Chicago Power Pop Icons KEVIN LEE & THE KINGS Deliver STICKS & STONES
Glimmering "Big-Hook" Masterpiece Contains Anthemic Lead Single, “On Top of the World”
“High-quality melodic pop/rock in the veins of Cheap Trick and Matchbox Twenty.” Melodic .net
Five Chicagoland Album Release Shows Announced for March/April
Chicago, IL: With three decades of storied history, acclaimed singer/songwriter Kevin Lee continues to inspire generations as one of the best big-hook, power pop songwriters in the business. Flanked by his incredible band, The Kings, Lee recently released, Sticks & Stones, on Sigus Records. With an infectious sound of modern pop/rock packed with big guitars, indelible hooks, and soaring vocal harmonies, the songs deliver the kind of car-radio magic that turn winter nights into summer bright. Tracks like “On Top of the World,” “Tell the Truth,” the Tom Petty-esque, “All We Have Is Now,” and the ultra-catchy “Hold On to Yourself Tonight,” remind you of why you loved rock and roll in the first place.
A former MCA recording artist, Lee is a veteran solo artist with arena-sized credentials that include tours with Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Lou Gramm, Matthew Sweet, and Pearl Jam. Signed to MCA in 1992 with his band, the Lonesome City Kings the band’s debut single "Standing in the Line of Fire" was a huge success at radio, eventually landing in an NBA All-Stars Video and the Golden Globe nominated movie A Dangerous Woman, which starred Debra Winger, David Strathairn, and Barbara Hershey and featured child actors, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
In 1998, Lee released his first solo album, Walk A Mile In My Shoes on Bubblehaus Records. The critically acclaimed Loaded followed in 2002 on Chicago-based Big Blast Records with 2006’s, Flip the Switch, marking the debut of his Sigus Records imprint. Voted “Best New Artist" by UK rock magazine Fireworks, Kevin’s song, “Tonight," was featured in the major motion picture, Spaceman, a 2016 comedy that starred John Duhamel, Winter Ave Zoli, and Emma Rose Maloney.
A bit of a Midwestern supergroup, his latest band, The Kings, includes powerhouse bassist/vocalist Patti Prendergast, who has toured internationally with Bitch and Tough Love, guitarist/vocalist Michael Kurtz, known for his work with Madfox, Bombs Away, and Half Bitten Moon, and drummer Erik Strommer, who made his bones on the East Coast in bands like Broken Arrows and Catfish Hunter. These four road-tested emissaries have an undeniable chemistry that mix the best parts of the Classic Rock era with 21st Century energy.
Sticks & Stones marks his third album with The Kings, following 2013’s Breakout (2013), which was voted one of the best of the year by Illinois Entertainer, and 2010’s Dusk Till Dawn, whose signature anthem, “Time Won't Stand Still,” hit #1 at WMWX in Cincinnati, Ohio.
To support the new album, the band will play a series of shows throughout Chicagoland including a special appearance at the Fox River Harley-Davidson in St. Charles on Saturday April 7. With their sights set on adding octane to the highway of life, Sticks & Stones is a robust engine to keep rock 'n roll humming for infinite miles to the gallon.
Chunky guitars, big hooks and driving beats.” Ice Cream Man Power Pop
“High-quality melodic pop/rock in the veins of Cheap Trick and Matchbox Twenty.” Melodic.net
"Deftly blueprints some of the great power pop that's come from the Midwest.” Illinois Entertainer
Tour Dates:
Mar 03 - Bolingbrook, IL @ Tailgaters (9pm)
Mar 10 - Hanover Park, IL @ Bungalow Joe's (8pm)
Mar 22 - Berwyn, IL @ Wire (8pm)
Apr 07 - St. Charles @ Fox River Harley-Davidson (11:30am)
Apr 14 - Dundee, IL @ RocHaus (8pm)
Frontiers Music Srl is excited to announce the release of PERFECT PLAN debut album entitled "All Rise" on April 20.
New single & video "In and Out of Love” available now.
Coming from Örnsköldsvik in the cold North of Sweden, PERFECT PLAN is an awesome new AOR combo which was founded in late 2014. Since their inception, the guys had the vision to come up an with exciting musical blend of classic Scandinavian AOR (think Work of Art, Treat, early Europe) with nods to legends like Giant, Foreigner, and Journey. Perfect Plan music came to the attention of Frontiers Music Srl in the spring of 2017 and the label was immediately excited with what they heard. “All Rise” is an incredibly skilled and mature release for being a debut album, this is truly and simply a magnificent example of what “classic” in AOR Music is!
