For those who weren’t fortunate to be around, the late ‘60s and early ‘70s were a wonderful time to be a young music fan. There was...
In a fashion similar to when Van Halen erupted in the late ‘70s and Guns N’ Roses exploded in the mid-‘80s, Rage Against The Machine stirred...
After dropping four poorly-received prog-driven studio slabs, the Chicago-birthed brigade, Styx, were rescued from the bottom rungs of rock’s tour circuit overnight when their 1973 album...
For their more astute followers, the musical evolution of Cinderella was wonderful to behold. Their hard-hitting 1986 debut, Night Songs, was a custom fit for the...
They’d managed their way out of the muck and mire — slogging through the trenches for nearly a decade. And in 1977, the Illinois-based rock stalwarts...
Located in the Old Testament, Proverbs 16:27 offers a bold revelation — “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” And when a gaggle of bored wives of...
The nauseating stench of stale cigar smoke permeated corporate boardrooms, as music biz big wigs plotted their platinum projections for the likes of Frampton, Frey and...
Following the heartbreaking hairband holocaust of 1991, it became clear in short order that the corporate rock world now would embrace a decidedly darker and heavier...
Pumpkin patches were being plucked far and wide. Soon, seasonal decorations would be displayed prominently on porches and patios of homes from coast to coast. With...
Mom-approved pop staples blasted from boom boxes at high school beer bashes far and wide, as drooling dudes sporting mullets and donning parachute pants preyed on...
It’s a primary principle of physics — for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Following the aerosol-sprayed arena rock craze of the late ‘80s...
When the Fab Four first skipped that power pop pebble across the pond, the ripples were felt immediately — inspiring a menagerie of hermits, animals and...
In true Twilight Zone fashion, The Fantastic Plastics preach at a pulpit from the past, while forging fearlessly into the future. Sparkling like genuine diamonds displayed...
What a peculiar period — the mid-‘70s — particularly for the music world. In 1975, the disco craze was revving up, yet the charts remained dominated...
Be sure, KISS did not invent the concept. But they did perfect it — elevating the live album format to an all-new, highly bankable art form....
Of all the factors that make them a fascinating force, the most engaging is that they always sound like an unhinged house party. The B-52’s never...
To suggest that it merely was a “transitional” year would be to understate the significance of 1975 in the Bruce Springsteen story. The New Jersey-born musician...
They comprised the mightiest force on the late ‘80s thrash scene — “The Big Four.” While the fight for “Top Dog” status among this ferocious pack...
Like a babbling idiot who was latest to the party, I arrived at the soiree only after somebody had already puked in the pool. How do...
Long before it became a universally recognized “thing,” product “branding” was important — particularly in marketing pop music. But what required many artists several years and...
The alternative revolution revving out of the Pacific Northwest didn’t necessarily satisfy the entire hard rock contingent of the day. As the changing of the guard...
Oh, good grief! Incredibly, it was 70 years ago this fall when Minneapolis-born cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, first introduced the world to his now-legendary PEANUTS comic...
Iconic American humorist Will Rogers is oft credited as once saying, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” If that’s indeed...
Straight out the gate, Jule Vera were hailed as, “a bold band with big songs and a bright future.” And with the release of their debut...
Sporting impressive, well-cultivated coifs and flashing toothy, all-American smiles, they were the unparalleled poster boys of the glitzy, glamorous ‘80s pop-metal scene. But strip away the...
The full liquor bar was open, and the buffet — bountiful. Many who imbibed the vibe still reflect on that salacious soiree fondly. The neon-lit “champagne...
