I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day. But sometimes, I just wanna rock and roll all day and party every night. And at other times, I just wanna sleep. 🎶
FAN HALEN HITS UP THE MEAN STREETS OF THOUSAND OAKS
Hard-rocking Van Halen tribute band Fan Halen drew a big, fun crowd to Thousand Oaks on August 13 for a scorching, free all-ages show in the Janss Mall courtyard. Faux Diamond Dave and his skillfully-costumed colleagues sent an appreciative crowd of rock fans of every age back in time to 1984 and earlier with two solid sets that celebrated all the timeless hits of the iconic Pasadena band’s pre-Sammy Hagar catalog.
Fan Halen may not have VH’s famous Marshall stacks but they still managed to shake the foundation of Thousand Oaks with spot-on covers of killer rockers like “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love,” “Atomic Punk,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Jaime’s Cryin’,” and “Everybody Wants Some.” The band also bravely tackled Eddie Van Halen‘s signature soloing on “Eruption” and had much of the audience giving the two-fingered, devil’s horn metal salute in approval.
The colorful crowd itself, with many fans proudly sporting VH tour jerseys, tatts and patches, helped create a vibe that made the two-hour event feel like a drift back to the awesome Eighties.
Check out the scene below.
Catch Fan Halen next at Pala Casino’s Infinity Showroom on August 23. The 21-and-over, 8 p.m. show is free!
ROBERT TRUJILLO TO REUNITE WITH MASS MENTAL AUG. 26Â
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo is keeping good on a promise made earlier this summer and is heading back to the Sunset Strip to rock the Whisky A Go Go with a reunited Mass Mental on August 26.
The all-ages show will feature Trujillo once again jamming with his funky, pre-Metallica, art-rock bandmates: vocalist Benji Webbe, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco and drummer Ken Schalk.
Making the historic heavy metal experience even more cool is the addition of guest vocalist Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe.
The L.A. show is a warm-up gig for Mass Mental’s September 6 slot at Germany’s Warwick Open Day music fest.
KISS’ GENE SIMMONS GIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THEÂ SECRETS TO SUCCESS: SPEAK ENGLISH & GET LEGAL
One of the world’s most famous American immigrants, legendary rocker Gene Simmons is sounding off on a controversial political topic that is dividing the nation: immigration reform.
In a recent interview with TheHuffington Post, the famously quotable rock superstar bizarrely goes off topic while answering a fan’s question about the band’s longevity. Simmons brings up his immigrant past before seguing into a speech on immigration, and he doesn’t hold back while giving advice to illegal immigrants seeking success in America: “Learn to speak goddamn English…and get legal.”
“I’m actually saying the thing that needs to be said because the politically-correct climate is bullshit,” Simmons says unapologetically in the Huff Post Live video interview before kicking into a near-10-minute dissertation on his views on immigration reform and the current influx of illegals into U.S. border states, including the New Yorker’s adopted home state of California.
‘As an immigrant, I’m telling you: Learn to speak goddamn English…If you make the effort then all the possibilities of this culture will open up for you &Â give you all the rewards that I’ve gotten.’
“[Immigrants] have an inferred fiduciary duty to learn English, like I did, be a legal immigrant, like I am…make the effort to learn the culture, assimilate…agree to one culture that we can all communicate with and then go off and [speak] however you wanna talk,” Simmons advises.
“You don’t want to upset anybody by saying, ‘Learn to speak goddamn English,'” he adds. “So, as an immigrant, I’m telling you: Learn to speak goddamn English. It is the key that will unlock the keys to the Kingdom. If you make the effort then all the possibilities of this [American] culture will open up for you and give you all the rewards that I’ve gotten.”
Simmons, who emigrated from Israel to Queens in 1949 at age 8, has done more than most moguls in helping to stimulate the American economy, especially in California, with his seemingly unstoppable KISS empire. In addition to the arena-selling band and countless related merchandise, the KISS enterprise also includes coffee houses, rock-themed restaurants, books, reality shows and, most recently, the launch of the Los Angeles-based LA KISS arena football team and its related reality show, 4th & Loud.
