Showing posts with label Lita Ford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lita Ford. Show all posts

CD Review: Lita Ford – Time Capsule

CD Review: Lita Ford – Time Capsule
Steamhammer/SPV
All Access Rating: A-

Lita Ford - Time Capsule 2016
Gathering dust for some time in Lita Ford's house in the Caribbean, the previously unreleased material comprising Time Capsule practically begged to be released. She's finally given in to its demands.

Here are Ford's "lost" treasures, made on the fly with some of the biggest names in '80s rock and metal. With her new book "Living Like a Runaway: Lita Ford, A Memoir" already out, Time Capsule, due out via Steamhammer/SPV, arrives carrying a lot of baggage. Open this suitcase of a record and songs reminiscent of Ford's stiletto-heeled, spandex-clad heyday come spilling out, as sleazy grooves and tough riffs snarl at aching ballads that are pretty on the outside but hurt down deep, all of it in keeping with the glorious pop-metal sound that propelled her to solo stardom decades ago.

Along with making the Jimi Hendrix instrumental "Little Wing" smolder with searing, bluesy intensity, Ford and company bump-and-grind through a nasty "Black Leather Heart" and roll around in the gutter with a defiant, rough-and-tumble "Rotten to the Core" – co-written by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, who also plays on the track. Tenacious and biting, her solos scratch any itch until it bleeds, especially on the growling, savage "Mr. Corruption," and her vocals go from wounded to sweet and coy and then angry in no time at all.

These and other tracks are laced with bittersweet, melodramatic melodies that taste of alkaline and sugar, as the crestfallen, yearning "Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight" – with guest vocals by Jeff Scott Soto, his slight rasp pairing well with Ford's pure passion – puts on a brave face and marches forth dressed in thorny hooks that also poke through the rising epic "War of the Angels" and a beautifully rendered "Killing Kind," with its sublime chorus and surprisingly tasteful mandolin provided by Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro.

All sides of Ford's complicated and compelling personality fight for attention on Time Capsule, which is no mere odds-and-sods collection thrown together haphazardly just to fulfill contractual obligations with a record label. These are good, solid rock songs – some of the best she's ever written in fact – that have no expiration date. And yet, while the songwriting is tight and assured, and the production is vivid and lively, the vibe emanating from Time Capsule is one of a series of enjoyable, intimate jam sessions between old friends. Bassist extraordinaire Billy Sheehan appears here and there, and Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Rick Nielsen providing complementary backing vocals on "Killing Kind." The stuff in this Time Capsule hasn't aged badly at all.
– Peter Lindblad

Origins of Ace Frehley

Ex-Kiss guitarist reunites with Paul Stanley on new album, leaks version of Cream's "White Room"
By Peter Lindblad

Ace Frehley - Origins Vol. 1 2016
Ace Frehley and Paul Stanley have KISS'd and made up, or so it seems. Not that there ever was much of a feud, at least according to Frehley.

"We've always been friends," said Frehley, in talking to Rolling Stone magazine about recording with Stanley again, as they did on Frehley's upcoming album of cover songs Origins Vol. 1, slated for an April 15 release. "The press seems to amplify negativity. I guess it makes good copy."

Some, if not all, of the rancor that sullied the band's 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame must have subsided somewhat, as the two joined forces to remake Free's hit "Fire and Water," marking the first time they've collaborated since the KISS 1998 reunion album Psycho Circus. Frehley has announced a release date and track listing for Origins Vol. 1, featuring re-imagined versions of 12 classic songs that influenced the legendary former KISS guitarist. It's the follow-up to 2014's Space Invader, which at the time had been his first album in five years. The record debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, making it the highest charting KISS-related solo project ever, propelling Frehley back to the Top 10, a place he hadn't visited since Psycho Circus.

Today, Rolling Stone magazine debuted Frehley's new version of Cream's "White Room," which can be heard here: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ace-frehley-announces-new-lp-white-room-cover-paul-stanley-reunion-20160210. Faithful to the original, Frehley's take on "White Room" flashes an orgy of wah-wah guitar effects behind strong, clearly articulated vocals and powerful drumming. Capturing the psychedelic whirl of the original, Frehley brings the song out of its late-'60s haze and reintroduces it to a more contemporary audience, enhancing its melodic character.

Stanley is just one of the big-name guests appearing on Origins Vol. 1. Slash and Frehley trade leads on Thin Lizzy's classic "Emerald," while Lita Ford sings and playing lead on The Troggs' staple "Wild Thing," and Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 plays guitar alongside Ace as he sings his classic KISS composition "Parasite" for the very first time. The two also give their rendering of Jimi Hendrix's "Spanish Castle Magic," with Frehley finally doing his KISS Alive I mainstay "Cold Gin" with Pearl Jam's Mike McCready also on guitar as Ace as sings. 

"White Room" is also an iTunes instant gratification track, meaning fans who pre order the LP on iTunes will receive the Cream cover song instantly. Pre-orders for physical versions can be made here:  http://www.amazon.com/Origins-Vol-1-Ace-Frehley/dp/B01BMS3MS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455188080&sr=8-1&keywords=ace+frehley+origins+vol.+1. Go here for digital versions: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/origins-vol.-1/id1083108066

The track listing for Origins Vol. 1 can be found below:

1. White Room (Cream)
2. Street Fighting Man (Rolling Stones)
3. Spanish Castle Magic (Jimi Hendrix) *John 5
4. Fire and Water (Free) *Paul Stanley
5. Emerald (Thin Lizzy) *Slash
6. Bring It On Home (Led Zeppelin)
7. Wild Thing (The Troggs) *Lita Ford
8. Parasite *John 5 (KISS)
9. Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf) 
10. Cold Gin *Mike McCready (KISS)
11. Till The End Of The Day (Kinks)
12. Rock and Roll Hell (KISS)

Ace and crew will be active on the road in 2016. Three weeks worth of tour dates in the U.S. have been announced, including two nights at the B.B. King Blues Club in New York City. His band features Richie Scarlet (rhythm guitar and vocals), Chris Wyse (The Cult) on bass and vocals, and Scott Coogan (Nikki Sixx's Brides of Destruction) on drums.

Tour dates are below:

2/26 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
2/27 - San Antonio, TX - Fitzgerald's
2/28 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory 
3/2 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
3/4 - San Miguel, CA - The Ranch
3/5 - Beverly Hills, CA - Saban Theatre
3/6 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl - Las Vegas
4/1 - Ponte Vedra, FL - Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
4/2 - Clearwater, FL - Capitol Theatre
4/3 - Sunrise, FL - Markham Park - Rockfest 80's
4/5 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
4/7 - Danville, VA - Carrington Pavilion
4/9 - New Hope, PA - Havana New Hope
4/11 - New York, NY - BB King's Blues Club
4/12 - New York, NY - BB King's Blues Club
4/13 - Huntington, NY - The Paramount
4/15 - Wilkes Barre, PA - The F.M. Kirby Center
4/16 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance



John 5 and his monster's ball

Rob Zombie guitarist ready to hit the road with The Creatures, Doyle
By Peter Lindblad
John 5

John 5 has always had a thing for monsters.

His youthful infatuation with old horror movies continues unabated to this day, and the kid in him still worships at the clawed, platform-soled feet of KISS, whose Kabuki-inspired make-up and carnivalesque stage theatrics never fail to amaze and delight the ex-Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist, known for creating his own creepy facial masks.

