Tag: Danzig

Michale Graves at Oasis on the River in Sanford, FL on 10/23/21 By Jesse Striewski (Photos by Brooke and Jacob Striewski)

Somehow, it’s been over twenty years since I last saw Rewind It Magazine interviewee Michale Graves perform on stage with the Misfits (one of my absolute favorite punk bands during my formative years, who I’ve personally seen live more than any other band in my lifetime – a half a dozen times from 1999-2003, plus a Misfits set during a 2005 Danzig show with guitarist Doyle as a special guest, and now Graves solo). And although “they”have tried to cancel him for having views that simply don’t fit in with what they’re “supposed to be” these days, it was apparent he was more than welcomed by the crowd at Oasis on the River/Oasis After Dark in Sanford, FL this past Saturday, October 23.

Upon arrival, Graves had already started his set (we came directly from another engagement we had already committed to prior to learning of the show earlier last week), fully in the middle of a passionate performance of “I Believe.” The night was much more low key than the last time we visited Oasis (for Stevie B), and the light breeze and outdoor, ocean back drop added to the overall atmosphere of the evening. Another more recent solo track in the form of “American Prayer” followed before going into the Misfits track “Descending Angel.” Another Famous Monsters-era Misfits number, “Die Monster Die,” found itself tucked in between “Locked Away” and “Dawn of the Dead.”

A couple of favorites from the American Psycho album, “Resurrection” and “Dig up Her Bones” (the latter of which Graves gave the crowd a little back story on how it was written) before a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You” found it’s way into the set list. Graves then broke out a harmonica for “Lucifer I am,” before another couple of Misfits songs, “Scream” and “Saturday Night,” segued into two more final solo tracks, “The World Turned Upside Down” and “New Song.” By the time he was finished, I realized I actually prefer this more stripped-down version of Graves, then the one I saw fronting the Misfits so long ago.

Rewind It Magazine’s Brooke (left) and Jesse Striewski with Michale Graves after his set.

After his set, Graves stuck around to of course mingle with guests for awhile. An unexpected after party show of sorts with local rockers FYRE Insyde actually kept the party going. Their arena-rock presence coupled with anthems like “The Truth Behind the Lies” (which could compete with any of the generic rock that gets played on mainstream radio these days) was a sheer, welcomed surprise.

But something else happened this evening I felt I needed to address; much like when I interviewed Graves last year, I once again found myself being attacked and harassed online – while still there – for supporting someone with conservative beliefs. Since starting Rewind It Magazine in late 2017, I have always maintained as open a mind as possible, and have worked with/interviewed clients of all walks of life. And unlike larger mainstream media outlets with biased agendas, I have tried keeping politics as neutral – or completely out of all together – our work (we are after all, an entertainment publication). These hypocritical morons in the punk and metal scenes don’t even know what it is they actually hate about Graves and other conservatives, just that their herd leaders have brainwashed them so deeply to hate anyone that doesn’t comply with their same conformist views, even to the point of applauding their deaths (so much for “freedom” or “individuality,”right?).

I honestly have a deep respect for Graves – and anyone else willing to stand up for their beliefs against the grain – especially these goons in the scene with their group think mentalities. Open your eyes, and see who the real fascists are that you should be fighting against.

FYRE Insyde performing (photo by Jacob Striewski).

Interview with Quiet Riot/H&B Guitarist Alex Grossi By Jesse Striewski

When I spoke to Quiet Riot/Hookers & Blow guitarist Alex Grossi via phone from his Las Vegas home last week, one of the first things I mentioned was how our paths had already crossed previously back in 2006, when I saw him perform with Quiet Riot on a bill that also included Skid Row in Ormand Beach. To my surprise, he actually remembered the exact show; “Oh yeah, during one of those Bike Week events! I vividly remember going to a Waffle House afterwards with a bunch of bikers and meeting with some fans (laughs). That was a good show!”

