The Black Angel Zine

R.I.P. Jack Russell, the original and one true voice of the band, Great White. Captain Jack was more than just a voice on the radio, he was one of my favorite vocalists, period. I got into the band when I was a kid due to compilations and so forth, so Jack has been a part of my life for well over half of it & I’m not exactly a young buck anymore. I’ve had some tough moments in life with nothing to soothe me aside from a few choice albums – Great White was at the top of that heap. Hard Rock bands are a dime a dozen and often we don’t stop to think or appreciate the talent that it takes to perform this kind of music – we take it for granted. Those with a true penchant for music know after one listen to Great White/Jack Russell that the band WAS heaped with talent, but the most amazing part of the band was Jack Russell’s voice. His ability to perform at a high level was unmatched and even after years of substance abuse, he was able to stand and deliver a jaw dropping performance, be it live or in the studio.

When I started back toying around with the idea of starting my own label again there was one band specifically that I really wanted to work with – The Tremors! I met them eons ago when I was combing the net looking for cool bands to review. I’ll never forget Jimmy Tremor’s reply – sure we’d love to get a review but from the looks of your site I’m not sure you’d like what we’re doing. I quickly replied that I was into Rockabilly, but I just couldn’t drum up any interest from other Rockabilly bands to get anything in for review. A few days later the band’s Sophomore effort “Invasion of the Saucermen” hit my box and nothing has been the same since. I’ve followed the band’s every move and I’ve reviewed every release they’ve put out since this fateful encounter. By the time I met the band their debut release Scourge of The South had already sold out, so I wasn’t able to get it and that never sat well with me, I looked everywhere for it with no luck! Thanks to the genius of eBay and the advent of the search/save/email notifications I was able to land the CD a few years back – for 40$! A small price to pay for a band that I’ve admired for years. And now here we are a few weeks from the 20 th Anniversary Remastered Reissue that I couldn’t be more excited and prouder of! It just goes to show you that sometimes those high prices you pay for things you love can turn into so much more. So, in honor of this reissue, we wanted to catch up with Jimmy and talk some smack about gear, the band and the upcoming reissue! Good to have you here with us Jimmy, let’s start with some of the oldest questions in the book. What made you want to pick up the guitar and learn to play? How old were you? Did you take lessons/study, or did you pick it up and just start twangin’?! I started playing at 13. My older sister had a Yamaha classical guitar and that's what I started on. When I heard the Rolling Stones, I knew I wanted to play electric guitar in a Rock 'n' Roll band. I took enough lessons to get off the ground from a brilliant guitarist named Jim Ryan, but soon learned that playing by ear was the way to really learn the kind of music that I wanted to play. Did you start singing when you started playing guitar or was that something that came with time? I sang in chorus in grade school, mainly to get out of class, so I’d already been singing some. As soon as I could sing and play at the same time, I was doing it. When did you start playing live/doing shows? Any recordings floating around from that era that our readers go out searching for? I played some talent shows and battle of the bands in high school but didn't start playing clubs until 1989 with a band called Rocket 99. Other than some demos that I have somewhere around the house, there's no recordings or videos from that time. Vocally, who are your biggest influences? I hear a lot of Lux Interior influence, but I’m probably looking hard for it since they’re a favorite band of mine. Hard to be a Rockabilly musician in the 21st century and not be influenced by the Cramps. I definitely love Lux's over the top stylized Rockabilly vocals. I guess the biggest influences on vocals would be Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis. Guitar-wise and musically who would you say are your biggest influences? Musically, Jerry Lee Lewis is a huge influence even though he plays a different instrument. My first memories of music is my mom's 45 of "Great Balls of Fire". A few of the guitarists I've really been influenced by are Scotty Moore, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Grady Martin, Keith Richards, Marc Bolan, Johnny Thunders and Johnny Ramone. So many great guitarists, it's hard to narrow it down. Are there any other genres of music outside of Rockabilly that you spent a lot of time chasing and playing in the early days? Any Jimmy Tremor stories that involve big hair, aqua net and lip stick?! Rocket 99 and Ubangi Stomp were pre-Tremors bands that had a touch of sleazy glam. It was my take on what I thought modern Rock 'n Roll should be about.