Singer Kent Hilli says, “We´re are really thrilled and excited to release our debut album ”All Rise” together with the Frontiers label. We have strived for a dynamic variation and I think all the songs on the album are unique and has a strong identity and you can hear that every song sounds like us, Perfect Plan. We hope you have bought tickets to Frontiers Rock Festival cause we´re gonna rock hard and kick some ass April 29th in Milano! See you there!
The band features the extraordinary singer Kent Hilli together with Rolf Nordström on guitar, P-O Sedin on bass, Fredrik Forsberg on drums and Leif Ehlin on keyboards.
Perfect Plan are ready to take on the world and become one of your favorite new melodic rock artists! Don’t lose the chance to witness the class in the making of PERFECT PLAN at the Frontiers Rock Festival 5 in Trezzo (Milano) next April 29th!
February 20, 2018 -- SONS OF APOLLO--former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force)—released the Vicente Cordero-directed video today for “Alive” from their #1 highly anticipated debut album, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY.
In touring news, SONS OF APOLLO launched their first-ever highly anticipated world tour in Tampa, FL last week as part of the “Cruise To The Edge.” The band recently added a new leg of U.S. dates starting April 19 in Montreal, Quebec at the Corona Theatre. For more information about tickets and on sale dates, fans should visit SonsOfApollo.com.
As Mike Portnoy declares, "Ever since this lineup assembled to make PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY, the thing I’ve been most excited about is anticipating how insane I know this band is going to be on stage. Well, the wait is almost over! Here are the first U.S. dates that will get to witness this ‘five-headed musical spectacle’ live on stage in February. We plan on being on tour all year long, all over the globe, with plenty of dates now being announced for summer festivals throughout Europe, but these are the very first shows that will get to witness this amazing lineup in person for the first time. We can’t wait!”
Released October 20 via InsideOutMusic / Sony, PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY is available as a 2CD Mediabook (featuring a second disc of instrumental mixes and extended booklet with an exclusive Studio Diary), Gatefold 2LP vinyl + CD (which comes with an etching on side D and the entire album on the CD), Standard Jewelcase CD & digital download. It was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” which is the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater.
PSYCHOTIC SYMPHONY—which Loudwire.com called an “impressive debut disc”--debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Heatseeker Albums” chart, as well as #10 on the “Rock Chart,” and #33 on the “Top Current Albums” chart. As Vintage Guitar declares, “This super-duper ensemble is like an old back issue of Marvel Team-Up that simply cannot be ignored.” Order it here: http://smarturl.it/SonsOfApolloPS.
Check out SONS OF APOLLO at any of the following stops:
DATECITYVENUE
Thu 4/5 Monterrey, Mexico Escena
Sun 4/8 Santiago, Chile Teatro Teleton
Tue 4/10 Buenos Aires, Argentina Groove
Thu 4/12 Porto Alegre, Brazil Opinião Bar
Sat 4/14 São Paulo, Brazil Tropical Butanta
Sun 4/15 Belo Horizonte, Brazil Music Hall
Thu 4/19 Montreal, QUE. Corona Theatre
Fri 4/20 Toronto, ONT. The Opera House
Sat 4/21 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Sun 4/22 St. Louis, MO Delmar Hall
Tue 4/24 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater
Wed 4/25 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
Fri 4/27 Las Vegas, NV Brooklyn Bowl
Sat 4/28 Sacramento, CA Ace Of Spades
Sun 4/29 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Mon 4/30 Seattle, WA The Showbox
Wed 5/2 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom
Thu 5/3 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco Theatre
Fri 5/4 Anaheim, CA House Of Blues
Sat 5/5 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Mon 5/7 San Antonio, TX Alamo City Music Hall
Tue 5/8 Dallas, TX Canton Hall
Wed 5/9 Houston, TX Scout Bar
Fri 5/11 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley
Sat 5/12 St. Charles, IL Arcada Theatre
Sun 5/13 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
Tue 5/15 Cleveland, OH House Of Blues
Wed 5/16 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
Thu 5/17 Washington, D.C. The Howard Theatre
Fri 5/18 New York, NY Playstation Theater
Sat 5/19 Worcester, MA The Palladium
Fri 6/22 Clisson, France Hellfest
Sat 6/23 Dessel, Belgium Graspop
Sun 6/24 Milan, Italy Teatro Degli Arcimbodi
Wed 6/27 Leipzig, Germany Hellraiser
Sat 6/30 Barcelona, Spain Be Prog My Friend
Sun 7/1 Maidstone, England Rambling Man Festival
Mon 7/2 Motherwell, England Motherwell Concert Hall
Tue 7/3 Belfast, England Limelight
Wed 7/4 Dublin, Ireland Tivoli Variety Theatre
Sun 7/14 Eindhoven, Netherlands Dynamo MetalFest
Fri 8/3 Wacken, Germany Wacken Open Air
Sat 8/18 Warsaw, Poland Prog In Park
Sun 8/19 Budapest, Hungary Barba Negra Track
Wed 9/19 Moscow, Russia Glavclub
* Sat 9/22 Plovdiv, Bulgaria Roman Amphitheater
Mon 9/24 Athens, Greece Fuzz Club
* A Very Special Evening with SONS OF APOLLO and the Plovdiv Psychotic Symphony.
