Here come the summer "package" tours...Def Leppard and Journey

[Seshmeister]

And the two key members are still there, Joe Elliot and the guy that works the tapes backstage...

[Seshmeister]

There was talk of Neil Schon being very pissed that some of the band effectively endorsed Trump. Not that he necessarily voted for Clinton, but that he didn't want the band to be involved in politics at all..

And am I the only one tired of fucking Phil Collen and his fucking shirt off? We get it Phil, you gave up drinking like a liquor store draining bum and keep in shape. But FFS, no girls below the age of 45 give a fuck at this point!

Couldn't agree more about Phil Collen it's fucking pathetic - still waiting for the autobiography when we hear how him and Phil Lewis used to suck dick for money in the early days of Girl. Allegedly.

I don't pay much attention to Journey but they seem to be just about the only band more fucked up than Van Halen. In a pretour interview Neil Schon is saying how he doesn't like video screens in the big venues because it causes fights between band members about how much time they each get on screen.

These people are in their 60s FFS!

[Terry]

And know 1-2 of the original present founding members..

I'll give Def Leppard this, at least they're somewhat still intact...

Yeah...however, the number of older rock acts out there touring without the original/founding/definitive lineups far outweighs those who actually have all the original/founding/definitive members. Sadly, it's not as egregious as it once was. So the fact Journey isn't...small potatoes.

Leppard only have 3 founding members out of 5. But I'd agree that they have most of the definitive lineup there. And at least in the case of Clark he died as an explanation for his lack of participation, rather than 'creative differences' or whatever lame euphemism bands use for when a certain member wants a bigger cut of the profits than the rest of the band are willing to pay.

[Nickdfresh]

And the guitarist they fired was early on before they really broke it big. Fired for alcoholism from Def Leppard is like a race car driver being fired for speeding!

[Terry]

Yep. Old Pete Willis. Given the axe during the Pyromania sessions because he showed up drunk to a recording session, and was apparently quite a little booze hound back in the day. Seemingly, Willis eventually cleaned himself up a bit. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Clark, who basically boozed and coked himself up literally to death. Young guy when he died, too.

[Seshmeister]

And the guitarist they fired was early on before they really broke it big. Fired for alcoholism from Def Leppard is like a race car driver being fired for speeding!

The most ridiculous example of this was my fellow Scot Brian Robertson who managed to get sacked from Thin Lizzy for boozing too much. Twice. You would think being sacked once for being too flakey by a heroin addict would sober you up a bit.

[FORD]

Dave Mustaine getting sacked from Metallica probably falls into that category as well. It's not like those guys were known for sobriety in the 80s.

[Kristy]

He's from fucking Connecticut! But still can we not get him deported?

He's from fucking Canada if I say he's from fucking Canada

[twonabomber]

Just got an email from the Rocksino...G3 tickets half off. Satriani, Petrucci, and Phil Collen.

[Terry]

Just got an email from the Rocksino...G3 tickets half off. Satriani, Petrucci, and Phil Collen.

Satriani, Petrucci AND...Phil Collen (?)

[twonabomber]

Yeah. That was my reaction when I first saw G3 was playing the casino. The first G3 was in a much bigger room here. Vai, Eric Johnson, Satch, in that order.

[Terry]

Which...and, I mean, honestly, not to belittle Collen's ability...but he just isn't as accomplished or has ever displayed near the amount of technical prowess as the other two on the bill. And you pretty much go to a G3 show to see and jaw-dropping technical ability and a guitar solo wankfest. Like, Collen might want to consider doing his set first, because if he goes on last...it'll be kinda laughable: he just doesn't stack up to the other two players on the bill.

[twonabomber]

I'm sure Satch closes.

[Seshmeister]

I'm sure Satch closes.

I was going to post that Phil Collen can take comfort in making so much more money but I just looked it up and Satch has sold over 10 million solo albums.

I had no idea it was as many as that, and he doesn't need to split everything 5 ways all the time.

Doubt these things are super accurate but the internet says Petrucci is worth $3.2 million, Satch is worth $12 million and Collen $20 million which is a valuable lesson in the monetary value of catchy tunes v. technical wizardry.

[Terry]

I was going to post that Phil Collen can take comfort in making so much more money but I just looked it up and Satch has sold over 10 million solo albums.

I had no idea it was as many as that, and he doesn't need to split everything 5 ways all the time.

Doubt these things are super accurate but the internet says Petrucci is worth $3.2 million, Satch is worth $12 million and Collen $20 million which is a valuable lesson in the monetary value of catchy tunes v. technical wizardry.

Well, that whole guitar hero angle...it's a niche market, and sort of an antiquated one. Antiquated in the sense that the influence of shredding in commercial terms and influence peaked decades ago. When I hear contemporary rock bands today, or pop tunes with a rock flavor, I don't hear much in the way of technical wizardry far as guitar parts go. Not nearly as much as I heard in the 1980s. The grunge bands of the early 1990s didn't emphasize that aspect of the guitar. The vast majority of Satriani's record sales came from albums he released in 1987, 1989 and 1992. His post-1992 stuff never even got halfway to gold, and in many cases didn't even sell 100,000 copies.