Lost Hits of the New Wave #30

Donnie Iris may be a name solidly from the past, but it's one that is back in the news recently.

Dominic Ierace, better known by his stage name of Donnie Iris climbed to fame as a member of The Jaggerz and the writer of "The Rapper." That was in 1970.

Later he floated into Wild Cherry, that 1970s band known for playing that funky music, white boy.

After that he became a solo act, sometimes backed up by The Cruisers and produced vintage FM classics in the early 1980s like "Ah! Leah!" and "Love Is Like a Rock."





As the decade continued, Iris continued to try to compete with low charting singles like "Tough World," "The High and the Mighty," and "Do You Compute?" He even released a pseudo-rock Christmas album called Ah! Leluiah! but he would never again see the success he had with the rock new wave crossover hit "Love Is Like a Rock." Now, he is suing Sony for royalties owed when "The Rapper" was sampled by The Game for their 2008 song, "Letter to the King." Iris still tours the Pittsburgh and Ohio region with The Cruisers.

The Rock Blog Tour

Today marks the beginning of The Rock Blog Tour, featuring Skinn Jakkitt. The first stop is at The Southern Girl's Guide to Life by Whitney Coble, and you can check it out here.

Upcoming stops will be at the blogs of Tim Marquitz, Becca Butcher, Kristyn Phipps, Jennifer Walker, and Robin Renee. I'll be hosting the tour right here at Welcome to Hell on December 1st.

Please visit Skinn Jakkitt's website, hear them at ReverbNation, Like them on Facebook, and Follow them on Twitter.

New Music This Week

The big music news is the release this week of The Marshall Mathers LP 2 from Eminem. Previewed a bit on iTunes and on "Saturday Night Live" this past weekend, this looks like another winner. He keeps coming back, even when we've thought we've had enough of him. And I say that with love, because I'm a fan. Several songs stand out in the colossal twenty-one track endeavor, some that peek back into the happily diseased head of Slim Shady.

The sampling of classic rock tunes may drive some older listeners away. I know more than a few folks my age that not only dislike rap and hip hop, but completely lose their minds when rappers sample music of their youth. I say, deal with it, and listen to how it's been altered, re-imagined, and in same cases, improved.

One of the songs in question, "Berzerk," takes on the groove of Billy Squier's "The Stroke" to splendid effect. Also grabbing the classic rock rift of "Time of the Season" by the Zombies is Shady's "Rhyme or Reason," one of the better rap mash-ups in recent years. I also dug "Headlights" featuring Nate Ruess, "Desperation" featuring Jamie N Commons, "Baby," and "Evil Twin." A viable and hard new release, welcome back.

Tuesday also saw the release of the new album from Adam WarRock, The Middle of Nowhere. I love me some nerdcore, and Adam WarRock is my favorite of the genre. While he is the king of the genre sound, he's also trying to break into more mainstream hip hop, but no matter how he tries, the nerd is still at the core, and I love it.

Tracks like "High School Reunion," "Internet Crush," and "Shoulda Beens" hit close to home in a essentially non-nerd way, but the real thrust here is comics as per usual (not that there's anything wrong with that). "Sinestrocore," "J.A.R.V.I.S.," and "B.S.F.X." fill the nerdcore void with flair and pizzazz, and Tribe One, MC Frontalot, and Schaffer the Darklord, among others, also drop by. Love this album, and can't wait for more. Check out Adam WarRock at his website, Twitter, and YouTube.



And then there's Skinn Jakkitt's self-titled album, including the song "Epiphany," seen below:


For more of Skinn Jakkitt, you can check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.