As we start taking a good look at spring, the concert announcements are starting to spill over like the local creeks and rivers with all the rain again.  Now mind you, I am not a big fan of snow and I know that most of you love that fluffy white stuff, but for one winter, I will take the no aches and pains that I get from the cold damp weather normally associated with winter.

The Sands Event Center released this week their first series of concerts and the one that catches my eye is none other than Flogging Molly!  After getting off the phone less than an hour ago, I just want to get you up to speed about ticket sales for Friday.  Tickets go on sale at 10am and can be purchased online, over the phone, or in person at the event center.  Now if you are planning on going to the event center, there are going to be four, yes four events having tickets sold tomorrow at 10am!!!!!!  There are going to be two types of tickets sold, a general admission ticket along with a small reserve seating area and a suites seating ticket.  Prices are $32.50 for GA and $55 for suite seating.  I am sure there are going to be fees on top of that price.  Now with the suites, there are 23 seats to a suite and you get your own private bathroom along with access to the bar.  The ticket price does not, I repeat does not include drinks.  That is on you!  The maximum tickets that you can purchase for this event is 8 per transaction.  Once again, tickets go on sale for this event at 10am.  I could be wrong, which I am many times, but I think that this will be their first area appearance!

Now, just let out today, and the official release is supposed to be on Monday, Clutch along with Hellyeah will be heading our way to The Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg!  The date for this show is April 17th!  They will also be at The Chameleon Club on April 11th and at The House of Blues in Atlantic City on April 14th.  Please don’t flood The Sherman or any other of these clubs about when tickets go on sale, there will be an official announcement by the band itself on Monday with all of the information that we will need to check out this band!!!!!! 

Tomorrow nights radio show was supposed to be cancelled but due to a major change in plans, I am not in Myrtle Beach.  So with that said, I will be heading up to WXLV to do my radio show live and in person.  I will probably just do this one solo for it is kind of last-minute change.  I have done it before like this, I think I can handle it for one night.  We shall see.  Anyway, the radio show is on from 6-9pm on 90.3FM and you can pick it up at www.wxlvradio.com.  We also have free apps for your iPhone, your iPad and your droid phones.  Just search WXLV and it is a free app!

Now tomorrow night, The Cherry Bombs return to Unami Gun Club in Emmaus.  Unami is a private club, but when they have live bands, they open it up to the public.  I think there is a $3 cover charge for non members.  That is what it was last year, so we shall see.  They just packed the house at The Peppercorn last weekend and I am sure with their first time back at Unami since 2011, it should be a wild and fun night!

Saturday night brings us the return of Full Metal Racket at Jabberjaws.  FMR brings their metal tribute style as they cover all kinds of metal bands that have influenced each musician in the band.  This show should start around 9ish and it is a lot of fun.   Jabberjaws is located at 1327 W Chew Street in Allentown.  Hope to see you at this one!

Sunday if you are into women’s roller derby action, The Lehigh Valley Rollergirls return to the Schnecksville Family Fun Center for their first scrimmage bout with Wilkes Bare Scranton, and if you miss this one, they have one more on Feb. 26th at Pottstown.  4:45-6:45 is the bout times!  Their first home match is March 31st and that is against Harrisburg.  These ladies are metal!  So that is why I include them!

It has been almost a week since my last blog, so I figured I better hop to it!  First and foremost, I want to thank all of you that wished me a Happy Birthday!  I am truly blessed.  It has been a busy last three days I must say and I am feeling a bit worn out!  What in the world happened to the days of go go go, and you never thought of stopping.  I guess it is that birthday thing gets in the way year after year.

