Metal Sludge Gossip Board

LillianRoxyFA wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 5:48 am
As for Night Ranger, reliable as always. These guys are the poor man's Journey and will be able to work as long as they want to. Rock solid, professional show that always goes over well with the Ribfest crowd. Keri Kelli is worth the price of admission. However, Brad Gillis is quickly turning into the guitar version of Gary Cherone. His stage moves are bordering on creepy.

veritas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:20 am
And I couldn't agree MORE on your Brad Gillis comment. I had the same thought: why are you staring into the crowd and acting so fucking creepy in your guitar solos? It's weird and affected.

Anthrax442 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:34 am

veritas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:20 am
And I couldn't agree MORE on your Brad Gillis comment. I had the same thought: why are you staring into the crowd and acting so fucking creepy in your guitar solos? It's weird and affected.

I can't stand Night Ranger. Sorry, I just don't get it, and all the recent MAGA/Antivax shit hasn't exactly helped them look any better.

Separate from that though, as far as Brad goes, I've ALWAYS thought he looked like a giant dork. I've got a feeling that's part of why he didn't last longer with Ozzy, not just "Ozzy was drinking heavily and being an ass".

veritas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:48 am

I don't anything about any MAGA. Antivax nonsense with them.

Anyway, I doubt Gillis was fired for being dorky (he wasn't AS bad with Ozzy). Remember this was a team that hired Don Costa.
I think HE chose to leave Ozzy to return to Night Ranger so he could do his own thing: I suspect he saw the financial terms of how Sharon ran the show, and, coupled with a drunk Ozzy, he saw he would be a sideman at best. Smart move.

Anthrax442 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 8:25 am

veritas wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:48 am

I don't anything about any MAGA. Antivax nonsense with them.

Anyway, I doubt Gillis was fired for being dorky (he wasn't AS bad with Ozzy). Remember this was a team that hired Don Costa.
I think HE chose to leave Ozzy to return to Night Ranger so he could do his own thing: I suspect he saw the financial terms of how Sharon ran the show, and, coupled with a drunk Ozzy, he saw he would be a sideman at best. Smart move.

Do some searching, you'll find it. Kerri Kelli specifically was wearing some sort of Anti-Fauci shirt. I can't remember who else in the band had similar leanings, but chances are it's the real reason why Jeff Watson isn't in the band anymore, not substance abuse.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there weren't reasons on both sides for Brad going back to Night Ranger, but keep in mind, this is 1982, Night Ranger wasn't really a thing yet, Dawn Patrol hadn't even been released, much less any of the later hits like Sister Christian.

If Brad was really a good fit for Ozzy, you'd think they would have tried a bit harder to make it work, rather than move onto Jake.

LillianRoxyFA wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 5:48 am I got a chance to see Nelson (billed as The Nelsons) for the first time this past weekend opening for Night Ranger at the Mankato, MN Ribfest. Admittedly, I was disappointed to hear they were opening, but walked away really enjoying their show. They sounded great on the rockier stuff and really shined during their mini acoustic set. They came off as humble, articulate and appreciative. They even played "Two Heads are Better than One" off of the Bill and Ted's soundtrack, which is a guilty pleasure of mine.

It must have been a whirlwind for these guys in 91. Coming out of nowhere, getting a #1 hit, headlining tour, then poof, gone. They became the poster children for all that was wrong in hair metal, and yes, they were marketed in a way that made them easy to dismiss. Kudos to them for continuing to hit the road and working to gain new fans and putting out new music. They mentioned having a song featured in Peacemaker season 2. Who knows, maybe a career resurgence in coming.

As for Night Ranger, reliable as always. These guys are the poor man's Journey and will be able to work as long as they want to. Rock solid, professional show that always goes over well with the Ribfest crowd. Keri Kelli is worth the price of admission. However, Brad Gillis is quickly turning into the guitar version of Gary Cherone. His stage moves are bordering on creepy.

Anthrax442 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:15 am The Nelsons had a one off appearance on SNL in 1986, where they had completely different look, and didn't appear to be doing the pop metal thing yet.

This confused the hell out of me for years, because I didn't understand how they managed to get the music spot on SNL without a record, but I guess it was a favor from Lorne to whoever their management was?

Wild Obsession wrote: ↑Tue Aug 05, 2025 7:12 am

Anthrax442 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:15 am The Nelsons had a one off appearance on SNL in 1986, where they had completely different look, and didn't appear to be doing the pop metal thing yet.

This confused the hell out of me for years, because I didn't understand how they managed to get the music spot on SNL without a record, but I guess it was a favor from Lorne to whoever their management was?

The Nelson brothers are a "Hollywood/trust fund family". Their Dad was a star in the 50's/ 60's. So I doubt they were "in the trenches", building a fan base by playing shitty gigs at dive bars. Kinda like the 80's version of Waffle Van Halen, except the Nelson's actually have some of their father's charisma.