Podcast #213: Holly

Rags up and talks to one of our favorite artists, the man, the myth, the legend: Chip Z'nuff.It's that time of year, to bail John out of the drunk tank get our lists together, check them twice, and bring you all the annual Kicks and Kisses of 2016. Join the lads as they take you through the best and worst of this year in hard rock and heavy metal. HORNS UP!

And stick around for a great interview with the one and only Chip Z'Nuff of Enuff Z'Nuff who gabs with us about the band, their new album, and their 2017 tour plans. We can hardly wait.

NOTE: While normally there's a beer section to this best/worst commentary, we've decided to put that off to our New Year's show - especially since we get to go to The Hay Merchant for a visit with Josh Stewart of the local Interbrews podcast for some suds talk, savvy?

Video of the show: Pornograffiti Live 25 / Metal Meltdown - Extreme

Beer of the Show: Chocolate Hazelnut Porter (Heretic Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 4.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"Heretic has made one beautifully balanced porter with subtle chocolate and hazelnut notes that warm very well."

2nd Beer of the Show: Jolly Russian (O'Dell Brewing Co.)
	Appearance: 4.0 Aroma: 4.0 Palate: 4.0 Taste: 4.0 Overall: 4.0	"O'Dell does a damn fine job with their barrel-aged series, and this complex but balanced stout is amazing."

Featured Tracks: Tracy G - Jingle Bells; Extreme - He-Man Woman Hater; Tracy G - What Child Is This?; We Wish You A Metal Christmas - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer; Devin Townsend - Stars; Y&T - Open Fire; Last In Line - Devil; Product Of Hate - Blood-Coated Concrete; Mystic Prophecy - War Brigade; Dynazty - I Want To Live Forever; Steve N Seagulls - In Bloom; Pretty Maids - Face The World; Tyketto - Kick Like A Mule; Enuff Z'Nuff - Baby Loves You, Dog On a Bone, One More Hit, Runaway, & Finger on the Trigger

- Genghis is NOT happy about whom we've lost this year...

Podcast #213: Holly

Microwave Massacre (BluRay)

Arrow has just released another lost gem.  Microwave Massacre came out in 1983, but was not seen by many.  It was billed as the worst horror film of all time.  I'm not sure how it got this description, because I thought it was hilarious.  It is not as much of a horror film as it is a black comedy.  It is one of the those lost B-rated gems from the early 80's, that just got lost in the shuffle, due to the explosion of the genre.  The early 80's birthed some of the the most classic horror films or all time, and unfortunely, some films got cast aside. 

Microwave Massacre is about a construction worker named Donald who is in search of normal food.  His wife is hellbent on cooking him gourmet meals, but he would be happy with just a bologna and cheese sandwich.  Well after a day of heavy drinking, Donald comes home and looses it on his wife and ends up offing her.  Not sure what to do after the murder, he decides to cut her up and put her in the freezer to hide the evidence.  Once Donald has disposed of her remains, he get hungry and mistakenly eats part of his wife, and likes it.  Yep, Donald has turned in to a cannibal and goes on a killing spree to maintain his new diet.  This one was fun, but not scary at all.  A perfect bowl of popcorn and a beer movie.

Bottom Line: A campy black comedy full of bad acting and special effects, but just kooky enough to keep you entertained.

-Ragman has abstained from using the microwave.

Podcast #212: Line

Check out ol' Johnny over there. Suns out, guns out.Time for another An Evening With... as the boys bring in one of their favorite vocalists, Johnny Gioeli from Hardline.  Johnny chats it up with the guys covering the spectrum of his massive career. Get the skinny on Hardline's latest release Human Nature, as well as some possible dates with the original line up to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of Double Eclipse.  Johnny also touches on his work with Axel Rudi Pell as well as his upcoming solo album. You can't miss this show because it's chock full of information you need to know.

Featured Tracks: Hot Cherie, Trapped in Muddy Waters, United We Stand, Where Will We Go From Here, Hands of Time.

- Ragman can't wait to see Neal with Hardline again. This will be epic!

Pordcast #212: Line

Podcast #211: Buff

Rags talks to none other than Tom Englund and Henrik Denhage of Evergrey and we all DRINK.The lads ventured out the weekend after Thanksgiving for a special event at their beloved local Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company and thought you might want to hear what went on. As you know, Genghis & Ragman always talk hard rock and metal while they drink beer and BuffBrew's Friendsgiving 2016 event was no different. So, enjoy some libation while the boys jabber, eh?

Later, Rags chats it up with Tom Englund and Henrik Danhage of one of his favorite European metal bands of all time, Evergrey, in an interview he did earlier this fall. Tom and Henrik discuss the new album, The Storm Within, and subsequent tour plans. HORNS UP!

NOTE: McCheese wanted us to remind you all that you should drink responsibly. To which we replied "DUH!"

Featured Tracks: Nitrogods - At Least I'm Drunk; Mr. Big - Merciless; Gama Bomb - Drinkers Inc.; AC/DC - Have A Drink On Me; Honky - Snorting Whiskey, Drinking Cocaine; Evergrey - More Than Ever, In Orbit, Someday, Distance, Passing Through, and The Masterplan

- Genghis is now getting his beer trading on (got some white whales to find)...

Podcast #211: Buff

ARW: An Evening Of Yes Music And More

"One down, one to go. Another town and one more show."

I remember when I first heard Owner Of A Lonely Heart and thinking "This is Yes? I like it!", which isn't to say I didn't already like Yes before that. But, it heralded a new chapter in the history of the venerable progressive rock band. That change was largely the result of adding South African guitarist Trevor Rabin to the roster and what became the spontaneous reformation of the band. And while Trevor may have been reluctant to do exactly that, his input helped to make for one of the band's most successful eras - if not the most. The celebration of that era was the setting for the ARW: An Evening Of Yes Music And More show I had the pleasure of seeing at San Antonio's historic Majestic Theatre recently.

I won't bore you with the theatre's history (check it out here, if you like), but the beautiful venue was the perfect setting for the evening's event, which started with me realizing that Jackie Earle Haley was briefly behind me in line for beer. The venue's baroque decor provided a certain sophistication to compliment the simplicity of the band's art deco backdrop lit in soft pastels, and I spent every spare moment admiring its charm.

After a symphonic overture, the band hit with Cinema, the Grammy-winning namesake of the nascent band that eventually became the reformed Yes in the 90s. This was a good start to things, but where I really perked up was for one of my favorites from 90125, the bluesy, dirty guitar-driven Hold On. One would assume that Chris Squire missing from the vocal mix would be an issue, but bassist Lee Pomeroy did a good job of making up for it. This show was particularly poignant for me since I never got to see Yes before now and I miss Chris Squire keenly as one of the icons of bass guitar. RIP, Chris.

The mix of old Yes songs was much approved by the audience. Classics like I've Seen All Good People, And You And I, and Long Distance Runaround (one of my all time favorites) made for wonderful connections between the Rabin-era and older material, prefaced by the anecdotal musings of the thoroughly affable Jon Anderson.

Near the end of the evening, Owner Of A Lonely Heart - the band's only number one hit in America - was naturally well-received including some of Trevor's most impressive soloing (and he hasn't lost a note in over 30 years, let me tell you), followed by the inevitable encore with the classic Roundabout to end the proceedings perfectly. This was an amazing show, plain and simple, and I was thrilled to see the band in such a beautiful venue for the first and only time. Bravo, gentlemen!

- Genghis would love to see a Blu-Ray release of this tour...