Jeff Scott Soto |
Contrary to what has been previously announced, the new Jeff Scott Soto album will be titled Prism. Some of the song titles include: 2 Late For Goodbyes, Heaven Knows, Don't Come Easy, Eyes Of Love, By Your Side, Holding On, Don't Wanna Say Goodbye, How Long, Til The End of Time, I Want To Take You Higher (duet with Glenn Hughes). Videos for the songs Holdin On and Eyes Of Love will be shot in the next few weeks. One of those will be made exclusively available on a single EP which will released before the full album is out. Fans of the melodic rock side of Jeff's songwriting will definitely enjoy this new release of the ex-Malmsteen, Eyes, Axel Rudi Pell and current Humanimal singer! Release date is tentatively scheduled for early November 2002. As a special bonus we are also pleased to announce the re-release in budget price of the first Jeff Scott Soto solo album Love Parade initially published on Long Island Records in 1995.
JEFF SCOTT SOTO SIGNS TO FRONTIERS/NOW & THEN FOR SOLO WORK:
JEFF SCOTT SOTO AND GLENN HUGHES TEAM UP:
JEFF SCOTT SOTO TO ENTERTAIN QUEEN FANS!:
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Paul Samson |
RIP PAUL SAMSON: A guestbook has been set up for fans of Paul Samson to sign and send his family messages. Access it through Paul's Official website: www.paulsamson.co.uk/ RIP Paul.
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SR-71 |
SR-71 LOOK FORWARD TO TOMORROW: After a long period of studio work, finally news from SR-71! This today from their mailing list: After spending most of 2000 and 2001 out on the road in support of their gold debut album, Now You See Inside, SR-71 have finished recording the much-anticipated follow-up entitled Tomorrow. Co-produced by Neal Avron (Everclear, New Found Glory, Seven & The Sun), Butch Walker (Marvelous 3), and SR-71 frontman Mitch Allan, Tomorrow follows on the heels of the band's huge modern rock hit Right Now. The first single, also entitled Tomorrow, hits rock radio at the end of August and the album will be in stores this fall. SR-71 is scheduled to begin touring in September.
SR-71 PREPARE TO RECORD NEW ALBUM:
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Saracen |
STUDIO REPORT - SARACEN: Studio Report from Bruce Mee @ Fireworks magazine. Pomp-metallers Saracen have reformed after almost twenty years in the wilderness. Mainman and lead-guitarist Rob Bendelow informs us of where things are currently up to. "We've currently done drums, bass and keyboards completed for all twelve tracks. Vocals and guitars completed for nine tracks - three tracks yet to finish are Jekyll & Hyde, Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Follow the Piper." As fans will no doubt know, 'Horsemen....' is a re-recording of one of the epic tracks from the Saracen debut, Heroes, Saints and Fools, the title rack which is also getting a make over for the upcoming album Red Sky. How do these remakes differ from the originals. "Hardly at all in terms of song structure, but plenty in terms of 'umph'. The key vocal passages are getting the harmony support that hey always 'deserved', whilst the guitar & drums now have the intrinsic power that we didn't quite capture first time around. Looking back, we ealise now that the studio engineers and producers we worked with in the early 80's took one look at our equipment line-up, and privately assumed we were in the 'Genesis' mode, or perhaps a little heavier, like say 'Magnum'. So understandably, we seemed to end up with a very pleasant but rather bland-ish sound, compared to the 'live' Saracen. But this time it really rocks. Jamie's Pearl kit, and my Gibson SGs can certainly dish it out!" As well as the afore-mentioned tracks, two songs of Rob's Templar solo project are getting a make-over Faith and Angel Eyes. Both these songs were excellent, so how do they sound after having the Saracen treatment? "Again very similar in terms of structure, but bigger vocals throughout. Music reviewers across Europe have described these two songs as AOR classics etc etc, which is very flattering of course, so our treatment of them as Saracen simply tries to build on those compliments - both songs have big choruses, now enhanced with the layered vocal approach that appears to be the talisman of AOR. And rock fans will also get to hear German songstress Dagi Kaletsch wooing Steve on 'Angel Eyes'!" Having heard the unmixed demo of this track, I can vouch for the effect of the layered vocals. When the chorus of 'Angel Eyes' crashes through the speakers, it kicks like a donkey on steroids! Wonderful stuff, as are the crunching chords to be found throughout the CD, especially on the title track. This time around the album is being recorded in Rob's home studio, and I wondered how this compared with previous studio experiences. "Wonderful!" exclaims Rob in a happy voice. "Recording here at 'Rivendell Studios' is pretty much ideal for us. I guess studio work is all about trying to bring together artistic desires and technical possibilities. Here we seem to be doing just that so far, partly because of another precious resource that Rivendell gives us.....time!" And that time has certainly paid off, as this album promises to be the monster that Saracen always had within them to make - classic rock epics with astounding modern production techniques. The album should be completed by the end of the summer, and as Rob points out, the release "...should then sit nicely with our first 'live' appearance in 20 years."
