THE WINERY DOGS RELEASE NEW SONG AND VIDEO, “MAD WORLD,” FROM NEW ALBUM “III” DUE FEBRUARY 3RD
2023 will not be the year to let sleeping dogs lie. Not when it comes to The Winery Dogs, who are kicking off the new year with more new music from their forthcoming and aptly named third album III.
Set for release February 3rd on the band’s Three Dog Music label (via Burnside Distribution/The Orchard), III follows in the paw steps of their first two albums, once again being self-produced by the band—Richie Kotzen, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan—and mixed by longtime band associate Jay Ruston.
The album’s second song release, Mad World, can be seen and heard now, below. It can also be viewed on the band’s official youtube page.
About Mad World, Eddie Trunk declares, “On first listen, Mad World was one of my favorite tracks on the coming new Winery Dogs album. Just a great classic sounding rock track with top notch musicianship, but above all a great song. I had tremendous response to my world premiere of the lead track, Xanadu, and I expect fans of the band will not be disappointed with Mad World and the killer entire new album III when they get to hear it soon.”
“’Get on the bus, go do the exercise’ is the opening line of the song and it really sets the tone,” explains singer/guitarist Richie Kotzen. “The song is dealing with a certain attitude or way of thinking forced on individuals regardless of your own life experience or unique individuality. I remember a time where opposing opinions and viewpoints were more accepted. A good old healthy debate was a great thing back then. This song is really shining a light on how there may be certain consequences to pay if you don’t think a certain way. It’s also reflected in the lyric, ‘You’d better bite your tongue so you sound the same.’ It also offers a glimmer of hope in its chorus with the line ‘Turn from a scar into a pearl.’ So it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s always a chance to turn things around.”
The first song to be released from III, Xanadu, made its world premiere on December 8th, 2022 during Eddie Trunk’s Trunk Nation show on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. It’s now available on digital formats here. Fans wanting to pre-order the album and enter to win a custom Fender Richie Kotzen Telecaster guitar can go here. The Vicente Cordero-directed video can be seen here. A vinyl edition of III will also be forthcoming in just a few months.
In addition to the new music, fans will also be excited to hear that the trio is hitting the worldwide concert trail starting February 15th in Greensburg, PA at the Palace Theatre for their 202III World Tour. Ticket and VIP package info can be found on the band’s official website.
Check out The Winery Dogs at any of the following tour stops, with more to be announced in the coming weeks and posted on the band’s website and social media pages:
February:
15 Greensburg, PA Palace Theatre
16 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn’s Peak
17 Glenside, PA The Keswick Theatre
18 Patchogue, NY Patchogue Theatre
21 New York, NY Sony Hall
22 Annapolis, MD Rams Head Live!
23 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
25 Ridgefield, CT The Ridgefield Playhouse
26 Derry, NH Tupelo Music Hall
March:
1 Columbus, OH King of Clubs
2 Cleveland, OH Agora Theatre
5 Green Bay, WI Epic Event Center
6 Minneapolis, MN Fine Line Music Café
9 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theater
10 St. Charles, IL The Arcada Theatre
11 Westland, MI The Token Lounge
13 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Hall
14 Harrison, OH Blue Note
17 Dallas, TX Amplified Live
18 Cedar Park, TX The Haute Spot
19 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Ballroom
21 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
22 Birmingham, AL Iron City
24 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Live
25 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
26 Orlando, FL The Plaza Live
30 Virginia Beach, VA Elevation 27
31 Hopewell, VA Hopewell Theatre
April:
1 Leesburg, VA Tally Ho Theatre
2 Charlotte, NC The Underground
4 Ashville, NC Orange Peel
5 Knoxville, TN The Mill & Mine
6 Nashville, TN Brooklyn Bowl
Brazil:
April:
3 São Paulo, Brazil Summer Breeze Festival
27 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Vivo Rio (with Stone Temple Pilots)
28 Curitiba, Brazil Tork n Roll (with Skid Row)
June:
2 Hamburg, Germany Markthalle
13 Zoetermeer, Netherlands Boerderij
15 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Festival
16 Wolverhampton, England KK’s Steelmill
17 Nottingham, England Rock City
18 London, England Shepherds Bush Empire
20 Cologne, Germany Kantine
21 Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp
22 Milan, Italy Alcatrazz
25 Cartagena, Spain Rock Imperium Festival
27 La Rochelle, France Crossroads
Follow the Dogs online at: TheWineryDogs.com, facebook, twitter, instagram and and youtube.
III is the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed and Billboard-charting album, Hot Streak, which was released October 2nd, 2015 on Loud & Proud Records via RED (a division of Sony Music Entertainment). After landing in the Top Five on many of Amazon’s pre-order charts, including #1 on the Amazon BestSellers/Hard Rock chart and #1 on the Amazon Pre-Orders/Hard Rock Albums charts, it sold 30% more than their 2013 self-titled debut, landing them on various Billboard album charts including #2 on “Top Current Alternative Albums,” #5 on “Top Current Hard Music” and “Top Hard Music Albums,” #6 on “Top Current Rock Albums” and “Album Core / Genre Rock,” #15 “Top Current Physical Albums,” #16 “Top Current Albums,” and #30 on the “Top 200 Albums” chart.
Very disappointed, great musical talent amazing voice , but that does not always mean great songwriting …. the 2 songs I’ve heard I don’t like at all …..but music is art and I’m sure other fans will enjoy the music and the songs , but when you have this kind of talent together I expect more –
Gotta agree with Robert. All three are incredible creative musicians, however, the Dogs collection as a whole falls short with me. I wanna try and like it but can’t get there. Something is just missing. Mike, Richie, and Billy much respect, have been listening to all your past bands and solo ventures for years, hope some new, more catchy material is on the way.
JJ,
Captain Love is my favorite, maybe give that one a listen?
D
Dana, checked it out, the song gives off an AC/DCish vibe, pretty cool tune. I’ll be watching the Dogs to see what’s next from them going forward musically. My vote is for Richie to revisit “Strut It” from early in his career, would like to hear him play that instrumental song live with Mike & Billy.
Glad you liked it, I think that is why I do, as well. AC/DC vibes = good song-LOL!!
Dana, I actually liked that tune as well , and I like their remake of fooled around and fell in love – other than those 2 not much else from the Dogs ~
I also like Elevate.
As I have written before, the issue with The Winery Dogs, if one views it as an issue, it is sounds like most of Kotzen’s solo material. The band, does not seem to distinguish itself with its own unique sound.
While one can also hear some Mr. Big on the instrumentation, remember, Kotzen was also, a part of that band, as well.
I will give it to Richie, there is no arguing he is ridiculously prolific, and beyond talented, but The Winery Dogs could be another Kozten solo project, with Sheehan, and Portnoy, as back up musicians.