“Feel good rock n’ roll - the music tells stories we can all relate to, but in a fun way” is how songwriter/guitarist Duane Morano describes his CD, Incognito. And on its first-ever release, ‘Incognito’ (whose pre sale begins on November 30th via Pledge Music (http://pmusic.co/lNL9xL), before its official release on February 8th, 2019), Duane has assembled a stellar supporting cast of names that are well-known to melodic rock fans worldwide - Tyketto’s Danny Vaughn, Extreme’s Pat Badger and Kevin Figueiredo, Firehouse’s Michael Foster and Bill Leverty, XYZ’s Terry Ilous, The Firm/Blue Murder’s Tony Franklin, and Alice Cooper’s Nita Strauss, among others.
As Duane explains, the CD ‘Incognito’ came together in a huge stroke of luck. “I had known Bill Leverty for a great many years so he was in from the beginning. Back in 2016, I was having dinner with Bill and was asked if I was ever going to unshelve a CD I started working on years ago. After some thought, I finished a few of the tracks in my studio and sent them to Bill to be mixed. As we listened to the mixes, it became clear to both of us I needed to get rid of the programmed drums, find a bass player instead of a guitar player trying to play bass, and get someone that could sing what I was struggling to attempt. Changes needed to be made. That was when Bill suggested his drummer Michael Foster, so I gave him a shout.”
“The next step was finding the right vocalists to fit the handful of songs that were ready. I had my MP3 player on shuffle and Great White's ‘Hard to Say Goodbye’ came on and thought, ‘Terry's voice would be a great fit for a song,’ so I reached out to him and he asked to hear it. I sent him an MP3 with Michael and Tony playing on it. Terry was a bit surprised that as a guitar player I hired a bass player and didn't do it myself which is typical in self-funded, small budget projects. After explaining, Terry saw I was willing to do what's best for the music and liked the song so he agreed to sing a song or two. As the project progressed and we got to know each other, we started trading ideas back and forth, writing and arraigning together, and ultimately ended up with 5 songs for consideration.”
“Pat coming on board was really a happy accident. For 20 years or so I've collected music memorabilia as hobby. Pat had a Pledge campaign going on at the time and I pledged for the Patocam. He sent me an email saying something like, ‘Dude you got the Patocam,’ so I replied with some smart-aleck funny comment. He laughed and we emailed back and forth for a few hours and went our separate ways. About a week went by and much to my surprise, I got a random email from him asking how I was doing.”
As the project’s leader explains, the album is loaded with rockin’ highlights. “Nita Strauss solo on ‘Manhattan’ was a pick up your jaw off the floor moment. Bryan Cole’s vocals on ‘Don’t Believe You’ grabs elements of rock and blues with a touch of soul, and delivers one of the best performances I’ve ever heard him do. The way Michael Foster and Pat Badger really cement and play with the groove on ‘Kid Gloves’ is really cool.”
And the guests sound equally enthusiastic about the disc. Terry Ilous - “If you want to listen to good rock and roll, good music, pledge for this CD. Duane is a wonderful guitar player and I’m looking forward to singing more songs for him.” Nita Strauss - “‘Manhattan’ is a GREAT song. Thank you for having me on it.” Bill Leverty - "Duane has an amazing CD, filled with tasty music and killer guitar work."
Duane is also confident that his brand of rock fits in well with the current musical climate. “With the interest people have in bands of my youth, I think Incognito gives people the opportunity to hear elements of what was great about that era of music - but in a fresh way. Incognito pays tribute to that time period, but leaves the listener feeling satisfied like you’ve got something new.
And if all goes according to plan, the CD will not merely be a studio project. “Shows could happen if we can get schedules coordinated. That's always the hardest part when trying to get people from several different active bands together in the same place at the same time. There is talk of a live version, and something Bryan, Danny, Terry, and I think could be a lot of fun.”
Lastly, what are Duane’s future plans? “Finish the CD and then spend some much-needed time with my wife and kids - while putting a live band together, for special events.”
CONFIRMED TRACKS/LINE-UPS FOR ‘INCOGNITO’:
After the Love- Danny Vaughn, Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Michael Foster, Bryan Cole
Cookie Jar- Bryan Cole, Duane Morano, Tony Franklin, Michael Foster, Chris Lester
Sincerely Yours- Bryan Cole, Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Michael Foster, Shane French
Don't Believe You- Bryan Cole, Duane Morano, Keith Horne, Michael Foster
Face the Fire- Danny Vaughn, Duane Morano, Keith Horne, Bryan Cole, Kevin Figueiredo (K-Figg)
Giovanna- Danny Vaughn, Duane Morano, John Morano, Michael Foster
Kid Gloves- Danny Vaughn, Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Michael Foster, John Surabian, Bryan Cole
Manhattan- Dan Michaels, Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Michael Foster, Nita Strauss
Hearts- Terry Ilous, Duane Morano, Tony Franklin, Michael Foster, Dan Michaels, Bryan Cole
Love is just a lie- Terry Ilous, Duane Morano, JK Northrup, Pat Badger, Michael Foster
Why- Terry Ilous, Duane Morano, Keith Horne, Bryan Cole, Michael Foster
Barely Breathing- Danny Vaughn, Duane Morano, Pat Badger, Michael Foster
Popular melodic rock outfit TEER is reuniting for two performances at 80's In The Park in Melbourne, Florida. The event kicks off Thursday August 28th with the Bulletboys.
Friday brings performances from Gene Loves Jezebel, Asia featuring John Payne and headliners Firehouse.
Teer opens the festival Saturday at noon, then is followed by Nova Rex, LA Guns, Killer Dwarfs, Kix and Slaughter.
Sunday finds Teer opening the show again at noon and features Femme Fatale, Autograph, Kenny McGee, Kip Winger and Lita Ford.
