Tag: Keel

Special Edition: The Lynn Family Stadium Gets the Biggest ’80s Weekend Since…The ’80s! By Jesse Striewski

Typically Rewind It Magazine have stayed a fairly regional Florida-based publication, covering events everywhere from Daytona Beach to Tampa/St. Pete since the get-go. However, the upcoming Stadium Rock ’80s Festival in Louisville, KY on August 3rd and 4th is an exception we couldn’t pass up! This event features a killer lineup of ’80s acts (many of which we’ve covered over the years) including Florida rockers and our friends Nova Rex. So this unique occasion called for a special write-up (no matter what the distance might be!)!

Hosted by comedian and beloved metalhead Don Jamieson (formerly of That Metal Show), the event was first announce in May, and will coincide in what the major of Louisville has officially declared as “80s Week” from August 1st to 7th. In addition to live music, the festival will also feature everything from ’80s merchandise, fan zones, trivia, classic arcade games, and even a DeLorean straight out of Back to the Future! Below we provide a detailed break down of each act to play over the course of the festival in consecutive order.

Don Jameison (seen here at The Lynn Family Stadium on May 8) of That Metal Show fame will host the upcoming event this August in Louisville, KY.

Nova Rex:

Going strong since 1985, Nova Rex have been bringing the party with them wherever they go for nearly four decades. Anthems like “Bring the House Down Tonight” and “Turn It Up Loud” will no doubt be heard blaring throughout the stadium to kick things off at the massive festival. Check them out on stage, and in their new documentary, Nova Rex: Ain’t Easy Staying Cheesy.

Kenny Wilkerson, Nova Rex bassist/co-founder and star of the film Nova Rex: Ain’t Easy Stayin’ Cheesy, at The Lynn Family Stadium on Wednesday, May 8.

Pretty Boy Floyd:

Good old Pretty Boy Floyd are one of those bands who emerged from the late ’80s that never lets down. And speaking of Nova Rex, I actually saw both bands live for the first time together on the same bill in Daytona Beach back in 2018. Their hits “Rock and Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire)” and the power ballad “I Wanna Be With You” are enough to get any crowd moving no matter the location.

Enuff Z’Nuff:

One of the many bands playing I have still yet to cross off the old bucket list (though I did manage to catch and even meet former guitarist Tony Fennell – who has served two terms with the band since 2016 – at a When In Rome II show in Orlando back in 2020). Yet, hearing such classics as “New Thing” and “Fly High Michelle” live has still alluded me all of these years (but hopefully not for much longer!).

Trixter:

Hailing from my home state of New Jersey at the tail end of the wave of ’80s metal, Trixter were notable for such infectious hits as “One In A Million” and “Give It To Me Good,” which no doubt the band will soon unleash on Louisville for sure. Just last year I was able to catch bassist P.J. Farely on stage with Fozzy, and if the rest of the band’s energy is anything like his, they surely will not disappoint!

Ron Keel Band:

In my book, Ron Keel and his band Keel were a criminally underrated act at the height of the ’80s heyday, and I’d still love to catch him live in concert some day. I actually revisited the first couple of Keel albums recently, and there’s a lot of great material still to be found within. Audiences can be sure to hear such classics as “Don’t Say You Love Me” and Keel’s version of “Because the Night” over the course of this rocking weekend!

Vixen:

Without a doubt this is one of the most talked-about acts on the bill right now; after recently announcing via their social media platforms that they had parted ways with singer Lorraine Lewis, Vixen are keeping things extremely “hush hush” about who their new “mystery” vocalist might be. But one thing’s for sure, these ladies will have nothing to worry about as long as they maintain the same dedicated level of high energy they did when Rewind It covered them back in 2019!

