Queue dramatic lead in music and grab those tissues to wipe away the tears dear readers because we have reached the final installment of our “New Year’s Music Resolutions for 2014” and what a fun ride it has been. Now without any further adieu please enjoy this last batch of submitted resolutions.
1. Patrick Sheridan (Fit For An Autopsy): my new years music resolution for 2014 is to keep not giving a fuck what people think or what they tell us about what we should do, and keep doing exactly what we want. thanks to all our friends and fans for their support, and thanks to our label for letting us be who the fuck we are!!!! 2014, we crush!!!
2. Ira Black (Attika 7/former Lizzy Borden): 2014 is the year to get my name on the map! The first one is slated to go and I will have a major press release soon, guaranteed to be the biggest music project, to date, in my career, which I’m very excited about! This year is also the year for me to finish or discard any projects that I have waiting in the wings to be finished! The Ira Black solo record will be included in “Projects to be finished”…. My brothers from Attika 7 and I will be delivering a knockout album this year and doing a ton of touring for a good part of the spring/summer touring season. We have an incredible plan in place and look forward to executing it! I will also be writing a lot of music, new material for myself and other projects, per current negotiations for future collaborations TBA soon! I would also like to thank all the awesome people I’m surrounded by and will strive harder to show my gratitude and will be more patient and Loving to those who matter most to me, which is everyone! Peace. Continue reading New Year’s Music Resolutions for 2014: Chapter 8→
It’s been awhile since we’ve found our no longer new Finnish friends in Naked doing a New York City gig so when the chance to check them out once more came up I was very happy to participate in the fun. It was St. Patrick’s Day in New York and you can read that as overall mayhem and serious drinking that leaves people numb for a couple of days afterward. It’s honestly not a day that I generally head into the city, but since I needed to be there for the evening’s Hank 3 show, I replied to the text from “The Muff” and said that he could count on our coverage. What better way to celebrate one’s Irish heraldry than with some good old fashioned Finnish Glam Rock. The interesting thing about this show was that it would be held at the Riff Clothing store and be a “stripped down” version of the band (meaning only The Muff and his other guitarist Zack Schleidecker). Please click the logo below to see the full on concert report and enjoy the photos taken, but then get back to this blog posting to enjoy the side images from the event and some video that was taken.
Click Logo To Read The Concert Review
Artist: ½ Naked
Venue: Riff Clothing (New York, NY)
Opener: n/a
Date: 3/17/2012
Label: T-Bag Records
Written By: Ken Pierce (copyright 2012) for PiercingMetal.com
Today was Saint Patrick’s Day and while I initially planned on staying as far away from the Big Apple as was humanly possible, I instead ended up using the day to do some coverage of the free Hank 3 show that was going to happen at the Gramercy Theatre later on in the evening. While preparing my camera gear and making sure that the trusty Smartphone was updated with some preliminary notes, a text from our Finnish friend in music, the one and only Muff appears on the screen. Apparently, he and fellow Naked guitarist Zack Schleidecker were doing some stripped down gigs and this afternoon at Riff Clothing would be one of them. Riff Clothing is a new store located in the space formerly used by the Morrison Hotel gallery which was formerly the C.B.G.B.’s Gallery in case you were wondering. With the start time being 4pm for their set I had to get a move on and fortunately I would arrive at the very second the guys were starting their set.
Initially I thought that this would be an acoustic presentation but it was electric and that found the songs to be very close to what they sound like with the full band doing them. They started off with “Got A Feeling” and followed that with “Sonic High”. The latter being a tune that was written about New York City. “I Know” would precede “Powerblind” and that was a song that The Muff described as being their version of Cheap Trick meets Abba. For this set the guys were seated on a zebra patterned couch way in the back of the shop. There was even a drum kit behind them which found me thinking that the full on command of the Naked band could foreseeably do a regular gig here if they wanted to. The crowd was sadly on the small side but good enough for a Saturday afternoon on a day where the larger part of the city is only focused on getting trashed beyond belief. The Muff kept the gathered folks engaged and talked to them periodically. One of the stories he lined out before “High On Blue Love” was how he had written the tune the day after taking Viagra. Pretty funny stuff.
