# Can glam rock make a comeback?



## snowgoon (Aug 23, 2008)

Hey guys.
I am very in to 80's glam metal and something hit me in a dream last night.
With all this new mainstream crap ( this isn't meant to troll anybody, but music is not what it was 20 years ago) there is no hope for any aspiring glam rock artists out there like myself.

Now I'm not naive. I know there is hardly a chance at all to make it big anyway.
But it's grown beyond the fear that I won't make it big. But that the music i love is gone.
It will become a memory.
My goal in life is to bring back glam, or at the very east help in some way, and if not i want to see it return.

Is there any hope for glam?


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

sure there is man, just dont let it stress you out- stress is bad:smile:


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## snowgoon (Aug 23, 2008)

Thanks Fraser.
It does stress me out because my hear is into music, and when you love something, you don't want it torn away, not by crappy music industry. I've grown up in a decade i don't belong in.

I do have that small inkling of hope. Thank you Fraser.


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## Wild Bill (May 3, 2006)

snowgoon said:


> Thanks Fraser.
> It does stress me out because my hear is into music, and when you love something, you don't want it torn away, not by crappy music industry. I've grown up in a decade i don't belong in.
> 
> I do have that small inkling of hope. Thank you Fraser.


I think there is a pent up demand for glam rock! Loud guitar rock of all kinds, for that matter.

You have to understand that often the changes in styles of rock never came from the people. They came from the advertising suits at the record companies. They always wanted a new style to push, a new sound that they could make money on.

So they would pick and choose what bands to support and what kind of music they had to make in the studio. A bit of promotion and some pictures in a teenybopper mag like "17 Going on 9" and presto! We were into a whole new scene.

There were exceptions, and a band with a new sound had to have something catchy but still, no matter how great and fresh you sounded if the "suits" didn't want to push it then you went nowhere. The only path to greatness was through the recording label office.

Now of course, just because the suits favored grunge didn't mean that no one liked punk any more. Or that no one listened to Janis after Morrissette came on the scene. It's just that even if Janis was alive she'd have a problem getting promotion.

The good news is that no one needs the "suits" anymore! The world has changed. Record companies were built on selling the media, first vinyl LPs and now CDs. Who the hell buys CDs anymore? It's all digital and sharing.

Bands now make their money on live concerts and selling self-produced promo items of the stage. Making your own CD no longer costs $100,000 like in the 60's and 70's. A few hundred dollars of equipment and a pirated copy of ProTools or even public domain freeware off the 'Net and you can make your own CDs. You sell your own CDs, buttons and Tshirts from the side of the stage. You don't have to sell that many to make a living when ALL the profit goes to the band and not a record label! Get a great website! Sell yourself and your stuff with it! Get your friends and family to fill the orders!

All you need a "suit" for is for live appearance bookings. Find a few and hook up with a good one. It's not always easy but it's worth it! A band spends enough time building its look and its music. You need a specialist with different resources and skillsets to do the promotional and booking management. If you try to do it yourself you will do a poor job and be very, very tired!

When you self-promote you don't CARE about riding the next music wave! You just want to find enough people that like your music to help you make a living. The 'Net lets you reach out and touch someone, cheap! Maybe there's more hiphop than glam in your town. The 'Net lets you touch with towns all over the place, even the world! You can send your music as a download but you'd be surprised at how people from far away will PayPal you to have you send the actual CD if it has great artwork on the sleeve. Plus the Tshirts, of course.

Some friends of mine are in a prog rock band. For years they've been told over and over that prog rock is dead and they shouldn't bother. They just smile! They've made a number of albums and sell them over the 'Net. Prog rock might not be that big here but there's a TON of fans in Europe and Japan. They sell well enough in those parts of the world that they make a respectable amount of coin and have a lot of fun!

Here's their link:

http://www.lightspeed-rocks.net/

They're coming back to Hamilton, ON on Sept 24. They put on a GREAT show! Ticketmaster, if you're interested.

