Its time to break out the keytars!

Playlist:
Snowfall – I Won’t Be Lonely Anymore
Heaven & Earth – No Money, No Love
Burning Rain – Made For Your Heart
Chasing Violets – Silent Victory
Amaze Me – can’t Stop Loving You
Mike Tramp – New Day
Tom Keifer – A Different Light
Redrum – Dirty White Boy
Timo Tolkki’s Avalon – Enshrined In My Memory
The Poodles – Shut Up!

Stream it below or
download the Mixcloud iPhone app
download the Mixcloud Android app
and search for ‘Midlands Rocks’

Woody’s Round Up – May 2013 by Midlands Rocks Radio on Mixcloud

]]> http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/radio-show-woodys-round-up-may-2013/feed/ 0 http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/interview-with-rick-palin-promoter-of-skyfest/ http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/interview-with-rick-palin-promoter-of-skyfest/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 07:56:21 +0000 Peter Keevil http://www.themidlandsrocks.com/?p=18758 Interview by Woody

Hi Rick, I believe you are the mastermind behind a new Midlands based melodic rock festival called Skyfest! What inspired you to put on a melodic rock festival?

Woody pleasure to meet you and thank you for the interview.  I think the inspiration to put on the festival came out of pure madness and thinking ah what the hell why not… Seriously though Firebrand Rock Radio as a business has been going for nearly 3 years now and Skyfire PR just over 18 months and we thought it was about time to do something a bit special and a bit different than just promotional giveaways through the station and that is how the idea of the festival came about, the ability to have the bands play we all wanted to see… and hopefully that the public do as well.

Is there a reason the festival is called Skyfest?

Simply this one of our businesses is called Firebrand and the other Skyfire… so as the use of the ‘fire’ name was a no go lol, we decided on using Sky instead it was that simple.

How did you decide who was going to play? Was it all your decision or did others help bring bands onboard?

Ah the source of many arguments with my team over here at Firebrand lol, there is such a wide variety of incredible talent out there, that we all went into a pit and slugged it out to the last man standing and that is how the list was chosen. We wanted something different and that meant the ability to mix styles a bit to put on a showcase of bands that we knew the audience would love, some not having been seen in England before and some  not for a good few years… all amazing talents and worth the time of the audience.

All the bands fit under the tag of ‘melodic rock’ but it is very varied musical line-up was this a conscious decision or just how the line up formed?

Yes, there is no point having a load of the same sounding bands on the bill so the variety was planned from the start.

Who are you most specifically looking forward to see perform?

There are several people I am looking forward to seeing most but in particular Rob Mancini, a good friend of mine, Ged Ryland’s Rage Of Angels, as I believe this band to be a phenomenal future talent. Plus really looking forward to seeing Daylight Robbery after their blistering performance at HRH AOR and one person in particular who has a great rock voice and a very eclectic style and that would be Doris Brendel (ex Violet Hour) who I believe is a very much under-rated talent and firmly deserves to be on this bill as her body of work is exceptional.

There are quite a few smaller or lesser known bands on the bill, was it always the plan to offer slots to smaller bands who may not otherwise get the opportunity to play in front of a larger festival audience or again just how the line-up came together?

Everything we do at FBRR/Skyfire is geared to help the smaller bands progress, so yes it was a big part of the plan to mix established bands and less well known ones as we firmly believe in helping out promote the music of smaller bands in an industry that is very unforgiving to the up and coming artist.

Skyfest is taking place at the Intake Club in Mansfield. What factors made you decide on this town and venue?

The Intake is the perfect venue for us, being the right size for our first ever festival, we took the view that a bigger venue for this first trial was too much of a financial risk, especially in a market that is saturated. Not much pointing in having a 2000 cap venue if you only sell 700 sets of tickets. We want this festival to be a huge success so that next year we can put on a bigger event.

I’ve heard there are two rooms at the Intake, will they both be used for bands or will one be utilised as a rest room and place for merchandise stalls?

Yes we plan to use both stages the second mainly for meet & greets plus the addition of acoustic sets which is something we are going to announce shortly.

What can fans expect from the Skyfest festival experience? And do you have any special things planned that we may not be aware of yet?

All the bands are of an exceptional pedigree when it comes to live performances and all we hope the fans can expect is to have a great time and enjoy the bands… if they do then we have done our job right.

Is this a one off festival or will Skyfest become an annual event? Will it stay in Mansfield and at the same time every year?

If the festival this year turns out to be the success we hope it will be then we will be making it an annual event. However where it will be next year we have no idea as yet, depending on how this year’s goes really … so ask me in six months

I think putting on a melodic rock show is always risky, as many shows are notorious for poor turn outs. I think the success of HRH AOR has proved there is room for more shows and festivals within the melodic rock scene, but are you worried about turn-out or the festival being a success overall or are you just taking it all in your stride?

I think there are times as a business owner that of course you get no sleep worrying if everything will be a success or not, that is just part of being in business and with the economic climate as it is, yes turn out is a worry however having said that if you do not take the risk then you cannot achieve the results you want. I believe that the line up we have will make way for a fantastic experience both for ourselves and the public.

Is there anything else you’d like to add or tell us about?

Yes there is and for anyone that knows me you could say that is a fatal question to ask as I can talk for England given the chance. But I would just say simply this time that if you wish to find out more please feel free to check for news on www.firebrandrockradio.com or join our Facebook group  to keep up on all the latest gossip. If there are any questions please feel free to drop me a mail at rick.palin@skyfirepr.com

Interview By Woody

Hey Paul, Lost Weekend have been around for quite a while now but for anyone new to the band can you tell us the Lost Weekend line-up how you got together and how you would describe the band’s sound?

Hi Woody, the band consists of Paul Uttley vocals (me!), Dave Thompson guitar, Paul Surrell guitar, Robin Patchett bass, Jack Himsworth on drums and Irvin Parratt on keyboards.

I would say we have a very British rock sound, the likes of  a UFO and Thunder feel to our sound with elements of melody based on  American AOR but yeah British for sure.

You have recently recorded your sixth album ‘Evermore’, when can we expect it to be released and will it be on a record label or an independent release?

Evermore will be released on 21^st June 2013 on the AOR Heaven label and we could not be more delighted.

Who are the principal songwriters and what is the song writing process like in Lost Weekend?

Dave, myself and with Irvin coming back he also contributes immensely, also for the first time Robin has stepped up to the plate, which again as broadened our musical style further.

On your last album ‘Fear & Innocence’ you took a more classic rock approach and toned down the keyboards. For ‘Evermore’ you have welcomed back keyboardist Irvin Parratt, is this a sign the new album will have a stronger keyboard presence akin to your earlier albums?

Yes, with Irvin back in the fold it gave us greater scope to explore the keys and give us our signature sound, really.

Can you talk us through some of the songs on ‘Evermore’, song titles, how they were written and what they are about or stories behind the song?

Track one is ‘Reach for the sky’, inspired by a chat with some World War 2 veterans, it describes how they are feeling and how alone at that point in the air these guys were, it’s also the subject matter for the video we have filmed and will be released very shortly.

‘Angel sublime’ is about a family searching for their missing child and is based on a true story – a very emotional song.

‘Perfect day’ in contrast was inspired by our magnificent Olympians and is a very upbeat catchy track.

‘Fallen by the wayside’ is the polar opposite and is a song written solely by Dave in memory of his late mother Charlotte for whom we have dedicated the album. The rest? Well you’re going to have to get the cd to find out, ha!

You have just filmed the first ever Lost Weekend music video, what was that experience?

We rehearse in some studios in the old famous Black Dyke Mills in Bradford. One day we were checking out the old part of the mill and discovered this fantastic room with a great vaulted ceiling, it looked like an aircraft hangar and we all said this would make for a great video shoot, so that’s how that came about. Check out the stills on Melodicrock.com and you will see what we mean.

Lost Weekend have been around for a fair few years now, do you find it frustrating trying to gain support from fans and media in the melodic rock genre?

I’ve never seen it as a problem, we have many friends in the media who give us great coverage – yourself,  Melodicrock, Powerplay and Fireworks to name but a few. Hey; you write albums and put your heart in to them and then release them and hope you have captured something that other people will like! Some will, some won’t, that’s life and you just roll with the punches and enjoy it when it’s going your way. With the rise in social media sites and a chance to reach a worldwide audience we have more and more people enjoying what we do all the time and that very satisfying.

Hence why all our back catalogue will also be available on iTunes. Along with ‘Evermore’.

Do you have any live shows planned to support the release?

Yes we will be performing the new album along with some oldies. We are rehearsing now but having to take our time due to a bad hand injury to Paul Surrell.