In a matter of days, John 5 and his band The Creatures – with Rodger Carter and Ian Ross – will kick off the "Mad Monster Tour" with a special show in Ramona, Calif., on Nov. 4. To get tickets, go to www.john-5.com. Some of the dates will be supported by Doyle, the band led by former Misfits member Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein.

Remarkably versatile, with audacious fluency in a variety of genres – having recorded everything from bluegrass and country to Flamenco music and metal, rock and pop – John 5 is a demon on guitar, an incredibly smooth player whose speed is almost supernatural. Along with scoring the Rob Zombie film "The Lords of Salem," John 5 has collaborated with a wide range of artists, working alongside everyone from Ricky Martin to Rod Stewart, David Lee Roth and Lynyrd Skynyrd, in addition to his more well-known gigs with Manson and Zombie.

Since 2004, John 5's burgeoning solo career has yielded eight diverse studio albums spotlighting his virtuoso skill. On "The Mad Monster Tour," John 5 and company will be promoting an upcoming greatest hits album, paired with a live DVD of John in concert. Three brand-new singles will be released, a series that began this month. Recently, John 5 took time out to talk about the tour, how the new Rob Zombie material is coming along and a career that has taken him further than he ever thought possible. (Tour dates follow the Q&A).

How did the tour with Doyle and his band come about and what are you looking forward to most about it?
J5: Well, I always thought Doyle was like a real-life superhero, and I just really think he’s amazing. He looks like a real-life superhero, like he could fly over a building and knock it down. You know, he’s got the guitar and he grabs it, and he’s a great, great musician. So, I always wanted to do something with him; he was my first choice for someone I wanted to do a tour with. And I just said, “Hey, are you available around this time?” And he said, “Yes,” so it came together pretty easy and we start the fourth in Ramona, Calif., which is the San Diego area. And then it’s the Whisky in L.A. So it’s going to be a blast running through these shows, because it’s all my crazy instrumental stuff and it’s crazy and it’s fun, and we’ll just go nuts.  

Mad Monster Tour poster
When were you introduced to the Misfits and what were your initial impressions?
J5: Well, it was, like for everybody, just a natural thing. Everybody loves the Misfits and punk rock. Everybody was just into them. It was just the thing. It was just how it was. And I loved the horror-rock thing. I’m so into that as well. So it’s just the perfect fit and yeah, with Alice Cooper and The Misfits and Ozzy, I love that stuff. It’s fun. It’s a blast. And KISS, of course. KISS, yeah. It was like monsters with guitars, and when I was 7 years old, I was just blown away. This was just the greatest thing ever.

Reading your bio, you talked about where you grew up and being the lone rock kid, but did you have friends who felt the same way?
J5: Oh sure. I was always the one that had the stuff. Like, I had the first Van Halen when it came out, KISS Love Gun … I was that kid that had the stuff. So I think I showed it to a lot of people, but I remember someone bringing over Kill ‘Em All by Metallica. I listened to that, and I go, “Oh, wow!” I remember having times in my life where friends brought over music, and I remember it. I remember it so vividly, because it made such an impression on me.

Was there one that made the biggest impression?
J5: Well, obviously, KISS and Van Halen, because I remember I got the KISS album in the early years when I was super young. I think Love Gun had just come out. And I was shocked because I loved that Monsters of Filmland magazine. And then I loved The Monkees and “Hee Haw,” but when I saw the monsters of guitars in KISS, I was blown away. I was just like, “Oh my God. Here we go.” So it just changed my life, and then I remember my guitar teacher brought over Van Halen I, and it was just another epiphany. It just changed my life completely.

Kirk Hammett I know has a massive horror collection. Do you collect horror movie memorabilia?
J5: No, mostly I just collect guitars … Telecasters. I’m really into that kind of thing, really into loving my “Teles,” but there’s so much. I mean I have a lot of horror stuff, but it’s mostly stuff people have given me. And I like that stuff from the early- and mid-‘60s and ‘70s, when the monster boom really, really happened. So I like a lot of that stuff. And you know fans give me stuff, so I have quite a collection, but nothing, nothing, nothing in the world of Kirk Hammett, of course.

Have you ever seen his collection?
J5: I haven’t, but me and Kirk talk, and he’ll tell me stuff, and I’m like, “Jesus,” you know? And he always says, “You’ve got to stop over and check it,” and all that stuff. Hopefully, one day I’ll get there.     


I wanted to talk about other stuff going on with you, and you have a greatest hits album coming out. Did you ever think you’d have a greatest hits album and what goes into making one? Is there more to it than people think?
J5: Well, yeah. What it is really is just a collection of my favorite songs. Not one of them was a hit, but it’s a collection of my favorite songs that I’ve recorded over my catalog of doing instrumental stuff and the fans’ favorite songs. So I put them all together, and then I put a DVD with it, which is so cool. The DVD’s really great, and I’m going to be selling that at the shows, so people at the shows will be able to get the CD and DVD. And then after the tour you’ll be able to buy it on my website, and also it’ll be on iTunes, but you won’t be able to get the DVD, obviously.
  
So much has happened over the span of your life to bring you to this point, but I wanted to ask you, where does the open-mindedness with music come from? Because you do country, you do all kinds of things. Does that come from your family?
J5: You know, for some reason, I’ve always appreciated someone who does something really, really well. And it could be someone that rides a bike and is a bike expert, or juggles or … I just always appreciate someone who does something so well, because I know how much dedication and practice it takes. So when I hear some Western swing music or bluegrass music or great, great, great, great horns, I’m like, “Wow! That’s amazing.” So I appreciate all of that stuff. I’m so inspired by anyone who does something really, really well and who is an expert and at the pinnacle of what they do. And I totally, totally appreciate that. So that’s where I think a lot of that interest comes from, that they can actually … you know, the greats. I just am really influenced by people like that.

Is there a style of music you haven’t worked with yet that maybe you’d like to?
J5: You know, jazz is such a huge thing, but I’ve never really studied, studied, studied jazz. I don’t know why. It just hasn’t bitten me yet, but it will. I will get into it. I think I really love the really super, super fast, aggressive stuff. Like the bluegrass stuff is so fast, you know. It’s like Slayer with no distortion. It’s crazy with bluegrass. And then the same thing with flamenco music, it’s a Spanish style of music. It’s so fast, you know? It’s like Slayer on acoustic. It’s that kind of thing, and I really enjoy that stuff, but also I’d like to get into jazz at some point, I believe.

Could you do a bluegrass version of “Welcome to the Violence”?
J5: Well, that might be tough (laughs). Yeah, that’s possible.

What impresses you most in a guitarist or a live performer?
J5: Someone that is fluid and clean and no effort. It’s just like drinking a bottle of water. It’s effortless, and there’s a small amount that are really effortless. If you ever see a classical violinist or piano player, it’s just effortless, you know? I appreciate that, but I also appreciate any guitar player also getting up there on the stage and doing a great job, because it’s a lot of work and a lot of stress and a lot goes into it.

What goes into your live performances? You’ve got the makeup and everything going on. What’s the day of a performance like for you?
J5: Well, the whole day is about the performance. The whole thing is prepping. It’s getting your fingers warmed up, it’s doing meet-and-greets and meeting people, and making sure everything is right. Sound checks … the day all leads up to the show. It’s very important. I just want to give fans the best show we can, so it’s just playing, warming up, making sure the playing is right, getting ready and giving the best show we can. It’s very important to us with Rob just getting just a great show together, and then we always talk about the show after the show – make sure this is right, that is right, how we could make it better. So, it’s great. It’s a great life. I cannot complain. 

