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Wednesday, December 31, 2003
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ESCAPE MUSIC PREVIEW 2004 : Escape Music are always searching for something special, whilst we like to think that all our titles are regarded this way it is nice to finish the year in an explosive manner. We have managed to do just that as we are so pleased to announce the signing of Canadian four piece Panik. This young and exciting new band are similar to Nickelback and Audioslave, but have their own direct approach to great melodic hard-edged rock music. This is such a find and we are convinced that it will make 2004 into a very special year, keep checking our website for further details! The album is produced by Corey MacFadyen (MilesABOVE, The Ladder, Brighton Rock) The band: Rick Legacy Lead Vocals & Guitars, Ang Cimino Guitars, Mark Piraino Bass, Brian Hamilton Drums. Here is an exclusive preview track of the band. Download: Panik Die For You. ![]() Escape Music are delighted to announce the signing of French band Toyz. Their music is traditional Melodic Hard Rock in the style of Lillian Axe and Treat! Release Schedule for Escape Music: 23.01.2004 - Shadowman - Land Of The Living 23.02.2004 - Valensia - The Blue Album March / April - Panik - TBA March / April - The Creek - The Creek/Storm The Gate + 4 bonus tracks (re-issue as a double digipak) May - House Of Mirrors - TBA June - Liesegang / White - Lead Vocals Doogie White (Rainbow / Cornerstone). The album is being mixed at this moment. Heartland are at pre-production stage for their next album. The album's songs are already written and ready. Grand Illusion have almost finished recording their new album. The mix will commence in February. Change Of Heart will start recording their new CD shortly. AXEL'S KINGS AND QUEENS: The new Axel Rudi Pell album Kings & Queens will be released on March 1 on SPV. Axel has recently announced the track list, which is: The Gate (Intro) . Flyin´ High . Cold Heaven . Strong As A Rock . Forever Angel . Legions Of Hell . Only The Strong Will Survive . Sailing Away . Take The Crown . Sea Of Evil. MELODIC BRIEFS: The completed Drama Queen Die CD is now available for purchase online at www.dramaqueendie.com. This is for sales outside of Europe and Australia, as those territories are being handled by TB Records, Ltd. Eric Bazilian continues to work on a new Hooters album, a new Joan Osbourne record and is helping the Scorpions write and record their new studio album. Busy man! Joe Lynn Turner and Glenn Hughes will be on Rockline (USA based but streamed online) next month. The details are all at www.htpsupportersclub.org The new Lionsheart album Into The Abyss is still awaiting a release, but the track listing is: Screaming . Nightmare . All I Got . I Need Love . How Can I Tell You? . I'm Alive . Don't Waste My Time . If You Cut Me . Save Me . Witchcraft . How Long? . Abyss Music and the City has a couple of new interviews with Rachel Bolan of Skid Row and Michael Bormann of Jaded Heart, along with the December "Sass and the City" column. Check it all out at www.musicandthecity.com mr.com readers in Holland - Journey tribute band Another Journey will play on January 25 in Ursem, North Holland at De Rode Leeuw. For more information www.anotherjourney.nl |
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Tuesday, December 30, 2003
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MTM MUSIC FEBRUARY UPDATE: MTM Music have published the artwork and details of their February releases. The details are as follows. The art for Shylock can be viewed in yesterday's news update. Reckless - Reckless (MTM Classix)(Release February 9) Reckless was formed in 1993 and came out of the band Line Up who started a few years earlier with Patrick Axelsson as frontman and lead singer. Line Up had their debut rock album Lucky One released 1992 and toured all over Sweden. 1995 drummer Stefan went to Greece and performed for three years with Michael Bormann from Jaded Heart, he also appeared on German TV with JH 1998. Robert performed with heavy metal band Explode in Sweden at the time, but the boys have now found their way back and writes music together again. The album Reckless was only released in Japan 1994 and is finally released in Europe together with three bonus tracks! Shylock - Welcome To Illusion (Release February 16) Pyronized achieved a great press feedback and after numerous live shows all around Europe among others with Gotthard, Axxis, Bonfire, Krokus and more. Shylock can present a new drummer Rami Ali who performed for Frontline and Evidence One. Pure melodic hard rock! Axia - Axia (MTM Classix)(Release February 23) The rehearsals and recordings of the first album took place in an old military fort where Peo Pettersson's recording studio was located. In between the Swedish air force exercises Axia recorded 4 songs that turned out to be the tracks on their first EP which was released on Peo's own label PoP Productions. The first album was recorded and released only in Sweden in 1986. Able to play a variety of instruments (Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, Harmonica, Mandolin) as well as being a great singer, programmer, arranger and producer, music has been a part of Peo's life for many years. Axia's first self-titled album is now being re-released all over the world on MTM Classix. xx![]() IRON HORSE ANNOUNCE NEW SHOWS, NEW ALBUM IN EARLY 2004: Happy Holidays From IronHorse! Ronnie Keel, Gaetano Nicolosi, Jay Rusnak, Geno Arce, Dean Lehman, LoweRider Entertainment, and everyone at Team IronHorse want to wish all our fans, friends, and families a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year! IronHorse has just launched a new MP3-driven web site hosted by SoundClick.com, where fans can download and listen to IronHorse music as a special holiday gift to all our fans, we are currently featuring a FREE download of Three Sheets To The Wind, a favorite song from the new album. So far the response to the new site has been awesome within 72 hours of launch, the song went from #1571 on the SoundClick Rock Charts to #60 and is climbing rapidly. It debuted on the Southern Rock Chart at #4 and is currently #2. Here is the link to visit the new IronHorse SoundClick MP3 site: www.soundclick.com/ironhorse The band will be back on stage for a special homecoming New Year's Eve show in Plain City Ohio, at Big George's, on December 31st. Three and a half years ago, IronHorse was born in Plain City when the band relocated there to live and play, and this New Year's Eve will be a special celebration of a year well spent and a toast to a bright future. Here are the details: Big George's, 209 Bigelow Street, Plain City Ohio, 43064 - (614) 873-0394, Tickets $5.00, Showtime 9:30 IronHorse will be kicking off 2004 with two nights at another venue that has become a second home to the band The Westgate in Columbus, Ohio. While this is the smallest club on the IH schedule, we always have a great time and great shows there, the owners and staff are awesome, and the audiences there love to rock with IronHorse. Details: Westgate, 575 Wedgewood Drive, Columbus Ohio, 43228 - (614) 274-2937, Showtime 10:00 In early 2004, we look forward to announcing details of the new album release and some big tour news. Thank you for all your support, for making IronHorse and our music a part of your life. You're our people, and we will continue to be YOUR BAND. |
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Monday, December 29, 2003
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JACK BLADES LINES UP A BUSY 2004: Jack Blades has a busy 2004 lined up. The always busy Night Ranger/Damn Yankees frontman too some time out to talk to me about his debut solo album due February 23 on Frontiers Records. That interview will be featured here closer to the album's release date. But several other projects are also in the works. First of all, while in Japan recently, Night Ranger filmed three shows in Tokyo for a live DVD release sometime in 2004. There is interest by a big US label to release the DVD in that territory as well as Japan. There is also hope of a new Night Ranger album, although there is no ETA for this. The band have been approached by some Japanese labels for a new studio album, so stay tuned. Jack will again team up with Tommy Shaw for a new release in 2004 on Sanctuary Records. The new album will be comprised of classic cover tunes from the 70's. I asked Jack if the album would follow the acoustic driven style of the Shaw / Blades album, to which he replied not necessarily, adding that the style would change depending on what the particular track called for. And summer 2004 looks good for hard rock fans, a tour package is currently being looked at that will consist of Night Ranger, Ted Nugent and Styx, with a mid-set Damn Yankees jam proposed during Ted Nugent's show. Now that is a gig worth watching out for! JOHNNIE DEE'S SOLO ALBUM STRIKES A PROBLEM: A follow up from my news item Wednesday on the Johnnie Degiuli solo album Songs In Dee. It seems there is a good reason there has been no press for the album thus far - it's not officially released. Copies were pressed for promotional purposes and it seems one distributor began shopping the CD without authorization. An update on the official release of the album is due early in the new year. Keep up to date via the Honeymoon Suite website: www.honeymoonsuite.com TRACK DETAILS FOR TNT'S RELIGION REVEALED: The TNT album is complete and will be released in Europe on MTM Music March 8 and in Japan February 23 via Marquee. The cover looks utterly fantastic and there is no doubt this will be a class release! The band left a quote about the record at their website: "The artwork was brilliantly hand painted by Belgian artist Eric Phillipe and is the best CD package we have probably ever had. The response to the album so far has been phenomenal. The general feeling is that it will be the most successful TNT album in years!" The final track listings are a little varied, so here are the details: Europe - Invisible Noise . She Needs Me . Lonely Nights . My Religion . Give Me A Sign (Taken From EP - Remix 2004) . Perfectly . You'll Be There . Flow . Live Today (Taken From EP) . Everybody's Got A Secret . Everything U R . Song 4 Dianne . The Last Word Japan - Lonely Nights . Everybody's Got A Secret . You'll Be There . Invisible Noise . She Needs Me . My Religion . Satellite (taken from EP) . Everything . Perfectly . Flow . Live Today (from the EP) . When Im Away* (Japanese Bonus Track) . Song 4 Dianne . The Last Word. IMPELLITTERI PUT THEIR PEDAL TO THE METAL: The new Impellitteri album is complete. Titled Pedal To The Metal, it signals a change of musical direction for the guitarist, who has enlisted a modern metal singer Curtis Skelton to handle the new material. Chris Impellitteri updated his website with the following message: "This record will make your mouths drop!! It is by far the best music and recording WE have done so far. It is heavy, classical, modern, technical, and of course a lot of shredding on my guitar!! Curtis will amaze all. And the production will silence the most demanding critic. Pedal To The Metal is the new album and sound of Impellitteri. I hope everyone gets the chance to get this record. Our first release will be in March in Japan, followed by Europe and then God willing United States. We are thinking of releasing different versions for the different countries. The band will