The self-made mega-mogul and New York Times best-selling author, who has a new advice book out this fall titled Me, Inc., has never shied away from addressing political and social issues in the media, usually with unrestrained candor and brilliant sarcasm and regardless of any concerns over ruffling a “politically-correct climate.” And now, it’s great to see this unwavering American hero tackling tough topical issues while also graciously offering fellow immigrants sound advice on how to secure the “American Dream.”
Landmark Sunset Strip rock club The Viper Room celebrates its 21st anniversary this month as one of the city’s best venues for live shows. To mark the milestone, from August 11 to 16, The Viper Room, at 8852 Sunset Boulevard, is hosting a week of special shows featuring an electric and eclectic mix of music, including an all-star salute to classic rock. Check out the details here.
Great acoustics, fantastic sight lines from anywhere in the club, comfy vibe and an always awesome roster of diverse rock-oriented artists has kept Viper Room one of Sunset and Clark’s favorite hot spots on the Strip since we first stepped foot in the club not too long after it first opened its doors. Here’s some of our favorite Viper Room moments from the first 21 years…
FAVORITE SHOW BY A LOCAL ACT:
After randomly stumbling upon Warner Drive one night during a multi-band bill a few years ago, the Hollywood rockers immediately became–and remain–our favorite local band. And we made that decision before the band was done with its first song.
FAVORITE SHOW BY A NATIONAL ACT:
Bryan “Big B” Mahoney in 2012. The hip-hoppin’ white trash renegade rocked the Viper Room hardcore with nothing but a mic, a kick-ass three-piece band and an arsenal of redneck party anthems. The set still has us baffled as to why B isn’t bigger than Kid Rock yet.
BEST VIPER ROOM MOMENT:
Checking out a multi-band bill in the mid-Nineties and watching singer-songwriter Brian Grillo (right), frontman of legendary, in-your-face, Silver Lake-launched homocore band Extra Fancy, literally drop his mic mid-show and jump off the Viper Room stage before a packed crowd to chase a heckling homophobe right out of the club!
FAVORITE ROCK STAR SIGHTING:
The time we turned and noticed that the guy standing next to us at the back of the club nodding his head to the music at a random show was one of our all-time favorite artists, Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis.
COOLEST VIPER ROOM SHOW EVER:
In what was probably the hardest rockin’ show since Guns N’ Roses used to rock Sunset, Viper Room regulars the Lonely Drunks Club Band celebrated the 25th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction in 2012 by inviting the vocalists for some of L.A.’s best bands, including Brando’s Island and GN’R tribute band Hollywood Roses, to front the mic on a track-by-track cover set paying homage to the hits-packed metal classic. Axl would approve.
MOST INDELIBLE IMPRESSION:
In addition to bringing in some of our favorite national acts and introducing us to great local bands like Warner Drive and Lonely Drunks Club Band, The Viper Room has also helped to hype some very cool visual artists whose original work has adorned the club’s exterior over the years, including our faves David Flores and Becca.
MOST SURREAL ROCK MOMENT:
If we weren’t there to witness it, we wouldn’t have believed it when then-newly signed Atlantic artists Never the Bride performed a record release show for the British band’s 1995 self-titled major label debut that included a powerful cover of “Going to California” that was indisputably on par with Led Zeppelin‘s untouchable original.
KISSÂ SCORES PRIME SPOT ON ROCK ROW TO HYPE NEW TVÂ SHOW
Rock legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley tower over the Sunset Strip’s Rock Row in a hot new billboard hyping the founding KISS members’ latest project: the premiere of the AMC reality TV show 4th and Loud, which goes behind the scenes of the L.A. KISS arena football team.
The billboard, which features Simmons and Stanley sans their iconic makeup, sits above Aahs! at Sunset and San Vicente and overlooks the Whisky A Go-Go.
It’s great to see KISS in the WeHo ‘hood again following the unveiling of the band’s billboard for John Varvatos that lit up La Cienega earlier this year.
‘PARTY’ PEOPLE: Chester Bennington & Dave “Phoenix” Farrell of Linkin Park.
