MTM NEWS:
What promises to be a killer release is well underway in Los Angeles.
The Mike Slamer / Chris Thompson album promises to be heavier than imagined. A few tracks written so far include:
All Over Me . Wasting Time . Till The End . Dust In The Light . Ticket To Thailand . Gotta Hold On Me.
Not all of the above may make the final cut of the album. More tracks are being recorded now.
MTM will put together a House Of Shakira Best Of out of the band's first two albums which are now off the market thanks to the demise of the BlueStone Music label.
The tracks will be re-mastered and the compilation will include unreleased bonus tracks.
Joe Lynn Turner is returning to the studio in March to cut his new album that will feature the same team behind his last studio album Hurry Up And Wait.
Bob Held and Al Greenwood will be the backbone of the record with several guest guitarists planned to be a part of proceedings.
The style of the record will be very much Rainbow era Joe Lynn Turner with a slice of Joe´s more AOR styled debut solo album Rescue You.
Following Roger Scott Craig's side project 101 South, Harlan Cage vocalist Larry Greene is working on a solo album which he will start recording in March with Ritchie Zito producing.
And Axe gear up for action in the studio during March to finish the recordings of the bands new & 6th studio album. Michael Bormann of Jaded Heart will feature on backing vocals.
Frontiers Records have confirmed that the AOR band The View (Featuring Kevin Chalfant, Ross Valory, Tim Gorman, Stef Burns and Prairie Prince) will release their long lost album next year and also will reform late next year to record a new album for release in 2001.
It's official! On the day of its one year anniversary, www.aor.nu, announces that Stefan Edstrom and his former (and nowadays current) partner in crime Larry Schorling (which is me in case you didn't know!) have joined forces again. Stefan says that: "This will mean that we (www.aor.nu) now can provide better updates on all sections from news, reviews to interviews. He (Larry) also brings approximately 30 superb interviews done between 1996-1999 to the site. It'll be everything from Glen Burtnick, Jimi Jamison and Stan Meissner to Velocity, Jeff Cannata and Heartland."SFK's Kurt Torster says about www.aor.nu: "Easily one of the best MR sites on the net, it's gorgeous design makes me jealous. Reviews galore and some fantastic interviews." And this statement is nowadays expected to be more valid than ever before! It's a nice place to visit...www.aor.nu
The members of Van Halen have announced that singer Gary Cherone is leaving the band. The band stressed that the departure was both mutual and amicable and they remain good friends. The band is currently working on its next LP and Cherone is pursuing new musical ventures.
The members of the band, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony, expressed their appreciation for Gary's work with the band and wished him well in his future endeavors.
"I had a great time singing with the band and I wish Eddie, Alex and Michael all the best. I'll see 'em in Boston," said Cherone.
Eddie Van Halen said, "Gary is a brother and he and I will continue to have a personal and musical relationship."Sammy Hagar released a press statement in reaction to Cherone's departure:
"I only wish the best for Van Halen and Gary. I hope they all continue to make great music and have great success in whatever they do."
PLAYER is currently working on their next CD. "We're going to take our time
so it'll be as great as we can make it", they say.
Also, keep your eyes open for the upcoming CBS mini-series, "Shake Rattle and
Roll." The singing voice of the young lead singer in the main band is none
other than Peter Beckett! Peter has done the lead vocals for more than half
of the songs in the mini-series. It premeres in November 1999.
Further on, Peter Beckett is writing a book about his thirty-something "Roller Coaster" years in the music business in Europe an the US.Doug Howard and Stun Leer is about to start recording their next album in November. Once again it will be recorded with Bob St. John and much possibly will also Nuno Bettencourt be involved July is the tentative release of an officially authorized live album
from AOR legends ICON, best known for their 'Icon (1984) and 'Night Of
The Crime' (1985) albums. The CD, '1984 : Live Bootleg' was recorded
during the band's first tour in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As the title
indicates, it was not recorded on multi-track tape, as the band never
recorded any shows for the prospects of a live album. It was actually
taken from the audio portion of a VHS tape that recorded the entire show
on video.With the release of the bands' first two albums as imports on CD the
last few years, fans have continuously asked for other works by the
original lineup of Stephen Clifford, Dan Wexler, John Aquilino, Tracy
Wallach and Pat Dixon. To satisfy the many diehard fans, this album has
been sonically enhanced with numerous studios, equipment and expert
consultation over the course of the last 18 months to achieve the best
results. "This is the only thing that captures the band in a complete
performance during the first tour", says guitarist Dan Wexler, who
oversaw the project. "Although it's not a multi-tracked recording, it is
the best representation of the original band that could be found ontape."
Few live tapes of Icon exist on the tape trading circuit, but are of
very poor quality. "This album will hopefully satisfy the need for fans
who either can't find a decent recording, or who want something better
in terms of sonic capabilities. We've spared nothing in terms of making
this album sound its best. Considering what we had to work with, the end
result is pretty good."
The album's 16 tracks include a few unreleased songs. A live video for
this show is scheduled for a fall release. For full details and sound
clips in RealAudio and mp3's, visit the Epilogue site at
www.inficad.com/~epilogue/
