British rock icons MAGNUM share “Blue Tango”, the first single from their upcoming studio album, ‘Here Comes the Rain’, out January 12th, 2024 via Steamhammer / SPV (Pre-OrderHERE) . The track is accompanied by a new lyric video.
Tony Clarkin had this to say about “Blue Tango,” : “Apart from MAGNUM’s typical trademarks, ‘Here Comes The Rain’ also holds a number of thoroughly pleasant surprises in store, such as ‘Blue Tango’, which is a real riff-rock number that makes you want to move your feet.”
There are few great bands on our planet that can be infallibly identified within the first few bars of one of their songs. With unique melodic skill, tasteful instrumentation, an amazing balance of depth and catchiness, and, of course, that charismatic voice: MAGNUM are Magnum!
The same can be said of their latest studio album ‘Here Comes The Rain’, which will be released via CD + DVD, double vinyl LP, as a box set and for digital download, proving once again that classic rock music could hardly sound more atmospheric.
The album’s highly inspired artwork is once more designed by the great Rodney Matthews, who has already created a number of MAGNUM sleeves to support the band’s atmospherically dense music. Says Tony Clarkin: “The back cover features a kind of avian battalion in attack mode, which I think is a great allegory!”
Apart from MAGNUM’s typical trademarks, ‘Here Comes The Rain’ also holds a number of thoroughly pleasant surprises. First single, “Blue Tango”, is a catchy, guitar rock groover while “The Seventh Darkness”, is filled with awesome brass sections courtesy of guest musicians Chris ‘BeeBe’ Aldridge (saxophone) and Nick Dewhurst (trumpet), which lend the song brilliance and shape.
There is no doubt about it: ‘Here Comes The Rain’ sees the MAGNUM line-up consisting of Catley, Clarkin, keyboardist Rick Benton, bassist Dennis Ward and drummer Lee Morris, once again succeed in creating an outstanding, colorful, varied and inspired new studio album. “Everyone played their part without me dictating anything,” Clarkin enthuses, “everyone just instinctively played what their inspiration told them.”
Canadian rock writer Robert Lawson penned the rock biography Wheatfield Empire: The Listener’s Guide To The Guess Who . The band was Canada’s biggest in the late ’60s-early 70s, with a steady flow of hit singles and albums, before splitting in ’75. They were a huge impact on many acts in Canada and elsewhere, including Alice Cooper (the original), who searched out The Guess Who’s production company (Nimbus 9) to work with, in hopes of catching some of that single’ success. Wheatfield Empire includes interviews with key Guess Who figures like Burton Cummings, Dale Peterson, Donnie MacDougall, Bill Wallace, and numerous others in and connected to the band. * For more info on this book (which was released late in 2020) – check out the press info below and links. Robert Lawson has previously penned books on Nazareth and Cheap Trick.
Winnipeg’s The Guess Who are Canada’s original rock n’ roll superstars. But despite the band’s enduring popularity, no one has assembled a comprehensive history of their recording career…until now.
In exquisite detail, that serious fans will appreciate, Wheatfield Empire: The Listener’s Guide to The Guess Who goes through the band’s evolution, album by album and song by song. Nothing is left out. Wheatfield Empire covers the complete discography, singles chart action, radiobroadcasts and even a selection of unofficial live bootlegs. The book also discusses the solo careers of both frontman Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman.
Written in clear prose with a touch of humor, the book’s encyclopedic detail is supported with excerpts from first-hand interviews with band members and input from top authorities on the Canadian music industry.
Looking beyond the radio hits, Wheatfield Empire documents The Guess Who’s musical output with the loving attention they deserve as Canada’s first band to achieve major international success. This book is a must-have for any serious Guess Who fan.
Legendary rock guitarist Steve Hackett will release his new studio album ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ on 16th February 2024, via InsideOut Music. A rite-of-passage concept album with a young character called Travla at the centre of it, ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’s’ 13 tracks have an autobiographical angle for the musician who says about his 30th solo release: “I love this album. It says the things I’ve been wanting to say for a very long time.”
‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ is Steve’s first new music in over two years. It follows the beautiful acoustic LP ‘Under A Mediterranean Sky’ from January 2021 – which rose to No 2 in the UK Classical chart – and, in September of that year, his metallic masterpiece Surrender Of Silence, which hit the UK Top 40. His 2023 live album, ‘Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton’, reached No 2 in the Rock & Metal Chart. Steve’s new LP promises ballads, blues, blistering progressive rock… and healthy measures of theatre and fantasia.
Recorded between tours in 2022 and 2023 at Siren studio in the UK – with guest parts beamed in from Sweden, Austria, the US, Azerbaijan and Denmark, the line-up for ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’ includes some familiar faces alongside Steve on electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and vocals. Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) and Amanda Lehmann on vocals. Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt return as guests on the drumstool, engineer extraordinaire Benedict Fenner appears on keyboards and Malik Mansurov is back with the tar. Finally, Steve’s brother John Hackett is present once more on flute.
The new album will be available to pre-order from the 1st December 2023 on several different formats, including a Limited CD+Blu-ray mediabook (including 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit high resolution stereo mixes), Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g Vinyl LP & as Digital Album. All feature the stunning cover painting by Denise Marsh.
Tracklisting:
1. People Of The Smoke
2. These Passing Clouds
3. Taking You Down
4. Found And Lost
5. Enter The Ring
6. Get Me Out!
7. Ghost Moon and Living Love
8. Circo Inferno
9. Breakout
10. All At Sea
11. Into The Nightwhale
12. Wherever You Are
13. White Dove
Summing up ‘The Circus And The Nightwhale’, Steve says: “It’s a lovely journey that starts dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you resist it?”
Steve is currently on tour in North America, continuing his ‘Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights’ run. Next year he will tour the world extensively, including a brand-new UK tour under the name ‘Genesis Greats, Lamb Highlights & Solo’, and that will see him return to the legendary Royal Albert Hall. For the full list of dates, head to: http://hackettsongs.com/tour.html
Irish singer & bass player Merv Spence more recently released Phenomena Recovered. A solo project that saw him revisiting many of the Phenomena tracks from the 80s & 90s. Phenomena was project in that was conceived by producer Tom Galley and his brother, guitarist – Mel (Trapeze, Whitesnake). In this interview, Merv details his involvement in Phenomena, his new release, as well as talks about his time with Trapeze and Wishbone Ash, other recordings, and what else he’s been up to in recent years, *For more on Phenomena Recovered see my previous post on it’s release, and check out the links below.
How did you originally get involved with the Phenomena project? (You were first involved as Exec Producer on the Inner vision album, correct?)
I knew Tom Galley (the creator of Phenomena) from when I was in the band Trapeze. While recording songs for a new Trapeze album (circa1982) unbeknown to me we also started recording some pre-production song ideas on what would become the birth of the debut Phenomena album. The Trapeze album was never completed as Mel Galley was offered Whitesnake and I then went on to join Wishbone Ash. It was many years later (circa 1990) while working on an album in Switzerland; I got a call from Tom who had just completed recording Phenomena III. He basically told me that BMG rejected the album and asked if I could help place the album with a new record company in Europe. To cut a long story short no major label wanted to get involved due to legal issues between Tom and BMG, so he asked if I would be interested in acquiring Phenomena and offered to sell the entire Phenomena concept and copyright to me, which I accepted. To secure a commercial release, I first had to clear a backlog of debts built up on the production of Phenomena III. This included unpaid studio fees, musicians, engineers etc. as well as negotiating and reaching an acceptable agreement with BMG to release the Master Tapes. It was a nightmare to sort out but I managed to resolve things. I managed to secure a successful release in Sweden with Phenomena III (Inner Vision) reaching no12 in the album charts. After that other territories approached me to license the project.
This new release includes the tracks (remastered!?) that you originally recorded in 1995 for the Initiate album. How did that album come about? Why the recordings of Phenomena tracks then, as well as under the name of O’Ryan?
