This August will mark the 25th anniversary of Winger’s self titled debut album and to commemorate this milestone the band will perform and record the first Winger album live in its entirety.
This full reunion concert will take place on August 30th at The San Felipe Casino in Algodones, NM with Special Guests Warrant & Head East.
In addition to the current line up of Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Rod Morgenstein & John Roth, the band will also be joined by original keyboardist Paul Taylor for this show.
A limited amount of VIP Meet & Greet passes and full line of all new commemorative merchandise are available at wingertheband.com.
Winger is currently hard at work in the studio recording a new album. Please visit the Official Winger facebook page for updates.
King’s X frontman dUg Pinnick has undergone successful surgery for a hernia – after fans paid for the operation. He’s needed medical attention for years but couldn’t afford it due to a lack of medical insurance. But supporters rallied round and raised $26,000 from 599 contributors via a GiveForward crowdfunding drive.
Pinnick says, “Hernia surgery was a success; I’m waiting to be released.”
He previously explained, “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of love people have shown by contributing. I have avoided this for way too long and I know I have to fix this immediately. I wish I could say that all the wonderful years of playing in King’s X were financially rewarded, but it’s not the reality. I’m not complaining – I’m thankful that I get to make music for people who want to hear it. We will never stop working hard, and we’ll continue to make music in good times and bad.”
Pinnick had no option but to keep working through the pain, and along with King’s X, he recently released his sixth solo album, Naked, launched power-trio project Pinnick Gales Pridgen with Eric Gales and Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen; and guested on Dokken offshoot T&N‘s first record.
“It’s a tough business,” he reflects, “but it’s what we were born to do. Our fans have stood by is through it all. I can’t thank you enough for helping me when I needed it the most. Thanks to the people who have never heard of me or King’s X and donated out of love. I hope I can repay you all someday with a huge hug, and continue to make the music that makes you think and groove.”
Ruben Mosqueda of the Oregon Music News spoke with Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield. Portions of the interview appear below.
OMN: What’s your take on the current rift in the fan base? It seems like the majority of the fans have chosen sides.
SR: It has caused confusion having two bands out there using the same name. We feel very confident that we have done the best thing for the band and also what the fans have been wanting from the band. We feel so good about what we’ve done and the response that we’ve had with the record. It was just released the day before yesterday and the response has been overwhelming. The fans are really enjoying what we’re doing—whether they want to choose sides that’s not really important. We just continue to get more support and people really seem to enjoy what we’re doing. We feel good about that.
OMN: I don’t foresee this taking place but if you lost the right to use the Queensryche name would you revisit Rising West at that point?
SR: [long pause] We don’t focus on that possibility—we’re living in the now. If that were to happen I don’t have a confirmation of what we would do in terms of what we’d call ourselves. I can tell you no matter what happens we’ll still continue to make music because the five of us have something—we feel so great about it and we’re having such a great time. That can’t stop us and nobody can take that away from us. That’s a confirmed thing that we own now—which is our chemistry together. We know it so well. I do believe that the right choice will be made in November which will be the best decision for Queensryche. Hopefully that’s the case, right?
OMN: Scott, I’m going to run down the Queensryche back catalog of studio albums and I’d like you to give me one word that describes each album.
SR: Okay let’s do it!
OMN: The Warning
SR: I’d probably have to say “energetic.”
OMN: Rage for Order
SR: Vampires!
OMN: Operation:Mindcrime
SR: Epic.
OMN: Empire
SR: Success.
OMN: Promised Land
SR: The best.
OMN: Hear in the Now Frontier
SR: Transition.
OMN: Q2K
SR: Transition.
OMN: Tribe
SR: Unique.
OMN: Operation:Mindcrime II
SR: Pass!
Take Cover
SR: Fun!
OMN: American Soldier
SR: Interesting.
OMN: Dedicated to Chaos
SR: [long pause] I’ll give you four words for this one: “Time to move on.”
A.L.I.V.E.!, the new band put together strictly out of a passion for 70’s era KISS was formed by good timing and happenstance! Rex Brown (bass; Pantera, Kill Devil Hill), Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (guitar; Guns ‘N Roses), Brian Thomas Tichy (drums; Whitesnake, Queensryche, Ozzy Osbourne, S.U.N.) and Mark Zavon (guitar; Kill Devil Hill), all ended up working together on rock journalist Mitch Lafon’s KISS 40th Anniversary Tribute album for cancer care: “A World With Heroes.”
This serendipitous occurrence came to be when Rex and Tichy laid down bass and drums on Bumblefoot’s version of “Detroit Rock City” in which not only does Thal play all guitars, he sings all vocals. Tichy also tracked drums, backgrounds, rhythm and leads (along with Zavon) to Rex and Zavon’s version of “Larger Than Life.” Rex makes his debut lead vocal on this track.
When the emails started circling, it became apparent that they all shared the same love for KISS in the 70’s. At the same time, they all were all somewhat shocked by how much Thal sounded like Paul Stanley and Rex like Gene Simmons on their tracks. Therein lay the set up leading to the formation of A.L.I.V.E.!
According to Brown, “We each got asked to play on this tribute album to benefit cancer research. Obviously, it was for a great cause and we wanted to be a part of it, but I think it also came from a place of real passion too. Each of us were hugely influenced by KISS early in our lives, so the chance to play on those tracks was a real honor. After we’d heard what we’d recorded, we thought it would be a lot of fun to do it live. As it turned out, Mark and I had just finished recording the upcoming Kill Devil Hill album, and had a small window of time this summer before we head out on the road again. The timing perfectly coincided with breaks in Ron and Brian’s schedules as well, so we decided to put this thing together!”
