| Round-up for 2011 / Looking forward to 2012 | ||
| 2011 has been another tremendous year for the world of Rock and Metal with more live gigs and festivals than ever before, plus loads of outstanding CD releases. We catch up with some of the artists we all know and love to find out what 2011 meant to them, and also what plans and aspirations they have for 2012. Here's what they told us ... | ||
| Jeff Paris | ||
|
2011
in Review 2011…what a year! By 2000 I’d walked away from AOR and my PolyGram deal, and moved toward other horizons, having written songs for Lita Ford, Mr. Big, Alias, Y&T, XYZ, Ace Frehley, Kiss, Shy, Skin, Vixen, Sheena Easton, and Jeffrey Osborne. At that point I joined Keb Mo’s band, a 3 time Grammy roots artist and old friend. Played keys, guitar, mandolin, accordion, sang and wrote songs on tour with him. But a chance series of encounters in ’11 sucked me back to rock: Andreas Carlsson, the Swedish songwriter for NSYNC and Britney Spears called me to tell me my PolyGram records influenced a generation of Euro pop writers, including himself. Nice to hear, since I considered those records failures. To get the whole story, go to http://www.rockunited.com/just11_paris.htm - it’s an interview I did for RockUnited and it’s got the whole sordid story …but I digress. Thru Andreas I met Tommy Denander and we recorded two slamming songs for my upcoming CD – well really they were for his Radioactive project, but he lent them to me for my thing. So that was notable event #1. #2 was getting a call from Kieran Dargan, the main dawg handling Firefest, asking me to play in October ’11. "Sure" I said and spent the next 9 months worrying "what the fuck did I say yes for?" - - hell, I could barely hit those hi C’s back in the day. But where there’s a will (and an ego) there’s a way, and I built everything back up … what a thrill. Firefest: a real game changer. #3 was establishing my charity organization, United Rockers 4 U, in response to the Japan tsunami, with my partner and little brother from another mother, Terry Ilous (XYZ & Great White). We wrote and recorded a song, "One Family," in my studio, and all the money it makes goes to the worldwide Red Cross for disaster relief. It’s out on iTunes now, so please buy it … you’re helping yourself when ya do. Dig the line-up of singers on it: Eddie Money, Jimi Jamison, Don Dokken, Bobby Kimball, Rob McAuley,Paul Shortino, Ritchie Kotzen, Terry, and me. Plus Brian Tichy (drums), Rudy Sarzo (Bass), Michael Thompson (Guitars) and me doing my thing … and it is off the hook. #4 was a killer project Terry, Paul Shortino, Lorraine Lewis and I sang on called "Resurgence of Rock"… a real labor of love. #5 is a theatrical production I’m involved with called "Your Town Follies" co directed by actor Tim Robbins that’s taught me more about professionalism than anything I’ve learned in the music world. And that’s #6: I learned more about my craft in ’11 than in the previous 20 years combined…gotta love that, right? And the final ’11 event is 2 words: Paul Rodgers. I’m listening to "Live in Glasgow" right now. Between his work with Queen and his solo and Bad Company concerts he is now THE cat … the bar by which all is measured. 63 years old and singing his best ever. Hey, I’ve got my opinion and damn it, I’m not afraid to use it … he dwarfs everyone else. 2012 in Preview So here’s what’s coming: My blues / soul CD, Broken Chain, is being set up for release now. I’ll be releasing two CDs: An AOR Jeff Paris CD and finally "Moon Over Paris", the unfinished project with Moon Calhoun. Maybe a CD with Terry Ilous … we already started laying stuff down! Major labels will continue to drown in the tar pits of antiquation. More artists will elect to control every aspect of their craft and confound expectations of who succeeds and fails. But beware: whoever wants "it" is gonna have to work for it like never before. You have to master all aspects of marketing and promotion to get visible. That’s where music and books and art are going. Recording gear is SO cheap. No more quarter million dollar Studers and 10 grand a week "lockouts". YAYYYY!! So the majors’ll dish out GAGA’s and Foster the Peoples. Hey there’s room for everything. But it looks like AOR may be gaining some traction, and that means new records and new potential "classics". At least one can hope!!! Happy New Year, Jeff Paris |
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| Exit State | ||
|
2011
in Review 2011 has been a
very testing year for the band, with delayed release of our 2nd
album “Black Veins”, a change in record label to Rocksector Records
& lead guitarist Adam Stephenson leaving the band more or less on
the eve of the album release. Yet through adversity the year has
in fact proved to be a landmark where the album has been so well
received, some amazing shows have been played e.g. main support to GUN
at SOS Festival, a place at Hard Rock Hell Ibiza which then earned us a
place at Hard Rock Hell (Prestatyn), plus some incredible headline shows
including a superb return to St.Andrews University where we’d played
in support to Marseille a year before. Another highlight has been
yet more TV coverage for the band with the video for “Check Out The
Crazy” hitting Kerrang primetime. The “Black Veins” album
has been at the centre of all of this & bottom line is it’s a
record of songs that we’re very very proud of. 2012 in Preview One word sums up 2012 for Exit State “TOURING!”. That’s almost our sole aim. We had some amazing shows last year & we want to hit the ground running from April onwards after a break between December-March. We have plans for a great many headline shows, plus we have discussions about some possible tour support slots, one or two of which we feel will come to fruition. We play SOS Festival again in 2012, with label mates & NWOBHM legends Tygers Of Pan Tang also. Beyond that we are working on 2 further music video ideas with our good friends & colleagues at Video Ink. Happy days! |
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| Crimes Of Passion | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
2011 was a busy year for us, not only was our second album "To Die For" completed and released in Japan via Marquee Avalon, but we also did both halves of the European tour with Saxon. Since our involvement with producer Charlie Bauerfeind things have really snowballed for us!!! Whilst recording my vocals at Helloweens Andi Deris's studio in Tenerife at the beginning of the year, Charlie pulled us a couple of favours, some guest vocals on the album from Andi and his son Ron and also Biff. This was a big turning point for us, Biff showed some real interest in us and ended up becoming involved with us to the extent of editing some of the European/USA release of our album (Officially released February 2012, through Global Music). Biff also then invited us to do the European dates of their tour, some of which were accompanied by Anvil. We have literally just finished touring, before Christmas and so enjoying a couple of weeks off. But, now 2012 is here and we have a third album to write, as well as another couple of tours already confirmed, but not yet announced and several festivals, including the mighty Wacken!!!!! Can't wait!!!!! So no rest for the wicked, another productive busy year ahead of us. Hope to see you on the road, Dale. |
