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* Music *

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Sam Dunn: Here we are we've
arrived in Los Angeles. And uhh,

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not the usual transportation,
we're in a leopard skinned limo,

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because we're here to explore
the glam metal scene.

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* Music *

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>> Growing up, the one style
ofmetal I couldn't stand was

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glammetal, hair metal,
popmetal,whatever you

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wannacallit,to me the
styledidn't have the

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powerandaggressionIloved
aboutmetalmusicand

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thebandsseem like boybands
puttogether by musicexecs

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just to sell records,
but this style is still

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a major chapter in the
history of metal.

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So I want to understand
where it came from,

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and where it fits in the
evolution of this music.

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* Music *

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* Intro *

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>> Glam metal emerged from the
sunset strip in the 1980'sand

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grewto become a massive
phenomenonselling
millions of records.

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Butthe L.A. hard rockscene
didn'tstartthere, more than

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adecadeearlierVanHalen
pioneeredanewsoundand
look

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onthestrip,so I'm
meeting with VanHalen
bassist Michael Anthony

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to find out how they inspired
the 80's glam metal movement.

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Sam: When Van Halen started out
in L.A. what was the scene like?

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Mike Anthony: The scene in L.A.
in '74 I think it was kind of

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like still a very David Bowie,
Ziggy Stardust type of deal.

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Everybody was walking around
with flared bell bottoms

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and platform shoes and
spandex and stuff like that,

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and here we are from
Pasadena, California.

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Jeans and t-shirts coming
into this whole scene,

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Hollywood is like a whole other
planet. We didn't go full-blown

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glam but we had the platform
shoes and we had stepped up the

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look a little bit as we
continued to play out in

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Hollywood clubs out there,
we were really successful.

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It started to really
build a following.

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George Lynch: They changed
everything locally here in

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Southern California. They were
massive I mean it was scary.

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When all the other guitar
players got wind of Eddie it

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struck fear in the hearts
of the rest of us.

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I was pretty devastated.

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Frankie Banali: I had never
heard of Van Halen before.

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Edward Van Halen sounds like a
painter to me, so I expected to

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see some old guy with a goatee
and a little guitar sitting.

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When I got to the Whisky, the
line was around several blocks

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to get in and I went in
and all of a sudden

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I see Van Halen for the first
time... and oh my god.

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Mike Anthony: I remembered we'd
play shows and Dave would

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tell Ed, he'd say "Hey when
you go into one of your

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hammer on solo's, turn away from
the crowd because we don't

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want any guitarist out there
seeing what you're doing".

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I think they just looked at Dave
cause' Dave obviously was very

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fashion oriented, and very
physical and athletic on stage,

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just that look with the long
blonde hair and you know
obviously

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Dave was a very unique front
man back then at that time.

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Ben Liemer: They had inspired
the whole L.A. scene because

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people said these guys starved
and suffered they played the

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Roxy you know they were
hanging out at the Rainbow.

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They did it. We can do it too.
And then it just exploded.

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* Music *

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>> Van Halen inspired young
L.A.musicians that they could

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makeit big and layedthe
foundationforthenext

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generationofmetal bands on
thestrip anditwas Motley
Crue

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whopickedupthetorch
andput
theglaminglammetal.

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So how did Crue kick start
the glam metal movement?

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Vince Neil: Me growing up, and
when I first got into singing

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it was always David Lee Roth was
the guy that I looked up to.

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Dave was kind of like me, born
and raised in Los Angeles and

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had that kind of beachy vibe.
I saw myself you know in him.

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Sam: Can you describe sort of
what it was like to be there

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before it became such
a massive scene?

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Vince Neil: It was just a lot of
really cool bands on the strip

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and around Hollywood. Started
playing at local places;

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Gazzarri's, Starwood and
Troubadour places like that.

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Me, Nikki and Tommy lived
in an apartment above the

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Whisky a Go-Go and we went
out to the clubs together,

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that's where the girls
came in we would always

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get girls to buy us drinks
or we'd get some money from

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some girls and go buy some cheap
alcohol, drink it before we

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went into the clubs. So
it was a cool scene.

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Nic Adler: I think for any scene
on the sunset strip who evolved

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it was because there was
some sense of community at

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that time, it was cheap to live
on the strip so they weren't

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just coming here once a week,
they're eating here, they

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were eating here, they were
working here or partying here.

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They were really able to
refine the next look

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because they literally lived
it and did it every night.

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Ben Liemer: These guys they were
all starving in the early days,

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a lot of them were
sponging off woman,

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woman would buy them make up,
how they ever got people

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to buy them all that food I
don't know but they did.

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Mike Anthony: I mean we didn't
have any money back then, so

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everything we did was very
budget. But we had put out our

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own record "Too Fast for Love"
was our own label Leathur

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Records we had a small
distribution. Everybody passed

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on us; nobody wanted anything
to do with Motley Crue.

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Vicky Hamilton: I
loved it immediately.

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It was just like, god this is
so different and so great.

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I was a record buyer
for the record store;

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Licorice Pizza, that was across
from the Whisky a Go-Go.

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So I put my ass on the
line, I bought 300 copies.

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We made this great window
display and I had

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in fluorescent pink "Motley
Crue" across the front,

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and Nikki brought me whips
and chains and Vince came

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in there and dropped a pair
of pink panties in my hand

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and I was like "Ew was somebody
actually wearing these?"

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* Music *

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Sam: Why was the visual
presentation of Motley Crue
so important?

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Barry Levine: To
make a statement,

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Nikki never felt
the music was
just enough,

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I mean these guys were
the embodiment of

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what their music was about,
what their lyrics were about.

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I saw a vision of Motley Crue
as young punk version of KISS.

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Nikki always had a vision
of being a real edgy

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grounded theatrical band
with no holds barred.

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* Music *

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>> You're very keen on the
theatrical and appearance side,

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which I think you're perhaps at
the forefront of bands who do

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care what you're like on stage
and videos in a different way.

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Nikki: It's our job. I mean we
go out and we try to put on a

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good show for the kids, and try
and at least look presentable.

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Nikki Sixx: We sort of lived
in our own world, we were a

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mixture of a lot of different
kinds of bands and influences.

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Most visibly the Dolls, early
Aerosmith and Van Halen,

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and we were taking our
influences and wearing them on

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our sleeves and when we hit the
stage I felt an excitement that

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we always wanted out of Rock
n' Roll and Heavy Metal.

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We felt the audience was seeing
what they had been dying for.

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Ben: Nikki Sixx was one of these
conceptualizers, he was looking

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at the big picture, how do
we look, we want to have a

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great stage show, they would do
anything to get a reaction.

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Vicky: He was always very
experimental with things.

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I remember when he got those
leather platform boots that

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came up over the knee.
He decided then that he was

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going to be doing all this
pyro-technics stuff.

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Vince: You got this stuff
called pyro-gel, and you

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know we just wanted to see...
let's light Nikki on fire.

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Ok cool. On stage we'd
have it on the sword and

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I'd touch the candle and the
sword would catch on fire and

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I'd hit Nikki with it,
and we'd light him.

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* Music *

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Barry: It would go up and he
would just bring his head back.

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And it was like that
was a special effect,

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one that would put
you in the hospital.

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Nikki: It was how many more amps
can we get on stage,

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how much bigger could we make
our pyro, we would go see other

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bands and go "we can
top that." You have to

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experiment musically and
visually to push the envelope.

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Frankie: Motley Crue really had
an attitude that they were gonna

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make a huge huge impression.
If you went to the extreme,

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they did that times ten. It
was all big big big big.