be shooting new photos soon. The band is filled with the attitude ---- do the music for the fans and F###% the suits. Get ready for one of the greatest albums you will here. PS I apologize for the hype, but this album is that good!!!!!" TONY CAREY OFFERS PLANET P ALBUM FREE VIA WEBSITE: Tony Carey has made his new Planet P Project album 1931 available as a free download from his official website: www.truebeliever.de The album was recorded between 1992 and 2003, with several new tracks added to the version that has been previously circulated. There are also more tracks to follow as what is offered currently is the first part of the Go Out Dancing trilogy. The album is highly recommended. www.truebeliever.de/sites_e/start.html A BRAZEN 2004 PLANNED FOR NIKOLO: Nikolo Kotzev e-mailed in with an update of his plans for Brazen Abbot in 2004. Nikolo writes: "Last summer I played three shows in my home country Bulgaria and filmed them all. Now I have just completed a 1h 47m film from the tour. The film is a rock documentary and includes some rare footage, interviews, the BA biography and the best live performances from all three concerts. The main idea is to release a DVD for the 10th Brazen Abbot Anniversary, which is actually in 2004!! My back-catalogue will be released in the beginning of 2004 and each of the three CDs will have a bonus track, possibly from the live shows. In November I produced a new album for German band Messiah's Kiss. I am looking forward to producing other bands. In fact, a couple of bands have already contacted me. I will soon start writing for the next BA album, which will take a slightly different musical direction. I hope to complete a whole new album within 2004. I am working on a tour throughout Europe, it looks good so far. I think we might start in the end of April and play thru May. I am working on some of the summer festivals as well. It's looking good." Thanks Nikolo for the update - lots to look forward to in 2004. SHYLOCK AND UFO PREVIEW ALBUM DETAILS: Shylock have updated their website with some MP3 samples from their new studio album Welcome To Illusion, due out February 16 from MTM Music. Via www.shylockmusic.de, check out samples for the tracks Welcome To Illusion, But I Like It, Darkness, Revolution, Guilty and Tomorrow. UFO's new album You Are Here is due out February 26 on SPV. The album also comes out in Japan February 25 and in the USA in March. The album's full track listing is: Daylight Goes To Town . Black Cold Coffee . The Wild One . Give It Up . Call Me . Slipping Away . The Spark That Is Us . Sympathy . Mr. Freeze . Jelloman . Baby Blue . Swallow. xx![]() STAGE DOLLS ON DVD AND CD IN 2004: The Stage Dolls are still working on a live DVD that will be released shortly. Their Anniversary Concert on the 6th of September was filmed for release by the company MediaLab. As a bonus, old video clips will be added to the DVD as well as interviews. The band will soon start work on a new studio album for release late in 2004. YNGWIE'S INSTRUMENTAL BEST: Yngwie Malmsteen's new Japanese release Instrumental Best is out January 21 and features the following tracks: Brothers . Dawn . Air On A Theme . Britzkrieg . Blue . Asylum . Sky Euphoria . Quantum Leap . Power And Glory . Molto Arpeggiosa . Preludium . Instru-Mental Institution . Treasure From The East . Requiem . Far Beyond The Sun (Live) ![]() JOHN WAITE RELEASE STILL NOT FINALIZED: John Waite has recorded two new songs for that possible re-release of his Figure In A Landscape album. The two new tracks are titled Universal Soldier and Thunder on a Clear Day. There is no ETA on a release, nor any label information, but the record will be re-titled to John Waite - John Waite. HUMAN FORTRESS TAKE ON NEW PERSONNEL: News from Human Fortress. The band has two new band members. Guitarist Volker and keyboarder Dirk left the band to be replaced by Frank Sawade (git) and Ottfried Mietzke (keys). Human Fortress will play a club tour in Germany next year. Some gigs in Austria and Switzerland are also possible. The fans should check out their homepage: www.human-fortress.com Guitarist Torsten Wolf is writing songs for his first solo album, for release in 2005. His material is said to be much more commercial than that of his band. Torsten describes it as "...a mixture of AOR, new breed and a bit of Irish folk with much more metal guitars in it." The name of this project is Trophy. ANOTHER TRIBUTE TO STYX: Salt Lady Records have produced a Styx tribute album. Entitled Too Much Time On Our Hands, the album sees a selection of Americana and Power Pop artists reinterpret and record 13 songs originally performed by the classic rock band Styx. The label states: "By rethinking the arrangements of these Styx songs, and avoiding the triple-tenor harmony vocals, progressive rock instrumentation, double-lead electric guitar solos, and theatrical leanings of the original recordings, the organic core of each song can be revealed and appreciated." Full details and ordering options can be found at: www.saltlady.com/tribute.htm I'll feature some soundbytes and a review next month. ![]() MELODIC BRIEFS: Def Leppard look set to commence work on a new studio album January 5. I won't try and predict a release date, although it seems the band want it released by mid-year. Gotthard will release a live DVD and 2CD set during 2004. The Velvet Revolver album is done and has been handed in to record label RCA. A release is expected April 27. Beautiful Creatures are mixing their new album Deuce. The CD is being mixed by Toby Wright (Kiss, Korn, Alice in Chains, 3 Doors Down, Cheap Trick). The Calling are finishing up work on their new album, Two, currently scheduled for March 2004. A single is due in February. |
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Wednesday, December 24, 2003
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A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PREVIEW: A Merry Christmas to you all....what better gift than a sneak peak at two hot February releases from Frontiers Records. Out February 9 is the stunning new Seventh Key album The Raging Fire. You've heard a couple of snippets previously - those being Always From The Heart and You Cross The Line. Now here's another two previews! Download 1 minute samples of the opening track The Sun Will Rise and the title track The Raging Fire. And Jack Blades' self titled debut solo album is out February 23. You have already heard a sample of the lead track Shine On...now another couple of samples! Check out the opening track (written by Blades and Neal Schon) Sea Of Emotions and the big ballad of the album Alone Tonight. More previews of both albums, as well as full reviews and feature interviews early in the New Year. xx![]() HUGHES TURNER IN EUROPE: Hughes Turner Project will hit Europe in a big way with a tour starting March 4 and running through until the 30th. The dates are as follows: 04.03.04 Th E Barcelona Bikini 05.03.04 Fr E Madrid Macumba 06.03.04 Sa E Pamplona Gares 08.03.04 Mo I Bergamo Motion 09.03.04 Tu D Ingolstadt Ohrakel 11.03.04 Th CH Pratteln Z7 12.03.04 Fr A Graz Orpheum 13.03.04 Sa A Wien Planet Music 14.03.04 Su A Salzburg Rockhouse 16.03.04 Tu Hu Budapest Wigwam 17.03.04 We SVK Nitra PKO 18.03.04 Th CR Liberec venue tba 21.03.04 Su D Bochum Zeche 26.03.04 Fr S Eskilstuna Blå 27.03.04 Sa S Gothenburg Stora Teatern 28.03.04 Su S Stockholm Klubben 30.03.04 Tu SF Helsinki Nosturi More shows in Turkey, Greece, Norway, UK coming... look out for updates! German dates are presented by ROCK HARD, Italian dates are presented by ROCK HARD, Spanish dates are presented by METAL HAMMER, Swedish dates are presented by SWEDEN ROCK MAGAZINE More info and booking details at: www.ass-concerts.de HONEYMOON SUITE'S JOHNNIE STEPS OUT AS A SOLO ARTIST: Honeymoon Suite vocalist Johnnie Dee has recorded a solo album! And it was apparently released yesterday. Strange indeed that there has been zero publicity and zero announcements regarding it, but that's the way it is. Thanks to Kai for bringing it's release to my attention. Some searching has uncovered the following details: The CD is released under Johnnie's real name Johnnie Degiuli and is titled Songs in Dee. The track listing (with songwriters) is: Seriously (DeGiuli/Laidlaw/Morrisey) . Holiday (DeGiuli/Laidlaw) . The Light (Dafoe/DeGiuli/Laidlaw) . Everbody Falls (Dafoe/DeGiuli/Laidlaw/Morrisey/Nelson) . Out Here (DeGiuli/Laidlaw/Morrisey) . How (DeGiuli/Laidlaw) . Setting Sun (DeGiuli/Laidlaw/Morrisey) . Buch 15 (DeGiuli/Grehan/Laidlaw) . Train (DeGiuli/Laidlaw) . Life (DeGiuli/Laidlaw) Featured on the album is: Kim Mitchell - Guitar, Soloist; Ray Coburn - Keyboards, Organ (Hammond); Rik Emmett - Guitar, Soloist; Derry Grehan - Guitar (Electric); Andy Krehm - Mastering; Randy Cooke - Percussion, Drums; Timothy Welsh - Guitar, E-Bow, Soloist; Rob Laidlaw - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Programming, Vocals (bckgr), Producer; Tara K. Slone - Vocals (bckgr); Peter Nunn - Strings; Johnnie Degiuli - Vocals, Vocals (bckgr) And a short bio on the album reads: "After tremendous success as front man for Honeymoon Suite, John Degiuli decided to step outside the "Johnnie Dee" persona. although Honeymoon Suite still performs and writes together, Degiuli felt the need to express himself outside the Honeymoon Suite box. John's signature voice, undeniable vocal range and great song writing form the basis of the musical style that is John Degiuli. the songs are more personal than anything from hms, a true reflection of his ability to explore his craft. he approached topics like good relationships gone badly, with mixture of humor, sarcasm and haunting realism." You really think a release like this would warrant a press release! It was no surprise to find no retailers stocking the album, so if and when I can track down a copy, I'll be sure to feature it/review it. ![]() THE ENDLESS STEVE VS STEVE DEBATE: An interesting quote from John Kalodner. When asked via his website if he would sign Journey in his new role at Sanctuary Records, John's reply was: "I would be the happiest person in the world if I could sign Journey with Steve Perry. But it's up to Steve Perry. As for signing Journey with Steve Augeri singing in 2004, even though Mr. Augeri is maybe one of the loveliest guys I know, and is certainly an adequate singer to represent Journey in a concert setting, I don't think I would sign that line-up to make new recordings with the information that I have." Seriously - people have to stop the never ending quest to have Perry return to Journey. Steve Augeri has done a grade-A job as frontman since 1997 and needs to be shown more respect and support. I hope to see a new Augeri fronted Journey album before my hair turns grey. GIUFFRIA'S BIG WHEEL: When not recording, Gregg Giuffria is busy at his day job.... Voyager Entertainment has decided to abandon the Wet N' Wild site location in favor of a more prominent location within an existing World Class megaresort. Voyager was the company who proposed the first Observation Wheel in Las Vegas. That concept included a 600 ft. Observation Wheel located on a lake with yachts and proposed mixed-use hotel casino. Voyager will relocate into a more prominent, highly visible, established location, that optimizes VEII's funding opportunities. A formal press announcement is being scheduled after the holidays, to release the details of the partnership, location and development plans. This announcement coincides with the release of the