Cinderella’s Tom Keifer, L.A. Guns, and Faster Pussycat ‘Slam’ Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on June 10
From a press release:
This summer, the Tom Keifer Band, L.A. Guns, and Faster Pussycat will head out on the road together on the Sonic Slam Tour, bringing ’80s glam metal to venues like Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on Friday, June 10.
“Tom Keifer Band is amped for the Sonic Slam 2022 Tour with our friends L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat! Get ready for a 100 percent live, raucous, loud, and slammin’ rock show,” the vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Cinderella said. “Looking forward to seeing everyone in 2022.”
L.A. Guns guitarist Tracii Guns agreed. “I’m excited L.A. Guns will be heading out on the road with Tom Keifer. We are really looking forward to touring again.”
Faster Pussycat vocalist Taime Downe added, “Faster Pussycat has toured with Tom’s band and L.A. Guns before, but never all of us together. The shows were always amazing, and you can expect the same this summer. There’s going to be three decades of friendship and great music all under one roof – Sonic Slam is going to be a blast!”
Doors at Penn’s Peak (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe) open at 7 p.m., and the music starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets, which are $35 in advance or $40 the day of the show, are on sale now via ticketmaster.com, the Penn’s Peak box office, and at Roadies Restaurant and Bar (325 Maury Rd., Jim Thorpe). Box office and Roadies Restaurant ticket sales are walk-up only; no phone orders.
Tom Keifer’s story begins as the singer, songwriter, guitarist, and frontman of hard rock heavyweights Cinderella. His signature voice, guitar, and bluesy, no bullshit arena-shaking songwriting played an integral role in moving records to the tune of 15 million worldwide. He is enjoying continued success recording and touring with the Keifer Band, releasing two critically acclaimed solo albums, “The Way Life Goes” and “Rise.” The band – Tom Keifer, Savannah Keifer, Tony Higbee, Billy Mercer, Kendra Chantelle, Jarred Pope, and Kory Myers – is fired up to get back on tour with their high-energy, leave it all on the stage rock show that combines all the classic, chart-topping hits of Cinderella with new faves from Keifer’s solo releases.
Eddie Trunk of “That Metal Show” tweeted from a 2019 show, “Simply ridiculous how great Tom Keifer and his band sound right now at Warehouse Live… wow… incredible. New stuff killer too! And thanks for keeping it real and all live – no tracks!”
Their latest studio album, “Rise,” was released on Sept. 13, 2019 on Cleopatra Records and features the rousing, rollicking rock singles “The Death of Me” and “Hype.” Both singles landed in the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 40, and the album hit the Billboard Top 10 Hard Rock Sales chart. Keifer’s deep-seated roots shine through to the very core on “Rise,” something that was embedded at the very heart of his music created during the multi-platinum Cinderella days.
L.A. Guns was formed in 1983 and has sold over six million records, including 1988’s “L.A. Guns” and 1990’s “Cocked and Loaded,” which were both certified gold. The latter contained the hit single “Ballad of Jayne” that went to No. 33 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock charts.
From the mid-90s to the mid 2000s, L.A. Guns continued to tour and release new music. Following their successful performance at SiriusXM’s Hair Nation Festival in 2016, they went into the studio to record the critically acclaimed album “The Missing Peace,” which was the highest-selling release for Frontiers Music in 2017. Their 12th record, “The Devil You Know,” was released in 2019 to the same critical acclaim.
2021 brought the release of their latest album, “Checkered Past.” Since reuniting, guitarist Tracii Guns and vocalist Phil Lewis continue to tour around the world with L.A. Guns, which currently includes Shane Fitzgibbon (drums), Johnny Martin (bass), and Ace Von Johnson (guitar).
Faster Pussycat rose from the depths of the mid-’80s Hollywood rock scene, taking the Sunset Strip by storm with a sound that wasn’t glam and wasn’t punk, but blistered somewhere in between. With an attitude and swagger all its own, their self-titled debut featured the instant classics “Babylon,” “Bathroom Wall,” “Cathouse,” and “Don’t Change That Song,” and its follow-up, “Wake Me When It’s Over,” climbed even higher with the radio hit “House of Pain,” “Poison Ivy,” and “Where There’s a Whip There’s a Way.”
Despite their successes, Faster defied the mainstream mold and always followed frontman Taime Downe’s underground sensibilities. The gold and platinum records are nice, but he considers his greatest accomplishment to be longevity.
“The only number that really matters to me is the number 35. Three and half decades later, Faster Pussycat are still rocking, and it feels as fresh as it did in 1986.”
Look no further than their 2021 releases “Nola” and the Johnny Thunders cover “Pirate Love” – Faster Pussycat is as virile and tenacious as ever, and Downe, bassist Danny Nordahl, drummer Chad Stewart, and guitarists Sam “Bam” Koltun and Ronnie Simmons wouldn’t have it any other way.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Tom Keifer performing at the second annual Rock Carnival in New Jersey in 2016 here.
Photo of Tom Keifer by Keith Perks/1120 Studios/NEPA Scene
