Spooky Stuff.

No tricks but I do have another "treat", it's a sweet post even though Halloween is pretty much about the gruesome stuff.

No trashy German rock bands with hilarious videos this time but one hard rocking band from down under, Sydney-siders AC/DC baby! I told you I wasn't lying when I said treat. Halloween was significant to AC/DC in so many ways. C'mon, Angus Young in schoolboy uniforms is just too hot and to think that the idea all came from his sister? How sweet is that.

I mean, sure there was Ozzy and Black Sabbath who'd pull gimmicks like biting off a bird's head in the 70s but we got to give it away to these guys who were absolutely born to be the oddballs of heavy metal and make it big amongst the others during that costume parade glam rock era.

Who could forget Bon Scott who brought his one of a kind knock out hit "Highway To Hell." Too bad he had to get wasted and totally wasted his life and career away. I miss him. I guess he's now riding on a highway to hell and no one's gonna stop him cause he's going all the way.

Today they're on a rock&roll train, kicking off their world tour on halloween...but I still miss my ride to their Promised Land. Peace Bon Scott.

Happy Halloween Zigsters!

In ode to Halloween

Scary Scary BOOO!

Happy Halloweeeeeeennnn folks!!!

Does anybody remember 80s German power thrash metal band Helloween? No? Well I do...mainly because my brother had a giant poster of them on his bedroom wall which scared the bejesus out of me...(no it wasn't the scary pumpkin head, more like their big frizzy dos). There was a time when being a rock / metal god meant having crimped locks that went down to your waist, tight leather trousers coupled with leather vests worn without anything underneath. It didn't matter that this get up would need a lot of panache to get into (and probably a bottle of talcum powder to get out of...but we won't get into that)...the truth is, thrash or death metal was a testament to being hard, tough and frankly, quite scary.

Helloween

I can't say I've been a fan of heavy metal but growing up, I was familiarised very quickly with Eddie the Iron Maiden mascot and stories of death metal bands who branded upside down crosses into their foreheads. There was also that incident with a bat by our favourite zoned out Dad Ozzy Osbourne of course. Metal-heads were a fixture in my pre-teen life and although I never quite identified, there was something perversely intriguing about men who could tear up a guitar riff and strain their vocal chords roaring Satanic verses into their recordings.

I am still fascinated by metal even though I've moved decidedly past into a more pop rock world. Every Halloween I think about Eddie and the cover of Iron Maiden's Fear Of The Dark album of which still sends a cold shiver down my spine. And the album Seventh Son of A Seventh Son still invokes imaginary dark memories of which the album provided the soundtrack to.

And so, in conjunction with this spooky day, I'd like to take a moment and give an ode to my old friend Eddie and wish everyone a very Happy Scary Hallo-hello-ween....

First Track.

Me, excited to type my inaugural post on zigs (a project we've all been working on a year, in our heads) I must admit it's worth the bruise I got from hitting my knee against my computer table a few seconds ago. We all are enthusiastic over something. We all are interested in something. Sometimes, what we swore we'll never be interested in oddly becomes something we're suddenly so enthusiastic about.

Ironically, I've heard 'Hanging by a moment' repeating on the radio a couple of times in the year 2000 and I couldn't be bothered, I mean who would if you were a 16 year old teenager pathetically dancing to 'Hit me baby one more time...." in the mirror. There were moments I turned on MTV to mimic more Britney dance moves, but all that came on was this shabby looking dude with floppy blonde hair, sitting at some cheesy diner looking like a wannabe rockstar strumming his guitar. And suddenly... that big voice came out of nowhere. It was 'Hanging by a moment' AGAIN! I sat there with annoyance telling my sister "This guy's voice doesn't sound like it belongs to him and he looks so silly with his unrockstar-like floppy hair!argh!WANNABE!!!" I don't know why I was so infuriated at that moment but that was...Jason Wade of Lifehouse I was condenming right there, right through my teeth.

Believe me that wasn't the only moment of hatred I had. There was more abhorrence for that, that wannabe fella! And just when you're thinking of something bad about someone...something unusually special sparks your interest about them. I sat down this time with full of amazement, hooked to the tv screen as if I were inside that same cab, walking the pavements, staring at people on the streets in Jason Wade's mind. I felt like I found my first "love" when I listened to 'Breathing' that was playing on MTV. I didn't know how it felt in my head but all I know was my heart was chained by thoughts that I kept a distant all this while. The song is totally beautiful, the emotions were the first I've ever felt in a song, in a voice, in any words...I knew from that moment on "I LOVE THIS BAND!"

