Poison

Overview
Poison is a Hard Rock band from Los Angeles. Formed by drummer Rikki Rockett and singer Bret Michaels, they started out in Pennsylvania in the early 80s. Their first band together was called the Spectres. They left the Spectres and started Paris with bassist Bobby Dall. They then moved to Los Angeles, where they parted ways with guitarist Matt Smith. Many people tried out for Poison’s vacant lead guitar spot, including soon-to-be Guns N’ Roses lead axeman Slash. They told Slash he had talent but didn’t fit the image.

After hiring C.C. DeVille, they changed their name to the more edgy ‘’Poison’’ and started working their way up the L.A. Club scene. In 1986 they recorded their debut album ‘’Look What the Cat Dragged In’‘, which was made succesful by their massive hit ‘’Talk Dirty To Me’‘, whose video was played on a constant rotation on MTV. Poison’s next album, the fan favorite ‘’Open Up and Say… AH!’’ was carried on the shoulders of the chart topping ballad ‘’Every Rose Has Its Thorn’‘, written by Bret Michaels about his girlfriend cheating on him with Quiet Riot frontman Kevin DuBrow. Poison’s third album, Flesh & Blood, showed Poison’s more mainstream side. After Flesh & Blood came out, Poison started going downhill. C.C. DeVille was in a constant drug binge and couldn’t be found. When Poison was slated to play Unskinny Bop for the MTV Movie Awards, C.C. forgot what song to play and ripped into Talk Dirty To Me on live television. He was fired on the spot.

Guitarist Ritchie Kotzen was brought in to record the album Native Tongue, which showed a new creative turn for the band. Ritchie was a good guitarist, but was thrown out of the band for sleeping with drummer Rikki Rocketts fiance. Poison then brought in Blues Saraceno as guitarist, with whom they recorded ‘’Crack a Smile… and More’‘, one of Poison’s lost gems.

After years of disconnection, C.C. DeVille came back to Poison for a full reunion. They have since toured with many acts, including KISS. They are currently planning a summer tour with fellow hair metal elite Cinderella and have just released a new 20th anniversary greatest hits cd.

Members
Current members
* Bret Michaels – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica (1983–present) lead guitar, backing vocals (1984)
* C.C. DeVille – lead guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals (1985–1991, 1999–present)
* Bobby Dall – bass, keyboards, piano, backing vocals (1984–present)
* Rikki Rockett – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1984–present)

Former members
* Blues Saraceno – lead guitar, backing vocals (1994–2000)
* Richie Kotzen – lead guitar, mandolin, Dobro, keyboards, backing vocals (1991–1994)
* Steve Silva – lead guitar, backing vocals (1985)
* Matt Smith – lead guitar, backing vocals (1984–1985)
* Leighton Zema – lead vocals (1984)
* Jonathan Combs – synthesizer, gong, backing vocals (1984)
* Patrick Bircher – bass, backing vocals (1984)
* Brian Bircher – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1984)
* James "Weezy" Peters – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983–1984)
* Timothy "Tim" Grace – bass, backing vocals (1983–1984)
* David Besselman – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983)
* Marlin Yohn – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983)
* James Carr – backing vocals, backup dancer (1987–1999)

Discography
* Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986)
* Open Up and Say...Ahh! (1988)
* Flesh and Blood (1990)
* Swallow This Live (1991)
* Native Tongue (1993)
* Crack a Smile...and More! (2000)
* Power to the People (2001)
* Hollyweird (2002)
* Poison'd! (2007)
* Live, Raw & Uncut (2008)

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Something To Believe In Every Rose Has it's Thorn

Extreme

Overview

Extreme is a “funk metal” band consisting of guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt, singer/lyricist Gary Cherone, bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo. The band first formed in 1985 in Boston with then drummer Paul Geary (who later got replaced by drum god Mike Mangini) until the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus that ended up lasting more than 10 years (1996-2006). The band’s influences range from the progressive hard rock and elaborate multi-vocals parts of Queen, the energy of Aerosmith and Van Halen, as well as Beatlesque pop and a Led Zeppelin organic feeling. Consequently, Extreme’s music is never easy to classify; it’s not just heavy metal, hard rock, or pop —their albums cover all of that territory with a sweeping ambition and a social consciousness to match. Although a hard rock band, it was the Everly Brothers-style acoustic ballad, “More Than Words,” that crossed them over into the mainstream — it hit number one and the follow-up single, the acoustic-based pop rocker “Hole Hearted,” hit number four.

