In the hard rock/hair metal world, it’s hard for an established band to change lead singers and find continued success. I’m not behind closed doors, I don’t really know what happens but I suspect it goes something like this: “The singer thinks he can do this without us and have a solo career. That’s cool, but we’ll prove that we can move along with him too. Flip through Metal Edge and find a new singer.” Most times, neither the singer nor the band sell many records and the singer winds up reuniting with the band that he left or was kicked out of.
Van Halen tried it with Gary Cherone, an already established singer with a bona fide hit single (“More than Words”) under his belt with Extreme. That didn’t work out so well. Ratt tried it with Love/Hate’s Jizzy Pearl stepping in for Stephen Pearcy. That version of the band didn’t even bother to record new material, they just went out and played the hits. Motley Crue’s an interesting case to study. They brought in John Corabi, who had mild success with The Scream (“Man on the Moon”), to fill the shoes of Vince Neil and recorded a self-titled album in 1994. While it had a different flavor that the Neil-fronted material, there are many who think this is one of the best Crue albums in the catalog.
John Corabi’s been doing a tour of Ohio this past week, playing intimate and acoustic shows in cities like Martin’s Ferry, Akron and Wapakoneta. He’ll hit the bright lights, big city on Monday night with a show at the Bethel Road Pub. Based on reviews from this tour, expect to hear songs from many of the bands (The Scream, Motley Crue, Union) that Corabi has fronted and maybe even a cover of two.
Doors open at 7pm. Cover is $7. Erica Blinn and Chuck Oney will open the show. The Bethel Road Pub is located at 1375 Bethel Road.
COOL BRO A BAR YOU HAVE TO DRIVE TO