Show 229 – Rough Cutt

Show Notes

• Interview: Rough Cutt the 2020 lineup
• Interview: Darren Housholder (Rough Cutt, Love/Hate) about W.A.S.P., Enuff Z’Nuff, Love/Hate, and lowering his guitar to get hired
• Rough Cutt’s worldwide debut of new lineup!
• News: Dr. Feelgood 30th Anniversary Edition
• Rare Hare from Rough Cutt, War & Peace, Axel Rudi Pell
• Chart-Climbers by Toothgrinder, Hellyeah
• Hits & Deep Cuts from Metallica, AC/DC, Remember the Monsters, Dio, Love/Hate, Skid Row, Alice in Chains, Ghost, Ratt, Three Days Grace, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Halestorm, Fever 333, and more
• Rough Cutt’s setlist, November 29, 2019
  1. Take Her
  2. Piece of My Heart
  3. Don’t Settle For Less
  4. Dreaming Again
  5. Cutt Your Heart Out
  6. Black Widow
  7. Bad Reputation
  8. Double Trouble
  9. Let ‘Em Talk
  10. You Wanna Be A Star

The Complete, Uncut(t) Rough Cutt Interview

Below you can listen to (or watch) the complete, uncut, uncensored interview with Rough Cutt as a podcast or as a video presentation (with photos). Note: There is no music in the full interview. To hear Rough Cutt, Love/Hate, and War & Peace, listen to the show.

[expand title=”Click/Press to Show Video Timecodes and Topics”]

Start (mm:ss) – Name
00:40.000 – INTERVIEW: Dave Alford & Chris Hager
00:48.607 – Playing Portland
00:58.798 – New Lineup
01:42.990 – New Vocalist
02:24.115 – Founding Member of Ratt (Chris Hager)
02:50.989 – Testing the Waters
03:18.786 – New Songs
05:50.511 – Rough Cutt on Monsters of Rock Cruise?
06:30.768 – In Demand All Over
07:52.222 – A New Generation of Fans
08:40.455 – Grateful for Fans
09:10.674 – Rough Riot
10:46.379 – Darren Housholder
10:46.379 – INTERVIEW: Darren Housholder
10:48.423 – Joining Love/Hate
11:18.370 – Auditioning for Enuff Z’Nuff
11:44.925 – Love/Hate Criteria: Wear the Guitar Low
12:30.120 – Enough with Enuff Z’Nuff
13:21.045 – Stung by W.A.S.P.
17:04.860 – INTERVIEW: Dave Alford, Chris Hager, Darren Housholder, Jeff Buehner
17:04.913 – Pariah is Joined by Co-Host Alessia Gotardi
17:19.658 – Rough Cutt’s Chris, Dave, Darren, and Jeff
17:31.642 – A Fight with the Merch Table
17:49.744 – Rock N’ Roll Fighting
18:15.526 – Dave Recalls Mick Mars Joining Motley Crue
18:47.037 – Sunset Strip Friends
19:26.962 – Building the New Rough Cutt
20:52.934 – Unleashing the New Rough Cutt
21:22.006 – Choosing Portland for the Debut
21:41.406 – Praise from Tracii Guns
22:00.829 – 3 Guys De-Virginized on Stage
22:23.941 – Playing a Tight Stage
23:23.732 – The Chemistry Shows
24:08.536 – Transcending the Old Lineup
24:29.327 – Coalescing Into a Tight, Cohesive Band
25:41.068 – The Rough Cutt Signature Writing Style
27:20.897 – We Don’t Gallop
27:40.664 – Ronnie James Dio
28:36.887 – Magical Melding of Guitar Styles
29:13.055 – Rough Cuts from Rough Cutt
29:25.239 – Origin of the Band Name
30:18.201 – Ronnie James Dio Would Approve of (and Steal) Darren and Jeff
31:52.576 – How Was Your First Time on Stage with Rough Cutt
33:02.992 – How Did You Feel Stepping On Stage
33:59.574 – Did You Feel Connected to the Group
34:35.003 – Couldn’t Tell He Was New to the Group
35:27.421 – Boys Having Fun Playing Music
38:03.776 – You Wanna Be A Star – First Time in 30 Years
39:27.944 – Breaking Rough Cutt
40:13.244 – Good, Happy Metal
40:36.340 – 80s Metal, Having a Good Time
41:18.696 – Patrick Young from Black N’ Blue Drops By
41:45.816 – Thank You
42:03.041 – Jeff Beaner

[/expand]

Playlist

Own the hits and deep cuts you hear on Hard, Heavy & Hair! Click the iTunes/Apple Music or Amazon Digital Music icons to the left of each song.

