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Friday, July 4, 2014

Musical Tastes Volume 1: Beginnings and Crue-cial Elements

I'm kind of a dork about music. I'm not a musician. I've never learned to play a note of anything past the recorders and little blue keyboards that we would mess with in grade school music class. Once upon a time, I was able to play the riff from J. Geils Band's 'Centerfold' on the keys, but the intervening years have eroded that knowledge. I've often thought myself interested in learning to play guitar, but the truth is that I am not. I've come to realize this fairly recently.
 Still, I love music. Love it! My wife calls me the ultimate fan. So many of the people, places, and memories in my life are associated with music in my mind. Almost anything that happens or is said around me can bring a bit of music and lyrics out. I'm the guy who will randomly blurt out words to songs in the middle of conversation. Excuse me, I'm sorry. You were saying...?
 It's always played a huge role in my life, and I really can't remember it not being there. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad and his friends playing music loudly and singing along just as loudly. I remember hearing Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'What's Your Name' and imagining the singer to be a bald, bearded guy with crazy sunglasses and a big toothy smile, as if Elton John and Doctor Teeth from the Muppets had somehow made a child and named him Lynyrd Skynyrd. I would have been 5 or 6 then, and when I was a little older and began to explore Dad's records, I was surprised and a little dismayed to find that Ronnie Van Zant was actually a short, chubby guy with a blond skullet.
 Dad had tons of great records in that old fruit crate. Classics by The Beatles, Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, and the aforementioned Skynyrd.( Dad sometimes referred to them as Skinny Leonard. ) The collection also featured more obscure stuff by Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Spooky Tooth, Black Oak Arkansas, and early REO Speedwagon albums that were actual rock and roll. I spent endless hours listening to those records through my headphones.
 Dads albums weren't all I had. I was also discovering music on my own. This was the mid-eighties, and for my 8th birthday I received my first boombox and Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' on cassette. I played that tape so much that my parents threatened to reclaim it. Other acts making the Travis rotation included Van Halen, Fat Boys, the Hooters, and Tears For Fears.

 http://youtu.be/zB1Q-PfUvN0

 In 1987, when I was 11, two things happened that would alter my music tastes at the time.
 The first was the discovery of snark. I bought an album by a 4-piece band out of Kansas City called the Rainmakers who boasted a crazy-eyed lead singer named Bob Walkenhorst. Their music was straight ahead rock in the vein of Tom Petty, but Bob sounded crazy and lyrically was a real smartass.
 It may have been the first time I really paid attention to the words of a song. I still have that album, both on vinyl and cd.

 http://youtu.be/dMnnPI5GUps

 The other thing happened on my 11th birthday: I discovered Motley Crue.
 For my birthday, my step-cousin Jason said that he would let me choose from a couple of cassettes that he had. One was 'Night Songs' by the band Cinderella. The other was Motley Crue's 'Shout at the Devil'. Having never actually heard either band, I was in no position to choose based on music so I had to make my decision based on the covers of each tape.
 On the cover of 'Night Songs', Cinderella are standing in what appears to be a tunneled alleyway. A lamp-post can be seen through the fog/steam rising behind them which is backlit by a separate light, casting a very purple hue over everything. The bands logo is also purple, and the guys are wearing long, dark, sparkly coats over black or zebra striped spandex pants. Silk scarves hang from everywhere. Their hair is very teased and lead singer Tom Kiefer looks as if his lips are caught in a mousetrap.
 The 'Shout at the Devil' cover is similar, yet quite different. It is made up of four separate photos, one for each member. There is fog/steam in the background of three of them. Their hair is teased, and their make-up and red and black leather outfits make them look like a group of post-apocalyptic whores straight out of a Mad Max sequel. Bassist Nikki Sixx has one hand raised; thumb, index and pinkie fingers extended. He is either shouting at the devil, or preparing to give a blowjob. Vince Neil and Tommy Lee look like a couple of Barbie dolls whose heads have been placed atop men's bodies, Vince's blond and Tommy's raven-haired. The real kicker is guitarist Mick Mars. This man actually looks like the devil that the rest of the band have been shouting at. Instead of fog, the background of his photo is a pillar of flame.
 With song titles such as 'Bastard' and 'God Bless the Children of the Beast', I was sold and my choice was made.
 Although the Crue had a look that was similar to that of bands like Poison, Ratt, and Quiet Riot, they always sounded a little tougher. Poison may have wanted you to talk dirty to them, but it wasn't hard to imagine them wanting to hold hands and cuddle afterward. Motley Crue wrote songs about fighting cops, the seedy/druggy L.A. underworld, dirty sex, and of course, the devil.
 It wasn't long before they became one of my two favorite bands along with Guns 'n' Roses. And with the exception of GNR, who were even harder(at least on that first album), no one from that era even comes close. Maybe W.A.S.P.