Around 1994, a copy of my first solo album O’Ryan “Something Strong” fell into the hands of AVA Aura Ltd., a new Japanese music & media company who had set up offices in London. They had major investment for acquiring new media and music projects in the UK and when the MD heard my debut album, he contacted my solicitor to set up a meeting. They wanted to work with me on a new album and offered me a deal I could not refuse. I already had my own studio and I was given full creative control. MD of AVA Aura Hisa Seki selected all the songs he wanted me to re-record for the Initiate album and even though it was kind of a weird concept? I accepted the challenge. I installed an old 24track 2-inch Soundcraft analogue recorder in the studio with a Mackie 48 cannel desk and the entire album was produced using this format. My main objective was to try and arrange and produce the songs with a different interpretation to the originals, which was no easy feat. Engineer/Producer Simon Hanhart, Co-producer Jason Fillingham, and myself mixed the album at PUK Studios in Denmark. The name O’Ryan was an Irish pseudonym I choose to use rather than my birth name but with the Phenomena Recovered reissue I choose to put it out under Merv Spence.
How was the reaction to Initiate? It was only released in a few territories!?
I think it was received very well but like any album everyone has an opinion, some people will love it and some will not. When I finish an album I tend to let it go and I really will not listen to it again for a long time. I had no control over the release or the distribution in other territories but I did travel to Japan several times for promotion. Also one of the songs (Emer May) was used on a TV advert in Japan for a sports car which helped. The people at AVA Aura were great to work with and very enthusiastic but had no real experience of the Music Industry and doing music business in the UK and Japan is so different. They took up the option to record another album with me that I started recording in 1996. Unfortunately due to ill heath with the MD, the relationship with AVA regrettably terminated.
How did this new release (to remaster, reissue, and record) the Phenomena songs come about?
Explore Rights Management Ltd. approached me and put the suggestion of remarketing and reissuing the Phenomena tracks on “Initiate”. They also asked if I would be prepared to record a couple of additional bonus songs. The song “Slave” that is also an additional track has a strong connection to the visionary/artist William Blake and inspired me to use one of his paintings for the front cover. “Slave” was originally written and used on a film called “The Gnostics” (circa 1987) which I updated it for a new Phenomena album. The lyrics are a combination of a William Blake poem and additional lyrics I added to enhance the song commercially.
There are 2 brand new recordings on this release – what inspired those, and can you tell me details about recording them (who else is involved, etc..)?
I wanted to keep the continuity of the Phenomena theme so I picked “Rock My Soul” & “Dance With The Devil” to record as the additional bonus tracks. I originally was going to record the songs acoustically but I kind of got carried away creatively with the arrangements in the studio. Like most musicians or producers I have a small writing setup at home and the majority of the material was recorded and produced there. I did record acoustic guitars and some live vocals on “Rock My Soul” in Donegal on the West coast of Ireland, which are the main template of that song. You never know how things will transpire which is part of the magic.
Going back to the beginning, can you tell us a bit about your beginning in music – influences, earliest bands…?
Being born and brought up on the East Coast of Ireland I had and still have a really strong connection with traditional Irish and country music. Artists like Neil Young, America, Horslips, Eagles heavily influenced me, as well as a great Irish songwriter called Jonathan Kelly. I first heard Led Zeppelin II at my grandparents, a copy that my uncle had bought before immigrating to Canada. From listening to that I got into more progressive acts such as Pink Floyd, Yes, Deep Purple and Rush. I got my first guitar at aged 13 (a 6 string Eko Ranger acoustic) and the first song I ever wrote was entitled “Money Man”. I left Ireland for UK mainland when I was sixteen to train as an engineer but it also gave me the opportunity to get closer to the UK Music Industry. I qualified after four years and by this time I was already playing bass and singing lead vox in local bands in and around The Midlands (The birthplace of heavy metal). I was in a three-piece band called Big Daisy & later Jury with musicians Degg Newman (Drums) Roger Fox (1st Guitarist) Tim Rowe (2nd Guitar) and we recorded our first single at Woodbine Street Studios in Leamington with Producer Johnny Rivers. We continued to record a lot of material, which eventually was released on the Big Daisy debut album on both 12” vinyl and CD on German label HR Records (circa 2014)
How did you get involved with Trapeze? Can you give details on that period – who else was in the band still, how long and (roughly) how many gigs this was?
