|
by Jeb Wright
Part I: The Introduction
I vividly remember watching music award shows growing up as a teenager. I would
tune in with hopes that the bands I loved would be nominated. I would pray that
one day one of them would actually win an award and be invited to perform during
the show. Year after year, I ended up being disappointed. Time after time, I
watched as crap pop stars and sugary tarts sashayed up to the podium with welled
up fake tears while thanking their manager, their mother, their God and everyone
else besides their fans. The bands who made music that mattered sat at home
watching the event on television just as I did.
To be honest, it made me want to puke. The bands that I loved never got
nominated for Song of the Year, Album of the Year or even a Lifetime Achievement
award. Hard Rock and Heavy Metal were the black sheep of popular culture and any
mention they got by the mainstream press was always negative. Critics ridiculed
it, parents feared it and teachers banned it. Kids, however, loved it – and
stayed with it. Thirty years down the road the same fans still worship at the
alter of rock. Many of the artists that the press made fun of are now cultural
icons. Every day, new generations of music fans sneak into Mommy and Daddy’s CD
collections and check out bands like Judas Priest, Queen, Def Leppard and Kiss.
iTunes sells a large percentage of downloads to buyers of classic Hard Rock. The
music that was ignored and deemed not worthy enough to give an award to simply
has refused to die.
Eventually, I gave up watching awards shows as they seemed totally bogus. I gave
up on the music I loved ever getting any sort of legitimate respect. Then came
VH1 Rock Honors. The idea behind the VH1 Rock Honors is quite simple: Honor
those who deserve it and get younger bands and all-star musicians to pay homage
to them. Think about it — how cool is it to have the Foo Fighters play a Queen
song? Or Godsmack jamming on Judas Priest? How about The All American Rejects
cranking out a Def Leppard tune? And just in case you are still a sceptic,
imagine Slash, Tommy Lee, Rob Zombie, Scott Ian, Gilby Clarke and Ace Frehley
jamming on some Kiss songs. Get the picture? Actually, you don’t. We have not
even mentioned the documentaries, the taped celebrities’ commentary, the sexy
host, Jaime Pressly, or the fact that Penn, from Penn and Teller, dressed up
like a wizard and kicked off the event with a blast. I have also not said a peep
about all of the bands being honored taking the stage, either. Queen + Paul
Rodgers, Judas Priest, Def Leppard and Kiss all performed at the event as well.
We were there from the Black Carpet arrivals to the After Show Party. We spent
time milling around backstage and out in the front of house banging our heads.
In the end, it was an event that was all we could have hoped for. Before the gig
began, the original Head Banger’s Ball host Riki Rachtman summed it up best, "As
a rock fan, this is the greatest show you can go to. Hopefully, when the kids
see these bands it will bring back Metal. You are honoring the redheaded
stepchild of music. You are honoring the bad people, which is kind of ironic but
it is good."
Classic Rock Revisited wants you to watch the show so there will be no
blow-by-blow description of what happened on stage. Instead, we will take you
behind the scenes and into the bowels of the Mandalay Bay Event Center. What we
witnessed was Hard Rock history in the making. VH1 went where no one had gone
before and the result was one of the greatest rock spectacles we have ever seen.
Never before had anyone bothered to actually set up a specific event whose sole
purpose was to honor this type of music. Jaime Pressly understood who the crowd
was that had gathered in front of her when she boldly yelled into her
microphone, "For those about to rock... We salute you." Before the show began,
Rob Zombie reminded us of who we were and where we came from when he declared,
"I bought Kiss Destroyer when I was just a little kid. I saw it on the shelves
and I bought it based on the cover only – I didn't know what it was. Kiss, along
with Alice Cooper, went on to be my biggest influences."
Part II: Rehearsals
I arrived in Las Vegas the day before the event. The plan was to get off the
plane and take a cab to Mandalay Bay and meet up with some true friends of
Classic Rock Revisited before taking in some dinner and heading to the event
center to peep out the Def Leppard and Queen + Paul Rodgers rehearsals. I was
waiting downstairs in the hotel to meet up with my friends when, as if by
destiny, Paul Rodgers came walking out of the gym. I walked over to Paul and we
chatted for a few moments about the upcoming event.
