Vinni Vincent arrested On Assault Charges

According to TMZ.com, former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent was arrested today on charges of aggravated assault. Vincent (real name Vinnie Cusano) was busted by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department in Tennessee and held on $10,000 bond. He posted bail and was released

Vincent replaced Ace Frehley as the lead guitarist for KISS in 1982 and performed with the band on two studio albums, 1982's, "Creatures Of The Night" and 1983's, "Lick It Up," before quitting in April 1984.

Kiss following the Lick It Up tour, Vincent formed Vinnie Vincent Invasion (also known as VVI), and released two LPs: Vinnie Vincent Invasion (1986) and All Systems Go (1988).

As a solo artist, he has released an EP (Euphoria, 1996, with Robert Fleischman)with Vinnie on bass, vocals and drums. Vinnie also released a collector's CD in 2001 entitled Speedball Jamm which consisted of his own private recordings of the VINNIE VINCENT INVASION jamm sessions recorded during rehearsals in 1986 which included moments of just Vinnie soloing alone. Due to the rarity of the these recordings, Speedball Jamm has now become a high priced collector's item selling in the vicinity of 100.00 on ebay. In 1990 Vinnie Vincent was to release an album entitled "Guitars From Hell" but due to business complications "Guitars From Hell" was never released. To this day, Vincent's inferior sounding bootleg demo tracks from "Guitars From Hell" remain one of the most coveted bootlegs among Vinnie Vincent collectors. It is rumored that the master recordings of "Guitars From Hell" may be available, however it remains unconfirmed. Vincent was also to release a solo album called "Guitarmaggedon" in 1997-1998 which is unconfirmed as to its release date.

Classic Albums: Dokken - Tooth and Nail

Tooth and Nail was the second studio album by Dokken, released in 1984 through Elektra Records. It was the #35 album of 1985 according to Billboard magazine. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA and reached #49 on the Billboard 200 U.S. album chart.

This album was the group's first with bassist Jeff Pilson following Juan Croucier's departure to join Ratt. Associate producer was Roy Thomas Baker, who had produced successful albums for Queen and The Cars and had re-recorded, remixed and re-mastered Mötley Crüe's Too Fast for Love after the album was picked up by Elektra/WEA. It was produced by Tom Werman, known for producing several successful albums for Cheap Trick and the previous year's Shout at the Devil, the Crüe's breakthrough album.

Lead-off single for the album was "Into the Fire". A music video for the song received moderate play on MTV. "Into the Fire" spent eight weeks in the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart from October to December 1984, peaking at #21 and charting for a total of eleven weeks.



Second single, "Just Got Lucky", was somewhat less successful, again supported by a music video while charting on the 50-place Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for seven weeks during January and February 1985 and peaking at #27.

It would be a power ballad that would give the album—and the band—its biggest hit. "Alone Again" spent fourteen weeks on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including two at its peak position of #20. More significantly, the melodic song of heartbreak was aided by strong rotation that spring and summer at MTV and gave the band their first and biggest hit on the Hot 100, where its eleven-week run from May to July 1985 peaked at #64.


Though clearly more an album act than a singles act, Dokken's album sales were tied to the videos for the singles from those albums. Tooth and Nail rose to #71 on The Billboard 200 during the release of "Into the Fire", but fell off the charts for a week before re-entering and rising to #77 during the release of "Just Got Lucky". It was during the run of this single that the album, sliding down the charts after "Just Got Lucky" faded, reversed course and hit its peak of #49. This time, Tooth and Nail would be certified Gold by the RIAA (in August 1985)—the band's first certification—and would linger on the charts for the remainder of the year, aided by a gig opening for the Scorpions. This continued buoying of sales resulted in the unusual circumstance of the album being rated higher on the 1985 year-end charts (#35) than it had actually reached in its chart peak.

The album's three music videos were later featured along with the band's other videos to date on a longform videocassette release, Dokken Unchain the Night, by Elektra/Asylum Records through Elektra Entertainment. That video debuted on Billboard's Top Music Video—Longform chart at #11 in January 1987, peaking at #5 that May. The video collection was certified Gold in April 1987, and Platinum the following April. In 2007 the collection was re-released in the DVD format by Rhino Home Video through Warner Music Vision, debuting on the Billboard Comprehensive Music Videos chart at #27.

The song "Into The Fire" was featured in the 1987 film "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors", along with their newly-written title track. The song can be heard in some versions of the film when Kristen is listening to the radio in her bedroom.

In March 1989, on the strength of continued sales, Tooth and Nail—the band's first Gold album—was its third to be certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 1 million in the U.S. alone.