Some people recommended me to Mel Galley and he just turned up at some of the Big Daisy gigs. Trapeze (circa 1982) was made up of Mel Galley (Guitars & Vocals) Richard Bailey (Keyboards) Steve Bray (Drums) Kex Gorin (Drums) and myself (Bass & Vocals). We went into rehearsals at the Managers nightclub/music venue in Wolverhampton and performed a few warm-up shows round the Midlands before embarking on a UK tour supporting Edgar Winter in 1982. It was a very short period of this line-up before Mel left to join Whitesnake.
Trapeze ended when Mel joined Whitesnake(!?) But had the band recorded an album while you were there? And what became of these recordings?
I have a live cassette recording of 2 shows in 1982 (Oxford & London) from the Edgar Winter tour, which was taken off the out front mixing console. Some of the new songs were included in the live set. I also have a cassette copy of several recordings from the unfinished studio sessions before Mel Galley joined Whitesnake.
You also joined Wishbone Ash for the Raw To The Bone album. How did the WA gig come about?
I got a call from a musician friend who told me bass player Trevor Bolder had left Wishbone Ash and that the band was after a replacement bass player. I put a call into their manager John Sherry and an hour later I was asked if I could come to London the next day as the band were in rehearsals. I turned up and did about three/four songs and went home. I got a call from Andy Powell about 11.pm that night and the following week I was off on a 6-week tour of America. I then went on to take front of stage as bass player/lead singer and I was actually in the band for about a year before we started recording Raw to the Bone. We recorded the album at Surrey Sound with Producer Nigel Grey and I continued to tour with the band internationally for about four years. Touring is an amazing life if you have no ties but I left after my first daughter was born.
Raw To The Bone was a more hard-rock (for the times) Ash album, and you are credited as a co-writer throughout. What are your thoughts on this album and your contributions to it? Did any tracks come directly from you?
When I joined WA I think the band were at a crossroads in they’re career needing a bit of enlightenment in finding a fresh direction and I do not think the guys would disagree with me on this. After a very successful career with MCA Records and headline tours in America the guys were slightly lost and without a record deal. When we went into the studio to start work on Raw To The Bone I did bring a lot of new song ideas but everything was democratic and it was agreed we all have an equal split, no matter who contributed the ideas. As a lead singer my vocal style would obviously give the songs a slightly heavier edge and I respect the guys for giving me the opportunity without manipulating this. But we must also appreciate that WA is predominately a highly respected guitar band who were responsible for creating that classic twin lead guitar technique and the band still continues to pack audiences in all over the globe. As a musician, songwriter and producer I do not create music or compositions to please fans, I just do what I do as a creator and if the fans like it great if not tough. Again I did not listen to the album for a long time but, when I have done guest appearances with the band, the fans demand certain songs off that album. I am very proud of it.
Any other ‘name’ band offers over the years?
Yes, I have worked on a number of albums in Europe and have been in rehearsals with various named musicians for new and existing projects but I would rather not say who they were. Some times the chemistry is just not right or I was not really interested. One project that was fantastic came about when I started writing songs with a partner in Germany. The songs were so good and we both signed an amazing deal with Warner Brothers International. We recorded the album in Germany and mixed it in Nashville with Producer John Guess. We delivered what I believed was a great album but some at Warner’s thought different. To this day I am not sure why Warner’s had an issue but through the grapevine I was told someone felt my lyrics were too political for the label? In the end they paid us off and I demanded that they also sign the Master tapes over to us. This album ended up being my debut solo album O’Ryan “Something Strong”. When rock music went through that “Dinosaur” period (circa 2000) of not being cool I got more involved in Artist Development, Artist Management and promoting major outdoor Events.
What else are you currently up to — any recordings, live gigs?
I relocated back to my native Ireland in 2016 and as well as continuing to write and produce music, I embarked on a DL Masters Degree in Music Composition at Bath Spa University qualifying in 2019, I am also in the first stages of a PHD. Pre Covid I was in discussions with musicians and Management in Sweden to record a new album with the objective of touring in 2020 but covid unfortunately terminated that idea. The pandemic was a really difficult time especially for the creative industries with an unknown resolve but I tried to keep busy working on songs and developing projects. I currently have two albums that I am updating for reissue with additional tracks and new artwork. The first is my debut solo album “Something Strong” (circa 1987) and the other with the working title (Insurrection) has never been released, I have also written about 20 new songs for an acoustic album that I hope to start working on in December 2023. There are various other ideas in the pipeline and since the release of Phenomena Recovered; several labels in the UK, Europe & Japan have approached to get involved. My plan at the moment is to just get the product right and after that I will make a decision about releasing and possibly doing some acoustic live shows. I have no rules when it comes to the creative process and started creative writing and script writing during lockdown. I have a film script in development entitled “The Maidens” that I hope to produce as a film short but the logistics are a bit difficult as the story is based around two abandoned lighthouses off the East coast of Ireland.
