Author Archives : Dana

KIX ENTER THE STUDIO TO BEGIN WORK ON A NEW ALBUM

Kix are currently in the studio with producer/songwriter Taylor Rhodes working on pre-production for the band’s new studio album, their first since 1995’s Show Business.

Last year Kix released the live package Live In Baltimore through Frontiers Records, with frontman Steve Whiteman stating, “This is a great thing for us and we hope it’s a great thing for Kix fans all around the world. We are so thrilled to finally be able to give the fans what they have been asking for, a live DVD and new Kix music in 2013! We have been hard at work getting new material together that we think will stand shoulder to shoulder with any previous Kix record. It’s a really exciting time!”

Since Kix’ return to the national stage in 2008 with appearances at two of the biggest rock festivals in the US, Rocklahoma in Pryor, Oklahoma and Rock The Bayou in Houston, Texas, the band has amassed a large number of successful live shows all across the USA, with regular appearances at festivals, casinos and biker rallys, culminating with headlining the hugely successful M3 Festival in Columbia, Maryland two years in a row.

Last year Whiteman told Sleaze Roxx, “As for the new studio record, we agreed to that for the sake of getting this DVD out — we felt that strongly about it. Funny Money was getting ready to record a new CD so I had a bunch of material lying around. Mark Schenker, our bass player, has a lot of material lying around and Brian Forsythe has some material for use for a new record. Our plan is to combine this music and put 25-30 songs together, throw them in the pot, work on them little by little, and see if we can turn them into Kix songs. If we can get 10-12 strong Kix songs together for an album the fans are going to love — then we’ll put it out. We look forward to promoting the new music — Kix is back and we’re going to be around for a while.”

Producer Taylor Rhodes has previously worked with Kix on the ‘Show Business’, ‘Hot Wire’ and ‘Blow My Fuse’ albums. He is best known for writing songs with Aerosmith, Ratt, Ozzy Osbourne, Loverboy, Cheap Trick, Tora Tora and others.

Kix currently consists of original members Whiteman, guitarists Ronnie Younkins and Brian Forsythe, drummer Jimmy Chalfant and newest member Mark Schenker on bass.

The only original member missing from the current line-up of Kix is Donnie Purnell. Whiteman explained to Sleaze Roxx why the bassist is missing, “When Kix disbanded in ’96 I started a band called Funny Money. In Funny Money I was given a vehicle where I could write my own material which was hard to do in Kix because Donnie controlled everything in that band. Getting anything onto a Kix record was hard to do because of that reason. I was finally able to write an entire album’s worth of material for my band Funny Money. There was a song that Donnie and I had written that I wanted to release, I called him up so he wouldn’t be blindsided by it and he tore into me. He called me every name in the book — he accused me of using his name and his talent and that I was taking the song from him. It was the most unpleasant and nasty conversation that I’ve ever had in my life. It was right then and there that I decided that I never wanted to go through that ever again. When it came time for us to reform and we performed some local shows it was our decision not to have him involved because we wanted to enjoy it and not have any pressure. Donnie would always add so much pressure to everything and it was just so unnecessary, so we decided to try it without him. To be honest I’ve never had a fan walk up to me and ask me, “Where’s Donnie? How come he’s not involved?” We were going out to play the old music — we could do that without him just fine.”

source: sleazeroxx.com

THE WINERY DOGS POST A VIDEO FOR THEIR SONG “I’M NO ANGEL” ONLINE, WATCH IT HERE

The Winery Dogs, a new project featuring drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas) and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison) have posted a video online for their third song I’m No Angel from their forthcoming self titled album. The video can be viewed below.

The Winery Dogs have also released videos for their songs Elevate and Desire.

The band’s debut album is set for release on July 23rd through Loud & Proud Records.

Of The Winery Dogs’ signing, Mike Portnoy commented, “I am so excited about The Winery Dogs and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet! Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think The Winery Dogs will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves. And what can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn’t been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend. I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with Dream Theater. I look forward to continuing that relationship with The Winery Dogs!”

ROCK CANDY RECORDS REISSUES 21 GUNS “SALUTE”

21 Guns’ 1992 album Salute has been reissued by Rock Candy Records. The album, featuring 24-bit remastering, a 4000 word essay about the making of the album, new interviews with the band, enhanced artwork and photos spread out over a 16 page full color booklet, is available for purchase at ww.rockcandyrecords.co.uk.

