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Never afraid to do our duty in supporting the new breed of North East noiseniks it’s time to give rushonrock readers the heads up on a band tipped for big things in 2009.

Remedy will be releasing their debut EP, Strange Fast Now, in February and the local upstarts are already causing a stir with labels nationwide.

But if you want to stay ahead of the game then check ‘em out at Newcastle’s Carling Academy tomorrow when they’re first up on the Quireboys’ bill.

And as a bonus you’ll be there in plenty of time to check out another group of local heroes in the shape of Fable’s Last Stand. Now we haven’t heard much from these retro rockers in recent months but what we heard before was all good and we’re expecting more of the same this week.

So if you don’t want to miss out on a plethora of local talent on your doorstep then head along to the unofficial rushonrock Christmas party at the Academy tomorrow and witness three ass-kicking bands for the price of one. But if you’re lazier than Axl Rose you can always read the review here first…

When Chelsea visit Newcastle it’s never that pretty for those of a black and white persuasion but when The Chelsea Smiles take in Tyneside…now that’s going to be a different matter.

Newly signed to groundbreaking Global Music imprint DR2 Records, the LA-based glam rockers (should be right up Self Made Man’s street) will support Wednesday 13 at what promises to be a cracking Academy gig on March 31.

And our friends at the Jarrow-based record label are very excited to have added another fast-emerging act to a roster already boasting the likes of Dear Superstar, The Sound Ex and McQueen.

The Chelsea Smiles were formed by ex-Danzig guitar slinger Todd Youth in 2004 and released their full length debut two years later. Support slots with rushonrock faves Backyard Babies and the reformed New York Dolls won rave reviews and DR2 will release their forthcoming, as yet untitled, album in early 2009.

It’s another coup for the fast-growing North East label and The Chelsea Smiles’ manager Jon Nelson said: “We are extremely excited to be working with everyone at DR2 Records.  I have previously worked with them on some other releases and they are willing to put the time and effort into breaking bands.  They are hard working and get results.  It will be great to see what they do with The Chelsea Smiles!”

Look out for a first review right here. And expect to see SMM first in the queue come March…

Blyth Spartans have given the Quireboys their full backing as the band bid to step up their race against time – and release an official anthem for the Croft Park club in time for next month’s FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn.

rushonrock understands guitarist Paul Guerin – Blyth born and bred – and Geordie singer Spike have already penned three possible versions of a tune guaranteed to get the Spartans faithful in full voice ahead of the visit of Sam Allardyce’s Rovers.

And the duo will hit the studio on Tuesday, immediately after Monday night’s Newcastle Carling Academy show – the final date on their latest UK headline tour. The band are currently riding high on the back of latest album Homewreckers And Heartbreakers and have toured Europe on and off for most of 2008.

But Guerin is determined to work round the clock over the festive period in a bid to boost his boyhood heroes. Spartans secretary Ian Evans said: “We’re right behind the boys and it’s a great idea. Blyth have never had an offcial song and we can’t wait to see what happens.” 

Tyneside-based Global Music, formerly Demolition Records, have given the Quireboys free use of their Newcastle studios in an attempt to speed up the recording process. And the band’s record label, Jerkin Crokus, is confident the Spartans’ song will be available for download in advance of the Blackburn tie.

Stay posted to rushonrock for all the latest as it happens…

To celebrate a simply stunning  year of live rock and metal rushonrock is bringing you the best of 2008 as we look back on the reviews that made the news.

Velvet Revolver @ Newcastle Carling Academy, March 19 2008

VELVET Revolver are the image of rock on Viagra.

In an age when cutting edge style all too frequently conquers true musical substance, the hottest act in Hollywood gloriously bucks the trend.

For sheer energy, aggression and fret-fuelled passion, VR are peerless. Oh, and they just happen to boast one of the most iconic musicians in the world in the shape of enduring guitar god Slash.

The Stoke-born star is not quite as powerful as the total sum of Velvet Revolver’s variously talented parts but he comes mightily close. It is impossible to avoid becoming transfixed by a massive stage presence as he rips seamlessly through raw riff after raw riff with all the enthusiasm of an ambitious teen.

Slash is truly comfortable without ever slipping into the comfort zone and it is little wonder he insists he is in this special band for the long haul. Alongside him the manic Scott Weiland continues to enhance his reputation as a frenzied frontman par excellence. There is the bare minimum of small talk in between an onslaught of anthems but that is not to say the former Stone Temple Pilots singer does not interact.

Weiland has an uncanny knack of becoming part of the crowd, embedding himself in your subconscious and ensuring the audience’s collective attention never wavers. Fresh out of rehab, he comes to life on stage.

