A UNION REUNION?

Some of you might have heard that Union has reunited. Some of you might even care that Union has reunited! And some of you might not give a crap at all.

But yes, word on the street has it that Union has reformed with the lineup of Bruce Kulick, John Corabi, and Jamie Hunting. But where's Brent Fitz? We heard he couldn't make it, so the other Union guys sought long and hard to find a suitable replacement. Brent Fitz's shoes aren't easy to fill, but they got the next best thing. Who could it be?

We don't want to be jackasses any more than we usually are, so we won't make you guess. Performing with Union this weekend in southern California is none other than the one and only Eric Singer! Looks like he's taking time off from KISS or Alice Cooper or whoever he's playing drums for this week. Come to think of it, Eric and Bruce were in KISS together at one time. So maybe this is more like a KISS reunion than it is a Union reunion!

Here's a news blurb that appeared at Blabbermouth.net a few weeks ago:

UNION, the late '90s group formed by Bruce Kulick (GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, ex-KISS) and John Corabi (CARDBOARD VAMPYRES, ex-MÖTLEY CRÜE) along with Brent Fitz and Jamie Hunting, will play one U.S. warm-up show (Friday, January 14 at Paladino's in Tarzana, California) prior to their upcoming Japanese tour. Filling in for Brent Fitz will be KISS drummer Eric Singer, who will begin rehearsing with the group this week.

Some of the songs the band will be performing both in the U.S. and in Japan include the UNION songs "Old Man Wise", "Around Again", "Pain Behind Your Eyes", "Everything Is Alright" and "Do Your Own Thing"; the KISS tracks "Jungle", "I Walk Alone" and "Black Diamond" (with Eric on vocals), as well as classic covers by THE BEATLES, CHEAP TRICK and others.

UNION will perform two shows in Japan on January 29-30 as part of the KISS Japan Expo. The first show (Jan. 29) will also feature the KISS tribute band KISS DOLLS, while the second concert will include the KISS tribute bands KISSIN' TIME and KISS JAPAN.

Bruce, Eric, John and Jamie will be available to sign autographs and take photos in the afternoons during the expos and KISS merchandise will be on sale throughout the day. Live performances from UNION and the tribute bands begin at 6:00 p.m. each night. These live shows will be UNION's first-ever performances in Japan.

Not only is Union playing this gig at Paladino's (the same joint we hold our L.A. Metal Sludge Extravaganzas), but the one and only Crash Kelly is opening up the show! You remember Crash Kelly, don't you? They were that band from Toronto that did 10 Questions with us last year. Their interview opened the doors for a world of possibilities, including a world tour and a multi-album deal with Liquor & Poker Music. Crash Kelly are now label mates with Hanoi Rocks! See what doing 10 Questions with Metal Sludge can get you? You just never know how those things will turn out.

Anyhow, there's always lots to do in southern California on a Friday night, but we'd love to have a good Sludge presence in the crowd to welcome Crash Kelly to America and to welcome Union back from the grave. So much, in fact, that we want to make it worth your while! And what better way to do that than by holding a contest? We always think of cool shit to incite the Sludgeaholics to come out in droves. We're crafty like that.

So here's what you do. If you're anywhere in southern California this coming Friday night, put on some Sludge swag and go get a capture with anyone from Union or Crash Kelly! Even if you don't own any Sludge swag, think of some crafty way to represent Sludge and go get a capture anyway. Get a capture shaking hands with Bruce Kulick. Get a capture sharing a hug with Jamie Hunting! Get a capture doing a shot with Eric Singer! (Though you might have to have him stand on a barstool so his head is visible in the photo.)

Get a capture with anyone from any of those bands and you could win big! "How big?" you ask. Well, not really that big, but everyone who sends in a capture will win a FREE CD! "What CD?" you ask. Well, any CD we have lying around, that's what you'll get. It could be a "Hey, That's What I Call Sludge! Vol. I" CD, it could be a Kick Axe CD, it could even be a fucking Milli Vanilli CD for all you know. It could be something cool like a Fozzy CD, or it could be some shitty CD from Perris Records. You'll have to send us in a capture, and then you'll get what you get, and you'll be fucking happy about it.

Once again, here's the details:

UNION with CRASH KELLY and some other bands
Friday, January 14, 2005 @ Paladinos Lounge
6101 RESEDA BLVD. TARZANA, CA 91335
www.PaladinosClub.com (818) 342-1563
(Crash Kelly starts @ 9 p.m.; Union starts @ midnight)

On the Web:
www.kulick.net
www.crashkelly.ca

Now go get us those Sludge Captures!

Metal Sludge
Sludge Behind Your Eyes