Trapeze albums’s “Medusa” and “You Are The Music…We’re Just The Band” are now available for pre-order on Limited Edition Vinyl (250 copies of each) for the first time in over 40 years! Also Limited Bundles (100 copies of each) with a signed flat by Glenn Hughes.
Celebrating 50 years since he joined DEEP PURPLE, David Coverdale (& Whitesnake) have reissued their 2015 album ‘The Purple Album‘ (remastered), as a special Gold edition (That was followed by the 2017 ‘The Purple Tour‘ album…hmm, wow). Not sure that I need this album again, but this track – “You Fool No One” sounds particularly good, with a cool collage of Whitesnake clips together making up the video. The song is updated, and much heavier than the original Deep Purple classic from Burn. Rhino’s 2CD + blu-ray version of this includes a pile of extra takes, and interesting bits like Coverdale’s Deep Purple Audition tape, which is likely most worthwhile to pick up.
Check out the video below. Incidentally, Glenn Hughes has been playing one on his current tour celebrating Deep Purple classics as well. See track-listing and links below.
CD 1: 2023 REMIX 1. Burn 2. Lay Down, Stay Down 3. Love Child 4. Holy Man 5. The Gypsy 6. Lady Double Dealer 7. Might Just Take Your Life 8. Mistreated 9. Stormbringer 10. Sail Away (Interpolating “Elegy For Jon”) 11. You Keep On Moving (featuring The Hook City Strings) 12. Lady Luck 13. Coming Home 14. You Fool No One (Interpolating “Itchy Fingers” Dedicated In Loving Memory Of Jeff Beck) 15. Soldier Of Fortune
CD 2: 78:38 THE PURPLE TOUR “FIVE LIVE” 34:48 1. Burn 2. The Gypsy 3. Mistreated 4. You Fool No One 5. Soldier of Fortune
ALTERNATIVE MIXES 6. Holy Man (Unzipped) 7. Stormbringer (Punch In The Nuts Mix… Joel Hoekstra alt solo) 8. Love Child (Joel Hoekstra alt solo) 9. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings) 10. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring The Hook City Strings) 11. Soldier Of Fortune (instrumental featuring The Hook City Strings)
Demos and Audition Tapes (Previously Unreleased)
The DC Purple Audition Tape 1972 featuring The Fabulosa Brothers 12. Everybody’s Talkin’ 13. Get Ready 14. Lonely Town Lonely Street 15. Dancing In The Street 16. 1974 DC Demos/Ideas For “Stormbringer” album
DISC 3 BLU-RAY PURPLE MUSIC VIDEOS 1. Lady Double Dealer 2. Stormbringer 3. Sail Away 4. Soldier of Fortune 5. The Gypsy 6. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring Joel Hoekstra & The Hook City Strings) 7. Soldier Of Fortune (featuring The Hook City Strings)
PURPLESNAKE VIDEOS 8. Lay Down, Stay Down 9. Holy Man 10. You Keep On Moving 11. You Fool No One
LIVE CLIPS 12. Burn (Live “Atlantis” Video) 13. Burn/Stormbringer (Live In The Still Of The Night) 14. Soldier Of Fortune (Starkers In Tokyo)
THE PURPLE TOUR “FIVE LIVE” 15. Burn 16. The Gypsy 17. Mistreated 18. You Fool No One 19. Soldier of Fortune 20. The Purple Album: Behind The Scenes 21. The Purple Album: Song-By-Song
Fresh from the overwhelming success of their latest album ‘IV-Sacrament’, Lancaster’s heavy bards and spiritual hard rock titans Wytch Hazel have gone all in on delivering a fully-fledged, tubular-bell-ringing Christmas single.
