Here in the United States, Detroit, Michigan-born Suzi Quatro is best remembered for her stint as Leather Tuscadero on the television sitcom Happy Days and the 1978 hit single “Stumblin’ In” (a duet with Chris Norman, lead vocalist for British band Smokie). However, Quatro is much more than just a blip on the pop culture roadmap – she is one of the most influential female artists in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. From her days as a member of one of the first all-girl Garage Rock bands – The Pleasure Seekers – in 1964 to her series of successful UK hit singles during the Glam era of the early-to-mid-1970s, Quatro’s influence is immeasurable. Joan Jett, The Runaways, Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads), Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), and Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s) all cite her as a huge influence. Through talent and perseverance, Suzi Quatro not only carved out a nice career for herself, she also opened the gates for thousands – if not millions – of female musicians to walk through. And it all started 56 years ago…

Suzi Quatro’s career began in Detroit, Michigan in 1964 when she joined her sister Patti’s Garage Rock band The Pleasure Seekers. Suzi moved to England in 1971 and began working with producer Mickie Most, who helped her craft a series of Glam Rock hit singles that shook the UK charts: “Can the Can”, “48 Crash”, “Devil Gate Drive”, “The Wild One”, and “If You Can’t Give Me Love”.  While her singles and albums didn’t gain a lot of attention in the U.S., her appearances as bass-playing rocker Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days raised her profile in the States and the single “Stumblin’ In” and albums such asIF YOU KNEW SUZI (1978) and SUZI… AND OTHER FOUR LETTER WORDS (1979) were hits. New Wave and Punk came along and, buy the early 1980s, dominated the charts. Although her original audience remained loyal to her, it took quite a while for Quatro (and her contemporaries) to regain commercial momentum. These days, her influence is readily acknowledged by many artists that arrived in her wake and the words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ are often used to describe her musical career. And thank goodness, she’s still out there rocking…

Suzi Quatro’s 2021 release THE DEVIL IN ME is her first studio album in two years and reveals an artist that is well-aware of what her audience wants and needs – and she delivers on all fronts. This is not a watered-down version of Suzi Quatro – this is an album by a veteran artist who still has a lot of Rock ‘n’ Roll vim and vigor running through her veins. With a batch of Blues-based rockers, hard rock riffs, catchy hooks, and a few ballads tossed into the mix for good measure. THE DEVIL IN ME is classic Quatro but still sounds fresh and exciting. Many artists who have been in the business for over five decades operate on cruise control, but Quatro sounds like she’s had a tune-up and is revving her engines and ready to race again. Tracks like “Hey Queenie”, “Get Outta Jail”, “I Sold My Soul Today”, “Motor City Riders”, and the title track are some of the rockin’ highlights. Even when slows down the pace on “My Heart and Soul”, “Love’s Gone Bad”, and “In The Dark”, or adds a funky groove to “Do Ya Dance”, she still retains that Quatro magic. Don’t call this a comeback album, call it a ‘Come to your senses, I’ve been here all along’ album.   

Formed in 1993 in Vacaville, California, Papa Roach climbed to fame during the early ‘90s Nu-Metal movement. Even though the band was tougher and edgier than some of their contemporaries, they still got swept up in the scene. However, they managed to break away and prove that they were more than just another band riding Korn and Limp Bizkit’s coattails. Founded by vocalist Jacoby Shaddix and guitarist Jerry Horton along with Will James (bass), Dave Buckner (drums) and short-lived trombone (!) player Ben Luther, the band released their debut album, OLD FRIEND FROM YOUNG YEARS, in 1997. By this time, Tobin Esperance had taken over on bass. The band’s fanbase began to grow, attracting interest from major record labels. The future, as they say, was looking bright for Papa Roach…

Signing with the DreamWorks label, the band released INFEST, their major label debut, in 2000. The album proved to be a massive success and climbed to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 Albums chart. Their subsequent albums for DreamWorks/Geffen/DGC were all landed in the Top 20: LOVEHATETRAGEDY (#2/2002), GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER (#17/2004), THE PARMOUR SESSIONS (#16/2006) and METAMORPHOSIS (#8/2009). Still riding high on the charts, the band left the comfort of their label deal, issuing …TO BE LOVED THE BEST OF PAPA ROACH as their parting shot. Resurfacing in 2012 with THE CONNECTION, their first release for Eleven Seven/Better Noise, the band were louder and more powerful than ever.  That album was followed by F.E.A.R. (2015), CROOKED TEETH (2017) and WHO DO YOU TRUST? (2019). Over 25 years since their formation, Papa Roach show no signs of slowing down.

