Life is what happens when you are making other plans~ John Lennon
An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind~Gandhi
The time is always right to do what is right~ Martin Luther King Jr.


Friday, July 29, 2011

M is for Motley Crue

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6tley_Cr%C3%BCe



Motley Crue is an American heavy metal band that emerged in Los Angeles in 1981. The band consists of Nikki Sixx on bass guitar, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars, and lead vocalist Vince Neil. Almost all of the members have had brushes with the law and some even did jail time, as a result of drugs, alcohol, flings with women. Their main trademark is that almost all of them are heavily tattooed.

Most of their fame came in the 1980s, which they made the albums Theatre of Pain, Girls Girls Girls and Shout At the Devil, all which basically showcased their love of alcohol, motorcycles and strip clubs.

They have all had brushes with the law, in 1984, Neil was heading home from a liquor store when he became involved in head on collision, his passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer, Nicholas 'Razzle' Dingley was killed. He was later charged with DUI and vehicular manslaughter and spent 30 days in jail.

On Dec. 23, 1987, Sixx experienced a near fatal heroin overdose. On the way to the hospital, he was declared legally dead. But one of the medics, who was a Crue fan, gave him 2 shots of adrenaline to bring him back to life. That was the inspiration for the song Kickstart My Heart.

Their song, Dr. Feelgood, was ranked as the #7 Air Guitar Song of All Time.




L is for Lady Gaga

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986 in New York City. She is best known by her stage name, Lady Gaga.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga
What got her noticed is her track Poker Face, off her The Fame album, which premiered in 2008. It had a follow up called the Fame Monster in 2009, with tracks like Bad Romance, Alejandro, Telephone. In 2011, she ahd another album come out, called Born This Way. Her inspiration comes from glam rockers like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury, and pop singers like Madonna and Michael Jackson. Her trademark is her strange and unusual outfits, her dancing in the music videos and her style of music.

She also recieved an award at the 53rd Grammy Awards on Feb. 11, 2011. She played the song Born This Way.

How she got her name Lady Gaga is she was inspired by Queen's song Radio Gaga. She also has a creative production team called Haus of Gaga, which handles and designs all of her outfits, stage props and hairdos. She considers John Lennon her personal hero and that's why she has a peace sign tattoo in remembrance of him, she is also a humanitarian, she did a concert from her Monster Ball tour to help raise money for Haiti, she did a concert to help raise money for Japan after the earthquake, she contributes in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and also is a huge supporter of gay rights. And she also tries wants bullying to stop.


From the Poker Face video


She is actually very beautiful

K is for Ke$ha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ke$ha

Kesha Rose Sebert was born on March 1, 1987. She is a well known American song writer. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area of California. In January 2010, her debut album Animal debuted, and was #1 in the US. And in November of the same year, the album Cannibal was released, with the #1 hit single We R Who We R


The kind of music she does is a mix of country, pop rock, hard electro. Most of her music has a talky rap style to it, like the track Tik Tok. But she never set out to be a rap singer. Her musical inspirations consist of 1980s pop and dance music, hip hop and punk. Her country influences are Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton.


J is for Journey

Journey is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1977 with former members of Santana. They have gone thru several members and most of their success came between the late 1970s and 1987. During that time, they released one of their most famous ballads Don't Stop Believin. This song is known by virtually everyone in the world and even by people who may not listen to them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_(band)

The former members of the band consisted of: George Tickner(rhythm guitar),Greg Rolie(Keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Aynsley Dunbar(drums), Robert Fleischman(lead vocals), Steve Perry(lead vocals), Steve Smith(drums, percussion), Randy Jackson(bass, vocals),Steve Augeri(lead vocals, guitar), Herbie Herbert(manager)

The current members consist of: Neal Schon(lead guitar, vocals), Ross Valory(bass, vocals), Jonathan Cain(keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals), Deen Castronovo(drums, percussion), Arnel Pineda(lead vocals), Irving Aznoff(manager)

In 1997, Perry left the band because he was hiking in Hawaii and he injured his hip. He refused to undergo hip replacement surgery and Schon decided to start looking for a new lead singer. And in Dec. 2007, that's when Schon found the person who would become a permanent member of Journey, a Filippino singer named Arnel Pineda, who was on YouTube with his band the Zoo, singing covers of famous Journey songs. He was invited to the US and people at the airport were surprised to hear he was going ot audition as Journey's new lead singer. The album that he did with Journey, Revelation, made the top of the charts.




I is for INXS

I'm skipping H, there's no musicians I can think of for this letter.

