Arizona's 80's & 90's rock acts reunite to benefit Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, & other animal non-profits. Acts include national recording act ICON, Surgical Steel, Metal Elvis, Whiskey Blu (who will play both nights of the event - two of the animal charities are near and dear to band members), Kaiser, Rip N Tear & Kiss Mania.
Arizona's Heavy-Metal Heyday is back as history repeats itself - the event includes bands which have not played together since the early/mid-90's but have agreed to reunite and perform original favorites in two shows: June 7th and 8th, 2008 at Venue of Scottsdale.
Tickets are available on the web site, www.azallstars.org, at Rockzone Records and the Venue of Scottsdale box office and range in price from $25 for General Admission and $50 for VIP. 2-Day Event Passes can be purchased online at discounted rate of $40.
The brainchild of the event is first-time non-profit promoter Heather "Leather" Hammitt, long-time Arizona resident and fan of the acts is excited to see the event come to fruition: "I am so grateful for these talented musicians - they are truly Arizona All-Stars and heroes for dedicating their time and talent and championing the rights of animals!"
About the acts...
Worldwide touring artist ICON was signed in 1984 by Capitol Records, has four disc releases under their belt, and feature “Rock Icon” Alice Cooper on one of their most applauded disks, Right Between the Eyes. Dan Wexler and John Aquilino are pairing up again and will premier their new lineup at the All Stars Event. The band has plans for other dates nationally, so locals will get a “first look” at what ICON is offering! ICON will be archiving the event on film so ROCK IT OUT! Additionally, archived bootleg media of the band will be available on DVD and a four-CD set is scheduled for release later this year.
Surgical Steel performed in Arizona throughout the late 80's and early 90's and brought a standard toArizona that local rockers have not forgotten. With an impressive lineup of originals, Surgical Steel was seen as one of “Arizona's Finest”, and those who attended their shows might recall seeing Judas Priest front man, Rob Halford stepping in to sing a covers at local haunts like the now-closed venues, “Mr. Lucky’s”
and “Rockers”. Surgical Steel also has a cameo in the 1985 film, "Thunder Alley".
Surgical Steel is also archiving the event on film - so dress to THRILL!
Kaiser, fronted by "The Voice", Bret Kaiser would later become Bow'ry Boys under the management of music entertainment legend, Don Arden (ELO, Black Sabbath, Air Supply, etc. and father of Sharon Osborne. These boys had an impressive following and national sponsorship.
The all-girl Rockers, Whiskey Blu were awarded "Best New Band in Arizona" by Backstage Pass and Best Rock Band - Readers' Choice by Phoenix New Times in their first year of playing.
Rip N' Tear were a local favorite, and were most requested band on Joel Samuel’s local show “Joel Samuel Presents…Backstage Pass”. Joel Samuels was invited to the show as Guest of Honor, however, is unable to attend. Heather says, “I will try and honor Joel’s essence of Showmanship – he’ll be here in spirit – it’s because of him that some of these acts got the coverage they deserved.”
The acts will be warmed up by the unique and high energy band, "Metal Elvis" who sing “The King’s Classics - Heavy Metal Style” and Kiss Mania, Arizona’s local Tribute band have recently debuted to huge success and have agreed to open up Sunday’s show KISS-Style.
Touted as more than just a concert but an event that will reunite fans and friends of Arizona's Rock Scene, pre-party activities are already in the works as well as an after party hosted by Surgical Steels own Guitar Hero, Jimmy Keeler, location to be announced at the show!
Sponsors have been generous in these last weeks leading up to the show and donating raffle prizes. "We've got some pretty great giveaways”, says Heather, “I’m hoping for more corporate sponsorship as the hype grows…thank God for the fans, they’re the reason this show is happening."
For tickets, sponsorship, or links, visit www.azallstars.org