Having seen you perform an acoustic show at Lucy’s in Hednesford recently I noticed not just how well you guys performed that evening but how strongly the Lost Weekend songs come across in an acoustic format. Do you have any plans to do anymore acoustic shows in the future?

Dave and myself do quite a lot each year but with Irvin back in sure we will be adding more

What bands or albums are you currently listening to?

To be honest I listen to everybody and anybody if it’s got melody I’m a fan, and it also depends what mood one’s in.

Is there any Lost Weekend gossip or hush hush ‘you didn’t hear this from me’ secrets you can divulge?

If I told you I would have to kill you!

Is there anything else you like to add or tell us about?

Just thank you for the interview Woody, it’s been fun and roll on 21^st June we you all get to hear ‘Evermore’.

This is my second visit to new local music venue Lucy’s Bar in Hendesford, it’s a venue I really took a shine to on my first visit so I’m quite excited to see two bands there tonight who take me back to my youth. Both Dante Fox and Lost Weekend emerged onto the British underground melodic rock scene in the mid 90’s and it’s great to see them performing again.

Lost Weekend have been an ever present band over the past 16+ years of the scene, regularly releasing albums with principal songwriters vocalist Paul Uttley and guitarist Dave Thompson even managing to have time to write songs for Bob Catley’s solo album The Spirit of Man. Tonight’s acoustic show features a slimmed down line up of Paul, Dave and the welcome return of keyboard player Irvin Parratt.

I had forgotten what a great band Lost Weekend are, their acoustic set by nature was a laid back affair, but was totally engrossing and enjoyable. The guys were obviously well rehearsed and their selection was well chosen as every song came across stunningly well. Paul’s voice was as distinctive and as emotive as ever, something I felt was missing on the band’s last album Fear & Innocence where the vocals seemed too clean and devoid of Paul’s usual distinct vocal style, so it’s great to hear him back to his best.

The beauty of acoustic shows is that it can allow guitarists to show off their technical abilities and show a more intricate style to their playing. Dave relished this and some of those riffs sounded even better in this format than when plugged in! Irvin’s keyboards were nice and high in the mix and he excelled on the tracks previewed from the band’s forthcoming album Evermore.

Lost Weekend took this opportunity to play a trio of songs from the upcoming Evermore and all were really impressive and seemed to signal a return to the more overtly AOR roots of the band. The touching ballad ‘Angel Sublime’ got a great reaction from the crowd and the wonderfully catchy ‘Be Who You Wanna Be’ made my anticipation for the new album really peak.

However, the song that really gained my interest of the three was the second song of the evening which I think is called ‘Love Will Find You’ which really struck me and I immediately thought the sound echoed the bands more straight ahead melodic rock beginnings. On their previous album Fear & Innocence, they had ventured into more classic rock sounding territory akin to UFO so given the vibe of tonight’s new songs I wouldn’t be surprised if the new album veers more towards the melodic rock sound most associate with the band. Irvin’s keyboards on this song in particular were quite delicious!

The band were allocated a nice set length so managed to get quite a few songs in, including, ‘Faith’, ‘Shining Star’, ‘The Eagle’,‘Stone Hearted Woman’, ‘Back Street Livin’, ‘Beautiful Mind’ (which was written for Bob Catley) and the wonderful ‘All Hands To The Fire’ from my favourite Lost Weekend album Presence of Mind.

Hopefully they will get a few live shows or Festivals to promote Evermore and you should definitely take the time to go and check them out.

I’ve been a big fan of Dante Fox since they came onto the scene way back when but believe it or not I have never ever seen the band perform a headline show, it’s always been Festivals or support slots. So tonight is a rare treat for me.

In many ways tonight was probably the best I’ve ever heard the Fox. The sound at Lucy’s really did showcase their songs and musicianship in the best possible light and it’s a real shame that there weren’t more in attendance to hear the band in fine form! They may be used to being a support act but they really grabbed the bull by the horns tonight and delivered a fantastic and musically diverse headline show.

If I’m honest nostalgia did get the better of me tonight and I thoroughly revelled in their older material, in particular the back to back offering of ‘Lost & Lonely’, ‘Under The City Lights’ and ‘I Can’t Sleep’. We also heard ‘Lucky Ones’, ‘Firing My Heart’, ‘Breakin Me Down’,‘Goodbye To Yesterday’, ‘Lost Man’s Ground’, ‘The Last Goodbye’ and ‘Who Stole the Innocence’.

Singer Sue was on top form, as everyone has come to expect from her live. She pours so much effort into her vocal delivery and given the quality of her performance tonight that effort is plain to hear!

Although Sue is well known for her powerful rock vocal it’s actually on the beautiful ballad ‘Secrets’ that we hear what she is truly capable of – it’s not about power it’s about emotion and goose bump inducing vocal melodies. She really does put more well known vocalists to shame with her emotive and stirring voice, and although she won plaudits for her powerful rock vocal on the heavier edged Under Southern Skies it is actually on the more melodic songs that we hear the true beauty of Sue’s voice. She really went for it on this song pouring herself into it; I suspect it may be a favourite of Sue’s given her strong and emotive delivery and the highlight of the whole evening!

Guitarist Tim Manford is a consistently strong, excelling live on the heavier material that gives him chance to belt out some chunky and driving riffs. I think, though, that what really got me tonight was the quality of Tim’s solos. He frequently took centre stage to belt out a solo and the crystal clear sound at Lucy’s really made the jaw drop when he came to the fore! Drummer Andy Perfect and bass man Al Mill’s years of live experience is evident in their cool and relaxed stage presence. I have to say it was excellent to see keyboardist Pete Lakin actually onstage this time after him been relegated to the side of stage at The Slade Rooms last year. It may not be a huge stage at Lucy’s but its big enough to get a keyboard player on – although I thought it was a bit cheeky to insist on having three keyboards! I may have dribbled a little bit when I saw the keyboard stand… but I ain’t confessing to nowt!

As a live band Dante Fox have come on leaps and bounds and although some have criticised their stage craft in the past the amount of live work and experience in recent times really shows as the Fox are now far more at home on stage! They round off their set with ‘Remember’ which the band have finally ground me down on and I am starting to really enjoy as part of their set. They leave the stage briefly before returning for the encore of ‘Walkin The Line’ which sees the band leave to loud applause from the small but loyal and appreciative crowd.

It’s great to see Dante Fox so active and I can’t wait to see them perform live again!

See more of Mark’s photos here;

Skyfest? What the hell’s Skyfest!?

Well grab a beer, tea, coke or some liquid refreshment of your choice and read on and hopefully I’ll enlighten you to what the hell Skyfest is!

Skyfest is a brand new melodic rock festival which will be held right here in the Midlands. The Festival is been organised by the good peep’s at Firebrand Radio and Skyfire Media, the two day festivities will feature over twenty bands from the world of melodic rock and metal. It will take place at The Intake Club in Mansfield just a few miles north of Nottingham on 21^st/22^nd September. The venue boasts multiple rooms and free onsite parking so should be a comfortable venue for those wishing to take a breather from the music room throughout the day.

The full line-up’s are as follows –

Saturday 21^st September

Pretty Maids
Redrum
VEGA
I Am I
Teazer
Code Of Silence
X-UFO
Summers
Daylight Robbery
Cornerstone
Last Breath

Sunday 22^nd September

Rage Of Angels
Coldspell
Moritz
Tainted Nation
Doris Brendel
Rob Mancini
Knockout Kaine
The Room
Hangfire

If that sounds like your idea of a fun weekend of music you can grab tickets now from the link below, the tickets cost £40 per day or £70 for a weekend pass.

Purchase SkyFest tickets here

You want to know more!!? Well OK you best go empty your bladder and grab another cup/glass/mug/hollowed out skull/drip tray of your favourite beverage, slip on your slippers and read on.

Headlining on the Saturday night are Danish Melodic Metallers Pretty Maids. They came to fame during the ‘80’s with classic albums Future World and Lethal Heroes. The band has been going through a resurgence of popularity in recent years due to the critically acclaimed Pandemonium album which was released in 2010. They have just released their latest effort Motherland. Also, for a metal band these guys are not afraid to crank the keyboard’s up… which is nice…

Greece’s Redrum also play on the Saturday, they are fronted by German vocalist Michael Bormann (Jaded Heart). I saw these guys at last year’s Z Rock @ The Robin in Bilston and really enjoyed their set, I’m sure they’ll continue to make new fans at Skyfest. They have just released their second album Victim of Circumstances and are hot on the promotion trail!

Do I need to introduce VEGA? I love this band; they are quite possibly the greatest band in the world! If there was one band that should tempt you to this Festival it’s these guys! They are a great British melodic rock band pushing the boundaries of the genre and having a ball along the way. The band features vocalist Nick Workman and twin song writing geniuses Tom & James Martin. Expect anthemic rockers and big ass choruses to bounce and sing along too!