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| Haven | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
Just about ready to push record on this
new record! Thanks to the myriad of emotions that have hovered this past
year, these songs have pretty much written themselves! Just broke in my new pair of non leather
rock and roll boots. Can’t wait for this peace train to leave
the station. All aboard!!! |
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| Michael T Ross | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
My name is Michael T. Ross, a rock keyboardist out of Hollywood, California and have been playing in many groups such as Hardline and Angel and have album credits with Lizzy Borden, Lillian Axe and XYZ. I've been playing keyboards for Lita Ford since June of 2008. In January of 2011, I performed with Lita at the Namm Music Convention in Anaheim for the Dean Markley After Show Party. In March, I performed with Dale Bozzio's Missing Persons at the Key Club in West Hollywood and continued playing shows with her throughout the year including San Francisco, Phoenix and San Diego. In April, I participated in Terry Ilous' Japanese Benefit concert at Harper's Nightclub in Los Angeles, performing Whitesnake songs with their new drummer Brian Tichy and Rudy Sarzo. In May, the Lita Ford Summer tour kicked off in Los Angeles and it ended in Illinois in December. I had many great shows with Lita throughout the summer, sharing stages across the States with Slaughter & Cinderella at the Halfway Jam in Royalton, Minnesota, with Whitesnake at the M3 Festival in Maryland to Skid Row at the Glass Cactus in Dallas, Texas. One of my favorite shows was in Thief River Falls in Minnesota at the Ralph Engelsted Arena with L.A. Guns. In December, returned to San Francisco for another show with Missing Persons at the Red Devil Lounge. I'm working on keyboard tracks for the new Lita Ford release coming out in 2012, which is produced by guitarist Gary Hoey. Further, I'm preparing for a return to the Namm Music Convention in Anaheim for another live appearance with Lita. In 2012, I'm looking forward to Lita's new CD to be released and the tour to start. |
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| Fury UK | ||
|
2011 in Review A strange year for us as we didn’t have a new release out in 2012 but that was as planned & our main focus has been on touring. 79 shows in the year & as well as headline shows we’ve also been honoured to support Saxon on a 12 date UK tour & Iced Earth on the European leg of their World Tour which involved 32 dates for us. Both these tours were important for us & obviously they were a great chance to reach out to more fans which has worked well. In the case of Europe it fulfilled a major step as we played in 18 different countries, the majority of which were brand new for us. We were proud to be made very welcome & to get a great response. The final date with Iced Earth was in Ludwigsburg, Germany & we were honoured to be invited to jam with them onstage. Jon Schaffer chose “War Machine” by KISS & the video from that is on Youtube & was a special moment for Fury UK. 2012 in Preview We’re excited to be planning our 4th album for 2012. We have some songs written to demo stage but want to put a lot more ideas together so the timing overall isn’t certain yet. The last album “A Way Of Life” was easily our most successful so the pressure’s on & we don’t want to disappoint ourselves or of course our fans. Irrespective of the timing of the album, we expect to tour UK & Europe again in April/May & are also looking forward to a return to Hammerfest (UK) in March & PPM Fest (Belgium) in April. We may have some additional release news soon so please stay tuned to www.furyuk.com J |
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| Rocksector Records | ||
| 2011
in Review
Ouch! It’s
been a tough but very rewarding year. The business climate isn’t getting
any easier but we’ve been fortunate enough to be involved with 6 great
releases during 2011 – Fantasist “Giggle Juice” Attica Rage “Road Dog” Falling Red “Hasta La Victoria Siempre” Velvet Star “In The Face Of Vanity” Nightvision “Consequence Of Sin” Exit State
“Black Veins” Very proud of
each & every one of these records, & each of these bands has gone on
to play some great shows e.g. Fantasist at Bloodstock, Attica Rage at High
Voltage Festival, Falling Red at Hard Rock Hell, Velvet Star at Hard Rock
Hell, Nightvision at SOS Festival, Exit State at Hard Rock Hell. Meanwhile,
Fury UK have toured the UK with Saxon, & toured Europe with Iced Earth. On the other
hand, we were sad to see Moth Circus split up after so much early promise
& a fantastic debut album, & neither 4Bitten or Dave Evans managed
to get back to tour the UK as hoped. On the business end of things the root of our operation is of course selling CDs & 2011 has been by far our most successful despite very difficult trading conditions. That’s due not least to a fantastic build up of fans that like one or more of our bands & it’s been brilliant to again see people travelling long distances to see our bands play live & at the same time buying their music. That’s the most satisfying aspect of this year – real progress & we’d like to thank everyone (fans, press, bands) that has supported the music so much in 2011. 2012 in Preview ILooking forward to 2012, whereas this time last year we weren’t able to predict very much (even though it transpired into 6 releases), we can now forecast albums from Fury UK, Fantasist, 4Bitten, plus the newly-signed NWOBHM legends Tygers Of Pan Tang. So that’s 4 releases to look forward to, & in addition we are again in negotiation with several other artists so a further 2 or 3 releases (probably more) are very likely. Good times! |
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| Jamie Derelict | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
2011 was the first full year as a band for
JD & the FDCs and sitting here in the recording studio right now
and looking back at the last 12 months, we've managed to hit every
single one of the targets I set for us at the beginning of the year.
