GB31 (Ryan Roxie interview)

As the Alice Cooper summer tour kicks off today, it’s only fitting we have superstar guitar Ryan Roxie as our guest for a cool chat.He joins the Coop camp again and tells us what it was like for him when he did take a break a few years ago to focus more on family life.  We’ll also hear him talk about his old days in Candy, on through to Dad’s Porno Mag, and may surprise you with one of the many bands he was once asked to join but ultimately skipped out on the audition.All this and of course we get caught up on the debut record that just came out from his other band called Casablanca.  Which if you haven’t heard yet, go out and check it out, listeners of this podcast will not be disapointed.  We bust him on the Blue Oyster Cult influence on the song “Rich Girl,” in which he chuckles “Its one of those things when you do that chord progression with the A minor down to F, G, it just so happens that they have the trademark on that.  But we would’ve really gone over the top if we put some cowbell on it.”

Download this interview on the free podcast here

GLAMBONE!

Blackboard Jungle/Swignin' Thing reunion 2012

It was a time machine back to the Sunset Strip glory days on Saturday night, June 2nd, 2012 when Blackboard Jungle & Swingin’ Thing reclaimed their throne as kings of Hollywood.  Most of the fun was on the streets, just like when the bands would flyer from Gazzarri’s to the Whiskey, only this time it was hugs and hello’s being traded, sometimes odd seeing how everyone is older now and have changed.
You could over hear guys from Tryx reintroducing themselves to someone saying “do you remember Tryx, that was us, we were in that band.”  Others were more recognisable, like Marc Torien, and Stevie Rachelle and Jamie St. James.  Some had to choose where they wanted to rock, as Michael Monroe was doing his show at the Whiskey to a sold out crowd with a line around the que.  Jimmy Thrill was there
hanging with his ol’ mate Taime.  Kit Ashley from Big Bang Babies also paid respect to the Hanoi god. 
Back to Blackboard, the guys were dirty and in your face from the get go.  Holding the crowd’s attention from start til the end with their high energy punky cover of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round.”
DJ Jamie Scrap supplied the jams in between sets and did a fine job hosting the nights event.
Swingin’ Thing followed, with their hip hop intro tape just like the old days, then straight into “Do You Feel Alright?”  It was evident that the band took this gig seriously.  They were tight and full of stage presense just like how we remembered them.  The make-up was gone, but the style, attitude, and personality carried on.