LILLIAN AXE...."THE BITCH IS BACK"

Throughout the 80's and even now, my first music of choice has always been Metal of some sort, don't get me wrong, I am a Jazz and Blues freak; I love to play it and I love to listen to it...BUT....I have always, for some reason had this obsession with the NWOBHM, bands like Judas Priest, Diamond Head, Venom, Iron Maiden, Budgie, Saxon, Motorhead and so on, then it crossed over to their American counterparts. The late 70's and early 80's here in America, bands such as Queensryche, Metallica, Motley Crue, Dokken and many more woke up America to a style of music that was fresh, exciting and worth "banging your head" to. LA was the place to be if you wanted a record contract. If you were a musician LA was just the place to be; period! The success of bands like Ratt, Poison, Motley Crue and the LA hair bands made it all the easier to get signed if you had flash and balls and a guitar player/s that could shred like Eddie, and believe me many could.

Well, with all the attention being payed to Los Angeles, someone forgot about the other LA...Those of us that lived here hadn't forgot anything. In fact we were honing our craft, writing our music and playing just as many clubs and venues as the California bands.

Two New Orleans bands in particular hit the California record companies radar, one of them was Lillian Axe. Steve Nunnemacher, aka, "Stevie Blaze" was on top of his game with a six string guitar attack that rivaled the best that California had to offer. He wrote catchy melodies with the best of them, had a singer/front man named Ron Taylor who, well suffice to say, David Lee Roth didn't and doesn't have s**t on him, not to mention a band who could just flat out kick your ass... They were the Van Halen of Louisiana as far as we were concerned....."The Bitch Ruled"....And still does! 

Let's put it this way, New Orleans, the other LA, along with Lillian Axe, were about to be put on the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal map of stars and they were both thrilled, excited and ready to take on the world!!!! 

I met Steve Blaze at a Near Life Experience gig (his side project) in 98-99 (somewhere around that time), at my wife's insistance we went to see them play and I enjoyed it. It was different and harder than Lillian but good just the same. We hit it off and have been friends ever since. He has gone out of his way on many occasions to play gigs that I have promoted and to also have our band open shows for NLE and Lillian. All in all, when I heard that they were back with a new album and a new cross-country tour, I was elated. The C.D. release party is at the House of Blues here in New Orleans on the 20th of July and of course I will be front row center banging my head and helping to kick off the new tour.

For those of you not familiar with Lillian Axe, let me give you a little background...You just passed up the link

 In 1983, the New Orleans-based hard rock act rose above the cream of the bands touring the southern U.S. club circuit. Within three years, the band's live show had built a reputation that could not be denied and was becoming legendary throughout the south. While performing an opening stint with Ratt, Poison and Queensryche, the guys caught the eye of MCA Records and also Marshall Berle (nephew of Milton Berle) who, at the time, was managing rock superstars, Ratt.

In August of 1987, guitarist, Steve Blaze and drummer, Danny King of Lillian Axe joined forces with vocalist, Ron Taylor, guitarist, Jon Ster and bassist, Rob Stratton of another popular regional touring band, Stiff. One month later a deal with MCA Records was in the can, and in April of 1988, the band's self-titled debut album (produced by Ratt guitaritst Robbin Crosby) was released. Spawning the MTV and radio hit, "Dream Of A Lifetime", the band hit the touring trail, supporting the likes of Krokus, Stryper and Lita Ford, as well as headlining shows of their own.

In November of 1988, the quintet re-entered the studio with legendary engineer/producer, Tony Platt, to begin work on the Love & War album - one which many hold in high regard as one of the most underrated albums of the past decade. Once again, radio and MTV hammered out the first single, "Show A Little Love", propelling Lillian Axe even closer to becoming one of the most up-and- coming and respected bands of the day. However, a fatal blow was dealt to the band's soaring momentum when the label failed to sustain the support and give the band that extra little push it needed to truly rise to the top. Radio, MTV and a huge fan base just didn't seem to be enough to satisfy their relationship with MCA, and in early 1990 the band and the label parted ways.

April of 1991 found Lillian Axe with a new bassist, Darrin DeLatte, a new drummer, Gene Barnett (Dirty Looks) and a new home with Grand Slamm/IRS Records. After releasing a successful compilation record of the first two MCA records called "Out of the Darkness Into the Light", Lillian Axe unleashed their most successful album to date, Poetic Justice, which hit the streets in January of 1992. Fueled by the hit single, "True Believer" and followed by their cover of the Badfinger classic, "No Matter What", Poetic Justice reached the upper 100 of the Billboard album charts and with True Believer hitting number 37 with a "bullet" on radio's R&R charts, Lillian Axe was well on their way to finally becoming a well deserved success story.

Spending the better part of 1992 on the road, the band criss-crossed the states numerous times and at the end of that year, finally got to meet their European fans by playing shows in the England, Wales, Scotland, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Spring of '93 saw Lillian Axe back in the studio with new drummer, Tommy Stewart (Godsmack), in the fold. The recording sessions for Psychoschizophrenia, again with Poetic Justice producer Leif Mases (Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page), were some of the most creative to date and brought out some of the most dynamic performances of the band's career. Shortly after the recording sessions, the band once again found themselves in their second home - a tour bus. This time the tour would last for nearly three years as the band played any and every place that would have them, including yet another trip to Europe and an extended co-headlining tour of the States with Accept.

By 1995 the band found themselves to be simply worn out, as anyone would be who kept up the pace that Lillian Axe had set for themselves over the last eight years. The band had always been most at home when on the road together, but the time had finally come to move out of that house for a while and do something different. There was never a big "break-up" or typical soap opera story, the guys just took a break to do different things. Who knew the break would turn into four years away from the "Old girl Lillian"?

