XXX Records America

Keester what is a “keester”? I’ll tell you. “keester” colloquially means “Ass”, which was the original name of the band. With this background knowledge you can then understand a bare buttock of packaged in jeans ass of the cover art-work. And who is behind keester? Multi-talented Jeff Jones, and Bret Blackburn, who here plays guitar and acts as a front man. The music is billed as “Power Pop Punk Trash Metal “.  Ok, Ok, Ok, there is likely something for everyone. Honest, raw, earthy – timeless rock, spiced with a touch of punk and a little grunge. The songs range from dark and profound, as in “I Hate You” or “I Like It This Way”, to more hopeful like “I Want To Be Somebody”. These  two men understood their craft, because of that and  because I’m old school rock they get 8 points from me (Melanie)    June 2011

(see also Vamp Le Stat, Spaced, Jeff Jones, St. Elmo’s Fire)

Keester is actually a slang word from the English for “ass”, which perhaps explains the cover with the , haha! Behind the band is members of  Sleaze rockers VAMP LE STAT, namely guitarist and songwriter Jeff Jones and drummer Bret Blackburn, but also plays guitar and sings keester.

The disc begins with “Get It Again” pretty spacey, muffled guitar sound, sort of grunge-y. “Nothing At All”  goes in the direction of punk – and since we are already at the euphemism for the keester sound: power pop punk thrash metal these are the guys from Sacramento, aha! Quite comprehensive, this orientation. And actually, when I look at songs like “Alone” (great NIRVANA type sound), “I Like It This Way” or “Made Up My Mind” listen, all styles come into play, at least in some way. …
, one must know also that this album was created in 1997,  at a time that classic heavy metal was practically dead and the music world was looking pretty depressed . But with Keester although they had dark songs also (Like the above mentioned), they also had songs like “Stand Beside You,” “Let’s Get High” and “I Want to Be Somebody” to bring a little light into this world.
“Keester” is not for people of cheerful natures,   you can judge that after the first hearing on  CD ….. Keester is definitely the darkest project by Jeff Jones, who was previously with VAMP LE STAT and ST. ELMO’S FIRE which have created such furor in the past.   (July 2011)

(see also Rockhard, Spaced, Jeff Jones, St. Elmo’s Fire)

After their previous Glam Metal band, VAMP LE STAT, members Bret “Flash” Blackburn (drums) and Jeff Jones (guitar) decided to try a new angle by forming KEESTER. The band sounds a heck of a lot like VAMP LE STAT, except Blackburn and Jones have thrown in a bunch of Pop-Punk elements, immediately making the album much more accessible than VAMP LE STAT’s temperamental “Bloodline.” For the most part, KEESTER is a better, more fun band than its predecessor,

…most of the songs on KEESTER’s debut are upbeat and fun. The sunny Pop-Punk tracks lend an aura of levity to KEESTER that was more or less absent from VAMP LE STAT’s debut. Stuff like “Let’s Get High” and “I Wanna Be Somebody” represent an excellent marriage of ‘80s Glam Metal and ‘90s Punk, presenting simplified ‘80s riffs with catchy shout-long choruses. … a must-buy for sure.

(see also Rockhard, Jeff Jones, Spaced, St. Elmo’s Fire)

Guess what.. Jeff Jones is involved in this band too! I got 4 CD’s from XXX Records, and he’s playing on all of them. Wouldn’t surprise me if XXX Records is owned by Jeff himself, haha. Well, it doesn’t really matter. Just a “funny” little note to entertain you.,,,
KEESTER is a duo with  guitarist Jeff and  drummer Bret Blackburn formerly of glam stars VAMP le STAST, What’s the point? Having fun, huh? Whatever! As long as it’s good I shouldn’t complain, and this is  really good and more varied song- wise  than Jeff’s other stuff, so what am I whining for?   (June 2011)

(see also Rockhard, Vamp le Stat, Jeff Jones)

…mixing several styles of hard rock today, this album can satisfy many metal  fans  “Chain Around My Heart” traces the ’70 ‘s  sounding like a new Led Zeppelin and Blue Cheer. Very good. It’s a strong hand! Then they mix four tracks of  good old melodic American metal , good quality.  3  Scorpions-like songs and 3 acoustic tracks (Mr.  Big and Extreme) rather successful, sounding really good. It should pass easily in radio (especially now). But above all there is EXCELLENT instrumental ” Rivethead JAM ” fantastic! Blues Boom ambience,  incredible way it reminds me of the ’70’s  (great ), the limit of psychedelia. Facinating guitar parts …. In addition to the end of the song, reminds me of drummer John Bonham. Eight minutes of  happiness of ’70 ‘s mixed with the ’90’ s (because the sound and some passages are definitely there!). It lsounds like a live jam.  “Desperate Years” is an album of very high quality (good sound, good songs, good musicians ) you will  love this!

(see also spaced and rockhard)

…. great show by the singe ZANE LAZAR , the lyrics aew quite impressive. —–
(see also spaced and rockhard)

Warning! Masterpiece! I haven’t heard anything of this caliber since the early ’80’s.
From the opener “Chain Around My Heart” and its mid-tempo, to a a wonderful ballad that closes the album “Other Night To Cry”, everything is fabulous! I could go on about  each title, they all are thunderous, but I limit myself to the creme de la creme . For my part thet melodic “On Fire” is a pearl! Among the other wonders we could cite for example is the acoustic “Without You” , the cutting edge “Part of My Life” ,the fast “Hot Time”, the FM radio single  “Michelle”, and long instrumental “jam Rivethead” ….
For me, it is  the best album of the year so far!
…

A nice comeback for these veterans. They do have an emotional acoustic number like “Where Were You”…
The band does deliver some commerciality without sounding derivative.. Occasionally they sound like Ozzy Osbourne. However the bands musicianship brings them beyond any easy comparisons.
It sometime hints of early Michael Schenker (MSG) I guess. I’m not saying they aren’t a creative band .they are. It’s a great sounding album from a great hard rock band!

(see also spaced and rockhard)

… after 2 years of silence St. Elmo’s Fire returns with a very good album following “Powerdrive”. The new one titled “Desperate Years” is a mixture of songs  in a  fast style of heavy metal but also with a softer side, which rocks! The album is very solid ..

(see laso spaced and rockhard)

Powerdrive is a great rock n roll explosion. From the first until the last note, the  music pulls you  through a tornado of catchy melodies, catchy choruses and steamy rockers. It’s glam rock at it best . Singer ZANE LAZAR sounds  better than what we are used to in this genre. The drive is set forth by the fantastic drumming of KRIS GUSTOFSON.  And although they do not deviate from the beaten path, JEFF JONES guitar solos are still enjoyable. But its primarily the riffs that he plays that deserve the most attention.

(see also spaced and rockhard)