What’s “trending” at Chez Rock Vixen.
An unprecedented, back-to-back ALL ROCK & ROLL “What’s Rocking My World”!

1. Suicide Silence delivers toys, cash donations to Children’s Health Center in Corona, CA
   “We dropped off several large bags full of toys at the Children’s Hospital in Corona this past week! We also delivered a few hundred dollars of cash donations that were collected at the Chain Reaction show. A huge thanks to all of our great fans who helped make this happen!” (Blasting the sterotype of a hardcore heavy metal rocker to smithereens! \m/ \m/ )

Still MORE stereotype-blasting…

2. W.A.S.P. Guitarist Douglas Blair appears at event to raise money for Veterans with PTSD

   “On December 13, Douglas Blair of W.A.S.P. attended a signing session where 100% of the proceeds went to Shelter To Soldier, a non-profit charity that trains rescue dogs and matches them with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

3. Guitarist JASON BECKER, Who Suffers From ALS, Says He Had ‘An Early Christmas Gift’ From His Doctors
   “Becker’s story is one of brilliance, talent, determination, adversity, and, ultimately, triumph. A child prodigy on guitar, Jason rose to prominence as a teenager when he was one half of the technical guitar duo CACOPHONY, with his great friend Marty Friedman. In 1989, at only 19 years old and after wowing audiences all over the world, the young virtuoso became the guitarist for David Lee Roth, following in the huge footsteps of Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. He wrote and recorded on Roth’s third solo album, “A Little Ain’t Enough”, and was poised for superstardom when a nagging pain in his leg was diagnosed as Motor Neurone Disease (MND), also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, the same condition Stephen Hawking lived with for over five decades. It is a fatal condition with a life expectancy of maybe five years. Maybe.

   That was 30 years ago. He lost the ability to play guitar, walk, talk, and breathe on his own. But never lost his will to live or his desire to create music. Communicating through a series of eye movements with a system developed by his father, Jason spells out words as well as musical notes and chords. He imparts his musical vision to his team who then can input the notes into a computer, edit the parts to his exacting standards, and then generate charts for session musicians. His inspiring music and life story have been the subject of countless news articles, magazine cover stories, and an award-winning documentary, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet.”

   (Listen, NO ONE wants to encounter this type of adversity but lately I’ve been consuming books written by people who’ve been through the ringer [physically and mentally] and they’ve lived their lives FULL TILT. That SAYS something. I have friends that know what it’s like to have battled cancer [and won], or who are dealing with heart issues but refuse to allow it to get in the way of their day-to-day life. They are my HEROES.)

4. Former KYUSS Frontman John Garcia is “Proud” of his career as Veterinary Technician
   “I’m a veterinary technician. I work for anywhere from three to five doctors at one time. We’re one of the most successful animal hospitals in, really, the Coachella Valley. We concentrate mostly on small animals — mostly household pets. We don’t do any farm animals or any exotics. But it’s a great environment. The doctors that I work for, they practice really good medicine. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years.”

And Tommy Lee isn’t the only member of Mötley Crüe who’s an animal rights activist.

5. Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx and Texas A&M spar over dog research
   Nikki Sixx is speaking out in support of golden retrievers that Texas A&M University is allegedly breeding for medical research. The Mötley Crüe bassist is sending a letter, with aid from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), to the school’s president, Michael K. Young, asking that the school stop the practice. In it, he cites a video PETA made that claims to show footage of golden retrievers bred by Dr. Joe Kornegay of the school’s veterinary department with the intention of the dogs developing muscular dystrophy. “This is no life for ‘man’s best friend,’” Sixx wrote. “These experiments need to end, and the dogs need to be released for adoption so that they can finally lead the lives that they deserve…

   It’s these sorts of alleged living conditions that have prompted Sixx to speak out. “These animals are skinny, and their tongues are so swollen that they can barely swallow the mush they’re fed,” he says. “They’re in pain, and they don’t have a family or anyone to comfort them – most don’t even have names. Dogs are loyal, wonderful companions, and to think of them suffering every moment of their lives is heartbreaking. I just can’t believe that this is allowed to go on.” (Let me add cats, mice, pigs, birds – in fact all sentient beings – to the list of animals that are needlessly being used and abused for the sake of “science”. More on this in January when I review a new documentary “Test Subjects“.)

6. MÖTLEY CRÜE Reflects On Record-Breaking 2019
   As 2019 comes to a close, MÖTLEY CRÜE’s hugely successful Netflix biopic “The Dirt” remains one of the highest-rated music film…In terms of its non-music peers, it’s the same ol’ situation. “The Dirt“‘s 95% audience rating measures up powerfully against some of the year’s biggest movie releases, regardless of being movie theater or SVOD release.

More on the Mötley Crüe front:

7. The Crüe are getting in shape for “The Stadium Tour” which kicks off June 21, 2020
   “MÖTLEY CRÜE manager Allen Kovac admitted in a recent interview with Fox Business that “some of” the members of the band are working with trainers and nutritionists to get in shape for the band’s upcoming reunion tour. Kovac was referring to criticism of CRÜE singer Vince Neil for his supposed diminished singing ability and weight gain, as well as the health status of guitarist Mick Mars, who has been dealing with a chronic form of arthritis that led him to undergo a hip replacement.”

I’m not one to get political, but I agree with what John Corabi has to say here. I think it’s all ENTERTAINMENT – meant to keep us at one another’s throats so we don’t pay attention to what’s going on (or not) behind the curtain…

8. Former MÖTLEY CRÜE Singer JOHN CORABI Says DONALD TRUMP’s Impeachment Has ‘Divided Us Even Further’
   “What I believe is our leaders Republican and Democrat are nothing but a bunch of OVERPAID, whiny bitches that are getting nothing done for you and I…I personally can see arguments on both sides. But all we’re doing now is buying into whatever NEWS outlet supports your party…As far as I’m concerned we’re all buying into the ‘BIG POLITICAL SPIN’…We need to hold EVERYONE accountable in Washington…period. (Well said, John.)

That’s All Folks!