I was reading about your history and you were robbed in L.A. when you first moved there. Did you ever come close to giving it up?
J5: No, no … never did. I was so determined and I was so driven and determined. Just imagine, you get to L.A. when you’re young. I was so young. I didn’t know anything, and then the first night I got all my money stolen. I didn’t know what to do. I was lucky I knew one other person, and anybody else; most people would have just gone home and said, “Let me try this in another couple of years.” But no, I was so driven.  

By the same token, was there a moment when you felt, “I’ve finally made it”? Or were there many moments like that?
J5: I mean, yeah. You know, I’m just happy to be playing guitar and making a living, but I never wished to be a known guitar player. I just wanted to be a session musician, and this is all just an incredible, incredible gift, because it was too far away. I never really thought I’d be able to do this, because it was just so like wishing you were Superman or something. It just seemed so unbelievable. So I really appreciate it and love it, because it just happened. I’m so happy it happened, because it was never my goal, it was never my thing to become a famous rock guitar player.

What influenced you most as far as stage shows and how you make up your face? Was it a love of KISS or was it more than that?
J5: I use myself as the audience and what the audience would like to see. I think the audience wants to see a show, they want to see a … it’s called entertainment. So they want to be entertained, and it’s just if you put on a show like that – meaning you’re not going to walk around the streets like that, but if you’re onstage, you’ve got to give them something to look at. And when we go into our dressing rooms, we’re in our normal clothes, there’s a couple of camera flashes and stuff like that, but when we come out of our dressing rooms, when we’re all made up, you can hardly see where you’re walking because there are so many flashes, because we’re all made up. Would you want a picture with Ace Frehley with his make-up off or in his whole get-up? You’d want it in his whole get-up. So that’s why. It’s just a couple things I think about to say, “Okay. This is what make sense,” because some people take a different course about it.

Why does it work so well between you and Rob?
J5: I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I really look up to him a lot, because he does so much. Now a lot of people can do a lot of things, but to finish them and to make them really great, that’s the hard thing. And that’s what he does. Whatever he starts, he finishes, and I really like that. He’ll start something and then he’ll finish it. And that’s what I really like. He’s always finished it, and I really respect that. We really enjoy the same things. We love the Universal Monsters. We have such a love for those Universal Monsters, those monster movies, so that’s a great thing. We both have the same hobbies. We love music and movies, so it’s just like being in a band with your best friend. It’s amazing.   


In what ways were your experiences with Marilyn Manson and Rob similar?
J5: Well, they’re both two different animals, of course. With Manson, it’s different every day and every night, so you never really know what’s going to happen. With Rob, everything is scheduled – we’re going to meet here, we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that, and we’re going to be on the bus and here we go. So, with Manson, you don’t know if we’re going to be backstage until three in the morning and if we’ll make it in time for the next show. It was that kind of thing. You know, both are amazing artists, both are amazing performers, so that’s how they’re similar.

Did that chaos with Marilyn translate to the live show and make that a different experience?
J5: Absolutely. Sometimes, we’d play only three songs and we’d be done. Sometimes you wondered how long you were going to play. 

What was your greatest moment with Marilyn and then with Rob?
J5: Well, that’s really, really tough. You know, the greatest moment between those two, there’s some many, great, great, great moments that have happened with both bands. Getting a No. 1 record with Manson, that was a great moment. Doing the "MTV Video Music Awards," that was a great moment. That was my very first gig with Manson. Getting awards and getting to play all these great places, and then having your friends at these great moments, and getting to travel the world and playing the greatest venues, having great records that come out and having these great friendships that will last forever. There are so many great moments, you can’t just limit it to one, because there are so many and I’m lucky for that. 

Of all the projects you’ve done, was there ever one you went into thinking, “I don’t know about this,” and then it turned out to be a better experience than you thought?
J5: Well, no, because I tend to be pretty careful about what I take on. You know, I’m very, very careful about the reputation of my name, so it’s not like I’ve ever gotten into a situation where I'm like, ”How am I going to get out this?” No, I’ve never done that. 

I know so many people have helped you along the way. Rudy Sarzo played a big role in helping your career. What do you remember most about meeting him that first night?
J5: Well, meeting Rudy helped me tremendously. He introduced me to Irving Azoff, who is a master in the music business, and a manager of record people and taught me this, that and the other thing about the business ... He let me into his home. He helped me out, and he’s a wonderful, wonderful talent, and taught me a lot of things. So I owe a lot to Rudy Sarzo.

And you’ve stuck with people and worked with them over your entire career, like your producer Bob Marlette.
J5 : Yes. You know, it’s funny. Everybody I’ve worked with I’m pretty much still in contact with. Everyone … because they’re good people, and I never leave anything on a bad note, where it’s like, “Screw you!” So it’s good, because you see everybody because it’s such a small, small world, and you don’t think you being in this world of, “Oh, I’ve seen this person. I’ve seen this person. I’ve seen this person.” It’s wonderful, and I’m so happy that I don’t have any bad blood.

You’ve worked with some amazing guitar players, too, including Lita Ford. That must have been a blast for you.
J5: Yeah, it was a blast. I see her every once in a while and she’s such a great, great, great talent. And she’s a great songwriter, great performer and singer … luckily, I had the privilege to play with her and play some songs with her. I really respect her. She’s great.

Probably underrated as an artist …
J5: Oh sure, she’s great. And she’s been doing this forever. I mean, The Runaways? Come on … just awesome. She’s so great. And then all of her solo stuff – what a career.

How did you get this band The Creatures together?
J5: Well, I was recording my instrumental stuff. I had recorded so many records, but I never played live shows. The drummer that I use said, “You should do some live shows.” And I said, “Well, it’s tough. The Zombie schedule is so busy,” but I said, “I’d love to do it. We’re going to have to get somebody. Let’s do it. Let’s do some shows.” I was really nervous because I’ve never done these kinds of shows. I didn’t know if people would show up, I didn’t know if people were going to care, I didn’t know anything about it. But we went out there, and it was such a huge success, and I was so happy. It just really changed my life, and we just said, “All right. Let’s do this.” And it’s so much fun. I’m so happy that the drummer, Rodger Carter, kind of pushed me to do this. And it was wonderful. It really changed my life.

Does it continue to evolve, this project you’ve got?
J5: Yeah, absolutely. We’re doing another tour starting in November … we’re just going to keep doing it, keep doing it, and whenever I have time away from Zombie, I’ll be able to do this.

What did you enjoy most about working on the last record working with Rob? Was it different from any other records you worked on with Rob? Or did you like the songs better and do you think he’s underrated as a songwriter?
J5:  Well, the record we have coming out with Zombie now, that will come out next year, it is so good. We went up to his place, and it is very secluded, and there’s nothing out there. There are no distractions – really, really a great place to make great music, and you really have the time to live with it. And that’s what I think is very important, because you have the time to say, “Oh, let’s change this or make this better, or I can play it like this.” And I think that’s important, because a lot of bands they do these records and they have to deliver them at a certain time. We took our time and this record that’s going to be coming out … I mean, the songs are amazing. It’s great, it’s heavy and it’s just … you know, I was a Zombie fan before being in the band and this one’s going to be great that’s coming out.

Do you remember hearing White Zombie for the first time? What did you think of them?
J5: Well, yeah, it was seeing the video of “Thunder Kiss ’65” … yeah, that was rad. It was the look, it was the sound and it was just cool. It was just something that you saw that made you say, “That’s got something special to it.” So, yeah, it was just a great, great, great thing.

