Leave it up to male-dominated 80s rock'n roll bands to throw me into a long phase of nostalgia.
Faster Pussycat is on a "Dirty30" tour to celebrate thirty years of rock'n roll - since the release of their first album.
I discovered the band when I was at a young, impressionable age of thirteen. It was the summer of '89, and those were some of the best days of my life.
Aside all the fun things a teenager does in the warm summer months, I also spent too much time watching way too many videos on MTV, and I would stay up late on Saturday nights watching Headbangers Ball. I also wrote a lot of stories in my notebooks, considering I couldn't play an instrument. When school started that fall, I found out all of my seventh-grade classmates were obsessed with the New Kids on the Block, and I was the only one who knew about the bad boys of Hollywood: Faster Pussycat and LA Guns.
Fast forward to 2016.
When I saw that Faster Pussycat was playing an hour south of where I work on a Friday, and in New York with LA Guns the next day, I decided it was time to go on a weekend adventure.
As I planned my trip, I discovered Stafford, Connecticut is near a small town where a long lost friend once lived. In my day, we didn't have Twitter or Facebook or blogs. We had magazines and pen pals that also shared a passion for hard rock music. And I had a lot of pen pals during the years of '89-'92, but I got close to only one. And as I looked for a place to stay near Stafford Palace Theater, I wondered if she was still living in town. How cool would it be that I reconnect with a friend I haven't seen in twenty-six years- at a Faster Pussycat concert of all places?
The letters she and I wrote to each other are secrets that won't be revealed on the internet, but we wrote stories of how much we loved Taime Downe, and Greg Steele, Phil Lewis and Kelly Nickels (and several others). We talked about the concerts we went to, and how one day, we'd be in a band together. We even met Bret Michaels together when we saw Poison and Slaughter in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Last month wasn't the first time I looked for her, except this time I had really hoped I'd find her before the show.
Friday night arrived and I found my way to the secluded town of Stafford- without any hint of where my friend lived. The theater is an old looking, sleazy spot that's a perfect set up for the band. It was also easy to score good shots of the band from many different angles.
Taime Downe hit the stage like the bad ass he always is and he sounded incredible. Sure he's not the bouncy, boisterous guy he was the first time I saw him perform in 1990. His vocals are spot on raunchy - and I stopped and stood still staring, awestruck. How could a man his age who smokes as much as does sound impeccable? Talent. He's purely a talented musician deserving more credit than he's given.
The band put on a wild performance, as they usually do and I was colored impressed.
The most energetic man in the band is Ace Von Johnson, his raunchy style, and raw vocals are simply amazing. He even performed a punk rock song from his favorite band, Rose by The Damned.
Though the crowd was full of energy and loving every minute of the band's performance, the show ended without an encore.The fans seemed fine with that- but I was left wanting more.
Stay tuned for Part Two: LA Guns and Faster Pussycat Invade Amityville!
Faster Pussycat is on a "Dirty30" tour to celebrate thirty years of rock'n roll - since the release of their first album.
I discovered the band when I was at a young, impressionable age of thirteen. It was the summer of '89, and those were some of the best days of my life.
Aside all the fun things a teenager does in the warm summer months, I also spent too much time watching way too many videos on MTV, and I would stay up late on Saturday nights watching Headbangers Ball. I also wrote a lot of stories in my notebooks, considering I couldn't play an instrument. When school started that fall, I found out all of my seventh-grade classmates were obsessed with the New Kids on the Block, and I was the only one who knew about the bad boys of Hollywood: Faster Pussycat and LA Guns.
Fast forward to 2016.
When I saw that Faster Pussycat was playing an hour south of where I work on a Friday, and in New York with LA Guns the next day, I decided it was time to go on a weekend adventure.
As I planned my trip, I discovered Stafford, Connecticut is near a small town where a long lost friend once lived. In my day, we didn't have Twitter or Facebook or blogs. We had magazines and pen pals that also shared a passion for hard rock music. And I had a lot of pen pals during the years of '89-'92, but I got close to only one. And as I looked for a place to stay near Stafford Palace Theater, I wondered if she was still living in town. How cool would it be that I reconnect with a friend I haven't seen in twenty-six years- at a Faster Pussycat concert of all places?
The letters she and I wrote to each other are secrets that won't be revealed on the internet, but we wrote stories of how much we loved Taime Downe, and Greg Steele, Phil Lewis and Kelly Nickels (and several others). We talked about the concerts we went to, and how one day, we'd be in a band together. We even met Bret Michaels together when we saw Poison and Slaughter in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Last month wasn't the first time I looked for her, except this time I had really hoped I'd find her before the show.
Friday night arrived and I found my way to the secluded town of Stafford- without any hint of where my friend lived. The theater is an old looking, sleazy spot that's a perfect set up for the band. It was also easy to score good shots of the band from many different angles.
Taime Downe hit the stage like the bad ass he always is and he sounded incredible. Sure he's not the bouncy, boisterous guy he was the first time I saw him perform in 1990. His vocals are spot on raunchy - and I stopped and stood still staring, awestruck. How could a man his age who smokes as much as does sound impeccable? Talent. He's purely a talented musician deserving more credit than he's given.
The band put on a wild performance, as they usually do and I was colored impressed.
The most energetic man in the band is Ace Von Johnson, his raunchy style, and raw vocals are simply amazing. He even performed a punk rock song from his favorite band, Rose by The Damned.
Though the crowd was full of energy and loving every minute of the band's performance, the show ended without an encore.The fans seemed fine with that- but I was left wanting more.
Stay tuned for Part Two: LA Guns and Faster Pussycat Invade Amityville!
The memories of true rock! Good story heading down memory lane. Ok pictures Gen but gotta keep practicing. I bet Faster Pussycats and LA Guns were awesome!!! Keep working on pictures
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