Mayhem Media...music, monsters, mayhem...

Stevie Nicks shows the little girls how it's done

I have nothing against Taylor Swift -- cute kid -- but Stevie Nicks should never, EVER be referred to as her "backup" singer. No one puts Stevie in a corner.

Stevie Nicks Sings Backup for Taylor Swift at Grammy Awards.

If you do not own Belladonna, you need to buy it. Right now. I'm serious...right NOW.

I damn near wore this record out. In fact I am ordering a cd right now since I have parted with my vinyl collection. This is a 1981 release, and when I went to get a link for this post, it was ranked #1551. There's a reason for that. Trust me.

"Gold Dust Woman" is, technically, a Fleetwood Mac song. But let's face it, Fleetwood Mac was Stevie's backup band. There I said it. Sue me.

And no one compares to Stevie in style, either.

Wanna be featured on this blog?

There are several ways to get my attention, and some of them don't even involve blood, gore or sacrificing your first born.

A) If you are a label or PR agency, add me to your mailing list. For individual bands, this could get a bit overwhelming, so larger entities representing multiple artists only please. Unless say, you're Rob Zombie or something. Rob, you can feel free to email me to your heart's content.

B) See that little gray "dropbox" on the right? Use it to send me tracks or albums to feature on the blog and possibly be reviewed (full length cds/eps only for review)

C) Send me the actual cds for review

D) Send me your films to review

E) Send me cool memorabilia, music, dvds or tickets to give away

That's not so hard right? Right!

My Alexa rank* is dropping faster than a virgin's panties on prom night, so get in at the ground level before this sucker makes it big.

(*Alexa measures traffic rankings to websites, and the lower the number the better. It's dropped about 10 million in the last 10 days.)

PS. Email link is to your right under the dropbox.

Action Time Radio 25/Koffin Kats Interview

If you guys haven't checked out Steven Blaqart's "Blaqart Radio" and "Action Time! Radio," you need to tune in post haste. He has some great interviews and playlists of songs you probably haven't heard of but definitely should have.



This particular show features Vic Victor of the Koffin Kats, and they talk about yours truly a bit as well...

Action Time Radio 25/Koffin Kats Interview.

This Thanksgiving I gave thanks by airing an interview I did with Vic Victor of The Koffin Kats!! We talk about everything from their brand new album Forever For Hire to naked photo shoots with Diana Price to self afflicted entertainment.. this show also includes archived clips from The Quakes and The Limit Club!!!

Slayer's Araya sidelined with back injury, Slayer tour postponed

Apparently Tom Araya joins Pete Townshend as another casualty suffering injury in the name of rock and roll.

Araya has developed a back injury requiring surgery, and resulting in the cancellation of Slayer's immediate tour plans that include the American and Canadian Carnage Tour dates that were set to kick off on January 18, as well as the band's UK/European tour scheduled for March and April. Booking agents for both Slayer and Megadeth are already hard at work to see if these dates can be rescheduled, so those holding tickets are asked to sit tight as more info will be announced as progress is made.

The headbanging Araya, known for aggressively swinging his long mane of hair while performing, began experiencing back problems while on the band's Australian/New Zealand/Japanese tour last October. In spite of his rapidly increasing pain and discomfort, he carried on with the tour, but immediately upon returning home saw an orthopedic specialist who diagnosed a Cervical Radiculopathy. The rocker initially did not want to take the major surgery route, so the specialist recommended a series of minimally-invasive procedures. While those procedures have resulted in some improvement, Araya continues to deal with intermittent bouts of severe pain, numbness and muscle spasms. The surgical procedure that Araya will undergo, called an Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion, is a relatively routine practice and the recovery rate is excellent.

So there you have it kids. Bring ear plugs if you're going to be close to the stage. And bang your head...but not too hard.

Love Slayer? Check out this awesome selection of authentic Slayer apparel and gear from Rock.com!

Voltcase readers vote me "Photographer of the Year"

The readers of UK's Voltcase magazine named me Photographer of the Year for 2009, and runner up for feature of the year for their interview with me.