new VEII website, www.voyager-ent.com In addition to providing details of the Voyager Concept, VEII's new web site will include information regarding the upcoming press announcement. "This new partnership solidifies our dream to build a "world class project," that will become a permanent addition to the famous Las Vegas skyline. Towering at 600 ft., Voyager will offer every visitor the opportunity to view Las Vegas in style and comfort from the luxurious air-conditioned Orbitor cars. The original concept of the World's Tallest Wheel with luxury observation cars, deluxe seating, onboard restrooms and galley that can accommodate single visitors or large wedding parties is recognized and known as Voyager. VEII spearheaded the concept of a 22,000 sq.ft. nightclub restaurant located at the hub of the wheel, which demonstrates the extreme sophistication of this project. While others propose future developments or wheel projects, attempting to duplicate Voyager's efforts, VEII will continue on to bring the next icon to Las Vegas. VEII and its new mega resort partnership will demonstrate a firm commitment to build the Worlds Tallest Observation Wheel in Las Vegas." About Voyager Entertainment International, Inc. - Voyager is an entertainment development company that is dedicated to constructing the "World's Largest and Tallest Observation Wheel." The 600'- foot tall high-tech attraction will, upon completion, accommodate 7,500,000 guests per year with an average individual ride ticket cost of $18.00. Each wheel consists of 30 Orbitors seating between 16 to 20 passengers depending on the configuration. All passengers will experience a 27-minute ride duration ("the ride"). Each Orbitor has its own galley and lavatory to achieve the maximum comfort and safety for its passengers. Additional information about Voyager is available at its website, www.voyager-ent.com HO HO HO: From my warm and sunny locale here in Tasmania, Australia, a very Merry Christmas to you all! To all regulars and your families - may you have a safe and enjoyable holiday and may Santa bless you with many imported melodic rock CDs and DVDs. It's getting late in the day Christmas eve here (locale time), so I'm logging off until Monday. There is plenty of news waiting to be formatted and uploaded, but it's time to do the family thing and kick back for a few days. See you Monday for the next update, but take care until then. Coming shortly - the 2003 MelRock Awards! Merry Melodic Christmas! |
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Tuesday, December 23, 2003
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MTM NEWS UPDATE - TNT, SAVE HAVEN, DANNY DANZI, EDGE OF FOREVER: MTM Music wishes you a Merry Christmas! We all at MTM Music would like to thank you for your support this year and wishes you a merry Christmas and a happy new year! You can expect a lot of great new releases and a couple of lost treasures on MTM Classix during 2004! Enjoy your holidays. An update on coming projects: First of all lets talk about the long awaited TNT My Religion release. The album is finally scheduled for March 8th and features 13 great and traditional TNT songs. The cover artwork was done by Eric Philippe and he did a brilliant design! You can check it out soon. The TNT release is followed by the new album from Danny Danzi titled DanziLand on March 15th and a MTM Classix release RAW First on March 22nd. The new Shylock album Welcome To Illusion is done. The follow up to Pyronized is much more matured and features pure melodic hard rock. Try to see them live! As you can see on a previous news message, the new Dare release is coming soon. An exact release date will be scheduled early next year. Today we received the new Wicked Sensation album. As we announced they are back with the new singer Fernando Garcia and the album is entitled Exceptional. Great hard rock in the style of the debut album Reflected. Edge Of Forever have also finished their recording and the album is expected to be released around April. Bob Harris from Axe did an awesome vocal performance! The album was produced by Marcel Jacob, extraordinary bass player and producer, who is the founding member of Talisman. His band mate Jeff Scott Soto is singing a duet on a song together with Bob. The album features a video of the Song Feeding The Fire as bonus track! Michael Vescera's Safe Haven album will commence recording in December of 2003 at The Toy Room Studio's in Connecticut. Safe Haven features Eric Riordan on guitars and keyboards, Phil Suarez of Soundscape on drums, Chris McCarvel on bass. Michael Vescera will be handling the vocals and the album will be very much in the vain of groups like Journey, Foreigner, etc. Safe Haven will capture every melodic rock fans heart. Last but not least we are preparing an extended European tour for the Hughes Turner Project with shows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Russia, Turkey, Hungary and Slovakia. The guys will be touring between late February and early April 2004. Dates online very soon. But the new year will be opened with Erika Cold Winter Nights, Street Talk Destination and the Shiva album Desert Dreams which reached #6 in the Rock Hard soundcheck! PERMISSION TO BUY WALTHAM'S DVD: The Waltham DVD is out! Expect a review of that soon into the New Year, but if you just have to have it now, go to the band's website: www.walthamtheband.com Permission to Film is a DVD collection of footage from the making of the album Permission to Build. It includes lots of behind the scenes stuff like recording sessions, Waltham on the road, live footage from a bunch of shows, and all the mischief and jokes in between. Also included are the videos for So Lonely, Say It Again, Hopeless, All I Want Is You and Cheryl. Awesome! CUTTING CREW FRONTMAN SOLO IN 2004: Nick Van Eede, the lead singer of the Cutting Crew is busy finishing up a new album that will be released in 2004. He spent three months recording it in Halifax, Nova Scotia and mixing is planned for January with a release targeted for the Spring. So far there are 11 new tracks recorded. The name of the new record and the band is Grinning Souls. A letter from Nick along with photos of the recording process and thoughts on the new tracks from webmaster Tom are online now at the Cutting Crew website: www.tgilmore.com/cc/ A PLUG FOR DAVE: UK journo-legend Dave Reynolds finally has a presence on the web and shame on me for not giving the great man a plug before now. But, seeing I am doing that just not, log onto www.reyno-roxx.com for a fix of Dave's Classic Rock column and reviews. There are also some feature interviews. This week Dave added the Reggie Knighton interview, adding that it looks like interest in re-issuing the classic Reggie Knighton Band album from '78 is growing. KISS ALIVE AND KICKING ON IN 2004: It seems Kiss have very definite plans in place for 2004. Here is the full article from www.kisskollector.com. Also mentioned in the article is news that Van Halen turned Kiss down on an offer to tour together in 2004. That aspect of the article remains rumor only. No one has confirmed with me that Van Halen were approached. 2004 leg of KISS World Domination '03-04 Tour to kick of in Australia. The KISS/Aerosmith tour, which was part of the KISS World Domination 2003-2004 Tour, came to an end the other day and has grossed some $ 50 million making it one of the most successful tours of the year. At the second-to-last show on tour, on December 18 at the L.A. Forum in Los Angeles, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry joined KISS on stage again to jam on the classic Kiss tune Strutter, just like he did on December 14 in Oklahoma City. Kiss will take some time off - the break will enable band members to work on new solo albums (with Gene Simmons' new album scheduled for a Spring release) and they might even work on a new Kiss album - before they'll go back on tour again in 2004. The next leg of the tour will kick off in Australia in April, after which the band will tour Japan before heading back to the USA and then it'll be time for Europe. It's now expected the KISS World Domination '03-04 Tour will last until November of 2004. It's not known yet what band will be joining KISS on tour as Def Leppard as well as a handful of big names (including the soon-to-be-reunited Van Halen) have said no to the offer to go on a co-headlining tour with the masked marauders. Kiss lead guitarist Tommy Thayer recently stated he knows what band will go on tour with Kiss, and he also claimed it's very likely the band will record a new album. For more details, check out www.kisskollector.com. AUSSIE IDOL ROCKS UP FIRST SINGLE: Australian Idol runner-up Shannon Noll was a popular performer during his stint on the recently completed show; hyped up as the laid back Aussie boy-from-the-bush. The resident of country New South Wales covered Jimmy Barnes, Bon Jovi and Moving Pictures through different rounds and secured a record deal immediately after the show wound up. His cover of the Moving Pictures classic What About Me was a major turning point in his journey on the show and was so popular, it has been recorded for the album and will be the first single, due out in January. The track is at radio already and will should be popular with melodicrock.com readers - especially those familiar with the original. I'll bring a preview of the track as soon as possible. AUSSIE TV HAIR METAL TRIBUTE WEEKEND: Another update for Aussie readers - those with Pay TV should tune into Music Max the weekend of January 3 and 4 for a celebration of Hair Metal! On Saturday and Sunday, the station will run a tribute to hard rock of the 70's and 80's from midday to 7pm both days. |
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Monday, December 22, 2003
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UPDATES: A few new reviews added today. Last Autumn's Dream is featured, as is updates of two earlier reviews - Eric Martin's Destroy All Monsters and Influences & Connections Volume 1 - Mr. Big. The latter two were released in Japan earlier this year, but are now due for wide release through Frontiers Records on January 19. Both feature updated comments. Check those reviews out. Not to much else to report as things wind down for the year. There really isn't much to report, but I will still be here over the holiday period working on the 2003 wrap up and catching up with a few other things. I'll take a few days off over the next 10 days naturally, but if there is any breaking news, you can be sure the site will be updated accordingly. I'm attempting to do another e-mail catch up, so if you are wating for a reply, it should be with you shortly. NO LEPPARD FOR KISS: www.kisskollector.com is reporting that Def Leppard have declined the offer from Kiss to tour together in 2004. See their full comments at the site. THE ROCK 'N' ROLL MAGICAL HISTORY TOUR!: For music history buff's, here is a press release from artist manager and long time industry face Jeff Albright: As most of you know, I thought of the idea a dozen years ago but as Santa will tell you, "good things come to those who wait." In 1995, I was approached by a promotion company that was representing Time/Life's video series, The History of Rock 'n' Roll. I gave a personal van tour through the musical landscape of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles to over 20 contest winners from throughout the United States. I donated my proceeds to charity and shortly after giving the tour received a letter from the company saying that it was the highlight of everyone's trip. It was apparent that the trip should be made available for all to take! Soon thereafter, I approached my friend, original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood, and asked if she would narrate a cassette tour. A true rock fan, she was immediately on board as the host. Starting at Beverly Center and featuring descriptions of over 125 music sites, The Rock N Roll Magical History Tour, is now available on double cassette. If you'd like to order by credit card, please view our website at www.rocknrolltour.com. If you'd like to order by check or money order, please send $19.95 per double cassette (plus $3.00 shipping and handling per order) to: The Rock'n'Roll Magical History Tour, P.O. Box 8592, Universal City, California 91618-8592. