Movie Cameos by Musicians

Sometimes musicians will appear in a movie just for fun or other reasons. It's fun seeing your favorite musician appear in a movie you happen to be watching. According to MSN.com page YardBarker and writer Jeff Mezydlo, here are 25 movie cameos by musicians

1. Alice Cooper in Wayne's World

-Fans of his music love his cameo in Wayne's World. If they have seen this movie, and they see Alice Cooper, they are almost automatically required to start quoting the movie. Doing what Wayne and Garth do, bowing down shouting "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're scum! We suck!" Fans are also incredibly surprised at the historically accurate and even hilarious delivery of information of the Milwaukee area

2. Huey Lewis in Back to the Future

-Unless you know what Huey Lewis looks like, you'll watch the movie and completely miss him. The funniest moment in the Back to the Future series is when Marty and his band, The Pinheads, are playing a hard rock, almost Van Halen-like version of the Huey Lewis & The News song "The Power of Love." It's done during a Battle of the Bands contest and one of the judges is...Huey Lewis. He tells them that they are "just too darn loud."

3. Billy Idol in The Wedding Singer

-Billy Idol poked fun at his slightly addicted past by appearing in The Wedding Singer, chugging a bottle of liquor. Since the film took place in the 1980s, it was easier for Idol to poke fun at himself. He blew minds of people as he assisted Robbie (Adam Sandler) in trying to win over Julia (Drew Barrymore) while en route to Las Vegas, where Julia is in a rush to get married to her fiancee Glenn

4. Bruce Springsteen in High Fidelity

-This film centered around a record store clerk wanting to get back in touch with former loves. He could describe it as being like a Bruce Springsteen song. The singer made an appearance in the film

5. Tom Petty in The Postman

-Tom Petty plays the Bridge City Mayor in this film. Both Kevin Costner and Tom Petty had a fun exchange between each other, showing respect for each other's work in their fields. Kevin Costner says "I know you. You're famous." And Tom Petty returns with "I was once. Sorta. Kinda. Not anymore."

6. Michael Jackson in Men in Black II

-The iconic singer made an appearance in the second installment, as an agent named M, reporting to Chief Zed

7. Tom Jones in Mars Attacks!

-This Tim Burton-directed spoof on alien movies from the 1950s had an array of stars in it. Yet the most talked about appearance was that of singer Tom Jones. He manages to survive the Martian attack in Las Vegas while ending the movie with his most iconic hit "It's Not Unusual"

8. Jack White in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

-In this film, starring John C. Reilly, Jack White plays Elvis Presley. Despite his screen time being short, he was able to make perfect use of his time by imitating the slight slur of The King and even the karate moves, which added humor

9. Tom Waits in Domino

-This film centers on a young bounty hunter named Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley), while Waits plays someone known only as "Wanderer". It's a small role, but it makes a big impact

10. Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

-The Rolling Stones rocker appeared as Captain Teague, Capt. Jack Sparrow's father. He's almost immediately recognizable except for the obvious pirate costume. He played Captain Teague, keeper of the Pirate Codex (the pirate code)

11. Lemmy Kilmister in Airheads

-Motorhead fans will know this name and face anywhere. If they have seen the film Airheads, they can immediately spot their hero in the crowd. Brendan Fraser plays Chazz, a vocalist and bassist for The Lone Rangers. He admits his real name is Chester and that, while in high school, he was a geek. This enables the crowd to start letting out revelations from the crowd themselves. Even Lemmy proclaimed he was "editor of the school magazine."

12. David Bowie in Zoolander

-While there were quite a few musician cameos in this film, the one that stood out for a lot of people was iconic musician David Bowie. He was playing himself, after judging the "walk off" between Ben Stiller, who played Derek and Owen Wilson, who played Hansel

13. Snoop Dogg in Half Baked

-He has shown himself to be versatile in many ways, such as film, TV and music. One of the more popular moments was when he appeared in the film Half Baked, where he was shown smoking with Thurgood (Dave Chappelle) and Brian (Jim Breuer)

14. Pearl Jam in Singles

-Not only did Seattle rockers Soundgarden and Chris Cornell appear in this film, fellow Seattle rockers Pearl Jam did too, since the movie was about the growing "Seattle Sound". The then lineup of Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard played themselves, but were part of the band Citizen Dick, fronted by Cliff (Matt Dillon)

