Diamond Head

As the Seventies snorted on, the hard rock genre started bloating into the drug-fueled excesses of classic rock. Punk rock came in with its simple chords and snotty attitude to threaten metal into an early oblivion. Rockers that were into guitar solos and liked listening to men that scream like women needed a louder and faster reponse in order to save metal. Riding in like knights in leather armor, The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was that response. Bands like Iron Maiden, Mötorhead, and Judas Priest were at the forefront of the genre, eventually even gaining acceptance from the mainstream which had previously shunned the biker and fetish gear(for God’s sakes, you can buy Maiden t-shirts at Kohl’s!)

One of the most influential and important bands of the NWOBHM (as it is usually abbreviated as) was Diamond Head. Even casual metal fans have heard Metallica’s version of “Am I Evil?” (and if you haven’t, get thee to iTunes now!) and that’s probably their most famous song.

Read More...

The Dirty Three

I had no idea what to expect when I got to the door of the East End, the short-lived club on Madison’s east side in the mid-nineties. I was there for the Man… or Astro-Man show as they were on the cover that month. What I didn’t know was that the opening act, The Dirty Three, would be a band I would love for years to come. That was October of 1996.

Prior to the show, I hadn’t heard much about this Australian band, except that they traveled around the country, in an old, black Cadillac, going show to show without breaking. I’d heard stories about the band’s leader and violinist Warren Ellis, and his love for whiskey.

When I ran into him at the show, bottle in hand and wearing black, he was just as mysterious and foreboding a figure as I’d heard about. In fact, they were all very quiet.

Read More...

Disturbed

It takes all musical shapes and styles to fill out an OZZfest lineup, and this summer’s run is no exception—The hip-hop stylings of Tommy Lee’s post Mötley Crüe/Methods of Mayhem bounce into the industrial-metal synchopations of Static-X, which clamor into the hard rocking depths of Godsmack . And then there’s the full-on metal bombast of Pantera.

If you have the stamina, that offers a hell of a day at the mainstage, but this is America in the year 2000. In an age of instant gratification, why settle for four bands when there’s a band on the sidestage that offers everything each of those bands has to offer, and more. That’s big talk about a band that’s not even halfway to a gold record (selling 500,000 copies) with their Giant Records debut The Sickness, especially when comparing them to four bands that have sold more than 10.0 million albums between them. But Disturbed are that good. Quite honestly, they’re even better.

Read More...

The Donnas

The Donna’s were formed in 1997 in Palo Alto, California when high school outcasts Brett Anderson (vocals), Torry Castellano (drums), Maya Ford (bass) and Allison Robertson (guitar) picked up their instruments and started rocking out in a raw, in-your-face, aggressive AC/DC Ramones style. They all used the first name Donna.  Since then they have released 5 full length CD’s and are now filling up the big halls with their devoted fans, but still the press has not taken them to their heart, dissing their songs, appearance and playing. I spoke to guitarist Allison Robertson via telephone when the Donna’s were on tour in Chicago.  She was smart, funny and talkative. 

Read More...

Claude Dorsey

To a generation of Milwaukeeans, Claude Dorsey was the musical centerpiece of the city’s nightlife. For 40 years, he entertained diners as the house pianist and vocalist at the Clock Steak House, a downtown crossroads of politicians, entertainers, and reputed mobsters. “It had great food, and the entertainment was pretty good, too,” Dorsey quipped. “The best meals were when Miss Addie was cooking. Whatever she made, it was the best.” In many ways, The Clock became the crossroads where Milwaukee met the Vegas Rat Pack culture. “All the cabbies recommended it to touring acts – that’s how Bob Hope came to see me a few times. [The] same with Nat ‘King’ Cole , Tony Bennett, and others. The cabbies were great at networking.”

Dorsey traces his roots to Gainesville, Georgia, about 40 miles north of Atlanta. “My daddy was the main minister of a church there,” he said. “I wanted to follow him – I tried, but I was always playing music.” Dorsey came to Milwaukee as a teen in 1928. “My dad became minister at Calvary Baptist Church,” he said. The approval of his father was an important factor in Dorsey’s career. “When he heard me play, he said, ‘you’re ministering here; you’re reaching people. That’s what it’s all about.’ I was so happy that my daddy approved of what I was doing; that he was proud of me,” he said.

Read More...

Drain S.T.H.

Looking for the foolproof way to ruin a perfectly conversation? Drop the phrase “girl band” while talking to the members of Drain (they write the name Drain S.T.H. to specify they’re from Stockholm, not the Butthole Surfers side-project). The Swedish quartet got the break of a lifetime when Type O Negative asked them to be a support act on their recently completed tour, and they took full advantage of the situation, winning over crowds with metallic grind, heavy crunch, and a foreboding presence. As a result, they earned a spot on the second stage on this summer’s Ozz Fest tour. When they settle into a groove, vocalist Maria Sjoholm, guitarist Flavia Canel, Bassist Anna Kjellberg and drummer Martina Axen can channel their energies just as powerfully as any of their testosterone-driven peers, carving their won little niche in a heavy genre dominated by men.

Read More...

The Dropkick Murphys

Coming from a working-class background in Boston, The Dropkick Murphys have not forgotten that life. Having been successful with fans and critics, the band has had one hell of a ride, highlighted in recent years by Martin Scorsese using their song “Shipping Up To Boston” in his film “The Departed” in 2006, and writing the theme song for the Boston Red Sox in 2004.

“The Meanest of Times” delivers the band’s trademark Irish-infused punk, with the central theme of family tying the album together. The album also marks the launch of the band’s label, Born & Bred Records. In the midst of their current tour, vocalist Al Barr took time out to talk to Maximum Ink.

MAXIMUM INK: Most people describe your music as punk music. Do you really think that fits?
AL BARR: Opinions vary. For me, we have the ferocity and the backbone and the ethos of punk.

MAX INK: How did you decide to put the Irish music in with the punk? Are you guys all of Irish descent?
BARR: You’re talking to the one guy in the band who doesn’t have any Irish blood in him! Everyone else in the band has got some Irish blood in them. The first song that the band wrote, “Barroom Hero,” had bagpipes on it. We could have always done it in the studio, but we decided that if we couldn’t recreate that onstage then it was kind of cheesey.

Read More...