Thursday, September 26, 2024

YouTube Channel Profile Series: LionelRocks' Channel

In a brief break from this weekend's concert previews (resuming tomorrow), here is this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we again look at a randomly selected YouTube channel(s) whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians/concerts! This month's chosen channel takes us back a decade & a half (believe it or not) to look at a prominent if not that long-lived local hard rock band, so here's what you should know on that front!

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LionelRocks' Channel (http://youtube.com/lionelrocks)

Owner: Former Dirty Virgin bassist Lionel Quinton

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 3rd, 2007; Videos uploaded from February-March 2009

Channel Summary: The most substantial surviving outlet for fans of 2007-2012 local glam metal quartet Dirty Virgin, Lionel's channel features sixteen videos from the band's main early run, including six live concert videos, six from a jam session, and four of members playing unplugged.

Why You Should Watch: Even if you weren't around for Dirty Virgin's heyday, hair/glam metal fans should be curious to see these videos, and this band was garnering some decent local momentum with a (at the time) unique sound that other local bands weren't focusing on in the late 2000s, and it's a shame that they didn't last longer! This channel is even more noteworthy now that the band's Facebook group has been taken down, losing whatever content was exclusively there. Note that a different band member posted a highlight video featuring excerpts from some of the concert videos on Lionel's channel a year before he posted them here. Also, Lionel did not use this channel for Dirty Virgin's mid-late 2009 concerts, nor their final two gigs in 2011 and 2012 at The Canadian Nightclub.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:
 
Dirty Virgin - Games People Play: Two proper concerts are represented with videos on Lionel's channel, including three from their runner-up set at the YMCA Battle of the Bands at The Grand Theater in March 2009 (his last uploads here), and belatedly from their set at July 2008's Rock 2 Roll skatepark fundraiser at The Canadian Nightclub. One video from each has over 1,200 views, but by just 12 votes (at press time), the most seen is their cover of Joe South's "Games People Play" at The Canadian. Lionel, singer/guitarist Bobby Clement, guitarist Matt Clement, and his old Riverin bandmate Matt Hicks were also filmed here playing their original "Take You Hard" and covering The Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The U.K.". The overall video quality 16+ years on is not great in hindsight, but these are fun performances, and while Bobby's vocals were limited, he had a punk tone that was put to especially good use on the covers!


Dirty Virgin - I Was In Love With You: Lionel's first six uploaded (not filmed) videos were from a February 2009 jam session, with Ryan Spin taking over for Matt Clement on guitar. These videos feature Dirty Virgin playing 20 seconds of "random music" along with five original songs, namely "She's Hot", "She Wants Some", "Let The Good Times Roll", "Take You Hard", and as embedded below, "I Was In Love With You". This song was a definite change of pace from their usual glam metal throwback stylings, with more of a mid-tempo southern rock vibe. If you can get past the obvious audio deficiencies of digital camera videos from 2009, these jam session videos give a nice cross section into Dirty Virgin's original repertoire, and they had a good range of sounds beyond the aesthetic!


Dirty Virgin - Take You hard (Acoustic): The band (sans Ryan) were filmed at 2:30 AM jamming some acoustic songs, with four being filmed for Lionel's channel and also posted in February 2009. Shot while the guys sat around a kitchen table, these loose and casual videos (complete with Matt on hand percussion) included their originals "I Was In Love With You", "She's Hot", and (featured here) "Take You Hard", as well as a cover of Kiss' "Strutter". Very loose and informal performances here, but they're a fun glimpse at Dirty Virgin out of their element, and as all three originals were filmed with the full band on this channel, you may like comparing and contrasting how they come out when played both ways! 


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at another randomly selected channel from a past local band, namely that of hardcore punk quintet Destroilet! Look for that on or around October 26th, and for more weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

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