AC/DC – Back in Black

Metallica – Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Skid Row – Can’t Stand the Heartache

Rough Cutt – Cutt Your Heart Out

Hellyeah – Welcome Home

Remember The Monsters – Close Encounters

War & Peace – Heaven Knows

FireHouse – Love of a Lifetime

Rough Cutt – Black Widow

Rough Cutt – You Wanna Be a Star

Love/Hate – Blackout in the Red Room

Alice in Chains – Them Bones

Ghost – Rats

Ratt – Slip of the Lip

Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become

Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood

Fever 333 – One of Us

Halestorm – Uncomfortable

Def Leppard – Action! Not Words

Toothgrinder – I Am

Transcript of the Show

[INTRO]

Welcome to Hard, Heavy & Hair Show number 229, a show titled “Rough Cutt” for reasons that will become obvious soon because some friends of mine have been too long, and I’m glad they are back. ‘Cause they’re back, I’m back, you’re back, yes, we’re back in black.

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AC/DC – Back in Black
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My name is Pariah Burke, and I’m your hard talking, heavy drinking, hairball of a horny hedonist host.

Thank you for joining me on the Hard, Heavy & Hair Show.

This week I’ve got for you

– Interviews with Rough Cutt about their all new lineup and their future
– and with Love/Hate, War & Peace, and Jizzy Pearl guitarist Darren Housholder
– news about the 30th anniversary release of Dr. Feelgood
– the usual unexpected mix of Hits, Deep Cuts, and rare hair from Hard Rock, Metal, and Hair bands of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, and LOTS more.

Let’s forego the long intro and go straight to where time stands still with Metallica from Master of Puppets. This is “Welcome Home (Sanitarium).”

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Metallica – Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
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It’s time for your first Cover Song of the Week clue.

The Cover Song of the Week this week is Metal on Metal–a Metal cover of a one of the greatest Metal originals of all time–but the cover is a very interesting interpretation of the original. The covering artist is one of Europe’s most respected and prolific Heavy Metal guitarists. I’m sure you’d know his name if I gave it to you, but where would the challenge be in that? So, I’ll tell you he founded the 80s German Metal band Steeler, and, on the Cover Song of the Week, he’s teaming up with vocalist for Hardline.

If your head is filled with Metal trivia, you already know both of those guys’ names. However, if your head is instead filled with more useful things like how to work a real job, how to stop drinking before you pee your pants, and how not to drop a baby on its head, then the next Cover Song of the Week clues will be easier.

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Skid Row – Can’t Stand the Heartache
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Can you believe that that album is 30 years old. Skid Row’s debut album is 30 years old this year, 2019. That means in 2020 it’s going to be even older. That was deep cut “Can’t Stand the Heartache” from the original album.

Do you remember listening to that entire tape or CD? Are you old enough?

You know who’s even older than Skid Row’s debut album? It’s a band that helped pave the way for Skid Row and hundreds of other artists that came after. A band that has, after years of careful, deliberate searching, finally found its ideal lineup. It’s a band that I had the great pleasures of seeing, befriending, and interviewing minutes before AND minutes after their first ever live performance with an all new, all amazing lineup.

Find out who that band is and all about their new incarnation next!

Rough Cutt, one of the original 80s Sunset Strip Metal bands, is back after years of uncertainty that included a short-lived merging with former Quiet Riot members into a group called Rough Riot. This past week Rough Cutt debuted its new lineup 3-fifths of the band hired in the last few months.

[Clip – S3_QUOTE – 3 De-Virginized Cherry Popping]

Before and after a tight set that blew the roof off the venue, I talked with Rough Cutt about their new lineup, where they’re going next, how it felt to play together, and whether we can expect new Rough Cutt music.

I’ve got a segment of that interview coming up for you right here on Hard, Heavy & Hair after the first of three Rough Cutt tracks you’ll hear on the show this week. This is one of their most famous songs, “Cut Your Heart Out” from their 1985 self-titled LP on Warner Bros. Records.