LINKIN PARK & KILLER BE KILLED GO FOR THE JUGULAR &Â REVITALIZEÂ ROCK RADIO WITHÂ THRASH-METAL MOSHERS Â Â
By David Ciminelli
Been cranking Linkin Park‘s The Hunting Party for a few weeks now and it’s exciting and refreshing to hear a brilliant band once again expanding its sound into wildly risky territories and in boundless new directions — even if it does take some getting used to LP’s hard and heavy, schizophonic shift in style.
The Agoura Hills rockers don’t hold back on the aggressive sonic assault that kicks off LP’s sixth and latest studio album with “Keys to the Kingdom,” which sees Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda and crew quickly laying claim to the music charts once again with the awesome thrash-rock anthem. SSMF 2013 headliners Linkin Park keeps the furious fretwork scorching right in up to the album closer, “A Line in the Sand.” The band tames the tempo on the badass quasi-ballad that is musically on par with the Linkin Park classic “My December.”
On a kick-ass collection of smoldering, in-your-face molten-metal anthems that  feature cameos by a number of iconic rockers, like Tom Morello (“Drawbar”) and System of A Down‘s Daron Malakian (“Rebellion”), it’s Helmet frontman Page Hamilton that effortlessly helps the band turn up the adrenaline even further on the blistering “All for Nothing.” And taking their powerhouse sound into heavier territories, Linkin Park gives Metallica a run for its money on the epic “Guilty All the Same,” a melodic metal mosher featuring legendary hip-hopper Rakim.
The Hunting Party indisputably proves that a band formerly pigeon-holed as “Kings of Nu Metal” are more rightly justified as reigning “Kings of Rock.”
Assisting in the welcome resurgence of hard rock is supergroup Killer Be Killed, which is fronted by The Dillinger Escape Plan frontman Greg Puciato and includes Sepultura legend Max Cavalera on co-vocals and guitar, Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Dave Elitch, formerly of The Mars Volta.”
Recent Whisky A Go-Go headliners Killer Be Killed slay with the speed and ferocity of Motörhead and the merciless guitar assault of Megadeth on the band’s relentlessly rockin’ self-titled debut, which was recorded at Downtown L.A.’s Fortress recording studio. The dozen tracks echo with old school thrash metal and punk influences, and out of 12 solid and smoking-hot tracks, sonic stand outs include “Snakes of Jehovah” and the esoteric “Wings of Feather and Wax,” which will melt your ear wax with its blistering grooves and a vocal delivery that would make Disturbed proud — or very envious.
Killer Be Killed and The Hunting Party are the types of releases that Slipknot would listen to and exclaim, “Damn, now that’s heavy!” And any hard rock fan that has ever owned — and/or continue to proudly wear — a Slayer or Venom t-shirt will be won over by LP and KBK’s infectious new grooves.
SUNSET &Â CLARK’S TOP 12 GREATESTÂ ENDURING HEAVY METALÂ BANDSÂ
When Ozzy Osbourne proclaimed in 1982 that “you can’t kill rock and roll,” he and fellow enduring metal icons like Metallica, Motley Crue and KISS have gone on to prove that notion over and over again by keeping arenas packed and the charts rocking decades after first plugging in their amps.
Rockin’ and rollin’ all night and partying every day are only a few of the enviable rewards of rock superstardom, which for some bands, ahem, Quiet Riot, often ends as quickly as it begins. Or, once-iconic groups continue to carry the torch, but in name only, such as the current incarnation of Axl Rose‘s Guns N’ Roses and the Sebastian Bach-less Skid Row.
But that’s not the case with the monsters of metal below that are as relevant today as they were back when your favorite guitarists wore mascara and had big, poofy hair.
1. METALLICA Launched in Hollywood, California in 1981, Metallica has survived the death of original bassist Cliff Burton, image controversy and an infamous battle with Napster only to come out on top over 30 years later as the reigning kings of metal.
James Hetfield and the band have revealed that Metallica is working on a new album for a possible 2015 release. Lars Ulrich recently confirmed to Rolling Stonethat the project is in the “fourth inning.”
