The Sliver Bullet STL Band Live at Rosemont, IL.

                    
Yesterday Was History, And Tomorrow Is A Mystery

Silver Bullet STL

Most of us grew up listing to our blue-collar hero, Robert Clark Seger and during his 18th release back in 1995 titled: "It's a Mystery"  should come as no surprise why this subtitle heading was chosen for this article. Seger's over night success took nearly 10 years and today, a list of rock anthems have been listed for this Detroit-native and now most people want to get in on the act. Tributes bands have become very popular and one that stands Head & Shoulders above this rest is The Sliver Bullet STL Band from St. Louis, MO.  Steve Tinnon leads the stage with a dynamic performance and his inspirational significance had the folks at Rosemont, IL singing and dancing in the rain on this July evening with a killer fireworks show for the whole family to enjoy.

I was able to talk to the band's manager, Tom Swain and  he was super-cool with accommodating my needs to get the word out about The Silver Bullet STL and their 305 mile journey to the Parkway Bank Entertainment District near Chicago's O'hare airport. The first song they opened up with was "Rambiln Ganbiln' Man" a song about a childhood friend that was killed in Vietnam that offered a smooth rock-steady tempo and groovy keyboard action was a great way to kick off the night. Other classic hits included: "Fire Lake" and "Hollywood Nights"  was performed well that evening and with the rain coming down and with $5.00 beers, this was night to remember. Members of Silver Bullet STL include: Dave McKeage (guitarist), Ron Vitale (bassist), Mark Huth (saxophone), Harold Draper (keyboards),  John Lange (drummer) and two amazing back up vocalist, Gina Korte and Erin McCraven make up the rest of this eight piece ensemble. I wasn't the only that was enjoying Silver Bullet STL. In fact, local celebrities  Jim Irwin form TNT Chicago and Chuck McNulty from Rival joined in on the fun as well. My life-long friends, Stas Boz was there, and who can forget Patti & John Tribuzio?  They are the ones responsible for this assignment in the first place and it felt good to get out of Uptown again. Thanks Guys!! You rule!!

The rain was not going away that night, and nether were the soaked spectators. However, Ron Vitale is no "Thunderfingers" on stage but is a satisfactory performer and matched Chris Campbell playing note for note as Silver Bullet STL rocked as large rain drops splashed inside my plastic cup of beer.  But what do I know? I haven't picked up a bass guitar in over 20 years and this fool might smoke me should we have a Bass-off. Unfortunately, Sliver Bullet STL lives a million miles from Monday and I'll need to talk to Mr. Swain about updating their Facebook page. Despite my rude rhetoric, this Bob Seger tribute band is one of the best acts to check out this summer. The last song of the night was titled: "Beautiful Looser" that was recorded in 1975 when Warner Bros. dropped Bob Seger and was signed by Capitol Records that following year. With that in mind, I suggest that you go see Sliver Bullet STL when they come back to the Windy City and invest in you happiness. Life is too short to just be sitting around, and remember folks, Rock-n-Roll Never Forgets!   

Middle Raged: West of Tomorrow Beyond the Cannibal Islands

 

Crestwood. Shit. The assignment was in Crestwood, Illinois and each of my show reviews have gotten worst and some of my friends have said that I have turned into a Yuppie fuck checking out those weak ass bands at The Dock near Montrose Beach. In truth, I am never where I would like to be and have become softer living in Uptown. Every minute I stay on Facebook I get weaker, and every time Karen squats with her bush to take a piss, she becomes stronger. A good example, are the Iron Maidens, an all female Iron Maiden tribute band from California. They too came to the Chicagoland area this weekend to mark their spot in musical history. I say, "Good for them!" Keep fanning your pussy on stage and pretend that you are a Mocking bird."  The window is very short for The Iron Maidens and once they hit Steve Harris's age, we'll see if  they can withstand the test of time and I wish them well on a success journey. 