We started out by making our debut video for "Never Gonna
Stop" in January and we're really proud of how Free Running Films
transferred our ideas from our brains, to the big screen. (Or Youtube
screen as it were - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPVodo5pNKw
Following that, we hit the road with our New York brothers in The Erotics for a bunch of dates and off the back of the video, started developing a local loyal fan base and generating interest from people and places further afield. We started work on our debut album in May and elected to take lots of time spread out making it instead of cramming everything in to a two week period. In the middle of that, we decided to record and release a new EP featuring the title track "Burn This City Down". People were finally starting to pay attention to us and and hot on the heels of the buzz that we created, we decided to take on a manager who shared our own passion, commitment and drive. We started spreading our wings and playing in Wales, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Ipswich, Newcastle and beyond, everywhere we went spreading the good name of the FDCs, hustling like crazy and selling hundreds of CDs. At this point, our new manager had me doing a couple of radio interviews a week and performing acoustic sessions whenever possible. As I fast approached 20 years in the music biz, it really felt like all of my hard work over the years was coming to fruition. That hard work is only just beginning though and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us. Check out our brand new documentary/rockumentary "Behind The Schtick" for a visual representation of our story! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhiiMnkWHk4 Highlights of 2011 were an opening slot at the Camden Underworld supporting my absolute favourite band the Swingin' Utters (one for the bucket list), the New Disorder Festival at MFN in Notts and the FDCs finally gracing the hallowed stages of Rock City in Nottingham at the tail end of the year. Early 2012 will see us hit the ground running with more gigs and more graft finishing off the LP. A video for "Burn This City Down" will also be made. Mid 2012 will see us unleash our debut album "Recognise" and I'm also hoping to licence it out to a US label. After that, hopefully a bunch of European dates and a few UK festivals. That's what we're aiming for anyway....
In closing, we played with some fantastic
UK bands in 2011 such as Obsessive Compulsive, Shush, Eureka Machines,
East Town Pirates, The Virgin Marys and Voodoo Johnson. So surely it's
time for underground rock n' roll to go OVERGROUND in 2012?!
Cheers,
Jamie Delerict |
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| Douglas Docker | ||
|
2011 in Review 2011 started out wonderfully with a 3-week trip to Thailand where I got remarried to my Thai wife with a traditional Buddhist wedding ceremony that I will never forget. Back in Italy I spent the year running the Rock Department of the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale, a school in Northwestern Italy which trains sound and multimedia engineers as well as musicians for the national market. I recorded keyboards for a new and promising Italian prog metal band called Rustfield, which includes acclaimed musician John Macaluso on drums. I also got involved with the very exciting “011 – An Adventure with Therion” game and film project. I participated in a non-musical way, by translating texts for the game and doing voice-overs for the “Making Of” documentary which will be released on DVD with the film that complements the game. Very exciting stuff! Last but not least, I completed my Docker’s Guild project. We finished mixing last winter with Simon Hanhart, then on to mastering in Sweden with Mike Lind, artwork in the summer courtesy of the amazing Carl-Nadré Beckston, and I signed the record deal with Lion Music on Christmas Eve! I must take the opportunity to thank Alex Del Vecchio for making this possible. 2012 in Preview I’ll be continuing with my work at the Rock Department, trying to organize master classes this year with special guests from abroad. The main focus however will be Docker’s Guild, with the album release sometime between spring and summer. We’re also planning to shoot a very exciting and different kind of video for the song Darwin’s Tears. I can’t say much about it yet, but I do know that it will be in black and white with a strong 1920’s German Expressionism influence. I am also toying with the idea of organizing an album release party here in Italy with some of the special guests on the album participating. The New Year looks very good from this position ;)! |
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| David Mark Pearce | ||
|
2011 in Review Hi out
there to all you Rockin’ Mayfair Mall readers, DMP here.
Little Linda asked me to write a review of the year past also hopes,
dreams and plans for the future in 2012. I have
to say I was very thrilled at this opportunity, so here goes. Ok, as
you may remember, my debut album “Strange Ang3ls” came out on June
27th through the German AOR label, AOR Heaven. I’ve
had some fantastic reviews for my album and one of them was from the
guys here at MM and, if memory serves, it was great. Now, I’d
love to say it’s all been wine and dancing girls and that since then
my feet have been well and truly up doing nothing but relaxing, with
me feeling very smug at my work finally being out there.
However, the reality is that as soon as my album was in the proverbial
‘can’, the guy who I normally play guitar for, Oliver Wakeman,
returned home from his last tour with YES and immediately wanted to
start on his next projects - yep that’s plural - hence I went
straight into working on a full rock album for him then, immediately
after, another more elaborate work which I can’t really say much
about at this time, but you’ll love it when its finally announced. So, all
this on the back of two years making my own album. Needless to
say, I was all rocked out, or simply bloody tired, y’see I have a
full time job working for Allen & Heath as an Audio Test Engineer
so all my spare time goes into my music. J
Of
course, in amongst all of this, friend’s of mine organised a low key
album launch for me in my hometown and I’ve had tons of interviews
to do and I’ve loved every minute of it - hey its all part and
parcel of what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. But, all
things take their toll and after attending this year’s FireFest in
Nottingham, I and many others were struck down with the FF lurgy and,
because of the last couple of years, it took me a month to shift it.