INXS is an Australian-based rock band that started in 1977 in Syndey, New South Wales. The band consists of Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar, Kirk Pengilly on saxophone/guitar, Michael Hutchence on lead vocals. Michael's good looks and strong stage presence made him like the focal point of the band, almost like an Australian Steven Tyler. Their early music involved New Wave/ska/pop style music, but later on went on to doing pub rock and funk/dance style music


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/INXS

In the early 1980s, they started in their native Australia with their self titled album INXS. Did you ever happen to notice that alot of bands first albums are self titled albums? In 1997, Hutchence died and the band did not perform for over a year. In 2005, the hunt was on for a new lead singer, and they ended up finding Canadian singer J.D. Fortune as the new lead vocalist.

In 2004, the band had a small show called Rock Star: INXS, basically this show was to help find a new lead vocalist. On Sept. 20, 2005, J.D. Fortune, who was a Canadian-based singer, won the competition by singing the Rolling Stones hit You Can't Always Get What You Want and the INXS hit What You Need. And after that, he became the new lead vocalist.


Thursday, July 28, 2011

G is for Green Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day

Green Day is an American-based punk rok band that started in 1987 in East Bay, California. The band consists of Billie Joe Armstrong on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Dirnt on back up vocals and bass guitar and Tre Cool on drums. He replaced john Kiffmeyer in 1990.


Thier 1994 album Dookie was a success. After that, 3 of their albums, Nimrod, Warning and Insomniac didn't go over so well. They were considered to be commercial failures. In 2004, their popularity went through the roof with the release of their rock opera American Idiot, which became widely popular with teh younger generation, including my sister, lol!! In 2009, they released their 21st Century Breakdown album, which is their 8th studio album.

they have won 5 Grammy Awards for:
Best Alternative Rock album-Dookie
Best Rock album-American Idiot
Record of the Year-Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Best Rock Album again- 21st Century Breakdown
Best Musical Show Album-American Idiot

On 15, 2009, their 21st Century Breakdown album was released. Alot of places, such as Wal-Mart refused to sell it because of there being a Parental Adivsory Warning label on the front for explicit lyrics, although it's the same thing on the front of the American Idiot album.

The kind of music they do can be compared to bands like The Sex Pistols, The Buzzcocks, The Ramones, The Clash, The Jam, and Stiff Little Fingers. The band has said that their inspirations have been Cheap Trick and The Who.

From left to right: Mike Dirnt, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool. the one in the middle is the one my sister especially likes!!



E is for Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler was born on May 8, 1975 in Madrid, Spain. He is one of the better known Spanish pop singer/songwriters of the Latin music world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrique_Iglesias
On July 12, 1995, his first album, self titled Enrique Iglesias, debuted. Most of the stuff on it is light rock and mainly stuff in Spanish. In 1999, he had made a huge crossover in to English language music. One of his songs, Bailamos, became a #1 hit in the US. And thanks to Latino musicians like Selena, Ricky Martin, he wa able to break into the English language music. In 2007-2008, he went on the Insomniac tour, named after the album he had recently released. On this album, it includes songs like Push, Ring My Bells, Tired of Being Sorry. A solo version of the song Push made it onto the soundtrack for the movie Step Up 2: The Streets.

On July 5, 2010, he released the album Euphoria, which I think is probably his best one. I have it at home and I love listening to it! This album has 6 songs in Spanish and 7 songs in English. The first English single on the album is called I Like It, and in the video, it features the cast from the new reality show Jersey Shore. The song went to #1 on Billboard's Hot/Dance Club play.

He's also done a little acting, mainly along side Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico. He played a foul mouthed gun-wielding man named Lorenzo. He also has had a small cosmetic surgery to remove a large mole that was on his cheek near his right eye. For a long time, this was his trademark, but he had surgery to remove it.





I have this album at home, it rules!!

I also have this one too!

D is for Def Leppard

This English rock band formed in Sheffield as part of a new wave of British heavy metal. Ever since 1992, the band has had these members: Joe Elliot on vocals, Phil Collen on guitar, Vivian Campbell on guitarRick Savage on bass, and Rick Allen on drums. Most of their success came between the early 1980s and early 1990s. According to Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, their 1983 album Pyromania rankes #384. And in fact, they just played at the Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH, just last night!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Def_Leppard

In 1992, their album Adrenalize was the first album without guitarist Steve Clark(strangely enough, this is also my dad's name, lol!). Something unique about Rick Allen is he only has 1 arm. He lost his left arm in a car accident on Dec. 31, 1984 when his Corvette hit a drystone wall. Even though he only has 1 arm, that doesn't take away from his awesome drumming, he uses his feet to do some of the back up drumming.

On January 8, 1991, their guitarist Steve Clark died from a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol in his London home. On Oct. 23, 1995, they got into the Guinness Book of World Records for playing 3 concerts in 3 continents in one day- Tangiers, Morocco; London, England; Vancouver, Canada. On Sept. 5, 2000, Def Leppard was inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame in Hollywood by friend Brian May of Queen. And Def Leppard is only one of 5 rock bands with 2 studio albums selling over 10 million copies over the world, and those bands are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Vn Halen.

