this one

Rain Rain Go Away...

Boy, it's crazy how things work out, or don't work out. Recently, I feel as though a great weight was lifted from my shoulders and my soul. I rejoice in this enlightening! I know several people in the grip of depression (I even had a friend commit suicide a few months back), and when I see good people hurting. It really sucks. These days I am feeling pretty fantastic, aside from being worn out from months of mandatory overtime at work. Things are going very well for me; I'm getting another raise at work, I've lost a bunch of weight and I'm the thinnest I've been in decades, I got my new Challenger that I'm getting ready to pimp out with new wheels, both o' my bands are sounding excellent, I have an unbelievable arsenal of rare guitars an amps, I'll be planning a sweetass vacation here soon (I've been working my butt off, so the sky is the limit!), and it turns out that I can still do halfway decent with the ladies, despite my advanced age. Ha! I've actually turned down numerous dates recently, believe it or not. I'm veeeery flattered, though. I have been getting out a little bit more recently, trying to get things off my mind, and as usual it has worked pretty well! I went to see Hairbangers Ball, Pop Evil, Jefferson Tarc Bus and I have been having a blast doing so. I'm really looking forward to upcoming events, playing shows with both my bands, and getting out to meet and talk to all of you people. I love meeting you good folks. It makes me happy. You awesome peeps make an old fogie like me feel happy and very thankful sometimes. Thank you sooo much. It means a lot.

The bottom line is, you can't let negative things bring you down. Life is one big tragedy after another. To all you younguns, get used to the heartache, because you will get hit time and time again, by either surprise, or by those you trusted and loved most. You gotta pick yourself up and move on as best you can with hope in your heart for better days. Me? I plan on having one helluva year. Travel, shows, playing music, cruising my Challenger and Jeep Wrangler. I've got it going on!

I'm gonna remain single for awhile. I don't think I would be good for anyone right now. But if I were to somehow get with someone, I would no doubt make double sure they were "just right" for me in every aspect. I've made some pretty bad decisions in recent years. I have dated many women over the decades, but I am a picky bastard, and have only called a select few my actual GF's. Yeah, I've had commitment issues pretty much my whole life. But when I'm in, I'm truly in it for the long haul! I'm saying it is very possible. Time will tell. In the meantime I shall just be celibate. A monk type.

So much stuff to do coming up — and so little time to do it. Aye, aye, ayeee. Metallica is in a few days, and I hope to attend and take pictures of those guys. Tell me that wouldn't be sweet!? Iron Maiden this summer is a "must," too, I'm thinking! Rob Zombie, In This Moment, Buckethead, Mastodon, Experience Henfrix, Soil, Overkill, Stryper, Buckethead, The Van Halen Tribute, The Ozzy Tribute, etc.

I'm gonna be one tired ass bastard this year!

I really can't complain though. Life is good. And praise be to god, that Karma is truly a MF.

That's it for me this month people. If you are one of the many people I know that have been depressed lately, cheer up! Spring is almost here! It will be a time of reawakening and light. And it's right around the corner! So buck up little trooper, and hold on a little bit longer, for good things happen to good people! And I'm here to tell you — things WILL get better!

Just look at my dumb ass!

Peace and Love

The Metal Grapevine

Pop Evil Review w/ Pics by Michael Deinlein:

I needed to get out and have some fun, and Pop Evil is always a fun band to go see. We got there in time to see them go on, and you could tell right away that vocalist Leigh Kakaty wasn't feeling well. He even said so, saying he had a cold and felt like death warmed over. But I gotta give the guy credit, he didn't falter, nor did he back out or try to half-ass shit all night. He gave it his all and fought on like a true trooper. After all, the show must go on! I couldn't tell you how many times I have played shows when I was deathly ill. I still went out and gave it my all, just like Mr Kakety did. So mucho props to him!