All is good now and I’ve just completed a new cover version of a
Christmas Carol, “The Holly & The Ivy” which has been getting
airplay on ARFM, just like I did last year with “God Rest Ye Merry
‘AXES’’. I’m two songs in and a few rough ideas for my follow
up to “Strange Ang3ls”, which I’m hoping to start recording next
year for a very hopeful release later in the year, but we’ll have to
see what happens regarding some other stuff I’m doing as to when I
can fit everything in, but an album is coming.
J
One of
the other cool things that happened in 2011 was that I was contacted
by AOR legend Paul Sabu and we have begun writing songs together. This
was a real feather in my cap, so we’ll see what comes of that. Briefly
regarding “Strange Ang3ls”, the awesome thing, or one of them, is
that fans have begun putting videos of their favourite tracks up on
YouTube and that blows me away as I feel its such an honour for
someone to take the time to do that. Of course, there’s a
downside to putting an album out i.e. those that think it’s
theirs and the rest of the worlds for free. Yup, perhaps there
would have been more wine and dancing girls if those that steal had
paid for it. Actually, I’d just like to be able to write and
record music full-time without the trappings and until something is
done to stop it, well it’s an uphill task, but as long as genuine
paying fans are with me then the journey will be all the better and
for that I salute you all. 2012 in Preview For
2012, I believe it will start with doing some more guitars for
Oliver for his new release then, if all goes well, maybe a tour
then, after that depending on how well it all goes, hopefully more
of the same. This, of course, will be great and all that
involved in it also, whilst out on tour I’ll be really able to
focus and get my new ideas whipped in to the shape of songs and
begin thinking about who I’d like to perform on it for you. Rest
assured its gonna rock and perhaps it will be a little more direct
than its predecessor but I still want to maintain the more
grandiose aspects of it all, I mean why fix what isn’t broke,
right? So
there it is guys, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell. May
I wish you all a very happy and melodic rockin’ Christmas and a
rip roaring new year Rock
n Roll peeps Yours
truly, David Mark Pearce |
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| Intense | ||
|
2011 in Review After
what had been a quiet period for the band we ended up with a busy 2nd
half to 2011. It
started in July when we were confirmed to open up for the Mighty
Crimson Glory and return to the Camden Underworld, this was a superb
show and our first in the September
saw us sign a worldwide deal to October
21st Saw us head out on a UK tour supporting the Mighty Inmoria from
Sweden on a 9 date UK tour, which was great fun and both bands and
crews got on superbly which is always nice
J
.. it was great for us because we got to play some new towns
and venues too which was cool. October
28th was the initial release date for The Shape of Rage which was put
back later in the http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=8Id6G30zqvU (if you’re able to use this, this is a trailer put out by the label for the new album) 2012 in Preview 2012
will be about 2 things for Intense: Promotion for the album, much
of which I’m helping with especially in the I’d
like to thank everyone who’s offered their support in 2011 and
those who hopefully will do the same for us in 2012 J
Happy
New Year to you all and hope 2012 fulfils all your dreams. See
you on the Road !!! Cheers, |
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| Tony Mills | ||
| 2011
in Review
2011 was a radical year
for me, I started it by emigrating from the UK. I started working on a
rock opera in Trondheim called 'Nergard', which I completed in early
spring. Serpentine's second album; 'Living and Dying in High
Definition', took me a while to finish off, but April saw the final
recordings. In and around everything else I've probably only played
around 30 shows this year with TNT, though some were in Finland,
Sweden and Spain for a change instead of only in Norway. I recorded
several charity records in various countries this year, in light
of the disasters; Norway, Germany, USA and Australia. Hopefully, they
achieve the desired results for the people that need it most.
2012 in Preview
I moved into different
territories later in the year working with a 30 piece 'Prime Time
Orchestra' in Sandvika with UK star Lisa Stokke. I also agreed
contracts for two more albums to be released in 2012. TNT's live
album will no doubt see the light during the coming year, which
was recorded in Spain. I've joined forces with a band of musicians
in Bergen to record an album in the vein of late 70's, early 80's
rock. That should prove interesting. TNT plan to ship out of
Scandinavia in a much bigger way this year, but I'll keep you
posted on that.
My 50th party is planned in Frederikstad, south Norway, where we'll ship in UK acts to play as well as well known Norwegian artists. Apart from that, I've been asked to coach various rock schools in Italy and Norway during the coming year and we'll see how we get on with that. To all your
readers, I wish a very prosperous new year and good health to you
all. |
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| Luca Princiotta | ||
| 2011
in Review
2011 was a great year for
me: it started with Alexander Kaschte (singer and leader of the German
Gothic band Samsas Traum) calling me up and asking me to record the
guitar parts of the new album “Anleitung zum Totsein” which
eventually got released in July 2011. That was already a great
experience because I had to learn and to record some really interesting
pieces of good music and I have to say that I really enjoyed doing it. One of the highlights of
2011 was the South American tour I did with DORO. It was the second time
I’ve been there and it was a blast! We toured for two weeks, we met
amazing people, we visited beautiful places and every show was an
intense exchange of emotions between us and the audience…
unforgettable! Although it wasn’t easy to restart after a rewarding
tour like that, life goes on and new targets must be achieved. I came back from South
America and kept on touring with my Italian band CLAIRVOYANTS and in the
summer we started recording our second album. Summer was also great for
all the European festivals I played with DORO. It’s always cool to
take part of these events because you never know who you’re gonna
meet: old friends, musicians and this time I had the chance to share the
stage with some of my heroes like Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Mr. Big
and so on. I feel blessed! I spent the rest of the
year touring with DORO and with CLAIRVOYANTS. Actually DORO did one big
European tour in October that saw our ship navigating from the coldest
countries like Russia and Poland to the warmest ones like Spain and
France. Then we toured Germany in December…a lot of shows were
sold-out! Thanks to all the fans for showing so much respect to the
Metal Queen! Last but not least I’ve
just published the first album of my solo band LUCA PRINCIOTTA BAND
called “Vis Viva”: it’s a rock instrumental album, a journey
between interpretation and improvisation. A challenge for me and I’m
very happy with the result so far and I can’t wait to see what the
future holds for this new project! 2012 in Preview
2012 will start with the
new CLAIRVOYANTS album “The
Shape Of Things To Come” which will be released between February
and March. As producer of this album I’m very proud of the work
done so far,
the band gave its best to make these new songs sound bigger and
heavier. We already have a great Italian tour that will take off in
March until the end of April. I
can also say that a new DORO album is coming up late this year as
well, and of course there will be a new World Tour from the next
summer on.
