Bogart's turning back hands of time with hair metal

There must be a demand for period-piece glam metal, because Bogart’s is doing its best to meet it by turning back the hands of time.

The Corryville rock club welcomes ex-Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach on May 24. On Aug. 4, ‘80s rock group Ratt comes to town.

But that doesn’t appear to be enough supply. In addition to original-source acts like Bach and Ratt, Bogart’s is also booking bands playing tribute to the era of music marked by hairspray and spandex. The Bon Jovi cover band Slippery When Wet rocks Bogart’s on June 11, and after its triumphant Bogart’s debut in January, when it drew more than 500 people, the hair-metal tribute band Hairbanger’s Ball returns this weekend.

Hairbanger’s Ball is a group from Chicago that covers songs from the genre, not one particular band. Co-lead vocalist Jennifer Remis (who performs under the stage name Polly Pantz) founded the band in Chicago in 2001.

“Selfishly, I love the music that we cover. I happened to be in another band at the time. The band didn’t want to play Twisted Sister and Motley Crue songs, so I said, ‘OK. Bye. I’m gonna go start my own band that’s going to play ‘80s glam-rock and hair-rock songs,’” she says. “It was a risky move. I didn’t know if Hairbanger’s Ball would have stuff thrown at us when we were onstage, but it was quite the opposite. It blew up pretty much overnight and people were coming out by the thousands to see our shows.”

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Remis discussed the band’s repertoire and provided her definition for the term hair metal:

· Remis sings about six songs out of 30 per show. The other lead singer, Mick Jager, sings the rest. One of Remis’ favorite songs to sing is “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC. “In the ‘80s there was just a shortage of known female songs without going really deep, so I picked up some male songs. It’s not that the male singer can’t sing them. We actually trade off ‘Highway to Hell,’ like sometimes we flip for it. He loves to sing it, too. But singing six songs a night, I want to keep a spread of what I’m singing. I don’t want to do three Joan Jett songs and three Pat Benatar songs. In order to keep a good mix of as many artists as we can cover in a night, I do sing some male songs.”

· The songs with big intros are often the crowd’s favorites. “ 'Enter Sandman’ (by Metallica). Everybody knows that song. People go crazy for that song. ‘Here I Go Again’ (by Whitesnake). It’s such a recognizable intro. ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ (by Guns N’ Roses). The second the guitar player starts playing that riff, the room blows up. ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ (by Twisted Sister). People know and love that drum intro and start singing before we start singing.”

· Who are the quintessential hair-metal bands? “Bon Jovi, Poison, Crue, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, Van Halen.”

· What makes something hair metal as opposed to metal or rock? “That’s a hard question. It’s the big hair. The costumes. Really, the tone of the music. Sex, drugs and rock and roll.”

If you go

What: Hairbanger’s Ball

When: 8 p.m. Friday, May 13

Where: Bogart’s, 2621 Vine St., Corryville; 513-872-8801

Tickets: $10