15. Kanye West in The Love Guru

-This is one of Kanye's more interesting film moments. It came in the form of the 2008 Mike Myers film. He wears a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey, next to Mike Myers, who is also wearing one. Kanye also yells "I love hockey"

16. Flea in The Big Lebowski

-The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist was also in this film. His character was also said to be a nihilist, and he took a bowling ball to his stomach thanks to Walter Sobchak (John Goodman)

17. Aimee Mann in the Big Lebowski

-Aimee Mann is the vocalist for 80s era band Til Tuesday. She's also their bassist. She's most noted for her appearance in the film The Big Lebowski. She played a German nihilist girl who gave up her pinky toe in the kidnapping scheme

18. Phil Collins in Hook

-This is one of the more well known ones. If you're familiar with the band Genesis, then you'll know who Phil Collins is and know what he looks like. He's almost instantly recognizable except for a mustache and glasses as he plays a police detective named Inspector Good who is investigating the disappearance of Peter Banning's children

19. Chris Cornell in Singles

-This 1992 film tells the story of single life and the now blooming Seattle music scene, featuring some of the biggest names in grunge. Soundgarden was part of that scene. Cornell was the man inspecting the speakers that Matt Dillon's character installed in a car. While the scene didn't end as expected, it's still interesting for fans of Soundgarden

20. Blink-182 in American Pie

-Not only did the band contribute music to the soundtrack, they also appeared in the film. It was the then lineup of Travis Barker, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge. They appeared in the scene where Jim (Jason Biggs) tried to pick up a foreign exchange student named Nadia, played by Shannon Elizabeth in his bedroom

21. Gwen Stefani in The Aviator

-Former No Doubt vocalist Gwen Stefani appeared as Hollywood starlet Jean Harlow, who was the arm candy of Leonardo DiCaprio's Howard Hughes in this film, which told the story of the eccentric yet reclusive man

22. Anthony Kiedis in Point Break

-The Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist gets a cameo as a surfer who jumps Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) at the beach showers. Kiedis and his friends get their punishment when Patrick Swayze's character Bodhi stepped in to teach them a lesson

23. ZZ Top in Back to the Future Part III

-In the last installment of the highly popular series, this is considered to be the worst of the three. There is one unique moment in the film. Texas rock legend ZZ Top was cast because director Robert Zemeckis was a big fan. They were the band playing at the party. They played a more country version of their song "Doubleback", which is from their 1990 album Recycler

24. Tom Waits in The Outsiders

-This was his earliest cameo in films. He appeared in the film version of the classic S.E. Hinton novel. He appears in the scene where Pony Boy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell) and Johnny (Ralph Maccio) are looking for their friend Dallas (Matt Dillion). Waits plays Buck Merrill, who opens the door of a bar

25. George Harrison in Monty Python's Life of Brian

-This member of The Beatles was a massive fan of Monty Python. It's easy to miss him, but if you have  a sharp eye, you can easily find him. Eric Idle of the comedy troupe contacted Harrison to see if he could assist the group in getting funding. Harrison agreed and it earned him a spot in the film

Blaze Bayley on Iron Maiden's The X Factor

Iron Maiden fans know that Blaze Bayley only sang on two albums, The X Factor and Virtual XI. In an interview, he stated there was a massive problem with The X Factor, his Iron Maiden album debut.

On The Metal Command podcast, he was talking about his new album, Circle of Stone. Not surprisingly, the conversation took a turn down memory lane and went into the direction of the albums he recorded with Iron Maiden.

Bayley is in full agreement with the fans that his solo career has sparked a sudden interest in his time with Iron Maiden. "I'm hearing this a lot. People look back and they go...Some fans go 'Of course I've got every Iron Maiden album, but the ones I haven't listed to are The X Factor and Virtual XI. And now that's all I can listen to that I haven't listened to a hundred times. I have to listen to those.' And it's exactly what you say to me."

"I remember saying at the time that those albums that we did with Blaze, that people would in the future come to appreciate them a lot more later on. And they are - they are starting to do that now." Steve Harris said to Chris Jericho in a 2018 interview.

