Review: "The Decline of Western Civilization Collection"

A lot of years have passed since I’ve watched Penelope Spheeris’ The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, but it was a staple of my teenage days. Thanks to the new Decline of Western Civilization Collection from Shout Factory!, I had a chance to relive at least a few hours of my misspent youth and look at it from a very different perspective.

The boxed set collects all three of Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization documentaries on Blu-ray, with an extra disc of outtakes and extended interviews. Coming into this viewing, I had seen the first film once or twice, Part II probably a dozen times or more, and I had never seen Part III, which was previously unreleased on video.

The first film focuses on the punk scene of Los Angeles in the late 1970s, with groups like Black Flag, X, and Fear. Penelope Spheeris documents a series of live performances from L.A. punk bands interspersed with interviews with the musicians and other punk fans. It’s the format that all three movies will follow. The focus of this first film is solidly on the music, the ideas behind it and the people who make it.

Saturday Shuffle: Poison, BLS, Quiet Riot, Pantera, Alestorm

A guilty pleasure, a rare miss from Zakk Wylde and the beginnings of my metal journey ...


“Look What the Cat Dragged In,” Poison. From the album Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986). So, yeah, it’s tough to defend Poison, but I will defend this song against the most ardent of hair metal haters. The riff is tough as nails – the best in the band’s repertoire, and despite its shallow nature, it’s a great hard rock song.

Saturday Shuffle: Aerosmith, Poison, Kiss, Iced Earth, Savatage

It's a pretty rocking week for the shuffle, though a couple may be questionable ...

Aerosmith, “Jaded.” From the album Just Push Play (2001). Though I initially liked this record out of sheer fanboyish unwillingness to admit that it sucked, I now realize what a mess it is. This is really one of the best songs on the record, and that’s saying something.

Poison, “Bastard Son of a Thousand Blues.” From the album Native Tongue (1993). I guess if you have to hit a Poison tune, this isn’t the worst album to choose. With the short-lived and disastrous tenure of guitarist Ritchie Kotzen, Poison took a more rootsy, blues-influenced approach to their music. That’s not to say there isn’t still plenty of the 1980s glam sound here. Bret Michaels, after all, who might have the defining voice of glitzy 1980s glam rock, is still singing, but I kind of like this record and the follow-up with Blues Saraceno, too. Oh, and the song features Lynyrd Skynyrd's Billy Powell on piano.

Kiss, “Domino.” From the album Revenge (1992). One of those huge Gene Simmons numbers that made this record so good. It’s nasty, it’s grooving, it’s what Simmons does best, and in turn what Kiss does best.

Iced Earth, “Electric Funeral.” From the album The Melancholy EP (1999). This is a pretty straight forward cover of the Black Sabbath classic with a little more involved arrangement. Matt Barlow’s dramatic vocals, though, just don’t have the same sinister ring as Ozzy’s originals.

Savatage, “She’s in Love.” From the album Gutter Ballet (1989). A love song, of sorts, from Savatage. It’s got that trademark, knife-edge Criss Oliva guitar sound and Jon Oliva’s unmistakable rasp. It might be one of the weaker moments on Gutter Ballet, but it’s still better than the best tune by most other metal bands. And finding a video of a rare live performance doesn't hurt, either.

Interview: Johnny Solinger of Skid Row

Even though he joined the band more than 3 years ago, vocalist Johnny Solinger is still "the new guy" to many Skid Row fans. These days, he doesn't mind it so much, though.

The group is currently crossing the country with Poison and Vince Neil of Motley Crue, and they've got a new album and DVD on the way in August. For a band that hasn't released an album of new material since 1995's "Subhuman Race," it's a whirlwind of activity, and Solinger can't wait for it to reach a fever pitch.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," he said. "With all the touring we did to keep food on the plate, we had to work on it in between, so it was a long time coming. We finally got it right, and we finally got the record we want to put out. I just can't wait."

After more than three years of singing someone else's songs, Solinger said it will be nice to have a Skid Row record that he's played a part in making. But the worldwide release of "Thickskin" means even more to him.

"I'm an old hat at making independent records and trying to sell them to make a living, but to be able to go to the four corners of the Earth, wherever you buy records, and have me on a record, it means the world," he said. "It's like finally I've arrived. That's awesome."