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Rough Cutt – Cutt Your Heart Out
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That was Rough Cutt with “Cutt Your Heart Out,” a song they played live even better Friday night in Portland with new members singer Steven St. James, bassist Jeff Buehner, and second guitarist Darren Housholder.

I sat down backstage at the beautiful Portland concert venue the Bossanova Ballroom with Rough Cutt founder, drummer Rockin’ Dave Alford–who has his moniker emblazoned on his custom Converse sneakers–and with guitarist Chris Hager, aka the Count, who, while not a founding member, has been with Rough Cutt since the earliest days. Our first conversation took place before the worldwide debut of the new lineup.

[S1 – Bossanova]

I’ll have more with Rough Cutt later in the show, including some very interesting stories from new guitarist Darren Housholder, whom you probably know from other bands.

Right now, let’s jump forward to the current year with Hellyeah and “Welcome Home.”

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Hellyeah – Welcome Home
Remember The Monsters – Close Encounters (Radio Edit)
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That, dear listeners, is what happens when young, good-looking male musicians refuse to become Boy Bands and instead pursue Hard Rock like bad little boys should.

Taking its name from the series finale of the beloved Showtime serial killer TV series Dexter, that was Remember the Monsters, a 3-piece band of young guys from Tucson. With songs like “Close Encounters” there, I’m going to be paying attention to what Remember The Monsters release and where they play.

Speaking of playing, we have to take a quick break to hear from the folks paying for my lap dances and booze this week. B-R-B.

Rough Cutt’s very first live performance in Portland Friday with the new lineup was a blistering and perfect 10-song set that showed a tight, polished, and energetic new Rough Cutt comprising Rockin’ Dave and Chris Hager as well as new singer Steven St James, bassist Jeff Buehner, and the final member of the ensemble of veteran musicians, guitarist Darren Housholder. Their set ended with a crowd rousing killer song they shockingly haven’t played live since the 80s–“You Wanna Be A Star.” You’ll hear the reason behind that song’s decades long absence straight from Alford shortly.

Before that, I want you to hear some truly interesting stories from new guitarist Darren Housholder, formerly of Love/Hate, Jizzy Pearl’s band, War & Peace, Enuff Z’Nuff, WASP, and other projects.

Have a listen first to Darren’s lead guitar work on “Heaven Knows,” a rare track he recorded with War & Peace featuring Dokken’s Jeff Pilson on vocals and second guitar along with Dio and Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice.

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War & Peace – Heaven Knows
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“Heaven Knows,” the rare hair bonus track on the 2013 re-release of War & Peace’s album The Flesh and Blood Sessions. The lead guitarist on that track was new Rough Cutt guitar slinger Darren Housholder.

After Friday’s debut of the new Rough Cutt lineup, I spent some time hanging out with Darren. Eventually, I pulled out my microphone and captured some of this veteran shredder’s stories.

I apologize for the level of background noise you’ll hear. I removed as much of it as I can without harming the voices. The night’s interviews took place in several locations. We kept getting interrupted, and every space that started quiet quickly turned loud–even the elevator! But that’s what it can be like sometimes doing interviews with busy rock stars.

Darren himself said it best when he said of the interview:

[S3_QUOTE – Rough Cutt Rough Cut]

Here’s some of what Darren told me.

[Clip Darren]

That was guitarist Darren Housholder, formerly of War & Peace, Love/Hate, Jizzy Pearl’s band, Enuff Z’Nuff, and WASP, and now the final component of an ass-kicking Rough Cutt lineup whose performance inspired Classic lineup member Chris “The Count” Hager to say: “the new lineup is going to transcend the old one.”

[Clip – S3_QUOTE – The New Lineup Transcend]

The final part of my interview with Rough Cutt is coming up, along with a song they played Friday for the first time in more than 30 years, and the reason why it’s been missing so long.

Stick around for that. In the meantime, let’s hear something lovely and romantic from Firehouse. This is “Love of a Lifetime” on Hard, Heavy & Hair.

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FireHouse – Love of a Lifetime
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Doesn’t that make you think of someone.

Maybe it’s someone you have right now. Maybe it’s someone you used to have.

We’ll be right back.