Bayley states that while The X Factor has "some incredible music", it's problem is that "the sound of it is so dark". He also mentioned that the "problem" is "the way it was produced." This album is said to lack the unique sound Iron Maiden has come to be known for. Instead, taking a turn down a darker path, including lyrics that are of a darker, more intense nature. Bayley says "You've got to live with that for quite a few spins until you've turned into what things are doing. Then you can get to the music."

November Birthdays

Since it's November, time to say Happy Birthday

Lando Norris

-DOB: 11/13/1999

-Where: Bristol, United Kingdom

-As a teenager, McLaren already had their eye on him as rose through the ranks of racing before bringing him into Formula 1 in 2019

Billy Idol

-Birth name: William Michael Albert Broad

-DOB: 11/30/1955

-Where: Stanmore, United Kingdom

-Spent a good majority of his childhood in Long Island, New York, and lost his English accent

Tommy Thayer

-Birth name: Thomas Cunningham Thayer

-DOB: 11/7/1960

-Where: Portland, Oregon

-When Kiss was touring during the late 1990s-early 2000s with the old, original lineup, Thayer worked as a road crew member

Rick Allen

-Birth name: Richard John Cyril Allen

-DOB: 11/1/1963

-Where: Sheffield, United Kingdom

-He spent his 16th birthday on tour with Def Leppard

Roger Glover

-Birth name: Roger David Glover

-DOB: 11/30/1945

-Where: Brecon, United Kingdom

-He left Deep Purple in 1973, along with Ian Gillan, due to disagreements with then guitarist Ritchie Blackmore

DJ Ashba

-Birth name: Daren Jay Ashba

-DOB: 11/10/1972

-Where: Monticello, Indiana

-Previously played guitar for Guns 'N' Roses before joining the new band Sixx A.M.

Frankie Banali

-DOB: 11/14/1951

-Where: Queens, New York

-DOD: 8/20/2020

-Where: Los Angeles, California

-Played drums for Steppenwolf in 1978

Rudy Sarzo

-Birth name: Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Laveille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont

-DOB: 11/18/1950

-Where: Havana, Cuba

-He is best known for playing bass for Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot and Whitesnake

Steven Van Zandt

-DOB: 11/22/1950

-Where: Watertown, Massachusetts

-He took the name "Van Zandt" from his Dutch grandfather

2019's Biggest Rock Stories

We all know that every day there is some big story in the world of music. 2019 seems to have hit the high water mark for history. 2020 however is strongly competing with it. Reunion tours, massive tours, releases of autobiographies/biographies of musicians? 2020 is turning out to be a great year to be a fan of music and it's not even 2020 yet! To finish off the year right, here are some of 2019's biggest stories in rock and metal

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees include Soundgarden, Doobie Brothers

-Until the 202 nomination list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame came out, the Doobie Brothers and Soundgarden were never on the list. They are next year. But, in addition to them, some of the other notables for induction include Motorhead, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Pat Benatar, all of whom have been nominated but never inducted.

Kiss kick off their "End of the Road" tour

-First off, me and my sister saw their show at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH and it was amazing. Not only was it amazing because we were seeing them live, but it was amazing because it was my sister's first time seeing Kiss live. They played two of her favorite songs- "Beth" and I Was Made for Loving You" in addition to all her other favorites. These guys are known for having "farewell" tours. This is not shocking. But considering their ages, this might be it, who knows. Their "supposed" last show is said to be on July 17, 2020 in New York City

More farewell tours

-Obviously the musicians we love are not spring chickens anymore. Some are doing farewell concerts and tours because they are not getting any younger and can't handle the tour-album-tour cycle anymore. Elton John kicked off a farewell tour in 2018. He dubbed it the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road tour. It will continue on through 2018, 2019 and into 2020. Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd are currently doing their Last of the Street Survivors tour. This one started in 2019 and will most likely carry on until 2020. Deep Purple is on tour, dubbing it The Long Goodbye. Peter Frampton is embarking on his own farewell tour after learning of his diagnosis of a rare degenerative disease that weakens his muscles, leaving him unable to play guitar, piano or anything. Other bands include Slayer on their The Final Campaign tour, UFO on their Last Orders tour and Krokus on their The Final Tour.