Before “Hallelujah” The Muff told the fans that while the song was named this often thought of religious term, that they were not a Christian band and it was not a religious song. I have to say that one or two of the lines in there would make a person think otherwise but it’s just clever wordplay and not soap box preaching. The set was a brief one and ran only eight numbers but it was free and it was a nice day to be out doing anything so who could argue with that. Muff said how their last song “Revolution” was one of their first singles but I do not recall what album he said it came from. All I own is their super fun “Double Down” release. After the show Zack and The Muff stopped to talk to the friends who had come out and to meet the new fans that had wandered in. There is a lot of cool stuff to see at Riff Clothing and it’s owned by Andy Hilfiger (the brother of the internationally famous Tommy). I did a quick browse and some stuff seemed nice and cheap while other items were a bit more pricy. I admired the collection of Rock books that were for sale and the fact that they were playing Led Zeppelin on the turntable when the show by Naked, err “1/2 Naked” was over. Yes, I did say turntable. Remember those?
One of the shop staffers told me that there are shows like this often and I would love to catch some more of them if the schedule allows me the chance to do it. That’s a cool idea in my book. Anything that keeps the Rock and Roll spirit alive works for me. Now I would take my leave of the guys and head further uptown for something to eat and maybe drink on this fine St. Patrick’s Day, wandering the city as a sober Rick Grimes amidst The Walking Drunks. Wish me luck, Hank 3 was on at 9pm and I had hours to go.
Set List:
1. Got A Feeling
2. Sonic High
3. I Know
4. Powerblind
5. Reset
6. High On Blue Love
7. Hallelujah
8. Revolution
Official Website: www.nakedofficial.net
Amazon.com Code:
I shot a couple of videos with the ever trusty Panasonic Lumix to make sure that more of the bands fans would be able to enjoy the very intimate appearance. The first clip is “Sonic High” which I have mentioned is one of my favorite tunes by the band from their “Double Down” CD.
I also snared the guys doing “High On Blue Love” which Muff had just told the story about his trying Viagra and coming up with this song. Sigh. Musicians. It still made for a funny tale.
After the set was done I snared some candid shots of The Muff and Zack. Sometimes The Muff was paying attention and sometimes Zack. It was casual and worked just the same.
1/2 Naked: Zack and The Muff1/2 Naked: Zack and The Muff1/2 Naked: Zack and The Muff1/2 Naked: Zack and The Muff
Now let’s take a look at some of the wonderful musical toys that let these guys do their thing. First up is the stuff of The Muff.
Muff's Guitar and Amp
and now Zack’s axe. Hey that rhymes……
Zack's Guitar
A good batch of effects are always nice to have around in a Rock and Roll band, and The Muff had a couple.
The Muff's Effects
Zack on the other hand had quite a few more. He told me that he made the silver one that is seen in the center….
Zack's Effects
Let’s check out some of the other stuff that I saw at the show. Here is the show poster. The store managers would later have the guys sign a copy of this.
The Show Poster
In the event you wondered whose guitar case this was, the answer is very clear.
The Muff's Guitar Case
Thanks to the advances of technology, the entire show was being recorded via iPhone. I did a couple of clips myself with the Panasonic Lumix that you saw earlier in the blog posting.
Recorded For Your Viewing Pleasure
These boots were made for rocking.
The Boots of The Muff
There were some new fans for the bands music as we found with this cool group of St. Patrick’s Day revelers. 3/4’s of them made sure to tell me that they were NOT Irish. I will not hold that against them.
1/2 Naked Fans
Since they stopped their own adventuring to support the band, I made sure to capture a shot of them with the guys.
1/2 Naked Fans with 1/2 Naked
Riff Clothing seems to be a cool place, so I asked one of their staff, the lovely Vicky, to pose by some drums. Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” was playing at the time and that was what kicked off the idea.
Riff Clothing's Vicky
I needed some horns from the lass of course since this is a largely Metal site. Look closely at the image, there is a slight illusion going on.
Riff Clothing's Vicky
Vicky and Rick of Riff Clothing give the PiercingMetal Man a curious glance.
Riff Clothing's Vicky and Rick
After the band finished they brought out some really awesome sugar cookies. I had a couple and loved each and every bite. Oh yes and let me not forget to showcase a quick visual of the storefront so you know about it.
Riff Clothing NYC
Riff Clothing Cookies
Now it was time for me to brave the city streets and head uptown. My plan was to find a space for a pint of some kind and some food but not to overdo it. I still had a show to cover at 9pm. As I said in the concert review, this part of my day was like being in an episode of “The Walking Drunk”, err I mean “Dead”.
Outside McSorley's 3/17/12
Lines of green at every glance. Step wisely and carefully lest some green beer get on your leather.
Outside Bull McCabe's 3/17/12
There were a ton of pub crawls going on today. I was glad to see the bars doing so well.