You might also want to check out http://www.imagefm.ca/ on weeknights. If you're polished enough DJM might agree to a live videocast!

A couple of years ago there was an artist named Robin Black trying to get some music attention. It was the usual tough slog. It seemed like he couldn't even get arrested, let alone hook up with music management! So just for gicks and shiggles he and some friends glammed up and did some original numbers at a club as "Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars". It was all just for fun but the crowd LOVED them! They quickly made a video and MTV loved it too! He finally got a start!

They proved that LOTS of people still liked glam! It's just that nobody was offering any!:rockon2:

:food-smiley-004:


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I agree wholeheartedly with Wildbill but I can't type that much without cramping up and passing out. lol! I think there is always hope for everything. If you want to do glam rock, bring it on. There will be an audience. I've always found that no matter what music was being played if it came from the heart and the performers "left it all on stage" people listened and loved it. Besides, I think that there are a ton of closet glam rockers out there just dying dying to throw on some spandex. :food-smiley-004:


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## starjag (Jan 30, 2008)

Did someone say spandex? :rockon2:


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

dr_iggi said:


> Did someone say spandex? :rockon2:


Get a group of former 80's players together and call the band "Potbellies in Spandex"


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

bobb said:


> Get a group of former 80's players together and call the band "Potbellies in Spandex"


Sounds like you're yearning for Dumpy's Rusty Nuts to me

[youtube=Option]9tKO3m_M4dQ[/youtube][youtube=Option]Gki7TnvEA8Q[/youtube]
They were a great live band BTW. I had no idea they were still going -- I think that echoes back to Will Bill's post too...in a pre-Internet world, they'd have disbanded a long time ago and gone back to being pipe fitters or show salesmen or whatever because the record companies showed no interest whatsoever in promoting them (partly because of the 80s glam revival thing, you can see they were never pretty).

Still hate the whole idea of defining music by the way the performers _look_ though. What's really common to the sound of T-Rex, Hanoi Rocks, Motley Crue, Sweet that's not also shared by 1,000 other bands in different getups anyway? Plus, could the world's ozone layer survive another round of this...


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## snowgoon (Aug 23, 2008)

Well I would like to quote wild bill but it's just too long. LOL!

Anyway, I'm starting to see that's it's not over. I mean you can always be your own independent label. You might not have high levels of equipment or business or the staff, but this way you know it's done right.

I agree there are a lot of closet glam rock fans out there.
Well we'll see how things go.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

I get allot of philosophy in the long drives between gigs talking with who ever is in the truck cab beside me (usually either a light tech or another sound tech).

One day after a hashing out the whole "would you ever have sex with a sheep" thing and decided that I wouldn't even if there was one special little sheep that was very near & dear to me because the whole inter species mating thing doesn't work for me, even if a sheep was my soul mate - we got into a discussion about the entry level of Rock and Roll.

We determined that the average age for the entry level of professional Rock and Roll was about age thirty. Most pople play in cover bands or have failed attempts before they are thirty, but that seems to be the age where rockers get it together and figure out what's what.

So, by my estimation, you have twelve years to figure things out. I'm sure glam will make its rounds again in that timeframe.


Bahahhh


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Hamm Guitars said:


> ...One day after a hashing out the whole "would you ever have sex with a sheep" thing and decided that I wouldn't even if there was one special little sheep that was very near & dear to me because the whole inter species mating thing doesn't work for me, even if a sheep was my soul mate...


I'm glad you cleared that up 
I vote you win an award of some kind for the most tangential and gratuitous reference to sheep shagging, as well as the most circuitous route from off to on topic in a single post.