"The Mad Monster Tour" dates:
Nov. 4 – Ramona, CA @ Ramona Mainstage
Nov. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Whiskey A Go Go**
Nov. 6 – Las Vegas, NV @ Count's Vamp'd**
Nov. 7 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee Theater**
Nov. 8 – Ventura, CA @ Discovery**
Nov. 10 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge**
Nov. 12 – Orangevale, CA @ Boardwalk**
Nov. 13 – Fresno, CA @ TBD
Nov. 18 – San Antonio, TX @ Sam's Burger Joint
Nov. 19 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
Nov. 20 – Tyler, TX @ Click's
Nov. 21 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar

** Dates with Doyle

Lita Ford Set To Auction Historic Collection of Guitars and Stage Worn Clothing

Lita Ford
You can call her the Queen of Noise, you can call her the Queen of Metal. Heck, she will even refer to herself as ‘The Bitch with the Hot Guitar’. But whatever the name, Lita Ford is one of the all-time premier female rock stars!

With a career that started 40 years ago as the lead guitarist for The Runaways, Lita Ford has maintained herself on the basis of a strong recording catalog, relentless touring and a loyal, world-wide fan base. She is easily one of the hardest working female rockers in the business and there is no break in sight anytime soon.

To celebrate those four decades of being a highly visible musician, Lita is opening her cramped closets to share a great selection of treasures with her fans. Partnering with Backstage Auctions, she has personally put together nearly 100 lots that include guitars, road cases and laminated backstage passes, all the way to stage worn clothing and even a selection of historic wear from her years with The Runaways.

The Runaways 70s black cat suit
Among the highlights are her famous The Runaways black cat suit that dates back to 1976. Also from those ‘Cherry Bomb’ days is an impressive selection of stage worn t-shirts, as well as several great pieces from the legendary 1977 Japan Tour, including an exceptionally rare tour jacket and promoter shirt.

From the 1980s all the way through current day, Lita has put together a jaw-dropping array of recognizable and iconic clothing items that were worn in videos, album covers, promotional events and on stage. From dresses, jackets, pants, tops and shirts, all the way to shoes, boots, belts, bracelets and bras! It would be unfair to highlight just one or two of them, but the ‘Wicked Wonderland’ wedding dress is as intimidating as it is visually stunning.

And if guitars are your thing – there are no less than 10 great models to pick and choose from, including Lita’s famous red B.C. Rich. Only two of these were ever made – and Lita is breaking up the twins exclusively for this event! Equally great are her famous Alvarez guitars from the early 1990s or her ‘Vixens’ from more recent years. The auction also features several road cases, a phenomenal amp, and a fine selection of Lita’s own laminated ‘Artist’ backstage passes.

Lita Ford's famous red B.C. Rich guitar


All items have been personally signed by Lita and will also include a separately signed Certificate of Authenticity. This is a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity to own not only a personal item from the Queen of Noise, but a piece that has played a role in music history!

The Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up.
Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 



#RGMM2015

Backstage Auctions’ Rock Gods and Metal Monsters 2015

By: Pat Prince, Editor of Goldmine Magazine

On June 20, Houston-based auction house Backstage Auctions will begin its annual Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction. Consisting of memorabilia from iconic rock ‘n’ roll artists and the heaviest bands on the planet, the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction is as interesting and rock solid as any annual music auction there is.
Gene Simmons body armor from the KISS Psycho Circus tour.

Goldmine asked Backstage Auctions owner Jacques van Gool a few questions about the upcoming Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, which runs June 20-28 (special VIP preview June 13-19) and will feature over 1,000 hard rock and heavy metal auction lots. 


GOLDMINE: Why and when did you decide to make the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction an annual event?

JACQUES VAN GOOL: Well, let’s see, this is our fourth one in four years, so 2011 was the first time. The reason why is multiple; it’s a lot of fun, we’re very comfortable handling “all things” Hard-Rock and Heavy-Metal and most importantly, there is a growing number of collectors who wants Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer over Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead and the Beach Boys.

GM: In your opinion, what artist is a perfect example of a ‘Rock God,’ and then a ‘Metal Monster’?

VAN GOOL: Ha, that’s a interesting question. When I think of a Rock God, I’m visualizing a music icon with universal reach and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame level accomplishments. Actually, that might not be such a good answer because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is hardly the yardstick for what’s relevant, but figure of speech…think KISS, Ted Nugent, Steven Tyler, Angus Young, Eddie Van Halen, Rob Halford, Lemmy etc.

Metal Monsters are the guys and girls who are the gorilla glue that keep this metal community together. They all are and have been carrying the metal torches and flags for decades and they are the ones who have written and performed the metal anthems that so many of us grew up with; Scott Ian, Dave Mustaine, Gary Holt, Alex Skolnick, Lita Ford, Mike Portnoy and so on. Not surprisingly, we have many Metal Monster consigners!

GM: How is heavy metal becoming the new genre to collect?

VAN GOOL: For starters, I think it’s an age thing. Right now the most active demographic that collects are people, mostly male, between the ages of 35 and 55, who grew up on music from the 1980s and 1990s. Setting aside a few big pop stars, those were the years of heavy metal, hair metal,
Paul Bostaph (Slayer) gloves, sticks and drum head.
thrash metal, industrial metal, grunge rock, as well as the early days of nu-metal. The other reason is that ‘anything’ rock and metal has always created a more fanatical crowd due to the whole counterculture element. The metal genre has created – and continues to create – a high level of loyalty. Once a metalhead, always a metalhead. Combine that with the graphic element of metal – something that is exceptionally strong and important, and you will find a community that expresses their love for ‘their kind of music’ through t-shirts, patches, buttons, fashion, posters, vinyl, etc. Even if you don’t care for metal, you simply can’t deny the cool factor. Do you want to hang a poster of a weepy dude with an acoustic guitar on your wall or would you like to see Manowar getting ready for battle? Next…!!!

GM: Are other ‘80s genres coming to the forefront of collectibility?

VAN GOOL: Not as strong but I certainly see potential for (British) New Wave and Synth-Pop (New Order, The Smiths, The Residents, Kraftwerk) and Post-Punk. Clearly 1980s Pop – or at least the A-list – has already been collectible for quite some time now, such as U2, Madonna and Prince. It would be nice to see those genres grow in collectibility, albeit that I don’t believe that it will happen in the same way and format as selling 1960s and 1970s collectibles.

Lita Ford (second from left) wearing her famous black cat suit from the early Runaways days (see on display below, left).
GM: Talk about some of the highlights of this year’s Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction, and why.

VAN GOOL: This is such a hard question, simply because I think that most of everything that we
Lita Ford's black cat suit.
have in the auction is special, no matter how large or small. There is Lita Ford’s famous black cat suit from the early Runaways days, or a fully-signed bass drumhead from the first ever American show of Venom in New York. Mike Portnoy and Charlie Benante both are offering a complete drum kit – which is a first for both of them, but then we also have a multitude of impressive guitars from various rock stars. You can bid on Marilyn Manson’s tour-used army hat, Tommy Lee’s drum sticks, Stephen Pearcy’s microphone grip or Gene Simmons body armor from the Psycho Circus tour. And speaking of KISS, we have the ‘oldest known to exist’ fully-signed promo photo which is a museum piece all by itself. There are hundreds of backstage passes, guitar picks, autographed items, record awards, tour shirts and jackets…the catalog is not for the faint of heart.

GM: There seems to be a growing amount of ‘gear’ at music memorabilia auctions nowadays. Do you find that collectors are usually musicians themselves when collecting musical gear?