 My first concert in an arena was Poison in Nov. 1988. I was in the 7th grade. It made a big impression, lots of lights and fog, and very loud. But the next year, 8th grade, I finally got my chance to see the Crue! They made Poison look like the poseur amateurs that they were.
 My parents were really cool, and they and some friends took me and my cousin Pete to the show at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhatten, KS. We stood there slack-jawed at the spectacle before us. Many don't remember this, but Motley Crue used to have a cartoon mascot, much like Iron Maiden has Eddie and Megadeth has Vic Rattlehead. His name was Alister Fiend, and he was an amalgamation of all the band members. During the show intro a laser graphic 'hologram' of Alister appeared above the stage and told a brief history leading to the bands entrance. They shot out of the stage like leathered, hairsprayed jacks-in-boxes accompanied by an arena shaking pyro ka-boom. They were way louder than Poison had been, and gave way less of a fuck. As a matter of fact, Vince Neil even said "Fuck". A lot. And urged the crowd to chant, "Fuck". A lot.
 Then came the highlight of every Motley Crue show: Tommy Lee's "drum solo". I use quotations because Tommy doesn't use his time to show off his prowess behind the kit and therefore, does less of a drum solo and more of an entertainment interlude. This show, Tommy shared some of his favorite classic rock tunes with himself as drummer, all while his drum set moved out to the rear of the arena on a track suspended from the ceiling above the heads of the audience.

http://youtu.be/guPYBbkb7y4

 Pete and I left that concert totally stoked and forever changed. This was March of 1990, and that July the band came around again, this time to Wichita. And we went again! I mowed lawns for a month to earn the ticket money and this time we went with an older cousin, sans parents. Until I saw The Rolling Stones 16 years later, no other show had left me with that feeling of having just seen something truly special, an enjoyable assault on all senses. Maybe my first time seeing Ozzy.

 I love music of all kinds, and along the way I've seen some tremendous stuff. I've seen Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash with June Carter, The Ramones, Roger Waters performing The Wall, and the original line-up of Black Sabbath. All were fantastic performances and I enjoyed them all. I'd still like to see David Bowie, Neil Young, Iggy Pop. Those three guys are on my personal bucket list.
 I've heard people say that you can't love one style of music as much as another. That you can't love The Beatles as much as the Stones or Elvis. I call bullshit. I love all three, all for different reasons. Maybe I'll like The Beatles more today. Maybe next week it will be The Ramones. Maybe one of my favorite local bands. Or maybe I'll just listen to the radio.

 I've managed to see Motley Crue twice more since those two shows in '90. In 2005 and 2011. They killed it both times. I used to tell people that they were my guilty pleasure band, but not anymore. At 37, I'm getting too old to feel guilty about liking anything. I saw Iron Maiden last September and they were amazing. I like what I like. No apologies or excuses.
 This past January, the Crue announced that they were done and would head out for one final go-around. And I'm actually believing them, they seem to get that one can play hedonist for only so long. July 12, in Wichita. I'll be there with my sister, my cousin Pete, and his fiance Anna. Pete and I saw them for the first time together, and we'll see them for the last time together. Full circle. This time I plan to document the show for my first concert review. It will probably be biased. I'll let you know how it goes.
 I can already smell the pyro and AquaNet.



*Note: As I've mentioned before, this blog has no real theme. I'll just write about random stuff. However, I probably will write about music quite a bit, hence Volume 1. Like I've said, this is just for writing practice and your entertainment. I hope everyone enjoys reading my bean spillage. Have a safe and happy 4th, and until next time. . .








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