In only 6 days it will be Christmas. Last night I decided to do some last minute online Christmas shopping, and bought a present for my favorite person (myself). Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the Slayer Christmas sweater, but what I got is equally amazing. Introducing:
Iron Maiden. Number of The Beast. On your feet. Jealous?
And today's gift to you...... AC/DC's "Mistress For Christmas", which is both hilarious and kickass.
I actually meant to have TT Quick as the Band Of The Week last week, but had to switch that out to pay some dues to Mr. Dio. The reason I am going back in time to the mid 80s is that this New Jersey band was actually great, and had all the tools to become a success. Some bands 'click' with the public, other don't... there isn't always a rhyme and reason to it. For instance - take their guitarist, Dave DiPeitro- not only was he a legend for those in-the-know, but he actually was the guitar teacher for both Dave 'Snake' Sabu (Skid Row), and Zakk Wylde.
TT Quick first formed as a cover band, led by vocalist Mark Tornillo. Mark's voice was like gravel and the two bands he loved to cover were Accept and AC/DC. Eventually Mark and Dave went on to write their own material, tour as openers for some major acts, and get some local success, but still nothing really stuck. Now fast forward 20 years and you will find Mark working as an electrician in central Jersey and playing the occasional TT Quick show at local bars.
This is when the 'pinch-me-I'm-dreaming' moment comes... Mark is asked to replace Udo Dirkschneider as the new lead singer for Accept in early 2009. Before you know it, the band have written an album with him, and begin touring Europe. As if this wasn't enough, in May of 2009, Accept played a MASSIVE arena in Germany opening up for none other than..... AC/DC! Talk about coming full circle.
I was lucky enough to see the the Tornillo fronted Accept at Gramercy Theater (NYC) a little over 2 weeks ago, and I was blown away. Opening up with 'Metal Heart' and moving straight into the greats like 'Midnight Mover', 'Princess of the Darn', 'Restless & Wild', 'Son Of a Bitch', and 'Neon Nights'- the list could go on and on. They played for 2 hours and 15 minutes, with essentially no filler (no long winded rants, or boring drum solos) and an encore of 'Fast As A Shark' and 'Balls To The Wall', the show was incredible and the vibe of the sold out crowd was alive. One of the best shows I've been to in a while.
Getting back to the point here, this made me want to give a nod to TT Quick. Check out some live footage and a playlist of songs below:
Some metal related winners from the Grammys include: Best hard rock performance – AC/DC – “War Machine” Best metal performance – Judas Priest – “Dissident Aggressor”
I love Priest, but it's really silly that they won for a live performance of a song written in '77. Grammys have no idea when it comes to metal/hard rock. The award didnt even make it to the live broadcast (surprise surprise), but here is the video of Halford accepting the award:
Also,Alice Cooper announced the nominees and winner for best Rock Album. The nominees were:
AC/DC - Black Ice
Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood - Live From Madison Square Garden
Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown Dave Mathews Band - Big Whiskey And the Groogrux King
Today is a day dedicated to the forgotten singers in metal. There are the singers who are sometimes forgotten, but metalheads love: Neil Turbin in Anthrax, Paul Di'Anno in Maiden, and Tony Martin in Black Sabbath. Then there are those who were in the band for so short (never released anything) that its 'ok' to forget about them: Ray Gillen also with Sabbath, and Al Atkins in the early years of Judas Priest.
Today isDave Evansbirthday, so he is the forgotten singer for today. He was part of the original lineup of AC/DC, stood around with AC/DC while they established a name on the local scene and even recorded a song with the boys called "Can I Sit Next To You, Girl". Happy 56th, Dave. I think it's safe to say he got the shit end of the stick by choosing to leave the band. Bless him, though, he put out a solo album just last year, so at least he's still tryin'.