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to e-mail us directly at rocknrolltour@rocknrolltour.com or call us at 661-259-2944. Nina and I both appreciate your order(s) as countless hours of research and recording have gone into this project. We're certain you'll enjoy the result! NYE GIG FOR HOLLYWOOD RESIDENTS: NYE with The Hollywood Allstars @ 11 PM Featuring: Chas West (Bonham/Lynch Mob) vocals; Jeff Pilson (Dokken/Dio) bass; Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath/Dio/John Lennon) drums; Alan Krigger (Giuffria/House Of Lords/Tina Turner) drums; Mitch Perry (MSG/Edgar Winter) guitar; Special "Surprise" Guests & Celebrity Jam. Also - Rettig - L.A.'S hottest southern rocking blues band @ 9 PM Wednesday December 31, 2003 @ Paladino's, 6101 Reseda Blvd. in Tarzana, CA (1 Blk North Of Oxnard Blvd.), 818-342-1563 $20 At The Door Includes. Free BBQ Tri-Tip/Party Favors/Champagne Toast. HANOI ROCKS GUITARIST LEAVES THE BAND: Guitar player of Hanoi Rocks, Costello, has left the group. His final gigs with Hanoi will be the two shows at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki at the end of the year. His leaving the group is due to family reasons. Original member Andy McCoy gave away the information when he appeared in court yesterday answering to battery charges he received couple of months back. When asked about Costello´s replacement, Andy apparently said it will probably be one of his friends from his childhood, a non-Finnish person. Thanks to Ville for the info. THE DARKNESS ALMOST SCORE UK CHRISTMAS #1: The Darkness came close, but had to settle for the #2 spot int he UK Top 40. Their cleverly planned holiday hit Christmas Time was pipped at the post by the song Mad World by Michael Andrews. That's too bad, it would have made a good #1! |
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Saturday, December 20, 2003
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VAN HALEN BEST OF VOLUME 2 MOST LIKELY NEXT RELEASE: More Van Halen rumors this week. I've had a little fresh info from one of my sources, which mirrors two other bits of info that have been mentioned elsewhere in the past week. A newspaper in Canada has revealed information gathered at a recent Rock & Hyde reunion show (producer/musician Bob Rock and partner Paul Hyde). According to British Columbia paper The Province, Bob Rock has been tapped as the producer of 3 new tracks for a Sammy Hagar fronted Van Halen. The 3 tracks would appear on a new Greatest Hits release. That's where my info comes in...I have been told that Van Halen Best Of Volume 2 will be the most likely next VH release - made more likely in light of the Canadian report (viewable at www.rebeccabooth.com/VH_article.jpg Scan by Mike Booth - thanks Mike for the scan and link.). Apparently the Best Of Volume 2 is being put together as a first step towards making sure the band can work together still, without any issues from the past interfering. I am also told that this release would enable the band to do some live dates in 2004 without doing a full blown tour. If the reunion works, then a new studio album and full tour will follow. And lastly, I hear that an announcement is imminent. Maybe straight after the new year - everything was apparently to be decided and put in place by the end of this year - fast approaching. That's what I have folks....take it as a rumor for now, but official news can't be too far away. FRONTIERS RECORDS NEWS ROUND UP - GLENN HUGHES, MICKEY THOMAS, JSS + MORE: Frontiers Records have sent out a tasty update of some of their artists - the details are as follows: Glenn Hughes - Frontiers Records is proud to announce that Glenn Hughes will be performing a very unique live show in Los Angeles, Sunday January 12th 2004. The live show will be recorded and filmed by a professional crew and Frontiers will produce it for a worldwide release a Live CD/DVD. The event will be very special gift for the fans and will feature a host of special guests and Glenn's friends who will attend the event. Glenn will be performing songs encompassing his entire career both as a solo artist and as singer for other bands. The studio where the performance will be held has a very limited seating capacity, so all the REAL Glenn Hughes fan who want to attend the event shall have to contact via email info@glennhughes.com in order to have the possibility to attend and be informed about all details of the event. Not more than 30 can be the lucky ones! The CD version of the concert will also include a bonus track. Frontiers Records has already definite plans to release the CD/DVD sometime in late spring 2004! Genius Rock Opera - Daniele Liverani and Frontiers Records can finally announce to have completed the cast for the second chapter of the Genius Rock Opera entitled In Search of The Little Prince. Together with Daniele (who will as always perform all guitars, keyboards and basses on the album) and drummer extraordinaire Dario Ciccioni, the singers will be as follows: Mark Boals (Ring of Fire) as Genius; Daniel Gildenlow (Pain of Salvation) as Twinspirit32; Eric Martin (ex-Mr. Big) as Mr. Niko; Russel Allen (Symphony X) as Dream League Commander; Johnny Gioeli (Hardline, Axel Rudi Pell) as Sultan Oddyfer; Rob Tyrant (Labyrinth) as Oddyfer Guard; Jeff Martin (Racer X) as Seventree; Edu Falaschi (Angra) as Jason; Liv Kristine (ex-Theatre of Tragedy) as Klepsydra with Philip Bynoe (Ring of Fire) as Storyteller and Oliver Hartmann (Empty Tremor, ex-At Vance) - choirs. All the singers are very busy in recording their parts, which will be completed sometime during January 2004. Frontiers Records has plans to release the album in Europe during June 2004. The Japanese release will be simultaneous through King Records. Madmen & Sinners / Frameshift - Fretless guitar hero, Tim Dohanue has mailed recently saying that the recording work on the forthcoming Madmen & Sinners album is now finished. "It has taken the entire 2003 to complete this album" says Donahue, "but now it sounds fantastic!" Editing and mixing have now begun and mastering will take place in mid January. The Madmen & Sinners album is a studio project featuring Tim, together with Dream Theater singer James LaBrie and former Extreme and Steve Vai drummer Mike Mangini. This album is expected to cause a major buzz between the progressive and metal fans, who will enjoy the extraordinary Donahue's guitar playing together with the amazing vocals from LaBrie. Frontiers Records plans to release the album in the first half of April 2004. On a related note, Frontiers Records can announce to have also secured exclusive distribution of the album Frameshift Unweaving the Rainbow in the following territories Italy, France, Scandinavia, Hungary, Greece, Czech and Slovak Republic and former Soviet Union territories. Frameshift is an exciting new Progressive Rock project written and produced by Henning Pauly of Chain for James LaBrie, vocalist of the legendary progmetal band Dream Theater. Unweaving the Rainbow features 80 minutes of modern progressive rock, influenced by Gentle Giant, Queen and Spock's Beard, based on the books on evolution by Richard Dawkins. Every song deals with a different evolutionary concept. The album includes the following tracks: Above the Grass - Part I; The Gene Machine; Spiders; River out of Eden; Message from the Mountain; Your Eyes; La Mer; Nice Guys Finish First; Arms Races; Origins and Miracles; Off the Ground; Walking through Genetic Space; Cultural Genetics; Bats; Above the Grass - Part II The full lineup includes: James LaBrie - Vocals; Henning Pauly - Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, synthesizer, piano, B3, Warr guitar, banjo, hand percussion, loop programming, orchestration, engineer and mixer; Eddie Marvin - Drums; Nik Guadagnoli - Additional bass, guitar and Chapman Stick. Over The Edge - Mickey Thomas and producer Fabrizio Grossi are putting the finishing touches to the Over The Edge project in Los Angeles. The songs that will appear on the album will include the following: One World (written by Jack Blades and Neal Schon), Surrender (written by Jack Blades and Neal Schon), Eyes Wide Open (written by Jonathan Cain), Cover Me (written by Bebo Norman), Forrest for The Trees (featuring Steve Lukather), Over The Edge (written by Fabrizio Grossi and Jack Blades), Glory Days (written by Fabrizio Grossi and Jack Blades), Man In Between (written by Fabrizio Grossi, Freddy Curci and Lara Cody) and Turn Away (co-written by Steven Cristol, who also wrote the Starship hit Tomorrow Doesn't Matter Tonight). A video for the song One World was shot in late November in L.A. and will be added as a special interactive bonus to the album. Release date is scheduled in Europe for mid-April and the album will be released in Japan through Crown. On The Rise - Terje Eide has started demoing and writing new songs for the second album from On The Rise. Terje has parted ways with co-lead vocalist Bennech Lyngbo, but he will be the one that will keep carrying the torch of the On The Rise band project in the future. Terje plans to complete the songwriting in the first quarter of 2004 and start recording immediately thereafter in order to release the follow up album to the critically acclaimed debut in late 2004. Jeff Scott Soto - The mighty singer from Talisman is finally taking a break after a very busy year in 2003. But right after the Christmas holidays he is committed to start the recording of his new solo album which will follow the great success that Prism gained on the markets. Jeff has already completed about six songs and plans to complete the songwriting within January 2004. Frontiers Records will release the album in late summer 2004. We at Frontiers Records would like to wish all our partners a Merry Christmas and a successful and joyous new year 2004. Our office will be closed from Monday, December 22nd until Friday, January the 2nd included. Normal service will be resumed on the 5th of January. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR A GREAT 2003 !!! SEE YOU AGAIN IN THE NEW YEAR !!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! And finally - get ready for a host of new signings and productions which will bless the upcoming year and make it really special! SPECIAL TRACK FOR SIN FANS: A message from German rockers SIN - Dear friends, to thank you and all our fans for the great support through the last year, we have put a little X-mas present on our site. Please visit www.sin-band.com to find a free download of a full song. It is an acoustic ballad called Listen To Your Heart. Please enjoy this song. We wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, and all the best for 2004. Thanks a lot, Alex, Deddy, Frank and Jay. |
