Posts

Aerosmith- Toys in the Attic 50th- Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton, Joe Perry
On its 50th anniversary, we dust off "Toys in the Attic", the breakthrough third album for Aerosmith in April 1975. Contrary to what you might assume, through their first two albums Aerosmith struggled to get noticed. In this classic rock interview, Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer reminded me that "Dream On" from their debut by then had been released as a single three times and flopped twice.

Black Sabbath 55th Anniversary- Ozzy Osbourne
In early 1970 the world into which the Birmingham England band Black Sabbath quickly rose to notoriety and popularity with their second album, "Paranoid", felt increasingly like a dangerous place. In this classic rock interview original Black Sabbath singer / lyricist Ozzy Osbourne has fond memories of those days when he and his mates from the working-class neighborhood Aston decided to ditch their trendy blues music, cut the band down from a 6-piece to four, and started doing what Ozzy characterizes in this classic rock interview as "spooky music".

Grand Funk @55- Closer to Home- Mark Farner, Don Brewer
Grand Funk "Closer to Home" interview with Mark Farner and Don Brewer In the Studio.

Deep Purple- Perfect Strangers @40- Ian Gillan, Roger Glover
Deep Purple “Perfect Strangers” with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover

Led Zeppelin II @55- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Led Zeppelin II interview with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant In the Studio.

Scorpions- Love at First Sting- Klaus Meine, Rudolph Schenker
"Love At First Sting" by the Scorpions in March 1984 soared to # 6 on the Billboard album chart with triple platinum sales, while delivering a blitzkreig of rock anthems including “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, “Big City Nights”, and the signature power ballad “Still Loving You”. Scorpions lead singer Klaus Meine and guitarist Rudolph Schenker are my guesst In the Studio.

KISS 50th Anniversary- Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons
For the golden anniversary of Kiss, lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Paul Stanley told me about the band fraternity of groups with whom they shared the stage some fifty years ago, "The lovefest ended when we hit the stage, because we were there to destroy them." Gene Simmons agrees, "Putting on the make up was like putting on warpaint."

Motley Crue- Shout at the Devil- Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil
Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx & Vince Neil In the Studio for "Shout at the Devil" 40th anniversary.

Van Halen- Alex, David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, the late Eddie Van Halen
The interviewsof the earliest years of Eddie and Alex Van Halen’s emigration from The Netherlands to Southern California, meeting Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, playing Pasadena backyard parties to the Sunset Strip, and recording their January 1978 debut.

Guns’n’Roses- Appetite for Destruction 35th anniversary- Slash
By the time Guns'n'Roses "Appetite for Destruction" passed the 18,000,000 sales point early in the 21st century, several rock magazines and websites had revised their original reviews from the July 1987 release. My guest In the Studio GNR lead guitarist Slash remembers, fondly in most cases, but admits to at least one rookie mistake that left a scar that smarts to this day.