Monday brought me back to Croc Rock.  I have not been there since I helped emcee a benefit for the gas explosion victims that was held last year.  I unfortunately missed Death Angel, but I was in time for Testament!  Testament as usual brought their brand of old school thrash metal to Allentown and delivered.  Ah yes, I remember the days that they were on tour for the album “The New Order”, yes I said album.  Does anyone remember vinyl?  Anyway, Testament used to be a band that would always make a stop at The Airport Music Hall in Allentown.  Now I know that I am dating myself, but back in the 80′s and 90′s, The Airport Music Hall was the place to be.  The nice thing about seeing Testament this time was that Alex Skolnick was back on lead guitar.  The band broke out hits such as The Preacher, The New Order, Practice What You Preach, Into The Pit, and Disciples of the Watch.  They played for about an hour.  With all of the great tracks that this band recorded, I am sure it is hard for them to say what they are going to play for their set.  The crowd enjoyed it, and so did I.  That now brings us to Anthrax!!!!!!!  Unfortunately with a death in the family, Charlie and Frank were not able to make this show.  So Joey Vera, from Armored Saint, along with the drummer from Testament stepped up to the plate to fill in for the show.  Would it have been nice to see the whole band play?  Sure it would, but I think everyone in the house understood why it wasn’t happening.  Anthrax came to please and please they did.  The only glitch of the evening was that the guitars would go in and out during the set.  I am not sure why this happened, but the crowd just overlooked it.  Anthrax played for an hour and a half approximately with new hits Earth On Hell, Fight’em Till You Can’t, The Devil You Know, and In The End which is a tribute song about the late great Ronnie James Dio.  They also took a step back to their first album and broke out Metal Thrashing Mad and Deathrider.  I was blown away with the Deathrider song.  I would have never thought that this would have made the list missing two band members.  My favorite highlight of the show was when Anthrax played Caught in a Mosh.  The floor was packed and had two small pits going at the time, once the guitar notes came out, the whole floor started to become one pit!  I mean the whole floor!  There were two security guards looking down at this with the “what the hell do we do now look?!”  Don’t think for one second that Joey Belladonna didn’t help egg everyone along either.  I thought the look on the security guards faces was priceless.  Really, what in the world were they going to do if something happened.  Nothing.  For a band now 31 years old, they still have that drive to be the best at what they do.  Why they came to Allentown after playing the Big Four, I am not sure.  I am glad that they did.

Tomorrow night here in The Valley are some rock n roll shows that you might be interested in.  The Cherry Bombs return from their winter break and will be heading to The Peppercorn Pub in Coopersburg PA.  I recently went to lunch with Tony D and he stated that they have some new tunes ready to go along with some of the Bombs classics that we all know and love.  Always a great time at a Bombs show and it is good to see them back out playing in the Lehigh Valley.

Another choice for tomorrow night is Social Call will be heading back to Tri Boro in Northampton PA.  Now most of us know that Tri Boro is a private club, but when they have bands on a Friday night, it is open to everyone.  Tri Boro is right off of 329 just over the bridge into Northampton if you are heading in from Whitehall or before the bridge if you heading to Whitehall out of Northampton.  Just follow the long driveway back and you will find the parking lot.  The bands play downstairs.  Social Call also has some new songs ready to go and we were able to preview some of those new songs at the Deborah Naugle benefit.  Either way if you are looking for a good night of local music, you will not do wrong with either band.  Hopefully I will be able to hit up one of these or maybe both!  Who knows how the winds picks up my sails on a Friday night!

Now here is a couple of notes for Valentine’s Day.  With all of the specials that restaurants have and everything else, I am going to pick out two.  First, if you are looking to get flowers for that certain someone, check out this website.  www.eastonpaflorist.com.  They are a full service florist with daily delivery here in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.  Use the coupon code 5OFF50 which will get you $5 off your order of $50 or more.  I am suggesting this to all of you for it is a local business here in The Valley.  Give them a try!

For a musical night on Valentine’s Day, head on down to Artsquest on the south side in Bethlehem PA.  Bev Conklin along with BC Combo, Friar’s Point, Tower Suite & Friends, Lane Conklin, Sarah Ayers, Ken Sittar, & Zion Fritzinger will be playing and also paying tribute to the late Etta James.  Your guest emcee’s for the night will be AJ Fritz of WLVR along with Mitch of 99.9 The Hawk.  The concert goes from 7-10pm and doors open at 6pm.  Tickets for this event are available for $18.  For more information about this event or other events at Artsquest, please contact www.artsquest.com or call 610-332-1300.

