MASCOT LABEL GROUP AND GARY HOEY ANNOUNCE MARCH 15, 2019
GLOBAL RELEASE OF NEON HIGHWAY BLUES ON PROVOGUE RECORDS
The ferocious guitarist fuses his blues and rock influences in eleven original songs
with special guest appearanes from Eric Gales, Lance Lopez, Josh Smith and Hoey’s son Ian
Hear “Under The Rug” Featuring Eric Gales Here
Mascot Label Group and Gary Hoey have announced a March 15 global release date for NEON HIGHWAY BLUES via Provogue Records. The album’s eleven tracks display Hoey’s confidence and assuredness alongside the freshness of someone who's still in the process of discovery and refinement. Hoey self-produced the album at his New Hampshire based home studio, while also enlisting friends Eric Gales, Lance Lopez. Josh Smith and his 17-year-old son Ian for guest appearances. He shares, “I really wanted to make sure this album had a lot of Blues on it. I kept sticking to the Blues and listening to the classic players, all the Kings, Albert King, Freddie King, BB King, and finish with some Burger King (laughing)…tried to get that to be a focus of this record -- and still put some songs for that my long-time, die-hard fans expect; instrumentals and some rockin' Zeppelin type stuff. There's definitely a variety here."
Hoey’s 21stalbum NEON HIGHWAY BLUES kicks off with "Under the Rug," a funky, Jeff Beck style workout with Eric Gales. Up next is the dynamic 6:29 slow blues "Mercy of Love," with Josh Smith, with biting guitar solos, Hoey gets his Texas swing on for "Still Believe in Love" and settles into some roadhouse shuffles on "Your Kind of Love," and "Damned If I Do," is a big, stomping Blues rocker with Lance Lopez trading licks. And those majestic instrumentals he mentioned? Check out "Almost Heaven," "Waiting on the Sun" and the cinematic title track, all showcases of virtuosity that complement the grittier fare around them.
A very personal highlight for Hoey is "Don't Come Crying," an aching blues track that features his son Ian Hoey, then only 16, planting his flag in the family business. "I'm so blown away my son is actually on the record," Hoey says. "He loves the blues. I said, 'If it turns out good enough, I'll have you on the record, and he did a great job. After it was mixed and I listened to it. I totally forgot where he was playing and where I was playing. It brought tears to my eyes."
NEON HIGHWAY BLUES "wasn't a quick record to make," nor was it easy, according to Hoey, and displays the care that came with the time spent on it. "I always say that's why they call it the blues, because it ain't easy," he notes. The album took about a year and a half, he estimates, much of it done during gaps in his heavy touring schedule. "I just kept going in and trying to come up with the right licks or the right lyrics, and some days it just wouldn't come," Hoey recalls. "It was really about staying in there and trying things, abandoning some ideas, going on to new ideas. There was a lot of that on this record. I'm kind of a stickler for making sure I'm happy with it -- even though I had people breathing down my neck to get it done."
NEON HIGHWAY BLUES will, of course, take Hoey back on the highways and byways for plenty of touring and playing, well, the blues -- and more. He can't yet predict where the next road will take him, but Hoey is confident it will be an adventure. "My son and I were talking about new music, some new technique I just found on guitar, and he said dad, 'You've been playing 44 years and still get excited.' I was like, 'Yeah, man, that's the amazing thing about music -- you never really get there. If you think you're there, that's when you’re in trouble because it’s all about the journey."
The complete track listing is “Under The Rug” (featuring Eric Gales), “Mercy Of Love” (featuring Josh Smith), “Your Kind Of Love,” “Don’t Come Crying” (featuring Ian Hoey), “Still Believe In Love,” “Almost Heaven,” “I Felt Alive,” “Waiting On The Sun,” “Damned If I Do” (featuring Lance Lopez), “Living The Highlife,” and “Neon Highway Blues.”
Hoey will appear on both the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise (February 3-10) and the Rock Legends Cruise VII (February 14-18), after which he’ll visit Nashville to participate in Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp (February 28 – March 3). Additional confirmed appearances include Bull Run in Shirley, MA (March 8) and Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH (May 3). A complete itinerary for Spring, Summer and Fall will be announced shortly.
BURNING RAIN, a hard rock band founded by guitarist extraordinaire Doug Aldrich (Revolution Saints, The Dead Daisies, ex-Whitesnake, Dio) and vocalist Keith St John (ex-Montrose, Kingdom Come), announce the release of their fourth studio album, "Face the Music" on March 22, 2019.
In conjunction with the album announcement, the band have shared the latest single, “Midnight Train,” along with an accompanying music video. When asked why the band chose to release “Midnight Train” as the first single, Aldrich explained, “when we were asked what song encompasses the sound of BURNING RAIN, ‘Midnight Train’ seemed like a good choice. It sounds fresh and heavy, but still sounds like us. Everyone will have different ideas about favorite songs and there are a number of tracks that could have been first, but we just went with ‘Midnight Train.”