Melodic Metal outfit I AM I are fronted by ex-Dragonforce vocalist ZP Theart. They released their debut album ‘Event Horizon’ last year to much critical acclaim. These guys will definitely offer something a little different over the weekend, heavier but still highly melodic!

Can’t say I know much about Teazer. Having done some research it seems this American band have recently reformed after a lengthy hiatus, the band became popular during their brief active life between 1979 and 1983! The rejuvenated band is keen to get back at it and really looking forward to touching down in the UK for a live show!

Code Of Silence are a melodic power metal band from the UK although they feature a Brazilian singer! Their debut album Dark Skies over Babylon was written with Paul Logue of multinational melodic metal act Eden’s Curse. They are another band that will bring a heavier edge to the weekend’s musical festivities!

X-UFO features musicians that have played with UFO over the years including guitarist Laurence Archer and drummer Clive Edwards. The band initially took life as a sort of tribute band with them playing songs from their stints with the legendary British Classic Rock band. As the band gelled they decided to make some new original music too!

Summers are a young British band who embraces old school stadium rock like Def Leppard and spin a little bit of a modern twist on the sound. They are quickly building a strong fan base and after the release of their debut album 364 they are keen to hit the road! This exciting and fun loving band should definitely add some fun to the party!

A band I know well Daylight Robbery from Birmingham are also playing on the Saturday. Their brand of hard edged melodic rock has seen them win new fans on numerous support slots and a successful appearance at the first ever HRH AOR Festival. The band are still pushing their debut album Cross Your Heart but are hard at work on new songs for their follow up, including a song that has become a firm set-list regular ‘Samarah Never Sleeps’. Daylight Robbery are a band who come to life on stage and are keen to play whenever, wherever!

No one can say Scottish melodic rockers Estrella don’t work hard getting their music out to the masses! They have toured the UK extensively at any and all small venues that would have them! They also did well winning fans amongst the Hard Rock Hell community which has lead them to playing not only Hard Rock Hell but also HRH AOR earlier this year! They have a unique sound are definitely ones to watch!

Female fronted Austrian melodic rockers Cornerstone have a unique style and are another hard working band that are constantly on the road around Europe, playing small venues and Festivals in the UK frequently. I saw the band a few years ago opening up Z Rock @ JB’s in Dudley and really liked what I heard, they’ll be bringing something a little bit more alternative to the festival.

Last Breath are a UK band who have a modern take on Melodic Rock, and although I don’t know much about these guys  I really like what they are doing. Another hard working and very active live band I’m sure they will put on a strong performance.

Rage Of Angels are the brainchild of principal songwriter Ged Rylands and they headline the Sunday Night at Skyfest. The recently released album Dreamworld has garnered widespread critical acclaim and has had melodic rock fan boy’s (and girls!) salivating! The live line-up features Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) on lead vocals, Al Barrow (Magnum) on bass, Neil Fraser (Ten) on Guitars and a welcome return the melodic rock scene of Paul Hodson on keyboards!

Scandinavian melodic hard rockers Coldspell return to the UK for only their second live appearance on our shores. Hailed as one of the bands of the Festival at Z Rock @ The Asylum a couple of years ago,  I’m sure many will be keen to witness them again!

The return of cult British AOR’sters Moritz in recent times has seen them release two new albums and a return to the live scene with an appearance at the first HRH AOR earlier this year. The band has a loyal following whom I’m sure will be front row centre when these guys hit the stage in Mansfield. Their traditional AOR sound is sure to prove popular with fans of old school melodic rock at the Festival.

Tainted Nation will definitely be one of the curveball bands at the Festival. The band fronted by popular drummer Pete Newdeck have a more alternative sound to their brand of heavy edged rock and will definitely be a very different band for people to enjoy but given the popularity of the band I’m sure they’ll gather a strong crowd down the front!

Who is Doris Brendel? Good bloody question! I have to hold my hands up and say I haven’t got a clue even though she has released seven albums. YES you read that right she has seven albums to her name. On the bit of research I’ve done on her expect something a little bit different! She’s been compared to Janis Joplin so might be one to watch out for classic rock fans!

Irish solo artist Rob Mancini caused a bit of a stir in melodic rock circles with his wonderful traditional AOR album Rock N Roll Circus a few years ago. I’m sure the cult following Rob has built up will see him greeted by a warm welcome at SkyFest.

Brash whiskey soaked rockers Knockout Kaine should provide a great wakeup call early on during the Sunday line-up. The guys are still pushing their critically acclaimed album House of Sins and are hitting the live circuit hard to promote it. They played this year’s HRH AOR festival and I know many are keen to see them again, especially at an intimate venue like the Intake!

Let it not be said that Skyfest isn’t a diverse music festival as playing on the Sunday are Prog rockers The Room. I don’t know a lot about this band but I’m sure these guys lean more towards the melodic end of the Proggy spectrum, so for those looking for something a little different I’m sure these guys will provide it!

Hangfire are gaining fans and critical acclaim with every live show and it’s no surprise to see them upon the Skyfest bill. A dirty biker rock band with melodic rock tendencies that will definitely kick start Skyfest’s second day with an almighty bang!

Well that’s a rundown of all the bands playing the first ever Skyfest! Did you make it this far? Well done I almost didn’t make it, finding and adding links is hard work you know!

It’s great to see so many melodic rock shows happening in the Midlands this year, so make the most of them and get out and support the ones you can!

Purchase SkyFest tickets here

It has been a long time since Danny Vaughn ventured to the Black Country for a gig, and I’ve been excited about this one since it was announced, especially as he is playing my favourite venue, The Robin. I had worried that attendance may have been affected with Danny playing the HRH AOR Festival just a few days before, so it was great to see a decent crowd gather for one of the best voices in melodic rock.

First up are Brummies Lovebite, who are riding high on the positive feedback for their album ‘Locked & Loaded’, not least from certain members of the Midlands Rocks team. Having seen the band before, I wasn’t impressed with the vocals, but was keen to give the band another listen.

On paper I should love these guys; they play glam rock which veers more towards melodic rock rather than the rawer sleaze edge that their image implies. However, they failed to move me tonight. They are full of rock star swagger and attitude, but they really need to write some killer tunes to match.

I’ve seen Danny Vaughn live more times than I have had hot dinners and he never fails to entertain – bad nights just aren’t his thing! Vaughn has always managed to keep an active live presence whether it be solo or with Tyketto. Hard work and stunning performances no doubt have added to his popularity.

Danny has assembled a new band around him for this solo tour, which Vaughn informs us is to support the re-release of his first two solo records. Joining Danny is Ged Rylands on keyboards and guitars.  Ged went from keys to guitar flawlessly and added some great backing to Danny’s performance, a very talented musician and it’s great to have him back in the melodic rock scene. Thunder’s Chris Childs fills the bass slot, and whilst he’s not an overly engaging performer, he is the flawless backbone to the band along with impressive young scot Dave McLusky on drums. Guitarist Jon Sudbury complements the lineup, knowing when to go for the crunch or to hold back depending on the flavour of whichever song is played.

Vaughn is probably one of the greatest front men I’ve ever witnessed and tonight is no exception. Despite being tired from a long weekend at HRH AOR, he turned in an awesome performance. I like how naturally he can flick between being a strong hair tossing mic stand wielding rocker, and being just at ease with his acoustic guitar. A lot of Danny’s music is acoustic based which lends a flavour to make him different from other bands I enjoy. The sound was spot on and in some ways this was probably the best I’ve heard him.

A passionate performer, he connects well with his fans, embracing them as friends with a familiar attitude which really endears people to him, making his shows quite intimate. His appreciation of his fans comes across as very genuine and heartfelt.

We were treated to ‘Bad Water’, ‘Badlands Rain’, ‘Restless Blood’, ‘Fly Away’ and ‘The Voice’. There was some really cool uplifting moments like ‘Just Like That’ and ‘Always’ from Danny’s pure AOR project ‘From the Inside’, which was beautiful. ‘Was There A Moment’ has a real drive and emotion that never fails to grip me live, and Sudbury does a spot on job with those crunching guitar riffs!

One of the best crowd reactions of the evening actually came for ‘The Warrior’s Way’ which was a song written for the live arena and it’s easy to hear why this song is so well loved. Danny has always been a songwriter who tries to think outside the box and throw a few songs into the mix which may seem a little odd or perhaps not fit in with the other album tracks; one of these songs is ‘Carry Me Home’. He introduces the song as a personal favourite and although it’s a song he’s never had a fan say they love or connect with, it’s still a song he’s most proud of. I think the song is more popular than he thinks and I hope the response from the crowd tonight made him realise that.