The band was energetic and sounded good, but I wasn't really digging the layout of the stage, with bassist Matt DeRito on the back riser. That was kinda odd, you don't see that much. Plus that guy is everywhere, so I don't know why they would put him up there. Guitarist Nick Fuelling was still playing his heart out on those PRS guitars. He loves those! I must say, I miss the old guitarist Tony Greve from way back in the day. That guy was sooo cool, and he shredded on guitar too. I wish him and Nick could have been the guitar duo of Pop Evil. I met these guys way back at the Phoenix Hill, and they were all a bunch of nice guys. Down to earth. At least they were then. Leigh's voice wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but a fan of the band didn't agree with me. He said "Damn, the singer sounds bad! Something is wrong with him!" And sure enough he was right.

Female drummer Hayley Cramer packs a punch despite her small frame. To me, the band sounded tight, but I haven't seen Pop Evil in a bit, so maybe it was just that fact. There was a nice crowd but it could have been a little more packed, I'm thinking! It was a Sunday night, though. I had to work the next morning, but I went anyways! I wasn't feeling so great, so I ended up leaving a little early unfortunately but I was able to get the setlist while taking pics! Score! Thanks to Michael Deinlein, who got some decent pics. He is just a better photographer than me! And has fancier gadgets.

The band opened with "Bosses Daughter," "Colors Bleed," "Ex Machina," "Deal with The Devil," "Torn to Pieces," "Be Legendary," "Footsteps," "!00 in a 55," "Waking Lions" and the last song was "Trenches." Those guys are about to head over to Europe and do a tour. Must be nice! Good luck to those guys and I hope Leigh is feeling better!

Here is the bands new video!

Rob Zombie at Louisville Palace on May 6:

I've seen Mr Zombie numerous times, even when he was with White Zombie, and he always puts on a decent show! This one promises to be epic because of the sweet-ass location! My favorite place to see a show in Louisville. And you can't beat seeing guitarist John 5 tear shit up on his lighted custom guitars! So yeah, this one is gonna be a must see for sure! So get those tickets because this will probably sell out. You know my concert going ass will be there, with camera in hand! Reviewing shows is a great love affair of mine and I'll stop when I'm dead. There will no doubt be a bunch of sexy goth chicks at this one too. Yummy.

In This Moment at The Palace on May 7:

Awwww hell, you know I'll be going to this! I reviewed and photographed them the last time they were at The Palace and it was freaking awesome! I got some amazing pictures of Maria Brink, and the band was badass. Do yourself a favor, and get these tickets ASAP! Do NOT miss this. They put on one great show complete with props, crazy outfits, and Maria belting out some tremendous vocals, and also looking sexy AF. That chick moves me from 6 to midnight in like 2 seconds. Get those tickets!!

Thrash legends Overkill coming to The Merc on April 29:

Monday, April 29, it's on! Thrash legends Overkill are debuting at The Mercury Ballroom w/ Death Angel and Act Of Defiance, and I'm gonna hafta make this one! I've opened for these guys twice before (I'll never forget that shit!) and I am a huge fan of their music, so I know all about them. They kill! This is a no-frills thrash event from hell, so if you like it brutal and uncompromising, this is your ticket! Bobby Blitz and DD Verni are monsters!

Interview with Memphis's Tora Tora on the new CD Bastards Of Beale:

It was the late eighties when hair metal was in full swing and along comes a band from Memphis Tennessee, who didn't have poofy hair, or Spandex on and didn't wear makeup. It was jeans and the casual look for these Southern rockers. Yeah, they were kinda outcasts in the overall scheme of things in those days. But you know what? Those guys had talent out the ass! And it showed in the music they wrote. There was feeling, soul, killer high octave soulful vocals, rippin' bluesy lead guitar, and songwriting that was pretty amazing. They put out two albums that both kicked major ass. I wore those MF'ers out! Every damn song on those albums was good! How often do you see that? And the talent ratio compared to some of those hair metal guys who made millions were waaaay off. In favor of Tora Tora, of course.

