Martin's Music Page

I've been collecting records and tapes since I was thirteen and the collection keeps growing. I also have over 700 home-taped music cassettes that are not listed here. For a list of records currently in my collection and record statistics, follow: My Online Record Collection 2554 albums! 933 artists! 2554 album covers! Updated December 28, 2003 [ Personal History | Favorite Artists | Special Band Pages | More Music Links | Find Music ] Personal History Of Rock'N'Roll I grew up with glam rock, hard rock and punk. My earliest memories go back to German TV appearances by Sweet, Mud, Kenny, Gary Glitter, Status Quo, Sailor and recognizing a Suzi Quatro concert poster pinned to a pub door before I even knew what rock'n'roll was or that there was such a thing as live concerts. I remember my parents saying that they're all transvestites (save for Suzi, I guess) but that could not deter me. Between the ages of about 9 and 14 I was a fan of Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Status Quo, Smokie, Runaways, Rainbow and took an interest in the Ramones, Sex Pistols (I started wearing a safety pin stuck through my jeans or jacket), Boomtown Rats, Stranglers, Kate Bush, T.Rex and whatever else they would play on my favorite radio show ("Pop Nach Acht" with Thomas Gottschalk) that I would tape from almost daily on the dinky family stereo. At age 14 I officially converted to being a KISS fan which lasted some 5 years. I also got into Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Van Halen, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Motorhead, Angel City, AC/DC and Nazareth and more unknown bands whose records my best buddy and I would carry home from record stores (I can still hear my Mom say, "You are wasting your allowance on stuff you are not going to listen to in two years" - wrong, Mom, sorry...). It wasn't until age 16 that I went to my first concert which was KISS followed shortly by a Girlschool gig (courtesy of a radio listener of a station where I had won a Krokus contest and was invited to be a 1-hour guest DJ). I was also able to write down at least 100 band names from memory, usually on the back of school books. I despised Abba, Queen, hippie bands and disco. No big changes are recorded until roughly age 19 where I gave up KISS in favor of a broader interest in bands though I skipped e.g. the whole new wave scene. I started catching up with Alice Cooper who I previously had ignored and I learned who the New York Dolls were. In my early 20's I started a major hard rock/punk exchange with a new buddy from work. I had mostly hard rock, he had mostly punk albums and we taped almost our entire collections for each other, becoming best buddies in the process. Travels to the USA got me more interested in American rock and upon return I would seek out the albums of bands I had heard on US radio. From then up to the present I have ventured into ever more new and unknown bands including more off-the-wall stuff as well as blues and rockabilly while constantly revisiting nostalgia and catching up with back catalogs of bands that I have known but never paid much attention to. With the decline of 80's glam, being sick of American "classic rock" and not really catching on to death/speed metal, neo-punk and alternative, grunge, rap etc. I'm increasingly tending to British punk and old glam rock again. So, I still like punk, punk rock, power pop, glam rock, hard rock, heavy metal, rockabilly, blues. Following are some comments about my all-time fave bands and links to them and other worthy rock music sites. All-Time Favorite Artists The Angels/Angel City The official site for madman Doc Neeson and his Aussie crew of 'pub rock god' status! Been a fan since 1980 even though those guys are little known in the US and Europe. Kate Bush Who could ever forget Kate Bush. She was another integral part of my youth. Mysterious and erotic with songs that were somewhat on the fringe of my rock'n'roll tastebuds yet captured my fascination. 'Hammer Horror' was one of the magic tracks back then. Although I really only like her first 3 albums, she made enough of a lasting impression to be listed here. Alice Cooper The official Alice Cooper Show Web site. It took me a while to discover Alice although I remember listening to "School's out" at my older cousin's place when I was still very green. D.A.D Official site for D.A.D. aka "Disneyland After Dark" from Denmark. You gotta love their humor, of course they also rock and have cranked out lots of catchy and ballsy hard rock tunes! An instant favorite when I first picked up "No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims" and later caught up with their entire catalogue. Dogs D'Amour A graveyard of empty bottles and Tyla's intriguing and fascinating lyrics and cover art... Definitely one of my top three all-time favorite bands! Girlschool The female equivalent of Motorhead and of course underrated in the US. At least the BNR Metal Pages feature a bit about them. Fanship dates back to my early teens. Second concert I ever saw. Joan Jett Official Joan Jett and the Blackhearts site. What else was there after the Runaways split. Well, ok, there was Lita too. Motorhead My first exposure to the band was "Overkill". The drum part was perfect for the lightshow I had back then... I'm not too fond of their recent releases but classic Motorhead is a must! New York Dolls New York Dolls Backroom and Johnny Thunders Cyber Lounge. Didn't find out about the Dolls until my 20's but love them all the more. Iggy Pop My first exposure was "Raw Power" and it took till my early 20's to find out about it. Check UBL for artist sites... Suzi Quatro DJ Denny Ray's excellent Suzi Site apparently hit the bit bucket a while ago but there is an official site in Australia now. Remember such tracks as Can The Can, Glycerine Queen, 48 Crash or Daytona Demon? Still love it. Suzi's from the dawn of my love for rock music and prolly responsible for my first wet dreams. Ramones