R.I.P. Jani Lane of Warrant; Spandexxx to host memorial party for the fallen Down Boy

Sad news out of California this morning as JANI LANE, pale-faced former vocalist of WARRANT, was found dead last night in a Comfort Inn. He was 47. No cause of death has been reported yet, but Lane struggled with the usual poisons and addictions that forever chased many of the late-'80s glam metal stars. The Spandexxx rock and roll dance party at the Model is throwing a memorial party for him on Wednesday, August 17, and we think that's pretty awesome. Grab a 'Gansset and rock out to "Down Boys" one more time, and we swear there won't be a dry eye in the house if they close out at last call with "Heaven." Group hugs.   

So while the usual jokes are making the rounds ("Closer to Heaven every day," throw his "body down the wishing well," etc.), I'll always remember Lane two ways: first and foremost, from late-night sleepover parties in my very early youth spent watching "Headbanger's Ball" on MTV and listening to a worn-out mix tape that had the Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich singles alongside equally awesome, to this 10-year-old at least, selections by Faster Pussycat, Skid Row and Bang Tango. And secondly, his candid, I'm-at-the-end-of-my-line interview about Cherry Pie that ran a few years ago. The clip is posted down below, and of course, it's another telling sign of why the record industry is in the shitter. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a pretty rippin' song, a stellar of-the-time first single that should have defined their second album, even though it would have likely sold half the records without the sexy selling power of firehosing down Bobbie Brown and equating pussy with pie.

But hey -- all that Cherry Pie stuff has to count for something, and in the end, another voice from my youth is gone. I was going to wear my ratty old Cathouse Tour '91 t-shirt to work today (real deal from back in the day, not some bullshit Urban Outfitters re-boot) but I guess that's like wearing a Red Sox jersey to a Yankee game. Either way, swing it, Jani.