Cream drummer Ginger Baker dies at age 80

-This guy was an inspiration to a lot of aspiring drummers. Cream was one of the first successful trios that showed that sometimes a successful band only needs three members. He was the drummer of Cream and Blind Faith. He passed away on Oct. 6 and will be terribly missed

Rick Ocasek of The Cars passed away at 75

-On Sept. 15, the world lost Ric Ocasek, who had passed away in his sleep. His estranged wife Paulina Porizkova had discovered the body only a few weeks after going in for some light surgery. Although later on, the cause of death was said to be hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. What I think may have been more shocking, especially to his estranged wife, was that she was cut completely out of the will Ocasek had drawn up. When he died, she got nothing. So obviously the divorce did not end well.

Eddie Money passes away at 70

-The legendary singer behind hits like "Baby, Hold On", "Take Me Home Tonite", "Two Tickets to Paradise", has passed away from stage four throat cancer. He died on Sept. 13. His cancer was so severe that he simply did not catch it in time. When he did catch it, it was already at stage 4 and had metastasized to his stomach and liver.

Other musicians who departed

-In addition to the vast array of musicians who have left us, let's give some love to others who have died. Peter Tork of The Monkees died in February at age 77. Talk Talk front man Mark Hollis died the same month at 64. March also had some losses. Scott Walker died at age 76. Dick Dale died at age 81. Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter died in September at age 78. .38 Special bassist and Lynyrd Skynyrd co-founder Larry Junstrom died in October at age 70. Little Feat guitarist Paul Barrere died in October at 71

Doobie Brothers reunite with Michael McDonald

-Doobie Brothers fans: you are about to hear GREAT NEWS!! The Doobie Brothers, that is right, you are reading this right, are reuniting with Michael McDonald. A 2020 world tour is in the works. So if you are a fan, start doing major research to see if they are coming to a town near you. This will be the first album with McDonald since the mid 1990s, when they were first nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. From June 9-Oct. 17 of 2020 is when their tour is said to last

Bohemian Rhapsody wins big at the Oscars

-The movie revolves around how legendary rockers Queen got their start. The movie had mixed reviews. Out of the five categories it was nominated in, it won four. So it was a big night for the surviving members of Queen and the actors and actresses who appeared in the movie. Rami Malek took home the statue for Best Actor for his role of Freddie Mercury. The movie also took home awards for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing. It lost Best Picture to Green Book

 

Motley Crue back on tour

-So much for retirement. That certainly took a flying leap out the window. They had only been retired for five years but now there is a video showing all four original members destroying their contracts. They announced they would be doing a stadium tour with Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett in 2020. They all stated that the reason they want to take up touring again is because of the release of the Netflix biopic The Dirt and a serious rise in popularity of their music, being both bought on CDs and downloaded from music sites.

The film Yesterday sees a world with out The Beatles

-The premise of the film Yesterday is about an Anglo-Indian musician (Himesh Patel) who is able to remember and know everything about The Beatles. But trying to convince everyone else is a whole other story. He manages to pass off the music as his own and becomes an overnight celebrity. Ed Sheeran appears in the movie, as himself and ends up becoming the aspiring musician's friend. But, of course, the lie he carries and the newfound fame take a toll on himself and his relationships with his close friend and manager, he has to decide what is more important. The movie managed to rake in $151 million at the box office. Most likely, a good percentage of those sales were from Beatles fans

The Dirt appears on Netflix

-The title of the movie stems from a biopic book about how Motley Crue got started. The film included 14 songs from Crue's varied career, including a cover of Madonna's "Like a Virgin". In the film, rapper Machine Gun Kelly plays Tommy Lee.

Cute Guy Monday: Rain

If you've seen the film Ninja Assassins, then you'll know that Rain plays the main character, Raizo

Birth name: Jeong Ji-Hoon
DOB: 6/25/1982
Where: Seoul, South Korea

Trivia
-His favorite actress is Gong Li
-Sang at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics
-His mother died when he was in his teens and he lived in poverty
-On Feb. 2, 2006, he had his first American concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It sold out immediately and added another show on Feb. 3, which also sold out immediately
-Was extremely shy as a child
-In the sixth grade, he became extremely interested in dance and learned by watching moves he saw on TV and learning from older street dancers
-Has a sister named Hana