One could tell that Mandalay Bay was preparing for something extra special. The
entire lobby and casino were filled with concert T-shirt wearing, long haired,
rock fans foaming at the mouth for what awaited them the next day. Reports began
buzzing throughout the crowd that Ace Frehley has been spotted checking out the
ladies and that Godsmack was hanging in the casino. Not since the days of
drinking beer in the parking lot before a concert had I felt such an energy
before a musical event.
I met my Rock n’ Roll comrade and Classic Rock Revisited photographer Ludovic
Curtet at the hotel. We were escorted into the Mandalay Bay event center for the
rehearsals. The place was empty save for the musicians on stage, the sound crew
at the board, two photographers and a few family members and friends. Honorees
Def Leppard were jamming on the classic T. Rex song "Twentieth Century Boy." On
stage with the Lep boys was none other than Brian May of Queen. There were
several smiles and hugs exchanged as Brian played the hell out of his famous
homemade red guitar. Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen went from being an
Honoree to being one of the tribute bands when he told us, "Queen influenced us.
They were our blueprint over the years because they had the big harmonies and
the big choruses. We have known them for years – especially Brian."
Next up were the Foo Fighters and Queen. They ran through the classic track "Tie
Your Mother Down." The song began with Dave Grohl and company blasting out the
intro and the first verse and chorus. As the song continued to build, Queen
drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May jumped in and took the song to a
new intensity. Watching rehearsals was interesting as it allowed us to see the
musicians not as rock stars but instead as both artists and craftsmen. The
musicians didn’t have to worry about showing off for the crowd or camera so they
concentrated only on the music at hand. They played each song several times, and
while this may sound tedious, I can assure you it is magical watching the
soundtrack of your life cranked up by your heroes in an empty arena.
Once done, the Foo Fighters and Queen were joined by vocalist Paul Rodgers, who
wore a red sports jacket and jeans. Rodgers not only looks better than he did
three decades ago, he also sounds great. Rodgers is one of only a handful of
rockers on the planet that could walk on stage with Queen and satisfy the pens
of the notoriously jaded rock critic. In fact, he was not only accepted, he was
lauded over. The secret of Paul’s success is twofold. The first, and obvious,
fact is that he is a rock icon who has had a successful solo career as well as
leading the bands Free, Bad Company and The Firm (with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy
Page). In the process, he has earned the nickname The Voice and is regarded,
both inside and outside the industry, as one of the best singers on the planet.
The second secret to his success with Queen is the fact that he does not try to
replace Freddie Mercury. Some die-hard Queen fans may have to acquire the taste
for Rodgers but even they will admit he sounds good.
Freddie Mercury used to tell Queen band members that Paul Rodgers was one of his
favorite voices in rock music. Even Mercury’s Mother gave Paul her seal of
approval on the Queen + Paul Rodgers 2006 tour. Instead of getting a Freddie
clone, Queen decided that they wanted to do so something Freddie would approve
of – both musically and nonmusically as Freddie would have wanted the band to
make a gutsy decision and take a chance instead of playing it safe. The result
has been positive proof that they made the right choice.
The Foo Fighters drummer and their famous guitarist and former Nirvana drummer
Dave Grohl sat down to drum kits on each side of the main drum riser. Roger
Taylor led the trio through a pounding drum circle in the familar thump of "We
Will Rock You." The empty venue began to draw workers, VH1 staffers and Rock
Stars to the area to witness the musicians on stage. VH1 Classic’s Eddie Trunk
stood next to Anthrax’s Scott Ian while the floor seats actually began to fill
up. At the end of the song, the crowd clapped and cheered. Queen went on to
rehearse "Under Pressure" and "The Show Must Go On."
