Headbanger's Ball

What do musicians do when they are not touring or recording? They form a side project . Some local one's formed one called Headbangers Ball, after the MTV show which featured hard rock back in the 1980's. While MTV is not relevant anymore the music they played still is. Headbangers Ball did the songs proud and caused the crowd to stand for their show.
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When you take a bunch of high school kids and teach them classic hits that have been overplayed on radio, the kids think they are musicians and they are a great band. Not so. A great band has to know more than just "hits" and you have to be able to play those songs without looking at your instruments. You need stage presence. Stage presence cannot be taught, it must be acquired with time..

When you take people like Nick Douglas and Johnny Dee from Doro Pesch , put in Virus from Dope and Joe Taylor who also played with Doro and Lita Ford. Then you bring in an energetic front lady with a set of pipes that can be heard in the next county, give her a sexy name like Jane Train and you have a band worth seeing. And that band delivered the goods.

They brought out some of the more well known songs. Hey would frequently do block of an artist. Like Ratt? "Round and Round' fell into "Lay It Down" . A few songs from Dokken like Dream Warrior" and "Breakin the Chains", mix in some Iron Maiden, and you have and idea of what transpired in the Trocadero December 6 2013.

In a previous interview, drummer Johnny Dee said "We want people to take a chance on us". Those that did and laid out the $16.00 to get in drew a blackjack , that paid off big time. The biggest chance was on Jane Train,the lead singer. many were unfamiliar with her and wondered if she could belt out the tunes the way they were supposed to be sung. Within two minutes, the answer was a yes. The crowd for the most part stood up. You can tell how good a band is when they play clubs. If people are texting or looking at their cellphones while sitting, the band is not doing their job. 95 percent of those in the Troc were on their feet and their cellphones were off or they were shooting photos with them.

The downside to Headbangers Ball is it's a side project. Clearly the music they play is in demand, but so are the members primary gigs. People in attendance hope that this band comes back and soon, in spite of the fact that Jane Train lives over two hours away. When they do, they need to be on stage longer. None of this four band late night stuff. While Openers Nat Attack were very good, Travia and 609 were too modern for this crowd, many of whom spent their time in the back texting and not paying attention. Nat Attack have promise , if they would drop some of their "classic hits" and delve a bit deeper, they could be generate an even bigger fan base. Have one or two bands open, and bring Headbangers Ball onstage by 9:30 p.m. That way, they can be on stage for two or more hours, yet their fan base gets to hear more songs. - Alex Gross for examiner.com