July 2021

Live Review- Styx at Youngstown Foundation Amphitheater

Youngstown, Ohio- The mega hit and legendary Styx came to the rust belt this last week and to say they rocked the house is an understatement of gargantuan proportions. They gave the public the prescription for rock music that everyone needed and the near capacity crowd could not have been happier .The band is fresh off the release of their new studio album ” Crash of The Crown ” and showcased several of the tracks during their set along with beloved classics .

The evening started with ” The Fight of Our Lives ” and was the perfect introduction to Styx in 2021 especially with the tag line ” We Will Not Give In ” .The band, the crowd and the staff all agreed it was time to live life again !

The set then went into a mega hit set including ” Blue Collar Man “, “Grand Illusion “, and ” Lady ” . Just to name a few . Some of the new songs premiered were ” Reveries ” a beautiful song with several unique changes and the Styx signature harmonies and melodies including some great duel guitar work .

Another great track played was ” Sound The Alarm ” and includes Tommy Shaw’s thought provoking lyrics and vocalization and is a chilling song with a great message . The title track of ” Crash of The Crown ” went over huge with the crowd as it seemed almost like a standing ovation for ” JY ” and the rest of the band !

The rest of the set included some of the Styx staples such as ” Come Sail Away “, ” Fooling Yourself ” and ” Too Much Time ” . The encores blew the roof off of the place when ” Mr. Roboto ” and ” Renegade ” of which the crowd was deafening .The band playing tonight was Tommy Shaw, James Young,Ricky Phillips,Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Will Evankovich .Not to missed was the Styx charity ” Rock To The Rescue ” for which they raffle off a signed guitar and proceeds go the a local charity and this time is was the local Amvets .To find out all things Styx check out the official website at http://www.styxworld.com

The opening duties were filled by Donnie Iris formally of Wild Cherry and Donnie Iris and the Cruisers and he did a great job warming up the crowd . A lot if local luminaries were in attendance as well such as boxer Ray ” Boom, Boom ” Mancini who is a Youngstown native and three members of the Styx tribute band ” Best of Times ” if you need to your Styx fix between shows check out http://www.botstyxtribute.com/ and see they are playing a venue near you .

Until next time , check out the Grand Illusion and get your ticket for the show.

Spotlight Release -RICHRATH PROJECT 3:13-L.A is Mine

This pleasant surprise came across our email earlier this week and to be honest I was clueless to what I was listing to . I was tired and hot and did not feel like reading the email information and I figured I would listen to an advance copy with a coffee and then write up some pretty words to make myself seem interesting .

I was wrong and then I found out why , damn can karma teach an old dog new tricks . What I had here was some of the last hidden recordings of Gary Ricrath ( the guy behind REO Speedwagon amazing guitar work )I sat in my office with my earphones on as the music played ( still oblivious ) and stupidly said this to myself ” great another band trying to rip off the classic sounds of the 70’s and 80’s ” Little did I know that Gary Ricrath was a major creator to those sounds and I was listing to him playing .Once I got done with the release I opened up the emails and files and dug in for more info and here is what I found !

RICHRATH PROJECT 3:13, takes you back to the beginnings of REO SPEEDWAGON, and tells the story of GARY RICHRATH via his music up to his passing and beyond – over the course of a two hour performance including a multimedia show that documents Gary and Michael’s history. The show also includes some of Michael’s awesome new original songs performed by the newest version of Richrath Project 3:13 with a group of very talented musicians, including Dennis Pockets on lead guitar, Scott Weber on keyboards, Doug Janssen on bass and Andy Crownover on drums.

Michael: “We are anxious for our fans to hear the original tunes I have written. Just like Gary had taught me all those years ago, I tried to write songs about things that mean something to me, and I believe that comes through in all the lyrics of the new songs. We feel they turned out just dynamite. We’re looking forward to seeing the reaction to our first music video as well. As far as the future, we already have songs for the second Richrath Project 3:13 album, plan on touring the country like crazy and entertaining our fans for years to come!”

‘L.A. Is Mine’ Tracklisting

1. Never Give Up (Jahnz)
2. Help Me Save Me from Myself (Richrath/ Jahnz) 3. Heard It on the Radio (Pockets/ Jahnz)
4. L.A. Is Mine (Richrath/ Jahnz)
5. Shoot One for Free (Jahnz)
6. Son of a Poor Man (Richrath)
7. Let Me Love Again (Jahnz)
8. These Nights (Richrath/ Jahnz)
9. Tears of My Pain (Jahnz)
10. Ridin’ the Storm Out (Richrath)

These Nights and Let Me Love Again and L.A. Is Mine are some of my new favorite songs , but in all honestly they are all great and bring you back to a time with melody and harmonies were important in songs . Great job Michael Jahnz .The live band consists of Dennis Pockets on lead guitar, Scott Weber on keyboards, Doug Janssen on bass and Andy Crownover on drums.