There’s no getting away from the fact that Thin Lizzy were one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Lead guitarist Scott Gorham was, of course, an essential part of that outfit, carving out a reputation on a string of spectacular albums with his spellbinding guitar playing. After the demise of Thin Lizzy, Scott cooled his engines and spent some time planning for the future, which eventually led to the formation of 21 Guns, a band fit for purpose, boasting both precision and power.

Joining Scott in this new recording venture was an all American line-up, consisting of co-writer, bassist and keyboard player Leif Johansen (Phenomena), drummer Mike Sturgis (Asia) and vocalist Thomas La Verdi, who had previously fronted cult AOR unit A440. Partnering with renowned producer and mixing engineer Chris Lord Alge (Meatloaf, Creed), 21 Guns recorded their album in Los Angeles and found the finished product receiving plaudits from virtually everyone who heard it.

Originally released in 1992, all would have been well and good if only the grunge revolution wasn’t in full swing. With their melodic and polished sheen 21 Guns were ostracized by some quarters the media for sounding dated and being part of a musical heritage that was now rapidly becoming passe. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight we can clearly see that ‘Salute’ was one of the finest rock albums of any era, allowing Scott Gorham to unleash stupendous guitar work and spectacularly crafted songs.

Watch the band’s video for Knee Deep below.

additional source: sleazeroxx.com

ALICE COOPER DISCUSSES HIS COVERS ALBUM AND TOURING WITH MARILYN MANSON

Steve Baltin of Rolling Stone spoke with rock icon Alice Cooper. Portions of the interview appear below.

RS: How is the covers record we spoke about in March going?

AC: We’re about halfway through the record. The tour is sort of in the way, but that’s okay, because we don’t need to put the record out until next year. I always tour June through December anyway, so we knew that was coming anyway, and this is one of those records we’re doing just for the fun of it, so if it comes out next year, no big deal. But the tour is interesting. I toured with Zombie the year before and with Iron Maiden and now with Manson. It’s sort of like Dracula meets the Werewolf meets Frankenstein.

RS: Have you had a chance to hang out more with Manson since we spoke?

AC: I saw him at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and then I had him on my radio show, so yeah we’re feeling each other out. We have a lot in common, stuff that other people wouldn’t have in common in the fact that we both play characters. We both created a couple of monster characters and then what we kind of talked about on my radio show is how do you deal with that character against your real life? And sometimes that character being the fact that it’s so overpowering, does it ever take over? For me, I’ve had a lot more time to work with Alice, so I know when to be Alice and when not to be Alice. I just told him it’s very hard to maintain a character 24 hours a day and there may come a time when you have to divorce yourself from the character just so you’ll like the character.

RS:Did you give him advice on it then?

AC: He’s very smart, he’s got very good insight. We were talking about why we created the characters, what was the idea behind it. My idea was that rock needed a consummate villain and I would be more than happy to create that villain. I thought I had to be that character all the time and it nearly killed me. I’m trying to drink with Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix and those guys, and they’re professionals, and I’m like 18 years old, it nearly killed me. That’s when I realized I have to allow myself to be me and then I really appreciate playing the character of Alice. I don’t know how long you can maintain one character 24 hours a day without having some kind of a break.

RS: My guess is you probably would start to lose your identity.

AC: Yeah, but again, that’s just something you have to learn. I didn’t know my limitations until I got to the point where I got to a near-death experience and then I started going, “Wait, now I know where Alice ends and I begin.” It’s one of the only things I can give him advice on, cause we and Rob Zombie are three of the people that created characters we had to deal with, our bigger-than-life mythological character. And me being that character for 40 years gave me a little more insight into it. I might handle it differently than they do, but I can at least show them where the thin ice is.

RS: You know you’ve influenced these artists as well, so it’s interesting; you’re hearing your stuff interpreted through their eyes.