Also of note, the Koffin Kats were runnerup Band of the Year.

For the full results, go here

And for the interview, go here

I'm having sort of a Sally Field moment here...

Thank you Phoenix

(As I have not been keeping up with the blog here, I'm reposting a few things from livejournal and myspace to get this blog up to date. This was a myspace post form Oct 23)

I've had several comments and emails asking me when I'm coming home, so I think it's time I let you all know that as of last weekend, I signed a lease on a 2400 sq ft work/live loft in downtown...Detroit.

It's a risky move with the economy here in such bad shape, but the low cost of living is allowing me to get a space where I can live and work and create my dream studio. I simply couldn't afford a space like this in any other major city. I would work so much to pay for a loft like this in say, LA, or even Phoenix, I would have no time to create, and I'm ready to step up my game to the next level.

Another factor in my decision was travel time. Most of my work as a travel nurse will be on the eastern side of the country, and specifically around Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. While my company offers to fly us home every other weekend while on assignment, I quickly discovered I spent all that time in airports, usually routing through Detroit, as it's Northwest airlines hub (they were even routing me through Detroit when I was traveling from South Carolina to Phoenix.)

When I saw this loft, I knew I had to seize this opportunity. It's an amazing space and it's near the Eastern Market which is a neighborhood moving up. This is my dream, right here. So I was exhilarated when I signed the lease, but then it hit me how much I was giving up.

Getting that digital camera and coming out to shows in Phoenix has completely changed my life. I went from sitting at home every night to rebuilding my life and rediscovering a dream I had put aside for too long. I will be eternally grateful to all the people and the bands in Phoenix who took a chance on me and helped me get to this point. There are too many to list, but the first and most loyal were The Limit Club, Calabrese, Stitch Hopeless and the Sea Legs, Zombeast, Glass Heroes, The Fed Ups, Lennore, The Numptys, Adams Evil, The Video Nasties, The Quakes, The F-Holes...there have been many bands who have made kind comments, but these people went above and beyond with their encouragement and support. Thanks also to all the venues, some of which are no longer around: Chasers, Jugheads, The Cypress Lounge, The Paper Heart, Stray Cat, The PHiX (Lee, I forgive you for thinking I was one of the mothers of the Limit Club), The Rogue West, Ginger Mortiis' backyard, Day's Customs in Window Rock, Club Red, Studio 111, Hollywood Alley, The Surly Wench and The Pub and Grub -- I never saw a band play there, but got fucked up with Stitch Hopeless on a few occasions, namely after shooting the cd cover at the bar. (Speaking of which, thanks to Jordan for his assistance with that uh...device I was struggling with at his house after the shoot. Just don't post the photo of you helping me with it.) Thanks to Troy in Tuscon and the F-holes for letting me and bands party at and crash at their places after shows. And thanks to Merciless Entertainment (RIP) and all the fans who watched my back in the pit.

Psychobilly and the Phoenix scene in particular will always hold a special place with me. I will always consider you all family. So it's with mixed feelings I close this chapter in my life and start another.

On the bright side, if any of you come to Detroit, I have plenty of space to crash. And for bands to play.<

2007, I hardly knew ye (originally posted 12/24/07)

One week left in 2007, and what a year this has been for me. Quite the rollercoaster ride.

Even as a child, I was obsessed with photography, and with my love of music, dreamed of being a photographer for Rolling Stone. But as far too many of us know, we often get sidetracked from those dreams, and I'm sorry to say, I have not been an exception.

I almost found my calling when I got involved in photojournalism back in the 80s, but that was definitely not a kind field for women back in those days, to say the least. (Maybe still isn't, for all I know.) Without dredging all the details of that up, let's just say I became very disillusioned with the newspaper business and tried corporate PR.

Definitely not the right fit.

After a convoluted path that lead me through nursing school, I hit that classic wake up call that eventually gets us all - the ol' midlife crisis. That was 2006, and I bought my first -- and only -- digital camera. I started shooting local bands, which was very hard to begin with, to say the least. Here I was, the poster child for Social Anxiety Disorder, and old enough to be the mother of most of the bands and fans...I felt like an idiot out there. The fact that I kept going out and shooting, despite my discomfort, is a testament to how much I loved...love...the photography and the music.

