When LOVERBOY fan David Napolillo first heard the band's new single, "Stop the Rain," and decided to enter the contest to make the best official video for the song, he interpreted the title in a very unique way.
"I knew the most obvious theme would be lots of rain, but I didn't want to do what other entries might do," he explained. "So, instead of using the literal image of rain, I had aliens 'raining down' on Earth in search of this awesome band they recently discovered."
That unusual approach was enough to make his video the winning entry in the contest on LOVERBOY's website, with the auteur receiving a black Fender Squire guitar autographed by the entire band. His clip is now the official music video for the single, which can be downloaded for free on the LOVERBOY site (www.loverboyband.com), and is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Tunecore and Deezer, among others. The new official fan-made video for "Stop the Rain" can be seen HERE.
The band's guitarist, Paul Dean, who helped spearhead the contest, was impressed with all the results, but was most pleased with Napolillo's winner. "My bucket list always contained my wish that we, as a species, would contact extraterrestrials in my lifetime," he said. "Well, wish granted. Congratulations to David Napolillo of Spring, TX, for abducting LOVERBOY into the 'Alien Hall of Fame' "
"Stop the Rain" represents the latest previously unreleased Loverboy song following the country-flavored "Hurtin'" and "Some Like It Hot" - described by Paul Dean as "the first and only shuffle LOVERBOY has ever done" -- last year. Doug Johnson wrote "Stop the Rain," explaining it was inspired by living in Vancouver, where there is plenty of precipitation, but no known sighting of extraterrestrials.
Said Johnson: "I loved David's interpretation. It just goes to show how a song can work on any number of different levels."
LOVERBOY continues to work, not just for the weekend but every day of the week, offering a free download of their brand new single, "Stop the Rain," as well as the opportunity for their fans to produce their own video for the track, with the winning entry earning a black Fender Squire guitar (seen below) autographed by the entire band. The single is now online (February 9) at the Loverboy website (www.loverboyband.com), where it can be downloaded for free, then will be available tomorrow, February 10, for streaming at all major sites, including Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Tunecore and Deezer, among others.
The video entries can be submitted by e-mail to loverboymusicofficial@gmail.com and shared on Facebook tagging Loverboy. The deadline is February 24, after which the contest will be closed. The band will announce the winner, which will then become the official YouTube video for the song.
"Stop the Rain" represents the latest previously unreleased Loverboy song following last year's, "Some Like It Hot."
Doug Johnson, who wrote the new song, says it was inspired by living in Vancouver. "The wet weather was the original inspiration, but on a deeper level it's about perseverance and hope," says the band's longtime keyboardist. "I hope it inspires some excellent contest entries."
"It's the kind of hopeful song I could never write before, about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel... Mike really sings the sh*t out of it."
Added Reno about the single: "Coming from a city like Vancouver, 'stop the rain' means... 'stop the rain.'"
The band is hoping the guitar giveaway motivates the fans to put their best filmmaking foot forward.
"We're excited to see who makes the best video for the song," says Paul Dean. "We've seen a few of our songs get the fan 'treatment' over the years, but this is the first time we've had a contest. Just download the song from our website and happy editing!"
Loverboy's almost four-decade-long career began in Calgary when vocalist Mike Reno was introduced to local guitar legend Paul Dean, with the two eventually joined by keyboardist Doug Johnson, drummer Matt Frenette and bassist Kenneth "Spider" Sinnaeve, who replaced the late founding member Scott Smith in 2000.
LOVERBOY has four multi-platinum albums, including the four-million-selling Get Lucky, and a trio of double-platinum releases in their self-titled 1980 debut, 1983's Keep It Up and 1985's Lovin' Every Minute of It. Their string of hits includes, in addition to the arena-rock anthem "Working for the Weekend," such staples as "Lovin' Every Minute of It," "This Could Be the Night," "Hot Girls in Love," "Heaven In Your Eyes," "Turn Me Loose," "The Kid is Hot Tonite," "When It's Over," and "Queen of the Broken Hearts.