Stampede announce further live UK dates and release promo video for 'Send Me Down An Angel'

May 9 saw the release of 'A Sudden Impulse', the new studio album from British melodic rockers Stampede, and with it their third promo video for the opening track 'Send Me Down An Angel'.



The band, which comprises of founding members Reuben & Laurence Archer and Colin Bond (along with new additions Chris Clowsley, Rob Wolverson and Stevie G), are delighted with the response they have had to the new material and are excited to be able to announce more dates to their UK schedule, which include a headline slot on the Devil Stage at Devon Rox Festival in August, a Midlands date with Californian hard rock legends Y&T and an appearance at Hard Rock Hell V in December.

Reuben comments: "We're totally blown away with all the great feedback and support we've had from fans and industry so far, it's an incredible feeling to realise people still want to hear the kind of music we love, write and play, which after all these years still appears to be relevant. We're already getting stuck in to writing for another album, but of course there's nothing like playing live, so we're really looking forward to our forthcoming dates and pleased to be able to say there are more in the pipeline to be announced very soon!"

Stampede will play:

· The Sir Robert Peel, Kingston-Upon-Thames - Saturday 14th May 2011

· Devon Rox Festival, Powderham Castle, Exeter - Saturday 6th August 2011

· The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton - Tuesday 11th October 2011

· Hard Rock Hell V, Prestatyn, Wales - Saturday 3rd December 2011

Music Video Babes: Bobbie Brown

Bobbie Brown, aka Bobbie Brown-Lane, was born as (don't hold your breath, there's nothing interesting here) Bobbie Jean Brown on October 7, 1969 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. This blonde sex bomb is an American actress, model, and former beauty pageant contestant. But she is, and will always best known for her appearance in the video for Warrant's glam metal anthem "Cherry Pie."

Bobbie attended Starkey Academy in the town of Central, Louisiana during High School and won the Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1987 title and represented Louisiana in the Miss Teen USA 1987 pageant broadcast live from El Paso, Texas in July 1987. She made the top ten in ninth place with an average score of 8.350 after the preliminary competition, placed sixth in interview (8.712), fourth in swimsuit (8.908) and sixth in swimsuit (8.754). Her average combined score of 8.791 for the final competitions was just enough to put her in the top five in fifth place, where she excelled in the final question and eventually placed second runner-up.

Brown won the spokesperson competition on Star Search a record thirteen times and has also starred in TV shows such as Married... with Children (she appeared in 3 episodes) and films such as Last Action Hero (1993). In 1998, she sued Penthouse for featuring a model also named Bobbie Brown.

Brown worked as a model for Budweiser and other companies. She also appeared in music videos, including Great White's "Once Bitten Twice Shy," "House of Broken Love," and "Lady Red Light," and Hurricane's "I'm On To You."

She is best remembered as the girl in Warrant's sexually suggestive "Cherry Pie" video released in 1990, which received heavy airplay on MTV and other music video stations. Canadian cable-TV music network, MuchMusic refused to air the "Cherry Pie" video on the grounds that it was "offensively sexist".

During the shooting of Warrant's "Cherry Pie" video, Brown met lead singer Jani Lane. She eventually left her boyfriend Matthew Nelson for him, and they wed a couple of months later in July 1991. They were married for three years and had a daughter, Taylar Jayne Lane, before divorcing in 1993.

Brown has also dated Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Jay Gordon from Orgy, Stevie Rachelle from Tuff and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee.

She is currently working on writing a book soon to be out called Serial Rock Dater: Sex, Drugs, and Cherry Pie

Faces Behind The Hair: Dee Snider

Daniel "Dee" Snider was born March 15, 1955, in Astoria, New York and grew up in nearby Baldwin and graduated from Baldwin High School in 1973.As a child he sang in a church choir, several school choruses, and Baldwin HS Concert Choir. He also was selected for the All State Chorus by singing. While in eighth grade, Snider was in a Black Sabbath cover band.

In early 1976, Snider joined Twisted Sister and became the sole songwriter of the band thereafter. The group released their first studio album, Under the Blade, in September 1982 and developed a following in the UK. Less than a year later, Twisted Sister released their sophomore effort, You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll. Their third album, Stay Hungry, hit shelves on May 10, 1984. This would become the band's most successful record with the hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock." To emphasize the "twisted sister" image, Snider adopted a trademark persona of metal-inspired drag with long blond hair, an excessive amount of eye shadow and rouge, and bright red lipstick.