Besides all that, I’m
working on a Rock Opera written by CLAIRVOYANTS’ singer Gabriele
Bernasconi, an ambitious project featuring many international
guests.
I just love what I do and I
just don’t wanna stop working, I like to be always musically
involved: that’s my passion, that’s my life!
Luca Princiotta |
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| Alessandro Del Vecchio | ||
| 2011
in Review
Well ... 2011 has been a great year for me. I think I had no time to relax apart from 10 days on my Harley Davidson this summer. My own band Edge Of Forever has been put on hold for a year which is quite tough for me, but this was due to my work as a producer. I have seen a lot of bands/projects going out of my studio with a record in their hands. First mention goes to Lionville which started as an humble AOR meeting among friends and turned out to be one of the finest albums I ever released. Soul Seller has been another nice debut I produced ... and once again we started quite as a gamble … and listen to what we created :-) I was happy to produce Planethard and One Soul Thrust second albums, after I produced their debut albums years ago. It's nice to see band coming back to you … it feels like being the added member to the line-up. One of the greatest achievements has been creating a monster of a record with Eden's Curse, 'Trinity', with the mighty James Labrie singing one of my songs! How cool is that? We also toured in the UK with them and everything was just superb. 2011 has been the year of
my consolidated relationship with Avenue Of Allies, and Gregor Klee
submitted me, among some cool productions for next year, the mixing for
the new Frozen Rain album (to be out in March 2012) with my great friend
Carsten Lizard on vocals. After the summer I was approached to
write, produce and create a new life for one of the most amazing hard
rock bands ever: Hardline! Working with Johnny Gioeli
(definitively one of my heroes!!) and creating this baby from scratch
with Frontiers and him has been a highlight for me. I'm sure all
Hardline fans will love this record. Class, melody and passion!
In the meanwhile I have toured with Mitch Malloy (with an
amazing performance at Firefest which is still giving me shivers), Glenn
Hughes, Ian Paice and Voodoo Circle…oh Voodoo Circle…I love these
guys and love their music to the bone! They really were the best end for
this marvelous year! I may look like a workaholic … mmh …. yes .. I think I am :-) I'm gonna produce one of the masters of west-coast music, with a lot of superb musicians from the golden era of the L.A. sessions, the new Soul Seller, co-produce Wheels Of Fire new album, work with Frédéric Slama, produce two nice debut albums for two really promising new acts, be featured as a writer on some AOR records, produce a Scandinavian singer who DESERVES to be back to his rock fans and mix a superb project called Code Of Silence, produced by my buddy Eden's Curse, Paul Logue. Added to that the new Edge Of Forever record which is gonna be finished for the Summer …. and we're all looking forward to doing it! Wow … I'm already tired! Did I miss something? .. probably :-) |
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| Erol Sora | ||
| 2011
in Review
2011 was a memorable year
for me in the fact that I was finally able to do a SORA show in the UK
in September with my great friends Dave Cheeseman on keyboards, Chris
Dale on bass and Gideon Letch on drums. The show went great and it was
brilliant seeing all my old friends again. I miss the UK very much. I'm
now hoping to record a really fresh sounding SORA album in 2012 that
will combine elements of the first 2 album but also incorporate some
new styles/directions. These things always take longer than expected
so I'm hesitant to speculate as to time frames/release dates etc...
Also looking forward to going to NAMM in LA in January and seeing
more old friends again! |
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| Julian Angel | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
2011
was a year of ups and downs, excitement and tragedies – life as we
know it.
During Summer I took a time out due to my Dad’s passing. I’m more than thankful having had him as my Dad, friend, supporter, counselor and a great living example. Not to sound pathetic, but hey, it happened, so I mentioned it here. 2011
was also the year that paved the international business road for me.
I find it pretty cool I got a chance to work with clients from the
USA, Canada, China and even the Arab Emirates in the entertainment
business as I provided show acts and entertainment programs for
business events and composed music for film and television. Julian
Angel a braggart? Sure, always… When
fall season hit Central Europe and skirts got longer Frank, Ro Lee
and me started working on new songs for another Beautiful Beast
album. We always seem to record during Winter but this time we
really managed to keep the Summer vibe up, so ‘Access All
Arenas’ – the new album’s title – will be one more catchy
hair metal party rock album, ready for release when the sun is up
some when in Spring 2012. From
the USA to Japan, Down Under and all over Europe I have made a lot
of great new friends and business contacts this year. We received
tons of eMails from our new fans all over the world telling us not
just that they like our music but what single songs really mean to
them. I think this is one of the greatest compliments a musician can
get: Finding out how deeply people get involved with what you have
created. I
tried to make this review funny, but it seems this isn’t one of my
creative days. Anyway, we wish you all a Happy New Year (that’s
2012, in case you’d be reading this in the far future) packed with
lots of great music. Since
I know you care, the best records I bought in 2011 are Shake
City’s self-titled album, Sweet Cheater ‘Eatin’ Ain’t
Cheatin', Heat’s first record and ‘Balls Out’ by Steel
Panther. Mostly ‘old’ stuff, but that’s it! Cheerz
Julian
Angel |
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| FM | ||
| 2011
in Review
The magic of Christmas is once again upon
us and what a great year we’ve had in FM-land. We’ve now
done Download Festival two years running, Graspop in Belgium, Sweden
Rock and the very picturesque Rock The Nation Loreley Festival in
Germany. We re-visited Holland, Portugal, The Republic and
Northern Ireland. We even managed to finally play our first show
in Spain (25 years of planning finally pays off). We had the honour
- at some of the afore-mentioned shows - of playing with the
legends that are Thin Lizzy, Journey and Foreigner to name just a few.