Swedish vocalist Linnéa Vikström, best known as one of the vocalists in Therion, has signed a worldwide deal with Despotz Records.
Leanna says, "I’m really excited to be working together with Despotz and with their help I’ll be sure to present some fantastic music to the world! Just the fact that Despotz is willing to release an album recorded completely live shows how willing they are to break new grounds and think outside of the box. Be ready to venture out deep into the universe as we launch this spacecraft of music!"
Linnea will work with her solo project under the secret name of QFT. The debut album will be released November of 2017, with the first, as yet untitled, single hitting the streets in May.
"Imagine if Black Sabbath and Pagan's Mind gave birth to a starchild, thus QFT is born," says Despotz' Omer Akay. "This is the mastermind of Linnéa Vikström. The space journey has just begun."
RICHIE KOTZEN tossed convention on its ear by actually taking one step back in order to move two steps forward. “It’s something I really needed to do in order to reset myself,” he explains.
Kotzen’s “charge to recharge” was officially put into play following the mega-success of the 2015–16 tour behind his band The Winery Dogs’ sophomore effort, the oh-so-appropriately named HOT STREAK. And the man’s reset manifesto wound up hitting all the right buttons too. The proof is on display deep within the grooves of SALTING EARTH, which veers from the balls-out, heads-up declaration of the opening track and first single, “End of Earth,” to the burning-sky harmonic thrust of “Thunder” to the Prince-like funk-jazz swing of “This Is Life” to the acoustified take-me-as-I-am self-reflection of the album’s final song, “Grammy.”
The majority of SALTING EARTH is the result of KOTZEN’s one-man production machine, with the exception of Julia Lage adding background vocals to “Make It Easy,” a tasty, sing-along groove stew. “It’s really not deliberate when the record is finished and suddenly I’m the only performer on it,” Kotzen admits. “It actually comes out of my process of writing and documenting my ideas. It started back in the late-’80s when I had a makeshift studio in my parents’ barn. I grew up fairly isolated, and I soon realized in order to get this music out of my head and onto a format where I could listen to it, I’d have to figure out how to do it alone.”
KOTZEN’s previous solo release, 2015’s diverse, far-reaching CANNIBALS, was a well-received hit among his core fan base, and SALTING EARTH cuts like the aforementioned “End of Earth,” “Thunder,” and “Divine Power” all showcase the scorching guitar solos and soaring vocals that one would expect from a KOTZEN solo album. That said, there’s also quite a vulnerable side on display here that’s perhaps best demonstrated in the stripped-down approach to the album’s closing salvo, “Grammy.”
Here’s the complete track listing of SALTING EARTH:
It’s with great sadness that I write this today. Y&T's original rhythm guitarist, Joey Alves, passed away at 7:10 this morning at the age of 63. He suffered from ulcerative colitis and other complications that led to his passing. Joey was one of the finest rock rhythm guitarists, and I’ll always remember playing next to him chunking out those monster chords with his classic red double cutaway ‘59 Les Paul Jr. As Ronnie Montrose once said about Joey, “There are rhythm players, then there's Joey. A class of his own.....”.
He was a fun guy who always played with attitude and conviction, and was responsible for writing some memorable riffs for Y&T over the years. His friendship and presence will be missed. This is a great loss for all the Y&T family and faithful. He now joins Phil and Leonard in rock and roll heaven.
-Dave
I saw this clip of Joey 2 days ago when I was reviewing part of the documentary. Seeing Joey on the screen while knowing he was not long for this earth was a shock to me at first, but hearing what he said in this clip really touched me. What he said is so right and I wanted to share this with deep respect for my friend. Thank you Mark and Geoff for putting this together for me.
MelodicRock Records is immensely proud and excited to be partnering with American musician Jimmy Davis to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Jimmy Davis & Junction's debut album 'Kick The Wall'. Working with Jimmy over the past several months, MRR will chronicle the complete history of JD&J recordings and bring that to the fans, remastered from original master sources.
