Houston radio super couple Theresa "RockFace" from 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ (and heard across the nation on IHeartMedia stations) and as of late SportsRadio 610 KILT fill-in host Adam Clanton have shared images of the newest addition to their family...baby Carson!
The broadcasting talent doesn't just start with this generation of Clantons, but proud grandpa Brent Clanton (88.7 KUHF) is getting his Carson time too!
Right before Carson arrived, Theresa nabbed a great interview with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash! It's so nice to say GNR guitarist and not former guitarist!
Back in 1992 when Houston embraced the Astrodome, the Republican National Convention had just wrapped up weeks before, and on September 4, the Eighth Wonder of the World was home to the mighty Metallica and Guns N' Roses tour with opener Faith No More!
I believe the 1992 Astrodome show was the last one "the original" GNR played in Houston.
Dayna Steele of 101 KLOL was there introducing the bands!
This was a time when the media covered rock music (outside of Eddie Trunk) and KTRK abc13 was on the case. Then anchor Shara Fryer tossed to a live report from Chris Adams at the scene for a story on all of the rock and roll mayhem and excess.
"In the audience, it looks like a riot, but it's just dancing," Adams reported. "All in all, a headbangers paradise."
According to the channel 13 story, 45,000 people attended the seven-and-a-half-hour show. More than 50 concertgoers were treated for "health-related problems" and about two dozen were arrested.
"The bulk of the arrests made were for public intoxication," Adams said. "A number of people had to be treated or even carried out, but it was not as bad as it might have been."
I remember sitting at Lamar High School that day and seeing a much emptier campus than normal. Faith No More went on in the afternoon so fans, including my school-mates, had to get there early.
My mom wouldn't let me go back then even though I was obsessed with Axl Rose and crew. She also wouldn't let me go to the last Houston Nirvana show in 1993 at the Astro Arena, God rest her and Kurt Cobain's souls.
In the early 90s, I studied GNR lyrics, read books and magazines about them, and taped photos from them on my closet door. Has that obsession really waned? Is anyone still reading this blog from the early days when practically every other post was about Guns N' Roses and the upcoming Chinese Democracy?
I was attracted to the music. After all, Appetite for Destruction is considered one of the best rock albums ever by many music fans, and think, that was the debut album! And the band certainly knew how to cultivate that dangerous edge. Although even I needed a break from them by the time the Sympathy for the Devil cover was released.
While I never saw an original era Guns N' Roses show, I would later go on to see an Axl Rose only fronted version in 2006 at the Hard Rock Hotel's The Joint in Las Vegas. Saw most of the same lineup later in Houston at The Toyota Center in 2011. Then witnessed one of the alleged best shows (Axl's vocals) on the 2016 tour at NRG Stadium with the reunited Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.
Here is the Guns N' Roses setlist from the Houston Astrodome show according to Wikipedia:
(Taken from the Houston, Texas Astrodome show on September 4, 1992)
"Welcome to the Jungle"
"Mr. Brownstone"
"Live and Let Die" (originally performed by Paul McCartney)
"Attitude" (originally performed by the Misfits)
"Nightrain"
"Bad Obsession"
"It's So Easy"
"Wild Horses" (originally performed by The Rolling Stones)
"Patience"
"Double Talkin' Jive"
"Civil War"
"It's Alright" (originally performed by Black Sabbath)
"November Rain"
"You Could Be Mine"
"Sweet Child o' Mine"
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (originally performed by Bob Dylan)
"Don't Cry" (Original)
"Paradise City"
(Taken from the Houston, Texas Astrodome show on September 4, 1992)
"Creeping Death"
"Harvester of Sorrow"
"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
"Sad but True"
"Wherever I May Roam"
"Of Wolf and Man"
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
"The Unforgiven"
"The Shortest Straw"
"Fade to Black"
"Master of Puppets"
"Seek & Destroy"
"Whiplash"
"Nothing Else Matters"
"Am I Evil?" (originally performed by Diamond Head)
"Last Caress" (originally performed by the Misfits)
"One"
"Enter Sandman"
*Post updated after Guns N' Roses lineup with Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan reunited.
Quick note about the Ozzy Osbourne and Slash show at the Toyota Center in Houston Tuesday night (1/18/2011).
Great show. This is my fourth attempt to see Mr. Osbourne in concert. The first two were foiled due to weather. The third, because Ozzy broke his leg or something. Fourth was the lucky charm.
You always hear mixed reviews on Ozzy's voice, but lately reports say it is stronger. My thought, it sounded pretty good. The only issue is it took a few songs to get all the audio levels right...at least where our seats were.
For a guy in his early 60s, Ozzy sure is high energy. If you wanted to remain clean, don't sit in the first 15 rows. Ozzy likes to pull out a hose with foam and spray the audience (a trademark in his act). Don't worry, he sprays himself too.
Osbourne's backing band is awesome. Gus G is the new guitarist (replacing Zakk Wylde). Gus likes to shred and pose above a fan to bring out his maximum rock star looks in the big stage video screen. Rounding out the rhythm section are bassist Blasko and drummer Tommy Clufetos (both played with Rob Zombie previously). Lots of energy with these three too.
Ozzy pulled out songs from his new album, solo classics and Black Sabbath tunes. There was also an extended guitar solo/band jam which worked well.
Slash performs with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy and backing band. Slash is Slash, enough said. Slash is supposedly off the sauce and you can tell. He seems slimmer and full of more energy than I have witnessed live in a few years. The band preforms Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, Velvet Revolver and new solo album songs.