Transposing the hymnal classical influences of Handel’s Messiah and the spirit of carols the like of ‘The First Noël’ via the earthy heraldry of Steeleye Span and Wishbone Ash, the band deliver something for which perhaps only they would have the skill, sensitivity and spiritual charge. Replete with Wytch Hazel’s trademark twin-guitar harmonies and finely honed arrangements, ‘King Of Israel’ is both a stirring devotional tribute and a heartfelt message of unity, peace and goodwill to all on Earth.
The 7” red marble vinyl edition is backed by Colin Hendra’s minor key arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne” which was misspelled on the first pressing as “Old Lang Syne” by the Bad Omen elves.
CELEBRATE 40 YEARS WITH LIVE SHOW IN TORONTO ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH
Coney Hatch, one of Canada’s iconic rock bands will release a live album titled Postcard From Germany via Anthem Records on Friday, November 10th. In celebration of this release, Coney Hatch will perform their final live performance of 2023 at the famed El Mocambo in Toronto on Saturday, November 11th.
“We’ve been halfway around the world this summer with shows at Sweden Rock and Hamburg, Germany,” says singer/bassist Andy Curran. “So returning to the El Mocambo is a special homecoming for us. We love playing in Toronto, it’s where we began this ride, and it’s a perfect time to celebrate 40 years together.”
Recorded on December 12, 2018 at HEAT Festival in Ludwigsburg, Postcard from Germany is a live recording of Coney Hatch’s 1st-ever live show in Germany. Comprised of a double CD, in addition to Postcard from Germany, 2 new songs will be included, as well as a remastered version of Coney Hatch’s classic self-titled debut – which will include 3 ‘bonus’ tracks from that period (“Dreamland”, “Where I Draw The Line”, and “Sin After Sin” (demo).
“It was our very first time in Germany and the show was electric,” recalls Curran. “It was full on combat rock!!! We flew many hours to get there and quickly settled in with German beers and Schnitzel. The final results were more raw and in your face compared to previous live recordings. We also included more songs from our ‘Friction’ record in that set list”.
Postcard from Germany features almost all of the expected Coney classics “Devil’s Deck”, “Monkey Bars” and “Stand Up” as well as two newly-recorded studio tunes ‘It’s About A Girl” and “Heaven’s on the Other Side”.
“This album has a different set list from the ‘Live at the El Mocambo’ record, plus two new studio tracks we recorded over Covid. I produced those two new songs and it marks the first time guitarist Sean Kelly has been involved with recording of new Hatch songs. Sean stepped in to the lead guitar role in 2014 and we’re proud to have him.”
In addition to Curran and Kelly, the group also includes original members lead vocalist/guitarist Carl Dixon and drummer Dave Ketchum.
Regarding the two new tracks, the band was willing to give background info about each. Curran: “‘Heaven’s On the Other Side’ was written around the time we recorded ‘Coney Hatch Four,’ and we finally got around to finishing it during the lockdown. The message is simple…keep the faith and trudge on through the bad times because the good times are always just around the corner. I also felt I was long overdue to write another song about the devil!!”
Dixon: “I had an idea driving ‘It’s About a Girl’; women are wonderful, women got the power, women gave every one of us our life. We men will do anything to get their attention. It’s Always About A Girl.”
Along with the ripping live set recording, and 2 new unreleased tracks, ‘Postcard From Germany’ album will be bundled with a remastered edition of the band’s iconic debut record CONEY HATCH, produced by Canada’s favorite vocalist/guitarist Kim Mitchell.
This special edition 2 disc CD will only be available for purchase at the band’s live show and at your favorite local record stores.
DOKKEN‘s new album Heaven Comes Down is now out. The band has released 3 singles from it, and has upcoming shows in the US in November (dates can be found at www.dokken.net). I recently exchanged questions and answers with guitarist & songwriter Jon Levin about Heaven Comes Down and a bit about his past. As well I’ve added on a brief exchange I had with co-producer/engineer Bill Palmer. Enjoy the read, check out the clips & the new album, as well as the links below!
Heaven Comes Down is the first Dokken album in 10 years. Can you kinda talk about some of the things that went on over the last several years that set the band back (health issues..)?