Solinger was fronting his eponymous band in Dallas, which had attained moderate regional success, when he got an e-mail from Skid Row founders Rachel Bolan and Dave "Snake" Sabo in late 1999. They were looking to put the band back together and needed a replacement for departed singer Sebastian Bach (real name Sebastian Bierk). Solinger auditioned in January 2000 and about six weeks later he found himself opening for Kiss on a worldwide tour.

Though most fans of Skid Row consider Solinger's predecessor to be one of the best singers in rock, he said the challenge of filling those shoes never bothered him. He said the fans saw his confidence and warmed to him quickly.

"Everybody was kind of nervous about that, thinking there were going to be picket lines and sit-ins," Solinger joked. "But you know what? That just didn't happen. I'd say 99 percent of the fans are really cool with it, and if they're not, they don't come. It was actually a pretty easy transition."

He also looks forward to returning to the Smirnoff Music Theater in his hometown of Dallas on every tour. He said the homecomings are always fun.

"The audiences are always great in Texas, and I love that venue," he said. "I saw concerts there when I was in junior high and high school, so playing there means a lot to me."

Skid Row will play two songs from the new album, "Thick is the Skin" and "New Generation." Solinger said they've been playing them for the entire tour, and fan reaction so far has been good. People are even singing along with "Thick is the Skin," which is available in MP3 format on the band's Web site.

"I think it's cool, and the crowds are responding well to songs they haven't really heard before," he said. "We're the only ones out here playing new material, so it's really working in our favor."

Not every song is pleasing every fan, though. The new album also includes a punked-up version of the band's hit "I Remember You." Solinger said the song does signal a changing of the guard in a way, but it really comes down to doing something fun. They began playing the version in rehearsals, then tried it out live before putting it on the new album.

"It was never meant to be a part of the record, it just kind of worked out that way," he said. "I think it takes a lot of cojones on the original members' part to do something like this. I know Rachel has gotten some flack, someone e-mailing him and saying `how dare you mess with my high school song.'"

Solinger said on days when they play headlining shows with a longer set, the band plays both versions.

These days, it's common for bands from the same era as Skid Row to throw together a subpar album quickly and go out on tour, but Solinger said a lot of love and crafting went into their upcoming album. In the end, he's proud Skid Row didn't take the easier route.

"We kind of did everything backwards," he said. "We toured and started really getting the chemistry together before we made the record. There's a lot of pride involved in this record. I just can't wait for everybody to get a chance to hear the whole thing, because it's really, really good."

Interview: Rikki Rockett of Poison

They may use a little less makeup and hairspray these days, but not much else has changed about Poison.

The band's recently-released ninth album, "Hollyweird," is full of the same glitzy, hard rocking, three-chord anthems to hedonism that brought Poison three multi-platinum albums and a string of Top 40 hits in the late 1980s and early '90s. Drummer Rikki Rockett says the band wouldn't have it any other way.

"We've definitely stuck to our guns," Rockett said. "Poison is Poison no matter what else is happening. I don't want to follow trends, because you can't keep up with them anyway."

Rockett said their unflinching commitment to making the music only Poison can make is what has allowed them to continue to tour arenas and amphitheaters long after many of their contemporaries from the '80s have fallen into obscurity.

"You get to a point in your career where you surpass trends - like the Rolling Stones," Rockett said. "I'm not saying we're ever going to be the Rolling Stones, but we aspire to go to that level."

Poison hit the road recently with three other bands from the 1980s - Cinderella, Faster Pussycat and Winger.

It's Poison's fourth similar package tour in as many years. Rockett said the formula is working.

"People seem to love it, because they're familiar with a lot of these artists and a lot of their songs," he said. "There are a lot of newer acts I'd like to have on the road, but the way they're sold - it's a hard-sell. A lot of new music is shoved down your throat. With this tour, everyone knows the bands; everyone knows the songs. It's laid-back and we have fun."

But don't call it a nostalgia tour.

"People who say that are really overlooking the obvious," Rockett said. "We have a current record; we're playing new songs and old songs. We're a band with a history. A rock band that's out there making current records is not a nostalgia act."

Rockett said part of the problem is the perception that you have to be young to have validity as a rock band. He disputes that. He said he thinks a band really needs to show some staying power first.

