Before he was Marilyn Manson, Brian Warner was a young music fan living in Florida really into an Atlanta band called Pleasure Club. On Thursday, Oct. 23, Manson made a guest appearance with Pleasure Club singer/guitarist James Hall’s current band, shapeshifting rockers The Ladies Of …, at the Viper Room, the iconic West Hollywood venue.
In addition to Hall, the band features Alabama musicians Woa Hahne Bla’de [aka Jim Troglen] and Mark Patrick on guitar and bassist James Wahl, and Atlanta drummer Jack Massey, a University of Alabama grad.
Manson sang with The Ladies Of … on two songs at the Viper Room. The first was a cover of Pleasure Club’s “You Want Love” and the second a cover of Hall solo tune “So Precious.”
Before performing moody ballad “You Want Love,” Hall said into his microphone, “And I’m loving that Manson’s here today, because Manson actually heard that record and was drawn so much to it, he traveled across interstate lines as a young, young man.”
Manson, looking fit and clad in a black shirt, leather pants and boots, replied onstage, “I met you when I was 20-years-old. Idol since then, still an idol.”
Online videos show Manson’s haunting croon and howl were in fine form with The Ladies Of… onstage at the Viper Room.
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Reached via phone from Los Angeles International Airport, aka LAX, Patrick says of performing with Manson, “He was great. He sounded great, and he was sweet as he could be, man. Really cool.” Troglen adds via phone, “It was very cool because he was very respectful and very attentive. Manson’s fanboy crazy for James Hall. He’s always paid attention to us from afar.”
The Viper Room, whose original owners included movie star Johnny Depp, has a capacity of around 250. The small stage there is located in a corner, with a wraparound curtain. The Viper Room’s most infamous moment occurred when actor River Phoenix died outside the venue in 1993.
In the ‘90s and early ‘2000s, Manson rose to fame as that era’s shock-rock god. His hits include “The Beautiful People,” “Killing Strangers,” “The Dope Show,” and industrial rock covers of The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” and Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.”
This decade, Manson, a Fort Lauderdale native, was a prominent subject of #MeToo accusations. This year, related criminal allegations were dropped.
Despite those allegations, he maintains a loyal and sizable following. Today, Manson has 7 million Instagram followers. On Spotify, Manson has around 7.5 million monthly listeners.
Those in attendance for The Ladies Of …’s Viper Room show Manson guested on included legendary MTV VJ Matt Pinfield, producer/outlaw country artist Shooter Jennings and Americana star Charlie Crockett.
In addition to songs from their albums, like 2023’s “Coming Out of Our Tenderness,” and Hall’s prior material, The Ladies Of… live repertoire includes some surprising covers. The latter includes “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way,” a 1975 classic by country legend Waylon Jennings, Shooter’s dad.
Patrick says, “We broke that out [at the Viper Room] and Shooter just lost it. He loved it. And he was like, I hear people cover that song all the time, but nobody rocks it. We hung out with him the rest of the evening.”
This meant a lot for Patrick. Growing up in the Muscle Shoals area, his dad would often play Waylon eight-tracks on the car stereo while driving young Mark Patrick to school.
After the Viper Room show, Shooter Jennings invited Hall and Troglen to Sunset Sound Recorders, the storied Hollywood studio where the likes of The Doors, Van Halen, Prince, Fleetwood Mac, Janis Joplin, Paul McCartney and Led Zeppelin worked on timeless tracks.
At Sunset Sound, Jennings is producing a new album by Crockett. “He’s like, we’re in the ‘Purple Rain’ studio,’” Troglen says, referring to Prince’s essential 1984 album, parts of which were cut in one of Sunset’s rooms.
The Ladies Of …’s most streamed songs include “Alabama Messiah” and “Vouch for Me.” Their latest is “I’m From The Bush,” an excellent 2025 single likely to appeal to appeal to David Bowie and Talking Heads fans.
Although James Hall isn’t a household name, he’s the kind of musician that famous musicians remember. And the kind they want to be around.
Texas born and Tennessee raised, he’s been turning heads since the late ‘80s. Back then he was the frontman of Mary My Hope, an Atlanta alt-rock band that included soon to be Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and latter-day Crowes bassist Sven Pipien.
Around 1996, Hall signed to Geffen Records, whose stable that decade included bands like Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses. Geffen released his solo album “Pleasure Club.”
A few years later, Hall formed a band called Pleasure Club. Along the way he’s toured with the likes Rage Against The Machine and recorded with indie heroes like Afghan Wigs.
For the last 10 years or so, Hall has been leading The Ladies Of …, a band comprised of fellow Southern alt-rock cult heroes. Troglen, Patrick, Massey and Wahl have roots in bands of yore like Tuscaloosa’s Storm Orphans and Birmingham’s Autumn Lords and Stoned Cobra.
Autumn Lords vet Troglen’s resume also includes cowrites with Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist/Brother Cane frontman Damon Johnson.
Decades ago, Troglen says he was signed to an artist development deal with George Drakoulias, who produced classic albums by The Cult and Black Crowes. Drakoulias is now a go-to music supervisor for movies.
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Besides Patrick’s guitar playing with Storm Orphans, a top draw at Southeastern-famous Huntsville rock dive Tip Top Café, his name will click with those who shopped at his ‘90s Tuscaloosa record store Whirligig.
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Next, The Ladies Of … play a Thursday, Oct. 30 show at Huntsville venue The Camp, as part of ShinDigital, a music/tech event headlined by R&B songwriter turned country singer Pynk Beard, a Birmingham native. The show’s organized by Grissom High School grad Chase Morrow.
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