Rain

Motörhead - Fire, Fire

Iron Maiden - I've Got the Fire

Judas Priest - Rapid Fire

I hear you. Hopefully, that's nothing that will stay with you I injured my back carrying a Marshall combo form the rehearsal space in February 1989. Slope + icy sidewalk + precious (rented) cargo on my right shoulder. Slipped but I managed to avoir any damage to the amp. My back though... I was stuck in bed for days afterwards. And I've had back problems pretty much ever since, although that's probably just one of the reasons. I blame my Bobby Orr-grade knees for most of my hips, back and neck issues. These things are like dominoes. Oddly enough, I ended up buying the exact same amp from a frind of a friend a few years later. My first decent amp. Transistor but it actually sounded very good (from what I remember). That one I eventually had to haul around in for hours in Montreal going from pawnshop to pawnshop when my first wife and I hit a rough patch. I always regretted it. And they gave me $50 for it because the knobs were dirty - something I could have fixed in a minute with a can of air. But we needed to eat. It was one of these.

Yikes! I think it was around $40 back then, and she signed it for my ex and I. Actually, I believe it was supposed to be some sort of paid for meet and greet but we arrived early and me not being accustomed to that sort of thing, I walked right into that closed off section. People always seem to mistake me for someone important, so no one asked, and she was with friends of ours, so it seemed rather informal, and we just hung out with her and got the signed book at no extra cost.

Moving to a different platform seems to have been an incentive to rework some of my old material, maybe because I could no longer just launch Sonar, load the project - and then lose interest in reworking the song within 27 seconds. I've only reworked a few, but I very much enjoyed the process. Some of those things really brought me back. And it was also nice to have better gear to work with. In most cases, I managed not to re-record too many parts. I did add some overdubs here and there, mostly to beef things up. But I did entirely replace some tracks, especially bass (synth) parts. Having access to better gear, better monitors and a better room to work in, I managed to clean things up a bit on the low end, and some things just weren't really working as they were. And in some cases, I've carefully re-recorded the same parts, but made sure that I turned off or at least dialed back the reverb on those synth patches. That's one of the reasons why I was so thankful when Z3t4, Dimension and Rapture were finally ported to Mac. They were my go to synths for those projects. In every instance, the new mix is a lot cleaner and technically better (although I have long since abandonned any pretense of having any talent when it comes to mixing music). In a few cases, I'm actually happier with the new mixes. That's as good as it's going to get with me at the helm. But in some instances, I have to admit that, as mushy and all wrong as the original mix was, there is something to it that I just cannot improve. The new mixes just don't "move" like the original. It is a fascinating process, at any rate.

Judas Priest - Better By You, Better Than Me.

Yup. Him and Paul Stanley are both Jewish. Simmons and his mother immigrated from Israel when he was very young. In one of his books he speaks of the moment when he discovered public libraries in the US. “For the first time in my life, I was in a place where the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich have the same access to all information for free, on a level playing field. Without censorship. Without book burnings by the Nazis. Without being burned at the stake by those with different religious beliefs. Complete freedom and access to all information, art and culture from around the world. I promised myself that I would educate myself and that I would never stop educating myself. It was my responsibility to keep learning." As an immigrant and autodidact, I can appreciate that. Yeah, they still tour - thy're actually on their (allegedly) last tour ever. Although they do rely on playback quite extensively, and Stanley's voice has been busted for over a decade. But they still put on quite an impressive show.

Simmons gets a lot of hate, but I have come to appreciate the man on some level (although he can be a complete ***** too). Who else would close their solo album with such a heartfelt rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" when they're supposed to be "evil incarnate", who but a most defiantly self-affirming and ferociously individualist misfit? Who would take the most uncool stance of openly condemning drugs and alcohol and make no fuss about their own capitalistic ambitions? Even in the world of (manufactured) outsiders and rebels, Simmons is an outcast. He gives no F about what a rock star should say or do. As far as I'm concerned, that's the spirit.

Anthrax with John Bush (Armored Saint). Call me heretic, but I actually prefer him as a singer. Granted the band was not as popular during those years, but that goes for metal altogether in the mid 90's.

Faith No More. No direspect to the late Chuck Mosley, but Mike Patton helped take the band to a whole new level.

Judas Priest - Heading out to the Highway. First song I played live when I returned to the stage after 15 years. Lots of fun.

Soundgarden - Head Down

Dokken - Tooth and Nail

Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls

Yeah, it was called Beck. Seems that Bob Ezrin helped "polish" the song and suggested changing the title. I am inclined to believe that he did more than a little polishing - even without taking into account the orchestration. Especially on that song. I have a feeling it must have been very rudimentary. Anyone who's listened to those Alice Cooper albums he produced and to The Wall can detect just how much Ezrin contributed to Destroyer. And the band admitted that squarely - like the solo for Detroit Rock City is an example. According to Paul Stanley, that's all Ezrin. Another that strikes me a Ezrin-esque is Flaming Youth - it really isn't hard to imagine Alice singing that one...

Hi first wife, yes, and they'd been together since the mid 60's. So many never seen before pics and cool stuff, it's incredible.

Jane Siberry - It Can't Rain All The Time

Canadian Trio galore Rush - Tears

Triumph - Tears in the Rain

Covenant - Like Tears in the Rain

Thanks to this thread, I've been going through one of my KISS phases, and I just remembered that I had a signed copy of this one on the shelf that I got when I played KISS Night in 2016 and some friends introduced us to Lydia. I'm just getting around to reading it. Phenomenal collection of pictures and souvenirs of all kinds. Warmly recommended to anyone interested in the band, especially the early days. (Full disclaimer, I'm really no fan of Peter Criss - I actually have very little respect for him as a person - but this book is still worth it).

Faith No More - Falling to Pieces

Imperative Reaction - As We Fall

Elvis Presley - Bitter They Are, Harder They Fall