Great post BTW.:food-smiley-004:

For my money, glam rock died with Marc Bolan


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## jfk911 (May 23, 2008)

Sure there is hope there is a band out of montreal that has a glam rock twist now they have combined it with modern metal so its not entirly glam rock but kinda close. BTW the band is Blessed by a Broken heart. I just looked it up the are considered metalcore/glamcore. So im sure there is hope.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

there was SO many level of Glam rock..from Bon Jovi style to Motley Crue, to the OH..we look so darn gay like Poisson at some time. it all depend on what you're going for. 

is there room for it?...to me, it's dead and burried. even the 80's Glam bands are comming back..but they're old enough to know NOT to bring that look to the new century. 

NOW..musicaly, that's another thing. Bringing back the STYLE of music..now that will catch on fast i'm sure


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## satch09 (Jul 26, 2008)

Personally I'm not sure that "glam" will come back in rock, I think hip-hip took that over (in regards to over-the-top flashy fashion). However I do think that "flashy" guitar playing has started to resurface in recent years which is a good start. Even some harcore metal bands are doing crazy show-off, look-at-me-I'm-better-than-you type solos. Do I think the music will come back, yes, people will like it, and enjoy it, but as for the teased hair, spandex, and the colour purple, well...maybe take a different direction in that respect.


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## snowgoon (Aug 23, 2008)

Hamm Guitars said:


> So, by my estimation, you have twelve years to figure things out. I'm sure glam will make its rounds again in that timeframe.
> 
> 
> Bahahhh


Close.
More like 15 years.:banana:


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

al3d said:


> there was SO many level of Glam rock..from Bon Jovi style to Motley Crue, to the OH..we look so darn gay like Poisson at some time. it all depend on what you're going for.
> 
> is there room for it?...to me, it's dead and burried. even the 80's Glam bands are comming back..but they're old enough to know NOT to bring that look to the new century.
> 
> NOW..musicaly, that's another thing. Bringing back the STYLE of music..now that will catch on fast i'm sure


LOL! I dunno, it was fun at the time. Motley Crue ect.. I didn't consider it Glam, it was Hair metal. But the fact that Poison has a greatest Hits (Hits?? More like hit) album and that Moron Bret Michaels has had 2 seasons of the Rock of Love gag fest... There is likely a market for it. I'm all for the Guitar solos, but yeah not so much the purple spandex, or the oh so cheesy "Power Ballad"


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> I get allot of philosophy in the long drives between gigs talking with who ever is in the truck cab beside me (usually either a light tech or another sound tech).
> 
> One day after a hashing out the whole "would you ever have sex with a sheep" thing and decided that I wouldn't even if there was one special little sheep that was very near & dear to me because the whole inter species mating thing doesn't work for me, even if a sheep was my soul mate -
> 
> Bahahhh


Sheesh, a guy makes one baa aa aad little mistake afer a night of drinking and the whole world (except for Scotland) looks down on him.


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

Milkman said:


>


That sheep looks familiar....


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Hamm Guitars said:


> That sheep looks familiar....


It should.

It's my Daa aa aa aad


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Milkman said:


> Sheesh, a guy makes one baa aa aad little mistake afer a night of drinking and the whole world (except for Scotland) looks down on him.


Hey, don't forget the Kiwis...


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

devnulljp said:


> Hey, don't forget the Kiwis...


I think New Zealanders genuinely love their sheep.....



Hey, how bad can it be? Oh baby, I love ewe.


(ok that's about enough of that)


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Soundwise, Buck Cherry have a very similar sound to a lot of those 80's bands. And they have had some huge hits.

I don't really consider that music "Glam" though personally. I am a huge fan of The Sweet, T. Rex, Slade. I always considered that look and sound to be what Glam was. The 80's thing, while I will admit I loved it at the time, was another thing,


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

No.

.......


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

IMO if you extract the image and physical apearance elements from "Glam" rock, you're left with pretty generic rock and roll for the most part.

That's not bad, but I don't think it's particularly distinctive.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Milkman said:


> IMO if you extract the image and physical apearance elements from "Glam" rock, you're left with pretty generic rock and roll for the most part.
> 
> That's not bad, but I don't think it's particularly distinctive.