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* Music *

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>> By 1982, Motley Crue
was signed to a major and

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established themselves as the
hottest band on the sunset

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strip, and once Crue and other
L.A. metal bands played the

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US festival in 1983, the rock
world started to pay attention

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to what was happening
on the strip.

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* Music *

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of any US festival, between
250 and 400,00 people.

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>> In the early 80's heavy metal
was blowing up in Europe and

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bands like Judas Priest,
Scorpions and Iron Maiden were

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beginning to make a
major impact in the US.

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But when L.A. newcomers Motley
Crue and Quiet Riot played

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to massive crowds on the US
festivals heavy metal day

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the spotlight was
turning to America.

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Vince: As a young band to
look out there and see

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rolling hills of
people where you
couldn't see

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where it ended was
just unbelievable.

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We were still just
kids, this was '83,

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we hadn't been on tour yet.
I remember quiet riot

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opened the whole show, we
came out right after them.

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Frankie: We had played to
the single biggest audience

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that I think anybody
had ever played too,

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and if Quiet Riot had never
done anything beyond that date

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it would have been enough for
any musicians' lifetime.

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>> Quiet Riot I'm gonna go and
catch the set are you ready?

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Quiet Riot: Yeaahhhh Lets do it!

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* Music *

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00:11:15,676 --> 00:11:18,110
>> Quiet Riots performance
at the US festival exposed

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the band to a huge
audience but it was

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L.A. producer Spencer Proffer
who honed Quiet Riots sound

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and helped pave their way
to commercial success.

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Sam: Take me back to when you
first met the Quiet Riot guys.

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Spencer Proffer: I was driving
around L.A. listening to

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pop radio, 'Cum On Feel
The Noize' came on

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as an oldie by Slade, I
said holy (beep) if I could

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find a band to sing that song
how cool would that be.

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I went out to this club in
Reseda, California and these

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guys were singing 'Bang Your
Head', singing 'Party All
Night'.

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So I went up to them afterwards
and I said I'd like to

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take you into the studio to
record 4 songs, and I said

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you need to do a song called
Cum On Feel The Noize.

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Kevin would go, "That's Noddy
Holder that (beep) (beep)

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from Slade, no way
over my dead body",

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00:12:02,410 --> 00:12:04,243
I said sorry dude
that's the deal.

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00:12:04,310 --> 00:12:07,776
Frankie: The day comes
that we have to record
'Cum On Feel the Noize'

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00:12:07,910 --> 00:12:11,110
you know begrudgingly, and I
start playing and it's sounding

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pretty good, and Kevin is
sitting on the other side of the

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00:12:13,376 --> 00:12:15,810
room and daggers are coming
out of his eyes at me like a

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00:12:15,876 --> 00:12:21,676
cartoon, smoke is coming out of
his ears and he was just livid.

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00:12:21,743 --> 00:12:23,410
Carlos Cavazo: We didn't like
the idea at first, we didn't

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wanna play it, you know we were
being like little bratty kids,

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wah wah wah we're not gonna
do this, we ended up doing

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00:12:28,743 --> 00:12:29,676
it and it was probably the
best thing we ever did.

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* Music *

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00:12:50,376 --> 00:12:52,643
Frankie: We did the video for
'Cum On Feel the Noize' and

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00:12:52,743 --> 00:12:56,710
we were opening up for Black
Sabbath in Rockford, Illinois

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00:12:56,776 --> 00:12:59,643
and we found out that night
that Metal Health was

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going to be number 1 on
the billboard charts.

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00:13:01,776 --> 00:13:11,476
* Music *

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00:13:12,943 --> 00:13:14,843
Spencer: Quiet Riot was the
magnet to the movement, and the

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00:13:14,910 --> 00:13:17,710
dominos fell behind that, all
these other bands got signed

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because you know how the
A in our game works,

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00:13:20,176 --> 00:13:22,610
once you have a big hit everyone
wants 20 of the same thing.

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00:13:24,176 --> 00:13:25,610
Lizzie Grey: That was when the
record companies said

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00:13:25,676 --> 00:13:26,976
wait a minute this crazy
weird stuff that Hollywood

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00:13:27,110 --> 00:13:31,543
is manufacturing is sellable,
the country will buy it.

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00:13:31,610 --> 00:13:34,176
>>Afterthesuccessof
Quiet
Riot's'CumOnFeelthe
Noize',

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00:13:34,243 --> 00:13:37,243
bands flocked from across
America to L.A. to become

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00:13:37,310 --> 00:13:40,110
a part of the Glam Metal
scene on sunset strip.

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00:13:40,143 --> 00:13:42,543
Sam: Describe for me why
that it is that you decided

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00:13:42,610 --> 00:13:45,876
to leave Pennsylvania and
come to Los Angeles?

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00:13:45,943 --> 00:13:48,176
Rikki Rockett: Central
Pennsylvania is not fertile

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00:13:48,243 --> 00:13:50,143
ground for musicians
and artists.

223
00:13:50,210 --> 00:13:53,443
So we bought an old ambulance
and I remember listening to

224
00:13:53,510 --> 00:13:57,310
Motley Crue, Bret and I
are assembling flooring
in this ambulance

225
00:13:57,376 --> 00:14:00,143
thinking to ourselves "How many
people died in this thing?" and

226
00:14:00,210 --> 00:14:01,743
we gotta drive this across the
country, you know what I mean?

227
00:14:01,810 --> 00:14:05,443
It just made sense they had the
US festival out here, there was

228
00:14:05,510 --> 00:14:09,543
all this energy out here, you
know you think about California

229
00:14:09,610 --> 00:14:11,676
you know you hear these
bands on the radio,

230
00:14:11,743 --> 00:14:13,676
you're just like I need
to be a part of that.

231
00:14:13,743 --> 00:14:18,910
* Music *

232
00:14:18,976 --> 00:14:21,410
Sam: What was the scene
like in L.A. at that time?

233
00:14:21,476 --> 00:14:23,510
Erik Turner: It was freakin'
awesome. I mean it was like

234
00:14:23,576 --> 00:14:27,010
Monday night through
Sunday night,

235
00:14:27,110 --> 00:14:29,576
it seemed like thousands
of people on the strip.

236
00:14:29,643 --> 00:14:32,110
Bobby Blotzer: There was all
these bands, you know playing

237
00:14:32,143 --> 00:14:36,010
at either the Troubadour or
the Whisky or the Roxy
or Starwood.

238
00:14:36,110 --> 00:14:37,943
There was always somewhere
to go and see someone play.

239
00:14:38,110 --> 00:14:40,243
Everybody would be hanging out
partying having a good time

240
00:14:40,310 --> 00:14:43,010
chasing girls and
doing what we do.

241
00:14:43,110 --> 00:14:45,743
Tawny Kitaen: There
were no principles,

242
00:14:45,810 --> 00:14:48,376
there was nobody
telling you no.

243
00:14:48,443 --> 00:14:50,210
It was also a time
of decadence,

244
00:14:50,276 --> 00:14:53,676
the indulgence of
drugs, of possessions

245
00:14:53,743 --> 00:14:56,476
and the way that you
could really do that and

246
00:14:56,543 --> 00:14:58,843
get away with it was
by being a rock star.

247
00:14:58,976 --> 00:15:07,410
* Music *

248
00:15:07,476 --> 00:15:09,410
Stephen Pearcy:
Yeeahhh! Check
this out,

249
00:15:09,476 --> 00:15:13,443
this is
Hollywood as we
know it today.

