Mean Man: The Story of Chris Holmes

source: Mean Man: The Story of Chris Holmes

Sub-average Doc on a man who's more infamous for chugging a bottle of vodka in a swimming pool during the 'Decline of Western Civilization Part II - The Metal Years' than he is for playing guitar in W. A. S. P.. At one time, documentaries were more about the stories that deserved them and not as a marketing tool of sympathy for those who signed bad deals, have personal demons, didn't have the staying power or basically screwed it up themselves. These docs are a dime-a-dozen these days since the success of 'Anvil: The Story of Anvil' with copious artists & bands jumping on the bandwagon. Alcohol and drug problems, 6 DUI's, relocating to a foreign country where you & your wife move in with her parents, not even attempting to learn the language and "singing" & playing because you are forced to do it doesn't exactly document a story of success.

The first thing, good bloke. I really enjoyed this story and glad Chris is doing ok. I hate it when people take advantage of others like Blackie did to Chris. Under all the tough and rough he's a big softie, which is why he is good. I thought Axle was bad in the day. Blackie's ten times worse.

Anyone who watched The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years can tell you that Chris Holmes is the highlight of that film. When we finished watching it, my wife asked when he died. I said, "Believe it or not, Chris Holmes is still alive." As the guitarist for W.A.S.P. - if you've seen The Dungeonmaster, they're in it - Holmes was as much a maniac on stage as off. He wasn't a founding member, as the band rose out of the ashes of Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper's other band, Circus Circus, along with Rik Fox (who soon left to be in the band Steeler) and Tony Richards (who left the band Dante Fox to join, which became Great White). By the time the band's self-titled first album was released, Holmes had joined, also played on The Last Command, the band's best selling record and one that brought Steve Riley from Keel* and King Kobra bassist Johnny Rod into the lineup. Although Inside the Electric Circus was a commercial success (and critical failure) and The Headless Children was a critical success (and at the time, a commercial failure), Holmes wouldn't last. He married Lita Ford and then left the band, saying, that he wanted to "have fun, you know." Lawless responded by saying, "Some guys want to stay at home and wear aprons." He would also claim that he was going to play the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which sounds like a completely ridiculous apocryphal story. While Holmes would rejoin for a brief period from 1996-2001, he and Lawless were not destined to get along. The movie finds the guitarist reflecting on a life of the highest highs and lowest lows, as he has lost the publishing rights of his own songs and must start over again with a new band named Mean Man while living with his mother-in-law in Nice, France. Unlike other films like I Am Thor, Holmes doesn't come across as a buffoon or unaware of his place in the world. This is a man that weather the storm of the Sunset Strip, of six DUIs, of sex, drugs and rock and roll, yet has remained alive, despite all common sense saying that there's no way that should be true. Yet here he is, hugging his dog Ugg, enjoying being married and screaming at cars in traffic. It's too good to be true, but sometimes, that actually happens. *Ironically, Rik Fox's band he left for, Steeler, had Keel singing. And Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar, if you're keeping score at home.

Not quite sure what the point of this was. Just an angry, mean, disgruntled Lemmy wannabe that should just quit and enjoy the weather in the south of France with his lovely wife and never try to sing anything, ever.

Chris Holmes life is probably a pretty interesting story, unfortunately you're not going to learn all that much in this documentary. What you get instead is a promotional video for his new band, who pretty much suck, sorry. Otherwise we are shown a guy who had genuine talent, but no business sense. They parade a bunch of other semi successful musicians, roadies,friends and fans from WASPs heyday to tell you what a sweet great guy he is, but it's pretty easy to read between the lines. It's pretty obvious to me Holmes only has himself and his addictions and bad behavior to blame for where he is today and that part of his story I would be interested to hear more about.

Sub-average Doc on a man who's more infamous for chugging a bottle of vodka in a swimming pool during the 'Decline of Western Civilization Part II - The Metal Years' than he is for playing guitar in W. A. S. P.. At one time, documentaries were more about the stories that deserved them and not as a marketing tool of sympathy for those who signed bad deals, have personal demons, didn't have the staying power or basically screwed it up themselves. These docs are a dime-a-dozen these days since the success of 'Anvil: The Story of Anvil' with copious artists & bands jumping on the bandwagon. Alcohol and drug problems, 6 DUI's, relocating to a foreign country where you & your wife move in with her parents, not even attempting to learn the language and "singing" & playing because you are forced to do it doesn't exactly document a story of success.

Not quite sure what the point of this was. Just an angry, mean, disgruntled Lemmy wannabe that should just quit and enjoy the weather in the south of France with his lovely wife and never try to sing anything, ever.

Chris Holmes life is probably a pretty interesting story, unfortunately you're not going to learn all that much in this documentary. What you get instead is a promotional video for his new band, who pretty much suck, sorry. Otherwise we are shown a guy who had genuine talent, but no business sense. They parade a bunch of other semi successful musicians, roadies,friends and fans from WASPs heyday to tell you what a sweet great guy he is, but it's pretty easy to read between the lines. It's pretty obvious to me Holmes only has himself and his addictions and bad behavior to blame for where he is today and that part of his story I would be interested to hear more about.

Anyone who watched The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years can tell you that Chris Holmes is the highlight of that film. When we finished watching it, my wife asked when he died. I said, "Believe it or not, Chris Holmes is still alive." As the guitarist for W.A.S.P. - if you've seen The Dungeonmaster, they're in it - Holmes was as much a maniac on stage as off. He wasn't a founding member, as the band rose out of the ashes of Blackie Lawless and Randy Piper's other band, Circus Circus, along with Rik Fox (who soon left to be in the band Steeler) and Tony Richards (who left the band Dante Fox to join, which became Great White). By the time the band's self-titled first album was released, Holmes had joined, also played on The Last Command, the band's best selling record and one that brought Steve Riley from Keel* and King Kobra bassist Johnny Rod into the lineup. Although Inside the Electric Circus was a commercial success (and critical failure) and The Headless Children was a critical success (and at the time, a commercial failure), Holmes wouldn't last. He married Lita Ford and then left the band, saying, that he wanted to "have fun, you know." Lawless responded by saying, "Some guys want to stay at home and wear aprons." He would also claim that he was going to play the T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which sounds like a completely ridiculous apocryphal story. While Holmes would rejoin for a brief period from 1996-2001, he and Lawless were not destined to get along. The movie finds the guitarist reflecting on a life of the highest highs and lowest lows, as he has lost the publishing rights of his own songs and must start over again with a new band named Mean Man while living with his mother-in-law in Nice, France. Unlike other films like I Am Thor, Holmes doesn't come across as a buffoon or unaware of his place in the world. This is a man that weather the storm of the Sunset Strip, of six DUIs, of sex, drugs and rock and roll, yet has remained alive, despite all common sense saying that there's no way that should be true. Yet here he is, hugging his dog Ugg, enjoying being married and screaming at cars in traffic. It's too good to be true, but sometimes, that actually happens. *Ironically, Rik Fox's band he left for, Steeler, had Keel singing. And Yngwie Malmsteen on guitar, if you're keeping score at home.