Motörhead 30th Anniversary Tour - March 13, 2005 - Magic City Music Hall - Johnson City, NY

Motörhead: Thirty Years of Thunder
Thirty years is a long time to do anything. But, if you love what you do, it seems to pass by in the blink of an eye. Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead is one of the few people in the music business that had the ability and courage of his convictions to make it that far.
It is easy to see why Lemmy Kilmister made my HeroQuest list. His dedication to his musical vision and his perseverance are awe inspiring. There is not a band in heavy music today that has not been influenced by Lemmy and Motörhead. Both Metal and Punk fans hold Motörhead in high esteem. A great example is in the movie Airheads. A character asks, "Who would win in a fight, Lemmy or God?" The answer: "Trick question... Lemmy IS God!"
Motörhead's groundbreaking style of overwhelmingly loud and fast Heavy Metal was one of the most unique sounds the genre had to offer in the 70's. Motörhead wasn't Punk rock, but they were the first Metal band to harness that energy and, in the process, they created Speed Metal and Thrash Metal.
Born the son of a minister, Frontman/Bassist Lemmy Kilmister (born Ian Fraiser Kilmister; December 24, 1945) first began playing rock & roll in 1964, when he joined two local Blackpool, England R&B bands, The Rainmakers and the Motown Sect.
Over the course of the 60's, he played with a number of bands - including the Rockin' Vickers, Gopal's Dream, and Opal Butterfly - as well as briefly working as a roadie for the legendary Jimi Hendrix.

It was during this time that he acquired the nickname "Lemmy" from his habit of asking to borrow five bucks from everyone around him. He would walk up with his accent and ask, "Le' me borrow a fiver." The name stuck.
He joined the heavy, hard-rocking, spacey, Prog-rock band Hawkwind as a bassist in 1971. Lemmy originally planned to play with Hawkwind only six months, but stayed with them for four years. During that time, he wrote and sang several songs with the band, including their signature song, the 1972 number three U.K. hit "Silver Machine". Lemmy was kicked out of Hawkwind in the spring of 1975, after being busted for drug possession and spending five days in a Canadian jail.
Upon returning to England, Kilmister set about forming a new band. Originally, the band was to be called "Bastard," but Lemmy decided to call the band Motörhead, after the last song he wrote for Hawkwind.
Motörhead made its debut in July of 1975. Although the band changed its lineup many, many times, they never changed their raging sound. Lemmy has been Motörhead's only consistent member. The band is currently rounded out by guitarist Phillip Campbell, formerly of Persian Risk, who joined the band in 1983, and Mikkey Dee, formerly of King Diamond, who took over the drummer position in 1991.
The album Overkill was released in the spring of 1979 and peaked at number 24, while its title track became the band's first Top 40 hit. Motörhead continued to gain momentum. Ace of Spades, Motörhead's first American album, released in the fall of 1980, became a number four hit, while the single of the same name reached number 15. In 1984, Motörhead left Bronze Records and the label filed an injunction against the band. As a result, the group was prevented from releasing any recordings for two years. Motörhead finally returned to action in 1986, first with a track on the charity compilation Hear 'n Aid and later with the album Orgasmatron, which received some of the group's best reviews to date. The following year, they released Rock 'N' Roll, which was equally successful.
In 1988, Lemmy made his acting debut in the comedy Eat the Rich.
Motörhead's 1992' album March or Die didn't chart in the U.S., yet did well with their U.K. cult following. The band's record label dropped them and the band started their own label, appropriately called Motörhead.

Their first album for the label was 1994's Bastards. For the remainder of the '90s, Motörhead concentrated on touring more than recording.
Lemmy appeared in insurance commercials in Britain. He also acted in the horror film Hellraiser 3 and had a cameo in the porno flick John Wayne Bobbit Uncut.
The year 2005 marks the 30th Anniversary of Motörhead and Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey are still out on the road touring and playing for their dedicated fans.
The current tour brought them to Binghamton, NY and the Magic City Music Hall which is owned by Stu Green, formerly of Magic City Productions. Stu Green is the guy responsible for bringing some of the biggest bands in the history of Rock & Roll to the Central New York area. With this club, he continues to do so.
The club is large and the stage is good sized. I estimate it would hold about 700 to 1000 people for shows. The walls are covered in autographed 8 x10 glossy pictures of nearly every band you can name. There is one wall that is completely covered with concert tickets. Behind the bar are many autographed guitars. It is a true Rock & Roll Music Hall in every sense of the word. They also serve food. I had the nachos and I will tell you they were great!
My Goal for the day was to interview Brand New Sin frontman: Joe Altier, who happens to be a friend of mine. Brand New Sin are from Syracuse, NY and I was there to do an article on how the hometown boys are doing great. So, I found Joe and because it was loud in the club due to soundchecks, we went out to the band's van to do the interview where it would be quiet. Brand New Sin have toured with Motörhead in the past and they know the guys in the band. So, after the interview was done, I asked Joe if he would introduce me to Lemmy when we went back inside. He told me that Lemmy was very approachable and to go up to him and say hi. (In truth, I knew this because many years ago I met Lemmy for a hot minute at The Lost Horizon in Syracuse when Motörhead played there. Lemmy and I talked about music and I told him about my band Born Again Savages. I have an autograph that I got from him on that day that says: "Open for us someday!")

