Quiz #100 - Machine Head "Davidian"

Round number here and a milestone. It couldn't have been marked by anything else but a great song that I - and many others - came to love. A combination of Sepultura and Pantera, a true rock anthem.

UPDATED:

I'm sad. I can understand - to some extent - why people never heard of The Almighty or Warrior Soul.

But Machine Head?!

Influential West Coast heavy metal quartet Machine Head formed in 1992 around the talents of ex-Vio-lence guitar players Robert Flynn and Phil Demmel, bass player Adam Duce, and drummer Chris Kontos. The band's D.I.Y. work ethic, aggressive playing, and relentless self-promotion eventually landed them a deal with Roadrunner Records, a relationship that would extend all the way through 2005. Their blistering debut, 1992's "Burn My Eyes", blended the powerful, modern attack of Pantera and Alice in Chains with the volatility of classic thrash bands like Death Angel and Slayer, earning them a huge European following. The record sold over 500,000 copies and spawned a massive international tour that lasted almost two years. Kontos was replaced by new drummer Dave McClain on 1997's "More Things Change", an album that saw the band blending speed and progressive metal with dizzying results. The excessive touring and high-octane lifestyle took its toll on the group, but they fought through their demons on 1999's "Burning Red", resulting in the hit "From This Day," their first commercial single and video. 2001 saw the release of Supercharger, followed by the concert album "Hellalive" and the critically lauded "Through the Ashes of Empires" in 2003.

The DVD "Elegies" arrived in 2005, followed by "Blackening" in 2007.



Machine Head "Davidian"
Album "Burn my eyes" - 1992

Quiz #99 - Hardline "Hot Cherie"

Nothing more than the naked torso of the vocalist in this video to trigger *some* memories...

Sorry :))

UPDATED:

Guitar gunner Neal Schon played as a teen with Santana. Then, he founded Journey and rode their radio wave while still reaching out to Jan Hammer and Sammy Hagar for creative freedom and chop flexing. In the late '80s, he joined Bad English, which was bad idea since singer John Waite and fellow Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain (both ex-Babys) confined Schon's hammer-down tendencies just like Journey. He finally got what he wanted with the hair unit Hardline: Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo drafted lifelong pal Todd Jensen (former David Lee Roth) for bass duty. Frontman Johnny Gioeli and his guitarist brother, Joey, already wrote songs together in Brunette.

Hardline's debut, "Double Eclipse", saw some MTV and radio action with "Takin' Me Down." Schon let out some of the stored-up slashing he had long suppressed. However, the early-'90s rock atmosphere was less than kind to such endeavors, and when Schon took the rhythm section on tour with Paul Rodgers, Hardline folded.

[source]



Hardline "Hot Cherie"
Album "Double eclipse" - 1992

Quiz #98 - Mr. Big "Green Tinted Sixties Mind"

Like any other teenage girls back in early '90s, I loved this band. Unlike other teenage girls of the early '90s, I only saw the vocal as my... brother...

It's a long story, me and my best friend used to have this great "family" and we had rock stars for fathers, mothers and siblings. We also had a "thing" for certain rock stars, but this guy's face was so innocent and he managed to preserve his youth so unbelievably well, he had to be just a brother :P

UPDATED - October 10, 2007:

aaaaand HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Eric Martin for it is his birthday today (he was born on Oct. 10, 1960). Check out his personal blog - if you are into celebrities, or blogs, or both :P

Mr. Big was one of the few "shredder" heavy metal bands (translation: its members were very proficient at their instruments) that realized that songcraft was more important than just simply playing a thousand notes per minute. The seeds for the group were sown when bass player extraordinaire Billy Sheehan (often called the Eddie Van Halen of the bass) left David Lee Roth's solo band in 1988. Almost immediately after his exit, Sheehan began piecing together a new outfit comprised of former Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert, drummer Pat Torpey, and singer Eric Martin (the latter had issued a pair of obscure solo releases in the mid-'80s). By 1989, the newly formed quartet had already inked a recording contract with Atlantic, resulting in the release of a self-titled debut the same year. Despite causing a buzz amongst musicians, the album failed to crossover to a mainstream rock audience stateside; however, Mr. Big was an immediate smash success overseas in Japan.

The quartet broadened its horizons on its sophomore effort, 1991's "Lean Into It", which included the melodic psychedelic rocker "Green Tinted Sixties Mind," as well as a pair of ballads that would become sizeable hit singles: the number one smash "To Be With You" and "Just Take My Heart." Despite issuing further releases (1993's "Bump Ahead" and 1996's "Hey Man"), Mr. Big was unable to sustain their commercial success in their homeland, but over in Japan, the group's popularity continued to soar (resulting in countless sold-out tours and such Japan-only live albums as "Raw Like Sushi I", "Raw Like Sushi II", "Japandemoniumi", "Mr. Big in Japan", etc.). Gilbert split from the group in the late '90s to pursue a solo career and was replaced by former Poison guitarist Richie Kotzen. The new lineup issued a pair of studio recordings, "Get Over It" and "Actual Size", before launching a "farewell tour" in Japan.

