Well, I’ve got to say, it was an effort to get moving early after our bear encounter early that morning, but I powered through and enjoyed helping with a much slower VIP line for early entry rockers. It seemed that the majority of the crowd had arrived early on Friday to pick up their swag while some were there to attend a rockstar paint class or to watch the chainsaw carver (and no, we aren’t talking about Jesse James Dupree…that was on Sunday).
VIPs were treated to early entry to the lower level stages as Stone Whiskey took to the stage while Cheri Loope could be found performing on the Terrace soon after. Stone Whiskey is an American hard rock band based out of North Carolina that only recently came on our radar as part of the festival. The five-piece group released Rebels of the Sun on Kivel Records with producer Anthony Focx, who stamp can be found on releases from Buckcherry, Night Ranger, Aerosmith, and more. They performed twice but sadly we missed them both times!
Most photographers had schedules that overlapped their performance as media was invited to listen in on a keynote speech from Mark Weiss who was hosting a photography workshop that afternoon. After taking in some wisdom from the author of the Decade that Rocked, we started another fabulous day of music while those who were taking his class assisted with recreating some of Ozzy Osbourne’s most iconic photos with “Little Ozzy” a former MiniKISS member named Lin who has performed as his alter-ego Little Ozzy on America’s Got Talent and got the chance to join credentialed media in the pit to shoot some of the action that day.
Luckily, we did arrive downstairs in time to catch another Kievel recording artist, No Love Lost, who were new to us as well. Just as with our Monsters of Rock Cruises, these festivals always offer up the opportunity to check out new bands in the genre, and we have heard nothing but rave reviews following each of those early-day performances from the new additions to the “family”.
The festival also brought some of the hidden gems from the late eighties and early nineties to the main stage like Babylon AD, Dangerous Toys, and Cold Sweat in addition to arena rock icons like Quiet Riot and Joan Jett and classic rock favorites like Foghat and 38 Special. It was quite an amazing showcase of rock music (and that was just a sampling of the first day’s line-up)!
Babylon AD joined the festival in support of their new album Rome Wasn’t Built in A Day which was released earlier this year on Perris records. The current line-up still includes frontman Derek Davis and guitarists and songwriters Ron Freschi and John Matthews, who started playing together back in high school. They are now joined by Craig Pepe on bass and Dylan Soto on drums. Ironically, we met Dylan on the mountain two years ago when he was playing drums in the same room with The Hot Summers. These guys are sounding better than ever. It was so great to hear songs like “So Savage the Heart” and “Bang Go the Bells” live again, and were a notable highlight even for those who had never seen them live before. Want to learn more about the band’s history, we’ve got an interview with Derek in our archives from the late 1990s that followed the band’s hiatus during the grunge era!
We were also excited to see our friends from Dangerous Toys hit the stage in Gaitlinburg again. It really doesn’t feel like a monster event without the guys that brought us “Scared,” does it! They delivered all of our favorites along with one unreleased song called “Hold Your Horses” while taking full advantage of the catwalk as they visited with their fans, who arrived early to secure a spot.
In fact, this seemed to be the point in the festival where people started posturing for their spot for the next band as they chose their favorites throughout the day. You see, if someone really wanted a good spot in the VIP area or in the front of the general admission seats, they would go there while the band was still playing on the neighboring stage. Given that the two VIP areas connected, the transition was simple, and it still left them with a decent vantage point for the current show, albeit at an angle.
This continuous VIP area gave fans their best shot of being in the front for their “must see” bands and allowed people to enter from the side of the empty stage when bottlenecks would occur on the busy side (but it was a long walk around to get there and I for one got my steps in every day!).
Fans arrived early for another fan favorite and return guests on the mountain, Cold Sweat. The band was started by guitarist Marc Ferrari after departing KEEL but has come full circle with a new release on Ron Keel’s RFK label entitled Unburied Alive which features a collection of unreleased studio cuts. Cold Sweat had recently got the attention of many at the M3 Rock Festival and continues to gain new fans with as the word spreads about how great this band is live!
It is no secret that Quiet Riot is a favorite of ours here, and it is rare that Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo doesn’t steal my attention. In fact, I recently saw photos of Rudy from forty years ago and today side by side, and his performances now are just as physical as they were back then, which is nothing short of amazing. So, I prepared in advance to secure a vantage point where I could capture his energy along with one of frontman Jizzy Pearl’s high kicks at the start of the show. The momentum didn’t stop there as Rudy played off of Johnny Kelly’s hard hitting drums and guitarist Alex Grossi and Rudy Sarzo could be found trading off spaces on the big stage in addition to working the catwalk. We were exhausted just watching and ready for a repreve when Anthony took the stage for an acoustic set next door.
