First time on CD! Remastered by JK Northrup and complete liner note written by Dave Reynolds
Jon Butcher Axis"Jon Butcher Axis"
Release Date: January 19
The band is:
Jon Butcher: Lead vocals and all guitars
Derek Blevins: Drums
Chris Martin: Bass
Track listing: Life takes a Life (3.56) / It's only words (3.04) / Ocean in Motion (2.22) / Can't be the only fool (3.24) / Sentinal (3.16) / New Man (3.10) / Fairlight (3.23) / Send one care of (3.45) / Walk like this (3.05) / We will be as one (3.59)
Produced and engineered by Pat Moran
Mastered by J K Northrup
For a time in the early 1980's it looked like as if Jon Butcher's career would know no bounds. As anyone who picked up a copy of the self-titled Jon Butcher Axis album upon its original release in 1983 would concur, here was a star on the rise. Such an upwards trajectory was well deserved given his undeniable talent, the quality of that debut and the ensuing sophomore affair “Stare at the Sun”. Indeed both albums should have resulted in greater rewards than they ultimately did at the time.
Although Jon would enjoy a good deal of recognition for later recorded work, such as “Wishes” (released under his own name rather than the band handle), perhaps the answer to any questions that are asked over Butcher's lack of bigger and more sustained success may be allied to the one that asks “why has it taken well over thirty years for his first two records to be officially released on CD? Sure, several of the best tracks from both albums have surfaced on compilations of Jon's work but never before has either album been issued on its entirety on a silver shiny disc. That is about to change
Jon had an obsession with the guitar from age 5 and his first real band was called Johanna Wild, a band that certainly caught the attention of many people, his influences including BB King, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy.
Notable tracks from the first album include "Ocean in Motion" and "Walk Like This". This album reached No. 91 in the Billboard pop album charts and Axis' video "Life Takes a Life" became one of the first videos by a black artist to receive airtime on MTV. At that time, the only two black artists enjoying MTV coverage were The Jon Butcher Axis and Michael Jackson. The result of his success afforded further growing popularity for the band, which added the opportunity to tour with Rush ('Signals' tour '83),Def Leppard ('Pyromania' tour '83) and Scorpions ('Hurricane' tour '84). amongst others.
Jon Butcher has an undeniable talent and this 10 track album from the classic early eighties era shows just what this man had to offer. Timeless..
Johnny Edwards: Lead vocals (ex Foreigner and King Kobra)
JK Northrup: Lead Guitars (ex XYZ and King Kobra)
Justin McDaid: Rhythm Guitars
Larry Hart: Bass (ex King Kobra)
Glenn Hicks: Drums
Produced by: JK Northrup at Alien Productions Studios except songs 8-9-10-11 Produced by Ronnie Montrose
Mastered by: JK Northrup at Alien Productions Music Studio
Track List: 1-Fat City 03:38 / 2-Fire And Water 03:35 / 3-Winners And Losers 04:02 / 4-Ready For The Rain 04:36 / 5-Sheila 03:44 / 6-Candy Apple Red 03:16 / 7-She’s Waiting 04:07 / 8-Survival In The Streets 04:35 / 9-Dancin’ Feet 03:09 / 10-Burning In Her Fire 03:36 / 11-Rough Life 04:34 / 12-The Kid Is Back In Town 03:59 / 13-Outside Looking In 03:39 / 14-The West 04:19
The Northrup Years
In 1987 four musicians were brought together by the legendary guitarist Ronnie Montrose and their shared manager. Those four were guitarist JK Northrup, Lead vocalist Johnny Edwards, bassist Larry Hart and J K’s long-time friend and drummer Glenn Hicks. Within two weeks they were rehearsing writing and in the studio recording with Ronnie Montrose, who was producing their first demo. It was immediately evident that there was a lot of electricity with the band! Drawing on such influences as Bad Company, Whitesnake and Humble Pie The band’s energy was powerful.
Almost immediately several major labels such as Geffen, Atlantic and MCA were coming to the shows and rehearsals showing great interest in signing the band. John Kalodner himself put the band into the studio to record a further six songs.
Although an agreement was not reached with any of the record labels the band recorded and demoed many songs over two years. They added a fifth member; rhythm guitarist Justin McDaid and continued playing, writing and showcasing until 1989 when they disbanded resulting in Edwards joining Foreigner and J K Northrup joining up with Paul Shortino for two albums.
This collection of 14 songs are a small portion of songs they wrote but they capture the spirit of what a great they actually were. Many of the songs were later performed and recorded by Foreigner, “Ready for the Rain”, “King Kobra”, “Burning in her fire”, “Wild Horses”, “Fire and Water”, “The Kid is Back in Town and “Rough Life” were recorded on the classic album “Back on Track” by Shortino and Northrup.
