Some years ago, when the whole tribute band craze was just on fire, I recall Vinny Appice jokingly saying, “I want to start a tribute band to all tribute bands - and have it really suck!”. Ironically, he soon after found himself in the tribute band of all tribute bands, put together by his good friend, Krigger. But this project had a twist - this was a “real” rock star line-up. Pretty much, you have to have had a gold record to be in this band. Besides having the familiarity of touring together for years, their chemistry was immediately and spectacularly apparent and the rest, as they say, is history.

This is not your typical tribute band, not by far. They aren’t really a “reunion” project either (the latest trend). This line-up is made up of some straight rock royalty, mostly doing tunes from their own celebrated libraries. So, are they playing covers when they’re the original guys doing them, from a few different big bands? What do you call that? All I know is when you see them and hear them live, you feel privileged to be there. Trust.

Check out this line-up: Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath/DIO) on drums, Carlos Cavaso, (Quiet Riot) lead guitar, Jimmy Bain (Rainbow/DIO) on bass, Krigger (Giuffria/Tina Turner) also on drums, and charismatic Chaz West (Bonham/Lynch Mob) on lead vocals. It isn’t a surprise to see other rock and metal legends guest star at their shows.

This particular March evening, on the day it snowed in parts of Los Angeles, the Hollywood AllStars opened up with ‘Mob Rules’. A fast, anthemic rocker song, with an outstanding drum beat and a killing solo, that is the forever classic. This tune is a real, chunky slammer that cautions all of us against listening to idiots. Upon their opener, I noticed most of the audience busting out of their chairs and rushing the stage. Then it was officially “on”. The AllStars then broke into the beloved Zoso tune, the ‘Immigrant Song’. “We come from the land of the ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow”. Rock-solid and gorilla-footed, Krigger and Vinny both pounded this one out in perfect unison. Next up was everyone’s metal epic favorite, ‘War Pigs’. How great to hear the infamous anti-war song, featuring all of Sabbath’s trademarks, showcased beautifully this night by Carlos’ low-pitched, evil-sounding guitar riffs. Chaz West emulated Ozzy’s eerie, wailing voice and all the while, you have this amazing rhythm section from Vinny and Krigger, matched with the extraordinary Jimmy Bain.

Bonham’s “Can You See The Sun” was next on their list. Chaz sang it as perfectly, as his own self. The synchronized drumming was really incredible to watch. Vinny playing together with Krigger, the dueling drummers, achieve a sound like a herd of elephants stampeding through your head. I’m sure the sound-guys just love this. ‘Heartbreaker’ was afterwards, and the house completely continued to rock. Carlos Cavaso broke into his infamous scalding guitar grooves. Then, they played their original tune, ‘One Good Reason’. I loved the overall aggression and hard hitting riffs.

The crowd was buzzing trying to figure out if it really was the stylish Phil Sousson that got up and played bass with the AllStars for their next song, Still of The Night. His haircut was throwing us off. Phil Sousson played for Ozzy Osbourne and has also played with Eddie Van Halen, Peter Frampton, Billy Idol, amongst others. It was indeed Phil. What a treat. They played Whitesnake with that in-your-face kick-ass style. Chaz did a perfect Coverdale. He swung his mic-rodeo style, using a dangerous length of cord, in front of brave fans that knew when to duck.

Then Vinny broke into a bombastic, take-your breath away drum solo. Really insane, just excellent showmanship and real classic, hard-hitting, yet so precise with hypnotizing, cutting-edge style. This was the highlight of the night. It seems that he’s only getting better and better, if that’s possible. They jammed out the ultimate crowd-sing-a-long, Riot’s ‘Cum On Feel The Noise’. I really enjoyed checking out Carlos do this one. He just smoked. Moving right along into another Quiet Riot classic, ‘Bang Your Head’, the classic metal anthem that is lyrically catchy and grooves in that cheesy, early ‘80s metal kind of way. A mirage of DIO tunes was what the AllStars closed up with. ‘Last In Line’, with the soft, pretty intro, building up in to pounding thunder. Chaz sang it loud and operatic, managing to even get the reverb, echo sound that Ronnie had on the album that was the band Dio’s second gold record. Launching right into a medley of Dio: ‘Man On The Silver Mountain’, ‘Long Live Rock & Roll’, and then back to ‘Man On The Silver Mountain’. It’s now 2:00AM and nobody was leaving (probably hoping for just one more song). This was a great night, a very great band – I’ll say it again, just a privilege to be there. If you go see them, I guarantee ‘you’ll get’ what I’m saying. Luckily, the Hollywood AllStars are playing around and soon. They’ll be at Paladino’s in Tarzana.