The day after, I just had to look for the cd and with all pride and joy purchased it with my own $$$$! Since then, No Name Face was on repeat in my cd player and I was indeed in love. I never knew how loving music could be like a miracle and that same floppy-haired dude ultimately changed my perception of him not by his looks but his music and total honesty. How can one feel so much passion and share the same thoughts as me? But I think everyone feels the same as me if you've found your true love in music. As crazy as it may sound, Wade's like my soulmate when it comes to music from the way he writes.

This year has been my luckiest. My dream to see my ultimate #1 rocking band came true. I thought I'd fly off to the states when I'm at least richer, married, elderly and unattractive just to see them. Guess what? I was wrong because I saw them in concert twice this year!!! I tell you it's just unforgettable to see that band, that someone you believe to be an inspiration of some sort serenading to you right there, in reality and I cried. How could that one guy I dissed 8 years ago give my stomach a spinning washing machine whirpool effect and send my neurons to hyperdrive with just...his music?

From his whole sad life story which I could go on into a series of drama to that sexy raspy vocal line with oh-so-mesmerising melodies and despite the change of lineup, I have my reasons for making them the first ever and only band I love on my list. Until this day Lifehouse and Jason Wade remain undefeated in my books no matter how pathetic you may think I am. I guess if the bad comes first before the good, there must be something special to make you open up your eyes and believe that there will be something to look forward to, even if you might just not know it yet. In one of my favourite tracks Empty Space, Jason explains, “This is about the good and the bad, the struggle between beauty and darkness and how they’re intertwined. What keeps these relationships together is often what drives them apart.”
He must be something special as his T-shirt print "Specials" said, the one he wore when I watched Lifehouse performing in Manila.

there is always a first

this idea of a music blog didnt take much, but it has been the talk and the dream for the whole year.

let's start it then!

who was your first?


this bunch of guys opened my eyes to what REAL music really is. I was amazed. As creepy as Axl (W. Axl Rose, excuse me) could be with his swirly dance moves, it worked on me. Their music rocked me to the core of my emotions.

I was around 10 then. My sisters were so into them and like a sponge, I baby-sisterly absorbed anything they did and whatever they were into. GNR being one of them. I was never afraid of GNR's soft porn-infused-with-skulls illustrations on their album covers..and their foul lyrics. I thought it was wayyyy too cool.

I had the hugest crush on Duff McKagan. him & Jason Newsted (of Metallica) drew me into playing bass. He was so sexy in those tight ripped carrot jeans. crotch-ripping. still, it was the hair that had me at Hello.

How could anyone ever forget November Rain? Such as classic. 11 minutes of gold. Everything from the video, to the extended version, and the live duet with Sir Elton John, to the song itself....perfect. W. Axl Rose is such a beautiful man. It's hard to point out just one song without mentioning other just equally as good ones.... so I'd have to say, Don't Cry I and II, Paradise City, Used To Love Her, Estranged, Civil War, Welcome To The Jungle were among my faves. :)

The highlight for GNR was the Japan tour, to me. gives me the chills every single time i listen to Slash's version of the Godfather's theme. And Gilby Clarke's version of Rolling Stones' Wild Horses. Even to their last (official) album, The Spaghetti Incident, I feel it's hard for any other band to recreate the vibe they had. Velvet Revolver's not even close. but i still support them.

First is First

Hello hello hello!

Welcome to our uber-duber blog!

Obviously we were smart enough to realise one fine day that many of us out here need a place to just sit down, relax and read about all that's inane and mundane about music.

So here we go, this is meant to be a portal...yes, portal for us to vent, to spout with clout if you will on all that's music, fashion, yummy, scrummy, and dare we say it, cool in the World of We ( your friendly neighbourhood Zigs slavettes).

First is First... and the first band I really listened to as in, properly, lyrics and all, were...

Notice: It was also due to the fact that I had a massive crush on Alex James that I bothered at all with Parklife (which is also the first Britrock album I ever owned). A little late in the game but hey, I was 11 and still practicing Michael Jackson moves.

(Years later, in a close encounter somewhere in Soho, London, I would smile a goofy smile at the man himself thinking he was a former uni-mate with a cool scarf. He smiled back of course and it wasn't till seconds later that I realised he was the man of my childhood groupie dreams and let our a a magnanimous squeal. EEK!)

But listening to Girls & Boys on cassette whiled away many an afternoon and spurned many androgynous thoughts at the wee age of 11. It gave me a sense of belonging to something, a sense of rebellion against something I couldn't quite understand but wanted desperately to rant at. Little was I to know on the other side of the world, Britpop/rock would define the landscape of music in the 90s and give all tweens like myself a bigger purpose in life. It gave us a purpose. Britpop had something to say. It was about identity. Ah yes. Such revolution.

Ah Damon, now you've turned yourself into a graphic, Graham, you're on the radio, Dave, you're going to space and Alex..lovely Alex, you're a farmer...Oh well, you all were my First...