Highly acclaimed guitarist GUS G. is set to release his new album, titled “Fearless”, on April 20th. “Fearless” is the successor to 2015’s “Brand New Revolution” and marks the Firewind mastermind’s first release since exiting Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 2017.
On “Fearless” Gus joins forces with vocalist/bassist Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69/Unisonic) and drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence, Black Label Society).
“Dennis and I have collaborated very closely for a number years, he produced the current Firewind album Immortals, among other things. We’re on the same musical wavelength and simply continued our cooperation after the Firewind production,” Gus describes his relationship with the multitalented German-American. “I sent him demos of and ideas for my new songs and once we had enough material and started to think about vocalists, Dennis suggested recording the album as a trio. A lot of people don’t realise that Dennis is not only a brilliant songwriter, bassist and producer but also an excellent singer. I immediately liked his suggestion because this would be very different from everything else I’ve done before.” It was only a short step from the enlistment of drummer Will Hunt. Gus: “Will was at the very top of my wish list. Fate smiled on me because we played at the Frankfurt music fair 2017 during my tour with Steve Stevens, and Will stayed at the same hotel. So I approached him, we talked for a while and he agreed. Last August he came to the studio and recorded the drum parts for the whole album within two and a half days. A real pro with a great groove and an awesome punch.”
Which applies not only to Hunt and Ward, but of course also to Gus G. himself, who once again proves to be a phenomenal guitarist on Fearless, presenting technical skills which exclude all possibility of doubt and a compositional talent that allows his fellow musicians to shine. Hard-as-nails metal tracks such as the opener ‘Letting Go’, ‘Mr Manson’, which is driven by a dark bass/guitar riff, and the subsequent melodic ‘Don´t Tread On Me’ immediately propel the new album into the desired direction. At the same time, the three instrumental songs give listeners an idea of the outstanding talent of the 37-year-old who is easily on a par with George Lynch (‘Mr. Scary’) and Michael Schenker (‘Into The Arena’). “A lot of fans have asked me to record more instrumental tracks. Voilà, here they are,” grins Gus. Last but not least, the successful cover version of the Dire Straits classic ‘Money For Nothing’, which surprises with an unusual change of key after the noteworthy intro, deserves a mention. But it’s certainly not the only surprise that this amazing album holds in store!
Tracklisting:
01. Letting Go
02. Mr Manson
03. Don´t Tread On Me
04. Fearless
05. Nothing To Say
06. Money For Nothing
07. Chances
08. Thrill Of The Chase
09. Big City
10. Last Of My Kind
Bonus tracks on Digipak/Vinyl:
11. Little Ain´t Enough
12. Aftermath
Line-Up:
Gus G. (Guitar)
Dennis Ward (Vocals/Bass)
Will Hunt (Drums)
Escape Music is pleased to announce the release of American Tears brand new album!!