Vixen performing in Orlando, FL on 10/30/19 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

John Corabi:

When Motley Crue released their one and only album with John Corabi on vocals in place of Vince Neil in 1994, many fans didn’t quite grasp it at the time…but I was fully there for every minute of it! To this day it remains one of the heaviest albums the Crue have ever put out, and I would love to hear Corabi’s raspy voice singing tracks from both it, and his solo catalog as well. (Side note: if you’ve never actually listened to the self-titled Crue album, start with the track “Hammered;” not only does it feature some of Corabi’s best vocal work ever, but it remains my favorite track from the album to this very day). Aside from his previously-mentioned work with the Crue and solo work, Corabi has also done time with The Scream and Ratt over the years as well (among many others).

L.A. Guns:

What more can be said about L.A. Guns that hasn’t already been said before? Without them, there’d simply be no Guns N’ Roses, and the entire ’80s Sunset Strip scene as a whole might have looked much differently. Earlier this year I was finally able to catch the band live for the first time after many previous missed opportunities, and I can confirm they were definitely worth the wait. Tracks like “Never Enough,” “Rip and Tear,” and “The Ballad of Jayne” are just a few staples of theirs worth noting, and any true fan of ’80s hard rock and heavy metal should try to see the band at least once in their lifetime.

L.A. Guns performing in Mt. Dora, FL on 3/8/24 (Photo by Jacob Striewski).

Aldo Nova:

Here’s one of those unique acts on the bill that often gets overlooked, Aldo Nova. This Canadian guitar virtuoso has been knocking out hits like “Foolin’ Yourself” and “Fantasy” since the early ’80s, and is a must-see for any serious fan of rock guitar. Nova is also an award-winning producer and songwriter who has collaborated with the likes of Blue Oyster Cult to Celine Dion over the years.

Slaughter:

Who wasn’t rocking along to some Slaughter in the late ’80s/early ’90s? It was nearly impossible to escape such anthems as “Up All Night” and “Fly to the Angels,” as well as their track from the 1991 Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey soundtrack, “Shout It Out Loud” (a completely infectious number!). Mark Slaughter and company have been going strong for a long time now, and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Great White:

Another sorely underrated act, Great White have earned second-billing on the festival bill at The Lynn Family Stadium. Largely remembered for their 1989 cover of Ian Hunter’s “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” the band also has a host of other notable hits in the form of “Save Your Love,” “Rock Me,” and “House of Broken Love” that will surely get fans moving from their seats. I’ve been lucky enough to both see the band live, and even interview former frontman Jack Russell over the years. Definitely make some time for these guys if you haven’t yet by now!

Queensryche:

There’s simply no mistaking the distinctive sound of Queensryche (no matter what era of theirs it might be), nor is there any overlooking the band’s achievements over the years. I’ve been fortunate enough to see the band twice (three times if counting a solo performance by former lead vocalist Geoff Tate just earlier this year) since 2013, even covering the band’s Orlando show for Rewind It back in 2019. From “Queen of the Reich,” “Jet City Woman,” and “I Don’t Believe in Love,” to the timeless power ballad “Silent Lucidity,” there is no shortage of epic music to be heard at any given Queensryche show; don’t pass this one up if you haven’t already seen them before!

Queensryche performing in Orlando, FL on 3/2/19 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

To wrap things up, The Lynn Family Stadium is a state-of-the-art venue primarily used for sporting events. Opened in 2020, it serves as the home for the Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC. The stadium boasts a seating capacity of over 15,000 and features modern amenities, including premium seating options, hospitality suites, and a fan-friendly design. Its central location and advanced facilities make it a prime destination for sports events and concerts, and is located at 350 Adams St., Louisville, Ky. USA.

Interview with L.A. Guns Drummer Steve Riley By Jesse Striewski

Earlier this year, I spoke with L.A. Guns bassist Kelly Nickels, where we discussed the band’s then-upcoming new studio album, Renegades, and why this version of the band – lead by long-time drummer Steve Riley – deserves to still use the name as much as the Tracii Guns/Philip Lewis incarnation (Riley, who still owns fifty percent of the L.A. Guns name, maintains he never left the band, but rather Lewis had instead to join up with Guns, the two of them deciding to use the name shortly after).