Kennedy is a good singer. He nails the Guns N' Roses tunes with his own style while not totally replicating Axl Rose. He has more trouble pulling off Scott Weiland Velvet Revolver songs. Our seat mates agreed that what Kennedy is lacking is stage presence. He might be able to sing, but he isn't too interesting on stage (especially considering who he is covering).
Does Kennedy feel his job is to support Slash and not upstage him? Maybe. But Slash is now a legend and he has played with two great front men and clearly held his own then. Enough already though...the original Guns N' Roses lineup must reunite. Just from watching the latest rock news, I think things are lining up for this to happen (Duff plays a few songs with Axl in London, Slash is nicer to Axl in the press). But the classic GNR lineup has an appetite for destruction so don't hope too much!
The new DVD "Live in Houston" features Velvet Revolver in the band's early years. And that wasn't that long ago - 2005. Since then the band released another album, lost Scott Weiland as the singer and hasn't been together since 2008.
I was at the featured 2005 VR show which took place at Verizon Wireless Theater in downtown Houston. It was an awesome show. The band was on fire (I'm sure having a camera crew didn't hurt) and the crowd was really into it. We were right in the middle of the floor (the jib camera kept flying overhead).
Later that night, we were actually those people, the ones that go to the bus loading area. We got all of the band member autographs though.
The Velvet Revolver "Live in Houston" DVD comes out November 16. (via Blabbermouth)
I did a decent job decorating tonight. Trick or treaters told me it was scary. Hopefully they weren't talking about the paint job.
But the moment that really stood out was when a little dude mentioned my shirt. My weak costume was "a rocker." The only actual rocking part of my ensemble was an old Guns N' Roses shirt (it has the same logo as the image here).
So the kid says, "Hey, that's the band from Guitar Hero!"
The Billboard Q&A: Axl Rose
In his first major interview in nine years, the Guns N' Roses frontman talks about his band, his label and finally releasing "Chinese Democracy." Wait till you see what he says about Slash.
Stephen Davis is also the author of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga and Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith so you know he is no lightweight when it comes to rock bios.
It's obvious that Davis culled a lot of archives and did a lot of interviews to gather the early life of Bill Bailey (aka W. Axl Rose) in Lafayette, Indiana. Sadly, that is one messed up life. But the book doesn't just focus on Axl, although largely it does and that is why it is so interesting.
Once you start reading, you will remember many of the events that Davis writes about, but there is so much more explanation and detail offered.
For example, did you know that Izzy Stradlin appears to be the heart and soul of Guns N' Roses? In the early days, he was the leader of the band for the most part. Did you know we have those four opening shows for the Rolling Stones to thank for the what the band became during the Use Your Illusion tours? Also, that the tour GNR took in 2006 was done partly to finish Chinese Democracy? And do you know why the album has that title?
- iTunes competitor, open source Songbird released
Songbird is like an open source version of iTunes that handles just about everything that program does, while swapping out the iTunes store interface in favor of the world’s music blogs.
Here is a photo of James and me looking tough after listening to Chinese Democracy. James is wearing his Year of the Rat outfit from Aunt Sonia in honor of the album's release.
I went to Best Buy to buy the new Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy CD and found a stand dedicated to it in the middle of the store. You could tell people had been there before me buying the CD but it wasn't near a sell out. It's a great CD, but I might be a little biased since I have a category devoted to GNR and have been chronicling Chinese Democracysince 2005.
The songs that made it on the album are not the same as the leaks going around the Internet. Those were clearly demos since the album songs are more polished. You can tell more guitars have been added to songs and more Axl Rose vocal layers too. If you look at the liner notes, some of the songs have gone back to the 90s when Paul Tobias was a guitarist. In fact in some cases five guitarists are all playing on one song. I thought it was odd that Axl included photos of Buckethead in the album. Buckethead even has a thanks section in the back of the booklet. Why is this odd? Buckethead left the band like three or four years ago!
I really like the new songs that I have never heard like Shackler's Revenge and Scraped. I was surprised that the song known on the Internet as The Blues is actually called Street of Dreams.
If you ever liked Guns N' Roses in the past, the album is well worth your time. Epic in nature, Axl Rose takes us through a whole range of music. Is it the original band? No. But it is still good. We'll just wait a few years till the original lineup reunites because there is just too much money and fame involved for a rock star to turn down.
DOWN: Houston Photos Posted Online
Quality photos of DOWN's November 20, 2008 concert at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas (where the group was supporting METALLICA) have been posted at the band's official message board, DownBoard.com.
- In the Studio: Depeche Mode Go “Spiritual”
Before Depeche Mode began recording their new album, the group’s guitarist and chief songwriter, Martin Gore, went out and bought a bunch of vintage gear.
Slash: “This Time Around, We’re Not Making Compromises”
[Velvet Revolver] originally wanted to do something really heavy and it took a different turn, especially on the last record. This time around we’re not going to make any compromises.
Bonham: Led Zeppelin 'in the studio' without Robert Plant
Drummer Bonham told a radio station in Detroit that the new material may be recorded but added there was “lots of politics” to sort out first.
The three band members have been meeting to work on new ideas since Led Zeppelin’s one-off reunion show last December.
Austin drummer jailed as 'narco-terrorist'
Jake Mitchell, the drummer for Austin’s Boxing Lesson, was sentenced a couple of weeks ago to 60 months in federal prison on marijuana charges. What makes Mitchell’s case particularly unsettling is that he was charged under the Patriot Act and has been branded a Narco-Terrorist.
I did a decent job decorating tonight. Trick or treaters told me it was scary. Hopefully they weren't talking about the paint job. 
I just had the pleasure of reading 
by Stephen Davis. Now here is THE defenitive biography of GNR. 
