KISS spent a few days in BC recently and I was there to witness the 8-foot-tall glory that is four old guys in ridiculous makeup and outfits, doing good and rockin’ out.

Every once in a while, several rockhands of such brilliance MAGICALLY appear in your inbox, from another Rockhands Soldier out there in the trenches. That someone so awesome, like Braden Deans of Vancouver, would take the time to corner the awesomely weird magicians, both Penn AND Teller, and get them …

I’m too cool for Austin and SXSW. (Truth: too broke, not enough holiday.) But BackstageRider has its spies down there, and one of them has come back with GOLD. Here’s the radtacular K Flay throwing the goats.

UK alt-folkies STORNOWAY brought a coded setlist, a saw, face-paint, a bunch of multi-instrumentalists, the ability to quieten a post-hockey crowd and some SERIOUS pretty to Vancouver’s Media Club on June 1. Here’s the gallery, a video of their new track “Bigger Picture”, plus some words. PHEWF.

Ask (on Twitter), and ask again, and ask again, and YE SHALL RECEIVE. Neil Gaiman, man of letters, hero to geeks everywhere, and my personal favourite wordsmith, came through in, EPIC ROCKHANDERY. He sent me this. Featuring Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, OKGo and Ben Folds, this is truly the Monster of all Rock(hands).

What happens when the BackstageRider and a giant eyeball goes to see concept artrocker legends The Residents in Vancouver at the Rickshaw Theatre? Well, you’re just going to have to click through to the enormo PHOTO ESSAY, aren’t you?

The devil’s horns are the international symbol of rocktacularness. Which is why it is BackstageRider’s greatest goal to create the world’s largest gallery of awesome folks doing the rock hands. YOU. WANT. TO. BE. HERE.

What do you get when a former highschool bandmate of J. Mascis and Lou Barlow gets in touch and has a concept for some original rockhand artwork? Well, yer gonna have to click to find out.

Check out the most amazing rockhand, Maloik, by artist Mark Atomos Pilon. Inspired by and drawn for the BackstageRider’s very own Devil’s Horn Corner: the Rockhands Gallery, this is some seriously sexy piece of art. And if you fancy it, you can also read about my fascination with funky and rocktacular artists.