9:12 p.m. - May 12, 2004
A definition of Music!
This is gonna be a long one so get comfy....
One of my dearest friends Julie was telling me today that she and her hubby Don fight endlessly about music. Now thats a problem so she decided to consult the 'expert' so here I am to define the difference between Glam Rock and Metal...Julie...this is for you.
****disclaimer****
I know I have left some out but this is just me yappin off the top of my extremely tired skull�.AND these two groups can be broken down to more sub groups but I am just not up for that�so DEAL!
Lets Talk Glam
Now to the terror of most music people this is is NOT going away. As a matter of fact it is getting bigger and badder than ever (is badder a word?).
Okay so lets take a look at what Makes Glam...
Make Up ~ Lots of it...and I am not talking KISS white face paint. I am talking Lipstick and eyeliners and looking like a GIRL makeup. These guys make you double check your purse for your freshen up stuff ALL THE TIME!
Nail polish ~ Usually black and chipped.
Big Hair ~ Can be multiple colors and change at any moment...usually the hair isnt very healthy due to teasing, coloring and enormous amounts of Aqua Net. And remember EVERY good glam Band has a "token" blonde.
Spandex ~ Buy stock in this shit cuz DAMN...there isnt one part of their bodies that spandex has not adorned...
Accessories ~ these can vary from ripped up tube socks that are used as arm warmers to very expensive leather vests and chain belts. Fringe has appeared and disappeared but that is all Bon Jovi�s fault. �He gave fringe a bad name!� 
And lets not even GO there when it comes to the abuse of cowboy hats. SOMEONE told these guys they are cool and they BELEVED it�
To the credit of these fabulous men I must take my hat off to the runny eyeliner from them being up there under the lights sweating profusely and playing the shit out of their instruments. And as every one reading this knows there were more than a handful of songs on your local radio that when you are stuck in traffic you find yourself belting them out at the top of your lungs�even tho you would NEVER admit you know al the words to �Every Rose has its Thorns�.
Am I right?
So lets go on a visual tour of some of our all time favorite �Glam�, �Sleaze�, �Cock� rockers�.
New York Dolls ~ They started this mania. The Dolls made Gary Glitter look presentable. Wearing disheveled wigs , smudged lipstick, stilted platforms, painfully tight lurex pants and crimpoline dresses they combined Iggy's anarchy, Lou Reeds brutality and street sense and invoked the three minute pop song with the excitement it was originally conceived. With this sort of attitude they raised hackles everywhere.
Britny Foxx ~ Britny Fox Came roaring into the music scene riding the tails of the late 80's L.A. glam explosion, however they fell from glory almost as fast as they came. They owed a lot to Cinderella, both in sound and career guidance.
Cinderella ~ Started out as strictly a glam band, but evolved into a much more bluesy, melodic band in the 90's. Became MTV darlings with a string of catchy singles and successful albums. Little label or media support slowed the band down in their later years, but they continue to have a loyal following. I am one of them. Damn I love Tom Keifer
Dokken ~ A great melodic metal band, Dokken was able to become one of the most successful bands of the 80's glam metal scene. Huge harmonies/melodies mixed with catchy choruses and a blazing axe attack was the band's recipe for stardom
Poison ~ Pretty boy good looks and pop oriented rock songs made Poison one of the biggest names in the late 80's glam scene. They quickly became MTV darlings and opened the door for many similar bands to follow with their radio-friendly ballads and over-the-top stage shows
TigerTailz (these guys are so glam they get 2 pics) ~ A glam band remembered more for their outrageous image then the actual music.
Tuff ~ Often compared to Poison, Tuff played a similar brand of catchy Glam Rock -- although at times much darker. They had the pretty-boy good looks that were so popular in the glam years, but just arrived too late on the scene to make much of a commercial dent.
Nasti Idols ~ The Nasty Idols mixed elements of Hanoi Rocks, Motley Crue and Alice Cooper to produce their own brand of straightforward, sleazy glam rock.
Roxx Gang ~ Roxx Gang was an excellent (or inept, depending on who you talk to) Glam band fronted and guided by front man and band visionary Kevin Steele. The group managed some fringe success with their debut album, but like so many in their genre, they were pushed aside with the changing of musical tastes
Ratt (Oh Stephen in that SPANDEX!) Ratt was a hugely successful Glam Band that emerged from the Los Angeles glam scene. Branding their music "Ratt'n'Roll", the rodent rockers had hit after hit until the bottom fell out of the movement in the early 90's.
Hanoi Rocks ~ True Glam lovers know all they need to know about these guys...
I would Add my three favs�Faster Pussycat, Pretty Boy Floyd and Enuff Z Nuff�but everyone knows who they are and if you don�t just read back in the diary�
Okay now lets talk Metal�.