VAN GOOL: No, not really. I mean, sure, a good number will buy amps, cabinets, road cases, microphone stands etc. to actually use and enjoy, but I know that there is an equally large number of people who simply buy gear for display purposes. I have seen people turn road cases into coffee tables, storage bins and even cabinets and book cases. These days an amp or cabinet makes for an equally attractive piece of decorative furniture than for example a birdcage or a fake bamboo plant. And it’s a better conversation piece too!
Lita Ford case, featured in the auction.

GM: You just had a distinct metal auction with Rex Brown of Pantera. Will there be more Pantera memorabilia available from this auction?

VAN GOOL: Yes, there will be a few more pieces. There are about 10 lots from Rex in this auction and another equal number of items coming from other consigners, such as some passes, picks, itineraries, record awards, etc.

GM:  Are the artists usually easy to work with? Do they ever go through separation anxiety after the commitment to auction off personal possessions?

VAN GOOL: I don’t know if ‘easy’ is the right word but I personally have been able to build very good relationship with all our metal consigners. Two things you have to know; metal artists are known to have to do a lot on their own and most had to build their band (and brand) from the ground
Rare Scott Ian (Anthrax) guitars, set to be auctioned. 
up. In other words, for the most part they are self-sufficient and generally knowledgeable about the business side of things. The other element is that metal artists generally have a very strong bond with their fans. They are very comfortable with exposure and don’t hide behind a bodyguard who will whisk them to a blacked-out limo. So, if you can speak their language, understand their drive and history and most importantly, be honest, you’ll end up doing just fine.

GM: What is next for Backstage Auctions after the Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction is over?

VAN GOOL: Vacation, R&R, trips to the reflexologist, kicking in a dent in the 100 or so saved shows on my DVR and maybe even a nap or two. After that we are getting ready for a ‘one-of-a-kind’ auction on behalf of a former British photo agency with tens of thousands of negatives from the 1960s and 1970s U.K. Rock & Pop scene, as well as a Classic Rock & Pop auction later in the year. Meanwhile, we’re also looking at a few ‘stand-alone’ auctions for some A-list clients…METAL clients that is!


The Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction is set to go live on June 20th. A special VIP preview will start on June 13th. To get your All Access VIP Auction pass visit the registration section here: VIP Access

#RGMM2015

Decades of Music Memorabilia Takes Center Stage in the 2015 Rock Gods and Metal Monsters Auction

This year’s Rock Gods & Metal Monsters Auction is going to be one of “the” auction events of the year and if you haven’t signed up for your All Access Auction Pass you will definitely want to do so after reading about the artists and type of items featured in the auction.

We have an impressive group of notable hard rock and heavy metal artists who have cleaned out their storage lockers and personally selected each item that will be featured in the auction. 
 
The headliners include; Alex Skolnick (Testament), Paul Bostaph (Slayer), Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), Scott Ian, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello (Antrax), Rex Brown (Pantera) and Lita Ford (Runaways).

Additionally, the auction will showcase memorabilia featuring AC/DC, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, The Cult, Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest, Kiss, Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, Metallica, Motley Crue, Motorhead / Hawkwind, Ozzy, Poison, Slipknot, Van Halen Rob Zombie and loads more!

Whether you collect guitars, amps, pedals, gear, drums, record awards, stage worn attire, picks & sticks, signed memorabilia or vintage crew and tour t-shirts & jackets, tickets & passes, itineraries, photos, posters, promotional items – there is something for everyone’s taste and budget.

Of course we have a few special highlights including; an amazing collection of artist owned and used guitars, drum kits and gear, impressive array of rare and unique artist signed items, an absolute stunning collection of original RIAA Record Awards and a vast selection of tour memorabilia including itineraries, passes and apparel.

The auction will be live from June 20th – 28th with a special VIP Preview that starts June 13th. If you are not registered for your All Access Auction Pass, rock on over and sign up today – it takes just a minute and there is no fee to sign up. Link: All Access Registration

Follow Backstage Auctions on Twitter and Facebook for auction highlights before, during and after the event. 

#RGMM2015

BACKSTAGE AUCTIONS - A boutique online auction house specializing in authentic rock memorabilia and exclusively represents legendary musicians, entertainment professionals and entities. Every auction event is unique, reflecting the artist's legacy and chronicles their legendary career.





CD Review: Lita Ford – The Bitch is Back Live

Lita Ford – The Bitch is Back Live
Steamhammer/SPV
All Access Review: B+

Lita Ford - The Bitch is Back ... Live 2013
Polite society may not approve of today's liberal usage of the word “bitch.” Lita Ford has lived her life in a different kind of world, one where sticks and stones are occasionally used to break bones, but names couldn't ever hurt her.

On her last studio record, Ford wrote of coming to the realization that she'd been living like a runaway her whole life. And, of course, the title, Living like a Runaway, had a lot to do with the hard-luck story of the teenage punk rock girl group The Runaways she was a part of in the 1970s, but there's more to it than that.

Away from the stage, Ford has endured great tumult in her personal life, especially in recent years. Getting through it requires the kind of resilience one gets from being as independent or brave enough to escape a troubled home. In other words, being a bitch is sometimes necessary for one's survival. Making 2012’s intensely personal Living like a Runaway was not only therapeutic for Ford, as she opened up about a lot of stuff, but it also served notice that those who'd written her off as a relic of the ‘80s were dead wrong. The bitch was back, having penned and recorded some of the most affecting and edgy rock ‘n’ roll of her career, and the crowd who welcomed her to the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, Calif., in early October of 2012 was glad she hadn't burned out or faded away just yet.

How appropriate then that she should kick off her latest concert album, The Bitch is Back Live, with the defiant Elton John song of the same name. A ballsy rocker dripping with attitude, Ford's version is unrepentant and has a thick skin, not veering far from the raucous spirit of the original, even if the choruses are delivered in a surprisingly tame and reserved voice. She must have been saving her strength.

The rest of The Bitch is Back Live holds nothing back. "Hungry," off 1990's Stiletto LP, sounds even more lewd and lascivious than it did back then, as Ford and her band, featuring Mitch Perry on guitar, Bobby Rock on drums and Marty O'Brien on bass, make its hot grooves perspire and its sinful melody slither and slide in the most seductive manner possible. Sex is not the only thing on Ford’s mind, however. In bringing out the heavy artillery of "Devil in My Head," "Relentless" and "Hate" off Living like a Runaway, Ford and company couch darker, more disturbing lyrical themes of temptation and violence in meaty, mauling riff grinds that plow these evils under as if they were sites of some horrific tragedy.

Still, this is a party, with an undeniably communal vibe, and Ford raises hell on "Kiss Me Deadly," hitting all of its confetti-strewn, sugary pop notes to close out the night. Ford expresses her love for the "roaring guitars" of "Hungry" and the dueling guitar "dive-bombs" of the sinister and melodic “Back to the Cave,” before begging all in attendance to check out the powerful words to “Hate.” And when Ford gets to “Can’t Catch Me,” the little ball of thrash-metal fury she wrote with Motorhead hellion Lemmy Kilmister while on a bender, nobody’s the least bit surprised that its ramshackle rumblings and blitzkrieg riffage has shaken the Canyon Club’s foundations.

