Troy's Gig: Confirmed.

The Morung Express
On the evening of September 29, stars will rain on Dimapur’s wildlife that has been suffering a drought-like situation due to scanty big music shows. On that Tuesday, four names that ever found their way into the buzzing ears of millions of fans and rockers alike across the globe will sparkle – rather, rattlebang into your two eardrums good till they shrivel into smoked beef.

Guns N’ Roses / Heart guitarist Gilby Clarke, Alice Cooper / Slash’s Snakepit singer / guitarist Eric Dover, noise-pounder for White Lion / Hookers & Blow / Fastmaster Troy Patrick Farrell and another trusted Clarke accomplice, bassist Muddy Stardust.

Yes, them. Yeah. Them.

This unusual assembly of some of America’s biggest and long-devoted curators of the '80s hard rocking era will be performing Dimapur District Sports Complex as part of an aid drive meant for the city’s children suffering from cleft-lip and deformed palates. The noble vision of the four mostly-from LA rock stars, means that the proceeds of the more than one Lakh watt sound-output hard rock explosion would also go toward assuaging a little of the little ones’ suffering. It was informed today that the show would enable funding Zion Hospital to fund the welfare of the affected children.

Opening the evening for the group will be Lui Tzudir’s OFF and another horde of confirmed noise-mongers from Kohima, Eximious. The show is being organized by a well-known group of young entrepreneurs, The Event Factory. But The Event Factory’s members promise that the once-in-a-lifetime-show will not be confined to the concert. On the 28th, Clarke, Dover, Farrell and Stardust will be holding an interactive session with local musicians (come with your guitars, shirts and at least 20 pairs of good Marker pens) in Dimapur. The interaction is scheduled for Highway-39 Conference Hall (Padam Pukhuri). A similar foray is expected, before the September 29 evening, with children who are living under the scar of facial deformities.

Considering that the four rockers have been associated with one of the biggest hard rock bands the early angst-ridden, nasty-tempered '90s ever retched up, Guns N’ Roses, the song-list is expected to have you screaming along ‘knowingly,’ conveniently.

Also, hard-bitten music lovers would remember the unforgettable evening of December 16, last year when Nagaland finally opened her account on the Rock-Map-Of-The-World Register with White Lion inaugurating Nagaland’s entry into the international music scene.

What the September 29 evening promises is one of pure energy rock music, from noise-tested and time-proven rockers of thoroughbred rock stars. For a state that is only just starting to feel the tingle of international music experience, it would be unfortunate pettiness to miss out on the experience.

For those who came in late, here’s a refresher.


Guitarist Gilby Clarke was with Guns N’ Roses for three years as the rhythm guitarist, replacing Izzy Stradlin. He toured extensively with the band on the mega-big Use Your Illusion Tour between 1991 and 1993 and on the Guns N’ Roses all-covers album The Spaghetti Incident?, Live Era: ‘87-’93 and Greatest Hits. Here’s a thinker: Gilby’s first video with Guns N’ Roses was "November Rain."

Eric Dover is the dude with Jellyfish, Slash’s Snakepit, and Alice Cooper. He was on Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet tour in 2001, 2001’s Dragontown, and Alice Cooper.

Troy Patrick Farrell is the quiet drummer who made the loudest noise when White Lion did Dimapur in December 2008. He is involved in several projects including Dizzy Reed’s band Hookers & Blow and most recently plated with CC Deville (original guitarist of Poison).

Muddy Stardust has been accumulating tour dusts with Gilby and is associated with a number of Indie projects. For someone who cites Bob Dylan, Neil Young and the Beatles as chief influences, Stardust is a mean bassist that has bulldozed LA’s hard rock scene with Clarke’s horde.

The Morung Express

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