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Vanilla Strange Gato

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Everything posted by Vanilla Strange Gato

  1. https://www.metallica.com/tour/1985-02-28-houston-texas.html https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/iron-maiden/1985/the-summit-houston-tx-53d3abad.html
  2. If you are an old like me and grew up in the Houston area, you will recall a radio show that came on at midnight on the weekends called Metal Shop. Hosted by Linda Silk on KLOL. It was the only show you could hear Metallica on the radio in their early days. They were too fast and thrashy for mainstream album rock radio. I had only heard them a few times in high school and seen some stuff about them in Circus and Hit Parader magazines, or maybe a Kerrang! that a classmate brought to school. In 1985 I went with a buddy from my high school band and my big brother and one of his co-workers to see Iron Maiden and WASP at The Summit. It was the Powerslave tour, and it was excellent. And loud. Between WASP and Iron Maiden they announced that Metallica was playing at Cardi’s with Armored Saint after the Maiden show and it was all-ages and you could get in for $5 or something with your Maiden ticket stub. Again, if you are from the Houston area in that time frame, you remember the ads: “it’s ladies’ night at Cardi’s!!!” It was a school night for me and work night for my brother, but we went anyway. My friend called his dad to tell him he would be home later than planned and that he had no choice because he didn’t drive. His dad was pissed, which is a bummer because his dad was a guitarist in a band in high school and still hand a kind of Spicoli vibe when you talked to him. We went to Cardi’s. It was packed. Armored Saint was finishing their set when we arrived. As they left, the crew rolled off their wall of Marshall’s. Behind it was a larger wall of Marshall stacks. M Cardi’s ain’t that big. Iron Maiden could have used this setup in the Summit and still been too loud. This was the Ride The Lightning tour. Cliff was still alive. I got to see my first ever bass solo that night. Everything was 100mph and they played like they were trying to kill us. It was raw and powerful. I was screaming in my brother’s ear to tell him something and he couldn’t make out one word. To this day I still do well on audiograms that are administered at work. I’m not sure how. The next morning I was very late to 1st period. I woke up on the living room floor. I had passed out waiting for my brother to get out of the shower around 3:30am. I was wearing a Powerslave shirt I bought for my cousin who couldn’t go. I got up and went to school. No shower. Bed head from sleeping on the floor. Smelled like pot smoke and cigarette smoke. Giant black X’s on my hands. Made it to school and walked passed the attendance office without getting an admit. Went to Algebra and opened the door with maybe two minutes left in class. Mrs. Allen turned and started pointing and grumping at me. The class was pointing and appeared to be laughing. I could hear nothing but ringing. I said “WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR ANYTHING YOU ARE SAYING!!!” I got detention. And went to choir and told the director I would not be able to participate for a few days until the ringing stopped. I didn’t smell good. People usually knew if you wore a concert shirt to school the next day that you had gone. They could smell me and knew that I had gone. It was totally worth it.
  3. Pretty sure I don’t fit into my concert jerseys from the 80’s.
  4. I actually like the songs her band does in that movie.
  5. Glad you brought up that Super Bowl appearance. It was so great after 9/11 had everyone reeling and in a fog for a long time. And the whole country being polite to each other for a long time. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle was on sports talk radio in Houston the week after that game. The hosts asked him about the halftime performance. He said he didn’t know much U2 and didn’t care for their music, but when those two massive black cloths rolled down from the top of the Superdome and “Streets” started playing, and all those names started scrolling down those cloths, he said everyone in the press box had tears streaming down. It was a special moment for sure.
  6. Underrated.
  7. We have reached the end of the list for band names. Wow.
  8. As someone else stated, there are many. I could do a whole page just on Rush and Van Halen. There is something special about this one. Plus, it’s fun to play.
  9. They know how to set the mood in that stadium.
  10. Everything on their site looks like I’m not worthy to touch it. That 1954 Strat is almost as much as my first house.
  11. If you saw the movie “Rock Star” with Mark Wahlberg, specially the scene where he wakes up from some bender and sees the “chick” from the night before standing up to pee, I would say this rock & roll lifestyle is going according to plan.
  12. Can y’all recommend any guitar shops in Seattle? I’m heading there on a trip soon and figured I would take a look around while there. Any recommendations for stuff to see or places to eat are also welcome. The Jimi Hendrix gravesite is probably further than I want to go. I would consider the Bruce Lee gravesite though.
  13. $20 copay is a $20 copay.
  14. Just found this thread. Been on the Music board since I joined. I’ve survived Stage IV colorectal, metastatic to the lymph and liver, with two recurrences. If anybody gets into that world, I’m more than happy to share my experiences. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy.
  15. Dave Bryan on the left there looks like the chick from the refinery that helps Mad Max drive the oil tanker full of sand down the road in “Road Warrior”.
  16. Seeing Ratt live also helped clear up who the shredder was between DeMartini and Crosby.
  17. Yeah, they opened for Bon Jovi in ‘87, and I saw them open for David Lee Roth in ‘86 the night before Thanksgiving.
  18. I was at both of those shows. Ratt was underwhelming. I had high hopes because I liked their music back in the day but Pearcy just didn’t have good stage presence and doesn’t sing great live.
  19. If I had been one to email Jim Rome back in the day to try to win “Huge Email of the Day”, my email account would be: davebryansmanperm at EarthLink dot net earthlink shreds out
  20. Vanilla Strange Gato

    Rush

    That’s the same All-Star Game where James Earl Jones recited the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner while a band played it and he screwed it up a tiny bit.
  21. Saw Styx a few weeks back. The Shriners were doing a fundraiser for their hospital where you got a raffle ticket to win a signed guitar and you got a new Styx cd for $20. The Shriners do great work and I’m pretty bad about buying new music so I gave them a $20. Didn’t win a guitar. I had seen this AI-heavy video for the first single off this new album. It’s a trip, and the song is pretty good. it’s taken a few listens but the album has grown on me. If you want Grand Illusion or Pieces of Eight, this ain’t it. Bands evolve, change members, age, etc. This disc has some good songs. And they don’t hide their influences. I hear Pink Floyd, The Who, and a couple of tracks that remind of stuff from The White Album all mixed into this album. Probably more if I think about it a little longer. I am glad I bought it.
  22. That’s fantastic that you took your dad. Good son!
  23. Vanilla Strange Gato

    Rush

    That was excellent! Thanks for sharing! I’m a big fan of YYNOT. They are really good. The bassist and guitarist both nail the tones of Geddy and Alex so well.
  24. Stevie might have been trying to match Taylor so there would be some semblance of harmony, or was thrown off by Taylor not staying on pitch. The age of the performer is irrelevant at that point. By 21, you either have it or you don’t. You can either sing the notes correctly every time or not. There are numerous examples of younger entertainers who just killed it before 21. Writing the hook is a talent. I don’t know if she does all of that herself but if so then good for her being able to come up with those ideas. That’s the toughest part. I do have an acquaintance that went to school for sound engineering and producing in Nashville. He worked some with Taylor back in this era. He was not complimentary of her musical abilities at the time. The Eras Tour is the most impressive tour of all time. And her starting from scratch and recording her earlier albums again and owning the rights was a baller move. Her success is undeniable. I just don’t think it’s as organic as most people think.
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