They released two albums in the hey day of glam metal but recieved diminished attention from the mainstream following the grunge explosion following the release of Nirvana’s ”Nevermind” in 1991. Despite this, they released two more albums before the hiatus. Vocalist Gary Cherone went on to join Van Halen in 1997, replacing Sammy Hagar, and the group released ”Van Halen III.” He left Van Halen soon after, in 1999 and formed Tribe of Judah, with fellow Extreme members Pat Badger and Mike Mangini.

The group reformed in 2004 for a short tour of Boston and Japan, as well as reforming in 2006 for a small US tour.

On november 26th 2007, it was announced that Extreme will come back in 2008 with a new album & tour.

Members
Current members
* Gary Cherone - lead vocals (1985-1996, 2004, 2006, 2007-present)
* Nuno Bettencourt - lead guitar, harmony vocals, backing vocals (1985-1996, 2004, 2006, 2007-present)
* Pat Badger - bass, backing vocals (1986-1996, 2006, 2007-present)
* Kevin Figueiredo - drums, percussion (2007-present)

Former members
* Paul Geary - drums, percussion (1985-1994, 2004, 2006)
* Michael Mangini - drums, percussion (1994-1996)
* Paul Mangone - bass, backing vocals (1985-1986)
* Peter Hunt - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1986)
* Hal Lebeaux - rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1985) * Carl Restivo - bass, backing vocals (2004)

Discography
Albums
* Extreme - March 14, 1989
* Pornograffitti - August 7, 1990
* III Sides to Every Story - September 22, 1992
* Waiting for the Punchline - January 19, 1995
* Saudades de Rock - August 12, 2008

Other releases
* Extragraffitti - 1990
* Running Gag - 1995
* The Best of Extreme - 2000
* Extreme - 2002

Downloads
Hip Today More Than Words

Mötley Crüe

Overview

Mötley Crüe is a heavy metal band formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee. They soon found guitarist Mick Mars through a classified ad that stated simply: “Loud, rude, aggressive guitarist available.” Singer Vince Neil, who Tommy had known in high school, joined last. They went on to become one of the the most infamous bands of the 80s.

In late 1981, they released their first album, Too Fast For Love, on their own Leathür Records. It sold over 20,000 copies, which caught the attention of Elektra Records. Elektra signed the band and released their second album, Shout At The Devil, in 1983. Elektra also remixed and re-released Too Fast For Love, chopping off the intro to the title track and dropping Stick To Your Guns altogether. They released Theatre Of Pain in 1985, Girls, Girls, Girls in 1987, and Dr. Feelgood in 1989, embarking on sold out tours for each record. In 1991 they released Decade Of Decadence, a “best of” compilation with a few new tracks, to commemorate 10 years together.

In February 1992, Vince Neil left the band or was fired, depending on which account is to be believed, to be replaced by John Corabi (of The Scream). They released the self-titled Mötley Crüe with Corabi in 1994, which didn’t sell well despite being one of their better recorded and produced albums.

Vince Neil released two solo albums, 1993’s “Exposed”, featuring Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, guitarist Dave Marshall, and Enuff Z’Nuff drummer Vikky Fox. The band scored a big hit with the single and video “You’re Invited(But Your Friend Can’t Come)”. Vince’s second solo album, 1995’s “Carved In Stone”, featured a different band and a more alternative sound, which didn’t sell well, but was a solid effort and would contribute to the direction of the next Motley Crue album when he rejoined the band for 1997’s Generation Swine, appearing for the first time in years on national television at the MTV Video Music Awards with their new version of Shout at the Devil. The band was in peak form, but the album sold poorly.

The reformed band left Elektra records to form their own Mötley Records, bringing with them ownership of all their master recordings. A band in control of its own publishing and masters is something very rare in the recording industry. They released remastered versions of all their albums in 1999, each one containing bonus tracks of previously unreleased material from that era. That year also saw a new album, New Tattoo, which sold fewer than 150,000 copies. Tension between Neil and Lee caused the latter to leave the band.

Tommy Lee put together the band Methods of Mayhem and recorded an album with them. It was released late in 1999, and solo albums were released in 2002 and 2005. He also starred in a reality TV show that followed him to college in 2005.

