After reading below 'who is Dave Reynolds', can anyone look in the Where Are They Now file and locate Derek Oliver, the man who pointed me towards the lovely word of AOR - via Wimpwire in Kerrang!!! His 'trouser-splitting' prose is much missed. Cheers Scott.http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3263#msg-3263Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:55:53 +1000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3482#msg-3482 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3482#msg-3482
I'm really enjoying this lil' exchange maself... :-)





try to figure out what the next cutting edge aggro rock trend will be. Rap metal? Stoner rap?

LOL! I'm picturing Kyuss reforming with Dr. Dre on vocals!!!




Bizarre costume metal?

ROTFLMAO! That's too funny!





Typically and Inevitably that trend usually comes from some completely left field source, one that catches most record co. folk completely on the hop. Look at Marilyn Manson...who saw that one coming?

You are right about those trends hitting out of left field. I remember hearing the first Manson album and going, 'God, who signed this - there are NO songs!' Of course, if you look as over the top as MM did then, perfect timing too after the anti-rock star low key grunge/alterna look phase, you don't need songs in a country like America where, thanks to MTV, it's all about image, image and image. And if it then turns out you do need at least A song after all, there's always Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart who know how to write those darn things.






Re the Toilet's...not a day goes by when I don't have the same thoughts. What will folk outside of New York, Lost Angeles and London make of such a flamboyant bunch of lower East Village reprobates? I always come back to the same conclusion though...who'd had thought Kiss or Twisted Sister would have made the grade...and if they won the day then anythings possible.

Well, I will say that Kiss or Twisted Sister are better names than Toilet Boys - the latter just really leaves nothing to the imagination or may even give people the wrong impression. It's always hard to figure out what ultimately goes in terms of flamboyance and weirdness. I mean, when I first heard System Of A Down I said to myself 'who in hell outside of Yerevan, L.A. and maybe New York can relate to a band that sounds like Armenian folk meets Korn via manic polka beats, with a singer who looks like he's from your average Hizbollah death squad and whose vocal style is equal parts minaret singer and pissed off hardcore screamer?' Next thing you know they have a gold record and Ozzy takes them out on the road any chance he gets.





One things for sure they're flippin' fantastic in concert and if we get the album right I reckon the world might just be ready for a good dollop of smoke bombs, rocket firing guitars and fire breathing 6' 6" wildmen playing souped up eighties rock . Great bunch of guys too...don't be fooled by the Tatoo's and Johnny Thunders leather pants...

That does sound like one heck of a live show... tatts and NY Dolls leather is alright with me. If you're gonna be all-out rock'n'roll, you might as well be ALL-OUT ROCK'N'ROLL!





Thanks too for the props about Gwin Spencer....she played me some stuff over the telephone and the solo's sounded like Billy Gibbons had plugged into a nuclear power station! She's got one song 'Addicted to The Motion' that's an all time rock classic...when I get a tape I'll do an MP3 and let you hear it.

I'm looking forward to that - thanx for the offer.

]]> John Q NoticeboardSun, 23 Jul 2000 05:54:10 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3480#msg-3480 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3480#msg-3480How is the legendary frontman of Derek Oliver's Kroydon?! I think I still have that Jonah Koslen 'Back Tracks' album somewhere! If I send Marlin the Heavy Metal Hound (alive and well and living in retirement in deepest Kent) in to attempt to sniff it out from the Reynoldsian vinyl grotto, do you still need it to add to that ever growing collection you have in your personal Manhatten bank vault?]]> Dave Reynolds NoticeboardSun, 23 Jul 2000 04:52:35 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3449#msg-3449 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3449#msg-3449
As for net radio, I think it's got a long way to go before it really filters into the mainstream and can really have an impact. But hey, any outlets better than nothing right?

