Gerry Gittelson

March 28, 2023

FEELING THE NOIZE … Quiet Riot celebrates 40th anniversary of ‘Metal Health’ with Whisky concert

“This show was deeply emotional with Kevin’s mother and Frankie’s wife, Regina, both there.” – Rudy Sarzo LOS ANGELES – Forty years of glam metal goes by in a flash of pyro, a crash of a drum cymbal, a blink of heavy mascara – if you’re having fun, that is. So Quiet Riot is doing just that. It’s been 40 years since “Metal Health” went No. 1 — arguably the most important rock record since[…]

March 21, 2023

IT’S SO EASY … Former GN’R guitarist Gilby Clarke continues to Rock N’ Roll – Live Review

“Remember, we had a break there for a couple of years, and it was rough on all of us musicians. It was rough. It really was. It’s great to be back out playing live.” — Gilby Clarke HIGHLAND, Calif. – Nearly three decades after a three-year stint in Guns N’ Roses, Gilby Clarke is still going strong. The guitarist has continued to release successful solo albums, and over the years Clarke has worked with some[…]

March 12, 2023

RIKI N’ ROLL … Cathouse founder and former MTV VJ Riki Rachtman is going on Tour but first tells Metal Sludge about his History with Drugs, Booze, Jail, Porn Stars and Rock Stars

“Is Axl here? How about Nikki? Taime? OK, I guess you’ll do!” — Riki Rachtman LOS ANGELES – Like a rock and roll butterfly, Riki Rachtman continues to evolve even if his preferred brand of sleaze rock remains tucked away neatly in a time capsule. The former Cathouse founder and MTV DJ is testing the waters with a spoken-word tour that’s selling out and getting rave reviews. Rachtman, 60, never rose above the club level[…]

February 14, 2023

READY, SET, JET – Baltimore rockers American JetSet return as they drop new music with “LOVE KILLS”

LOS ANGELES – Baltimore buzz band American Jetset continues to make a name for itself. Just months after being featured in Metal Sludge for the first time in 2022, American Jetset has squeezed in some high-profile concert gigs plus recorded a brand new collection of slightly darker material, a new CD and stream called “Love Kills” that comes out on Valentines Day. Metal Sludge caught up with American Jetset once again. “American JetSet have a[…]

December 19, 2022

TEEN EDITOR … Looking back on Sunset Strip with former Rockstar Magazine publisher Kenward Cooper

“The Hollywood scene in the 80s wasn’t just a scene, it was a movement.” – Kenward Cooper LOS ANGELES – He never wore lipstick nor played in the most popular local hair-bands but make no mistake – Kenward Cooper is pure glam, and he always will be. Cooper published the classy fanzine Rockstar magazine beginning in the late 1980s when Rock was its height on the Sunset Strip. Yet unlike a lot of glam bands[…]

July 18, 2022

D’KINGS of D’STRIP … Metal Sludge Exclusive: D’MOLLS singer Desi Rexx takes you from Chicago to Hollywood and Back Again in D’80’s

Metal Sludge – Get ready for the grand return of D’Molls, once among the Sunset Strip’s most influential Glam bands before signing with Atlantic, putting out a great album, touring internationally but ultimately burning out too fast. Much too fast, if you listen to founding singer Desi Rexx, who plans to recapture some old glory July 29 with a comeback concert at the Whisky. Originally from Chicago, Rexx has a new supporting cast – nightlife[…]

October 26, 2021

SPOOKY SLUDGE … Metal Sludge’s “Dirty Dozen” — 12 scary rock songs perfect for Halloween

LOS ANGELES — Remember when your parents said how scary the Beatles were? Times have changed, but a big part of rock’s appeal has remained a certain darkness that’s still around today. With Halloween rolling around, what better time to unleash Metal Sludge’s version of 12 scary songs for the ages. For this spooky spectacular we’ve included 70’s rock, of course the 80’s, and even sprinkled in the 90’s! We’ve got goth to glam, classic[…]

August 16, 2021

ROXIE ROLLER … METAL SLUDGE EXCLUSIVE: 10 Questions with Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie

LOS ANGELES — Ryan Roxie’s Glam roots are indisputable, starting all the way back to when he was a teenage guitar whiz on the Sunset Strip. It was there Roxie ruled in the years before Poison with his utterly brilliant band called Candy, which headlined the Whisky and the Roxy in the early 1980s but never struck it rich. But a mere taste of success is all that was needed to inspire the broad-shouldered, bespectacled[…]

July 18, 2021

RED DOPE RIOT … Metal Sludge chats with Rock N’ Roll Author, Quiet Riot & Love/Hate singer Jizzy Pearl about his Books, Porn & The Hollywood Sign

LOS ANGELES — At 63, Jizzy Pearl can still sing his ass off. He is in his second stint with legendary rock band Quiet Riot — you need real pipes to pull off a respectable version of “Cum On Feel The Noize” — while still active with Love/Hate, plus past high-profile gigs with Ratt, L.A. Guns and an early version of Adler’s Appetite. Pearl has scratched out a rock and roll living, and he is[…]

May 20, 2021

STILL RUNNIN’ SH!T … After an ugly year off, Faster Pussycat singer Taime Downe returns with New Life, Brand New Music and New Tour Dates

LOS ANGELES — Faster Pussycat, a classic glam band, is pumping out some original music for the first time in 15 years, starting with a single called “Nola” that was produced by Gilby Clarke. Plus, the Los Angeles quintet led by singer Taime Downe is set to hit the road on an extended tour in June with Enuff Z’Nuff that’s been pushed a year because of Covid. A year is a long time for Faster[…]