During 1988 JK Northrup, Johnny Edwards and Larry Hart were recruited by legendary drummer Carmine Appice to write, record and perform the King Kobra III album.
This is a classic case of a band that should have been a multi-platinum success and these songs we have here are a reminder of what a great group of musicians and prolific songwriters they are.
MelodicRock Records is excited to announce signing new hard rock project FICTION SYXX. The debut album ‘Tall Dark Secrets’ is in stock now. All pre-orders shipping out.
FICTION SYXX, is the brain child of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist, Mark Allen Lanoue. But like all ideas, including musical ones, it is not just about the writing; it is about the delivery. So, after writing the first song called “Welcome to my Nightmare” for this new musical journey, Mark started talking with friend and multi-talented musician/songwriter/producer, JK Northrup (KING KOBRA, XYZ) about starting a project that would be framed around a core of members.
FICTION SYXX & JAN AKESSON'S SHADOW RAIN (Both Releases for $30 and just $4 shipping worldwide)
Mark then talked to an old bandmate, drummer, Rory Faciane. Rory is a live and studio drummer that attended the Musicians Institute and now resided in Nashville TN. Rory immediately came on board with Mark and JK as the drummer. Then Mark began talking to Tony “The Fretless Monster” Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER). After Tony heard the first ideas for this project, he offered to play bass and added his amazing talents to the project. Finally, keyboardist extraordinaire, Eric Ragno (GRAHAM BONNET, JOE LYNN TURNER) was added to the lineup.
Now the band was complete and ready to deliver the album “TALL DARK SECRETS”!
FICTION SYXX mixes progressive hard rock with a nuance of melodic rock. The first release from this project was a way to bring a talented core of seasoned musicians together and to bring several guest artists and what came out of the effort is a solid 11 songs of progressive rock.
The name FICTION SYXX was created nearly 10 years ago. It is derived from the many mystical and mythical meanings behind the number 6 and sequences of that number such as “666” and “6666”. Since Mark was born on 6-6-66, the mystique about the number six became intriguing to him. In the 80’s, it also gained quite the bit of attention when being ID’d at convenience stores and bars.
FICTION SYXX is:
Mark Allen Lanoue - Lead and Backing Vocal, Rhythm- Lead and Acoustic Guitar
JK Northrup - Rhythm- Lead- Slide and Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocal
Tony Franklin - Bass
Rory Faciane - Drums and Percussion
Eric Ragno - Keyboards
The album was Produced, Mixed and Mastered by JK Northrup at Alien Productions Music Studio, Carmichael CA, USA
MelodicRock Records is excited to announce signing new hard rock project FICTION SYXX. The debut album ‘Tall Dark Secrets’ will be released August 26.
FICTION SYXX, is the brain child of songwriter/vocalist/guitarist, Mark Allen Lanoue. But like all ideas, including musical ones, it is not just about the writing; it is about the delivery. So, after writing the first song called “Welcome to my Nightmare” for this new musical journey, Mark started talking with friend and multi-talented musician/songwriter/producer, JK Northrup (KING KOBRA, XYZ) about starting a project that would be framed around a core of members.
Mark then talked to an old bandmate, drummer, Rory Faciane. Rory is a live and studio drummer that attended the Musicians Institute and now resided in Nashville TN. Rory immediately came on board with Mark and JK as the drummer. Then Mark began talking to Tony “The Fretless Monster” Franklin (THE FIRM, BLUE MURDER). After Tony heard the first ideas for this project, he offered to play bass and added his amazing talents to the project. Finally, keyboardist extraordinaire, Eric Ragno (GRAHAM BONNET, JOE LYNN TURNER) was added to the lineup.
Now the band was complete and ready to deliver the album “TALL DARK SECRETS”!
FICTION SYXX is:
Mark Allen Lanoue - Lead and Backing Vocal, Rhythm- Lead and Acoustic Guitar
JK Northrup - Rhythm- Lead- Slide and Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocal
Tony Franklin - Bass
Rory Faciane - Drums and Percussion
Eric Ragno - Keyboards
The album was Produced, Mixed and Mastered by JK Northrup at Alien Productions Music Studio, Carmichael CA, USA
On December 1st, Retroactive Records is releasing the 2015 edition of LIBERTY 'N JUSTICE - The Vow. The release features several metal legends, and the band continues to perfect their brand of sleeze/hair/pop hard rock and metal! Previously available only as a digital download, the Retroactive Records edition features two new bonus tracks, and is housed in a full color four panel digipak!