With Mötley Crüe essentially finished, Nikki Sixx started an alternative hip-hop techno-rock experiment with a couple of good friends called 58 in 2000 and released a single (Piece of Candy) and album (Diet For A New America) that year. Then in 2002, he started forming Brides of Destruction, and released an album with them in 2004, but left the band to reunite the Crue for a world wide tour in 2005. The time spent apart was apparently enough of a cooling-off period to make reconciliation a possibility, and they recorded several new tracks for 2005’s compilation, Red, White and Crüe. The album was released in February, and they embarked on their Carnival Of Sins tour that same month (starting on February 14 in San Juan, Puerto Rico), quickly selling out shows. They released a concert DVD later that year of their show in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Nikki Sixx also co-wrote the titlesong on the latest Meat Loaf album, “Bat Out of Hell III-The Monster Is Loose”.

On January 26th, 2006, the band celebrated their 25th anniversary with a star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame.

Recently, in September of 2007, bassist Nikki Sixx released an album with Beautiful Creatures guitarist and drummer as the band Sixx:A.M.. The album is called “The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack”, the companion piece to the book of the same name based on Nikki’s journals from the mid 80s, chronicling the height of his heroin addiction.

After a protracted legal battles with Tommy Lee’s manager Carl Stubner, in April 2008, the band released the single Saints of Los Angeles, from the forthcoming album of the same title, just released June 26, 2008

Members
Core Members
* Vince Neil - vocals, (1981-1992, 1997-present)
* Mick Mars - guitar, vocals, talkbox (1981-present)
* Nikki Sixx - bass guitar, vocals (1981-present)
* Tommy Lee - drums, percussion, vocals, piano (1981-1999, 2004-present)

Former Members
* John Corabi - rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals (1992-1997)
* Randy Castillo - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1999-2000)
* Samantha Maloney (touring musician) - drums, percussion, backing vocals (2000-2001)

Additional musicians
* Will Hunt - drums (2006, 2007): Filled-in for injured Tommy Lee on the last few dates of North American tour, as well as a few dates on 2007 European tour
* Harvey Warren, from Calgary band Broken Toys - drums (2006): Played on April 5, 2006 at the Enmax Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada when Tommy Lee was injured
* Donna McDaniel - touring backing vocals
* Emi Canyn - touring backing vocals

Discography
Studio albums
* Too Fast for Love - November 10, 1981/August 20, 1982
* Shout at the Devil - September 26, 1983
* Theatre of Pain - June 21, 1985
* Girls, Girls, Girls - May 15, 1987
* Dr. Feelgood - September 1, 1989
* Mötley Crüe - March 15, 1994
* Generation Swine - June 24, 1997
* New Tattoo - July 11, 2000
* Saints of Los Angeles - June 24, 2008

Singles
* Toast of the Town / Stick to Your Guns - 1981
* Live Wire / Merry-Go-Round - August 16, 1982
* Looks That Kill / Piece of Your Action - January 4, 1984
* Too Young to Fall in Love / Merry-Go-Round - April 30, 1984
* Smokin' in the Boys' Room (Brownsville Station cover with some words rewritten) / Use It or Lose It - June 24, 1985
* Home Sweet Home / Red Hot - September 30, 1985
* Girls, Girls, Girls / Five Years Dead - May 11, 1987
* Wild Side / Dancing on Glass - August 10, 1987
* You're All I Need / All in the Name of... - October 19, 1987
* Dr. Feelgood - August 28, 1989
* Kickstart My Heart - November 20, 1989
* Without You - March 12, 1990
* Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) - May 28, 1990
* Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.) - August 20, 1990
* Primal Scream - 1991
* Anarchy in the U.K. (The Sex Pistols cover) - 1991
* Hooligan's Holiday - 1994
* Misunderstood - 1994
* Smoke the Sky - 1994
* Afraid - 1997
* Beauty - 1997
* Glitter - 1997
* Bitter Pill - 1998
* Enslaved - 1999
* Teaser - 1999
* Hell on High Heels - 2000
* Treat Me Like the Dog I Am - 2000
* If I Die Tomorrow - 2005
* Sick Love Song - 2005
* Saints of Los Angeles - 2008
* Mutherfucker of the Year - 2008

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