As we all know most of these guys donned hair and lots of it�But they weren�t afraid to let it swing�and swing it would cuz the Glam Rockers had bought all the hair spray�
Clothes~ can be anything, from other band�s concert shirts and ripped jeans�to school boy shorts and a tie (Angus Young ~ AC/DC). It really didn�t matter cuz these guys are out there for the music�chicks were a bonus, but I truly believe if ya talk to em�they just had something to say dammit! And they were gonna do it thru the music. Corrupting young minds and rockin the radio waves. Leather was there from time to time, especially the token "biker" jacket. I would bet that they were sold by the gross back in the day to many bands... but mostly these boys would wear clothes that could move.
Cast ~ You almost always see 2 guitarists plus a bass player. And you cant see the drummer because there are so many drums and symbols it looks like a fortress. However there is occation that 3 guys can rock out as hard or harder than 5.
Fire ~ Always for a good metal show there is giant structures (Eddie from Iron Maiden is a perfect example of this)and pyrotechnics, cannons, guns, and flaming guitars (Ted Nugent).
Synchronized Guitar riffs ~ Remember??? The three guys and the singer �rocking back and forth to a screaming guitar(s) solo-ish sort of thing.
Air Guitar ~ Not so predominant at a glam show but at a Metal show its inevitable...any Metal show there is more than a handful of professional air guitarists flanked with the one guy that THINKS he has the drum fill aced. Was that you? UH HUH�whatever�
Make up ~ very little if any at all its just for stage lighting so they don�t look DEAD.
Okay lets go on a tour of some Metal favs!
Bang Tango ~ One of the most original bands to come out of the L.A. rock scene in the late 80's. They blended the rock vocals and attitude with funky bass lines and a streetwise appearance. They showed so much potential that they were signed to a major label before a demo was even recorded
Bullet Boys ~ The BulletBoys were unfairly labelled as a Van Halen clone due to vocalist Marq Torien's (one-time Ratt guitarist) onstage antics, and their association with producer Ted Templeman. They enjoyed massive stardom on the tail end of the L.A. metal movement, but their glory days faded as fast as they arrived
Coverdale/Page ~ The joining of two of the biggest names in hard rock history resulted in one spectacular album and tour before egos tore the two apart
Damn Yankees ~ An unlikely mish-mash of personalities, the Damn Yankees super group managed to resurrect several waning careers. The hype and success was short lived however, and like so many bands in the early 90s they just faded away
Guns & Roses ~ Guns N'Roses were he most notorious band of the late 80's hard rock era. Sex, drugs, riots, racism, fights...the band has been involved in anything you can think of. They gave heavy metal a much needed kick in the ass when they burst upon the scene.
Helix ~ The quintessential Canadian metal band, Helix has been rocking audiences around the world for over three decades with varying degrees of success. A party band for all seasons, chances are Helix will continue to release music until their dying days
Johnny Crash ~ Playing homage to AC/DC, Johnny Crash joined the ranks of bands such as Rhino Bucket and Dirty Looks. The band wasn't flashy, but played uncompromising hard rock that would have made Bon Scott proud
Love/Hate ~ Love/Hate is a guitar oriented blues based hard rock band that successfully incorporated elements of psychedelic, punk and funk into their brand of music. Labeled themselves the "stoopidist band in the world", while the Los Angeles media dubbed them the "most important local band since Guns N'Roses
Metallica ~ Do I need to go into THIS???
Judas Priest ~ Or this???
Testla ~ Mainstream hard rockers, Tesla's blue-collar music turned them into superstars in the early 90s. Named after the inventor of the same name, Tesla took pride in the fact that they used "no machines" in the recording of any album. They were one of the few groups that remained successful as musical tides changed around them.
Y & T ~ One of the most underrated, yet influential of all hard rock bands. They always had a loyal following, and influenced countless musicians, but never seemed able to break into the mainstream in a big way over their twenty plus years.
XYZ ~ XYZ were an impressive hook-laden power metal band. They were considered the unofficial house band of the Los Angeles nightclub The Whiskey in the mid 80's, but major success eluded them.
Wildside ~ Wildside was an excellent band that burst onto the scene to late in the game to make any commercial break-through. The band played energetic melodic metal on their awesome debut album before trying too hard to fit in with the changing music scene
I do wanna add that I havent forgotten HUGE metal elements...Iron Maiden, Led Zepplin, Motorhead, W.A.S.P, Skid Row, Dio, Dream Theater or Anthrax...Just to mention a few. So gimme a little credit...I just figgered those Metal Gods go without sayin...dontcha think?
Okay so now I think that you all have the general gist of things�and Jules�I hope this helps�.
And ya�ll �feel free to leave me pro and con comments,,,cuz I am sure my opinion may not sit well will all of you�but hey if you don�t like what I have to say�.Fuck Off and Rock ON!