To hear one of the tracks check out the official video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLcvwZJsd0w

Confirmed Tour dates are as follows

7/30 Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin The Door County Fair with Head East

8/27 Franklin, OH JD Legends

8/29 Westland, MI The Token Lounge

9/4 Rosholt, Wisconsin Portage County Fair

10/23 Des Plaines, IL Des Plaines Theater

To learn all about the band and the release on Aug 6 check out the offical website at https://www.project313rocks.com/

Live Review- Lita Ford at Mentor Rocks

Mentor, Ohio- The city that keeps on giving gave its local citizens a present in the form of Rock N’ Roll .Not just any gift but a hard rock icon of stellar proportions, they gave us Lita .Lita Ford that is , the music icon who started her career in the 1970’s with the star studded band The Runaways ( which also had members Joan Jett and Cherie Currie ) and continued with her own solo career including hits on MTV and a duet with the prince of darkness himself Ozzy Osbourne .

The weather was perfect after the crazy weather of the summer and the venue of Mentor Amphitheater is a perfect place to hear and watch a show . A show is exactly what this one was, which to a crowd of almost 7000 brought back memories of the big hair days and lots of fun .

The night started with the track ” Gotta let Go ” and continued for almost two hours .Her hits such ” Kiss Me Deadly ” and ” Close My Eyes Forever ” really delighted the crowd . Her versions of ” The Bitch Is Back “, ” Only Women Bleed ” and ” Black Leather ” surprised us but in a good way .

One of my favorite songs is ” Cherry Bomb ” from her old The Runaways days .( I even love the movie )

Lita is so popular still that a little girl in the audience was named after her by her father and it was very cute to see .

Lita’s band is as follows Patrick Kennison on guitars , Bobby Rock on Drums and Marty O’ Brien on bass guitar .

To keep up with all things Lita please see her official website at http://www.litafordonline.com/

Live Review- Faster Pussycat, Enuff Z Nuff & Bonneville

Sharpsville , Pennsylvania – Live music is back unmasked and Thelma’s Sports Nook had the three prong attack last week with hit after hit and enough music to satisfy the most ardent of fans.

Up first was local opener Bonneville but judging talent by the time slot is a major mistake in music and one you should never do . Playing some classic rock to the delight of fans along with an original of vocalist Paul Skowron former band White Noise ( Party In The Rust) you can see why this artist was signed to Atco records with his band Noisy Mama back in the day. The guitar work was done to perfection by former Celtic Frost guitarist Ron Marks who brings a nice rock and metal edge to the music . The drums and bass were played to perfection by Paul Guzman ( bass ) and Mark Munyon ( drums )

Not to be outdone Chip Znuff and The rest of Enuff Z Nuff hit the stage with a fury. I saw them last when they were on tour with Tom Keifer and to say they were amazing is an understatement .I was looking forward to the hits and almost hits and just damn good songs . The melodies and music just blended into a nice smoothie for the ears . On a side note Chip is one amazing bass player, almost lead bass player if you can image that as well as sings at the same time. New Thing is still my favorite song by the them but the new songs are really starting to over take the spot on my playlist . The rest of the band consists of Tory Stoffregen: Guitar, Tony Fennell: Guitar,Dan Hill: Drums

Up next and being prepared to dominate the stage is headliner Faster Pussycat, fresh off the release of their new single NOLA ( a totally rockin song by the way ) .This is the fresh and vitalized Faster Pussycat with over two years of clean living which makes you feel like its 1989 again and the Sunset Strip is alive again . The stage was packed and the temperature and the band were hot as molten lava as a well oiled machine gun blasting your senses . The line up is tight and contains Taime Downe - lead vocals ,Xristian Simon - guitar ,Sam "Bam" Koltun - guitar ,Danny Nordahl - bass ,Chad Stewart - drums,

Playing all the hits the band was an unstoppable force , this is something we all needed , to get out of the house and enjoy being alive again , you , me ,the band , everyone . Until next time see you at the show !

Exxxotica Chicago 2021- A Huge Success !

Rosemont , Illinois – The return of Exxxotica to the windy city of Chicago brought with it hope for brighter days and a return to normalcy after the last 18 months of uncertainty .The normally annual event ( A worldwide pandemic can halt such things ) brought adult film stars, lifestyle enthusiasts , adult products. classes and seminars and a whole lot of fun and smiles to all involved .Although we did not cover every moment of the expo for the 18 hours we did cover it at times was a packed house and standing room only , which means there was something for everyone.

A highlight of the event was the extensive seminar and class schedules , two of my favorite were a class on NFTs ( Non-fungible Token )for the adult space hosted by PolyAnnie and Live in Your Truth : A Sex Positive Seminar hosted by adult star and best selling author Coralyn Jewel .

Some of the cam models available to meet

The bondage area gave classes and demonstrations of rope and knots and hanging safely .

Adult film star Kaitlyn Katsaros preparing to be lifted up in the bondage area

Lots of legends of adult erotic cinema were also on had for autographs and photos including two of my favorites .The legendary Herschel Savage and Keli Richards whose work in the 1980s made today’s adult industry possible for all who followed in their footsteps .

The line of fans at adult film legend Keli Richards booth

The cam industry was represented in full force with hundreds of models representing some of the biggest names out there such as Chaturbate and MyFreeCams .

Swinger and Lifestyle Companies on hand to speak about their products and services

The event is held in 4 cities with Miami , Edison, New Jersey and Washington DC on the schedule .To learn more about Exxxotica please see the official website at https://exxxoticaexpo.com/