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Friday, December 19, 2003
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10,000,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!: 10 Million Hits. Wow...what can I say to sum that up? Thanks would be the best word I think. When I started out I had no concept of how big the site would get or the amount of rock music fans that would be coming through it. Currently the site averages 12,000 frontpage hits a day, turning out 12 GIG of data traffic each day. No wonder my hosting charges are going up. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every regular visitor to this site - both those that have e-mailed me and those that just enjoy the site. I'd also like to thank the sponsors, labels, media, MR-X members and contact people I deal with that have supported the site over the years - some since the very beginning as The AOR Hot Spot. I'd also like to thank the fabulous artists that make the music I feature here - music which keeps me inspired to keep on going on days where it would be easier to turn the PC off - and those artists in particular that have become good friends over the years and keep in regular contact. In celebration of hitting 10 Million, here are a few musical lists to read/enjoy and hopefully check out. I perhaps might have gone into list overdrive, but it's closing in on December 31 and I have the Best Of 2003 to continue preparing! Thanks again for making melodicrock.com a regular stop and here's to another 10 million hits - I hope I can keep this train rolling to see that happen.... The 10 Million List: "10" Classic Melodic Rock Anthems featured since starting the site:
Several updates today. First up, a new MR-X update. Added today is a new Feature Album - Baby Animals, their classic self titled debut; new Feature Live material featuring Bon Jovi and a Feature Single from Heartland - Fight Fire With Fire, featuring exclusive tracks. Also added is several new rare tracks featuring James Christian, Kelly Keagy, John Oszajca, John Waite, Slamer/Thompson and Clock (featuring Vivian Campbell). If that isn't enough, a couple of new Bonus Tracks too. And lastly - some new competitions!! Up for grabs to current members are the following: - Danger Danger - Danger Danger Rare Cuts CD and a We Wish You A Hairy Christmas CD compilation. There are 2 packs to give away. - Paul Gilbert - Paul Gilbert Alligator Farm and Racer X Superheroes CDs to give away. - Tyrant - 2 copies of Tyrant's great new slab of Aussie pub rock n roll up for grabs. And retailer Z-Roxx have a new discount offer to MR-X members - so if that all isn't enough reason to join, I'm not sure what is! Enter MR-X or Membership Details. The Release Dates page has been updated for the last time in 2003. Several new titles and dates have been added and some corrupted HTML has been corrected to ensure everyone can see the list. View the update. A new CD Showcase has been added for AOR Heaven's January release Blind Alley. Check it out. And last, but not least, Mini-Bytes have been updated with some big previews! Check out tracks from new albums by Pink Cream 69, Y & T, Bulletboys, Magnitude Nine, John Taglieri and Celtic Legacy. Check those out. PREVIEW FIREWORKS ISSUE 14: Issue 14 of UK rock magazine Fireworks is out now and chock full of new reviews and interviews. Featured on the cover is none other than The Darkness! Oh yes indeed! The band are interviewed by Dave Reynolds. Also included: interviews with - Harem Scarem, Bonfire, Balance of Power, Firehouse, Twisted Sister, Mars Electric, Dreamtide, Johnny Lima, Ring of Fire, Section A, Xoch, Charlotte Martin, Blaze, Rob Rock, doubleDrive and Erik Norlander. Preview the magazine with our exclusive features. Click forward to the Fireworks page to read a new interviews with Joe Lynn Turner and up and comer Xoch. A full review of the recent Bloodstock Festival in the UK has also been included, with live reviews of Nightwish, Edguy, Saxon and Masterplan to name a few. ROB LAMOTHE TO GET ROCKING ON ROMEO CD: Rob Lamothe is busy finishing up work on a new solo album titled Romeo's Barbershop. The album is set to see Rob move in a rockier direction. Rob talks about the album and his ongoing work with the Riverdogs in an interview featured now at The Fuze. Check it out. BRUCE KULICK TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE STAGE IN AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY, 2004: Bruce Kulick, Kiss' lead guitarist for 12 years is making his way back to Australia for his third solo tour of this country. These dates mark his return to the stage after facing near death on Sunset Blvd when a crazed gunman fired into the street hitting Bruce twice in October of this year. Recovering at home in Los Angeles, Kulick is excited to return to Australia after having to postpone a tour of Europe in November due to his injuries. Bruce was shot through the leg and a second bullet grazed his temple. "I know there were some angels watching over me that night and I am lucky to be alive. Even though the injuries have been painful and I am continuing therapy, I know it could have been so much worse." Bruce said. "Australia has always been so kind to myself and Kiss over the years that when the chance came up to return there and play for the fans I couldn't pass that up. It has also made me focused on healing and recognise the great opportunities my career gives me. Even as far back as touring there with Meat Loaf in 1978 I have amazing memories and made lifetime friends." Being the third solo tour in three years for Bruce, Australia is becoming somewhat of a second home and as such has plans for an exciting new show for the fans coming along. "We have given the set list a shake up and there will be some tunes that the fans haven't heard in a long time and a few that Kiss have never even performed live." Before Bruce returns to the US for a full blown tour with his current band, Grand Funk Railroad, Bruce will perform shows in Melbourne and Sydney in February. After each show, Bruce will conduct a signing session for all fans. They will get a chance to meet and greet the guitar player that helped Kiss write and sell over 15 million albums and perform hundreds of sell out shows all over the world during their "unmasked" era. Kulick has also recorded and toured with such luminaries as Meat Loaf, Michael Bolton, Billy Squire and Grand Funk Railroad. Since leaving Kiss in 1996, Bruce formed Union with Motley Crue vocalist John Corabi, releasing three albums and later, released two solo albums (Audiodog in 2001 and Transformer in 2003). He is endorsed by both ESP Guitars and Marshall Amplifiers. Bruce is a true guitar hero and Kiss fan or not, fans will be blown away with his fretwork. Bruce's band on this coming tour will again be all-Australian featuring members of the Melbourne band, Stand (Paul Drennan, guitar/Stephen Crafter, drums/Matthew McAuliffe, bass). It will be one helluva crazy crazy night! TOUR DATES and TICKETING INFORMATION: Melbourne The Corner Hotel Thursday 5 February, 2004 On Sale at The Corner Hotel or Ph 03 9427 9198 or www.cornerhotel.com Sydney Bar Broadway Saturday 7 February, 2004 On Sale at the Door. For further information, please visit www.kulick.net and www.stand.net.au NIGHT RANGER PENCIL IN DVD FOR 2004: Night Ranger filmed some of their just completed Japanese dates for a possible DVD release in 2004. Kelly Keagy made the remarks, but I'll follow that and more up with Jack Blades when I interview him next week for the release of his self titled solo debut, due out February through Frontiers Records. |
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Thursday, December 18, 2003
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BW&BK SUMMER METAL WEEKEND ANNOUNCED: BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend II - Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine, North America's premier metal publication, is returning to The Odeon, in Cleveland, Ohio for another metal spectacular. June 4-5, 2004 will be the dates of the next BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend. Once again, 14 international bands will play over the two days, many making their debut in North America. For others, this will be their only appearance on the continent. The first batch of confirmed acts includes: Grave Digger - the Germans are making the first (and ONLY!) North American appearance of their career. Chris Boltendahl (vocals) is thrilled. "We are so proud to play in the States after 23 years of Grave Digger history. We'll present a special setlist for you, which will cover the full history. Stay tune for real German true metal!" Primal Fear - only North American show in support of the forthcoming Devil's Ground CD. Bassist Mat Sinner, who wrote the lion's share of the disc is thrilled to be playing the show, bypassing some major European festivals, in favor of the 6-Pack Weekend. "Finally the Metal Commando will come back to the US. We're fired up in Devil's Ground and we promise to metalize the entire place!" Seven Witches - also opted to play this show over a major European date, as the band recently returned from a successful tour, supporting Over Kill, and want to dedicate time on this side of the pond. By the 6-Pack, the band will have released their fifth album. In addition to the main show, Jack Frost and James Rivera will perform acoustically, a set said to include tunes by the Witches, HELSTAR (Rivera's other outfit), Frost's solo material and a few surprises! E-Force - now based in France, the new band by ex-Voivod singer/bassist Eric Forrest recently issued Evil Forces, which was selected BW&BK Album Of The Month for December. Forrest has promised to perform material from BOTH outfits! Shadowkeep - LMP recording artists, the progressive UK outfit will be making their North American debut. Ion Vein - Chicago area prog-metallers will open the Saturday show. Lilitu - Georgian band will kick off the whole festival. Last, but certainly not least, Ben Jackson (guitar) and Midnight (vocals) of the legendary Crimson Glory will perform an acoustic set of their best-known classics! While the pair worked together on Jackson's upcoming solo effort, this marks the singer's first public outing since the days of Transcendence! More bands yet to be announced, including headliner. Tickets will go on sale in early January. Keep checking BraveWords.com for updates. BW&BK celebrates 10 years in business this coming May and from the February issue onwards will also be available in Australia and New Zealand. ASIA'S NEW GHOST: A 35-second clip from a new Asia track, Ghost In The Mirror, has been posted to the Official Asia web site. It was written by John Payne, Geoff Downes & Billy Sherwood. To hear the clip, go to www.asiaworld.org/Gallery/mp3/ghost.mp3 . The new Asia album is expected in early 2004. MELODIC BRIEFS: Cornerstone will be playing live at TEX in Copenhagen on the 28th of Feb and also at the Kings Head Fulham, London on March 6th. Tickets for London will be a pricey £5.00 These are just warm up gigs for us and a larger schedule will be announced later. Don Dokken is doing an acoustic set with Tim Drury on January 5 at the Palms Casino in Vegas. Ex-Tyketto guitarist Brooke St. James is now in Milwaukee, WI, joining local party-band The Toys (www.thetoys.org). The band has just released an EP with 5 songs, Brooke singing Lead on 3 of those. Brooke is currently also writing a solo album and planning European gigs for 2004. |