2. MOTLEY CRUE In the Motley Crue classic “Kickstart My Heart,” when frontman Vince Neil sang, “When we started this band all we needed, needed was a laugh. Years gone by, I’d say we’ve kicked some ass,” he wasn’t kidding! Since forming in 1981, the Bad Boys of Hollywood have become one of the biggest-selling American rock bands in history, selling over 80 million albums worldwide. Crue is currently rocking the planet on its farewell tour that makes a stop at Hollywood Bowl on July 21.
3. VAN HALEN Surviving three incarnations of the band and years of behind-the-scenes boozy brawls, health scares, rocky on/off reunions and personality clashes, the near-original lineup of Van Halen, fronted by David Lee Roth, continues to rock arenas and the charts — minus bassist Michael Anthony, who has been replaced by Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen. In April 2014, on his podcast The Roth Show, the singer teased about currently “working on a great Van Halen project.”
4. KISS In 1973, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss put on makeup, plugged in their gear and changed rock ‘n’ roll forever, becoming the most iconic and recognizable band in the world. Since then, KISS has endured lineup changes and short-lived reunions to become a certified pop culture institution. The ever-touring rockers recently launched an arena football team, L.A. KISS, and are currently moonlighting as models for fashion designer John Varvatos.
5. IRON MAIDEN Formed in the mid-Seventies, British metal masters Iron Maiden had almost as many different band members as Spinal Tap had exploding drummers. But when Bruce Dickinson joined in 1981, the band released one future classic after another, with “Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills” becoming Maiden’s signature songs. Still packing arenas on its 2012-2014 Maiden England World Tour, Dickinson and crew also recently headlined Europe’s Monsters of Rock fest at Castle Donington for a fifth time.
6. JUDAS PRIEST Sure, Britain’s Judas Priest had other frontmen throughout its career, but only Rob Halford really matters.
The on-again/off-again singer has been back with Priest since the early 2000s, and band tells Rolling Stone that their Summer 2014 release, Redeemer of Souls, is going to be a “very heavy record.”
7. BLACK SABBATH Black Sabbath, which formed in England in 1968 and has had various famous lead singers, has regrouped again with original frontman Ozzy Osbourne in 2011. Since then, Sabbath has been rocking the world on a global tour, and the charts with the band’s latest album, 13.
8. BON JOVI Sure, Richie Sambora may be M.I.A., but with Jon Bon Jovi at the mic, Bon Jovi will undoubtedly continue to rock a million faces with sold-out arena shows. Rumors are swirling that Sambora is looking to step back into the band soon, and that’s awesome news, but his sudden departure didn’t damper the success of Bon Jovi’s 2013 Because We Can: The Tour, which proves the iconic band’s superstar success has come near to piquing just yet, not even after 30 years as the best American rock band on the planet.
9. DEF LEPPARD Powerhouse arena rockers Def Leppard lit the world on fire in 1983 with the British band’s third album, Pyromania. Instant rock classics like “Foolin’,” “Photograph” and “Rock of Ages” remain among Leppard’s concert staples, including on the band’s 2014 summer tour with KISS.
10. MEGADETH Legendary Hollywood thrash band Megadeth was launched in 1983 after frontman Dave Mustaine had a falling out with his former band, Metallica. Mustaine has since ended his feud and continues to keep Megadeth on the charts and selling out arenas alongside ’Tallica. Megadeth is currently in the studio working on the follow up to 2013’s Super Collider, which hit No. 6 the Billboard 200 albums chart.
11. SLAYER Southern California rockers Slayer have been bringing their brash brand of thrash metal to the masses since 1981, and the band shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In Spring 2014, Slayer debuted a new single, “Implode,” and announced that a new album is due in 2015.
12. ANTHRAX Anthrax put NYC’s thrash metal scene on the map in 1981 and went on to release countless hard rock hits, including “Bring the Noise,” “Indians,” “Antisocial” and, from 2011’s Worship Music, the 2012 single “I’m Alive.” Anthrax is currently touring and working on a new album to be released in Summer 2014.