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Mike Stone |
PRODUCER MIKE STONE DIES: Acclaimed UK rock music producer Mike Stone died last week at the age of 51. Stone won acclaim for his work with Journey, Asia, Ten, Queen and Kiss, amongst others. Asia will dedicate the forthcoming Geffen Years - Anthologia to his memory. There has been no press attributing to the cause of his death, but it is no big secret that Mike battled alcoholism for many years. RIP Mike.
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Street Legal |
STREET LEGAL TO UNDERGO LINE UP CHANGES: Street Legal - Official press release. Members Ken Ingwersen and Bjorn Olav Lauvdal (BOL) have left Street Legal. The departure has been amicable. Ken Ingwersen wishes to focus on a career as a producer and songwriter. BOL has been employed as controller in one of Scandinavia's biggest constructing companies, which makes it impossible for him to focus on a professional career as a musician, and he wishes to spend time with his family as he recently became a father. Although. Singer and bass player Bjorn Boge will continue Street Legal with a new lineup. The parties wishes to stress the fact that it's not the usual "musical and personal differences" that leads to this departure. Bjorn and Ken recently did a gig with Love Shack, an 80's tribute band. BOL has threatened to play tambourine on the bonus track for Japan on the next Street Legal release...Someday he might even be back-Spinal Tap-drummers that disappear-we all know how it is. The threesome still hang out as friends and meet for a beer at Rock In -Oslo's #1 Metal club. "We wish to thank the fans for making our debut album Thunderdome such a big success for us. And I can promise that the next Street Legal album will be the same mixture of melody and energy. Thunderdome will be a tough one to follow, but I can only thank BOL and Ken for making that something that we're all very proud of." Says Bjorn Boge. "I will announce the new Street Legal lineup as soon as everything is settled. Watch out for a really interesting combination of musicians. Street Legal is very much alive and kickin'. The tour bus-crash last year almost killed me, but it won't kill Street Legal-no way !"
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Skid Row |
SKID ROW FANS FORCED TO WAIT UNTIL EARLY 2003 FOR NEW CD: Press Release: Skid Row To Release Thick Is The Skin In Early 2003 - July 6, 2002 The revamped Skid Row, featuring new vocalist Johnny Solinger, have finished recording eight or nine songs for the group's long-awaited comeback release, tentatively titled Thick Is The Skin, which is tentatively due to surface in early 2003 through an as-yet-undetermined label. Among the cuts set to appear on the group's first new CD since 1995's Subhuman Race are the following: Thick Is The Skin . Ghost . Born A Beggar . Glam . Swallow Me . Mouth Of Voodoo . Down I can add a little to that - Rachel Bolan recently told me that Atlantic Records have first right of refusal over the finished album, and if they pass, the band will shop it to other perspective labels.