Vaughn closes the set with a bang and probably one of his most popular solo sing along’s ‘Is That All There Is’. He introduces it with a wry smile and tells us the origins of the song and how many of his fans connect with it and states we must have all have had some fooked up relationships! Yeah tell me it about it! Whilst lyrically quite a dark song it does finish the night on a high with a chorus of fans singing every word back at Danny.

I was shocked Danny didn’t play melodic rock anthem ‘Forever Young’ in his encore, I can’t remember the last time he omitted it, but one of the great things about a Vaughn set list is you never know what you’re going to get!

I came out of the Robin thinking ‘BEST GIG EVER’! And I fooking love that feeling! Hopefully Danny will be back again in the future and maybe with Tyketto too. Now he knows how awesome we are…

Literally an hour after showtime Danny Vaughn posted this on Facebook – and before the cynical amongst say ‘yeah, yeah I bet he did this after every gig’ he didn’t and not like this…

Sometimes, your hard work pays off and something special happens. Monday night in Bilston, Robin 2 sounded a lot like Saturday night to me. The band played our best gig yet, the spirit of the fans moved me to push beyond the hoarseness, the guys were note perfect and I have rarely felt quite as powerful or emotional on stage. Thank you, each and every one. – Danny Vaughn

See more of Rob’s photos here;

It’s no surprise with the Asylum venue being managed by Shy bassist Roy Davies that the occasional melodic rock act will slip through onto this emerging Brum live music venue.  Also, if I’m honest, The Asylum’s main room is probably the only venue in Brum I actually like, so it’s great to see JSS here!

Tonight’s opening act Danger Angel have the seal of approval of JSS and he produced their new album ‘Revolutia’. I thought their previous album was poor and the vocals were awful. However, ‘Revolutia’ sees a monumental improvement in the band’s songs and the new singer M.T. is a hundred times better. So it’s no surprise that tonight’s set only featured songs from their latest opus. The venue was still filling up as the band hit the stage but they came out ready to rock as though the room was packed. The sound was crystal clear for them and it really showed the band’s songs off in the best possible light. Vocalist M.T was engaging and vocally strong throughout their set. They definitely won some new fans tonight judging by applause and crowd reaction to their brand of highly melodic rock with a dark twist.

Next up was a three piece lead by guitarist Jorge Salan who is also part of JSS’s current touring band. Obviously Jeff has Jorge’s back so I’m reluctant to say anything too negative but I have to admit that their set did see a dip in the momentum of the evening built up by Danger Angel.  At first I wondered if it was because most the songs were in his native Spanish tongue, but to be honest they just didn’t grab my attention and the band lacked the fire and stage presence of their predecessors, so they weren’t exactly an exciting band to watch. The addition of two covers; Bon Jovi’s ‘Lay Your Hands’ and Gary Moore’s ‘Over The Hills and Far Away’ was a good idea as they elicited the best reactions of the set. Jorge’s talent was plain to see but his songs didn’t grab me. It was going to be interesting to hear him on Jeff’s solo work.

I think most people here tonight were very excited to see Jeff Scott Soto live again as it has been quite a while since he’s toured the UK. So it was great to see him come bursting on stage, all guns blazing and seeing him so wildly fired up during the show’s opener ‘Take You Down’. Jeff then told us that he was running on adrenaline as he hadn’t slept for almost 48 hours after been unable to sleep in Belfast the previous night knowing he had a really early flight into Brum. Admittedly, his voice was a bit raw to start off, but he shouldn’t have worried as he and his band put on a storming show regardless.

Jeff engaged the crowd frequently and was very jovial with plenty of ad-lib and pastiches on the usual concert set pieces we’ve all become used to over the years.

Jorge Salan was as good as I thought he would be and did an amazing job on all the songs played tonight, Jeff had picked his guitarist well. B.J on keyboards and guitar impressed, with a great voice to boot. Edu Cominato also helped out on backing vocals and was a really impressive drummer, who, during his drum solo, played well known drum sections from songs rather than the usual boring ‘drum solo’ stuff. I never thought I would ever say I enjoyed a drum solo, but tonight I did.

Bass man, David Z, though… WOW, what a performer. He bounced around the stage with as much energy and fire as Jeff himself with a ten mile smile for the entire night. It was really fun to watch them interacting! We need to see more of David Z in the UK!

I had thought Jeff received a great crowd reaction from the start but when four songs in and BJ starts playing that unforgettable opening keyboard riff from W.E.T’s ‘One Love’, I thought the roar was going to tear the Asylum a new hole! I think it’s safe to say Jeff’s side project W.E.T is very popular, so it was a really cool moment to hear this song live.

Jeff chose a good set of solo material including ‘21st Centaury’, ‘Damage Control’, ‘Soul Devine’, ‘Tears I Cry’, and ‘Look Inside Your Heart’ on which he messed up the lyrics. After much laughter and apologies he made the band start over as he wanted to do it properly for the fans – he just needed the first line!

For me the highlight of the entire set was the Talisman medley. We heard snippets of ‘Break Your Chains’, ‘Day By Day’, ‘Give Me A Sign’, ‘Dangerous’, ‘Mysterious’, ‘Just Between us’, ‘Frozen’, ‘Crazy’ and of course ‘I’ll Be Waiting’ on which before the reprise of the chorus he tapped his Talisman t-shirt remarking ‘I’ve got unfinished business, this unfinished business’. It was a great medley and Jeff nailed it perfectly!
Oddly, Jeff did a cover of Wildlife’s ‘Shot In The Dark’, which Ozzy Osbourne turned it into a worldwide hit. Jeff did a great rendition of the song and it certainly got the crowd going. After set closer ‘Stand Up and Shout’, which Jeff wrote and performed for the film ‘Rockstar’, they left the stage doing a cheeky improv acapella rendition of Steel Panther’s ‘Community Property’ which got everyone chuckling!

Given the roar and chanting which continued after the encore the band were compelled to come back out again, and Jeff said “well we did cut one song to stick to the curfew, shall we do it?” Unfortunately the no nonsense stage manager was there as a quick as a flash to usher the band off-stage, which was a shame and made the fella rather unpopular! I know curfews are the law and breaking them can lose you your license, but I couldn’t help thinking if this was JB’s or The Robin we would have gotten that extra song!

Jeff promised us a killer show in the build up to this tour and he delivered it all as promised. A great fun evening full of laughter, energy and fire. Thanks Jeff, now don’t leave it so long before you return!

It is with deep sadness that I report the passing of band manager Michael Sunden who passed away after a tragic accident at Rock City in Nottingham. Michael tripped on a few steps and banged his head on a brick wall whilst at the venue watching Saxon; he later died in hospital from his injuries. Michael was currently managing Crashidet and would have been with the band on their current UK tour; he is well known in his native Sweden and has worked with a whole host of melodic rock bands over the years including Houston, Vega, Degreed and Coldspell.

R.I.P Michael.

Tickets are available now for HRH AOR 2! The festival has moved to a new location, which offers bigger venues and more accommodation. So the HRH team have moved the event to the Pwllheli, Hafan y Mor site, which has become the base of many of the organisations Festivals and events. The Festival will now span three days with a small pre-festival warm up on the Thursday evening.

Rage of Angels have just announced a warm up show prior to their European Tour which includes a headline slot at the first Skyfest Festival in Mansfield. It takes place at Lucy’s Bar in Hednesford on the 12^th September. The Rage Of Angels live line-up includes principal song writer Ged Ryalnds (Ten) on Guitar, Al Barrow (Magnum/Pulse) on Bass, Paul Hodson (Bob Catley/Ten) on Keyboards, Neil Fraser (Ten) on Guitars, Joao Colaco on Drums and Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) on Vocals. Support on the night will come from Brummies Daylight Robbery and local Tribute act Journey 2 Toto. Tickets are £10 and are available from Lucy’s

http://www.lucysbaronline.com/

Here are some more details about the Rockageddon melodic rock festival I reported about last month. It takes place at Lucy’s Bar in Hednesford on Sunday 17^th November, from 2pm till 10.15pm. The full line-up is still yet to be confirmed be headlining is Shotgun formerly known as Shotgun Messiah, the band features original members Zinny J Zan on Vocals and Stixx on Drums. They are joined by Rob Marcello (Danger Danger) on Guitars and Chris Laney on Bass. Also confirmed are Escape, Chase the Ace and Curran. Tickets are priced at £20 and can be purchased from the Rockageddon website.

http://www.rockageddon.co.uk/

One of my favourite acts from the ‘90’s Amaze Me are set to release a brand new album this coming May via the AOR Heaven record label. The Swedish duo of vocalist Conny Lind and multi-instrumentalist Peter Broman released three great albums during the dark days of the 90’s making them extremely popular with the melodic rock faithful and it’s great to hear they are returning to the music biz with Amaze Me! This is definitely high up on my must buy list!