250
00:15:13,576 --> 00:15:17,143
Vicky: The sunset strip became
the social networking ground of

251
00:15:17,210 --> 00:15:21,110
all those glam metal bands,
they all had their posters,

252
00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:25,576
the poles were about this
thick with staple gun fliers.

253
00:15:25,643 --> 00:15:27,843
Erik: That's what I think of
is fliers, fliers, fliers.

254
00:15:27,910 --> 00:15:31,176
The streets were covered with
fifty bands out promoting

255
00:15:31,243 --> 00:15:34,643
their shows. So how do you
make your band stand out

256
00:15:34,710 --> 00:15:37,510
from the other 30 fliers
that somebody got?

257
00:15:37,576 --> 00:15:39,943
Rikki: That's what we
went out and promoted

258
00:15:40,010 --> 00:15:42,643
and where we really really
excelled. Most of the

259
00:15:42,710 --> 00:15:44,943
record companies, almost all
of them passed on us at least

260
00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:47,643
twice they said you know you
gotta build a following.

261
00:15:47,710 --> 00:15:49,843
>> Los Angeles was at that point
it was the heavy metal, or

262
00:15:49,910 --> 00:15:52,010
rock n' roll capital of the
world and we wanted to be big

263
00:15:52,110 --> 00:15:55,643
fish in the big pond and you
gotta be not only talented but

264
00:15:55,710 --> 00:15:58,476
you gotta be determined
to make it cause without
determination forget it.

265
00:15:58,543 --> 00:16:00,543
Rikki: We played one gig
I remember we had to

266
00:16:00,610 --> 00:16:02,510
open for somebody, I go,
"Bret tell everybody

267
00:16:02,576 --> 00:16:04,010
we're having a party
when we're done".

268
00:16:04,143 --> 00:16:06,610
He goes out on stage and tells
everybody that as soon as we are

269
00:16:06,676 --> 00:16:10,576
done the first 100 people in the
room at the party up the street

270
00:16:10,643 --> 00:16:13,743
got free beer. So nobody was
there for the headlining act,

271
00:16:13,810 --> 00:16:16,476
everybody was hanging out with
us at the party and we were

272
00:16:16,543 --> 00:16:18,543
like man let's do this every
time. It put us to like

273
00:16:18,610 --> 00:16:22,110
headlining status overnight.
You know what I mean, it was

274
00:16:22,110 --> 00:16:25,476
like you know, really worked..
Yeah. It really worked.

275
00:16:25,543 --> 00:16:33,576
* Music *

276
00:16:33,643 --> 00:16:36,443
Vicky: Poison were the kings
of promotion at that point in

277
00:16:36,510 --> 00:16:39,776
time and what happened was
the girls all loved it,

278
00:16:39,843 --> 00:16:43,510
and the guys followed the
hot girls to see Poison

279
00:16:43,576 --> 00:16:45,510
and that's when it
started taking off.

280
00:16:45,576 --> 00:16:48,443
Deena Weinstein: The woman liked
hair metal because the men

281
00:16:48,510 --> 00:16:51,776
were behaving as they do,
they wear lots of make up,

282
00:16:51,843 --> 00:16:54,376
they spend time doing their
hair, the girls weren't

283
00:16:54,443 --> 00:16:57,110
particularly interested
in guitar solo's.

284
00:16:57,110 --> 00:16:58,910
Rikki: You know the really
heavy bands hated us,

285
00:16:58,976 --> 00:17:00,443
which we thought was cool,

286
00:17:00,510 --> 00:17:03,376
we probably got into close
to thirty street fights.

287
00:17:03,443 --> 00:17:05,510
People didn't know what to make
of it, they either wanted

288
00:17:05,576 --> 00:17:09,410
to (beep) us or fight us. And
I'm proud of that (chuckles).

289
00:17:09,476 --> 00:17:12,843
Scott Ian: We never actually
backed going out and beating

290
00:17:12,910 --> 00:17:15,876
up people wearing spandex
and having big poofy hair,

291
00:17:15,943 --> 00:17:20,443
but I certainly never told
anyone to not do it.

292
00:17:20,510 --> 00:17:22,943
Gary Holt: We were viewed as
the hair bands as our nemesis,

293
00:17:23,010 --> 00:17:25,710
we were the dirty
motor headers and

294
00:17:25,776 --> 00:17:28,443
they were the
sissy nancy boys.

295
00:17:28,510 --> 00:17:30,376
But secretly we went to
their shows all the time

296
00:17:30,443 --> 00:17:31,843
cause that's where
all the chicks were.

297
00:17:31,910 --> 00:17:38,776
* Music *

298
00:17:38,843 --> 00:17:41,610
Deena: If you look at a
seventeen year old guy,

299
00:17:41,710 --> 00:17:46,776
what is his interests in life?
Being a real man yeah, and

300
00:17:46,843 --> 00:17:50,476
getting some. And so if you
had to choose which way

301
00:17:50,543 --> 00:17:54,276
you were gonna go, hair
metal... got you some.

302
00:17:55,576 --> 00:18:09,676
* Music *

303
00:18:09,743 --> 00:18:11,876
>> By the mid 80's, the
glam metal scene in L.A.

304
00:18:11,943 --> 00:18:15,143
was booming, bands were
fillingclubs on the strip

305
00:18:15,210 --> 00:18:18,110
andsigning record deals with
major labels. Once glammetal

306
00:18:18,143 --> 00:18:22,410
videos made it to MTV, the
movement started to sky rocket.

307
00:18:22,476 --> 00:18:27,376
* Music *

308
00:18:35,676 --> 00:18:39,143
* Music *

309
00:18:39,243 --> 00:18:42,776
Announcer: This is it. Welcome
to MTV music television,

310
00:18:42,843 --> 00:18:47,343
the worlds' first 24-hour
stereo video music channel.

311
00:18:47,410 --> 00:18:54,676
* Music *

312
00:18:54,743 --> 00:18:57,810
>> MTV embraced glam metal
giving bands a perfect show

313
00:18:57,876 --> 00:19:01,110
case for the sound and look
andcatapulting this music

314
00:19:01,176 --> 00:19:04,476
fromthesunset strip into
livingrooms across the globe.

315
00:19:04,543 --> 00:19:06,943
Rikki: The minute 'Talk Dirty to
Me' hit MTV it just started to

316
00:19:07,010 --> 00:19:09,810
take off and we got the
opportunity to tour with Ratt,

317
00:19:09,910 --> 00:19:13,643
the first couple weeks there is
like 20 people in the audience,

318
00:19:13,710 --> 00:19:16,710
but by the first month all of a
sudden the place is filled up

319
00:19:16,776 --> 00:19:19,510
when we hit the stage, and
that's when I started to go,

320
00:19:19,576 --> 00:19:21,676
"Wow, this is really
starting to happen"

321
00:19:21,743 --> 00:19:25,276
* Music *

322
00:19:25,343 --> 00:19:27,543
Nikki: In those days, everywhere
you went MTV was on

323
00:19:27,610 --> 00:19:30,310
cause it was the
biggest radio station
in the world.

324
00:19:30,376 --> 00:19:35,576
There were kids across the globe
that wanted something that was

325
00:19:35,643 --> 00:19:38,710
gonna make them put their hands
in the air and it was then that

326
00:19:38,776 --> 00:19:41,276
I knew we could take this
thing around the world.

327
00:19:41,376 --> 00:19:43,876
George: We spent massive
amounts of money on videos,

328
00:19:43,943 --> 00:19:46,676
it was just another
avenue to get us exposed

329
00:19:46,743 --> 00:19:48,510
to a much larger audience.