Well..you're not far for the truth..Glam rock..or the LA Metal Scene was what we used to call "Happy metal" ..it was about cars, getting laid, etc etc. Brit Metal, wich at least survived was more dark, obscure metal..and better in my view.

I think LA Metal could make a come back..i've listen to some Rats lately, new and old..still good. Dokken is making a comback..but never liked the dude's voice..to soft, and Lynche's not in it.so no..


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

torndownunit said:


> I don't really consider that music "Glam" though personally. I am a huge fan of The Sweet, T. Rex, Slade. I always considered that look and sound to be what Glam was. The 80's thing, while I will admit I loved it at the time, was another thing,


Me too, but it's Hair Metal. Sirius has a whole channel devoted to it. Lots of stuff I've never heard of and lots of crap too Imust admit. Like any genre, only a few real stand outs. But I still love it.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

There's an LA band that is sometimes a VH clone and sometimes a tribute to all hair metal called Metal Skool, lot's of youtube to be had including guest appearances by various celebs(?) in various states of partying.

I saw them and had a ball, the guitarist Satchel Page (afaik) is a fabulous player that has all the 80's LA stuff down (VH, deMartini, Lynch, Rhodes etc.). Warning, they spend about 40% of their time on stage parodying Sunset Boul misbehaviour...enough to embarass Vince Neil:rockon2: so if you're easily offended, it's not for you. 

Anyway, in my book, one has to master something in order to parody it and these guys rock.

As for new glam rock, the firecracker career of "the Darkness" sort of says it won't happen again.....then again Jack White and his velvet pants and sister/wife/mystery thrashing kick/snare and cymbal simultaneously would have gone straight into the first pages of a Creem mag right next to Bowie, NY Dolls etc. if released in 1973 and there's Avenged Sevenfold who are doing quite well for themselves.

Andy


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Milkman said:


> IMO if you extract the image and physical apearance elements from "Glam" rock, you're left with pretty generic rock and roll for the most part.
> 
> That's not bad, but I don't think it's particularly distinctive.


On the surface I kind of think the same thing. But when I hear a Poison or Motely Crue song, I know exactly who it is even if I don't know the song. So good or bad, some of the bands were distinctive. Just not really unique lol.

I am not ashamed to admit though I went to see Poison play twice at Molson Ampehtheatre when they used to tour every summer. A key element that those shows had/have are just plain fun. Rock n' Roll bands tend to totally forget about that aspect of the live show. Say what you want about Poison but their shows are fantastic. And the shows just have a great vibe. Something that is really missing in a lot of music nowadays.


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## satch09 (Jul 26, 2008)

torndownunit said:


> On the surface I kind of think the same thing. But when I hear a Poison or Motely Crue song, I know exactly who it is even if I don't know the song. So good or bad, some of the bands were distinctive. Just not really unique lol.
> 
> I am not ashamed to admit though I went to see Poison play twice at Molson Ampehtheatre when they used to tour every summer. A key element that those shows had/have are just plain fun. Rock n' Roll bands tend to totally forget about that aspect of the live show. Say what you want about Poison but their shows are fantastic. And the shows just have a great vibe. Something that is really missing in a lot of music nowadays.


About the only thing I like about glam rock (sorry just not a fan) is the fun crazy aspect of it, so yes very much agreed, its good for the people.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Geez this thread is confusing...half the people are talking about glam rock, the others about glam metal.

I think glam rock will always be around in different flavours (I would consider Marilyn Manson and Scissor sisters to be todays glam rock bands)....and glam metal is making a huge resurgence in festivals, and nostalgia shows, corporate gigs like "Metal Skool" and cd re-releases. Why? Because for those of us who were around during its heyday, it was what rock was meant to be....fun. There werent serious messages from brooding moronic frontmen, just good beats, some great playing, and a party time attitude. It made people feel good and was a release.

