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Features, PiercingMetal Says

Presenting The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees

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rock and roll hall of fame

It’s that time of the year again my friends and I am speaking about the fact that the nominees for the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions have been released. I’ll share them with you below and then we can discuss in a little more detail.

photo-2017-rock-hall-nominees

Nominees: Bad Brains, Chaka Khan, Chic, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), The J. Geils Band, Janes Addiction, Janet Jackson, Joan Baez, Joe Tex, Journey, Kraftwerk, MC5, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf, The Cars, The Zombies, Tupac Shakur and Yes.

Fans can vote their favorites in an online ballot that lets you select up to five artists. I’ll have that at the close of this missive.

PiercingMetal Thoughts: This year like others before it finds some interesting choices in the mix and I am running out of the groups to complain about not being included since we are finally seeing Yes on the ballot along with Journey and some others that I feel are long overdue. We also see more Rap and Disco related artists being included and my stand remains the same on those types of additions to the nominees. “THEY ARE NOT ROCK!!!!” Call me closed minded or not looking deep into the roots of said artists but someone like Tupac Shakur, while a legendary music figure, is a legendary RAP music figure and not a Rock one. Yeah Run DMC made it in, but they also did Rock things during their heyday. Chaka Khan is a little harder to speak against since she is widely known as the Queen Of Funk but Janet Jackson? No frigging way is that Rock at all and is more Pop Disco stuff. The top of my long overdue list goes to Yes who in my humble opinion are the reason that Progressive Rock exists. When I think of Prog I think of Yes and ELP and the latter one has been in for a few years now. I like a lot of the Rock acts being offered up and while Steppenwolf is widely known for taking the “Magic Carpet Ride” and being “Born To Be Wild” does this merit inclusion? Joe Tex is a Soul Artist and I must admit that I only ever knew his “Ain’t Going To Bump No More With No Big Fat Woman”. I wasn’t the biggest follower of the MC5 or Bad Brains and J.Geils Band either but loved so much Journey and Cars music that I was happy to see them be a part of the mix. The same applies for me with ELO whose back catalog was a part of my musical upbringing. Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction was a tossup for me personally and I opted for Pearl Jam being included based on liking more of their material than the other.

So before I close out I wanted to share who I voted for in the Fan Voting process. I selected Journey, The Cars, Electric Light Orchestra, Pearl Jam and Yes. I stuck to the Rock of course since this is the “Rock Hall” after all. I’ve shared the link below for you to give your opinions a chance and help honor the groups you feel are the most deserving. You can let me know what you think of this year’s nominees in the comments section below and if you choose to, please also let me know who you voted for. It will be nice to learn who others are behind.

Official Fan Voting: https://www.rockhall.com/vote

Features, PiercingMetal Says

Today: Free Dr. Know Benefit Show @ Tompkins Square Park

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I’ve had this on the calendar for a few weeks now but wanted to put one more reminder out there via the site since the cause is aimed at helping a legendary musician for the Hardcore music scene. The why’s and where’s are all lined out in the event copy below so check that out.

Poster - NYHC Chronicles Dr Know Benefit - 2016

“The big shabang!!!! FREE show in Tompkins Square Park w/ Breakdown, Token Entry, Cro-Mags, Antidote, Maximum Penalty. Gary “Dr. Know” Miller of the Bad Brains awareness benefit show. There will be a station set up on the premises to accept donations to his Go Fund Me page.

As many of you know, Gary Miller (aka Dr. Know or Doc), guitarist of the Legendary Washington DC punk band Bad Brains, suffered cardiac arrest in early November last year. His condition quickly progressed to multiple organ failure, and he was on life support for almost 2 weeks. At the time, his doctors gave him a 5% chance of survival. But by the power of PMA, LOVE and FAMILY, he was able to pull through and survive.

He spent nearly three months in the hospital, until he was finally able to be transferred to a medical rehabilitation facility where he is getting the proper physical therapy and treatment that he needs to make a full recovery. In medical rehab, he continues to make incredible progress every day. Doc and his loved ones are now confident that he will make a full recovery and continue to touch our lives with his incredible music, kindness, and positivity.
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Dr. Know Benefit Show @ Tompkins Square Park

Poster - NYHC Chronicles Dr Know Benefit - 2016

United for a common cause of good come some fantastic Hardcore acts for this “Benefit For Dr. Know”, guitarists for the legendary Bad Brains. It will be hosted by the New York Hardcore Chronicles. The event is free to the general public and will run for several hours. Donation tables will be stationed around the show for people to toss in a few bucks to help cover the medical expenses that Know incurred after an incident last year. Come on out and show your support for this fine musician and all he inspired and of course drop a few bucks off at the donation table.

Reviews, Videos

“Live At CBGB 1982” by Bad Brains

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Artist: Bad Brains
Title: “Live At CBGB 1982”
Label: Music Video Distributors
Release Date: 9/26/2006
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Rating: 3/5

The year was 1982 and the Hardcore Punk scene was in full bloom withone of the main places to witness the intensity of this scene being C.B.G.B.’s. One of the seminal bands that performed at the venue would be the Bad Brains and this DVD takes selections from a course of three nights as they headlined the Hardcore Festival which was being hosted there. Needless to say this is a hurricane of Hardcore power from start to finish and while I can admit that this was not my thing – you truly don’t need to be a fan of the band or the scene to appreciate and enjoy the level of energy and drive that the group gave during a live performance. As soon as it begins the slamming is happening on and off the stage and the bodies are everywhere as the audience continually jumps onto the band area only to dive into their fellow fans. There are parts where singer H.R. is slamming with them. If you have ever seen the inside of C.B.G.B. you know that it is not huge where all this takes place and given the amount of people you see in the crowd this was a totally full house. When this scene was at its zenith a full house at the venue was not uncommon and the craziness is captured to perfection on this film. The band is tight for what they do and while most of the numbers are their hardcore staples, they even mix it up to play a few of their Reggae numbers. It’s a unique dynamic to see such different genres portrayed during the same short set especially at this time. Taking this for what it is, which is a straight live performance with limited fluff to it (well it was 1982 after all) this is a really good release. It offers fans of the band a large amount of their songs and the music historian a great measure of a point in time. Bad Brains footage of this quality has been impossible to find and now thanks to the MVD folks that is no longer the case. Among the highlights on the DVD would be “Riot Squad” and “How Low Can A Punk Get”, also at one point the club loses light by blowing a fuse and the band keeps playing in total darkness. The release comes with some bonus interview segments but they are nothing really to speak of. Get a glimpse back into musical history with this release.
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