During this new time of discovery and experimentation, Steve Blaze formed Near Life Experience with his little brother Craig (Crowbar and now Zakk's Black Label Society) on drums, and explored a whole new side of his songwriting, and now, singing abilities. Ron Taylor also took on new form with his band The Bridge, with old Stiff bandmate Drew Smith. Both Near Life Experience and The Bridge can be heard on self-released CD's available over the Internet. Tommy Scott Stewart, after playing drums on most of the Bridge CD, went on to join a band from Boston called Godsmack, and is now enjoying huge success. Jon Ster and Darrin DeLatte spent their time off building new families of their own, both having children over this time.

Before the decade could come to an end, the band was contacted by Z Records, an independent European label, and Pony Canyon Records, a Japanese label, about putting out a collection of unreleased Lillian Axe songs. The guys accepted, and in the summer of 1999, Fields of Yesterday was released, giving the band's hardcore following the breath of new life they had been waiting for. Advertisements for the new CD read, "The Bitch is Back", and that statement was oh, so true. Lillian Axe was definitely back indeed. Culled from master tapes that had been waiting to surface at some point in time, the thirteen songs that comprised Fields Of Yesterday had been held in high regard by Lillian Axe fans who had passed these unreleased songs through the tape trading channels for years. Now, for the first time, fans were able to enjoy songs such as, "Pulling the Rats Out", "For Crying Out Loud", "Death Valley Daze", "Twilight in Hell" and more, on CD.

As a predecessor to the album's release, the quintet finally returned to their old stomping grounds, the clubs that they had regularly toured for years during the early days, and were met with overwhelming response from old and new fans alike. Make no mistake about it, the fans, as well as the guys in the band, were very happy to see Lillian Axe back. And, for the first time ever, their longtime Japanese fans would finally get their chance to experience the magic of a live Lillian Axe show when the band hit the Land Of The Rising Sun, in April of 2000. `In May 2002, Lillian Axe recorded a much anticipated live CD in Houston, TX to a packed house filled with fans from all over the world. In August 2002, the long awaited Live CD was released and with drummer Ken Koudelka and guitarist Sam Poitevent on board, the guys set out in support of “Lillian Axe: Live 2002.”

Summer 2004 saw Lillian Axe return to Europe for the first time in nine years, playing to a rabid throng of 27,000 fans at Germany’s Bang Your Head Festival.  The overwhelming European response ignited the band’s yearning to return to Europe for a more extensive tour in 2005.

However, fall 2004 brought the resignation of vocalist Ron Taylor and the introduction of new vocalist Derrick LeFevre. New Year’s Eve 2004, LeFevre was introduced to the world for his first appearance as the new Lillian Axe vocalist to massive acclaim.
  According to Blaze, “There are very large shoes to fill with Ron leaving the band. He is a great singer and a great performer and he will be highly missed, however, Derrick is the most incredible replacement we could have found and I am thoroughly convinced that the fans will be highly impressed.  The new album will take Lillian Axe into a new chapter of the band’s history, which we feel will be the most exciting yet.”

The Axe has completed their upcoming release, “Waters Rising.” with the C.D. release set for the 20th of July as I stated earlier, to hear the title cut from the album click on the blue link right above this. Pick up a copy and see why Louisiana rocks just as hard as the "Other" LA....

Lillian Axe tour dates:

• Jul. 20 - The Parish (House of Blues) - New Orleans, LA
• Sep. 04 - Smith's Olde Bar - Atlanta GA
• Sep. 05 - The Nick - Birmingham, AL
• Sep. 06 - Jesters Pub - Fayetteville, NC
• Sep. 07 - The Muse - Nashville, TN
• Sep. 08 - Jaxx Nightclub - West Springfield, VA
• Sep. 10 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
• Sep. 12 - Webster Theatre - Hartford, CT
• Sep. 14 - The Chance - Poughkeepsie, NY
• Sep. 15 - Mark's Showplace - Bedford, NH
• Sep. 16 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
• Sep. 17 - Wreck Room - Toronto, ONT
• Sep. 18 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
• Sep. 19 - I-Rock - Detroit, MI
• Sep. 20 - Huntington Music Hall/The Monkey Bar - Huntington, WV
• Sep. 21 - The Pearl Room - Mokena, IL
• Sep. 22 - Station 4 - St. Paul MN
• Sep. 23 - Vnuk's Lounge - Milwaukee, WI
• Sep. 24 - Static Bar - Topeka, KS
• Sep. 28 - Outlaws Music Hall - Portland, OR
• Sep. 29 - Studio Seven - Seattle, WA
• Oct. 01 - Whiskey a Go Go - West Hollywood, CA
• Oct. 02 - House of Blues 5th Ave Stage - San Diego, CA
• Oct. 04 - Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM
• Oct. 05 - Curtain Club - Dallas, TX
• Oct. 06 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX

Note: Not all links lead to the same place. NLE is mentioned more than once and each time the link takes you somewhere else, so......This is an interesting journey if you are willing to embark upon it...You will definitely find some cool stuff and some info you never knew....DON'T PASS UP THE LINKS....They are in blue/purple, bold type....The bold type by itself is just for emphasis in the article.

If you are a fan of this type of music, if you are a Lillian Axe fan from the past, if you love hard rockin, ass kickin music and you see your town or one near by on the list....Buy tickets...Go see what the "Bitch" can do.....She is a Mother-Fu***r.......And with out a doubt she is BACK!!!!!!