I dont need my rock stars meeting with my prime minister/president "educating" him about how f-ed up other parts of the world are, and how he should raise my taxes to pay to help them, before hopping back into his Gulfstream Jet fueled by tons of av gas and his own sense of self-satisfaction, and going back to one of his tax sheltered 80,000 sq ft mansions. Die, Bono.


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Diablo said:


> I dont need my rock stars meeting with my prime minister/president "educating" him about how f-ed up other parts of the world are, and how he should raise my taxes to pay to help them, before hopping back into his Gulfstream Jet fueled by tons of av gas and his own sense of self-satisfaction, and going back to one of his tax sheltered 80,000 sq ft mansions. Die, Bono.


You'd rather they turn over a significant % age of it to buy cocaine to shove up their noses in their 80,000 sq ft mansions like Tommy Lee, and so send the hard-earned cash that you used to buy the concert ticket with to South America to fund the lifestyle of Klaus Barbi and perpetuate the cycle of violence, death and destruction associated with it?

Although I kinda agree it's sad that rock stars & actors seem to get so much airtime for their social ideas, rather than people who may actually have studied or worked in these areas instead of being rock stars and actors. That said, they do, so it's as well they use it wisely. I really think Peter Gabriel had a hand in changing attitudes toward South Africa, at least among younger people at the time, and it's good he did that. As a young teenager, I certainly became aware of that particular situation through musicians -- PG, Simple Minds, U2, Bob Geldof, The Specials, Elvis Costello...lots of bands were pushing the anti-apartheid thing, and it had a consciousness raising effect. 
I'd sure rather pay taxes to alleviate poverty here and in the 3rd world than to buy bigger and better missiles and send kids off to get blown up by roadside bombers on the other side of the world, but unfortunately you don't get to choose what they spend it on, just who is doing the spending...

Hey this is kinda interesting. This is Bono's house in Dublin: http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/20358/
And this is Tommy Lee's pad: http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/37498/

These guys all make way too much money.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Robert1950 said:


> No.
> 
> .......


+1 On that! But it's a matter of taste! 
But seriously the style already come back...did someone heard about Tokyo Hotel?  If it's not the glam style what is it?


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Those were the days, for sure.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

This is why I said,......... NO.



GuitarsCanada said:


>


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

..and yet musically, I say YES!

Andy


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## Steeler (Oct 31, 2007)

Comeback.... No, It's run it course. It might influence something new, like Carl Perkins influenced the Beatles.

*However, there is a Niche Market for all styles of music that were once the Hot Item.*

The styles can be as varied as Big Band, Progressive Rock, Classic Country, Disco, Glam Rock, etc, etc. Each style has supporters that fondly remember the music and what it meant to their lives. (probably in their dating years)

You have to do the promotion, organize the marketing, develop the fan base.
If you're doing it for the love of the music, you'll be happy. You probably won't make much money, but you might.


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## sysexguy (Mar 5, 2006)

> I really think Peter Gabriel had a hand in changing attitudes toward South Africa, at least among younger people at the time, and it's good he did that. As a young teenager, I certainly became aware of that particular situation through musicians -- PG, Simple Minds, U2, Bob Geldof, The Specials, Elvis Costello...lots of bands were pushing the anti-apartheid thing, and it had a consciousness raising effect.


pretty much hopping on a train, there were movements at Canadian Universities for at least ten+ years prior to this (trying to get banks and companies to divest and boycotting debeers and outspan). Little Steven (of Springsteen fame) was the one who got the music community involved.

Andy


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Edgar was NOT Glam. The cover of this album was tongue-in-cheek.



sysexguy said:


> ..and yet musically, I say YES!
> 
> Andy


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

For many, it was an opportunity to make a splash. There were a lot of 3 power chord players in those days. I found a lot of the bands to be very weak musically.


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