The stage director went up to the microphone and called it a wrap and told
everyone to go home but Queen were not done yet as they wanted to run through
the songs again. The music fired up and the band played on. At one point, Taylor
complained about guitarist May’s amps sounding like, "someone frying fish" and
he even came close to a rock star hissey when feedback sent high-pitched
frequencies blasting through the arena. In the end, these bands proved they
didn’t need any rehearsal. It was a rock fan’s dream come true to see so much
passion and energy poured into an empty arena. Knowing the musicians were that
into it only made the ‘waiting for tomorrow’ energy that much more intense.
Part III: The
Black Carpet Ceremony
When we were first invited by VH1 to cover this event, we were asked to cover
the Red Carpet arrivals (the carpet was later changed to the color black in
order to be more rock n’ roll). This was going to be a new experience for us as
our forte has always been on interviews and concert reviews. Still, how could we
say no? We signed in at 4pm at the designated press area at Mandalay Bay and
received our credentials and were told to be back by 5:30 to be escorted to the
Black Carpet. Ludovic and I took a break and sauntered about the hotel. I lost a
few bucks to a slot machine. We found Starbucks and had a cup of coffee when we
met the first rock n’ roll casualty of the evening. Three cute girls in bikinis
were cutting through Starbucks. The girl in the middle was being held up by her
friends on either side of her. The girls stopped by our table and asked us if
their friend could have some water. Ludovic gave her a bottle of water, which
she held up to her drunk friend’s mouth and attempted to pour it in. The drunk
girl, who they only referred to as Bernie, let most of it dribble down her chin
as she giggled and weaved away. We smiled and then looked at our watches and
decided it was time to head back through the casino, past the shopping center,
down the escalator and back into the press meeting area. When we arrived, we
were made to line up in two lines. One was for photographers only and the other
was for publications.
There were curtains where the stars would be announced. They would come out and
pose for photographers and then walk down the isle. Along the way, there was a
television set for VH1 interviews hosted by Jillian Barberie. Once done with
Jillian, band members would walk along the velvet rope and give each reporter a
few quotes. We were housed toward the middle of the pack and our neighbors ended
up being quite cool. To our left was VH1 Latin America. After every interview
they did, their producer leaned over to me and asked me, "Who was that? What
band are they in?" I smiled and gave them all the info they needed, even
spelling a few names to make sure our Rock Royalty were represented well to our
Latino brothers and sisters. We also met an interesting crew from a new
television show called Backstage Pass and a really cool dude with a Mohawk from
ABC News Radio.
The Red Carpet is not nearly as glamorous as it seems on TV as it all moves
pretty slowly. But, you do get a few minutes up-close-and- personal with the
celebrities. There were a few people on the carpet that were not in the show.
One was Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil who stated, "If I had Thanksgiving
dinner at my house then these are the guys I would invite." The band that drew
Vince out of his lavish Las Vegas home to the Black Carpet was Kiss. Neil
recounted one of his earliest Kiss memories for us, "I was in high school – I am
from Southern California. I remember when they were doing the movie at Magic
Mountain. I actually had tickets to go see them but I got too fucked up and
didn’t go."
Judas Priest seemed a little awkward being on the carpet. Priest are not used to
being mainstream press media darlings. Guitar players KK Downing and Glenn
Tipton smiled and did most of the talking while vocalist and Metal God Rob
Halford saved his words for the VH1 Stage at the end of the runway. Tipton took
a few moments to speak to Classic Rock Revisited about how it felt to be honored
by one of most successful bands in the music industry. "We watched Godsmack this
afternoon. They played a little medley of Priest tunes. We just asked them not
to play too well." He went on to discuss Judas Priest’s longevity and fans. "I
had no goals when I started out. I thought it was a better thing than working at
the steel factory. I picked up a guitar and I was influenced by Rory Gallagher
and Jimi Hendrix and stuff like that. I thought it was going to be short lived
and I never expected to be here 30 years on. At the end of the day, it is all
about getting on that stage and performing in front of the people. When Judas
Priest goes on stage it is always about Judas Priest and the audience. They sing
along with the verses, the choruses and sometimes the lead breaks." Def
Leppard’s Phil Collen mirrored Tipton’s sentiments when he said, "When I was in
my twenties I didn’t think I would be doing this past thirty. I am pushing fifty
now and it stills feels great."