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Stone |
Stone will be opening for Cinderella at The House of Blues in Los Angeles on Sept.7th!!! Tickets are on sale now! For more info, you can check out the House of Blues website at www.hob.com and Stone can be reached at stone@stonelive.com or 818-754-1434. www.stonelive.com
STONE WORK ON THIRD ALBUM:
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Street Talk |
STREET TALK - NEW ALBUM "RESTORATION" IS COMPLETED: Press Release The long awaited third Street Talk album Restoration is finally completed after a long period of studio sessions between February - July 2002. Restoration was mainly recorded at the Soundcreation studios Bollnäs, Sweden and was produced by Street Talk keyboard player Fredrik Bergh. The album will be released in Europe on September 23 through MTM Music (www.mtm-music.com) and on September 21 in Japan/Asia by Marquee Inc./Avalon (www.marquee.co.jp) The Japanese edition will feature one exclusive bonus track called After The Tears. The new Street Talk line up consists of the following musicians: Goran Edman - Vocals, Hugo - Vocals, Fredrik Bergh - Keyboards, Sven Larsson - Guitars, Bjorn Lodmark - Bass, Christian Johansson - Drums. Also, the below mentioned musicians are making some guest appearances on the album: Frank Adahl (Marie Fredriksson, Randy Crawford etc.), Kimmo, Erkka and Tuomo (Urban Tale) and Tommy Denander (Radioactive). Restoration will feature the following tracks: Give Me A Reason (F. Bergh - G. Edman), Hare And Hounds (F. Bergh - G. Edman), Language Of Love (F. Bergh - G. Edman), Tables Turning (F. Bergh - G. Edman), Dancer In The Rain (F. Bergh - G. Edman - P. Broman), A Place In The Sun (F. Bergh - G. Edman), My Heart Beats For You (F. Bergh - Hugo), Forever By Your Side (F. Bergh - K. Blom - E. Korhonen), In The Arms Of Love (F. Bergh - J. Jidhed - T. Denander - R. Delin), Why Is My Heart feeling Lonely Tonight (F. Bergh - K. Blom - E. Korhonen), After The Tears (Japan Bonus Track) (F. Bergh - S. Larsson)
STREET TALK STUDIO UPDATE FOR MARCH:
STREET TALK RETURN WITH SPECIAL GUEST HUGO AT THE MIKE:
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John Sykes |
Another rumour has John Sykes resurrecting the Blue Murder name, but fellow original band mates Tony Franklin and Carmine Appice are not connected with the news.
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Stryper |
STRYPER.COM ADD VIDEO CLIPS TO THEIR SITE: Stryper.com now features Videos for download. So far the site has several of the MTV type videos for viewing, as well as clips from their last two concerts performed in 2001. The most recent video put up is the video for the song Believe. It was written in 1990, but it's lyrics hit very close to home with the recent events the USA is facing. Also, Michael Sweet is now excepting pre-orders for a CD he's in the process of making. Mike says: "I'm starting on a fourth solo project and I wanted to fill all of you in on the latest. I plan to start recording February 1st and I plan to finish recording by springtime. I've spoken to quite a few companies about the possibilities of this project, and the response has been incredible! I've had the desire to do this record for a long, long time and I finally have the opportunity to do it. Please take a moment to check out my website for more details regarding this project. We are taking pre-orders from now until the release date, which will be posted at my website and at stryper.com. I want to thank all of you for your continued support and encouragement in what we (Robert, Tim, Oz and myself) continue to do individually and collectively." More info at: www.Stryper.com
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Seven Ten |
SEVEN TEN RECORDING ALBUM AND LOKING FOR 2 MEMBERS: Long time site regular Mike St. Allen e-mailed me with an update on his band Seven Ten. The band is currently in need of a Bass player and a Keyboard player for rehearsals and live shows. If you are interested and are located in the Chicago/Indiana area, please e-mail Mike at: sevententheband@yahoo.com The rest of the guys have been busy recording and are half way thru the process, looking for a mid year release of their album.
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Spinal Tap |
SPINAL TAP GO FOLK?: From the pages of Sonicnet.com: Spinal Tap Players Folk Around With New Comedy Actors who portrayed the heavy metal icons to transform into folk musicians for upcoming film. With the stream of hilarious credits between them, no one would contest that Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean are three funny folks. And soon they'll have the opportunity to show even those unfamiliar with their 1984 comedy classic, This Is Spinal Tap, just how folkin' funny they really are. The trio, along with actor/comedian Eugene Levy (American Pie, Best in Show), are working on a new movie, according to Shearer's manager, that trades Tap's heavy duty rock and roll creations for something a little softer but no less weighted in tuneful affectation: folk music. Good grief!
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Silver |
BARFLY MUSIC ANNOUNCE NEW SILVER CD: Barfly Music in Germany have 2 releases in stores right now, the new Demon Drive album Rock N Roll Star and the debut BISS album. BISS is a new collaboration between ex-Victory singer Fernando Garcia and 'riff-master' Doc Heyne. The new Silver CD Dream Machines will feature the same line up as the debut album; including composer Andreas Bruhn and ex-MSG singer Gary Barden.
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Slave To The System | ||
BIG NAMES PROOVE THEY AREN'T SLAVES TO THE SYSTEM:
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Shooting Star | |
SHOOTING STAR PREPARE SECOND BEST OF COMPILATION: Shooting Star will be releasing Best Of Vol. 2 any time now. It will be available for sale individually and in a special bundle containing Best Of V1, Best Of V2 and a limited edition cassette of It's Not Over. The bundle will be available for purchase on the band's website and at all the Shooting Star dates this December. Best Of Vol. 2 will be available in regular retail outlets.
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