Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Ron Lyon
August 17th 2016, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: The ‘Hair Nation’ festival is set to take place at Irvine Meadows on September 17th 2016, and in addition to the bands and musicians that are already announced as part of the lineup, the festival will also feature two local bands to open the show on each stage, and the selection for these slots was made last Wednesday August 17th, via the battle-of-the-bands style event ‘Battle For Hair Nation’, held at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, the battle was judged by Lita Ford, Tracii Guns, Brent Woods, Jay Ruston and Trunk himself, and the competition was for the top two slots, the winner getting to open the main stage at the main festival next month, and the runner-up starting the side stage. Seven bands took part, and this BOTB event ended up being entertaining for reasons both good and bad.
Electric Hound, Devils Only, Velicious, The Aviators, The Hard Way, Salem’s Lott and Wikkid Starr were the seven bands to take part, hitting the stage one after another in that order for short 15-minute sets. Hair/glam metal is a sub-genre which had its golden years in the ’80s, and is certainly one style of heavy music that has a particular sound, image and vibe associated with it, something that was prevalent in that era and cannot be replicated by new bands of the present day. So, ironically enough, the bands that emerged victorious here were in fact not hair/glam metal bands, and the bands that attempted to copy a style already done to death and done better by their ’80s idols, failed to impress.
It seemed like some bands had received the wrong memo and were actually trying to compete with each other in winning the worst band contest, and perhaps didn’t know that the best band was supposed to win, not the worst. While one band looked and sounded completely flat and devoid of any energy whatsoever, another band seemed to be ripping off the Backstreet Boys, two others were too focussed on looking the part rather than playing good music, and one particular band needs to pay for their singer to take some serious vocal lessons instead of paying strippers to distract the audience. But amidst this insane, mind-boggling, jaw-dropping mediocrity, two bands clearly stood out, and were rightly chosen as winner and runner-up. It was a huge relief to note that the general consensus agreed with that of the judges, and faith in humanity was been temporarily restored. One has to commend them to have the time and patience to sit through all the bad ones, but in the end, they stayed strong and made the right choices.
Runners-up were Electric Hound, who began this show as the first out of seven bands, but made enough of an impression to remain in the judges’ thoughts by the end of the show. Upon witnessing their set and then that of the two bands that played after them, it was already clear that Electric Hound would be a prime candidate to end up in the top two. A three-piece band of brothers, they brought forth good energy and equally solid musicianship to the table, although I did not like the fact that they played a cover of Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’, as I strongly believe that bands should play only original music to fill 15-minute sets for such competitive events. But regardless, they still very much deserved the runner-up spot, and Hair Nation festival attendees next month should certainly get to the side stage early to catch their set.
© 2016 Ron Lyon Photo
Even before they played, there was never any doubt that Bakersfield, California old-school hard rockers The Aviators would end up as the winners of this battle. They won the battle for the very similar ‘Cathouse Live’ fest last year, and based on that alone, they should have been placed on the Hair Nation bill without having to go through this battle, because they are good enough for it and this battle was most definitely beneath their talents and achievements. But they didn’t let this deter them, and put their best foot forward, not only turning out to be the best band of the night but also the quickest in setting up and getting off the stage. Their AC/DC, Zeppelin inspired classic rock is not new but is so well done that it’s love at first sight and first listen, as evident from the response of this crowd. Being based out of Bakersfield, it’s not like they were able to bring their personal friends and family to cheer for them, so this was a completely genuine crowd response, which was one of the things the judges took into consideration. The soaring high-pitched clean vocals, the vintage guitar sound, the crafty rhythm section, and the pro-level stage presence and dress sense, and a mid-20s average age are the qualities that combine to make The Aviators one of the best hard rock bands in California, and the Hair Nation festival should feel honored to have them opening the main stage.
© 2016 Ron Lyon Photo
Typically, not many care for battle-of-the-bands events, but this was a very well promoted and organized affair that packed the Whisky, host Eddie Trunk doing an effortlessly fine job, and the judges earning the respect of the audience by picking the right winners. The best bands have moved onto the big festival and the mediocre ones have been weeded out. ‘Battle For Hair Nation’ was a morbidly entertaining event, overall.
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