During the mid 1980s, before the premiere of Headbangers Ball, the first MTV program to consist entirely of heavy metal videos was Heavy Metal Mania. The first episode aired in June 1985 and was hosted by Dee Snider. It featured metal news, interviews with metal artists, and in-studio co-hosts. That same year in November, Twisted Sister released Come Out and Play which sold over 500,000 copies but was marred by a poor concert tour.

In 1985, a Senate hearing was instigated by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), who wanted to introduce a parental warning system that would label all albums containing offensive material. The system was to include letters identifying the type of objectionable content to be found in each album (e.g. O for occult themes, S for sex, D for drugs, V for violence, etc.). Dee Snider, John Denver, and Frank Zappa all testified against censorship and the proposed warning system. Such a system was never implemented, but the result of the trial brought about what is now the generic "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" label.

The PMRC was initially formed by the wives of Washington DC power brokers Al Gore (D-TN, Senate) and Secretary of State James Baker. Tipper Gore in particular became the face of the PMRC and a public foil for Snider in the hearings. Ironically, in the 2000 US Presidential Election cycle, Snider endorsed Vice President Gore for office.

A fifth Twisted Sister album would be made in 1987's Love Is for Suckers. The record was originally planned to be a Dee Snider solo effort, but Atlantic Records encouraged a release under the Twisted Sister name. Touring lasted only into October that year and on the 12th of that month, Snider announced his departure from the band. It was during this time that Snider formed Desperado, a band featuring ex-Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, ex-Gillan guitarist Bernie Torme, and bassist Marc Russel. The group's only album, Ace, has never been officially released but was heavily bootlegged on CD under the title Bloodied But Unbowed.

n the 1990s, Snider formed Widowmaker with Joe Franco, a good friend to Twisted Sister and drummer on the Love Is For Suckers, as well as Al Pitrelli and Marc Russel. The quartet recorded two albums with limited underground success, titled Blood and Bullets and Stand By For Pain. In the late 1990s, Snider toured with a "self-tribute" band called Dee Snider's SMFs (Sick Mother Fuckers), sometimes featuring ex-Twisted Sister drummer A.J. Pero. The usual line up included Dee Snider, Derek Tailer, Charlie Mills, Keith Alexander, and Spike.

In 1997, Dee Snider began hosting the House of Hair, a syndicated 1980s hard rock/heavy metal radio show that airs on over 200 radio stations across North America. It is syndicated by the United Stations Radio Networks. The show's format runs two hours and features Snider's closing catchphrase, "If it ain't metal, it's crap!"

In 1998, Snider had penned a song entitled "The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone)" which would be recorded in 1998 by Celine Dion for her album These Are Special Times. According to Snider, Dion at the time was not aware of who wrote the song. Later that year, he also wrote and starred in the horror film Strangeland. Snider has also penned the script to a sequel which has the working title of Strangeland: Disciple. As of January 2008, however, Snider was less than optimistic that it would ever see the light of day, saying in an interview with Bullz-Eye.com that he had reached a point where he should "put a sign on my website that says, 'Y’got ten million dollars? Give me a call. I’ve got the script ready to go, Robert Englund’s attached, I’m attached. If somebody’s serious and wants to make it, call me. But don’t call me ‘til you’re ready to hand the check over.'” In May 2009, Dee Snider revealed on his radio show,"The House Of Hair," that Strangeland: Disciple will go ahead and is set to begin shooting in the fall of 2009 and is slated for a 2010 release.

From June 1999 to August 2003, Snider hosted a morning radio show on a Hartford, Connecticut Clear Channel station, Radio 104 (104.1 FM WMRQ), called Dee Snider Radio. His show returned to the air at night in August 2004 on 93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania until June 2005. He fondly referred to his listeners as his "Peeps," and "DEE" euro stickers, printed by the station, could be seen on the bumpers of his fans' cars throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Other members of the morning show included Nick Lentino, Beth Lockwood, "Psycho Dan" Williams, Sean Robbins, and "Darkside Dave" Wallace. He frequently featured high-profile guests, including Ozzy Osbourne, pro wrestler Mick Foley, and KISS singer/bassist Gene Simmons.

In 2001, Snider was the voice of Gol Acheron, the main villain for the PlayStation 2 video game Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The following year, he rejoined with the reunited Twisted Sister. Snider also played himself in the 2002 TV-movie Warning: Parental Advisory. In 2003, he appeared with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger during his drive to recall incumbent California Governor Gray Davis. Snider sang the Twisted Sister hit, "We're Not Gonna Take It," which was adopted by the Schwarzenegger campaign.

