we went into the woods to shoot a music video, then things turned all Blair Witch and True Blood on us. An unlikely scenario, for sure. But no more unlikely than a metal tribute to the Bee Gees doing a King Neil Diamond song. The chilling tale of when “sweet” Caroline and her creatures set their sights on a group of innocent, handsome, muscular musicians, luring them to their untimely undeaths.”
The band’s first offering with Napalm Records will include TRAGEDY’s unique twist on hits from Abba, Toto, Bonnie Tyler, and Adele, just to name a few. These fearsome brothers drop the perfect selection of all-time favorite disco, soft-rock, and pop favorites – completely reimagining them as glorious, red-hot heavy metal treatments.
“Disco Balls to the Wall is the biggest, sexiest collection of hits we’ve ever released.” TRAGEDY added, “It’s as if the Bee Gees turned into werewolves, ate some teens, then bred with the local dog population; thus creating the world’s most beastly recordings of disco and soft-rock songs ever made. Sharing this album with your friends and lovers will make you 500% more desirable.”
The band have covered The Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love”, “Stayin’ Alive” and “Tragedy”, the tunes of Slayer in “Raining Blood”, and “It’s Raining Men” from American duo The Weather Girls, to form an absolutely never heard before album. Disco Balls to the Wall is finally topped by a smashing live version of Donna Summer’s fabulous “Hot Stuff”, featuring Alex Skolnick of Testament on lead guitar.
Disco Balls to the Wall Tracklisting:
1. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 2. You’re The One That I Want 3. Evil / Baker Street 4. Stayin’ Alive 5. Sweet Caroline 6. Raining Blood / It’s Raining Men 7. How Deep Is Your Love 8. Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In 9. Africa 10. Total Eclipse Of The Heart 11. Tragedy 12. Dancing Queen 13. Skyfall 14. Hot Stuff
Disco Balls to the Wall will be available in three formats: a 2-LP Gatefold (Orange transparent) that is strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide, a 1-CD Digipack, and a digital album.
Watch the Cinematic Music Videoof when TRAGEDY met “Sweet Caroline” here.
Upstate NY-based indie rocker Frank Palangi is here to show that rock and roll never dies. Palangi released his newest song “Fire Of Love” on June 25, the first track shared by Frank ahead of his upcoming EP due out this fall.
The track lives up to its flaming title, bringing heavy electric guitar with lively metal and grunge influences. Palangi explained that “Fire Of Love” explores how love is the driving force that fixes our mistakes, sets us free and, of course, brings us all together.
Creating a hard rock love song complete with strong guitar flares, Palangi argues, adds a “bring it on baby” attitude and swagger to all of these emotions. Palangi’s gravelly, gritty and vibrato vocals also add an edge to his music, appealing to a wide scope of rock fans.
Palangi began pursuing music at the young age of 13, teaching himself guitar, bass, drums and recording techniques. He aimed to blend different genre styles, specifically citing the influence of ’80s and ’90s rock as well as post grunge and heavy metal.
I was a shy kid with health issues growing up so no sports, so I turned to creative outlets. Learning from those decades, I wasn’t going for the typical drinking, smashing hotel rooms as the rocker lifestyle is known for. It could be more about the music, the positive elements, that so many people get drawn into and yes, that rock n roll rebel yell to stand up for yourself.
Frank Palangi
Palangi most recently shared the music video for his song “Bring On The Fear” back in January, which addressed the turmoil and need for togetherness during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Fire Of Love” brings a new mood for the summer and is currently available to stream.
Motörhead are one of the great metal bands of legend, with a long history of playing multiple gigs throughout the State dating back to their first US tour in 1981: New York City, Poughkeepsie, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo – these cities saw numerous Motörhead gigs in the years the band toured America. Not Albany.
Oddly, this 2000 gig at Northern Lights remains the only headline show Motörhead ever played in the Albany/Saratoga area, EVER, in 40 years of being a band, almost 35 years of touring America. I don’t count Poughkeepsie in that – 1.5 hours south of Albany, a much smaller city, yet they first played there in 1981 on the ‘Ace of Spades’ tour opening for Ozzy, played again in ’83 headlining with Robbo, and played The Chance and Mid-Hudson Civic Center many, many times since.