Current Whitesnake guitarist Doug Aldrich’s other band Burning Rain return after a lengthy hiatus with Epic Obsession which is set for release in May via Frontiers Records. They have just released a video for ‘My Lust Your Fate’ and you can view it below.

Brazilian AOR’sters N.O.W who released their latest album Bohemian Kingdom last month on Escape Music have just released a new video. Their video for ‘Leon’s Gone Soft’ can be viewed below; the song was inspired by Luc Besson’s action/drama flick ‘Leon’ – which starred young Natalie Portman and Jean Reno.

After a few delays the new album by Afterdreams Wildfire should be available in May. Check out the YouTube video for their song ‘Mystery’ featuring Prophet front man Russell Arcara below.

The re-issue of the very hard to get hold of Teri Tims album is finally going to get released in May! And it’s about time too, as this has been pencilled in for release for a long time now!

The debut album from Israeli rockers, Chase The Ace’s album Are You Ready has been delayed slightly and will now be released on May 7^th. The band has just released a new video for their song ‘California’. Check it out below.

British melodic rockers Escape have just released their new album Borderline. It’s even better than the debut and I can’t recommend it highly enough, check out the album preview below to see what you think!

Unfortunately it has just been announced that Escape singer Stevie K has left the band to concentrate on other projects. He is to be replaced by Rick Chase who has worked previously with Vince in Alibi. A third album is been worked on and the current tour dates are to be rescheduled along with some Festival appearances for later in the year.

There is no rest for the wicked it seems as former Escape front man Stevie K is set to go on a comprehensive solo tour of the UK. No dates are confirmed at the moment, but shows should be expected in August or September. These shows will be intimate one man and his acoustic guitar and will showcase songs from Stevie’s back catalogue and also hopefully some new solo tracks! Stevie had announced a while back he was hoping to have a solo album out in the Autumn and stated it would be full on melodic rock in the vein of W.E.T.

Magnus Karlsson the guitar genius behind the Allen/Lande albums and Bob Catley’s last solo album is set to return for a solo project of his own Free Fall. The album will be release via Frontiers Records in June. It will feature a whole host of guest musicians including Karlsson’s Primal Fear band mate Ralf Scheepers, Russell Allen, Tony Harnell, Mark Boals and David Readman.

Midlands melodic rock legends Magnum are yet again back in the studio recording a brand new album with an early 2014 release date in mind. Magnum are hitting the Festival road for live shows in 2013, but expect the usual full and extensive tour in 2014 to support the new album. In the meantime us midlanders will get to experience a festival season warm up show for Bob, Tony and co at The Robin in Wolverhampton on the 25^th July!

French female duo Chasing Violets have their second album out in June entitled Jade Hearts. The ladies caused a real stir in AOR circles with their debut album and I’m not alone in very much looking forward to this new one from them which is also set to include lots of well known guest from the world of melodic rock!

Not technically melodic rock but with it coming out on Frontiers I thought I’d mention the latest Blackmore’s Night album Dancer and the Moon is out in June. The band of course feature’s it’s a namesake’s guitarist Richie Blackmore (Rainbow) and vocalist Candice Night. Also the band is set to play The Grand theatre in Wolverhampton on the 1^st of July.

House of Lords guitarist Jimi Bell has a new band and a new album due to drop later this year. Breakwall will have their yet to be titled debut album out later this year on Kivel Records.

Bill Leverty a guitarist we best know from Firehouse is working with a new Classic Rock band called Flood The Engine. You can find details on how to get your hands on their debut album via their pledge page amongst with a whole host of other goodies! www.pledgemusic.com/projects/floodtheengine

Popular Swedish vocalist Jorn will return with a new album in June, Traveller will be released via Frontiers Records. This album see’s Jorn working with Guitarist Trond Holter of Wig Wam for the first time.

Night by Night have just announced they will be supporting Y&T on their upcoming September tour. This includes a show at The Robin in Wolverhampton on the 17^th!

The Rock Candy record label have another quartet of re-issues getting the full on re-master treatment. These April releases include Blue Murder’s self titled album, Head East Live, Chevy The Taker and Dark Star’s self titled album.

Houston who caused major ripples with their debut album which saw them tour the UK, play Download and win a whole host of fans with their brand of pure AOR. The Classic Rock AOR darlings will be releasing their second album II via Livewire/Cargo Records at the beginning of September.

Ozzie sleaze rockers De La Cruz have announced lead guitarist Casey Jones will be leaving the band here’s what he had to say about his departure…

“Over the last few months tensions have risen in the DLC camp. Not between any of us as friends, but on a business level due to the growing need for us to spend 95% + of our time on the management side of things rather than engaging with our music, fans and creating new and exciting tunes. I never got into music to make money, get free stuff (although that’s kinda rad), or for the business side of the music industry. Whilst I have learnt a lot about these areas and have gained a lot of skills, I just don’t have fun like I used to. The music has gone. I can now understand why bands fall apart, not due to friendships or rivalry within the band, but because of the immense pressure, stress and somewhat disheartening cutthroat nature of the music industry, the culture and the way it is run by the powers that be. I would rather sit in my bedroom like I did when I was 17 and play guitar for hours on end, having the most fun anyone could in the world. That to me is what music is about, self-satisfaction, creative expression, enjoyment and a sense of escape. I will still continue to make music, I will always be a life long learner and teacher of music. This isn’t a goodbye, its just a new chapter for me, or perhaps an old chapter re-written.” – Casey Jones.”

Following a successful tour with FM and a slot at the first HRH AOR Festival VEGA show no signs of slowing down as they promote their latest album What The Hell. The guys are currently in the process of shooting their next video, which will be for the title track ‘What The Hell’ and there is talk of possible further live shows in June/July.

Anglo-American rockers Legion are hard at work on their fifth album ingeniously entitled ‘V’! The band features the constantly busy Black Country guitarist Vince O’Regan and American vocalist Phil Vincent.

Progressive melodic metal act Royal Hunt have extended their contract with Frontiers Records and a new album is due in October/November.

It seems that when on tour boredom on the road can cause insanity! Here is Jeff Scott Soto and his band mates having a bit of fan creating their own parody of a US show SNL clip ‘I’m On A Boat’, of course the JSS band version is called ‘I’m On A Bus’ – be warned this video contains explicit language…..I’m On A Bus Mother Fooker!

In shocking news over in the Survivor camp it seems Frankie Sullivan has now got two vocalists at his disposal! As we all know a rejuvenated Jimi Jamison was back fronting Survivor and now we learn Dave Bickler, the voice of worldwide smash hit ‘Eye Of the Tiger’, is to back in the fold as well! Oh very intriguing!

Corvus are a new AOR band from Brum, they have just completed their debut album ‘Chasing Miracles’ which they recorded at Arkham Studio’s which is part of the Madhouse Rehearsals complex owned by Shy Bassist Roy Davies. They have also filmed a promo video which I hope to include in next month’s round-up, but for now check out some sound samples on their sound cloud page..

https://soundcloud.com/corvusrocks

And check out their Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/ChasingMiracles

Hard working British melodic rockers Lost Weekend have a new album out in June entitled Evermore, I have no details at the moment but an album launch live show should be happening in Halifax. The band has just recorded their very first music video for the song ‘Reach For The Sky’ another video I hope to have for you amongst next month’s round-up!

Swedish glam rockers The Poodles have just released ’40 Days and 40 Nights’ as a digital single and it’s available from all the usual outlets. The new album Tour De Force is out on May 17^th on Frontiers Records.

You can check out a new album trailer for Laneslide’s recently released album Flying High below. The band feature’s Frank Vestry on vocals and the album is out now via Avenue Of Allies.

Popular British vocalist Doogie White and his band La Paz have a new album The Dark & The Light out on May 27^th.

That’s all from me this month, come back next month for more moving and shaking in the world of melodic rock…

MR’s own AOR/Melodic Rock walking/talking encyclopaedia, has a chat with Toni & Mark of the newly formed, SHYNE. See if you can spot who the talkative one is, compared to the quiet one. Ha!

Hi guys, Shyne are a really new band and as far as I’m aware you haven’t been formed long? How did the band get together and how would you describe the sound of Shyne?