I finished the interview with Joe Altier, thanked him for everything, and headed back into the club.
Lemmy was hanging out with Phil by the pool table. I walked over and introduced myself. He was very soft spoken and friendly. I told him that it was an Honor to meet him again. I asked if he would mind posing for a photo and he was totally down with it. So we struck a pose and snap, the moment was frozen forever. I also took a photo of Lemmy with my friend Trinity Blunt who had accompanied me on this trip. She was very excited.
I spoke with Lemmy for a few moments and told him about my HeroQuest Campaign. I also informed him that I had tried to set up an interview, but was denied by the PR people. Lemmy told me to find him after the show and we could perhaps sit down for a few moments and have a short impromptu interview session.
After that, Lemmy was up in the pool game against Phil. Trinity and I chose a seat near the pool table and watched the game. We called out "Good Shot!" every time either of them had one. I snapped off a few photos of Lemmy and Phil's game. They aren't the greatest photos, but it's obviously Lemmy shooting pool. So, we hung out and watched the guys playing pool and chatted with them for a while longer. I shot a game with Lemmy, and he kicked my ass! Afterwards, I shook his hand, thanked him, and then went outside to smoke a cigarette.

The crowd outside was getting big and the line stretched all the way down the front of the club. There were quite a few people that I knew in line. I stopped to talk to them and showed them the photo of Lemmy. I guess that they liked it, because they seemed excited. But then they implied that my parents weren't married... Ha ha ha... I guess I am a Lucky Bastard. (But that Luck comes from a lot of Hard Work.)
After my smoke, I went back in, found Trinity and got a table near the front of the hall by the side of the stage. This position was strategically chosen to allow me to ease of getting in and out for shooting photos. About that time, the doors opened and in came the crowd. The room filled up quickly and it was a good thing we had already grabbed the table or we wouldn't have gotten it. people snatched up the remaining tables very quickly. We ordered food and drinks and relaxed until the bands started. Brand New Sin was up first, followed by Zeke, and after that was Corrosion of Conformity and got the crowd very excited.
Motörhead were up next and the crowd were poised for it like hungry dogs waiting for a steak.You could feel the electricity in the air. Lemmy, Phil, and Mikkey finally took the stage and the crowd went wild. The band charged through their set as is their lives depended upon it. They played a great collection of songs.
After about the sixth song, the band took a moment to get ready for the next song and the crowd grew quiet. At that point Lemmy stepped up to the microphone and stated, "I hope you're not waiting for me to say something important... because I don't do that!" Then, the band launched into their next song. The crowd was having a good time and it showed. Fists pumped the air and hair was whipped to and fro. There were a bunch of Boys from Syracuse at the show and I saw them all rocking out as hard as they have ever done.
As the band played the rest of their set, I went back by the sound board to get the best sound in the room. I saw the setlist on the board and asked the sound guy if I could have it at the end of the show. Only the encore was left, so he said I could take it right then.
After finishing their set, Lemmy and crew thanked the crowd for coming out and for thirty years of support and called it a night.
I made my way back to our table and collected my gear and waited for Trinity to find her way out of the Pit. She finally arrived and we went for a smoke.
We found Chuckie Love and there was going to be a meet and greet so I got in line to go backstage. Trinity had a VIP pass where as mine was only a Press/Photo pass, and as I waited in line with everyone else Chuckie grabbed Trinity and took her back before me. It was a good ten minutes before I got to go back and when I did, I got the entire band to sign my set list.
I asked Lemmy again about if we would be able to talk for a few moments and he said he wouldn't be able to that night. He asked if he could call me and do the interview over the phone. I told him that it would be fine with me. I gave him my website and all my contact info. About that time, the security guys told me I had to leave because all I had was a Press Pass. I was bummed because Trinity and the Syracuse Boys with VIP passes were all backstage drinking and eating pizza and hanging out with Motörhead. More after the photos...

So, I went outside and smoked a cigarette and waited for Trinity. After a while, she and Chuckie Love came and got me and brought me back stage. Lemmy was gone by that point, but we hung out with the guys from Syracuse and Brand New Sin for a while and had a few drinks. While we were hanging out, Mikkey Dee came through and I asked him to get a quick snapshot. I had met him years before when he was playing in King Diamond and it was cool to finally have a photo.
Finally, it was time to head home, but not before seeing one of the grossest things I have ever seen in my life. I will NOT write about it here, but if you ask me in person, I will give you the whole sordid tale. (Though I am sure the more astute observers of this site will figure out what it was from looking at the photos.)
I gathered up my stuff, and then, Trinity and I thanked the guys from Brand New Sin one more time, said our good-byes and headed home.
It was a GREAT day!

Official Website