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Wednesday, December 17, 2003
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MTM NEWS - DARE UPDATE & ERIKA RE-ISSUE: News from MTM Music - Darren Wharton talks about progress with the new Dare album: "Hi every one...hope you are all well. As you are probably aware, I had hoped to finish and release the new Dare album Beneath The Shining Water earlier this year...Unfortunately things didn't go as planned! I wasn't happy with some of the songs and basically started to write new material in September. This was a real pain in the "......." but unfortunately that's the way it goes sometimes!!! The good news is that all the songs are now finished and the album is sounding great. I am currently at the mixing stage. We are now looking for a release round about March 2004... (providing there are no more problems). I'd like to wish every one a very merry Christmas...and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon on tour. Thanks again for your patience....All the very best my friends & take care......... Darren Wharton, Dare." And news from Erika, who's out of print album Cold Winter Night will be released on MTM Classix shortly: "So, what have I been up to? First and foremost, I´ve been fulfilling my longtime dream to be a fulltime mom for quite a few years. However, I couldn't keep my hands off music during that period of time either, so I have been writing a few songs for other people. Recently I was dragged into the studio again - as a songwriter - but it turned out the producers wanted my vocal abilities as well. We'll see what happens! Anyway, it feels great to have my first album, Cold Winter Night re-released on MTM Classix. And although the 1990´s were busy years (albums, albums, tours, tours...) and dizzy years (Rainbow in L.A, Sugar Shack in Munich, Kool Kat Club in Stockholm, Lexington Queen in Tokyo, Button South in Miami and a hundred more rock-clubs that I was too...eh...happy then to remember now!) I can still recall a lot of the recording sessions for this album. For example when I was so hung over in the studio one day, that I sat - literally crying - on a stack of tapes, being teased by Håkan and Bobby of the Trippel hit-making team and also on the phone by the Electric Boys and various other partners in crime. But I pulled myself together and put down the vocals for Last Call For Love. If you listen very carefully you can actually hear me sob at the end of that song. Hey, anything for the fans, right? I hope Cold Winter Night brings back as many memories to you as it does to me. And that it creates a few new ones. To all of you from all of me LOTS of love, Erika." ROYAL HUNT SHAKES OUT 2 MEMBERS: A shake up is underway in the Royal Hunt ranks. Bassist Steen Mogensen and guitarist Jacob Kjaer are leaving the band, leaving the only original member Andre Andersen (keyboards) on his own with current vocalist John West. This from the official website: "Dear friends, After more than 10 years of working with Royal Hunt, Steen Mogensen and Jacob Kjaer have decided to leave the band. They feel that it is the right time to move on, to explore different aspects of their musical careers. Fortunately, there are no unsolved conflicts or misunderstandings to distort the process of the split, so everybody is wishing each other the best of luck in the future. We would like to thank again our fans for supporting the band through the years – you are the best! Best regards, Royal Hunt" EUROPE READY FOR NEW 2004 MATERIAL: A small update from the Official Europe website - www.europetheband.com: "We are currently writing new songs and it's beginning to sound really good, and we have found a producer we like. The new record will be recorded in the beginning of next year. Cant wait for you to hear it! We are just about to start booking our concerts, and looking very much forward to seeing you on tour next summer. In the new year we will give you more info. Have a great holiday! All the best from the band. RICKY PHILIPS - THE NEW FACE OF STYX: Ricky Phillips is the latest member of the Styx family. He replaced outgoing bass player Glen Burtnik and has already stared in some live shows. Ricky's a man with a large resume, including The Baby's, Bad English, Coverdale/Page, Frederiksen/Phillips and Belinda Carlisle. I caught up with Ricky to talk about his new role in the band and he was kind enough to give his first interview since joining the band to me. Read the interview. LAST TRIBE UNCROWNED: Last Tribe are one of the more impressive hard music acts in Europe currently. They deserve to break out into the wider music scene on the back of three great progressive melodic metal albums. Their latest is The Uncrowned, which is out now through Frontiers Records. I talked to guitarist Magnus Karlsson about the new album. Read the interview. MR-X UPDATED: MR-X has been updated with a few new video clips. Added today is: Aldo Nova Ball & Chain, Steelheart I'll Never Let You Go, The Darkness Growing On Me, Heaven Where Angels Fear To Tread, John Miles Band Blinded and Paul Laine Dorianna. Enter MR-X or Membership Details. |
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Tuesday, December 16, 2003
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MR-X UPDATE - PLEASE READ: Hi folks...apologies for the lack of updates. I had a few days away, but then the last 4 too sick to log on to the site. Several issues to go over - the most important being MR-X. The renewal's have started being processed and those that joined in the first few days of it's launch last year will already be aware of this. As I am also new to the process, things worked a little differently than hoped/planned. Guess I should have worked harder at getting the details straight from PayPal, who run the whole subscription service. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL subscriptions (as it turns out) are reoccurring - therefore you will automatically be charged for future year's subscriptions unless you manually cancel the subscription. If you do not wish to renew, then log into PayPal and cancel the subscription. It should feature the date of your subscription expiry within your PayPal settings. Once the subscription is cancelled, you will remain able to log in to MR-X until the period you signed up for runs out. Also - due to some technical issues, those original members that subscribed through the year were re-charged the original $30 fee, not the new $35 price. As it turns out, I have no idea how this can be fixed, so that's your good fortune! All members that joined this year before the price rise will continue to be charged $30 each year, should you choose to remain members. A little bonus for your loyalty. There has been a number that have not renewed memberships. That has sadly placed some pressure on me and the site. There will be more about that and possible outcomes shortly. For now, here's all the news that has been missed over the past week and some new CD Showcases for you to preview some fine melodic rock releases. JADED HEART SPEAK THE TRUTH ON ULFTONE: Germany's leading melodic hard rock band Jaded Heart, from Duisburg, has signed a record-deal with ulfTone Music, based in Berlin. CEO Ulf Zick: "We're very happy that Germany's finest Melodic Rock-band has joined our roster. Jaded Heart has enormous potential unused up to now." Vocalist and songwriter Michael Bormann states: "Music is indeed our life. We never lost the faith in ourselves and our immanent powers. With ulfTone Music at our side we'll have a strong partner who can push us to a higher level." Meanwhile the guys finally finished the production of their sixth studio-album Trust so that a release on February 20th. has been terminated. Trust follows the best-seller of the five-piece IV (more than the latest CD The Journey Will Never End) and incorporates both outstanding melodies and sheer power. The long-player was produced and mixed by the band itself in Bormann's well equipped studio. A European headlining-tour is scheduled for April/May 2004. ![]() ARROW'S ROCK FESTIVAL TO BE A TRUE CLASSIC: Arrow Classic Rock Festival is to be held in The Netherlands June 11 through 13, 2004. On the roaster thus far to play is: David Bowie, Heart, Judas Priest, Queensrÿche, Scorpions, UFO & Yes. Full details of the festival can be obtained at: www.arrowclassicrockfestival.nl. There are a lot more names yet to be announced, but I hear that several other major hard rock acts from the USA are being looked at to make rare European appearances. Stay tuned... SAMMY HAGAR DROPS ANOTHER SUBTLE CLUE: A little Van Halen news in the way of a Sammy Hagar website update. I have no doubt that most VH fans will have seen the update last week about Hagar and buddy Michael Anthony playing the SuperBash, a 5-day series of concerts leading up to the Super Bowl on January 28 - Feb. 1. Hagar will host the main stage for three of those days. The information can be read in full via an update to the RedRocker.com news page. But for conspiracy theorists, how about this little gem - "We're hoping for continuous entertainment and a lot of fun," said Messina, working in tandem with club owner-restaurateur David Edwards and George Ciotti. "Half of Van Halen will be there. I don't want to start rumors, but I know the guys are talking these days." There you have it folks...half of Van Halen will be there. Now the update posted is in the form of an article written by a journalist, but why would Sammy approve the inclusion of this bit of news on his official website, unless the info was spot on. More confirmation of the news I ran a few weeks back - the return of Van Halen with Sammy Hagar in 2004. Y&T UNEARTH NEW COMPILATION: Y&T's Unearthed CD is available now via the Meniketti website: www.meniketti.com/menmerch.html. Unearthed features 74 minutes of music - previously unreleased Y&T recordings and demos from 1974 through 2003. The track listing is: Shout It Out . Wild If I Wanna . Standing In The Fire . In The Name Of Love . Dirty Love . Play By Play . Short Arms . Fast Track . Love Gone Wrong . 