As a planned bonus to the band’s full set on Friday at the pre-party, Anthony Corder of Tora Tora took to the stage acoustic for a solo set. And we were able to squeeze in a some special moments as well as a bit of the Punchlines & Backlines Comedy Show featuring Vixen’s Britt Lightning on the Terrace before our friends from Slaughter hit the stage soon after. But those visits meant that we broke one of our own rules and missed the second Soto & Bieler show. We aren’t sure of the details but we know that Jason brought out the overalls. So, we suspect that things got a little frisky.
We had some time to catch up with our friends from Slaughter that day as well as some of their friends and fans, and got to reminiscing about how long we’ve been part of the Slaughter family. Naturally I have the photos to prove it. In those snapshots one can easily see how muchwe’ve all grown in the past few decades and how some things have evolved. For example, guitarist Jeff Blando’s guitar has had that checkerboard design for as long as I can remember, but it actually hasn’t. I have shots of that blonde finish before the signature design was applied, and before Jeff straightened and cut his hair too!
I’m thankful to have the music of Slaughter in my life and cherish every time I catch these guys live. From “The Wild Life” to “Mad About You” to the touching tribute during “Fly to the Angels,” we love every minute as Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum play off each other’s energy and Jordan Cannata entertains us on the drums like the “animal” he is.
As we recognize recent losses like Great White’s Jack Russell (who they’d mentioned that evening). It reminds us that we need to hold onto (and document) the memories we make in our everyday, because one day those photographs and the music is all that we will have left. I point this out, because, I was reminded of another loss during the festival when I discovered that they had signed set lists at the “Yard Sale” booth in the vendor hall. I certainly shed a few tears when I was shown a set list signed by our friend James Kottak from Kingdom Come, and will cherish that momento along with other gifts I’ve collected from the band. I didn’t have time to shop elsewhere, but there was quite the offering of rock ‘n roll merch in that hallway!
We’d been running all day and hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but knew we couldn’t miss the dueling pianos with Will Doughty from Poison and Tyson Leslie from Vixen. Two of the most talented artists on the mountain could be found trading off vocals and introducing special versions of some of our favorite songs. Having just seen John Waite, I was blown away by Will’s take on his classic ballad, and it was surreal to learn that the duo’s performance of “Honesty” on the Monsters of Rock Cruise was what earned Will the gig with Stryper on their recent acoustic tour after Oz Fox had taken time off for his health.
We’ve seen Tyson perform at dueling piano shows in Nashville and even here at home in Pittsburgh, but this was by far his best show yet! We even got to hear his origins story and are thrilled to call such a talented and determined artist a friend. This was certainly not Tyson’s only show on the mountain either. He performed with Nerd Halen later that evening as well as Vixen the following day and coordinated an awesome All-start jam that closed out the festival and featured his own band Hand Over Face. And, I’m likely forgetting something in that list!
As the aforementioned Foghat, 38 Special and Joan Jett all made epic appearances that evening, I found myself wavering and in need of a quick meal. Our favorite spot Cherokee Grill was sounding like the best option as the more touristy restaurants were overflowing with people. But, as we were trying to chase down.a piece of chicken, we never could have imagined we’d find ourselves playing an unwelcome game of ‘chicken’ with a beasoon after turning the corner from the convention center! I was confident that the bears didn’t care about people as this one only had eyes for the dumpster, but I was still a bit overstimulated as we entered the restaurant.
We returned in time to catch some of Joan Jett’s set which was unique as that it made some departures from her typical playlist. Then, we headed upstairs like many for the first of two Bad Marriage band shows. These guys have worked hard to gain a dedicated fanbase, and stepped things up a notch to include a third guitarist, Tommy Skeoch (formerly of Tesla), since they last visited the mountain. And, they can soon be found supporting Adrian Vandenberg (Whitesnake) on tour this winter.
Their latest single is “The Pennyman” but the song that I couldn’t seem to get out of my head was “Old School Stereo,” which thankfully they performed again the next day!
That morning we learned that the after party which was originally slated as a VIP only event, had been opened up to general admission as well. You see, Nerd Halen was a late addition to the festival and when they signed on to the bill, the VIP tickets were already sold out. So to make things fair for their fans, everyone was able to fill in behind the VIP crowd until they reached capacity. We were thankful that guitarist Caleb Rapoport gave us the scoop that morning, because we were more than happy to spread the word.
We love the humor of frontman and comedian Hal Sparks, and loved it even more that they represented all eras of Van Halen (yes,even the Gary Cherone days). And, as an added bonus, Jeff Scott Soto got all nerded out and joined the band for “Beautiful Girls.”
Stay tuned for a recap from the second and final day of the festival which featured Tesla, Jackyl, and more. And, check out our coverage from the pre-party.
Coverage by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen on 9/14/2024. All event photos © Kara Uhrlen and The Pure Rock Shop.
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