Last Friday night in Portland one of the original Sunset Strip Metal bands, a group that was friends with Motley Crue, Van Halen, Ronnie James Dio, and everyone else from that classic era, unveiled to the world live on stage their brand new lineup of all veteran musicians. I was lucky enough to be there the very first time these 5 artists performed live. I also had a chance to talk to them before and after the show.

After Rough Cutt’s 10 song set, I met a woman backstage, Alessia Gotardi. I can’t roll my tongue around… heh… the consonants like she can. When Rough Cutt and I went out for drinks, Alessia came with us. During the conversation with Darren–which you heard a part of a few minutes ago–Alessia asked him some interesting questions in support of my questions. So, when Darren and I moved to a quieter location and reunited with the rest of Rough Cutt to continue the interview, I asked Alessia to be my co-host and co-interviewer. She was a great partner, and, now high on the success of their very first public performance together, Rough Cutt was even more gregarious.

Here’s some highlights from that interview.

[S3_CLIP – Starting the First Show as Rough Cutt]

Before we get to that song they played for the first time in 35 years during their new lineup debut, have a listen to a favorite of 80s Metal fans. This is Rough Cutt with “Black Widow.”

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Rough Cutt – Black Widow
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Rough Cutt’s set was 10 songs–hit the show notes for this show, number 229, on PariahRocks.com for their complete setlist–and included the hit you just heard, “Black Widow,” but also something special, a cut no one has heard Rough Cutt play in more than 30 years.

[S3_CLIP – You Wanna Be A Star]

It’s always been one of my favorite Rough Cutt songs, too. We were both surprised (in a part I had to trim for time) that “You Wanna Be a Star” wasn’t a bigger hit for the band. Have a listen and see if you agree with us.

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Rough Cutt – You Wanna Be a Star
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“You Wanna Be a Star,” released on Rough Cutt’s second album, 1986’s Rough Cutt Wants You, and included in the 80s TV series Fame, but a song that, until this past Friday night in Portland, no one has heard played live since it failed to land with arena audiences of the 80s. What do you think? The crowd at Portland’s Bossanova Ballroom loved it as the anchor to Rough Cutt’s set.

It was definitely a party time, a night to paint the town red, something Love/Hate has always known about. This is the title track–and track 1–to their 1990 debut LP, which started them touring arenas in support of Dio and then AC/DC. It’s “Blackout in the Red Room” with me, Pariah Burke, on Hard, Heavy & Hair.

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Love/Hate – Blackout in the Red Room
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Ready for another Cover Song of the Week clue?

Although many people think the Cover Song of the Week original is about Satan,

[Clip – SNL – Church Lady – Could it be Satan]

it’s actually about the opposite figure–Christ, or at least a Christ-like character. The iconic Metal singer who wrote the song, a deeply religious man who disagreed with the fear-based instruction of the Catholic Church of his time, said the song is about a Christ-figure on another planet who dies for the sins of his people and is then cleansed and reborn to redeem another planet’s beings all over again.

What song is that? You almost certainly know it.

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Alice in Chains – Them Bones
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Alice in Chains, “Them Bones.” Still coming up is that news about the 30th anniversary edition of Dr. Feelgood, the Cover Song of the Week, Def Leppard, and more.

Pray for the Pied Piper, because Ghost is infesting us with “Rats.”

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Ghost – Rats (Radio Edit)
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Earlier in the show you heard excerpts from my interviews with various members of the brand new line up of Rough Cutt. One of the guys I talked to, Chris Hager, was a founding member for a little band you might have heard of. It used to be called Mickey Ratt before cutting the tail off and going with just Ratt. This is them with “Slip of the Lip” from ’86’s Dancing Undercover, by which time Chris was already with Rough Cutt.

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Ratt – Slip of the Lip
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These next guys don’t have anything to do with Rough Cutt, it’s just a great Metal song. This is Three Days Grace and “Animal I Have Become.”

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Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become
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Here’s your final Cover Song of the Week clue, though I’ve also dropped a bunch of extra hints throughout the show.

The writer and original recording artist of the Cover Song of the Week first achieved fame as the vocalist for Rainbow and as Ozzy Osbourne’s replacement singing for Black Sabbath. When this singer put together his own band, a band that carried his last name–and it wasn’t his real last name of Padavona–the Cover Song of the Week original was the title track to, and first single from, his namesake band’s debut album.