Hello Paul and hiya to Midland Rocks… Toni Gale (vocals) and Mark Wilkins (guitar) here

Toni – Well, SHYNE was formed by myself and Mark in about April last year. Mark and I had the initial idea of forming a band to play some proper 80′s style melodic hardrock, try to get a sound similar’ish to bands like my favourite RATT and Cinderella, La Guns and Mark’s faves Dokken, Queensryche, Van Halen anything with Paul Gilbert in etc…

The idea of forming our own band came to us in the pub garden of the Jolly Collier in Willenhall… I knew Mark a little and we sat there one day talking about our music as we call it. As we staggered off home Mark asked me in to his for Jack Daniels (he lives about 15 doors away). He poured a drink and picked his guitar up and then did a note for note rendition of Van Halen’s Eruption guitar piece. I looked on astonished and obviously blown away by his guitar playing. When he played me a riff he’d had in his head for a while I instantly heard a chorus and then we both kinda knew what had to be done. Mark came round to mine 3 days later and we wrote what is now SHYNE ON…

We both loved the result and knew instinctively that this was something we had to do. It took me about a month to talk Mark into considering forming a band and another month to force him into coming out of retirement and playing live again, we did an acoustic version of ‘If I could’ at the Barge and Barrel one night as a favour to our mate Kev Samujh in about June and Mark and I both realised we had the mojo back again.

That’s how SHYNE started. We did our first gig in August 2012 at the Robin 2.

We wouldn’t be as presumptuous as to categorise ourselves, that’s for others to do. All we try to do is to play powerful, catchy, Melodic Hardrock songs with as memorable a chorus and hook as possible.

Our sound? Well it definitely could be loosely influenced on the above bands, especially RATT !

I know in recent months you have recruited two new members, who are they and how did they come to be part of the band?

We unfortunately lost our previous drummer and bassist the brilliant Jack Foster and Mitch Vaughan just before Christmas. After about a month we grabbed Dez Wootton in to do our drums. He became available after his last project with Lee Smalls. He was our first choice as drummer right at the start but couldn’t commit due to his work with The New Saints and Lee Smalls. When we found ourselves stick-less Dez expressed more than a passing interest in joining and knowing that he is possibly one of the best drummers around, Mark and I obviously, very happily said Yes.

Adam Mason came in to do the bass. I had known of Adam thru my good friend, Kenny (bassist, Gypsy Pistoleros). Adam was a guitarist in a band called 4q. He came to see us play quite a few of our early gigs, liked the songs and us as a band and he wanted to join as a second guitarist, we don’t really want a second guitarist so when Adam found out we needed a bass guitarist he asked if he could have a go. So he did; and he’s pulled it off and has stayed, glad he did as he is a fantastically lovely dude and so far has done ok.

Mark – Dez is an old friend of ours who has been on the rock scene for ages, when he heard we needed a drummer he was keen to jump in. Adam is really a young guy that Toni knew and kept asking to join, so he joined.

You have just recorded a three track EP at MadHat Studio’s in Wolverhampton. It’s called ‘If I Could’ – could you talk us through the songs, titles, how they were written and any stories or meanings behind them?

Toni – Yes, this is our first EP. We recorded it in on the 24^th/25th March at MadHat Studios in Coven.

The first track is ‘SHYNE ON’. This was the first song Mark and I wrote. Mark came round to my house with his Ibanez and a 15 watt practice amp and played me the riff. We pretty much recorded it there and then onto my laptop via Logic and I then wrote the bass riff, keyboards and lyrics. It’s a mid tempo classic melodic hardrock song with a great melody and chorus. The lyrics are really about Mark and I, about the length of time it took us to be able to get back to doing what we love. It’s predominantly about never giving up your dreams and never listening to people criticising and talking you out of stuff. Like the song hints at… hold on to those dreams and SHYNE ON!

‘If I Could’ is the second track. This song again was written from another brilliant Mark Wilkins riff, exactly the same as we did with Shyne On and again after half a bottle of Jack Daniels each. We recorded the riff, Mark wobbles off up the road and I sit up to stupid o’clock and write the bass, keys and lyrics. Slightly slower, very melodic, this song has an earthy organic, emotional simplicity to it.

This song is totally about me. It’s about something that happened to me in my life with someone whom I love very much and the hurt I feel still. It’s about missing an opportunity, its about two people who feel the same about each other but something inexplicably got in the way and it is saying if we could have one more chance, there ain’t no way the same mistakes we made would happen again and this time we would get it right!

‘If I could’ is incredibly important to me, it is the only way I could get it out of my head… write a song about it! Hopefully it’ll help someone else’s head too!

‘Can’t Sleep’ is the third track, this is an up tempo stonking Hardrock anthem with an unbelievably brilliant Mark Wilkins special as the guitar solo.  Written in exactly the same way as the other two; the lyrics are about a particular woman during a particular part of my life and this is what I went through. Obviously it applies to many other people by the reaction to the song.

You have got a picture of them, you are mad about them, you are away from the person concerned and it hurts like hell – and you can’t sleep, cos you just keep thinking, and thinking and bloody thinking.

We have probably all been there at some point. I find it helps my sanity to write songs about stuff. Mark thinks I am completely off me rocker regardless and so now do the other two but then they would because they eat tomatoes. But it helps to write about it, as with all the songs they’ve gotta rock but I want them to mean something too. Don’t worry though, I’ve got a good few songs about a nice ass and backcombed hair, you just have to wait for the album for them.

Although Mark and I had written these songs when Dez joined, Dez has totally made the drums his own. When we recorded this EP and when we do these songs live the effect Dez has had is enormous. Dez has Dez-ified the drum parts… Awesome!

The EP was called ‘If I Could’. It could be about the middle track. More likely to be a tongue in cheek comment on the particularly shapely form of a waxed up female on the front cover. Hmmm! I ain’t saying nothing on the matter!

What is the song writing process like with you guys? Who writes what and how does it all come together?

Toni – The songs are all written by me and Mark. As alluded to earlier, they all start in my dining room! Mark comes round to my house with a riff which he has dreamt up in his brilliantly weird mind. He plays it to me, we have a few Jacky D’s or a Jim Beam or three, we either tweak it very slightly or change one tiny bit or invariably don’t and then record it straight onto an laptop thru Logic. Mark then wobbles off home and I then write a basic keyboard drum bit, just to set the tempo and until Dez can get hold of it. Then I come up with a bass riff (I was a bass guitarist once upon a time) any keyboards and ultimately the melody and lyrics.

Where Mark gets these guitar riffs from, heaven only knows but from Mark’s brill guitars I get the song title first, mainly as a picture in my head. When I know what the song feels like, what it wants to be about… the words just come.

We take it to the rehearsal studio and Dez gets hold of the drum situation. He then puts a proper Dez drum riff to the song, as only he can, adds all the brill drum bits to it and Adam plays the bass riff or as near as dammit – and that’s it!!

Mark always comes up with these brilliant riffs, without which there would be no songs and except for the drums I do the rest and bingo!  Mark and I just instinctively know how the other feels and thinks. We are very similar people, except he is tall and dark and a Viking I am smaller and blonde and a true Saxon. Mark is a nutter and I’m quite obviously not! OK??! And well Dez… Oh and Adam… let’s just not go there!

Mark – Toni and myself get together. I come up with all guitars and riffs and Toni puts his melodies and lyrics and bass to it. It seems to work!!

Obviously I know you have more than three songs as I’ve seen you live a couple of times now! Can you tell us about any other songs you have or indeed are working on at the moment?

Mark – We have 4 or 5 more songs in the pipeline, it’s just finding the time to finish them.

Toni – We recently dropped a few of the early songs ie  ‘Take me out’ and the ‘Storm’ song, in favour of the new songs coming through.

The newer songs like ‘She’s the Girl’ and ‘You Want It’ aren’t about anyone in the band but are written about specific people I know.

‘Who are you’ is all about those asshole supposed friends who are two faced.

We do a song called ‘I’m on Fire’ about backcombed hair and a nice arse, wrote it about a particular glammy girl who has an amazing arse, lovely assets and big hair!

“Sunshine girl” is about those women who have that amazing “light up the room” smiles, I know a couple of them!

The other new songs; well they are about various other things, come and see us and have a listen.

Oh and recently, we have also sometimes slipped in the RATT cover of ‘Your in Love’ purely cos it’s my favourite song and we all love it. We currently have a couple more new songs imminently arriving… with whacking great big singalong chorus’, we’re really looking forward to those and a couple more in the pipeline including an acoustic song which will go right into the middle of the set…. Good times!

You have a show coming up at Lucy’s in Hednesford with fellow Melodic Rock bands Daylight Robbery and Skin & Bone. Are you looking forward to it and what can those who are yet to see you live expect to see?

Mark – We are looking forward to the gig as I’ve heard good things about the venue. Hopefully people will be singing our songs after they’ve heard us. I don’t know the other two bands.