All weekend there will be many more bands, including tributes to the Cult, Scorpions and Van Halen.
The reformed Teer includes founding members Nathan Boone, Shane French and John Teer, longtime vocalist Dan Michaels and new bassist Frank Bruno.
In episode 115 of One On One With Mitch Lafon, Mitch is joined by GOTTHARD vocalist, Nic Maeder.
Nic sits down with Mitch to discuss the band's new Live & Bangin' album, their plans for a new album, playing shows with former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick & doing those Paul Stanley vocals, covering the Plastic Bertrand song 'Ça Plane Pour Moi', being GOTTHARD's vocalist, on touring North America and much more.
Quote from the interview:
On doing the KISS songs with Bruce Kulick: "Paul Stanley sings insanely high. It was super challenging."
On his place in Gotthard: "It is my band now."
This episode is co-hosted by FIREHOUSE guitarist, Bill Leverty.
In episode 117 of One On One With Mitch Lafon, Mitch is joined by drummer extraordinaire, KEN MARY.
KEN sits down with Mitch to discuss his overall career including being signed to Simmons Records (owned by KISS bassist Gene Simmons), producing and playing with such notable artists as ALICE COOPER, ACCEPT, HOUSE OF LORDS, IMPELLITTERI, BONFIRE, KIP WINGER, NORTHERN LIGHT ORCHESTRA and much more.
Quote from the interview:
On his audition for HOUSE OF LORDS: "It was put together Gregg Giuffria and Gene Simmons. I had to go through an audition process and one of the other drummers that auditioned was Matt Sorum. I ended up in House Of Lords and he ended up in Guns N' Roses. Who got the better end of that deal?"
This episode is co-hosted by FIREHOUSE guitarist, Bill Leverty.
In episode 104 of One On One With Mitch Lafon, Mitch is joined by American Rock guitarist JOE HOLMES who discusses his new band FARMIKOS, replacing Jason Becker, working with DAVID LEE ROTH, his time with OZZY OSBOURNE, does he have any regrets, being a student of the late RANDY RHOADS, where has he been for the last 15 years and much more.
JOE HOLMES - speaking of his audition for David Lee Roth: "The day I went in to audition, there was a line outside Dave's house. The first song I did was Panama. When I did it - I see Dave smiling. Second song was Yankee Rose then I did part of Gigolo and that was it. After that they cut the line off and went for Mexican food."
In the episode's second interview, Mitch is joined by Michael Angelo Batio who discusses his new essential collection, Shred Force 1, NITRO, playing fast and much more.
This episode is co-hosted by FIREHOUSE guitarist, Bill Leverty.
This Episode of One On One With Mitch Lafon is brought to you by the Heavy Montreal Festival taking place on August 7th, 8th and 9th at Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal. This year featuring Lamb Of God, Slipknot, Korn, Faith No More as well as '80s artists Dokken, Lita Ford and Warrant. Visit: http://www.heavymontreal.com
Follow Mitch Lafon on Twitter: @mitchlafon
One on One With Mitch Lafon's Official Twitter is: @1On1WithMitch
And Official Facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/OneOnOneMitchLafon
"I have a new song called 'Strong' that I just released. You can check out a pretty long audio sample on the front page of my website below. I am really happy to let you know that the fine folks who host and work on my website have re-designed the site from the ground up. If you, or anyone you know, might need a website or hosting of a site, I can't recommend PCZero.net highly enough. I've been with them for 12 years now and I've never been happier. If you get a chance, please go over and have a look around.
Finally, I hope to see you on tour this year. You can see some of the dates we have so far on the 'tour' page of the site.
Thanks so much for your many years of support and please contact me anytime you want. I will respond!!
FIREHOUSE guitarist BILL LEVERTY has sent the following news out to fans via his Newsletter:
"I wanted to let you know that I've just put out a new song called "The Heart Heals The Soul". I thought I'd try something different and put out a video as soon as the MP3's were available on iTunes, Amazon, & CD Baby.
The song is an acoustic, singer/songwriter style song. It has a very personal meaning to my family and myself. I hope you like it!
The video was shot in HD, so if you click the link below which will take you to Youtube, you can click that "settings" button (looks like a little gear) in the bottom right of the screen to watch the video in HD. Any comments you leave on Youtube are always appreciated!
If you want to support my music directly, you can go to my website and click the "donate" button. www.Leverty.com
I will email you the 320k MP3, artwork & lyrics for $1.
If you prefer to buy your music from iTunes, Amazon or CD Baby, the links to the song are below.
RUBICON CROSS HITS THE CHARTS WITH SELF-TITLED DEBUT
There is an unmistakable buzz surrounding the hard-hitting self-titled debut from Rubicon Cross. And now, the chart numbers are backing up the buzz, as it has been announced that the album has debuted at #23 on the Heatseeker Chart, #42 on the Hard Music Albums Chart, and #123 on the Independent Albums Chart. Additionally, the album hit the Top 40 at Best Buy, where the album's deluxe edition (which comes with a poster and bonus tracks) is available for purchase:
Comprised of CJ Snare/vocals, Chris Green/lead guitars, Jeff Lerman/second guitar, Simon Farmery/bass, and Robert Behnke/drums, the lush melodic core of Rubicon Cross' songwriting is given a forceful, aggressive boost on this record.
From the first single, 'Bleed With Me' that starts just as propulsive as it ends to 'Kill Or Be Killed' that has a relentless metal drive, RUBICON CROSS is a collection of contemporary heavy music that sits just as comfortably next to hard rock classics as it does modern rock upstarts. 'Locked and Loaded' is featured in the Xbox360 and PS3 game 'Dirt Showdown' along side of new rock heavy-hitters Rise Against, Rival Sons and The Parlor Mob.
