It's not too soon to be thinking about your summer vacation.  And if you're a Heavy Metal fan, Rocklahoma is the ideal destination for you!  The four day hot rockin', guitar lickin', in-your-face-over-90-bands rock'n'roll festival takes place July 10-14 in Pryor, OK at the Catch The Fever Music Festivals venue.  Three huge stages and some of the biggest names in rock'n'roll!  We will dedicate the next four months to spotlighting the main stage bands, as well as throwing in a few blurbs about some aspiring up-and-coming bands that we've stumbled across over the years.  In only it's sophomore year, Rocklahoma has blown up into THEE major summer concert event, and attracting major national acts like Bret Michaels of Poison and Sebastian Bach formerly of Skid Row.  Also prompting bands to reunite for the event like Jani Lane and Warrant, Triumph and Pretty Boy Floyd.  Better still, driving some artists out of retirement like Lita Ford, who hasn't performed in 15 years!!!  The majority of the line up has been announced (CLICK HERE), but there is stilL room for a few more big names, so stay tuned, and we'll keep you up to date!

HOUSE OF LORDS

Formed by Gregg Giuffria and originally called Giuffria, the original line up consisted of Giuffria(keyboards), David Glen Eisley(lead vocals), Chuck Wright(bass), Lanny Cordola(guitar), and Ken Mary(drums).  They were signed by Gene Simmons to Simmons Records, and in true demon form, he convinced the band to change their name to House Of Lords and fire their lead singer.  James Christian replaced Eisley, and they released their debut, self-titled album in 1988.  The album was met by critical acclaim, and spawned one major hit, "I Wanna Be Loved."  In 1989 they toured with Cheap Trick and opened for the Scorpions.  In 1990 guitarist Lanny Cordola left the band and was replaced by Michael Guy.  Though Guy is credited with the guitar work on their second release Sahara (1990), significant contributions were made by Doug Aldrich, as well as Rick Nielson, Chris Impeliterri, Mandy Meyer, David Glen Eisley, Robin Zander, Mike Tramp, Steve Plunkett and Ron Keel.  The 1992 release Demons Down, featured a new line up including original members Christian and Giuffria, with Dennis Chick(guitar), Sean McNabb(bass), and Tommy Aldridge(drums).  But the band dissolved shortly after the release.  In 2004, The Power And The Myth was released with the reformation of original members Cordola, Wright, Mary and Christian.  Giuffria pulled out before recording and keyboard work was done by Derek Sherinian, Allan Okuye, Sven Martin and Ricky Phillips.   Current line up: James Christian(lead vocals), Gregg  Giuffria(keyboards), Jeff Kent(bass & keyboards), Jimi Bell(guitar) and B.J. Zampa(drums)

VAIN

Vain was formed in the San Francisco Bay area during the last wave of the Glam Metal era in 1986 by vocalist Davy Vain, and included Jaime Scott and Danny West on guitars, Ashley Mitchell on bass and Tom Rickard on drums.  They were signed by Island Records and released their debut album, No Respect, in 1989.  They supported the album with a tour opening for Skid Row.   Unfortunately the record label collapsed before they could release their second studio album, All Those Strangers, and West and Rickard left the band.  In 1993 the original line up reunited, minus Rickard, who was replaced by Louie Senor, and released(in Japan only) Move On It and Fade.  In 2005 No Respect was re-released by Gott Discs, as well as a new album On The Line, which received high critical acclaim following their British tour. 

ENUFF Z'NUFF

In the Chicago suburb of Blue Island, IL, in 1984, Chip Z'Nuff(bass & vocals)and Donnie Vie,(lead vocals, guitar & keyboards) formed Enuff Z'Nuff, based on influences from The Beatles to Queen and Cheap Trick to Elvis Costello.  By 1989 they released their self-titled debut album and were joined by Derek Frigo(guitar) and Vikki Foxx(drums).  The album spawned two hits, "New Thing" and "Fly High Michelle" which got heavy air play on MTV.  Their follow up album Strength (1991) was met with strong reviews and landed them an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, but did not sell as well as the first album.  The band soon filed bankruptcy and but was picked up by Arista Records and in 1993 released Animals With Human Intelligence.  Though a critical success, it failed commercially and  Foxx left to join Vince Neil's solo band.  He was replaced by Ricky Parent.  After being dropped by Arista, Frigo left the band and Johnny Monaco became the new guitarist.  They continued to tour and record under several indie labels, then in 2002 Vie left to pursue a solo career.  In 2004, after a long history of substance abuse, former guitarist Derek Frigo passed away.  Tragedy struck the band again in 2007 when Ricky Parent lost a long battle with cancer.  Chip and Donnie, after being reunited to shoot a short-lived VH1 reality show pilot in 2007, put their heads together and began recording the 13 Enuff Z'Nuff studio album, Lost In Vegas.  As of yet there is no release date yet.