Side stuff

Joe Elliot sang lead vocals on 2 songs on Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood's album Slide on This, Phil Collen played guitar, uncredited, on Sam Kinison's Wild Thing. The video featured members of the bands Poison, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Ratt, Aerosmith.


Them younger

C is for Cher

Cherilyn Sarkisian was born on May 20, 1946 in El Centro, California. She is a well known recording artist, TV personality, actress and director. She is also known for her marriage to Sonny Bono.



In 1965, she and Sonny appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, and they sang. They also appeared on Ready, Steady, Go!, which for all who are from England would know this show. This was the English equivalent to the Ed Sullivan Show. A lot of English bands and artists may have performed on this show during the 1960s. She ws known for her dark, exotic looks, and then became a fashion designer, starting the trend of bellbottoms and unique gowns and hippie attire.

In 1974, she had a show called called The Cher Show, which had famous people on in, such as David Bowie,Ray Charles, Pat Boone, Cheryl Ladd, Linda Ronstadt, Lily Tomlin. Alot of the suggestive outfits she wore then were made by fashion design legend Bob Mackie. This show ran for 2 and a half seasons before Cher, who was pregnant at the time, decided to cancel it. 3 days after her divore from Sonny Bono was finalized, she married rock musician Gregg Allman  on June 30, 1975. They had 1 son named Elijah and divorced after 2 years.

She has also done acting. She appeared in the 1985 movie Mask, in which Eric Stoltz plays a teen with a disfigured face and she plays his loving mother. She also has appeared in movies like Witches of Eastwick, where she played a witch, Suspect where she played a lawyer, Moonstruck in 1987, where she played a frumpy Italian bookeeper.

In 1989, she wrote the song If I Could Turn Back Time, in the video it shows her wearing black leather and a fishnet suit, performing on a Navy battle cruiser. This video caused a lot of controversy because it showed her in a see-through outfit and you could see a butterfly tattoo on her lower back

In 1990, she starred in the movie Mermaids, and in 1998, she was in London when then daughter Chastity Bono called and informed her of Sonny Bono's death from a skiing accident. He was a popular California congressman married to 4th wife Mary Bono, he was 62. She chose to give the eulogy at his funeral and she teared up while giving it. Later that year, Sonny and Cher got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2010, she starred in the movie Burlesque along side Christina Aguilera.

She is also a supporter of gay rights, because her now son Chaz Bono was born a female and came out as a lesbian at 17, and that's when she noticed that not everyone gets the same rights because of sexuality.






B is for Billy Idol

William Michael Albert Broad was born on November 30, 1955, in Stanmore, Middlesex, England. He is better known by his stage name Billy Idol. He emerged in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X. He is considered to be one of the first MTV stars and has done a lot of solo work and has made alot of stylish music videos. He currently tours with singer Steve Stevens.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Idol

The song that got him noticed was his song Dancing With Myself and a cover of the Tommy James and the Shondell's song Mony Mony. In 1989, he appeared on stage with the Who as Cousin Tommy in the stage production of the Who rock opera Tommy. In the 1998 movie The Wedding Singer, Idol had a cameo appearance which he saved the relationship between Adam Sandler's character and Drew Barrymore's character, and in the movie The Doors, he appeared in there as well, playing Jim's drinking buddy Cat.

In 2008, the widely popular Guitar Hero World Tour came out, and Idol's song Rebel Yell appeared in the game, and on Rock Band 2, a game similar to Guitar Hero only you use drums, guitars, microphone, the whole nine yards, Idol's song White Wedding appeared.



Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Kelly Hansen

Kelly Hansen was born on April 18, 1961, in Hawthorne, California. He is best known as the current lead singer of the band Foreigner. He was with a band before Foreigner called Hurricane, which didn't last long. He is the 3rd lead singer that this band has had, with Lou Gramm and Johnny Edwards as the previous ones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Hansen






F is for Foreigner

This band is a British-American rock band that started in 1976 by English musician Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald and American vocalist Lou Gramm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreigner_(band)
The band consists of:
Lou Gramm- was the original lead singer, but now plays guitar, drums
Kelly Hansen- current front man for Foreigner
Mick Jones- founding member of the band, as well as guitarist
Thom Gimbel-US born musician with the band, rhythm guitarist
Jeff Pilson- bass guitarist for the band
Michael Bluestein- piano, keyboard

In 1997, Lou Gramm underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor that affected his singing voice and caused weight gain, and decided to look for a new lead vocalist

Album listing:
1977-Foreigner
1978-Double Vision
1979-Head Games
1981- 4
1984- Agent Provocateur
1987- Inside Information
1991- Unusual Heat
1994- Mr. Moonlight
2009- Can't Slow Down