A nice Ramones page with a collection of links to fan pages as well as the official page. Gabba gabba hey... Road To Ruin was an early exposure. Didn't bother much otherwise in my teens but made up later. Runaways Christer Hammarberg's Runaways page. Some verrry cool band pix... One of the first bands I was a fan of. Were on the cover of the first music mag I ever bought ("BRAVO", controversial because of their sex-ed column) at age 14 or so. Should be shot for throwing away the posters I used to have. Status Quo Great unofficial site. Sheesh, how can Status Quo be so totally ignored and obscure in the USA? Their career spans as many years as the Stones'. Caroline, Roll Over Lay Down, Rockin' All Over The World was the berries back in high school. Also check out the official UK band site at www.statusquo.co.uk. Sweet Stewart Roney's Home Sweet Home. Excellent site with ties to the band members and fan clubs. Includes mailing list and chat. We want Sweet! We want Sweet!... Sheesh, was I 8 or 9 years old when I wanted my parents to play "Poppa Joe" over and over? Fanship dates back to pre-teens. Never saw then live until 1990. Also see: Sten's "Give Us A Link" Sweet Webzine Sweet Golden Greats by Helmut Piepgras The alt.music.the-sweet newsgroup My collection of Sweet albums Toten Hosen Germany's best and most successful punk band. Again, a discovery in my early 20's and wouldn't want to miss it... Most of their material is in German and since I speak German I don't know how well it comes across to non-German speakers but let me assure you that those guys are superb! In recent years they've tried to break the international market with a few English releases, most noteably an album with covers of their favorite British and US punk songs and many guest musicians. Campino of the Toten Hosen Special Music Pages ANGELS/ANGEL CITY Fan Page Australian pub rock gods little known in the rest of the world. I just had to get the word out. BEAT ANGELS Official Rock'N'Roll Bar & Lounge Killer band from Phoenix, Arizona keeping the spirit of power pop and punk alive... DOGS D'AMOUR & TYLA Tribute Page Another favorite, underrated band. The Dogs are no longer but Tyla continues solo. GUTTER QUEENS Live Photo Album Switzerland's #1 glam rockers captured live in concert in early 2001. NIKKI SUDDEN Live Photo Album Pix from the Blue Ox gig, Phoenix, Arizona, April 18, 2001 ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE Official Site The oldest punk band in the world from Sun City, Arizona. Average age over 60, they mix Geritol and a Ramones influence into something very unique. More Cool Artists And Music Web Sites The 69 Eyes Kick-ass trash/sleaze band from Finland with a hint of goth metal on their latest release. Backyard Babies Official home page of Swedish underground heroes and glampunksleaze sensation. Biased History Of British Glam Rock Great resource for British glam and glitter rock from 1970-1975. Check out the excellent links page covering many of the bands and producers of the time. Bob's Interactive Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Page Bob Caron, a young man with a taste for rock music before it got trashed by alternative and grunge, pays tribute to his favorite hard rock and heavy metal bands. Many sound samples, pick-of-the-week, links etc. CaseNet Clubs in Hollywood & Extended Los Angeles Area Up-to-date gig calendars for the Hollywood and L.A. club scene. Jayne County Wayne, Jayne, Shmayne, whatever. Are you man enough? Find out at this dedicated site. Jeff Dahl Welcome to JeffDahlRocks.com, the new (Dec 2004) official Jeff Dahl Web site. The Great Kat The Beethoven of the 21st century on speed and gore... Hanoi Rocks Finnish band site includes info on Michael Monroe and Andy McCoy's solo projects. John Tonic A young and exciting band from Germany who follows in the footsteps of The Dogs D'Amour. Michael Monroe Official home page. No introduction necessary... Mr.Ratboy Known from such bands as Motorcycle Boy, Pillbox, Sour Jazz and stints with Marky Ramone and Jeff Dahl as well as a recent solo album, "Ratboy" is a cool cat underground rocker. He's a compatriot of mine who also decided Switzerland was too narrow-minded and moved away. John Otway The Otway Webletter by Steve Ponds a.k.a. "Zen Poet". Brit musician with a lot of sarcasm and humor. Just check out his hilarious cover of Sweet's Ballroom Blitz. Rainmakers Tornado - The Official Rainmakers Home Page. Looks like Bob Walkenhorst and the gang from KC, MO, are alive and still big in Norway. Social Distortion I dig their driving punk rock sound big time but have not known them long enough to qualify for all-time fave. This is their official Web site. Chris Spedding I was first introduced to "Hurt" by my high school buddy Alex Trachsler when I was about 14 (where are you now?). We played it at school dances. It wasn't quite hard enough for me at the time but has grown on me over the years. And finally I found a Spedding site... The Stranglers The Rat's Lair - The Official Home of The Stranglers Information Service (SIS). Toy Dolls Great, unofficial page by Dave Bekkema Ultimate Band List Huge index to band sites. If you are looking for specific band information and Web sites, start here. Upper Crust Boston-based power-pop/punk band that dresses as 18th century French aristrocrats and bemuses the working class... Having been spared the guillotine, they are well worth checking out. Webb Wilder Roots rocker and the last of the full-grown men, the idol of idle youth... "Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em" is the Webb Wilder Credo... Looking To Purchase Music? Search: Music DVD VHS Books All Products Keywords: Looking To Research Music? Try Here: Artist Album Song Tour Dates Record Label Radio Musician Resource Retail Outlet Magazine Meta Site Venue Festival Promoter/Agent Ticket Seller [ Top | Up to Front Page | Computers | Travel | Miscellany ] Last updated December 19, 2004 by Martin Mathis, e-mail lastbandit.com