But major success did not come to the quartet from Tennessee. They did however make their mark as somewhat of a cult blues, hard rock act that people loved, regardless of the lack of mainstream success. So when I heard the band was back with all the original members and with a brand new album, well, I had to reach out to those fellas who made such a musical mark in my young life back in those days. Those cats were a definite influence on me as a musician. They taught me to be yourself! Fu*k trends! To go with what is in your heart. So I now get to interview Tora Tora and talk about the brand new album Bastards Of Beale. I don't buy CD's anymore. It's a rarity. But I pre-ordered it and when I finally got it on February 22, I was not disappointed. In fact, it is some of their heaviest music so far. I love it! It's already stuck in my head and I've been singing the shit out of "The Sons Of Zebedee" at work. So yeah, this new stuff rocks! I got the chance to talk with vocalist Anthony Corder about the album. Here is what he had to say.

Eddy: What's up my brother! What an honor it is, interviewing a band I've loved from the Eighties! First off, tell us all about Tora Tora's new album Bastards Of Beale. I gotta tell you my friend, I'm f**king stoked about this! I already pre-ordered my copy and I NEVER buy CD's anymore! You should be flattered! So how is this album different than the classics Surprise Attack and Wild America? Or is it the same formula?

Anthony: Hope you are great, man! We feel like this record picks up right where we left off with Revolution Day sessions. As a band, we were comfortable with our creative dynamic and we have our sound dialed in. It was a very different process, much faster than the other projects. We recorded this one very quickly over a few days, as opposed to other projects that we would have blocked out studio time for weeks.

Eddy: You have all the original members, which is fantastic. You guys have a wonderful chemistry together. So what have you guys been up to all these years? Was it hard reuniting everyone and getting things in order for this release?

Anthony: We have always stayed in touch and remain close. Honestly, we stepped away to focus on other areas of our lives, like raising our families. Each of us has always kept our passion for being creative and performing. I had hoped we would get to write and record again. The only challenges we faced were logistics and time management for this project because I am based in Nashville these days.

Eddy: What are the bands plans for 2019? Any big tours planned? I can see you cats tearing shit up on the big stage opening for some big acts. Time to kick some ass!

Anthony: Yes, we are planning shows! Monsters of Rock Cruise is up next February 24 and we'll be a bit more active this year.

Eddy: What is your favorite two songs on the album? And why? What are they about?

Anthony: So hard to choose. I will say our fans helped us write this project. I like "Sons of Zebedee" which to me meant "Sons of Thunder." It is the opening track. It's about welcoming everyone to our space. It's about building community and bringing people together without judging them and celebrating life! Just like our beginning, getting everyone together and sharing music! "Lights Up the River" is another one because the title was from a Sam Phillips quote, Keith had it as a title and we ended up recording the project at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis. It was so fun and I enjoyed writing the lyrics for that one.

Eddy: So Anthony, how is that amazing voice of yours holding up after all these years? Do you do voice exercises or any kind of strengthening to keep your highs and range up to par?

Anthony: I am rested haha! I do see a ton of amazing singers here in Nashville. So I think being inspired plays a big part of keeping me motivated. I do breathing exercises and I have been seeing a vocal coach, Kristin Smith. She has been a tremendous help as we ramp up for shows.

Eddy: Got any shows coming up soon that we could check out? I'll take a road trip if I gotta. But I'm hoping you fellas come up to Louisville soon! You have played here one freaking time in early 90's at Waterfront Park! It's time you returned! I'll plug the shit outta it.

Anthony: Yes, we are headed on Monsters of Rock Cruise February 24 — March 1, Rocklanta, with our good friend Brad Lee Entertainment, on Mar 30, M3 on May 4 and The Venue in Denver CO on May 18.

KISS coming Tuesday March 12 at the Yum Center:

I saw them last time they were here, and I was shocked. They rocked! Don't miss this possible last chance to see these legends.

Mastodon coming to Iroquois Amphitheater Tuesday, May 28:

This promises to be a night to remember. I wasn't never really a fan of the band ‘til I saw them live. Now I dig them! I'm looking forward to this one! I've always loved The Iroquois Amphitheater. This will be quite the social event. Other bands on the bill are; Coheed and Cambria and Every Time I Die.

