July 1st, 2009
I’m not all that into reading. Heck, I’m not even all that into writing! But I must say I do love me some rockstar literature. Even if the accounts of aging rockers are hazy at best, they are always colorful and often times hilarious.
The latest rock icon to publish a revealing book about life on the road and all the perils of rock and roll decadence (to quote Axl Rose) is Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer. In this new book, titled “Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top,” Kramer gets real personal and talks about everything from his past substance abuse problems to his personal problems with Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler and he even elaborates on his personal problems with his father.
Fans of Mötley Crüe will be glad to know that the foreword of Kramer’s new book is brought to you courtesy of none other than famed Crüe bassist, Nikki Sixx.
Aerosmith may have been bitten by the writing bug recently. Steven Tyler’s own tell-all book is slated to be released sometime next summer. Bassist Tom Hamilton is also entertaining the idea of writing his own book…sort of.
“I think the thing to do is to be the last one to write a book,” Hamilton told Billboard. “That way you can let everybody else put things in their book that are gonna make you mad, and then you can answer back and have the last word.”
Aerosmith is currently on the road touring with ZZ Top. On this particular tour they’re playing strictly (as far as we know) tracks from its classic 1975 album “Toys in the Attic”. After that they plan to begin working on their 78th* studio album.
*Or however many that makes it.
Tags: aerosmith, book, hit hard, joey kramer
Posted in Rock | No Comments »
June 29th, 2009
Just about everyone is talking about how crazy it is that so many notable personalities have passed away in the past couple weeks. The propagators of online rumors are well aware of this, and have already begun to take full advantage.
So far we have lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet, Michael Jackson, and now famed “pitchman” Billie Mays. However, according to numerous tweets and random “celebrity bloggers”, pop icons Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are the latest ones to bite the dust.
What motivates the instigators of internet rumors to spread these lies? Well, it could be a number of things, ranging from web profits to just plain old entertainment value. However, if you’re the subject of one of these rumors, is it really such a bad thing?
Since Michael Jackson passed away, his record sales have exploded. He is already dominating the UK music charts, and radio play of the King of Pop’s music here in the United States has increased by a whopping 1,735% since the news of his death.
Of course, baseless internet rumors can’t be expected to make the sort of impact as the death of Michael Jackson, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that such false rumors do benefit the artists involved to some extent, even if it is just a microcosm of the aforementioned effect.
Tags: britney spears, celebrity deaths, michael jackson, miley cyrus, rumors
Posted in General, Pop | No Comments »
June 26th, 2009
It still has yet to really sink in. Possibly the most famous musician of our time has passed away. All controversies and eccentricities aside, you can’t deny the fact that Michael Jackson was quite possibly the greatest entertainer of the 20th century.
The details of his death have yet to be disclosed. Right now the music industry and music fans all over the world are in a state of collective shock.
According to CNN, sales of Michael Jackson’s music have soared since the news of his death yesterday.
I’ll admit I never really dug deep into Jackson’s music. But like so many others, I was a huge fan of his monster singles like Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, etc. Let us not forget that Thriller was the greatest selling album in history.
I know just about everyone is blogging about MJ right now. But if anything, that is just a testament to the incredible reach of his fame. His legacy will likely live on much longer than all of us.
The world has lost a truly great talent.
Disclaimer: I’m about seven beers deep.
Tags: michael jackson
Posted in Pop | No Comments »