AC: I think the difference is that my background is Yardbirds, the Who, Rolling Stones, West Side Story and Creature From The Black Lagoon, that’s my background. I come from that blues-rock and then I put my own twist on it and my own Twilight Zone twist on it, whereas these guys, Zombie and Marilyn, both come from a more industrial kind of music, much more from a techno background. When you saw Alice and Zombie, that was a very classic kind of show. Alice was pure hard rock, classic rock, lots of hits and then lots of Vaudevillian show biz, whereas Zombie was just all techno and in your face kind of theatrics. That was great. It was all video and this and that, and I sat there and watched his show and went, “This is great.” I love the way he used technology, whereas my show is much more handmade. So you get two entirely different kinds of monsters in that show. I have a feeling it’s going to be more like that with Manson also. I think Manson is also going to have more of a techno version, he is more of a techno monster than Alice, whereas Alice is more cerebral I think. These guys were influenced by Alice’s attitude and Alice’s persona whereas they weren’t as influenced by my music. Trent Reznor’s music probably influenced them more and I totally get that idea. When you see a Marilyn and a Zombie and an Alice – when you get in front of the audience, it’s in your face, it’s not shy: It’s attack the audience. Don’t just go out there and be this character, but attack the audience with that character, and that’s what I see in those guys. What I contributed to them is probably the attitude of take no-prisoners-showmanship.

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

JOE SATRIANI ANNOUNCES COMPLETE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

Joe Satriani has been an unstoppable force on the music scene for over 27 years. Now, the guitar great announces his full U.S. tour and first ever cross-Canada tour, supporting his latest album Unstoppable Momentum. The tour is set to begin on August 29th in San Diego, CA before crisscrossing its way across the US, in addition to a trans-Canadian tour where Satriani will be hitting many Canadian cities for the very first time. The North American tour will end with a show on October 26th in Oakland, CA. Joining Satriani on the road are veteran band mate Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) on keyboards, along with an entirely new rhythm-section, featuring bassist Bryan Beller (Dethklok, Dweezil Zappa) and drummer Marco Minnemann (Adrian Belew, Steve Wilson).

Satriani is celebrating Unstoppable Momentum, his 14th studio album, which was released on May 7th, 2013. The album debuted at #42 giving Satriani his highest chart position in over 20 years. The World Tour launched on May 18th in Istanbul, Turkey and continues on through July 13th in Krasnodar, Russia.

For two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star G3 guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, Chickenfoot, featuring former Van Halen front man Sammy Hagar, former bassist Michael Anthony, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at#9.

Joe Satriani’s Unstoppable Momentum Tour Itinerary (* featuring Steve Morse Band as support thru Portland, ME):

August:

29 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA *
30 Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, NV *
31 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA *

Photo credit: Daniel Robert Dinu/ConcertPhotography.ro

September:

1 Talking Stick Resort Ballroom Scottsdale, AZ *
2 Kiva Auditorium Albuquerque, NM *
4 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO *
5 Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center Midland, TX *
6 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie Grand Prairie, TX *
7 House of Blues Houston, TX *
8 Austin City Limits – Moody Theatre Austin, TX *
10 House of Blues New Orleans, LA *
11 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL *
12 Parker Playhouse Ft. Lauderdale, FL *
13 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
14 Saenger Theatre Pensacola, FL *
15 Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA *
17 War Memorial Auditorium Nashville, TN *
18 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
19 Lakewood Civic Auditorium Lakewood, OH *
20 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH *
21 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI *
22 Macomb Music Theatre Mt. Clemens, MI
24 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC *
25 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
26 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
27 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA*
28 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA *
29 Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead Munhall, PA *

October:

1 Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY *
2 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
3 State Theatre Portland, ME *
4 Casino New Brunswick New Brunswick, NB
5 Rebecca Cohn Auditorium Halifax, NS
7 Le Capitole De Quebec Quebec City, QC
8 National Arts Centre Southam Hall Ottawa, ON
9 St. Denis Theatre Montreal, QC
10 Centre in the Square Kitchener, ON
11 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
14 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB
15 TCU Place Saskatoon, SK
16 Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Edmonton, AB
17 Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Calgary, AB
19 Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
21 The Fox Theater Spokane, WA
22 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
23 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
25 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
26 Fox Theater Oakland, CA

Please go to satriani.com for individual markets on-sale and ticket information.

EDDIE TRUNK SPEAKS WITH ROCK CONFIDENTIAL, READ PORTIONS OF THE INTERVIEW HERE

Jesse Capps of Rock Confidential spoke with Eddie about That Metal Show. Portions of the interview appear below.

RC: There are some new segments on this season of That Metal Show. A couple I know about are Metal Modem and Take It Or Leave It. What can you tell me about the new additions this season?

