and they are gluten free and they’ve gotta do
Zumba before they go on stage. Rock stars used
to shoot up before they went out and played.
Now they have Epipens. So yeah, things have
changed. We are really losing all our rock stars
and the saddest one of all, for me anyway, is
Lemmy from Motorhead. That guy, on the music
end, was my idol. A lot of the attitude in my com-
edy comes from him. That sheer determination,
and don’t let them bastards grind you down, all
that attitude I bring to my comedy.
Do you think that Lemmy, and
Motorhead, got to be as big
as it should have been?
DON: I think they got as big as they should have
been. It definitely took a lot longer because they
had bad management and people leading them
in the wrong direction. Motorhead was basically
like ten members. They didn’t know how to take
care of the business, and they got screwed over
for the first twenty years of their career. And
then this guy, Todd, took over as their manager
and he brought some respectability to them as a
band. But with Lemmy’s voice, he’s not Mariah
Carey. It wasn’t like they were going to have
number one hits. But now that he’s gone, you’ve
got everybody from Brian May of Queen to you
name it all the way down the line, you’ve got
everybody saying he was the truest rock star of
all time. He was what he was. He walked around
in the same clothes that he wore on stage. It was
the same attitude. No apology. What you saw is
what you got.
I saw you one time hold up a
Lower the Veil CD on THAT
METAL SHOW!
DON: Absolutely! What I was doing the last
couple seasons of ‘That Metal Show’ was to
spotlight a Jersey band on each s eason of ‘That
Metal Show’. I had been following them for
awhile and I liked them. I was so proud to pro-
mote them on ‘That Metal Show’. This is not
just saying because we are local guys. And these guys might actually
hear this but they know this. I got 100% great feedback from fans who
actually went out and bought the record. That’s what’s up, man.
We’ve got clubs dropping like flies. We have
seen the decline and continue to see the de-
cline of participation, and attendance. What
the hell is going on?
DON: From my understanding, it’s a different business model now.
You’re not going to get bands as big as Metallica in that genre anymore
because records don’t sell like they used to. It all trickles down. And it
does start at the local level, you know? If people don’t support at the lo-
cal level, then they’re never going to be able to get to the national level
and the international level. So that’s a big part of it, too, and people
aren’t going to the clubs, and people aren’t selling records. It makes it
really difficult for bands to really stand out especially since there really
aren’t that many record companies left. There’s so much stuff out there,
which is good and bad. But the bad is it’s really tough to stand out in
this world amongst a million other bands. This is the thing, man. With
heavy music, the popularity always comes in really high ups and then
really low downs. I think we are just in a down spot right now. Look at
‘That Metal Show’ coming off the air and so many artists and people
depended on our show to sell records and promote tours, and whatever
else like books and sauces and wines or whatever it was they were
doing. We’ve got to give it some time and hope that things swing back
around. That’s all we can do except get the hell out there and support
these bands and actually buy their albums. I use Spotify and I get it.
But you know what? If I hear something on there that I like, I go buy it.
SEE FEBRUARY’S TOTAL ORDER FOR PART 2 OF THIS
INCREDIBLE INTERVIEW.
SUPERFAN
When you are the ultimate superfan of independent artists worldwide, you deserve your own page.
Welcome to the SUPERFAN page and the newest edition to our team, Ronnie Shapiro Stoeckel.
She is going to bring you the independent music scene from the fan perspective.
I’m not going to lie – I must have started and deleted this
article about 5 times already. How does one write about
something they are so passionate about? I am a fan of mu-
sic; A HUGE fan of music. Actually, ALL of us here are
huge fans of music. But the word “fan” isn’t enough some-
times, for any of us really. We are supporters, enthusiasts,
admirers, followers, fiends (yes, I mean fiends). We are the
ones sitting front and center when our favorite band is out
playing. We buy their merchandise (and sometimes sneak it
into the house so our husbands don’t see yet another band
shirt.) Of course, I’m not speaking from experience or any-
thing. And we proudly wear their shirts everywhere we go,
hoping someone will ask us about them.
We will take pictures, videos, and broadcast their show via
Facebook Live, so we can show our friends a little bit of
this crazy music world we love so much. When one of their
songs starts playing on our iPod, we tell our coworkers all
about the latest show we saw, and we tell them all about this
band that they MUST see. We share on social media links
to their pages, songs, videos, etc. The list goes on and on.
This feeling we get, this passion, is heightened 1000% when
it’s our friends in the local bands we are cheering for. Maybe
it’s a childhood friend, or maybe it’s someone we met when
we went to see a show and their band was opening. Maybe
we decided to go to our local Originals Music Showcase
(shameless plug for The Fyre and Ice Show girls...can I do
that??), and saw some bands we really enjoy and it just
went from there.
Whichever way we met them, they are part of our lives now,
and we have become a part of their journey. A journey that
we hope as fans, enthusiasts, and supporters, will take them
as far as they can (or want) to go. There’s also the heart-
breaking reality of being a die hard “fan girl” (or “fan boy”
for those of you who fit that category). Notice I never said
the word “groupie” – do NOT call me a groupie!! Group-
ies do things. Well, you know. And when the object of our
affections has a shakeup – a member leaving, or the band
just breaking up, it’s horrible. It’s gut wrenching. It makes
you want to die. Ok, you really don’t want to die, but you
understand my sadness here. But no matter what, we still
support our friends with their projects. We will still be fans,
supporters, enthusiasts, admirers, followers, and fiends.
And we will always love every minute of it.
I bet right about now some of you are wondering “Who
is this woman and where did she come from????”. Well,
about 5 years ago, I met Neue Regel Radio’s very own Tra-
cie Lovett, at a festival for bands being held by a mutual
friend. We had kept in contact over the years and I started
listening to The Fyre and Ice Show when it was a podcast.
Eventually, she and Amy Danner (who I met a few years
later), ended up on Neue Regel Radio, and they invited me
to tune in. That’s where I was introduced to the NRR chat
room and met many great people there! I’ll be honest, most
of the new music I have bought since being introduced to
Neue Regel Radio, is from bands I have heard on the sta-
tion. Even better, many of these people I have become a
“fan girl” of, I met because of NRR. The bands, the DJ’s,
and other friends of Neue Regel Radio, have become a fam-
ily to me and the chatroom feels like home.
But please….don’t call me a groupie…..
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