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2007
The Year in Review
By Gus Griesinger
What an amazing full first year it has been for me as a staff member here at GlamMetal.com. We took the site to new heights with some of our interviews and we attended some of the most amazing shows as well. My first year has been filed with trials and tribulations. It almost started off with a bang, with me originally scheduled to interview Paul Stanley in January, but due to scheduling conflict it didn’t materialize. Then, my persistence and patience both paid off with a sit down chat with the Starchild himself at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in September. At around the same time in January I was able to attend (as a fan) the NAMM Expo in Anaheim, California. What a thrill to meet and shake hands with such artists as Ronnie James Dio, Nikki Sixx, Dave Mustaine, and Rudolph Schenker. Being able to attend the Black Tooth Bash was very memorable for me as the songs and artists that played made it a night to remember to say the least. The whole overall NAMM convention was such a great thrill and exciting experience and we are looking to have some really cool coverage from the upcoming 2008 Convention as well.
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My first interview (along with the assistant Editor Tracey) was with legendary Bass player Billy Sheehan in February. I got my feet wet with that one and from there was able to interview Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro from Lacuna Coil, Zakk Wylde, Xavier Muriel from Buckcherry, Doro Pesch, Sass Jordan, Jeff Pilson of Foreigner, Slash, Josh Todd, Scott Ian, Glen Hughes, Bruce Kulick, Joe “Blower” Garvey from Hinder, and of course the legendary Paul Stanley of Kiss. These are just my interviews. The site was loaded with some gems this year that included: Nikki Sixx, Kerry King of Slayer, Cliff Williams of AC/DC, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, Vinny Appice from Heaven and Hell, and Matthias Jabs from the Scorpions. How can we top that list??? We’ll have of heap of work in front of us in 2008 that’s for sure!
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The year produced some spectacular shows too. It started a little slow with that debacle you would call Supernova at The Joint in Vegas on New Years Day. After that show, it couldn’t get any worse right? Well it got better, a whole lot better.
We were there to cover the Black Tooth Bash as stated earlier and went on to cover one of the best tours of the year, Heaven and Hell with Ronnie James Dio back at the helm. I was able to see one of the earlier stops on the tour in March. Following that was the VH1 Rock Honors with Ozzy, Heart, ZZ Top, and Genesis, which was a blast! I was able to ask questions to Ozzy and Heart (who are one of my all time favorite bands.) Are you kidding me?? What a thrill that was!
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In my opinion, the best show of the entire year was the Rock on the Range Show at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH in May. Too many bands to list but 12 hours of Rock and Roll with some of today’s best bands and meeting the people we met made this trip so well worth it. The following month was my first time being able to see the Metal Queen herself, Doro Pesch. She was probably the most sincere musician that I have ever met! She cares about her fans so much and showed it that night after a kick ass performance. She stayed until at least 2:30 in the morning to pose for pictures and sign autographs.
A couple of days later I was off to Chicago, for the first time, for the Q101 Block Party with Godsmack, Buckcherry, and Finger Eleven. Still in June, about a week later, was possibly the coolest interview I have ever done. I was invited to have dinner with Canadian rocker, Sass Jordan, and interview her on a yacht before she took the stage for a free show in Tonawanda, NY.
The last two days in June might be the best two back- to- back days I experienced up til now. First, on June 29th, I was able to meet the ladies of Heart after their show in Niagara Falls, Canada. Many thanks go out to both supporter and friend of our site, Heart’s drummer Ben Smith, for making a dream become a reality. The ladies were very cordial and engaging. The next night was off to see the Blitz Bash with Saliva, Drowning Pool, and Buckcherry in Columbus, Ohio. I was able to watch both of these shows from the side of the stage, which was so cool.
I was able to see three Kiss shows in over a week’s time in late July. As anyone knows, anytime seeing a Kiss show is a good thing so I was happy to take those in of course! While I was out covering those Kiss shows, I attended the much “hyped” LA Guns and Adler’s Appetite (supposedly Guns n’ Roses reunion show). Not much of a reunion but still cool to see LA Guns and to hang out with my LA friends.
We head to August next. The most pleasant surprise of the year had to be how good Foreigner was with all new members and original guitarist Mick Jones. You need to check them out if you ever get the chance, you won’t be disappointed.
My next show was in August and featured Velvet Revolver and Alice and Chains. Even though VR was great, Alice and Chains stole the show. It was one of those once in a lifetime moments for me and our assistant editor, Tracey, to sit down with legendary guitarist, Slash, before the show.
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At the end of the month was the Bad Boys of Rock Tour with Papa Roach, Buckcherry, and Hinder. Another huge supporter of the site (Steve Shaw) was able to help us get a sit down interview with Buckcherry’s singer Josh Todd before the show. A couple of days later I traveled up to see the Scorpions in Toronto.
You tired yet?? Well there is some more. In September, I got to have all access for the NYC installment of Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. It was cool experience to meet people who were able to take part in their fantasy experience. Obviously the whole trip was dedicated to getting my long awaited interview with Paul Stanley and he couldn’t have been more polite to me and was happy to grant our interview.
Some other shows that we covered were: Ratt/Poison, Tesla, Rush, Scrap Metal, and Rocklahoma. We are hoping to be on location and really cover the Rocklahoma show in 2008 and bring you some cool and exclusive stuff from the bands that will be participating.
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All in all, what a fantastic first year it has turned out to be. The staff, here at Glammetal; Tom, Tracey, Doobie, and myself, want to THANK YOU for your support and for keeping the site alive and going! We also want to thank former contributors Debbie Rao and Jim Hackett for all of their hard work and contributions to the site. We wish them well with their future endeavors! We also want to thank all the publicists who have worked with us to set up interviews and show requests. You know who you all are!!!!
2008… LET’S GO!!!!
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