As a precociously talented duo there can be few more relevant combinations in 2008 and if neither appear truly at ease belting out the Guns ‘N’ Roses classics Patience and It’s So Easy then there can be no criticism of the crowd-pleasing professionalism underpinning both numbers.

Those of us who can look beyond the past find equal pleasure in Big Machine or the fantastic, evocative Fall To Pieces – the latter begs the question why VR don’t go down the more mellow route more often.

But then there is nothing sedate about five men born to rock. From start to finish this essential event maintained a punishing pace and every note mattered. Especially for those of us mesmerised by the original guitar hero.

Simon Rushworth

One of 2008′s true breakthrough bands will be going out on their biggest ever UK headline tour next year and Newcastle will have the chance to deliver its verdict on pop-punktastic five-piece You Me At Six.

Yep, the gang who gave us the demonic debut Take Off Your Colours earlier this year are already on the road to superstardom.

And YM@6 will play Newcastle’s Carling Academy on March 10 – one of just seven UK dates! Having stormed the album charts - with TOYC entering at 25 – the boys supported Fall Out Boy on their arena tour to build on an ever-increasing fan base. And it seems there’s just no stopping Surrey’s finest export since Mark Ramprakash.

Kerrang! even suggested YM@6 are the only new British band worth bothering about in 2008. And while we’re still spitting feathers in the wake of that mag’s ludicrous Guns N Roses review we have to say the K club got it right on this occasion. If you must see one band in Newcastle next March then make it this one.

NWOBHM legends Saxon follow up last month’s Motorhead support in Newcastle with a return to the city’s Carling Academy next summer.

Biff Byford exclusively revealed to rushonrock that the rejuvenated Barnsley crew would be striking out on a headline tour of England after a spring jaunt to Europe.

And the big frontman has stayed true to his word by announcing a trip to Tyneside on May 1 as part of the band’s grandly named Battalions Of Steel World Tour.

Six dates in England plus stops in Prestatyn, Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow reinforce Saxon’s determination to build on a resurgence of interest in their no-nonsense brand of heavy metal. And Byford remains confident the UK leg of their 2009 trek will see the band riding on the back of strong sales of next month’s eagerly anticipated album Into The Labyrinth.

The first song from Saxon’s new record – Live To Rock – was released as a download only single last month and made a major impression on new fans and old. Expect a review of the rest of the band’s new material right here in the second week of January.

@ Newcastle Carling Academy, December 6 2008

Dave the former merch man summed it up best when he said ‘I love Black Stone Cherry but after watching Sevendust and Stone Gods I’d go out and buy their stuff tomorrow’.

This really was a heavyweight triple bill guaranteed to keep rock fans happy until the other side of Christmas. And where the two willing and able supports set the frenzied tone, the headliners took their sensational set to a spine-tingling new level.

After watching brief snippets of BSC in Glasgow and Newcastle earlier this year, during their successful stint on the double headline Whtesnake/Def Leppard trek, I had been literally begging for more. Few new bands boast the sonic power of these southern rock giants and they’re the best thing out of Kentucky since the Colonel’s secret recipe. 

In fact a night of KFC and BSC would be just about the perfect evening and next time the boys are in town I’ll be sure to bag a bargain bucket en route. Imagine waving a drumstick in time to John-Fred’s solo or sucking on a zinger tower burger to the tune of Rain Wizard…but as I try and snap out of that heavenly scenario what about tonight’s Academy show.

Well poor old Chris Roberston was particularly apologetic about the lack of an encore but by the time he’d said sorry most bands would have squeezed in at least two more numbers. Then again we could forgive the most polite man in rock his verbosity given the blistering set which had just gone before us.

A band with only two albums to their name, BSC played just about everything which we wanted to hear. Whether blasting through Reverend Wrinkle or mellowing out on Maybe Someday there was never a dull moment. Well, apart from John Fred’s elongated drum solo.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge one of the best new drummers in rock his moment in the spotlight but it did drag on. And on. And on. It was very Tommy Alrdidge and very good for the first few minutes but in the end it overshadowed his stint as BSC’s harmonica-tooting frontman - in a bad way.

And that’s a shame. Because when Chris and JF swapped roles midway through a jam-tastic version of The Key the audience genuinely felt privy to a special moment in rock. With Ben Wells’ bandana-wearing guitar tech moving up to the plate and Chris proving himself a mean tub thumper it was almost as if we’d been given two headline acts for the price of one.

When The Weight Comes Down, Hell And High Water and The Bitter End will all be marked out for special praise when the band’s back catalogue is reviewed in future years and all three moved the Academy crowd to mania. But as a sucker for sentiment I just can’t look past the phenomenal version of Peace Is Free when picking a single highlight.

Chris might have gone all Preacher Man on his congregation at that point but you do feel the man means what he says. There’s a fine line between pure cheese and heartfelt passion in the world of rock and BSC tread carefully on the side of the latter. For now.