Buckethead's Halloween in May Tour coming to Louisville Palace on Monday. May 13:

Guitarist extraordinaire Buckethead will be having a Halloween concert that you might want to attend. I'm looking forward to this show! Should be a total freakfest! My kinda show! I'm sure I'll be there, as I think Buckethead is a guitarist not of this world. Super creative and original. I can't wait.

Kanasas to play Louisville Palace on March 23:

I have never seen this band, and would like to! I'm gonna try to catch this one!

Metallica in March!

Saturday, March 9 at the KFC YUM! CENTER. This should be one interesting show. I saw Metallica in 1986 open for Ozzy outdoors in Cardinal Stadium on the Master Of Puppets Tour! Metallica was getting booed big-time by the Ozzy fans. People weren't ready for that kind of shredding just yet. Little did they know, how big that band would become! I actually got to see Cliff Burton play! A few months after that show and he was gone forever. Sad. Hopefully the venue will hook me up this time. Last time I had to go alone, which sucks ass. I'd rather stay home than go review a show alone. What fun is there in that? Anyways, wish me luck!

Stryper Coming to The Merc on Saturday May 25:

Christian metal legands Stryper are coming back to the Mercury Ballroom, and I highly recommend all of you metalheads to go see these guys. They kick so much ass live, and always have! I saw them when I was 15 or 16 and have been hooked ever since. Excellent musicians. Don't miss this!

Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss coming to Zanzabar on Friday, May 31:

Yup, the guitarist for Alice Cooper and formerly The Iron Maidens is coming to town solo. You would get to see her rip her guitar to shreds in close up action! So you fans of guitar need to get your tickets for this one.

Iron Maiden to play Riverbend on August 15, 2019:

This sounds too good to be true. I'll definitely go to this one. It's on! I always loved seeing shows there, too. Never a bad time! Get those tickets, this will sell out!

Ozzy coming to Riverbend on June 6:

This promises to be a rockin' good time! Hope to see you there. Hopefully Ozzy will have gotten over this bad sickness that he has had, which worried even doctors! Get will Ozzy!

Flotsam and Jetsam coming to The Tiger Room on May 31:

More thrash for you hardcore bastages. Locals Dead By Wednesday, Stagecoach Inferno and SWP will be opening so be there early!

Eulogy In Blood "For Honor" Debut:

New brutal shyte by Loevils Eulogy In Blood. Badass!

South Of Never CD Review:

Central Kentucky's South Of Never just got out of the studio and I can't wait to hear these guys new stuff. Such talent and humbleness from right here in Kentucky! I have so much to do I can unfortunately only review two songs, the first one is called "The Ending" and it starts out with a very Eighties' riff and some sweet pinch harmonics thrown in for good measure. The Dio-esque vocals of Michael Duncan really cuts no matter the music he sings over. The lightning fast leads of Mark Spencer are impressive. I wish I could play like this guy! But some guys are simply not as talented as others. Mark is proficient at sweeps and all that technical jargon that I know nothing about. While I'm loving the talent ratio, I'm not digging this one too much. I does not not do these musicians justice. Both these guys have put out much better I think. I think maybe I was hoping to hear somethiung heavier. I just know these cats can do better. "Down" is much better already in like 2 seconds. It's kinda doomy, kinda sludgy, and low tuned like a mofo. I'm digging the guitar tone of this song! And Mark uses Mesa Boogie, an amp I usually am not into very much at all, but this one sounds good. I like the solo in this song, it has some nice tapping going on. I'd like to hear this band play a little more upbeat. I am the same way though, slow n' groovy is my favorite too. That is where the real groove is. This song has a much better chorus to it. Mike's vocals are great on this one. Much much better! I haven't seen these guys in a while and I would love to see them play the Paddock Pub right by my house sometime soon!

Hint hint! Better yet, South Of Never and Krosjoint doing a show together! Count me in!

Be sure to check out South Of Never on Facebook.

Wolf Island Kosmonauts Video Debut:

Here is the new video from southern Kentucky's Wolf Island Kosmonauts. Enjoy!

