Great White - Cock Rock at its Finest (and Lowest)
A few minutes ago, I received an email from someone in the Portsmouth Music Scene newsgroup regarding the fire that broke out at a Rhode Island nightclub the other night, killing 100 (or more) people and injuring scads more... I'll post it here, since it was already sent in a public manner, along with my response... Let it be known that I bear no personal ill will or anything like that to the writer of the letter, but maybe it was a bit over-cheesed and maybe devoted too much on the side of "taking crowd safety for granted" (which we do) and not enough on "idiotic, negligent incompetence and culpability" -
To All My Rock And Roll Friends:
We all saw the news yesterday. I personally woke up on my couch at 1 am to a report as it was happening live. I was terrified as I became groggily awake to the news "fire in nightclub kills many". I thought "terrorist attack?" until they explained the pyro accident. Then I heard "Great White". I thought, "I just tried to go see them a few months ago but it was cancelled...what's up?" Then I was fully awake and got the horrid details.
Something really terrible happened to the rock and roll community as a whole on Thursday night. This really hit home with me because of all the shows I attend. And I'm often in these type of crowd situations. Hell, I attended a sold-out packed to the gills Clutch show at The Newport last night after-the-fact and I must say I had to think about it a couple of times as I was squeezed and pushed in the pit. I know you all are fans of live shows as well and I think we all should take this moment to think about the
things we take for granted when we step out to play or attend a gig...that we will make it home. I cried my eyes out this morning as I read a fan's first-hand account of the tragedy. It is available at
http://www.metal-sludge.com/GWGeorgeEmail.htm
for reading. I warn you, it is graphic and heartbreaking but the fan should be commended for his bravery as he tried to help as many as he could before it became hopeless.
The last thing we should have to worry about when we go to enjoy some music is whether or not we will be hurt or killed. My heart and prayers go out to all those who lost their lives, their families, the still-missing guitarist from Great White and all involved. This should never have happened in a million years and we must now all be extra safety conscious in the future to make sure it never happens again.
[name omitted]
�*�*�
my first response:
Xxxxx (and everyone else for that matter),
Yes, I saw the news, saw the footage and was pretty disturbed by what I saw and heard from the people and the videotape... but even more than sad, I was extremely outraged by it all, and I'll tell you why.
Basically, it was absolutely senseless, unnecessary, and totally the fault of a self-serving bunch of cock rockers. Great White WAS TOLD to ABSOLUTELY NOT use pyrotechnics at the show that caused the fire... and what did they do? Well, they did the same thing that they did on AT LEAST THREE other occasions that were also documented on video - they ignored the laws and the club owners/proprietors and lit their little cheesy sparkler fan, anyway.
Then, the next morning I saw an interview with an obviously and right[ful]ly shaken Jack Russell. He kept going on and on (and on) about how he was "missing one of his guitarists" and how his "soundman was burnt to a crisp," but not ONE TIME in the interview did he EVER make mention of the hundred plus fans that were killed... not once... all he could talk about was his missing guitarist and his soundman. At one point, he actually had the gaul to utter the words, "It was a senseless tragedy..." No shit... wanna know why it was senseless there, pal? Have a look in the fucking mirror... Granted, that anyone is injured or missing (close friend or complete stranger) in something like this is sad, but what an asshole.
I had a chance to catch a portion of Great White open for someone (I can't even remember who, now, maybe Whitesnake?) in the later '80s and they totally sucked. The best thing they EVER did was an acoustic set of four or five Led Zeppelin covers, and if that's the highlight of your career, you suck.
They have opened a criminal investigation into the matter and I personally hope that they (and I believe after the evidence is gathered, they should) hold THE BAND responsible for every single death. It was a catastrophe, absolutely - but one that should never have had the opportunity to ever happen, had a group of marginally talented used-to-wasits whose "best" years were about 15 years ago not snubbed their nose at the laws and the requests of the people who were nice enough to let them play there in the first place, just looking for a 15-second pop from a group of people who were kind enough to come out and see them.
I'm sure you understand this is absolutely nothing personal, Xxxxx, but fuck Great White in the neck. I hope they never play another show, ever again and they pay for killing all those people "in the name of rock and roll..." Fuck Great White.