HELMET HIGHLIGHTS ’94 CLASSIC ATÂ VIPER ROOM JULY 11
Hard rock fans will be getting a healthy serving of “Milquetoast” on July 11, when Helmet hits up the Sunset Strip to rock Viper Room with a special performance of Betty in its entirety.
The New York hard rockers are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Helmet’s critically acclaimed 1994 rock classic, which also includes the timeless tracks “Vaccination,” “Wilma’s Rainbow” and “Biscuits for Smut.”
In addition to performing Betty track-for-track, Page Hamilton and crew will likely crank out some of the band’s other amp-shaking killer classics, like “Exactly What You Wanted,” “Unsung,” “Gone,” “See You Dead” and the title track to the band’s latest release, 2010’s Seeing Eye Dog.
Joining band founder and frontman Hamilton in Helmet’s current line up is guitarist Dan Beeman, drummer Kyle Stevenson and bassist Dave Case.
Viper Room is located at 8852 Sunset. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Check Viper Room’s calendar for ticket details.
OLD TOWER RECORDS SUNSET LOCATION IS ‘FLIPPED’ AGAIN
WeHo has gotten yet another facelift! Innovative start-up Flipagram is bringing some youthful, edgy ambiance back to the old Tower Records Sunset location as the newest proprietor of the famous property in the heart of West Hollywood.
After Tower toppled in 2006, the shell of Tower Records Sunset at the corner of Sunset and Horn had it famous yellow and red exterior painted over numerous times in various shades as it housed a few different businesses of varying success.
Live on Sunset clothing store settled into the warehouse-size building for a few years before calling it quits in 2013. The site then became a random parking lot for a few months before a Halloween costumes pop-up shop rented the space last fall.
Flipagram set up shop on Sunset in June after launching online late last year. The good news is that the company seems to have a lot more in common with the former record retailer than other businesses that were housed at the old Tower location. Music-focused Flipagram lets users synch their choice of hit songs to their cell photos to create “short video stories” via the free app. It’s kind of like Instagram but with an added dose of cool courtesy of some Motley Crue or Def Leppard. And what could be better than sharing your photographs synched to “Photograph”?!?
DEMONS ON MELROSE: KISS BRINGS ROCKIN’ STYLE TO WEHO
Detroit (Rock City)-born designer John Varvatos is giving KISS Army members a good reason to trade in their uniforms and step-up their style by using KISS to showcase his latest menswear collection.  The front windows of Varvatos’ West Hollywood store at 8800 Melrose Ave at Robertson feature likenesses of the iconic band members donning the designer’s Spring 2014 fashions.
While we have never personally owned a man purse, we have to admit that no one looks more manly with one than the Demon himself.
The WeHo window display follows the recent unveiling of Varvatos’ KISS billboard on La Cienega featuring the New York band on its home turf and dressed to kill in designer suits from Varvatos’ Spring 2014 collection.
The couture designer also debuted a limited-edition KISS “Dressed to Kill” t-shirt, a double-sided tee that received the band’s blessing. The only downside to the cool collaboration? The t-shirt costs $118! We guess that if you want to look like a rock star you have to have a rock star’s income, too. Better brush up on those power chords!
SAINTS OF LOS ANGELES: SSMF 2011 honorees Motley Crue at House of Blues’ pre-fest party.
HOUSE OF BLUES CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF ROCKIN’Â SUNSET
We raise a toast today to House of Blues Sunset, which is celebrating 20 years of kicking ass on the world-famous Sunset Strip by bringing in some of the greatest rock shows around during its first two decades of decadence.
Aerosmith helped House of Blues Sunset kick open its doors with a show by the hit-making hard rockers 20 years ago today, April 22. Since then, the local hot spot in the heart of WeHo has hosted a rockin’ roster of local and international music artists. Further adding to its street cred, House of Blues Sunset is also the official host to the Sunset Strip Music Festival‘s annual pre-event kick-off party honoring SSMF’s honorees.
Some of our favorite shows over the past two decades include Pat Benatar, Foo Fighters, 311, The Doors, L.A. rock legends X, Tenacious D, Jars of Clay, Goo Goo Dolls, Social Distortion, Steel Panther, local faves Warner Drive (right) and cheering on Motley Crue at the band’s 2011 SSMF event, to name just a few of the superstar artists that have lured us back to Sunset and Olive again and again.