This was a night for the Cherries to blossom and they did just that. The promise of a two-hour set in 2009 should have the crowds flocking back for more – just as long as the quite brilliant John-Fred doesn’t overdo it next time around. Not that you’d say that to his face…

Simon Rushworth 

rushonrock fave Wednesday 13 has made good on his promise to hit Newcastle before he takes a well earned rest from touring by announcing a Carling Academy gig in 2009.

 And the in-your-face Alice Cooper clone has actually put the brakes on producing a new record until 2010 after a slew of well received releases in the last 12 months.

We caught up with the devilish showman at a Tyneside hotel earlier this year – bizarrely slap bang in the middle of a tour which didn’t take in the Toon! But good old Wednesday, whose live CD/DVD Fuck It We’ll Do It Live is out now, pledged to put things right.

“I love Newcastle, it’s the home of my record label and the fans there have always been crazy about me – even back in the Murderdolls days,” he told rushonrock. “I played a great gig with McQueen at Newcastle University a couple of years back and I will return.”

And he will. On Tuesday March 31, 2009. After that Wednesday will put the finishing touches to a new Bourbon Crow record before maybe, just maybe, taking a breather. We’ll believe it when we see it.

Here at rushonrock we love to dig deep into our metal closet and pull out a gem from the past – before comparing it to the current output from one of our favourite late 80s artists. This week we focus on US stars Great White who are back doing what they do best following a tragic recent history.

Now: 2007 Back To The Rhythm (Frontiers) sees frontman Jack Russell remind the rock buying public that just because you’re named after a small dog doesn’t mean you don’t boast the perfect set of pipes. Forget the jibes about barking, growling and yelping – this record reinforces the view of those in the know that Great White deserved more than their second division status at a time when the likes of Cinderella and Poison were tearing through the Billboard Hot 100.

The title track sets the tone for a slick and sleazy album which gets better and better with every fresh listen. Still Hungry isn’t anything to do with Twisted Sister but still establishes itself as a modern rock anthem and Take Me Down is typical Russell as he once again revels in his role as classic rock troubador. The UK bonus track is a belting cover of 30 Days In The Hole and wraps up a heart warming set from one of the most underrated bands in rock.

If you caught Great White at Newcastle’s Carling Academy II this year you’re a canny judge. The set rocked, the old classics were pure gold dust and the tunes showcased from Back To The Rhythm more than held their own against a strong back catalogue. Here’s hoping for more of the same in 2009.  

rushonrock rated: 7/10 Back To The Great

…And Then: 1989 …Twice Shy (Capitol) went top 10 in Great White’s native America and took the band to the brink of superstardom. Featuring the pumped-up production of Alan Niven and Michael Lardie, the natural successor to Once Bitten… is chock full of glossy soft rock anthems perfect for the peak of the hair metal movement.

A competent if unspectacular cover of Ian Hunter’s Once Bitten Twice Shy was always likely to overshadow a batch of brilliant originals but at least that hit gave Russell and co. their way into the big leagues. House Of Broken Love sees the band unleash their full array of songwriting skills and The Angel Song is, to this day, one of the standout lighter-waving standards of an era when big productions and big emotions won the hearts of millions of MTV fans worldwide.

What should have been the springboard for greater commercial success ultimately became a millstone around the neck of these All-American heroes and it’s taken the best part of 20 years for Great White to recover. But without this record you’re missing a vital part of your hair metal history. Expect a reissue sometime soon.

rushonrock rated: 9/10 Shy Bairns Get Nowt

If, like us, you kinda missed out on the great tide of critical accalim which greeted the arrival of US rockers The Gaslight Anthem earlier this year then now could be the time to switch on.

Monday sees the fantastic foursome release the latest single from their Ted Hutt-produced second album, The ’59 Sound , and Old White Lincoln could do some serious damage on the Decemeber charts.

Now it’s out too early to challenge for the Chrimbo number one spot but it has the balls to outlast many of next week’s releases and it could well be a grower. With a Kerrang! front cover behind them, praise from Classic Rock Mag in the bag and fresh comparisons with The Boss himself following every show it seems The Gaslight Anthem really are that good.

As always we won’t tell you one way or the other but we do have the video of Old White Lincoln right here, right now. Just don’t get too hooked. TGA go out on tour in 2009 but like so many emerging acts right now they don’t seem too keen on carting their gear all the way up to the North East. Shame, because we’re sure they’d get a fantastic welcome and just imagine the atmosphere at a packed-out Cluny or a heaving Academy 2…

Anyway for now we can watch them afar and just hope that our good friend Frank Turner – who supports TGA in February and March – persuades the New Jersey crew of the error of their ways. It’s not too late to switch the dates!

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