PARTY!!! Mountains Of Metal 2:

Saturday April 20. 420! It's an outdoor party with tons of metal bands. Sounds like a blast. An Old school field party with bands! Bands playing are — Creature Of Exile, Left To The Wolves, Kur, Granshaw, Muisti, Nekrowinter, Bastard Sons Of A Judas Goat, Revendication, Succumb To Demise, Stormtoker, Dopeslinger and Trauma Echo. The party is located at 420 Urban Road in London Kentucky. 1 PM to whenever. Free Camping, Heavy Metal flea market, Food trucks. Awesome!

Guerilla Red's New Video:

I'm giving my homeboys another month on their new video. Check it out!

Hairbangers Ball Review w/ Pics by Me:

I went out this night with my bro's and had a blast! This band always draws the partiers of olden days! They bring a pretty darn good party together! This show was the best that I have seen with them! They sounded very good! Much better than the last time I saw them at Baxter's. The singer was killin' it, and even nailed the hard part in "Still Of The Night!" They played a bunch of great Eighties' tunes, Van Halen, Ozzy, Bon Jovi, G n' R, Scorpions, Motley Crue, etc, etc, and the crowd had a good time for sure! Always some hot chicks at these shows. Yup. I can't wait to see them again. The blonde chick keyboardist/singer is gorgeous! She was a sweetheart too. Great band from chicago!

Van Halen/Bon Jovi Tribute Night at The Merc on March 15:

Bon Jovi is lame, but I like Van Halen! This Van Halen Tribute, "Runnin With The Devil," doesn't sound bad! I might hafta check this show out!

A Guitar Lovers Dream! Experience Jimi Hendrix's music played by Joe Satriani, Dave Mustaine, Zakk Wylde, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson and Doug Pinnick, at Louisville Palace on March 19:

This should be amazing! I'm gonna try my damnest to go! You had me at Joe and Dave!

This Month's Musician Of The Month is Malcolm Turner of Mad Alice:

This guy is one talented bass player. Tone, Chops, Gear, dude has it all covered. Be sure to read his feature in this month's Louisville Music News.

Stolen Guitar Alert!!!

Be on the lookout for a maroon Schecter C1 FR that was stolen from Brewskee's on Saturday December 30. It belongs to my good friend Phil Morris and we intend to find the bastard who did it and make him pay like a MF! Little did the thief know that he stole from a guy much loved in this scene! Bad mistake! The Louisville music scene doesn't play with thieves, and we are uniting to find this guitar. Phil is a helluva dude, and we will not allow this to go unpunished! It's WAR!! Brewskee's should be doing everything in their power to fix this though. If they don't, there will be hell to pay. Contact 502-609-1696 if you have any info for us. There are two pictures of it in the slideshow. It's the guy with the long brown hair with the maroon guitar! Please Help Us.

Louisville Music News Live

Yeah, I've made this up to feature you mofo's in all your glory! So let's see some videos from you musicians, old or new! If it's good, it might be featured! Send to Eddymetal1@aol.com. But it must be on youtube!

LMN Live — 99MPH:

LMN Live Blast From The Past — Kinghorse:

LMN Live Blast From The Past — Dump Gang:

LMN Live-South Of Never:

LMN Live — Eastern Ky's Downtrend:

LMN Live=Year Of The Gun:

LMN Live -Wyld Ryde:

LMN Live-Big Rock Show:

LMN Live — Comess:

LMN Live — SWP:

Jefferson TARC Bus w/ Pics by Me:

Upcoming Shows

Air Devils Inn

Friday, March 8 — Kill The Crown and Call Me Monster.

Al's Bar (Lexington)

Saturday, March 2 — Creature Of Exile, Left To The Wolves, Succumb To Demise and When Autumn Calls.

Friday, March 8 — Ohlm, Artwork For The Blind and Kur.

The Art Sanctuary

Saturday, March 2 — Radio Arcane w/ Dark Market.

The Bourbon Hall

Tuesday, April 30 — Michael Schenker Fest.