-tony-
�*�*�
After I read through it and thought about it for a minute, I wrote a second reply:
Well, okay... after thinking about it for a couple minutes, I think I want to restate what I think a little bit...
Yes, I think Great White sucks... but that really doesn't make a difference in their culpability in this fire. It would have been shitty had it been any other band on that stage, whether it was my favorite band or my least favorite band...
I think I was more enraged at the callousness of Jack Russell's comments in the interview I saw than anything else... He's a cocky, self-centered prick (and one of his former girlfriends is a friend that lives here in town and will corroborate that fact, shameless interview or no) that doesn't deserve a tenth of the "fame" he's had over the years, but maybe his head was not on all that straight when he overlooked the 100 or so people his band's crappy attempt at pumping up a crowd killed...
I ABSOLUTELY still believe the band is responsible for the accident (and it certainly was an accident) after seeing the videotaped evidence of them setting that stuff off on all the other occasions in which they were told not to in places with super-low ceilings and such (not unlike the place in Rhode Island and Columbus' Alrosa Villa), but they aren't alone in the blame, I realize. Should it turn out that whoever is responsible for informing the band and the techs of the building codes and laws of the area regarding pyrotechnics (usually a road manager, promoter, or tech of some type) DID NOT do their duty, they are equally to blame, then... When I played some shows in some of the bigger venues in Chicagoland (like the Thirsty Whale, Cabaret Metro, two different Out West clubs, etc.), I really wasn't too incredibly concerned (or responsible, for that matter) with fire codes and such, mainly because we didn't use any cheesy pyrotechnics in the first place... although I can distinctly remember looking for sprinklers in every bar we played in after I sat about 20 feet from one of Dave Mustaine's amps onstage and watched it literally explode into flames one night...
So, while I'm still standing by my statement that the band should be held accountable, the term "band" SHOULD have also included everyone involved in seeing that they DON'T use pyrotechnics when it is, in fact, illegal.
-tony-
Listening to: Finger Eleven - "The Greyest of Blue Skies" (2000)
A few minutes ago, I received an email from someone in the Portsmouth Music Scene newsgroup regarding the fire that broke out at a Rhode Island nightclub the other night, killing 100 (or more) people and injuring scads more... I'll post it here, since it was already sent in a public manner, along with my response... Let it be known that I bear no personal ill will or anything like that to the writer of the letter, but maybe it was a bit over-cheesed and maybe devoted too much on the side of "taking crowd safety for granted" (which we do) and not enough on "idiotic, negligent incompetence and culpability" -
To All My Rock And Roll Friends:
We all saw the news yesterday. I personally woke up on my couch at 1 am to a report as it was happening live. I was terrified as I became groggily awake to the news "fire in nightclub kills many". I thought "terrorist attack?" until they explained the pyro accident. Then I heard "Great White". I thought, "I just tried to go see them a few months ago but it was cancelled...what's up?" Then I was fully awake and got the horrid details.
Something really terrible happened to the rock and roll community as a whole on Thursday night. This really hit home with me because of all the shows I attend. And I'm often in these type of crowd situations. Hell, I attended a sold-out packed to the gills Clutch show at The Newport last night after-the-fact and I must say I had to think about it a couple of times as I was squeezed and pushed in the pit. I know you all are fans of live shows as well and I think we all should take this moment to think about the
things we take for granted when we step out to play or attend a gig...that we will make it home. I cried my eyes out this morning as I read a fan's first-hand account of the tragedy. It is available at
http://www.metal-sludge.com/GWGeorgeEmail.htm
for reading. I warn you, it is graphic and heartbreaking but the fan should be commended for his bravery as he tried to help as many as he could before it became hopeless.
The last thing we should have to worry about when we go to enjoy some music is whether or not we will be hurt or killed. My heart and prayers go out to all those who lost their lives, their families, the still-missing guitarist from Great White and all involved. This should never have happened in a million years and we must now all be extra safety conscious in the future to make sure it never happens again.
[name omitted]
�*�*�
my first response:
Xxxxx (and everyone else for that matter),
Yes, I saw the news, saw the footage and was pretty disturbed by what I saw and heard from the people and the videotape... but even more than sad, I was extremely outraged by it all, and I'll tell you why.