To celebrate the milestone, House of Blues Sunset is offering a 20 percent discount at the hot spot’s restaurant and store.
We spotted this rockin’ and random stencil art confession by prolific L.A. street artist Wrdsmth just off the Sunset Strip, outside Viper Room‘s Larrabee entrance. We imagine that, like us, most Angelenos totally empathize with half of this statement–and occasionally, the other half!
BULLETBOYSÂ TO ROCK RAINBOW’S PARKING LOT, APRIL 13
One of L.A.’s hardest rocking Sunset Strip bands of the late ’80s/early ’90s, BulletBoys is heading back to Rock Row on April 13 to shake the amps at iconic hot spot Rainbow Bar & Grill‘s Party in the Parking Lot.
Mark Torein is still fronting the mic for the local metal monsters that hit the mainstream with a bang in 1988 courtesy of BulletBoys’ badass, guitar-heavy scorcher “Smooth up in Ya,” from the band’s self-titled debut. The timeless track rocks just as hard today and is sure to be a highlight of Rainbow’s free event, which also includes sets by Hollywood-launched hard rock hit-makers Great White, Sunset Strip legend Tracii Guns (pictured right), Metal Blade stalwarts Bitch and more metal monsters that will turn back the clock to the awesome Eighties and keep the hard rock hits echoing throughout the heart of Rock Row all day and night on Sunday.
Rainbow is located at 9015 Sunset Boulevard. Party in the Parking Lot is free and kicks off at 2 p.m. in the back parking lot behind the Rainbow and Roxy. See you at the show!
KIX IS GONNA KICK OUT THE CLASSICS AT WHISKY’S NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH, DEC. 31!
Get ready to get your fuse blown with some hard-rockin’ classic metal when the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go brings Kix to the Sunset Strip for a special New Year’s Eve show on December 31.
The Maryland-launched metal monsters that scored a number of unforgettable hard rock classics disbanded in the mid-’90s for nearly a decade before reuniting and resurfacing in 2012 with the concert album Live in Baltimore. More recently, Kix was one of the last bands to ever play the now defunct Sunset Strip landmark Key Club when they headlined a show last March.
Now, with their return to the Sunset Strip with the Whisky’s December 31 show, frontman Steve Whiteman and the band are ready to start rockin’Â like Dokken with powerhouse hits like “Blow My Fuse,” “Cold Blood” and the most awesome heavy metal power ballad next to “Home Sweet Home”: the badass anti-suicide song “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”
Foxy Florida-based hard rockers Siren is opening the New year’s Eve show, and the band’s Zeppelin/Maiden-inspired grooves are also worth checking out. Whisky A Go-Go is located in the heart of Rock Row at 8901 Sunset Blvd. at Clark St., the crossroads where American rock n’ roll history was launched! Can’t wait to get Kix-ed in the cabeza with some hard-rocking authentic old-school metal on December 31!
Hard-rocking Van Halen tribute band Fan Halen drew a big, fun crowd to Thousand Oaks on August 13 for a scorching, free all-ages show in the Janss Mall courtyard. Faux Diamond Dave and his skillfully-costumed colleagues sent an appreciative crowd of rock fans of every age back in time to 1984 and earlier with two solid sets that celebrated all the timeless hits of the iconic Pasadena band’s pre-Sammy Hagar catalog.
Fan Halen may not have VH’s famous Marshall stacks but they still managed to shake the foundation of Thousand Oaks with spot-on covers of killer rockers like “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love,” “Atomic Punk,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Jaime’s Cryin’,” and “Everybody Wants Some.” The band also bravely tackled Eddie Van Halen‘s signature soloing on “Eruption” and had much of the audience giving the two-fingered, devil’s horn metal salute in approval.
The colorful crowd itself, with many fans proudly sporting VH tour jerseys, tatts and patches, helped create a vibe that made the two-hour event feel like a drift back to the awesome Eighties.
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