Welcome back, I’m so glad you could join us. You might remember how I recently posted a little more than a handful of New Year’s Metal Resolutions for 2012 by some truly great musical personality. Well, please enjoy the continuation of this enlightening and fun group of insights as we ask the Metal Community great to finish the sentence “My New Year’s Metal Resolution for 2012 Is……”
Alex Skolnick (lead guitarist for Testament/Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Alex Skolnick Trio): My New Year’s Musical Resolution is to sift through the endless musical ideas I’ve recorded as voice memos or on MP3’s or cassette in the last few years and develop some of them into real songs.
Lance King (lead vocals for Avian, Pyramaze, more): My New Years Metal Resolution is “To incite the Metal Masses, awaken them from their apathy, to get their collective asses in gear to support the scene wherever they live in any way they can. To help spread the word and to go out to see the touring bands, help them make ends meet by paying the ticket price, having a head banging great time and buying a shirt, music or both!!! Seriously, the scene in all countries needs a huge shot in the arm. People need to take up the support roles of the fallen in promoting shows, championing artists with PR, sponsorships, media coverage, video skills, radio, new marketing ideas, alternate sources of revenue so bands are able to get out and do what they love to do best, share the music with the fans live. There simply is nothing in tech and home media that can reproduced a live metal concert’s experience when done well.
Sammy Avigal (vocals for Avigal): My new year’s Metal resolution is to continue living the Metal dream, enjoy what I love, and do best, and hopefully influence the next generation of Metal heads, as I was influenced as a young Metal head myself by the Metal elders of my generation. Continue reading Music Luminaries Share Their New Year’s Metal Resolutions for 2012: Part 2→
Our new friends in the band Naked were continuing their US “Double Down” Tour with an appearance at a venue known as Otto’s Shrunken Head down on the Lower East Side. This Tiki Bar makes for a very interesting atmosphere as there is a cool bar in the front and a performance space in the rear. Naked had returned to the USA after their earlier in the summer visiting and were adding even more gigs to the agenda before heading back home to Finland. I caught them last week when they played at The Bowery Electric and while there were a number of shows in between my own hectic schedule kept me from only being able to attend any of the other shows except this particular evening so here we were again. Scroll down below to enjoy the full on concert report and other images and viewpoints that are only presented in this space.
Artist: Naked Venue: Otto’s Shrunken Head (New York, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 7/24/2011 Label: T-Bag Records
The New York City infiltration by Finland’s Glam Rock journeyman Naked was continuing with a stop at the Otto’s Shrunken Head bar down on the Lower East Side. I’ve been to this quirky little space a few times over the years and if you have never been there before it is worth a visit. There is a decent sized bar up in the front that makes some super powered Tiki drinks in addition to serving up the proper beers of the day. The Tiki drinks even come in cool glasses that you can purchase as souvenirs if you are sober enough to get them home safely. The read of the bar has a cool performance space which I will venture to guess can fit about 50-60 people back there if you position them good. This would be the second time that the band had visited the States in the year and for their “Double Down” Tour were hoping to clock in at maximum venue numbers before they returned home. Last week they played at the Bowery Electric which we reviewed on the site and since then had done a number of other shows that I sadly could not attend. With a city and scene like NYC around you, it is difficult to be everywhere. Here is how the show went down for those who might have missed it. Continue reading Naked @ Otto’s Shrunken Head (7/24/2011)→
Artist: Naked Venue: The Bowery Electric (New York, NY) Opener: n/a Date: 7/20/2011 Label: T-Bag Records
Since catching the Finnish Glam Rock band Naked in action a couple of months ago as part of the “Big City Rebels” show that paired them with Vains Of Jenna and some other bands, I had to admit that I was excited at the notion that the they would be returning to our neck of the woods for some additional dates as July closed up its book for 2011. The return would find them continuing their invasion in support of their latest album “Double Down” and tonight at The Bowery Electric club would be delivering the goods on the first of about ten regional dates. I’ve been to this space before and can say that depending on who is playing and what kind of crowd they bring in that it is very easy to have a good time inside its walls. I thought it was the perfect setting for a gig by Naked given the clubs close proximity to the now several years shuttered C.B.G.B.’s and its overall Rock and Roll vibe. If you have never been down on the Bowery itself, you might like to know that this club is just off the corner of “Joey Ramone Place” so if you are ever near there be sure to hum some Ramones in his memory. . Continue reading Naked @ The Bowery Electric (7/20/2011)→