So rather than cover the same topics Nickels and I previously had, I decided to focus my conversation with Riley on two specific subjects; said new album, and Riley’s storied career as a rock drummer that expands as far back as the 1970’s. With Renegades having just been released on November 13, one of the first things I wanted to ask Riley when I spoke to him from his California home was just how the album’s been received so far. He tells me; “We feel great! We were originally set to release the album and start touring in March (before everything started happening), but when we found out everything was going to be postponed until at least next year, we had to go into another mode, so we had to just release a single every couple of months or so. But now that the entire album’s out we feel so good…we just couldn’t wait for everyone to hear the entire thing!”

I was also curious if Riley had a favorite track on the new album. He explains; “You know, I’m SO in to the whole thing! We picked ten songs out of forty that we had, so I really love a lot of the tracks on it. Some of my favorites though are “Well Oiled Machine,” “Crawl,” “Lost Boys,” and I like the way “You Can’t Walk Away” turned out. Our singer Kurt brought in the song “Would,” and it’s a great acoustic track. I’m really digging the way the whole thing turned out. We really made a conscientious decision to make this album true to the L.A. Guns sound, and didn’t want to stray too far from what we really are.”

As I had mentioned earlier, Riley’s career began long before he joined L.A. Guns in 1987. In the ’70s he recorded with a number of acts that didn’t quite take off before joining a revived version of Steppenwolf by the end of the decade. He explains; “I was in a bunch of one-off bands in the mid-late ’70s where we would record an album, and then the band wouldn’t be able to continue for one reason or another. Then around ’78, a couple of the original guys from Steppenwolf called and asked me if I wanted to go out on tour with them, and I did that until ’79. I was a big fan, so it was a blast going out there and playing those old Steppenwolf songs!”

A little later down the line, Riley was with the band Keel long enough to record on their 1985 effort The Right to Rock (produced by Gene Simmons) before joining up with one of my personal favorite metal bands, W.A.S.P.. I wanted to know why his time with Keel was so brief, and how he went right from them to W.A.S.P. so quickly. He explains; “I had been doing session work in the early ’80s after doing a bunch of one-offs even after Steppenwolf. One of the guys I was doing sessions work with told me to go down and audition for this band Keel. I went down, got the gig, and recorded all my tracks for the album, even doing background vocals for it with Gene! But while I was in the studio, I got a call from (W.A.S.P. frontman) Blackie Lawless, and he asked me to come by and listen to what they were doing at the time.”

He continues; I was already familar with W.A.S.P. – they were all over the magazines and getting all this press – and I had even gone to see them live here in L.A. And Blackie asked me if I wanted to join up, and told me that they were about to leave for Europe in a few weeks. I was in such a weird (but good!) predicament with the situation with Keel. So I had to make a decision, and I think I made the right call because I ended up joining W.A.S.P. and doing the world tour with them for the first album, and then recording three more albums with them. It was a hard decision because the guys in Keel are great, it was a really good set up, and I really enjoyed working with Gene (Simmons). But even the guys in Keel (I’m still great friends with them today) knew I made the right call at the time.”

Like with L.A. Guns, W.A.S.P. has had a revolving door lineup over the years, with frontman Blackie Lawless being the only constant member. So I was curious if Riley still kept in touch with Blackie (who just happens to also be the first major interviewee I ever did back in 2010). He tells me; “I hadn’t seen him for a long time after I had left W.A.S.P. since we were both so busy with our own bands. Then maybe eight or nine years after I was out of W.A.S.P., L.A. Guns did a few shows with them, and it was really great seeing him (and all those guys) again.”

And finally, considering it’s not everyday I get the chance to speak with someone who was actually involved with a Ghoulies movie, I had to ask Riley what his thoughts were looking back on recording the track “Scream Until You Like It” with W.A.S.P. for the 1987 horror/comedy film, Ghoulies II. He says; “It’s funny, I’ve been on a lot of songs that have been in movies before, but that was just a campy flick (and kind of a campy song, too!), and just a lot of fun!”