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LIVE SHOWS, ROCKIN' NEWS

ATOMIC PUNKS

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FAN HALEN HITS UP THE MEAN STREETS OF THOUSAND OAKS

liveHard-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-1Fan 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.

wpid-20140813_182059_1.jpgThe 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!

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LIVE SHOWS, ROCKIN' NEWS

HEAVY MENTAL

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Robert Trujillo

ROBERT TRUJILLO TO REUNITE WITH MASS MENTAL AUG. 26 

mass-mental-whiskyMetallica 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.

Get tickets for the Whisky show here.

LIVE SHOWS, ROCKIN' NEWS

‘BETTY’ TURNS 20

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HELMET HIGHLIGHTS ’94 CLASSIC AT 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.

 

 

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APPETITE FOR METAL

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Axl Rose and Vince Neil

WHISKY SERVES UP DOUBLE SHOT OF METAL WITH HOLLYWOOD ROSES & MOTLEY TOO

a7f8f-hr-axlSure, it’s been awhile since Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue played the Sunset Strip. But if you have enough Night Train Express and head to the Whisky A Go-Go tonight, you, like Bowling for Soup, may be able to drift back to 19, 19 1985!

Perhaps the the next best thing to a real Guns/Motley double-bill, local legends Hollywood Roses (right) and Motley Too (below) will be visiting the Whisky tonight to do a little dancing with Mr. Browntstone and shouting at the Devil while keeping the spirit of Sunset strip-launched heavy metal alive!

SoCal rockers Never Justified, who cite GN’R as a key influence, along with Foo Fighters, Zeppelin and Slash, are also on the bill and making the Saturday night event the band’s record release showcase for Never Justified’s debut EP.

Also set to hit the Whisky stage tonight, Sept. 14, is OC Bay, a local duo delivering original tunes and familiar covers. Get more deets here.

2f0f3-hollywoodrosesMore rockin’ upcoming shows at the Whisky:

• Phoenix glam rock stalwarts, Tuff – Sept. 21

• Industrial rockers Powerman 5000 – Sept. 25

•  Dizzy Reed‘s Hookers & Blow – Oct. 7

•  Metal-maricahi mash-up of Metalchi – Oct. 11

• Concord, Cali. thrashers Death Angel – Oct. 19

• Michigan hit-makers I See Stars – Oct. 31

• Local nu-metal innovators Otep – Nov. 9

 • Sunset Strip rock refugees L.A. Guns – Dec. 2

MUSIC FESTIVALS, ROCKIN' NEWS

DETROIT ROCK CITY

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METALLICA REVEALS SITE OF ORION FEST

Generally, when it comes to Metallica, we’d travel anywhere they may roam to see the iconic metal monsters rock a stage…but Detroit?! Um…WTH?!?

On Thursday, Dec. 20, the band revealed a few more details about its second official Orion Music + More festival, the two-day event that debuted  last June in Atlantic City and featured ‘tallica headlining both nights.

james-hetfieldOrion 2013 is set for June 8 and 9. However, unlike other major rock fests like Indio, California’s Coachella and Chicago’s Lollapalooza, Orion is heading out on the road and shifting locations to the Motor City.

“More information will be coming on this exciting partnership with one of the most unique cities in the country – Detroit,” writes the band in its announcement.

Now, we realize that the East Coast is still recovering from hurricane Sandy, and we’re not trying to diss Detroit or anything but…the Motor City could certainly use some help in the PR department. Leading thousands of metal fans into such risky — from what we gather from news headlines — territory is a bit unusual. So, unfortunately, we’re gonna sit this one out and instead look forward to the (potential) Rolling Stones gig at Coachella 2013 in April!

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Maiden L.A.

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PAUL DI’ANNO, THE ‘KILLER’ VOICE THAT LAUNCHED IRON MAIDEN, IS SET TO COVER THE ICONIC METAL BAND’S EARLY CLASSICS AT THE WHISKY JAN. 20

killersIf you were too stoned in the late ’70s/early ’80s or are one of those youngins who didn’t know that iconic British metal band Iron Maiden had a badass frontman before Bruce Dickinson, you should make a New Year’s resolution now to check out Paul Di’Anno at the Sunset Strip’s world-famous Whisky A Go Go on January 20.

Before Dickinson first rocked the mic for Maiden on 1982’s groundbreaking heavy metal masterpiece The Number of the Beast, and just after the band’s first two vocalists, Paul Day and Dennis Wilcock, bailed, Di’Anno fronted Maiden from 1978 through 1981 and managed to crank out a small but awesomely impressive collection of albums. Before rock and roll debauchery and personality conflicts within Maiden led to Di’Anno and the band parting ways, he set the foundation for Iron Maiden’s success with the now-classic albums Iron Maiden and Killers and the live EP Maiden Japan.

beast-singing-with-iron-maiden-drugs-groupies-whole-paul-dianno-paperback-cover-artDi’Anno released his memoir, The Beast, in 2010 and has forged ahead as a solo artist as well as a frontman for various hard-rock bands, including Praying Mantis, Battlezone and Killers.

More recently, Di’Anno has signed on as a special guest vocalist on ex-Ozzy Osbourne Band shredder Jake E. Lee‘s upcoming solo album, due in 2013.

Aside from Lee’s project, the singer hasn’t released new material since Battlezone’s 2001 album Cessation of Hostilities. Di’Anno did, however, release a cool compilation of his early work with his famous former band on the 2010 collection The Early Iron Maiden Songbook.

All things considered, it sounds like Di’Anno’s Whisky show on January 20, which is part of his worldwide “Running Free Again Tour,” is going to be a very loud and awesome sonic stroll down memory lane during his Iron Maiden years.

