Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Book Review: Dirty Rocker Boys: Love and Lust on The Sunset Strip by Bobbie Brown (with Caroline Ryder)

Author: Bobbie Brown with Caroline Ryder
Release Date: November 26th 2013
Publisher: Gallery Bookes
Pages: 272 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add on Goodreads

SHE'S MY CHERRY PIE. Tastes so good, make a grown man cry.

Who could forget the sexy 'Cherry Pie' girl from hair metal band Warrant's infamous music video? Bobbie Brown became a bona fide vixen for her playful role as the object of lead singer Jani Lane's desires. With her windblown peroxide mane, seductive scarlet lips, and flirtatious curves, she epitomized every man's fantasy. But the wide-eyed Louisiana beauty queen's own dreams of making it big in Los Angeles were about to be derailed by her rock-and-roll lifestyle. . . .

Ever wonder what it 's like to f*** a rock star?

After her tumultuous marriage to Jani imploded, and her engagement to fast-living Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee ended in a drug haze-followed by his marriage days later to Pamela Anderson-Bobbie decided it was time Hollywood's hottest bachelors got a taste of their own medicine. Step one: get high. Step two: get even.

In a captivating, completely uncensored confessional, Bobbie explicitly recounts her encounters with some of the most famous men in Hollywood: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Costner, Mark McGrath, Dave Navarro, Sebastian Bach, Ashley Hamilton, Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, Orgy's Jay Gordon, and many more. Who's got the most titanic dick in Tinseltown? Whose bedroom did Bobbie (literally) set on fire? No man was off limits as the fun-loving bombshell spiraled into excess, anger, and addiction.

Bobbie survived the party-barely-and her riveting, cautionary comeback tale is filled with the wildest stories of sex, drugs, and rock and roll ever told.


My Thoughts:

This book contains strong language, descriptive sex, drugs, booze and disturbing scenes.

It was one of those boring evenings that I had nothing to do but youtubing random things...from how to's tutorials to music to top 10 things etc etc and then I found myself watching the first season of Ex Wives of Rock. Two of those ladies seemed familiar to me. One of them was Athena Lee which I had seen live with her then husband James Kottak of Scorpions at a Scorpions concert in Greece in 2008. Yay. The other one was Bobbie Brown and I remembered instantly from the video clip of Warrant, Cherry Pie.

To be honest I;m not into reality shows, I think they are stupid and pretentious and that there is no reason for someone to go on live TV with their personal lives especially if they are famous (they are all over the tabloids anyway). That , I realized when I was in the 7th episode of the show. Yay. And here;s how I ended up reading this book.

Bobbie went on and on about her book and how it failed with one of the publishers etc etc. During the show she says how Pamela Anderson stole Tommy Lee from her and how she was married with the late Jani Lane, lead singer of Warrant. I was intrigued ,because, if I like one thing its autobiographies.

The book was a drama, coming from a broken family, Bobbie was one thing but rebel. She was shy and she had boyfriends but not as many as we would probably think. She came second at the beauty pageant
competition and from then her fame skyrocketed. Agents called her from Los Angeles to model for them and soon 20 year old Bobbie found herself in the City Of Angels, a shy Louisiana girl turned into the most sexy and confident woman and then her downfall began.

It seemed to me that Bobbie had so many opportunities to make big in the scene but her desperation for love and acceptance came first. From what I realized she didnt want to be alone almost never, she always had a boyfriend and if she didnt, she would have sex with someone. She did a couple of video clips for some bands and when she landed the deal with Warrant she became so famous but that only came back to bite her in the ass. She got pregnant from Jani Lane and they rushed into a marriage that none of them was really sure if it would work (and it didnt). That experience alone it would mess up any sane person out there. Jani was over the top, came home drunk, cheated, lied, didnt have sex with her (which she hated) and she became such a b*** that it was disturbing. In the end their marriage failed and Bobbie with a 2 year old kid was moving back and forth all the tme between Louisiana and Cali. But while I was reading all of this and It was a big portion of the book I felt nothing. It was written in non descriptive way, with sentenced composed by a five year.

Meet Tommy Lee. I wont say a lot about this but in my opinion this was the most explosive relationship ever. Both made huge mistakes and both had issues and drugs didnt help at all.
It was like every rock relationship should be like. Sex, drugs and rock n roll with a touch of continuous fighting.

Bobbie Brown was a really kind, sensitive and a good woman that went after the wrong men. Men that she hoped they would provide what she needed but eventually they didnt.

