Attention Deficit Delirium

An archetypal '80s hard rock/metal record cover. And a great album, too.

Many look back at the early to mid-Eighties as a time of musical excitement, flair and innovation. Others cringe at various fashion blunders, goofy album artwork and an increasingly corporate music industry mentality. But this much is certain: For all of its good and bad points, the first half of the Eighties was a great time to be a hard rock fan, as the following songs attest. One obviously has to forgive the cheesy nature of many of these promo clips. Music video was really in its infancy back in the day, particularly when compared to the subsequent videos with bigger budgets and sophisticated effects that have proliferated over the course of the last 25 years. But these performers and these songs are still ripe with energy and a freshness that cannot be duplicated today.




ALDO NOVA “Fantasy” — Want to know where Bon Jovi found inspiration? Check out this tune and the album it’s from. They were recorded at his cousin Tony’s studio, where the future star reportedly swept floors as a young adult, before his big break. Oh yeah, Aldo Nova played on the first Bon Jovi album, released almost three years later. Coincidence? Methinks not. Listen to 1985′s “Lay Your Love On Me” for further proof.





AUTOGRAPH “Turn Up The Radio” — One of the first post-1984 Van Halen knock-offs to bring that sparkly synth sound to hard rock, this Southern California band served up some fun tunes on their debut Sign In Please (where this song is from) and its follow-up, That’s The Stuff. This straightforward anthem is catchy as all get out.





BLACK ‘N BLUE “Hold On To 18″ — Originally hailing from Portland, Oregon, this L.A.-based band unleashed a monster debut with their self-titled album, and this song was one of its high points. Under producer Bruce Fairburn and then after Gene Simmons, their subsequent three albums were more pop in flavor, even though they would later try to recapture their earlier sound. But the first time was the charm. In 2002, guitarist Tommy Thayer replaced Ace Frehley in KISS; B ‘N B toured with them back in 1985.





COBRA “Blood On Your Money” — Before inheriting the frontman position in Survivor and ascending to bigger fame, Jimi Jamison fronted this heavier band, whose lone album First Strike offered some raw hard rock nuggets. It’s too bad these guys did not get to do another album, especially after such a promising debut.





HELIX “Heavy Metal Love” – This Canadian quintet was raucous, raunchy and fun, tempering metallic muscle with a sense of humor. They were all about having a good time, but snarling lead singer Brian Vollmer also possessed powerful pipes that gave Helix’s music an edge that most of their like-minded American peers lacked.










KICK AXE “On The Road To Rock” — One of the best hard rock bands ever to come out of Canada, this energetic quintet was fired up by loud guitars, driving rhythms, four-part backing vocal harmonies and the manic energy of frontman George Criston. Produced by Quiet Riot guru Spencer Proffer, their kickass debut Vices gained some attention in the U.S., and the band opened up the second leg of Judas Priest’s Defenders Of The Faith tour in North America.





KING KOBRA “Hunger” — This is the second time a band with a cobra reference makes the list and the second in a row to feature a song penned by members of Kick Axe. While King Kobra is known to the masses for the poppy theme to the movie Iron Eagle, their debut Ready To Strike was chock full of heavy rock majesty with a couple of killer ballads. The contrast of raven-haired drum veteran Carmine Appice with his bleach blond bandmates was pretty amusing and worked well for press photos.





STONE FURY “Break Down The Walls” — Before vocalist Lenny Wolfe made his name siphoning Led Zeppelin’s sound through the million-selling Kingdom Come, he fronted this underrated ensemble, which was armed with good riffs and melodies. Stone Fury released two albums, and their moody debut Burns Like A Star featured many memorable moments, including this one.





URIAH HEEP “That’s The Way That It Is” — After breaking up for a couple of years, Seventies rockers Uriah Heep reunited in 1982 with a new line-up that included their best vocalist, former Trapeze frontman Peter Goalby. The first of three albums with Goalby, Abominog blended classic hard rock with modern production, and this tune (written by Paul Bliss) is one of the best anthems that they ever recorded.