We can’t think of a more rockin’ way to reminisce. Get details on the Whisky show here.

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Return of the White Trash Renegade

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Big B

BIG B TAKES A BREAK FROM RECORDING NEW ALBUM TO HEADLINE THE WHISKY DEC. 27

The Whisky A Go-Go has the perfect remedy for anyone trying to shake those lame holiday songs outta their cabeza by bringing rap-rock renegade Bryan “Big B” Mahoney to the Strip on December 27 for an all-ages show.

Big BBig B has been active lately, tweeting about the progress he’s making on his long-awaited follow-up to last year’s stellar breakthrough Music for Misfits, his seventh and unarguably best studio release in an already impressive arsenal.

If the Upland-born performer’s Whisky visit is even half as awesome as his Viper Room stint last November, it should be a smokin’ show — and even better if Big B decides to debut some new tunes.

Get ticket info. for the December 27 Whisky show, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m., here.

Check out the Vegas transplant “hunting for hits” in his latest video update from  the studio, which he tweeted on November 30.

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Warner Drive’s ‘House’ Party

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Warner-Drive

SUNSET STRIP FAVES WARNER DRIVE TO ROCK H.O.B. WITH SURPRISE SHOW & PRE-PARTY WITH FANS, DEC. 3

Great news for L.A. music fans looking for something a bit more exciting than sitting around listening to stale Christmas carols and re-watching It’s A Wonderful Life for the zillionth time on Monday night. Instead, why not get your face rocked off by some full-throttle, straight-forward original rock and roll by local faves, Sunset Strip refugees Warner Drive?

261178_391071537639587_588980207_nFrontman Jonny Law and the band have just confirmed a last-minute gig filling in as the opener for Steel Panther at West Hollywood’s House of Blues on Monday, December 3. Warner Drive is slated to rock the main stage at around 9:30 p.m.

Fresh off its first European tour, the L.A. band is working on its third studio album and will be showcasing some new tunes from the 2013 release! (Although, we’ll never get tired of hearing “The Scarecrow” or “OK K-Go” from WD’s latest album, K-Go, and the badbass ballad “Broken” and “Viper Room” from their debut, Fully Loaded!)

Plus…it gets better! The House of Blues is hosting a pre-party for Warner Drive in the club’s upstairs VIP lounge, the Foundation Room. Fans can inquire about the pre-party when they show up and will be directed to the WD bash. Doors open around 8 p.m.

Check out Warner Drive’s Facebook page for all the details. See you at the show!

MUSIC FESTIVALS, ROCKIN' NEWS

Meet The Kavanaghs

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AFTER STEALING THE SPOTLIGHT AT CULTURE COLLIDE, ARGENTINA’S THE KAVANAGHS ARE SET TO ROCK THE WHISKY OCTOBER 13

So, what do four guys from Argentina who were raised on equal parts Beatles, Beach Boys and Badfinger know about playing authentic powerhouse British and American rock?

Well, as Rosario-based band The Kavanaghs proved at L.A.’s Culture Collide music fest this past weekend, a helluva lot!

In fact, when it comes to music, these guys speak the language loud and clear, effortlessly infusing Sixties Brit and American classic rock stylings around memorable original English-language songs that reinvent contemporary rock and roll without disrespecting its past.

The quartet was part of Culture Collide’s four-day (Oct. 4-7) multi-bill lineup of some of the best new bands from around the world. And all that global creative energy and vast array of music styles combusted in an amp-shaking showcase of great sets by an eclectic mix of artists that included Sweden’s Icona Pop, Britain’s The Wombats, Poland’s Coldair and New Orleans’ Royal Teeth, which had the parking lot packed and jumping along to its groovy set.

However, it was The Kavanaghs’ rockin’ show on Sunday that won the weekend.

The band — frontman/bassist Tiago Galindez, drummer Sebastian Cairo and guitarists Alejandro Pin and Diego Vazquez — ripped through a tight set of tunes from its first two albums, including the stellar summer release Love Conquers Pain.

The cool rush of fast and furious tracks like “That’s All You Need to Know,” the badass Beatles-esque anthem “Friday On My Mind” and the addictive “Need a Pity Day” filled the room at Taix with a steady stream of curious indie-music fans that danced and nodded their heads straight through to the stellar set closer, “Tonight,” the first single from Love.

Los Angeles rock fans get another opportunity to catch the band’s killer live show, at the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go on October 13, before the band heads back to Argentina to record its next album.

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Social D. Returns to the Strip

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GETTIN’ SOCIAL ON SUNSET: Mike Ness and the band are set to rock the Sunset Strip’s House of Blues Dec. 13-15 and 27-29.

SOCIAL DISTORTION BRINGS H.O.B. TOUR TO THE SUNSET STRIP 

Ever-touring punk-rock renegades Social Distortion are kicking off a tour of House of Blues venues across the country beginning October 18 in Cleveland.

Expectedly, Mike Ness and the gang are selling out every stop on the tour, which hits the Sunset Strip’s H.O.B. in December for six shows! The O.C. rockers play three nights from December 13 to 15, then return a few nights later, from December 27 to 29.

The band is playing all over So. Cal, too, in support of Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, headlining H.O.B. shows in The O.C. and San Diego before and after the L.A. dates. They’re also playing Sin City, of course. Get the full tour sched here.

Better yet…Ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan is opening Social D.’s December 29 Sunset Strip show with his smokin’ band Loaded.

Ness has also invited a load of other cool bands, like Caddillac Tramps, to support the iconic punkers out on the road. Check the run down here to see what bands are opening the various shows.

See you at the shows!