330
00:19:48,576 --> 00:19:50,876
Jerry: The minute you made a
video you just reached every

331
00:19:50,943 --> 00:19:53,643
single eye ball in the
country, you've like wow ok,

332
00:19:53,710 --> 00:19:56,276
there's your song, there's
your band, there's your look.

333
00:19:56,343 --> 00:19:57,910
Robert Walser: The bands that
make it are the bands that

334
00:19:57,976 --> 00:20:00,376
look good on TV because
of the medium that it is,

335
00:20:00,443 --> 00:20:02,376
and it rewards
spectacularity.

336
00:20:02,443 --> 00:20:04,576
Glam benefitted
tremendously from MTV,

337
00:20:04,643 --> 00:20:08,410
Glam was MTV ready because of
the emphasis on spectacle

338
00:20:08,476 --> 00:20:10,343
that already existed
in the live concert.

339
00:20:11,076 --> 00:20:22,643
* Music *

340
00:20:22,710 --> 00:20:24,610
Deena: I am quite sure that if
there was no such thing

341
00:20:24,676 --> 00:20:28,610
as MTV we would
have never heard
of hair metal.

342
00:20:28,676 --> 00:20:33,176
Cause' MTV, it's music
teleVISION, it's look,

343
00:20:33,243 --> 00:20:36,610
the sound was far less
important than the look.

344
00:20:36,676 --> 00:20:38,910
Derek: It was important, it was
important in those days.

345
00:20:38,976 --> 00:20:42,843
The fame was based
on the MTV image;

346
00:20:42,910 --> 00:20:45,310
they had to look the part and
a stylist was brought in

347
00:20:45,376 --> 00:20:47,543
to make them look the
way they looked.

348
00:20:47,610 --> 00:20:50,443
Bobby: Stephen always had this
term with fashion metal back

349
00:20:50,510 --> 00:20:53,576
then, because Stephen knew
somebody on Melrose that owned

350
00:20:53,643 --> 00:20:55,276
a store and had all these
custom made clothes with all

351
00:20:55,343 --> 00:20:58,210
the rhinestones and sequins
and crazy puffy coats and

352
00:20:58,276 --> 00:21:00,376
all this kind of junk, everybody
had their hair up big.

353
00:21:00,443 --> 00:21:01,743
That's what everybody did then.

354
00:21:01,810 --> 00:21:04,643
Wouldn't do it now, that
look, cause that was then.

355
00:21:04,710 --> 00:21:06,643
George: I actually remember
going to the guy that used to

356
00:21:06,710 --> 00:21:09,510
make outfits, and he made
everybody's outfits, from

357
00:21:09,576 --> 00:21:13,476
Motley Crue to Krokus to Ratt.
He had a pattern he would use,

358
00:21:13,543 --> 00:21:16,610
but he would sorta just change
the things on the pattern or

359
00:21:16,676 --> 00:21:19,543
the colors so we all ended
up looking the same

360
00:21:19,610 --> 00:21:33,776
* Music *

361
00:21:33,843 --> 00:21:35,810
>> By the late 80's, glam
metal bands had become

362
00:21:35,876 --> 00:21:39,910
media darlings and the genre
was now a house hold name.

363
00:21:39,976 --> 00:21:42,743
It was so pervasive that even
established 70's hard rock

364
00:21:42,810 --> 00:21:45,443
bands hitched their
wagon to the glam metal

365
00:21:45,510 --> 00:21:48,310
movement to help
re-invent their careers.

366
00:21:48,376 --> 00:21:50,843
Sam: What was your role in
working with Whitesnake?

367
00:21:50,910 --> 00:21:52,976
John Kalodner: I had been
a fan of David Coverdale

368
00:21:53,110 --> 00:21:55,343
and the Whitesnakes
but I didn't feel like

369
00:21:55,410 --> 00:21:58,576
they were making any
commercial music.

370
00:21:58,643 --> 00:22:02,243
I thought he was a star
front man, star singer,

371
00:22:02,310 --> 00:22:06,510
I thought he had a mediocre
band and just average songs.

372
00:22:06,576 --> 00:22:09,843
My job was to make them a
commercial rock band in the

373
00:22:09,910 --> 00:22:14,276
United States in order to get
the look that was appropriate

374
00:22:14,343 --> 00:22:17,843
for America in 1987. I just
hired the best stylist,

375
00:22:17,910 --> 00:22:21,710
the best make-up artists,
best video maker.

376
00:22:21,776 --> 00:22:24,376
Sam: I see you guys kind of got
lumped in with glam metal.

377
00:22:24,443 --> 00:22:26,110
David Coverdale: Well yes
in some of the pictures it

378
00:22:26,110 --> 00:22:27,410
kind of difficult to tell the
difference between Whitesnake

379
00:22:27,476 --> 00:22:29,476
and Poison unless you hear
the record. We worked

380
00:22:29,543 --> 00:22:32,243
with the same stylist who was
doing Van Halen, Motley.

381
00:22:32,310 --> 00:22:36,376
It actually just became more of
a joke to us y'know cause it

382
00:22:36,476 --> 00:22:39,676
was just sort of out of control,
you know how much eye liner

383
00:22:39,743 --> 00:22:42,343
shall we use? I don't know
let's look like girls!

384
00:22:42,476 --> 00:23:08,610
* Music *

385
00:23:08,676 --> 00:23:11,276
Tawny: When I met David he was I
found out about 2 million

386
00:23:11,343 --> 00:23:15,343
dollars in debt to Geffen,
but he was in a very hopeful

387
00:23:15,410 --> 00:23:19,576
stage, he was very hopeful
that his album was gonna sell.

388
00:23:23,243 --> 00:23:25,143
>> ...Whitesnakes great!

389
00:23:26,910 --> 00:23:29,843
>> Oh thousands, they're
lined up outside for blocks
and blocks.

390
00:23:29,910 --> 00:23:32,610
David: For whatever reason we
call it the Zeitgeist,

391
00:23:32,676 --> 00:23:35,710
9 out of 10 hotels that I
checked into, when I put the TV

392
00:23:35,776 --> 00:23:39,776
on one of Whitesnakes videos was
playing. MTV was the icing on

393
00:23:39,843 --> 00:23:43,843
the cake and it saved me 3-5
years of hard road work

394
00:23:43,910 --> 00:23:46,776
in the United States to
achieve that kind of success.

395
00:23:46,843 --> 00:23:49,210
That was the immense change
of hundreds of thousands

396
00:23:49,310 --> 00:23:52,610
of records to millions of
records. I was familiar with

397
00:23:52,676 --> 00:23:55,776
being an underground artist
and still being successful.

398
00:23:55,843 --> 00:23:59,443
To be so over ground was sort
of uncomfortable clothes.

399
00:23:59,510 --> 00:24:03,576
I wouldn't change a thing,
regardless of the teasing,

400
00:24:03,643 --> 00:24:07,176
it was uh, yeah my son of
course has great amusement

401
00:24:07,243 --> 00:24:09,943
looking at these photos, some
of the photos at least.

402
00:24:10,010 --> 00:24:13,143
Derek: The older musicians saw
their opportunity by making

403
00:24:13,210 --> 00:24:16,110
themselves part of that
movement, it really raised their

404
00:24:16,176 --> 00:24:20,743
career it makes them current.
Those songs are pop dressed as

405
00:24:20,810 --> 00:24:24,276
metal, they looked like metal
but they were playing pop
songs.