Toni – Ye, really looking forward to it. Firstly Lucy’s Bar is a superb venue, a great place, great lights and a great sound… so providing we can hear ourselves up there, we will rock the place. We would like to think that we will complement the other two bands. Obviously as the ‘new boys’ none will know us or our songs but we would hope that those folk who get up there on the 24th May will get to hear brilliant riffs, massive chorus’, superb solo’s and a half decent song.

I personally see the Lucy’s show as great value for money for the average Melodic Rock fan as each band has its own distinct style and flavour. Do you know the other bands and what do you think of them?

Toni – I totally agree. More people than ever like melodic rock. But it has always been a major force… thru grunge and thrash, the noughties and now this college boy band rock. For me, Melodic Hardrock IS proper Rock. You have 3 bands on this bill, all under the same genre of Rock, but I think all very different in our own subtle ways. A fascinating line up to be honest. Personally I don’t know too much about Skin & Bone, heard a bit and they have a great sound and the mere fact that they are on with Daylight Robbery speaks volumes. I just know I am gonna like them when I hear the rest of their set, can’t wait to see them in their entirety. Daylight Robbery I do know and I like what I know. Superb, refined, full on sound, Great vocals, mighty songs; like I say, it’s gonna be fascinating…. also that Tony Nicholl is someone we got a hell of a lot of time for. Top bloke.

Like many new bands you’re working hard trying to get support slots with bands in local venues. Is it hard work getting these slots?

Toni – It is a massively hard thing to achieve actually. The problem is, getting to play these venues when you are a relatively unknown new band. We are all experienced musicians but we are a NEW band. To get a following a new band needs to play these venues, to play these venues you need to have a following or be established. Its kind of a Catch 22. You can be the best band in the history of bands but if you don’t get the break or the opportunity to show, then it’s pretty difficult.

We have been lucky because we have played the Robin2 and will be back there again May 18th, and we have played and are again playing, the Slade Rooms and are lucky enough to be doing Baseline and the O2 and this great gig.  And yes I suppose it has been our sheer hard work, our belief, and dedication, trying hard to do the very best we can do and be the nicest people we can be – and YES, it is also down to an element of luck. But by far the biggest thing for us has been thanks to some very brilliant, very  exceptional people who were willing to take a chance and give us a break.. Tice, Gobbo, Hils (she is one heck of a woman) , Tony, Connor, Mr Woodward! You know who you are and believe me, SHYNE appreciate it. At the end of the day though as with everything it is sheer bloody hard work!!

Mark – Yep it’s hard to get gigs with bigger bands, it seems to be not what you know but who you know, but we will keep on working at it.

You have two good support slots up supporting Enuff Z’nuff in Wolverhampton at the Slade Rooms and Nazareth at The Robin in November. Do you have any other support slots lined up?

Toni – Thanks. They are great supports for SHYNE to play. Can’t wait to play at the Slade Rooms with Enuff Z’nuff – one of my all-time favourite bands, I totally LOVE Enuff Z’nuff. It looks like we will be the first band on though which is a shame but hey beggars can’t be choosers, just mighty pleased to be able to play.

Nazareth, well they are legends aren’t they? SHYNE supporting Nazareth and at the Robin2 – I was speechless when I was told. Can’t wait.

As for other supports, very hopefully we are gonna support a major UK Rock legend in June and there is a 75% chance we will be supporting two of my favourite bands from LA later on in the year. Oooohhh my giddy aunt will I crap myself. Like “I am not worthy” – MASSIVE gigs for us. So YES we have maybe 3 or 4 major supports lined up but unfortunately I daren’t really divulge this information. We are sworn to secrecy until it can be announced. I’d probably have to kill you if I told you!

Mark – There are a 3 or 4 BIG supports potentially gonna happen, but we’ll let you know if they come off!

Is there any Shyne gossip or hush hush ‘you didn’t hear this from me’ news you could divulge?

Mark – Yes Toni HATES tomatoes!

Toni – Look out for an album a little later on this year. May or may not be called “Who are you?”

And I do have a pathological hatred of tomatoes and related products!

Is there anything else you would like to say or add for those reading?

Toni – Well… it’s just a bloody great big thank you really. So many people have supported SHYNE. So many people have helped us, followed us, supported us and really liked our songs and our sound. Frankly you are brilliant and SHYNE really do appreciate it. It’s a massive thank you to those who have come along on this journey so far; stick around a bit longer, cos this journey isn’t finished yet!

It’s like the songs says – “On a rocket ship to the moon, it’s where I wanna be. On a journey to the stars, baby you and me. SHYNE ON.”!

Mark – Thanks people. Hopefully you’ll all come to the gigs, like what you hear and see and give original bands like us a chance to entertain you.

https://www.facebook.com/SHYNE.WV1

Interview by Woody

Hey Johnny, Richie! I know you guys well from your previous band Tara’s Secret. I know you are keen to start the next chapter of your musical careers with Skin & Bone, but is it just Tara’s Secret by another name or what should we expect from Skin & Bone?

Johnny – Hey Woody, You’re not pulling any punches here are you? If we were going to be doing TS we may has well have stayed where we were. SKIN&BONE may have some comparisons as 3 members of Tara’s Secret are still playing together and that Richie and myself are still writing together but as far as style and sound it’s a totally different band.

Richie- exactly, we would have carried on (maybe) Skin & Bone is different, there’s going to be points of reference, simply as Johnny and I wrote a lot of the TS music, however the whole thing takes on a whole different dynamic now.

The demise of Tara’s Secret seemed to come out the blue and followed the band’s third and most critically acclaimed album ‘Vertigo’. The album seemed to be pushing the band onto bigger things so what wrong for you guys to split when things were going so well?

Johnny – As a band we had been together for the best part of 9 years, writing, performing and recording, pretty much doing it all in house. Every time we produced a new album Richie would always comment that if we split up tomorrow he would be proud of what we had achieved. I have to agree with that. “Vertigo” was a great album to write and record, we had a fantastic time and yes I’m very proud of what we did. So we found ourselves trying to write album 4. I think we got 3 tracks demoed but the spark seemed to have gone. Nothing went terribly wrong but sometimes you know when to throw in the towel.

Richie- You know, we had come as far as we could. We were starting to write to a “formula” and that seemed so unnatural to me, particularly as the songs we had been working on after “Vertigo” were mainly from my musical ideas and if it’s a workable idea, its worth giving it a go, not throwing it out because it sounds akin to AC/DC or who ever. So ultimately it was time to move on .

I think I know the answer to this one as I know you very much view Tara’s Secret as the past, but will any of the Trowbridge/Beardsley compositions from those days appear in live sets or in re-recorded form in the future?

Johnny – We have spoken about this, it’s not a no go area but right now we are having so much fun writing and perfoming brand new songs we don’t see a reason to go back to those songs. Maybe if we were going to re-record they would have to have the SKIN&BONE style to them.

Richie- Well its planned that we’ll re-record “Spectrum Wheel”!!! (laughs), why not give it the Megadeath mix? . You know Woody we convene in a rehearsal studio and can walk out with three songs in the bag, so why play the old songs from a band that we have history with its not as if we had hits with them which would then make sense to play them, But who knows. I loved being a part of some of those songs, Beauty Queen and King of MeVille – though we’d maybe approach them differently .

Right, Skin & Bone, how did the band form and who is in the band?

Johnny – At last I thought you would never ask! (laughs) I think Richie, Simon and myself still wanted to play together, but do something totally different. As we have said before why do the same thing again. We all have so many influences from a very broad range of music, not all rock! We wanted to put something together that we enjoyed doing and that’s how SKIN&BONE was formed. so let’s introduce the band. On drums Simon Perkins, Simon came with us after the Tara’s Secret split he replaced JT just after we recorded “Vertigo”. I love Simons playing it’s a cross between Cozy Powell, John Bonham and Animal! One of the best things in S&B is everyone has a free reign, this allows Simon to really let loose on every song.

Richie -We looked for the right bass player for a long time. While we wrote songs we auditioned so many people. We even had a guy play with us and commit to the band but the temptation of a full time gig with a tribute band was far too great for him. We got a short list down of people we wanted to see, one of them was Scott Clarke. We met him over a beer and we got on straight away. Then we heard him play and knew that we had found the missing part of the puzzle. I often lose track when we play as I find myself spellbound with Scott’s musical abilities.

Johnny – We wanted the line up to be right, not only from a playing point but from a personal point. Everyone gets along, everyone supports the band and it’s a great atmosphere. We are all playing on the same page.

Is there a good story behind the name of the band? How did you come up with it and decide on it?

Johnny – NO! (Laughs) We sat down and each wrote down about 20 names each. Some were terrible and others worked. We knew what where the style was headed so we wanted a name that reflected that. I think after we cut the shortlist down to 10, SKIN&BONE kept coming back. I would ask people what they thought of my favourite 3 names and S&B was the winner. I think sometimes you hear a band name and know what you are going to get. SKIN&BONE says it all, it’s no nonsense rock n roll.