Back home in the UK Radio 1's stranglehold on what the youth of the country listen to is the problem and I can't see any alternative other than to by-pass it and take more AOR/rock artists to the independent stations insted. The ones that still play Journey and Boston as classic tracks. But will Sony do ANYTHING to promote Journey in the UK? I don't think so.]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 20:46:38 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3440#msg-3440 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3440#msg-3440 Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 14:16:16 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3439#msg-3439 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3439#msg-3439Re the Toilet's...not a day goes by when I don't have the same thoughts. What will folk outside of New York, Lost Angeles and London make of such a flamboyant bunch of lower East Village reprobates? I always come back to the same conclusion though...who'd had thought Kiss or Twisted Sister would have made the grade...and if they won the day then anythings possible. One things for sure they're flippin' fantastic in concert and if we get the album right I reckon the world might just be ready for a good dollop of smoke bombs, rocket firing guitars and fire breathing 6' 6" wildmen playing souped up eighties rock . Great bunch of guys too...don't be fooled by the Tatoo's and Johnny Thunders leather pants... they're the most hardworking, level headed and decent musicians I've ever worked with.
Thanks too for the props about Gwin Spencer....she played me some stuff over the telephone and the solo's sounded like Billy Gibbons had plugged into a nuclear power station! She's got one song 'Addicted to The Motion' that's an all time rock classic...when I get a tape I'll do an MP3 and let you hear it.
I'm off for a well deserved curry.

]]> Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 14:14:00 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3437#msg-3437 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3437#msg-3437As for the real world I don't think there's a snowballs chance in hell of any media outlet getting behind such a venture...let's face it Celine Dion is about as adventurous as most regular folk will go when it comes to talking about songs with melody and a chorous.
Re John Kalodner and his unsexy Portrait label I totally agree with Q that the man's lost his marbles. The problem for Johnny boy is that the parent company, Sony has eyed his antics with suspicion from the outset...I mean it looks interesting on paper to re-sign these old bands but their fans have grown up and gone on their merry way. Try convincing a rabid Limp Tones fan to 'rock out' to a new Ratt LP and you'll likely get a face full of metal piercings. The word is Sony are probably allowing JK to slowly burry himself so they don't have to pick up his option....or maybe they'll promote him as is usually the case with failing music excecutives.
Ouch!
]]> Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 13:33:05 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3433#msg-3433 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3433#msg-3433Thanks for bothering to post your replies, much appreciated.
'The Hardest Part of The Night is The Night' would surely be a wonderous tune!!!!

My favourite unreleased, in fact unwritten track, is 'Why Can't This Night Go On (Till Tuesday)!!!

If only you could get someone to record them.

Best regards
Scott

PS. Surely some people take this great music of ours too seriously some times!!!]]> Scott W NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 10:27:48 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3432#msg-3432 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3432#msg-3432
And another thing Kalodner IS signing some excellent new bands as well, like MARS ELECTRIC and NEVE but he doesn't seem to be promoting them! What's going on?]]> Surfpunk NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 10:21:44 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3424#msg-3424 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3424#msg-3424
As for trying to bring in more 'lighter fare' at Roadrunner - I don't think that'll ever fly. RR when everything is said and done is a metal label, albeit a cutting edge one, and erasing that tag - or at least chaging certain people's perception of what the company stands for - will be hard if not impossible to do. I have not heard the Toilet Boys, but somehow I really doubt they'll amount to much with a name like that, regardless of how amazing the songs are. Sounds like a novelty act to me and novelty only gets you so far. Of course, in the here today, gone later today world of the music biz that doesn't seem to matter much anymore.

Wow, Susan Powell joined the Afghan Wigs - that's really sad. Talk about mega talent meeting...uh... lesser talent. Isn't Eric Gales in need of a female singer...? ;-) If not, he should be... Hopefully Gwin's new project will actually surface - great guitar player.

I hope Derek S. doesn't give in to those 'mad' GG fans and tries to recreate something that can't be recreated. There's nothing worse than a great band reforming, promising the moon, and then falling flat on their faces and turning into a joke. Kalodner certainly is mental enough to sign something like that given his 'stellar' track record at Portrait (he really should've called it something else; the works of Balance, Aldo Nova, Orphan, Orion etc. really deserve better than to be lumped in with 'Ratt' and 'Brave New World'...). Can't wait to read about JK's next exploit, and yes, such tomfoolery should be outlawed. Today!]]> John Q NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 08:52:21 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3423#msg-3423 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3423#msg-3423As for Roadrunner itself I've been bringing some lighter, shall we say more cerebal, fare in here for about a year but so far nothings shaking which is something of a disapointment but that's life and it has to be lived. Still the mandate is alive for change and who knows what might happen when the Toilet Boys actually get their record made and shoot lazer beams sky high. I know one thing, it'll be a hoot if nothing else.
Hey nice shout for the Mother Station...one of my all time greatest disapointments in what one might term my 'professional' career. Hugely talented bunch with one of the globes greatest, if anonymous, vocalists- Susan Powell (she went on to join 'alt' favourites Afghan Wigs!) whilst superstar guitar slinger Gwin Spencer moved into TV work (playing guitar on celebrity talk shows) although she's got a new project in the pipeline which might see her receive the star like attention she deserves.
Meanwhile Derek Shulman continues to fend off offers by 'mad' (and they don't come much madder) Gentle Giant fans to reform and cut some new tracks...sad. Very sad. Hey, maybe John Kalodner could sign them to Portrait? Someone told me he's recently signed something even more ludicrous....but I can't for the life of me remember. Is'nt there a law against such stupid tomfollery?