2012 in Preview The follow-up to METROPOLIS is well under way and we will be busy finishing it off in the early months of 2012. Live-wise, in the first part of next year we have the Great British Rock & Blues Festival at Skegness in January to look forward to plus of course our “Indiscreet 25Live” shows in March. Just the thought of it all has us buzzing with anticipation! There are many, many people who have helped us in making 2011 such a successful year. We really appreciate all their hard work, above and beyond the call of duty. Respect to one and all. Once again though, extra-special thanks goes out for all the support, encouragement, affection and love shown to us by our loyal fans. We’re truly blessed. We do it all for the fans and we love doing it, thanks really doesn’t begin to express our gratitude. We hope you share the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends. May your 2012 be filled with light, love, laughter, health and peace. Merry Christmas to you one and all! Pete,
Steve, Merv, Jem and Jim |
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| Taz Taylor | ||
| 2011
in Review
This past year we concentrated on our home
market and opened shows at some of San Diego's best venues for the
likes of Uli Jon Roth, Skid Row, Pat Travers, UFO and Great White as
well as a few headline shows of our own including a Friday night
headline spot at the San Diego County Fair! We posted a few YouTube
clips along the way, one of which is up to over 50,000 views already.
2012 in Preview
We have been playing an instrumental set
now for about a year and a half, mostly culled from our 2010 C.D.
"Big Dumb Rock". Not sure exactly what 2012 holds in store
for us, but certainly it is time for us to head back into the studio
soon and we are even thinking about adding a vocalist again.
Best |
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| Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz | ||
| 2011
in Review
All in all 2011 musically was a pretty good year for me. I had the fortune to release a few albums, of which I'm really proud of, especially the debut album 'Time' of PARADISE INC or the 'Blood Of The Prophets' album by Polish guitar master Boguslaw Balcerak and his band CRYLORD. Both records have been a long time coming, so I'm really happy, they're out finally. 2012 in Preview
As for 2012 (note: these are the
productions I can yet talk about):
FROZEN RAIN: I had the fortune to record and sing the second album of Belgian AORsters. The record, entitled 'Ahead Of Time' was mixed by my dear friend Alessandro DelVecchio (Edge Of Forever, Eden's Curse) and mastered by the man Dennis Ward. Should be out next February. HELP FOR JAPAN: A really impressive charity single with some indeed stunning cast of singers, such as Michael Kiske, Bob Catley, Ralf Scheepers, Andi Deris or Marc Storace. HFJ is the brainchild of FAIR WARNING singer Tommy Heart, who also asked me to contribute some lines to it. The single CD, a cover of the BEATLES classic 'Help!', will be out March. TOMMY VITALY: I had the honour to sing two tracks for this amazing Italian guitarist. His new album 'Hanging Rock' should be out February/March, also featuring the likes of David DeFeis (VIRGIN STEELE) or Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE, CIRCLE II CIRCLE). Watch out for that! DRAGONRIDER: For the first time I got a call from Arabia to sing - DRAGONRIDER are a young band from Jordan, how cool is that? ! I did one track for the guys called 'The Tower Of Babylon', which will be released as a download single sometime early next year. BOOK OF REFLECTIONS: This is also something, I'm really looking forward to. BOR is a Neo Classical Prog project by the ever amazing LARS ERIC MATTSSON. Lars asked me to sing three songs for the project's third album, which will be out next year. ...to be continued ;)  Merry X-Mas & A Happy New Year Carsten 'Lizard' Schulz |
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| Power Quest | ||
| 2011
in Review
Well it's certainly been an eventful year in the Power Quest camp. The release of the Blood Alliance album in Japan in January and the rest of the world in late March was an obvious highlight for us, and to see the wonderful reaction to our first record for 3 years and first with the new lineup was awesome! Getting out on the road with Symphony X and Crimson Glory were also really cool experiences, as were our own headline shows in Europe and the UK along with appearances at Hammerfest and Bloodstock as well. It was really great to end the year on a high with our first show with Colin Callanan fronting the band in Wakefield too. Wakefield has long been one of my favourite towns to play and the reaction that night was overwhelming. 2012 in Preview
Looking forward to 2012, we will begin
the year with a headline show at the Arctic festival in London on
January 6th . From there we head to Europe for 4 shows in
Switzerland and Germany with Freedom Call before heading to Belgium
for the PPM Festival in April.