Richie – We had a cracking idea, to put all the names into a Teapot, Johnny to then (dressed as the Mad Hatter) to put the lucky persons name from the hat.

I’ve been fortunate to hear a few rough demo’s and whilst I recognise the Trowbridge/Beardsley ‘sound’ I feel the songs are a lot darker and heavier, will this be the overall feel of the band’s sound or can we expect a few upbeat fun tracks akin to stuff we heard on ‘Vertigo’?

Johnny – It’s all fun, just depends how you look at it! We have written so many tracks for the album, it’s not all dark. I think we have found a good balance of light and shade. I think from a writers point of view I have written songs that I like and the rest of the band like. Before we did our first show we sat down and said “Do you think they will get it?” Some didn’t!

Richie – Oooooooh ,we have a sound! A music journalist once suggested “I was in the wrong band (little did he know how right he was) as I was more of a Hard Rock guitar player … guess what, he was right. Its a very natural writing process where we’ll jam on something and hey presto !!! there’s never a “ Let’s write an Reo Speedwagon type of tune “.

I’m sure I remember Johnny saying the debut Skin & Bone album has the working title of ‘The Exceptional Child’. Is this still going to be the title and is there a meaning behind it?

Johnny – Yes you are right, good memory. It’s still going to be the title and the song is going to be there as well. A great friend of mine passed away suddenly 2 years ago, he lived in my spare bedroom up until he died. At night we would stay up and drink and he would tell me stories of his very colourful life. One of these was that as a child he was featured on a tv documentary about gifted children. At the age of 6 he could speak 5 different languages one of them being Latin, his episode was called “The Exceptional Child” Now I never believed him and used to joke calling him “Exceptional” but he could speak Latin and he would often use it to chat up women. Joking I told him that our next album would be named after him and when he passed away I knew I had to write a song about him. He was a great friend and this is how he lives on.

Can you tell me about some of the Skin & Bone songs that will feature on the album, song titles, how the songs were written and any stories and meanings behind them?

Johnny – So we wrote about 20 tracks for this album. Some of the early stuff was quickly discarded but as we found our sound Richie and I soon got into our stride writing some great songs. I’ll list the ones I enjoyed writing and I’m sure Richie has some as well. “Burn the Blue Sky” is a song all about the moment love dies. That last argument, all those things you never said that just come out in the heat of the moment. That point where the perfect blue sky is torn down. When I was a boy I was in love with a girl in my class. I would have done anything for her unfortunately she hated me. But when she was with her friends she told them all how much she liked me. I just thought this would be a great idea for a song. “She Loves Me” is all about that girl! Another great track is “High Society” this was one of the last songs we wrote along with another great song called “Mary” High Society is all about dreaming of being better, of getting out of the 9-5 and living the high life, “Mary” I suppose is the follow up to the Tara’s Secret song “Rock n Roll Beauty Queen” another girl on the road to self discovery.. I love singing this its really bluesy and Richie does an awesome solo. Some other great tracks include “Walking Shoes” and a song you may be familiar with Woody, “Revenge Mile” this was a track we played once with TS before we split, it kind of showed where we wanted to take the band and when we started writing we all wanted to carry on playing this. Its very different to the TS version but still rocking.

Richie – We usually all hold up in the studio and work through an idea which we’ll all contribute on the idea and we all have a free reign (shred or dead!!) with our own parts . For me  “ Let It Rain” has special place as it was one of the first tunes we worked on and to me it’s a great rocker for all the right reasons – Johnny’s lyrics are superb (he never ceases to amaze me with his vocal abilities and song writing skills)  Simon and Scott are an amazing rhythm section who gel so much …..that just leaves me to foul things up !!!

Another song I love very much is “Fallen From Grace “ wonderful vocals with a great bluesy feel and then goes into a super heavy tune . “ Healer” is a tune that was described as “Brutal “ when we first played it in Sheffield recently ….Thank you, mission accomplished.

Is there any news on when the album will be recorded and released?

Johnny – We are just about to book the studio time in and we cant wait to record. We looked at several studios this time and spoke to lots of people. We finally chose the Old Library in Mansfield, great guys to work with and they get what we are doing. There is no point trying to work with people that don’t get the band and where we are coming from. We hope to get the album out in October time ready for the Xmas rush.

I know you guys are keen to get the album released through a record label and management to help promote and push the band forward. Do you think the album will be released on a label or are you guys again looking at releasing the album independently?

Johnny – We are in deep talks with a label and management as we speak. When we started SKIN&BONE we wanted to have the support of a label and a good management team. We spoke to various people, some of them were expecting TS pt2 and they didn’t realise that we had moved on. Others really did get us but I think right now labels and management are looking at finances a lot closer than they did 10 years ago. But a few really do understand that we are not on the nostalgia ride and this is something that they can really work with.

Skin & Bone will be making their live debut in the West Midlands as part of a strong three band line-up which includes Brummies Daylight Robbery and Wolvo hair metal new boys Shyne. The gig takes place at a new venue Lucy’s in Hednesford on Friday the 24^th of May. Are you guys looking forward to it, what can we expect from you and are you nervous about playing virgin territory?

Johnny – We are really looking forward to coming over and raising the roof. It’s going to be a great night. There are 3 very different bands playing so fans are going to have a great night out. I have been itching to get back over to the West Midlands, you guys rock hard. It’s also gonna be fun showing people there is life after TS!

Richie – I’ve been there before when we recorded Tara’s Secret’s “Spectrum Wheel” where the guy lost all the tracks we had painstakingly recorded !!! Ahhhhh!! He also suggested I use a different type of Pick! he came close to getting Chillied !! ( raw chill juice put on his car door handle ) .

I believe you’ll be getting a good set length even though you’re the main support to Daylight Robbery. What songs should we expect, will we hear most of the new album and should we expect any ‘unusual covers’ I remember you guys once talking about doing a rocked up Lady Ga Ga song ‘Edge of Glory’ or something like that?

Johnny – We are gonna try and get as many songs into the set as we can. Yes you will hear pretty much all of the album as well as some stuff that we just love playing. As for covers, We didn’t just talk about Lady Gaga we played it!!! But I think the days of filling the set with other peoples songs are behind us now, although on occasion we have been know to pull some Chickenfoot out of the bag. You will have to wait and see.

Richie – Yes we have a great version of Stayin‘ Alive where Scott plays the Bavarian cheese flute. There’s also a medley of Hectors House / Scooby Doo .

It’s not easy getting gigs and just as hard to get a gig with a decent number turning out to see original artists. So I know you’re keen to build up live followings in different areas, so I’m presuming if this goes well you’ll be back in the area in the future?

Johnny – You try and stop us. We are already planning our return. To be honest we have played more shows in our first year then we did in the last year of TS. I think due to the nature of the music we are doing now we seem to be welcomed by a lot more venues. We have built up a great fan base here in Sheffield and they follow us round so expect Yorkshires finest at the front in Hendsford.

Richie – Yes indeed, its great that Daylight Robbery asked us to do this, so I truly hope we will get back to play again soon .

Do you have any other live dates lined up this year?

Johnny – Yes they seem to drop out of the blue. We are playing the Sitwell Tavern, Derby on the 25^th May and then my birthday show on 17^th July at M.F.N, Ilkeston. That’s going to be fun! But more get added all the time. It’s great that we are getting so much support from venues and organisers.

Richie – we are working so hard a getting pre-production of all the songs done, next it will be recording the album so there will be more gigs it’s just a matter of juggling things.

Is there any Skin & Bone gossip or hush hush ‘you didn’t hear this from me’ secrets you can divulge?

Johnny – We have lined up an amazing producer and guitarist for this album. Jay Parmar has released his own stuff on Steve Vai’s label and he also works with some amazing people including George Lynch. He is as excited as we are about this album, and that’s what makes it even better. So we cant wait to work with him. There are so many other things going on but I don’t want to jynx them. I just cant wait to get the album out and let everyone see what all the fuss is about.

Richie – Yes Jay is a great friend of mine and an amazing inspiring influence on me so I’m looking forward to having him at the helm keeping us in check and saying “More Guitar!, More Guitar … this time louder haha. Seriously it will be excellent.

Is there anything else you would like to add or say to those reading?

Johnny – Come down to Lucy’s bar and rediscover Rock n Roll on 24^th May. So far we have been blown away from the support of our fans both old and new. I’m so proud of this band and what we have achieved. Here’s to so much more.

Richie – Look forward to seeing all of you at Lucy’s Bar be part of a great night .

http://www.skinandboneband.co.uk/