7/27/10: Finally got some sleep and recovery time from a very long hot weekend in OKC. Glad I did ET Live last night. It was a great show and always fun when Dee Snider and I do our thing together on the air. We both have the gift of gab for sure! Lot's of stuff to get to but don't have a ton of time so just some bulletpoints. I'll get into much more in coming days and on the radio shows next few weeks. As for the first ever Rock N America it was a blast. Nice venue and nice city and truly every band I saw was really good. TONS of people who were so cool to me and it was nice to meet many of you. Was hard to get in the crowd often as I was running between the two stages for MCing duties, but I did a few times each day. Weather was hot but for the most part pretty good with no major storms. Some personal highlghts from me:
Michael Schenker: Everybody playing that day was side stage to watch Michael. I stood with Tracii Guns, Ratt, Scorpions and others all watching Michael do his thing a few feet away. To be watching Michael and have Klaus and Rudolph standing next to me was truly a pinch me moment! Michael played a great set and had Carmine Appice on drums and a guest appearance by Herman Rarebell. Gary Barden sang better than when I saw them in NYC but still can't hit the highs, but it was good enough and his material is the best MSG stuff. MOST important is that Michael is healthy and sober still! I spent time talking to him for a while as he starts to rebuild his career and told him most important is that he stays clean, sober and happy as he is now. This is the Michael we all want and he is back big time! Great to see. Did some UFO classics and MSG of course. I went to my room that night and listened to Strangers to celebrate. The next day Michael was hanging out and we talked more and he played with Scorps. Can't wait to see a full set at Starland Thursday night.
Lynch Mob: George played a side stage after watching the current version of Dokken play on the main stage. Clearly it got him fired up because he played like a man possesed! It was insane. To me he played so intense and almost angry, and it was one of my favorite guitar performances of the weekend. Just on another planet! After the show George downplayed it all, but to me he was making a statement and tore it up! He did not play any Dokken in that set. Oni back singing sounding great and Brian Tichy killing on drums. Awesome set and can't wait to see them again to.
Warrant: I've been saying this for a couple years now; Warrant are reborn. With Robert Mason singing like a bird this band is relaxed, having fun, and just locked in. I can't say enough about Robert's vocals, just stellar, and the band and backing vocals are spot on. Never liked Warrant live more, and that's with all respect to Jani who wrote all this stuff and obviously was great in his own right. But clearly he has his issues and I wish him well, but this lineup is kicking!
Cinderella: Second time I saw them this Summer. Tom 100% and the band sounds amazing both times. They are back big time.
Scorpions: Much better than M3. Klaus feeling better and seems about 90%. Set is Okay. I would prefer less solos and more songs, but the solos give the other guys a break. The set is impossible with all the songs they have but its a good balance. Spent some time with the guys post show. They wanted to interview me for their site and Klaus sat in and we had an interesting conversation. Scorps feel they have always been outcasts in the US and wish they could change that, and like any classic band with new music they wish more people would buy it! They are thrilled to have an audience again here but hate being in the ":hair band" catagory (as most bands do), and for those in the know, we know they are not that at all! Matthias is a trip, so funny and always breaking chops. Great hanging with them and great set. They are still a couple years from ending for good so more to come.
Trixter: Great, fun, party rock band. Nice to see them active again. Coming out in 1990 this bands moment in the spotlight was short changed, but they are a solid hard rock band in the VH mold and do a great job.
Twisted Sister: Best set since I reunited them in 2001. They were tight, Dee is still incredible, and they look much cooler to me without the makeup. Great version of Rainbow Long Live R&R for Dio.
Lita Ford: Focused on the old stuff and went down well. Had a great set and band backing her.
I saw so much other cool stuff, those are just a few highlights. Some bands I did not see so can't comment. Dokken was great but Don struggles with some of the vocals and will be the first to tell you that, but says he's having fun. Slaughter was very heavy and Mark was in the crowd most of the set. The kick ass Zoltan Chaney on drums while Vince Neil watched side stage. Vince's solo band is Slaughter without Mark, so he was hanging and having a good time as only Vince can! John Corabi and Gilby Clarke in seperate solo sets were also cool. Again, so much to cover, I'll write more as I can. I did not watch Ratt because they played Sunday night last and I had a 5A wakeup the next day. I'll see them 8/14 in AC at The Hilton. Stephen said he's feeling okay and talked to all the guys who were there a couple days. Texas Hippie Coalition also deserve some props. Cool newer band thats kind of BLS meets Pantera and came with a heavier edge. New CD sounds great. Band to keep an eye on.
Now the bad part. This festival was not nearly as well attended as it needed to be. Saturday for Scorps and Cinderella were the most, but not nearly enough all 3 days for this to have been profitable. At the end of the day this is a business and promoters will not keep doing these events if they are money losers, and this was a hit to the promoters. I think it's fixable and I have my theories and have told the promoter I'm happy to help, but I have no idea if this will happen again. I will keep you posted as we go forward. I was thrilled to be a part of it and I'm rooting for it to continue, but these things cost big money to put on and the draw was not there to support the cost. Again, I am not the promoter, but I am happy to help and we will see what happens. The entire event really was great besides the turn out, which obviously is important. If people truly expect these 80's fests to make it they gotta start coming in larger groups.
I want to thank all the amazing people I met, all the folks behind the scenes with RnA for taking great care of me, and all the nuts at the after party at the Stone Garden. Hope to be back to OK soon and thanks for all the amazing support! More to come and photos also in the Gallery on this site.