The Corner Pizza Pub

Diamond Pub Concert Hall

Saturday, March 2 — Memphis May fire w/ He Is Legend, Taken Lves and Wake Up In Tsunami.

Monday, March 11 — Between The Buried and Me w/ Tesseract and Astronoid.

Monday, March 18 — As I Lay Dying w/ Phinehas, Currents and Frost Koffin.

Sunday, April 7 — Ice Nine Kills w/ Palisades, Afterlife and Fall.

Saturday, May 4 — Uli Jon Roth.

Highlands Tap Room

Monday, March 11 — Goddess.

Monday, March 26 — Batwizard.

Monday, July 15 — Chigger.

Lady Jaynes

Saturday, March 2 — Tame.

Louisville Billiards

Saturday, March 2 — 3XO.

Magbar

Thursday, March 7 — Prison City Brigade.

Monday, March 25 — Taken Lives, Malignant Vision and Pithecus.

Monday, April 1 — Artwork for The Blind.

Monday, April 12 — Byzantine w/ The Mound Builders, Stagecoach Inferno and Blind Scryer.

Monday, April 22 — Crypt Seeker.

Monday, April 29 — Duel.

Monday, May 13 — Gromulous.

Mercury Ballroom

Saturday, March 9 — John Mellencamp.

Friday, March 15 — Van Halen VS Bon Jovi Tributes.

Tuesday, March 19 — Experience Hendrix.

Friday, March 22 — Live Dead '69.

Friday, April 5 — Dressed To Kill — A Tribute To KISS, with special guest Mad Alice.

Saturday, April 6 — Ten — The Pearl Jam Tribute.

Friday, April 19 — Pink Droyd.

Friday, April 26 — Blizzard Of Ozzy.

Monday, April 29 — Overkill.

Thursday, May 2 — Dirty Heads.

Wednesday, May 8 — Beartooth.

Saturday, May 11 — Tom Merello.

Saturday, May 25 — Stryper.

Saturday, June 1 — Pantera VS Megadeth Tributes.

Friday, July 12 — Nightrain — The Guns N' Roses Tribute.

Nirvana

Saturday, April 27 — Soil w/ Below 7 and Beneath Black Sails.

Open Community Arts Center

Saturday, March 2 — Chrome Waves w/ Without waves, Godking, Comess and Bowels.

Saturday, April 13 — Oubliette, Volcandra, Well Of Night, Nithing and Kur.

Paddock Pub

Friday, March 9 — Blind Feline, Delafaye, Unwashed and TBA..

Saturday, March 16 — If All Else Fails, Crowface, Of Serpents and TBA.

Friday, March 22 — City Awake, Hesperian and Heartsick.

Friday, March 29 — Gravel and Spiders, Sempervivi, Reckless Threat and CCB.

Spectators

Saturday, April 20 — Mad Alice.

Tidball's (Bowling Green)

Saturday, April 13 — Granshaw, Autumn Lies Buried, Wold Island Kosmonauts.

Trixie's Tiger Room

Sunday, March 10 — The Three Tremors, Strigoi, Stormtoker and Mass Asylum.

Saturday, March 16 — The world I Knew w/ Until the Dead Walk, Torn Confidence, Perceptians, Kienemy and A Rumor Of War.

Saturday, March 23 — Guerilla Warfare, Wake Up In Tsunami and Stout.

Tuesday, April 9 — Artica w/ Makari and Summer Youth.

Saturday, May 4 — Rehab.

Wednesday, May 22 — Bobaflex.

Sunday, May 26 — The Veer Union w/ Despite The Fallen, Zeroking and Further South.

Friday, May 31 — Flotsam And Jetsam w/ Dead By Wednesday,, Stagecoach Inferno and SWP.

The Warehouse ( Clarksville TN)

Saturday, April 27 — Flaw w/ Collision Theory and Granshaw.

Wick's Baxter

Saturday, March 9 — Some Kind Of Saint.

Zanzabar

Friday, May 31 — Nita Strauss.