MTV Basement Tapes Bands

When Jersey Shore was just a location for dickbags, MTV used to play this stuff called music and moreso they even kinda, sorta helped a few bands "make it". Even if it was for a few months in the checkerboard/rising sun-muscle shirt year of 1983. We'll start off with the show intro & some pud-pop from Screen Test. Followed by some short clips of bands that only help reiterate the Hardcore/Punk attitude against "that wave-o shit".



In a Seattle area zine about 12 years ago, The Melvins were joking about "all those great Seattle bands...like Rail" Later on Buzz of the Melvins mentioned that Rail did a side project with Ronnie Montrose called Monorail. Apparently there are no Monorail recordings but my friend Big Chief on KZSU will break out the Rail LP every once in a blue moon. This is the tune that won 'em over:


By Thor, it's a pretty cool Angel/Triumph-like sorta heavy pomp rocker. Unfortunately, they never gigged or did a split with 1984's winner, Trak who had this "barely past puberty" mix of The Babys/April Wine & The Osmonds(!?) And really, are you still a "basement band" if you're doing a video on MTV and recording for EMI?

Anyway, more searching gave way to this equally obscure band called Hostage.


Sounds like early Dokken mixed with Malice & Keel and maybe even a super-early Skid Row. Very L.A. but OK sound produced by Bob St. John who did some platters of crap for Extreme & those "Now That's What I Called Music" drink coasters, a few years later. Skinny-tie pop was also represented by President and lest I forget these Memphis weirdos, Dog Police:


Sounds suspiciously similar to Sparks' "Mickey Mouse". Now here's the Moderns - "Serve and Protect" envoking, as several bands in the 80's had - the "computers as dystopian future" theme:



I'll spare you the 1985 Basement Tapes with guest host Billy Crystal and the late Reagan-era Rockers Against Drugs ads.

Why are so many bands ruined by MTV?

Last night on KZSU, I played a live version of Krokus' "Headhunter" . While Krokus' output has often been up and down - OK, mostly on the downside for me, they still have a number of killer songs. 1983's "Headhunter" was certainly great for the time it was out. I was friggin' 13 and was impressed by how fast and in my pre-Metallica/pre-Slayer awareness, how intense it sounded! Bands like Krokus like the Scorpions and to a lesser extent Motley Crue and Twisted Sister are more known for the polished crap they did on MTV where as all of these bands in 1983 where considered Heavy Metal. I mean, I wasn't like the older heshers in other towns who not only saw Metallica and Exodus in the clubs but knew them !

"Sex and drugs and rock n' roll is my cuppah teeeeeeeee - time to meeeet Heeeeadhuntahhhhhhh!" And dood, listen to those sweet double leads. Fernando Van Arb was really on to something. Anyway, this one's kinda short. I've been racking by brain today by writing about Extreme Metal and Extreme Politics for the "Music, Metal, and Politics" conference.

Temptation, Pain and Hope

This is a random fan video from the UK edition of MTV's "Headbanger's Ball". The video itself isn't remarkably interesting compared to the list of "bargin bin" of hair metal contained within. This is my first time really viewing the style of host Vanessa Warwick. She seemed like an alright presenter. She did her research on the band (or at least read her cue cards really well) and put a decent amount of emphasis into what she was doing. Plus, she looked pretty good doing it. Although it's not in a that "Hey, look at me I'm a hot metalchick, muthafucka! Woo!" like her contemporaries "The Face of Metal" (?) Mistress Juilya, street team zombie Metal Sanaz and the ultra-skanky Jasmine St. Claire. Regardless of looks, it's more the to do with the simple and generally honest presentation that makes Warrick standout from these one sheets in fetish boots.

The list of bands read off in these clips reads like a "who's who" of Rip and Kerrang! circa: 1988-92. You can imagine flipping through piles of $1 bin LPs and cassettes that have collected dust from here to Helsinki. These are the bands not even VH-1 or Hit Parader has bothered with. Despite their major label (or "major indie label") status, the major of these bands failed instantly in the States. Does anyone remember the Fred Coury (Cinderella) & Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) "supergroup", Arcade? Sven Gali? Baby Animals? Tailsman? Skew Siskin? Sleeze Beeze? Dogs D'Mour, anyone? I heard them on KSJS...once. It wasn't half bad but that was in 1989, so who knows how it holds up today? Oh, yeah there's an unidentified Ramones interview in here. Blink & you'll miss it.

Being a mark for geography, Warrick & co. get kudos for doing "Swedish" and "Dutch" specials. Anyone truly obsessed with metal can tell you that it always has been an international phenomenon. The American Headbanger's Ball would've never tried that. Although, doing a "Bay Area Thrash" special or a "New York Metal" special would've been a lot more interesting than the umpteenth interview with Sebastian Bach or another Motley Crüe "update". All you had to do is interview say, 4 well known bands, and give mention to a few others that "the kids" should check out. Not that hard but it's not like anybody's hiring me to be research director.