Y&T “Mean Streak” — Before they became known to the masses with their overly slick pop single “Summertime Girls” (which irritated long-time fans), this Bay Area band rocked up a storm, with “Mean Streak” being one of their true metal moments. Dave Meniketti had a great rock ‘n’ roll voice, and still does, as proven here. I dare you to deny it.

Comic book heaven, this way. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

I have been a lifelong comic book fan, so whenever a major event rolls into town I show up, all cash blazing. And with the economic downturn, conventions now offer great bargains for comics fans seeking back issues, toys and other merchandise. I love diving into the dollar bins to seek out classic horror and superhero comics from the Seventies, not to mention perusing the trade paperback and graphic novel collections that are 50% off. The deals work out better for the buyers than the sellers these days, so it’s best to take advantage of the sales while they happen.

Held at Pier 94 on Manhattan’s west side, this year’s Big Apple Comic Con — the first to be run by their new owners Wizard Entertainment and in a larger venue than years past (with an admittedly much higher entry fee) — certainly provided plenty of purchasing pandemonium and also featured celebrity appearances, comic artist tables, panel discussions and video game stations. I got plenty of shopping done, had my portrait sketched by famed Hulk artist Herb Trimpe and managed to chat with a few of the celebrities in attendance (photos below). While William Shatner, Kate Mulgrew and Linda Hamilton were there, I did not have any luck in spotting them. There was an impressive mix of sci-fi, TV, adult movie and comic book celebs on hand, from both old and new BSG stars to members to multiple Star Trek generations to famous faces from movies like Star Wars, Terminator, Flash Gordon and Supergirl. While the celebs were there selling autographed memorabilia and photo ops (something I find awkward often times when I just want to say something fan-like), the ones I approached for shots in ADD were cool about chatting and being photographed.

This was my first Big Apple Comic Con, and I enjoyed the spacious yet packed event. However, the distressing news I have learned is that next year Big Apple Comic Con is going head-to-head with New York Comic Con on the same weekend (October 7-10, 2010), which to me and many others is a ridiculous idea. Having two massive comic book conventions duke it out at the same time will not only test vendor loyalties but also make it difficult for fans to choose which to attend. Why not separate them out? There is easily room for two large conventions during the year.

Let’s not worry about that for now and take a look at my personal highlights from Big Apple Comic Con 2009.

The X-Men were on hand, along with a security detail. As if they needed one. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Hellboy and Predator, together at last! (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

It's Number Six times three! (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Adrianne Curry as Wonder Woman. (Photo ©2009 by Luigi Novi.)

Cobra's still in business. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Brent Spiner was on hand to chat with fans, conveniently located right at the entrance to the Con. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Look, it's Will Ferrell as Green Lantern! (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

The charming and lovely Melody Anderson from "Flash Gordon". (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Eric Michael Maruscak draws an impressive chalk portrait of Spider-Man and Batman. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

TV's original Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, who is still in great shape. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Artist Dirk Strangely acting, well, strangely. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

I'm glad someone spotted "Terminator" warrior Linda Hamilton for me. (Photo ©2009 by Luigi Novi.)

Supergirl herself, Helen Slater, is as fetching as ever. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Artist Greg Horn and his colorful calling cards. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

The affable John Schneider from "Dukes Of Hazzard," who helped make my childhood enjoyable. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

The master Hulk artist Herb Trimpe at work.

The famous DeLorean from "Back To The Future". The Batmobile was nearby as well. (Photo ©2009 by Luigi Novi.)

The bustling Artists Alley. That's Jim Cheung seated in the foreground. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Mike A. and his spookerific skateboards and merch. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Thomas Hall (l) and Daniel Bradford (r), the men behind the new series "R13". (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Stylin' t-shirts galore. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

Now this is what I'm talking about. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)

I love the look and smell of vintage comic books. (Photo ©2009 by Bryan Reesman.)