406
00:24:24,343 --> 00:24:27,576
So they were able to capture
both the hard rockers as well as

407
00:24:27,643 --> 00:24:30,910
the female audience they were
able to combine both that's why

408
00:24:30,976 --> 00:24:34,476
it became that popular, because
that's a mass appeal audience.

409
00:24:34,543 --> 00:24:36,510
Phil Collen: It had a huge
appeal, you know it was like

410
00:24:36,576 --> 00:24:40,576
lots of girls going crazy, a lot
of guys liked it as well, this

411
00:24:40,643 --> 00:24:43,476
kind of looked like a pop band
but sounded like a rock band

412
00:24:43,543 --> 00:24:44,810
but the songs were a
bit of both anyway

413
00:24:44,876 --> 00:24:47,443
so it had a real genuine
cross over. At the time a

414
00:24:47,576 --> 00:24:51,110
really big rock album would sell
about 2 million copies, but if

415
00:24:51,210 --> 00:24:54,543
you crossed over into pop it
went, right through the roof.

416
00:24:54,610 --> 00:24:56,910
You would do a million in a
week at one point and it was

417
00:24:56,976 --> 00:25:00,876
ridiculous. And that was cool,
geez why wouldn't you want that?

418
00:25:00,943 --> 00:25:04,643
Deena: If you look at which
songs were played most often on

419
00:25:04,710 --> 00:25:09,410
the radio, it was the power
ballad, it was family friendly

420
00:25:09,476 --> 00:25:13,743
and it's romantic,
romance brings in that

421
00:25:13,810 --> 00:25:18,110
female audience and so it
sells the rest of the album.

422
00:25:18,110 --> 00:25:22,110
John: A power ballad is what
allowed the audience for heavy

423
00:25:22,176 --> 00:25:26,543
metal hard rock bands of the
later 80's to become so huge,

424
00:25:26,610 --> 00:25:30,376
many people would tell me it was
their song whatever their song

425
00:25:30,443 --> 00:25:35,710
was that they first kissed too,
their first date, their first
(beep) too.

426
00:25:35,776 --> 00:25:37,843
Michael Sweet: The radio
was playing the ballads,

427
00:25:37,910 --> 00:25:40,943
you would achieve
success in having
a top 40 or top 20

428
00:25:41,010 --> 00:25:44,543
or top 10 or number 1 song with
the ballad much easier than

429
00:25:44,610 --> 00:25:48,376
you would with the edgier
side of the record.

430
00:25:48,443 --> 00:25:51,576
Sam: Did you get excited about
writing power ballads from a
musicians stand point?

431
00:25:51,676 --> 00:25:54,476
George: Does anybody get excited
about writing power ballads?

432
00:25:57,343 --> 00:26:00,243
I think we felt it was
a necessary evil,

433
00:26:00,310 --> 00:26:02,710
I mean our power ballads
were our most successful songs.

434
00:26:02,776 --> 00:26:05,576
Personally the things I liked
least about Dokken were some of

435
00:26:05,643 --> 00:26:08,176
the things we were recognized
for the most and had the most

436
00:26:08,243 --> 00:26:10,243
success with, but when you
get to the point where

437
00:26:10,310 --> 00:26:13,743
you start making music because
it's the music you're supposed

438
00:26:13,810 --> 00:26:16,343
to make rather than what
you wanna make you're

439
00:26:16,410 --> 00:26:19,610
definitely compromising
but that's what we did.

440
00:26:19,710 --> 00:26:36,743
* Music *

441
00:26:41,443 --> 00:26:43,876
>> Although glam metal had
become hugely popular by the

442
00:26:43,943 --> 00:26:48,110
late 80's, many metal fans
including myself felt the

443
00:26:48,176 --> 00:26:52,110
power ballads and MTV image
had gone way over the top,

444
00:26:52,176 --> 00:26:55,776
and the music no longerfelt
like metal. Thenglam metal

445
00:26:55,843 --> 00:26:59,610
startedto crash, its downfall
haslong been blamed on the
rise

446
00:26:59,676 --> 00:27:03,143
of the Seattlegrunge movement,
but it'salso been attributed

447
00:27:03,210 --> 00:27:06,843
tothe massive impact of L.A.
hard rockers Guns n' Roses.

448
00:27:06,910 --> 00:27:10,710
Sam: You know the history
books kind of positioned G n' R

449
00:27:10,776 --> 00:27:12,210
in a way as being sort
of a giant killer.

450
00:27:12,276 --> 00:27:15,243
Slash: Well I mean I
wouldn't wanna say
that we had

451
00:27:15,310 --> 00:27:18,176
anything to do with killing it,
I think a lot of those bands

452
00:27:18,243 --> 00:27:21,543
didn't have that much substance
so they would only last for so

453
00:27:21,610 --> 00:27:24,543
long and then the interest
level would just sort of wane.

454
00:27:24,610 --> 00:27:28,876
Sam: You never attempted to
throw on the spandex with
the hair and make-up thing?

455
00:27:28,943 --> 00:27:31,143
Slash: We never did the spandex
or anything, there was a little

456
00:27:31,243 --> 00:27:34,210
bit of make-up umm in the early
days, there was a little bit of

457
00:27:34,276 --> 00:27:36,776
hair spray that happened in
the very beginning and there

458
00:27:36,843 --> 00:27:39,876
definitely was a glam influence
but it was more from say

459
00:27:39,943 --> 00:27:43,376
Marc Bolan than it was
the Bay City Rollers...

460
00:27:43,443 --> 00:27:46,310
Sam: ...or Cosmo Magazine.
Slash: ...or Cosmo yeah.

461
00:27:46,410 --> 00:27:50,110
Neil Zlozower: There's pre-Guns,
and there's after Guns.

462
00:27:50,143 --> 00:27:53,510
Before Guns everybody was
going to clothing designers

463
00:27:53,576 --> 00:27:56,610
and having stuff made, and
pretty much after guns

464
00:27:56,676 --> 00:28:00,310
all the hair and hair
spray started coming down

465
00:28:00,376 --> 00:28:02,776
and all the makeup
got less and less.

466
00:28:02,843 --> 00:28:05,443
Bobby: When Guns n'
Roses released their
record,

467
00:28:05,510 --> 00:28:09,410
I was like it was a
bad ass record, a
bad ass band

468
00:28:09,476 --> 00:28:12,276
I was like okay we gotta
keep on our toes here.

469
00:28:12,343 --> 00:28:14,343
Kevin Estrada: I don't think
Guns n' Roses helped kill hair

470
00:28:14,410 --> 00:28:17,943
metal but I think they did
create a new avenue of escape

471
00:28:18,010 --> 00:28:22,110
for metal fans, musically they
weren't doing what those glam

472
00:28:22,176 --> 00:28:24,810
bands were doing , they were
real, they were great musicians

473
00:28:24,876 --> 00:28:27,410
and music was in their blood.
That's what separated

474
00:28:27,476 --> 00:28:29,476
Guns n' Roses from all
those other bands.

475
00:28:29,543 --> 00:28:32,376
Spencer: Glam wasn't musical
enough. Melodically and

476
00:28:32,443 --> 00:28:35,110
cord wise you couldn't
go to that many places,

477
00:28:35,143 --> 00:28:37,743
after awhile it wasn't
that original anymore,

478
00:28:37,810 --> 00:28:39,676
everything was cloning
everything else.

479
00:28:39,743 --> 00:28:43,110
Jerry: There was Warrant,
then there was 25
mini Warrants,

480
00:28:43,110 --> 00:28:45,643
and there was Ratt,
then they made 25
mini Ratts.