While technically it was actually Biketoberfest and not Bike Week (though I won’t fault him for it too much, it does get confusing!), I was still impressed none-the-less for remembering, and knew it was primed to be a good conversation from then on out. So of course I tested his memory further and asked him to recall how exactly Hookers & Blow, his cover band he formed along with Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Dizzy Reed (one of two GN’R members Grossi has worked with extensively, the other being former drummer Steven Adler in Adler’s Appetite) around the same time he joined Quiet Riot (in 2004), originally came together. He tells me; “We met at a place on Sunset Blvd. that’s no longer there called the Cat Club. It was sort of like the local musicians watering hole, where they would have an open jam there every night. I approached him to see if he wanted to maybe do some cover gigs. We exchanged numbers, and a couple of days later he said, ‘yeah, let’s book some shows, but call the band Hookers & Blow.’ And I said, ‘sounds good to me,’ and we gave it a shot, and it sort of snowballed from there. Now seventeen years later we’re finally putting out a record (laughs).”

The band has seen it’s share of members come and go, and Grossi did his best to clarify; “We’ve had a bazillion guys in and out of the band over the years, but the ‘core’ as of right now is myself on guitar and Dizzy on vocals and keys, but we also have Mike Duda from W.A.S.P. on bass, and Johnny Kelly from Type O Negative/Danzig on drums. And as far as who also appears on the album, (late Quiet Riot drummer) Frankie Banali did a couple of songs, and so did Scott Griffin from L.A. Guns. And when it comes to the touring aspect, we’ve had everyone from Chip Z’Nuff from Enuff Z’ Nuff and Todd Kerns from Slash’s band play with us live. It’s been a rotating lineup, but like I said, the core is really myself, Dizzy, Duda, and Kelly, and also Dizzy’s wife, Nadja, on background vocals.”

Drummer Kelly has also been pulling double duty in Quiet Riot along with Grossi, taking over for the previously-mentioned late drummer Banali. I asked if this arrangement would be permanent or not, and he said; “When Frankie got sick, Johnny kind of fell into the spot. At first he was just keeping the seat warm, but now we need him to keep it warm for us every night. He’s been with Hookers & Blow for eight years now though, so it made sense for him to fill that (now unfortunately empty) seat for Quiet Riot. But he’s doing a great job, and he’s family, so I’m really glad it’s worked out the way it has.”

I also asked Grossi for some insight on how H&B chooses the songs for it’s sets, as well as for their upcoming full length album. He explained; “Well, when we initially got together we were only playing live shows, so we basically were sending master lists of the songs we all knew back and forth through emails to each other. And over the years we’ve since added and subtracted songs from the set. But as far as the record goes, I’d say it’s about fifty percent of our live set, and then the other half are songs we’ve always wanted to cover. For example, we cover Body Count’s “The Winner Loses,” and we’ve never played that live before. Then on the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got a track like David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” which is literally the first song we’ve ever played together and have played at every single show since.” But Grossi maintains that H&B doesn’t indulge too much when it comes to playing their respective bands’ music in their sets; “We’ll throw in the occasional Guns N’ Roses deep cut, but for the most part we like to keep it completely separate from our day jobs (laughs).”

I was also curious if a cover of Led Zepplin’s “Trampled Under Foot,” which featured the late Banali on drums, was a personal favorite of Frankie’s. He tells me; “That was a really special track. He was given 3-6 months to live in April of 2019, and he recorded that track in November of that same year after about a dozen rounds of chemo, and he still did it all in one take. He was definitely amazing though, just a monster. But we learned that, and “No Quarter” specifically for him, cause Zepplin was obviously Frankie’s favorite band. “Trampled…” we actually played live for years before we recorded it. In 2013 we got hired to do a residency at the Whiskey A Go-Go for a month, and Frankie wanted to come down and play, and asked if we could put some Zepplin in the set. We did, and it just turned out great.”

Before our conversation ended, Grossi clarified that Quiet Riot will still go on, and confirmed some upcoming show dates with both them and H&B; “We’re still going full steam ahead, that’s what Frankie wanted. His wife has taken over as manager and is doing a great job, and it’s nice to be able to still carry on his legacy, and it’s like having him here still in a way. But both bands actually have shows booked for the year already; Quiet Riot has a show March 6 at the Landis Theater in Vineland, NJ. And Hookers & Blow actually have four shows in Texas the following week, in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Eagles Pass. They’re reduced capacity shows of course, but thing’s are slowly opening up, and wherever it makes sense for us, we’re going to do some shows here and there.”

One final thing I wanted to ask Grossi, was his thoughts on the late, great guitar legend Eddie Van Halen’s recent passing. Grossi tells me; “I was such a HUGE fan of Eddie’s, but I never aspired to play like him, because I knew I never could! There was Eddie, and then there was everybody else. It’s almost surreal that he’s not here with us anymore.”