My journey was about to take me into the most dangerous place in the world and with the Chicago's gun violence and according to ABC News, last year there were 3,261 shooting and 769 murdered in cold blood. And its no accident that the subtitle Beyond the Cannibal Island is my "Stand Head" for this article. Some of these people are fucking savages and I need to avoid them at all cost. Rock Island, Blue Island and Stony Island was not my ideal for a vacation near the Islands and that seemed to be the safer route back home once the show was over. 

The light rain felt good on my wet skin as the filthy sins seemed to be washed away. Once I arrived in the town of Crestwood, I was pulled over by the cops and they told me to drive on the sidewalk. I complied with their orders and made it safely to The Public House to see the Middle Raged and Nola. The first band was outstanding with songs such as "Pillars of Eternity" and "Stone the Crow" had this standing room only live audience hungry for more metal. You can tell that these guys have been practicing and Nola's tight stage presents showed that evening. Another song titled: "The Seed " was a killer tune  and let's not forget "Hail to the Leaf" or "Hail Leaf" for short.  In truth, Nola was the better band this evening and I am looking forward seeing them again and burn one with these maniacs of metal. 

From the standpoint of being an Outlaw Journalist  I was able to speak with former vocalist of Motley II John Yeager and asked why he left his cover band. I discovered that their drummer, Tommy Salzburg had passed away. I was shocked to hear the bad news and Yeager stated, "Once our drummer died so did the vibe." Wow! that was pretty harsh news to hear that night before Middle Rage went on stage. Anyway, opening up with a Slayer classic, lead vocalist Bill Swanson still has what it takes after his departure with Maiden Chicago. Other members of Middle Raged include: Dan Galeher (guitarist) Kosta Kostadinov (lead guitarist) Keith Eichten (bassist) and drummer Greg Peterlin make up the rest of this five piece foundation as 40 people were online for that live Facebook footage. My phone sucks, and I got nothing for you guys. And that's it folks, my mission was over. I suggested that you check out more local talent like these bands and not some out of town flash-in-the-pan performers getting rich off someone else and their labor. No sir, Always support your local artist!  

  

The American Empire & 224 Years of Freedom

 

I am a rabid fan of fire works and know that at one time China used bamboo stacks and tossed them into a pit of fire and the hollow air pockets inside the stalks would expand, causing a loud bang to ward off evil spirits. Lucky for me, I am not affected by the Delta variant or any other sickness made by man or beast. And knock on wood for my good fortune. "Knock on wood for that,? you say. Fuck yeah! But soon all of our luck runs our eventually. 

At one time European rulers would dazzle their subject using fireworks to light up the night sky. Only the elite and wealthy were allowed to be enchanted at these events and no peasants were allowed to attend. Chicago as a new emperor and if you studied maps that way I do, Roam is on the same latitude parallels. That Empire collapsed for the same reason our beautiful city is about to fall into ruin. The suicidal collapse and the final year of the America has arrived. Big deal, right?  Greed plagued many nations and we are in the final years of American freedom.

With that in mind, I went to Navy Pier without Lord Lightfoot consent and embarked on 75 minute fireworks adventure on the "Windy Tall Ship" of Chicago. Once on board I ordered an adult beverage know as "Shipwreck" filled with pirate rum and pineapple juice. Cursing at 5.4 knots on the lake, I spotted the first round of Fireworks and the Old Comiskey  baseball park. GO WHITE SOX!! Anyway, you can see more bombs bursting in air and for moment I thought about Francis Scott Key and what a beautiful song that he wrote. A small tear swelled up in my eye duck and I knew our freedom is danger now then ever before. 

The grand finale took place at Northerly Island. The smell of gunpowder filled the summer sky as more explosives illuminated the Chicago skyline. Upon my arrival back on land, I light up a joint and hide behind a giant anchor sipping on my Blue Moon and toking without care in the world. The fuzz was friendly that night, and I thanked each one for working such longs hours this summer. These are good men, with good families and our Mayor sucks as a human being and she's already taken our Law enforcement freedom away, and yours is next you liberal scum.