Out of all the Honorees, Def Leppard seemed the most comfortable with the
attention. After all, they have sat on both sides of the fence and been both a
hard rock band and a pop band. Collen has seen the industry change over the
years. While Rock Honors is a step in the right direction, the industry as a
whole struggles when it comes to separating art from business. "The biggest
change in the industry is that it is more of an industry. It used to be more of
an art form. As corny as that sounds, that is what it was like. It started
changing in the 80's." Perhaps VH1 Rock Honors will be the catalyst to wake up
the world and remind them there was a time that music mattered more than the
bottom line. In fact, it is ironic that when music was first, the industry
flourished and now that business comes first, many major record labels are
laying off employees and closing their doors.
After the arrivals were over we took an elevator up to the press room. Now, the
press room is where the glamor of the event stops. Crews from radio, television
and daily newspapers get busy filing their stories. Each member of the press is
granted a brown bag supper of a sandwich, chips, a peach and a cookie. If you
are not lucky enough to get comp tickets for the show then you watch the event
in the press room on a plasma television. As I ate my cookie, the event began.
Penn from Penn & Teller took the stage and the lights were flashing all over the
place. We were watching it on television and hearing it on the other side of the
wall at the same time. We wolfed down our food and hopped on the elevator,
deciding watching the show on a TV when the actually thing was only a few feet
away was just silly.
Part IV: The
Honors
We were seated in the upper level at stage right. Jaime Pressly led the ceremony
and introduced the bands and the video commentaries from celebrities who could
not be there. We watched Queen perform and they opened the show and raised the
bar for all who followed. The venue had two large video screens located at each
end of the soundboard in the middle of the venue. The lyrics to the songs would
scroll across the screens in huge lettering while the bands were on stage. It is
interesting to note that Paul Rodgers had the screens turned off during his
performance. While Queen played, I saw my friend Kevin Dubrow from Quiet Riot
enter the section where we were sitting. We talked for a while and then decided
to head backstage. Without realizing it, we entered into another dimension not
often seen by the rock fan.
One of the perks of being the editor of Classic Rock Revisited is that I get to
go backstage a lot. Over the years, you get to know band members and their
management teams. In all of my numerous trips beyond the barricades, I had never
before entered a backstage area like this. VH1 had teams of people working to
coordinate the stage changeovers, get the talent in the right area and keep the
show on schedule. As we walked down the corridor we would see Gene Simmons on
one end, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard on the other while Paul Rodgers and Brian
May would be chatting a few feet to our left. We continued to walk along when a
door flew open right beside us. We turned to investigate what was going on when
we discovered the room was full of people having a party. We entered and
discovered we were now hanging out with the Kiss All Star Tribute Band. Rob
Zombie, Ace Frehley, Slash, Scott Ian, Gilby Clarke and Tommy Lee were all
having drinks, talking to friends and watching the event on a plasma television.
Actress Gina Gershon actually took my picture while I was standing with Slash.
We ran an interview with Slash a few years ago that was conducted by then Guitar
World Editor Joe Lalaina. I told Slash about the article and he was very easy
going and wanted to know more. During our conversation, Ludovic, my photographer
and resident Frenchman, noticed Slash smoking Gitanes cigarettes. This led to a
conversation about French cigarettes. Slash lifted his shirt and turned around
to reveal a tattoo on his back of the cigarettes companies logo. We made a deal
to hook Slash up with some smokes in exchange for an exclusive interview, so
watch out for that in a future issue of Classic Rock Revisited.
By now Judas Priest were playing. Somehow watching the show on a plasma
television with Slash and Tommy Lee was much cooler than watching it with a
bunch of photographers who could not score tickets! During a classic Priest
track, Rob Halford rode a V-Rod on stage. Technically, the bike is a Harley
Davidson but the V-Rod abandons the look and feel of the classic Harley Hog.