481
00:28:45,710 --> 00:28:48,176
Pretty soon it was
just so saturated

482
00:28:48,243 --> 00:28:50,276
Ben: The third and fourth
generation glam bands had

483
00:28:50,343 --> 00:28:53,643
gotten so ridiculous, it's
like now we're gonna do a

484
00:28:53,710 --> 00:28:56,410
power ballad and now we're
gonna do a pop anthem and we've
got

485
00:28:56,476 --> 00:28:59,943
pink lip stick and peroxide
hair, we've got tons of

486
00:29:00,110 --> 00:29:01,743
whatever the stuff that
makes your hair stand up,

487
00:29:01,810 --> 00:29:03,443
I don't know what
different brand names.

488
00:29:03,510 --> 00:29:07,543
Slash: We thought the L.A.
glam scene was just a lot of
posers,

489
00:29:07,676 --> 00:29:10,510
they just weren't genuine. So we
were sort of the antithesis of

490
00:29:10,576 --> 00:29:13,610
that and right under the heels
of that came a bunch of cool

491
00:29:13,676 --> 00:29:17,110
bands like Soundgarden, Alice
in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam

492
00:29:17,176 --> 00:29:20,776
and then they had an even more
stripped down sensibility

493
00:29:20,843 --> 00:29:22,510
that everything started
to go in that direction.

494
00:29:22,676 --> 00:29:42,310
* Music *

495
00:29:42,376 --> 00:29:44,576
Spencer: The glam metal scene
just dissipated because

496
00:29:44,643 --> 00:29:47,410
it burned, that whole Seattle
movement had an attitude,

497
00:29:47,476 --> 00:29:49,743
it had a sensibility
it was a little dark

498
00:29:49,810 --> 00:29:52,276
but it was fresh and it
was a change of pace.

499
00:29:52,343 --> 00:29:54,876
Vicky: At that moment in
time I got it, it was like

500
00:29:54,943 --> 00:29:58,776
oh yeah this is taking
over the world and fast.

501
00:29:58,843 --> 00:30:01,476
I remember being at the
Rainbow and thinking okay,

502
00:30:01,543 --> 00:30:05,443
the hair bands better enjoy
their last ride here.

503
00:30:05,510 --> 00:30:08,776
Bobby: All I would hear on the
radio was everything but all

504
00:30:08,876 --> 00:30:13,876
of us, That's pretty much when
it was like ooh man okay.

505
00:30:15,443 --> 00:30:19,410
George: I experienced the
backlash of being sort of a

506
00:30:19,476 --> 00:30:23,276
semi-glam L.A. metal band, we
did a show and the club was
insane,

507
00:30:23,376 --> 00:30:27,343
there was people spitting at us.
I mean raining it down on us

508
00:30:27,410 --> 00:30:30,843
the whole show, and I looked
over at Jeff for a second and

509
00:30:30,910 --> 00:30:32,276
he had opened his mouth
to go up to the mic and

510
00:30:32,343 --> 00:30:35,776
sing just got lucky or some
(beep) song and I just saw

511
00:30:35,843 --> 00:30:38,143
a big loogie go right
down his throat.

512
00:30:38,210 --> 00:30:41,210
We had to take him to the
hospital and get a tetanus shot.

513
00:30:41,276 --> 00:30:44,043
Frankie: I think it's
over simplified;

514
00:30:44,110 --> 00:30:48,576
you get a lot of musicians that
say Nirvana and grunge did it.

515
00:30:48,643 --> 00:30:51,810
That played a part into it
only because almost all

516
00:30:51,876 --> 00:30:56,643
styles of music at some
point, their due date comes

517
00:30:56,710 --> 00:30:59,676
and I think the due
date for the bands of

518
00:30:59,743 --> 00:31:02,210
the 80's was going
to come to pass.

519
00:31:02,276 --> 00:31:04,743
Rikki: A different generation
was coming in and going

520
00:31:04,810 --> 00:31:07,810
you know, I can't get with
this I don't feel like that.

521
00:31:07,876 --> 00:31:10,476
They're saying I don't feel
like nothing but a good time I
just don't.

522
00:31:10,543 --> 00:31:12,976
I can't blame them for
that, you know I'm not mad

523
00:31:13,110 --> 00:31:15,343
at anybody for that,
you know what I mean.

524
00:31:15,410 --> 00:31:28,710
* Music *

525
00:31:33,143 --> 00:31:35,843
Sam: I remember the 90's
being a really bad time

526
00:31:35,910 --> 00:31:38,743
for metal, if you were a metal
head like me you didn't

527
00:31:38,810 --> 00:31:42,643
really have much to be proud of.
Not only glam had disappeared

528
00:31:42,710 --> 00:31:46,543
but thrash had died and
grunge was the new thing.

529
00:31:46,610 --> 00:31:48,243
So what I've always
wanted to know is

530
00:31:48,310 --> 00:31:50,843
what happened to the lives
of metal musicians?

531
00:31:50,910 --> 00:31:54,776
Especially the glam metalers
once this music had faded out.

532
00:31:54,843 --> 00:31:59,610
Sam: Were the 90's a difficult
time for you and Poison by
comparison to the 80's.

533
00:31:59,676 --> 00:32:02,376
Rikki: I flat out got out
of music.

534
00:32:02,443 --> 00:32:05,176
I went I'm gonna go for a
little while do something

535
00:32:05,243 --> 00:32:08,176
I've always wanted to do, I'm
gonna go work on comic books.

536
00:32:08,243 --> 00:32:11,343
I could not contribute to what
Nirvana, Soundgarden and those

537
00:32:11,410 --> 00:32:14,410
bands were doing. It wasn't
where I come from, it wasn't

538
00:32:14,476 --> 00:32:18,176
what I was feeling, it would
have been disingenuous for me

539
00:32:18,276 --> 00:32:21,543
to put out a record that sounded
anything near like that.

540
00:32:21,610 --> 00:32:24,543
Michael: That's when the band
you know, disbanded and went

541
00:32:24,610 --> 00:32:28,176
our separate ways and went
okay, this isn't gonna work.

542
00:32:28,243 --> 00:32:31,176
The other guys worked
other jobs and that's when I

543
00:32:31,243 --> 00:32:34,143
took on work at a family
owned business, working a

544
00:32:34,210 --> 00:32:38,510
cranberry bog business, a
uh campground business.

545
00:32:38,610 --> 00:32:40,576
Bobby: The year break I thought
we were gonna have was

546
00:32:40,643 --> 00:32:43,410
now turning into 4 years. You
know the dough was going

547
00:32:43,476 --> 00:32:45,610
pretty quick, we gotta
buy some businesses,

548
00:32:45,676 --> 00:32:48,710
I bought a flower shop and a
vending business. Next thing

549
00:32:48,776 --> 00:32:52,343
I know I'm buying 75 coke
machines, candy bars all this

550
00:32:52,410 --> 00:32:55,643
stuff and I had to service them.
My hands smelled like quarters

551
00:32:55,710 --> 00:33:00,143
and dollar bills for the next
5 years. Pretty funny though.

552
00:33:00,210 --> 00:33:02,376
Sam: How do you remember
feeling at that time?

553
00:33:02,443 --> 00:33:03,876
Carlos: I
felt like (beep).

554
00:33:03,943 --> 00:33:06,210
I felt like a piece of bubble
gum spit out on the ground.