16 Tons . I Make Believe . Hard Times . Driver . Give Me Rock . Shake Down . Trigger Happy . Rockazoid Rollaroid. ![]() RICK SPRINGFIELD'S SHOCK DUE FEBRUARY 20: Rick Springfield is continuing to dig up rarities and unreleased goodies to stack the limited edition version of his new studio album shock/denial/anger/acceptance with. Rick's latest update promises a "bounty of rare offerings ...demos of fan favorites plus unreleased tunes from throughout Rick's career..." The Limited Edition version is now likely not to be released until the same time as the regular street version - due now February 20. The first tour date for the s/d/a/a tour has been posted for 2/28 in Hollywood, CA at the HOB. Look for more dates to be added soon. "The HOB show is a kind of 'okay, here's some songs from the new album' kind of show. Basically to kick off the awareness of the new record," says Rick on his website. RARE JOHN SLOMAN LIVE GIG FOR UK FANS: Majestic Rock are privileged to be able to invite you along to see John Sloman perform a selection of songs from his critically acclaimed Dark Matter album at the 12 Bar Club, Denmark Street, London WC2 on the evening of Monday 22nd December.....come along and be a part of something a little bit special. "Dark Matter is a wonderfully dark and brooding modern rock album. If this album had come from America, the rock business would be heaping superlatives on it and falling over themselves to praise John Sloman and declare him the next big thing." Jon Kirkman – Rock Ahead website "...where Sloman's strength clearly lies is in his vocals, being sensually soft one minute and true rock star the next. Recommended." Matt Stevenson - Powerplay "An interesting record that is about as far from a commercial sound as one can take it. Very dark and uncompromising and very personal, this record will appeal to those that love something a little different and can appreciate some fine guitar work, heavy at times, soft and reflective at other times." Melodicrock.com THEY LOOK DIFFERENT NOW, BUT UFO ARE HERE IN 2004: UFO's latest studio album is just about complete and will be released February 26. The line-up featured on You Are Here is: Phil Mogg, Pete Way, Paul Raymond, Vinnie Moore and Jason Bonham. The album, to be released via SPV is described in the following press blurb: The future's too valuable to waste time dwelling on the past, old hats are there to be thrown out, and the enlistment of guitarist Vinnie Moore and drummer Jason Bonham can only be described as a fountain of youth for UFO. In cooperation with the band's experienced members, vocalist Phil Mogg, bassist Pete Way and keyboarder/rhythm guitarist Paul Raymond, UFO have succeeded in creating a mix on their new album, You Are Here, that can only be called explosive. "It's been more fun than it had been in a long time to work with these two excellent musicians," is Phil Mogg's satisfied comment when asked about his new colleagues. "Jason and Vinnie aren't just talented individual musicians, they're also extremely nice guys, which obviously affected the atmosphere during the recordings noticeably." That much is apparent on all eleven new songs that Mogg & Co. have recorded at the Area 51 studio in Celle near Hannover/Germany with producer Tommy Newton at the helm. Classic hard rock of the traditional variety, fresh and inspiring at the same time, or, as Mogg describes it, "typical UFO with a twist", referring to tracks like the powerful The Spark That Is Us with its heavy groove, the rocking Slipping Away, Mr Freeze (penned by Mogg and Moore), the haunting Swallow ("medium tempo in your face" – quote Mogg), or the programmatic Looking For The Wild One. Fact is: You Are Here was recorded by virtuoso musicians who combine long-term experience with newly discovered enthusiasm. They are about to present themselves as a strong unit during their upcoming world tour in spring 2004, after all there is one major difference between the current UFO line-up and all previous ones: "There is a homogenous feel of communal spirit in the band." BLACK N BLUE N PINK CREAM IN JANUARY: Black N Blue's new album Hell Yeah! is due for release on Z Records January 26. Pink Cream 69's album Thunderdome is due the same date. xx![]() THE ANGELS REFORM IN TWO PARTS: I get an occasional request e-mailed to me for information on Aussie legends The Angels. Last update had seen the band split, with further news that Doc Neeson was doing that well health wise. Then mid-year, rumors of an Angels (Angel City for you US folk) re-union. Not quite the news I had hoped for, but the band are back - sort of. Singer Doc Neeson is back on the road with a band he is calling Doc Neeson's Angels - featuring vocalist Doc with guitarist Jim Hilburn. Jim joined The Angels in the mid-80's. Also in this line-up is former Dragon (Hunter for you US folks!) keyboardist Alan Mansfield (Mr. Sharon O'Neil for the record). But that's not all - the rest of the band - the classic 70's line-up more or less - Rick & John Brewster, Chris Bailey and Buzz Bidstrup are touring as The Angels Band. John Brewster is featured vocalist in this incarnation. Confusing? Nah... MELODIC BRIEFS: Thanks to everyone that voted in the People's Choice category of the UK based Interactive Music Awards. MelodicRock.com was voted the #14 site in the world - cheers for that! What awesome support. Check out the list of the Top 500 sites voted for at: www.btopenworld.com/ima03/peoples_choice_award.html Dokken.net have a competition running currently for a brand new Black Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by Don Dokken, "Wild" Mick Brown, and Jon Levin! Log into the site for full details. Domain's current album The Sixth Dimension will be released in Asia via King Records on January 21. At the official Nexx website, you can enter a competition to design their 2004 T-Shirt. PHIL NARO UPDATES THE DON MANCUSO ALBUM: Here's a little update from Phil Naro regarding the Don Mancuso album: The second solo album from Don Mancuso being produced by Steve Major is around 50% complete as of Dec 9. A rigorous summer schedule for all the musicians involved with the project made for meeting the Sept release date impossible. The good news is that it's sounding great! Lou Gramm was able to sing lead vocals on 3 tunes. Real Love, I'm A Little Outside and You're Never Alone. He also did backups on Lock Lips. He may even do backups on one other (if I can twist his arm a little) after we complete the Lou Gramm Band shows scheduled in Jan. (Yes, I finally get to go out with him again for the first time in years!! And with his brother Ben and Dickie as well. Rehearsals are going great and I can't wait to get out.) Jessica Hamilton was also recruited to sing with Lou and Phil (Naro) on the ballad You're Never Alone. (One of only 2 ballads on this one as compared to the first.) Lots of great rockers and cool hooks on this one! Of course I may be bias? Steve Major will be completing the mixes in Toronto (No small feat here!!) while Don is out on tour with Lou and with any luck the mastering/cover design and other stuff will be done by Feb. (PLEASE God!!!!!) And that's it from the front! Hope everyone's holidays are happy and safe! Come out and see the Lou Gramm Band if they're in your area. It will be well Worth it! - Don Mancuso & Phil Naro Songs you'll hear!! Down, Rotten & Dirty - Don Mancuso & Phil Naro . Build My Castle - Don Mancuso & Phil Naro . Still Can't Dig Your Way Out Of It - Don Mancuso, Phil Naro & Steve Major . Not Much I'm Missing - Phil Naro & Don Mancuso . Down You Go - Don Mancuso & Phil Naro . Sun Goes Down - Don Mancuso & Lou Gramm . A Little Outside - Lou Gramm, Don Mancuso & Phil Naro . Why Is Everybody Trying To Change Me - Phil Naro & Don Mancuso . I'm Finding Out - Phil Naro & Don Mancuso . Lock Lips - Phil Naro & Don Mancuso . Bulldog - Lennon & McCartney . Funny Pages - Don Mancuso, Phil Naro & John Rogers . You're Never Alone - Don Mancuso, Phil Naro & Tony Gross RUSH ON THE ROAD IN 2004: Rush are hitting the road in 2004 to mark 30 years together as a band. And it seems the guys are really going to do it properly with dates in Europe as well as in North America and possibly other areas also. Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee did note on Rockline last week that Rush will play dates across North America and around the world, including their first European shows in more than a decade. SITE UPDATES: Several new CD Showcases have been added today for your listening pleasure. First up are the three new Frontiers Records releases for January - Eric Martin, Influences & Connections Vol. 1 and Last Autumn's Dream. All three titles are released January 19. Click on the covers for details and preview. Last Autumn's Dream features vocalist Mikael Erlandsson with former Fair Warning guitarist Andy Malecek, backed by the popular Europe trio of Ian Haughland, Mic Michaeli & John Levin. Next we have two new releases from Escape Music. Shadowman is the new project featuring FM vocalist Steve Overland and Heartland guitarist Steve Morris. Several other names appear on the album. Click on the cover for details and previews. Their debut album Land Of The Living is out January 26. Also from Escape is another quality digi-pack re-release of the two Orphan albums - Lonely At Night and Salute. And some further re-issues are also online to sample. Majestic Rock have the two Heavy Pettin' albums Lettin' Losse and Rock Ain't Dead out now. Metal Mayhem has their re-release of the classic Dare Force album Firepower available now, with a bonus live clip included. Dare Force features guitarist Brian Bart and vocalist Karl Young. Stay tuned soon for the biggest and best ever Melodic Rock 2003 Awards Page & 2004 Preview. It's always a very popular feature at the end of each year, so this year's will be bigger and better than ever. Lots of interviews being worked on for the week/s ahead - and some good news - my chat with new Styx bass player Ricky Phillips will be online tomorrow! |
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Monday, December 15, 2003
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BOWES & MORLEY DUE AT MO'S IN FEBRUARY: Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the European release (except UK) on February the 27, 2004 of Bowes & Morley's second album entitled Mo's Barbeque. The album features a mixture of original songs and covers. The covers include songs originally performed by Free, Stevie Wonder, Ann Peebles and Stretch. The final tracklisting includes the following eleven songs: Desire . Living For The City . On A Day Like Today . Why Did You Do It? . Since I Left Her . Come Together In The Morning . Waiting For The Sky To Fall . Illogical . How Could You . That's Not Love . I Can't Stand The Rain. The band is formed by Thunder singer Danny Bowes and guitar player Luke Morley plus Chris Childs (also from Thunder) on bass, Mario Goossens (Hooverphonic, The Others) on drums and Mark Taylor (Simple Minds, Belinda Carlise, The Alarm, Lords Of The New Church, The Cult etc etc) on keyboards. The music of the album encompasses all influences of the two British artists and moves combines classic rock with 80's soul. ![]() |
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Monday, December 08, 2003