[source]



Mr. Big "Green Tinted Sixties Mind"
Album "Lean into it" - 1991

Quiz #97 - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers "Mary Jane's last dance"

Spooky, I know...
Leave your disturbing answers in the comment form til next Tuesday.

UPDATED:

Upon the release of their first album in the late '70s, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were shoehorned into the punk/new wave movement by some observers who picked up on the tough, vibrant energy of the group's blend of Byrds riffs and Stonesy swagger. In a way, the categorization made sense. Compared to the heavy metal and art rock that dominated mid-'70s guitar rock, the Heartbreakers' bracing return to roots was nearly as unexpected as the crashing chords of the Clash. As time progressed, it became clear that the band didn't break from tradition like their punk contemporaries. Instead, they celebrated it, culling the best parts of the British Invasion, American garage rock, and Dylanesque singer/songwriters to create a distinctively American hybrid that recalled the past without being indebted to it.

[source]

"Mary Jane's Last Dance" was one of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' most successful singles (Top 20, 1994) and remains a live concert highlight. Recorded while Petty was making his solo record, Wildflowers, the Heartbreakers convened for the recording of two new songs with producer Rick Rubin to fulfill a contractual obligation for their 1993 Greatest Hits package.

[source]



Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers "Mary Jane's last dance"
Album "Greatest Hits" - 1993

Quiz #96 - Transvision Vamp "I want your love"

I don't want your money, I want your answers. Til next Monday, to be precise :)

UPDATED:

Despite almost universal critical hatred, Transvision Vamp briefly rose to the top of the U.K. charts in the late '80s, thanks largely to the media image of lead singer Wendy James, who fashioned herself as a sexually provocative, rebellious, fashion-conscious punk — sort of a mixture of Madonna, Blondie's Deborah Harry, T. Rex, and the Clash. The musical backing by guitarist/songwriter Nick Christian Sayer, keyboardist Tex Axile, bassist Dave Parsons, and drummer Pol Burton tended to reflect the latter three bands as well. The singles "Tell That Girl to Shut Up" (originally by Holly and the Italians) and the Top Five "I Want Your Love" helped their debut album, Pop Art, reach the British Top Five, while the follow-up, Velveteen, hit the top, buoyed by the Top Three hit "Baby I Don't Care." The group's run halted when MCA initially refused to release Little Magnets Vs. the Bubble of Babble in the U.K.; it eventually appeared in 1991 to little attention.

[source]



Transvision Vamp "I want your love"
Album "Pop Art" - 1988

September - Third Week's Chart

1. object Values = 90 points
2. Cassandra = 50 points
3. Gareth = 40 points
4. Petrica the Cat=20 points
4. Malcom = 20 points

Making a strong comeback this week, our old friend object Values.
Second place this week with only 50 points (but leading this month chart with 170 points - so far) Cassandra. Go Cassandra, go :))
And we are welcoming two new players: Gareth and Malcom. I hope they're enjoying themselves and will continue taking part in this competition.

I'm surprised no one recognized Backyard Babies. After all, they had a concert here in June...

Quiz #95 - The Black Crowes "Hard to handle"

If you know the band and the song provide your answers in the comment form til Friday, October the 5th. Don't fret if the comments don't appear right away, they will be posted after the quiz is ended.

UPDATED:

At the time of their 1990 debut, the kind of rock & roll the Black Crowes specialize in was out of style. Only Guns N' Roses came close to approximating a vintage Stones-style raunch, but they were too angry and jagged to pull it off completely. The Black Crowes replicated that Stonesy swagger and Faces boogie perfectly. Vocalist Chris Robinson appropriated the sound and style of vintage Rod Stewart while guitarist Rich Robinson fused Keith Richards' lean attack with Ron Wood's messy rhythmic sense. At their best, the Black Crowes echo classic rock without slavishly imitating their influences.

"Jealous Again," the first single from Shake Your Money Maker, was a moderate hit but it was the band's cover of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" that made the group a multi-platinum success. "Hard to Handle" climbed its way into the Top 40, propelling the album into the Top Ten. The acoustic ballad "She Talks to Angels" became the band's second Top 40 hit in the spring of 1991. Shake Your Money Maker would eventually sell over three million copies.

[more about this band here]



The Black Crowes "Hard to handle"
Album "Shake your money maker" - 1990