In the meantime I'd like to take the chance to wish all the Mayfair Mall staff and readers a very Merry Christmas and all the very best for the coming year. Thanks for your awesome support as always guys......we really do appreciate it! |
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| David Reece | ||
| 2011
in Review
Well? for me 2011 was a busy one! we started writing songs for the new Bangalore Choir record early in the year and we seemed to have decided on the tracks we'd use around June. I and Andy Susemihl began doing the layouts and I did the vocals here in Minnesota at my friend John Domagalls studio with Jeremy Tappero behind the desk engineering me. I found Jeremy to be very experienced as well as very musical with his input and we ended up finishing 12 songs in about 2 weeks! actually Curt Mitchell and Danny Greenberg just finished guitars and bass and background vocals this past weekend and Andy Susemihl will begin his part soon! The record has many colors including some of 'On Target' 'Cadence' and also we expanded the guitars for a more melodic drive. As you and many others know Bangalore Choir released the live record of our performance at Firefest 'All or Nothin' over the summer which I believe really captured that night and what it was all about! Also Harry Hess did a great job of producing it as well. I also released a record with Martin Kronlund called 'Solid' last summer which I'm very proud of too! Bangalore Choir also did some live dates back in August supporting DiamondHead which after the dust settled went very good! Although as with everyone we wished we could have done more dates. That's probably my most regretful situation at the moment that touring is very spotty anymore and it's really difficult to deliver as a group if your not playing live and mostly recording. Also in 2010 I guested as the vocalist on the upcoming Tango Down record which I'm very proud of as well. Christian Tolle and I also recorded during 2010 and that release will see the light of day in 2012 I'm told. I also did a track with Anders Nergaard for his upcoming record which is a slight direction change for me as it's quite a heavy song with many different vocalists, speaking of which I'm writing a new record with guitarist Brett Petrusek now which has a heavier but melodic sound to it in the vein of my works I did with Accept on 'Eat The H'eat' the reason being is that many of my fans have requested I do so so I decided to give it a go and believe me it's really sounding great 2012 in Preview
So for 2012 there's the Tango Down
record the new Bangalore Choir record the record with Christian
Tolle and Anders Nergaard and hopefully a release of the works
with Brett Petrusek. Oh before I forget I decided to do a
cover band thing so to keep busy and to maintain my voice for live
singing, were doing mostly songs from the 70's and early 80's and
were having a blast ! So with all of this said I wish to
thank all of you at the Mayfair Mall Zine and all of the people
who continue to support my music because without you there's
nothing!
Merry Christmas and a very musical New Year to you all! David Reece |
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| Marco Wreidt | ||
| 2011
in Review
Well, it´s been a crazy year ... a lot of ups and a lot of downs ... but that´s life isn´t it? I started the year with helping out for my friends in "Pink Cream 69". Uwe Reitenhauer wasn´t able to do four shows, so I was asked to join the Band for these dates and it was a lot of fun and a great touring package with "Helloween/Stratovarius & Pink Cream 69". So that was a nice start. Then we entered the Studio for the ~21Octayne~ debut album. My new Band. We played at the biggest Music trade fair. The Musikmesse in Frankfurt/Germany. Great stuff. In summer AXXIS released their first DVD ever. The critics and fans really liked it which is super great. we played some open air shows with Axxis in august followed by a German tour in September/October. The show is called '20 Years of Axxis - The Early Years'. That was also a lot of fun. In November I recorded the last couple of tracks with ~21Octayne~ and in two days we will play the last AXXIS show in 2011 @ Bochum (Zeche). All in all, a really busy year...it actually feels strange that it´s almost over...it felt just like a week ... 2012 in Preview
I just signed a new endorsement contract
with "Yamaha" and I really love my new guitars. just
brilliant. The ~21Octayne~ debut album will be released in
spring and we really can´t wait. Expect a modern but classic
Rock album with some nice diverse influences. We´ll probably
also start writing songs for a new AXXIS album later in 2012 and some
summer festivals with Axxis of course.
Anyway, have a great 2012!! and don´t
forget, health is the most important!! |
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| Robin Brock | ||
| 2011
in Review
2011 went by so fast. Here are some of the
things that happened.
2012 in Preview
For 2012 I'm planning more Canadian
dates to coincide with the release of Monsters in Canada (I'd hoped
to release it officially last year, but it didn't happen). Working
on a new album....more music right now. More acoustic dates in
Canada and planning a small UK/Europe tour for the fall 2012.
Some things in the works: A live DVD, more Youtube videos (I'll be doing a series of them in the vein of Countdown to Sturgis North), a "Greatest Hits" type of CD (a mix of the best songs from my first 3 cds with some extra songs).
Lots of things to keep me out of
trouble.
Happy Holidays to you all. Thanks for
keeping me in mind for your article!
Robin
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| Spill Sixteen | ||
| 2011
in Review
As 2010 saw my departure from Silverjet, a
band that I played in for 10 years. After having some awesome
experiences with the band, like touring with The Quireboys, Michael
Monroe, Pretty Boy Floyd, House of Lords, and having lots of support
slots with Buckcherry, Spike, Mike Tramp and others. Not to
mention heading to L.A. to do a few gigs. As a band, it had changed a
lot for me, and I was no longer happy with my role in the band!
Moving on.....
With such a good year for Rock 'N' Roll I
was more and more inspired and motivated to start a new band.... a
band that could sound like classic rock but also cut it with the new
young bands that are around on the current scene.
"South
Yorkshire's answer to Black Stone Cherry"
A very successful start for Spill Sixteen in 2011. 2012 in Preview 2012 will see what Spill Sixteen are made of. Already we have been asked to be tour support for a well known US act that (ha ha) I cannot mention at this date. We WILL be doing something awesome in the summer..... hopefully having a complete album to promote along with it! Spill Sixteen will also be doing an acoustic slot on the radio at some point in new year! details tbc. However our first gig of new year will be in the fine toon that is Newcastle!!!! At the Venue on the 1thJan. http://www.facebook.com/spillsixteenmusic http://www.spillsixteen.com If you like AC/DC, Buckcherry, G'n'R, then check us out.... ....... SPILL SIXTEEN will be coming to rock with you in the new year!! Mewsy - Spill Sixteen. |
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| Rob 'Laney 74' Lane | ||
| 2011
in Review
2011 – Where’d You Go?
I’m sat writing this a few days before
Christmas getting all set to head on out to spend a week with my Dad
to celebrate the holidays. As most years, I’m sat wondering
where the last twelve months disappeared too! Are we all really
getting older or is time really flying by at a crazily fast
speed? Better grab a hold on tight.