This led Tommy Lee to literally jump up and down and begin screaming at the
television screen. Tommy was shocked and could not believe his eyes. He tore off
his leather drummer gloves and threw them at the screen in disgust. Everyone
around him cheered him on and laughed. After about thirty minutes, a VH1
employee came in and told the band to get ready to go. The supergroup lined up
and allowed us to take a photograph of them before they headed to the stage.
We went out to the arena to watch them perform, as this was a once in a lifetime
gathering of musicians. It was odd to see original Kiss guitar player Ace
Frehley paying tribute to a band by playing songs he made famous. Still, having
Ace and Slash hammer out "God of Thunder" while Rob Zombie sang was one of the
highlights of the evening.
Def Leppard played their asses off when it came turn for them to take the stage.
The All American Rejects paid tribute and drew a nice applause but it was the
boys from England who got the crowd going. Phil Collen commented on the band’s
new album to me while he was on the Black Carpet, "Isn’t it ironic that we are
being honored and our new album, Yeah!, is a tribute to our influences?"
The main stage ended with the hottest band in the world, Kiss. The band took the
stage and the pyrotechnics began. The crowd loved every minute of it. After the
show, all the Honorees were beckoned to the stage where they were given VH1
commemorative rings. Seeing Ace congratulating current Kiss guitar player Tommy
Thayer while Tommy was in full Space Ace make up was very surreal.
The event was a hit for music fans and the artists alike. Tune into VH1 @ 9:00pm
Eastern on May 31st to check it out. Great ratings will ensure that the network covers
events like this and keep the classic Hard Rock we all love in the public eye.
Events like Rock Honors are important for both the legacy and the future of the
music we love.
Part V: The After Show Party
The evening was not over for us – not by a long shot. After the show, we hung
out and watched the set being torn down and spoke with the various stars of the
night. Slash, Paul Rodgers and Phil Collen were all talking when the hostess of
the evening, Jaime Pressly, came over to Slash and got in his face. We could not
make out the entire conversation but the gist of it was that she had been
waiting for him and he didn’t show up or something of that nature. She looked
him square in the eye and even pointed her finger at him before doing an about
face and marching off in the direction from which she originally came. The three
musicians looked at each dumbfounded as Rodgers smiled and looked at Slash and
said, "I’m not sure but I think you just got told off." We ended up stuck in a
hallway listening to Riki Rachtman conduct post gig interviews before being
escorted to a parking garage where four white vans were gathered to take
everyone to the after show party.
The after show was at the House of Blues. They booked too small of a room as the
place was packed, wall to wall. We squeezed our way to the bar and got a drink
and then walked around and took in the scenery. Evan Seinfeld was there with his
wife, porn star Tera Patrick. We have to admit that she was not nearly as hot in
person as we would have imagined her to be. Still, nonetheless, she is a porn
star and Evan seems to always have a smile on his face. Paul Stanley showed up
with a security guard who kept people at bay from his pregnant wife. Paul was
very nice to folks at the party and had no problem posing for pictures. Doc
McGee was cool as well as we got our picture taken with the famous rock manager
who is currently managing Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Evan Seinfeld, Sebastian Bach
and Jason Bonham in the VH1 original program Supergroup. Ian was especially
excited about the event stating, "It ruled. I wish it was a four day event where
each band had a whole show devoted to them. I didn’t want to stop playing."
We ran into Kevin Dubrow from Quiet Riot talking with Queen’s Brian May. After
they spoke, May walked away and Dubrow actually jumped in the air and clapped
his hands and said, "I can’t believe I just had that conversation with Brian
May. I have always dreamed of talking to him just like that and I just did it."
He smiled from ear-to-ear and gave me a high five. It was very cool to see a
rock star be a rock fan. At that moment, Dubrow looked over and saw ex-DIO and
Rainbow bass player Jimmy Bain walking into the bar. We posed for a picture and
Kevin told us Quiet Riot had a new album in the can featuring both Glenn Hughes
and Tony Franklin on bass. He then apologized to Jimmy about not using him and
we all had a laugh. Shortly thereafter, I met Vivian Campbell, guitarist for Def
Leppard, who I have interviewed for Classic Rock Revisited. He introduced me to
his wife and we exchanged a few words. The event had an effect on everyone who
performed. Paul Rodgers said, "It was really a beautiful night because all the
bands were all real people. They had all been through a lot and they had all
achieved success. It was such a great vibe to see everyone. I only wish we could
have played longer. I don’t normally bump into so many great bands in one night.