AMERICAN TEARS - HARD CORE
Release date: 23rd April 2018
Keys, drums, bass and Vocals: Mark Mangold
BG Vocal on Fyre: Jake E
Track List:
1. HARD CORE (3:03)
2. CARNIVORE (4:56)
3. LOST IN TIME (4.11)
4. FYRE (4:29)
5. SMOKE AND MIRRORS (5:06)
6. THE FERRYMAN (4:23)
7. NUCLEAR (4:10)
8. TEAR GAS (4:17)
9. LORDS OF LIGHT (5:29)
10. DEPLORABLE (4:57)
11. BOTTOMS UP (7:12)
12. AT LAST (5:37)
Produced and Engineered by Mark Mangold
Artwork by: Nello Dell'Omo
American Tears is an American keyboard trio that released it's first record, Branded Bad, on Columbia Records in 1974 and it's second, Tear Gas, in 1975. Formed in the fertile musical environment of Long Island, New York, the band was initially made up of Gary Sonny, on bass, Tommy Gunn on drums and Mark Mangold on keys and vocals. For the second record Greg Baze took over the bass duties. The band was a power keyboard trio, using keyboards of the day, Hammond organ, synths, mellotron, clavinet, electronic melodica and playing progressive music which showed the bands stellar musicianship. Eclectic in their approach, their heartfelt music ranged from aggressive keyboard based extravaganzas to beautiful lush melodies circling pop of the day..
The band was fortunate to have toured major venues with such bands as Peter Frampton, J. Geils, Alvin Lee, Gentle Giant, Gary Wright, John McLaughlin and many others. They reached a wide audience and had an impressive show, topped off by Mangold doing handstands on his Hammond. Mark, surrounded by 12 keyboards, Tommy being almost invisible behind a huge battery of drums, with Gary, and later Greg, showing their bass virtuosity in front of a wall of amps, the band stressed musicianship and musicality, while exploring new sounds, and always pushing the envelope.
The third American Tears album, Powerhouse, added the guitarist and singer, Craig Brooks, and the band evolved into the critically acclaimed band Touch...but that is another story.
This fourth American Tears album "Hard Core" heralds the return by Mark to this keyboard based approach, using instruments only available in the 70's when the band made it's first foray. In fact this band may be the only band on the planet playing exclusively keyboard rock. With influences from his earlier work, tipping an occassional hat to ELP, Moody Blues and even Deep Purple, this new album shows the daring, and pure emotion, that can be ripped out of those instruments. American Tears defies the term "generic" as this purely original music, and scathing lyrics, have few if any standards for comparison.
This is FOREIGNER'S 16th Live or Best Of Compilation and their 8th since the last studio album.
"I Want To Know What Love Is", "Cold As Ice", "Waiting For A Girl Like You", "Hot Blooded", "Juke Box Hero". FOREIGNER's timeless anthems continue to rock the charts with 10 multi-platinum albums, 16 Top 30 hits and album sales now exceeding 75 million copies. For the first time ever, FOREIGNER will present all its hits with a 58-piece orchestra and a 60-piece choir with "Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus" available on April 27 via earMUSIC.
In May 2017, the band performed two sold-out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland, together with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, conducted by Ernst Van Tiel. "Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus" represents this year-long collaboration between FOREIGNER founding member and lead guitarist Mick Jones and Grammy-nominated composing/arranging team Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer, exploring the deep symphonic potential of these classic and iconic songs. Eggar, Juilliard protégé and cellist/pianist/composer, and Palmer, producer/writer/percussionist, have toured, performed and recorded with artists such as Paul Simon, James Taylor, Patti Smith, COLDPLAY and many more.
Says Mick Jones: "I could never have imagined when I set out to create FOREIGNER 40 years ago, that we'd still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later. Dave Eggar and Chuck Palmer's orchestral arrangements have shown us a new symphonic dimension of our music, which I hope our fans will enjoy."
"Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus" CD track listing:
01. Overture
02. Blue Morning, Blue Day
03. Cold As Ice
04. Waiting For A Girl Like You
05. Say You Will
06. When It Comes To Love
07. That Was Yesterday
08. Feels Like The First Time
09. Starrider
10. Double Vision
11. Fool For You Anyway
12. Urgent
13. Juke Box Hero
14. I Want To Know What Love Is
"Foreigner With The 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus" DVD track listing:
01. Overture
02. Blue Morning, Blue Day
03. Cold As Ice
04. Waiting For A Girl Like You
05. Head Games
06. When It Comes To Love
07. Say You Will
08. The Flame Still Burns
09. That Was Yesterday
10. Juke Box Hero
11. Starrider
12. Double Vision
13. Fool For You Anyway
14. Hot Blooded
15. Urgent
16. Feels Like The First Time
17. I Want To Know What Love Is
Swedish melodic hard rock band REACH, have released a music video for the song ‘Running On Empty‘.
The track is taken from the new album ‘The Great Divine‘, out in Japan on February 21 and globally on February 23, 2018. The album was recorded at Rocksta Sound Studio, produced by Jona Tee (H.E.A.T) and mixed by Tobias Lindell (Europe, Avatar, etc).