Basically, it was absolutely senseless, unnecessary, and totally the fault of a self-serving bunch of cock rockers. Great White WAS TOLD to ABSOLUTELY NOT use pyrotechnics at the show that caused the fire... and what did they do? Well, they did the same thing that they did on AT LEAST THREE other occasions that were also documented on video - they ignored the laws and the club owners/proprietors and lit their little cheesy sparkler fan, anyway.
Then, the next morning I saw an interview with an obviously and right[ful]ly shaken Jack Russell. He kept going on and on (and on) about how he was "missing one of his guitarists" and how his "soundman was burnt to a crisp," but not ONE TIME in the interview did he EVER make mention of the hundred plus fans that were killed... not once... all he could talk about was his missing guitarist and his soundman. At one point, he actually had the gaul to utter the words, "It was a senseless tragedy..." No shit... wanna know why it was senseless there, pal? Have a look in the fucking mirror... Granted, that anyone is injured or missing (close friend or complete stranger) in something like this is sad, but what an asshole.
I had a chance to catch a portion of Great White open for someone (I can't even remember who, now, maybe Whitesnake?) in the later '80s and they totally sucked. The best thing they EVER did was an acoustic set of four or five Led Zeppelin covers, and if that's the highlight of your career, you suck.
They have opened a criminal investigation into the matter and I personally hope that they (and I believe after the evidence is gathered, they should) hold THE BAND responsible for every single death. It was a catastrophe, absolutely - but one that should never have had the opportunity to ever happen, had a group of marginally talented used-to-wasits whose "best" years were about 15 years ago not snubbed their nose at the laws and the requests of the people who were nice enough to let them play there in the first place, just looking for a 15-second pop from a group of people who were kind enough to come out and see them.
I'm sure you understand this is absolutely nothing personal, Xxxxx, but fuck Great White in the neck. I hope they never play another show, ever again and they pay for killing all those people "in the name of rock and roll..." Fuck Great White.
-tony-
�*�*�
After I read through it and thought about it for a minute, I wrote a second reply:
Well, okay... after thinking about it for a couple minutes, I think I want to restate what I think a little bit...
Yes, I think Great White sucks... but that really doesn't make a difference in their culpability in this fire. It would have been shitty had it been any other band on that stage, whether it was my favorite band or my least favorite band...
I think I was more enraged at the callousness of Jack Russell's comments in the interview I saw than anything else... He's a cocky, self-centered prick (and one of his former girlfriends is a friend that lives here in town and will corroborate that fact, shameless interview or no) that doesn't deserve a tenth of the "fame" he's had over the years, but maybe his head was not on all that straight when he overlooked the 100 or so people his band's crappy attempt at pumping up a crowd killed...
I ABSOLUTELY still believe the band is responsible for the accident (and it certainly was an accident) after seeing the videotaped evidence of them setting that stuff off on all the other occasions in which they were told not to in places with super-low ceilings and such (not unlike the place in Rhode Island and Columbus' Alrosa Villa), but they aren't alone in the blame, I realize. Should it turn out that whoever is responsible for informing the band and the techs of the building codes and laws of the area regarding pyrotechnics (usually a road manager, promoter, or tech of some type) DID NOT do their duty, they are equally to blame, then... When I played some shows in some of the bigger venues in Chicagoland (like the Thirsty Whale, Cabaret Metro, two different Out West clubs, etc.), I really wasn't too incredibly concerned (or responsible, for that matter) with fire codes and such, mainly because we didn't use any cheesy pyrotechnics in the first place... although I can distinctly remember looking for sprinklers in every bar we played in after I sat about 20 feet from one of Dave Mustaine's amps onstage and watched it literally explode into flames one night...
So, while I'm still standing by my statement that the band should be held accountable, the term "band" SHOULD have also included everyone involved in seeing that they DON'T use pyrotechnics when it is, in fact, illegal.
-tony-
Listening to: Finger Eleven - "The Greyest of Blue Skies" (2000)
posted by TONY at 2/22/2003 03:56:00 PM
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