MelodicRock Records and Jimmy Davis will reissue the debut album 'Kick The Wall', freshly remastered by JK Northrup along with a very special bonus. The release will feature a second disc featuring a rare live concert, 'Live At The Bottom Line', as broadcast by Westwood One in 1987.
Jimmy Davis on that debut: "In the early 80s, I met John Scott. We were put together in a theme park show replacing my favorite local bluegrass band turned rock and roll band that featured fiddle, mandolin, guitar whiz Tommy Burroughs. I was already writing and wanted to incorporate all of my influences in one band like they did. But somewhere around 1985 I wrote 'Kick the Wall' and demoed it at John's home demo studio. We knew we were on to something. We started getting noticed and joined up with a new studio in Memphis, Sounds Unreel. The studio started in our soon to be manager, Jon Hornyak's house. But they grew into a full on 24 track studio. Our hero Jack Holder and Don C Smith all took us in and we stared recording what became the debut album."
But that's not all! A conversation that started well over a year ago will result in the long desired official release of one of the best unreleased melodic rock albums ever. We're talking about the phenomenal shelved sophomore Jimmy Davis & Junction album 'Going The Distance'. It's a melodic rock masterpiece.
You could be forgiven for never hearing about this album previously, or even be entirely unaware of Jimmy Davis and his talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter. It's never too late to discover a masterpiece. And that's exactly what these albums represent. An extremely talented band at their very best, another victim of record label machinations.
Jimmy on the 'lost' album: "We starred on the second record in Memphis and ended up doing 4 or 5 songs in LA with Danny Kortchmar with Chad on drums. It took a long time and we had amazing quests, Warren Hayes co-wrote and played, Kevin Dukes from Jackson Browne's band and the Memphis Horns... But things were changing going into the 90s. Grunge for one. I was tired and frustrated, nothing made sense. We made the record for three different label presidents and it was time for a change. I wanted to do what is now called Americana. I simply walked away and 'Going the Distance' was shelved."
No one knows how the original recording of 'Going The Distance' leaked, probably from one of the original advance cassette that Chrysalis Records sent out when the album was touted for release back in 1990.
But that would explain the less than perfect audio that has been heavily traded by collectors ever since.
And if that's you - wait until you hear this record remastered from the original tapes!
The power, passion and performances on 'Going The Distance' are nothing short of melodic rock perfection.
Mixing the rootsy, natural live Midwestern rock n roll style with the commercial melodic rock sound of the day is a brilliant combination.
Imagine Bryan Adams in his 'Into The Fire' style or John Mellencamp during his 'Scarecrow' period. Add in some Charlie Sexton, John Kilzer, Richie Sambora (solo) and Jimmy's own unique style and you get an amazing record that I personally would have had on regular rotation over the last two decades had the release gone according to plan.
Using previously unseen original artwork for both albums - including using the original cover Jimmy wanted for 'Kick The Wall' - this is an essential purchase for longtime Jimmy Davis fans. And there is no doubt that Jimmy is going to attract a whole new group of followers with these albums available soon.
MRR will release the 'Kick The Wall 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' with bonus live disc and the 'Going The Distance' album in May. Exact date, audio previews and pre-order details to follow soon.
Rolf Hartley, vocalist in 90s favourites BIG BAD WOLF is back with a new rock project - IDENTITY VOID.
Their new single is Heroes & Heroin". Here's the link to the website and single: www.identity-void.com
The group features Jim Reitzel: multi-instrumentalist, and acclaimed audio engineer with album credits including Santana, Jeff Beck, Stanley Jordan, Smokey Robinson, Randy Jackson, Stevie Wonder.
Rolf Hartley: singer, four-octave range, producer. Credits include Big Bad Wolf, Mark and Jeff's Jingle Co. (Marin County, CA), Abe's Audio Production (Tasmania), HoopLA Radio Ad & Jingle (New Orleans, LA), and Krash Creative (Raleigh, NC).