This year in particular has been full of highs and lows more than any other year of my life. I had the first thrill of seeing my photos in a cd, as a poster and on a t-shirt. (I still get giddy like a little kid when I see my work used.) I had my first major magazine credit in Girls and Corpses magazine. This year will see my first cd covers (Koffin Kats and Stitch Hopeless and the Sea Legs so far.) I've met great people and people who weren't so great, but the former far outnumbered the latter, I'm happy to say. I've "partied with rock stars" and discovered said "rock stars" are just real people like you and me. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, and just as human.

I also damn near imploded here the last few weeks and nearly blew it all by attacking those closest to me  during my Annual Holiday Blues Meltdown (tm). I'm damn lucky -- and grateful -- that they have weathered the storm I created, and I've taken that wake up call to heart. There are a lot of people in the music biz -- and any biz -- that will use you and exploit you for their gain. But there are a lot of good people, too. People that are friends and have your back. And for them, I am eternally grateful.

What a long, strange trip this year has been, and I can only hope that 2008 continues the highs, but with a hell of a lot less lows. Having said that, I have my work cut out for me to top 2007. There are so many things I could count as favorite moments of 2007, but I think the winner is clear, hands down.

Seeing the Koffin Kats naked. Definitely. How the hell am I going to top that this year?

One week left in 2007, and what a year this has been for me. Quite the rollercoaster ride.

Even as a child, I was obsessed with photography, and with my love of music, dreamed of being a photographer for Rolling Stone. But as far too many of us know, we often get sidetracked from those dreams, and I'm sorry to say, I have not been an exception.

I almost found my calling when I got involved in photojournalism back in the 80s, but that was definitely not a kind field for women back in those days, to say the least. (Maybe still isn't, for all I know.) Without dredging all the details of that up, let's just say I became very disillusioned with the newspaper business and tried corporate PR.

Definitely not the right fit.

After a convoluted path that lead me through nursing school, I hit that classic wake up call that eventually gets us all - the ol' midlife crisis. That was 2006, and I bought my first -- and only -- digital camera. I started shooting local bands, which was very hard to begin with, to say the least. Here I was, the poster child for Social Anxiety Disorder, and old enough to be the mother of most of the bands and fans...I felt like an idiot out there. The fact that I kept going out and shooting, despite my discomfort, is a testament to how much I loved...love...the photography and the music.

This year in particular has been full of highs and lows more than any other year of my life. I had the first thrill of seeing my photos in a cd, as a poster and on a t-shirt. (I still get giddy like a little kid when I see my work used.) I had my first major magazine credit in Girls and Corpses magazine. This year will see my first cd covers (Koffin Kats and Stitch Hopeless and the Sea Legs so far.) I've met great people and people who weren't so great, but the former far outnumbered the latter, I'm happy to say. I've "partied with rock stars" and discovered said "rock stars" are just real people like you and me. Sometimes better, sometimes worse, and just as human.

I also damn near imploded here the last few weeks and nearly blew it all by attacking those closest to me  during my Annual Holiday Blues Meltdown (tm). I'm damn lucky -- and grateful -- that they have weathered the storm I created, and I've taken that wake up call to heart. There are a lot of people in the music biz -- and any biz -- that will use you and exploit you for their gain. But there are a lot of good people, too. People that are friends and have your back. And for them, I am eternally grateful.

What a long, strange trip this year has been, and I can only hope that 2008 continues the highs, but with a hell of a lot less lows. Having said that, I have my work cut out for me to top 2007. There are so many things I could count as favorite moments of 2007, but I think the winner is clear, hands down.

Seeing the Koffin Kats naked. Definitely. How the hell am I going to top that this year?

