Thanks for checking out my latest video. In this episode of "This Year's Week," I begin with a run through of this month's Dark Stuff Playlist:
You need to be listening to these. Seriously.
Next up, I discuss the recent severe storms that hit Omaha. Nearly 230,00 lost power - including me - due to storm damage. As I'm writing this description, there are still nearly 30,000 in the dark and the sweltering heat. Personally, I only lost power for 48 hours. Even still, I had a bit of a meltdown on the second night. Since I've never had one in the past, I'm not sure whether or not I had a panic attack. But if that is what I experienced, I hope to never experience that again. It was terrifying.
I've been listening to Aerosmith since I was 10 years old, and I'm 53 now. They are such an important band, and one that has been a part of my life for pretty much all of it. This week, the band announced it was retiring from the road. Steven Tyler has not been able to recover from a recent vocal injury, and the band has cancelled all future touring. Getting old sucks. No one is immune.
I highly doubt that I've ever covered Bryan Adams on the channel before, but there is a first time for everything! Bryan "Summer of 69" Adams is releasing a new 7" single on his own label, Bad Records. The reason why this was interesting to me is that both songs are KISS covers. Well...sort of. The songs, "Rock and Roll Hell" and "War Machine," both appeared on KISS's 1982 album, Creatures of the Night. Both are co-writes between Gene Simmons and Bryan Adams (along with his writing partner, Jim Vallance), and they are among the heaviest songs KISS ever recorded. Is Bryan Adams really covering a song if he wrote it?
Comedian David Cross popped into Omaha to try out some new material ahead of an upcoming tour and the taping of a longform comedy special. It was wild seeing him in such a small space. He was supposed to perform again the next night, but he cancelled. Hmmm....
Caught a fantastic rock show the other night. Three terrific bands. The "post-hardcore/alternative rock band" (per Wikipedia, lol) SHINER (active primarily from 1992-2002) closed out a brief Midwest tour with a fiery set at Reverb Lounge. I never saw Shiner in their heyday; but have seen singer/guitarist Allen Epley in his next band The Life and Times and as a solo artist.
The two openers were both great. First up was Violenteer. This unique band featured two bass players and no guitarist. The band had a heavy sound that reminded me of Tough & Go Records in its glory days. You may recognize lead singer Steve Tulipana from his time in Season To Risk. Bassist Randy Cotton previously played in Ritual Device. Middle band Healer played an all too brief set in between.
Lastly, we check in with Neko and Blackie and see how they held up after the blackout.