I prescribe two bourbon shots while you think about it. Follow my expert medical advice, and in 4 minutes and 52 seconds, you’ll be the picture of feel good, especially if you’re a Motley Crue fan.

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Mötley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood
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The title track to 6-times platinum LP Dr. Feelgood. HIPPA regulations prevents me from mentioning when I was first prescribed a daily dose of the Crue.

Dr. Feelgood is Motley Crue’s best-selling album of all time, and this month, it turns 30 years old, which means the Crue is releasing a 30th Anniversary edition of the album.

On December 20th you can get your hands on several anniversary items including a 30th-anniversary CD, a vinyl LP, a deluxe edition LP with colored vinyl, three 7-inch picture discs, and a Dr. Feelgood doctors’ bag containing a deck of cards, prescription notepad, band aids, drumstick-shaped pens, guitar picks, and a pretty cool looking beer cozy made to look like a straight jacket.

Just head to Motley.com and click the link for Dr Feelgood for complete info and ordering options.

This is “Uncomfortable” by Halestorm following Fever 333, “One of Us.”

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Fever 333 – One of Us
Halestorm – Uncomfortable
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I hope you solved the mystery, because the Cover Song of the Week is next.

[COW]

Did you guess the Metal-on-Metal Cover Song of the Week, the covering artist, or the original artist?

The original artist, the former Rainbow and Black Sabbath singer who formed his own band and debuted it with the Cover Song of the Week original, was Ronnie James Dio, a friend of my interview guests Rough Cutt. In fact, Dio had a habit of stealing guitarists from Rough Cutt, starting with… Well, check out my full interview with Rough Cutt on PariahRocks.com in the show number 229 show notes for those stories.

When Dio–the band–started out, their first single was the debut album’s title track, “Holy Diver.”

This week it’s being covered by guitarist Axel Rudi Pell, who has been solo with his backing band pretty much since Steeler broke up in ’88. In 2011 he tapped Hardline vocalist Johnny Gioeli to help him do a unique cover of “Holy Diver”. Axel turned it into a Power Ballad. I can feel some of you groaning. Give it a chance. I think it’s pretty good.

Here’s “Holy Diver,” the Cover Song of the Week by Axel Rudi Pell, followed immediately by the hallowed Dio original.

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Axel Rudi Pell – Holy Diver
Dio – Holy Diver
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“Holy Diver,” first as covered by Axel Rudi Pell and vocalist Johnny Gioeli, the Hard, Heavy & Hair Cover Song of the Week, and then the original version by Dio.

This next song was released the same year as Dio’s debut. From Pyromania, this is Def Leppard and “Action! Not Words.”

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Def Leppard – Action! Not Words
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We’re getting close to the end of this week’s show. Just enough time for one more song to play us out.

If you missed any part of this show, you can stream it again on-demand 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, from PariahRocks.com, that’s P-A-R-I-A-H-R-O-C-K-S-dot com.

My name is Pariah Burke, I’m your hard talking, heavy drinking, hairball of a horny host and producer. Thank you for joining me for this week’s Hard, Heavy & Hair Show.

I especially want to thank the guys from Rough Cutt: Rockin’ Dave Alford, The Count Chris Hager, Darren Housholder, Jeff Buehner, and Steven St James for appearing on the show. And, I want to thank my impromptu co-interviewer, Alessia Gotardi, who did a fantastic job.

There are so many good stories Rough Cutt told us–like when Mick Mars joined Motley Crue, about their friendship with Ronnie James Dio and what he’d think of the new lineup, Chris Hager’s fight with the merch table, where the band’s name came from, Rough Cutt’s signature writing style, the magical melding of guitar styles, and how the band members felt minutes after their first ever live performance together, among other things.

Starting Friday, December 6th, and forever more thereafter, you can listen to the complete, uncut, uncensored interview with Rough Cutt on PariahRocks.com in the show notes for Hard, Heavy & Hair 229, and on the MixCloud mobile app. Don’t forget you can also see their setlist for a preview of what you can expect when Rough Cutt hits your city soon.

I hope you’ll join me next week for another all new Hard, Heavy & Hair Show. I’m Pariah Burke. Thank you again for listening. Toothgrinder is going to play us out with “I Am”.

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Toothgrinder – I Am