The writing was ok if you consider she used a ghost writer but the dialogues didnt seem real, like they never happened or they were changed. The emotions were kind of flat for a memoir and in the end it left a bitter taste because you realise that Bobbie wasted 15 years of her life, her best years like someone would say, on finding the perfect boyfriend, drugs and constant self sabotaging. She would have made it big if she was a little more down to earth. I just felt sorry for her.


Efterpi

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Twisted by K.A. Robinson (book review by Efterpi)

Author: K.A. Robinson
Release Date: May 7th 2013
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 320
Series: Torn #2
Rating: 4 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add on Goodreads

Chloe and Drake have found their happily ever after... Almost.

When Chloe's mother comes back into her life with a bang, it sets off a chain of events no one could have ever expected.
Everyone has their demons, and Chloe and Drake's hit them with a vengence.

Sex, drugs, money, a crazy ex, and Rock n Roll.... Can they survive it all?

Things are beginning to feel a bit... Twisted.


Review: 
ARC Kindly Provided by Atria Books

This book had me pulling my hair so hard I thought I would be bald by the end of it. It was amazing.

While we continue with the story of Chloe and Drake we come face to face with their pasts. Chloe has to deal with her impossible mother trying to avoid involving Drake in this abusive relatioship, but once Drake leaves for his tour with his band everything goes downhill.

In a series of events we get to see Chloe unravel in the worst possible way, and while her cousin is trying to help her deal with her problems Drake has to deal with his fears..jealousy, insecurity and drugs mix with his bad boy attitude in a lethal combination.

The second book of the series Torn is much more serious, concentrates on the problems of each of the characters and how they try to solve them without ruining each other. We get to see that understanding and love can heal every open wound and that with communication you get to tame the most horrible beast.

I loved the writing and how Robinson did a good job with the supporting characters as well. Other than that some drama was unnecessary and some scenes seemed a little forced but that was the only drawback. The book itself was an emotional roller coaster that I never wanted it to stop, it pulled me in and by the time the book was done I came up breathless and wanting more.

Cant wait to read book 3.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Slash by Slash and Anthony Bozza Book Review by Eleni

Author: Slash and Anthony Bozza
Release Date: Ocotber 30th 2007
Publisher: It books
Pages: 458
Rating: 5 stars
Buy on: Amazon , Barnes And Noble

From one of the greatest rock guitarists of our era comes a memoir that redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll

Here, for the first time ever, Slash tells the tale that has yet to be told from the inside: how the band came together, how they wrote the music that defined an era, how they survived insane, never-ending tours, how they survived themselves, and, ultimately, how it all fell apart. This is a window onto the world of the notoriously private guitarist and a seat on the roller-coaster ride that was one of history's greatest rock 'n' roll machines, always on the edge of self-destruction, even at the pinnacle of its success. This is a candid recollection and reflection of Slash's friendships past and present, from easygoing Izzy to ever-steady Duff to wild-child Steven and complicated Axl.

It is also an intensely personal account of struggle and triumph: as Guns N' Roses journeyed to the top, Slash battled his demons, escaping the overwhelming reality with women, heroin, coke, crack, vodka, and whatever else came along.

He survived it all: lawsuits, rehab, riots, notoriety, debauchery, and destruction, and ultimately found his creative evolution. From Slash's Snakepit to his current band, the massively successful Velvet Revolver,Slash found an even keel by sticking to his guns.

Slash is everything the man, the myth, the legend, inspires: it's funny, honest, inspiring, jaw-dropping . . . and, in a word, excessive.


Review:

I am a huge fan of guns and roses and naturally of Slash. When this books got into my hands I started reading an amazing and hard to believe story of one of the hardest and toughest rock stars on this planet.

Since I am a huge fan I knew some things but I didn't know others. This book took me aback. 
Slash start the book with where he was born and a brief telling of his first years. He then moves on to live in England and how he remembers his parents and of course the big move to L.A. and how that and the fact that he grew up in the seventies changes his life dramatically.

From a very young age drugs, music and excessive alcohol drinking lead his to weird and scary situations. He took those habits with him through the years and he never stopped living on the edge. In comparison to Duff's memoir Slash was tells all about the ugly side of GNR and how each member of the band and what lead them to eventually estrange from each other. It seems that everyone wanted the same thing - to perform and be a great band - but no one stood up when Axl did what he did. I think Axl had a really good ego and took advantage of it when he knew that the alcohol induced band mates wont bat an eye or confront him for his actions. 