ET: Metal Modem is in six or seven of the eight new shows. It’s a segment we do at the very top of the show where we welcome in a guest by dropping a screen on the set and we talk to them over the internet via Skype. That came about because one of the biggest problems we have when booking the show is we do eight episodes in four days, two shows a day. In a week we’ve shot an entire season. If a band is on tour in that week we’re shooting we’re obviously not going to have them on. We decided to at least talk to them for a couple of minutes over the internet via Skype. Not only do we get to talk to guys in the studio or on the road, we’re also going to use that as a platform to introduce some newer bands and different genres of metal. That Metal Show is always going to be a classic-based show. We all like new music and we all like different stuff so we’ll have a platform for some of the “under the radar” bands or some of the bands that aren’t mainstream. You’ll see a mix of different people in that segment. Take It Or Leave It is more of a defined discussion piece at the top of the show. It’s a way to force us to make a decision of yes or no on a hot topic that’s floating around in the rock world. We have six packages for these eight shows called Origins. It’s us and different artists talking about how they first got into heavy metal. We have something called the TMS Book Club where we read from a rock book. Those are just a few of the new things coming up.

RC: The Guest Musician spot is always a highlight for me. I’m really anxious to see what Jake E. Lee has going on. He’s been under the radar for so long. It’s cool he came out of the shadows to be on ‘That Metal Show’ this season.

ET: Yeah, I personally worked really, really hard on that. We’ve had a segment for a long time called Whatever Happened To… and he was consistently the top one or two Whatever Happened To… names for a long time. I started a process trying to find him. A few years ago I knew I was getting close. He was living in Vegas. I reached him through a mutual friend, a guy named Rob Mancuso. He has a studio and restaurant in Vegas and told me he was working with Jake. I took a couple of trips out to Vegas and finally met him. He’s very press shy and hasn’t done anything in about 20 years. Rob told me he was going to pull Jake into the studio and start making music and I had been working this for about a year to get Jake to come on. You’ll see Jake E. Lee in three of the eight shows. Not only is he sitting down as a guest but we also have him playing in two episodes. It’s really exciting for us to be the first people to reintroduce him to the world.

RC:I see on your social media sites, Twitter especially, that you’re bombarded with questions like “Why don’t you ask so and so to be on the show?” or “Why haven’t you had so and so on?” – and it’s just not that easy. Who are some people you’ve asked over and over to be on the show that just haven’t been on for one reason or another?

ET: I’m very active on my website and Twitter for sure. I like engaging with people on Twitter. It’s very convenient and quick and simple for me. That’s why I’ve embraced it. I guess it doesn’t surprise me because everyone doesn’t need to know how the music industry works, but at the same token I’ll get tweets like “Have you ever thought about having Eddie Van Halen on the show?” That flips my mind! Do you really think we do a show like this and have not tried to get Eddie Van Halen? That’s head-scratching when that happens. It’s either requests like that or super obscure bands that the network is not going to sign off on. I have to say “We do the best we can. I hope you like our show. Here’s the guests.” To answer your question, big names like Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth have been asked every single season. Guys like that are weird about press. All you’ve gotta know is Van Halen turned down Rolling Stone and David Letterman when their last record came out. I didn’t really expect ‘em to come running to That Metal Show on VH1 Classic! Nikki Sixx is another. We’ve had Tommy Lee on, we did a special with Vince Neil. We’ve asked Mick Mars. We would have Nikki in a second. I have asked Nikki every season. I’ve been on his radio show talking to him about it. I’ve talked to Nikki privately about it. When he’s ready to do it he’ll do it. People have to want to do the show. You can’t just go get James Hetfield if James Hetfield doesn’t want to do the show. When it comes to Metallica we’ve had Lars on twice and Kirk Hammett on once. I’ve talked to James and he’s a huge fan of the show but he is not a very “press warm” guy. He’s not a jerk about it. There are just some guys that aren’t into it. To think we don’t ask these guys is incredible. We’re fighting to get them on just as much as the fans want them on. The other scenario is people will ask for guests that have been on already. With over 100 episodes maybe they just missed the show. With the big artists it comes down to two things: Are the available when we shoot and do they want to come on? If the answer to both of those questions is ‘yes,’ you can rest assured they’ve been asked every single time. If there’s a big artist you haven’t seen on the show, tell them. Hit them up on social media. If the artists know their fans want to see them on the show they may step up on their own.

Read more at Rock Confidential.