Barbie is NOT your friend

With the onslaught of talentless, trashy pop tarts all over the charts and tabloids, the image of women in rock is in need of serious rehab. Of the voluntary kind, not court ordered. I’m tired of pre-packaged Barbie dolls lip-synching songs they never wrote, busting out moves from their choreographer, and wearing the latest fashions selected by their stylist.

Enough is enough.

The record industry as we know it is going down in flames, and I personally am ready to dance around the bonfire. For years, they’ve been force feeding us generic crap in all genres, but the absolute worst has been the so-called “revolution” of female artists - Britney Spears, Ashlee Simpson…and the so-called “punk” Avril Lavigne. (Oh, please.)

Revolution? Hardly. Sex over substance has been around as long as the oldest profession. You record execs are just never gonna get it, are you? We want the real thing.

The Riot Grrl movement gave us some hope for a real change. Bands like Babes in Toyland, Bikini Kill, L7, 7 Year Bitch and Hole showed us that not only could the girls rock as hard as the boys, but they were just as talented, driven…and pissed off. Their guitars were more than props. Their anger wasn’t a calculated marketing ploy for a certain demographic.

It was real.

I had thought the riot grrls were long gone, with the breakup of all those bands, and the plastic-surgeried, mainstreaming of Courtney Love. But just as Love is coming back with a new album, closer to her roots, I am browsing through myspace for new bands, and I see the seeds of the new generation coming to fruition. Love’s video for “Mono” has a certain prophetic quality — she lifts her skirt to reveal little girls in frilly dresses and princess crowns, who in turn life their skirts to reveal…power tools. And use said tools to go on a rampage.

The riot grrls gave birth to this new generation that is finally coming of age. And ready to kick some ass — starting with the pop tarts, whose 15 minutes of fame isn’t only over, but never should have begun.

I don’t know if this revolution will be televised, but it will sure as hell be blogged.

The rumors of rock and roll's demise are greatly exaggerated

I recently celebrated my one year anniversary of getting my digital camera and starting to shoot bands, and I just want to say that in the last year, I have not only rediscovered my love of photography, but my love of music. Real rock and roll, not the corporate packaged crap on top 40 radio or MTV.The music industry is crying about the drop in sales and blaming illegal downloading. Yes, that has hurt sales, but what they blindly disregard is the two most important factors in why the music industry is struggling.

1) The music the labels are putting out sucks.

2) The artists are divas more worried about looking cool and getting the right haircuts and wearing the right artificially distressed black t-shirt than making good music. It's all about bodyguards and backstage passes and partying with idiot millionaire heiresses and doing a stint in rehab for the sympathy factor...I mean, what is that?

Forget the divas and go out to local dive bars if you want to experience real music again. See for yourself how hard these people work. They haul all their own equipment, setting it up and tearing it down themselves between sets, often for nothing more than a handful of people (sometimes just a few friends and family) and a few dollars. Not even enough for their gas in some cases, and after spending a day working some crappy corporate 9-5 job to scrape by on the rent and buy their equipment. The ones from out of state don't travel in luxury tour buses or stay in five star hotels. They get out there in a car with a trailer for their gear, or some cramped van, sleeping on peoples' floors and or even on the ground somewhere to come out to these shows. Sometimes for months at a time. These bands put themselves through this for the love of the music. And sacrifice a lot to get up on stage for all the rest of us. So love them, support them, buy their cds and merchandise. Whoever spread the idea that rock and roll is a glamorous lifestyle was a brilliant PR person. And completely, utterly, full of shit. I am going to slap the next millionaire "rock star" who cries about how hard life is on the road with their room service and high tech tour buses and the fans that just won't leave them alone.

That's the sad excuse that passes for music these days. Real rock and roll is in some hole in the wall, with sweat pouring down everyone, and people slamming into each other and screaming and jumping up on the stage with the bands and everyone -- bands and fans alike -- hanging out as equals. Like a sort of big, happy, family. (Okay, a big, crazy, drunken family, but we'll take what we can get.)

Turn off MTV and get out there and see it up close. Get sweat on, spit on and knocked around the pit. Because rock and roll is NOT dead. It's in some dingy dive bar down the street. Where's it's always been.