This past Friday, (August 9 th) I took my girl to see L.A. Guns & Tom Keifer (Cinderella) in Peachtree City at The Fred Amphitheater. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about the show until a few days before. To be blunt, the PR for the show was trash, otherwise I would’ve had front row seats or a “table” as that was the thing at this venue. Nevertheless, we were able to land great seats and the way the Amphitheater is set up I knew we were going to be able to see the bands well. I was still a bit pissed about the lack of PR though, if I’d missed another chance to see L.A. Guns, I would’ve been MAD AS HELL!! The ride to the venue was highly amusing, we took the backroads and had an adventure, it also helped that my girl was half in the bag and feeling a strong wine buzz – she’s always hilarious, but when she’s on the “drank” and we’re traveling she’s even more fun! We got to see several old farmhouses, ranches and so forth. About 30 minutes outside of Peachtree City we rode through some small town where they had what I believe to be a hunting store with two large statues of Bigfoot standing outside which turned my girl’s tickle box on full tilt and she laughed herself into a stupor. Right then and there she decided we were going to ride back down that way on Vacation to see what's up with the Sasquatches. I’m sure that’s really going to happen, although we have no business in a Hunting Store whatsoever. After an hour or so of my wife loud talking, dranking and giggling we pulled into The Fred and were greeted with FREE PARKING – HELL YES! I’m not sure of the age of the venue but it’s the newer style of Amphitheaters that are starting to sprout up all over the place that tends to cater to the local folks who have plenty of money and are just looking to have a good time and drink themselves blind with their golfing buddies. It’s a bit on the high falutin’ side, if you will. The Amphitheater is nestled deep back in the woods a few miles off a main highway, but you don’t realize it, it feels like you’re a million miles from nowhere. Aside from the normies in khaki shorts and collared Polo shirts, it was a brilliant vibe and there was enough of our tattooed brothers and sisters around to make us feel at home or at least me – my girl was buzzed, she didn't care, she was just happy to be there with me and I with her... L.A. Guns hit the stage at 7:35PM it was still light outside, but that didn’t sway the band or the crowd. Those ole Hollywood Vamps came out guns a'blazing. (If you haven’t seen LAG, this is a standard, they don’t fuck around, they dig in and deliver the goods). We were treated with ten-mile-wide smiles, laughter and cheers from the band too, they were as happy to be there as we were. LAG, stuck to the standards - “Sex Action”, “Electric Gypsy”, “Over the Edge”, “I Wanna Be Your Man” were a few of the notables. The band also sprinkled in some of their newer tunes – the much loved “Speed” from The Missing Peace record. They also opened the show with one of my personal favorites “Cannonball” off the “Checkered Past” album, which I thought was a nice touch. Sadly, they only played one track off their new album, “Black Diamonds” and that was “Like A Drug”. Naturally, the band played their biggest hit “Ballad of Jayne” and while I still adore it, I’m cool if I never hear it or see them play it live again. I’ve been a fan since the debut album in 1988, so it’s a bit old hat to me, but I know all the cool kids in collared shirts had probably never seen the band play it live. Plus, my girl had never seen LAG live, so that was a moment for her too. The band was highly interactive with the crowd, but this is the LAG way, they’re all about the fans and being in the moment. There were a few of the ladies down front who were a bit too excited to see Phil Lewis & Tracii Guns so we were all treated to a little “Breast Wishes”, but it’s all in fun and hey it’s an L.A. Guns show, if you can’t be sleazy there where in the hell can you be sleazy?! If you’ve never seen L.A. Guns live, don’t miss the chance when they come to your town, the band is still as good as they were in 1988!!! I’d go see them again tomorrow if they were playing near me. To be fair, I try not to miss L.A. Guns when they come to town, they’re one of my all-time favorite bands. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I still miss and love Steve Riley (R.I.P.) on drums, but the new guy held it down well enough to get the job done.  Now we come to the hard part of the night - Tom Keifer’s set. I haven’t seen or heard Tom live outside of his time in Cinderella and that was years ago when we were both still young and wild. It’s well documented that Tom has fought a long hard battle with vocal cord paralysis. Over the years several surgeries have been performed and he’s basically had to teach himself to sing again over and over. From the first note I knew something was wrong, someone was singing off-key, or something was happening somewhere. Much to my dismay, I soon realized it was Tom. I was hoping it was just the on-stage volume and they’d get it figured out after the first song, however when Keifer spoke I could hear that his voice was gone, it cracked instantly as he welcomed the crowd. I’m not slagging Keifer at all, just calling it down the middle. Honestly, I didn’t think this was an issue anymore, I’ve got a few friends who’ve seen Tom several times, they go out of their way to travel miles and miles to see him and not a word has been said. My mind immediately went to this thought - I could leave, be disappointed and turn my back on one of my childhood heroes. Or either I could stay, scream my ass off and raise my hands in the air and cheer the man on as he sang and played his heart out for us. You all know I stayed and screamed, looking for that sacred “Shot of Gasoline”!!! Tom got me in my feelings several times when I was least expecting it too. The 3 rd track of the set was “Heartbreak Station”, and the intro was so heartfelt I was tearing up before he sang the first line. I stood their awe struck and dumbfounded with tears in my eyes remembering how much the song has meant to me through the years and how much of a pleasure it was to hear it live for what could be my very last time. It also stung me deep that Jeff LaBar (R.I.P.) wasn’t up on-stage playing guitar. These feelings hit me even harder on “Coming Home”. Of all the songs Cinderella released, this track has always been my favorite, it’s a bio of my life, warts and all. All I’ve ever wanted was to be loved and to “come home”, it felt like forever to be able to achieve that feeling. A million thanks to my girl for giving me that home that I yearned for my entire life. “I took a ride in a world I'll be spinnin’ for the rest of my life” … Keifer went on to play all the hits, he hit us with “Hot and Bothered”, “The Last Mile”, “Nobody’s Fool” and I thought the crowd was going to full on riot when they played “Somebody Save Me” and “Nightsongs”. It was a fantastic scene. There were several other classics played throughout the evening. I’m sincerely glad I stayed for Keifer’s set, the young man that still haunts the halls in my memory needed it. Now my cup runneth over with love for all the things that I’ve experienced and all the places I’ve been. It’s not just Tom who’s gotten older, I’ve done fucked around and gotten old too. Thankfully, us old dogs can still get up there and fucking get it when it's time. If either of these bands roll through your town, get off your ass and go! While Tom isn’t the young man he once was, know this, the voice he had in the in the late 80’s was wrecked for us and all in the name of Rock N’ Roll. Keifer deserves to hear the crowds roar and every one reading this “NEEDS A SHOT OF GASOLINE”! And if you can’t get down with Keifer, them Hollywood Vampires, L.A. Guns still got that 100-dollar bill and a bottle of lotion – S.E.X. Who’s next?! ~Black Angel