555
00:33:06,276 --> 00:33:09,276
We did so much for the
label and also they want

556
00:33:09,343 --> 00:33:11,943
nothing to do with you. I
had to sell my houses and

557
00:33:12,010 --> 00:33:14,343
everyone went through some
financial difficulties.

558
00:33:14,410 --> 00:33:16,543
It's sort of like having a
girlfriend dump you I guess

559
00:33:16,610 --> 00:33:21,143
you know, without knowing it,
without having any heads up.

560
00:33:23,210 --> 00:33:25,776
Derek: Ultimately when the time
was up if you like as far as MTV

561
00:33:25,843 --> 00:33:29,376
and radio, most of the bands
that had garnered their fame

562
00:33:29,443 --> 00:33:32,310
during that period weren't able
to drag themselves out of that

563
00:33:32,376 --> 00:33:35,376
hair metal bag. I'm in touch
with Tom and he's still a great

564
00:33:35,443 --> 00:33:39,343
friend and I'd put on a demo
that he's just done and some

565
00:33:39,410 --> 00:33:41,610
kids who were working
for me came in and said

566
00:33:41,676 --> 00:33:45,010
"Man that's great, who is this?"
And I said "Cinderella".

567
00:33:45,110 --> 00:33:49,676
And they said "Oh".
Enough said.

568
00:33:54,676 --> 00:34:07,310
* Music *

569
00:34:07,376 --> 00:34:09,676
Sam: So I'm here n the outskirts
of Baltimore, Maryland

570
00:34:09,743 --> 00:34:13,476
for the M3 festival where there
is Vince Neil, Cinderella,

571
00:34:13,543 --> 00:34:18,110
Winger, Warrant and all
these 80's hair metal bands

572
00:34:18,110 --> 00:34:21,210
have all come to play, and
so far it resembles more of

573
00:34:21,276 --> 00:34:24,376
like a giant barbeque
then a rock festival,

574
00:34:24,443 --> 00:34:27,110
so we gotta go figure out
why people are here.

575
00:34:27,143 --> 00:34:29,443
Sam: Do you think people
are here for nostalgia,

576
00:34:29,510 --> 00:34:33,276
to relive that time or why do
you think people are here?

577
00:34:33,343 --> 00:34:35,543
Fan: I think they just wanna
have a good time and live the

578
00:34:35,610 --> 00:34:38,210
80's all over again, cause
it was a great time.

579
00:34:38,276 --> 00:34:41,310
Fan: Hot guys, long hair,
rock and roll metal.

580
00:34:41,376 --> 00:34:43,676
That's what I live for, I'm
45 and I still love it.

581
00:34:43,743 --> 00:34:44,910
Sam: He's still got
the good hair.

582
00:34:44,976 --> 00:34:46,410
Fan: I know he's awesome
that's why I love him.

583
00:34:46,476 --> 00:34:49,843
>> We move on with our lives...
>> the music stays with us...

584
00:34:49,910 --> 00:34:51,410
>>...that's what daddies
talkin' about.

585
00:34:53,576 --> 00:35:03,276
* Music *

586
00:35:03,343 --> 00:35:05,543
Frankie: I think that the
advent of things like the

587
00:35:05,610 --> 00:35:08,743
Rock Never Stops Tour and
Rocklahoma, all those events,

588
00:35:08,810 --> 00:35:12,110
it really was like a
throwback to the 80's.

589
00:35:12,110 --> 00:35:13,510
I think that it's
safe to say that

590
00:35:13,576 --> 00:35:17,243
the great majority of the
audience were die-hard fans that

591
00:35:17,310 --> 00:35:20,543
were there in the 80's when
it all started. There's no

592
00:35:20,610 --> 00:35:23,610
resurgence it's just that those
bands are still willing to go

593
00:35:23,676 --> 00:35:27,476
out there and work at any cost
at whatever level they can,

594
00:35:27,543 --> 00:35:31,210
it's really pay roll.
Fun, but it's payroll.

595
00:35:32,810 --> 00:35:35,376
Deena: Hair metal never
recruited a younger generation

596
00:35:35,443 --> 00:35:39,176
into it and so there's no
hair metal community,

597
00:35:39,243 --> 00:35:42,110
it's rooted in nostalgia today.

598
00:35:42,176 --> 00:35:44,410
Bret: We're gonna take you back
to 1986, off the Cat Dragged In

599
00:35:44,476 --> 00:35:48,110
record, first big ballad you
helped make big for us,

600
00:35:48,176 --> 00:35:51,143
this is called 'I Won't
Forget You'. Let's do it.

601
00:35:51,876 --> 00:36:01,743
* Music *

602
00:36:01,810 --> 00:36:04,376
Sam: Do you worry that people
will just see you as

603
00:36:04,443 --> 00:36:07,143
the nostalgia
retro act is that
a concern?

604
00:36:07,210 --> 00:36:09,610
Rikki: Right this minute we are
a nostalgia act in a way, and

605
00:36:09,676 --> 00:36:13,476
I'd have to be honest with
myself because I mean we're

606
00:36:13,543 --> 00:36:16,010
playing our old songs we're
not playing anything new.

607
00:36:16,176 --> 00:36:17,243
That's nostalgia.

608
00:36:17,310 --> 00:36:26,710
* Music *

609
00:36:26,776 --> 00:36:29,643
>> Today's festival and country
fair circuit has helped many

610
00:36:29,710 --> 00:36:32,710
glam metal bands keep their
music alive for audiences

611
00:36:32,776 --> 00:36:36,376
across America, but this isn't
the only way glam metalers

612
00:36:36,443 --> 00:36:38,576
have managed to stay
in the public eye.

613
00:36:40,743 --> 00:36:42,976
>> Hey I'm Bret Michaels
everybody, and it has been

614
00:36:43,110 --> 00:36:47,276
smokin' hot, all so I can narrow
down 20 of the finest woman

615
00:36:47,343 --> 00:36:51,210
you've ever seen to find
my one true rock of love.

616
00:36:54,576 --> 00:36:56,643
Sam: Why do you think
these guys have

617
00:36:56,710 --> 00:36:59,110
translated so well to
reality television?

618
00:36:59,110 --> 00:37:03,810
Sam: Well they're stars so you
can translate in most medias,

619
00:37:03,876 --> 00:37:08,743
like a Bret Michaels he's
always gonna be a star no
matter what he does.

620
00:37:08,810 --> 00:37:10,610
Mark Cronin: I think the main
thing that has driven glam

621
00:37:10,676 --> 00:37:14,576
metal stars into television
and reality television

622
00:37:14,643 --> 00:37:17,676
is kind of a timing issue.
Television and music videos

623
00:37:17,743 --> 00:37:21,643
made Poison, made Motley
Crue and because of

624
00:37:21,710 --> 00:37:24,510
that you see these guys going
"Yeah, I'll do television".

625
00:37:24,576 --> 00:37:26,410
They became rock stars for
a reason, they went into

626
00:37:26,476 --> 00:37:30,510
this for the adulation, for the
crowds, I really feel like they

627
00:37:30,576 --> 00:37:32,376
need to go on television to show
people that they're still here.

628
00:37:34,110 --> 00:37:37,510
>> Hey, this is Sebastian
Bach, no this will not be
your average show.

629
00:37:40,643 --> 00:37:43,410
Sebastian: I think all this
celebrity rock and roll started

630
00:37:43,476 --> 00:37:46,510
with Ozzy, with the show The
Osbournes. That was the first

631
00:37:46,576 --> 00:37:50,110
time a heavy metal musician
was outside of metal in

632
00:37:50,110 --> 00:37:53,976
the public eye doing something.
My wife had her own show,

633
00:37:54,110 --> 00:37:56,410
I married Sebastian Bach which
is a number one rated show,

634
00:37:56,476 --> 00:37:58,476
I don't know if it was
classified as a drama,

635
00:37:58,543 --> 00:38:00,776
a horror, a comedy
or all the above.