2011 started off with a heavy schedule of
rehearsals with LET LOOSE. For those of you unfamiliar, Let
Loose were one of the UK’s most popular pop bands in the mid 90’s
scoring one of the years biggest hits in 1994 with the song ‘Crazy
For You’ which cemented itself to the number two slot only to be
outdone by that record breaking Wet Wet Wet tune. They went onto
several more Top 40 hits before splitting up a few years later.
I began working with frontman Richie Wermerling back in 2007 and
jumped at the chance to play in the reunited band when drummer Lee
Murray came back into the group. The rehearsals where an
absolute pleasure, something that is usually something unheard from my
lips! We played a couple of storming headline shows, one in
London and one in Manchester along with several summer outdoor shows
which all had an amazing response. I’m proud to say I was a
fan back in the day so have been a part of the band this year was a
real privilege and everyone involved were genuine stars.
Most of the remainder of the year was
spent getting TEENAGE CASKET COMPANY back out into the underground
circuit and prove ourselves as a three piece band. We’d toyed
with the idea of getting in another guitarist after Jamie left but we
found things began to really gel in this new format so we powered
on. All the gigs we’ve done this year have gone down really
cool, we’ve made a bunch of new friends and got the chance to road
test some new songs which got put to tape (is that term still used?)
over the summer and a video for the song ‘Without You’ was shot in
November and should be released early 2012. Our new album /
compilation CD ‘Best Kept Secret’ finally surfaced too through our
US Label JAMSYNC and it’s been great to see that after such a long
wait. We’re really proud of how it turned out and hopefully
it’ll open some more doors for us stateside.
Outside of performing live I got the
chance to be invited to play some bass, and even add some vocals, to
the upcoming album from my former TCC band mate JAMIE DELERICT’s new
band. Make sure you check out the album ‘Recognise’ by JD
& THE FDCs which is due for release in 2012. This sucker is
gonna be huge. Jamie and myself even hit the airwaves this year
with our own radio show, THE ART OF ROCK' which was a shit tonne of
fun! More to come on that next year.
2012 in Preview
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| Wrathchild | ||
|
Wrathchild – four string slayer, the bass player, Mister Marc Angel – Review of 2011 and Preview 2012 starts here !! 2011 has been a wild time for me and the Wrathchild boyz. First up we got to finally release the awesome (OK I am biased but this is a cracking record) STAKKATTAKKTWO. You gotta realise we have been kicking these new songs around for a couple of years and to get them onto disc has given us immense satisfaction. We also got to perform alongside our old friends ‘Tigertailz’ which was a great ride too. We’ve met some ace people since hitting the road and the vibe has been exceptional. For 2012 I anticipate more of the same. We got a lot more stuff to record and a whole lot more people to play to so Xmas will be a time for planning out the Strategy of Wrath for the next twelve months. Invites for festival appearances are already coming in so expect to hear a lot more from Wrathchild in 2012. The party starts here !! Marc Angel xx |
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| Voodoo Vegas | ||
| 2011
in Review
We have had a great
year in 2011, in February www.getreadytorock.com
chose us as one of their bands of the year; we were their artist of
month for June. We were also booked for many of our own headline
shows all over the UK. Some of the highlights
of our year were playing many tours in France, and a tour in Italy which
included a stop over in Ibiza. In terms of support slots we opened
up for The Voice Of Rock Glenn Hughes, and 70’s rockers Uriah
Heep. In June and July we were booked as main support for WWE
superstar Chris Jericho’s band Fozzy. We played 6 shows with
them, 5 in the UK and one show in Paris which we made into a DVD called
Bootlegged in Paris, the DVD is available from our online store at www.voodoovegas.com.
During the Fozzy tour we had some excellent reviews, we sold a ton of
merchandise and increased our fan base even more. We have also signed a
deal with Ring Of Honor wrestling to have our music featured on their
world wide broadcast T.V shows and pay per views. To top it all off we have just signed a management deal with GerMusica Germany, we are working on releasing our debut studio E.P in the spring next year. 2012 in Preview 2011 was a great year
for us, but we want 2012 to be even better, we have already got 2
shows booked up with former Guns ‘n’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke
next February, so with our new management deal I’m sure a lot more
people will be hearing more from us. For more info on the band please check out www.voodoovegas.com or www.facebook.com/voodoovegas Lawrence |
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| Babylon Fire | ||
| 2011
in Review
Greetings to all you dedicated readers of
Mayfair Mall, it's Rishi from BABYLON FIRE here to provide you with an
overview of this last year of our lives & our future plans as we
prepare to enter the coming New Year. 2012 in Preview
Now as we approach 2012, our main priority
is our debut album. We have written all the material & we are
about to start pre-production of all the tracks. We'll then be heading
into the studio to make the record & hope to release it in Spring
2012. We couldn't be more excited about the direction of the new
material, it's definitely heavier & more progressive but without
ever losing sight of our trademark groove & melody!
Following the completion of recording we'll be shooting a video to
coincide with the release of the album & then our plan is to hit
the road & play in as many places (old & new) as possible to
expand our fan base even further!
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank every single person who has supported us on our journey so far & wish you all a tremendous Xmas & prosperous New Year! See you on the road in 2012!! \m/\m/ Rishi |
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| WildeStarr | ||
| 2011
in Review / 2012 in Preview
London and I have spent the last 18 months in the studio writing and recording the new WildeStarr CD 'A tell tale Heart'. This new CD kicks serious ass, and will be out in early 2012! The new single 'Transformis Ligeia' is available for for free streaming at www.wildestarr.com WildeStarr returns firing on all
cylinders! Dave Starr |
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