Don’t forget at The Allentown Arts Museum “Who Shot Rock & Roll” exhibit is still going on till May 13.  I am sure at sometime I will get there, but just from the pics that I have seen in the paper, it really looks like a fun exhibit that was brought in for us to see.

Don’t forget if you are a Facebook follower, please take some time to “like” The Matt Metal Show page along with The Lehigh Valley Weather Patrol with Bobby and Suzy.  You can follow along with the show live on the page and find out information about upcoming events and also post up your requests.  The Lehigh Valley Weather Patrol page gives you up to date information about our weather along with upcoming weather here in the Lehigh Valley!

The Matt Metal Show can be found on 90.3FM WXLV every Friday night from 6-9pm.  If you are from out of town, check us out at www.wxlvradio.com and you can stream the show live!  We also have a free app for your iPhone or your droid!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Just saying….

I decided on Friday that we were going to mix it up on the radio show.  My thought was, it takes all three of us to do what we do for our three-hour show, so, with that said to myself, I decided that I was going to get Suzy more involved.  I posted it on her Facebook page where she posts up for requests, and when she arrived at the studio, I informed her that she was going to get a crash course on the board and the computer and she was going to run the ship.  I started the show, just showed her how to maneuver around.  She picked it up pretty quick and at 6:30, we made a change.  I was very happy with how she picked up on things.  Did she make some mistakes, sure she did.  Did she even drop an Fbomb during one of the songs, yes and she quickly learned where the dump button was.  Overall, she seemed to have a great time and I enjoyed being on the other side of the table.  Maybe we will do it again.  It was fun, and I am all about having fun at the radio station!

Here is the playlist from Suzy’s show!

Nightwish - Taikatalvi

Nightwish - Storytime

Laura Wilde – Sold My Soul

Foxy Shazaam – The Church of Rock N Roll

Helloween – Are You Metal

Iron Savior – The Savior

Psych – No Coming Back

Sinister Realm – Winds of Vengance

Ovlo – Rocksteady

Anvil – Juggernaut of Justice

Disturbed – Another Way to Die

Riot – Outlaw

Spread Eagle – Suzy Suicide

Alice In Chains – Rooster

Alice In Chains – Them Bones

Curse of Sorrow

Distorted Voices – Reason to Live

Scorpions – Another Piece of Meat

Testament – Disciples of the Watch

Death Angel – Bored

Anthrax – In The End

Guns N Roses – Mr. Brownstone

Motorhead - We Are Motorhead

Sepultura – War

Danzig – Dirty Black Summer

Pantera – Cowboy From Hell

Judas Priest – Breaking the Law

Cavo - Thick as Theives

Wednesday 13 – Ghoul of my Dreams

Whitehsnake – Still of the Night

Shinedown – Devour

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train

The Damn Dirty Apes – The Devil & Sammy Davis

Flogging Molly – If I Ever Leave This World Alive

Thanks for listening!  Next week I am sure the Lehigh Valley Rollergirls will stop by for a bit and maybe we will have a visit from Mr. John Gaffney to talk all that is Sinister Realm and their trip to Germany.  We also will have some new local music by Curse of Sorrow and more!  Don’t forget to like the show page on Facebook!  You can also check us out on 90.3FM WXLV, www.wxlvradio.com, or with your droid phone or your iPhone, you can download our free app!    Make sure while you are on Facebook, to check out Lehigh Valley Weather Patrol with Bobby and Suzy!

Just saying……

Here are some highlights of somethings to do here in the Lehigh Valley this weekend.  I hear it time and time again that “there is nothing to do around here!”  Well, if I can make up this small list, then there is more to do than you think.

Starting with Friday:

Doc Hollywood will be heading into Mezza Luna in Allentown, show will be starting approx 9pm.

Type 14 will be at The Leather Corner Post.  Who doesn’t like to listen to some great rock and metal and play the boombah at the same time.

Jake Kaligis and The New Constitution will be @Grumpy’s in Orefield, show starting at 9:30pm.

