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Poison – Stand (Michaels/Dall/Rockett/Kotzen) b/w Native Tongue/Scream (Michaels/Dall/Rockett/Kotzen) 1993

By the time Stand hit stores hair metal was clinging on for dear life in the face of the unrelenting advance of grunge and US audiences had all but deserted Brett Michaels and co. in 1993.

This excellent song, from the mature yet underrated Native Tongue record, may have hit 25 on the UK singles chart but it only just limped into the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100.

And pretty soon after Poison were forced to accept defeat with the likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden stamping all over their MTV heartland. Read the rest of this entry »

There are three things Self Made Man is really, really proud of: his hair, his Irish history and his family.

This week he focuses on the family and the Self Made Boys – revealing that music is the only thing they’ve taken from their dad. Which is a bloody good thing in our view.

To read Self Made Man’s latest rock blog click on the page link above.

He’s a Barnsley boy boasting the true Yorkshire grit which took his band Saxon to the very summit of the NWOBHM movement.

And 30 years after the UK spawned metal for the masses, Biff Byford is still fronting one of the nation’s best-loved acts as Saxon go from strength to strength.

Out on tour with fellow metal monsters Anvil, it’s time we took a look behind the scenes with one of rock’s finest frontmen. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t hold your breath but it’s ‘rock week’ on X Factor on Saturday.

There have been various pictures of the Lenny Kravitz-esque Jamie Afro wearing an AC/DC T-shirt splashed across the press.

And the big name guests are Bon Jovi – set to perform their new single after announcing a series of o2 Arena shows for 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

@ Newcastle University Basement, October 26 2009

Play any Fightstar song to your average rock fan and challenge them to guess its origins. There could only be a minute chance that they would guess the screaming lead vocals are sung by a member of boy band Busted – namely Charlie Simpson.

It is a surreal sight to see the same man who used to sing about air-hostesses, visiting the future and school boy crushes now falling into the ‘emo-screamo’ category. But for the most part it works. Read the rest of this entry »

Now this isn’t one for the faint hearted or even those of you with the constitution of an ox. In fact it’s one of the scariest, nastiest, craziest pieces of music we’ve heard for some time and it’s coming straight out of the North East in time for Christmas!

Cult Of Whores And Dogs combine a clear punk ethos with an industrial vibe to create one of the most unpleasant sounds you’ll hear all year. But if you’re disaffected, deeply disturbed or simply yearning to hear something demonically different then this is the band for you. Read the rest of this entry »

In the second part of our interview with Yes drummer Alan White we discover the new creative force forging ahead alongside the band’s old stagers.

And the man who worked with ex-Beatles George Harrison and John Lennon explains how he came to get one of the biggest gigs in British rock.

Check out White and his bandmates throughout next month with a homecoming gig at Newcastle City Hall on November 20 bound to be the pick for the veteran drummer. Read the rest of this entry »

Alan White joined Yes as a 23-year-old having forged a reputation as one of the brightest young drummers around during the 1960s.

Still with the band as they prepare to embark on their latest UK tour – minus Messrs Anderson and Wakeman Snr – the tub thumper from County Durham talked exclusively to rushonrock about his home from home and all things music.

Check out the second part of a revealing chat with White tomorrow, when he lifts the lid on Yes’ new singer and a familiar name behind the keyboard. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been on continuous rotation in the rushonrock offices for the past week and we might just have found our 2009 album of the year. It’s funky, it rocks and it’s oozing the kind of social commentary which is only found in certain corners of New York City.

It can only be the new album by the legendary Living Colour and it’s a remarkable return to form from axe hero Vernon Reid and his crew. Read the rest of this entry »

@ Newcastle o2 Academy II, October 24 2009

Now, I’m not going to lie. Electric Eel Shock was my first ever rock/metal gig. This Japanese trio are doing their Attie Bauw (Judas Priest, Scorpions) engineered Sugoi Indeed (Super Indeed) tour of the UK, sounding like they’ve just been let loose from their dad’s garage and told to ‘see the world, son’.

They’ve been doing just that since 1999 and brought a part of their world to Academy II. Bassist Kazuto Maekawa, looking not dissimilar to Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, kept the catchy rock riffs solid. He complemented luscious locked lead singer Aki Morimoto who regularly yelled ‘you bastards’ as a term of endearment towards the sparse but engaged crowd. Read the rest of this entry »