Yes, unfortunately we had some physical issues to overcome, but everything seemed to work out! For me, no matter what happens I always look at it as there are other people that have far worse, so I just keep on plugging along and try and keep a smile on my face and move forward.
How did Heaven Comes Down come together, as far putting songs together, recording time, and signing with Silver Lining?
In the past Don and I would always get together and write collaboratively. But due to the Covid pandemic, on this particular album, we were not able to do that so we both wrote independently in our own studios and would email each other ideas. After the Covid vaccine was available, Don flew out to me and I would play music that I had here and we would work. It was a completely different process than we had in the past as in the past we would always get together, because Don used to live near me. As far as Silver Lining, I knew Rod Kukla, who is a VP at the label since I owned a label of my own back in the late ’90’s. We ran into each other when Dokken played the Wacken Open Air Festival in 2018 and that’s how it came about.
How does a Dokken song come to the recording stage – do you guys collaborate or write separately and bring ideas in? Are lyrics usually or always Don’s or do you both contribute fully written songs?
Well, it was during Covid and we were all quarantined. I spent a lot of time in my home studio, writing and recording and Don did the same on his end. I think the vibe of the world created from the Covid pandemic created musical inspiration for me. We would work via the internet. At some point after the vaccines were available, Don came out to my house and we worked in my studio. We have a truly special writing chemistry together. He is my musical soulmate. As far as lyrics, Don writes them on his own. Sometimes I play him a track and he comes up with them on the spot!
Heaven Comes Down is a solid hard rock album, and although there’s no blazing metal anthems (ala ’80s), the songs really suit Don’s vocals. Can you tell me if what sort of ideas or directions you guys discussed taking on this album?
We both wanted a heavier record but you just write and it is what it is. You can’t really force anything. Somehow on this one, I think we just managed to get lightning in a bottle. Since I am a long time Dokken fan, I think that I naturally write in a style that fits into the direction that seems to work. I understand that the music needs to fit into what fans are used to hearing from us and if I come up with something that I don’t think fits, I usually won’t even play it for Don. That said, I had the tracks for “Over the Mountain” and “Saving Grace” – neither of which I were going to play for Don; I said, “hey, I have 2 tracks that I don’t think will work”, and Don said play them for me anyway, so I did. As soon as he heard ‘Over The Mountain’, he sang the first line of the song and said it reminds him of old Gary Moore, “I like it.” So he finished it right then! Same for “Saving Grace”. They were both supposed to be throwaways.
Can you give me any stories, antidotes, … on some of the tracks(?) I love ‘Gypsy’ (and Don’s story behind it), but also ‘Fugitive’, ‘I’ll Never Give Up’, ‘Saving Grace’… Any tracks you’re particularly excited about?
For ‘Fugitive’, the intro riff came to me while on an airplane and it stuck in my head. When I got off the plane, I immediately sang it into my voice recorder. I demoed up the track and Don came out to my house and I played if for him. Here’s what amazes me about Don. There was a mic set up in front of him while he was listening to it and he started singing the lyrics and melodies to Fugitive on his first listening. Right off the top of his head he sang “I’m a Fugitive from life.” Fortunately, I was recording while he was singing. I knew I loved it right away and said , dude that’s freakin great!!!! Don is much more than a singer. He is a true instrumentalists and musician. It’s remarkable to watch him come up with lyrics and melodies on the fly like that. I’ve never seen anyone else do that. It’s truly something to see and it’s really exciting when we’re in a room together and that happens. We have a truly special writing chemistry together. About 4- 5 tracks came together that same way, one of which was “Gypsy”.
One track that really stands out is the last one – ‘Santa Fe’. Love the song and ending the album with such a unique song. Can you tell me a bit about putting that one together, and how it suits the record?
I had nothing to do with ‘Santa Fe’. Don did that one alone on his end and our engineer Bill Palmer played guitar on it. Don sent it to me and asked if I wanted to redo the guitar parts. I thought it was great and told him there is no reason for me to replay this.
Having such a lengthy and cool catalogue of songs to choose from, is it a challenge to put together a Dokken live set, particularly when you have something new out?