A.L.I.V.E.! is a as much of of a “thank you” to KISS as it is a tribute. Brown, Thal, Tichy and Zavon won’t be in costume and greasepaint, making this even more of a true tribute to the music that changed them when they first heard it.”
Rex continues, “I remember I was in 7th grade & this chick had a copy of ALIVE! I swiped it & it changed the future of rock and roll as I know it!! They were like “gods” to this scrawny kid from Texas learning to play guitar!! They are one of the reasons I jam to this day!! I got to open up for them numerous times in stadiums & it’s the attitude and the songs, not the schtick, that I go back to every time!!”
Tichy adds, “I thought KISS ALIVE! was the loudest record ever when I first heard it! KISS was the first band I got into. Peter Criss was my first drum idol and he is where I started as a drummer! When the idea of all of us going for this together was brought up, we all reacted with unbridled excitement to how much fun and how powerful this could be! I can’t wait to play with these badass musicians I am proud to call friends!”
When asked about KISS’s influence on him, Thal said, “Hearing the KISS “Alive!” album at the age of 5 is what made me want to play guitar and join a band. I’m looking forward to playing the songs that launched my life!”
Zavon said, “When I was 14 I borrowed ‘Destroyer’ from the public library and have never been the same since.”
A.L.I.V.E.! will perform material off of KISS’s hugely influential “Alive!” and “Alive II” records as well as some of their personal favorites!
Rex Brown is celebrating his birthday on July 27th and the band have decided that would be a perfect time to launch A.L.I.V.E! The Rex Brown Birthday Bash featuring A.L.I.V.E.! will take place on the following dates:
Wednesday, July 24th – The Whiskey – Hollywood, CA
Thursday, July 25th – LVCS – Las Vegas, NV
Please visit http://tinyurl.com/kyylxqb to listen to snippets of the songs that brought this all together!
The self-titled album of legendary Seattle rockers Queensrÿche has topped the charts. The new record Queensrÿche, released via Century Media, debuted on Billboard’s Top 200 chart landing at #23 and selling 13,659 copies its first week. The album also impacted the Amazon charts where it hit #2 on the Hard Rock and Metal chart and also hit #6 on the iTunes Top Rock Albums chart. The first single Fallout is currently impacting radio and the video for the song will be released next week.
“We can’t thank the fans enough for their support in helping us get to this point. It is because of you that we have had this incredible debut and we are overwhelmed with the response the album has received. Todd, Parker, Scott, Eddie and I are grateful for everyone who has stood by us over the past year,” states guitarist Michael Wilton.
Queensrÿche has gotten critical acclaim including Billboard magazine’s review stating, “From the moment Rockenfield’s drums and Wilton and Parker Lundgren’s guitars go on the attack in Where Dreams Go to Die, the traditional Queensrÿche sound is back. The hooks are arresting, and the rhythm section packs unmitigated fire power.”
Queensrÿche first burst onto the music scene in 1982 with the release of their self-titled 4 song EP Queensrÿche. They very quickly gained international recognition and performed to sold out audiences around the world. With the follow up first full-length album The Warning in 1984, and the ground breaking 1986 release of Rage For Order, Queensrÿche continued to prove their worldwide dominance as one of the most respected and creative bands of the 80’s. In 1988 the band turned out yet another monumental album Operation: Mindcrime, which would go on to become one of the TOP 10 best selling concepts records of all time, and set the stage for continued sold out performances around the world. With the release of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Empire in 1991, the band earned multiple Grammy Award nominations and won the MTV “viewer’s choice” award for the #1 chart topping hit Silent Lucidity. During the next ten years, the band continued to release albums and tour the world to sold-out audiences. Queensrÿche has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and have continued to break new ground and push their creative process.
The Monsters of Rock Cruise Team has announced the following about the Monsters of Rock Cruise, Escape To Monster Island set to sail on March 29th-April 2nd 2014.
“First of all, we have announced quite a few artists with more to come. We hope you are as excited about the lineup as we are! The cruise is March 29th-April 2nd, 2014, visiting Nassau and Monster Island. Regarding Nassau, we are working on additional details regarding our Nassau stop. We have good reason to go there so be patient as the cruise unfolds over the weeks to come. As far as Monster Island is concerned, we are planning something very cool and can not divulge details until we are closer to sailing. We can tell you this…this will be a day to remember at a very special destination. We think it is the coolest place we have visited thus far, so be patient Monster Cruisers, we’ve got your back!
Our ship is the new MSC Divina and she is spectacular! It will provide us with more entertainment options and other special features we are preparing especially for you. We just returned from Europe and were blown away by the awesome beauty, bars and stage layouts on this incredible vessel. Once again, your Monsters of Rock Cruise Team will not miss a thing…bigger, better and badder than ever!
As far as pricing, double occupancy rates will be similar to last year, starting about $900 per person. This price includes meals, entertainment, activities and much more, however, does not include gratuities, taxes and fees, which should be around $200 per person. Optional dining restaurants, drinks, spa services, gift shop and other discretionary purchases are additional. Finally, we will offer special discounted drink packages, which will offered as we approach the sailing date.
Once again we thank all of you for your interest in the 2014 Monsters of Rock Cruise. We will make history together, taking the greatest floating metal experience to new heights. Wish we could tell you more but we would have to…you know the rest!!
Also, once again, our very own Eddie Trunk will be hosting the festivities.
, Ron )