Snider also voiced Angry Jack in the episode "Shell Shocked" for the Nickelodeon cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants. He admitted to being a huge fan of the show during an hour-long 10th anniversary documentary of the show in 2009, and to be asked to voice a character on the show was a real honor. He changed the lyrics of his famous "I Wanna Rock" to "Goofy Goober Rock" for the 2004 The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.

Snider narrates and hosts many shows and specials on VH1, movie trailers, behind the scenes segments, and DVD special features. He was featured as the 'voice' in the bumpers for MSNBC's 2001/2002 "Fiercely Independent" branding campaign. Every year since 2004, Snider has narrated a live show known as Van Helsing's Curse which tours the US around Halloween giving a mix of famous music with dark overtones and an occasional part of a storytelling to accompany the music. The concert has also been released on CD. Snider hosted VH1's 2008 "Aftermath" concert in remembrance of the victims and survivors of the 2003 Station nightclub fire.

Snider returned to radio in June 2006 with Fangoria Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 102 from 9-12 Eastern.

During winter of 2008, Snider was featured as a contestant on CMT's Gone Country. The show recruited famous musical celebrities who competed against each other to win a chance to release a country song. Also in 2008, Snider appeared on the first episode of season two's Kitchen Nightmares who Gordon Ramsay had recruited as part of the marketing for the re-launch of the Handlebar restaurant. On the show, Snider donated a motorcycle for auction in which customers of the Handlebar were able to bid on through the Handlebar restaurants website.

Dee hosts DEAD ART on Gallery HD, a show about the beauty and art of cemeteries. He also hosts House of Hair, a radio show that plays heavy metal music. Snider has made appearances on the IFC Channel's original series Z Rock as himself playing the character of a "rock guru."

On July 27, 2010., Dee Snider and his family began appearing in the reality television show "Growing Up Twisted," airing on the Arts and Entertainment Network.

Snider has been married to his wife Suzette, a costume designer, since October 21, 1981. They have four children, Jesse Blaze (September 19, 1982), Shane Royal (February 29, 1988), Cody Blue (December 7, 1989), and Cheyenne Jean (October 31, 1996). His eldest son Jesse hosted MTV2 Rock, a music video countdown program in 2003, and was the runner-up in MTV's 2008 show Rock the Cradle. Dee appeared on the show as Jesse's mentor. Jesse is also the lead singer of the punk metal band Baptized By Fire.

Classic Albums: Van Halen - 1984

1984 (written as MCMLXXXIV on the front cover) was the sixth studio by Van Halen and one of the band's more popular albums. The album's original release credits all songs to Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth. Like many bands starting out on their career, Van Halen shared songwriting credit equally between all members (including guitar instrumentals, which were clearly composed only by Edward Van Halen), but subsequent claims would lend credibility to the view that all songs were entirely or predominantly written by Edward Van Halen (music) and David Lee Roth (lyrics and vocal melody). Later Anthony was removed from all songwriting credits on the 1984 album.


1984 peaked at #2 on the Billboard Magazine album charts (#1 at the time was Thriller, which featured an Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on "Beat It) and contained future hits "Jump", "Panama", "I'll Wait", and "Hot for Teacher". "Jump" reached #1 on the magazine's singles chart. 1984 is the second of two Van Halen albums to have sold 10 million copies in the United States.

"Jump" was one of the most successful songs of 1984 and was on the 10 most played songs on the radio that year. As a single, it sold over three million copies alone, making it one of the most popular rock songs of that decade. "Panama" was the third single from the album and reached number 13 on the singles chart in June. The keyboard-driven "I'll Wait" was another single, reaching number 13 on the singles chart in March 1984.

"Hot for Teacher", a humorous song about a grade-school crush, was also a hit, reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as spawning a popular MTV video starring pre-teen lookalikes of the band members. It's also featured in the video game Guitar Hero: World Tour. The sexually suggestive song was best known for its long opening drum solo, near motorcycle-like drum fills and its music video featuring the band as both adults and young students in a high school. The Parents Music Resource Center protested it, calling for it to be pulled from both the radio and television, due to the song's sexually suggestive lyrics referring to sex with a teacher, and a beautiful female teacher stripping in the video, among other issues. In 2009 it was named the 36th best hard rock song of all time by VH1. Since then the song has been closely connected and used in media with female teacher male student sexual relationship cases.

When this album was released in the United Kingdom, a removable sticker with the roman numerals MCMLXXXIV (which is "1984"), had to be placed over the cherub's hand, as it was holding a cigarette and there happened to be a non-smoking campaign happening at the time. The same protocol was upheld for several other bands' albums as well, such as the UK release of Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell's album Akimbo Alogo, where the entire cover was changed due to a smoking reference.