Saturday:

Deborah Nagle Benefit @ Fairview Fire Hall in Allentown.  Bands featured for this event are Birds of Prey(noon), Social Call(1:15pm), Beyond Eden(2:30pm), and Charlie Brown & The Notorious Groove(3:45pm).  Donation at the door for this event is $5.

Decaysia, Limb by Limb, Powervalve, Battering Ram, & Ashes of our Sins will be heading into Jimmy’s Place in Allentown.  This is an 18+/21 to drink.  Doors open at 6:30pm and cost is $8 at the door.

The rockabilly legends The Ultra Kings will be heading back to Grumpy’s BBQ in Orefield.  Show time is at 9:30pm.

Exit 22 returns to Mezza Luna in Allentown this weekend.  Start time is at 9:30pm.

For something different on Friday night, head on over to The Tally Ho in Bethlehem PA.  Tally Ho Karaoke will be hosted on Friday night by Mr. Maybe.  This is the first night for pre screening for The Tally Ho Talent Show which will be held Monday March 26th from 9pm till 2am.  Some simple rules to follow: no fires, no pets, or nudity in the act (anything else pretty much goes).  If you are not singing a song your act must be 7 minutes or less.  Any other info needed please contact Mr. Maybe Entertainment @cglabis@gmail.com or call 610-417-5191.  Good luck and be creative.

Don’t forget about Monday Feb 6th, Anthrax, Testament, and Death Angel roll into town to represent the old school thrash metal that we all grew up with and love.  Feb 7th brings us Black Stone Cherry, along with Cavo and Maddam Ink  at Croc Rock.

Just saying…….

Well, the coolest old school metal festival is returning to Maryland once again on May 11-12.  That’s right, I am talking about the M3 Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia MD!  I think that they have put together a killer line up for the weekend.  Friday night is the official M3 Kix-Off Party featuring Night Ranger & Kix with special guests Enuff Z’nuff, In The Pink, and Let There Be Rock!  Saturday’s lineup features Cinderella, Ratt, Queensryche, Skid Row, Warrant, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Stryper, Loudness, Lynch Mob, XYZ, Bang Tango, Drumwars, and Street Light Circus!  There will be two non-overlapping stages in the festival village so the music will be non stop!

Now for ticket sales.  Tomorrow, discounted 2-day packages go on sale at 10AM EST.  Single day tickets go on sale Friday, February 24th at 10am EST.  Tickets are available at Ticketfly.com.  Should you need anymore information, check out www.m3rockfest.com.  I heard this was a kick ass day.  Just like we do it at WXLV!

Just saying……….

Coming to us this Saturday afternoon is the Cancer Benefit for Deborah Naugle.  The benefit is being held by our friend John Bedics.  He is holding this for his sister Deborah, who is battling stage four cancer which has now spread to various parts of her body.  She has had very little time to celebrate in the last several years.  Hopefully she will be at the event for she has been not feeling well as of late.  There will be entertainment during this benefit by Birds of Prey, Beyond Eden, Social Call, along with Charlie Brown & The Notorious Groove.  There will be food, raffle items, and I am sure a fun time had by all.

The benefit will have doors opening at 11:30am and the bands will start at Noon.  Donation at the door is $5, but if you want to add more, please feel free to do so.  The address for the benefit is 927 S. Seventh Street, Allentown PA.

If you cannot make the benefit, you may still donate.  Please make your checks out to Deborah Nagle and you can mail them to John Bedics, PO Box 4246, Bethlehem, PA  18018.

I hope to see you all there this Saturday afternoon!

Just saying…..

I know it is Super Bowl weekend this weekend and many of us will be watching somewhere and I am sure eating and drinking alike.  Probably there will be some heavy gambling going on too.  You know, who will win the coin flip, first points, first field goal, first penalty, first commercial, the usual stuff every year.  Here are some suggestions for you to check out this Sunday.

Before the big game, you can head down to Easton for the 17th Annual Superbowl of Chili Cook-off at Pearly Bakers located at 11 Center Sq. in Easton PA.  There are going to be 25 area restaurants participating this year.  This years donation of $5 will be going to The Center for Animal Health & Welfare.  Make sure you hit this event up early.  It gets packed and you want to make sure you get to try all the different chili and don’t forget their wide variety of beer!