From page one of the book you can see that Slash was indeed a very clever man but he didn't always use his brain when he had too part because of the drugs that kept him in a haze...i have to say that in some parts some situations either were the wrong date or he wasnt quite sure about them. Slash himself said that he was using some of his agendas to state a few facts because he wasn't sure if something happened or not.

I would like to know more about the lawsuits for the rights and everything after GNR broke up and a lot more about Axl although Slash tries to do its best to excuse his weird and ego centered behavior by saying that ''I'm sure Axl had his reasons''. Of course as Duff said Axl could be more than a good friend with you if you took him on your good side but overall he was a very unpredictable person.

After the GNR years you can see how difficult it was for Slash to create another band and how everything went to hell after the industry changed in the late 90's. Also you can see that those people were used a lot from the industry because simply they were dollar machines. The book describes the process of the creation of Velvet Revolver and how difficult it was for them to find a singer that fits with the group.

Both Slash and Anthony Bozza did a great job with writing the book and making it ''sound'' like Slash. It was a book of almost 500 big pages and small little letters it drove me crazy to finish it but I loved every bit of it.

I wouldnt recommend this book to a kid under 14 due to strong language and mature situations.

Monday, September 2, 2013

It's So Easy and Other Lies by Duff McKagan book review by Eleni

Author: Duff McKagan
Release Date: October 4th 2011
Publisher: Touichstone
Pages: 366
Rating: 5 stars
Buy At: Barnes and Noble , Amazon.

''A founding member of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver shares the story of his rise to the pinnacle of fame and fortune, his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, his personal crash and burn, and his phoenix-like transformation via a unique path to sobriety.
In 1984, at the age of twenty, Duff McKagan left his native Seattle—partly to pursue music but mainly to get away from a host of heroin overdoses then decimating his closest group of friends in the local punk scene. In L.A. only a few weeks and still living in his car, he answered a want ad for a bass player placed by someone who identified himself only as “Slash.” Soon after, the most dangerous band in the world was born. Guns N’ Roses went on to sell more than 100 million albums worldwide.
In It's So Easy, Duff recounts GN’R’s unlikely trajectory to a string of multiplatinum albums, sold-out stadium concerts, and global acclaim. But that kind of glory can take its toll, and it did—ultimately—on Duff, as well as on the band itself. As GN’R began to splinter, Duff felt that he himself was done, too. But his near death as a direct result of alcoholism proved to be his watershed, the turning point that led to his unique path to sobriety and the unexpected choices he has made for himself since. In a voice that is as honest as it is indelibly his own, Duff—one of rock’s smartest and most articulate personalities—takes readers on his harrowing journey through the dark heart of one of the most notorious bands in rock-and-roll history and out the other side.''
Review:
I don't know what to say about this book or the author. Duff Fucking McKagan has been a huge inspiration to me since my early teens. Guns N' Roses is my favorite rock band and i love all the members but a little more Duff. I always knew that rock has to do with drugs but that was something else. To be honest i never read anything like that in my entire life. Neon Angel by Cherrie Currie is not even close to the things described in this book.
When i started the book i didn't know what to expect, i just wanted to read about Guns N Roses and the life they led before they become famous and its true that Duff did a great job with describing his early childhood/teen years and how everything shaped around the name of GNR. I was surprised from a lot of things and i needed more and more and more. I loved the way he wrote.
As the book progressed we could see how deep in addiction Duff and his bandmates fell and how fame and money eventually changed everything. How the band mates got estranged from each other and how a certain member suffered from megalomania which resulted in the band to eventually split in 1997. Although the book answered a lot of questions it created new ones and at some points i found myself screaming Why????
I would loved to have read a little more descriptive situations and especially about the fallout between Axl and Slash. For obvious reasons there is no sex scene descriptions in the whole book (im sure no rock star would want their daughters read about their fathers um....experiences (?)).
I was amazed on how Duff got out of the cocaine-alcohol addiction pit and did his best to recover and how to this day he is still suffering from his past. Although i think Duff doesnt realize it he got out from one addiction with another - exercising and i think although this is kind of healthy it can also destroy you if you are not careful. 
The book also focuses on the musical career of Duff before and after GNR and the differences that he saw. How people accepted him back then and how they accept him now - everything is easy when you are a legend.
Duff did a great job with a book and i would totally recommend it to any GNR fan out there and not only.