It was great standing there talking with Paul Stanley, Slash and Joe Elliott
from Def Leppard – we are all old mates. I noticed three of the four bands
honored were English bands. It was almost like being home."
In the day and age of the internet, one can have business dealings with people
for years via the phone and email and never meet them in person. VH1 Rock Honors
was such a huge event that anyone who could make it did. After years of
correspondence with industry professionals such as Sujata Murthy of Universal
Records, it was refreshing to finally put a name with a face. Jayne Andrews has
been a leader in the Judas Priest camp for years and she has always been a loyal
friend of Classic Rock Revisited. To be able to spend a few minutes chatting
with her was as much fun as chatting with Glenn Tipton and KK Downing. Speaking
of Judas Priest, bass player Ian Hill and I seemed to have a homing device
connected with each other. If I came out of a room, Ian was going into it. If I
was walking away from the bar, Ian was walking into it. Time and time again, we
smiled as we bumped into each other. At the end of the night, I went down the
elevator to leave the House of Blues and who was next to me? Ian Hill. As we
walked off the elevator Ian put his hand on my shoulder, smiled and said, "We’ve
got to stop meeting like this, mate. People are going to start talking!"
Part VI: The Conclusion
Heavy Metal and Hard Rock came to mean something to people like me many years
ago when we were just teenagers. The music became the blueprint for our lives.
It all started back when, for whatever reason, we didn’t fit it – we wanted to
fit but we just didn’t. Perhaps we were not pretty enough or good enough at
sports or no matter how hard we tried, we were not able to be part of the in
crowd. We were forced to look for other ways to be cool. What worked was music
–- not just any music, but Hard Rock music. The bands honored by VH1, much like
their fans, came up the hard way and were not accepted as part of the in crowd
until they reached the top of their career. Each of the bands honored at this
event all remember where it is they came from. While the ‘in crowd’ mentality
can bring fame and money, it is the loyalty and reference of the true fans that
proved to be each bands stronghold over the long haul.
Queen were once an underground band with songs about ogres. Judas Priest never
had a Top 10 hit despite album sales in the tens of millions. Def Leppard met up
with a guy named Mutt Lange and became darlings of the MTV world but not before
slogging it out with two albums (one gold and one platinum) that sounded more
like Kiss and AC/DC than the band we know and love today. And Kiss – well what
do you say about Kiss that has not been said? Kiss were not in the in crowd so
they created their own in crowd where they could be the center of attention.
Millions of fans followed.
In short, these bands and the music they created became a part of our very soul.
They filled the void that was created by our own inadequacies. They gave us a
sense of belonging and a purpose in a hard cruel world that we did not
understand. Music held the secret and gave us the boost needed to continue
another day. Music gave us strength, courage, hope, aspirations, dreams and even
a reason to look positively to the future. It gave us an escape from the bad
things in life and a reason to celebrate the good things.
VH1 Rock Honors understands – they get it. By getting it, they have done
something that is thirty years overdue. They have publically honored those who
we privately have honored for decades. Some call us Rock Nerds but it should be
known that one can’t tell a Rock Nerd simply by looking at them. Rock nerds come
in all shapes and sizes. We are doctors, lawyers, writers, factory workers,
policemen, butchers and musicians. Even the famous and beautiful television
actress Natasha Henstridge from Commander in Chief is among our ranks. It was
with a huge grin on her face that she told me, "I am giving an award to Kiss
tonight. I am the envy of everyone that I ever went to school with. It is so
surreal being here tonight. All the cool kids at my school were into all these
bands and I was trying to be cool. Now, I am here hanging out with them – I’m
the cool one."
Email us your feedback by clicking
HERE
Special thanks to
Naomi Bulochnikov
Visit VH1 For More Info on The Rock Honors!
|
.gif)
.gif)