As intimate as live recordings get, with plenty of audience reaction captured in pristine clarity, The Bitch is Back Live sees Ford playing with the reckless swagger and raw energy of a teenager who doesn't know what life's about yet. Trading well-executed licks with Perry, Ford causes her guitar to scream its orgasms, but when she sings, she's part little girl lost in the world and part worldly madame who's seen it all and then some. Her voice can be soft and alluring when it has to be, but when she wants it to scratch and claw like a wildcat, it's certainly capable of turning feral or moody, as it does in the hit “Close My Eyes Forever,” which loses some of its Gothic romance here while gaining more emotional heft.

Some of Ford’s songs have always had parts that flat-lined, and in the harsh glare of a live performance, these flaws are magnified. The flaccid “run baby, run” chorus of the song “Living like a Runaway” is a prime example, but Ford is also capable of exhibiting toughness and heart in songwriting that is always accessible and easy to relate to, just like that of her old partner Joan Jett. Ford, though, is metal’s queen, and as such, she demands a sound that’s thick and crushing, but also tuneful. She’s ready to take back her throne. http://www.spv.de/
-           Peter Lindblad


Jeff Scott Soto is about to get W.E.T.


Singer talks new projects, Queen, Yngwie Malmsteen and more

By Peter Lindblad

There is no rest for the wicked or Jeff Scott Soto apparently.

W.E.T. is (left to right) Robert Sall,
Magnus Henriksson, Erik Martensson,
Robban Back and Jeff Scott Soto 2013
Versatility is one of the veteran singer’s calling cards. His tireless work ethic is another. Seemingly always juggling a multitude of projects at one time, Soto’s ability to multitask and sing with power and dynamic range has made him one of the most sought-after lead throats in hard rock.

It all started for Soto in the early 1980s, when guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen tabbed him to sing on his 1984 debut solo album Rising Force. Soto stuck it out with Malmsteen for one more album, 1985’s Marching Out, but he bristled under Malmsteen’s dictatorial leadership and left to pursue other projects.

One was Talisman, the Swedish melodic hard-rock outfit he fronted from 1990 to 2007. Allowed to moonlight whenever he pleased, Soto – influenced heavily by Queen’s Freddie Mercury and Journey’s Steve Perry, as well as soul singers like Sam Cooke – also lent his talents to a wide variety of musical endeavors, including the movie “Rock Star,” which found him joining forces with guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society), Jason Bonham and bassist Jeff Pilson (Dokken), as well as Steelheart’s Michael Matijevic, in the fictional band Steel Dragon.

Along the way, Soto has sung with the likes of Axel Rudi Pell, Panther, Takara, Eyes and Soul Sirkus, among other bands. In the U.S., he’s probably best known for stepping in for Steve Augeri in Journey on their 2006-2007 tours and singing with the heavy-metal theatrical caravan Trans-Siberian Orchestra in recent years. However, he’s also provided background vocals for such metal and rock luminaries as Lita Ford, Stryper, Glass Tiger, Saigon Kick and the aforementioned Steelheart.

W.E.T. - Rise Up 2013
For years, though, Soto has also been friends with Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, and in the summer of 2012, he toured with Queen Extravaganza, the official Queen tribute band that Taylor produced.    

As if that weren’t enough, Soto released his solo album Damage Control in the spring of 2012, and in 2013, he plans to tour in support of it. But, there’s the not-so-little matter of his involvement in the super group W.E.T., which releases its sophomore LP, Rise Up, on Feb. 26, via Frontiers Records. Soto is responsible for the “T” portion of W.E.T., having been in Talisman. The other two letters refer to the bands of Erik Martensson, from Swedish pop-metal act Eclipse, and Robert Sall, keyboardist/guitarist for the Swedish melodic rock outfit Work of Art.

Surprisingly heavy, but still infused with big hooks and generous melodies, Rise Up, the successor to W.E.T.’s unexpectedly successful self-titled first album, is chock full of great songs and thick, crunchy riffs. And it is a complete band effort, whereas the first album saw Soto singing to tracks sent to him by Sall and Martensson. Rounding out W.E.T., a project devised byFrontiers Records President/Founder Serafino Perugino, are guitarist Magnus Henriksson and drummer Robban Back. They’ll be touring in 2013 as well. Soto discussed W.E.T. and his fascinating career in this recent interview.

I’ve been listening to the new W.E.T. album. It’s very good.
Jeff Scott Soto: We’ve been sitting on this for almost a year because we started working on it earlier in the year, but because we’re all in different bands and all so busy, it was kind of hit and miss as to when we could get together and do it. And then we finally finished it, and then we realized, you know what, it’s not strong enough. Let’s get a couple of other songs on there, and then let’s decide what’s going to make it on. It was really just a total work in progress for almost a year. So, we’re excited to finally get it done and get it out there, and now we’re getting the excitement level building for it.

The songs are great and the production is really spectacular. Did you want to up the ante from the first one or do you feel that this is not necessarily another step in the progression of W.E.T. but a fuller realization of what you want to do with the band?
JSS: Well, it’s kind of all of the above. The first album was more of a session for me. It was more an idea that I did for the record label. It was just a concept – let’s see if this works. And the fact that it worked and then some … I mean, this thing outsold all of our collective bands individually by more than double. So overall, it was something we didn’t expect, but also with that now thrown into the equation, we realized if we’re going to do a follow-up, let’s do it as a band. Let’s follow up and turn this into something that is real, not just something that was kind of an accident that kind of happened in the studio. And ironically, and I’ve said this a couple of times already, this whole thing came about almost in the same way Talisman came about – and Talisman was my band for 19 years, up to 2009, when my bass player [Marcel Jacob] took his own life – it was kind of an experiment that turned into longevity for part of my career. So that’s kind of how we’re treating this thing. It started as, “Let’s get these guys together who kind of barely know each other and see what can resolve of it.” And now it’s kind of turned into a real thing. So, yeah, we knew we had to up the ante. We knew we had to make the album sound as good as we possibly could. We knew the songs had to be strong. It wasn’t just something that we threw together and said, “Well, okay. Let’s do it as we did before.” We had to put a little more effort behind it if we were going to have people take it seriously.

From listening to it, it had to be difficult to choose a first single, because every song is radio-friendly. Why did you choose “Learn to Live Again”?
JSS: That’s pretty much out of our hands. That’s when the label comes into play. They helped us decide which songs could be on the final product, but also, they have the final say on what’s going to be the first single that gets out there. As far as we’re concerned, we have no problem with that, because as you said, there are so many strong songs on there. They could have chosen any one of them to be the first single, and we would have said, “Yes,” because we feel that strongly about a lot of the material there.

Is that one of your favorite songs on the record, or is there another you feel better about?
JSS: You know what? Strangely enough, and on this album, I’m a little closer to the heavier stuff and the ballad stuff, because the AOR, middle-of-the-road rock stuff, the melodic rock stuff, that’s stuff that the first album was built on. We had more of that middle-of-the-road, melodic thing going on there, and so we knew to have that kind of stuff on here would be important, but I don’t think the heavier songs and the ballads were as strong on the first album as they are on the new album. That’s one of the reasons I’m so close to the ballads, and there’s actually an unreleased song on there that I hope at some point gets out there – whether it’s going to be on a compilation, whether it’s going to be on a single – but there’s a song called “Bigger Than Both of Us” that didn’t make it on the final album that’s a ballad and it’s one of my favorites that we did. And for it to be just a bonus track or something that’s going to be floating around, it’s kind of strange that we’re sitting on such a strong song. So it’s weird to actually try to choose one that’s your favorite. It’s kind of like saying, “Which one of your kids is your favorite kid.” You love them all, and you treat them all with the same adoration.