]]> Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 08:02:45 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3422#msg-3422 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3422#msg-3422
Just for the record - I wasn't bagging on you for working at Roadrunner and I'm certainly not accusing you of 'selling out' as it were. Just the thought of you and Monte having a heated discussion about the brilliance of Slipknot and I-Ten, real or imagined, is slightly amusing to me. I was hoping you and Shulman would actually get your label off the ground, but oh well... times have changed and the wheel of time cannot be turned back, which is just as well. Maybe your expertise will come in handy at another label down the line... Hey, if they let Kalodner waste money on the likes of Ratt or the cover band by the same name, someone should really let you sign some bands. Thanks for Pantera, Dream Theater, and the Mother Station - quite enjoy(ed) those. Could've done without Halligan Jr. and For Love Not Lisa.

Compassionately yours,
John Q


]]> John Q NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 06:50:15 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3414#msg-3414 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3414#msg-3414Right in the fact that I am at Roadrunner putting the finishing touches to a couple of albums but wrong to say no eighties connections. One of my new groups happens to be an enormously exciting 'retro' eighties project going under the unlikely handle of the Toilet Boys....very Motley Crue circa 'Too Fast For Love' (hey I even got in David Bryan from Bon Jovi to co-write a couple of toons!). Mostly though I'm dealing in 'Active' rock as the genre spitting Yanks like to term it, which is actually a euphemism for anything that's vaguely current.
Sadly although I'd love to make records with AOR sounding outfits the powers to be would have a blue fit if I brought in a band like Airrace...It was hard enough to get Dream Theater signed and poor old Bob Halligan got a right old kicking from the label just for making a wildly consumate (whoops! there's that old journalistic standby popping up again) album of emensely satisfying, well written songs. I was also heavily involved in the Jamie Kyle record ('The Passionate Kind') and that was not a pleasent experience for Jamie or myself...she got royally f**ked by both the label and her poncy managers....I could go into detail and one day I will.
So Q let's have a little less of the square bashing and a bit more compassion instead.
Beam me up Scotty....
]]> Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 03:12:14 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3410#msg-3410 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3410#msg-3410It's somewhat disconcerting and a tad surealistic to be refferred to as a 'where Are They Now' candidate, in fine Spinal Tap idiom, especially when you've been tolling away like a nutter for the last ten years trying to right wrongs and fight off the evils of the American music business (I fear they are still winning to be blunt). Luckilly I can report that the St Saint St Saint of AOR is still firmly in the sadlle when it comes to prima melodic rock having spent time in the hard as nails grunge rock wilderness before re-defining and re-awakening his first love. The possessor of an even larger record collection than before (thanks to the Yanks penchant for chucking out obscure AOR vinyl which in turn wings it's merry way into flea market boxes at a dollar a pop!) and lashings of grey hair to match, you'll find a resiliant Oliver eager to take on the AOR upstarts at their own game. Hell, he's even been setting fire to the biro during his spare time penning the foundations for a series of books that will commence with 'Double Live!', a warts 'n all homage to lavishly packaged and worshipped live albums issued during the seventies/eighties...obscurities and common ones (there's more than you think!).
Like a wickedly tough-as-nails Oak tree (well, certainly as large as one!) I offer hope to all who spent time besotted by Swedish men dressed in garish jumpsuits sporting rather cumbersome Midi Keyboard racks. Yes, you too can have a life after AOR....all hail Airrace, Alaska and, king of kings, FM (hey I might even get around to issuing that long lost collaboration 'The Hardest Part Of The Night Is The Night'!).
Toodle pip.
]]> Derek Oliver NoticeboardSat, 22 Jul 2000 01:23:31 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3264#msg-3264 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3264#msg-3264 John Q NoticeboardTue, 18 Jul 2000 04:55:33 +1000 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3263#msg-3263 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,3263,3263#msg-3263His 'trouser-splitting' prose is much missed.

Cheers
Scott.]]> Scott Webb NoticeboardTue, 18 Jul 2000 03:50:50 +1000