“’Midnight Train's' message, albeit fully ensconced in carnality, is about wanting something so brutally bad when you can't have it,” added St. John. “The main character here is basically a deeply tortured soul during all the daytime hours. The phallic likening to the train and its track along with the blackness, the bed of nails, and the cravings of the night are meant to further fortify the extremity of sexual addiction. Doug had all the basic music together including bass, drums, and all when he first played me a demo of the riff. I loved it immediately. The first ex-perimental vocal track I scatted out had the basic framework for the chorus, which we both felt had good potential, but the original verse began with a higher, bluesier part that seemed to not quite fit. After I fashioned a new verse with a lower, more growly approach, we both felt it really complimented the chorus and we knew this track was in good standing!”
BURNING RAIN was established in 1998 by guitarist Doug Aldrich and vocalist Keith St. John. After meeting through mutual friends, Aldrich and St. John commenced work on what would eventually become their self-titled debut album. The 1999 record established BURNING RAIN as a hungry yet seasoned group of musicians. Although the album was limited in its release, it did receive rave reviews from fans and critics alike for their take on heavy, blues-y hard rock. The following year, BURNING RAIN released the follow up, “Pleasure To Burn” which showed a matured Aldrich-St John collaboration that gained even higher praise than the first album.
In 2001, Aldrich joined DIO and later departed in 2003 as he was approached by David Coverdale to join a newly reformed Whitesnake, while St. John joined forces with guitar legend Ronnie Montrose. While still in Whitesnake, Aldrich started working on new BURNING RAIN music, which saw the light of day in 2013 as the album “Epic Obsession”. Their third release was again met with enthu-siams from fans and critics alike. Aldrich would later leave Whitesnake and join The Dead Daisies and Revolution Saints, which left BURNING RAIN on an extended hiatus.
Now, finally a new album is ready for release! Face the Music is a blues driven hard rock record which is truly a tour-de-force. With a renewed lineup featuring the amazing Blas Elias (SLAUGHTER) on drums and bassist Brad Lang (Y&T), the album evokes the sound of the classic 70’s hard rock scene, but also stays true to the Burning Rain sound.
One thing is for certain, BURNING RAIN has made the wait for new music well worth it.
Ginger Baker, Pete York & Herman Rarebell On stage together for the first time - for one night only!
BRIGHTON DOME, CHURCH ST, BRIGHTON BN1 1UE. 01273 709709 APRIL 12, 2019, 8pm
Ladies and Gentlemen, girls and boys, for one night only, I give you....cue massive drum roll....THE DRUMMERS.
The power(houses) behind the throne, these are the men who keep the beat, move the pace, weld together the instruments and provide the musical foundation and the centrifugal force on any stage they grace.
There have been various renowned drummers over the years but few more evocative, charismatic and diverse in style than these three absolute legends – Ginger Baker, Pete York and Herman Rarebell.
Tub thumpers extraordinaire, each doing different (and seemingly impossible) things with every limb, these are the men who have forged rhythms with the best of them. Together they provide an unsurpassed rock heritage spanning Cream, The Spencer Davis Group and The Scorpions.
On April 12 the three rock giants will take centre stage at the Brighton Dome bringing their unique, genre-crossing, playing styles to show just what it takes to be top of the game.
They will delve into their stellar careers to showcase their massive hits including White Room, Gimme Some Lovin’, Rock You Like A Hurricane, Passion Rules The Game and Sunshine Of Your Love.
Backed by a coterie of top musicians including the unstoppable Bernie Marsden (Whitesnake etc) , Abbas Dodoo and Alec Dankworth, all three main men will play together at the end of the night to demonstrate just how much fun can be had on a drum kit.
April 12 is a rare opportunity for drum lovers and music fans to watch, listen and learn from their drum heroes. In fact, for once, the phrase ‘not to be missed’ is completely valid. This is going to be one unique and special night!
Tickets are on sale now priced £35, £45 and £55 from the Brighton Dome https://brightondome.org/ and all usual ticket outlets. The production is in association with Ina Dittke Associates.
Ginger Baker - The infamous hell-raiser and much lauded drummer who came to international fame with Cream, Blind Faith and Fela Kuti has spent the last few years playing jazz, the music he first came to love. For Drum Legends he'll put the Cream repertoire centre stage.
Pete York – Pete is best known for his work in The Spencer Davis Group who released several top hits of the 1960s including Keep On Running which reached No 1 in 1965. This was followed by Somebody Help Me, When I Come Home, Gimme Some Lovin’ and I’m A Man. Pete went on to perform with Eric Clapton’s Powerhouse, Blues Circus and many other groups and projects over the decades. He also hosted and produced the TV series Superdrumming and Villa Fantastica about drummers and music.
Herman ‘ze German’ Rarebell – Herman joined Heavy Metal giants The Scorpions in 1977 and went on to write many of their most popular hits, including Another Piece of Meat, Rock You Like a Hurricane, Blackout and Arizona. He's active with band mates like Michael Schenker and also with his own band. He is one of the most important names in the rise of Hard Rock.