JET BOY

Heavily influenced by the Glam Band Hanoi Rocks, Jet Boy was formed in San Francisco in 1984, as a fusion of punk, heavy metal and blues.  The original line up included Mickey Finn(vocals), Fernie Rod(guitar), Billy Rowe(guitar), Ron Tostenson(drums) and Todd Crew(bass).  The band re-located to LA and began playing gigs on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, and became friendly with several other up-and-coming LA scene bands, as well as catching the attention of many music executives.  They were signed by Elektra in 1986.  Not long into the studio sessions, Crew was asked to leave the band due to his out-of-control partying and erratic behavior which led to poor performance.  He was replaced by former Hanoi Rocks bassist Sam Yaffa.  While adding the final touches to the album, the band got the call that Crew had died of a drug overdose.  He was 21.  Devastated by Crew's death, the band suffered another blow when just weeks before the scheduled release of their debut album, Feel The Shake, Elektra dropped the band, and their West Coast offices dissolved.  It wasn't long before MCA snagged them up, and after a lengthy legal battle with Elektra, MCA bought the album, which made it to 135 on the Billboard chart.  The current line up consists of founding members Rod, Rowe and Finn, with Jeff Moscone(drums) and Michael Butler(bass).

L.A. GUNS

Since we just dedicated our entire newsletter to our buddies L.A. Guns in December(in case you missed it, click on Dec under the archives) I'll just get you up to date on what's going on with them now.  They are currently in Canada recording a new album, Pretty In Black.  Unfortunately, the band had to cancel some of their South American dates at the doctors recommendation to preserve Paul Black's voice for recording.  However, if you are in the area, they will performing one show in Myrtle Beach on May 14, to help us celebrate our 3rd Anniversary!  It's a free show in Celebrity Square at Broadway At The Beach, and there will be CAKE!!

SEBASTIAN BACH

Born Sebastian Philip Bierk in Freeport, Bahamas, Bach was raised in Peterborough, Ontario.  He is married to Maria Bierk, and has two children, London and Paris.  He joined Skid Row in 1987 and enjoyed commercial success with such hits as "18 & Life", "I Remember You", and one of Metal's most popular anthems, "Youth Gone Wild".  Bach left the band in 1996 and went on to dabble in several different entertainment fields including Broadway, (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jekyll& Hyde, Jesus Christ Superstar), Television(Gilmore Girls, Trailer Park Boys), and Reality TV(Super Group, Celebrity Duets, Celebrity Rap Superstars).  He still continues to tour, and will be on the road this year with Poison.

BRET MICHAELS

Born Bret Michael Sychak on March 15, 1963, and raised in Pennsylvania, Michaels has faced some adversity along with his huge commercial success.  An insulin-dependant diabetic since the age of 6, Michaels was also involved in a near-fatal car crash in 1994.  As the front band for the mega-glam band Poison, he has sold 25 million records and produced 15 top 40 singles.  He has written and produced music for an array of artists including Stevie Nicks.  In the mid 90s, Michaels teamed up with Charlie Sheen to form Sheen/Michaels Entertainment, a film production company.  Michaels wrote, scored, directed, produced and starred in A Letter From Death Row, a dark story of a death row inmate.  He has appeared on television shows including "Yes, Dear", "Martial Law", "The Chris Isaak Show", and has co-hosted "Access:Hollywood".  Michaels was a judge on the first season of "Nashville Star", and in addition to his movie soundtrack for Death Row, he released two solo albums, Songs Of Life (2003) and Freedom Of Sound (2005).  His latest endeavor, the reality TV show documenting his quest to find the "love of his life", Rock Of Love with Bret Michaels was the #1 show on VH1, and led to a season two, when his quest came up short.  Michaels has two daughters, Raine Elizabeth and Jorja Bleu.   He continues to tour with his solo band as well as with Poison.