Whitetail Golf Course is having their first annual Superbowl party this year.  Cost is $25 per person which includes all you can eat buffet & 2 drink tickets.  They will have their golf simulator up and running and will be having contests as a par 3 contest, a skins game, along with a Super Bowl block pool.  Call to reserve your spot thru 2/4.  This event is open to all guests including non golfers.  Call Brad Paukovits at 610-837-9626 to sign up or for more information.

Rascal’s Food & Fun will be holding their Super Bowl party.  Drink specials of $2 Bud Light drafts, $4 Long Island Ice Tea’s, and $5 Bombs!  Free buffet starting at kickoff, which they are saying is pretty serious this year.  The Jager Girls will be in the building along with giveaways all night long including halftime trivia & a huge grand prize given away at the end of the game.

I am sure there are many other things happening around the valley.  If you are a Giants or Patriots fan good luck to your teams.  I am staying with the Giants for this game.  I picked them early in the year on the radio show.  I took a lot of crap for this pick and here they are.  Either it was a lucky guess, or maybe sometimes, I might just know what I am talking about.  You never know.

Just saying…..

I know that I posted this event in an earlier blog, but now that the event is happening, I just wanted to give you all a friendly reminder.  The Girls on Film 40 Years of Women in Rock exhibit is now being displayed at The Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.  The exhibit is taking place now thru May 27th.  The times for this is from 11am till 5pm daily.  Here is some info on the exhibit:

Girls on Film: 40 Years of Women in Rock is a traveling exhibit from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. It will rock Lehigh Valley with vibrant images of women rockers such as Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane, Joan Jett and Tina Turner as they performed during their rise to stardom. In the late 60s, when women were a rarity in rock bands, female photographers, led by Rolling Stone’s Annie Leibovitz, were making their mark in the arts scene.

Photographer Anastasia Pantsios shot rare concert footage at outdoor parks, music halls and studios. The images reflect moments ranging from excitement to intimacy, captured on stage and off while developing a special interest in the visual study of the changing and diverse ways women presented themselves while making music. Girls on Film covers Pantsios’s 40 years of shooting talented women of Rock ‘n’ Roll – from Tina Turner through Gwen Stefani.

Pantsios photographs have appeared nationally and internationally in publications such as Rolling Stone, Esquire, USA Today and the Village Voice, as well as in books and album covers for the major superstars of rock.

If you have a chance to go and see this, please take some time to do so.  There are other things related to this event happening around the valley, I will post them up soon!

Have a great week!

Just saying…..

I know it has been awhile, but I took a well deserved vacation to the Phoenix area last week!  I had such a great time with my friends and what a beautiful area.  Now I have been all over the world to travel, but I have so much to see of our own great country and this was a definite bucket list visit.  If you have never had the chance to get to the Phoenix area, please try to go.  I posted a picture of the view from the room on Facebook and Kevin Flores of St. Madness posted to it, “I see this everyday, I never get tired looking at it.”  By the time it was to go home, I understood what he meant.  I will have to make sure that I get back to this area.  To hike Squaw Peak, go to Barrett Jackson, hit up Blooze, and maybe be able to stay at The Camelback in with some amazing company again would be another blessing in my life.

Friday night brought us all back to the radio station for the radio show.  We were all glad to be back.  I did notice that for this past Friday that out of sight, out of mind set in.  Please don’t forget about us so fast.  I am sure that Josh and JJ did a good job with filling our slot.  To be honest, with all the changes that are taking place in my life, I am going to miss some upcoming shows.  Who knows how long I will keep doing the radio show.  It has been such a huge part of my life, but if I have to make some choices down the road, my children will win out every time.  For now, we will proceed on course.

Here is the playlist from the show.  We played some new music from Motorhead, Common Enemy, Orange Goblin, Adreniline Mob, Lamb of God, and who knows plus some classic old stuff.

