So you call yourself a pure rocker – you know the significance of Megadeth’s “Peace Sells”, well that was easy…what about the song who’s riff was developed because of the guitarist inability to mimic the singer; or the song – a description of a tropical storm, that helped re-launch a legendary band with a new singer? Music has always been about illusion and one’s interpretation of the lyrics. It is there that battle lines are drawn between fans that see a song one way or another, let alone where they rank in the hierarchy of metal-dome. Be careful, metal fans are a precarious bunch – referring to a song incorrectly could result in an extra shot to the dome! But, armed with a copy of Jackie Kajzer’s ‘Full Metal Jackie Certified – The 50 Most Influential Heavy Metal Songs of the 80’s and The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics and The True Stories Behind Their Lyrics in your musical arsenal can only help promote your sonic survival.

The dream is always the same – a sleek sports car flying down the Pacific Coast Highway, the crashing surfing pounding the beach below. The music is pulsating out of the speakers; the searing guitars, the pounding drums, the thick rhythm of the bass and the unmistakable vocal roar. The songs may be interchangeable but one thing remains a constant – the band, Metallica! And for a quarter century, they have been just that, a constant! As my head begins to rock back and forth and my fingers tighten their grip on the steering wheel, I realize today is no dream. So, it’s off to the legendary Cow Palace in San Francisco for an intimate evening with Metallica and a few hundred of their closest friends and family. And the only thing between Los Angeles and the city by the bay was a lot of asphalt and several hours of rockin’, Metallica-style.

Bon Scott sang the immortal words, “Let there be sound, light, drums, guitars…let there be rock!” As simple as these words might be, I don’t think they were penned with the Internet in mind. In the beginning, back in 1986, a small Rock station in Long Beach, California, signed on the air, in an effort to satisfy the city’s insatiable hard rock appetite. Then it came to pass in 1995 that that little ol’ rock & roll show packed up its “Pure Rock” format and bid a fond farewell to the airwaves, leaving a hard rockin’ legacy that went far beyond its 3,000 watt reach.

What’s in a name? Well, for starters, a name gives you identity. It describes who you are. And for some, it even gives a glimpse at what’s inside. For recording artists, a name not only represents who you are as a group, but also as musicians. A name can either be so intriguing that you immediately want to hear more of what the band has to offer or it can completely turn you off. In the case of Los Angeles rockers Egodog, there’s a lot in name!