"I don't want to be young forever; I'm really over the whole idea that you have to be a young band to have any kind of validity," he said. "I'm sorry, but Linkin Park doesn't have validity yet. They're making good music, but until you've done it for a while, how can you know what it's really worth?"

And what about that other term that often gets thrown in the face of 1980s rockers? Rockett said the words "hair band" really don't bother him anymore.

"If we're going to categorize like that, then we'd have to say a lot of the current bands are goatee metal," he joked. "On one hand, it's unflattering, but on the other hand, people have been trying to categorize us for years. First we were metal, then glam, then glitter metal, now hair metal. Everyone is striving to categorize. It's really sad that we just can't have music for people to enjoy."

No matter what you call them, Rockett said there's one thing that Poison will always deliver - a solid stage show. Since their early days, Poison has been known for their over-the-top pyro and light spectacles, and this tour will be no exception.

"If someone's going to make the effort to come out to a show, they really deserve something more than just us playing on stage," Rockett said. "Bands that do that just aren't working hard enough for me."

So far, fans have responded well to what Rockett calls an "old school" approach to the stage show. Their previous package tours have been successful, and he expects this one to do well also.

But will Poison ever enjoy the same kind of success they had in the '80s again? Rockett is not sure he wants that.

"It's a different kind of success we have right now; it's not for the moment," he said. "I'm really happy with how things stand. We have a career; we have a loyal fan base. I think we can do this for a long time. We're not the flavor of the month."

Interview: Brent Muscat of Faster Pussycat

It's been a while since Faster Pussycat played the larger venues, but that's about to change.

They'll be hitting the road with Poison and Cinderella for the "Hollyweird" tour. which crosses the U.S. in the next few months.

After building a solid fan base in the 1980s with songs like "Bathroom Wall," "Poison Ivy" and "House of Pain," the members of Faster Pussycat went their separate ways in the early 1990s.

But last year, founding members guitarist Brent Muscat and vocalist Taime Downe put the band back together and hit the road. Muscat says they felt the time was right for the band to reunite.

"I never really wanted to break up, but the other guys wanted to do their own things for a while," says Muscat. "We got together last year, and it was great. I think the timing is right."

During their time away from Faster Pussycat, Muscat and Downe did different things. Downe formed the experimental industrial band the Newlydeads, while Muscat worked with L.A. Guns and some smaller bands. Muscat says during much of that time, he was in bands that toured on low budgets. So, for him, it's nice to be back in Faster Pussycat.

"For me, last year was a piece of cake after going out in a small van and having to haul my own equipment," he says. "That was hard for me, because I was used to having nice buses and road crews."

Muscat says he's excited about the upcoming outings with Poison, because Faster Pussycat hasn't been on a big tour in more than a decade. But he says it will be even better for the band's three newest members.

"For the new guys, it's really exciting," he says. "Last year was the first time some of them had ever been on a tour bus. Now they're going out with Poison for a big summer tour - and summer's the best time to be on the road."

But don't expect a retro-'80s show from Faster Pussycat.

"If people come to the show expecting to see a nostalgia act, they're going to be disappointed - we've got some surprises," says Muscat.

"We're not whipping out the old velvet suits and scarves we used to wear. I think that's one reason Poison wanted us on the tour. We've known each other from back in the day, and they always knew we'd do something unexpected."

In addition to the big shows, Faster Pussycat will be working overtime to try to reconnect with their fans. If the tour is taking a break, they'll be playing a smaller venue somewhere. On some nights, they'll even be playing two shows.

"While we're on the Poison tour, we'll be getting offstage, driving for a little while and playing another show that night," he says.

"We've been out of the public eye for a long time, and I definitely think this tour will help us connect with our fans again. We're getting a lot of e-mails at our Web site (www.fasterpussycat.com) from people who are excited to be able to see us."

Muscat says he doesn't want to try to predict the future, because in the music business anything can happen. But he hopes that once this tour is over, the band can record a new album.

"I think this tour is going to raise our profile, and that will be the best time to go in and make a record," he says. "It would have been nice to have a new album before going on this tour, but you want to do it at the right time. You don't want to push things."

Muscat knows that not everyone will be happy to see Faster Pussycat again. But that doesn't really bother him.

"Faster Pussycat has always been a band where people love you or hate you," he says, "And I kind of like it that way."