To celebrate the band’s first decade with Better Noise, Papa Roach have released GREATEST HITS, VOL. 2: THE BETTER NOISE YEARS, a 21-track compilation of songs pulled from their albums released between 2010 and 2019 including two previously unreleased acoustic tracks (recorded in NYC at YouTube Studios) and three unreleased remixes. Also included is “Broken As Me”, featuring Asking Alexandria’s Danny Warsnop. The first single from the album, “The Ending” (remastered 2020) is featured in the 2021 horror/thriller THE RETALIATORS, a film that features Shaddix making his motion picture acting debut. GREATEST HITS, VOL. 2: THE BETTER NOISE YEARS also features remastered versions of “Gravity” (featuring Maria Brink), “Kick in the Teeth”, “American Dreams”, “Elevate”, “Burn”, and more. While this collection may close this chapter of the band’s career, they still have many more chapters to write…

In 1985, nobody would have ever thought that the leader of the newly-formed noise rock band White Zombie would end up having a hand in the changing of the music and filmmaking landscapes in the coming years. But here we are, 36 years later and nearly everyone knows who Rob Zombie is. Whether you love or hate his music and films doesn’t matter – Rob Zombie has become an innovative and influential artist regardless. His vision gathers together pop culture’s darkest slices of kitsch and presents them in new and unique ways. In Rob Zombie’s world, the clean-cut hero doesn’t always exist and if he/she does, then that person doesn’t necessarily wear a cape. In the music and movies he creates, he takes our darkest fears and skewers them with a hot fireplace poker while riding on the back of a large pig and yelling, “Yee-Haw!” And believe it or not, we need that kind of artist to stir things up a little.

From noise rock to genre-blending Heavy Metal, Rob Zombie was the loose cannon that steered White Zombie from one end of the Rock universe to the other, bridging the gap between crunchy Metal and brain-thumping industrial rock. He also added horror and humor, allowing White Zombie to appeal to a wide array of fans. From 1985 until their dissolution in 1998, there was no band like them. When they split up, they were at the top of their game, yet Rob Zombie chose to chart a different course. He released a series of well-received hit solo album and starting a career as a film director with 2003’s HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES. That film spawned two sequels and gave him enough clout to put his own spin on the HALLOWEEN franchise, which resulted in two films. In total, Rob Zombie has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide and has written and directed eight feature films with a worldwide gross totaling more than $150 million. And the music and movie worlds have changed since his arrival on this planet. Thankfully, he isn’t done yet…

THE LUNAR INJECTION KOOL AID ECLIPSE CONSPIRACY is his 2021 release, the first Rob Zombie solo studio album in five years. Everything you love about his music can be found on this album. From brain-beating guitars to EMD beats, this is a Rob Zombie with one foot in the past, one foot in the present and both hands grabbing bits and bobs from the future. From the heavy rock of “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition” to the Country Blues stomp of “18^th Century Cannibals, Excitable Morlocks, and a One-Way Ticket on the Ghost Train”, there are plenty of musical detours on this album. And you can’t beat song titles like “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass”, “Shadow of the Cemetery Man”, “The Satanic Rites of Blacula”, and the two previous songs mentioned. This is everything you want and more from Rob Zombie. It also serves as a perfect gateway for new fans into his back catalog. It is powerful, spooky, fun (egad!), dark, and riveting. Like I said, everything you want from a Rob Zombie…

Formed in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2005, Tigers Jaw was formed by Ben Walsh (vocals, guitar, and drums) and Adam McIlwee (guitar, vocals) during high school. Brianna Collins (keyboards/vocals) joined soon after. For the first eight years of the band’s career, they formed the nucleus of the band. With the addition of Dennis Mishko on bass, the band released their critically successful debut album BELONGS TO THE DEAD. Walsh, who was originally the band’s drummer, moved to guitar and vocals when the band brought in drummer Pat Brier. The band issued their second album, TIGERS JAW, in 2008, followed two years later by the album TWO WORLDS (2010). Each album brought them more fans, slowly building up a large fanbase through word of mouth, critical raves, and social media. It seems everything was going smoothly… until things nearly ground to a halt.

In 2013, McIlwee, Mishko, and Brier told Walsh and Collins that they could no longer continue with Tigers Jaw. The band made the official announcement and many people expected this to be the end of the band. However, the remaining members vowed to continue as a duo. Their fourth album, CHARMER (2014), was the band’s last to feature the five-piece line-up. Walsh and Collins released their next album, SPIN (2017), as a duo before officially recruiting touring members Colin Gorman (bass) and Theodore Roberts (drums) as official members.  With renewed energy and a focus, Tigers Jaw signed with Hopeless Records and began work on their sixth album in the summer of 2020.  With all four members involved in the songwriting process, the album was bound to be not only a continuation of the band’s legacy but also a new lease on life.

I WON’T CARE HOW YOU REMEMBER ME, their seventh album, builds upon the band’s history without repeating it. Edgy when it wants to be and fun and engaging when it needs to be, the album embraces Pop, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, and Punk-Pop with passion. The quartet isn’t afraid to tackle different genres, beginning with the acoustic Folk-Rock opening of the album’s title track before it kicks into anthemic Pop. The album’s first single “Cat’s Cradle” is sweet Pop-Punk with a hooky ‘80s synth riff weaving its way in and out of the song. Like those first two tracks, there are insanely catchy hooks throughout the albums that are inspiring. Other highlights include “Anniversary”, “Hesitation”, “Lemon Mouth”, and “Never Wanted To”. A real gem is “Heaven Apart”, a track that could have existed during the great Twee Pop movement of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The album is a revelation given the fact that it was recorded months into a pandemic that practically brought the world to a halt. Not bad for a band that had nearly come to an end eight years ago!