Foghat – Fool For The City

Anvil – Metal On Metal

Motorhead - Killed By Death Featuring Doro Pesch

Lillian Axe – Lava On My Tounge

Common Enemy – Shark Attack

Adreniline Mob – Undaunted

Anthrax – The Devil That You Know

Lamb Of God – Ghost Walking

Orange Goblin – Red Tide Rising

Accept – Princess Of The Dawn

Accept – Flash Rockin Man

Kill Hannah – Lips Like Morphine

TT Quick – Metal Of Honor

Distorted Voices – Reason To Live

Faster Pussycat – Bathroom Wall

Testament – Time Is Coming

Dokken – Lightening Strikes Again

The Damn Dirty Apes – No!

The Damn Dirty Apes – Dead Engine

Death Angel – Seemingly Endless Time

Back Yard Babies – Highlights

Blue Murder – Blue Murder

Whitesnake – Slide It In

Twisted Sister – Can’t Stop Rock N Roll

Motley Crue – Wild Side

Motley Crue – Danger

Motley Crue – Sick Love Song

Motley Crue - Smokin In The Boys Room

Motley Crue - Holligans Holiday

Motley Crue – Kick Start My Heart

Steel Dragon – Blood Pollution

Black Sabbath – Iron Man

Iron Maiden – Flight Of Icarus

Black Stone Cherry – Blind Man

Judas Priest – Don’t Go

After the show, Suzy and I went to Mother’s in Easton to check out The Damn Dirty Apes!  Once again, they came and delivered!  No bullshit, just in your face metal/punk and done.  Loved it!  Every time they play, they keep on getting better and better, and the crowds are getting bigger and bigger.  Check out their new cd “The Apes of Wrath.”  If you cannot get it at a show, you can order it online from Overdose on Records, or now you can order it on iTunes.  Trust me, you will be glad to have this one in your collection!  We had a great time, and I know that TDDA has a new fan in Suzy!

Have a great week everyone and I will get back to this blogging stuff more often.

Just saying…..

The show is up on Facebook if you missed it and will be available to iTunes shortly.  If you have the ability to podcast from iTunes, please take the time to check out past shows.  I really think that we have a good brand going.  You can “like” us on Facebook and get updates and playlists every week.  This week, we had three special guests for the show, first off was George Wacker from Lehigh Valley with love.  George runs his own blog site and last year he started the LV With Love Prom.  I understand that it was a blast to go to, and this years event will be one week from tonight, Jan 21 at Molly’s in Bethlehem.  The proceeds from this event goes to MS.  For more information about this, check out www.lehighvalleywithlove.com.

Bobby from Biohazard called in to let us know what was happening in their world.  He really was a great interview and I look forward to heading to Reading on Monday night to catch their show.  Reverb is the place where this will be happening.  It has been a long time since I saw the band, and with their new release called Reborn, I look forward to this!  Tickets are still available for this show!  Hope to see you there on Monday night.

Last but not least, Andy Clark, the lead guitar player for The Damn Dirty Apes stopped by the studio for a quick visit.  Andy was a great interview, and gave us some good in site on the band and what is happening with them.

Here is the playlist from the show:

Billy Idol – Scream

Accept – Pandemic

Stereo Transmitted Disease – Medicated Children of America

The Damned Things – Bad Blood

Dope – I’m Back

Static X – Skinnyman

Power Theory – Prevaricator

The Noid – The Anchor

Cobra Skulls – All Drive

Five Finger Death Punch – Under and Over It

Orange Goblin – Red Tide Rising

Road of Bones – Bleed For Something

W.A.S.P. – Love Machine

Britny Fox – Girlschool

Iron Maiden – Dance of Death

Guitar Wolf – Jet Generation

Anthrax – Fight Em Till You Can’t

Faith No More – Surprise Your Dead

Dio – Holy Diver

Clutch – Rock N Roll Outlaw

Biohazard – Punishment

Biohazard – Reborn

Adreniline Mob – Undaunted

Armored Saint – Loose Cannon

Lillian Axe – Lava On My Tounge

Lamb Of God – Ghost Walking

The Damn Dirty Apes – No!

The Damn Dirty Apes – The Devil and Sammy Davis

Thanks again for all that listened in.  It is a blast doing this for all of you!

Just saying….