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MR-X - NEW YEAR STARTS WEDNESDAY!: Wednesday December 10 is the first anniversary of MR-X. With that in mind, those that joined on that very first day (and subsequent days following that date) will start being billed for the next 12 months ahead - the 2004 year. To be honest, I am not really sure how the whole mechanism works, as getting any sort of customized answer from Paypal is next to impossible. But, you should automatically be billed and continue to have access to the MR-X page. Throughout the past year, if anyone made any adjustment to their personal information at Paypal.com, a cancellation of any subscriptions was triggered. For those affected by that, you may find yourself locked out of the MR-X page as the subscription has (according to Paypal), been cancelled and will expire soon. To gain access again, simply re-join and a new password and username will be e-mailed to you. For those that have been with MR-X right from the opening weeks, and indeed all registered members, may I thank you sincerely for your valued support. The continuation of the site would not have been possible without such support. I am really looking forward to the year ahead with the site and the MR-X area. A fresh look to the members area will be unveiled in a couple of weeks time, with more great rare tracks and feature downloads to be offered. I am also looking at expanding my hosting options, which will allow more room for updates and in particular, lots more classic melodic rock videos. In fact, I'm picking up a DVD drive for the PC this week for that very purpose! If there are any problems with the re-subscription to MR-X over the next few days - please e-mail me, but be aware that I am away from the site until Friday. For general information on the MR-X area, read the Intro Page. I'll be in Melbourne with the family, taking in some "down time" and also enjoying Duran Duran and Robbie Williams at Telstra Dome, Wednesday night! NO ACE FOR KISS....FOR NOW: Ace Frehely rejoining Kiss? Well, no. Both Gene Simmons and Ace have both come out and said no, this is not the case. Their comments stem from a rumor printed here last week. Nice to be in the thoughts of such megastars. My source still holds his position that Ace does want back in, but as with all things Kiss, you never really know what's going on until after it's happened. So for now at least, no Ace! FIREHOUSE ON THE ROAD WITH VAUGHN & PRIDE IN EUROPE 2004: UK melodic rock fans - please support these shows and you might just get some more like it! Firehouse, Danny Vaughn and Pride will play a round of dates across the UK in early 2004. Press Release: Following months of negotiations, we take great pleasure in confirming one of the hottest hard rock tours to hit Europe for a number of years. Multi-platinum American melodic hard rock act Firehouse will return to Europe for the first time in thirteen years. Firehouse stormed onto the music scene in 1990 on the back of their self titled debut album which has attained double platinum status in the USA. The MTV staples Don't Treat Me Bad and All She Wrote, as well as the Billboard top 5 hit single Love of a Lifetime helped the band scoop the American Music Award for the best new hard rock band in 1991 beating out Nirvana. Hold your Fire, the sophomore effort, has also attained platinum status and featured the hit single When I Look Into Your Eyes as well as the driving hard rock of Reach For The Sky and the title track Hold Your Fire. The band to date have recorded seven albums and have sold in excess of eight million records worldwide as well as notching up twenty six gold and platinum awards from around the world. Firehouse are extremely excited to be returning to Europe after such a long absence and promise to kick ass in no uncertain terms. Danny Vaughn needs absolutely no introduction to European audiences. Establishing his reputation with Waysted in the mid-eighties, it wasn't long before such a talent gained recognition in his own right as the frontman with the seminal Tyketto. Following two critically acclaimed albums Don't Come Easy and Strength in Numbers, Danny took a well deserved break before returning to the music business with the excellent Soldiers and Sailors on Riverside in 2000 and the equally impressive Fearless in 2001. Over the last eighteen months Danny has toured acoustically - just him and his guitar, but as he has said before he missed the band. So with that in mind it's a fully plugged in and powered up version of Vaughn that will lay waste to stages throughout the UK in March. Details of the band personnel will be announced shortly but one thing for certain is, for the first time Vaughn will consist of two guitarists, making good on Danny's promise to rock hard every night. New English band Pride will be the support act at all the shows, cementing their status as the rising stars of British melodic hard rock. Pride have two mightily impressive albums Far from the Edge and Signs of Purity to their credit and put in a massive performance at this years Gods festival in Bradford, earning them a whole new army of admirers. Pride have, in their own right, impressed on their short tours of Ireland, England and mainland Europe this year and are delighted to be playing with two bands they cite as major influences. Expect yet more blistering shows from the boys from Brighton. Deadline, the Yorkshire based band who have just released a self financed EP called Is Anybody Paying Attention will also join the tour for a few shows and regard this as a major opportunity to convert a few more fans to their cause. If hard rock with a touch of blues in the mould of Thunder is your thing , then these guys are not to be missed. Tour Dates: Saturday March 6th…….Caracol…..Madrid, Spain Tuesday March 9th……..Classic Rock Society, Oakwood Leisure Centre, Rotherham * incl. Deadline Wednesday March 10th…..The Limelight , Belfast, N.Ireland Thursday March 11th…….Renfew Ferry, Glasgow, Scotland *incl. Deadline Saturday March 13th…….The Underworld, London Sunday March 14th……..JB's, Dudley Tickets for all venues will be on sale Monday December 15 through usual ticketing outlets. We have also agreed to place tickets with a number of online CD retailers throughout England, a full list of whom will be available shortly. Further announcements regarding extra ticketing outlets, telephone contact numbers and e-mail addresses for venues etc. very soon. If you have questions or comments regarding this tour, or indeed an individual show, please feel free to e mail them to k_dargan@hotmail.com with the words Tour 2004 in the heading. DANNY VAUGHN SPEAKS!: And speak of the devil, here's a nice end of year update from Danny Vaughn himself: "As a number of you have pointed out in your e-mails, it has been quite a while since there has been any news from my end of things. Well, it's time to break the silence. We have just confirmed that I will be touring live again in the first week of March. My merry men and I will be co-headlining with none other than Firehouse! Those guys are long overdue for a return to Europe and the UK, and this will be the first time that I have played with a full band in a long time. There will be gigs in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Spain. I will send out all official places, dates, and times within the next week. We will also have Pride and Deadline opening for us on some of the shows. It's going to be a blast so make plans to be there! Some more interesting features about the tour, this will be the first time I have ever played with a double guitar attack, (it worked so well at the Gods this year, I thought, "why not"?). Some will be saddened to know that, because of a lot of financial considerations (it costs a bundle to tour), and scheduling problems, I won't be touring with my usual band. However, I am very excited because I will be touring for the first time ever with a completely British band! Who are these mad, young talents? You'll have to guess for a while until my next announcement! Ooohhhh, I can be so cruel! Another added feature of the tour is that our official, on tour DJ at all the shows will be none other than Total Rock's Sleazy H!! (of course, many of you won't be completely surprised by that!) This is your chance to meet the voice so many of you have been drooling over (don't you hate it that they took away that web cam?) on those late, classic rock and metal nights. Bring your cameras and come say hello! The house will be rocking! I'm sending out my prayers and wishes for all of you to have a safe and happy Christmas! All the best, Danny Vaughn." ROBERT LAMM TO STAR IN ONE-OFF NZ SHOW FOR DVD RELEASE: Elements Music, in conjunction with Robert Lamm, announces a special solo concert to Lamm fans world wide. To coincide with the release of Robert's album subtlety&passion in New Zealand, Robert is to perform a solo concert in Auckland, New Zealand February 4, 2003. This show is to be recorded. Robert will be joined by his friends, Jason Scheff (Bass + Vocals), Hank Linderman (Producer, Guitar + Vocals), Tris Imboden (Drums), Lee Loughnane (Trumpet + Flugelhorn), Nick Lane (Trombone + Arranger) and Additional New Zealand based players. "We are thrilled that Robert Lamm has agreed to this event" said Elements Music spokesman Tony Andrew. This follows up Robert's appearance in New Zealand in 2002 where he performed a mix of his solo works and songs he wrote and performs with Chicago. "The sound and reaction from the 5000 crowd from his set is something we wished we had captured as a permanent record of Robert's rare solo performance. This was our motivation in deciding to record this special private show." This performance will be a private event limited to industry and media to showcase Robert's new album. However, a limited number of seats have been made available to fans who are able to attend this event. If you are interested in attending, please contact webmaster@robertlamm.org, so we can put together a list for the promoter. The show will take place on February 4th between the two Chicago concerts to take place in New Zealand on January 31 and February 6, 2004. This presents an ideal opportunity for fans of Chicago and Robert Lamm to see him three times in one week and be a part of the musical legacy that is Robert Lamm. NYE IN VEGAS: As mentioned late last week - there will be a New Years Eve show in Las Vegas featuring Steven Adler & Marky Ramone on the same stage doing all GNR and Ramones songs. In addition to the line-up below, I've been told off the record several other guests are set to make an appearance, but they can't be mentioned officially. The details are: New Years Eve Las Vegas @ club LIVE Las Vegas Addlers Appetite - featuring Steven Adler (GNR), Robbie Crane (Ratt), Brent Muscat (Faster Pussycat), Keri Kelli (Ratt, Warrant) Jizzy Pearl (Ratt), George Lynch (Dokken, Lynch Mob), Marky Ramone, Motochrist. Guest DJ Tamie Downe (Faster Pussycat) Plus special guest musicians from some of the biggest bands in Rock on stage throughout the night. Tickets available at ticketweb.com Questions to editornightlife@earthlink.net MORE REVOLUTIONARY SOUNDBYTES FROM CHRISTIAN PROJECT: Christian rock superstar project Liberty & Justice have put out yet another press release. This one is again updating us on the release date for the album Welcome To The Revolution and teaser soundbytes previewing the album. On December 16, www.3ChordRecords.net will update preview clips with final mix previews from Lou Gramm of Foreigner, Doug Phelps of The Kentucky Headhunters, John Schlitt of Petra, Mitch McVicker, Jeff Fenholt of TBN/Black Sabbath, and the duet with Harry Hess of Harem Scarem and Mike Roe of The 77's. The CD will be released publicly for the first time at the concert March 20,2004. With the release to the Christian and secular markets, worldwide to follow. Tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com/artist/897629 or at all Ticketmaster locations for the Saturday March 20,2004 record release party in East Peoria, IL. MAJESTIC ROCK APOLOGISE FOR LATE DELIVERIES: A note from Majestic Rock Records: As you will probably know by now, Majestic Rock's parent company went into receivership in early November, resulting in the team running the label having no stock, no access to their e-mail account and with internet orders to be fulfilled. This situation has now been resolved, and the company has been purchased by the people who care about the label. All outstanding orders have now been dispatched, and we can only apologise for the delay in getting your CD's to you. We are not 'scam merchant's as some have suggested, just unfortunates who had the rug pulled from under them when they least expected it! We are now firmly in control, and can promise you some excellent releases early in 2004. May we also take this opportunity to thank Andrew & Melodicrock.com for his continued support during this mess - good on ya, cobber! [That was nice, wasn't it?!] JON OLIVA STARS HIS OWN SOLO TRAIL: Jon Oliva, founder member and mastermind of Savatage |