Canadian singer & songwriter Paul Laine will play a one off electric show in Melbourne, Australia at the Northcote Social Club on Thursday 17th of January 2019. Paul Laine is one of the best vocalists in the melodic heavy rock genre, having released solo material, albums with US hard rockers Danger Danger, Dark Horse and The Defiants - one of the best hard rock albums of the past few years.
Paul Laine has also sang backing vocals on albums such as Poison's Flesh & Blood, Scorpion’s Face The Heat, Hinder, Boys Like Girls and many others.
Special guests on the night will be locals The Radio Sun, whom have been making quite a name for themselves by appearing at world renowned rock festivals such as Sweden Rock, Hard Rock Hell AOR and Melodic Rock Fest.
This will be Paul's third visit to Australia, so get in early to avoid disappointment. It will be a night not to be missed for fans of hard rock.
Let's make this a big night. Melodic Rockers UNITE!
This is a complete list of CDs available for sale from my mate JB's estate.
MR readers get first look at the list before it goes to eBay or Discogs for sale.
There are nearly 2000 titles on offer - some very rare stuff in there.
Nothing is priced as yet. So I'll take offers on any of the titles and as many titles as you like.
For approximate values, check www.discogs.com
For this sale I am asking for best offers – if there are multiple people asking about the same title, the highest wins obviously!
I'm looking for the best price possible to benefit JBs family, with a commission benefiting MR, so its an important thing to get right.
The collection includes albums, singles and compilations. From all over the place, including many from Japan.
Nothing is individually marked – just Artist, Title and Catalogue Number. None of the Japanese titles have OBIs.
For exact details of each title including values and track listings, run the cat#s through Discogs.
These are all original pressed CDs and mostly in near perfect condition.
All CDs in the collection have been written up, so the rock/metal is interspersed with some pop, R&B, blues and misc stuff…all are for sale of course.
::: MIKAEL ERLANDSSON releases his 6th solo album “Capricorn Six” via AOR Heaven in Europe on February 22 :::
Mikael Erlandsson is back with his 6th solo album “Capricorn Six”. The Swedish singer is a true Aor/melodic rock legend that with his amazing voice which has been one of the best in this genre for more than 25 years.
Erlandsson had success in Sweden already in 1990 when he was the frontman in the band N´Gang where he had several hits incl. a Swedish song in the Eurovision Song Contest. The breakthrough in the Rock scene happened in 1993 when he released his first solo album. The album topped that year’s best of melodic rock charts and had an impact all over the world - but especially in Japan. Later on, 4 more solo albums saw the light of day and Erlandsson guested as singer on albums with Phenomena, Radioactive, Salute, Love Under Cover amongst others. During the last fifteen years Mikael also led his own band “Last Autumns Dream” who released 15 albums and did some touring in Japan, Germany and England.
Now, Mikael Erlandsson is back with a new album filled with songs in his classic style. Musicians on the album are Sayit Dölen (guitar), Pontus Engborg (drums) and Joel Starander (bass). The record was produced by Claes Andreasson and Mikael Erlandsson (Last Autumns Dream, Heartbreak Radio) and mixed and mastered by Martin Kronlund (guest guitar themes on ”Eye of the hurricane” , ”Break another heart” & ”I just wanna love you”.
Tracklist: 1. Eye Of The Hurricane, 2. Why, 3. Pain, 4. Evil, 5. Had To Let You Go, 6. Break Another Heart, 7. Fear The People, 8. Ok, 9. I Just Wanna Love Ya, 10. Alice In Wonderland
::: BLOOD RED SAINTS return with “Pulse” on February 22 :::
2019 brings the release of the third album by British rockers Blood Red Saints.
The album, released through AOR Heaven is entitled 'Pulse' on February 22 and sees the band modernising their sound whilst still retaining the big choruses. Guitarist Lee Revill is the man tasked with mixing and engineering the album as well as co-producing alongside Pete Godfrey.
“Pulse” features 11 tracks all written by Revill/Godfrey and the album has a more contemporary edge, trying to push the boundaries of Melodic Rock. Songs such as “Cross to bear” and “Crash into me”, edge into radio friendly territory whilst “I'm your Devil” has a more raw punky feel. The title track “Pulse” is all about the chant and should be a great live number, “Animals” and “Message to God” being full on rockers.
The band says: “This album is more personal, dealing with life events of the past year but still maintaining a positive stance, everybody brought their best to this recording, no compromises, no excuses, simply the best 11 songs we could write and we are proud of the results, after all, without music and fun, what is there?”
Tracklist: 1. Believer, 2. Animals, 3. Cross To Bear, 4. Invincible, 5. I’m Your Devil, 6. Crash Into Me, 7. Pulse, 8. Message To God, 9. Warrior, 10. What Have We Become, 11. Bring Me To Life