636
00:38:02,776 --> 00:38:05,343
I like making albums, that's
what I do and all this other

637
00:38:05,410 --> 00:38:08,843
stuff happens, when
people stop buying CD's,

638
00:38:08,910 --> 00:38:11,743
you know well you got
a TV show let's go.

639
00:38:11,810 --> 00:38:13,610
If you wanna know the truth
I don't do them because

640
00:38:13,676 --> 00:38:16,510
I wanna do them, I laugh when
they put me on a TV show

641
00:38:16,576 --> 00:38:18,810
and I go, pfft I'm just
gonna take all your money

642
00:38:18,876 --> 00:38:20,710
and put it into metal.

643
00:38:20,776 --> 00:38:24,110
Thank you for your money, cause
I'm putting it on the stage.

644
00:38:29,443 --> 00:38:32,776
>> Hello you have made it!

645
00:38:32,843 --> 00:38:35,676
>> Although reality TV has
proven a perfect match for some

646
00:38:35,743 --> 00:38:38,876
glam metal front men, not all
glam metalers have found

647
00:38:38,943 --> 00:38:43,376
success on prime time
television and managed to
re-invent their careers.

648
00:38:43,443 --> 00:38:45,643
So how do these bands make
ends meet when they're

649
00:38:45,710 --> 00:38:48,110
not playing the nostalgia
festival circuit?

650
00:38:48,243 --> 00:38:52,143
[Background talking]

651
00:38:54,476 --> 00:38:56,110
Erik: Need to pour some
vodka all over it.

652
00:38:58,510 --> 00:39:02,310
This might be my new
career man, food network.

653
00:39:04,243 --> 00:39:07,176
Erik: If we're playing 50 shows
a year that means I have about

654
00:39:07,243 --> 00:39:11,810
200 days off. I've been here
the last 18 years you know.

655
00:39:11,876 --> 00:39:14,210
So I said what can I do
what can I do to make some

656
00:39:14,276 --> 00:39:17,776
money and keep busy and so I
started working in a high end

657
00:39:17,843 --> 00:39:20,743
guitar shop. I love guitars, I
love gear so I do that a few

658
00:39:20,810 --> 00:39:24,576
days a week as well. Then on the
weekends we'll go play some

659
00:39:24,643 --> 00:39:27,543
festival. It's an interesting
perspective, because you go

660
00:39:27,610 --> 00:39:31,243
play for a thousand of people,
like a rock star then come home

661
00:39:31,310 --> 00:39:34,243
Sunday, and then you know
Tuesday you gotta be at work.

662
00:39:34,343 --> 00:39:38,710
Sam: Why do you think so many
of those bands came out of
that L.A. scene died off?

663
00:39:38,776 --> 00:39:41,543
Erik: It's easier to die off
than it is to stick around

664
00:39:41,610 --> 00:39:44,143
and fight it out and
be tenacious and

665
00:39:44,210 --> 00:39:47,443
not give up and be
gluttons for punishment.

666
00:39:47,510 --> 00:39:49,243
Jerry: Quitting is just
never an option.

667
00:39:49,310 --> 00:39:54,676
There was many a night where
we could of just hung up the

668
00:39:54,743 --> 00:39:58,476
old hat and shoot me in the
head I can't take it.

669
00:40:01,510 --> 00:40:04,510
Sam: Why do this at this
time in your life?

670
00:40:04,576 --> 00:40:06,976
Rikki: Well I'm not gonna be
able to do Poison forever,

671
00:40:07,043 --> 00:40:10,610
I'm not getting any younger
so.. umm who knows I mean

672
00:40:10,676 --> 00:40:13,543
maybe we'll be the glam rocks
Rolling Stones I dunno.

673
00:40:13,610 --> 00:40:16,410
I decided to start my own
company with my name,

674
00:40:16,476 --> 00:40:18,243
Rockett Drum Works,
put my name on it.

675
00:40:18,310 --> 00:40:22,843
I'm here you know, punch me
if I do the wrong thing.

676
00:40:22,910 --> 00:40:26,010
I feel like again I can bring
something to the table, I feel

677
00:40:26,076 --> 00:40:28,443
like it's something I could
turn over to my son one day,

678
00:40:28,510 --> 00:40:31,010
I can't really do
that with Poison.

679
00:40:31,076 --> 00:40:34,710
I really get excited about
making a guys dream come true,

680
00:40:34,776 --> 00:40:37,010
I'm the person that
really does understand.

681
00:40:37,076 --> 00:40:39,310
Sam: What's the balance of
priorities for you right now,

682
00:40:39,443 --> 00:40:41,576
Poison and Rocket Drum Works?

683
00:40:41,643 --> 00:40:44,243
Rikki: Well Poison you know is
obviously my priority cause I

684
00:40:44,310 --> 00:40:47,376
know that's how I can make
money and it's been my

685
00:40:47,443 --> 00:40:52,276
life's' work you know. But this
is more about craftsmanship,

686
00:40:52,343 --> 00:40:56,010
I lived in Pennsylvania and
it's a very working class area

687
00:40:56,076 --> 00:40:58,543
of the country and when I came
out here started dancing

688
00:40:58,610 --> 00:41:01,676
around Hollywood trying
to be a rock star I kind

689
00:41:01,743 --> 00:41:06,843
of left a little of that behind
but it really is in me.

690
00:41:06,910 --> 00:41:10,110
Sam: I think it just sort of
adds to the story of glam metal

691
00:41:10,176 --> 00:41:13,143
that a lot of these guys have
moved on and with someone like

692
00:41:13,210 --> 00:41:15,910
Ricky he's actually managed
to build a second career.

693
00:41:15,976 --> 00:41:18,410
I think we have this assumption
that they did their thing

694
00:41:18,476 --> 00:41:22,476
in the 80's and they're
all washed up and done.

695
00:41:22,543 --> 00:41:26,676
And you know, some of them
are, but some of them aren't.

696
00:41:26,743 --> 00:41:30,276
Bands that survived were also
the bands that ultimately

697
00:41:30,376 --> 00:41:35,543
weren't just in it for the look
and the lifestyle. Say what you

698
00:41:35,610 --> 00:41:39,110
want about Poison, fact of the
matter is a guy like Rikki

699
00:41:39,143 --> 00:41:43,510
he had a vision for what
they were going to be.

700
00:41:49,610 --> 00:41:52,643
>> Even though I'm still not
a fan of glam metal and

701
00:41:52,710 --> 00:41:56,110
can't stand the outfits,
many glam metal bands

702
00:41:56,110 --> 00:41:58,743
are not the boy bands
I thought they were.

703
00:41:58,810 --> 00:42:01,676
After meeting with these
musicians I have a new found

704
00:42:01,743 --> 00:42:04,376
respect for their
commitment to their music,

705
00:42:04,443 --> 00:42:06,543
and I admire their
determination despite

706
00:42:06,610 --> 00:42:09,510
abuse from die hard
metalers like myself.

707
00:42:11,110 --> 00:42:13,376
Glam metal is clearly a much
more important part of the

708
00:42:13,443 --> 00:42:16,676
evolution of heavy metal than
I ever gave it credit for.

709
00:42:18,243 --> 00:42:48,343
*