Before we get into some of the individual songs on the record, it’s such an interesting way that this band came together, and you said before that you didn’t really know the other guys that well. When they first approached you with this idea, what did you think of it?
JSS: Well, it was the label that came to me with it. I’ve had a long-standing relationship with Frontiers Records pretty much since they started. I’ve been with them since 2001, and they came to me with the idea of just having these two guys from two different bands in Sweden co-write some songs and that I would end up singing on them. At first, I was like, “Okay, I’m a bit busy. I don’t know if I’m interested. Let me hear the songs first.” As I started listening to the stuff they were coming up with, I got really, really excited about it. It wasn’t just a studio project for me. I knew it would be something that could be or would be accepted by my fans, but also it’s still a touchy situation when you’re doing something that’s considered a project per se, because a lot of people that end up liking these kinds of things, they realize you’ll never tour, you’ll never follow up, so they don’t get behind them. And so just the idea of doing yet another project that would just be a one-off, that was really the only reservation I had about it. I had known Eric from years past through association s with Marcel and other Swedes. I had seen Eric play before, and I met him a few times, but I didn’t know him in a working environment. And Robert, from Work of Art, I had no idea who this guy was. I hadn’t even listened to his band at that point. So, it was all so new and fresh to me, without any idea of what it was going to be like, but I really liked the songs and with that, it flourished because I got to know these guys especially once we got together to do the videos and the EPK for the album. I got to really know the guys behind the music, and with that, we realized that we’re on to something here. And the fact that Frontiers wanted to do a second album, that’s when we realized if we’re going to do it, let’s do it as a band would do it. Let’s do it, let’s take our time and do it the right way, as opposed to, “You write the songs, you send me the melody, you send me the lyrics, I knock them out and I send them to you” – this is the way a lot of people are doing things today, and I wanted to actually be more involved on this new album, which I am. I’m co-writing a lot of songs on this new one with them.

It must be interesting to come into a band without any real preconceived notions of what everybody does. Was that a different experience for you?
JSS: Well, yeah, and I just put a lot of trust in my label. They had an idea of what they wanted out of this. They oversaw every aspect of it, the first album, regarding the songs, the song selections, the direction they wanted it, and they trusted in me as well. They didn’t come back to me and say, “Could you do this differently?” Or, “Could you change that?” They gave a thousand percent trust in me that I knew what to do with this kind of music and what I would actually be laying down to complete it. And so that first album, there was a magic behind it, because there wasn’t any interference from the label, aside from them choosing the songs with Eric and Robert in the initial stages of it. This time around, they completely left us alone, and we chose the direction, kind of the mapping out of where we were going to go with the new album. And with that, they know … especially because Eric’s been writing a lot of stuff for a lot of their other artists, like Jimi Jamison; he did an album with Bobby Kimball (Toto) and Jimi Jamison (Survivor), he’s a few things with Frontiers that he’s writing a lot of stuff for them that they’ve got this trust between all of us, knowing what we’re going to deliver working together as well as individually.

I wanted to ask you about if you remember how some of the songs came about in the studio or the writing process for this record, starting with “Walk Away.”
JSS: “Walk Away” was one of the newer ones. That was one of the ones that came about at the end when we realized we needed something more like that. There were three recent ones … actually, “Rise Up,” we didn’t even have the title of the album. We were just calling it W.E.T. II. And “Rise Up” was also a new one that came about in September, as well as “Walk Away” and “The Moment.” Those three songs were last-minute additions, and we’re just happy they came about because it just happened that Eric was writing, and he said, “Man, I got this new song. I know we’re pretty much happy with the direction we’re going in and what we have, but we’ve got to check these out.” And when he sent me these three, I knew immediately the album would be more complete if we had these three on there. So “Walk Away” was one of those that we … ironically enough, we kind of emulated “Separate Ways” from Journey on this one. It’s got that vibe to it, and I really think the label fell in love so much with it that they wanted to open the album with it.

I know this doesn’t run through the whole album, but in listening to “The Moment,” in the choruses, it reminds me of Def Leppard, especially in the vocals.
JSS: Oh, okay.

Did you take anything from them?
JSS: No, but I can hear where you’re using that analogy.

Just with those big pop choruses, just very strong.
JSS: That’s just how we write. We just have this idea of writing really hooky kinds of choruses and just trying to make the songs as strong as we possibly can. A lot of songs are based on riffs. A lot of songs are based on how great the band is. We wanted the actual songs to stand out more than how well somebody can sing or how well somebody can play guitar.

One of the tracks that really stands out to me and that I think is a really great closer is “Still Unbroken.” How did that one come about?
JSS: Um, that one went through different stages along the writing. I have earlier versions of it that … the intros and certain parts of it sound completely different. It had a bunch of different trial-and-errors before we decided how it was going to sound, how it was going to end up sounding the way we have it now. But “Still Unbroken” was probably in the earlier stages, the very beginning stages, where we knew we wanted to have as many rock songs to choose from as opposed to just the melodic stuff. The melodic stuff, we can churn that stuff out a lot easier in the sense of that’s where we all come from. We all come from that school and that world of hard rock music, but we also didn’t have heavier rockers on the first album that we were extremely happy with. I think “Invincible” was the only one on the first album that I felt stood out, and I wanted to make sure we had enough rockers on this, so “Still Unbroken” went through those stages of “let’s make this one more hard rock sounding.”

And how about “Learn to Live Again.” That song just has great hooks.
JSS: Yeah, and that’s another one where Eric and I discussed doing a duet for this album, because Eric, of course, is the lead singer of the band Eclipse. And he’s got a great voice. He’s singing all the background vocals on the album, and he comes up with a lot of the layering and a lot of the parts … I submitted a few ideas, but for the most part, when he’s writing, all these things are swimming in his head as he’s writing the songs. But I wanted to take it to the next step further, especially if we decided to play live. I want to utilize Eric as a lead singer, and not just as a background singer, and I said, “We should do something where …” And we tried a couple things and “Learned to Live Again” seemed to work the best as far as him start off the first line, and then I kick in and then we sing harmonies for the next couple lines. And it just made the most sense, as opposed to doing a duet where we sing entire verses and kind of switch off where a duet would be. We kind of treated it more like the way Styx used to do it back in the day, where one would sing a line and then another one would sing a line and then they’d sing harmony together. And that’s kind of cool.

There’s so much ground to hit on with your career, it’s been so varied. But I wanted to ask you about the summer of 2012 tour with Queen Extravaganza. How did you become involved in that and what kind of impact did Freddie Mercury have on you as a singer?
JSS: Well, Freddie, he was more than just a singer for me. Every aspect of being a performer I got from Freddie Mercury. He was the mentor, so to speak, of … the king who can actually make someone in the back of a stadium filled with 70,000 or 80,000 people feel like they’re part of the show, as well as the people in the front row. And that’s a hard thing to do. That’s an important lesson to be able to acquire as a student of live performance. So aside from all the things I was inspired from and influenced by as an actual singer, writer and such, it was even his stage persona that was such a massive influence. And to this day when people give me kudos on my stage performance, I owe it all to somebody like Freddie Mercury, who was basically my teacher. I watched how he was able to entertain everybody and not just the people in the first few rows. I’ve been involved with Brian May and Roger Taylor for many, many years and I was with them in the initial talks when they were talking about putting this thing together, and I told them immediately if I can’t be singing with you … and I said it in kind of a joking way, that if I can’t be singing with you guys, I’d love to be a part of this thing, if and when you put it together. And so, of course, they held me to my word and when they pieced it together finally, they did the auditions through the Internet, and that’s the way they did it, but they reserved a spot for me when it was actually all said and done. And it was a great privilege to be a part of it, and it was a lot of fun. It’s great to sing those great songs, and now they’re actually moving on and they’re pursuing it in a different realm now. And I’ve gone back to doing what I’ve got to do, because I’m just swamped. Between doing that and TSO, and W.E.T. and my solo thing … there’s a lot going on right now.