It is a challenge, because if we add a new song in, that means we have to take a classic song out. Either way someone is upset. We will be playing songs from ‘Heaven Comes Down’ for sure though.
Over that time away from recording any new Dokken (prior to Heaven Comes Down), were you involved in anything else (recording-wise…)?
I am constantly recording. I amassed about 2 other records worth of material during COVID. It is just not the right material to present for Dokken. I just write what I like. Sometimes I record ideas I like but for example, they are more instrumental, or stylistically, just not the right direction for Dokken.
Going back to your time before Dokken, can you tell me what sort of bands (any recordings) you were involved in, and can you talk about what lead you to go in law, And then get back in to playing in bands (w/ Dokken) in the early 2000s?
Before Dokken I played with Doro in the late ’80s. After that, I was in another band that got signed to Atlantic records which also was ’80s rock type material. After that didn’t work out, I moved to Los Angeles and had yet another band. Then grunge rock hit the scene and as soon as that happened there was really no more guitar soloing. I didn’t know what to do so I went to law school. It was just by chance that one day in 1998 Jeff Pilson called me and asked if I would play some solos. When I got that message, I was at my father’s house for dinner and he convinced me to go down and play. I really didn’t want to because I hadn’t played much Guitar for years at that point. I had a record label and a law practice. I had no idea it was for Dokken or frankly, I never would have gone. When I went to the studio to my surprise the whole band was there. I was still in a suit and tie from having been at work that day! I remember Don opened up the studio door, handed me a Guitar and told me to play. I ended up playing a solo on the demo for what later became “Maddest Hatter”, and on a song called the “Irish Song”, which was released as a bonus track in Japan. A few weeks after that Jeff called me and asked if I could play a show at the Dallas Starplex with the band on July 4, 1998, which I ended up doing.
Can you give me a few of your favorite players and bands from growing up, as well as a ‘top 10’ favorite albums from your younger years?
Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, Michael Schenker and Nuno Bettencourt. Favorite albums, in no particular order:
Van Halen
Van Halen II
Van Halen “Fair Warning”
Van Halen, “Diver Down”
Ozzy Osbourne, Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne, Diary of a Madman
Lynyrd Skynyrd, “One More For The Road”
Dokken, “Tooth N Nail”
Dokken, “Under Lock And Key”
Dokken, “Back For The Attack”
What are you listening to these days?
I just go on Youtube and find live clips of bands I like Jimi Hendrix, Michael Schenker, Eric Gales, Joe Bonamassa, etc…
From BILL PALMER : Bill Palmer co-produced Heaven Comes Down, as well he played the acoustic guitars on the final cut “Santa Fe” (something I hadn’t realized when I sent questions to Jon). I wrote Bill and he was kind enough to give some insight to the song, and it’s direction. Bill works as a producer & engineer out of Austin, TX, as well as his studio in the border town of Terlingua. “There’s an old church that I make a lot of records in. People come out here to get the desert border vibes. It’s magical! Very remote.” Bill is on Instagram (see below), and I’ve tagged on a local article about him. I asked Bill how the track “Santa Fe” came about, and kept as just an acoustic song to close the album – “Don had the idea that he wanted to do an acoustic “western” type song that painted a picture of his life and his move to the desert, a sort of spiritual journey. It doesn’t really have a chorus until maybe the very end. It just unfolds, much like his life….Don told me what chords he wanted, and I played the part. When it was all said and done, they liked what I played, and we left it”.…I like it. If anything, I hope he might do more of this type of songs in the future. “We’ve discussed it. The way his voice sounds nowadays really suits that type of sound.” I think that would be an awesome direction for him, especially with story-type things like ‘Santa Fe’, and ‘Gypsy’ or ‘Fugitive’ – “When we were starting to make the record, Don and I discussed songwriting and how he had so much to say. Hence the story songs on this one.”
TRAPEZE, the classic 70s British rock band from Wolverhampton have a new single out from the forthcoming Lost Tapes Vol. 1, CD, to be released November 24. The song “Breakdown”, featuring Glenn Hughes, Mel Galley and Dave Holland was recorded in the 90s. Check out the video clip below. *For more info check out :https://ramzine.co.uk/news/trapezes-breakdown-available-now/