Lemmy and the boys played lots of times, in little, backwater Poughkeepsie, but they’ve hardly ever played in the much bigger Albany area (the only other times were opening for Ozzy at SPAC in ’92 – Mikkey Dee’s first-ever gig with Motörhead – and more recently at Glens Falls with Megadeth and SPAC with Slayer, both in 2012). Albany was rarely blessed with Motörhead. You almost always had to road-trip.
Anyway, this was a cool bill. Speedealer opened (original name: REO Speedealer, until the classic rock band threatened suit), a band I’ve seen a few times, with Fu Manchu and (several times) The Supersuckers. Good band, noisy and punky, and they were good this night.
The Supersuckers, one of my favorite bands, played next. At the time they were pushing the fantastic ‘Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll’ album, one of their best. I’d discovered them around the time of their ‘Sacrilicious’ album, but this was the first time (of many) I’d seen them. This was still the ‘classic’ Eddie/Rontrose/Thunder/Dancing Eagle lineup, and they crushed. Played like 15 songs in 40 minutes, one after the other, short, fast, no-nonsense real punk-metal-rock with a few funny stage raps from Eddie.
I don’t know why more metal fans don’t worship this band. It was a well-balanced set, mixing new ‘Evil Powers’ songs (the set-opening title track, “Santa Rita High”, “I Want the Drugs”, “Gone Gamblin”), with some older blazers (“Beat to Shit”, “Doublewide”, “She’s My Bitch”, “Creepy Jackalope Eye”, “Mudhead”), a few covers (WILLIE NELSON’s “Bloody Mary Morning” and “Whiskey River”, and a tease of THIN LIZZY’s “Cowboy Song”) before the concluding Satanic headbanging glory of “Born with a Tail”. Fantastic band, killer opening set.
Nashville Pussy followed. Liked the ‘Double Live Gonzo’-inspired name, fun album titles like ‘Let Them Eat Pussy’ and their fuck-off attitude, but the music never caught me. So, never really a fan of this band, don’t dig the vocals, but I remember they did play AC/DC’s “Kicked In The Teeth”, which is a great cover choice, and everyone who was there remembers clearly inebriated bassist Corey Parks’ boobs repeatedly falling out of her tank top. Other than that: eh.
Motörhead of course then went on and conquered all. My recall is that the place was not anywhere near empty, but not packed to the rafters either. Maybe this is why Motörhead never play headline gigs here.
This was the ‘We Are Motörhead’ tour, a great album. The title track is one of my favorite Motörhead songs and a great opening number. In 2000 they were still playing a fair amount of ‘newer’ (i.e. post-1990) Motörhead songs, whereas by the end in 2015 they’d gone to the majority of the set being Fast Eddie-era stuff, which of course is some of the most classic metal ever, but leaves aside some great stuff. The cool ‘deep album’ track for the show was “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, but they played many post-Eddie songs (a roaring “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)”, “Over Your Shoulder”, “Civil War”, “Born to Raise Hell”, “Stay Out of Jail”, “Sacrifice”, “Going to Brazil”), plus a slew of neck-snapping expected classics: “Bomber” and “No Class” early on, “Dead Men” and an all-conquering “Orgasmatron” mid-set, and the face-removing “Iron Fist” and “Killed by Death” to conclude the regular set, with “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill”, as always the usual encore songs. It was LOUD. Lemmy presided over all like the undisputed king of volume and unassailable cool he was. He is missed. All hail the late, great Lem, and the almighty Motörhead.
Setlists
Supersuckers – Evil Powers of Rock’n’Roll, Santa Rita High, Luck, Beat To Shit, I Want The Drugs, Doublewide, Creepy Jackalope Eye, Mudhead, Gone Gamblin’, She’s My Bitch, How To Maximize Your Kill Count, Bloody Mary Morning, Whiskey River, Born With a Tail
Nashville Pussy: Struttin’ Cock, Piece of Ass, Wrong Side of a Gun, 5 Minutes to Live, High as Hell, Shoot First and Run Like Hell, She’s Got the Drugs, Go to Hell, Kicked in the Teeth, I’m the Man, Go Motherfucker Go
Motörhead: We Are Motörhead, Bomber, No Class, I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care), Over Your Shoulder, Civil War, Metropolis, God Save The Queen, Born To Raise Hell, Stay Out Of Jail, Dead Men Tells No Tales, Sacrifice/Drum Solo, Orgasmatron, Going To Brazil, Iron Fist, Killed By Death, Ace of Spades, Overkill