You really do. I was going to ask you about Damage Control, too, and you’re going on tour for it [in 2013] I believe.
JSS: Yeah, we’re finally hitting Europe in April … April and May. And I eventually hope to get to the U.S. There’s also so much going on in the summertime. There’s a possibility I may be doing some more stuff in the studio and possibly live with [Trans-Siberian Orchestra] next year – not just the winter thing, but some additional things as well, and there’s talk about a possible Talisman reunion in the summertime as well. So between my solo thing and now the W.E.T. album coming out, and now people are going to want W.E.T. live, it’s pretty much a full plate. The plate is running over.

Talking about Queen again, what songs did you sing on the Queen Extravaganza and what was it like to sing Freddie Mercury’s stuff? Was it easy for you? Did you find anything difficult about it?
JSS: It’s extremely easy for me, because it’s embedded in my brain. I know those lyrics and those songs better than I know my own, strangely enough. I was pretty much the rocker representative of the group, because they’ve got a guy named Marc Martel, who is quite … if you know Queen Extravaganza, you know who this guy is. And he’s very good at all aspects of Queen, but they also knew they might need an edgier [singer] to come up with the stuff like “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Tie Your Mother Down,” “Fat Bottomed Girls.” So that was my role in there. I was more of the hard rocker representation of Queen’s music and the others who were singing lead, they were utilized for what their strengths were. And I was fine with that, because I wouldn’t want to have to try to sing these more obscure songs or one of these novelty songs after somebody like Marc Martel, who does them so well and does them like Freddie. If I did it, it would sound like me doing it, but when I do the rock end of things, it fits. It doesn’t have to sound like Freddie. It doesn’t have to sound like a Queen kind of a take on things. It’s me doing it, but it still represents the song in the proper way.

Do you have a favorite Queen album?
JSS: Oh, that’s always been a tough one to answer, and I’ve done it in many an interview. I go with the obvious when I answer that. I usually choose A Night at the Opera, just because it’s one of the albums that … well, I mean most of their albums I can listen to from top to bottom. I don’t find any filler, but I have to go with one of the more obscure ones. I have to go with Sheer Heart Attack as my favorite.  

I want to take you back to the beginning of your career. How did you become involved with Yngwie Malmsteen and what do you remember about meeting him for the first time?
JSS: I’ll give you the abridged version. Basically, he left Alcatrazz in 1984. I just happened to be at a friend’s house when the news came out on “MTV News” that he was looking for a singer. And literally, I just sent the cassette in, and – Cinderella-story luck later – I got the call to go meet him. It was a strange meeting and a strange situation to be a part of, but it took three weeks of singing with him at his house and demoing up things until I was finally inducted as the permanent singer of the band. And even the first two songs – the only songs that had vocals on them on the first album, the debut, Rising Force album – I didn’t know the songs until he put me in the studio. I basically learned them as I was singing them, and he kind of gave me the, “Well, if you sound good on them, then I’ll keep you on them. Otherwise, I’m going to sing on them.” And so I literally had the time I was singing on them to learn them and get a good performance in, and he actually really liked it. Strangely enough, I was 18 years old. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, and I pulled it off.

What’s it like to work with such a virtuoso guitarist as a singer? Was it a matter of you not wanting to step on any toes?
JSS: Well, yeah, and tongue in cheek, I usually answer that the same way. I didn’t really work with him; I worked for him. There were a few times where he kind of let me do my own thing when it was time for it, and we were collaborating and co-writing songs together, but he always had final say. He had a vision of what he wanted, and if it strayed too far from that vision, then he would cut it. It was a great situation for me as far as cutting my teeth in the business, but it also was a frustrating one, which led me to not sing with him too long because I was too strong-headed over where I wanted to go and I knew I wasn’t going to get that singing with him too long.

I know we don’t have too much time left, but you mentioned the Talisman reunion. It must have been so tough to get Talisman going because of all the label stuff. Do you feel as if you have unfinished business with Talisman?
JSS: Yes and no. I understand what bands go through, bands like Queen and bands like Journey, what they have to go through to have to replace somebody who is such a key figure in the band to continue. Now, we didn’t have the success that those two bands had. We didn’t have the interest and the sales of those bands, so of course, those bands to continue they have to find the right people. They have to be the right decision to move on. I don’t feel personally that there’s a reason to continue Talisman without Marcel [Jacob]. I wouldn’t want to record new albums and go on tour with Talisman without him, because I felt the same way those bands feel, that the body work was there because of that nucleus. And without that, it’s just kind of bastardizing the situation. Now, we do have surviving members of the band. We do have a body of work that deserves to be heard, and that’s what I’m more interested in. I’d rather reunite with the guys and play some shows and celebrate what we created, as opposed to just continue and try to come up with something that sounds like a continuation of what we already did.

Well, you talked about learning so much from Freddie about stage presence and singing to a live audience. How does that carry over to your work with Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
JSS: Well, TSO is a whole different animal. I mean, of course I still utilize my own persona and what I have to offer as an artist, but there’s more theatrics in the sense of … like musical theater behind Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which I never was into, I never followed, even while loving bands like Queen and Styx, who were very musical-theater-sounding rock bands, they didn’t sound like that to me. To me, they didn’t sound like a cast from “Les Miserables” or “Chicago” or one of those musical-theater numbers. With TSO, I have to kind of engulf myself into that world. I have to learn a little bit about it, because it is about going into characters. It’s not just about singing the songs. I can take any one of those songs and just sing circles around them, but it’s not about the performance of the songs as a vocalist. It’s more about the performance of the songs as a character. There are two different worlds there that I had to learn, and I look at it as an extension to who I am and learn something new and challenge myself into doing something that I’d never done before. That’s one of the reasons why TSO has become such an important part of my life, because I am now learning something different that I never had in my life. And I’m now able to now maybe, possibly utilize it to do something on my own. 

Doing the vocals for the movie “Rock Star,” did that prepare you in any way for Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
JSS: Not at all. I went in there and sang the way Jeff Scott Soto would be singing in Steel Dragon.

Looking back on the experience now, was it something you enjoyed?
JSS: Absolutely, a thousand percent. I had so much fun with that. I’m longtime friends with Zakk [Wylde, of Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne] and [ex-Dokken bassist] Jeff Pilson. Just to be a part of that whole experience with those guys, it felt like even though it was a fictitious band, it felt like we were a real band for the time we were in the studio putting that stuff together.

What do you think of the movie now?
JSS: I still love it. I loved it then. I thought it was tongue-in-cheek and there were parts of it that were, eh? And there were a lot of parts I really liked, and I think it still holds up. If we didn’t have the tragedy of 9/11, that occurred literally days after the release of the movie, I think it would have had a better chance.

Talking about tragedy and the new album, from a lot of uplifting and hopeful songs, with the tragedy that happened in Newtown, Conn. it seems like a perfect time for this kind of a record.
JSS: Anytime there’s positivity out there … I mean, there’s enough negativity in the world that we have to deal with, and we’re going to be dealing with it, it’s just the world we live in today. So I think it’s good to have some positivity when we can get it, just because we need it at this point in time.